acatalepsy_ooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #5.

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TEST DRIVE MEME #5.

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test drive meme #5

It happens in the blink of an eye.

One moment, you are home. Perhaps you are with your family, perhaps you are at work. It's a completely normal day . . . and then, suddenly, your stomach drops. You are overcome with a sudden sense of vertigo. You cannot see up, or down, or where you are.

You fall flat on your face. It's bright, warm, and humid . . . for now. Weirdly, the weather seems to be entirely in flux. One moment, it is warm and humid, and within the next handful of hours, it is starting to snow. Whatever is going on with Astoria seems to be messing with the atmosphere of the Temple, and as a result, you are having something of a wild entrance to Acatalepsy.

It takes a few seconds for you to gain composure and catch your breath. You are surrounded by ancient stone buildings, with carvings you do not recognize etched into the stone. There's a sense of nausea, overwhelming and sudden, when you realize you aren't in Kansas anymore.

Indeed, it seems as if you have fallen down the rabbit hole. A weird, mysterious, snowing-yet-humid rabbit hole.

THE TEMPLE OF BEGINNINGS.

Welcome to the "Home Base" of Astoria's Circle. What the actual name of the base is called is lost to the ages, and there's no sense of where you could find it, unless you started asking around.

At any rate, this is a central hub of the Circle, a place of powerful magic and mysterious energy. It is a scattering of ancient stone buildings and for the most part, it looks abandoned . . . except for what seems to be a few items, some rooms taken, items moved or organized, even a small garden planted. These are just the smallest hints that there are people here that have been here before you arrived.

Overall, it's fairly beautiful. However, it is definitely not modern.

Upon exploration, you find that the buildings are kept up by some kind of magic. Some of the rooms have items, things from other Circle members already settled, and others appear to be unclaimed. Pick your rooms, explore the grounds, see the beauty and wonder all around you in such a magical place. However, be careful -- there is some additional movement around the Temple that seems specific to the time of year.

HAPPY UN-BIRTHDAY.

The kitchen has become overtaken with a flurry of activity. Vines have woven their way into the area of the Temple typically reserved for food, and there is a massive tea party! What a splendiferous thing -- surely this can't be all that bad.

There is such a massive array of food here that it almost seems impossible to know where to start . . . tea and cookies set out with messages that read “EAT/DRINK ME." Well, if you insist. However . . . certain foods and drinks have certain effects upon your person that are wholly unexpected. Well, drat.

If you taste the rosehip tea, you are suddenly infatuated with the first individual you lay eyes on. They are everything to you. You think you may even want to propose, immediately, right now. Weddings, I love weddings!

Tasting the ladyfingers will cause you to spill your deepest secrets to whoever is nearby. Have a secret crush? Not anymore! The entire room has to know about it, and you somehow can't seem to shut up about whatever you've been trying to keep quiet.

A sip of the chamomile tea will cause you to become ridiculously sleepy. That corner looks like a particularly delightful place to take a nap, doesn't it? Maybe someone else wants to nap too.

The Madeline cakes cause a ridiculously high spike in happiness. Nothing can get you down, not even the grumpiest of people. Smile, smile, smile! You need to spread this joy to everyone in your reach.

A nibble of the scones will prevent you from lying. . . and, in addition, you will be brutally honest on whatever question you're asked. Maybe now is a bad time to give an opinion on your friend's outfit or new haircut, hm?

And, finally, the Earl Grey tea will cause an enhancement of your Astoria given powers. Make sure you have that under control, or you may accidentally blow out a window, depending on what it is.

YOU'RE LATE, YOU'RE LATE.

The Unseen Servants will be a little, well, mad. Not that anyone will be able to see them, but there will seem to be things moving around the Temple at random, whether they be sheets, clothing, food, furniture, etc. with very little if any logical reason to it. It almost appears like the sheets and the like are moving throughout the air without any rhyme or reason to it . . . someone certainly isn't happy that the Temple is all astray.

In addition, the Unseen Servants may also be attempting to steal things off of you. After all, you are also new to their world, and they want to make sure everything is put into their proper place, so beware any silent mischievous Unseen Servants dipping hands into pockets.

Also . . . some of the rooms in the Temple are shifting around. Certain entryways could lead you to a select location at random. You may have thought you were entering your room, but it appears you’ve wound up in someone else’s. Or the bathhouse. Or the forest. Either way, you may find yourself lost for a bit...until the Temple decides to stop playing tricks on you. Keep track of your location, or you may wind up in the Forest of the Fey by mistake.

OFF WITH YOUR HEAD.

Should you approach the fighting ring, you’ll find that isn’t quite what you’d expect — there are no training dummies to be found, the rusted gates are colored a lavish gold, and the dirt ground has been replaced with a red and black checkered flooring. More notably, the ring itself seems to have expanded to make way for seating so that it’s become more of an arena than anything. There is an audience of spectators: many of them are typically known as the bestiary of this Temple. They are a bit more, er, refined and chatty today.

When you enter, the gates will shut behind you. They will not budge. You have now entered a makeshift Royal Court. Suddenly, a playing card manifests in your hand. It might be…

A Heart: A princess-like figure is displayed on this card. She appears to be singing.
A Diamond: A gallant knight-like figure is displayed on this card. He appears to be fighting.
A Queen: A refined queen-like figure is displayed on this card. She sits atop a throne, her finger pointed right at you.
A King: A triumphant-king like figure is displayed on this card. He stands on a podium for all to see.
A Joker: A jester-like figure is displayed on this card. He is dancing, laughing, and making a general fool of himself.

On the back reads a message that states “This card withholds your role. You’ll be permitted to leave once we are thoroughly entertained. Best of luck!” No further instruction is given. Those who have entered with you are in the same predicament. How will you interpret your card? Who are you stuck with and how will you satisfy the audience? Or are you a member of the audience instead? Either way, good luck getting out — it’s up to you!

COMMUNICATIONS.

Upon arriving, you will notice on whichever is your non-dominant hand, you will have a fairly simply screen. A smart watch, if you will. Upon exploration, you will find that it has a directory of all those here with you at the Temple of Beginnings- names, and access to a direct message to them. The watch also has video, audio, and text capabilities, as well as what looks like a collection of messages sent to everyone who wishes to open them. This is your 'network', and also how Astoria can reach out and communicate with you.

There is nothing keeping you from removing and/or losing your watch! But remember that you will not have access to this network without it.

OOC: Also feel free to join us and other possible players on our discord server!

enjoy! ♥

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ York doesn't wear his armor around the Temple. He doesn't want to run the fusion cell down if he really needs his armor at some point, and there are no threats here. Hopefully next time they hop worlds he'll have the option to get in it, where he didn't last time, but... yeah. He's out of armor as he heads back to the room he and North share, and facing away from Carolina as she wanders through the stone buildings the circle members live in. He hears the footsteps but doesn't think to turn and look to see who it is -- it could be anyone, why would he check -- until he hears her voice. And of course he recognizes it. York will never forget Carolina's voice, and he knows her cadences, her tones, what it means when she sounds a certain way. She's tired, worn down by something, and wary.

If she's real. York isn't certain this isn't just a trick of some sort, strange things happen here sometimes and he knows it's not just in his head but... well, North is here. Wash was here. He turns slowly, warily, almost afraid to hope.

But there she is. In full turquoise armor, albeit a slightly different helmet than he remembers. Is that a trick? She couldn't have upgraded, he saw her fall-- there's only one way to find out. When he speaks his voice is shaking slightly, low and uncertain. A far cry from the cocky pick up lines he'd rehearsed with D, but hey, he's caught seriously off guard here. ]

Carolina?

[She doesn't expect him to be there, despite the oddness of the situation. Why would she? Even with what Carolina had witnessed just recently on Earth, she has no reason to think that she would see another face from the past. Had she been a little more focused on who she had been speaking too, she may well have approached it differently. Or questioned even more what is going on.

There is a stiffness that enters in to her posture, a stillness as well, trying to put this piece of the puzzle in to the limited picture that she has been able to reveal so far. It's very lacking, and if anything, his so called appearance has made the image far larger than she had thought. Yet it is his voice, even if she can't explain it. That familiar countenance, scar and all, but as she stares, perhaps... Her jaw tightens. She's not in the mood for this crap, for whatever this is. He's dead. That much she knows, and she- but no. She doesn't recall anything happening. Would she know? Is this some hell?

There is that shift in posture, still standoff-ish. Warier.]

What is this? Some trick left behind by Temple?

[Because that makes more sense than... Than it being York.]

[ York holds his hands out to either side to show he's harmless, hopefully keep her from bolting. Of course she'd be wary, right? But... why would she say he's a trick? He's not the dead one, right? Wash seemed to react similarly, though, in the brief time they interacted... York hesitates before speaking again, but when he does he sounds a little more himself. ]

I was just wondering the same thing. You know I had a line ready if I ever saw you again. But you're in armor and I'm not and I don't want to get punched in the face.

[ Keep it light, right? Easy. He doesn't step forward, as much as he wants to. Let her come to him. ]

[Even that... It could have been hacked, somehow, that information that had been York's recordings that Epsilon had been able to dig up. Her guard isn't let down, as how can it be?]

... if I'd hold it against you.

[A myriad of emotions in those few single words. Still that hard stubbornness that refuses to budge and believe that this isn't some trick. A faint wavering, as it was the last thing that Carolina really had from York, even if he didn't know it. He'd been killed already at that point of time, dying believing that she had met her end on that cliff.

But, it still doesn't make sense.

Is she dead? Is that what this is? Some, what, afterlife? One would think you'd recall dying, or recall nothing at all, but she can't say that she's religious or that she's spent time meditating over the meaning of it.

She might be weaponless, save for her hook, but she's not without her resources, and there's nothing that she's picked up that would make her hesitate, so her hands do move, slowly, to work her helmet free. Not that she's on board with this whole situation, but...

In some ways, she is much the same. Red hair and bright green eyes. Still that stiff set to her jaw, that piercing look, but it's on a closer look that the passage of time can be seen in those faint lines that are etched there. Her hand dangles, fingers curled around the edge of the helmet, hard.]

How?

That's -- am I that predictable? Damn. I do like your armor, though, new model?

[ The helmet is different but she kept her signature color. He only gets to look at it for a moment longer, though, as she's pulling it off. York doesn't realize he's holding her breath until he lets it out in a rush when he sees her face. She's just as beautiful as he remembers even if she's frowning slightly, not the expression he would have wanted her to have when they met again. But she's not fighting him. Maybe she forgives him? Maybe in death comes understanding?

Except he's not sure that's the case anymore. Between the new armor and the fine lines around her eyes, the deeper lines around her mouth. She's aged, only slightly, and York doesn't know what to make of that. How could she have survived that fall? If anyone could, it would have been Carolina, but. He saw it, through the observation deck window after the crash. Hadn't been able to get there in time. Had stared over the edge of that cliff and never lost hope after, but it had been years with no sign from her.

York remembers to breathe, and tries to answer her question. ]

I'd ask you the same thing but we can take turns. How are you here? Astoria... she pulls us in to save the multiverse, I guess, worlds in danger of being lost. My track record's not great, so. You know, things aren't too different from home.

[ He hesitates, continues. ]

I never thought I'd see you again, though.

[There is that little blink, as in one way he had been, although he had tended to change up his lines instead of re-using the same ones over and over again. But it isn't that which had made Carolina speak the words that she had. Rather, she had had insight in to him, care of Epsilon. In truth, without him, Carolina likely would have remained mad at York, and Texas, and anyone who had sided with that particular Freelancer. It's anger that had driven her for the longest time, among other emotions.

If anything though, it is Carolina that owes York the apology, although she's still not entirely certain what is happening and if that is really him. There is that part of her that does want to believe it, even if only for a second, but there is that other more practical part that points out what had happened recently. It had been a farce to lure them out, a set-up by Temple, and Epsilon had remained destroyed.

It's that moment of awkwardness, because it can't be true. It doesn't feel like she's dreaming, and she's not entirely certain what else it would be. Some means to extract information? They'd do better with Wash or the Blues. She shifts a little, weight rocking from one foot to the other, and her mouth opens, only to close again.]

Who is Astoria?

[Or what, maybe, because it is easier to focus on that then anything else. The name isn't familiar to her, although she'd pulled a lot of stuff in the past that may come to bite her in the ass again. She can feel the pounding of her heart against her chest, gaze flickering across his face, knowing that he had kept looking, and that he had been chasing the wrong shadow. Carolina hadn't wanted to be found. Hindsight, she may well wish that she had, but knows that who she is right here and now isn't the same person that she had been back then.

Her own pause, before adding.]

It's not- I was wrong, back then, you know, but I didn't understand until it was too late.

[ It does seem strange to York that Carolina would guess the exact line he'd picked, when he'd never used it on her before, but there's so much else strange about this that he doesn't dwell on it. Just focuses on what needs to be addressed, and his choice of pick up lines isn't really high on the list yet. ]

She's the head witch of the Circle -- the only one, I guess, she's the one who brings us here. You would've heard her voice when you woke up. I don't really know how I feel about the whole deal anymore, I spent a lot of time when I first got here just being upset that Delta is offline... I hope he's just offline but still in there, anyway. I don't feel like I've been through traumatic ejection, it's just... so quiet.

[ He shakes it off, they don't need to talk about that right now. Especially when Carolina says that, not quite an apology but an admission that she made the wrong call and York doesn't even know what to do with it. He gapes for a moment, then lifts a hand to stop her. ]

We both made mistakes, Carolina. I was wrong too. I should have explained exactly what was going on, how could you have made the right call without all the information? We can't go back and change it, but... I'm sorry. I should have come to you sooner, been more upfront. Our mission failed anyway, I failed anyway, I should have just told you and then maybe... you could have trusted me.

[Right. Carolina can't exactly say that she was drinking that kool-aid at the moment, so it's still a toss up about how much of that she believes. She has her own issues to deal with back home anyway, although the sight of York- even if it may not actually be York but some imagination or dream- does make her pause. They'd once been close, and Carolina knows she's to blame for the distance, putting work first and foremost, and in the end, before everything including her team mates.

The mention of Delta does have her creasing her forehead, trying to gauge. She knew what had happened to York, and what had happened to Delta. How she knew that would take a little explaining. Her own partnership had been less than ideal, and in the end she had lost both of her AI to the Meta. She'd 'functioned' better with Epsilon, the brother that she had never actually had in the first place, but even in the end, he had sacrificed himself. York and Delta though...

In some ways he still knows her well enough, because her mouth had started to open, to say something else, but that hand stayed her, at least for the moment. Yet there is that shake of her head. He could have come to her, but the results would have been more or less the same. She wouldn't have believed it, as why should she have? It had all seemed to far-fetched, but she knew now that it wasn't.]

I guess you can say it took falling from a cliff for me to open my eyes.

[It's that first admission, another wrong in her life. People had thought that she was dead, and she had been fine letting them think that. It had taken some time to pick up the pieces, to start to put the puzzle together on her own, and even then it had been rather lacking. Even then she hadn't reached out to anyone, although it had been a little too late for most anyway.

And even if this isn't real, if this is all a farce... There's a millions things that Carolina has thought of saying to him, a million things that she would never get to say to him... How she survived when so many others hadn't still doesn't quite make sense to her. Then again, being good doesn't always mean you'll win in the end. How she is sorry for the elevator, sorry for hurting him, sorry for not looking for him, for any of them after...]

You weren't wrong about a lot of things, you know, York. I just didn't want to be found.

[And with that, he did deserve better. Deserved someone who would have trusted him, who would have listened to him, who wouldn't have just blindly followed what the Director was saying. The clues had been there, but she's turned a blind eye to it and continued on as if it hadn't existed.]

I made mistakes. I hurt people. I hurt you. I'm the one that's sorry, York. The one that owes you and everyone else an apology. If I had- [But she's been down that road a lot. Sleep is a fickle mistress for her, and its thoughts like that that keep her up. Her failures, having the temple scene happen over and over again and her not able to help anyone.]

[ There are a million things York could say here, that spin through his head. He wants to ease her guilt, whether or not she's right, because past is past and the woman standing in front of him would have listened. The one he knew years before, she would have listened. He wants to think he could have gotten through to her if he had the right words, but maybe not. They can't change anything. So what he does say is: ]

I never really lost hope, you know. As much as I shared Delta's logic there was a part of me that just knew. That couldn't believe you'd be dead, that kept an ear to the ground anyway just in case. I guess that part of me was right.

[ But falling off the cliff... that was years ago. York's voice softens, to something low and pleading. He needs an explanation. ]

If you felt this way why didn't you find me, 'Lina?

[He... doesn't know that? But how? Well, it could scratch the idea of something horrible having happened to her, like the Reds and Blues accidentally blowing her up or shooting her or- well, any number of things, unless you don't recall. The best that Carolina could hope for if there was some afterlife would be limbo or purgatory or something.

She couldn't find him, because he was dead. The only thing that Carolina had found was that lighter of his. A lighter that she kept, even to this day.]

What is the last thing you remember before coming here?

[ York doesn't like the sound of that question. His brows knit together, a small furrow between, and his stomach feel heavy. Waiting for the drop. They suspected about North, but... York didn't want to believe that either. Wash had just been a massive jerk about the whole thing, had barely spoken to confirm that one and York... no. ]

We were backing Tex up, infiltrating Wyoming's base. I hacked a holographic lock on his entrance teleporter. Tex went through, I jumped in to follow her.... and woke up here. Alone.

[That free hand is drawn up, to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. From the sounds of it, not too long before... She could lie, but she wouldn't. She doesn't know every single detail down to the second, but she does know enough. Texas might have gotten free, at least that time, but York?]

It was Wyoming.

[But she doesn't need to clarify any further, does she? Wyoming who had ended up hitting York, mortally wounding him.]

[ York goes still and quiet, just breathing and staring at Carolina like he's not processing the words coming out of her mouth. What was Wyoming? he wants to ask, but doesn't, because he knows. Suspected it for himself but didn't want to face it, from the first time that Wash looked through him like he was a ghost, turned and ran and refused to interact. York had wanted to just write him off, but now Carolina was telling him... ]

That knock-knocking motherfucker--

[ He turns and drives his fist into the wall of the building they're standing outside, which unfortunately for York is grey stone. It hurts like hell. He lets the pain shoot up his arm and pulls back with a hiss, shaking away the sting and ignoring the blood on his knuckles.

That just proves he's alive here. But... ]

And Delta?

[Another time, another place, York's words might have gotten a low chuckle out of Carolina, but it's not that time and not that place. It's not like in her case where she had been thought to be dead, but hadn't actually died. There's no coming back for York, or for any of them, actually. Freelancer might have fallen, but it had been too little and too late for most of them, and the ripples from it had taken out others.

She can only stand there at that bout of anger, knowing that York is one of the most easy going people she had ever met. It was one of the things that she had liked about him at the start, although his pick up lines could have used a little work. But he is human, and a part of her feels horrible to have broken that news to him. It's not the end that she would have wanted for him, or for so many of the others.

But he has to ask that, doesn't he, and Carolina can't give any better news about the AI. Her gaze shifts to his knuckles, watching the blood trickle across his skin. She knows how she had suffered with Epsilon's loss, and York and Delta had been a team far longer.]

He went to Wash, to South, and ended up with the Meta. He was eventually destroyed after an EMP was activated.

[ Wyoming is a sore spot, okay? Half of his going with Tex was for a little payback and to stop him from continuing the war crimes, and to hear that the man had killed him instead... yeah, York is only human. He's allowed a moment to be angry, before he grieves for himself.

Not that he gets the chance.

When Carolina breaks the news about Delta, York skips over grief for himself entirely. All the anger drains from him, his shoulders drooping in defeat. His non-bloody hand comes up and covers the base of his implant, expression utter despair. ]

...none of that's happened to me yet. He could still be in there now. I can't-- I told him, if anything happened to me to jump to Tex, but he didn't, did he? He risked it.

[ There's no other explanation for Tex not being on that list. He'd stayed with York, despite the armor's protocol being to destroy the AI. It must not have, for some reason. ]

[She can't help but think back to that stray moment when she had thought maybe, just maybe, Epsilon had still been alive. Her own feels empty, not having that snarky and whiny voice in her head, who gave so much for her to help her, and gave himself up so that they would all be saved.

It's not quite the same, and York has been in this place, wherever in the galaxy it is, for longer. He would have a better understanding of it, and of what may be possible. It's not hard for her to see the shift in his posture, how that anger dissipates and he all but slumps in on himself. It's not news that she wanted to give, but no lying. There had been too much deception before, too much hidden, and they had torn each other apart over it. The truth isn't always better and it certainly isn't easier, but it is the truth.]

Is there some reason- something about this place that keeps him away?

[Offline, blocked, she doesn't know, can't see in to his head, at least about that. It's concern that marks her face, that over rides everything else about this foreign place. York, if she believes it to be York, and believes it all to be real, is hurting.]

I don't know. It's decidedly non-tech, everything runs on magic . so maybe there's some kind of interference there..?

[ York has no idea, basically. And is just in denial about the fact that Delta may not be in his implant anymore. May have been ejected with nowhere to jump to. Dead before he's supposed to be dead, essentially, and York was spared. Maybe. He doesn't know how timeline shit is supposed to work with his being here... or maybe this is his afterlife and he just doesn't remember Wyoming killing him.

The easiest way to get answers would be to talk to Astoria, but maybe York is afraid of what he'd hear. So he refocuses. ]

We should find you a place to stay. You could crash with me and North, if you wanted... it's right through here, you should take off your armor too so you don't run down the power.

[ He doesn't want to let her out of his sight, honestly. Too afraid of that as well, that she's just a vision of some sort. ]

...I've missed you, 'Lina.

[It's that capacity of York's, that laid-back and genuine nature, that has always been something that Carolina would define him by. Loyal, to a fault, even after his eye damage, he had carried on with that same attitude as before. He hadn't gotten pissed off or tossed his helmet around. Hadn't punched the shit out of some wall or locker. He'd just come back, telling them not to count him out.

But it is still surprising. A part of her does want him to get angry, to call her on her bullshit, to- to do anything than offer her a place to crash, because she doesn't deserve it. He might have been one of her primary reasons for taking down the Director, but it doesn't change what had happened. If she had trusted him.

It's a breath that is released, weight shifting slightly from one foot to the other. Retirement may have given her some different perspectives, but her armour is still a second skin, leaving her feeling naked otherwise. Vulnerable isn't a feeling that she likes to feel.]

... you shouldn't. I defeated you and left you in an elevator.

[It is the expression on her face that does speak louder than any words, that whatever this is, if it's another temple that's messing with her head, some screwed up dream that's going to shift to some nightmare, or whatever else it may be, that she's missed him no less.]

[ Back then, he'd been more easygoing. Getting punished every time he tried to do the right thing for a decade has left York a little cynical, a little more likely to punch a wall when he hears he's been murdered trying to help a friend, but he's still himself. He's still laid-back by comparison, still able to breathe and see the full picture and reach a hand out to someone he cared for so deeply once. Someone he loved -- still does, if he's honest with himself, but that's probably not something Carolina's ready to hear as explanation for why he forgives her so easily. Maybe he's being an idiot again but she sounds like she has regrets too.

They've all made mistakes along the way. ]

Yeah, you sure did. That's why I didn't want to fight you, of course you'd win. But we both survived -- that fight, at least -- and now we're getting a second chance.

[ He shifts his weight, shrugs at her, and decides to just be honest. ]

Sue me for remembering us how we were before that moment. It wasn't our best, that's all.

[Her shoulders slump downward a little at that statement, a soft breath exhaled. It had always been Texas that Carolina could never beat, but she understands now than she did that day on the ship, the day when everything went so wrong.

A second chance though...

It's not something that she, of all people, deserves, as there are so many more who do deserve the honour. That she had found Wash and the Sim Troopers, that they had become a family that she had never thought that she would be able to have again, a second chance right there that she shouldn't have been granted... And yet it's York, who may be dead from her own point of view, and yet who has still had such a big impact on her.

But... it's almost too good to be real, which is why there is something about her that seems to say she expects it all to vanish, to poof away, to wake up gasping for air again, alone in her room. It wouldn't be the first time, after all, that those demons ate away at her. Because yes, for that one bright shining moment, things had been good, had been wonderful, but some of it had been a world through rose coloured glasses.]

So, we're here, until we're not, to- [And if she's going to work on the basis that this is real, no matter how unreal it seems, then she shifts through everything that she has been through since waking up to that voice.] I'm not going to blindly be someone's warrior again, to fight in a war where we're not on the right side.

I know what you're feeling. I'm not happy about it either, but there's no way to-- I don't know how to send you home. I would if I could, even if it means losing you again.

[ York's never been that selfish, to want her to stay against her will. But the fact is they're both stuck. And he doesn't want to waste a minute of the time they do have here and now, through whatever cosmic mistake it is that Astoria would pull them both. ]

We're supposed to be saving worlds, but it's not that simple. It never is.

[There is something about those words that York says that resonates within her. She hadn't trusted, hadn't believed, but he had always had her back, even when she didn't know it, when she hadn't realized it.

Yet it's easier to focus on this place than on the emotions that he brings forth within her, emotions that have stirred now and them, but otherwise she's kept dormant. There's enough messes across the galaxy for her to clean up, the pieces of Freelancer that are still floating around, and like that, her mind turns to something easier - his statement about saving worlds and it not being simple.]

In what way?

[Or rather, what particular points make it so.]

Well... the last one was "lost" and I'm not a hundred percent on what that means. Hopefully the missing people from there were just displaced somewhere else, not dead...

[ It's not fair he get a third chance at life when they didn't get any. He looks up at Carolina. ]

It sounds like most worlds, how to help has been pretty clear. This one wasn't, it was another war. I took the side of their princess, who wanted to close the rift and bring peace between the two factions. Whatever we did, it wasn't enough. Some of them are living in our lake here but she's missing. Wash went missing in that world, too, maybe he was just sent home... but how he acted around me makes a lot more sense now, knowing.

Just how many worlds have you gone to?

[And what exactly does it mean? Some grand cosmic event? And why would warriors need to be brought in? You should go with people you know, who's loyalties (for the most part) you are aware of. Kidnapping people, no matter the purpose, hardly makes for a good pool, unless there is something bigger involved?

The words about Wash have her focus sharpening, and while she knew Wash from Freelancer, he has grown in many ways. Had he arrived injured, she almost wants to ask, having put their trust in Locus to save him. She's not entirely on board with him, but he had gotten Wash the medical attention that he required.]

I'm guessing when he came from never came up in conversation.

[Which sounds like a ridiculous question, when she says it out loud.]

Me? Just the one. The Circle -- that's the people brought in by Astoria -- has gone to three, though, I've spoken to people who went to the first two. This was the first one we failed at.

[ Wash was here before York and North, and York shakes his head at the question. There's a slight furrow between his eyebrows, not quite a frown but he's not... happy about Wash's reaction to them. ]

...no, nothing ever came up in conversation because he was a total jerk. Every time he saw us he just tried to escape. I think North had better luck, but not by much.

TEST DRIVE MEME #5.

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