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

[dancingmd]

There should be some posts on the network, though you will probably have to scroll pretty far back in the records: as far as I know, no one has tried it in well over six months.

[A moment of hesitation before she adds.]

I have experimented a little on myself, so I do have those notes as well.

[imahologram]

I'll see what I can find.

[Because it might take sufficient proof to convince her not to try it.]

If you're willing to tell me about what you did, that would help as well.

[dancingmd]

I've never gotten very far. [A simple statement of fact, no shame about it.] For one thing, I don't have access to the proper surgical instruments. None of us do. There was a woman who wanted me to try to remove hers, but I refuse to perform something as delicate and dangerous as neural surgery without the right equipment. The few attempts I made on myself resulted in such an overwhelming feeling of dread that I couldn't proceed any further: I lost all confidence in my skills and was unable to keep my hands steady.

[Which is saying a lot, for her.]

[imahologram]

Have you checked the Starlight for tools? My medical knowledge isn't good enough to recognize what you'd need, but it seems like they sell just about everything here.

Of course, it might not matter if they're programmed to keep you from being able to operate, but it might be worth a try.

[dancingmd]

I have, and I will undoubtedly pick up a few supplies here, but the other main issue is that no scanners pick up the existence of the augments. We don't know how exactly they're implanted. It could be that even if we somehow manage to power through the pain that they're connected to our nervous systems in such a way as to make them unremoveable without severe neurological damage.

[She sighs.]

I know this is all very frustrating to hear, but I'm simply being realistic. What we need most is information and gathering that information may take longer than any of us would like.

[imahologram]

The Atroma covered their tracks well. [She should have expected that, and to an extent, she did--but what kind of technology is entirely invisible to med scanners? That's well beyond the best of their abilities at home, as far as she knows.] So we're looking at trying to remove something we can feel but can't detect with tools or droids, and that has its own failsafes against meddling.

[Getting to the source of the programming is looking more and more like the best approach.]

I'd rather have realism than maimed Fleet members. [Leia has no intention of pouting over the fact that they aren't ready to operate this afternoon. War takes time, and in a way, isn't that what this is?] If what we need is information, I'll gather whatever I can. But my background isn't in medicine--I'll need someone who can analyze it.

[That's where you come in, Bev.]

[dancingmd]

Of course, I'm happy to help. I want out of here as much as you do. [Pause.] I have a son at home.

[She's not looking for sympathy on that front, just wants Leia to know that despite appearances of settling into Drift Fleet, she's always always going to want to go back.]

Really, this has been our best opportunity for information gathering since I arrived, with all the extensive dataries and so many people going in and out of the station. It's part of why I took a job at the diplomatic offices.

[imahologram]

I'm sorry. It must be hard to be away from him. [Bev might not be looking for sympathy, but Leia still feels for her. As little as she likes having nearly her entire family here, she knows she's fortunate to have...well, some of them.]

Where was the Fleet when you were brought here?

[dancingmd]

[Ugh, Mor. Her distaste for the planet clearly shows on her face.]

A planet called Mor. It was essentially a tourist trap, where visitors could see how people lived historically - by preventing the entire population from ever advancing technologically or politically or economically. None of the inhabitants had any idea there was anything beyond their own world and that they were serving as a tourist attraction to off worlders.

[Not to mention that's it's the site of Tek's murder, but she's not going to be bringing that up.]