driftfleet | Captain's Log 04 - It's a Rock Party

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Captain's Log 04 - It's a Rock Party

Who: Jim Kirk + You
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Yes - either on the Tourist or the Planet (this post will be functioning as a semi-overflow)
When: Nowish

[ Hello, fellow Drifters. Today you shall find one Captain Kirk, currently of the Tourist, smiling into the camera - perhaps a bit to delighted for everyone's comfort, so if you know what's good for you turn off the broadcast now. Or stick around. It's really 50/50 with him some days. He clears his throat, for a moment attempting to look serious outside his obvious delight. ]

So, first things first, some house keeping -

For those who don't know, I'm James Tiberius Kirk, Captain of the Tourist, newly minted a few weeks ago. Please just call me Jim or Kirk, though. Any problems with the Tourist or her crew can be directed to me, or if I am not available you can relay a message to my first mate - Fenris.

[ Let that sink in everyone and then think real hard about if you want to go that route ever. ]

Now, with that out of the way...

[ His face resumes its delight. ]

Since we're all sharing what little treasures we've been getting from the planet we're all on, I thought I would join in the fun.

[ He messes with something off camera, and everyone will be treated to the dulcet tones if the The Beastie Boys. Kirk is bobbing his head and every now and then either strumming an air guitar or beating on air drums.

The song ends and his grin is so very pleased with itself. ]

Words to live by, my fellow Drifters. Words to live by.

_{[ ooc: Inside this post will be a section for continuations of planet mingle threads if we have not already started one somewhere else! Feel free to add one here if I miss yours or if you would like to start one since I'll also be putting up the original starters from the mingle. ]}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You do get choked a lot.

_{[ He nearly choked on his own spit and coughed, flushing. ]}

It's not like I go looking for it!

[ He grins, boyish and young. ]

It must be quite the irresistible neck.

You should know, shouldn't you? I seem to recall you paying it a lot of attention not that long ago.

_{[ He smirked at him. ]}

Of course. I always pay attention to such details.

Yes, very attention driven.

_{[ He shook his head and squeezed Leto's hand tighter, looking back to
the tree. ]}

Feeling anything yet?

No, I --

[ He jerks his head, eyes narrowing at the tree. Something drops in front of him. A ring. It looks worn and it has a triangle-cut diamond placed at its center. Leto's breath catches at the sight of it and another memory slips by, unbidden. ]

_{[ He couldn't stop the memory from pouring in with their hands still
clasped, jerking his hand away before the memory had gone to far. He rubbed
at his fingers, looking down at the ring. ]}

I thought... I had assumed your father died much earlier. I thought he was part of the memories of the Worm?

He is . . . part of the ancestral line. Therefore, his . . . semblance lives in me as well.

[ Leto goes over to pick up the ring. This is your ring, Father, Leto had said, twisting it onto the man's finger. The real reason was . . . he wanted an excuse. To touch him. To feel his hands. To feel he was real.

He buried this ring. Leto was no Duke after all. Closing his eyes, he cradles it to his chest. ]

_{[ Kirk looked to him and came close, reaching down to take his hand
again. ]}

That's the one from your memory, isn't it? What does it mean?

It is proof of our lineage and identity. The Atreides is a Noble House, one of the Great Houses of my time. My father used it when his father was killed in treachery. He threw off the shackles of the Fremen and took the Empire for his own.

[ Revenge. Politics. Always, it has been politics. Leto stands up. ]

And it came to me, the son. But I am no longer simply Atreides. I am the Emperor.

_{[ Kirk released his hand and stood with him, moving his gaze from the
ring to Leto. ]}

But here you're just Leto. Here, for now, you don't have to be that - you can just be Leto Atreides, a man stuck on a ship and traveling the galaxy.

[ He chuckles softly. ]

No one is simply just a name, Captain. Not even you. And certainly not me.

No, I know, but what I mean is - you don't have to be the emperor here, just like I'm a Captain, but mostly only in name if we're honest. Maybe you can use this time to explore what being just Leto means for you, instead of Emperor Leto.

[ What does Leto mean? Once, he was Dune and being Dune had been easier. No memories, no obligations. Only the strangeness of his skin to conquer. But he had to leave that behind. Leto was never good at running away.

And what would they say if they knew? That Leto is a fabrication, a stitched together person made from countless others. There's nothing original about him. Nothing special. Every unique personality trait had been diluted from birth.

The ring casts colours over the wood. The urge to fling it away was great, but this was the ring that touched his father's hand. ]

What do you think it means?

[ Easier. Cheating. Leto can play any part once he knows how others see him. ]

_{[ Kirk wondered at the question, because normally, as far as he had
been able to tell, Leto had answers. He could see futures and pasts, had
made his decision and made his bed with it, so to speak. He had always seen
Leto as confident and sure of himself, even if Kirk's heart ached for the
choice he had made, respected him for the fact he would keep it despite the
pain it would cause him. ]}

I think... I think it means someone who is very brave, to mystic for his own good sometimes, and someone who is - was, perhaps - lonely. I think it's someone who is still searching for the thing that defines him outside of the role he has taken for himself.

_{[ He remembers their other conversations - the ones about hope and
memories and how he had taken on what he was so early in his life. Did he
even have time to discover whom he was? And all those memories that came
with the skin, as Leto had explained it. If that was the case, he would
still be looking - wouldn't he? ]}

[ He feels the words settle, feels it steady, like a ship on the waves. ]

It'll do.

I'm curious, you know. What the answer you find will be.

Even I do not know that.

Ah, so there really are some things you can't see.

I'm not omniscient in the ways of . . . emotional revelations. Time is time. I can simply see it.

But the point is that - remember when you told me? About there being no surprises for you anymore? Doesn't this count as a surprise for you?

[ He nods slightly. ]

It does. Though I'd prefer a more pleasant one. But beggars can't complain.

Not out loud, at least.

[ Leto glances at the ring. He finally slips it onto his finger. It'll fit for now. He had a few more years until his appendages abandoned him. ]

It is well. I have moped enough.

Captain's Log 04 - It's a Rock Party

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