And Let Us Gather 'Round [ Video + Action ]

[universal_charm]

Who: Kirk and The Fine People of the Fleet
Broadcast: Yes
Action: On the Iskaulit, Specifically at the Melting Pot - Note: After the Broadcast
When: After they start heading away from the system

Video
<sub>[ Kirk appears on the screen, and probably like many people he looks tired and a bit beaten up. Scratches not yet healed on his face, one even covered with a bandage on his cheek, that sort of drawn look around his eyes after all the sleepless nights and the battles and general horridness. A little to pale, perhaps.

Even so, he gives as warm a smile as he can as he begins to speak. ]</sub>

For those of you who might not know, I come from a world called Earth - or at least, one of the versions represented here. On my world, in the country I hail from, we celebrate something known as Thanksgiving roughly around this time of year if I've done my calculations correct. Some people call it Friendsgiving, but it's all the same really.

Essentially, it's a time to a give thanks for the good things in your life, your friends, and your family. In the spirit of that, I've arranged for a gathering at the Melting Pot - a thank you to Jarvis for that. Everyone who wishes to come is welcome.

I just thought we all could use a day, a place, to be together and to just enjoy each other. So I hope to see you there.

Action: The Melting Pot
<sub>[ The restaurant is set up to allow as much mingling as possible when people arrive - places to sit, of course, but there's gentle music playing for those who might want to dance and just to give some atmosphere (but not loud enough to stop conversation at all). Food and drink is laid out - things to nibble on rather than the usual feasts associated with a Thanksgiving. Not particularly ideal, but it's what could be managed. Unless, of course, anyone decided to bring something else to add to the spread.

Not a fancy party, to be sure, but it's warm and inviting, which is what Kirk had hoped for. A place for them all to come together and enjoy each other and just be glad they were all there and if not quite completely whole, then, well, able to be there. ]

[ooc: Open mingle! Feel free to create your own starters and do as you like - tis a warm Friendsgiving party for the Fleet! ]</sub>

Comments

[pain_train]

Oh wow, that's a really cool name! And a long name. Pavel Andreievich Chekov, it's really nice to meet you. [She hasn't had too much to drink so far and her liver is up to snuff, so she even manages to say it mostly right. Then she laughs.] Well, I mean, you haven't done anything to piss me off, right? But um. I'm Wrath because I was the lieutenant of Wrath platoon, for reals.

[candothat]

Pavel is fine, or Chekov. I respond to most things. [She gets points for trying. He brightens the smallest bit.] Lieutenant? I'm also a lieutenant--just with Starfleet, not with anything as impressive as a wrath platoon sounds.

[pain_train]

I'll call you Pavel then, because that's pretty and it's fun to say. [Oho, that's familiar!] Oh, Starfleet! That's the thing Jim is in, right? What are your responsibilities as a lieutenant? My platoon was mobile infantry.

[candothat]

Pretty? [Literally no one has ever said his name was pretty and he can't decide if he's flattered or confused. What he definitely is not is drunk enough, so he braves the pink drink. It is undoubtedly the pinkest thing he has ever had.] Yes, Kirk is my captain, at home as well as here.

Eh... my responsibilities were very different, I'm certain. Starfleet is an exploratory and scientific service primarily, defensive only when necessary, and not organized in the way that the armies I have studied were. [Now he's curious and too tipsy to politely reign it in. Sorry Wrath... but he's not sad anymore?] Mobile infantry. What vehicles did you use? As lieutenant, did you command your platoon?

[pain_train]

Yeah! [Compliments are us, here.] And you've got pretty eyes too. [Hey, he's trying the drink. Awesome! And he didn't throw the glass away! Even better!] Oh, cool, Jim seems like a really laid back CO. My old CO could like... fucking set your ass hair on fire just yelling if she was mad.

Exploration sounds like a really great mission though. Were you command staff, or like... I don't know. Gunnery? Um. I don't know a lot about how you'd organize a fleet like that so I guess we're even. But... oh! So we ran hovercycles and plasma blades since the maneuverability was really the best thing against all the heavy artillery the other cities had. Like... defend against what they can't hit, right? I ran my whole platoon, which at full strength as fifty-two soldiers. Or if you ask the NCOs, they ran the platoon and I ran them.

[candothat]

Oh. Ah, thank you. Your eyes are pretty also. [Wow, he thought he was better at talking than this. He attempts to hide his continued befuddlement by taking a less cautious drink. With far more sincerity than the statement deserves:] The captain has never once set anyone's ass hair on fire through yelling or any other means, not to my knowledge.

Command staff is the closest equivalent, I think, but with more active engagement than in a historical military. Always in the field, you might say. [He leans forward a bit, extremely impressed.] I have never heard of plasma blades. Are they what they sound like they are? And NCOs... non-commissioned officers, correct?

[pain_train]

[Aw, he's so nice.] Well, that's good. I mean, maybe he's just never gotten drunk enough to do it other ways.

[...she sounds totally serious about this too.]

Okay, so you're always out with your ship, which makes sense. We didn't have a navy, but I kind of get how it goes? So like... mostly administrative stuff? Data analysis? [She leans forward too, enthusiastic.] Yeah, about. Like... small grav field generators shape plasma into a cutting surface. It can slice through any armor like it's butter. Mine was shaped like a cavalry saber. [She sketches the shape of the blade in the air with her hands.] Yep, and that's right! Four thirteen-man squads with a sergeant overseeing each. The NCOs are fucking badass.

[candothat]

And I sincerely hope that he will continue never getting drunk enough to do that.

[Good, good. He likes her.]

Yes, Starfleet is most similar to the old Terran navies. There is an element of data analysis... I am the ship's navigator and tactical officer, and so I do monitor a significant amount of the information we receive. Sometimes I go on missions planetside as well, but the captain prefers to have me on the bridge generally. [Her enthusiasm is contagious.] That is remarkable. We have no means of shaping plasma into blade-like weapons, only discharging it as a bolt or a beam.

I have not had the opportunity to meet many noncomms... few of them join deepspace exploratory missions. This is my loss, clearly, although there are many, many fucking badasses [that does not sound like a phrase he has ever used before] in the crew. You must be exceptionally fucking badass to be in charge of all of them.

[pain_train]

I don't know, Jim seems pretty fun... [But she's teasing now.]

Oh, navigation! That's really cool. Wow... that's got to be a really hard job when you're out there in uncharted space. You must be super smart!

[Weapons, awesome.] We can do that too, but it's like... if you're going to do a slug thrower, why waste the tech on plasma when some kind of mass driver will be just as effective and cheaper to make? But I totally get that you wouldn't want any kind of slug thrower on a space ship. That seems like a super bad idea.

[Aww, all these compliments. She's blushing.] I mean, I like to think I was a good officer? But it was so much fun, Pavel! Like. Just imagine. You're going 350 klicks per hour on a hover cycle and you just fucking launch yourself at an artillery placement and you've got your plasma sword fucking howling in your hand. It's like being... like being the fucking angel of vengeance.

[candothat]

Not fun like that, I would hope.

Oh... well, yes, you could say that. I joined the Enterprise's senior staff as an ensign when I was seventeen, so I suppose that someone had faith in my intelligence. [He's trying so hard to be modest about the one thing he's confident about. Is it working?]

Projectile weapons and plasma weapons of any kind are both bad ideas on a starship. On the ground, however? Your weapon and your hover cycle... that would be something. [Just the way she describes it is something. It's not his thing since he's the opposite of an angel of vengeance, but it sure sounds cool.] This planet and its dangers must have bored you.

[pain_train]

[Pfft modesty. Be confident in what you're good at!] Oh, definitely if they pulled you in when you were that low on the food chain. That's awesome! [Ready for a high five, buddy?]

Well, I mean I guess if you've got a hall-to-hall fight in a ship, you're better off just using a plain ol' high carbon steel blade. Can never go wrong with the classics. [Her smile takes on a tilted edge.] I knew the drill, if that's what you mean. Like... it wasn't that different from what we were dealing with on the Line by the end of our war. But the equipment here isn't really great and I didn't have my partner and... I kind of fucked up.

[Ugh, be happy, Wrath!]

But hey! I got a machete out of it, so that was pretty cool.

[candothat]

[Gosh, it's been ages since anyone high fived him. The execution isn't great, but it's fun.] Less awesome here. Here, being trained as a security officer would be far more useful than being just smart.

As satisfyingly dramatic as swords would be those are not standard issue, not even for officers who occasionally fight in halls. They usually use their firsts and their feet.

[That deviation from happiness can't be ignored, not even if a machete happened. He frowns, remembering that she wasn't moving like someone who's entirely well when she first came over.] Were you injured?

[pain_train]

I don't know. I mean... there are a lot of bruisers around, Pavel. There aren't so many really smart people, I think. Like... I don't really know what to do when the solution isn't just kicking the shit out of something, you know? But I bet you can really figure stuff out.

[When you're not running away from cannibals. Argh.]

I definitely recommend a good combat knife. Get the switchblade kind. They're really useful. I have one here that's saved my ass a couple of times. Winter gave it to me. [And the first person it saved her from was... Winter himself. Kind of. Well, didn't really save her. Saved other people by slowing him down, she hopes. But that was a long time ago.]

Yeah, a little. Just have to take it easy for a while, which is fucking annoying, but what can you do? I'm lucky I'm mostly artificial parts anyway, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

[candothat]

That's a kind thing to say. [No, really. Sometimes he needs to hear that being smart is a good thing, not just a thing that does absolutely no good in the face of a pissed off cannibal.] Thank you. If you would like anything figured out ever, maybe I can help.

Winter is a friend of yours? Are they here? [Skipping the knife thing. After that last planet, he doesn't think he'd be inclined to use a weapon if he had one.]

You... what? How?

[pain_train]

It's also true! Ummm... [Well, why the fuck not. Pavel seems so nice!] Are you good with number stuff?

Winter's my best friend! He's also the captain of my ship. The Heron. He's the best.

[Eyebrows raise a little.] How which part? [Not sure if she means how she got injured, or about the artificial parts, or what.]

[candothat]

Yes, of course. [No need to ask for specifics. He's good at all of the numbers.] You have number stuff that needs to be done?

I'm glad that you have your best friend here. I imagine that it makes this universe easier to exist in sometimes, even if you wouldn't wish an alternate universe on your friend.

[He gestures unhelpfully in her general direction. The pink drink is nice, but it's not helping his ability to formulate questions.] You don't look as though most your parts are artificial, or move like it. And how did... did you lose them, or...?

[pain_train]

Yeah... I'm... [For once, she looks a little embarrassed.] I have a really hard time understanding numbers, and money is also a number thing. So like I never can tell if I can buy things or not with my account because the numbers just kind of... jumble together. Captain Vision used to watch my credits for me, but he's not here any more.

It's really great to have friends! I really wish my friends from home were here, since this is such a nice place. But I've got my friends I made here.

Oh! I've got military-grade stuff that's top of the line for skin matching. [There's a...less than fun reason for that little wrinkle, but she's not going to get into that since it's still not straight in her head. She'd rather talk about the other stuff.] So like... Okay, I lost most of my organs when I took a shrapnel shell to the abdomen. But artificial livers are pretty cool since you like never get drunk. Organic acid attack got my lungs because my helmet filters were malfunctioning. Lost my heart to getting impaled on wreckage after I got thrown clear of a trojan horse explosion. And I lost my right leg and my left arm later on the line after a bunch of dystropes pulled me off my cycle and fucked me up pretty bad and my partner had to cut them off so I didn't die. Um... so my right eye and all my bones went when I got thrown out of the 99th story of a building. So my bones are metalloid composite maintained by nanobots and they're almost impossible to break, which is cool. And my eye can like record video and shit, which is cool!

[She taps her chin with a finger, trying to think if she left something out.] I've got a lot of synthetic muscle fiber too, but that was actually a tactical improvement that I volunteered for, and then I had to get some more when they regrew my bones so that I could still move. I think that's everything?

[candothat]

I would be happy to do that. [He's extremely sincere about this.

He's also extremely sincerely horrified, fascinated, and disturbed by Wrath's comprehensive list of artificial body parts and the hideous injuries that made each of them necessary. So much so that he has to pause to take another drink of the pink stuff before he's capable of formulating a response. No wonder she thinks the fleet is a nice place.]

Wrath... how did you live through any of these things?

[pain_train]

Really? Thank you so much, Pavel! That's really nice of you. [And a huge, huge relief for her.]

[She considers this question with due seriousness. It's a good question.] I mean, a lot of it I don't really remember the stuff that happened next that well? But like... I had a really good partner. Envy. I mean, his name was Octavian. And he always looked out for me, so I guess he hauled my ass to the field medics. That's what happened the times I can remember. And I always watched his back too and was ready to pick him up when he was in trouble. That's what partners do.

[Or maybe he meant in a more technical sense?] Like as long as your brain isn't dead-dead, they can drain and flash freeze you, right?

[candothat]

It's nice of you to talk with me. We can be even.

[He meant in a more technical sense since a lot of what she described sounds rather lethal.] No, they can't. Or that is not something that can be done when I am from. Our medical technology is remarkable, but...

No matter. I'm glad that your partner and your world's technology kept you alive. How is not so important.

[pain_train]

What? I mean, I guess that counts as nice, but it's not like I'm doing you a favor. You're a cool person, so you're fun to talk to!

Oh, I get what you mean. Um. I'm not very good at technology stuff, sorry. I'm just a bruiser. [Sheepish smile.]

[candothat]

You're kind to say that. [Even if he doesn't really believe her.] I am slightly more fun when I'm not drinking. We will clearly need to talk again.

I very much doubt that you are just a bruiser. No one is just any single thing.

[pain_train]

What? Then you must be super cool.

[She waves a hand airily.] I'm good at my job, so that makes me happy. Oh! And I paint, too. When I'm not on duty. That's kind of fun. I did the big mural in the Iskaulit. Like before I disappeared for a while.

[candothat]

[Her entirely baseless assumption about his level of coolness gets a smile.]

A fighter who paints? That is a rare combination. [He'll need to check out the mural the next time he's over there so he can give her some honest praise.] May I ask where you disappeared to? Home?

[pain_train]

Oh, is it? That's cool! [She wrinkles her nose.] I didn't, that's the weird part. Like... Went to bed one night, and then boom, I'm back on the Marsiva and everyone says I was gone for months! And I don't remember anything so... that's not fun. Like I'm used to forgetting stuff, but it's super extra creepy here.