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

[Far be it from Beverly to ever ignore someone who's been crying, so she's definitely looking at him in a very Worried Mom sort of way. This must be Sansa and Bran's brother - there's a family resemblance, especially between the boys.]

Hello? Are you all right?

[But Robb really wants people to ignore his crying. Robb Stark is a king and kings do not cry. Gods, he should've bursted out in tears in his chambers. Wherever those are.]

I am. [He is only crying.] You should not worry, my lady.

[Beverly would only say that "kings do not cry" is a very ridiculous and indeed, heartless rule. Everyone cries, even Starship captains. Nevertheless, she is sensitive to possible embarrassment, so all she does is pull some tissues out of her pocket and hand them to him. Why does she have tissues? Because she's a doctor and a mom okay, we don't question these things.]

"Lady" is unnecessary. I'm simply a doctor.

[Robb shuffles in an uneasy way before accepting the tissues. They are surprisingly thin and feel nothing like fabric. He blows his nose in it and offers it to the woman.]

Do you want me to wash the cloth before giving it back to you?

[A shrug.]

A lady is a lady. I do not know of doctors, my lady.

[And it's fortunate indeed that she is a doctor and so not easily disgusted by body fluids. In fact, she has to bite the inside of her cheek a bit, to keep from showing any amusement, which is hardly appropriate given his obvious emotional state. Besides, really, why should she have expected him to know about tissues?]

Ah... that's not actually a handkerchief, it's a tissue. Completely disposable, so you can put it in one of the trash chutes when you get the chance.

[She tilts her head, curious.]

Do you have no healers where you come from?

[That seems hard to believe.]

Is that because it is that thin? [How useless to have handkerchiefs that can be used once. What a waste.] And what if you need more? You blow your nose in it and throw it away? [Robb feels some sort of pity for every sick man in this space.]

Aye. [Robb frowns as he thinks.] We have maesters. They come from the Citadel.

[Apparently those are called doctors here, then?]

They come in large dispensers. I know it might seem wasteful, but it's for your health and that of others, to keep diseases from spreading.

[She nods... hearing the term brings it back to her.]

That's right, I remember now that's what Bran called them - "Knights of the Mind." Of course, I can't claim to be as widely talented as they but I do know medicine. If you're ever sick or injured, Allen and I are the ones who will take care of you.

[That does not make sense.]

I take it you burn them all then? If you do not want a sickness to spread?

[But he is no maester. Sicknesses and similar things are not his field of expertise. He nods and smiles, pleased to know that she knows his brother.]

Aye, they are. Their weapon is their mind, so to speak. [Robb smiles a little.] It is good to know that there are people with such knowledge on this ship, my lady. And it is good to know you know my brother as well.

I actually don't know what Atroma does with our trash. At home we would simply... [There's a pause as she debates the best way to explain this.] We have a special machine that renders the disease harmless and disintegrates the tissues.

[Aw, there we go. A little bit of a smile at least - so she smiles back.]

And I am glad to know him: Bran is a delight, and very clever.

Edited 2016-01-18 20:59 (UTC)

Wouldn’t they throw it out? This space seems large enough to hold some waste, not? [Something like space-latrines.] You burn it? [They had flying ships and moving steel, sure they have things that burn automatically as well.]

He is, my lady. [Robb nods slowly and smiles.] I have heard he has made many friends here. [Would they mind that he is broken? He is quite sure that the Northern lords looked at him with a certain sort of pity.]

Fires and starships don't usually go together too well. There's a machine, called a replicator, which can create food or tools or clothing, or almost anything really, depending on its programming. But we also use it to recycle things like trash and dirty dishes... essentially they are returned to their most basic components, at a level the human eye can't see, so that they can be used to make new things again. No fire necessary.

[Stars, she hoped she explained that well enough. It's a lot easier when she has one to show people.]

I haven't seen any replicators in this fleet, however. So perhaps you are right, that there's a garbage hold somewhere that gets periodically emptied.

And Bran has made many friends here, yes, both on this ship and others. I hope to count myself among them.

Edited 2016-01-21 02:52 (UTC)

[Robb has a feeling that nothing and this ship would go together quite well. All in all it is an iron shell floating around in space. One hole in it would probably mean the death of all.]

I have no idea what you are talking of, my lady, but if it is so, I believe your word.

[It seems the most polite thing to say because he cannot imagine this or put an image to the device called a ‘replicator’. The most complicated device he knows of is a catapult used during sieges and field battles. And a wagon, mayhaps. Robb Stark isn’t one for science.]

I have not seen any either. [He smiles a little.] I think it is best to release waste in space. It would take up too much... [Well...] ...space inside this ship.

It is good to hear that. [Robb knows that his brother has not been the same after falling from the tower and losing his ability to walk.] He is a good boy. And quite bright for his age.

[It’s all right Robb - replicators are hard to explain and this is not the first time Beverly has found her knowledge of technology surpassing the understanding of those around her. Doesn’t make her think any less of their intelligence, however. She’s certain there are many things Robb knows that she does not and that she would be completely lost in the world of Westeros.

She smiles back.]

He really is! Has he shown you any of his projects yet?

[Robb is glad the woman changes the subject from replicators and what not to his little brother Bran.]

Ah...he has not. [Projects?] What is he doing then? [He knows of the tiny fox that follows him around.]

He was building an extremely good replica of your castle, back in Westeros - [Or at least, she assumes it's a good replica, not having seen the castle before] - and he's been learning about robotics as well. He's got a sharp mind for technical things. And of course, there's his fox that he's been training!

[Robb’s smile turns melancholic when she says that.]

Winterfell. [He nods, remembering himself of the Broken Tower and the Great Keep, the Godswood, the Heart Tree. All burned and gone.] It is called Winterfell. It was. It is gone now.

I am glad he keeps himself busy here. [And fits in better than he ever could.] Mayhaps even I could learn from him.

Edited 2016-02-04 17:38 (UTC)

[Her mouth quirks.]

No doubt he'd be much better at explaining the technology here than I just was.

[The smile on Robb’s face is a fond one. Bran had always been more open, at least, until he fell.]

You did well, my lady. [He shrugs.] It will take a while to get used to. And if anything I will ask Bran. Or you. Everyone has been kind enough to explain it to me. [But most of the things made absolutely no sense to his very medieval brain.]

I personally often find it’s easier to understand things by doing, rather than simply by being told about it. [She gives him a warm smile.] But of course I'm happy to help whenever I can.

[To be fair, Robb does not want any of it. His mind is focused on what is going on in Westeros.]

I do not know. [He admits it softly.] I rather not stay here for long. No one is at fault but I have urgent matters to attend to. To be here...it does not sit well with me. [He nods deeply.] I appreciate that, my lady.

Most of the evidence we have seems to point to time flowing differently between here and our homeworlds. However much time we spend in the fleet, it'll be the same time at home as when we left.

Not much comfort, I know, but it's... something.

That is no consolation, my lady. Whether time...passes or stands still, I have no business being here. In this... [Robb gestures with his hand.] ...reality show of the lords of Atroma.

I just wish to go home and take Bran and Sansa with me.

I know... none of us belong here. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to who stays and who goes. If I knew how to get you home, I would, in a heartbeat.

It seems to be one big mystery, my lady. No one knows how to get home.

No one ever tried either? [Some of these people do not seem like the types that would go and just sit, accepting this as...their lives.]

People have tried, but our augments keep us from straying too far from the Marsiva. If you try to stay behind when the fleet leaves a station or planet, or try to take a ship beyond a certain rage, you’ll be teleported back to your ship. [She looks at him very seriously and her tone brooks no argument. She’s prepared for what he might ask next, because it’s what almost everyone asks next, including her.] Any attempt to remove the augment results in unparalleled pain, both physical and psychological. Which is not to say I’m not still looking into it, but so far, we have not found a viable solution.

But even if we found a way around the augment problem, there is still the issue of not knowing where or when we are. Escaping from Atroma is one thing, getting back home is entirely another.

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