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]

Home.

Feldspar guides Kent out to the small fire and helps them find a suitable place to sit for a spell, giving them some breakfast in the form of a bun with some kind of savory filling. Esker's already tinkering with the ship, so they run up the crater to help them out, handing them tools and chatting with them casually.

"When are you coming down? A week?" Feldspar extends a hand down to Esker to hand Esker back their wrench.

"For the next big campfire," Esker tells them. "I've got to reup my supplies, and Slate's been wanting me to help with some of the new equipment they've been working on."

"New equipment?"

Feldspar can see the glint in Esker's eyes. "Sure, new equipment. Interested?"

"Of course! What're they putting in the ships? You hafta tell me, Esker!"

Thankfully Esker has mercy on them and tells them all about the new reactor Slate's been putting in, which puts a little metaphorical extra spring in their step as they bound down to the crater.

"Esker's told me about a platform they want to build on the north pole, so I'm gonna check that out before we go. I'll be right back, Kent."

They give a little pat to his shoulder and bound off towards the north pole, one of Esker's radio antennas in hand.

[videointhenoise]

Kent stays there by the fire, tearing apart the little bun as he eats it. He can hear the other two talking, though he can't make out all the words. He doesn't try; it's not his conversation. He sets his helmet down beside him and perks up when Feldspar comes.

Then he smiles and settles again when they leave. "Have fun," he calls out with a smile before he leans forward, hands in his lap.

[getfeldsparred]

Esker, setting down their tools and wiping their hands on their pants, walks to where Kent’s sitting and patiently waiting.

“They’ll be back in a flash. No one knows the moon better than Feldspar,” they reassure him.

[videointhenoise]

"I'm not worried," Kent tells them, raising his head with a smile. "They aren't risky when I'm around."

He leans forward again, towards their voice. "Have you been up here long?"

[getfeldsparred]

“That’d be a new thing then, because Feldspar’s downright reckless with their own health.”

Esker looks Kent a little more closely, obviously drawing a few silent conclusions themselves.

“Not long, no. This outpost is sort of a new thing, we had to wait for the trees to grow and haul all the supplies back and forth. I was excited to come up here though; Felds and Goss kept saying how beautiful the view was, and they weren’t wrong. Plus I don’t take as many risks as them - sure, I’ll fly anything Slate builds, but I’m not the first one to volunteer to go out and explore a new planet.”

[videointhenoise]

"No, that's Feldspar," Kent says with a soft smile, though he disagrees about them being reckless. They're passionate and single minded. Everything that he's always admired about someone.

"Its peaceful up here."

[getfeldsparred]

If Kent could see Esker’s face he’d witness a number of emotions twisting their mouth and narrowing their eyes. But when Kent mentions how peaceful the Attlerock is, Esker nods and looks back out towards Timber Hearth.

“It’s really peaceful. A nice change from the chaos of the village crater. I’ll be heading back down in a few days though; Marl’s going to have their sap wine ceremony.”

[videointhenoise]

"Yeah?" He perks up. "I didn't realize it'd be so soon. Good for them," he says with a chuckle. "Come by the cabin before you come back here. I'll show you what we've been working on."

[getfeldsparred]

“They’ve been wanting at that wine for ages now, they’re gonna be so sick.” Esker laughs to themselves. “Most hatchlings are that way though.”

There’s a pause as Esker looks out and sees Feldspar hopping back towards the crater.

“Ah, there they are. Time for you to go back on to solid ground, my friend. Get that helmet on and I’ll lead you to the ship.”

[videointhenoise]

He nods and stands up, picking his helmet up as he does. "Can do," he laughs. "Thanks for the chat, Eskar. And the room. And the stew."

His smile is warm and genuine as he puts the helmet on over his face.

[getfeldsparred]

“Sure,” they say, sticking out their elbow near him. “Don’t be a stranger. I’m listening to that radio most nights.”

Feldspar can only see the exchange, but after jumping around on the moon for a bit they’re all grins and jokes as they bounce on over to their ship.

“Thanks for not breaking my ship, Esker! Hey, that area you picked out is perfect. I set up the antenna, and I’ll have Slate pack some lumber onto me and Gossan’s ships for our next trips out. We’ll have that platform up in no time.”

“Appreciate it, Feldspar. No one knows the moon better than you.”

“Pfft, that’s not true. You’re a regular lunar resident now!”

“I guess, but I’m not the one who planted the flag,” they laugh, and Feldspar from under their helmet tries not to look annoyed at the mention.

“Hey, Kent. Ready to go?” They’re already turning to pull down the ladder, still rusted and creaking, but that’d be a job for Slate when they get back.

[videointhenoise]

Planted the flag.

Kent isn't surprised to hear that, and he also isn't surprised that Feldspar hadn't mentioned it. He chooses to be impressed, but not bring it up.

The ladder is easy to find, and Kent scrambles up, eager to be back home. Sitting at the camp with the hatchlings.

[getfeldsparred]

Feldspar follows Kent, saying their goodbyes to Esker and doing all the pre-launch securing of the ladder and hatch. They brush by Kent as they sit back in their chair, smiling slightly to see Esker already back in the crater waving them off with their signature hat in hand.

“The village’s on the other side of the planet right now, so this might take a little longer than normal. Hold tight-”

Feldspar grabs their radio while the other hand reaches for their belt. “Feldspar to ground control.”

“Ground control here. Hey, Feldspar!”

Feldspar grins. “Gossan! Putting in a shift as Hornfels, huh?”

“You bet. Need the conditions report?”

“Uh huh. We’re ready to come back. Wait until you see what we found.”

“Can’t wait, Felds. Well you’re all clear down here, so get your butt down here before Hornfels has a fit. They’ve been worrying about Kent all night.”

“Pfft, he’s fine. Tell ‘em, Kent!”

Feldspar holds out the radio to him.

[videointhenoise]

"Help, I'm being kidnapped," Kent says with a laugh as he leans in closer towards the radio. He snickers a bit. "I'm fine. Everyone's fine. It's been an adventure."

He does like to hear that someone was missing him, though. It gives him a bit of a thrill to know that he's...wanted. Accepted.

Not that the Heartheans have ever given him reason to think otherwise!

[getfeldsparred]

“A safe adventure,” Feldspar adds. “Tell Hornfels that, it was safe.”

It was not.

“Oh, and uh, let them know my ship log is broken, okay, bye!”

They hang up quickly and lift the ship off the moon’s surface with a grin.

[videointhenoise]

"But it wasn't safe," he points out to them as they ascend. "It was the opposite of safe. It was safer than what you usually do, you maniac," he teases.

[getfeldsparred]

“Nothing safe about exploring a new place for the first time,” replies Feldspar casually. “But there’s nothing safe about getting into an alien craft without knowing what it’d do either, is there?”

Kettle, pot, etc.

Feldspar has to mostly eyeball their landings, hence why Rutile won’t let them install a launch pad in the crater yet. Maybe one day, when they cause less fires than lightning strikes, but for now landing outside of the village is fine too. There’s no crowd waiting for them on this return, just Hornfels and Slate, with Gossan presumably still inside ground control.

It’s Hornfels that runs over to the ship when the engine’s off and pops open the latch. “Feldspar, Kent! Great news!” they call up breathlessly. “We’re going to build a proper observatory!”

[videointhenoise]

Kent smirks. "Led me here, didn't it?"

But he doesn't have time to enjoy that moment because Hornfels is giving the good news. Kent takes off his helmet and scrambles down the hatch with them, grabbing the pack and briefcase as he goes. "Tell me about it!" he demands breathlessly.

[getfeldsparred]

And off they go! Feldspar doesn’t even get to enjoy the little moment they were sharing, because Slate comes bounding in asking about the discoveries on Brittle Hollow and how the new thruster was working.

“I’m going to change your life, Slate.”

They pull off their helmet and hand Slate the gravity crystal with a grin.

The rest of the day is spent recounting their stories and sharing the artifacts collected on Brittle Hollow. The five of them are practically stuffed into the small cabin that serves as ground control, but no one really seems to mind.

“What was it that you had to get, Kent?” Hornfels finally asks.

[videointhenoise]

Kent is happy enough to take over talking when Feldspar falters or pauses, and he helps to take out the artifacts for them all to pass around.

Only when there's a lull does Hornfels ask the question and Kent laughs, shaking his head. "One part is for later," he says to them. "There's something I have to make first. That's from the officials. But the other part is from Ellie and me. It's less official."

He reaches into his backpack and takes out a large, heavy book - a scrapbook Ellie had picked up at a craft store. Something simple. He brings it up and he can almost smell the lotion from her hands. "We have pictures of Earth."

[getfeldsparred]

The room holds its collective breath as Kent pulls the book out from his bag.

“Pictures from Earth,” Hornfels gasps, immediately moving to sit right beside Kent as close as they can. The rest of Outer Wilds seems too stunned to move, including Feldspar, who almost doesn’t want to see these things.

What if it makes Kent sad to talk about it?

“Open the book, Kent! We want to see!” Gossan finally exclaims, leaning forward with their hands on their knees.

[videointhenoise]

Kent is nothing but smiles as he turns it around for them to see. He opens the front page, to a picture of Ellie and himself and the Braille above their names. There are also pictures of his friends, the radars, and Ellie insisted on one of Palmer.

Kent slides his fingers under the pictures, explaining them as he does.

"This is Ellie. And me. And the people we worked with. Fish is there." He smiles. "These are our radars, what we used to listen to the stars."

[getfeldsparred]

“Woah, look at those radios! You have so many of them!”

“He has yellow fur - I mean…hair. Right? Hair. Wow.”

“I think it’s ‘she’.”

“Oh, oh right, she. That doesn’t look like a fish though.”

“Fish is their name, Gossan.”

“Oh - weird?”

“Nickname!”

“Right! Okay! What’s this though, these bumps? Your language?”

The chatter continues, with Feldspar staying quiet as they look at Kent standing with his friends in the color picture.

[videointhenoise]

"That's how I read. It's not our written language. That's - I'll show you that some other time."

He turns the page. "We organized this into biomes. Earth is huge. We have deserts, here..." He shows them a cutout from a NatGeo magazine, though most of what they have are NatGeos. "Oceans with so many different animals." He turns the page and reads the words. "Oh, jungles. Savannah. Tundra." He pauses to let them see.

[getfeldsparred]

More excited, albeit confused, chatter. Feldspar looks at the biomes a little closer and feels a sudden pang of regret - they’d never get to see these places for themselves.

“Your planet is beautiful,” Hornfels says, voice awed and slightly hushed.