driftfleet | [snuggle up real close everyone]

A

[It was window-cleaning day for the bots, so any visitors to the Windrose might find Castle's group of upgraded bots cleaning the ship's many windows. The squeegees could get a little loud, and sometimes the bots got in competition to clean off every last streak and bit of dust.

Castle... was following them with popcorn. Hey, it was either that or get back into playing paintball.]

B

[Castle's room was now too large to contain his creativity. After his "hey I might be dead" confession, he'd been struck with several ideas for a new mystery- starring, of course, characters who were similar to (but not actually) members of the Drift Fleet.

So he'd set up a board in the cargo bay, with lots and lots of sticky notes attached, to plan a story.]

[Misty arrives, as usual, unannounced, quiet as a mouse. She was fully intending to simply check on the plants but - well now! What's space dad up to?

Popping up behind him, she stares over Castle's shoulder at all the notes.]

What's all this for?

[And Castle only jumps a little with surprise at the sneaking.]

I have been hit with a wave of inspiration, so I'm plotting a new mystery. Since I don't have my murder board, I'm doing it the old-fashioned way.

[She doesn't mean to sneak... it just sort of happens.]

A mystery? About what?

I have a few ideas. Like... murder by leaving someone unconscious on the poison moon. Or shoving them out of an airlock. The Fleet-inspired possibilities are endless.

You're gonna make a murder story about the fleet?

[...]

Do you think that's such a good idea?

Well, I have taken inspiration from real-life events before. I'd never put in actual people or anything, though- just fictionalized versions of them.

But what if someone gets angry at you? It ain't like you can get a restrainin' order or something here.

Plausible deniability. I make them quite different from the real ones, even if there are some similarities. Believe me, I'm well-versed in avoiding lawsuits.

I don't know... still doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

[She shrugs.]

But you're the expert I guess.

Inspiration is around us at all times. My most famous character is based on my fiancee, in fact.

No shit? I hope you made her real badass and everything then.

Definitely. She shares some of Kate's qualities, but she's different in others, too. Hell, I even created a character based on me, but he's not really me- they're not carbon copies.

[She nods. It makes sense. But - there are more important questions to ask, not about fiction.]

Kate. What's she like? The real one I mean.

[Castle gave a dreamy sigh- Kate was clearly one of his favorite subjects.]

She's a damn good cop, but she's been wounded, too. Her mother was murdered when she was younger, and she became a cop in large part to give herself the tools to solve the case and bring the killer to justice. And she ended up becoming passionate about helping other people find justice when the same thing happens to their loved ones.

[Shit. That's hard.]

Sounds like we need more cops like her.

I agree. And that's why she's my muse- I love everything about her, even the broken parts.

Well that's about the sweetest damn thing I ever heard. I hope I find someone like that one day.

It's the best feeling in the world. Knowing I have her to go back to sustains me while I'm here.

That's good, to have somethin' to hold onto like that. And I don't know what I can do, but I promise if I ever get a chance to help you get back, I will.

Thank you. I feel like I've done pretty well here, to be honest, but at the back of my mind I know it's not where I am supposed to be.

[She nods.]

Me and Wrath were talkin' the other day, and I don't get it, why they take some people like me and her who don't mind bein' here, but then take people like you that don't wanna be. Why not just people who got a reason to be away?

I really think they don't have much control over who comes here. They've just learned to make the best of it. Because it's true- I'm sure they could find all kinds of people who'd jump at the chance to be on their show, especially since they can pull people across universes.

You think they ain't doin' this on purpose? That they just take who they can get?

[This thought has never occurred to her.]

It makes sense to me. They found out people were appearing at random and decided to profit from it. Of course, it's not a perfect theory.

Richard Castle | OTA

B!

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