driftfleet | Chapter One [Video/Action]

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Chapter One [Video/Action]

Who: Richard Castle and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: The good ship Windrose
When: RIGHT NOW

Video

[Castle is looking dubiously at his bowl of celebratory chocolate pudding- at least he thinks that's what it is- as he broadcasts to the network.]

Dear video diary,

Today is the start of my new life as a space reality TV contestant. It can't be much worse than paparazzi and serial killers, right? Right. I have been assigned to the good ship Windrose and hope to be an asset to her crew. Oh, diary, I do miss New York City, but I might as well make the best of things while I'm here.

Love always, Castle.

Action

[Upon exploring his new digs, it didn't take Castle long to find the tiny cleaning droids. He was attempting to line them up, but as they seemed programmed to go and clean on their own, he was having some difficulty.]

Come on, stand still and be a good robot army.

[Or perhaps you'd like to run into him elsewhere? Just name the time and place.]

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[Natasha knows better than to leave the bridge completely unattended on arrival day. She's not immediately in plain sight, but she's close by--and on hearing him finish his diary entry, she steps onto the bridge, wearing the standard-issue fleet jumpsuit, curls brushed and left arm in a sling against her chest. There's a gun in the holster strapped to her right leg, but she's not going anywhere near that. In fact, she's just waiting there in the doorway, looking mildly amused.]

Give it a week or so, you'll be missing New York even more. But hey, maybe we can find some serial killers for you, so you don't get too nostalgic.

Oh, I'm sure about that- the novelty of being in space is going to wear off. Soon it'll be part of the background noise.

[Castle's eyes noticed the sling first and the weapon second- but she didn't seem to be reaching for it, which was a good thing.]

If it's true that we're in front of a live audience, I'm sure they'd love watching a good mystery.

[She might not exactly look like law enforcement, but there's definitely still something of authority to her posture as she enters the bridge, something that says she's got plenty of right and reason to wear that gun. It might have something to do with the broken arm, even. She shrugs a little at his statement, a gesture made more with chin and eyebrows than shoulders.]

If it's true. Can't hurt to make that assumption, regardless of whether or not it's true. Might as well just assume someone's watching you at all times, and kiss your personal privacy goodbye.

Richard Castle, I presume?

[And Castle can definitely sense the authority, seeing as how he'd felt it radiate from Kate the first time he'd met her- still felt it when she was in her element, chasing and interrogating bad guys. He felt it from Captain Gates all the time, too. This woman was to be respected, and he knew he probably shouldn't be frivolous yet. Not TOO frivolous, anyway.]

Oh, that's going to get old fast, too. I like being out of the spotlight SOMETIMES. [He then nodded, wary. He'd never said his first name over the network.] But how'd you know?

[She lifts her comm in her uninjured hand, waggling it slightly.]

Ship roster. Natasha Romanoff, first mate and ship's counselor.

[Sure, she could play the mind games, make him think she's psychic, but she'd rather have an understanding of the authority she carries here. The situation's changed the last week or so.]

[Castle smiled.]

Should have figured- they ARE keeping track of our every move, after all. Makes sense that they'd want the authorities to know who's coming and going. I'm kinda glad they even thought to have some sort of structure, honestly- who knows what kind of chaos there'd be otherwise? Everyone gets a role, like any good reality show.

Of course. Wouldn't be any fun for the audience if they couldn't track their favorites.

[The smile on her face is a little crooked, clearly in on some private joke. He'd be in on it, too, once he'd seen what the Fleet considered "structure."]

I don't know if I'd call it structure, honestly. We run a pretty tight ship here--some of the other fleet ships aren't as...organized. Half our crew is military or law enforcement, that probably helps.

What's your role, then?

And I aim to be one. Might as well live it up while I'm here, right?

[He shrugged.]

Well, I saw some cleaning robots when I got here, and the Vision thinks I probably made them appear, so my guess is I'm the almighty janitor. I'll fit right in, though- my fiancee's a cop, and I'm good friends with her partners, so I follow authority. ... sometimes.

That should be helpful. Just try and keep your new robotic minions from starting an uprising.

We aren't that strict a ship. [She sounds just a touch amused. A guy who consists himself something of a maverick is nothing new.] Be smart, don't endanger the ship or the crew, and let the Captain and I know if you're expecting visitors, and we'll get along fine.

[Castle laughed.]

I'll try my hardest- they seem pretty hard to dissuade from their cleaning routine, so as long as there's a mess for them to clean up, they'll be good. [But he turned serious again and paid attention to her next words.] That's definitely reasonable. I wouldn't want to endanger us- I want good ratings, not trouble.

Pretty sure those two aren't exactly mutually exclusive, here. But we've got a good crew. We can handle a little trouble. I just prefer to not invite it, if I can help it.

Have you gotten the tour yet?

[Castle smirked.]

Again, I can totally understand that. I'm sure our hosts will do plenty to keep us entertained, anyway- am I guessing correctly? [He shook his head.] I've explored a little bit, but... then my eye caught on robots, so...

You just missed Space Vegas and the creepy alien bug ship, so I'd say yeah--they definitely do their best to keep us entertained--for certain values of entertained, anyway.

If you want, I could show you around. She isn't the biggest ship, but there's enough to get by.

Awww, man, I missed Vegas? Drunkenness and debauchery of the finest degree? A chance to put on an Elvis suit and have nobody look askance at me? I am disappointed.

[He nodded.]

I'd appreciate that- since I'm not sure how long I'm gonna be here.

You know, I don't think I saw a single Elvis impersonator while we were docked. You could have missed your one big chance.

[She motions with a tilt of her head, stepping away from the door and waiting for him to join her.]

Never sure how long any of us are going to be here, but you might as well know where exactly here is, in the meantime.

[He grinned and followed.]

Maybe they don't know who Elvis is out here, come to think of it. So maybe I would have gotten some strange looks after all.

[But he was then quiet.]

So there's no departure schedule, then? We're not just here for one season then we get let go, maybe come back later for a reunion show?

Afraid not. The general rule of Drift Fleet is, you stay interesting, keep your ratings up, win and go home. But people disappear every day. Personally, I think they just like to cause a little drama now and then. You know, like every half-assed reality television show out there.

Get too interesting, or too boring, and you're probably out. If you're looking for a way out.

Ain't that the truth. Voting people off the island, except we don't get any say in the matter, I gather. So it's more like, Atroma votes us off the island instead.

[He nodded.]

Well, I intend to try and make the best of things while I'm here, including playing up to the audience.

That's the spirit. I'm sure the higher-ups will appreciate at least one monkey dancing without needing the cattle prod. I'd worry about being too interesting almost as much, though.

You've seen the bridge. Captain spends most days there, most of us rotate through at some point. Sleeping quarters here--we've got upgraded bunks, not much space but it's at least something like privacy. Your room should be on the end here.

[She gestures ahead of them at the hallway, the little doors on the right angled outward like hatches with horizontal bars.]

Yeah... too much fame can be dangerous, right? Then I might get the stalkery fans, and that never ends well. Or at least awkward declarations of love to turn down, and then my popularity would tank.

[Because he would never dream about being unfaithful to Kate. Not even if he was stuck here for the rest of his life.]

Well, nice of them to provide accomodations for us. You said "upgraded", though- do we get better stuff if we perform well?

Sure. They like it when us monkeys dance well. The stuff they send is usually more credits, the occasional sponsor drop of off-brand supplies. These upgrades weren't a gift--we paid for them. We, being the crew. Before we managed to scrape up enough for our own closets, bunks were pretty literal. As in, one shared room of bunk beds. And Ray snores. You get the picture.

[She'd definitely appreciated her office, before that.]

Questions so far?

[Castle laughed.]

Like being stuck in a college dorm together, right? Well, if we have to pay, I'll be sure to put in my fair share if the audience throws enough money at me. I want all of us to be comfortable, after all- me included.

[He shook his head.]

I'm sure I'll think of many more later on- but for now, I'm fine. Oh, wait- what's the food supply like? Do we get space takeout?

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Chapter One [Video/Action]

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