driftfleet | 002; video

Entry tags:

002; video

Who: Hank McCoy and Erik Lehnsherr
Broadcast: fleetwide
Action: crashed ship
When: today!

[when the feed opens, the network is gifted with the bickering of two men]

I don't see why you can't do this.

[Erik is the one visible on screen, and he doesn’t look pleased about it at all. He jerks his chin towards the wall next to him, irritated.]

Because it’s your idea, and I don’t want to.

[the huff that follows is a little on the growly side]

I’m here to open paths, not send out messages. [As if to punctuate this point, Erik turns away from the camera and swipes his hand through the air. The metal wall crumples to the side with a shriek, curling up on itself like a ringpull.

The camera shifts off of Erik with a muttered "show off" to the plant life spilling out of the side of the hull, and a clawed, blue foot comes into frame to poke at a nearby pumpkin]

In any case - Erik and I are at the crashed ship, if anyone would like us to bring some of these back. If you're interested, feel free to message one of us.

As for the ship - if anyone else is planning to come out here, be careful. There's ways into the ship, but it has been here a while, so it's falling apart. We'll try to get some information about the signal while we're here, though so far we haven't had much luck.

[the camera moves back to Erik]

Do you have anything you want to add?

[Erik’s mostly occupied with pointing his flashlight into the gloom of the area beyond the wall. He does give a curt response.]

No requests for pumpkins bigger than the usual Earth-size.

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[He sighs, and shakes his head. He knows full well what Charles sounds like when talking to rowdy children. It's that tone of voice. The man won't admit to that, though. The image shakes around as Erik steps over to the growing plants, reaching over to examine a leaf between his fingers.]

It isn't what I'd call 'fun', besides.

[ Charles hums, thoughtful. ]

No. But we make the most of what we do.

Edited 2016-10-23 00:59 (UTC)

[Erik puts the communicator down nearby, leaving himself in frame as he gets to work cutting some of the plants away.]

Of course.

The size of these things is ridiculous.

Fascinating. I wonder why they're distinctly larger in the ship than most of the forest.

[ Or at least the forest they've seen so far. ] Perhaps there's a component to the ship that advances their progress.

The plants in the forest get bigger, the further in you go. But I hadn't seen any pumpkins or the like before coming into the ship.

I haven't ventured too far into the forest.

[ The call of that voice keeps him from exploring. Plus, it's not easy to navigate. ]

[Erik nods, still working on cutting a vine free carefully. He hadn't thought Charles would go out too far, given the circumstances. For the most part, Erik didn't either. Never much more than an hour's walk.]

It gets dark very quickly, under the trees out there.

Try not to linger too long in the ship too. We still don't know what that voice is. Or what it means.

[It bothers him too, even though he's never heard it. Some of his dreams out here have been strange, out of the ordinary for him. The regular nightmares are still present, but then there are-- words. Something different.

He pulls a flowering vine away, lying it flat on the floor in front of him. Looking back to Charles, he considers for a moment.]

We won't. We'll finish with this, then try to find the source of the signal, or anything else of use. I don't expect we'll be here once night falls.

[ He nods. There's no point keeping them from it. ]

I'll . . . see you soon then.

[He's not unsympathetic. The distance between them and Charles, the rest of the Fleet, is palpable.]

I'll call once we leave.

[ He nods again before closing the connection quietly. ]

[A few hours later - after the other call Hank had made, to relay the strange coded message to Charles - Erik calls again. He waits as the communicator rings, staring up at the dimly lit core. He can hear every last drip of water, and rustle of leaves. Very little of it. It's deadly quiet, in the middle of the ship.]

[ Charles answers it promptly. ]

Erik?

[Charles's voice seems loud in this space, almost jarring. Erik waits until the faint echo dies down before he speaks himself, his own words intentionally quiet.]

You ought to see this. [He turns the communicator around, aiming it at the core. It's a massive space, though most of it is lost to darkness. The core itself is glowing faintly... working.]

[ He inhales sharply. ]

So there is something on the ship affecting the planet.

[Erik points the camera downwards, at the tiny bank of controls clustering around the base of the core.]

I don't know. The power is coming from the planet. [He shakes his head, though he knows Charles can't see it.] At least that's what it seemed like from the systems I could read.

But what is it powering? The core? That message?

This seems too coincidental to our last Atroma broadcast.

The message wouldn't be broadcasting without this here. [It's technology; it needs power to work. This is the only place in the ship they've seen that has any working power source.]

Best to save theories for later. [This call is on the communicators, after all. Atroma tech.]

Yes, of course.

Are you heading back now?

We're going to check the outer walls of this chamber, first... it's still going to take hours to even get out of the ship. [Even finding the path in here proved harder than he thought. He couldn't slam his way through, with the corrosion and rickety structure. And the ship is huge.]

Maybe you should go.

[ Staying on the ship for hours seems like a bad idea. ]

It won't be so bad, on the way out.

. . . All right. If you're sure.

[He finally turns the camera back around to himself.]

I remember the path we took, so. It should be all right.

Hank's taking plenty of notes.

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