text | un: v-nikiforov

[genice]

I don't know about the ship's calendar, but I'm going to keep one following the Gregorian calendar back on Earth. That winter themed celebration last night with the sudden intrusive gift problem I faced today reminds me of North American Christmas, so I'm counting today as December 25th!

( happy birthday to himself, he guesses? )

Speaking of, did anyone else find unexpected packages left in their room overnight? Maybe even something alive? I've spent all day trying to figure out what this thing is or what it eats, but even the people who pass as veterinarians here swear they've never seen anything like it.

[ Attachment: 12yHu84.jpg ]

( the attached image is of a brown, poodle-fur tribble wearing a flower crown of yellow daffodils. in the background, an actual poodle can be seen sniffing at the tribble. )

Comments

[genice]

Were you still in active service before you were pulled in here?

[aploun]

Sort of... It's a little complicated.

[genice]

The kind of complicated discussed over drinks, or the kind you nod to and politely ignore in the background?

[aploun]

Neither.

[ Well... ]

Either.

[ Filed under: ???? ]

Both. See, where I come from, technology was pretty advanced and humans created something called Cylons which are like robots, droids. Whatever you want to call it. Them. Eventually, they rose up against us and tried to wipe out the human race from the 12 Colonies.

There was a war that stretched on and eventually we were able to make some kind of peace between the humans and half of the Cylons. The other half frakked off to who knows where and the rest of us found a new Earth.

We landed and decided to settle in places all over the planet, giving up everything that we had and were. All our ships—the big battleships—were flown into the nearest sun to destroy all of our technology. We wanted to start over, try to do things differently this time.

So, there's really no formal military anymore. There's no... anything. I don't really have any kind of title anymore, I guess.

[genice]

( This isn't even the first story of this kind of humanity versus robotics war he's heard about; and he has to wonder, do people still infight at that point like they had in the past? Do the robots have the same problems?

Except he's not really wanting to think about any of that. He sets it aside; it's all theoretical unless he's sitting down to chat with people on both sides of the equation. So this becomes something he reads, and listens to in that sense. Something to remember. (He rather thinks he will.) )

Ah, well, in a way, that's how most of us are in the first place. Or are now that we're here! So you're in better company than you could be, and I suppose it can't be too much of a loss. You have you, you have your life, and you have opportunity.

That being said, I suppose you could choose to study law now, if it's what you wanted to do. Still a bit of a long shot for someone to sneak in and leave a nod to that on your pillow, in a manner of speaking.

[aploun]

[ Well, there's the opportunity of it one day should Victor want it. Lee's here for the human side and Sam's here for the Cylon side. They're not the best of friends, but they're getting along better and maybe it'd help to get some things out there on the table. ]

I don't know how much opportunity. As familiar as it is to be on a ship like this, I was really looking forward to being on a planet again. Feeling the sun, smelling grass and flowers. The fake things just don't really compare to outside. But, you're right. I'm alive, that's something.

It's weird, though. This whole thing. Not so much being here, but the fact that someone knows something like that about me. It's too personal.

[genice]

( Let's do brunch sometime, guys, Victor has no horse in this race but he does have curiosity and a lack of competitive circles to skate in anymore. Being social is his next big fallback, and he's kind of loving it, even paired against the need he feels in the face of so much he doesn't know or understand.

Like space. All this; he's slowly learning. )

You keep talking like that, I'm going to miss Earth even more than I already do. For all that can be found here, one of the many things that cannot is any sea shore worth witnessing. Not one gull, not one breath of salty air or fish.

I don't... Hah. It's curious. Even the flower crowns I found. It's not uncommon for fans to perhaps pitch in and buy such things for favoured skaters; I had one in blue roses when I was oh, seventeen or so, that I was given and wore during the award ceremony for the European Nationals that year. Of the rainbow's collection of flower crowns I found today, wouldn't you know but one was of blue roses? Such a strange nod to life before now.

[aploun]

Sorry. Spend years on a ship, you begin to miss even getting bitten by a mosquito. It's not the worst place to be—this is nicer than a regulation battleship—but I was looking forward to finally settling.

Can't say I'm all that comfortable here, though, knowing someone here knows something about me that almost no one does.

[genice]

The apology's accepted, though unnecessary. I think we were all looking forward to what we were facing, when — well. For those of us facing a future where the possibilities felt promising.

( unlike the people who were about to die. like Jyn, and Cassian, and the rest of their crew. life is fickle; not everyone was facing a moment of crisis or importance when they found themselves here. for some, this was an accidental salvation. )

One of space life's little mysteries. Who knows? Both it and the dustbunny might be explained sooner or later.