video; un: altea

[juniberries]

[video feels most natural to the princess, and from the lighting and background of the feed it's apparent she's recording this not on the Eluvio, but from her own ship. she also looks quite serious about what she's about to say. oh and her voice is like...British but very obviously not actually British.]

To those few of us on the network: Greetings. I am Princess Allura of the Castle of Lions, and I have been traveling with the fleet for well over a month at this point in time. It has come to my attention that...not only is some Earthling holiday fast approaching, but more importantly there are new arrivals having been brought in by the very anomalies that have trapped us here.

[and yes!! you have heard her loud and clear: she said trapped.]

I wish to extend my own personal welcome to these newcomers, but I also regret to inform you that the nature of this fleet may not be...as pleasant as you may have hoped. Just recently, a handful of teams had been sent down to what had once been a nearby planet, Oros, to not only research the land and its people, but to retrieve a relic of sorts, of which the nature has still not been made clear to the rest of us.

[Allura frowns, expression hard, and there's an obvious pause as she attempts to gather herself, looking away from the camera momentarily.]

Somehow, something had went wrong during these missions, and the planet Oros was destroyed. The Fek and the Trilk who walk among us as fellow passengers are the very last of their kind; refugees due to...what I hope to say had been a mistake.

I am not looking to lower morale, or take anything away from the upcoming holiday if you are to celebrate it. But I only look to inform newcomers of the situation they have arrived to, and...to ask that we continue to extend our hospitality to those who have lost everything.

[AND JUST WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE SHE'S NEARLY DONE WITH HER SPEECH, she continues.]

Also, among our newcomers are the Paladins of Voltron, and while that name may mean little here, we still have a duty to uphold as Defenders of the Universe. [SORRY GUYS YOU AREN'T GETTING ANY VACATION TIME HERE.] And it is with their arrival and recollection of events that have not yet happened that I...am beginning to suspect that our being here may not go noticed or even change what goes on back where we're from.

Comments

[voice] un: hello

[unluckynumberseven]

[This is the second person to cast suspicion on the Eluvio's crew, and Emil might want to go on pretending that it's all fun and games, but... an entire planet, destroyed. Survivors, right here on the ship and possibly listening.

It's a sobering thought, and he has questions, but first things first. She's a princess, and he's not exactly a stranger to formalities.

So here's what sounds like a young boy on the other end of the line.]

It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness! As one of the people who just got here, this is really helpful, so thank you.

[juniberries]

[that...is a very apt username! and her tone does shift to something a bit less harsh when she realizes how young this person sounds.]

I understand that this may have been difficult to hear, but I am glad that it has helped. It is a pleasure to be speaking to a newcomer! Might I ask your name?

VIDEO; UN: REAPER

[hellshot]

[Cue some very slow clapping. What a responsible girl, getting up in front of everyone on the network and making a very clean broadcast about the events on the planet down below. Of course, Reaper's here, and not without his critiques ready.]

Good announcement, Princess. I'm sure it'll touch the hearts of everyone working hard to rescue the aliens down below. But I have to comment, you're missing a few things, aren't you.

Do we really have no idea to what went wrong? 'Somehow, something?'

[He actually knows more than he's letting on, but he's got no plans on saying it over the network.]

And 'Defenders of the Universe'. Oh, we should all be safe, now. Thank god.

[juniberries]

[OH.

IT'S YOU.

she narrows her eyes and she is CLEARLY HOLDING BACK HER FRUSTRATION for the sake of saving face or whatever but it's!! there. because you are literally picking on a young person, Reaper, way to be.]

Well, we know what happened. Bombs were detonated somehow, that much is clear. But I do not know who set these bombs off, nor why no further research had been done before a team had been sent down to steal the Relic.

[woops. the 'steal' slips out. clearly she means 'retrieve.'

also she's ignoring your sarcasm because she knows what Voltron is all about even though they're missing a vital component and can't. actually form Voltron.]

un: washington

[sixth]

[ As one of the people who'd been down on that planet, who'd fought and bled to accomplish the mission and get his teammates off that rock, then stayed behind to help rescue the same aliens that had been trying to kill him, this doesn't sit terribly well with Wash. ]

You looking for someone to blame for the fuck up with Oros? Blame your damn aliens. Not us.

[juniberries]

I am not looking for blame, [SHE IS!!] I am simply informing those new here as to what had happened before they arrived. I hope what happened was a mistake and not intentional. But we still do not know why teams were sent down to retrieve a Relic we still know very little of.

[she remains steadfast, stern in tone.]

And I hope you are not suggesting to blame the Fek and the Trilk for the destruction of their home planet.

( un: maine )

[rumbling]

not everything is on a need to know basis.
sometimes you have to do a job and don't know all the parameters.
which might be a good thing considering your exposition on what happened planet-side.
you know bad shit happens, don't you?

[ Honestly, he doesn't give a shit about the Trilk or Fek. He almost lost his best friend down there and this whole thing comes across as pedantic political bullshit. And he's not in the mood. ]

[juniberries]

I am aware that bad things happen sometimes, which is why I sympathize with these refugees.

My own planet and people were destroyed.

VOICE. — id: killjoy

[avicula]

[ dutch's accent is british-but-not-actually-british, too. ]

A planet doesn't just get destroyed. That takes some serious effort.

[juniberries]

[hello fellow not-actually-british!!]

It certainly does, which is why I am suspicious of the nature of these missions we were sent on.

text, un: jjones

[slackbeard]

but is your castle made of lions or full of lions?

the universe needs to know

[juniberries]

It is named that way because it was built for the express purpose of housing the Lions of Voltron and their Paladins.

[you seem to be missing the point of her network post, buddy....]

video | un: carolina

[leaderboards]

[ she's tired of talking about oros by now. tired of the morality discourse, tired of talking about where to put blame. it happened and she did everything she could to get her teams off the planet and she succeeded. she'd ignore this post if the word voltron didn't pique her interest - shiro had brought voltron up as a weapon and he, at least, seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders. ]

Yeah, something went wrong. Our intel was shit, that's what went wrong. You realize that they were at war, right? If one piece of technology was all that was keeping the aliens from doing this to themselves, pointing fingers at the mission team makes me think you don't really understand the situation.

[juniberries]

I am not pointing fingers at the mission team responsible for retrieving the relic. I am questioning the intent of those who had called for volunteers in the first place.

Do you understand the situation? Have you been told why this Relic is of importance to the Eluvio?

not here but here...

[doxing]

(the people from alpha and beta teams understand that the error was bad intel, but sombra has time on her hands to kick herself mentally over the rest of the crew's disbelief. of course — facilitating the destruction of an entire planet isn't her perfect sunday, but as the direct catalyst that ended the lives of two species they know of...?

masochistically, she watches the replies flood in from the dark confines of her room.)

also not here

[ouzel]

[ Cassian sees YOUR LACK OF REPLY and raises you Wary Concern. ]

video; un: cpt andor

[ouzel]

I can support the idea that our arrival here does nothing to change the futures in place where we come from.

[ Because he's alive here, dead back home, and Luke Skywalker is walking, talking evidence of that. So.]

Which poses a lot of problematic questions about the nature of our arrivals or even the possibility that we are the same people who left our homes behind.

[ We could all be clones for all we know, okay?

That said, Cassian takes a moment. He's nosy, these threads are all (so far) public, and he can think of at least two people who aren't chiming in that could. Not that he blames them. ]

We have been told just enough to make things seem plausible.

It's good for you to make this attempt to get people to question the role of power, here.

We were asked to volunteer this time. Next time I doubt it will be a request.

[juniberries]

[oof she does. not want to think about the possibility of not being the same person who left her universe behind, but she's not had experience with clones at the very least.]

You have had a similar experience with those you know?

[a much easier question to start with.]

And...I thank you. I think considering the circumstances, and what little information we have all been given as a group, some exercise in caution is important. What had happened to Oros was a tragedy, and we must dig deeper into what went wrong, and what that Relic is.

I certainly hope they will not resort to force.

text | user: RE-L124C41+

[realimperfect]

Oh, great, since your 'defenders of the universe' are here then I guess there won't be anymore missions that go belly-up. Do let them know that they'll want to gather all their own intel, though, lest they inadvertently cause a nuclear holocaust on the level of absolute planetary destruction.

Also - would it simply have not been more useful to disseminate the information re: doubts in the Eluvio and the mission between each other instead of a broadcast?

Bringing to the crew and captain's attention the dissension in their ranks is more likely to bring about a crack down and spying on the networks/their security systems than a kumbaya moment where we hold hands and sing songs.

[juniberries]

[MAN SHE COULD wax poetic about how Team Voltron is strong and resourceful even if they are still missing a key member to their ensemble but she's not...going to. mainly because what she's reading sounds like sarcasm and she's not going to entertain it.]

I am merely letting newcomers know of the situation they have been brought into and am relaying them what had happened before their arrival. As well as letting them know the situation regarding our fellow Trilk and Fek passengers.

Being cautious and curious about the nature of the Relic and these missions we are asked to volunteer for is no means of outright dissent.

voice; un: rogue leader

[taggingwomprats]

I'm not entirely sure it was a mistake, but I'd like to think who ever is in charge here wouldn't deliberately doom a whole planet.

[ Luke sounds a bit frustrated. He's still having a bit of trouble with the aftermath of feeling an entire planet go kablooie. ]

But, uh, what makes you think we don't actually affect anything at home?

[juniberries]

As would I. What had happened to Oros was a great tragedy, and I cannot help but wonder if there were any it could have been avoided.

[There...really is no hiding the Doubt in her voice, nor the sadness of what did happen. Forgive her that this still kind of hits a bit close to home.

Or, her lack thereof.]

A few of my friends are among the new arrivals. Some of them seem to know of events that have not yet happened, and they don't seem to remember a time where either Shiro or I have vanished. In fact, they were surprised to learn I had been here for well over a month.

audio | (un: 2cool)

[glitterpants]

_{[ It's been awhile since he has actually spoken to Allura— the last time was when they were on the mission together. The start of his sentence carries it's usual theatrical tone: ]}

Seeing your face and hearing your voice is the most comforting way to welcome new-comers, moon princess. I understand your worry _{[ does he now ]} so rest assured, I am completely fine and healing well.

_{[ she didn't even mention being worried about you..?? and somehow by a miracle, he got away from the evacuation with scratches and bruises. A miracle and it won't happen again. His tone shifts, voice softer: ]}

Regardless of who or what it is at fault, I have peace knowing in offering a place for them to stay was the most righteous thing we could have offered.

[juniberries]

[it's. really hard to figure out how she feels about this message because on one hand, Karamatsu did help with the rescue mission.

on the other hand........it seems he's back to what she assumes is his 'normal' ways and it's just. so unappealing.

(moon princess?? seriously????)]

Glad to see that you are doing well.

[deadpan. so much deadpan.]

But yes, there is indeed some solace in the fact that those who were rescued have a place here on the ship. Which is why I encourage everyone to make an effort to allow these new crewmembers time to get accustomed to their current situation.

[video; UN: mhughes]

[dadandgone]

[A man appears on the video feed. He has a notebook open beside him, notes scrawled in writing visible -- though the writing is probably illegible. He doesn't even glance at them, but clearly someone is gathering some information. His demeanor is serious, though he sounds friendly enough.]

Hello princess, one of the newcomers you just mentioned, Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, and I have a few questions for your regarding this message of yours.

First, you said 'trapped' but you also said you've only been here a month. Not to step on any toes, but how exactly does that lead to the conclusion that we are trapped and that we haven't just, I don't know, figured out the key to returning people home yet?

Second, I'd like to hear more about this incident that occurred on Oros. I'll understand if you don't want to share more intimate details over a network like this -- I know even in my time there were sometimes concerns about openly conversing about certain topics.

[He raises an eyebrow, wondering if that's the case here. He could already be saying too much, but he doesn't have much choice and she's the one saying most of this stuff first...so he'll just go with it for now.]

Video | un:NEKOMARU!NIDAI!

[nodyinteam]

[A gruff-looking young man listens to her feed with curious ears. He had only been a part of the rescue effort at the end himself, so he wondered what had happened with the rest of the mission, and how everything could have gone so wrong. She may not have the answers, but at least her explanation spells out more of the context of the mission.]

A princess, you say? How interesting... As for me, I'm Nekomaru Nidai!!

And I find your account about Oros to be very helpful. I might not have much of an idea about any answers myself, but I'm definitely suspicious about this whole set-up. I'll be doing what I can to try to find answers!

video; un: ny4n

[ichimyatsu]

[Why hello Allura, this face may be familiar to you, but it's a much tireder face than usual and it looks perhaps like his hair hasn't been brushed in a week. Fear not, Karamatsu is not losing his mind or his willingness to maintain hygiene due to your lack of positive response to his shameless hitting on you, it's just one of his twin brothers. Specifically, the one who doesn't care enough to brush his hair more than once a week and looks like he constantly needs three naps.]

[His expression is deadpan, but with the faintest of grins quirking one corner of his mouth.]

Sucks that it's not just a fancy space camp, really.

[juniberries]

[she's.....going to squint at the screen.

because ???? um...]

Were we not just talking a tick or two ago, Karamatsu?

audio; un: ROOT

[symbiosys]

A word of advice: voicing your suspicions about an entity in a place where said entity is most likely watching? Probably not the best idea.

[She says 'entity' instead of 'something' or 'someone' because she strongly suspects there's an AI behind all of this; she was fighting an all-seeing and all-powerful Artificial Super Intelligence back home, after all.]

[juniberries]

I am voicing my concerns, not my suspicions. [as if there's much of a difference.] As a leader myself, I acknowledge that there will always be a time where those working on my behalf would inquire as to the true nature of things. Surely the captain and the rest of the crew are aware of this.