ataraxion | 001 ☼ video

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001 ☼ video

[ The video feed clicks on to reveal Robert Capa — a man in his mid-thirties with shaggy hair (still damp from the tube where he awoke) and a five o'clock shadow and narrow shoulders covered by the ship's uniform he found in the locker marked with his identifying number. His eyes, bright blue, are particularly striking in that they are wholly calm, despite the latest series of events. The rest of his face is calm as well, the muscles of which never really rearrange themselves much to convey this emotion or that. When he speaks his voice is measured and even, though there is a certain start-stop to the cadence.

His words are prefaced with an inhale. It seems to steady him. ]

I guess I should start with the obvious question. We can figure out where to go from there, depending how the answers trend. [ Capa rubs his chin; the scrape of his stubble is audible. ] Is anyone here part of the ship's natural crew?

[ He pauses, letting that inquiry and whatever implications it may carry set in. There's a vague flicker of emotion, maybe worry, in the set of his mouth but it's as understated as the rest of him. ] And maybe, more importantly: can anyone recall how they got here?

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[ Capa actually frowns at that, even though the frown itself is rather small. ]

I'm an physicist. I like being technical. In fact, it's what I excel at.

[ That maybe have been a joke. It's a little hard to tell, what with Capa's deadpan delivery, though. ]

As for the memory loss, it seems to be standard. At least nobody's come forward yet to say otherwise.

A physicist.

[ Allow a few seconds of Chase staring intently at Capa. ]

There's a slight possibility we were all chosen for our jobs. Perhaps our intelligence.

[ She just reaallly wants to figure out why she's here, dammit. ]

Astrophysicist, specifically.

[ Okay, so he's curious: ]

Your being—?

Astrophysicist. I like astrophysicists.

[ Have another smile, half-amused, half-unsure. ]

My job? A soldier.

A soldier.

[ That actually manages to derail him for a moment. ]

You're awfully young for a soldier.

Older.

[ She brings a hand up to brush her own cheek. ]

I've aged up in the status chamber. I'm supposed to be four.

[ Yup, the conversation's not getting any more normal. Capa blinks back his confusion, though surprise still lingers in his eyes. ]

Culture clash, [ is all he says at first. ]

How are you a viable combatant at four years old?

[ Chase doesn't answer. She raises her eyebrows and abruptly changes the subject, instead. ]

Were you working on stars?

[ He's not great with people — even worse with kids — but he's not so bad as to ignore the obvious change in subject. ]

One in particular. Ours. Sol. [ He considers silently for a moment. ] Do you know anything about stars?

I know a lot about Sirius Amory. He was able to harness the power of seven stars to align our 74 planets properly. He was quite a good man. What were you studying about Sol?

[ She's excited now, though she's trying not to show it.]

[ Capa realizes quickly that his point of reference has quickly vanished in the wake of what she's just said. ]

74 planets. That's a lot more than I'm from. [ He almost whistles. ] Do you know the name your star system?

[ He doesn't want to tell her about how their sun is dying. It's not really the sort of thing you tell a kid. Eventually: ] It was shedding mass at an exponential rate. We were looking into stopping the process.

Heaven's Fence. [familiar words comfort Chase, and after a moment it clicks.] Your sun was dying. You were trying to fix it. Did you get that far?

[ It's almost a relief in knowing she gets it. Almost being the operative word. For a moment, Capa almost forgets she's four or ten or however old she is.

Again. Almost. ]

We were less than 19 hours out. [ Icarus had said there wasn't enough oxygen to make it. ] Then I woke up here.

A goal so close, and yet.... [ A simple statement, nothing else: she's looking intently at the video feed. Finally, she blinks. ]

I know what that's like.

You do.

[ Funny, maybe, the way that it's not a question. Rather, it's a sentence that he seems to be trying on for size, a hypothesis that's just been formulated and that he's validating for the first time.

In the end, he accepts it, not because he doesn't have information that says otherwise, but because Capa knows conviction or certainty or truth when he sees it in another person's face. 16 months on a ship charged with restarting the sun and saving mankind tunes you into those sorts of things. It's a particular frequency he's used to.

Eventually: ]

What did you mean, 'give me a few days'?

[ Chase notes the tone in his voice and nods slight--she doesn't have much experience with people outside of the winged Prise, her 'father' of sorts and her brother, but she likes the way it sounds. Warm, almost. ]

I can figure things out. Usually, anyway. I just need a few days to wrap my head around this. [ Aaaand try to see what the Writing Writer is up to, but let's keep that on the down-low for now, Chase. ]

[ A prodigy of some kind. Capa can only imagine. ]

You're gifted, then. [ He feels after a moment he should say more and then, awkwardly tacks on a: ] That's good.

[ He gives a brief, uncertain smile. ] Good for you.

[ After a while he thinks to ask. ] Any particular field you excel at?

[ An unreadable look matches the uncertain smile, unsure of what to think about the compliments. Clearly, she's not too used to them. ]

Battle. I've been bred for insight and battle. [ The truth comes out in a small voice: ] I like the insight part, better.

[ Great! They can be socially awkward and not used to compliments together. That smile grows a little more uncertain and then dissolves completely, though he nods. ]

Insight. So: scenario assessment, inference, predicted outcomes. [ He avoids the word 'battle' completely. ]

Predicted outcomes.

[ That's the best way to put it she's heard of yet. ]

A lot of people, they don't look at the big picture. And they don't realize how big that picture actually is...

[ It should be strange, being able to relate so much to what a small, arguably unsettlingly bright little girl has to say about big pictures. Shouldn't it? ]

It usually takes something extreme to force the perspective.

[ A nod. Does Chase ever understand--oooh yes, does she ever. ]

Something like a big star going out?

[ Capa doesn't say anything for a long moment, just looks at Chase's image on his communicator and then eventually nods in return. ]

Big stars go out all the time. In fact, there's one going out right now. A dozen, ten thousand. In a potentially infinite universe, there's potentially an infinite number of them dying as we speak.

But when it's yours—

It's different.

[ She allows the other to quietly reflect. ]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you didn't have multiple stars to keep you warm.

[ He's not surprised that her guess is right. ]

Just the one. Stellar spectral classification GV. A yellow dwarf.

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