driftfleet | video/action

Who: Pavel Chekov and anyone!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Tourist and/or Iskaulit
When: From the Great Shuffle through July

[video]

It was kind of our hosts to give us gifts after keeping us on the Marsiva and making us share far, far too much with each other, but...

[The Russian pulls his lovely gift basket into view. In addition to the candies and fudge and pickled herring (he is grateful for all of these things, thank you space hosts), there are a few additional items that he is less amused by.]

Did anyone else find their choice in gifts, er... slightly insulting?

Although it was thoughtful of them, I admit, to provide a shirt [it says "I <3 bad boys," for the Russian speakers out there] for my girlfriend to wear once I grow her.

[Sarcasm. That was definitely sarcasm.]

[action]

[If Pavel isn't poking around his quarters on the Tourist, then he's going for a run on the Iskaulit. In either case, he is making no real effort to be sociable. It's not that he doesn't want to talk to people, it's just that there are a lot of things that he doesn't want to talk about. Everyone knows that the only sure way to avoid certain topics of conversation is to avoid talking entirely.

Any attempts on his part to keep quiet will fail miserably if he's approached. Being a person who likes other people is so hard sometimes.]

[ooc: If you, like me, wanted to do ALL of the Calibration things but grossly overestimated your ability to do so, you're welcome to browse Chekov's memories and handwave your character seeing any of the unmarked ones.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well, almost drowning would definitely make that understandable.]

Not to me, but two of my teammates did.

[And almost got brainwashed by mermaids and eaten by a giant sea serpent, but that wasn't the point.]

They came out of it okay, though. Thankfully.

[Just don't tell Lance that Keith essentially said he was thankful the Blue Paladin survived.]

[Thank you.]

I'm glad that their swimming abilities kept them from drowning. [He's very sincere. No one should have to drown, not even Lance. Not that Chekov knows who Lance is.]

Are any of your teammates here?

[It was only a matter of time... Chekov would eventually learn who Lance was. It was impossible to be anywhere remotely near him and not figure out who Lance was.]

Most of them, actually. Shiro, Lance, Pidge, Allura... we all work together back home. We're just missing Hunk and Coran at this rate.

[He sounded a little sheepish at that, but, also, a little sad. Sure, it would be nice to have the whole crew, but did Coran and Hunk really deserve to get yanked into all of this? Keith was pretty sure not.]

That's fortunate, in a way. Not so fortunate in other ways.

[Being sad about having your friends from home pulled here is entirely understandable. No one wishes other-universe-reality-show-prison on people they like.]

Since they are here and nothing can be done about that, enjoy their company. [It might not last long.] Maybe there will be chances to do things here that you didn't have the opportunity to do at home.

[That was a nice way to think about it. Keith nodded a little.]

Yeah... that's probably the best approach.

What about you? Is there anyone here you know from home?

[What, he just gave helpful advice? This is red-letter day.]

Yes--the captain that I serve under at home is here. Our doctor was here until recently also, and I have encountered most of my ship's command crew at least once. I have been unusually lucky.

What do you think happens when people disappear from the Fleet?

[It was kind of sudden and direct, but Keith was worried, in case it happened to any of his friends. After all, it had recently happened to a lot of people. He had good reason to be worried about his team.]

I think that they go home with no memories of this place. Sad for those of us who are left behind, but the best outcome for them.

[Keith nodded.]

Yeah. That sounds best.

[And, whether it was true or not, it didn't matter. Keith would rather think of people going back to where they belonged. It was probably for the best.]

Thanks for answering.

[Even if it's not true, believing it is the best way to cope with the constant losses.]

I'm happy to. What good is all of my experience with other universes if I never share it?

Wait, you've been to more than one?

[Okay... Keith remembered seeing that for someone else in the calibrations thing... oh, right! Kitty.]

Do you know Kitty Pryde?

Mmhm, this is my third.

Ah... yes. I know Kitty very well.

[Something about the way he says it indicates a long backstory.]

Wow. That seems like a lot.

[Keith considered that, and it did take a second for him to get the full meaning of Chekov's comment. Okay. Yeah...]

Were you in that... snowglobe prison thing, too?

[He'd seen Kitty talking to a younger version of herself, which had been strange, but he made the snowglobe association because that was the item in her calibration room that triggered the memory in question.]

It is... but I have also been away from home for a long time.

[NO HE DOESN'T KNOW HER WELL LIKE THAT except for that one time but.]

MarinaNova? I was, yes. In a way, I prefer it here. At least we are in space and not in a simulation of a city under an ocean.

A simulation?

[Keith looked confused.]

So, it wasn't real?

There was a part of it that was real, but the MarinaNova that we consciously experienced most of the time was... a shared dream, I would call it, generated by those who kept us there. Our bodies were kept in stasis while our brains were tricked into thinking that the simulation was reality.

It was all unnecessarily complicated. This prison is far more sensible.

You consider this a prison, too?

[Interesting. Living in something like virtual reality, sounded like... Keith was pretty sure he wouldn't like it.]

I will admit that it is a much larger prison, but yes, I do. Although we have a considerable amount of freedom here, we are still captives.

[That idea kind of hit Keith weird for a moment. Yeah... actually. They kind of were, weren't they? He frowned a bit.]

I guess you're right. I hadn't really thought about it, but... well, we can't leave the Fleet. So, yeah. We kind of are.

[Huh... He needed to think about that a bit more later.]

[He looks a bit sheepish.]

You don't need to think about it any more than that. I would rather not ruin your fleet experience by framing our circumstances so negatively.

Ruin my fleet experience?

[That made Keith quirk an eyebrow at Checkov.]

Nah, it's fine. It's not like I'm planning on sticking around longer than necessary, you know? Getting home is important. It really doesn't matter how I think of this place.

[A shrug.] Not everyone is unhappy to be here.

As important as getting home is, it's useful to not dislike where you are. We may all be here for a very long time.

[As much as Keith didn't really want to think about that, he knew it was true. He nodded a little.]

Yeah. You're right.

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