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[suddenlycaptain]

[ There are a lot of reasons to post something like this. Carolyn is ignoring the ones that are more personal to her, but she makes it text to prevent anything from leaking through. ]

If you were to leave the ship right now, permanently -- whether it was on a shuttle, to a station or new ship, or a planet -- what is one thing you would try to bring with you?

Other than people.

Comments

action,

[suddenlycaptain]

[ The shuttle bay seems almost empty compared to how it has been; emptier still when one tries to think about what it must have been like when the Tranquility first set out. Carolyn tries not to. She focuses on her people and on the shuttles, on making sure the little alarm system that Casey set up near the door still works even if he isn't here anymore, on keeping the mattresses that she and Clint pulled in for those of them who were workaholics are out of the way even if he isn't here anymore either. There are ghosts here, around every corner; projects abandoned because the person working on them disappeared, the Spirit shuttle that was altered by the first person like them to die on the ship.

But there are also the stars: the only place in the ship to have windows, and Carolyn would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the view. The stars aren't familiar, but they are stars all the same. ]

You're the one I spoke to on the network? [ Belatedly, Carolyn realizes that she hadn't given a name or a description. Stupid, especially when you don't have audio or video to rely on. Oh well. ] Carolyn Fry. Welcome to the shuttle bay.

[trouvaille]

( it's the first time ilde has seen them, and for a moment she's more than a little struck by it-- then almost embarrassed, averting her eyes, refocused on carolyn. her accent is a little odd - she speaks english like she was very specifically taught to speak with this particularly plummy diction, which is...true - but effortlessly fluent, and aside from her discomfort at momentary awkwardness, there's nothing shy about her.

she holds herself like the world's going to arrange itself around the fact that she can handle anything she decides to, not arrogant (right now) but patient. if carolyn were inclined to think that ilde has more practise at controlling first impressions than her own feelings (the studied way she doesn't even briefly glance back at the stars outside is telling, in its way), that wouldn't be unfair. she knows where she stands best when she gets to decide. )

Ilde Featherstonehaugh. ( 'fanshaw' isn't too much trouble, but some people here have already had trouble with 'eel-day', and a moment later, ) Gioia, if my first name's a pain in the arse.

( joy-ah. )

[suddenlycaptain]

[ Carolyn's own accent isn't one from Earth -- vaguely Australian-sounding, sure, but Earth is so far away that she's never truly been there. Space is her environment, but she doesn't mind Ilde looking at the stars -- they still get to her, even now.

The girl is... something, she decides. Her head tilts, Fry not caring at all if Ilde catches her looking her over. This is her shuttle bay, whether Carolyn herself likes it or not; she has to know the measure of each person in it. She doesn't necessarily like all of them, but this one, she thinks, she may. ]

Ilde. [ It's easier, hearing it first. ] I've heard worse.

[ She jerks her head toward the window. ] That's the main attraction. Tour takes us right to it.

[trouvaille]

Must be strange for people who expect to see a particular-- layout.

( of stars; ilde is aware that these must be different to the ones that she's lain drunk and philosophizing beneath, but she's not quite so astronomically inclined to recognize it for herself in any particular way. twinkly lights in the sky are twinkly lights in the fucking sky, wherever you're looking at them for, it's just the reminder that she is in space.

whatever. she's trying to get a job in shuttle bay. she's going to have to get used to some of this shit. )

[suddenlycaptain]

It is.

[ She doesn't know how to navigate these stars. She can try, but it will be mostly guess-work. If they need to evacuate, it may very well just be prolonging the inevitable, especially with the limited amount of fuel.

But it's a chance. ]

That's part of why new recruits are so important. I still expect to see certain stars. You don't.

[trouvaille]

( when put that way, it does make a certain kind of sense. ilde nods, a little bit slowly. )

Well, I'm -- glad I've got something to offer beyond 'pretty game'. ( wryly. )

[suddenlycaptain]

[ She snorts. ]

Always nice to feel useful, isn't it?

[ But, more seriously: ]

Everyone's got something to offer. Even Solo, as much of a pain in my ass as he is.

[trouvaille]

It's not a feeling I've had often, ( a bit rueful. ) To tell you the truth, I'm, um-- I'm a poet. And a musician. And a fucking socialite, so you know--

( a little gesture. )

More or less a venn diagram of utter pointlessness. But I'm willing to try, and I'm bright. I'll learn fast.

[suddenlycaptain]

Musicians need to know math, from what I remember.

[ Carolyn's never practiced music in her life, but she's heard a few things. ]

As long as you pay attention, you'll be fine. Ask for help if you need it.

[trouvaille]

( a nod-- ) I play-- a lot of instruments. There's a certain amount of mental agility involved.

( cello, violin, harp, piano-- her family is a burgeoning musical dynasty, and the expectations are fairly high. her father, a composer as well as performer, had her learning before she was walking without wobbling. )

But- yeah. I will.