+1 unhappy time traveler

[nostraightlines]

Who: Ramse and YOU
Broadcast: fleetwide
Action: SS Starstruck, if you want to come and find him
When: soon after the shuffle!

[ To say that Ramse is displeased is an understatement. This is the second time he's been yanked from one world to another, and where the first was actually an improvement, this second place is... not. Outerspace. Really. Really?! They don't even have space travel in his time, though he knows that in the past people made it as far as the moon. Nothing like this. His outrage at being taken is the overwhelming thing, though. He was happy in Eudio, where there was food and people he cared for. They told him they were sending him home (something he already had mixed feelings about) and instead he's here. Having to learn a new way of life all over again and excuse me it's being watched?

He's found the armory and the clothes in his bunk room, at least, so now he's dressed and armed. He sits in the cold empty space while he fiddles with the communicator. It turns out to be easy to use, and when he makes a broadcast his voice is deep and grumbly. Someone's sooooo cranky. ]

So let me get this straight, I'm new and might not have understood. We're here... to be entertainment. Not to save the world, not to help with a war, not to do anything productive at all.

Yeah. How do we leave?

Comments

[nostraightlines]

The time machine is powered by a special core, and there are only two of them. The other was being used to power the facility where they created the vaccine. When the core for the time machine blew, she attacked Spearhea-- the other facility and took theirs. Killed half the place and destroyed their research... so she could deny it ever existed and keep her team on the "mission."

[ He's pretty unhappy about all of this; there's something personal at stake, that's for sure. ]

[takingkarabusiness]

That's just... that's!

[ for lack of a better term ]

Horrible.

[nostraightlines]

It was the moment I decided for sure to stop helping her. That she was wrong.

[takingkarabusiness]

Does your plan involve getting the time machine and stopping her from destroying everything?

[nostraightlines]

My plan went to hell and-- [ no, he can't talk about that. he skips ahead. ] I wound up in the time machine, back farther than she'd gone to try and make sure everything went how it was supposed to.

It was a mistake. I don't know what would have been right, but what happened wasn't it.

[takingkarabusiness]

[ she really wants to give him a hug right now ]

It seems as if there could be no right answer with something like that. I'm sorry.

[nostraightlines]

Either way, people are going to die. But that's life, isn't it? I guess I just decided I'd rather rebuild the world from what we have than keep screwing around in the past trying to bring that world back.

[ And yes, it's about his son more than anything. His son deserves to live. Ramse regrets some of his decisions but he sticks by the reason for them. ]

Anyway, hopefully it'll all be fixed when I get back. I was in a different place before this one, where they said they could make it so the plague never happened but the people born after it survive. Best of both worlds.

[takingkarabusiness]

[ empathetic smile. she'd love for that happen too ]

I hope that's how it works for you. I really do.

I... well. [ pushes some hair behind her ear ]

I know what it's like to lose... important people.

[nostraightlines]

Me too.

[ He smiles back, because he does have hope for it. It's a tall order but if anyone can manage it it's gotta be the people who pulled him from one world to another, right? There was magic in Eudio that he'd never conceived of before.

At Kara's next words, though, the smile fades. ]

...what happened, Kara?

Video >>—> Private Video

[takingkarabusiness]

[ she hesitates a moment, and switches the feed to private. he's already told her so much about himself, and he seems so earnest and honest. it wouldn't be fair not to return it ]

I'm not... exactly from Earth.

[nostraightlines]

[ He blinks. That. Isn't a thing he would have guessed. Suddenly the awkwardness of her 'humans, like me' comment makes a little more sense. ]

That's how you were so sure there were aliens, huh?

[takingkarabusiness]

...Yep. Better yet, I work with an organization to catch the malicious ones.

I got to Earth because... well, there was going to be no saving my planet, Krypton. So my parents put me in a ship and sent me behind my baby cousin, to keep him safe. He got to Earth fine, but I got stuck in the Phantom Zone and got out 24 Earth years later. Cousin was all grown up, I was the same age.

A great family adopted me. I really do love them.

[ she's studying the bottom of the communicator during this whole story, only looking up at the end while sighing ]

[nostraightlines]

[ That's a lot to take in. Ramse listens, though, and he believes her. She certainly doesn't sound like she's trying to fool him with some elaborate story. ]

There's a 'but' coming.

[ He hesitates, then: ] ... Your whole planet? If they had ships why didn't they try to evacuate more people?

[takingkarabusiness]

Of course there's a 'but'. I miss my family.

And—I don't know. My mother didn't explain everything to me. I imagine it was time and resources.

[nostraightlines]

I'm sorry you lost them. I lost my mother, too.

[ He feels terrible for asking questions, but they're already on the subject and it can't be worse than losing her family. ] What destroyed the planet?

[takingkarabusiness]

Over-mining the core. My parents advocated for it until it was too late. I think that's why they didn't come with me. They felt responsible. I was 12, so I didn't really know what was happening.

[nostraightlines]

That's so young, to be sent away from everything you know.

But now you protect earth from malicious aliens... like they want to colonize the planet or something?

[takingkarabusiness]

Or just create wanton destruction. Most of the aliens besides me and my cousin were prisoners who escaped and made their way to Earth.

[nostraightlines]

Oh, they're from your planet? Earth's lucky to have you, then.

[ He's entirely serious. If she's pulling his leg he'd be thrown for yet another loop. ]

[takingkarabusiness]

Some. Not all.

[ the show has more explaining to do tbh ]

But thank you. Normally I have some extra powers, but they're a result of the yellow sun that Earth has, and we're conveniently lacking one here.

[nostraightlines]

Powers, huh? Like what?

[takingkarabusiness]

Flying, super strength, super speed, invulnerability to most things, really really good vision...

[ she's kind of embarrassed talking about it ]

Just... a variety.

[nostraightlines]

...okay, so what you're saying is we need to find you some yellow sun.

[takingkarabusiness]

That would certainly be nice, yeah. It won't kill me not to have it, but it's... hard. I don't like it.

[nostraightlines]

I would not want to give up all that, either. Trust me. Same page.

What's flying like? I wanted to fly when I was a kid.