driftfleet | video/action

Entry tags:

video/action

Who: Pavel Chekov and anyone!
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: Sure!
When: Now!(!)

[A wild (and somewhat-awkward) video appears! There are no cats, unfortunately. It's just Chekov, his ridiculously thick Russian accent, and a sad announcement.]

Ah, hello. For those of you who knew her and have not checked ship rosters recently—and for everyone else, although probably this is less relevant to your interests—Kara Danvers is no longer in the Fleet. She has a sister and friends at home that she missed and I think that, if she was in a position to remember not being home, she would be happy to be back... but the Fleet will be a sadder place without her. She has been a good friend to me, and to other people as well.

In places like this—places where people come and go with no warning, and even when they return, they may not remember who they knew or be exactly the way that they were or feel the way that you may expect them to—it's difficult, you know, having friends. Wanting to make friends. An inevitable side effect of gaining something is having something to lose...

But the alternative is being sad and alone. Even if none of us remember this or each other once we leave, it's good to do something with the time that we have together, while we can still remember.

I have become more and more talented at not trying to talk to very many people, so: to anyone that I haven't met, hello, I'm Pavel Andreievich Chekov. I would be happy to meet you or, if you knew her, to remember Kara with you.

And if I know you already, of course you never need an excuse to talk to me... or to drink with me, if you were considering a visit to the Tourist.

Action

[It's probably bad form to invite the entire Fleet over for drinks when he's possibly-sort-of working for the Space Bar, but Pavel isn't in much of a mood to leave the Tourist and drinking alone is sad.

Really, he's sad enough without actively trying to be more pathetic. Kara was one of his closest friends. While he has lost more people than he cares to count in his years away from home (and at home, although that was always a more final sort of losing), this is the hardest loss in his fifteen months in the Fleet. Kara was clever, caring, and stubbornly optimistic even when she was at her worst. No one was as quick to give hugs or listen, and she never failed to make him feel like he mattered.

The Tourist won't be home without her.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's kind of like imperialism, right? Whoever names it first gets dibs on the order.

I was going to say no because we try to not use words like that in my century... but yes, it's exactly like that.

Not using the words doesn't make it nonexistent.

I suppose you're from a future timeline?

That is something that I can't argue.

A future relative to what?

Sorry. 2018.

Oh, yes, ahead of your time. It was 2263 the last time that I was home.

Huh. A hundred years after Rip.

Who is Rip? Or what?

Rip Hunter, the founder of the team I'm on and former captain of the Waverider. He initially recruited us so we could change the timeline to save his wife and son, but it didn't really work out like that.

If anything that I was told about upholding the Temporal Prime Directive is true, then attempting to alter timelines rarely works out as well as hoped... although his motivations are understandable. But he recruited you? Did you serve on the Waverider as an officer?

What you read is true. Time wants to happen.

And no, it wasn't that kind of ship. We were basically chosen because we wouldn't be missed in our own timelines.

That is a very profound statement.

[And that is sad enough to throw him off for a moment.] That's... sensible, on his part.

Yeah, well, it's what I tell myself every time I talk myself out of going back and saving my sister.

[ and she scoffs a bit at his response ]

That's a diplomatic way to put it.

But he wasn't totally wrong. It took some time to come to terms with it, so to speak.

[There is no part of any of that that he knows how to respond to because it's all kind of awful and he's definitely not helping?]

I'm sorry. About your sister, I mean. And that you had to come to terms with this idea of not being missed.

Thanks. I get to travel through time, so all in all things could be worse.

I suppose... [He is clearly not convinced that this is a fair trade-off.]

As a warning: people in the Fleet will like you and notice if you vanish. Be prepared for that.

Anyone ever tell you that you're very sweet?

Often enough for me to suspect that there is some truth to it.

Good. You should.

So! Anything you want to know about me? I'll give you a free pass to ask.

[He likes her. Officially.]

You're very kind. May I ask what your occupation is, or what your role in your time-traveling team is?

I'm the captain, actually. Which is a lot more like a kindergarten teacher than it sounds like.

Occupation is a little more complicated. Let's go with being unemployed.

I think that captain of a crew of time travelers qualifies as an occupation, even if that crew sounds somewhat unprofessional.

Well, it's not like anyone is paying us to save the timeline.

Some would say that saving a timeline is payment enough.

Some would say that. I don't think they'd mean it.