revivalproject | We All Float On

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We All Float On

WHO: Cal Kestis, BD-1 and you!
WHERE: Agrii Ship
WHAT: Keeping busy on the way back to Agra 10
WHEN: During the trip back
WARNINGS: N/A

It's definitely a different atmosphere aboard the ship, now that they don't have imminent threats hanging over their heads. Having a full ship also helps for the mood. True, there have been disappointments and frustration in the aftermath of rescuing all the Agrii, but Cal hardly thinks the Agrii themselves are to blame. It seems clear enough that someone else is at work in all this, and while that in itself is disheartening, there's little that can be done that they haven't already tried in order to get any further clues in that. The current state of those of their own that they've rescued along with the Agrii and Graq is worrying, and not knowing what else to do, he can only hope that Cloud and Bucky come out of their sleep soon.

The padawan takes the time to get to know the Agrii. It's a nice change to be able to speak face to face to them instead of wait for mysterious messages. It's nice to know they're real. But sometimes they can be overbearing, and so he finds retreat as he can.

Naturally it's work that Cal throws himself into, finding the need to do something. Being busy comes easier than meditation at the moment, and there's plenty enough to be done anyway.

A
With no rush to get things finished, he's happy to work on the ships, putting in some perhaps much-needed upgrades. Can't hurt to, right? Given how woefully under-equipped they've proven in what might be considered necessary functions, the padawan's priorities would be to retrofit ships with whatever parts are yet available to provide protection and increase travel speed. He won't mind an extra hand, of course. Or maybe you want your ship to be upgraded next?

B
In a quiet, empty dead-end hall or perhaps even the Green Room, when he's not picking at tech, Cal and BD-1 can be found going over some of the latter's interesting findings. BD-1's been pretty busy with the Soldier, it seems, and now that they've got the time, Cal's trying to catch up with what's happened on the other end.

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The Soldier has come to thing of Cal as a preferred acquaintance — not yet a friend, though that's more out of his own natural mistrust of everyone, but one whose presence he prefers to a lot of the others in their collection of kidnapees. It's largely due to the man's sense of tact, and how he's able to prioritize needs. The Soldier appreciates that practicality.

And he appreciates as well skills that he doesn't have. It doesn't bother him at all to be a glorified workstand and clamp; if it helps with repairs and upgrades, he'll hold cables and housings and shielding all day.

When he gets the okay he eases his hold on their latest addition, letting go gradually to make sure it actually will hold. They've only had one misalignment so far though, and this latest doesn't add to that number; it doesn't take him long at all to release it entirely.

"Another success," he comments, using his flesh hand to rake his hair back from his face, then both hands to re-tie the tail at the back of his head, catching in all the loose strands. They'll fall free again before long, but it works for now. "And a step closer to feeling better about these things." He still doesn't trust the Agrii, doesn't trust how they suddenly can't fulfill all their promises of returning everyone to their proper places. It doesn't feel right to him but just like when they came here, there's too little information to hazard a true estimation of the larger picture and all the players.

"What are you thinking next?" Next upgrade, next move, next plan for their way back, even the next meal; he's leaving the question deliberately open. And actually attempting to engage in conversation, look at that.

Cal mops his brow with the back of his gloved hand, grinning a little at the other man's observation. "It's been going a lot quicker with your help." Even with a mistake, at least it didn't take as long to right it with the extra hands.

It's difficult not to sense that lingering mistrust, the cautiousness. He'd gotten the same sense from the Mandalorian, and he's hardly going to judge or call out anyone's paranoia when he's been there himself. It's been easier to trust people a little more, here, especially when they're all in a similar situation, but Cal knows it will still never be the same.

He stoops down by the toolbox, smiling crookedly at the question. Vague as it is, it's a loaded one. "...honestly, I'm trying not to think too hard," he replies, shaking his head as he pokes through the tool assortment. There's been plenty of things to think about ever since they'd successfully transferred all the Agrii and Graq aboard. At least by keeping busy he could avoid letting his thoughts drift to the maddeningly growing pile of questions that have been accumulating ever since they'd come to this ship.

"I just go where you tell me." Cal is entirely there brains of this operation; so what if he's lending a hand? Honestly it feels good to do some physical work, almost the same sense of satisfaction that comes from a good workout.

And like a workout, like a spar, there's something of learning the physical presence of his companion. The Soldier admits to himself that physicality is huge for him; for all that he's not tactile with others himself, body language speaks volumes.

He can appreciate the answer too; appreciate it and relate to it. They've gotten too much information out of the past few days and not nearly enough in straight answers. Perhaps that's why it's easy to just work on repairs and upgrades; machines have a certain brand of logical sense that's sorely lacking in the Agrii.

"I'd say we've earned the break," he agrees even as his eyes scan the space. The Agrii haven't seemed too inclined to offer help with their upgrades, but the Soldier still feels like they're being watched. "Though I will admit my thanks that you do, in fact, think."

Working on machinery was a retreat, in a way. It was that way on Bracca, working for the scrapper guild, and although being haunted by the old, great ships of the war that either once belonged to the Jedi and the Republic or to those whom they'd fought against, it was easier to get lost in the details when you were elbows deep in wiring or hanging off the sides of a starcruiser hull.

A retreat is all it is, though. Once you step back, the problems, the goings on, are still there around you, even if you can't immediately see it. It's a painful reminder of what he's been pulled away from, back in his neck of the galaxy, but even so, he can still manage a faint smile as the Soldier acknowledges the need for a break.

"Have to if you want to stay alive," Cal says with a weak laugh, shrugging as he picks up the tool box, rising to his feet. "But there are things to think about that you can't do anything for right away, and there are things to do that you don't need to think about too much. Easy to see where to direct your energy to."

He casts a look at the other ships. "Only one more to go and all of them will at least have a much-needed upgrade for speed. Then we can figure out what else they might need and go from there."

It may be a retreat, but it's at least a useful one. And a little retreat now and then isn't a bad thing. Of course, the Soldier is probably biased, considering how frequently he indulges his own retreat of working out and keeping his skills sharp.

"You'd be surprised," he murmurs; the statement — and what it can imply — is uncomfortable for him in a very personal way. Of course, Cal would have no way of knowing that, and the Soldier doesn't blame him for it. Still, he'd much rather avoid the avenues that conversation could follow and readily allows the shift in topic to their repairs and upgrades.

"We could probably ask for input from the others on what they might want to see," he offers, gathering up some of their materials and falling into step at Cal's side. "My priorities would be defensive and offensive mechanisms, but not everyone might agree." What he doesn't say is that he thinks anyone who doesn't agree to the necessity of those sorts of upgrades is just asking for trouble. "And I suppose we'll be somewhat limited by available materials." And manpower possibly, unless others jump in to help, but he can't blame them if they don't: after the tension of the past few days, having some distance from each other could be very welcome.

The man's response has Cal tilting his head slightly, but he doesn't voice any questions, instead letting the topic pass as they both turn their attention to the ship again.

"I'd have to agree," he says as the Soldier gives his opinion on what might be most useful for upgrades. "At the very least, I thought shields would have been a standard feature. Never know what you might run into out in space, enemy forces besides. Good thing we didn't get stuck in the middle of an asteroid field or something."

"It doesn't make sense," he agrees, turning his attention back to the ships and frowning. "But what really doesn't make sense to me is that I know these ships from the Drift Fleet. They'd all been upgraded to some extent. Now it's like all of those upgrades are just... gone."

And not all of those modifications had been of a sort to just snap in and back out again. "So what happened to the ships between then and now?"

"Really?" That the ships had been previously upgraded, or were supposed to have been, is news to Cal. "...what's happened in general is a question I'd like to know."

He tilts his head at the Soldier. "BeeDee told me about the room you two found, the one with...recordings? From the Fleet?"

"Really. At first I'd thought it was my mind playing a trick on me, but I lived on the Starduck. I recognize it. And it's not in the same shape that I last saw it." His frown deepens, because it's one thing to think it in the privacy of one's thoughts and quite another to actually say it — and realize that saying it doesn't sound as crazy as it could be. "Almost like it's been reset, somehow."

Which is interesting indeed, because the Starduck had originally been two separate ships, merged by the Atroma into one. That just makes its presence here, in its current state, even more confusing.

He looks away from Cal, lips pursed. "I suppose I expected that question a lot sooner," he finally admits. It still feels akin to a blow, though he's not sure that he should feel that way. After all, he'd known that the Atroma recorded their every move, known that those recordings were broadcast in the intergalactic version of reality television entertainment.

The Soldier schools his expression back to neutral and finally looks back at his companion. "Yes, they were recordings from the Fleet and yes, they are accurate representations of our lives there."

Cal frowns as well, not that he doubts the Soldier, but because that's just another thing to add to this ever convoluted puzzle. "Reset..." he muses, stroking his chin thoughtfully as they step towards the remaining ship, although his eyes drift towards the Starduck down the line. "...or maybe...brought from another time?"

He does a quick visual check of the parts needed, already set there earlier to make things easier and quicker to start. Slipping a spanner of sorts from his belt, he stoops down to find the outer access panel. At least all the ships have a consistent design that he's well acquainted with what to look for by now.

"...it's been on my mind," Cal says in his own admission, but he doesn't look towards the man, pointedly not wanting to put him on the spot. He smiles briefly at BD-1 as the little droid maneuvers to provide some light for him as he works. "That's troubling. There's a lot of things in relation to the Atroma that just keep coming up. I asked Ga Re what the relationship was between the Agrii and the Atroma, and she looked confused. She said they were gone, or at least she thought they were."

"I don't think so," he disagrees, also looking toward that particular ship and frowning. The idea is intriguing, certainly has merit, except for one minor detail: "The Starduck never would have been in that condition, that stripped down. It was originally two separate ships, Starstruck and Gold Duck. The Atroma combined them into the one, but it was never a— a base model, I guess."

Yet the ship is unmistakably the Starduck. It doesn't make sense.

When the access panel comes free he takes its weight easily, placing it carefully down on the desk as they had for the previous ships. The whole repair-and-upgrade process has become smoother as they've gone along — as as they've learned to work with each other. "You can ask." He might not answer, but he wouldn't prevent the questions. Besides, Cal has yet to have pried into truly uncomfortable topics.

Still, the Soldier finds the information Cal shares troubling. "No, not gone. At least, not that I know; I spent a year traveling between escaping them and becoming ensnared here." Not that it means anything; he'd experienced firsthand how the Atroma could apparently reach through time to pull people. "But if we are dealing with some kind of time displacement, I suppose it's possible."

That's a piece of information Cal had not been aware of, and it makes things equally confusing. Where did the ships come from, then? Or who? There's definitely been some recent evidence that there's a 'who' behind things here.

Once the panel's open and the Soldier's got it set down, the padawan's not wasted any time in making the necessary disconnections for when rewiring needs to be done. He can sense enough from the other man, aside from remembering earlier conversations touching upon similar subjects, that the experience with the Atroma is a delicate one. Cal can respect that.

The question he has to ask isn't something he thinks invasive, at least. "How long ago were they from? Maybe it doesn't matter much. There's already been proof of time displacement, even between those who've been brought in. I'm assuming that the Agrii have all this time been using Atroma equipment for everything." He pauses, looking over at the Soldier.

"Did you get to watch that one recording? The one BeeDee said you had to ask Tony to help find?"

Or: are there multiple copies of each ship made? Did the Atroma have multiple fleets, each containing a Starduck and a Vanquish and a Twin Roses and a way of communicating to the others? That almost sounds a little too conspiracy theory to him, save for the fact that, well, however improbable, it's not impossible.

He passes tools to Cal as needed (sometimes with the input of BD-1, who's much better at telling apart the various implements than the Soldier). And he starts prepping the supports that will secure the new conduits to the ship, a process they've repeated several times now. But the Soldier finds, the more they work together, the more he actually appreciates it: it's like fighting almost in that they've had to learn how to work together and move complementary to each other, except without the inherent violence. It helps settle some of his restlessness.

"Some predated my arrival to the Fleet. But I recognized the people in those recordings, knew them as people I'd meet when the Atroma brought me in." But the problem is exactly as Cal states: the Atroma had at least some control over time. That certainly makes the timeline of their activities harder to reconcile.

He nods in response to that glance, not bothering to hide it. In his eyes the Agrii had clearly tried to hide the recording and considering how he doesn't trust the Agrii at all, he finds that suspicious. "I did, finally, once we were underway on this leg of our journey." There hadn't been time before, but he tends not to sleep much and for those keeping odd hours, there is usually privacy to be found. "I don't know how much of it I believe. That the Atroma and the Fleet seemingly rescued the Agrii, yes. But what was the true reason for that rescue?"

[ooc: for my bad memory, the link to the post with the info about the recording.]

Things go notably faster with several repeat jobs of the sort under their belt, and all the more so with two pairs of hands instead of one. Cal's especially glad that his assistants don't need to be told twice, and he can trust them to do their part, as much as he's trusted with his.

The padawan tests his arc welder's output before inspecting the alignments of the parts he needs to fuse. By now the Soldier's got placement down to an art form that very little needs to be adjusted.

"I know how you feel. It's hard to trust anything, hard enough learning to trust anyone. But you're right. The reason is the biggest piece of the puzzle that we don't have. I have my suspicions, especially if everything hinges on the Atroma from what you've told me. There's too much of their involvement in everything. I'd rather hope I'm wrong though, but after Ga Re tried to send us all home, and that voice..." He frowns, shaking his head. "It's obvious at the very least that someone's pulling the strings, and I don't much like that they have as much control of things as evinced."

Likewise the Soldier is glad of the work, and the fact that meaningless, idle chatter does not accompany it. He's even gotten used to BD-1's involvement and how Cal talks with him just like he'd talk to a person. It's interesting to see the two interact, in fact, because the little robot appears to be much more than a simple assistant, at least to his eyes.

"I don't trust anything about this place." Or anyone, not fully, but he realizes it's probably better not to actually say that. Too many conversations he's had around that very idea in the past have left a bad taste in his mouth, because the concept of trust and trustworthiness means a lot more to someone with his history than one without. Even so, it does help to at least talk it through with someone — especially when that someone seems as mistrustful of things as he. "The Agrii have shown us that the Atroma need not even be involved; clearly, others can learn to use even the technology they kept secret from my time in the Fleet. But I will agree; there must be another player here, and this is our first glimpse of whatever it may be."

Metal fingers tap idly against the side of a conduit as he supports its weight, watches the sure movements of Cal's hands. "Even giving us as much a hint of their presence as we have could have been a mistake. We should be on our guard."

BD-1's the first that Cal's ever been able to really put his trust in, after things had turned so horribly with the end of the Clone Wars. He really wouldn't have any idea where he would be without his little friend.

Cal doesn't refute that point. "It'd be pointless worrying about what all else the Atroma might have left lying around for others to find and make use of, at least not unless it ends up directed at us. We have a little more insight on what happened with the Agrii's homeworld, but given that the ships that mimicked the effects of the storm when they shot at us have so conveniently self-destructed, we still haven't much else to go on."

It isn't long before the conduit's firmly in place. Cal steps back, giving the Soldier a nod. "That goes without saying," he says, smiling wryly." Being on guard was sort of a default mode by now. He knows it's not the same for everyone though.

"I agree. Without a way to know for sure, we'd only borrow worry." Better that they focus on the facts they do know, the pieces of the puzzle that they do have. With all the suppositions they could make, they could also easily lose sight of the facts they have. "I hate to say it, but I'm not exactly surprised at the ships self-destructing. Would be much too convenient to let us get our hands on their technology, wouldn't it?" Maybe he sounds a little too suspicious, but it seems highly suspect.

"At least someone agrees." He's honestly gotten used to the idea that being as guardedly mistrustful of things as he is, is considered strange to most people. He doesn't apologize for it, and it's refreshing to find someone else who feels at least somewhat similarly. He steps back from their work, running his flesh hand over the now-cooled joins of the early welds. "You do good work."

"Can't make it too easy for us," Cal notes dryly. "I wonder if Tony was able to find out anything from the systems before they blew." He hasn't gotten a chance to catch up with the man just yet, but there seems plenty of time to do so considering how long the trip out had taken.

He smiles faintly but says nothing more. The Soldier obviously has things from his past he'd rather not talk about, and Cal's not inclined to mention too much of his own without reason, but he's glad they have some sort of understanding. Watching as the man feels the fresh welds, the padawan tips his head in a nod.

"Thanks. I used to work on starships back where I'm from. ...although mostly in dismantling them, but the same tools that take things apart can also be used to put things together."

"I don't know, honestly. He may have prioritized rescue efforts and our ability to get away from the blast." Which might also be convenient: a time limit and a sensitive task. Add to that the idea that if there is another player at large, could that being have predicted that rescue efforts would be the priority? Have they as a group been under enough observation that behaviors are obvious?

It's not a comfortable thought.

"I do wonder if there's significance in that," he muses. Turning it over in his thoughts for a moment, he decides to share a little more about the Fleet. "The was a theory some of us had, that the Atroma stole us for our abilities and used their show as an excuse, a cover. That we were really there less for entertainment value and more for what unique talents we had. The Agrii have claimed us all as heroes, but that hasn't sat right with me. What more haven't they told us?"

Given the limited amount of time they had to work with, Cal can only nod at that. "We had a team aboard one of the outside ships even before they were set to self-destruct. They couldn't even override the systems to move them closer for us to evacuate the Agrii." But Tony had a way with systems he hasn't quite understood, and given how quickly the man had managed to access most of the Agrii ship's systems, he doubted doing the same to the other ship would have been any more difficult. That there's some outside meddling hasn't been a point forgotten, nor the idea that they've been nudged along on simply to react to predetermined scenarios.

"If it was about that, then did they have a specific use for those with whatever talents they determined people to have? ...and how did they know about them, how would they know so much about us when we come from so many different places?" Just who and what were they actually dealing with?

"I wonder if they'll be more forthcoming in talking to us about things, now that we're able to interact with them in person," Cal suggests. "Even if they don't tell us directly, if we can figure out the right things to ask about, maybe we can get more hints about what we really want to know."

"Something may have wanted to keep them out. Actively, if necessary." What he doesn't say is that the beings on those ships, these Graq, are now pretty much their shipmates on this weird travel through space. It's not a comfortable thought, especially considering that the something could now be among them.

Great. Just great.

"They made me Security. Considering my skill set and experience, and their categories of expertise, I can only conclude it was a deliberate move on their part." However strong his certainty though, he knows he doesn't have actual hard evidence. "But conclusively? I couldn't say, because I believe they were also smart enough to engage in misdirection."

As to the possibility of the Agrii sharing information, the Soldier just shrugs. "They might, or they might keep their silence. Or they might lie, either deliberately or by omission. But either way I do agree; if we're careful, they may give us more than they mean. It's worth the try."

At least they wouldn't have to go far to offload the Graq. It seems to Cal that they were just involved out of convenience by whoever decided to make a show of the Agrii being in trouble. Just the idea of some ulterior motive at play makes the padawan uneasy. Things hadn't gone well for anyone the last time something like that had occurred, and with the fact that there were powers at work able to do such unheard of things, he can't help but have a bad feeling about what might be to come.

"Well, all this could be seen as a huge misdirection," he points out. "Until recently we'd all been mostly convinced that the Agrii were responsible for everything. We've only been able to react to things, and I think that's exactly what's expected of us."

Cal folds his arms, nodding a little. "We should definitely try talking to Ga Re again too. She's at least been the most forthcoming."

"That's what makes it harder," he agrees. Layers upon layers surround their situation, such that finding a path through it all will not prove easy. Then again, they also probably won't be bored trying to untangle it all.

And while some of them might be content to relax and mingle with the Agrii and the Graq, he'll keep on his guard out of mistrust for them. While Ga Re had offered to send them home, there still remains one important fact: the storms on her planet haven't been eliminated, have they? And for that, the Agrii had wanted their so-called heroes. It seems mighty convenient that their way home now seems barred to them.

"It could be by design. An engineered friendly face." That doesn't mean they shouldn't talk to her, only to take her words with a grain of salt. He's pretty sure that Cal feels similarly though.

"It could be," Cal concedes. It's either that or they're being used just as they are. All the more reason he wants to talk to Ga Re again, to feel her out. The only questions she seemed to have a delay in her responses were to his, and he's not sure if anyone else had picked up on it, but it was strange.

"Ga Re's the only one who can really speak enough to try communicating with us either way. I wonder if anyone's asked her about that Calibrations incident. That's probably something we should bring up."

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We All Float On

pays it IN ALL PENNIES because i am a MONSTER

OMG

Mwahaha, etc.

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