one fish, two fish, red fish, (blue fish)!!

[honorbends]

Who: The passengers of the Blue Fish and visitors!
Action: The Blue Fish!
When: It's a mingle for the month of January, losers!

[ mingle for the month for the blue fish, to meet up with new crew members, hash out stuff. come get free therapy from zuko, who has 100% put up a sign on his door saying 10 credits because allen owes him money. ]

Comments

[dancingmd]

[Beverly's just about to give up - maybe Sansa is in her quarters? Or the kitchen, or perhaps the rec room - when the door finally opens. Sansa's startled look catches her off guard for a moment; nevertheless, her warm smile comes easily. Sansa is her crew and she wants her to feel welcome.]

No, no, apologies aren't necessary at all. I didn't mean to disturb you, I only wanted to introduce myself.

[She sticks out a hand for Sansa to shake.]

I'm Dr. Beverly Crusher, one of the medics on board.

[steeledskin]

[ with some trepidation, she eyes her nameplate on the room's door. ] Sansa -- [ she owns it and identifies herself, much to her discomfort. she cannot name herself as anything half-so-useful as 'medic' so instead: ]

One of Bran's sisters.

[ bran is her scrap of familiarity on his ship, and she will use his name if she must. ]

[dancingmd]

[Beverly drops her hand, unbothered by Sansa not taking it. There are plenty of cultures, both human and alien, who don't use that as a form of greeting.]

Yes, I know. He's spoken of you before. I'm glad you could join us here... I know he missed you and Robb both.

[steeledskin]

[ a flicker of pleasure -- deep behind her eyes, but quickly quelled. at the very least, sansa gestures (smallishly) for the healer to walk inside a little further. ]

We'd been apart for quite some time. I'm so grateful to see him again. To see them both.

[dancingmd]

[Atroma does provide some blessings, it seems. Beverly steps inside, automatically taking a look around the room though of course, Sansa has not had any time to make it her own. She turns back to Sansa with an empathetic look... she won't claim to know anything about what they've been through - just the bits and pieces she's picked up about Westeros from Bran is enough to tell her it's nothing like what she's experienced in her life - but at the very least, she does know what it's like to miss your family.]

Being separated from those you love is... awful.

[steeledskin]

[ it wouldn't be appropriate to tell the truth and explain how she'd thought bran dead, and knew that robb certainly was. beyond that, she couldn't be certain what her youngest brother might already have shared in light of westeros's political machinations. so sansa is left to dance nimbly around gaps.

she shifts the attention back onto beverly: ] Is it a pain you know as well?

[dancingmd]

[She nods.] My son. I have not seen or had any contact with him in almost a year.

[steeledskin]

-- Is that how long you've been here, amid the Fleet?

[dancingmd]

For ten months, yes. And he had left on a long journey himself some time before I was taken.

[steeledskin]

Two years ago, I left my Lady Mother. [ she exhales. i miss her every day. ] I do not doubt he misses you.

[dancingmd]

[Instinctively, Beverly reaches out a hand to offer comfort, but then retreats. Sansa's world and customs are so different, and she's clearly still nervous - understandably so - that Beverly does not want to make things worse for her.]

I doubt he even knows I am gone. But I'm grateful for that - if he knew I was here, and yet could not get to me... I do not want him to suffer through that feeling of helplessness.

[steeledskin]

[ as robb suffered -- aware his sisters might be in the hands of monsters, and yet could not in any sort of good faith march his armies straight into king's landing. castles had to be won. alliances forged. she will not blame him.

but... ]

It would be painful. [ she exhales. ] However, might it always be better to at least know? Know where your family is. And why.

[dancingmd]

Perhaps if this were a more... normal situation, I would agree. But as far as we can tell, from those who have come back or from people from our own futures, no time passes while we are gone. When I return, it will be as if I was always there. As far as Wesley knows, I'm where he left me, and that's all he'll ever know. For him to find out his mother who no one thought was missing is actually trapped in another universe...

Things quickly get very complicated when you mess with time.

[steeledskin]

Do they? [ this pains her. locked up in her own thoughts, she'd been wondering how she might convince robb to abandon his course upon return to westeros. save his life. ] Can they not be changed at all?

[dancingmd]

The future is not set in stone, not at all.

[Sansa is not the only one looking to change the future: Beverly fully intends to find a way to save Julian, should she return with her memories intact.]

In fact, there are an infinite number of possibilities out there, which is why we get all these different universes. Every time someone makes a choice, or does not make a choice, it creates another future.

[...]

Hopefully that makes some sense? I'm not an expert by any means and it's all frankly very confusing. The point is, we're not completely helpless to fate, by any means.

[steeledskin]

[ although it ought to make sense, it doesn't. these are questions and answers far beyond her wheelhouse, and she seems to incur a headache merely by thinking about them. ]

But I have made my choices. And my brothers have made theirs.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly nods slowly. It's hard to know exactly what to tell Sansa, without knowing the entire situation.]

It's a lot harder and more dangerous to change the past than it is the future. [She gives the girl a sympathetic smile.] I'm sorry, I'm probably not helping much, am I?

[steeledskin]

-- What if the thing that needed changing was one person's past, and another person's future? [ ... ] Would that make it easier?

[dancingmd]

Ah.

[That's a situation she can definitely understand.]

Let me tell you about a friend of mine, Julian. He's from my world, but three years into my future. I do not know him in that world, I only know him because he was brought to Drift Fleet. He's gone back now, but he was here long enough to let me know that there is a war coming in my world, a war none of us in my present could predict. Julian was taken prisoner in that war, and is... well, he's in a lot of danger. I do not believe I can change the war itself... too many things are already in motion, far beyond my control. But I can perhaps change the war for him, get him out of the enemy camp sooner or prevent him from ever being taken at all.

[A pause.]

My actions will no doubt have unintended consequences. My superiors would say I should not do it. We have rules against this sort of tampering. However, I simply cannot stand by and let my friend go through that, so I am willing to take the risk - but it is not a decision I make lightly, nor should anyone else.

[steeledskin]

[ she feels a tug in her heart -- like a strong rope, tied to her confession, and being pulled out between her ribs. sansa wants to spill all to the kindly-spoken woman, but she can't find the impetus to put the correct words in the correct order.

instead, she offers a meagre: ] Westeros is also at war. But the wrong people are being defeated.

[dancingmd]

[Gently.] And you hope to change that. [And, because it is easy enough to guess:] For your family.

[steeledskin]

It may prove too much for me to change. My brother has a strong will, my lady.

[dancingmd]

Perhaps, then, it is best to give it some time and more thought, at least until you all have had a chance to transition into this new situation.

[She gives Sansa a small smile.]

The "my lady" isn't necessary. Just "Doctor" is fine.

[steeledskin]

Doctor, then. [ the word is foreign in her mouth. ] It's not a title I know well.

[dancingmd]

I understand. It is the same for me and "my lady."

[Frankly, even though she knows Sansa is only using it out of respect, "my lady" makes her very uncomfortable. Not that she'll actually voice that - she is not out to insult her new crewmate.]

How are you settling in, by the way?