Look - up in the sky...!

[thespaceopera]

Suddenly, the SS Pathstone and the SS Golden begin to move on their own... slowly, calmly, they drift to two different points, a certain distance apart, away from the other ships of the fleet. Then, just as slowly, they turn to face each other.

And that is all the warning there is before the engines engage -- full speed ahead.

Like a pair of rockets, the ships torpedo toward each other, perfectly lined up for a head-on collision, and there is nothing to stop them. No matter what buttons the crews press, no matter how much they might panic, nothing is going to stop the inevitable. Any other ships watching will not have time to attempt any sort of interception.

CRASH!!

As if to shield spectators' eyes from the horrors of ships colliding in space, there's a blinding light upon impact -- and once it gradually fades, the results can be clearly seen by all: There is no wreckage. Nothing is broken. But where there were once two ships... now there's only one.

One ship that is... very clearly made up of parts from the SS Pathstone and the SS Golden, but somehow seems well put together, at least!

-----------

On the bridge, the crews of the SS Golden and the SS Pathstone arrive, along with the usual pop! of Atroma confetti and ridiculous jingle music upon a successful shuffle. Sitting in the captain's chair is a round cake, just large enough for everyone to have one slice. There's a single candle, and the following message scribbled on top in yellow icing:

"Congratulations - SS Goldstone!
Happy Fusion!"




... What, did you think you were going to die? Sorry about that.

Comments

[stormfist]

Good point. Atroma definitely means hell. Living hell, but still hell.

[ She sees that fire on Nightingale's staff. She's known warlocks back home to charge up spells while on-edge while simultaneously trying to pretend they're not on edge, so like she'd do with them, she reaches to put a hand on her shoulder. Reassurance. ]

Don't think there are enemies. Just us and... whoever the new people are.

[experiencepoints]

One of the first rules of adventuring is to assume, until you've set up a safe zone, there are always enemies.

[She's going to wander the ship ready to beat the shit out of anything she sees. But the touch helps, and she does relax, and nod a little gratefully.]

I've talked to some of them. Seems like it's the crew of the Golden.

[stormfist]

Fair. I'll back you up.

[ She nods, following along. She's familiar with that routine, and while this doesn't strike her as something similar to a darkness zone on Venus, or an exclusion zone on Mars, it's still... new. Even if there are bits and pieces of the ship she knows, the rest is foreign, after all. ]

The Golden? That who we crashed into then? Or, uh, "fused" with? [ yes, air quotes~ ]

[experiencepoints]

[She groans quietly at the mention of the fusion.]

Apparently. This is so stupid...

[stormfist]

Anything for ratings. [ She sighs, too. ] Garbage.

[experiencepoints]

Ratings, my ass. I still don't believe there's an audience at all, they're just laughing at us.

[stormfist]

Could be that. [ shrug ] Even if there is an audience, not sure I care.

[ She's bound and determined to punch Atroma (et al) in the face regardless~ ]

... I'm too new for this. You know anyone on the Golden? Since we're apparently living together now and all.

[experiencepoints]

Not until just now, but... Their captain's a little kid, and they all seem like they really want to eat that cake. Which I'm pretty sure is poisoned or something.

[stormfist]

[ Silence, for a second, while she lets that sink in... ]

Yeah, know what? Somehow, that sounds about right. And they can have my piece.

[experiencepoints]

Fuck that, I'm throwing it out the airlock.

[stormfist]

Might have to wrestle it from the kid, you know.

[ Not like she wouldn't pay money to see that, but hey, worth pointing out. ]

[experiencepoints]

I got it.

[She walks over, touches the cake, and it vanishes into thin air.]

[stormfist]

[ lol bye cake ]

Nice. More painless that I would have guessed.

[experiencepoints]

Not yet it's not, it still has to go out the airlock.

[also, the child captain, a new crewmate, and someone on video are all mad at her for it.]

[stormfist]

[ Oh. So... invisible, not gone. Got it. ]

You run for it, I'll guard.

[ Jayden why. ]

[experiencepoints]

[She laughs.]

I appreciate it, but don't worry. It'll be easier when they've forgotten about it. They can't get it now, so it's safe.

[stormfist]

Hah. Fair enough. Shouldn't be too long, with all this chaos.

[ She smiles. She knew there was a reason she liked you, Nightingale. ]

[experiencepoints]

[She likes you too. So much more than the other people telling her she's being a conspiracy theorist.]

I've already had to promise a couple of them I'll make another cake.

[stormfist]

... Guess that's a fair trade. Or maybe they'll forget about that, too.

[ Look, she's pretty sure a lot of people in this fleet have incredibly short attention spans, okay. ]

[experiencepoints]

Not that fair. I don't actually know how to bake.

[Whoops.]

[stormfist]

[ w h o o p s. She snorts. ]

Really hope they'll forget, then. Pretty sure I couldn't bake if I tried.

[experiencepoints]

I hope the augment helps. I used to know, but the last place I was at took all of our skills.

[AND NOW THE CHILD IS UPSET AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO]

[stormfist]

It should, right? [ Beat. ] Or just buy a cake on the ring?

[experiencepoints]

That's a much better plan. He's what, six? No way he'll know the difference between store-bought and handmade, right?