driftfleet | thirteenth labyrinth

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thirteenth labyrinth

Who: Felix Harrowgate
Broadcast: Starstruck & Fleetwide
Action: Pathstone
When: Today-ish

[Felix is ensconced in Crowley's seat at the communications station, not because he's actually using it, because he has no idea how, but because he can. His own communicator is propped up against the controls as he turns it on with a few hesitant button presses.]

[Video ; Starstruck]

[He opens, as always, with a smile, followed by a slightly less usual pause.]

Some of you may have noticed my recent transfer to the Pathstone. I...apologize for the abruptness of my departure. Rest assured that I won't be scarce, and I intend to make periodic visits to maintain the wards.

I am confident you'll all get along just fine without me as your cook. The ship is well appointed enough. I'm certain my cooking won't be missed as it is, but if you find yourself bereft of my company, you know where to find me.

[His closing smile is smaller because, frankly, he isn't sure any of that is true, but he feels a measure of responsibility for the crew he's left behind.]

[Video ; Fleetwide]

I have had a few suggestions for hand-written archives separate of the network, so I would like to formally announce I will now accept submissions from fleet members for any written materials to be later added to the library. This could be guides about the fleet that the augments do not cover, records of our encounters you may wish to distance from the Atroma, or information about your worlds or skills or any other topic you feel would be useful to others.

[Reluctantly] And, I suppose, if you fancy yourself a storyteller, any kind of fiction as well.

For now you can add your submissions to the network and I will look into printing and bookbinding in the future, once we encounter a planet with those kinds of resources.

[Because real books are much more fun.]

((OOC: If you would like to submit something, there is a form on my journal. Actually writing a book is not necessary, but there is an option to link to the text if you desire. This may be especially useful for user guides and fleet history))

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I don't think you've got anything to apologize for. [ ... ] But you'll be missed, cooking and all.

[One of the key aspects of Felix's personality is that he usually thinks he has to apologize, and he's often right about that that. Especially when there's a suspect pause like that.]

You're far too kind, Captain Carter. Hopefully Atroma will see fit you gift the crew another cook.

Please. Peggy'll do. No need to stand on ceremony. [ especially not now. ] And in the interim, I imagine Steve will step up.

[ he's helpful like that. ]

[He smiles] You are still a Captain, even if you aren't my captain. But, as you wish...

Your friend has many talents.

Most days, I imagine it's less talent and more -- gusto. If he has a talent for anything, then it's for rising to the occasion. Enthusiastically.

[...Nope, there's no way he can suppress the smirk that follows.]

Quite often where you are concerned, I've noticed.

[ -- the implication isn't lost on her, exactly. her understanding is betrayed in the tightening of her jaw and the knitting of her brow.

patiently: ] He's gallant with many, I assure you.

[She didn't hang up on him immediately, so that's a small win, but he has to tread carefully]

I have no doubt of his sincerity. But he transferred to your ship for a reason.

[ a hum. peggy isn't a cruel woman by nature, exactly. but she can be edged in her deflections, and so she's quick to retort: ] Maybe you had a similar reason for your own transfer, hm?

[ she guards herself, always; this is just another way to hide her vulnerabilities. ]

[He recognizes the verbal parry for what it is, but instead of raising his defenses to match, he instead lets it find it's mark. The truth is, his relationship is an open secret, in the sense that while he makes no effort to really hide it, he also does not advertise or speak about it unprompted. He isn't certain if the same is true for Peggy.]

Actually...[he leans forward a little. The conversation is private but his spot on the ship is not]...yes. I would be utterly blind to miss such a move in someone else.

[And, you know, certain incriminating broadcasts from Steve before that]

[ a huffed sigh. here are the vestiges of a hair-trigger temper that once expressed her feelings for steve by emptying a clip at him and his shield. love hasn't come easy to her; it coils up in her stomach and weighs her down like cement. that felix should so easily cop to his feelings...?

it's humbling. peggy shakes her head -- conceding, perhaps, a point that won't be spoken. ]

Well. Then, I'm truly happy for you. All the more reason your transfer ought to be celebrated and not apologized for. [ it's the closest she comes to saying i understand. ]

[To admit it isn't as easy as it looks. Coming this far has cost him, and he still feels as if he's on the edge of disaster for opening himself up to the possibility. But this feeling isn't something he can go without, either.]

Maybe so, though I am not in a hurry to go throwing a party over this. [There will be wine, but there's always wine.]

We both have our reasons for keeping these matters to ourselves. You've done it well, considering I had to make an educated guess.

The irony is that I doubt neither I nor he ever intended to hide it. [ she may as well speak candidly. anyone with half a brain and a quarter of a conversation with both herself and steve could quickly suss out the circumstances. ] We knew each other back home -- but things were strictly professional. We never had a chance.

[He gives her a thoughtful look, not doubting at all her words. Her profession seemed to make keeping her real feelings under wraps constantly.]

That is one thing I have learned not to begrudge the fleet - and places like it. Those chances we have missed or never encountered in the first place...

[He glances down, then gestures vaguely]

Did you work with him, then?

Yes. [ she hesitates. ] And no. It was war-time. And the army always makes it a little more complicated than it needs to be. I suppose it's more accurate to say we both worked for the same cause, but only occasionally in conjunction with one another. My branch and his branch were -- very different.

And what of us who are storytellers as well as tale-keepers, I wonder? [ Maglor looks intrigued ]

What sort of tales are you looking for? I know much of my world's history, but I do not know if it would be of interest to any.

It would at least be of interest to me. [He grinned] I don't expect you to cater solely to my whims, but I admit I wouldn't mind.

[He can't quite help that that came out a tad coy. He doesn't acknowledge it, in any case]

At the risk of being predictable, anything that involves magic in your world, but honestly, anything would be welcome.

[ Maglor chuckles softly ]

No bard ever refuses a chance to ply their trade - we are all far too vain, for that! My only issue is wheter the implants extend so far as to teach me the local script, or we may have a problem.

Mm, well - as you know, there are things in my world which others call magic - some of which I would even do so the same! But if the history of my peoples is of interest, with all the "magic" that implies is of use, then you are welcome to it.

[Felix grins] Your vanity works to my advantage, then.

I've observed that writing works well enough over these devices. It should translate well enough to hand-writing. Unless of course you wished to pen them in your native tongue, and there we may have an issue.

Whatever stories you feel are most...influential? I can't even begin to predict when it may be of use, but who is to say what future worlds might have in store.

I could teach you, if you were ever curious - the basics, at the least! But if writing seems to work, then provided I do not think too hard about what script I am using, hopefully it will come out in something that everyone can read.

[ Maglor hums softly ]

Mm, well, without being too biased, the Noldolantë would probably be a good place to start - at the least, it would be useful since my family is quite strongly represented here, and it is the tale of our people's rise and fall, in which we all feature... quite prominently. Other than that... mm, I think you would be interested in the Valaquenta, which is the tale of our world's beginnings. And I would always included Daeron's Lay of Leithian, for it's sheer wonder, if nothing else, but it ties in quite neatly with the Noldolantë anyway. There are many others, but those are probably the most wide spanning. Those are all "old" stories, of course - "history". Of things more "current", I would also include the various parts of the tales of the Rings of Power, from their beginnings to their later end, and probably Master Bilbo's There and Back Again, also, which sets up the later events of the Ring War quite nicely.

[This is...certainly a list. He looks vaguely astonished for a moment, caught by immensity of what that offer might entail as well as the generosity. He probably shouldn't be, but part of him is always suspicious of ulterior motives in people]

You have...all of these texts memorized?

[ A vaguely slightly embarrassed grin ] I did try not to be too biased, but the Noldolantë is actually my composition.

But either way, I am a bard, and all the tales I listed are the ones that any bard in my world worth their salt should know, even if only the shorter, more simplistic versions. Of course, I have the advantage of having been there, for much of it.

[He forgets, now and then, how absurdly ancient the elves are. It makes remembering that span of history all the more remarkable]

Do you find yourself tempted by bias in the telling of these stories at all?

Always, of course. But I tried my best to be as non biased as possible - it is impossible to eliminate fully! But I did try. And the selection I have offered is a good mix. The Noldolante is mine, but the Lay is Daeron of Doriath's, one of the Sindar. The Ring Wars come from many sources, but the last sections, as well as There and Back Again are written by Hobbits. I hope that by including the many different races, the balance might be maintained. Although I suppose I should also include Atalantie, which is Numenor's tale, and that written by one of the Dunedain, the Westmen who escaped from it's fall.

It sounds like a fair and varied enough account from here, but as it stands I know so little of your world, even for as many of you as I have met. And by you I refer to the elven people - is that the correct collective noun? There were hobbits in the castle, I think, but I never had the pleasure to speak to any of them.

It is, yes. And well, hopefully if you have the time to read them yourself, it would give you a good underpinning of our history. It is a little limited to the scope of what I know, and thus only truly covers Middle-earth, and the Noldor, for the Sindar have few great lays, and the Silvan are reticient to speak of their pasts. Of Men I could do better, but the Rohirrim are the only other folk than the Dunedain to keep records of their past, and theirs are all vocal, not written.

Ah, is that so? That is a pity! Hobbits are a goodly folk with uncommon good sense. And they are marvellous story tellers, I have found.

[Just make yourself at home, Felix, god. Though honestly, Crowley doesn't seem to mind. It's not like he does any work there, anyway. He's watching with some amusement from where he's leaning against a wall.]

If you end up with a book of naughty limericks in your fancy library, you only have yourself to blame.

[Maybe he's marking his territory a little. Even he doesn't know. His response is to lean back in the chain with a jaunty cross of his legs and smile]

Is that a warning, darling, or a promise?

[The demon waggles his flat palm in an 'it can go either way' gesture. ]

Fifty fifty. You'll have to wait and see.

[He flashes a grin. ]

Settling in, are we?

[Felix is unperturbed by the uncertainty, mainly because he made no promise to actually physically publish anything anyone sent him.]

The seat was free.

[He glances back at the console with it's myriad of buttons he doesn't understand]

Your workstation is a bit dreary.

Well, I never really felt the need to bedazzle it.

[He wanders over from his spot, folding his arms on the back of the seat. He leans in, partly to be close to Felix, partly to peer at the aforementioned workstation. ]

It's not like I really use it that much, except to listen in on people's private conversations once in a while. When I'm bored.

[He stares up at Crowley and his eyes widen just slightly]

You can do that?

[He's not sure if he's horrified or intrigued by the possibilities]

[Crowley's smirk turns into a grin. ]

I can. Wonders of the communications augment. I mean, nothing really interesting happens nine times out of then, but you occasionally find a little gem hidden there.

[He shits up straighter in the chair]

You've been holding on out me.

[He laughs, leaning over to flick a few switches- chatter from other conversations filtering through the headset. ]

Perhaps just a little. You're welcome to have a listen, if you want.

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