driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: the Vision and YOU
Broadcast: Video
Action: On Lyndia
When: Video is now, action through the duration of the system

[Video Broadcast]

[The video clicks on to a tunnel opening up to a spectacular cavern with what looks like a lava waterfall, casting an orange-red light onto the surroundings even though it's fairly distant. After a good long moment, the view swings back to the tunnel where a few sparkling rocks are embedded in the gray stone walls.]

I'm pleased to report that one can indeed find diamonds down in the lower mines, though they tend to appear rather close to lava flows. I'd advise caution if you'd like to seek them out, but I am reliably told the natives will craft them into a number of tools for you if you can acquire them.

[There's a brief hissing sound from behind the camera, and he quickly sets it down. The sounds of a scuffle and a high-pitched screech are heard, and after a moment he picks it back up again.]

Ah, and do watch out for the cave spiders if you traverse this deep. They're rather large.

[Action throughout the month]

[The Vision doesn't spend all of his time looking for underground treasures, of course. This is a great planet for some flying, especially when it means checking out some staggeringly giant trees and looking for novel fruits to bring home for testing, or gathering wood for various construction projects. There's also all of the neat tech to be found in the populated areas underground, so he can also be found shopping for upgrades, new media for the library, spare parts, and of course creature comforts. Maybe they even have some donut powder! And since it's been so very long, he can even be found at the water park wearing a ridiculous little yellow Speedo and looking like he's thoroughly enjoying the screaming crowds of young people on inflatable tubes.

Lastly, for those few who might remember, his birthday was officially set as May 16th last time he was in the Fleet, and it's quickly approaching....]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's the closest thing to trust he could expect from the man, actually, and it feels oddly flattering - in that way that asking someone to kill you is flattering. Things are complicated sometimes.]

It would probably upset her to be asked, frankly, but better to deal with that now than if something were to happen and be unprepared for it. You are--not wrong to think that it is within the realm of possibility.

[Which is all he's going to say about that, except to grimace. They don't have the same kind of medical team here now that they had back then....]

[At least he's not asking for help killing himself, which is a thing that exists in some cultures.]

I know it's possible. I was told it's happened before. [He doesn't have all the details, but he doesn't really need them. Just knowing it's possible, and knowing what he's capable of doing, is enough.] I know it's likely to be an uncomfortable conversation for her. I wouldn't want to put either of you in this position, but I don't trust our captors. And I know exactly what I can do, and how I can be used.

[It's not a comfortable thought, knowing how easily he could decimate his own crewmates, how he could be turned against others in the Fleet. But it is a necessary thought, because it could happen.]

[Goodness, yes, who would ever do a thing like that ~~oh wait it him~~.]

Yes. [He sighs, also not elaborating.] And I do trust her more than I trust the Atroma, at the very least. Enough so that the benefits of having her by my side in a fight would outweigh the very real risks. [Having someone like that, who's both his weakness and his strength, is complex. But he doesn't even need to think about it in this situation: it would absolutely be worth it.]

[WHO INDEED?!?]

I would hope it'd never come to needing such action. But I also don't know how realistic such a hope is, especially given what we've seen in this place.

[The fact of the matter is that things are sadly, unpredictable, and he can't trust his own brain. And there are very few people in the Fleet that he'd trust as being both willing and able to stop him, should it come to that worst case scenario. There are even fewer he would ask.]

'Never' is too long a time to make promises. Not about their actions, at any rate.

[He smiles tentatively.]

But I will make a promise about my own. I will pay whatever price is necessary to protect the innocent, whether that price is in my own blood or that of my friends.

Exactly.

[He's not sure this is something to smile about, but there is something about feeling that he can trust the Vision with something so serious that reassures him, just a little bit. He's still not at all comfortable with the Fleet (or indeed in his own skin) but it's better than nothing.]

We are agreed in that at least. I know what I am capable of; I would prefer those skills be used for good, not ill.

I understand.

And I hope it's a choice we never have to make.