Kent/Feldspar

[videointhenoise]

"Just once more," they had said when Ellie's team petitioned for it. She was busy with Palmer, falling in love with science while he fell in love with God, and Kent was left to pick up the pieces. He wanted another damn go at it. The Machine had a pricetag in the billions; it was begging to be used again.

But they wouldn't let Ellie go. They wouldn't let just anyone go. They wanted someone who knew how it worked, who had been there from the beginning, but someone who isn't completely taken in by Ellie's words.

That leads them to a dozen people and they end up with Kent. He's blind, but that's not what decides it. They claim that he wouldn't hallucinate the way Ellie did. That he has a unique perspective.

And, he's already proven himself steady and loyal.

He experiences it all the way that Ellie does, but something goes wrong on the other end. Maybe another terrorist attack. Maybe not. All he knows is that he's in the sphere and then, suddenly, he's floating, unable to find his footing until a great crash and he slams into the bottom of the machine.

He groans, pulling his helmet on with a grunt and a wince.

"Fuck this," he mutters, finding the edge of the sphere with his hands. There was a door there somewhere. He just - has to find it.

Comments

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar laughs softly. “So does Slate, so you’re in luck. I sleep quiet as anything. But you’ll miss me if you force me to sleep outside, so I think this is another bluff.”

[videointhenoise]

"I suppose you'll have to wait and see."

He doesn't mind the silly banter here; it makes him feel comfortable. Like he belongs. Like Feldspar is right here with him.

"Where are you orbiting today?"

[getfeldsparred]

They chuckle quietly, enjoying the small talk just as much. Kent might not ever come back into space with them, but they can continue to keep him right there, right beside them.

“Still out by the Ash Twins. I think I’m gonna try something new for the journey back. I’ve been trying this maneuver out with Giant’s Deep - you build up a lot of speed as you approach, then pull back on the thrusters and allow yourself to be lured into the gravity. Then as you circle around the planet you hit those thrusters again and wham - you take off like a bolt of lightning!”

[videointhenoise]

"The slingshot manuever. Very clever. It usually works, too," he says. "Unless you compensate wrong and end up in another cyclone."

[getfeldsparred]

“That ain’t gonna happen though, for one really good reason.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent hesitates, but he walks right on in. "Uh huh. What really good reason is that?"

[getfeldsparred]

“Cuz I’m gonna slingshot around the sun.”

Said as casually as one can, of course.

[videointhenoise]

Silence. For a long moment, just silence. Then -

"Alright. That will give you a good boost."

[getfeldsparred]

They’re not trying to goad Kent with this ridiculous idea, but they’re excited. And confident. Really confident.

“A great boost!” they grin. “I’m going to get home in no time!”

[videointhenoise]

"Yeah," says Kent, who isn't going to dampen their enthusiasm. "You just make sure you run your calculations past Slate before you do it."

[getfeldsparred]

“I will, I will,” they reassure him. “They’re the one who gave me the idea in the first place. I’m not going to attempt it until I sleep a bit first. I’m going to find a place to camp for the night on Ember Twin.”

[videointhenoise]

"Camp?" he laughs. "Don't get sucked up into the sand. Or - is it going the other direction now?"

[getfeldsparred]

“Other direction, but at the North Pole there’s a dry lakebed with a few raised mesas I’ve been eying.”

[videointhenoise]

"Oh? Thinking of setting up a new home there? You and the cacti living happily ever after?" he teases.

[getfeldsparred]

“Oh, yeah. You know me. I like ‘em prickly.”

[videointhenoise]

He chuckles. "Hey, bring a couple of those needles back with you."

[getfeldsparred]

“Ominous, but you know I will,” they smile fondly.

They fall silent just a moment, thinking of Kent and how they’d give just about anything to be with them now.

“I miss you.”

They don’t care if Slate or Hornfels will never let them live it down.

[videointhenoise]

Kent's smile is in the whisper of his words. "I miss you, too. But you'll be home soon enough. And you'll help with the babies. The little ones."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar’s smile is big and bright, but for whatever reason their vision begins to cloud. They blink a few times and watch as water droplets hang in the air in front of them.

“Can’t wait.” For all of it. “Take care of yourself, huh?”

[videointhenoise]

"I will. You take care of yourself, too. Don't get sucked into the sun."

He smiles and disconnects.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar manages to get one sound in before Kent disconnects the line. “I-”

They hear the familiar noise of static and sigh. “Love you.”

Well, if that slingshot maneuver works they’ll be seeing him sooner than later. They turn off the radio and touch down on Ember Twin to make camp for the evening.

[videointhenoise]

The manuever is all Kent can think about. Until, of course, the hatching ceremony. Hornfels shakes Kent awake in the middle of the night.

"It's time," they tell him and Kent leaps out of bed to join them ner the great tree.

He can hear the crackling of the eggs and the sounds of gentle songs. The Heartheans tell stories about their own hatchlinghood. The latest clutch of hatchlings stand huddled together, whispering and gossiping, taking playful bets on what each little one will look like.

And Kent waits. The first peeks out with a quiet mewling of confusion, but they're soon swept up. He can hear the name "Hal" being whispered. The next comes with a burst of limbs and pants breaths, but they're wrapped up, too.

Only the little one remains.

[getfeldsparred]

The littlest one takes the longest to hatch, but the village stays throughout it all, passing little Hal and the other they named Moraine between them to get in their hellos and mandatory cuddles.

At one point Riebeck finds Kent and takes his hand, their three little fingers wrapping around his. “They’re going to help them along now,” they whisper to him softly. “I’ve heard they had to do it with me. They’ll take off some of the shell if it’s taking too long.”

[videointhenoise]

"They have to help babies sometimes, too," Kent says. "Did you know I was born too small? Way too early. I was just the size of a palm." He turns his other hand around and shows them.

He had thought of telling this to Gneiss, to Feldspar, but he didn't want to admit that this was personal. That he was attached to the little one for a reason.

"They had to put me in a machine to help me breathe. It's why I can't see. There was too much oxygen for my eyes to develop right."

[getfeldsparred]

Riebeck’s eyes grow wide. “So small. They put you in a machine? Maybe…maybe one day you could tell us more about the machines. Maybe. Because it saved you, and maybe it could save…”

Riebeck trails off, distracted by the sight of Tektite pulling a large piece of the shell off of the struggling hatchling. The others fall quiet too, so the only noises are the soft cries and sniffs of the newly-hatched. Tektite pulls another piece off and a little fist emerges, the villagers letting out a collective exhale.

“They’re hatched, they’re hatched!” Riebeck says excitedly, hopping up and down. “They’re hatched!”

Before anyone else can scoop up the little hatchling Gneiss is there wrapping them up in blankets and walking them over to where Kent is standing. “Kent? Did you still want to name them?”