To Eyuzi and Beyond!

[poisontippedcure]

Who: Rose and You!
Broadcast: Yes, at least for part of it.
Action: Around Eyuzi + Red Fish
When: September 2nd - 10th!

[The SS Red Fish]

[To say that Rose was having a rough first day would be an understatement. She'd been shuffled onto the Red Fish almost immediately after arriving on the Marsiva, and the fleet had docked in Eyuzi only a few hours after that.]

[All of this (combined with the lovely hum of the new system) combine to make one very, very sick Miqo'te. Rose spends most of her first full day on the fleet in her room, trying not to feel like she's dying. For the little bit of time that she feels well enough, she'll head over to the kitchen, and then the bridge.]

[Rose tries her best to be put together, but today is an obvious exception. Any of her crew mates who notice her will see that she's more than a little disheveled, and very unhappy. Approach at your own risk?]

[Lyuku]

[Once she finally gets her space legs, Rose immediately heads out to Lyuku, and is surprised to find how much she enjoys it.]

[She even voluntarily goes on one of the "Star Tours," which seems like a good idea until the tour actually begins. Anybody who is "lucky" enough to be in the same tour group with her might hear somebody snickering or making a less than kind comment under her breath. For someone who was raised in a superstitious tribe, Rose is surprisingly critical of other superstitious beliefs.]

[Once the group breaks to stargaze, however, she becomes almost uncharacteristically calm and respectful. For anybody who was waiting for a good chance to talk to her, this is the best one.]

[Broadcast, Fleetwide - September 4th]

[Is by the pool on a cruise ship a good place for a serious broadcast? Of course it is.]

So, I haven't been here very long, and I'm not sure what counts as normal, but I'm positive this isn't it.

I have a few questions, a lot of questions actually, for those that have been here longer. I don't know how I got here, and the only answer that I've been given is that we were summoned here by a group called the Atroma, to be used for entertainment.

Where I come from, kidnapping was never considered polite, but the offending parties were always courteous enough to be honest about their motivations. I know 'Entertainment' isn't the only reason the Atroma brought us here. I'd like to speak with anyone who's found out more.

[Wildcard]

[Rose will be on the cruise until the 6th, after which she'll be at Yanti Rock and Eynewa's Bow.]

Comments

[asphodels]

Sometimes you get to see people you haven't seen in a long time. [ Because they're dead. ] And you have a home and food and things to do.

[poisontippedcure]

I also have a home, food, and things to do at my actual home.

[Although, now that she thinks about it, the 'things she has to do' is really just killing primals, and not having to worry about that sounds very nice.]

But I suppose you do have a point, there are a few people I might not mind seeing again.

[Not because they're dead, but because she's too busy to spend time with people nowadays. She does have a few dead friends, though.]

[asphodels]

I hope some of them are here. Not so that they're trapped, but so that you can see them again.

[ Aerith can appreciate it, after all. Two of the people she loved most in the world were at her side again, and she couldn't ask for more. ]

My name's Aerith. It's nice to meet you.

[poisontippedcure]

They aren't here now, but I suppose that doesn't mean they won't show up eventually. Either way, thank you for the sentiment.

[As angry about the situation as she is, she can appreciate where Aerith is coming from. It rings less of 'blind optimism' and more of actually reaching an understanding.]

Please call me Rose.

[And then there are actual questions that she still needs to ask.]

Out of curiosity, how long have you been with the Fleet, Aerith?

[asphodels]

It's nice to meet you, Rose.

[ It makes her think and she blinks, frowning absently. ]

Not quite a month, maybe? It could be more. I wasn't really keeping track...

[poisontippedcure]

A month? Come to think of it, they haven't given us any word on how long they plan on keeping us, have they?

[It's a little sobering. A month doesn't seem like that long in the long run, but admitting that means Rose has to think about how long she'll be here. A month is more than she wants to be away, and here she is stuck indefinitely.]

[And if Aerith has been here for a month, that means she has a month's worth of knowledge that Rose doesn't.]

Is there anything you've noticed in that time? Anything 'strange' about the fleet?

[asphodels]

Nope. Some people have been here for a very long time, and some people are just as new as you and I are.

[ Aerith doesn't know how long she'll be here, but she doesn't really mind. She's alive here, after all, isn't she? She's alive and so is Zack and Cloud is with her.

She has very few complaints. ]

Most people are very nice, but lately there have been... Dreams. They've been to planets that are sad or crying for help, and a lot of people want to try and help it.

[poisontippedcure]

Dreams? Of what sort?

[Rose has had 'dreams' before, but they were usually of the past, and very rarely prophetic. Regardless, though, this does remind her of something.]

They wouldn't happen to relate to this planet, would they?

[She's heard the singing, but she didn't think much of it. This is her first time visiting a system, and she just assumed that all the systems had a 'song.' But sad and crying for help are the perfect ways to describe what she's been sensing from Lyuku.]

[asphodels]

I'm not sure. I didn't have one myself.

[ She frowns, nose wrinkling as she thinks. ]

They're about this planet, yes. It wants help, help from us, and I'm not sure how we can do it just yet. I've never heard a Planet talk like this.

[poisontippedcure]

[And Rose sighs in return. They really didn't have enough to work off here.]

I suppose that would make sense. The Atroma must have a reason for sending us here, and if the planet is asking for help, that would be a compelling reason. [She doesn't know what ratings are or what the Atroma's endgame is, but she knows enough to hazard a guess it's relays to the planet's cries for help.]

I can't quite describe it, but there's something that's seemed off about this planet since we've arrived. I assumed that would be the case for all the planets we've visited, but if the dreams are related, I'm not sure that's the case.

[asphodels]

I can feel it too.

[ Aerith's voice is soft, almost quiet; it's a familiar feeling, hearing a planet whisper, but this is something altogether different to what she's familiar with. The Planet of her own world would whisper and speak and guide, but this one was singing, hopeful and mournful all at once. She feels completely in tune and distant at the same time, and it's frustrating her to no end. ]

Can a Planet control dreams? Or is someone else the one doing it? [ She might be thinking aloud just a little right now. ] If it's that desperate...

[poisontippedcure]

I don't know. Back home, Hydaelyn would often speak to me, but it never felt like this.

[The echo never communicated with dreams, it communicated with memories. And even then, when Hydaelyn needed to, she wasn't above speaking to Rose directly. Even when she needed to kidnap one of her friends to do so.]

There's a group of beings on my world called Ascians who aim to spread darkness, but I think this is beyond even their capabilities. It seems like the planet itself is calling for help.

[asphodels]

Hydaelyn? Is that your planet? Someone you know?

[ Aerith has never really met someone who has ever quite understood her whispering to the Planet, so the chance to bask and bond strikes her, suddenly. ]

I understand that. The planet wants us to help them - it wants us to help it. I just don't know how.

[poisontippedcure]

Hydaelyn is my home world. She can be rather difficult.

[Admittedly, Rose hasn't met too many people who could speak to the planet herself, and even then at least half of them wanted to kill her. The chance to make a friend in less dire straights did seem nice.]

I feel the same. Between this system's hum and the dreams, I imagine that something's about to happen very soon.

[asphodels]

I see. She's nice, then?

[ Aerith can't imagine her Planet speaking to her like that, or having a sense of person in that way, but she can't speak for every single planet in the world. ]

I wonder if there's anything we can do to help.

[poisontippedcure]

She's not entirely unkind, no.

[Hydaelyn just has the tendency to ask a lot of her servants. Even those who didn't become servants by choice. Especially those who didn't become servants by choice.]

I imagine there is. It would be wasteful to send us here if there was nothing we could do to affect the outcome.

[asphodels]

That's good. Sometimes it's hard to see when people are kind, but it's there.

[ And Aerith seems particularly sure about that. ]

I wish there was more I could do. All I can hear... [ She frowns. ] It wants to talk, but...

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose sighs and shakes her head. She knows Aerith isn't wrong, but she also still can't shake the feeling that Hydaelyn has it out for her. Even if having it out for her is in the name of the greater good.]

The planet knows exactly what's about to happen, but it can't communicate with us. And we can communicate, but we have no idea what's about to happen. All we know is that something's coming.

[The more she thinks about this situation, the worse it seems. Which is impressive, because it didn't seem great to begin with.]

The Atroma really are gracious hosts, aren't they?

[asphodels]

Sometimes it's not that easy. Sometimes things don't know how to use words so they have to use other things.

[ Aerith frowns, incredibly thoughtful now. She thinks about the Planet, screaming and crying and hoping someone will hear, and she breathes out. ]

It's not their fault. Maybe they brought us here so we could help.

[poisontippedcure]

Unfortunately, that does seem to be the case.

[Rose never thought she'd miss Hydaelyn, but here they are. All she wants to do is relax for once, but she can't escape the foreboding sense of dread.]

Perhaps, but why keep us in the dark? Why not explain our mission? For all of the technology the Atroma seem to have available, they should be able to manage that.

[asphodels]

At least they try. They want help.

[ Aerith misses home and the Planet and Midgar, but she's not entirely sure that she can say she wants to go back. She'd be dead. ]

There must be a reason. It doesn't have to be good, but there's a reason.

[poisontippedcure]

[It takes everything Rose has to not follow up with a 'do they?,' but she understands that will get the both of them nowhere. Regardless of which of them is correct, it doesn't change their current situation.]

I suppose so. I wonder if this planet will give us any answers.

[asphodels]

I've been trying.

[ She frowns, thoughtful, tilting her head. ]

Maybe I should go down and try a little harder.

[poisontippedcure]

[She wants to say 'don't go,' but going might not be completely pointless. And if the other girl is offering...]

If you do, please be careful. We don't know what's going to happen, and we don't know what might be waiting.