driftfleet | one ☂ rain, rain, go away...

Who: Lapis Lazuli & YOU
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: S.S. Huntress
When: 1/10

[ VIDEO ]

[ The very second she wakes, the immediacy of how wrong this is crashes over her like a wave.

Lapis curls upright on a cot on the Marsiva, blinking and coughing - like she's been underwater for too long. Frantically, she reaches out for something that isn't there - a shackle. A connection she had been holding on to with all the strength she had, just moments ago -

She had lost it. She hadn't been strong enough.

She stumbles off the cot like she's still getting her land legs, and slowly moves out of the room, quickly casting glances around every corner as she moves down hallways. This doesn't look like a Homeworld ship, but...it has to be. She wasn't strong enough to stay fused with Jasper, and so she must have gotten free. She was probably hurting Steven right now, and Lapis had been taken prisoner again -

What's the point?

In front of a large window, she slumps down, arms winding around her knees. She her forehead against them until she can't see the harsh lights of the ship anymore. With that blocked out, there's just her, and the tumultuous ocean roiling inside of her. ]

[ ACTION ]

[ Soon enough, Lapis is shuttled off to the S.S. Huntress, and she enters the ship with all the reluctance in the world. She is not happy to be here. She barely minds the fact that she's been assigned to a Security position - rather, she avoids the armory entirely. She didn't ask for this. She didn't ask to come here, to be taken prisoner yet again by an organization she knew nothing about, but who would inevitably find some way to use her to their ends.

She doesn't want any of this.

And so as Lapis makes her way to the bunks, she starts pulling - only partly deliberately - on any liquids she passes. Someone using the toilet or shower may suddenly find the water fleeing upwards and out towards the Gem calling it to her. Water, tea, or any other drink may jump out of a cup or drink dispenser as she passes. She does this until she builds a small river down the hallway, barely glancing at anyone she passes unless - unless, they get a bit too close for comfort. ]

No! Just - just stay away from me!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Whoa -- hey.

[ good lord, what is with all of these traumatized kids winding up on this ship lately. ]

I'm not the one who brought you here, and we're all stuck just like you are. Trying to drown us or... whatever you're trying to do.

[ is she taking water from the showers goddammit ]

Isn't gonna help anyone. Take a deep breath.

But you're a human.

[ Just a normal human. What use could aliens - but not Gems - have in kidnapping humans? There's not much to say about them. Except for Steven, but even he's not entirely human.

When she speaks again, it's a measure calmer. ] I don't want to hurt you. [ She - really doesn't. ] I just want to get off this ship.

Yeah, I got that.

[ all of it. human. yup. wanting to get off the ship. yup. not wanting to hurt him. cool. ]

But you can't get off the ship -- not right now, anyway.

[ han pauses before glancing down at the hallway -- and then back down it, whistling under his breath. ]

Nice power you've got, though, I'll give you that much credit -- what's your name?

[ Not right now, anyway.

But she has to. Every second she spends up here is another for Jasper to hurt someone. And if she could get out of here, maybe she can rescue Steven from his ship and they could get out of here together.

...Who is she kidding? She failed to protect Steven before - why would this time be any different?

Her gaze drops to her hands, and the running water around her feet stills. ]

Lapis Lazuli.

[ she seems to have calmed down, anyway, and the water seems to be resting. han can relax for a moment. ]

Han Solo. I'm the pilot.

[ or, well. one of them. THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT. ]

Where'd you come from before you came here?

[ The question gives her pause, and her answer sounds uncertain. ]

...Earth.

[ Though it's technically true, she wasn't from Earth. I never believed in this place. Even if she had, in a sense, been protecting it.

Most of all, she just wanted to protect Steven. ]

If you're the pilot, can you tell me...if there is a way to at least visit another ship?

Yeah, you can.

[ that seems to be a small comfort he can give her, anyway. ]

We've got shuttles that can go from ship to ship, and I can fly the ship to where you've got to go. Who do you want to visit?

[ He can't possibly know the balm he's just offered her, but a small smile breaks her morose features nonetheless. ]

Steven. Steven Universe. Do you know him?

I don't, but I can figure out where he is.

[ anything to make the crying mess stop, okay. the smile is encouraging! ]

It's pretty easy to hop from ship to ship, so even if he's not assigned here, you can see him whenever you want.

[ She can see Steven whenever she wants.

Something in her mends a little at that. ]

That's great! ...Thank you, Han. Can you show me where the shuttles are?

[ great success ]

You're welcome. They're down in the engineering bay. I think they're two person, if you don't want to fly it yourself.

[ so long as the woman doesn't keep flooding his goddamn hallways he's fine ]

...I'm not sure I'll know how.

[ Though, despite the fact that this ship was decidedly not built with any kind of gem tech she was familiar with, she felt familiar with it, somehow. ]

[ . . . oh lord. SIGH. ]

I can drop you off.

[ with a sigh.

better that than a damaged shuttle. ]

...Really?

[ She glances at him, trying to discern if this is a trick of some kind. ]

You'd...do that for me?

If you stop flooding my ship.

[ han it is not your ship ]

And I'm not letting people who don't know what they're doing crashing these things into the hull.

I...won't flood the ship.

[ ...Today, at least. And at her word, the lingering water in the hallway starts to retreat back to its various sources. Back into sinks, back into showers, back into cups...kind awkward. ]

I don't want to crash anything. I guess I could always fly there on my own, though...

[ As in, fly. Like a bird. ]

I've got it, I promise.

[ han is so not letting people crash the shuttles around, fml ]

[ Probably for the best, tbh. ]

Alright.

Maybe...you can teach me how to fly them sometime.

[ She doesn't want to be completely helpless. ]

They're pretty simple to navigate if you've never flown a ship before.

[ with a slight shrug ]

But if you're willing to learn, I'll teach you. I'm not having this ship blow itself up and make a fool of itself on intergalactic television.

one ☂ rain, rain, go away...

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