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

[videointhenoise]

And Kent wants to understand, too. So he holds fast to them and walks the path. He has no fear now, nothing can touch him.

"Hornfels was showing me charts, but - doesn't sound like you have constellations like we do," he says. "What do you see out there?"

[getfeldsparred]

"That's a shame," Feldspar says, and means it. They bring Kent to where they had been sitting and guide hi down onto the rock that served as their bench. "About your stars, I mean. Guess we're pretty far apart."

They frown and glance upwards. "The planets first. Our moon, then Giant's Deep, Brittle Hollow, the Hourglass Twins, Dark Bramble. They float by as the night progresses. I'm not sure which one I like best, but I can't say Giant's Deep doesn't have a kind of pull on me. We haven't been able to send a probe to that planet, so who knows what's beyond the swirling clouds and storms?"

[videointhenoise]

"It's fine," he assures him. "I didn't think there would be any that were exactly the same. It's all about looking for patterns."

Kent reaches down and sets out a few rocks. The first is their sun. Then the other planets as they're named. They seem exceptionally interesting - all of them. He lays them out beside him.

"Brittle Hollow was where you found me, right?"

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar adds Timber Hollow in between the Hourglass Twins and Brittle Hollow, then Giant's Deep, then the Dark Bramble, their fingers accidentally brushing against Kent's as they fix his model.

"Yeah, by the north pole. I was going to look at some ruins up that way when I heard your ship crash."

[videointhenoise]

"Giving you a much better adventure," he teases, running his fingers along the stones, pausing a little at the Hourglass Twins. "Two planets or - a planet and its moon?" he wonders.

[getfeldsparred]

“The adventure of a lifetime, some might say.”

Not them, of course - there’s always more out there.

They look at the two rocks representing the hourglass twins and switch a small stone out with one that’s equal to the other. “Two planets. There’s a phenomenon where sand travels between them. I’d love to see it for myself instead of just through a telescope.”

[videointhenoise]

"Wow, I don't even know what would cause that," he laughs. "That sounds - well, way beyond my scope. When you see it, tell me?"

[getfeldsparred]

“Way beyond our scope too. It’ll come around in about an hour, if we stay out that long. Right now it’s Giant’s Deep in front of us.”

[videointhenoise]

"You said storms. Is it a gas giant?" he wonders, leaning back on his elbows.

[getfeldsparred]

“That’s what we assume,” they say, leaning back on their hands. “Do you have a planet like that in your solar system?”

[videointhenoise]

"A few, yeah. There's Jupiter, eleven times bigger than our planet and a storm that's been going for centuries. Saturn, with rings, Uranus, that spins on its side, and Neptune, where the winds would blow you apart," he laughs.

[getfeldsparred]

“Amazing.”

Heh. Uranus.

“Nothing habitable, I would assume? You’re exploring through satellites and probes?”

[videointhenoise]

"Oh nothing habitable. Too much atmosphere, no real solid ground. The closest we have is Mars, a rocky planet nearby," he explains.

[getfeldsparred]

“Mars,” they repeat quietly. “Has your people gone yet?”

[videointhenoise]

"Not yet. We've only made it as far as the moon. But they're working on rovers - robots that can explore and take samples for us. That's a few years in the future, though," he explains.

[getfeldsparred]

“Moon’s a respectable goal. I’m sure Hornfels will want to hear all about those robots of yours. They’re trying to make a prototype for a scout, but they’ve gotten a little stuck on it.”

[videointhenoise]

"I've been - working on some radio signals with them," he admits. "Perhaps we can hear your planets," he explains. "But I'll talk to them about the scouts."

He pushes himself up. "I'm getting tired, though. You want to walk me back?"

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar smiles a little to hear that, but it’s a little sad too. The more useful he makes himself, the more ingrained in their village, the more far away his home will be.

They jump to their feet and extend their hand out to Kent. “Sure. Hand’s in front of you, if you want it. That stick’s working out well for you though.”

[videointhenoise]

"I have a cane at home. This works - well, not as well, but I've been using one since I could walk, so I can make it work."

He takes their hand and then slides it up to their arm instead.

"When's your next launch?"

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar shrugs gently, careful not to throw Kent off their balance. “Not sure. I was going to start planning another launch to Brittle Hollow, but my ship’s in a bad state. It might have to wait a while, or hope Gossan lets me borrow theirs.”

[videointhenoise]

"Then you're stuck here a while," he points out with a shake of his head. "And i told you, I'm not going with you in that barrel until you have seat belts," he adds with a laugh.

[getfeldsparred]

“Grounded for the foreseeable future,” they agree, grinning. “I know, I know. I think after this last crash we’ll finally get them installed. You know what Slate’s excuse was for not putting them in? That they’d throw off the weight!”

They snort softly, clearly amused by the whole thing instead of horrified.

[videointhenoise]

"That is a terrible excuse," he laughs, walking along the path with them, keeping close without tripping over himself. "Think I could talk to them about it?"

[getfeldsparred]

“You can try. You might be able to reason with them with your alien knowledge of science. They’d respect the opinion of someone of science more than a pilot’s anyway.”

[videointhenoise]

"A handsome pilot, even?" he says without really thinking of it. It's flirting but not. They're not even the same species, but he can't help but feel...close to them.