002. telling the tale.

[imahologram]

Who: Leia Organa
Broadcast: Video; text
Action:
When: February 1

[Video]

Good afternoon.

[This feels so much more formal than her first, pretty much accidental broadcast. Leia's sitting at a table she found in a quiet corner of a Starlight restaurant, hands folded on the surface before her.]

I'm interested in any information you might have on past escapes from the Fleet, whether successful or not, or on people who have been sent away by the Atroma. If we pool our resources, my hope is that we'll have a better chance of finding ways to send home those Fleet members whose priorities lie elsewhere.

I've attached my own experiences below, in the interest of adding to our current knowledge base. Any intelligence you can offer, however small, has the potential to be of use.

Thank you.

[Text]

[It's the executive summary of a report, because of course it fucking is.]

Timeline: First three days docked at the FS Starlight
Location: FS Starlight, SS Lornlo
Contact: Leia Organa, Windrose

Mission goal: Begin journey home using local transport

Highlights:
‣ Made contact with beings (both human and alien) of various ships
‣ Demands from many for payment up front for
‣ Traded work for passage on the SS Lornlo
‣ Completed menial tasks aboard ship for Captain Graatix
‣ Duration of trip: several hours
‣ Transported back to the Fleet immediately upon leaving Fleet area of influence

Notes:
‣ Evidence in favor of the augment's primary role in tying beings to the Fleet
‣ Ship quality outside of the Fleet appears to be as good or better as within
‣ Multiple alien races present on the FS Starlight,
‣ No additional details on location gainned

Next steps:
‣ Investigation of potential for disabling augment
‣ Purchase of ship parts (local equivalent to hyperdrive?) to patch into existing Fleet systems
‣ Further questioning of locals for information regarding area
‣ Discuss experiences with Fleet members for further insight

[ooc: Interaction around/during said escape attempt can also happen here if you're interested.]

Comments

video

[helladoomed]

Yeah but how're you gonna get there from here? Or where even is 'there' from here?

[imahologram]

That's a great question. [A little wryly.] We haven't visited anywhere I can identify, so it's probably a separate galaxy. Then there's the problem of when we are--judging by the people they've kidnapped from my part of the universe, it might be the year I came from or a few thousand years ago.

But I think there's a better chance of figuring out where we are and how to get home if we're not under the Atroma's thumb while we do it.

[helladoomed]

And if it turns out you're like, ten thousand years in the future or something and now you're stuck on some space station in the middle of no where?

Cause...that sounds hella likely.

[imahologram]

It might happen--but at least I wouldn't be here.

[She suspects that might not be explanation enough, though, so she changes her tack.]

If you went home tomorrow, what would you be doing?

[helladoomed]

[Oh Chloe was so the wrong person to ask that question to, Leia. Her face falls, just for a moment, and then the teen manages a shrug.]

Tomorrow I can pretty much promise you'd I'd be doin' nothing.

[imahologram]

Oh?

[Leia sees the way the girl's expression changes, and she can't help but wonder what sort of a nerve she touched.]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.

[helladoomed]

S'cool. Whatever.

Where were you goin' with that anyway?

[imahologram]

If I went home tomorrow, it would be to finish a war and rebuild a galaxy.

[Though it sounds callous now that she suspects the girl has far less to return to.]

Escaping might be risky, but staying here is, too. The rest of the world won't stop just because we were kidnapped.

[helladoomed]

...Busy life.

It kinda does though, I mean, if you're right that this isn't the right time and junk.

If you actually find a way back, you could just go to whatever minute you wanted to.

[imahologram]

When I'm not waylaid in another galaxy, anyway.

...That's true. [It's both intriguing to think about and incredibly hopeful.] But we don't know how accurately we can return to where we were taken. Getting home sooner rather than later seems like the safest course of action.

[helladoomed]

How long you been stuck on the fleet, then?

[imahologram]

A little over a month--but there are people here who were kidnapped a year or more ago. The Atroma are playing a long game, whatever it is.

[helladoomed]

A month.

Okay, so don't get me wrong, I am all about jumping ship and flying off on some intergalactic road trip the second the chance appears. But if you want to get back, what makes you think you have a better chance out there than here?

I mean, if you're talking time travel and moving people between fuckin' galaxies...have you seen anyone who can do that besides those Atroma people?

[imahologram]

Traveling between my galaxy and the Rishi Maze isn't what you'd call common, but with the right ship, it's possible. We need an idea of where we are and a ship made for real travel--something with a hyperdrive, first of all--but if we have those, we have a much better chance of getting home than we do waiting for the Atroma to let us go. And we have a better chance of getting those if we don't have the Atroma breathing down our necks.

It might be hard to imagine if this is your first experience with space travel, but we really do have a chance. We just have to figure out how to break the Atroma's hold on us.

[helladoomed]

[Chloe shrugs.]

It sounds pretty intense, but I still don't know...

Have you seen evidence of like...time travel out there?

[That was the big hitch for her. Space travel was clearly possible, but for all they knew time travel was relegated to whoever brought them here.]

[imahologram]

Where do you mean--evidence where I come from or evidence here?

[Because if it's the latter, then HOO BOY, Chloe, has she got some stories.]

[helladoomed]

Here.

Outside of whatever the fleet does to bring us here.

[imahologram]

I have.

[A pause, the do I tell her the details or not sort. Not all of them, she decides, but enough to convince.]

People from my part of the universe come from all over our timeline. One girl lived several thousand years before me.

[helladoomed]

Okay...but they were brought here by whoever runs this stupid show, right?

[imahologram]

They were.

[helladoomed]

Soooo...have you found anything saying that someone besides whoever is running this shitshow can send you back?

[imahologram]

All right, I see what you're asking. [Which is to say, she didn't quite catch Chloe's angle originally.] No, I haven't. However, breaking their hold over us would make it easier to investigate.

[helladoomed]

Maybe. Or maybe you'll just be stuck in the middle of no where with no friends, no resources, and no idea what to do next.

[Hmm.]

I think I saw a sci-fi tv show just like that once...

[imahologram]

Anything's possible. I'd rather be free, given the choice.

Holo-films don't bear all that much resemblance to real life, when you get down to it.