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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The effort's appreciated. Cal knows Tommy's doing a lot to adjust to the typical speed everyone else goes by.

At least there's plenty to see on the way. Once they pass the familiar halls before it splits off between the engineering room they'd gone to before, they end up in some sort of residential area for the Agrii, at least what can be told for the couple of doors that are left open. Perhaps the Agrii who dwell in the have stepped out briefly. Out of one pokes the fluffy, furry head of some pale multicolored creature.

BD-1 ensures they're going the right away, recalling the creatures from the first time he'd passed through here with the Soldier and Sansa. The furry mass steps out to investigate the trio, coming up to perhaps just above their knees. At least it appears to be friendly! Cal grins and gives it a pat. "Hey there." It circles the padawan and then wanders over to greet Tommy.

Snails live their lives at their own pace and he hates it, thanks.

"What the hell is that?" Tommy asks, very leery of the creature. Clearly he's uncomfortable with the unknown.

"Not sure, but it doesn't mean any harm," Cal reassures, stooping down to call it over again. He can sense that much, and it's a welcome change from the creatures he's otherwise come across during his travels. The large dog-like puff of pastel gives Tommy a light butt with its head before trotting back over for more pets. "Seems like it lives with the Agrii."

He gives the creature a good ruffling before standing again. BD-1 beeps and the padawan nods. "Room's further this way."

You say that, Cal, but can you be sure? Tommy still looks... nervous. Perhaps it's because of the dog-like behavior.

He's not saying he's scared of dogs. But there is definitely more fear for the Force to pick up on.

"Cool, they have pets. Alright then. Walking now?"

Cal's quite certain. He has a better affinity with animals than some Force users. It's why they have a stowaway bogling aboard the Mantis. Tommy's anxiety is something he definitely picks up, however, and without bringing attention to it, he nods and continues along. And tries not to grin a bit when he senses that the fuzzball's started to tag along. Aw, it just wants to make friends.

The lab-like space that is "Hero Control" hasn't been terribly cleaned up from the last time BD-1 had ventured here. Notes and books and things revealing the Agrii's collaborative and extensive efforts to learn how to communicate with their 'he-rows' still lie about most surfaces. The welcome banner still hangs where it's been. There are beds, definitely unsuited for Agrii given how tall they are.

And there are screens and monitors everywhere. The only thing is that they're all offline. BD-1 gives a low hoot in disappointment.

Interesting, the smaller beds. Tommy immediately flops down on one and hums in contentment.

"So, we can't access it. Of COURSE we can't access it. Think the storm-like shit blew it out? Beady, does that line up?"

Because this is fucking frustrating. Maybe Tony can help.

The pastel fluff of a doglike creature comes up around the other side of the bed, putting its front paws on the edge, bushy tail wagging happily.

"It's possible," Cal murmurs, stepping over to one of the consoles to try accessing things. "BeeDee said all the screens turned red even before the storm effects began. I'm sure that hadn't helped either, though." He frowns, shaking his head after a bit of useless button-tapping. "Everything's offline."

BD-1 hops off of Cal's shoulder to wander across a pile of books, beeping a confirmation to Tommy and Cal. "At least he managed to download some things before everything went out, but it would've been nice to be able to have a look ourselves..."

Nope. NOPE. Tommy moves a bit further back from the edge of the bed. The more dog-like it acts, the less comfortable Tommy is.

"You're, like, engineering, right? Can't you fix it?"

Except the engineering datapoint didn't bring back that which was ruined, right?

"Downloads aren't bad. I can help him read them."

The sense of unease from Tommy has Cal glance back over at him, smiling crookedly before he stoops down, patting his knee to call the creature over. "I could try taking a look at it," he says, scratching the fuzzy thing on its head, mindful of its horn.

He somehow doubts that it would be able to be repaired so easily. The timing of everything just seemed too convenient. Or rather inconvenient.

BD-1 borbles in response to Tommy as he toes at some of the books he stands beside. Cal gives the creature at his feet one last pat before pointing back towards the residential hall. "Better go back for now, okay?" He glances over at BD, and then to Tommy, nodding. "They're apparently written out the same way they've been doing everything else, so...that should be interesting."

Once the thing is gone, obeying Cal, Tommy rolls off of the bed. He moves right to Beady and picks up a book. Then he sits by Beady and opens it up, holding it for the droid.

"If you let me figure out your read speed we can go through this quick so you can read these at your pace. Get it all processed super fast."

Meanwhile he looks at Cal.

"Hey can... are you a good teacher?"

The droid sidles over closer to Tommy, head cocking at the open pages. Language isn't particularly his forte but it's still worth a try, especially when there didn't seem to be a translation system even when the computers were running. He beeps and gets himself settled, one of his lenses starting to flash in preparation of scanning over the lines to commit to his databanks.

Cal in the meantime starts looking around for an access panel to one of the computer consoles, settling down on the floor to work at the screws. "Hm? Oh, I don't know. I haven't really taught a whole lot. I guess if it's something I'm really familiar with, I can possibly manage... What's on your mind?"

There was always a chance that the stuff in here would be understandable to people with the communication datapoint. So if Beady scanned it to them, they could have answers. That was the hope anyway. Tommy nods to Beady and opens to the first page.

"Just tell me if I need to go back a page or I'm to slow or you need faster," he tells the droid. Because hell, he can mostly understand it these days.

"I just... I'm starting to think maybe I'm not what people told me through my life? And wanna learn shit. But every time I try and go to Tony to ask him to teach me, we get distracted or fight or some shit. I say the wrong things."

He just wants to not be stupid.

The light runs along the open pages, and BD-1 prompts Tommy with a beep to turn it once he's done. It's not instantaneous; unfortunately as quick as he's able to process things, his physical parts can only manage certain speeds, but it's still faster than if one person had to read through the whole thing, and scanning pages only takes a few seconds at most.

Cal carefully eases the panel open once he's got it loosened, setting it down beside him. He peers inside, frowning thoughtfully at both the contents and Tommy's words.

"...what have people told you?" he asks. "And what kinds of things do you want to learn? Life in general is all about learning, you're doing it whether you're aware of it or not. I had to relearn a lot of things after trying to not be what I was taught to be for years. Even then it wasn't easy. And there's still more."

Once the beep comes, Tommy turns the page. That's good. Very good. They're about to be annoying to Cal with how fast they are beeping and flipping, aren't they? Hilarious.

"I'm stupid," Tommy tells Cal quite readily. "And I just... I think maybe they're wrong?"

Annoying? Maybe. Cal's worked under noisier conditions, so he doesn't mind terribly much. He'll be able to block it out once he's settled into his task.

"They're wrong," he acknowledges as he slips out a penlight he'd scavenged from a toolbox in the docking bay. With BD-1 busy, looks like he'll have to hold his own light. He clicks it on and peers into the open panel with a thoughtful hum. Doesn't look like anything's shorted out, at least.

"I don't know if these people have just been mean or have some weird criteria for saying such things, but you're not stupid."

It was more... insults. And Tommy's lack of focus. He's got a serious issue with focus and attention spans given, you know, his disability. And Tommy does recognize that some of his power is a disability for him. He flips pages with every beep.

"Maybe. I am starting to believe that. But I don't know how to get better."

"I don't know about needing to be better. But the fact that you want to learn things is already stepping in the right direction."

Cal leans back from where he'd had his hands slip deeper into the inner workings of the systems in front of him, clicking off his light as he continues to frown pensively at the puzzle before him. He's not terribly surprised that things within look in tact.

"You're the one that came up with the suggestion of having hydroponic systems on the ships to provide food. You've been minding the greenhouse. You think about other potential sources for sustenance. It may have been sparked because of your specific needs as someone who can move and think faster than anyone, but they're also valid concerns for everyone. But you're the one who's been thinking of such things. I'd hardly think anyone could call you stupid."

No, he needs to be better. Being fast isn't enough here. He needs to be better than that. And still he flips pages.

"I... didn't think of it like that. I just wanted to make sure I could eat enough to protect Billy."

And everyone else. It was weird to even have it seen that way.

"We've been thrown into an unusual situation. One has to think differently to adapt, to get through things. It may sound like an obvious thing, but it really isn't. Especially when people may be used to different things."

Cal reaches up to try toggling a button or two, to no effect. He sighs, not really surprised, but no less disappointed. Picking up the panel covering, he carefully sets it back up.

"There's always potential for people to do things they've never done before," he continues, glancing over his shoulder with a faint smile. "Motivation in your case was your brother. Even opening up to asking about learning things was motivated by something else. So you're definitely working towards better. The only way to do otherwise is not to do anything about it at all."

Tommy's eyes flicker briefly to Cal. Yeah, that's not going anywhere, is it? Fucking hell this place sucks. Almost worse than Temba.

"Stop being so smart. Makes guys like me feel awkward."

Sensing Tommy's look, Cal gives a headshake as he finishes fastening the panel in place.

He does snort a little at the other's words. "It's nothing to do with being smart. I'm just pointing things out as I see them," he says, grinning a little. "And what's to be awkward about? It's only further proof that you're smarter than people may have been making you out to be."

Is it? Tommy just looks... sad for a moment. He wants to be smarter. But so many years of being told he's horrible and it sometimes stuck.

"I just want to be better than I was. Someone people can count on."

"Then you have to do more and not just think about what you want. There isn't going to be a set of guidelines. No one's perfect, and no one can tell you where you should aim to be. That's all decided by you."

Cal pulls himself to his feet, stretching out a bit before he turns to walk over to where Tommy and BD-1 have parked themselves.

"It doesn't have to be anything big either. It starts with little things. They don't even have to be noticed by anyone. You don't have to impress anyone, Tommy. And for what it's worth, BeeDee and I already know we can count on you, and I'm sure there are others here who feel the same."

In addition to that, BD-1 looks up from his reading to chirp his agreement.

Tommy keeps flipping pages, but his eyes are intent on Cal and what he's saying. Cal doesn't... he doesn't' get it. People don't keep him around if he's not impressive.

Except that hasn't been true here, has it?

"You're good people, Cal."

Cal smiles wryly, pulling out a chair to join them.

"...you know, when I was still training to be a Jedi back in the Temple, I wanted to be the best at everything. I'd handle every challenge they threw at me. So then when they finally assigned me as a padawan to a Jedi master, they gave me someone tough. Someone who'd push me. His training was difficult, and when I failed, he'd tell me to keep at it until I could succeed. Because he knew I could."

His gaze drifts towards the table and the piles of dictionaries and things. He wishes his more recent memories of his master were pleasant.

"...until things just suddenly fell apart and got turned upside-down. Then I lost my teacher, and whatever else I expected to be. I had to stop being a Jedi padawan, I couldn't use the things I was taught of the Force, because we were labeled traitors, and if anyone found out, I'd be killed." He lifts his shoulders slightly in a vague shrug. "...so I hid. It wasn't about being better or anything anymore. It was just about trying to survive. And I thought that was enough, until recently."

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