Voices from Heaven (
thespaceopera) wrote in
driftfleet2015-10-20 10:06 am
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Entry tags:
Sweet dreams are made of these...
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no subject
I don't want to do this any more than you do. You know this. If I had another choice, I would've taken it, but... this is to keep you, Starbuck, and the rest of the GYAXA team safe.
I'll let you come to a decision on your own.
[And with that, he wheels out, and as soon as the door closes, Cosmos disappears.
For a moment, Clay just sits there, fingers pressed to his forehead again, a deep, dark expression on his face. He then looks at the medicine bottle, the anxiety pills, and reaches out to take it. He closes his fist tight around it and shuts his eyes in what looks like regret.
And then, the white light returns, and the microgravity of space slowly introduces itself to Orion again. When the light fades back in, Orion's in space once more, and Clay's floating upside-down in front of him. It's only when Orion gets his bearings again that Clay holds his hands up, and the bottle of pills is taken out of Orion's hand and is hovered between the two of them.]
I didn't want to do it. I really, really didn't want to do it.
[The item disappears, and Clay lowers his hands, shuts his eyes, and lowers his head as he starts to float away again.]
I didn't have a choice.
[The items rotate on.]
no subject
... I know. I'm sorry, Clay.
[seeing his friend in pain is worse than anything he could wish on himself.
[but this time, he knows what he wants to grab.]
... I'm sorry for doing this. You can be mad at me later, if you want.
[I want to understand you.
[orion reaches for the bomb, and takes hold of it.]
1/2
The reaction is almost immediate. Where once Clay had been drifting, he's suddenly right in front of Orion and reaching out as if he was trying to stop him, trying to wrench the item from his hands.]
NO, DON'T -
2/2
Orion will find himself in the Space Museum that was outlined earlier. It's rather large and spacious, with all kinds of souvenirs and space memorabilia. At the end of the room is a large rocket, and it actually looks real... but since it's in the museum, it's probably a fake.
And that's the point. At the base of the rocket... are two astronauts, and the helmets are so dark that Orion won't be able to tell who's who. Considering that one's standing with a capsule under one arm and one's slumped over with his back to the wall, it's probably obvious which one's which.
A moment passes, and then a male's voice sounds over the intercom.]
One hour remaining until launch. Please begin your final equipment check.
[The astronaut still standing pauses for a moment, then presses his free hand to a spot on his helmet before he responds. As soon as he speaks, it's obvious that it's Clay, and his voice goes over the intercom as well.]
Check complete. Everything's A-okay! We're ready here whenever you are!
[And then, just a few seconds after that, a large BOOM is heard. The entire place rocks, and Clay wavers on his feet from it. It's hard to lose balance when he has such a heavy suit on, but it's also hard to regain it if it's lost. A second explosion is heard, and not only does the surroundings rock further, but the lights cut out as well.
Looks like they were right about the sabotage.]
no subject
[he knows that sound, and it clicks what's about to happen here.]
CLAY!!
[the lights go out.]
no subject
Come in, HAT-2! Come in! Do you copy?!
[Orion's probably trying to find Clay, though, and he won't have to look far. As soon as the emergency lights come on, Clay's just a few feet from where he was before, capsule still under one arm, but now carrying Starbuck in the other. He's got the other man's arm over his shoulder, yes, but he can't support his weight with the other arm, so he's practically carrying all of his dead weight, plus the weight of the astronaut suit, with one arm.
And it's very, very heavy.
He walks past Orion, and the only sign of him having trouble with all the weight is the slow way he walks, and the little grunt that can be heard from under the helmet.]
[STATIC]
[Orion is suddenly in the hall.
Clay looks about the same as he did just a second ago, although he's suddenly down the hall rather than heading towards it. The lights continue to flicker, the alarms continue to blare.
He has to keep going.]
[static STATIC]
no subject
[he wants to help, but he knows--he knows he won't be able to. he hasn't felt this level of fear in any recent memory. not even the night natasha left.
[he has to be okay. he has to make it out.
[orion tries to follow him.]
1/2
[The end of the hall. Clay rocks on his feet from all the weight he's carrying and how damn exhausted he is. The door is right there. It's shut, and a large LOCKED sign hangs above the door.
Clay twists his body so that he can just barely hold out his left hand, arm still keeping the capsule tucked safely under it. He can't drop any of it. He isn't sure if he can take having to pick up anything else, and his mind is only focused on get out get out GET]
[STATIC]
[Outside the door, in the lounge, it's dark, Clay drops Starbuck to the floor as he falls for - ]
[STATIC]
[He lies on his back breathing heavily just trying to catch his breath the capsule is safe they're all safe]
[STATIC]
[darkness
a glint of light
no
a lighter
the glint of glasses behind them]
[STATIC]
2/2
The bomb appears in front of him, but Clay doesn't. He has nothing to say. The item disappears, just like the anxiety pills did.
The items rotate on.]
no subject
[no.]
... Clay. Clay!
[he's yelling for him, wishing he would respond.]
no subject
...
...]
Water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases in the atmosphere trap heat from the sun, effectively making a sort of greenhouse effect. Without this, Earth would be too cold for life to exist, although it's speculated that the cause for Venus' condition is a result of its greenhouse effect going out of control.
[Yeah, he's there. He's just behind Orion, back turned to him for now, and still far enough to be unreachable.]
no subject
Clay! Come here! Dammit, don't ignore me!
no subject
All right.
Clay suddenly floats in front of Orion, still out of reach, but at least looking at him now. He's upside-down again, arms crossed, expression... blank, like he's just waiting for him to talk.
Yes?]
no subject
[he motions for him to come closer, what could have been mistaken for anger turning into a more frantic sadness.]
Say something.
no subject
What am I supposed to say?
no subject
[you didn't survive that, did you?]
no subject
Of course I do. I'm going home someday.
[He slowly turns, letting himself be right-side up instead.]
There's too many things I haven't accomplished yet.
no subject
Don't... ever scare me like that. You have to go home from here, and you have to be a great astronaut. You have to make history.
no subject
Yeah. I'm going to do that. ... I have to see my best friend again.
[There are certain items that rotate that start to glow when he says that. The defense attorney's badge, the framed degree, the bracelet, the tiny little rocket ship, the I'M FINE sign, the janitor's closet door, the dead frog, and the red glowfish.
Looks like this best friend was involved in a lot of the memories that shaped him.]
no subject
... He's the defense attorney, right?
[Orion starts reaching out for the bracelet, since it's closest.]
no subject
The gradual transition is there again, from the light fading in to the slow increase of gravity.
When the world fades in, Orion finds himself in a homey, one bedroom apartment. Specifically, he's on one end of the coffee table and sitting on the floor, right beside the couch. The blue couch with blankets and pillows on it, as if someone was sleeping there - and that someone is sitting there, rubbing at his eyes while his brown hair sticks out everywhere. Definitely not Clay.
No, Clay comes around a few seconds later, carrying two plates of eggs and bacon. Compared to the other guy, Clay looks refreshed and just fine, like he'd been awake for a while. He walks to the side of the couch, gives a helpless smile at the state of his friend, and sets the plate down in front of him.]
Come on, where's the guy who woke up at the crack of dawn to practice his Chords of Steel? [He ruffles his friend's already messy hair, then moves around to sit at the other end of the table, facing Apollo and diagonal to Orion.] Eat up, Apollo. Today's a new day!
[His friend, Apollo, gives him a half-hearted glare, which Clay responds to with an overly cheerful smile. Apollo runs a hand through his hair a few times, trying in vain to get it to lay back down the way it should be, then settles in to eat his food.]
Clay, I got myself fired on my first day. I feel like this is just my terrible, horrible, really bad day that's still going on.
no subject
[he studies apollo from his place on the floor, and watches the way they interact. part of it is him wanting to understand the kind of person clay would call his best friend, and the rest of him wants to make sure he approves of that.
[he knows that's selfish, but... after what he just saw, he wants to know that clay has been living a full life.]
no subject
But Clay just waves a hand, his free hand cutting at his eggs for a bit.]
Yeah? That's old news now.
It happened yesterday.
Old. News.
[Apollo gives a half-glare again, and Clay gives that overly cheerful smile once more, the only difference being that now his mouth is stuff with eggs. And, even though he'd never do so on the fleet, it's here where he'll actually talk with his mouth full.]
Hoo'ay's a yew 'ay! [He swallows, thankfully, and Apollo rolls his eyes, but also gives a half smile.] So tell me about it in a different way. Did anything good happen? All I heard was the terrible, horrible, really bad of it all.
[Apollo lets out a loud sigh and ducks his head while running a hand through his hair.]
You're not going to let me sit here and stew in my own misery, aren't you?
Nope. Not a chance.
[And with that, Apollo lifts his head again and tilts it to the side, trying to think of what good things might have happened.]
Well... I did figure out who the real killer was.
See? That's good!
... And he happened to be my mentor.
... Yeah, that sucks. But keep going, focus on the good stuff!
Mm... So, even though I fired myself, I technically did win the trial... but only because my idol gave me forged evidence to use without me knowing it.
[And Clay frowns at that, irritated not at Apollo, but at the situation.]
I still can't believe he did that. Can I go punch him in the face? Because I totally will.
[Here, Apollo looks a bit sheepish.]
I... kind of already did that.
[Which just makes Clay rock back, almost losing his balance, hand over the grin on his face and eyes wide with surprise. Holy shit! His best friend did what?!]
OOOOH!
Clay, come on... [But he totally just let out a snort at that reaction and smiled a bit. Yeah okay it was pretty cool but also really terrifying he punched his idol in the face]