text;

[nostraightlines]

Who: José Ramse and YOU
Broadcast: fleetwide text
Action: the Starstruck
When: now!

Celeste Blackwell went home. At least, I figure that's where they sent her. So much for my plan to be as boring as possible to get sent back.

...

Does anyone here know where I could get sleeping pills or anything like that?


[ Ramse can be found on the bridge of the Starstruck, staring down at the unfortunate moon. He's definitely in a mood. ]

Comments

[nostraightlines]

[ Interesting, considering as a superhero he'd imagine she gets showered with praise from admirers. ]

So I've been told. I'm a pretty open book, that helps.

[takingkarabusiness]

It can. I appreciate honesty.

[nostraightlines]

Yeah... I've made my mistakes but I've always been honest, I guess.

Seems like you are, too, that must be hard to balance with a secret identity.

[takingkarabusiness]

It's hard. I really don't think of myself as a good liar. Though, my sister once told me the best way to be a good liar is to make people think you're a bad liar.

Except, I think I'm just bad.

[nostraightlines]

How often do you have to straight up lie?

[takingkarabusiness]

A lot more than I'd like to?

[nostraightlines]

They say you get better at it, the longer you have to. It helps if you've got your story straight beforehand.

[ ...not that he'd really know. He's hardly ever lied in his life. ]

[takingkarabusiness]

Yeah. I guess I make it work when I don't have a choice.

[nostraightlines]

You're just doing what you have to, to protect yourself and the people you care about. Right?

[ It doesn't mean you're a liar. It means you have a secret. ]

[takingkarabusiness]

Yeah. I don't... want anything to happen to anyone just because they know me.

[nostraightlines]

[ He hums thoughtfully. ]

We don't have heroes in my world but we've got comic books. I've seen it happen in those.

I've been there, too.

[takingkarabusiness]

Have you?

[nostraightlines]

Yeah... I got somebody killed. The last person I ever would have wanted to hurt.

[takingkarabusiness]

[ goes to place a hand over his hand lightly ]

Oh... José... I'm so sorry. What happened?

[nostraightlines]

[ He'll take the contact pretty much always, this time turning his hand to hold hers and focusing on that instead. ]

It's kind of a long story. Remember the crazy woman trying to reset the timeline? After the massacre I stole something from her so she couldn't send anyone back anymore, and she sent her soldiers to come back and get it. I wasn't there... Elena was.

Maybe without me she would have died in the raid anyway. Hard to say. But if there's one thing I've learned from all this time travel is that you shouldn't try and change the past. Shouldn't wish for what was. So it happened, and it was my fault, and I have to live with that.

[takingkarabusiness]

[ she'll lace their fingers, then, for added support ]

It sounds like it was that woman's fault. Her soldier's fault. You couldn't have known.

[ she realizes this is a "do as i say not as i do" situation, because she would absolutely blame herself in this situation. ]

[nostraightlines]

I knew she'd come for the case, and I should never have left them alone with it. But she sent them for me so I thought... [ He sighs, squeezing Kara's hand just a little. Ramse will never stop blaming himself for Elena. ] There was just something else I had to do and even with time travel you can't be in two places at once. It was the soldier's fault. He died for it on the spot, the leader killed him. To stop a fight from breaking out, I guess.

[takingkarabusiness]

I really am sorry.

[ There's nothing to say about it, really. It sucks. But she'll sit there and hold his hand and sympathize with his situation. ]

[nostraightlines]

Thank you.

[ He's quiet for a moment, in respect of Elena, then clears his throat. ]

I understand it, that's all, that responsibility for the people you care about because of who you are and the things you've done. I'm sorry you have to worry about it.

These aliens you fight, are they as strong as you?

[takingkarabusiness]

Some. Not all.

Actually... My Aunt Astra and her husband Non... They're alive, and they don't have good intentions for Earth.

[nostraightlines]

You have to fight your own family..?

[ Hopefully to capture them, not to kill them, but still that's horrible. He's fought his brother once already, he knows he couldn't do it again. ]

[takingkarabusiness]

They're not giving me much choice.

Non... I was never close to. But Astra is my mother's identical twin. We were very close before my mother imprisoned her.

[nostraightlines]

Do you know what they're planning for Earth?

[takingkarabusiness]

Not really. Not yet. Just that they don't mind if people get caught in the crossfire.

[nostraightlines]

I'm sorry. That's always a mess, even without it being family.

[ His thumb strokes over the back of her hand -- he didn't mean to bring up something so upsetting. ]

Let's talk about something else. Tell me about that day job of yours.