driftfleet | A Rose by any other name...!

Suddenly, the SS Three Twins and the SS Windrose begin to move on their own... slowly, calmly, they drift to into the same direction, away from the other ships of the fleet. Slowly, they move until they side by side.

Over the two ships' intercom, an old song begins to play. And that is all the warning there is before the engines engage -- full speed ahead.

Like a pair of rockets, the ships torpedo forward. As they move, they start circling around each other, like a synchronized dance. They move with incredible grace and skill, far more masterfully than the average pilot augment. Except, each time that they pass each other, they clearly get closer to one another.

And closer...

And closer...

No matter what buttons the crews press, no matter how much they might panic, nothing is going to stop the inevitable. On the final pass, it becomes clear there's not enough room between them to avoid a collision. Any impact alarms on the bridge are blaring at full blast. 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 looks completely new, but yet is reminiscent of both the SS Three Twins and the SS Windrose.

-----------

On the bridge, the crews of the SS Three Twins and the SS Windrose 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 Twin Roses!
Happy Fusion!"

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, I don't know about the Three Twins. I'm the pilot and was kind of taking a nap. Ah, opps? Not sure if I could have stopped it anyway, but I probably should have tried.

Well, at least we largely seem to be unhurt. I mean, they wouldn't have prepared a cake for us if they were trying to kill us, right? Still, there's got a be a more gentle and less panic-inducing way to put two ships together.

Because they could have cake if we didn't make it? [But he shrugs and moves on from morbid jokes. He's not a very big fan of them and is mostly just cranky for having been forced to sleep so long.] Or at least an announcement first. It shouldn't be that hard to make a quick one saying: About to crash, but don't worry you'll live. We're just putting ships together.

[Castle smirked at the joke, but kept the conversation flowing away from it.]

Yeah, there's that, too. Giving us a headsup wouldn't have been as fun for the audience, though, I guess. And we know Atroma's not big on the talking to us department to begin with.

I have heard a theory that people like to see conflict and dangers in shows. Watching us think we were all going to die probably got a lot of new viewers for a night or two.

Oh, there's no doubt about that- it's that way in my world, at least. Conflict and danger make for more interesting stories. I've written plenty of stories full of danger and peril myself. So they're at least smart in that way.

Yeah, but usually the danger and peril in your books aren't happening to real people I bet.

No. It's all purely fiction, and it allows me to write about things that wouldn't normally happen in real life. Anything goes for Atroma, though.

Yeah. There's plenty that's happened on this trip so far that lots of people back home would say was all make believe.

Being in space is at the top of the list for me. We've not been able to send humans into space for any decent length of time- unless they're orbiting the planet. Travel to other galaxies and any planets that might be out there? Forget about it.

Yeah, currently the people on my planet I don't think are even close to space travel. [He throws the currently at the start there. Seeing as they got there because of space travel, but that knowledge was lost in the crash.

Just because he is just one of two people who were still alive before and after the crash is not interesting enough to share. Right?]

Which is kind of a shame, I think. I wanted to get married in space, but it's not feasible. ... that and my fiance would never agree to it.

What? Really? Why not? I mean, if getting to space isn't easy you'd think to get married in space would be really special. Fear of flying or something?

Well, it's not easy and kind of expensive. Okay, it's VERY expensive. And she's not really a flashy kind of person.

Well, yeah, it's going to be expensive, but I'm saying if you didn't have to worry about money or logistics of making it happen she really wouldn't want to be married in space?

Well, I guess if she's not very flashy that makes a bit more sense.

Yeah, Kate's a very down-to-Earth person, in more ways than one. It would attract a lot of publicity, and she kinda likes her privacy. Me, I'm used to being famous, but she prefers going under the radar, so to speak.

I think I remember you saying she was a cop, or a detective, right? I suppose most officers don't get a lot of publicity for their work even if they deserve more praise.

Yeah, she's a police detective. She much prefers staying anonymous as possible, especially because her work is so dangerous. Being around me, she's had to get used to a bit more of a spotlight, but she'll never like it.

Yeah, but she'll be fine I think because she loves you. Even if you tried to talk her into being married in space.

[Hi, my name is hopeless romantic.]

I have no doubt about that. We've been through a lot together, and every day I think I fall for her a little harder.

She sounds great. Hopefully you'll be able to go home to her soon.

I hope so, too, friend.

A Rose by any other name...!

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