driftfleet | the white noise is deafening silence

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the white noise is deafening silence

[In the very early hours of January 20th, as the Marsiva and her captives drift nonchalantly through the depths of the universe, there is a call. Every single personal communicator and console springs to life, spitting out a stream of indecipherable static and showing only gray snow on screen. It continues like this for a few seconds longer, going black and then going staticky, and then the signal switches to the encrypted channel generally used for speaking to the Interceptors when something big goes down.

This is a little more successful. The voice may be familiar to some, at least through the static.]

Zhade here! I trust I ███ your attention? I'm having some ██▓▓ble ██tting through. Some of the ░▓██▓█ are missing. I can't ░▓▓▓ read on their loc█████ns. [A particularly long burst of static.] ███stening. I'll s█▓▓█ more inf██▓▓▓▓▓█ I get it.

Stay sharp! [There's the sound of someone actually doing the fingerguns wink noise, and then static.

Any messages sent back won't get through, and Zhade isn't there to answer.]

[ A blip of lost time passes right after those words, before every passenger mysteriously wakes alone in their own unfamiliar room. The style of decor resembles that of the Marsiva's Hospitality Deck, if any passengers should remember what that's like. It sounds and smells the same as the host ship as well, all clean and chrome.

Welcome back to the Marsiva, dear passengers. It's time for round three of calibrations. ]

[ This mingle will cover all non-calibration room interactions. Please continue to come back to it for the duration of the plot! You are, of course, free to post any other mingles/posts/etc. that you'd like. ]

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[All he can do is shrug. Ostentatious showings of wealth never strikes Thor as strange, given his heritage.]

I grew up in Asgard's palace. Perhaps it was mimicking that.

[The throne, though... that conjures memories of a different sort. Shutting his eyes for a moment, Thor takes a breath and releases it, willing the images of fire and death away for the time being.]

I... no. I do not. Not anymore.

[That doesn't bother him so much as how it happened. The throne was just a stupid symbol, one that was darker and more twisted than he had thought as a child. What Thor had wanted was to start over, build that sort of thing up again without the history of war and conquest woven into the frame.

It had been a short-lived hope.]

[....That's...weird. Thor closes his eyes and takes a breath, like he's trying to center himself and Taako watches for a moment, coming back to the edge of the hot tub to lean his arms on it. There was a lot of bad shit going on in Asgard as he remembers. The details are hazy, but he recalls Hela, the eye thing, the fight - all of it pretty unpleasant - but he'd assumed Thor had won.

When he admits that he doesn't have it anymore, it's concerning. Thor wasn't supposed to lose.]

Uh, yeah, no doubt, must've been that.

[He arches one eyebrow slightly, but manages to bite back the frown itching to crawl up on his face.]

You uh...okay there, my dude? You look a little, mmmm dare I say? Muffled. No, that's not it. Miffed? Unsettled. That's it. You look unsettled.

[It strikes Thor that this isn't the most ideal place to have a conversation like this... but at the same time, he really couldn't give less of a damn. There's never a good place for this conversation. As if to rub in the irony, the ship chooses this moment to turn the lights back on.

Thor blinks a couple of times, then scowls up at the brightly shining lights.]

Took them long enough.

[Shaking his head, he settles back against the tub again, turning to look at Taako.]

If I am, I have been for a while. You saw Hela, right? [Thor has a clear enough idea of what memories people saw, at least.] That throne room, if that's what you mean - it's gone now. Asgard itself is gone.

[The lights flicker back on and Taako glances up at them instinctively, blinking owlishly in the sudden light. Adjusting his vision from the dim gloom to this stark fluorescent glare is hard, but at least when he's left blinking, he has an excuse for his weird expression when Thor goes and says that his home is gone.

How does an entire planet - because he's assuming it's a planet - just disappear?

And that's when something Lucas said - or rather that the creepy Red Robe had said comes back to him. A hunger that devours all life, a thick black tendril-like disk that slowly devours all of the planes, a cacophony of screams echoing in his ears from that horrific vision. Thanks for that, Red Robe.

He shakes his head slightly, and then rubs the back of his neck, averting his gaze from Thor.]

I'm gonna guess that when you say "gone," you don't mean "temporarily unavailable 404 error" type of gone...?

[It spares Taako from having to see the strain enter Thor's expression again. Something he wears a lot of these days. His brows pinch together briefly at whatever phrase Taako just used - four-oh-four? - but the rest of it is simple enough to parse out. 'Temporarily' isn't hard to understand.]

I mean destroyed.

[The sounds sound flat and tired, even to himself. Shaking his head abruptly, Thor stands with a splash, grabbing the towel from the edge of the tub. He's been in here long enough, and he can't abide having this kind of conversation while lounging about in relative comfort. He hops out of the tub and starts drying off, scrubbing at his face first. He casts a look back at Taako, continuing with the tale.]

Hela drew her power from Asgard, you see. From the land itself. The longer she stayed there the more powerful she became. She was impossible to beat in a fight; believe me, I tried.

[Draping the towel over his shoulders, Thor's gaze drifts to the left, to nothing in particular.]

The only way to truly stop her was to destroy Asgard itself.

[When Thor abruptly gets up, Taako jumps back, scooting out of the way from the water droplets and managing to keep himself mostly dry. He'd have been better able to appreciate him doing a Daniel Craig moment if it weren't for their current conversation topic, but Taako being Taako still remembers to sneak a glance or five as the god towels off.

Taako flicks his fingers through the air and what little water that was staining his clothes evaporates as he casts Prestidigitation as a frown settles on Taako's face.]

So you- You just blew up your planet? You or someone else? I mean- I. I guess I get it? But talk about some overkill there. Couldn't you just goad her off world or something?

No. [That's definitive. He shakes his head belatedly, knowing there's a lot more to this story that Taako isn't aware of.] Hela wasn't going to be content with Asgard. She wanted to rule the galaxy. And as long as the realm of Asgard was still there should would still be powerful.

We evacuated the people who were still left onto a spaceship and escaped that way.

[Even if it tastes sour now.]

There was truly no other way, Taako. If there had been I would have gladly taken it.

[He still can't imagine a solution that includes the destruction of an entire world, refuge ship or no. There had to have been a third option, right? Not running because Hela seemed like one hell (haha) of a bitch and she'd probably hunt them down to the ends of the galaxy, not fighting because she was obviously OP as shit and getting worse, but something? Some kind of exile? Planar binding? Fuck, there had to be something that would cut her off from Asgard if she hadn't been a problem up until then, right?

But.

That wasn't his world. Despite the gears churning in Taako's head trying to find a better solution, this was a done deal. Asgard was gone, its people evacuated, and Thor was dealing with the consequences. It wasn't something he could bargain or change now, not without the Chalice and even then? That wouldn't really change anything, just...shift it. And he doesn't think Thor would take that moral grey zone very well.]

Oof...well? Then uh...that's rough, buddy. At least you got off world and smashed her into the ground.

[What else can he do but huff in tired amusement? It certainly is rough. If only it had been the last of it. Plucking his discarded shirt off the hook nearby Thor pulls it over his head.]

Yes, at least there was that. It wasn't how I wanted to start my rule, but... [He shrugs.] The alternative was worse.

Well yeah, the whole "gonna kill everything and be the queen of nothing" is kiiiind of a shitty way to do, uh, anything.

[Even if his glimpses of Hela had been brief, Taako got the distinct impression that she was a real B-word. And it was not a word Taako used lightly considering how many women he knew who would totally and completely wreck his shit if they heard him using it.

Taako sighs a short lament at seeing Thor put a shirt on, before he leans up against the hot tub, arms crossed over his chest.]

Wonder what her face was like when her power poofed though. Woulda paid to see that - minor petty detail, but I definitely would've documented it for eternity. Hung it in my little vengeance shrine or whatever under "Portraits of People Who Got Served."

[He doesn't relish the thought, really. Despite everything Hela had still been his sister. If there had been a way to reconcile at all, he would have sought it. There had been enough damage done to their family from all the lies and deceptions. But Hela wasn't like Loki - she wasn't wobbling on the edge of good and bad. She had made her choice.

Even so? He can see the funny side of it, enough to crack a grin.]

Alas, no one had the chance to see it. In the future maybe an artist will try to render it.

[There we go. The smile is what he'd been after, and when he sees it, Taako smirks back gesturing with one hand.]

If I had any artistic talent in that arena, I'd give it a go. Hell, I'm willing to put some cash toward that future fund. Gotta get that thing blown up big enough that she can see it even in the Astral Plane, right?

That would be quite a feat.

[He gets the gist of Astral Plane, even if it's not the same kind of afterlife his people know about. Thor tosses his towel on the floor and tips his head to the side, considering Taako for a moment.]

But... about the calibrations. Do you want to know what I saw in yours?

[He raises an eyebrow at the towel on the floor, leaning down to pick it up without even thinking. You don't just go throwing towels on the floor, Thor. Don't be a barbarian.

But as his fingers brush the fabric, he has to go and say that and Taako freezes. Just for a moment, but long enough probably for Thor to notice. He rabs the towel a little more aggressively than he'd meant to and throws it at Thor.]

Don't leave your shit lying around. Go put it in a hamper or something, we're not living in a barn.

[Pointedly ignoring the question.]

[Oh, he notices. Thor's observant, for all that he acts like he just barges into situations and expects things to work out. But his attention is almost immediately taken up with the soggy towel launched at his face.]

Ugh, it isn't mine. [Thor peels it off his face, resolutely dumping it on the ground again.] And I care not for how tidy the Atroma's ship is.

Yes or no, Taako?

Uh, you rubbed your super hot muscle body all over it so yeah? It's yours. At least, don't leave it where somewhere else can trip on it and go face first into the hot tub.

[He'll just use Mage Hand to grab the towel before it hits the ground, hovering it in front of Thor's face. It gives him a convenient excuse for not answering Thor's question until he has a moment to think about it.

Should he know? Does he want to know? Yes, probably. Maybe. No? He knows people saw things, he knows they were probably some personal shit, and opening himself up isn't something Taako does. It's decidedly the last thing he'd ever choose to do, and if he can just ignore that it happened, it makes it not real, right?

Except Thor knows. He knows something and not knowing what that is? It could be dangerous for Taako in the sense that more people knowing more about him than himself was eventually going to drive him up the godsdamn walls.]

But sure, shoot the shit. Why not?

[Oh, huh. He actually agreed. Snatching the towel out of the air, Thor flings it over his shoulder again as he tries to sort out his memories. Dreams are always tricky to recall.]

All right. Uh, let's see...

[He walks off a bit, arms crossed, staring contemplatively at the roof tiles.]

You would think all those times I had prophetic dreams would make things easier to recall. [Pointing a finger upwards, he glances back at Taako.] A lot of it was hard to understand, to be honest. But there was something about you travelling with a bunch of different caravans, who never let you stay on with them.

[It had been a cold and lonely memory, Thor remembers that much. The whirling static-y ones are harder to pin down, so he decides not to try. There's a much more important moment he'll need to get to.]

[When Thor walks off, Taako takes the opportunity to cross his arms over his chest. That doesn't feel right though, so he moves one hand up to toy with the end of his braid slung over his shoulder. There isn't any good way to act casual about any of this, so he does what he can and listens, eyes darting to the exit just to ensure that he has a way out of this conversation the second it gets too uncomfortable. Taako might be an adult, but feelings? Fuck that.

When he settles on talking about the caravans, Taako shrugs. It isn't that big of a deal to him now that he's older, smarter, and a lot better at not dying on his own.]

Some of them I chose not to stay with because they were shitty. Life is what it is, my dude.

[But if that was all he saw? That was actually a relief. Knowing that Taako had grown up alone on the road was nothing. If he ever got around to writing up a best-selling memoir, that bit would be included after all.]

Is that it though? Because if so? I feel like maybe I got a waaaay better scoop than you did.

Yeah, I got that impression.

[There hadn't been much in the way of warmth or friendship in those memories. Thor shakes his head, expression growing more serious.]

No. I saw something else. From your cooking show. [He pauses, because there's not really a subtle way to put this.] When those people died.

[The way Taako stiffens the moment Thor mentions the cooking show is only compounded when he continues on to talk about the deaths. The one thing he'd still not even really told Magnus and Merle about. The one thing he only vaguely mentioned to Angus. The one reason why he still hadn't chosen to fully take over the Melting Pot despite practically being the only real owner the place had to speak of.

And now someone knew.

If Thor knew? Who else found out? Who else knew his food had killed people? That he was serving again? Using magic again?

Fuck

Fuck!

Taako suddenly finds himself wishing he'd kept that stupid towel if only so he had something to fling at Thor as he makes a quick exit. Sadly, with his hands empty, his one excuse for an escape is gone.]

...Uh...so... you saw... that, huh?

[He glances quickly toward the door out of the corner of his eye, wondering if it's within the radius of Blink or not.]

How- How much did you see?

[The rigid fear in Taako's body is impossible to miss. Thor doesn't make any other move as the elf's eyes flick to the door, and really... it's not too surprising, even if it's disheartening. What did Taako think Thor was going to do?

He finds himself holding up his hands to try and defuse whatever's going through Taako's head.]

There was a woman -- well, some sort of being who looked like one, who was showing you the truth of what happened. I know you don't recall but I spoke to you about all of this in the dream, Taako.

[And he could repeat himself, sure, but he doesn't know how well that would go down. Or if he can get his exact words again. This whole thing is so surreal it's no wonder Taako feels wrong-footed by it. Thor doesn't enjoy this at all but it has to be better than pretending he saw nothing.]

[Wait.

A woman?

Who--]

Oh thank fuck.

[All the tension drains from Taako's shoulders and he slumps against the side of the hot tub, running a hand over his face. It wasn't just Glamour Springs, but it was June - the Cup-June. June-Cup? Chalune? - the Grand Relic telling him it wasn't his fault. If Thor knew it wasn't Taako who had poisoned all those people, he didn't have to worry about people getting up in arms over him cooking again, or having to hide again, or just...anything really. If the truth was out, it still sucked because that was his godsdamned life and he should be able to keep it a secret if he wanted to, but it was better than having only the rumor out there.]

You could have led with that one first, Big n' Mighty. You almost gave me a heart attack.

You looked like you were having one anyway.

[Does that help? No, probably not.]

Yeah thanks for that. Just what I needed. Really.

[It really doesn't help, especially with how dramatic he's being. But at least Taako knows that Thor is aware he didn't intentionally poison 40 some odd people. Small blessings, but they're there.]

Well, that's what I saw. I thought it best that I tell you.

[Regardless of how poorly the conversation is going. He shrugs, picking up the last of his things.]

Now you know.

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