Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya

[notzubats]

Who: Everybody! It's a planet mingle!
Broadcast: If You want!
Action: On the Holding Hands plant!
When: From June 23 until whenever we need a new mingle.

[At long last, the fleet has arrived to a new planet. This means it's time for a mingle guys! Get in! ]

Comments

[helluva_pilot]

Why?

I haven't heard of it, but it's a big galaxy where I'm from. There are a lot of inhabited places that aren't on the map.

[takingkarabusiness]

There was a catastrophic event. My cousin and I were saved, but besides a few scattered Kryptonians in the universe, we're what's left.

[ whomp whomp sorry for the mood killer, dameron ]

[helluva_pilot]

...oh. That's rough. [He knows how traumatic it is for a whole planet to get blown up from the outside, at least in a general sense. And that's bad enough. But it's never been his home.

He spreads his hands a little, offering a hug. That kind of statement really needs a hug.]

[takingkarabusiness]

[ she will take that hug. WHO TURNS DOWN A HUG!!! if he's receptive to the emotion-sharing physical contact of the planet, he'll notice that the wound is old, and not completely healed, but by Rao she's going to not burden others with that feeling. the hug itself is a good, confident hug. she feels like she needs to comfort him more than he needs to comfort her. ]

Luckily, I ended up with a great human family on Earth.

[helluva_pilot]

[Poe's an open and sharing guy, so there's no resistance to it at all. There's a lot of caring from him, a lot of empathy, and yeah--maybe a glimpse of the destruction of the Hosnian system. He didn't have family there, wasn't from there, but it's still a horrifying thing for so many reasons, and recent.]

Glad to hear it, Kara.

[takingkarabusiness]

But enough about my sob story. How are you? Find anything you like to do down here?

[helluva_pilot]

It ain't a sob story. Don't play it down like that.

[But if she wants to change the subject, he's not going to fight her on it, either. Part of being a friend is not making people talk about stuff they don't want to talk about.]

I'm doing pretty good. Just been relaxing on the beach and having a lot of drinks that involve fruit on sticks. Been needing a vacation. [And he hasn't been sleeping the best since Finn decided to take up half the bunk because he's so freaked out by Hux, but he's not going to complain about that.]

[takingkarabusiness]

I love the beach. It reminds me of home. California home, not Krypton home. We didn't have as nice a landscape as Earth.

[helluva_pilot]

I've been to a couple planets like this before, but not for more than a couple of days. So it's... really great. The forest actually reminds me of my home, though.

[takingkarabusiness]

Oh yeah? What's it like there?

[helluva_pilot]

It's hot and humid. Dense forest everywhere, rains a lot. Not a lot of good coast line or ocean, but some rivers that are fun to raft. So a lot like this place when you get out into the forest and really start sweating. [Grin.] I grew up on a ranch there with my dad.

[takingkarabusiness]

That sounds idyllic. What is it you do at home again? You're a pilot? How did that happen?

[helluva_pilot]

I'm a pilot for the Resistance. Commander of the X-Wing squadrons.

My mom was a pilot for the Rebel Alliance, back when I was too little to remember. She taught me how to fly before I was even old enough to go to school.

[takingkarabusiness]

She sounds incredible. So you must be like really good.

[helluva_pilot]

[He grins.] I'm the best pilot out there. [Sounds arrogant sometimes, but it's true.]

She was great. I... miss her every day.

[takingkarabusiness]

I understand the sentiment. Those quiet moments where something makes you think of them and you think to yourself, oh I'll have to tell them about it, but of course it's not really going to work like that. Not until you're reunited in Rao's Light.

[helluva_pilot]

Yeah. Sometimes I'm thinking... I wish mom could see this. Well, or sometimes I'm glad she can't. You'd think it'd get better after so many years, but...

Never heard of Rao's Light, but... sounds nice.

[takingkarabusiness]

I know. In some ways, I'm lucky— she sent with me a databank of information that projects her image and voice. But it's false comfort most of the time. It can't give me a hug. Her twin—my aunt, Astra—also came to Earth, but it went poorly and we were on opposite sides of justice. She was killed in the course of trying to harm my sister.

Rao was the name of Krypton's sun, and the spirit behind it. Kind of... a religion, I guess? I'm not sure what terms you have.

[helluva_pilot]

I can't even imagine that... like she's there, but if you get to used to it, it's gotta be like hitting a wall. My mom left me her A-wing. I still fly it whenever I visit my dad at home.

[...wow that's really heavy.] Man, that's... that's rough. With your aunt. I'm sorry.

[Religion is kind of... shrug.] There's this mystical thing, called the Force. It's supposed to be some kind of energy that... links everything, I guess. My dad told me about it once, since we had some kind of special holy Force tree growing near our house that Luke Skywalker gave to my parents. Never really understood it, myself.

[takingkarabusiness]

It's been a difficult few months, I can't lie. But that's great about the A-wing. I bet it's really great for you to have that.

Special holy Force tree? I'll take your word for it; I haven't really heard of anything like that.

[helluva_pilot]

Hopefully you're kind of getting a break, here. Despite the whole being kidnapped thing. I'm trying to look at it as shore leave. A really, really weird shore leave.

It's a... Jedi thing. I don't really understand it either. And there's only one Jedi left, when I'm from, so...

[takingkarabusiness]

I feel the same way. I'd rather be at home—there's a lot to deal with right now—but if I have to be here, I may as well enjoy myself.

Oh... That's unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope they find a way to keep the ideas living.

[helluva_pilot]

[continued here]