revivalproject | Ikora Rey

Entry tags:

Ikora Rey - June Catch All

WHO: Ikora Rey & You
WHERE: Various locations
WHAT: June Catchall
WHEN: Various Times
WARNINGS: None yet.

Closed to Tony Stark - Library & Guardians

The room was not in the best condition but Ikora could see that work had already been done to make it a useful place to strategize and share information. She had settled her thoughts after the strange other world and other life and felt ready to focus on the present problem at hand. The aliens that had brought them here and the storms that ruined the planet.

As she examined the room, she was unsurprised to hear a voice. She remembered it from the other world. Ikora stepped out of the room, Ophiuchus floating slightly ahead of her.

"Tony Stark," she said with a slight smirk. "Still interested in buying me a drink?"

---

Meditation - Jedi Temple

Not all Warlocks meditated. Many of them had minds too vast and too cluttered to manage it. Asher Mir had certainly never managed it and found it a waste of time. Ikora found it calming and good way to refocus her mind if her thoughts started to scatter between too many ideas at once.

She knelt in a shaded part of the Jedi temple where she knew it would be quiet and slightly away from the others who inhabited it. She knew her meditation would perhaps set off the senses of the Jedi. When Ikora retreated into her mind the Darkness was more present than usual.

In her meditation she walked the gardens of the Ishtar Archives and the streets of the Last City. She stood in the Tower listening to Shaxx call out challenges and congratulations to Guardians and Tess chat about her latest goods.

Even deep in her meditation she sensed another presence and slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the newcomer with an eyebrow raised. "Hello."

---

Socializing? - The Deep End

Ikora did not typically like bars. They were loud and crowded and full of people. Ikora was more of a loner but she wanted to get to know these people. They would be working together. It would be good to know them, their skills, and their quirks.

Also, Cayde was here and she wanted to spend more time with her old friend. When this journey was over she would go back to a time where he was gone. It was a... lonely prospect.

She sat at the bar, turned slightly to face the room, with whatever drink Cayde had poured for her and Ophiuchus at her shoulder. Her ghost was always good company.

---

Wild Card - Whatever/Wherever.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Oop, here we go," Cayde said, biting down a laugh once Ikora spoke up. He figured she wouldn't be able to sit quiet while he worked for very long. He was well acquainted with her writings on geometry too, thought the paper it was on was especially nice. Seriously, how anyone could write that much on circles was insanity.

"What, you don't think my lines and circles are good enough?" He pauses from his work, holding up the board in all its wiggly-lined glory.

"It will make for a more challenging game of darts." Ikora was not terribly impressed. She knew he had the dexterity for the work. It wouldn't be too hard for him to make a proper dart board if he took a little time at it.

However, he was probably thinking more about getting something set up fast and then figuring out the details.

"Where are you going to get your darts?" she asked before taking a sip at her drink. It was a bit spicy which was odd but not unpleasant.

Yeah, it looked like crap. But at least it was still identifiable. Mostly. Figuring out points would be a headache, but Cayde figured if anyone was playing here, they'd have a few drinks in their system that points wouldn't be adding up right either way. Regardless, Ikora'd have the right of it. He wanted there to be options for people other than to sit around staring at each other while they got themselves drunk. Aside from the karaoke machine sitting at the opposite end of the room, of course.

"I figure maybe I can ask Tony, see if he can throw something together. If he can make bullets how hard can darts be?" He sets the board down to adjust some of the lines.

"Failing that, I have a few throwing knives I've been collecting..." Because giving drunk people knives was a great idea, obviously.

Ikora raised an eyebrow at him. "These people aren't Guardians. You can't give them throwing knives when they're drunk."

Either they'd hurt themselves or they'd accidentally hurt others. While knife throwing was a fun game for Hunters back at the Tower, he couldn't seriously do that here. Not unless everyone suddenly got Ghosts to heal and resurrect them.

"If you wait," she said, "You could get your darts and a better dart board."

Perhaps she could make one. Ikora didn't sleep that much and without her network of Hidden and Vanguard work she could make him a proper dart board.

"I was kidding!!" Cayde protested, raising up his hands.

Telling him to wait. That was rich. He looked mildly offended when Ikora said he could get a better dart board. "What, you don't think this one is good enough?" he said, and while he couldn't quite pull off a pout it was implied in his tone.

Ikora raised a skeptical eyebrow. He wouldn't use throwing knives instead?

She reached over and tapped what looked like a scribble. "And what is this supposed to be?"

She assumed it was meant to be a number, some indicator of score but it also looked like a cat. Possibly a butterfly. It could be either with Cayde. He was prone to doodles when bored.

Cayde pointedly looked back at his dartboard. Well of course he'd used throwing knives, but he wasn't going to uphold that argument.

He blinked at Ikora's finger before scowling at her question. "Obviously it is a nineteen. My pencil just got caught in the knots is all," he insisted, even as he moved to rub it out. Everyone's a critic. "Are you just going to sit and judge my work the whole time?"

"No, not the whole time." She knew he could do better if he put his mind to it. Ikora wanted to push Cayde, as she often did back when they were in the Tower. It probably seemed very critical to anyone happening to listen in.

But they had centuries of friendship. This was how they worked together. Ikora pushed Cayde to do better. Cayde reminded her to relax.

"For a first attempt, it's not bad." She hoped he would take the hint and retry it. A dart board wasn't a bad idea. More games, more ways for people to relax, the better the moral.

The Exo gave her a look, a disbelieving smirk on his face. Typical Ikora. And oh, he would redo it. He had ultimate plans to burn the lines into the wood with a hot knife, but for now he stubbornly continued to work with the wobbly, uneven lines with pencil. Probably just to try irking her. He played other strange games within his games. Warlocks and their perfect geometry.

"So Holliday's about," he said, switching topics as he pulled down another line. This one almost came out even. "Already planning on sparrow races. You best enjoy the quiet while it lasts," he grinned, teasing. Well, not quite teasing. Either way there'd be something zooming around soon enough.

"Yes, I'm glad to see her." Ikora was happy to have Amanda around. She was steady and knew her work. If anyone could get them sparrows it would be Amanda. "Once we have them we'll be able to explore further."

She turned more fully towards Cayde. "I want to go much farther outside this city. The answers to what has us here and those storms is outside this city. You know that."

Cayde must want to explore as much as she did.

"Hopefully there's something worth exploring," Cayde agreed, nodding. "You'd figure there should be more than just one settlement out there, right? At least with the station over on the eastern side here, those tracks have to have ended somewhere."

Things would definitely be easier with a sparrow. "Ezra and I were talking about getting out there. He's thinking expeditions, I'm thinking it'd be easier with a smaller group. Fireteam like, you know? But he suggests a Jedi handy because of what they can sense or something."

He looked up from his work, tapping his pencil on the wood. "Oh yeah! Tony said he's got the transmat relay all set. Not sure if it's been tested out yet and I don't know how reliable transmatting anything organic would go but we're getting somewhere, at least."

"Even if this is their Last City, there should be ruins to explore." Ikora imagined there would be areas like the EDZ or even cities like Chicago that while flooded and mostly underwater still existed. She wanted to see it. The answers didn't seem to be in town so they must be out there.

Expeditions made sense. A fireteam of three out in the field, reporting back to the rest of them would be easier to manage and less risk. "There are many here that would volunteer for the expeditions, I imagine. Jedi and others. We should send a more diverse team with complimentary skills."

Would they be the Vanguard here? She imagined Cayde would much rather be in the field than be Tower bound again. A transmat system would be very helpful. They'd have to teach others how to use that system if they could without a ghost. "Let's test it with inorganic material first then."

Cayde wasn't particularly sure that what they were looking for was even planetside. But he agreed that something had to be out there, out somewhere.

"Yeah. There's a good number of people who are pretty capable of taking care of themselves too, and have the experience out in the field." Those from Ezra's end of the galaxy alone seemed to be pretty well acquainted with dealing with things if trouble came up.

He nodded. "Oh, definitely. Wouldn't want having people popping up with one less limb or something. But having the means to transport objects and loads would still be a big improvement."

Until they have a reliable way off planet they will have to focus their search here. Now that they had a good shipwright like Amanda they could, perhaps, finally get into orbit with a bit of time.

"Perhaps the best expedition to run first is you and Tony and myself laying down the transmat network," she mused running her finger around the rim of her glass as she thought. "It would allow us to transport what we find back here and keep us in communication with the city."

She saw it spreading out across the wild places like the network back home, allowing for immediate dispatch of not just sparrows but missions and information.

The Exo rolled his eyes. "Of course you propose we do actual work when we go out there," he said with an exaggerated sigh, spoiled by a lopsided grin as he darkens a few lines on the board.

"Although given our resource in the um, transmat network department, I think it's better we go and make sure there's something worth finding out there before we set anything up."

"Just think of all the interesting places you could put beacons and it won't feel like work," she said with an amused smile.

In her opinion a network was always worth setting up. There will be a future need to move around this planet eventually. They could save a lot of time if they set up a network now while they were exploring.

"We should set up what we can spare. And with Amanda here with her knowledge of our networks and machines, she could help make better use of our limited resources."

"But I'll know it was work," Cayde countered, tapping the point of his pencil in the air.

Setting it down so he could take up his drink instead, he rested his elbows on the counter. "Super limited. As in, we have One relay. Have our Ghosts sync in and we're slightly more mobile but otherwise, that's it." He shrugged, tipping back the bantha cup to finish off the rest of his previously forgotten drink. "Of course, between working on things in the city and rolling with the punches of surprise trips and whatnot, the transmat thing was mostly treated as a side project so no surprise there."

Ikora hummed in thought for a moment. One relay really wasn't enough. They needed many more for a good, reliable network and one that the others could use as well. Right now, a single beacon helped them but no one else.

"Then we should find some way to make reliable transportation so we can travel without the network," she suggested, studying her old friend to see what he thought of the idea.

She'd been asking around about what people think should happen next, trying to get a feel for everyone and their priorities. The public forum really wasn't the place for everyone to express themselves openly. It was much easier to get the truth one on one.

"Probably the best bet. At least that'd be something everyone can use, and maybe even carry passengers," Cayde mused. "We got one sparrow running before, so it's not like it's impossible. And with Holliday on board, I'm sure something'll be churned out in no time." He was looking forward to it himself, especially being enlisted to do some test-driving.

"My concern- yes, I do have them on occasion- is that if the ships can be grounded so long as no one's intended to go anywhere, what would stop that from being extended to vehicles?" He drummed his fingers on the countertop, pausing to snap them at a thought. "Oh, you were not here when we came back from the Agrii rescue. We all got marched back into our ships- not literally but it was like we were...called, somehow- anyway," he shuddered, but pushed on.

"Ships came back right in the middle of a Storm with a capital 'S'. Power cut out, all of us crash-landed in the woods. That was on a bad day. On normal days the ships won't even take off. My point being? If we're trying to find something out and someone decides they aren't having that? Potential for a lot of damage, and only you and me got Ghosts and we're not even sure how well that'd work for us if it comes down to any rezzing."

"We're not proposing ships that will take us off planet," she countered, though his concern was valid. "If they want to keep us here, we'll still be here. The only thing a sparrow allows us to do is travel farther on the planet."

The Agrii might object, it was true, but from what Ikora had seen so far they only wanted to limit them to this planet.

"We can't be afraid to explore simply because an alien race might object to that and attack us. We've never let it stop us at home. Yes, we might risk our lives with no certainty the Light will bring us back but that is what we do as Guardians." Ikora wouldn't stop exploring or asking questions or investigating because it might risk her life.

She was not afraid of her true death. She was more afraid to see him die again.

"Not my point," Cayde said, shaking his head. "It's those who aren't Guardians I'm worried about. You, me- we stick our necks out because we're used to it, used to coming back like nothin'. These people? They will still insist on risking their lives, and there's no coming back for them if that holds true."

Tony had broken an arm in saving him from a bad landing. Tommy had grabbed him off the speeder-sparrow when Cayde had lost control, and would've willingly been the skid-plate once they'd gone tumbling off if the Exo hadn't rolled them so that he'd take the brunt of the momentum instead.

Being here gave him more of a chance to connect with those without the Light. Those who wouldn't always be around, if this were back home. Those lives were fragile, and he had to be reminded the hard way that it didn't mean they weren't willing to put themselves in danger even for someone who could shake off death like gathered dust. Even if it weren't guaranteed they could still do that here, it made him want to protect those people even more.

"We can't keep them in the city for their own protection," she said gently. There were plenty of people like that back home, after all. "Devrim, Suraya, and others are human and they risk their lives just the same as any Guardian. We can watch over them but we don't have whole legions of Guardians to send out. We have to rely on them just like we did in the Red War."

And they lost so many then she understood his hesitance to risk the small population here but... that population wouldn't be so understanding.

"I haven't met everyone but those that I have met are fierce and dedicated. They won't listen if you tell them to stay while we go risk our lives. They care, Cayde." And that caring would have them step into danger without hesitation even if yes, from a purely logical standpoint it was better if the two of them went.

"Oh, I know that. I just..." He tossed his hands. There wasn't really anything to explain. Ikora had nailed it down rather neatly. "I'm not telling anyone to sit down and stay home either, because I know how that is." The Exo laughed dryly, retrieving his pencil to twirl across his fingers.

"Look, I'm just saying that I hope nothing we build backfires on us, or someone out there doesn't just pull the plug on the engines or something and send people flying."

He knew it was a risk going out into uncharted territory, enemy territory, rough terrain. No one should have to worry about equipment failure for no good reason and yet that was a floating possibility here.

It was a risk of this place. They had to take it or else they would sit in this town and do nothing. They could not let fear and worry keep them from figuring out the secrets of this place. Those secrets could lead them home.

"They could but they also have a protective streak," Ikora pointed out. "When we were in that other world they reached out and help free the others. It could be they'll protect us instead of working against us."

And maybe that was it all along. Maybe the Agrii simply thought they would get hurt and that was why they were grounded. It was a benevolent theory that Ikora didn't fully believe herself.

"We can go on foot if you're really worried." Some people in their world trekked miles on foot to reach the Last City and the Farm during the Red War. They could do the same.

Cayde smile was crooked but mirthless. "It's not the Agrii that's the problem. And while I don't doubt they'd try and intervene to help us out like they have, I don't know how helpful they'd be considering they're also being tugged around by the Atroma."

That was what he really hated. They had someone behind it all, a name to them, and yet no actual revelation of someone to focus on taking out. He was always direct with his problem solving, at least when said problems could be shot.

Waving a hand, he reached over for the bottle on the counter so he could refill his cup, holding it out to Ikora in silent inquiry of whether she also wanted more. "Seems we'll be stuck on going on foot either way depending on how soon we decide to try having a look out there."

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