【 VIDEO 】un: paladin

[bayarm]

[ yet another new face. but someone familiar with it might recognise that shiro is presently inside the castle of lions. ]

We’ve all been told about the anomalies; I got the welcome package same as everyone else, I assume. But I’m wondering — is this still the same galaxy? The same universe? Before I came here, I was falling through a wormhole.

[ for a moment, his expression shifts from neutral to something sad, almost pained. it doesn’t last very long. he wishes he knew where the rest of his team was, whether they’re all right. at least allura is here, but pidge, keith, hunk and lance? he can only hope they're okay, and the forced inactivity doesn't sit well with him. ] I come from a planet called Earth, but I recently learned that there are a lot of space-faring races in the galaxy and that most of the galaxy has already been taken over by the Galra.

Does any of this sound familiar?

[ from what he's seen on the network so far, the question will likely be answered in the negative, and so a moment later he adds: ] If it doesn’t, and this is another universe, — any ideas on how to get back?


( ooc; and for all your ooc plotting needs, shiro on the intro/cr meme! )

Comments

[genice]

( he shakes his head; it's not impossible that something like that could exist, but it seems unlikely if it was putting people that far out into space, it would be an international project. even the space station still clung to more than one nation; Russia looking upward as much as anyone else, but still reaching. )

Never heard of any group like that. We have the International Space Station doing research and staying staffed with an international crew year round, but plans beyond that?

( he lifts his shoulders in a small shrug. )

[bayarm]

[ shiro nods, a thoughtful gesture more than any agreement with what viktor is saying. ]

Then it's possible we're not from the same Earth at all.

[genice]

( he almost frowns, before his expression settles into a more neutral look. )

Possible, yes. Probable as well. It wouldn't be the first time that's been true here. I doubt it'll be the last.

( he quirks his lips up at the corners, barely a smile if it's anything. )

Is it right to assume you're used to dealing with space travel?

[bayarm]

Have you been here long? [ it's not something shiro can assume, given that it's already happened to him twice now (and perhaps more, he isn't certain) in under an hour that someone is from earth, but not the same earth. ]

I am. I was the pilot for the Kerberos mission, but like I said. I've become aware of many other space-faring races in the universe in the last year or so.

[ hell, he pilots a magical psychic robotic lion now. ]

[genice]

Let's see... ( he taps on the screen, which looks like poking in the general vicinity of the video lens, reading his self-stylized calendar. ) If today's the fifth by my calendar, and I arrived last 'month' on around the eleventh or so... Getting close to about a month since I got here.

( both so little time in the greater context of things, and so much time in the more immediate context stretching out into the foreseeable future. )

Oh, a pilot! I've been meeting a few people with that particular skill... you didn't find you had a ship with you when you got here, did you?

( SOME PEOPLE SURE DO and he really, really does not understand that, because that's one hell of an anomaly for an engine quirk to explain. )

[bayarm]

I did, actually. Does that happen often?

[ the castle of lions is here, too, so he figures that it's the norm rather than the exception, but anyone who's been here a month probably has more information than shiro, and that's better than assumptions. ]

[genice]

For those people who were on vessels beforehand? It sure seems like it, but I won't make that guarantee. It's interesting how only space-capable vehicles seem to come along...

( ah, but he trails off, considering with a finger pressed against his lips. )

I wasn't in anything before, but I wonder if anyone else was. Does the hangar store any land vehicles, or only space-capable ones, from what you've seen?

( Victor had mostly seen spaceships, but he also has no actual idea what does or does not qualify as "not actually a spaceship." )

[bayarm]

I've only seen ones that I'm pretty sure can fly in space.

[ shiro wouldn't consider himself an expert on spaceships, either, though — he knows altean ones, now, thanks to the castle and voltron, and he knows galra ships and the ones from the garrison. anything beyond that is going to be new to him, too. ]

[genice]

( it's a good thing they're all going to have waaaay too much time to figure these things out together. though. victor allows himself to slide sideways on this particular topic. just a little. )

It's been the same as far as I can tell. ( he smiles. ) Everything's looking much more streamlined than what I've seen on the news back home. Though I find myself curious... would you mind showing me your ship sometime?

( LET HIS SCIENCE FICTION DREAMS ALL COME TRUE even if he basically didn't have any until he got here )

[bayarm]

I wouldn't mind at all.

[ but, uh — ] I can't promise he'll let you in, though. He's not very temperamental, but he does have a mind of his own. [ surprise, his ship is a magical psychic robo-lion.

after a moment, though, shiro adds, thoughtful: ] If he doesn't, there's always the Castle. [ he's hesitant to offer because too many people in or out the castle, too many people knowing its defenses, that isn't good strategy. still, he's got to start somewhere, and viktor doesn't strike shiro as the type to abuse trust. ]

[genice]

( all bets are off if you ask victor to choreograph you a short program though, so as long as we avoid any competitions, victor's pretty trustworthy. still helpfully manipulative (to those he knows), but trustworthy.

also getting round eyed because by this statement he is now assuming shiro pilots a ship with a fully functional AI and independent personality. which sounds really, really cool. at twenty-eight, he should probably be less impressed at how amazing this reality is, but he's got lost time to make up for certain enthusiasms, and he'll allow himself a moment to look truly astonished at this idea. )

He's fully self aware? ( EXCITING! he could keep himself from grinning, but he doesn't. ah, space is indeed the most interesting place, while also at times extremely boring to stare out into. ) What's his name? Has he always been that way?

( a pause, and then he laughs, shaking his head. )

Sorry, too many questions, I know. It's still so new to me, I keep being taken by surprise! So — you have you ship, who may or may not let another in, and then the Castle. What's the Castle?

[bayarm]

[ a good thing then that shiro has no intention of ever asking anyone to choreograph him anything like that. and he's not big on competitions, either, unless they're for best pilot, and even that title he's happy to pass on to others so long as he still gets to do his job and everyone is all right. ]

He's - yes, I suppose he is. In his way. And he always has been. His name's just Black. [ very inventive?? he's never actually thought about it. ]

The Castle of Lions is a bigger ship. Well, a castle that is capable of flight.

[genice]

( just wait, Shiro. just wait for the day they end up with a mission that requires dancing choreography. the day that Victor's skillset will finally shine.

thankfully, that is not today, nor any day in the known near future, and so here Victor is, trustworthy enough and fascinated by what Shiro's telling him. )

A castle capable of flight? That's... incredible, really. I'd love to meet Black anytime that's convenient for the both of you. And see this castle in the sky.

( he wonders if the "lions" part has to do with heraldic imagery or associations, but figures he can ask about that later. )

[bayarm]

[ when that day comes, shiro will bow to viktor's superior knowledge of these things. until then, he's pretty well-equipped to life in space, at least ]

Let me settle in a bit, and figure something out.

[ they're actual robotic lions... how's that for heraldic imagery. ]

[genice]

( he holds up a hand, both a stop gesture and also an open palm display. )

Of course, please, take your time. There's hardly anything urgent in satisfying one man's curiosity.

( his smile is both part of his public face and also genuine enough; he means what he says. )

Good luck to you with settling in.

[bayarm]

Thank you.

[ and right now, he might not feel too social, what with his side still aching and recent events making his mind whirr, but it's good to make contacts, and so he smiles, too. ]

Let's keep in touch.

[genice]

( he smiles, making a rolling gesture with one hand. )

Of course! You have my number, in a manner of speaking. Get in touch anytime!

[bayarm]

I will.

[ shiro lifts one hand — not flesh and bone but technology — in a silent goodbye. ]