driftfleet | the rubble or our sins

Entry tags:

the rubble or our sins

Who: Mantis and Thee
Broadcast: Yass! (And action, too.)

Action: Planetside

When: Throughout the day

A. Fortune Telling

It takes quite a bit to make a sufficiently mystic looking stand fit for fortune telling. Start with a space in the market, a table to sit at, chairs to sit on, and then you get into the real accessories. An umbrella to keep the sun off was the least of what one needed and having some strings of beads and shells hanging off of it to create that little bit of distracting sound to catch a wandering eye. The table, of course, had a lovely dyed blue scarf over it that had been carefully tied off to the legs so nothing flew off unnecessarily. Lastly came his sign to boast the name of his little attempt at enterprise: Blue Starlight.

He had wanted to go with White Starlight, given that heat is at it's most intense with a white hue, but that didn't seem quite as catchy to him and white scarfs would stain so much easier. Thus, Mantis is well situated in a quieter corner of the market. He worries that he is making too bold a claim without anything approaching a license to sell and such, but no one seems to pay him more mind than most do when seeing his mask. You have to be a certain kind of patron to come close to man dressed like that, and he is very much counting on that curiosity to justify the prices he had set. All that he has to do is wait for someone who wants a pretty lie.

B. The Beach

More distracting than the prospect of money is the prospect of relaxation. On Earth, you had to travel quite a bit to find ocean waters quite this blue. He can see all kinds of shells in the surf and that was enough to justify buying a pail to carry around as he wades along the shoreline. His pants are rolled well and up to his knees and his boots were carefully hidden in the shade of his small camp made of his fortune telling supplies, minus the sign hidden away. Good leather anything trembles at the very sound of a wave crashing on the sand.

Now and then he stops to pluck up a new shell. Each one is carefully shaken in the water to clean it off before being put in the pail.

C. Broadcast

Now quite done with lying and seashell collecting, Mantis is in his chair under the umbrella, having set up his communications device on the table. He's quiet for a few seconds before turning his head to look at the feed.

"I'm sure most of us have had time to reel from our dreams, if they can be called that. A broadcast sent out earlier confirmed what I had been wondering about the dream I had. This planet might not be around for much longer. Mine was filled with fire and death following a period of darkness. I don't know most of the science behind it, but it might be connected to the sun I am currently hiding from. They can die out, and when they do, they sometimes explode."

He sits back in the chair and crosses one leg over the other.

"Now, I could be wrong and this planet might be on the brink of several volcanic eruptions instead, but something is going to happen. If a planet can 'sing' and aliens exist, so can prophetic visions. We can't save the planet if any of what these visions have shown will come to pass, so let's enjoy it while we're all still here."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Eleanor can't help but respond to the broadcast. She'd been mulling over the dream she was sent for the last few days, and hearing someone else claim a similar experience helped set her mind at ease. At least, until she thought of the content of the dream itself.

"I believe you are correct; the Atroma had a purpose for sending us here, and the dreams must be related in some way. Im my dream, I saw this planet wither and die. Was yours similar?"

He hasn't been sleeping very well himself after the dream. That kind of nightmare puts off a lot of things. He tilts his head slightly to one side.

"It was night. The ground shook and then there was fire and heat. A kind of voice begged for help and told everyone to run." He sighs, rubbing at his neck. "I would almost say it was the planet itself talking. It didn't use words. They were...concepts. Feelings and ideas wrapped into a single message."

"I felt like the planet was talking to me, too. But nobody told us to run. They wanted us to stay," she frowns. This predicament is a lot more than she expected. Eleanor is ready to do what she can to help the people on this planet, but she won't know what helping means until they can figure out what's about to happen.

"There was also something about a 'sister.' Did your dream mention her?"

"A sister? The only other celestial bodiea are the moon and the sun they orbit."

He taps the side of his mask. "One vision says to stay, another to leave. If they can be taken in some kind of chronological order, then we might have a functioning hypothesis."

"I think you're on the right track." Was there anything in her dream that might hint towards a chronology? There had to be.

"My dream started with a beautiful planet that quickly withered and died. It felt like the loss of a loved one. And then, someone was calling out, they wanted to stay together, but she was sick."

"It feels like I got the end of the story. Or maybe the drama in the middle that set something in motion. The locals seem to have some kind of story regarding how the planet and the moon came to be. They might tied to the dreams."

Which means he needs to learn more about the local legends. "Tell me, did you notice anything odd about how this planet sings? I feel like there are only a few of us in the fleet who can really notice this kind of thing."

"There's a faint hum, but nothing louder than that." She wasn't talented enough to clearly hear the planet's singing, but she has enough latent ability to make out something.

"I wonder if the siblings in the dream aren't the planet and the moon itself. It looks like we'll have to ask the locals for more information."

"I can hear it a little distinctly, but it's like the static on the broadcasts or listening in on a conversation through a thick wall. It's odd finding a whole planet that can do this. If an object or a place has this kind of effect, it's usually far more localized."

He nods. "Planets and moons are rarely inseparable. These two are probably very close."

"Yes." She nods in return.

"I think what you're saying is correct. The planet's trying to talk, trying to hold a conversation, but there's something that's preventing us from hearing it. If we could find a way to remove that wall, we'll have a better chance of finding out what's about to happen."

"Planets aren't people. You can make almost anyone talk if you try hard enough, but this is beyond even my scope of experience." He makes a noise and cranes his head to either side. "If we are meant to do something about these visions and what they say, then we might not have long to wait."

"I do believe we're meant to do something. I just wish we knew what." Eleanor sighs as she looks downward. In any disaster, preparation is key. The better prepared they are to deal with whatever is coming, the better they'll be able to weather the storm, and the more people they can save.

Except, right now, they don't know where to even start.

"We should begin making preparations, at least. We can make preparations to begin evacuating citizens if need be, and start making shelters on the surface."

"Shelters, escape ships, supplies enough to keep people going for a little while. The ability to travel outside a planet means we can skip any need to build shelters if the ships that can leave are spacious enough."

Oversimplifying, of course, but abandoning ship has always worked out for him. It's not every day one can abandon a whole planet.

"Non-perishable food and water is always at the top of the list of things needed."

I think...I think I had the same dream. Fire and darkness and people...screaming for help. But not with words, exactly...

If it even was people who were sending out those words. [He's slouched slightly in the chair, using the second one to prop up his feet.] Whatever it was was not using language as you and I know it. It was more like a thought.

Yeah. Definitely not human. At least, I'm pretty sure. Not sure there's anything I've encountered in this universe that uh...speaks that way.

[He nods.] It's rare enough to find places that can do this.

It seems the general consensus among us is that we must try and organize the people and supplies in the wake of this disaster. There is a surprising amount of people who come from positions of leadership.

Not by accident, probably. Though maybe that will work against us. Too many cooks in the kitchen, as they say...

Too many cooks, but I also have no clear idea of either how many we have or if this planet is prepared to do much of anything.

[The soft sound of the waves gently washing up against the sand was a welcome sound to Ardyn's ears, as he strolled along the coastline. He noticed the leather-clad man and could feel the telepathic thoughts resonating from him like a radar, even though he couldn't quite penetrate those thoughts. No. The man was too powerful.]

Collecting shells, hm? A novel pastime indeed.

[No one labeled themselves as the "world's greatest practitioner" without justifiable cause. His telepathic gaze hones in on Ardyn, but his gaze is still idly lingering on the many shells. With every different kind of person in the world, Mantis long built up a strong series of mental defenses.]

We can't all become prolific people watchers. Besides, shells can be used to decorate in a lot of ways.

In my world, it is not unknown for farsight to manifest in dreams. If the world is dying, should we not warn the people?

I suppose we do. [Sigh.] We're missing a lot of the story here. A few more details about the history of this planet or it's people would let us have a far more concise message to spread. Right now, we sound like doomsday conspiracy theorists.

Too much, aye. But there must be some way to warn them...

Find the paranoid ones. People listen to them in times of crisis, even if they are not believed.

Ha! True - but how would we do that? A mass broadcast, although swift, also tends to be highly inefficient and might easily cause panic, or indifference.

This is why our fleet needs better organization. Crisis on the horizon and we're only just getting together in small groups to discuss practical solutions. [He looks up at his umbrella.] At least there are some of us who even know how to begin handling this kind of thing. You always have a leader or two in a large group.

Mm, which is fortunate! [ or Maglor or Maedhros might have to do things like leadership and look how well that ended. Not. ]

All we can do is try, I suppose. Have you had much experience yourself in this area?

[Mantis can appreciate that kind of thing. Liquid was a fine leader. And that led to quite a few people getting taken down.]

Not particularly. My experience is usually causing panic rather than solving it. [He taps the table quietly.] The most we can hope for is that these people are able to run as far as they need to. That alone assumes they are capable of doing so.

[ Maglor blinks a little at that statement and nods ]

I am hopeful they will be agreeable. There is the space station, at the least. I... well. I will speak to Daeron. Between us... we might be able to coax the more recalcitrant souls.

Recalcitrant... [The word catches his attention more than the name.] Someone who speaks that eloquently will have an easier time than I ever could. Maybe when this is over, you can give me a lesson or two on how to speak like that.

[ Maglor laughs ]

I am a bard, by training and inclination - mastery of language is almost a requirement! But I can try, if you like.

A...bard? [There's an old profession for you!] May I ask where you come from that being a bard is still a profession?

In my lands, it is not that uncommon! But I am from Arda, from the lands of Middle-earth.

[Definitely not of his world. His thoughts are quickly turning to how many species are present in the fleet again.]

I have heard of neither of these places. They must be- [Rustic? Old-fashioned?] Following quite a different path than my world.

It seems there are many worlds out there, or so I am given to understand. It is entirely possible that we are from very separate places!

Undoubtedly. My world is called Earth, and it's split into over one hundred countries with thousands of provinces and counties.

Mm, I wonder how different our worlds are? There seem to be very many, although a lot of them are called Earth!

That means there's more than one of my planet. I did meet someone who claimed to be from Earth. We were not familiar with military organizations that are commonly known on each other's Earth.

That, or humans and human-like folk are universally unimaginative when it comes to naming planets?

[Snort.] As much as I want to vouch for my own kind, that might actually be true.

Well, [ Maglor allows ] it isn't as if my folk are that much better at it, in honesty.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

the rubble or our sins

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broadcast - video

video

sorry this is so late!

All good!

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beach;

beach;

broadcast

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AND NOW WITH CORRECT ACCOUNT

2 MANY ELVES 2 LITTLE TIME

looooool

Their family tree spreads out all over the place.

vast and terrible and not as bad as hobbits. probably XD

Hither, tither, yonder, and then they marry into each other. Hobbit family trees are hardcore.

tangleweeds!

A brier patch of love, pride, and silverware.

and beer. can't forget the beer

Ain't no party like a Hobbit party. Lasts all night and stumbles into day.

A hobbit party that doesn't is a failed party