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]

He leaves those thoughts out of his head. They're on a mission. There's no point in getting wrapped up in his head.

He floats back to the chair and pulls himself onto it so he can slide the seatbelt on.

"How far off course did you get?"

[getfeldsparred]

“Not too far off, thankfully.” They do grumble a little as they try to punch the coordinates back in, only to be met by a small spark on the exterior of the cockpit and then a fizzling sound in the machinery. Feldspar frowns - that’s probably not great, but everything still seems to be working.

“I think our flight log’s short-circuited. Not a big deal, but Hornfels’ gonna be pissed.”

But so it goes with most Outer Wilds trips - something breaks, someone’s mad, but everyone’s secretly relieved no one died. Hornfels can be as angry as they want, but they’ll bring Kent there and back in one piece, so they can’t really complain.

[videointhenoise]

Kent sucks in a breath, crinkling his nose as the smell.

"I'm sure they'll forgive you for breaking the ship," Kent teases. "But uh - what's in the flight log for you?"

He reaches up and ties his hair back with a bit of string so it doesn't get in his face.

[getfeldsparred]

“They have to, I’m the only one stupid enough to fly these things. Gossan waits until I’ve done the test run before they’ll even step foot in them.”

They frown softly as they ease the control back into a turn towards Brittle Hollow. “Flight log’s just useful for after the flight - if I crash or the ship suddenly stops working.”

[videointhenoise]

"Oh god," he laughs. "Then let's hope you don't need it."

He leans back, closing his eyes. "Fels was telling me how close the planets are. I can't believe they haven't sucked each other in."

[getfeldsparred]

Fels. Close enough to have a nickname. Best not to think about it.

“Weird, isn’t it? But the nearest star is far enough away that we’d never be able to reach it in a lifetime.”

[videointhenoise]

"It is," he answers. "But our solar system is so vast that - " He pauses. "It would take years to get from one side to the other," he explains. "But your star is - old. They were talking about an expected supernova in the future. That doesn't usually happen for billions of years into a star's life cycle."

[getfeldsparred]

“About a hundred thousand years in the future, if Hornfels guess is right,” Feldspar nods. They do pay attention when Hornfels talk. Sometimes. “Still have a bit of time, so I don’t lose too much sleep over it. I guess it would make our solar system really old though, if it takes billions of years for it to naturally occur.”

[videointhenoise]

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. The Nomai might have been around when the sun was a little hotter," he remarks. "And a little smaller."

[getfeldsparred]

“Would the solar system have been more spread out, or is that like millions of years timeline rather than thousands?”

[videointhenoise]

"Ah, the planets don't tend to work like that. They would still be the same distance apart," he explains.

[getfeldsparred]

Well, now they feel a little stupid. Hornfels would definitely know that.

“Must be nice, having a science-type to talk about this stuff with. Hornfels seems happy to have a friend too.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent laughs. "They are," he laughs. "I have a friend at home like them. We call him Fish."

[getfeldsparred]

“Fish, huh? That’s a funny name.” Says the being most directly related to a fish.

“How are you doing with…with all that?” Homesickness, they mean. It’s hard to say that part out loud though, worried as they are about upsetting Kent too much.

[videointhenoise]

"I'm alright," he tells them honestly. "It's an adjustment, but - but this is what I signed up for. Adventure and knowledge and the risk. So - I'm alright." He chuckles. "Everyone is so welcoming and accommodating. I - sometimes I forget that I'm not home."

[getfeldsparred]

They are kindred spirits in a way, both of them looking for adventure and the unknown, both of them experiencing something no one else had ever experienced before. Pioneers, in their own way, and both a little lonely in their field.

“It helps that our homes were so similar to begin with…but there are probably a lot of moments where you remember you’re hanging around a race of four-eyed, blue-skinned aliens.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent agrees, but there is a very important fact that he was missing.

"Four eyes?" he laughs. "I - wow, I guess it didn't come up until now." He hadn't had a good chance to map anyone out, and he blushes a little when he thinks about his first experience with Feldspar. They were kind enough, but Kent gets warm now even recalling that moment.

[getfeldsparred]

They laugh a little. “Yeah, four eyes! Figured it hadn’t come up. No one’s gonna be that specific for no reason. We have a pair like yours, and then another little pair further down on our face by where our nose sits. Sometimes we get poked in the eyes if we’re making out too hard.”

[videointhenoise]

Kent snorts. "That happened to you a lot?"

He imagines it has, with how charming he finds Feldspar.

[getfeldsparred]

“Heh.”

They shrug. “Happened enough to be wary.”

[videointhenoise]

"Yeah, I'll bet." He grins, humming to himself. "Should be almost there, right?" He recalls the trip back and how long it had taken then.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar wasn’t ever really interested in things like dating or chasing other hatchlings around for smooches - they had their flings, but they were brief, not really serious. If anyone was chasing after them they wouldn’t really know.

“Yep, I’m trying to get us to the other side. Planet’s rotated. I think I see your craft though.”

[videointhenoise]

"From this altitude already?" He smirks. "Must have made a crater."

But he sits back again, content to wait.

[getfeldsparred]

“Not many bumps or divots on this planet. There are giant holes in the surface, but you can see straight through. Yeah - there it is. A big line running right up to your ship.”

[videointhenoise]

He's going to ignore that "see straight through" comment because that makes no sense and he'd rather not talk about it.

"You keep calling it a ship instead of what it is - a big ball that was thrown randomly."