driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Pavel Chekov
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: For the crew of the SS Wonderduck (and video for everyone else)
When: Now

[Chekov wishes he could be surprised or, at the very least, unsettled when he wakes up in a foreign place, but there's a point at which this sort of thing becomes a fairly routine--if always unpleasant--occurrence. Losing people is never easy, no matter the universe, no matter the number of times it happens.

But taking stock of the situation and establishing who is here has to come before mourning those who were left behind in MarinaNova. To that end, Chekov, somewhat familiarized with his new home and in clothes that are slightly more dignified than the pajamas that he initially woke up in on the Marsiva, begins a broadcast. Are you listening to this in Standard/English/Common? If so, enjoy the ridiculously thick Russian accent.]

This is Lieutenant Pavel Andreievich Chekov of the Federation starship Enterprise. If you have met me already or if you are affiliated with Starfleet, please respond to this message. [He smiles even though he's in no real mood to be cheerful.] I would also be happy with replies from you if we're strangers.

Thank you for your time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[There are no dumb questions in reality show universes!]

Ah, no. To the best of my knowledge, the Enterprise isn't even affiliated with this universe.

I didn't think so! But it's hard to be sure sometimes.

[ she can't help but think it's neat to run into someone else used to interstellar travel from home. ]

I'm Jade, by the way. And, um- welcome, I guess.

[Woah, someone else? Are they going to get to talk starships?]

It's good to meet you, Jade, and thank you. May I ask if you have any affiliation with the Marsiva?

[ she would kill to talk starships. ]

Nope!

[ and then jade hesitates, before amending- ]

I mean, yes, you may ask, but the answer is 'no, I'm no more affiliated with it than anyone else here is.' I've been here a while, though.

That would have been the friendliest denial I have ever received when asking for permission to ask questions.

How long have you been here? Years?

Well-- here for about a year, I guess. And Asgard for a few years, and, um. A year in Paradisa on top of that.

[ she seems almost embarrassed. ]

I'm flighty, I guess.

This is my third time in a universe like this also. [He is not at all embarrassed.] Did you leave the others intentionally?

One of them. I wish I hadn't, though. It would've been a nice place to stay, I think.

[ alas, when you learn things about your own canon too late to change your mind. ]

What about you? It doesn't sound like many people get a choice at all.

It would have been nicer than home?

[As much as Chekov liked certain aspects of the other two places, they were never home. (That said, he would absolutely go back to either one of them right now if given the choice.)]

We were all evicted from the first and allowed to choose where we would go. Supposedly allowed. I didn't go where I had hoped.

[ she would've been alive, which is pretty much the bare minimum a person can ask for, she figures. ]

Well, I guess I just ended up staying there so long it became home. I thought I had some blah-blah-blah-big-world-saving-duty-blah-blah thing that I had to fulfill, though, so I left. But then I didn't, so it was actually extra annoying.

[ she seems to take it in good humor these days, though, and smiles sympathetically at him. ]

Sorry that you didn't get to pick. Maybe it'll pan out eventually.

[Well, that's. That's a start.]

Ah, that would be annoying. And there are times when home isn't the best possible place to be. [Like immediately after your ship crashes and a bunch of crewmates die. But he's fine.

He goes for a smile. It turns into more of a grimace.]

Eventually, maybe. Would you like to stay here, given the chance to do so?

[ she hesitates. it's nothing she's ever really thought much about, considering how transient these alternate dimensions always seemed to be. finally, she shakes her head. ]

Not really. I mean- the people are nice, and the accommodations aren't bad! I'm not trying to scare you away from the fleet. It's just-

[ jade looks a little sheepish here, but her shrug is listless. ]

It's been hard to get attached. You know?

I'm not scared away. I understand that.

[This isn't really something he talks about either, but since she's been humoring him...]

Friends come and go and sometimes don't remember you if they come back again, correct? Sometimes you become close with someone and then they disappear with no warning.

Yep. It's tough, and also really stupid.

[ but it's said cheerfully enough. jade smiles at him, flipping the switch now, trying to be encouraging. ]

Well... I hope you end up liking it here. Finding adventure! If that's what you're looking for.

Extremely stupid.

[It's hard not to respond in kind so he doesn't bother trying.]

What is there to not like about space adventure? If nothing else, it will be similar to the Enterprise.

Did the Enterprise have a bunch of, um, theoretical at-home viewers watching your every move? 'Cause this place does.

[ and that part she doesn't live. ]

Big Brother is real, maybe.

[He hesitates for a suspiciously long time.]

I have no idea about Big Brother, but I have been told that the Enterprise was the subject of a television and movie series.

If you know James Kirk or Leonard McCoy, please don't tell them that I said that.

[ she isn't sure how to interpret that at first, and then she cracks up slightly. ]

Afraid it'll go to their heads?

Kirk's head, maybe. I think that Doctor McCoy is more likely to call my sanity into question.