♤ The spaceman says everybody look down, It's all in your mind

[deal_me_in]

WHO: Cayde-6, his crewmates (Ren-Ren, Kitty-Catra, Dapper Cap), and whoever else!
WHERE: Aboard the Starduck, over the communicators
WHAT: SPACE TRIP...?! It's been anticlimactic so far and this Exo be bored Cayde they just started
WHEN: Beginning of the trip
WARNINGS: N/A, will adjust as needed.
NOTES: Will match preferred style as tagged. Feel free to make your own threads! Shoulda thought of saying that earlier but you know, hindsight all that stuff



Finally, he's been able to get aboard a ship. He's not really disappointed either; the Starduck's a swanky little thing. Maybe a little over the top. It's fine. Over the top is fun.

He's still been quite adamant about not touching the datapoints, not that it keeps him from trying to do things without them. Probably no one aboard will notice the extra singing about the edges of his hood, and he's had worse to the face when the Agrii "death tool" had bit back. It's nice having a metal head.

Naturally he would have made a beeline for the cockpit, sat himself in the pilot seat, and would have had to be shooed away for the actual pilot to take the controls. And so the next spot he'd be found in would be the bunks, where he's totally laid claim to the Captain's because it being the only single bed, was the most obvious choice.

Lying with arms folded behind his head to stare up at the ceiling and not the underside of someone else's bunk, it serves to keep him entertained for maybe a while unless someone challenges him for the bed. He's willing to give it up within good reason, but if no one complains, this is where he's keeping his stuff.

If it was hard to keep track of the time on the Agra 10, it's even harder on a ship out in space. Thus the question he voices, both aloud and over the network that he assumes is still connecting them to their buddies aboard the other ships, he poses the ever eternally important question:


are we there yet?

Comments

[deal_me_in]

"Yeah, I'd like more of that lovely handsoap and some extra fluffy towels."

The Exo saunters around the corner, his grin backlit in amber as he throws his arms out in greeting.

"Welcome aboard the Starduck! Have no idea who came up with the name, nor who's the interior decorator but I think someone got confused somewhere along the line. Anyway!"

[in_extremis]

There was the man he had been looking for--for about a lunar cycle, it felt like. The time since the tunnels had been pretty eventful for Tony, and he didn't even have Cayde blowing something up to blame that on. He offered a tired grin in return, grumbling, "Am I just in time for hair washing day?," about the towels before he pushed himself away from the doorway to greet Cayde with a fraternal bump of their metal fists. See, he had missed the good shit, Tony had new toys.

"And here I thought you were to blame for the ambiance. Is this not your style? You seem like a real crystal knobs sort of guy. I bet you have a claw-foot tub in here." With his more fleshy hand, Tony gave a tug near the collar of Cayde's hood, eyes narrowed slightly in appraisal. No one on his crew might have noticed his new detailing, but Tony had a running log of when Cayde's lights seemed dimmer. None of it was helping him solve his puzzle, but it was an extensive observation.

[deal_me_in]

Oh yes, that's new. Cayde's metal brow lifts, but he's still grinning as they exchange fist-bumps. Someone's been busy! But it's not like he doesn't expect Stark to be busy with something. Guy's gotta tinker like the Hunter's gotta roam.

"Uh, excuse you, I'm practical. Now, what this place is missing is a weapon's rack."

He pauses as Tony homes in on the extra singing of his hood, mouth opening, then closing before his optics lid in a dry look. "So, fun fact- apparently even Agrii death tools need specific understanding in order to fire one correctly." Because of course he tried to shoot one. They gave them access to weapons, how could he not?

[in_extremis]

Practical wouldn't exactly be how Tony described Cayde, either, and he let his head tilt with a skeptical smirk before he was sliding his inquisitive hand around the Exo's neck to drag him along through the galley until Tony released him to sit himself on the Starduck crew's table. From there, he could turn his assessment to the wall of what could be generously alluded to as a food preparation system, pouting like he might consider ripping it out for Cayde's weapon rack in its place. "I'll take a tea, thanks for asking," he said as though that calculation had just been a reading of the limited menu.

That the singeing wasn't even from Cayde's werewolf retreat but the result of his encounter with the latest new thing made Tony watch how he moved more carefully, not surprised that Cayde was shooting himself in the face at the first opportunity, but studying like he could read what other trouble he had been getting into out of sight in his gait. "What were you messing around with those for? You're strapped already. Don't tell me you trust what the Agrii are offering any more than that."

[deal_me_in]

The Exo at least comes along with only minimal flailing on his part. Upon release, he straightens the twisted old scarf about his neck as though it could have possibly gotten out of place. He watches Tony assess their humble kitchen.

"Tea? Really. You've been hanging around Jon too much," he says as he steps over anyway to find a couple of cups. Incidentally, he's moving fine. No limping, no favoring of one side or another. Getting nearly shot in the face is about the most damage he's seen, and thankfully the misfire was more heat than actual impact.

The question makes him laugh. "New gun. Of course I wanted to see how effective it is. Also, you never know if they'll take 'em back. ...granted this isn't some big act and we get to them in time to help out," he adds with a shrug. "Guess it wanted me to download the handling instructions. Thanks but no thanks."

[in_extremis]

The critique of Tony's beverage choice earns Cayde something like a snarl, Tony's nose wrinkled and jaw set as he slouched back on his hands to wait with his shoulders up around his ears. "My ex was big on a tea ceremony, whole thing, temperatures and mixing and handing cups around..." This was just white noise. Without any other visual feedback to work out where Cayde had gone, Tony was willing to give him a few more minutes to come up with a tale to regale Tony with before he started pressing for the details. There must have been one of Cayde's buried treasures out there at the very least, and Tony was going to need some kind of hint to make is way there.

"There's no way we're riding into battle, it's some more bullshit," he said, and clearly was not going to be convinced otherwise at this point. Instead, he continued, "Which data point insulted your mother?" Cayde must have taken the point by the fountain, at least, Tony figured. He didn't realize Cayde had some opposition that could extend to refusing the lure of new firearms.

[deal_me_in]

"Wow, sorry I said anything!" Cayde flinches, more for show and out of actual surprise than anything else. It's his turn to study Tony a moment before he steps over holding out the man's tea- tea for Tony and the supposed cola for the Exo.

"Fair enough," he acknowledges, because he's considering as many angles as he can when it comes to the Agrii. Part of him is aching for a good fight. But with all the people they've got in tow, he's not so sure running into an actual battle may not be a good thing. At least from what Teddy had told him, a good number of people actually might know how to handle themselves if it comes down to it.

He's managed to escape the datapoints. Having arrived on Risa had saved him the introductory experience. "I'm not big on having info stuffed into my head, not to mention who knows what else. Although for everyone else's sake, I hope there's no extras snuck in there."

[in_extremis]

Whatever the expression was that made Cayde react that much had to be schooled carefully, and Tony pushed himself to sit up straighter, tongue between his teeth and brow furrowed with more of a challenge than a question, not like he was innocently asking what Cayde's problem was but what was taking him so long to deliver on the simple request. Or maybe, what he was doing experimenting with that cola. If he wasn't willing to inflict a data point on his body, Tony would argue the more experimental foodstuffs in this generators, like the synthetic fizzy drinks, was a far braver choice.

"There's at least two babies on these ships. This is not an armada," he doubled down, apparently unsatisfied with Cayde's casual acceptance of any possible theories for their excursion. There wasn't anyone else in this room to butt heads with. He was less ready to be combative about the data points, though, frowning blankly toward the door as he considered Cayde's reticence, not about to push him on anything messing with his brain. That did sound like enough of a mess as it was. "Guess you'll know what happened when they throw the kill switch and our heads start popping. You'll need a good mop to take care of the gruesome scene on your own," he said, then cut his focus back Cayde's way. "You know there's more than one telepath around here."

[deal_me_in]

He couldn't make good on trying to get himself at least a little drunk once they got out of those stupid tunnels because of the whole replicator mishap. Cola's not his first choice, nor even his second, but it's something to go through the motions so Tony's not drinking alone, and at least it's somehow more identifiable than...whatever that orange stuff is.

"And yet the Agrii wanted to have us outfitted for battle. They haven't been very generous in letting us ask for weapons from the replicator, so giving us freebies now? Whatever the reason, it can't be good." Cayde shakes his head, leaning against the table. "Look, I know not everyone's a fighter. Maybe it would've been better if they sat this out, but between being all together and splitting people up, I think I'd rather have everyone where we can keep an eye on each other." At least they trusted each other more than the Agrii.

He sighs and flops into a chair. "Let's hope everyone's heads stay in one piece. And that the Atroma aren't the ones running the show, because given what I've heard, those guys would probably be the ones to do something like that if they'd get a good laugh."

Chuckling dryly, he sets his cup down. "Not like I've got much to hide after people went traipsing through my head when we were dreaming."

[in_extremis]

That wasn't a point that Tony had any disagreement with, taking the fight out of him and making his shoulders slouch where he rolled his cup in his palms between his knees. Anyone left behind would be well outside of their control, there was no way to know what could happen on the planet while they were gone. While Cayde leaned there, though, Tony swayed closer to accuse into the blackened folds of his hood like he was sharing a secret, "Says the guy who wanders into the woods."

The Atroma hadn't been something Tony had many chances to talk about, making him repeat it back to Cayde as he sat, then nod slowly with more context. Right, the other aliens that messed with people-- other-other aliens, Tony didn't think Reeve's aliens were the same, either, at least not overtly. Much more interesting: "What, they could do that to you? Do you normally dream?" Tony hadn't made it to Cayde's dreams, and had halfway assumed that he couldn't have worked the same way, leaving him with curiously wide eyes that were never a good sign for Cayde.

[deal_me_in]

"After being cooped up in a tunnel I needed to stretch my legs! -also? There is absolutely nothing out there except trees and the occasional weirdly big creature. How can being outside be so boring?!?"

Cayde's lost interest in actually drinking his cola, instead watching the liquid as he tips his cup this way and that. "I dunno, I actually have little to no experience with telepaths." Just weird things that try taking over his systems but he's not counting those because that was just one time and he's knows never to nap next to something with weird symbols again. "I guess I do. Dream. Don't remember 'em like those ones though."

[in_extremis]

There was plenty to do around the city to get some stretching in, not to mention all of them were feeling restless enough to have a wilderness getaway if Cayde had bothered asking instead of disappearing, like Bucky just disappeared, did this asshole really not get it? Tony gave his shoulder a shove with a skeptical glare, then didn't quite manage the proper grin to follow it up with, dropping his chin into his hand with a frown instead. It's not like that wasn't completely expected of Cayde, he didn't have to check in just in case Tony was lonely. He had even been perfectly fine until he wasn't.

"Dreams are supposed to help you process information. Memories stored up in the meatspace that you don't even realize you're still hanging onto. Whatever's going on in there at night must be a fucking trip," he mumbled around his fingers, not entirely engaged with this idea--psychology and biology, the least fun of the sciences. "Have you met Wanda? Apparently she does some shit with dreams. Jon, too, has a whole dream...thing." He didn't feel particularly thirsty, either, but stared more blankly down into his cup. "Might be worth looking into, you know, in case there's some faces still up there worth seeing."

[deal_me_in]

The whole concept of disappearing hadn't even occurred to him until Jon's announcement of their missing pilot. He'd left a note, he figured everything was good. Scouting, it's what he does. Why drag everyone out on a pointless expedition anyway?

"If I found something fun I would've said so. Seriously? It's strangely barren out there. Maybe I picked the wrong direction to look, but Agrii or whoever haven't really thought much of expanding inland."

He nudges Tony back with an elbow. Come on man, don't be like that.

"Wanda. Wanda, Wanda...the name does not ring a bell." Cayde shrugs. "Maybe, maybe not. I kinda like where I am now." Remembering more of things he'd thought hopelessly lost? He's not sure how well that would go, if the truths would be worse than the lies he's crafted about the fragments and faces he thought he knew.

[in_extremis]

Huh. After Tommy's discovery in particular, Tony was assuming there had to be something to find outside of the city limits worth talking about-- a fire tower, at least. Whatever station their train terminal connected to. A hunting cabin for Cayde to make a good go at growing a beard in. This was making his focus on the needs of the people within the city feel very narrow indeed, missing out on what was sounding like another piece of the puzzle to be solved. Was Temba it? That all came out as, "But there's a train," like that meant anything, either to Cayde, or in the grander scheme of this game the Agrii were playing.

He did actually look Cayde's way, head tipped to the side, watching again like he searched for any more trouble Cayde was willingly getting himself into. He wasn't buying that line, not when Cayde was hanging onto the idea of a son that he hoped he had; Tony couldn't imagine just letting that go and sticking with the hope. That wasn't something material that he could hold in his hands. He dropped one on top of Cayde's head like he might give it a shake, and instead said, "I do, too."

[deal_me_in]

"That there is," Cayde says with a snap-point of his finger. "Maybe following what's left of the tracks might have better results." And at least there'd be something to follow back.

Of course, that's neither here nor where they're going, so it's another mystery to look into depending on how things panned out from here. That and that beckoning blinky light.

Tony has no idea what Cayde's holding onto. Ace is just skimming the surface. Sometimes all you have to operate on is a little hope, or just the thought of something more. His head dips forward slightly as Tony sets his hand over it, and he tilts it enough to glance over at him again with the suggestion of a lopsided smile. "Good, 'cuz that's what you're stuck with."