VIDEO ▒ OPEN BROADCAST ▒ FORWARD DATED JULY 30 ░▒▓█▛▟▛▙▚▞▗ ▘

[eripui]

[ The feed begins with a single tone, low, as if testing the audio capabilities of the devices. On the screen is an older man, white haired with bright blue eyes, standing in front of a deep blue banner emblazoned in gold with a circular symbol containing three five-pointed stars. Though his face now is solemn, there are laughter lines soft at corners of his eyes, the set of his mouth one clearly used to the curve of a smile. He only waits a moment before beginning to speak, voice level, carrying an assured authority, a confidence borne from experience. ]

Residents of the Tranquility, I greet you today after many, many years of waiting. My name is Hendrik van Rijn, Prime Minister of the Miraxian Triad, the people who built and launched the ship you've been trapped on. You may not have heard of me, but I have heard of you, and all the terrible events you've been forced to endure as a result of the unprecedented malfunction which took the Tranquility so far from her intended path. I offer you the deepest sympathies of my people, and myself. Mistakes have been made, and I give you every assurance that now, with your return to us, we will find the cause of this tragedy and set things right.

I know you may have heard promises before, and met with the unfortunate souls in our society who prefer to cheat and steal than offer a helping hand. I know you have no reason to trust me; if I'd been through as much as you have, I wouldn't trust me either. But we have someone else here to speak to you, and I hope hearing from her will help to show the truth of our intentions, and allow us to begin the forging of a strong partnership as we move into the future.

[ With a last look to the camera, he steps back, turning his attention to the side and holding out a hand to greet and guide the woman joining him to take center. The woman's face is one known to many aboard the ship. She's gracious as she steps into view, appearing to squeeze the man's hand before she lets go and takes her place.

Odessa Knutson. ]

Thank you, Prime Minister.

[ Her attention turns to the camera then, head tilting to one side as a wide smile spreads across her familiar features. She has a look of health to her. A better diet, some proper sunlight, and time will do that. ]

Hello, Tranquility. [ Spoken in the same way one might ask, did you miss me? ] It's been a long time. Too long. For all of us. [ That smile turns a little sad. They've been through some horrors, haven't they? Time and distance has allowed much of it to become a distant memory. ]

The time has come to stop running. When I left the ship, I didn't know what to expect. We received so many conflicting stories, didn't we? I expected all the worst ones to be true, but it was a risk I was willing to take. I'm sure many of you can understand why. Still, I was afraid that I would find monsters. That I would be thrown in a dark cell and never see the light of day again. Now, I don't say this often, but... [ Her hands spread out to her sides, palms up in a gesture that says just look at me. ] I was wrong. After my escape two years ago, Prime Minister van Rijn's people found me. They gave me food, clothing, shelter, a new life and a new purpose...

To find all of you, and help you to be rescued as I had been rescued. I know most of you aren't like me; I'm starting over here, and I'm happier than I've ever been, but many of you have lives you want to return to. [ The delight she has in sharing this good news seems genuine enough, especially (or even) to those who know her well. She clasps her hands in front of her, a light in her eyes. ] I've seen what the Miraxians have been working on myself. There's hope, so much hope.

Pack your bags, my friends. We're coming to take you home.

[[ OOC: van Rijn exited stage left once off camera, and responses will come from Odessa Knutson only. ]]

Comments

[circumitus]

So basically it's "come quietly or there will be trouble".

Though, to be fair, DUPRR's fatal error was stupidly docking the ship completely unarmed. Don't think they're going to be making the same mistake this time.

[treasonista]

[ No pressure or anything, right? Yikes. ]

So imagined.

[ That's a shaky smile. It may take more to rock Odessa's foundations than that, but it certainly didn't help. ]

It's nice to meet you. I hope we can actually shake hands soon.

[theroadwarrior]

[He doubts that she would have been able to find them anyway, not with how the jump drive seems to apparently catapult them around like skipping stones. And they likely know exactly what they need to know, without needing to torture her. He cocks his head to the side, studying her with intense eyes.]

And if they treated you well to use you? Lower our guard?

[He quirks his eyebrow.]

... Change your thoughts? Memories?

[How do you even know that you're yourself, Odessa?]

[treasonista]

[ This kid is way too smart for his own good. Why can't he just smile and say okay! cheerfully and go play with dinosaur toys or something? ]

Their technology just isn't able to do that. I wish it could. It would make things a lot simpler.

[ontheline]

I'd hope so, too. It's hard when we as a whole appear to be pretty divided, isn't it?

[He pushes up on his glasses, somber.]

Have you ever been behind the scenes of war, Ms. Knutson? Or on the front lines?

[throwsdown]

[I been through some serious shit, babe.

Takeshi looks at her, all seriousness, save for the slight concerned furrow of his eyebrows.]

How come you didn't go home? Do you hate everyone there?

[treasonista]

[ The mental equivalent of flattening her hands over her ears and shouting la la la, I can't hear you is taking place here on Odessa's end. If only because the alternative makes her sick to her stomach. ]

I've had my memories altered before. I know what that feels like.

[ She knows what that way feels like. There could be any other number of ways in which her memories could be tampered with, and she would be unaware. This line of thinking makes her incredibly uneasy. ]

It's possible that they used me, but I don't find it terribly likely.

[ Odessa's eyes fix on something off screen for a long moment, then abruptly shift back to the camera. ]

No. They wouldn't have done that to me. I know who I am. I remember my experiences on the Tranquility. I know my own mind.

[treasonista]

Does a firefighter leave a man to die while the building is burning around him?

You're right. They won't be arriving unarmed. That lesson's been learned.

[treasonista]

[ Odessa is just going to ignore that dig, because it happens to be true. ]

Saving all of you. It's the purpose I gave myself, and they are helping me to realize it.

[treasonista]

How helpful of you.

I have no intention of being a sacrificial lamb so that your rage can be assuaged for a moment or two, Erik.

We wanted the same thing when I was aboard the Tranquility. Can't you consider the possibility that I've seen something worth changing my mind?

[theroadwarrior]

It's probable they used you.

[He says it, surprisingly, with an edge of sympathy.]

How did you find them? Or did they find you?

Tell me what you remember. The two years.

[It's an exercise, Odessa. He wants to hear the details. He wants to hear how well you retell them, how determined and sure you are of their validity. He wants to know you're not trying into a psychotic like he and so many others do in the wastelands. This may be a new world with new technology, but the threats — the disintegration — it can be very well like the rest. Because you don't seem as sure.

And you're looking at something, and he wonders what. Or, really, who. Who are you looking to for validation?]

[treasonista]

It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was supposed to carry people to new homes. It was meant to save lives, not destroy them.

[treasonista]

[ As much as Laura might like to insist she be referred to as Madame President, it is nothing compared to the tightness in Odessa's chest every time she has to resist the urge to correct her title. Doctor. ]

What are your options? Stay on that ship and continue to die? Hold him accountable if you wish, but you can't continue to do it while you're trapped there and waiting for the next horrific situation to unfold, wondering whether you'll live long enough to be driven out of your mind, or if you'll just die screaming.

You cannot stay there. It's madness.

[forgodssake]

[ There's a long pause as he thinks and considers her. Sedate. ]

We're strangers in a dying universe, you know. [ He picks up a cup of something probably not alcoholic. ] What does it look like, from your end?

[treasonista]

For now, you'll be taken aboard the fleet vessels. I chose to stay with the fleet after my rescue, but it was not the only option open to me. We can't know if they can contain this if they aren't allowed to try.

[treasonista]

Before I left, that would have been my inclination as well. I believe those who know better than I do have a better plan.

[tongueamok]

What went wrong?

[treasonista]

You mean do I think we stand a real chance of survival? Given the choice between that ship, or this dying universe, I'll take my chances with the dying universe. There's still hope here. I had no hope in that place.

[ The thought hasn't suddenly occurred to her, but now seems the time to finally give voice to it. ] I can't help but notice Severus is notably silent for all this...

[treasonista]

I don't know. I don't think we'll find out until we're able to get the ship under control, and study the records.

[treasonista]

I don't know. It's as if the stars and planets aligned, and there you were. I thought I'd be having this conversation with all of you when I was old and grey.

[treasonista]

That too. But I meant what this ship was destined to be.

[tongueamok]

[His brow furrows.]

Under control? Desth, it isn't actually a living thing, is it? Because someone mentioned that once, and I would rather not think of the implications that we've been trapped inside a sentient ship this entire time.

[treasonista]

[ It's difficult to talk about, she realizes. It had been difficult two years ago, when she had told her rescuers about what led her to them, but it had all been documented and recorded. She hadn't needed to recount it endlessly, and hasn't had to do so for some time now. ]

It was by chance that we-- My-- That Marcus and I found Mister Basher attempting to secure a shuttle and passage away from the ship. We didn't have the nanites to override the doors to the shuttle bay, so he had to open them himself. He left me in the pilot seat, with an autopilot program already loaded in. Marcus tried to buy us more time... I was the only one who made it out. It was just me in a shuttle I had no idea how to pilot, floating through space.

[ She wasn't left there long. Basher practically delivered her to van Rijn's people on a silver platter. ]

Then they found me, and took me in. I wasn't treated with suspicion or hostility, but with compassion. Based on everything I had been told, I expected them to do awful things to me. I expected to be wishing I could die. Instead, they helped me start a new life here. [ She laughs suddenly, in spite of herself. ] You asked me what I remember. I remember taking a bath. Forty-five minutes long. The bubbles smelled of honeysuckle. It was heaven.

[sorrycharles]

Your mind was made up before you left us.

I suppose I’ll have to ask another lamb.

[treasonista]

No. But where I come from, a lot of people hate me, and their minds aren't going to change in my lifetime. I'm much happier here.