Gumball Wishes and Taxicab Dreams

[thespaceopera]

[On today's episode of the Drift Fleet:

The cargo holds are full of mysterious crates! The crews are filling beyond capacity with new faces! Official alerts are informing the passengers that they are signed to contracts that they've never agreed to! They are docking at the dazzling FS Starlight, but are flat broke!

What are they going to do!? Stay tuned to find out!


...Meaning, this is a kickoff mingle for you all to enjoy the beginning of the latest plot setting. This is a convenient place to start threads relating to the first week of the event-- meeting new crewmembers, reacting to the mysterious cargo, arriving on the station and discovering that you're all broke, etc.

Tag around, start whatever you'd like, have fun. And, as always, feel free to make your own posts and mingles from here on in, as this will be the only mod-posted one for this event!]

Comments

[goodjob]

They didn't card you? Actually, yeah, they probably didn't. Who knows how humans age, here. [Not more than half of the people she drives around.]

[The wallet-holding iguana crawls over a little to tap Fiona on the shoulder. She nods and turns to take the next exit, casually cutting someone off along the highway.] What'd you do, count cards?

[diplomacme]

It was. [ Thoughtfully: ] I've traveled since I was small, but I never felt so ignorant as I did on Tatooine. I had no idea slavery still existed. It was beyond appalling, but the natives treated it as if it were normal. Those experiences... they were part of the reason I wanted to become a senator.

[goodjob]

Well, I mean, it's your life... [Some selfish part of her doesn't want to take responsibility for this. If she tells anyone what she did before this, it'll be him. If anyone won't like it, it'll be him.]

[But Fiona is also very used to taking responsibility.] Are you sure?

[mistyday]

[.................]

What the hell is wrong with you?

[diplomacme]

Senator, though that doesn't apply here. You may call me Padmé, if you like.

[ She knows such familiarity is uncomfortable for some, especially if they're used to nobility. ]

I am. It has been... an experience so far.

[diplomacme]

[ "No one expects it of you." That stops her entire train of thought. For someone who has dedicated most of her life to public service, to putting others' needs before her own, it's a foreign concept. One that will take some getting used to.

She smiles softly. ] Still, I will help anyone however I can.

[beardstrokes]

[ He nods. ]

I'm not frightened of the future.

[diplomacme]

It isn't common knowledge, though neither of us are trying to hide it.

[ Well. Anymore. ] Captain Russo, then.

[goodjob]

[That, there, is the Obi-Wan she knew. She smiles, suddenly more comfortable despite herself. The waiter delivers her drink, and she takes it with a minimal amount of stalling before finally answering the initial question.]

We... worked for some people. I never asked why you took the contract. They... well, they had a pretty low opinion of people who broke the contract.

[She takes a drink from her glass.]

And they never let us read the contract.

[beardstrokes]

That sounds like a shady business contract.

[ And he probably took it under the guise of infiltration. That would tie up. ]

What were we expected to do?

[diplomacme]

[ It takes her a moment to realize that he's addressing her. She gives him a polite smile, though she's clearly confused. ]

I'm sorry, but I am not the one you seek.

[goodjob]

They were pretty good about picking people without other options.

[Which is why she never asked him-- or many other people-- why they took the deal. He was a good person, though, she could tell. She'd figured, to some extent, he wanted to take the CDC down, but she'd never figured that was the entire reason why he was there.]

I... that's... [But, no, she has to say it. Just pull the bandaid off, Fiona.] We helped destroyed worlds. Planets, you know. With... life on them.

[feathery]

They never card anyone for anything as far as I seen. I had a seven-year-old ask me for a work reference.

[And the last set of casinos they were around involved a lot of employees trying to convince tourists to blow it all on booze.

The driver now behind Fiona beeps furiously at her and Davesprite half turns in his seat, more curious than anything else.]

Counted some, yeah. I guess I don't look like I can do math. [It's a little distracted, but lbr, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition semi-unkempt birdboy in a shitty jumpsuit until he's ripped them off wholesale.] The slot machines weren't really designed to hold up against me, either.

[goodjob]

Did you give it to them?

[She doesn't make her kids work until eight, but you know, different strokes.]

Slot machines? Aw, stay away from them, those things're random chance.

[sandhate]

[ A Jedi shouldn't be so proud and arrogant. He smirks anyway, shrugging easily. ]

You want to test that theory?

[ He nudges her shoulder with two fingers. Mimicking her: ]

Oh, c'mon. If I'm wrong, you just have to go on a date with the blue guy.

[beardstrokes]

[ That was a blow he was not expecting. He . . . helped destroy planets? He wouldn't. He couldn't. That was impossible. Surely, no matter what the future brought, he would have never advocated for the destruction of other life forms.

What hold could anyone have on him to do that?

He remains quiet for a long time, letting the grief wash over him. ]

Did we see it happen?

[actsmagnificent]

[ This looks promising. It'll be easier to pass as anonymous station-goers if they're already surrounded by others.

Uranus meets Neptune's eyes, and if she doesn't see a warning there, she'll break her transformation. (Rose petals swirl out of the alley, swept away in the bustle of the street next to them). ]

Nice day for a walk.

[sandhate]

[ He laughs, less hysterical this time around. ]

Well, I don't think a giant eyeball planet would like anyone to step on its surfaces either! But there are plenty of "gross" planets out there. We're bound to orbit one someday.

You mean besides giant eyeball planets? [ He chuckles. No, he's not letting that go yet. He rubs his chin. ] Stories, rumours that might or might not be true, the price of things, directions. Anything, and there's a chance it's a lie.

It's part of every city, every civilization.

[goodjob]

I'm sorry... [She sees that grief, and moves to reach out, put her hand on his or something. She stops herself before she can get far, though after it's obvious what she almost did. This is a different man, and they're not quite friends yet, maybe not ever. And, more importantly, now he knows what she's done, what she did, what she'd probably do again. He wouldn't want comfort from someone like that. He's a good person.]

I only saw it once. I only... I only completed one mission before I got killed.

[actsmagnificent]

[ That's fair. Haruka likes watching Michiru try on clothes, because Haruka could watch Michiru do things forever. Maybe that's even an impetus to do her own shopping more quickly. Let's see here, though.

Haruka flicks through the racks in the men's department, getting a sense for how things are sized here (and what the popular cuts seem to be). Fortunately stuff like "shirts that close down the front" and "jackets and scarves" are fairly common pieces, even if the specifics for fasteners, etc., differ. So this looks good. And so does this...

She pauses, though, when faced with not one but two golden-yellow coats, each tailored slightly differently, each a different shade. Life is hard. ]

[goodjob]

Hey, the blue guy's a gentleman. [Which is to say, boring. Another reason not to want to go.]

[Fiona doesn't like betting or wagers. But she also likes fun. And at the moment, she's cruising for a distraction.]

Okay, but if I win, what do you have to do?

[beardstrokes]

It's not your fault.

[ The response is automatic, but no less genuine. He exhales quietly. What's happening to him? Was this some kind of test from the Force? To test his commitment?

To show he'll never be Jedi enough? ]

[goodjob]

[She wrinkles her nose over a mirthless smile.] Kinda is.

[She takes a deep breath. The response to pain, grief, suffering, is always to just steamroll through it. Anything and everything can be ignored. Humor is an excellent way to do it. Her tone could not be dryer:] So after that bombshell, I bet you're dying for the rest of the details, right?

[beardstrokes]

[ Wryly, dredging up a smile. He, too, can use humour to deal with shitty life situations. ]

I would hate to leave it unfinished.

[feathery]

I told her to run a lemonade stand.

[But he shrugs.]

And yeah, but they're rigged. So I fucked with them a little.

[And it's gonna be a fun time if he gets caught, even if they won't have any physical proof. Upsides of him being dodgy with his powers, tbh.]