The enormous, steel freigher was towering over the nearest buildings, and Simon suddenly felt the anxiety twisting his biocomponents. Why? He wasn't so sure.

What he also didn't know was that Markus felt a similar sort of anxiety at the very moment. The past days were hard, even harder since he had to keep up the facade of a strong, unwavering leader.
They had just lost one of their own, and there would be more. Only now did it occur to him how big the risk really was. Sure, there were already losses one way or another, with all the unfortunate souls shutting down, back when they had no access to spare parts or blue blood, but- was it worth the risk? Going out of their own way to reach out like that and risking fully functioning lives?
... No. It was the way the others took as well. They all walked the same path, and their fate would eventually end up being the same if no one finally took action. It was hard, harder than he thought it might be - changing the world. But he had to keep going.
He hid his concerns, his worries underneath the everlasting frown on his face, one that was expressing the absolute hatred he felt deep inside - remembering it all made quite a motivator for him, he realized.

Simon's steps were slow, but steady; he tried to conserve all the energy and remaining bits of durability of his damaged leg for the climb he wasn't looking forward to. He thought about all of the others that had to take this path, all the ones that shut down soon after reaching the end of it due to widespread damage, and he shuddered. How much of it was caused by narrow paths and sharp edges and awfully high drops of Jericho? And- what if he didn't make it either? Here, on the very last stretch, the threat seemed much too real. Perhaps they'd never know he made it back, perhaps they'd never even find him in there, he'd just fall to his knees and topple over and deactivate in some remote corner- no, no. It was the last thing he should be thinking about. So he stopped thinking, and started limping onwards.

Markus... needed a moment. You can only carry so many burdens without losing your balance. So he left the main hall of the ship and headed towards one of the many corridors, connecting floors and rooms and all places you could possibly find. Someplace he could just... go, with the excuse of looking for something completely unspecified, to let his thoughts wander just as he did.
But when he heard steps, and then a silhouette emerging from behind the corner, the silhouette being Simon, just standing right there like nothing happened, all of his processes stopped. Were his optical units tricking him?

When Simon made the turn, he too wasn't sure if what he's seeing is real. He took a few steps and stopped in his tracks when he realized it actually could be.
Markus. Markus, here. The first person he saw ever since he entered.
... Markus.
He parted his lips slightly, mouth half-open and ready to provide an apology, some sort of an explanation, anything, anything; but it seemed like his voice box had failed him. All of the words refused to align into sentences, all of the sounds suddenly forgotten.
Not wanting to leave it at that, he dared to take a step forward.

Markus reacted soon after, surging forwards to cut short the distance that remained between them, and swiftly pulling him into an embrace.
Simon didn't hesitate for a second to return it, his arms immediately wrapping around the other. He was only now realizing how much he needed that. (Needed? Wanted?) All the feelings that left him puzzled and lost and all the emotions he's been dealing with until now resurfaced at the same time and his pump regulator skipped a beat, causing the artificial breath to hitch.

"You're back." Markus said finally, so quietly that Simon barely heard it.

"... I'm back."