A Rose by any other name...!

[thespaceopera]

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.

Comments

[wolfehawke]

Oh, he's awake. I helped him up a bit ago. Funny, he wasn't sent home, just made to sleep for awhile.

[Not so much funny as concerning but he seems fine now so... Yeah.]

I don't much like how they can do that, honestly.

[arfvader]

Neither do I, but at the very least it looks like there's no ill effects for being in a coma-like state for so long.

[Small mercies!]

[wolfehawke]

You'd think there would be, like when you get groggy from sleeping too long. Memory issues or trouble keeping your thoughts straight.

[He shrugs.]

I don't know much about these things, though. I've only just started learning anything more than rudimentary healing techniques.

[arfvader]

I also worry about malnutrition and muscle wasting, but they seem to do fine! But all you magic-types are going to put me out of a job with your healing spells.

[For what it's worth, he sounds more humorously resigned than truly disgruntled.]

[wolfehawke]

Well, some of them do. It's strange, but I think when Fleeters are put into one of those comas, our bodies change based on what happened back home, not lying in bed. Anders... well, he's not very good at taking care of himself even when he's exceptional at doing it for others, and when he was in a coma he practically wasted away. Jennifer put him on an IV.

[Wolfe chews his lip thoughtfully.]

There's nothing magic could have done for that, I don't think, so you're certainly not going to be out of a job. I'm finding medicine here is far different from what I'm used to back home. You all don't talk about humors or blood letting or anything.

[arfvader]

There's been a lot of medical advancement, mostly for the good, I might add. But I definitely wouldn't have said no to learning some magic if that was within my capabilities! Certainly would fulfill a few boyhood daydreams anyhow!

[wolfehawke]

You wanted magic?

[He raises both eyebrows, as if this is completely out of the sphere of possibility.]