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[moon_in_her_hair]

[She's still trying to determine whether this is wise, but the offer had been a saving grace for her. She wanted anything that could remove her from the mountains and the horrors of war. This may not be what her father intended for her with her life, but this life was her choice.

That at least would comfort at night.]

My name is Alice Munro and I am new to this ship. [Ship. That in itself would take time to grow used to. It wasn't like the ship that brought her to the colonies at all.]

Those that are wardens, if you would be so kind to offer me advice perhaps on those here assembled? I know why I am here, but I would like to be made aware of what I am in store for. I do not want to be caught unawares. Not again.

[She hesitates before addressing the inmates.]

Those that are imprisoned, if you also have any information about the ship itself, I should be grateful.

Comments

[withtheoldbreed]

Private Eugene Sledge, ma'am. I'm a warden here. [And his accent is probably pretty different from most you've heard before coming here, considering moving from the southern colonies up to your neck of the woods was kind of an odyssey. ... Also the British don't own Alabama yet.] Is there anything specific you're interested in learnin' more about?

[moon_in_her_hair]

[It's definitely a different sort of accent than what she knows. The south doesn't extend much further than the Carolinas and she fortunately never had to go that far. But friendliness counts for something, as does basic etiquette. That he refers to her in a proper way eases some of her tension. There is civilization here.]

I suppose...more about the day to day life. Do we have set schedules, as the army might?

[withtheoldbreed]

No, ma'am. There're three meals a day in the mess hall, but apart from that, we're expected to make our own schedules.

[moon_in_her_hair]

[She doesn't know how to feel about that. Both fear and satisfaction are battling it out.]

Have you been here long?

[withtheoldbreed]

Since November, ma'am. Not that long compared to some of the other people here.

[moon_in_her_hair]

Maybe it isn't about the length, but what you do with the time? [She's feeling a bit more on even ground just talking to someone.] Do you like it here?

[withtheoldbreed]

It's better than where I was. [But, well, that's not hard to accomplish.] I do a lot of reading, and try to help out my inmate.

[moon_in_her_hair]

[She can relate to that and finds herself nodding.]

It is already better than where I was too. Where are you from?

[withtheoldbreed]

Mobile, Alabama. But I was with the 1st Marine Division on Peleliu before I got here.

[... He's assuming most of that doesn't mean much to you, given what you've said to Cambridge.]

It's an island in the Pacific.

[moon_in_her_hair]

[All of the words are foreign and strange to her, but she nods and tries to remember them, if only for later conversations.]

You are a soldier? [That's familiar territory.] My father was stationed at Fort William Henry.

[withtheoldbreed]

Sort of. I'm a marine. [It's a more gentle correction than it would be if you were a modern person, Gene obviously knows the Marine Corps hasn't been founded yet.

Or the United States of America either, but.]

Where's that?

[moon_in_her_hair]

New York. It was in the Appalachian Mountains.

[withtheoldbreed]

Was?

[moon_in_her_hair]

[Did she use past tense? It was hard to remember that everything was still there, even if she wasn't.]

Is. The fort fell into French hands. I think it is still standing.

[withtheoldbreed]

I'm sorry. [He his. His favorite thing to study might be the Civil War, but he knows enough about how things were during the French and Indian War to know that can't have been pretty.]

Do you need anything, ma'am?

[moon_in_her_hair]

No, but thank you. It's kind of you to offer.

[She smiles, feeling a bit more relaxed now.]

I just want to acclimate myself to these surroundings.

[withtheoldbreed]

It's a lot to wrap your mind around.

[moon_in_her_hair]

It is. This ship is so large and intimidating. I have never seen anything like it before.

[withtheoldbreed]

I don't think any of us've seen something like this before.

[moon_in_her_hair]

Tell me more about the world you came from. Your accent is quite unlike anything I have heard before.

[withtheoldbreed]

Alabama's south of Virginia. [Like, way down south, but he figures that at least might be a familiar landmark for her.] I'm about two hundred years ahead of you. A lot of stuff's different.

[He's not even really sure what he should tell her, considering how he feels about hearing about the future, but... to him, stuff like the Revolution or industrialization isn't exactly a bad thing.]

The American colonies break off from England in a couple years. They got the territory for Alabama from Spain, I think. I grew up in a city called Mobile, it's on the water. My best friend's sister and I used to watch them launching new Liberty ships into the harbor before I joined the Marines.

[moon_in_her_hair]

[She listens, a few of the words surprising her, others not quite as much. With the wildness of the Americas and the coarseness of several of the colonists, it wasn't a shock that they had disobeyed their King.

But she hadn't expected that the colonies had expanded so far. How large was the land they found themselves in?]

So it inspired you to join the Marines? Watching these ships?

[withtheoldbreed]

No, miss. We were at war, most guys my age were enlisting in somethin'.

[He's still smiling, but there's something kind of sad about it now. Not quite wistful, but not bitter, either.]

I wanted to join the Marines because they're the best there is.

[Which he believes. But he was a dumb kid.]

[moon_in_her_hair]

Which countries were at war? [It was interesting to see another who was facing the same type of conflicts that she was.] Was it England and France again?

[It seemed they were always fighting. Or Spain and England.]

[withtheoldbreed]

Yeah, but they were on the same side. [Which... might seem weird for you.]

Germany, Japan and Italy were at war with England, France and the United States. Russia changed sides after Germany attacked them, too, and Italy surrendered a year ago.