driftfleet | 01

Entry tags:

01 | action

Who: Hartley and YOU
Broadcast: nope. once you put something on the internet it's there forever, you know.
Action: SS Paisley and the Iskaulit
When: upon his arrival and throughout the day

a. [closed] action for Paisley Captain and First Mate

[ hartley's stay aboard the marsiva is short lived, so he's managed to glean very little information. it's unsurprising; it would hardly be entertaining for an audience to watch him appear only to instantly disappear. if entertainment value is the main criteria behind every production decision, then he imagines he's not going to find his assignment to his liking; peaceful coexistence is a terrible bore to watch. steeling himself for the worst, he decides to tread carefully for now. he has a lot of learning yet to do, and it would be preferable if he isn't constantly interrupted to attend to petty squabbles. besides, getting into fights will increase his ratings which will increase the focus given to him by this show if he's to accept the premise and that - would limit his mobility. that means that, for now, he has to respect the hierarchy of the ship. from the little he's managed to learn so far, the fleet has two ranks worth noting - captain and first mate. so after locating his room and making himself as presentable as he's able (honestly, couldn't he have been taken with a better wardrobe than the casual wear cisco put him in? this is humiliating. he at least leaves the baseball cap and brushes his hair.), he goes to seek out those members of his crew he's meant to follow - and find out their qualifications because hierarchy or no hierarchy, he's not following an idiot. once he finds the correct hatches, he knocks, seeking admittance. ]

This is your new communications officer, permission to enter?

b. [OTA] action for Paisley crew and guests

[ the rest of the crew can find him wandering the ship, acquainting himself with every nook and cranny. before he settles in his bunk to start figuring out a game plan, he wants to know everything he has to work with. he pays special attention to the communications station, engine room, and laboratory, taking mental stock of the available equipment and supplies. he knocks before entering, but if there's no answer and no lock, he lets himself in all the same. ]

c. [OTA] action for the Iskaulit

[ once he satisfies his curiosity for his own ship, the next logical step is to take a visit to the communal vessel. his preliminary skim of the network informed him of the existence of a library on board, so of course that's his first stop. he expects any book of actual value to be out on loan but people tend to focus on the obvious, making them miss the immense, sometimes superior value in out-of-the-box thinking. he picks up a few books that would, at worst, help him pass a little time. he continues to systematically make his way through the ship, acquainting himself with every business before settling down in a strategic corner of the málum that allows him the best most hidden view of the patrons, with a virgin cocktail (it's not the time to dull his mind, after all) and one of the books he picked up ]

d. [closed] video for cisco ramon

[ upon studying the fleet manifest, he finds one familiar name. searching through the network proves that it is, in fact, the person the name suggests it to be. multiverse theory does suggest that it's possible this cisco isn't the cisco he knows, but from a purely dramatic standpoint - it would make no sense not to take them from the same verse, they would be far too entertaining. besides, it's a mystery easily solved - different verses would vibrate in a different frequency to avoid collapsing into each other. a simple test can let them know if they do in fact share a universe. of course, cisco is likely to be a annoying about allowing hartley to scan him after the way he put barry's scans into use, but that's really more of a mild annoyance at the moment than an actual problem. after mulling it over every which way, he decides it's better for him to reveal himself quickly and under his own terms than to allow cisco to happen upon his presence on the crew manifest or by running into each other unexpectedly.

dialing the man's private number, he clicks the video option, knowing the other is likely to think it some sort of time wasting trick. suspicion is so tiresome. ]

Boo.

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It's astounding you can hear the song over your own tomfoolery.

[ already, he's getting annoyed. ]

Have you just gained no observational skills? How about basic logic? Are you at least tying your own shoes?

Ok, I'm giving you until the end of this song to start talking like a person or I'm hanging up.

[ he has a Zoom hologram on his hands and Winn is still not doing well, time is of the essence. ]

I'm actually working here. Some of us have priorities. What do you want.

Terrifying.

[ dryly. but he can tell something is really bothering cisco, something beyond their general predicament. if something happened to rattle him, it's probably something he should be concerned about too. just asking probably wouldn't work, though, would it.

he adjusts his strategy. ]

A truce. There's no point to making a spectacle out of ourselves. [ it'll only give their captors what they want, and that's the last thing hartley wants to do. ] What are you working on? [ perhaps if he asks under the guise of offering an olive branch for a selfish reason, he'll actually get an answer. ] I can help. [ he takes care not to sound too eager or interested. these first few steps into a possible new alliance are delicate. cisco will take time. it's alright, time seems to be the one thing they have in ample supplies. ]

[ he wants to say, uh how about no and hang up but forces himself to not reach for the comm just yet. Sure, Hartley was by no means his favorite person and sure, Cisco remembers all too well the last time he accepted his help but faced with the vibes, Caitlin's words about Zoom and everything else -

He's a jackass but he's not Thawne and he's not Zoom and like it or not, this whole thing is their problem. ]

Making a file for a friend. He does computers better than me.

[ he shakes his head ]

The multiverse and time are all mixed up here. Where are you on the timeline? what do you remember before this place?

[ it worked. amazing. sometimes, he even astounds himself. he decides to answer instead of pointing out that their memories may not align because they may not share a universe - his own sacrifice to maintaining the peace. ]

I had just given you everything you needed to save Ronnie. [ there's no need to bring up what happened next - if cisco remembers it then he knows, and if he doesn't, it's better to instill the notion of peaceful cooperation in his mind.

if cisco is from the future, hartley's very interested to know what befall ronnie. he's given them what they needed, they better have had the good sense to utilize it. ]

[ a low whistle ]

wow, that's forever ago.

[ and Ronnie is gone. but he says nothing of it. it occurs to him that all of this means that not only he has no idea about Zoom, he has no idea about Wells.

great. ]

I can't talk about this on the comms.

[ forever ago. all he gives cisco by way of acknowledging how disturbing that statement is is a slight frown.

ah, a meet. he considered this possibility carefully before making this call, though he didn't expect it to come up quite this soon. cisco has always been the easiest for him to toy with, but at the same time...he remembers the surprise he had for him all too well.

inviting cisco to the paisley gives him no advantage: he's new here, and doesn't know his crew well yet. for all he knows, they could know cisco and should an altercation occur, take his side. it also exposes his private space to whatever invention cisco might choose to plant in it. worrying about bugs may seem foolish in a reality show, but it's not aired on their comms. going to see cisco at his home turf has its obvious risks too - cisco will be surrounded by friends, because of course he is. popularity comes so easily to him with his effortless charisma and sunny disposition. he will also have access to everything he's managed to put together in his time here. a neutral location, however, harbors all these risks as well, and lacks privacy. offering to come to cisco is risky - but it offers the greatest rewards as well. it's a big step in earning his trust. ]

I can come to you.

I'm on the Blameless.

[ he hangs up after that. as far as knowing his way around shuttles, hartley will manage by himself. cisco has to use this time to put away nearly every bit of research he has. he's not letting him in on his things, he's nowhere near as naive. he makes sure to put away Hank's files too. he'll have to start coming up with ways to stop him if he ever goes full dramatic villain-to-be once again. he still remembers the last time all to well.

trust the atroma to bring in one of the only people he can't trust at all instead of an actual friend. but despite the fact that hartley is a royal jackass who cares nothing about other people, he still at least deserves to hear the truth about Wells. despite the loathing, Cisco recognize the need for the truth for all of those Wells fucked over. he may be a bit petty when it comes to hartley but won't deny him at least that and some knowledge of zoom. if Hartley knows about those two, cisco has done his job at being the bigger person. ]

[ hartley assumes cisco's going to be hiding everything worth knowing - he may be an idiot, but he's not stupid - which means the shorter he makes his commute, the greater his chances of gleaning something cisco missed. he doesn't fuss with the shuttles - he intends to learn to pilot them on his own, but for now he uses the autopilot function. once he's safely aboard the blameless (he rolled his eyes at the name. of course that's where cisco would be, the star labs crew do so love ignoring their faults and liability), he shoots him a text. ]

I assume you don't want me looking through your entire ship, exact directions would be helpful.

[ which room, cisco. not appearing behind him and taking years off his life is hartley's attempt at being the bigger man. for...the purpose of gaining enough of cisco's trust to discover as much information as he can and eventually bring down this illegal and immoral production. ]

[ the one item he knows is well hidden under lock and key, not only from hartley, but from everyone else, is Vibe's goggles. Cisco keeps them away, as if doing that will somehow mean he'll never need to use them.

He knows better, he does; but at least this way no one asks him questions he can't answer. The only person to know about Vibe is Winn and Cisco intends to keep it this way.

he rolls his eyes at the message; he's really not very sure that he's ready to be in the same room with Hartley, not with his mind already filled with worries and fears and uncertainties but he asked for it which means, Ramon, that you have to see it through, harry's voice, dry, reasons in his head. ]

It's like dealing with the entire toolbox all at once.

[ but tool or not, at least he gets along with Harry, most days. raising his voice, he calls ]

over here.

[ it's not a big ship, he should be able to follow his voice. ]

[ cisco really does make it hard on him. he's trying to be civil, but being summoned with a yell as if he's a dog is really rubbing him the wrong way.

swallowing down the indignity for the time being, he makes his way through the ship, looking for the open hatch. he stops when he sees cisco. the change in the man is subtle, but he's known him long and well enough to spot the touches of the hand of time and stress. deep down, in a place he refuses to allow himself to acknowledge - he's concerned. cisco may be a brat who's taken his place and lost sight of basic human rights when confronted with their rivalry - but he knows he's also a good man, and anything that would concern him - is bad news for the rest of them. ]

So how long is forever?

[ he falls right into their previous conversation as if it were never interrupted. this is an unpleasant experience for both of them and there's no point to drawing it out. ]

Long enough.

[ far too long. they have all changes since Hartley's timeline, each of them shaped differently by Wells' betrayal. Cisco misses those days, sometimes, the days their team was complete, Barry, Caitlin and him, all guided by Dr. Wells. It's a stupid thought, Wells was always a lie but it's there, still.

He doesn't know how to even begin telling Hartley about it all. he begins with the simple, pained: ]

Ronnie's gone.

[ he felt so deeply for caitlin, then. felt so happy when she got her happy ending and the wedding to the man she loved and heartbroken when she lost him again. only to find a budding love again and -

be betrayed by it.

Cisco will see this Zoom thing through, will see him gone. for Barry, for Caitlin. ]

He died saving the city.

[ he wasn't expecting this answer. he was expecting the wave of emotion that comes with it even less. he and ronnie never got along. the man was courteous enough, but he always put his relationships before his work which, to someone who had no relationships outside his work like hartley, was incredibly frustrating. he wasn't a genius, so even the most basic of bonds like his screwed up competition with cisco weren't there. but he was nice, and good looking, and a part of him he's kept quiet was always silently arguing with itself whether he wanted to be him, or be with him. neither was ever a possibility, and it wasn't anything more than a tiny crush, but it was there. and more than that - what happened to ronnie was partly hartley's fault. if he had spoken up despite dr. wells' threats - ronnie wouldn't have had to run into the particle accelerator, he wouldn't have merged with professor stein he wouldn't have turned into an urban legend.

was he too late? no. cisco said he died saving the city. that has to mean they got him back first - because that is a quintessentially ronnie thing to do. is that worse, or better?

he imagines cisco's waiting for some cruel retort from him, and he has them, swirling in his mind. if he were trying to push cisco away he would use them, too. he's glad that's not his objective just now, because if he's feeling ronnie's loss - he knows cisco is experiencing it tenfold. they were actually friends. ]

What happened.

Eobard Thawne.

[ some would say I'm the Reverse, is whispered somewhere in the back of his mind and he has to shake his head and sit down. Whatever hold Thawne had on their hearts, Cisco would like to think it's gone. but he also knows better. ]

We knew him as Dr. Wells. I wouldn't believe it until I saw Wells' decomposed corpse. None of us ever knew our earth's Harrison Wells. Thawne killed him and I have no idea how, he took over his looks and been parading as him for years.

[ it's not something he enjoys telling, especially not to Hartley, who has been a victim of Thawne as well. it's different than telling Winn who has never met the man. ]

He's called the Reverse Flash. He's a speedster. Yeah, I know.

[ again, cisco takes him by surprise. he's not done looking for answers about ronnie, but he sets it aside for now. if he digs too deep down that well, cisco might mistrust his motives, or think he cares. he's not sure which would suit his agenda less.

eobard thawne. cisco says it like he's talking about the boogeyman - but the name is unfamiliar to hartley. well, thawne rings a bell, he's done his research before making his move on star labs, but he's certain the detective's name wasn't eobard.

he watches cisco as much as he listens to him, and none of his lying tells present themselves. he has nothing to accomplish with such a story, either, but still it's difficult to accept.

if what cisco is saying is true, then hartely was taken in from the start. he wasn't cast aside for uncovering a mistake, a risk dr. wells deemed worth taking - he was cast aside for happening on his diabolical plan. what plan, though? it's a huge risk to take for a theory he had no way of proving if he were looking for a way to give himself superpowers. and if he is a speedster - why the charade? why the wheelchair, why the flash? it doesn't add up. there are too many unknowns.

his eyes whip back up to find cisco's. ]

You said you don't know how. What about the why.

[ hartley hates being fooled. he should have known something was wrong, but he was blinded by his desire to find a place for himself in the world, somewhere he belonged to. it annoys him to no end. he knew he was played the moment he was kicked to the curb in shame for trying to do the right thing, he knew harrison had never truly cared for him, that he was only using his superior intellect. but he didn't know the man was evil. ambitious - naturally, immoral - obviously. bad?

everything that's happened. all those lives lost. if he hadn't kept quiet, would his career be the only thing buried, or is that a line this - eobard - would also cross? ]

Barry.

[ he is not about the entire story, not to Hartley, anyway. Nora Allen's death, everything Barry had to go through, that's Barry's story and he's not sure Barry would have wanted it shared with someone who cared nothing for him. ]

The point of everything Thawne did was Barry. He went back in time, and got stuck in our timeline. His speed was nearly gone. He needed Barry's speed to open the portal and go back home. So everything since that was done to create the Flash.

[ he pinches his nose ]

He wanted the particle accelerator to explode. All of us, Caitlin, me - you. We were just meant to create something that was always going to go wrong. Once Barry got his speed, he was always keen on helping him. Become faster. So that one day he could use his speed to go back home. He's obsessed with Barry and if the Atroma ever feel like bringing him here - he'll kill everything that moves.

[ there are so many parts of the story he should be focusing on. eobard thawne is a time traveler, a speedster created in the future who went back to create a speedster in the past who was always going to be created anyway, otherwise why would he choose barry allen of all people? killing people is clearly not a problem for him so had hartley remained a problem back in his more...vulnerable days, he wouldn't have lived to see today. there is much to be angry about - but that rage he can keep a lid on.

it's the sheer stupidity of the part that really hurts that makes him feel like screaming, that almost makes him lose control, that has him clenching his jaw, almost shaking with rage.

he's obsessed with barry. it was always all about barry. he should have lost any faith he ever had the day he was fired, but a little bit was still clinging to him, like a very stubborn stain, telling him that some day his value will be recognized again. his parents will see they were wrong, dr. wells will admit he should have listened, and hartley would be back where he belongs.

but it was all a lie from day one. he never belonged, he never mattered, and now he never will. the star labs debacle, the fact that hiring him hampers any potential funding from rathaway industries and its subsidiaries, his challenging personality - he's too risky a hire. and how can he work on something that really matters when he can't trust that it won't be used for evil again?

it's like he's being cast out all over again. he should care about his image in front of cisco - in front of the cameras - but right at this second, all he cares about is never feeling this stupid again. ]

He won't. He'll have nothing to gain from it.

[ he may not have known what eobard's objective was, but he does know how he thinks. emotional involvement is a detriment in chess. it's why, no matter how good he got, hartley always lost to eobard. ]

[ anyone else would get an 'I'm sorry' and cisco is tempted but somehow realizes an apology wouldn't be accepted in this case and remains silent. Eobard has been haunting him since he spoke of his great destiny of his powers, since he told him he showed him what it's like to have a son before killing him. that eobard had somehow enjoyed their company to some extent both sickens and comforts him.

it's an odd dissonance. ]

He's gone.

[ Eobard, that is ]

not that it matters here but at home, he's gone but Ronnie's gone, too. Eddie's gone.

[ they're lost so many people. ]

[ should he be feeling relief? he doesn't. he's angry, angry that his chance to face thawne - he forces himself to use the name. there was never wells, the memory is as false as the feelings he imagined there - was taken from him, his chance to get even. and worse, he's angry that he's sad, that his loss brings him no joy, no relief. thawne's feelings may have been forged, but hartley's weren't. to him, dr. wells was a father who took him in after his own cast him out. his betrayal had hurt not only because it jeopardized central city and threatened his career - but because hartley believed that he truly wanted to do good in the world, and it hurt to see another man he admires make the wrong choice, choose the immoral self-serving path.

his feelings are complicated and conflicted, so he puts them away until he's free to tend to them on his own, and instead focuses on what cisco says next. he can't help himself, he's curious. he needs to know that at least one part of his plan had gone right, even if it was all for nothing. ]

Was Ronnie ever back? [ he keeps his voice even, but he can't keep the anxiety completely out of his eyes; he needs to know that he at least did right by ronnie. ronnie paid worse than the ultimate price for hartley's inability to stand up to thawne's threats, he needed to make it right. it sucks that thawne went and made his correction meaningless - but it doesn't take away from hartley's actions.

no, what takes away from him is the fact that he gave up. he made his point and cut his loses and moved on and he clearly should have stayed. but he had thought...he thought there was nothing more to be said, to be done. that star labs was now completely lost to him.

he was wrong. again. clearly, it could get even more lost. ]

He managed to marry Caitlin before he died.

[ it's a small comfort, at least to him. that Ronnie had the chance to vow his love to Caitlin and see her in that pretty dress and be surrounded by friends and cherish his life and his love before the end. ]

We got her back months after that. She couldn't come back, not after he was gone. Wells was gone. Eddie was gone.

[ and their little family broke apart only to come together again because of, well. ]

But then Zoom came. He's - from Earth-2, it's what we call it. It's the one alternate universe we have contact with. Zoom is from there. He's a speedster, too. faster than Eobard was, I think. Though the thought of them competing honestly gives me the chills.

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