04 Network, Video;

[kallig]

[The video clicks on to a... Slightly older looking Altair, in clothes much finer than he wore before. He looks perhaps a bit more tired than ever, though not confused- so it's safe to assume he remembers his time on Agra 10.]

Back again, then. And... [He looks around, unfamiliar surroundings, but his memories are true- another trip off planet thanks to the Agrii then?] In the middle of some sort of event, it seems? A little hotter here than I would have preferred, but beggars can't be choosers.

[At least this time around, he'd been taken from a somewhat calmer situation. He'd been standing contemplating the Eternal Throne, and then he was here. He really can't complain. Given that he couldn't remember Agra 10 during his absence from it, he's sure the GEMINI Captains won't go rogue without him.] How long has it been since I was here?

It feels like forever, but...

[He's going to need to seek out some people regardless, he supposes.]

Comments

[doubled_speed]

Party-Man, welcome back!

Video;

[kallig]

Tommy. [He gives a slight nod in greeting.] Thank you.

Was I gone long?

Re: Video;

[doubled_speed]

Not forever, but definitely days.

Video;

[kallig]

Days?

[He's definitely taken aback by that.] That's all it's been here? Truly?

[doubled_speed]

[What, did he think it was minutes?]

Yeah. Not long at all. Long enough to upset other people.

[kallig]

... I see.

[He's surprised in one way.

Not really, in another.] It's been over seven years for me...

[Video]

[out_of_order]

Altair? You're back..!

Video;

[kallig]

I am. And happy to see another friendly face.

[He offers a smile. He's already been informed that it hasn't been very long at all, but still.]

Glad to see you're hanging in there. [Not okay, maybe. The storm was pretty bad when he disappeared, so he would've had to deal with that.

But hanging in there, at least.]

[out_of_order]

[A partial smile twitches on Cal's face.]

As well as I can.

[He's not going to even talk about the storm, and as strange as the place that they've found themselves in is, he's just glad to be away from storms and ruins.]

...where were you? Did...did you actually go home?

[That had been the report anyway, but who could really know?]

[kallig]

I did. Though I did not remember being here when I returned... And it was as though no time had passed at all.

[He'd had to deal with the fallout after Ziost. He'd visited that dead world again, stood on the surface, seen what had become of it.

Still, that is very long ago for him, now.] I was home for a long time. Over seven years. So much has changed now...

[out_of_order]

Seven years...

[No wonder he looked different.]

It's only been...a week, if even that, since it was mentioned that you'd disappeared.

[kallig]

Admittedly I was frozen in carbonite for five of them. Not exactly the most fun I've had in my life, locked inside my own mind with the former Sith Emperor as company.

[There's a gentle hint of snark, though a certain amount of weariness, too.]

Still, I am in a better place to be able to help the Agrii now than I was. Time hasn't healed old wounds, exactly, but...

[Things have changed, at least.]

[theoriginalmimic]

About time you got back, doc.

[ Calvin is grinning as he sits, shirtless and on a blanket on the beach, as he waves into the camera. All that is left of his wound is a nasty scar on his chest, thanks to the doc, Eli, and now some 24th-century tech. ]

Good to see you still kicking.

[kallig]

It has been quite some time for me. Less here, though.

[Still, he's glad to see that Calvin's well.]

I'm glad to see you've recovered. I hope someone checked in on you while I was away- I wouldn't have left you alone in that hospital had it been up to me.

video

[beholding_archivist]

You chose a dreadful time to return, Lord Kallig.

[ While they are all being forced to take a vacation on some vacation planet, indeed. Jon is... Not impressed. But deep down he may be glad enough to see this at least remotely familiar face. ]

[out_of_order]

[Cal visibly winces at that.]

I've spent just as long hiding from the Empire while working on a planet they controlled, but I don't think that quite compares to your experience.

[At least he'd been as free as one could hope to be, eking out a meager living, not that it was any more fun, feeling like you always had to look over your shoulder, never knowing who or what could be watching, just waiting for you to slip up.]

Maybe that's why they brought you back, then. Although it seems like they're trying to make us feel better after what we'd experienced.

video;

[kallig]

[Altair offers a slight smile. He's not tired enough to not be polite to someone who is, yes, at least remotely familiar.]

Emperor Kallig, now.

[What a difference a little over seven years can make.] Good to see you, Jon. Despite the dreadfulness of the time.

[kallig]

Do our experiences need to be comparable to tell that we both have suffered for them?

[Suffering isn't exactly a competition, and if there's anything Altair has learned from getting to know Cal, it's that his past weighs heavily on him.]

Perhaps. Knowing that no time passes at home while we are here, helps. I'm sure I'll be back to complaining about the Agrii in no time regardless, though.

[That was a joke.]

[out_of_order]

Heh. No, I guess not.

...it is nice to know. Not that it gives the Agrii a pass for their methods, of course.

[kallig]

It does not. Still, I appreciate that any fires left that need to be put out, won't burn my home to cinders while I'm away.

[Given the state of the galaxy he really appreciates that.]

I think it would also be considered rude, for a new Emperor to abscond without notice and leave his people leaderless.

[out_of_order]

Definitely reassuri-

Wait, emperor? Sounds like a lot happened even with you stuck in carbonite.

[kallig]

Somewhat against my own wishes, but with the Sith Empire and Republic both having been bombed nearly to dust from the invasion of the Eternal Empire...

[He sighs.] Taking the throne was the only way I could think of to support the galaxy while everyone worked on rebuilding from a war that nearly ended all of us.

To say that a lot happened would be an understatement.

[out_of_order]

[There's a lot to wrap his head around. He's not even sure where this Eternal Empire comes from, much less fits in, but he's not sure he wants to ask about that. But it seems like there needs to be little more explanation when war is a major element.]

Did you have any competition?

[theoriginalmimic]

Not long here, no.

[ He grins, and nods, rising. ]

Yeah, mostly some guy named Eli? But others helped, too.

And I know. You're a good guy.

[ He nods again. ] Let me buy you a drink, doc.

[kallig]

I dealt with two insane Emperors, an amoral droid with delusions of grandeur, an insane Empress, a former Republic Chancellor who thought it would be such fun to try and assassinate both me and the Empress of the Sith so she could rule herself... The road to the throne was nothing but competition...

[There's some definite irritation there, as he thinks back on all those roadblocks.]

It all culminated in a final tug-of-war over my own body with my mental stowaway. Since then, none have challenged my right to rule.

[Why yes, he has had just. The most fun.]