Kent Clark (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
videointhenoise) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
openmisc2024-12-13 07:37 pm
videointhenoise) wrote in openmisc2024-12-13 07:37 pm
Kent/Feldspar
"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.
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.
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They bring the harmonica up to their mouth and begin to softly play.
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He hasn't heard that music in so long that he immediately chokes up, tears springing to his eyes in a rush of warmth and adoration. He doesn't dare interrupt, but he turns to face him, reaching out one hand to place on their leg.
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Just two aliens underneath the stars together.
They play for a while, letting themselves get lost in the music and the feeling it always gives them, like the universe is embracing them. They lower the harmonica and wipe the tears from their own eyes, glancing down at Kent with a warm smile.
Their head finds their way onto his shoulder and they bring the harmonica back up to their mouth, ready to idly play the night away.
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Kent settles into the music, hearing the waterfall himself, how it flows and falls. He hears how it brings him back to something so primal and beautiful.
He holds them when they're finished. "I love you," he says. "I am so happy you're home."
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“Happy to be home. Do you want to sleep and I’ll keep playing a while?”
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"Yeah," he agrees. "It reminds me of listening to the radio at night. Remember? When you and I would stay up too late? Hornfels would get so annoyed," he mutters, curling up beside him.
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Feldspar sighs quietly. “I’d sit up there in my chair and wait until I saw Timber Hearth spinning in the distance.”
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"We gave them a thrill," Kent acknowledges, yawning. "That's all they wanted."
And Kent wouldn't move from that radio until he was forced. Every day he got to talk to Feldspar was a good day.
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They smile to themselves and blow into the harmonica again, starting on a low and lazy melody.
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And Kent slowly falls asleep, dreaming of waterfalls and loves, waking only in the middle of the "night" to return to Feldspar's side and curling up against them.
The next day brings a very panicked Slate to the door, though, They bang loudly on it, calling for Feldspar and Kent.
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The urgent knocking jolts them awake. They blink all four eyes rapidly and try to scramble out from underneath the blankets. “Wha…Slate? Is that you?”
Feldspar throws their clothes on as they hurry to the door and pull it open. “What’s going on?”
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Kent sits up, bare chested, to listen as Slate tries frantically to explain.
"Power surge," they say, pointing behind them. "It's knocking out systems left and right. We need all hands out."
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They turn and race into the room, grabbing a shirt and tossing it to Kent. “Kent, you have to find the power supply to the dream. You have to save them!”
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"I heard, I heard." He takes the shirt and throws it on, finding his pants and reaching out a hand. Slate takes it. "Felds, you and Gabbro need to link across the river. Kent, come on. We'll go get in the guts of this thing."
And they pull Kent behind them and out.
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“Gossan’s coming from one side, I’m coming from the other,” they repeat back. “Yeah, I’ve got it.”
Everyone’s practically rushing around to be of some help, but they all pause every time the lights begin to flicker. They’re losing time.
“Come on, Felds,” they hear Gossan shout - from where Feldspar couldn’t possibly say, “take the raft and get into position!”
“Right, right,” they call back, leaving Riebeck with a wink and then taking a good leap to get onto one of the rafts.
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Kent's feeding them information, helping with calculations, but they manage to solve one of the problems. One of the turbines in the dam started to spin erratically with the newfound current causing a surge of energy...and the short in the line.
Once they connect the wires, the power should be restored. Kent gives Lapis the news and the hatchling runs off, trying not to panic. Trying to stay calm. This is something they can do.
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“Once Gabbro and Reibeck are in place you’ll take this and fly across,” Esker explains as they help Feldspar shrug the wire over their shoulder. “Careful to give yourself some slack, but don’t drop it into the water.”
“No kidding,” Feldspar grunts.
“Who’s got the other side where Gossan is?”
“Rutile and Hal,” Marl tells them. “Hornfels and Chert are ready to intercept and run it down to the power supply.”
“The whole village, huh? That’s…encouraging.”
Feldspar huffs and waits for the signal that Reibeck and Gabbro are in place. They wave and Esker waves back, the rapids swirling underneath them. “Go, Felds!”
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They don't want to put any more pressure on them, but this is important information. This is hope. They all have hope.
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Feldspar takes a deep breath and pauses to adjust the weight of the cable on their shoulder. Lapis is counting on this. Kent is counting on this.
With a casual little whistle they jump off the edge of the cliff and press on the fuel, shooting back up and then falling forward only to crank up the fuel again and repeat the process. The cable yanks and pauses their momentum, but they’re able to do a controlled fall while they unfurl it and then shoot back up. They make the rest of the trip across the river without any incident, passing the wire to Reibeck who quickly unfurls the wire across the length of the middle canyon and hangs it on Gabbro’s arm.
Gabbro sets off and Feldspar exhales. They helped train Gabbro themselves, and then there’s Gossan - they’ve got this. They can do this.