The HS Maldua

[thespaceopera]

[Well, it's finally happened. The Maldua has docked and now is your chance to deliver your gumball cargo--regardless of whether or not it's in perfect condition, it would seem.

Multiple ships can dock on the Maldua at once, as can individual shuttles. So whether you're helping, breaking things, or watching others do all the work--interaction can be between pretty much anyone, not just crews.

Here's the event post, for reference. Have fun!]

Comments

[birdsbirdsbirds]

PRIVATE TRANSMISSION TO TEK (but totally hackable for comms officers) ►

[he rarely sounds entirely genuinely serious about anything. he's too casual to sound negatively affected by the world around him. except for moments like this--where he speaks with mature, gravelike intent. remember that time the forest planet played songs that no one but they could have remembered? it's the same voice coming in over his personal communicator.]

Tek, come to the Maldua if you aren't already in-route. It's here. You need to see this.

[there's a pause where he tries to be patient, but he can't, so he says one more thing.]

Do you remember...? Back at the tower, there were those metal men. What were they called?


PUBLIC & IN-PERSON ►

[if anyone happens to be looking for Robin for any reason, he's around... he's standing off to the side of the docked Bloodsport, letting the Helpers do all of the work. there's a sort of tenseness about the way he's standing still and tracking their back-and-forth movement with just his eyes. he's clutching his communicator at his side, but he doesn't seem to be talking to anyone on it.]

[heresyandlace]

Stewards.

[and that's all. he's keeping the rest of his thoughts and reactions close to his chest, for now.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[which is not surprising, since Tek sounded like that the last time, too.]

That's it. [...] They look just like them. I can't be imagining it.

[heresyandlace]

Are you surprised?

[and he's not telling if he's surprised either.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

...Yes. I am.

[his answer was hesitant, like he had to think about it first. but yes, how could he have predicted this? what does it mean? is it just a bizarre coincidence?]

I'd thought all this followed a pattern. When they mess with one of us, they mess with all of us. So for these things to be here, something only a couple of us would recognize...

[heresyandlace]

[there is just enough of a pause that Robin would notice it as a hesitation. just a blink of extra time before he forges ahead. his voice is still cold and clipped, but it's only the fact that this is a closed broadcast that allows him to say anything about it at all.]

The world I died on. Do you remember its name?

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Hm? [he thinks back. name for a name, that's a fair trade.

...but he hesitates himself, because as soon as he remembers the name, Tek's point is pretty clear to him.] Mor. M-O-R.

[heresyandlace]

Does that sound familiar to you?

[because he doesn't remember how much of his own world that Robin has learned--from himself or otherwise.]

Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe the robots are a coincidence.

Maybe we are surrounded by hundreds of coincidences, large and small.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[he sighs, a quiet huff of frustration.]

Then I guess my next question is... Are these from the tower, or did they never belong to the tower to begin with? [Tek can't answer that, of course, so Robin cuts in a moment later with another thought.] Think I should take one?

[heresyandlace]

Of course.

[the tone itself is light, as if the wary mood he's in is lifting, but there's still a decisive weight behind the sentiment.]

Take whatever you can.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[his tone does not change in the slightest. it's not hard to imagine him ticking through a dozen different considerations in a matter of seconds.]

Does the Pathstone have a tactical officer on board?

Action | OTA

[grandstanding]

[When the Heron docked with the Maldua, Erik didn't immediately venture out to see the ship. He stayed inside for a while, eyes shut, seeing what he could feel about it. Ultimately, it wasn't much. Maybe space is no good for these sorts of things.

So he heads into the hold to observe the action instead. His attention is fixed on what the Helpers are doing, scurrying around and unloading the crates from the ship. When one of them happens to come within a couple of feet of him, merely on its way to the next crate, it comes to an odd halt. Legs still in the middle of a step.

A moment later it just crumples to the ground with a clang. Erik, for his part, is staring at it with a bemused expression.]

That was odd.

[Really, all he'd done was freeze a couple of gears to see what would happen. That was practically nice.]

[beardstrokes]

[ Well. There's something you don't see every day. Obi-Wan was half-tempted to clap. It takes skill to dismantle a droid on sight.

Honestly, he's a little jealous. ]

Nicely done.

[grandstanding]

It looked a lot more impressive than it was.

[He nudges the fallen Helper with his boot. Some of the other robots are now hurrying over to try and ferry it off with them.]

I don't think these are very sturdy.

[ action/ota ]

[precedented]

[ Leto did not like robots. The Butlerian Jihad was at the forefront at his mind whenever he watched the automatons at work. Thou shalt not suffer a thinking machine goes the old adage and he feels the stirrings of irritation watching the machines work. These can hardly be called thinking machines and yet . . .

A few of them approach him, trying to get onto the Golden. Leto offers his most terrifying glare and sends them scurrying. ]

[beardstrokes]

Still, that's not something anyone can do with such ease.

[ He pauses. ]

I don't suppose I can offer you a job in another galaxy?

[grandstanding]

I'm afraid not. I'm already spoken for.

[Not technically true, but he always was more of a self-employed person in his own cause.]

But I'm interested to know what job you think would suit me.

[beardstrokes]

We're fighting a war against a droid army. Someone who can dismantle metal on sight would prove to be quite handy.

[ Obi-Wan can crush droids easily enough with the use of the Force, but there's no way that kind of power would stand up to an army of droids. Someone whose power is the manipulation of metal would strike a blow to the Separatists like nothing else could.

And then, perhaps, Obi-Wan could thwart Palpatine's plan in one clean blow. ]

[grandstanding]

[He'd hardly call what he did dismantling, even if he could do that easily enough. The Helper is still, as far as he can tell, intact. Barring a few slightly twisted gears. Now the other ones are pulling it away across the hold.

He watches them go for a moment, before looking back to Obi-Wan.]

So, some kind of robots or machines. I don't have much affection for those myself.

[The Sentinels were problem enough.]

[beardstrokes]

Neither do I.

[ Obi-Wan doesn't need a reason to dislike droids or machines. ]

An army of them, while not the most intelligent, can still do a lot of damage.

[experiencepoints]

[She's stopping to stare.]

... I was gonna use lightning, but that was more impressive.

ota

[complicatedliar]

[After discovering the more curious properties of the gumballs, Loki is certainly looking to investigate further. Knowledge is power, after all. As the Helpers go after the cargo, he picks one up to examine it more closely.

Hah. Powers down immediately. Interesting. He'll take his time going over the thing as minutely as he can with the magics at his disposal. He might even start taking it apart, a bit. Mechanical things have never been his primary interest, but who knows what might come in handy.

And he'll have a bit of fun scaring the robots away, though watching them scurry off loses its amusement quickly. It's really not the same when they don't scream.]

well, you did say ota~

[complicatedliar]

[Considering their previous encounter, he probably ought to avoid Leto, to save himself from temptation if nothing else. On the other hand, that would be an admission he'd been spooked somehow, and he's never been one for that sort of self control.

He'll put in his appearance when he can come in from close, with a dryly amused observation of:]

Scaring the help, Leto?

I was going to ping you, no lie

[precedented]

[ Leto isn't surprised, at least not in the colloquial sense. He had expected more time to pass before Loki made his presence known. While Loki would never admit to the loss of control, he plans his moves much better than this.

At least, Leto admits, at times. Whether he succeeds or not is debatable. ]

I suppose I am. I have no fondness for machines.

[grandstanding]

It wasn't actually what I was trying to do.