Rip-Van-Sokka II: Electric Boogaloo

[alwayscomeback]

Who: Sokka and YOU
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: SS Blue Fish
When: Today!

[Sokka's been asleep for about two weeks, and he's certainly been busy in his dreaming state. When he wakes up and finds himself in his own captain bed, there's a brief moment of confusion. He'd only just been home, having a delicious meal, knowing his life, his Tribe faced an uncertain future. And now he's...on the Blue Fish. The name comes back to him with the low hum of the engine. Well, at least he knew what he was getting here, mostly.

He'll be getting up and exploring around, please feed him. He had the BEST food memory-dream.

And later, once he's learned a little more from his crew of the events he's missed, he turns on the network.]

So apparently, Atroma decided to let me sleep though us finally getting any kind of answers. Because that's funny. I'm laughing. I need details, guys, anything you can give me that you found out. Doesn't matter if I've heard it before, different perspectives are important.

[That's his latest Life Lesson He Learned. Yay.]

...And I'm sorry. For people who lost people. Seems there was a lot of that while I was asleep.

Comments

[alwayscomeback]

[His smile fades a little. ]

He seemed pretty awesome. But yeah, that's my plan. Not even like...send people home? Because not everyone wants that, some people can't go home. Dead people, for example. But if I could figure out a way to free us from Atroma, give us the ability to move ourselves, maybe we could figure out a way for people to go live wherever the heck they wanted. If Atroma have the technology to take us from our worlds, it makes sense that can be reversed to send other people to other worlds.

[spacebro]

I approve of that plan. How close are you on it?

[alwayscomeback]

Now we've got some more actual info, a little closer. But still way too far for my liking. I've been saving star charts from every star system we visit- trying to match them up to people's home worlds, or at least something they're familiar with. Nothing so far, but if we can get that hook, then we have a map for going somewhere, and that's a good start.

[spacebro]

I could take a look. I did some space traveling at home.

[alwayscomeback]

Really? That'd be great! I could use all the help I could get. I did exactly no space travelling back home. Like, we're only just utilising steam, so space travel is way out.

[spacebro]

Steam? Wow, yeah, it would take a lot of steam to power a ship like this. [He doesn't know the engineering that would require but he assumes it falls somewhere in the "couldn't happen" territory.]

But I'd be happy to help!

[alwayscomeback]

Boy would it. Probably too much for it to actually work. I've thought about the schematics, but it's pretty unworkable.

Thanks buddy, I appreciate that.

[spacebro]

No problem.

So, are you a steam engineer back home?

[alwayscomeback]

Yes and no. I tinker in inventions, but for a while I was helping win a war. And now I'm kind of helping the world heal from that?

So I guess I'm...um. [He pauses. ] Training to be a chieftain? I don't know. Something. Trying to make the world better than it was, anyway.

[spacebro]

Congratulations on the successful end of the war? [Is that safe to offer? He hopes.]

What is a chieftain? [Sounding curious and not always knowing all the words.]

[alwayscomeback]

[Sure, that works, he smiles. ] Thanks, man. It was about time. The world's got a lot of healing to do, but we're heading towards a good place at last.

[He hopes. Amid all the political unrest. ]

They're the leader of a tribe. My dad? He's the head chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe.

[spacebro]

So, you're the prince? Or the...whatever the word for son of a chieftain is? [Look at ll these things they have in common not that Mon-El is sharing that information about himself just yet.]

[alwayscomeback]

["I'm sort of a prince", that's what he said once, what feels like a lifetime ago. Though it's a bittersweet memory, it still brings a chuckle out of Sokka. ]

Kind of. In the South Pole, a chieftain is chosen by the people to lead them. There are smaller villages with their own chief, then one that looks after all of them as one- my dad's that. Maybe one day I'll take that place. If I'm good enough.

[spacebro]

Do you want to lead? It's a lot of responsibility. [Something he was trying to run from more than embrace, but that might have more to do with the way his parents led.]

[alwayscomeback]

Yeah.

[The answer is quick to come from, and honest. ]

I mean, I've done a lot of leading there...here anyway. I like to think I'm not terrible at it. I can always learn new and better ways to do it, but I want to help my people. Look out for them and help them grow.

[spacebro]

And do you and your dad see things the same way? Or do you think you'd lead differently? [Asking for a friend who totally doesn't have this problem.]

[alwayscomeback]

[His answer is probably not the on 'your friend' wants to hear, bro. ]

Oh yeah. We're on the same page for most of things. He's a great role model, he does everything he can to be a good leader.

[spacebro]

Oh. [Well, that's definitely different.] That's great! It sounds like that would make it easy to get along and work together. [And not be ashamed of who you are.]

[alwayscomeback]

It does. Maybe we'll finally be able to stick together and work together more now. I've...been away from home for a long time.

[spacebro]

Oh. Right... [Sorry, he didn't mean to be a jerk by focusing on good relationships you can't even have right now.] How long has it been?

[alwayscomeback]

[It's okay brah he won't hold it against you. ]

Discounting the trips back home which might not actually be trips back home given our bodies go nowhere, it's been about two and a half years.

[spacebro]

Wow. That is a long time. [Also possibly not the best thing to say? But you know it sucks already, right?] How long has this even been going on?

[alwayscomeback]

I got here about a week or two into this cycle. [He shrugs, at least he doesn't seem to mind. He can use his experience to help others here, and that's got to be worth something.] But considering we don't know how long a cycle is, who even knows, man.

[spacebro]

I guess you know just about everything there is to know about this place except for the sleeping interludes. [And still hasn't gotten out. Not promising.]

[alwayscomeback]

[He gives a soft laugh. ]

Well, I try. And I did seem to miss a ton during my aforementioned nap, which is just typical. You wait two years for a big info dump and one happens while you're sleeping.