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 smiles. He knew that would draw their attention. "You take them back and meet me back here?"

It will be a little faster, so he takes off the pack and hands him the briefcase and backpack.

[getfeldsparred]

“Yeah, I’ll be right back. Don’t wander off.” They give Kent a little thump on the shoulder with their fist and hurry off with the two parcels, bouncing with a quiet cackle each time they leap.

[videointhenoise]

Kent snickers and leans on his stick, waiting and smiling at the sound of Feldspar's laughing in the distance. But then there's nothing but the wind and the sound of a strange humming that he can't identify.

He turns and starts walking. Surely a few steps won't be too bad.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar refuels their jet pack and pauses long enough in the ship to radio down to Hornfels and give them an update. All well up here, equipment fine - barring the log but they don’t mention that quite yet - and landing smooth. They sign off and they bounce back to where they’d last left Kent, only he’s clearly wandered away.

“Kent, pal,” they say, turning on their direct line. “Can you hear me? You aren’t where I left you.”

[videointhenoise]

"Yeah, I heard something," he says softly. "I got up to...uh...seventy five steps from the ship. Follow the footprints."

If there are any.

"I found a locked door."

[getfeldsparred]

There are some footsteps in the dusting of snow. Kent must have walked up towards the pole.

“What did you hear exactly?” They bounce up after Kent, finally seeing his EVA suit in the distance. There’s a large, domed-structure up ahead, definitely Nomai in origin.

[videointhenoise]

"I dunno," he tells them."sounded a little like a humming, but the closer I got, the more muddled it sounded."

He places a hand against the wall. "What do you think?"

[getfeldsparred]

When they get close enough they can see a door - and whatever mechanic had been used to work it clearly wasn’t working. “Hm, the door’s busted. There might be another way in though. There’s a big dome structure further up the cliff face.”

[videointhenoise]

"Yeah?" He turns back around towards them. "Well, if you want to take me back to the ship so you can explore there, it's alright," he promises them.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar stares at Kent blankly, then outright scoffs in disbelief. “Hearth no, I’m not going to just walk you back to the ship to wait for me! What do you take me for, Kent? You’re an astronaut, like me! Let’s see if we can get in there together.”

[videointhenoise]

He knows that he's only going to slow them down, but he can't bring himself to say it. His shortcomings are his own and he doesn't need to say them.

He knows that Feldspar isn't Ellie.

"If you say so," he says instead, laughing. "Lead the way." And he will take their arm and keep close.

[getfeldsparred]

The pace isn’t a concern for Feldspar - they’re the first beings to explore this planet in over a 100,000 years, they’ve got a little time to savor it.

“Hold on, I want to try to snap a few pictures with my scout. No Hearthian’s been here before, they’re all going to want stories.”

They fiddle with the scout, taking some pictures of the door and the domed building, the jagged landscape and glowing moon. “C’mere, we’ll take one together,” they grin, pulling Kent against them and holding the scout up to try and capture a picture of the two of them.

[videointhenoise]

Kent laughs, leaning against them for the photograph. "I can't believe you have this advanced camera work and satellites," he remarks, but he will follow Feldspar wherever they go.

"It is amazing what happens when a civilization puts an emphasis on science and exploration."

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar turns their helmet at the last minute so their visor bonks softly against Kent’s, like a little kiss to the cheek that they capture on film. They pull back to look at the picture and they chuckle; it’s perfect.

“I wouldn’t know anything else,” they say. “Hearthians struggled to survive since the moment we crawled out of the water, but we always dream. That’s the main thing, I think. We’ve always dreamed big. Stars, look at these pictures! Everyone’s going to lose their minds when they see them. Little Riebeck is going to be so excited.”

They strap their scout to their back again and grab Kent’s hand to bring them towards the ruins. “The Nomai must have loved this place. It’s beautiful, really.”

[videointhenoise]

He doesn't know why that small tap makes him blush, but it does. He chuckles, tightening his arm through theirs.

"It really is, except for the black hole. But - I wonder what it's used for. That much energy must have some purpose."

He wants to find out.

[getfeldsparred]

“You’re not wrong. The Nomai were an advanced race - I’d be surprised if they hadn’t used it for some purpose. Let’s go try to break in.”

Feldspar stares thoughtfully at the base of the observatory dome. They describe what they see, hoping Kent will maybe have an idea other than “break the glass” that’ll get them inside. While they talk they snap some pictures, knowing the others will be very interested in this.

[videointhenoise]

He thinks it over, mapping it out in his head as they walk. He asks about the terrain, about the way the lines go.

"Underground," he finally says. "The facility has to extend underground. There has to be another entrance down there."

[getfeldsparred]

Underground. That makes sense. Good thing Kent has a good head on their shoulders.

“There are some structures on the equator. Let’s head that way - maybe we’ll find a way down.”

[videointhenoise]

"This planet is tiny," he muses as they walk. "Way too tiny to have this amount of gravity."

He hums. "Maybe it's the black hole's influence. But that means the planet should be eroding from the inside."

[getfeldsparred]

“Well, it is hollow. Maybe that’s how it came to be that way.”

It’s nice to be able to talk this out with someone. They’d try to radio Hornfels and talk it through with them, but the signals were never that strong. And then they’d become frustrated with Hornfels when they asked questions they couldn’t answer - stars know they’d want to, but their brain just isn’t wired that way.

[videointhenoise]

"That's not how planets form. It must have been - put there," he mutters. "Though how is - beyond me."

He leans closer to them as they walk.

[getfeldsparred]

“So you say, but what if this planet was formed differently? Everything about this solar system seems contrary to what you know.”

They keep Kent close to help them navigate the various purple plateaus and hills, though they pause when they see an odd glow up ahead. “There’s a crack in the equator. We’ll need to find a way around it or we’ll fall in.”

[videointhenoise]

"It would help if we could decipher the Nomai writing," he grumbles, but pauses. "You can't jump it?"

[getfeldsparred]

“Ah…”

Feldspar looks down into the giant chasm, the black hole swirling below their feet.

“No, we can’t jump this one.”

But they can try to go around! They swerve to try and see if the hole closes up, hoping they’ll find the little settlement.

“I noticed something interesting as I was looking down though - I think there are buildings underneath the surface.”

[videointhenoise]

"Shit, really? That must be what I was hearing. Stuff down there."

He leans down. "I wish I could take this stupid helmet off."