#designs not final but (captain astronaut voice) GOOD ENOUGH

[gameboy-berry]

Nintendo 64 and Gamecube gijinkas

(they're twins)

[inkbloodpaperandbone]

So this is a follow up to this drabble that is also cross posted on my ao3 account here

On the anniversary of the tsunami Buck gets a new tattoo. This time Eddie and Christopher go with him.

It's been three months since Eddie all but jumped Buck in the station's changing room, unable to hold back his feels upon seeing his son's drawing on his now boyfriend's skin.

It's funny but in hindsight not all that suprising how well they've transitioned from best friends to lovers. It's not exactly smooth sailing, no relationships ever are but in a way very little has changed. Only more kissing and umm other stuff.

In the week leading up to the first anniversary no one at work has braved speaking of the upcoming event. It's a date that marks a extremely traumatic time for both men, and Bobby - both the station captain being cautious about any potential risk of having the two at work on such a emotionally charged day and Bobby the friend, wanting to allow them time for themselves to - had given the two men the day off.

Neither had protested.

The city of LA still bore the scars of that fateful day in the streets and sidewalks of the most affected areas. In the buildings still under construction and renovation to repair the damage left by the water and debris. As the date drew closer new memorials for the dead and the missing where remade. But LA and it's people were healing. No matter how slow.

 

They're healing too, this little family of three they've created Eddie thinks on the morning of the anniversary as he watches Christopher cheerily eat rice crispies giggling around each mouthful whilst Buck dramatically throws away the toast Eddie burnt and proceeds to make more. It's a scene he's seen almost everyday now for the past couple of months but it hasn't gotten old yet.

Christopher still had nightmares, although they were becoming fewer and further between. He was still going to therapy and had even begun swimming again. In the shallow end clinging to his dad or Buck but it's progress.

Since learning that Buck had gotten a tattoo of his drawing Christopher has steadily been filling the Diaz household with new tattoo designs. Crayons and markers have been worn down to unusable stubs and there probably isn't a shred of paper that hasn't been doodled on.

Eddie doesn't mind, and has found himself perusing the arts and crafts section of the local superstore, Buck in tow for new supplies.

The news Buck getting a tattoo in reminder of surviving the tsunami (and the subsequent upheaval of the lawsuit, Eddie's fight club drama and the actual work of just dealing with it all) came during the billionth rewatch of Finding Dory with Buck confiding to Eddie in a low voice as not to disturb Christopher who was lodged between them fast asleep on the sofa, that he was thinking of asking Christopher to draw it.

Of course Christopher took to the task with all the enthusiasm a nine year old could muster- which was a lot.

He and Christopher had spent several nights after dinner huddled around the coffee table surrounded by paper and crayons working on it.

The end result wasn't anything elaborate or big - in keeping with the rest of Buck's tattoos.

Buck had also suggested that they made a day of going to the tattoo parlor on the tsunami's anniversary, to replace a bad memory with a good one.

Christopher finishes with his cereal, he rinses out the bowl as Eddie's taught him before hurrying off to get ready for their outing. Both Buck and Eddie where already dressed, Buck looking over the final design fondly as they wait in the lounge.

The design was three small fishes swimming in a wave.

There's been around ten different versions before now, but Christopher has become somewhat of a perfectionist and had deemed each preceding "not right" and thrown away.

Christopher has been telling everyone, friends, family, school teachers, random strangers in the street, everybody, that he's going to be a tattoo artist when he grows up.

Secretly Eddie worries that Chris will be heartbroken if this latest career dream doesn't pan out, although Christopher is likely to change his mind soon enough. He is nine after all and it's less frightening than his kid wanting to be a firefighter or astronaut. The thought of his little boy millions of miles away in outer space - nope not happening, no way.

Christopher's dexterity is good for a child his age with CP, his handwriting is improving and his art - though Eddie is definitely basis - is great for someone his age. Who knows. Maybe.

Christopher emerges from his room a suspiciously full backpack slung over his shoulder. Buck takes it from him and peers inside. When he shows the contents to Eddie, he can't help but laugh. Christopher has crammed a box of crayons, a paper pad, several power rangers and a couple of handfuls of Lego in side.

Buck slips the folded design inside before scooping up Christopher to carry him to Eddie's truck.

Eddie follows locking up behind him.

The drive to the tattoo parlor is a short one - well short for LA, only a little traffic since the morning rush hour has long since died - they arrive twenty minutes before the booked appointment, Christopher audibly excited as the truck pulls up.

The parlor is situated between a fancy free weight gym and a organic vegan coffee shop, it's larger than Eddie expected, there's a huge mural of flowers and birds in mixed styles reaching out over the shop front.

Glass doors lead into a spacious waiting area with a floor to ceiling shelving unit decorated with action figures and retro toys acting as a divider between said area and the actual work space.

Christopher drags his dad over to the shelves for a closer look whilst Buck confirms his appointment with the cheery receptionist a young guy with a purple mohawk and tattoos on every exposed bit of skin besides his face, he introduces himself as Luka and directs them to the couch to wait on before hurrying off to fetch their artist.

Both Buck and Christopher are practically vibrating in excitement. It's cute Eddie thinks as he ruffles his son's curls.

Chris has got the design stored in his backpack along with his latest sketchbook and some crayons to keep himself entertained. The little boy rummages through his bag whilst they wait, occasionally shoving unwanted items into Buck's waiting hands until Chris triumphantly pulls out his drawing.

"Is this the famous Christopher?" A lilting voice calls out. The owner, a short women probably in her mid-forties, the visible skin of her arms and legs adored with flowers and Disney characters, comes into view around the dividing wall.

She hurried over hugging Buck before turning to Eddie, hand out in greeting, they shake hands quickly. "I'm Mara, you must be Eddie, and you must be Christopher."

She shakes Chris hand too making him giggle.

"Well let's get this show on the road."

Lead into the main shop, Eddie looks over the room, more tattoo inspired murals cover the walls, one of which has a large flat screen TV hanging from it. There are three workstations with cushioned benches, wheeled stools and a desks. One station is already occupied, the burring of an ink gun travels the room.

Mara's station is already partly prepped, the bench and it's adjoining rests wrapped in plastic, several ink bottles line up along the desk. As she sets up her equipment Mara explains each step to Eddie, Buck and Christopher, although Eddie notes that she's directing the conversation to his son. Chris is utterly enraptured by it asking questions and peering closer.

Buck sits down on the bench rolling up his t-shirt sleeve to his shoulder. Eddie takes a seat on one of the free chairs, beside it, laying a hand on his boyfriend's thigh. Christopher comes over and Eddie picks him up to set Chris on his knees.

Christopher's backpack and crutches are leant against the leg of the second chair out of the way.

Mara demonstrates to Christopher how his drawing is printed on to a transfer sheet, " Like the temporary tattoos you can get with sweets,"  she explains, " it'll let me trace the design with my gun so it'll match perfectly with your drawing."

Mara, sitting on her stool, scoots up the side of the bench to were Buck is waiting.

"Okay Christopher now I'm going to wipe Buck's arm.." Buck makes a face at Chris as Mara does so causing the little boy to laugh.

"...where the tattoo will go so that the skin is all nice and clean and then we press the transfer paper on like so.."

The transfer paper is pressed to the inside of Buck's right bicep, Mara rubbing the paper to get it to stick down smoothly.

"Hold that there sweetie." She tells Buck as she moves to ready the ink gun with the first needle before turning back to Buck and starts removing the transfer.

"Now we peel it back and the design should now be on Buck's arm." Mara explains shooting a grin at Eddie and Christopher.

It looks really good already" Christopher chimes as the design comes into view.

"Sure does buddy." Buck agrees flexing his bicep like an old fashioned boxer, Eddie rolled his eyes, good god he loves this dork.

There's a part of Eddie that is still scared by how much love he feels for the man in front of him. Scared by how deeply that love has rooted it's way into his heart.

Eddie has had only three great loves in his life, Shannon, Christopher and now Buck. And each love is very different. Shannon was his first love, a highschool sweetheart turned wife and mother of his child. Despite their estrangement, their fumbled reconciliation and her untimely death that love still lives, though it no longer romantic in nature. A nostalgic love, a remorseful love but still love all the same.

His love for Christopher is all consuming. It is fierce and unbreakable. The love of a parent, wildly protective and proud. A love that for a long time was the only real thing Eddie felt he could show the world. Not just another role to play. Another title add to the list, like dutiful son, loving husband, war hero veteran, firefighter etc, etc.

His love for Buck grew out of the kind of friendship Eddie hadn't had since childhood, an easy friendship (despite the rocky start) that filled in the cracks left by Shannon's abandonment, his parents disapproval, the stress of single parenthood.

It grew as Buck began nudging his way into the life Eddie and Christopher were building in LA.

It grew from Buck introducing him to the godsend that is Carla Price. It grew from the endless random trivia Buck spouted. It grew from their seamless partnership on calls, from joking around with their friends.

Most importantly it grew from Bucks devotion to Christopher, his ability to work out ways to make that little boy laugh, to work out ways to help Chris do the things other kids could do. To have Christmas with his dad despite work. From Buck's sheer desperation to find and protect Christopher during the tsunami to his utter relief he was found alive and unharmed. The fact he loves Christopher so much he didn't think twice about getting a tattoo of a silly little doodle just because.

Eddie thinks of this love as Buck holds his arm still whilst another of Chris' drawings is permanently etched into his skin.

All in all the whole tattooing process doesn't take long given the size and simplicity.

Christopher has charmed Mara and her fellow colleagues who come over to say hi and is reaping the benefits of being a cute nine year old as the adults scramble to accommodate his every whim from choosing what to watch on the TV to being set up at a spare desk to draw when he gets bored to getting a chocolate milkshake from the café next door when the parlor's intern goes on a coffee run.

Eddie hopes Chris will never use his cuteness for evil but doesn't protest the spoiling.

Buck turns out to be terrible at sitting for a tattoo. He fidgets and winces. Makes faces and keeps nearly distracting Mara with random questions and jokes.

But Mara is clearly used to this, barely batting an eye and steadily working on.

When the last of the ink is applied and the the excess is wipe away she gives them a chance to look over the work.

It looks good even as the skin starts to redden, Buck is grinning from ear to ear.

"Pretty great huh Chris"

"Yuh huh." Christopher nods excitedly as he scrambles in for a closer look, hand reaching out to poke at it.

"Does it hurt?"

"It does if you poke it buddy." Christopher jerks his hand back.

"Sorry."

Buck laughs and pulls Christopher into a one armed hug, he looks over the boy's head and gestures to Eddie who moves to join in as Mara comes back to finish wrapping up Bucks arm.

She gives him a well rehearsed run down of after care, joking that she knows Buck knows what to do but that she also knows with his luck it's best to be on the safe side.

By the time Christopher's things are cleared away back into his backpack, buck has already paid.

Christopher shuffles shyly up to Mara and hands her a bit of paper. It's a drawing of a tattoo gun, a bit wobbly but clearly it's meant to be a tattoo gun.

Eddie watches as the woman smiles, a little teary eyed and thanks his son proclaiming the drawing will have to be hung up somewhere in the shop.

Christopher preens.

The day's still young as the trio get back into the car, Buck suggests getting some ice cream which Christopher enthusiastically agrees. Eddie knows that ice cream on top of a chocolate milkshake will mean trouble come bed time. But how can he resist the double whammy of both Christopher and Buck's pleading eyes.

They'll be the death of him for sure.

But Eddie doesn't mind.

Today maybe the anniversary of one of the worst days of their lives, but so far it's been pretty great.

So they go and get ice cream. Christopher will make a monstrousitity of chocolate, whipped cream, sprinkles and gummy bears he won't be able to finish. But will get brain freeze from eating his too quickly and will pester Eddie for kisses to make it better. Eddie will pretend to be annoyed but secretly enjoy his boyfriend's silliness.

Today will officially become a cheat day when Buck orders from their favourite Chinese restaurant too tired to cook after running around the backyard with Chris for hours after they get home.

And when Christopher has finally crashed and has been tucked into bed Eddie will grab a couple of beers and they'll sit and watch nonsense on TV.

It'll have been a good day, better than expected but nothing majorly special. Just the three of them, together happy and healthy and whole.

And if Eddie is honest he can't imagine anything better.

Tagging @evaneddie I finally posted yay!

[mgrgfan]

Past of the future, future of the past...

Chapter 3: A hard day.

"Well, those three months were quite something," Anthony said, when the Space Shuttle finally stopped on the runway. "I mean, actual first contact situation, even if with humans!" "Falkis, shut it for now," Sarah mumbled. "We'll have to explain this all over again to our superiors, when we return to the Mossdeep." "Okay, whatever, miss Born-with-camera-in-hands." Several seconds after it, the hatch in the side of the vehicle opened, the astronauts were safely removed from their seats with Psychic of the service Alakazam and put into the wheelchairs on the ground. "Don't worry, guys'n'girls, it's just a precaution," sounded voice of professor Takao Cozmo, making Sarah and Samuel slightly cringe. Of course, this man was a genius, especially for someone, who just turned 20, but at times, he was just impossible to be around. "We know," all four astronauts, along with the rest of Shuttle's crew, replied in unison. Of course, they wondered, why this mission only took astronauts down and didn't bring fresh crew... ---- "Can you secure this thing now?" "Wait… yeah, I'm securing it." Captain Vasilyev hovered near the console, monitoring feeds from the helmet cameras of cosmonauts, along with their talks, and wondered, why exactly did it have to be yesterday for the station's backup power source, the nuclear fission reactor, to get stricken with some kind of space debris and get a total coolant leak. Of course, since the reactor wasn't activated for the entire duration of its staying in the station, there wasn't any imminent radiation hazard, but they still had to return it back to Zemlino Space Center for the inspection and repairs. Right now, Lozhkin, Migulya and Panasenko were removing the reactor and loading it into the opened payload bay of the Lenticular Return Vehicle. There was some sort of a strange irony - today, the cosmonauts from both space stations were returning back to Earth. "Comrade captain, the reactor was safely removed and is now secured in the payload bay of the LRV" sounded the proud voice of Migulya in the comm. "I think we're done here. Let us all pack up and go back home!" "As a commander of this station, I give this proposal my complete approval!" announced Vasilyev to everyone. "Since we are all packed up already, I propose to fulfill it as soon as possible. To EVA team - go to station's primary airlock on the "Drum" module. I know, the LRV's backup airlock seems very nice, but we need to leave the MMUs and suits here for the next crew." "Aye-aye, comrade captain!" reported the EVA team, firing up their MMUs and flying back to the first module of this great station. Since the airlock wasn't exactly spacious, they'll have to enter one by one - mostly because the MMUs were pretty huge. Of course, was it not for the advanced materials from Imperial Science Facility 9, which allowed creation of the normobaric EVA suits - the entire crew would've had to stay on the station for a few more hours. Thankfully, when the EVA team finally got back into station and re-dressed, everyone else was ready. "So, comrades, I want to congratulate you with the successful end of the 10th expedition to the Space Lab 2, which also served as a cornerstone for our relationship with… "Nationals", I think. So, anyway, we all served very well. Glory and long live to the Empire!" "Glory and long live to the Empire!" "Since the rest of our crew returned to Earth in pods already - thank the Emperor for launching that propellant tanker! - we can now return home at leisure pace. All hands - board the LRV and prepare for return." "Aye-aye, comrade captain!" ---- "Goodbye, Space Lab 2. We will miss you and try to return soon. Just wait for us," the pilot said, looking in the return vehicle’s main window. The space station, jewel in crown of the Empire’s space program, was left by its crew and switched to full-auto mode, waiting for the next bunch of people to take the residence in it for performing even more science operations and making even more discoveries. "Proceeding as normal, four hours until touchdown." "Acknowledged," replied the captain, recollecting the events of past three months - the craziest months in his live so far. Contacts with cosmonauts from other regions of the world after the event, which was later named "The Shift"; nearly inviting them onboard the Space Lab 2 one time and only not doing this because of medic's advice; having to constantly help in writing reports to linguists back on the ground; making sure, that the space station works properly, especially before the propellant tanker gave them some more freedom in maneuvering… those months were most definitely crazy. "Comrade captain, I have a small question - why aren't the replacement crew already there?" asked him Grigoriy, who served as a biologist and medic aboard the station. "I don't know. Zemlino told me, that there were some hiccups with their launch vehicle, and their LRV is an experimental one, with fuel cells instead of nuclear reactor... they've decided not to rush it. Station can wait, after all, but losing cosmonauts is not an option. They were launched a few hours ago and will dock to the station tomorrow." ---- "Hello there, darling," said man in plain clothes, entering the room. If not for the reaction of the Empress, not many would've thought, that this man was, in fact, the Emperor Ivan the Second himself. "How's your bad?" "Like ****," replied Empress Svetlana in tired voice. "Trying to make negotiations through these crude translators, when we are no longer the most advanced country on the planet…" "We still kinda are, in some branches." "In some, mind it. So, trying to negotiate with what's, apparently, called "Pokemon Nation", process all the data, prevent instabilities within the Empire and so on and so on… It's so tiring. And you?" "Not much better," said Ivan, starting to undress. "Since our main advantages are more advanced arcane science, nuclear physics and space technology…" "You mean, you want to make orbital weapon platform," finished his wife. "I don't approve this idea. We aren't on exactly good terms with the Nation now and making them even worse isn't going to take us anywhere." "Not quite, my dear, not quite. Do you remember the Project Tin Can?" "Yes, and what?" "Do you remember, what is it?" "I don't. Honestly, Vanya, with so much work, I can't keep track of all of your projects." "This project, my dear, is a nuclear pulse spaceship, whose wet mass measures 4000 tons. It uses small nuclear explosion devices, constructed to create a directed wave of superhot plasma upon detonation, for propulsion." "And?" "We've finished assembling the propulsion bus of this ship today. Pusher plate, shock absorbers, plasma deflection cone, gas gun for drive bombs, magazines and so on - this was quite a challenge! Now, we only need to construct the payload part…" "Wait, actual nuclear explosion launch?! Dear, let me check your temperature…" "No no no, don't be afraid! This thing will be boosted by the NUCLEUS superheavy chemical rocket and will only engage the bomb drive at high enough altitude!" "Still, using demolition devices for propulsion… I think it's pretty crazy." "Crazy or not, it should work. By the way, some time ago, Knyazev showed me a project of turning the "Red Explorer"..." "The what?" "The nuclear pulse ship - we've named it "Red Explorer", since it's designed to explore the Fourth Planet. So, he showed me project of turning the "Red Explorer" into warship, with retro-missiles for planetary bombardment, electromagnetic rail mass accelerators, point defence and so on…" "Retro-missiles?" "Okay, let me explain this for you. Retro-missile is a type of hypothetical space-to-surface weapon, which is launched against the orbital vector and uses its engines to decelerate to slower-than-orbital velocity and fall into gravity well of targeted planet/moon, later correcting direction of fall with smaller maneuvering engines to ensure, that it'll hit the intended target area." "And what would be the true purpose of this monster? Considering, that all-out war is the latest thing we want?" "I don't know. Knyazev is an already a strange one, always seeking to turn any project into the weapon…" ---- "So, why exactly the next expedition wasn't launched?" Donnager asked in not-quite-slightly angry voice. "I'm not supposed to tell it to you… but the reason for it is Rayquaza," half-whispered Cozmo "Rayquaza? Isn't it the legend of Draconids?" "I wish it was, but, as it recently turned out, it's a completely real Sky High Pokemon, and a very territorial one at that!" "So…" "Yes, the space stations will get destroyed any moment now. The road to space is now closed by the ruler of skies." "..." Samuel clenched his fists in anger. He hoped, that the astronauts from the other station have also returned home. ---- "... Nose gear touchdown!" the pilot of the LRV happily commented. "Deploying the drag chute…" The pretty big machine, measuring 12 meters in diameter and looking somewhat like the flying saucer, deployed small fabric cupola behind itself, along with moving all control surfaces into positions for aerobraking, in order to lower the current velocity and prevent rolling off the runway. Roughly twenty-five seconds later, the chute got detached and the machine soon ground to halt. "Welcome back!" sounded from comm. "Guys - hang in there for a few more…" "Zemlino, you're not clear, repeat, you're not clear!" said the pilot, trying to find the reason for the sudden cut-out in the words of flight control officer. "... Guys, you don't even know, how lucky you were," finally replied the officer in flat and shaky voice. "Right now, the Space Lab 2 was destroyed by the Pokemon of Legendary power, known by hoennians as "Rayquaza", along with LRV-03. Second space station was also destroyed. The 11th expedition to the Space Lab 2… is no more." "..." all cosmonauts froze. If not for this lucky early return, mostly forced by the need to return the reactor to Earth - they all would've been dead now. And their comrades weren't so lucky... ---- "Dear, what's with you?" asked her husband the Empress. The Emperor, indeed, did not look good - he was pale in face, shaking and still staring at the screen of his portable computer. "... Nothing too bad. Wait a second," said he, getting the portable telephone out of his case and calling someone. "Knyazev? I know you knew this, you bastard! Does not matter right now. Consult the medics, I guess, Psychics with ability to predict the future aren't abundant. Anyway, your altered version of the Project Tin Can has just got my total and complete approval. Consult the ISF 5 and 9 for required equipment. Yes. Does not matter, but make sure, that it'll be able to withstand hits with Hyper Beam without getting holes - at least not at the first hit." Empress thought, that, whatever has happened, if it was enough to instantly convince her husband to turn the exploration ship, about which he dreamed for a very long time (at least as long as he was together with her), into the machine of war - it must be really bad… and yes, she saw the notification on her own computer - the notification, that the Rayquaza has just destroyed the LRV with the new expedition, measuring 12 cosmonauts total, and the Space Lab 2 along with the space station of the Pokemon Nation. Thankfully, all nuclear-powered satellites executed their contingency protocols flawlessly and moved onto graveyard orbits before this Pokemon would be able to destroy them and spill the nuclear fuel from their reactors. "... Yes. No. Of course. Yes. Goodbye," Emperor ended his phone call and turned back to his wife. "Sorry, dear…" "I know already. You know… I approve of it too. It'll help me rally the people of Soris together and lower the level of internal instabilities, as well as allow our people up here to protect themselves from attacks of this monster. So, you say, that this ship needs lots of nuclear materials?" "Yes. At first, they were needed just for the drive bombs and reactor, but now, they'll also be needed for the weapons - shells for railguns, missiles and so on. We can remake some of our already-existing demolition devices into weapons, but that won't be enough." "I understand. I think I can tailor this campaign as a sort of posthumous reverence for our cosmonauts. It'll really help us in keeping the Empire stable." "Do it, if you want to do so. But we need to get this son-of-a-Red Spirit flying, lest the road to space be closed forever for us all." "... Wait, nearly forgot - what about the political effect? Because, you know, getting something like this in orbit would be even worse, than actual weapon platforms!" "I don't know. I'm sure you can deal with this, my dear." Emperor smiled gently after saying those words. Empress hated it, because she could never resist this smile. "Besides, once everything settles down, we can use this ship as it was originally intended - for exploring the Fourth Planet! The amounts of drive bombs and supplies should be sufficient for this and replacing the landers won't be a problem at all…" Notes: ISF - Imperial Science Facility. Worldbuilding mini-note #1: Red Spirit - mystical being in the sorisian mythology, not directly linked to any of Legendaries. It's a somewhat malevolent entity, which, however, patrons those, who fight to avenge their comrades. Some sorisian warriors pray to the Red Spirit before battle to help them in the quest for revenge and, if they fall - make sure that their comrades will avenge their deaths. Worldbuilding mini-note #2: Emperor Ivan Yevgeniyevich Bazarenko the Second is a very shitty ruler (hence why his wife rules the Soris Empire - he gave his throne to her as soon as he was able to), but is an awesome constructor of pretty much anything that flies. Because of that, he spends most of his time in the Imperial Aeronautics Institute, returning to the palace only on special occasions. Worldbuilding mini-note #3: The Project Tin Can is based on the real Project Orion. Worldbuilding mini-note #4: The Rayquaza's aggression and territorial tendencies are based on its depiction in the anime. The Shift may also have something to do with it. Author's note: those three months will, eventually, get expanded upon in the small series of drabbles. Also, the next chapter will have much more action.

[trans-corvo]

Steam rec List (AKA great games not a lot of people might know about that are currently on sale on Steam)

As of 7/7/19, until 20/7/19

·         Arx Fatalis (2002) - $5.49 (currently $2.74)

Arkane Studios’ first game, a post-apocalyptic fantasy about an underground city. Like all Arkane games it has a large variety of possible playstyles, each making for a completely different experience. Is bogged down by a weird and slightly unintuitive UI, but once you get past it, is genuinely a ton of fun to play. It also has the best magic system I’ve seen in a game – if you can get it to work. Downloading the fan-built Arx-Libertalis mod is pretty much a must to get the game to run on modern computers. Takes about 20-25 hours to beat.

·         Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006) - $9.99 (currently $2.49)

Arkane Studios’ second game, pretty much a proto-Dishonored in terms of controls and animations. As such it can be a little tougher to control, but still familiar (though the stealth system isn’t nearly as good.) Uses the source engine for tons of whacky physics hijinks. Very goofy/cheesy, but still a lot of fun. (The game is probably most famous for it’s melee attack, a kick which will send most enemies into orbit. Like I said, very goofy)

·         Echo (2017) - 27.99$ (currently $13.99)

Beautiful sci-fi game from ULTRA ULTRA, looks like it would melt your computer, but ran shockingly well for me. Has a fascinating story/world and smooth, intuitive gameplay with an interesting hook. A very unique experience. Takes about 6-8 hours to finish

·         Islanders (2019) - $6.69 (currently $5.01)

Fun little minimalist city builder (for lack of a better word.) Has a cute little low-poly art style and a pretty score. Excellent for relaxation.  

·         The Long Dark (2014) - $33.99 (currently $8.49)

Survival game from Canadian developer Hinterland Studio. Takes place in the Canadian north after a societal collapse and a shifting of Earth’s magnetic field (because apparently one apocalypse scenario wasn’t enough.) Has both a sandbox survival mode and an ongoing episodic story mode featuring Jennifer Hale and Mark Meer. There’s a difficulty slider that allows you to toggle between hardcore survival and a relatively peaceful exploration. It also has a nice art-style and much more beauty/character than a lot of its peers.

·         Northgard (2018) - $33.99 (currently $16.99)

A Viking story with mix of real-time strategy and city building from Shiro Games. Has a sandbox mode and a pretty good story mode, cute art style, and some genuinely fun characters (including a couple queer characters.)

·         Pathologic 2 (2019) - $39.99 (currently $31.99)

Don’t let the “2” fool you, this isn’t really a sequel so much as it is a remake of the original Pathologic from Russian developer Ice Pick Lodge (but this time with an English translation that doesn’t render it almost unplayable!) Very much an immersive sim that doesn’t hold your hand, even with the decent translation it’s still very much a difficult game, but one that’s worth the struggle. Has an amazing story about a small russian town in the early 20th century that is stricken with an unusual and deadly plague, it also has this fascinating lore based off nomadic cultures of the Russian Steppe. It’s a wholly unique gaming experience that I cannot recommend highly enough.

·         Pillars of Eternity (2015) - $32.99 (currently $19.79)

Classic high-fantasy RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, directed by Josh Sawyer, the same man who directed Fallout: New Vegas. Good art, good story, good characters, good everything. It’s a longer game, taking about 30-40 hours to beat.  

·         Remember Me (2010) - $29.99 (currently $5.99)

Made by DontNod Entertainment, the same studio that made Life is strange, and has a similar episodic format. It’s a cyberpunk thriller about a world where people are able to alter their memories. Doesn’t place the same emphasis on decision making as LiS, instead being more of a combat focused action type game with a few puzzles thrown in. It has a beautiful art design and excellent world building. Relatively short, taking about 6-8 hours to beat

·         Sunless Sea (2015) - $20.99 (currently $10.49)

A strategy RPG by Failbetter Games which builds on top of their mobile game “Fallen London.” In it, you play as the captain of a ship tasked with exploring the underground sea of it’s strange steampunk/cosmic horror world. Graphically simple, with most of it’s story being told through text. Very quirky and rather addictive. Has excellent queer content, including the ability to make your captain trans and non-binary, as well as being able to choose the gender of your significant other.  

·         Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004) - $9.99 (currently $1.09)

The third game in the Thief series and the final before the reboot, though you don’t really need to play the first two before this one (I’ve heard they’re good, but haven’t yet had the chance to play them.) It’s just modern enough that the controls and graphics aren’t too clumsy. The Thief series was a huge influence for Dishonored and if you enjoy Dishonored (especially the stealth), you’ll probably have fun with this. Also, the main character is voiced by Stephen Russell, the man who voiced Corvo in Dishonored 2, not to mention several dozen Bethesda npcs such as Mercer Frey, Codsworth, Nick Valentine, and pretty much every sleazy merchant in Skyrim. Takes about 15-25 hours to beat.

·         The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (2014) - $21.99 (currently $4.39)

A puzzle/walking simulator game from developer The Astronauts about a paranormal detective who arrives in a mostly deserted small town to investigate the disappearance of a young boy. Practically dripping with eerie atmosphere, it’s an excellent little horror/thriller with a gripping mystery. Relatively short, taking about 6-8 hours to beat

............................

I haven’t played enough of these three give much of a review, but what I did play and what I heard was very good

·         Tyranny (2016) - $33.99 (currently $16.99)

Made by Obsidian around the same time as Pillars of Eternity and has virtually identical art style and gameplay. Is a high fantasy RPG about an evil empire that has nearly enveloped the entire world, with you playing as an agent of said empire, tasked with carrying out the words of it’s godlike ruler.

·         SOMA (2015) - $32.99 (currently $4.94)

Made by Frictional Games, the studio that made Amnesia: The Dark Descent; though mildly less scary and with a much stronger story which follows a man who wakes up one day in a strange base on the ocean floor long after the fall of mankind. Manages to be both terrifying and deeply sad at the same time.

·         Tacoma (2017) - $21.99 (currently $9.79)

Made by Fullbright, the studio that made Gone Home. I actually know relatively little about this one aside from it being a sci-fi narrative about the crew of a space station in 2088. It has also apparently got that good queer content.

[glorioustidalwavedefendor]

Love, Death & Robots.

Can I just say, how happy it makes me, that the anthology series is back?

I mean, Love, Death & Robots isn‘t the first by a long shot … but still, I am glad that this art form is back. It lends itself so very beautifully to the telling of small stories.

I lnow I am late on the band wagon, but this is my hot take on Love, Death & Robots. Just fresh of bingeing it. No reflection just feeling … or in other words, the result of rubbing my last two sleep deprived braincells together.

It‘s just my opinion, nothing more.

On the technical side of things …

This show is fucking gorgeous. The style usually goes with the general tone of the story, all of them competently and craft fully realized. The same goes for the voice work, the sound design and the soundtrack.

On a side note, diversity is so so, could be better but could be worse … I‘d say average …

It‘s definitely NC-17. Blood, gore, violence, sex and lovingly rendered co**s. We have it all. If you are sensible … you might want to skip some of the stories …

Beware … here there be spoilers

"Sonnie's Edge"

A woman named Sonnie remotely controls a genetically-engineered monster in underground gladiatorial battles. A rich man offers her a lot of money to lose, but she refuses. After she wins the combat, he comes back to make her pay, only to discover he got things very wrong.

I really liked the concept of the story, though not so much the execution. I am just not a huge fan of the „live begins at rape“-trope and I thought that backstory element was rather clumsily handled. I also feel like we could have reached the same twist wit a different backstory …

It‘s a really great twist.

I mean, I am not to clever, maybe you‘ll see it coming a mile away … but I still think it‘s a good twist …

Carefull, gore and boobs …

"Three Robots"

After the destruction of humanity, three robots take a vacation tour around seemingly abandoned city, trying to understand how humans lived based on their limited knowledge of them and the things they left behind. The surprise comes when they met a cat.

It‘s exactly what it says on the tin. It is sweet, adorable, funny … surprisingly meta in it‘s message, without getting too heavy handed, it has kittens … I love it.

If you have problems with skulls, skip it, there a loads of it here …

"The Witness"

A woman witnesses a murder in a building in front of the hotel where she is staying. She flees from him through a surreal city.

What it say on the tin. The twist isn‘t really a surprise if you pay attention, but it‘s a case of blink and you miss it.

I like the concept a lot and the execution was alright …

Nudity … lots of it … also blood … so, if that is a no, for you … skip it. Otherwise, I really like the twist … I say that a lot …

"Suits"

A small community of farmers pilot mech suits to defend their land from an invading swarm of insectoid aliens.

Again, what it says on the tin … a little heavy handed with the characterization, but they have only minutes to establish them, so that‘s O.K. for me. The characters are all very sweet and caring … not so much a twist ending as a WTF moment.

The violence is relatively tame … maybe PG 13, if you can stomach alien blood and a major character death …

"Sucker of Souls"

Awakened by an archaeological excavation, a bloodthirsty demon fights a crew of mercenaries.

What‘s on the tin.

I really liked this one. I like the  archaeologist, I like the mercenaries, … The ending is a bit … not disappointing … but you feel a bit cheated.

I also feel like this could work very well as Terror AU, with Goodsir being the archaeologist and the mercenaries being Crozier, fem-Blanky and … maybe Fitzjames …

The actual gore … rather graphic, though the style isn‘t hyper realistic … if you‘re sensible, definitely skip this one …

"When The Yogurt Took Over"

Yogurt developed by scientists becomes sentient and takes over the world.

What can I ay? It‘s what‘s on the tin.

Rather tame, except for a few moments of very dark humor … the style is very cartoony, so … not for the faint of heart maybe, but it should be fine for most people.

"Beyond the Aquila Rift"

Blue Goose's crew—Thom, Suzy, and Ray—are on a mission to reach beyond the Aquila Rift, but an error in the routing plot causes unexpected events to happen.

Sort of, what it says on the tin … but not …

I really liked it, … not particularly gory per see except for a quick scene … but if you hate spiders, definitely stay away … also boobs …

This one would also make for a great Terror AU, with Crozier as the Captain and Sophia as his long lost acquaintance …

"Good Hunting"

In early 20th century China, a boy becomes friends with a shape-shifting huli jing after his father kills the huli jing's mother. Years later, living in a steampunk Hong-Kong, they find each other again.

I really like the idea behind this … the thought  that magic can not exists in a world full of iron and steam. I loved that concept back in Lords and Lady's and I still love it.

I just could have done without the sex trafficking …

I‘d prefer d if she‘d just gotten a new body on her own terms, … Because I really like the concept that she has to change herself completely in order to control this new magic …

Definitely not for the faint of heart … what‘s on the screen is upsetting enough … the implications even more so …

Also, lots of nudity …

"The Dump"

A city inspector tries to convince Ugly Dave to move out of his house which is located in a dump. However, Dave and his pet are not intent on doing so.

This one was wearing tapp shoes … but I still like it … its cute … and dark … sensible people … maybe skip it …

Nudity … death and gore … also a puppy …

"Shape-Shifters"

Two close friends in the Marines with supernatural powers have to fight one of their own in Afghanistan.

Whats on the tin. Short, sweet, heartbreaking … gore … major character death … Nudity

"Helping Hand"

An astronaut faces a life or death situation after an accident while spacewalking in orbit. Now she has to decide, arm or live …

This was a hard one for me to watch … not so much for the gore … there is none … but just seeing her being so brave and inventive and … so so fucked … it was a hell of a ride, for me it was worth it …

God damn she is awesome!

"Fish Night"

Two salesmen get stuck in the desert, and discover that the desert is not what it seems at night.

I love it!

I loved the concept wen Pratchett came up with it for wee free men … where he mentioned it in a throw away line … and I was angry at myself for days, that I never came up with it myself …

Spooky, pretty … bloody … there was a shark … Nudity

I was sad, but I‘ll definitely give it a rewatch …

This doesn't so much work as an entire Terror AU, but I feel like, the concept does lend itself easily to being used with Silna …

"Lucky 13"

A pilot recalls her missions aboard the dropship Lucky 13, which had already lost two crews before.

Boy did I cry at this one … bit gory … and onions, so many onions … who the fuck needs so many onions at this time of night?

But yeah, I have a thing for ships … sue me …

"Zima Blue"

A reclusive artist gives a final interview after 100 years.

I love this … the style is very stylized and lends itself beautiful to the story … ah … I think this is even something for the faint of heart … also, in my case onions …

"Blindspot"

A cyborg crew attempts to rob a convoy.

What‘s on the tin, pretty straight forward … nothing special … but I feel that is less the stories fault and more the fact that it is simply outclassed among all the others …

Violent, but cartoony … so … no idea … proceed with caution?

"Ice Age"

A couple who just moved into the apartment finds a civilization inside an antique refrigerator.

What‘s on the tin.

Really sweet, really cute … cute couple … I feel like, some of the lines could have used one more rewrite, but that is me nitpicking. I really liked it, it was awesome, definitely gonna rewatch it … I feel like this is even for the faint of heart …

It is also very refreshing to see a married couple just hanging out together … love it

"Alternate Histories"

Multiversity, an alternative history research simulation app, shows the viewer the death of Adolf Hitler in 6 different timelines on their welcome demo.

I feel like Douglas Adams came back from the dead to write this … I get defined Hitchhiker vibes.

Ah … dark, but super cartoony, so the violence is rather tame … still, not G rated, despite the style … Nudity

I liked it a lot …

"Secret War"

A platoon of Red Army soldiers hunt down the undead in the forests of Siberia.

What it say on the tin.

The style is super realistic, so nothing for the faint of heart. Blood, gore … more blood, more gore …

I liked it …

And, is it just me, or is the Lieutenant the spitting image of John Morfin?

This would make an amazing Terror AU, you pretty much only have to change the names … even the Lieutenants second gives me Collins vibes …

I hope I got all the Nudity, but there is a lot of it … not even always in a sexy way, just in a “humans sometimes are naked” way …

And that was  Love, Death & Robots.

Was it good?

Hell yes!

Do I want more?

Definitely …  though I don‘t have to high hopes for a potential second season … once burned twice shy … But I‘d be delighted if we get one as good or even better.

[scifihorroradventure]

ALIEN (1979)

As the space freighter Nostromo heads back to Earth, it receives a signal from a nearby planet. Its crew decides to investigate in case somebody needs assistance and Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt), Kane (John Hurt), and Lambert (Veronica Cartwright) follow the signal to a large ship, finding a giant, dead extraterrestrial. Investigating the area further, Kane finds a large amount of egg-like objects. One of these eggs hatches and a small creature latches itself onto Kane's face. Getting back to the Nostromo, Kane is taken to the medical bay, in some sort of coma. Science officer Ash (Ian Holm) tries to cut it off, but finds it impossible due to the animal's acidic blood. Before too long, the creature is found dead and Kane has awoken, seemingly unharmed. But as the crew later sits down to dinner, Kane seizes and falls onto the table, a small creature erupting from his chest. The animal escapes into the ship and the crew do their best to track it down. The alien grows very quickly, however, soon becoming man-sized. One by one, the beast slaughters the crew, until only Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) remains...

For years, movies about monsters from space attacking astronauts had almost always been cheesy B-movies. That all changed with the release of Ridley Scott's Alien, a tense, atmospheric film featuring one of the screen's most iconic monsters. The story by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett is simple - A crew in deep space encounter an extraterrestrial life form and everything goes horribly wrong - but it's all that's needed for the film, and its execution is perfect. The claustrophobic sets of the Nostromo really help sell how isolated and alone the crew is, millions of miles away from anyone who can help. From the various vents and control rooms of the Nostromo to the enormous chambers of the Space Jockey's ship, the sets really help build a convincing world. The effects, while simple, are almost flawless (though there is an unfortunate hiccup involving Ash's severed head) and serve the story rather than the other way around. The film does not rush things, taking its time to properly introduce our characters and the world they inhabit. While this works to the film's advantage for the most part, it also works against the movie at a few key points - Mainly, the Nostromo's self destruct/"searching for Jones" sequence goes on at least twice as long as it needs to. It goes on just long enough to properly build the right amount of tension, but then unfortunately doesn't stop. The music by Jerry Goldsmith is appropriately eerie, particularly the opening credits theme.

Quite possibly the most recognizable of all cinematic space monsters, the Alien (later known as a "Xenomorph") is a strange, frightening beast, completely inhuman in its behavior and motivation. From the spiderlike Facehugger to the bloodstained Chestburster and finally the razortoothed, dome headed final form, the Alien is a striking, unforgettable creation. Originally designed by H.R. Giger, the beast has a striking, sleek, almost biomechanical appearance. Story wise, the Alien went through many changes during the film's inception; Its blood was originally not acidic, but when O'Bannon couldn't figure out why the crew wouldn't simply shoot the monster, concept artist Ron Cobb suggested the idea. Secondly, the Alien was originally going to emerge victorious, killing Ripley and reporting back to Earth using a human voice. Suit actor Bolaji Badejo gives an effective performance as the Alien, never coming across as too human-like in his movements, with its final showdown with Ripley an especially memorable sequence. Here the Alien has an air of mystery to it as well as horror, a vibe that would sadly be lost in sequels as the creature was reduced to a cannon fodder species.

Though it takes a while for her to take center stage, Sigourney Weaver eventually shines as Lt. Ellen Ripley, the only survivor of the Alien's attack and eventual series star. At first she seems to come across as a cold woman, initially unwilling to let Dallas and his crew back on the ship with Kane 'infected' by something. But she soon comes into her own when she discovers Ash's secret plan and deals with the quickly unraveling events that take place shortly after. Thanks to Weaver's performance, you can really feel Ripley's desperation and terror as she tries to escape the self destructing Nostromo and defeat the murderous Alien. Tom Skerritt is good as Captain Dallas, but never really gets anything across other than "the leader." Initially his and Ripley's relationship was to be much more involved in earlier versions of the script, but most of it was removed to make way for the proper story. That said, he does get the most effective scare in the entire movie, surpassed only by the famous Chestburster itself. Ian Holm gives a great performance as Ash, the science officer-cum-secret android. Reserved and logical, Ash keeps making comments to not harm or touch the Alien throughout the film, which seem reasonable at first. But eventually comes the grand reveal, in which Ash is nothing more than a robot with a devious mission planted by Weyland-Yutani (here referred to as just "the company"), sent to protect the Alien at all costs, even if it means the loss of the crew's lives. It's a shocking reveal, but with all great twists, there are plenty of clues to go back and catch during repeat viewings. John Hurt is good as Kane, even though the man severely lacks even the most basic of self preservation skills, coming across an enormous nest of large, alien eggs, then deciding to get closer to investigate. At least he gets the honor of being the first person in the series to receive their very own Chestburster. The scene is intense and horrifying, making it one of the most memorable in all of cinematic history. Veronica Cartwright does alright as Lambert, but all she really brings to the table is being the whiny, panicky one, and somehow she survives for most of the movie. Honestly, the most entertaining thing about Lambert is knowing Cartwright had no idea she was going to be sprayed with blood during the Chestburster scene. Yaphet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton are amusing enough as Parker and Brett even though they honestly don't add very much to the film, but at least they're more entertaining to watch than Lambert is.

With nearly all of its elements coming together perfectly, Alien emerges as a solid, tense thriller, and one of the genre's best. The Xenomorph quickly became one of horror's most iconic monsters (with its inner mouth and copious amount of drool a source of endless spoofs and rip offs), while Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of Ellen Ripley would cement her as one of Hollywood's most notable leading ladies. As of 2017, the series is still going strong seven entries later without once being rebooted or remade, including two crossovers with the Predator series.

Rating: ★★★★★

Cast: Tom Skerritt ... Captain Dallas Sigourney Weaver ... Ellen Ripley Ian Holm ... Ash Yaphet Kotto ... Parker John Hurt ... Kane Veronica Cartwright ... Lambert Harry Dean Stanton ... Brett Bolaji Badejo ... The Alien

Director: Ridley Scott. Producer: Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill, Ivor Powell (associate producer), and Ronald Shusett (executive producer). Writer: Dan O'Bannon (story and screenplay) and Ronald Shusett (story). Music: Jerry Goldsmith. Special Effects: Nick Allder (supervisor), Alan Bryce (floor effects supervisor), Clinton Cavers (coordinator: 'Alien' effects), Carlo De Marchis (additional 'Alien' mechanics), Roger Dicken (maker: small 'Alien' forms), Guy Hudson (technician), Brian Johnson (supervisor), Phil Knowles (technician), Dennis Lowe (technician), Roger Nichols (technician), Carlo Rambaldi (creator: 'Alien' head effects), Neil Swan (technician), David H. Watkins (technician), David Watling (additional 'Alien' mechanics), Anton Furst (uncredited), Bob Keen (modeller, uncredited), Philip Sharpe (technician, uncredited), Christian Wolf-La'Moy (model maker, uncredited). Dennis Ayling (director of photography: miniature effects), Martin Bower (supervising model maker: miniature effects), Ray Caple (matte artist), Dick Hewitt (electronics and video coordinator: main unit), David Litchfield (operator: miniature effects), Bernard Lodge (special graphic effects), Terry Pearce (focus: miniature effects), Bill Pearson (supervising model maker: miniature effects), Peter Woods (key grip: miniature effects), Alan Buchan (visual effects, uncredited), Jon Sorensen (visual effects miniatures, uncredited), and Rick Cortes (Inferno artist (2003 director's cut re-release), uncredited).

[voyagerafod]

Star Trek Voyager: A Fire of Devotion: Part 3 of 4: Sweeter Than Heaven: Chapter Four

Chapter Four

    Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay sat across from each other in the Captain's quarters over lunch, like they did most days, but today’s lunch was quieter than usual.     “It’s been over a week, Kathryn,” Chakotay said, finally breaking the awkward silence. “If either the Vaadwaur or the Turei were going to come after us they’d have done so by now.”     “You’re probably right,” Janeway said, taking a sip of her coffee. “Let’s talk about other things.”     “Like?”     “What are your thoughts on how the Equinox survivors are doing?”     Chakotay picked up a PADD he had put on the table when lunch started.     “It so happens,” he said, “I was planning to bring that up later myself. The engineering staff seems to think pretty highly of Marla Gilmore, though she largely keeps to herself. James Morrow has been getting by in the labs, also stays pretty quiet. Brian Sofin does his job equally as well as the first two, but is a bit more sociable. Word has it he’s got a friendship budding with Neelix.”

    “Wow,” Janeway said. “Making friends already? I’d hoped it would happen, but I also didn’t think it would happen this quickly.”     “Well,” Chakotay said with a wry grin, “remember how much you used to worry about the Starfleet and Maquis crews getting along?”     Janeway chuckled. “Good point. How long has it been since that was an issue for anybody?”

    “I don’t even remember, I’d have to look it up.”

    “Okay, so that covers three out of five. The other two?”     “Lessing is a little hard to get a bead on. He shows up on time, does his duties, then leaves. He doesn’t talk to anyone, not even the other Equinox crew near as anyone can tell. He’s not incompetent, but his department heads agree that he seems to be putting in the minimum amount of effort. He’s not being lazy, he gets things done when and how he’s told, but there’s a general sense that he could be doing better. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want to earn back any of the crew’s trust.”     “That could probably be guilt,” Janeway said. “Maybe he doesn’t feel like he deserves the second chance we’re giving him.”     “Seems likely,” Chakotay said. He sighed, then handed the PADD across to Janeway. “That just leaves Angelo Tassoni.”     “I’ve heard rumors. The word ‘asshole’ was used.”     “Sounds about right,” Chakotay said. “He hasn’t done anything we can actually throw him in the brig over, at least not yet. And he does show up for every single shift on time and does what he’s told, and does it well in all fairness. It’s his attitude everyone has a problem with. He comes across as smug, and several reports say that he still will try to defend Captain Ransom’s actions to anyone who tries to engage him in conversation. Even the other Equinox survivors don’t seem to want anything to do with him. I think we should consider reassigning him.”     “To where?” Janeway said. “The few things his file says he’s good at are things that would require more security access than I’ve allowed any of the Equinox crew to have so far. Short of just confining him to quarters, which I’d really rather not do when we’re still decades away from-”

    Janeway stopped as she noticed the lights in the room dimmed suddenly. She was about to ask why, when the ship suddenly began shuddering. The com chirped and Harry Kim’s voice filled the room.     “Senior staff,” he said, “report to the bridge.”     Janeway tapped her com badge. “On our way.”

---

    Chakotay wondered if maybe he’d been wrong about the Vaadwaur not coming after them, but if it were an attack, Harry would’ve given the order to go to battle stations first. He followed Janeway out of her quarters, and the two quickly made their way to the bridge, where Harry gave up the center chair as soon as they arrived. Both Tom Paris and Tuvok were already at their stations.

    “Report,” Janeway said.     “We’ve got level nine gravimetric distortions closing on our position,” Harry said.

    “They appear to be emanating from subspace,” Tuvok said.

    “On screen,” Janeway said. The viewscreen showed space distorting behind Voyager, close enough that the ship’s own nacelles were in frame of the visual sensors. “Shields.”     “Already done,” Harry said.     The distortion on the viewscreen soon changed as the distortion completed its exit from subspace. Glowing bright orange and roughly oval shaped, it seemed to emit both flames and electrical sparks. It appeared to be following Voyager, but for some reason all Chakotay could think was that the distortion looked familiar somehow. Not in the sense that he had seen it personally, but perhaps in a textbook or an archive video.

    “I can’t outrun this thing at impulse,” Tom said. “It’s catching up.”     “Go to warp,” Janeway said.

    “It’s disrupting our warp field,” Tom said.

    “Seven of Nine to the bridge,” Chakotay heard over the com. “I’m observing the situation from astrometrics. I recognize this anomaly from my time as a drone. We called it Spatial Anomaly 521. It’s attracted to objects that emit electromagnetic energy. I strongly advise we cut power and reverse our shield polarity.”     “Do it,” Janeway said without hesitation. The ship’s shuddering briefly got worse, then tapered off as the viewscreen showed the anomaly glide right past them.

    “That was close,” Tom said. “If it had caught up to us the gravimetric forces would’ve ripped our hull right off.”

    Chakotay began tapping away on the console by his arm, pulling up images from Starfleet records regarding gravimetric anomalies. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for.     “I was right,” he said.     “Commander?” Janeway said.     “I’ve seen this before too. In history books. It’s called a graviton ellipse. It travels through subspace. The Federation database confirms it. Look.” He shifted his monitor so the captain could see it.     “I’ll be damned,” she said. “It’s only been observed a handful of times. Looks like we get to add another encounter to the record.”

    “Unless there’s more than one of these, Captain,” Chakotay said, “we just found the ellipse that took the Ares Four. It was a ship from one of the early Mars missions. Its command module and pilot, Lieutenant John Kelly, were engulfed by a phenomenon that looked just like that one, according to the records we have available from 2032.”

“I remember reading about that,” Tom said. “The two other astronauts were stranded there for weeks before a rescue ship arrived. I didn’t know you read about the Mars missions too, Commander.”

“I’ve spent some of my spare time reading up on pre-Federation Earth history,” Chakotay said. “I guess I can blame you for that, Tom. You’re history buff ways have rubbed off on me.”

“You’re welcome,” Tom said, smirking.

“Captain,” Chakotay continued, “no one has ever gotten this close to a graviton ellipse and lived to talk about it. This could be a remarkable opportunity.”     Janeway smiled and nodded. “Take us down to Yellow Alert. Keep our power output at minimal levels. Match the ellipse’s course and speed but keep a safe distance.”     “Yes, Captain,” Tom said.

“I suggest we launch a probe,” Chakotay said. “and maybe see what makes this thing tick.”     “Better make it quick,” Janeway said. “There’s no telling when our friend here is going to burrow back into subspace.”  

---

    Seven of Nine could not remember a time when she had seen Commander Chakotay quite so enthusiastic about something, especially not something relating to old Earth history. That had always seemed to be Ensign Paris’ field of interest. The Commander stood next to her now in astrometrics, waiting for the telemetry from the probe they’d sent into Anomaly 521.

    “Ah, there we are,” Chakotay said, and Seven turned her gaze away from the screen to look at him and his console. “It appears to have entered a stable state, obviously temporary based on what we already know. Gravimetric forces appear to be negligible while in this state.”     “The eye of the storm?” Seven said.     “Good metaphor,” Chakotay said. “Computer, run a multispectral analysis of the anomaly's core.”     “Analysis in progress,” the computer voice said.     “The Borg developed shields to get through the gravimetric currents,” Seven said. “But they intended to use them to dissipate the anomaly from within. I would need to modify the designs if we intend to explore the anomaly rather than destroy it.”     “I don’t know if we’ll be doing either,” Chakotay said. “Might be too risky. Though I won’t lie, if I had the chance to fly through that thing, just once, I’d probably take it. I’m a bit surprised the Borg were so interested in destroying it rather than learning how it operated. Seems to contradict their stated goals.”     Seven sighed. “Don’t even get me started,” she said quietly.     “Core analysis complete,” the computer said.     Seven and Chakotay both began going over the collected data as it appeared on both their monitors.     “There are more than 2.8 Billion compounds in the core,” Seven said, openly showing surprise. “Fascinating.”     “The computer’s isolated several synthetic alloys native to my home sector,” Chakotay said.     “It could be this Ares Four you mentioned earlier,” Seven said. She saw Chakotay looking up at the graphic representation of the graviton ellipse, smiling slightly.     “Could be,” he said. “An amazing discovery, don’t you think, Seven?”     Seven of Nine was not as interested in Earth history as Chakotay or Mister Paris were, and as such could not bring herself to share her shipmate’s enthusiasm. Luckily, she knew better than to say so out loud.     “Quite,” she said.

---

    Later that day, in the briefing room, after the senior staff along with Seven had been filled in on the details of the Ares Four, Chakotay asked Seven about what she’d said to him in astrometrics about the Borg seeking a way inside the graviton ellipse.     “Do you think you could apply those shield enhancements to the Delta Flyer?” he said.     “I believe I could, yes,” Seven said. “Though I should note for the records the risks involved in going in there after the Ares Four commend module, as its value would be purely historical.”

    “Your concerns are noted, Seven,” Janeway said.

    “By my calculations,” Tuvok said, “we have less than sixteen hours before the anomaly returns to subspace.”     “We’ll have to work quickly then,” Janeway said. Chakotay was sure he heard a hint of excitement creeping into her voice. He couldn’t help but smile. The Captain had seemed to have been going through the motions the past several months. Her funk was not quite as severe as what she’d went through during their time in dark space last year, but she still seemed to be feeling emotional after effects of everything that had happened with the Equinox.     “An engineering team could help me modify the Flyer’s shields more quickly, Captain,” Seven said, bringing Chakotay’s attention back to the matter at hand.     “Agreed. B’Elanna, I want you and Vorik to help Seven,” Janeway said.     “Aye, Captain,” B’Elanna said.     “Tom,” Janeway said, “review the database from the Ares Four mission. It might tell us something about this anomaly we’ve missed.” Janeway smiled as she glanced knowingly at Chakotay. “Now, we’re going to need a mission leader,” she said.     “I volunteer,” Chakotay said, not needing any further prompting.     “I thought you might,” Janeway said. “Let’s do it.”

    Tom chuckled. “Beat me to the punch, Commander.”     “Don’t worry, Tom,” Chakotay said. “We’ll be taking the Flyer in. Can’t do that without her pilot now can we?”

    “Two history buffs in one shuttle?” Tom said. “We’ll end up getting nerd all over the bulkheads.”     “Better nerd than testosterone,” B’Elanna said.     Janeway and Harry both started laughing, while Tuvok merely raised an eyebrow. Seven just smirked and shook her head while tapping out calculations on a PADD.     “Okay, enough small talk,” Janeway said. “Get to work. Dismissed.”

---

    “Thanks for agreeing to this, Commander,” Samantha said as Naomi moved to get a better view of the screen in astrometrics. “She heard about the Ares Four and the mission to recover the command module, and now all of a sudden Earth history is her passion. This week, anyway.”     “Mom,” Naomi said defensively.     Chakotay simply laughed. “No problem,” he said, “though since this is a time sensitive mission, Tom and I will be picking up from where we left off in the records instead of starting over.”     “That’s okay,” Naomi said.     “You’re welcome to stay too of course, Sam,” Tom said.     “Sure,” Samantha said, shrugging, and moving to take a seat on the floor next to her daughter.

    The video in the center of the screen, surprisingly clear given how old it was began playing and the man who Samantha had figured was John Kelly, began describing what he was seeing, a view that the recording device was not picking up.     “It’s not a solar flare,” Kelly said. “Wow.”

    “John, can you describe it?” a female voice on the recording said.     “It’s… it’s at least one thousand meters wide. Bright.” The video started to fill with static. Another voice, this one male, chimed in.     “Your transmission is breaking up,“ that voice said.

    “It’s generating an electromagnetic radiation,” Lieutenant Kelly said. “Interfering with primary systems. I can’t get away from it.”     The lights inside the command module dimmed, but for a moment the video cleared up. Kelly reached off-screen.     “Activating the transpectral imager,” he said. “I’ll record as much data as I can.” The image began shaking violently, and the static increased. Samantha looked over at Naomi, who simply stared in open awe at the historical footage, even though all it was was a human strapped into a chair, the way pilots were in the days before artificial gravity.

    “It’s right on top of me!” Kelly said. “I’ll transmit as much I can-” the video filled with static, and all audio stopped.     “NASA,” Chakotay said, “that was the name of the organization Kelly worked for,” he added, looking at Naomi and Sam. “they received Kelly’s last telemetry at 0922 hours, October 19, 2032. The early Mars missions paved the way for humanity’s exploration of space.”

    “And now the anomaly that he saw is here in the Delta Quadrant,” Naomi said. “Wow.”     “‘Wow is right,” Tom said.     “He was certainly dedicated,” Chakotay said. “His life was about to end, but he wouldn’t stop taking readings.”     “Like a real explorer,” Naomi said. Samantha put her hand on Naomi’s head.     “Don’t go getting any ideas,” she said. “Save the dangerous exploring for when you’re older.”

    The hiss of the door to astrometrics opening distracted both of them before Naomi could respond.     “Am I interrupting?” Seven of Nine said as she entered, visibly surprised to see Sam and Naomi here, but not letting it throw her off.     “Not at all,” Chakotay said. “Are the shield modifications to the Delta Flyer complete?”     “They are,” Seven said, handing a PADD to the Commander. “We’re ready for launch.”     “We?” Chakotay said.     News to me too, Samantha thought.

    “I asked the Captain to allow me to join the mission to ensure that the Borg shield modifications can be repaired quickly if any unforeseeable problems arise,” Seven said. “I do not believe it to be likely, but give the volatile nature of the anomaly, well, I believe the phrase is ‘better safe than sorry?’”     “Can I come too?” Naomi said.     “No,” Seven and Samantha said in unison, much to Tom and Chakotay’s apparent amusement.     “Please tell me B’Elanna and I don’t do that,” Tom said.     “Not that I’ve heard at least,” Chakotay said. “Back to the subject, I wish the Captain had informed me about this before hand. Tom and I were planning to go in ourselves.”     “It is still your mission, Commander,” Seven said. “I am simply going along as... added insurance.”

    Chakotay looked at Tom, who simply shrugged. “Alright then, welcome to the team, Seven. We’ll just need to see the Doctor before we take off.”

---

    “I’m preparing an inoculant to counter the effects of gravimetric radiation,” the Doctor said, holding up a yellow vial while scanning it with a medical device that Chakotay could swear he had never seen before.     I really should know what all this medical equipment is called, he thought. I might need to help the Doctor out in a pinch, or worse. After six years you’d think I’d know some of it already.     “We’re all finished here,” the Doctor said after having applied the inoculant to Chakotay, Tom, and Seven. “except for one thing.”     “And that is?” Chakotay said, anxious to get the mission started so he could see the Ares Four up close before it was too late. The Doctor went over to one of the bio-beds, and picked up his holo-camera off the end of it. He made a move to hand it to Chakotay.     “If you want pictures, Doc,” Tom said, “you could just come with us. You know as well as anyone that the Flyer can easily seat four comfortably.”     “I asked the Captain, but she wouldn’t let me,” the Doctor said, looking dejected.     “Just take the camera, Commander,” Seven of Nine said. “If you don’t we’ll never hear the end of it.”

    Chakotay bit back a laugh and nodded, taking the camera.     “Our focus will be on recovering the module,” he said as he put the camera into the mission gear bag. “But if we can get a few glamour shots of the inside of the ellipse for you, I’ll take them.”     “That’s all I’m asking for, Commander,” the Doctor said with that big smile he would always get; the one that Chakotay would find either charming or annoying depending on the context.     “Team,” he said, “report to the shuttle bay.”     “Yes sir,” Tom said.     “Yes, Commander,” Seven said.

The three swiftly made their way to the shuttle bay to board the Delta Flyer. After one last check-up of the shield enhancements by Seven, they left Voyager and headed straight towards the graviton ellipse.     “We’re approaching the perimeter,” Tom said, “in five, four, three, two, one.”     The small craft shuddered slightly as it passed through the outer edge of the anomaly, yellow and orange gases resembling dancing flames moving across the viewport. The shuddering got worse, but that was to be expected.     “Shields are holding,” Seven said.     “Gravimetric shear is increasing,” Tom said.     “I’m reading a spot up ahead with minimal disturbance,” Chakotay said. “Tom, go to full thrusters and punch us through. We’ll be safer in there.”     “Got it,’ Tom said. Within seconds, the Flyer stopped shuddering. Chakotay looked forward, and along with the omnipresent orange glow and flashes of yellow lightning, he could see debris scattered throughout the inside of the ellipse, much of it too small to ever be identifiable.     “Chakotay to Voyager,” he said. “We’re in. I wish you could see this, Captain. It’s incredible.”

“We’re all ears,” Janeway’s voice said over the Flyer’s com system.

Chakotay needed a moment to collect himself. He had seen some spectacular things in the galaxy, even before getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant, but this was easily among the most amazing.

“It’s very calm,” he said. “No gravimetric distortions. The E.M. activity is creating a natural luminescence. Tom called it ‘mood lighting.’”     “Hey, B’Elanna,” Tom interrupted, “it’s the perfect romantic getaway.”     “I’ll take your word for it,” B’Elanna replied.

“We’ve detected asteroid fragments,” Chakotay continued, “pieces of vessels, matter from every quadrant of the galaxy. Next time I lose something I’ll know where to look. The chemical interactions here have even created a primitive atmosphere.”

“Nothing you’d want to breathe of course,” Tom said.     “Some of the matter appears to be extra-dimensional in origin,” Seven said.     “Amazing,” Chakotay said.     “Indeed,” Seven said.     “Any sign of the Ares’ command module?” Janeway said.

“We’re picking up traces of the hull,” Tom said, “but our sensor readings are being refracted by all the debris in here.”

Chakotay thought he heard a slight hissing sound on the other end of the com.     “That was a gravimetric surge,” Tuvok said, “caused by the anomaly altering its course by .006 degrees.”     “Did you catch that?” Janeway said.     “Affirmative,” Chakotay said, “but we didn’t feel anything.”     “Makes sense given how deep you are,” Janeway said. “By our estimate you have five hours and thirty-six minutes before the ellipse returns to subspace. You better hurry it up.”     “Understood,” Chakotay said.     “I’m having difficulty isolating the debris from the command module,” Seven said. Chakotay thought he picked up a hint of disappointment in her voice. He wondered if maybe some of the crew’s general excitement about the historical find had rubbed off on her after all.

“I’m laying in a search pattern,” Tom said from the helm. “It’ll probably take a few hours to cover an area this large.”     “Seven, you and I can take that time to get some samples,” Chakotay said. “We’ll get a better idea of where this anomaly been.”     “Is that the best use of our time, Commander?” Seven said.     “Our primary objective is to retrieve the module,” Chakotay said. “but until Tom can get a lock on its position…”     “Good point. Perhaps we can learn something valuable to benefit Voyager in the interim,” Seven said.  

---

Seven ran a tricorder over several pieces of ephemera beamed aboard the Flyer from the inside of the graviton ellipse. Nothing collected so far had piqued her own interest, but the Commander’s excitement with each new discovery was palpable.     “The fossilized microbes in this ore,” she said, stopping to focus on one particular piece of debris on the table in the center of the Flyer’s back room, “appear to have had metallic membranes.”     “We’ve speculated about the possibility of metallic lifeforms,” Chakotay said, “but we’ve never discovered one.”     “We still may not have,” Seven said. “This is certainly strong evidence, but I would refrain from labelling it proof just yet.”     “Fair point,” Chakotay said. “Catalogue it anyway though.”     “Already done,” Seven said. “I have been doing so as I scan.”     “Efficient,” Chakotay said.     “Naturally,” Seven said, allowing herself a bit of pride, though careful as always not to be too much so.

“Is there anything you ever just wing, Seven?” Chakotay asked in a jovial tone.     “Nothing I’m allowed to disclose,” Seven said. Chakotay snorted.     “Okay, I walked right into that one,” he said. He ran his own tricorder over the piece of ore that Seven had found the evidence for metallic life on.     “This piece of rock,” he said, “is billions of years older than Earth. From a time when the galaxy was still forming. We’re scanning a piece of history. Maybe even the beginnings of life itself.”     “Put that way,” Seven said, “perhaps I should show this a rock a bit more… reverence than I have.”     “You’re under no obligation to feel as excited about this as anyone else, Seven. I’m just hoping to convey why I’m excited. I get the feeling you don’t always ‘get’ human behavior, even after all you’ve experienced.”     “That is an accurate assessment, Commander,” Seven said. “I apologize if I’ve been ‘ruining your moment.’”     “Not at all,” Chakotay said, before going back to scanning some of the other items. “You know, I could easily spend the rest of my life studying the stuff we find in here.”     “And leave Voyager without its First Officer?” Seven asked.     “I think you’d manage without me,” he said, “but don’t worry, I’m not actually going to leave. Just saying that I could. Paleontology was an early love of mine. I wonder why I let it slide as much as I have. I don’t think I’ve ever even talked about it with anyone on the Voyager crew, not that I can remember anyway.”     “Not as many opportunities to take part in dig sites when one is constantly on the move,” Seven said. “Were the journey to the Alpha Quadrant not the ship’s priority, I imagine you would have had a number of opportunities.”     “Good point,” Chakotay said. “though even before then, it seemed like something would get in the way of pursuing it. Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were younger, Seven? Before you were assimilated, I mean.”     “My memories of that time are sketchy,” Seven admitted, “but from what I can recall, I wanted to be a dancer. A ballerina to be specific. That is why on our early dates, Samantha would often take me to live performances on the holodeck.” Seven smiled as she remembered one performance in particular, the one where Sam had said “I love you” to her for the first time     “Have you pursued that interest in your spare time since then?” Chakotay asked.     “No,” Seven said. “I no longer have the desire to perform.” She sighed. “Just one more thing the Borg took from me I’m afraid.”

“Sorry,” Chakotay said. “Didn’t mean to trigger any bad memories.”

“No offense taken,” Seven said. “Samantha and I have had similar conversations before. I am at least grateful that Naomi will likely not face the kinds of impediments to her own desires that I did.”

“Amen to that,” Chakotay said.

The com chirped, and Tom’s voice filled the back room. “Head’s up folks,” he said. “I think we’re getting close.”

    “On our way,” Chakotay said, heading for the door back to the cockpit. Seven put down her tricorder, and followed close behind.

---

    Chakotay took his seat as Tom began filling him in on what the Delta Flyer’s sensors had found.     “I’ve isolated the module,” he said. “Bearing 39, Mark 1-5. There.”     Chakotay looked out the viewport, and almost gasped at what he saw. It wasn’t just the debris of the Ares Four, it was the command module itself, largely whole, with only a few pieces floating around it.

    “It appears to be largely intact,” Seven said.     “I’m reading hull breaches and corrosion,” Chakotay said, now looking down at his console. “All things considered though, it is very well preserved. I can honestly say I did not expect this much of it to be in one piece.”     “Agreed,” Seven said. “There is no way we would be able to fit that in our cargo bay.”     “Not without breaking it up into smaller pieces,” Tom said, “which I’m assuming we don’t want to do.”     “You assume correctly, Ensign,” Chakotay said. “We can use a tractor beam to tow it back to Voyager.”     “We’d have to extend our shields around it to keep it from getting more damaged than it already is on the way out,” Tom said. “Can we do that, Seven?”     “With some minor modifications, yes,” Seven said.

    Chakotay started to tell Seven to start working on that right away, but was cut off by the voice of Captain Janeway, hailing them from Voyager.     “Janeway to Delta Flyer. We’ve got a problem. The anamoly’s on a collision course with a dark matter asteroid.”     “Captain,” Chakotay said, “we’ve located the Mars orbiter. We’re adapting a tractor beam. Just give us a minute.”     “You don’t have it, get out of there. We have no idea how the ellipse will react when it collides with the asteroid.”     Chakotay felt his heart sink, and glancing at Tom he could tell the helmsman felt the same way.     “Is the tractor beam ready?” Chakotay said.     “About, sir,” Tom said, “but-”     “Lock on to it and take us out,” Chakotay said. It would be a risky maneuver, one that would probably get him chewed out by the captain later, but he wasn’t willing to let this chance go, not yet. The view outside the forward viewport shifted as Tom maneuvered the Flyer into position.     “Tractor beam engaged,” he said.     “Good work, Tom,” Chakotay said.     “Chakotay, you’ve got less than a minute,” Janeway’s voice said.     “Acknowledged,” Chakotay said.     “The module is slowing us down,” Tom said.     “Maintain tractor lock,” Chakotay said. “Seven, how long until we clear the anomaly?”

    “At our current speed, forty seconds,” Seven said.

    “We can do this,” Chakotay said, the ship beginning to shudder as it approached the barrier.     “Chakotay, status,” Janeway’s voice said. Even through the static Chakotay could pick up on the concern in her voice.

    “We’re on our way,” he said, not even needing to ask Voyager to know that he was cutting it dangerously close.

    “Almost-” Seven started to say, but was cut off when a shockwave hit the Flyer, sending it flying backwards into the anomaly, the inertial dampeners barely managing to compensate and keep the G forces from rendering them all unconscious.     “Tom?” Chakotay said.     “The tractor beam was disconnected by whatever hit us,” Tom said.     “The shockwave must’ve been the result of the dark matter asteroid colliding with the ellipse,” Seven said. “Had our shields not held we likely would’ve been destroyed.”     “The module?” Chakotay asked.     “Still there, looks like we took the worst of it.”     “Delta Flyer to Voyager,” Chakotay said. No response.     “We’ve lost contact,” Seven said. “I can’t raise them. Propulsion is off-line as well.”     Chakotay sighed.     “Damn,” he said. “This is my fault. I put collecting a historical artifact ahead of the safety of my team.”     “I can’t say I might not have done the same thing, Chakotay,” Tom said. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Unless we die, then yeah, beat yourself up over it.”     “Gentlemen,” Seven said, “I suggest we focus on repairs. The anomaly is showing signs of returning to subspace. We have less than two hours.”

    “That might be enough time,” Chakotay said, taking his own look at the damage report. “The engines are in really bad shape.”

    The ship shuddered, but not the shockwave this time.     “A gravimetric surge,” Seven said. “They will only increase the closer the anomaly gets to its return to subspace.”

---

    The next twenty minutes were quiet and tense aboard the Delta Flyer, but Seven of Nine did not let it get to her. She still did not care for prolonged silence, but she also knew that the situation required everyone’s focus if they were to return to Voyager. There would be time to discuss how the mission could’ve gone differently later.

“Voyager to Delta Flyer,” Janeway’s staticy voice said over the com system.

    “Excellent,” Seven said. “I was concerned that repair might not work. Voyager, this is Seven of Nine. We read you.”     “Are you alright? What’s your status?”

“We’ve sustained heavy damage,” Chakotay said. “but we’re alive. It’s good to hear your voice.”     “Likewise,” Janeway said. “Give me a full report.”     Chakotay did so, not leaving out why the Delta Flyer had not exited the anomaly as quickly as it could’ve.     “Captain,” he said, “I take full responsibility for-”     “We’ll discuss that later,” Janeway said. “Right now, let’s focus on saving your lives.”     “We’re open to any ideas, Captain,” Tom said.     “We’re working on that. Stand by.”

---

    Chakotay looked at the chronometer. Only eighty-two minutes left, and still no solution. Each passing minute only increased his self-loathing. If he’d been on this shuttle alone that would be one thing, but thanks to him not one but two of Voyager’s best crewmembers were about to lose someone they loved. Tragedy compounding upon tragedy. At least with the comm channel open again they’d all get a chance to say goodbye if the worst came to pass.     “It may be possible to modify a tractor beam to cut through the gravimetric interference,” Tuvok said.

    “You’ll never be able to get it all the way through to the core,” Harry Kim said.     “Start working on it anyway,” Janeway said.

    “You said all the energy conduits are fused?” B’Elanna said.     “Correct,” Seven said. “We can’t get any power to the engines.”     “If the replicators were working we could whip up a new plasma manifold and be on our way,” Tom said.

    “Tom, this isn’t the time to be sarcastic,” B’Elanna said “we’re trying to… hang on, I’ve just been sent a message to my PADD. It’s anonymous for some reason, why would…”     There was a long enough silence that Chakotay was afraid they’d lost the connection to Voyager again.     “Well I’ll be damned,” B’Elanna said. “How does an old plasma manifold sound?”     “What?” Tom said.     “The message I got. It said the power distribution system on the Area Four module isn’t that different from the Flyer’s I ran a check on the schematics. It won’t be pretty, and the manifold would probably be burnt out by the time you got back, but it could be enough to get you out of there.”

    “Where is it on the module?” Tom asked.     “In a control panel in the main cockpit,” B’Elanna said. “I’m send the relevant schematic to you now. It was called an ion distributor. With just a few tweaks it could be modified to channel warp plasma.”     “Do you have enough power to beam one of you to the module?” Janeway said.     “Yes, Captain,” Tom said. “I’ll go.”     “No,” Chakotay said. “I’ll do it. I got us into this mess, it’s my responsibility to get us out.”     “And besides,” Janeway said, “If another gravimetric surge hits we’ll need you at the helm.”

    “Seven,” Chakotay said, standing up and moving towards the back of the Flyer. “help me into an EVA suit and beam me over to the module.”     “Understood,” Seven said, getting up follow him. Once they were in the back, Chakotay quickly began getting into the suit while Seven checked to make sure the oxygen tank was fully connected and fully stocked.     “Let me know when we are ready, Seven,” he said. He felt somewhat nervous. A part of him felt he didn’t deserve this chance to set foot on the Ares Four, a piece of Earth history, when he had so nearly gotten his shipmate’s killed trying to retrieve it. “Perhaps you should go instead,” he said, the guilt getting to him as he reached for the helmet.     “Commander,” Seven said, “don’t allow your desire for penance to cloud your judgement. Apart from Mister Paris, you are the one most qualified to complete this mission. Don’t use your guilt as an excuse to let me take away something that is rightfully yours.”     “You make that sound like an order, Ensign,” Chakotay said.     “Write me up for insubordination when we return to Voyager. The suit’s systems are all nominal. We can begin transport at any time.”

    Chakotay affixed the helmet, turned on the suit’s wrist-mounted flashlight, and gave the order to energize. Within seconds, he was inside the Ares Four module, the first living human to have done so in over three hundred years.     “Well, here I am,” Chakotay said, as he took out a tricorder and began scanning for the ion distributor. He also looked for a data port of some kind. Perhaps, if there was time, and if the module’s computer had held up well enough over the centuries, he could download all sorts of data that would be great for the history books.

    He almost gasped when his light shone on the center chair of the cockpit. There sat the body of Lieutenant John Kelly. It was remarkably well preserved, even considering the conditions on the module. He wondered if perhaps he could bring it back with him, so the astronaut could be given a proper funeral, but first things first. He attached a portable battery device to the ship’s computer, giving it the energy it would need to run. An active data file containing log entries from Kelly opened, but he muted the sound right away. He set his tricorder to begin a background downloading of the files while he continued to look for the distributor.     Perhaps, he thought, at the end of the day all of this, even the risk, will have been worth it.

    It took Chakotay a moment to realize that he had seen the timestamp on the recording before he’d paused it.     “Tom,” he said, “did you hear that sound before I muted it?”

    “Yeah,” Tom said over the suit’s com. “Was that a recording of Lieutenant Kelly?”     “Yes,” Chakotay said.     “Thought so.”     “Tom, that log entry was recorded inside the ellipse.”     “For real?”     “I’m surprised too,” Chakotay said. “Just like his crew on Mars, I’d assumed he’d been killed instantly. I’m downloading the files now while I’m still searching for that ion distributor.”

    “Wow. Just, wow,” Tom said. Chakotay had to echo the sentiment.

---

    B’Elanna Torres entered engineering. As was usually the case during a situation such a rescue op, all hands were on deck, including people for whom this was not their assigned shift. In some cases engineers were here on their day off, but not the one who she wanted to talk to. PADD in hand, she went over to a console where Ensign Vorik and Marla Gilmore were going over a simulation of tractor beam modifications.     “Marla,” B’Elanna said, “can I talk to you for a second?”     The former Equinox engineer looked nervous, and for a moment turned to Vorik, as if she expected him to protect her.     “Yes, ma’am,” Marla said. “I’m sorry if I shouldn’t be here, but Mister Carey told me this was an all hands-”     “It is,” B’Elanna said. “And stop looking like you’re expecting a punch in the face already, you’re making me sad.”     “Ma’am?”     “Look, I just want you to know,” B’Elanna handed the PADD to Marla, whose eyes went wide when she realized what was on it, “I think I know why you felt like you couldn’t take credit for your idea regarding using the ion distributor on the Ares Four.”     Marla looked back on Vorik, who raised his hands.     “I did not inform her, as per your request,” he said.     “Then how did-”     “You did a shitty job of covering your tracks,” B’Elanna said. “I can see why you chose the Engineering Corp over Starfleet Intelligence. Took me all of two minutes to figure out who sent this.”     “I apologize, Lieutenant Torres,” Marla said, her face turning red.     “In the future, Gilmore, if you have an idea to bring to the table just bring it. I get that you feel guilt about what you did on the Equinox, but that’s a good thing. Bad people don’t feel guilty, they just make excuses. And as for your face, so long as you remain Marla Gilmore and don’t magically turn into Maxwell Burke, you don’t have to worry about me punching it.”     “Um, thank you?” Marla said.     “We’re in touch with the Delta Flyer,” B’Elanna said. “So far the plan seems to be working. Just thought you should know. Good work, Gilmore.”

---

    Chakotay had finally found what he was looking for, along with some other smaller items that he stowed in pouches on the suit, including a picture of Lieutenant Kelly and his wife. That was the good news.     “Bad news,” he said. “I’ve found the distributor but it’s fused to the hull. I’m trying to remove it without damaging it.”     “Hate to rush you,” Tom said, “but we’ve only got fifteen minutes left.”     “Working on it,” Chakotay said. “In the meantime, I’ve found Kelly’s last log entry. I can play it over the com.”     “Go ahead,” Tom said. “Not much for Seven and me to do until you get back apart from keeping the Flyer level.”

    Chakotay reached over and flipped a switch on the console, and the video began playing.

    “All systems go. Watch me, Dad. I'm flying,” Kelly said, just before making a noise imitating a crash landing. “Bad landing. Call a MedEvac team. John Kelly's first flight, not exactly A-OK. Remember that, Dad? Jumped off the roof with a parachute made out of blankets. I guess I didn't calculate the aerodynamics. Of course, I was only six. I guess this is John Kelly's last flight. This time, I can't blame it on pilot error. This time, no regrets. What I've seen proves we were right to come out here. We're not alone, I know that now. The module's losing power. I'm taking life support off-line. Re-routing whatever's left to the imager. Keep it running as long as possible. Mission Control... Dad... Whoever finds this... Do me a favor. Take all the data I've collected. Put it to good use. I hope you don't look at this as a failure. I don't. Actually, I do have one regret. I never found out who won the World Series. I'm tired. And I can't..."

    “That’s it,” Chakotay said. “It goes blank after that. I- wait, hang on. Yes, I’ve got the distributor, and the download of Kelly’s database is almost complete.”

    “Hurry, Commander,” Seven said. “We’re running out of time.”     “Good thing I had this running the whole time then. Just a few more seconds, and… Done! Beam me back. No, wait, hang on one second.” Chakotay fumbled in one of the suit’s pouches and found a spare comm badge. Most Starfleet suits had one, just in case. “Lock on to my comm badge as well as the suit’s back-up. We’re bringing Lieutenant Kelly home with us.”     “Aye, sir,” Tom said.

---

    Janeway paced back and forth on Voyager’s bridge, waiting for an update from the crew members on the Delta Flyer.     “Paris to Voyager,” Tom’s voice came through with a bit of static, but understandable.     “Report,” Janeway said.

    “We’re trying to integrate the distributor. Stand by, Captain.”

    “How long do they have?” Janeway asked Tuvok.     “Four minutes,” he said.     After a silence that Janeway could swear she actually felt more than heard, Tom’s voice came through again.     “Paris to Voyager, open the shuttle bay doors, we’re coming home.     “Yes,” Harry said cheerfully.

    “Acknowledged,” Janeway said, letting out a sigh of relief.     “Laying in an escape trajectory,” Tom said, “and away we-” The sound of sparking in the background made Janeway tense up again.     “The anomaly is beginning to return to subspace,” Tuvok said.     “The Flyer?” she said.     “Eighteen hundred meters from the perimeter,” Harry said. “They’re cutting it close but it looks like they’re going to make it.”

    “Captain, the anomaly’s submerging faster than anticipated!” B’Elanna shouted from the auxiliary engineering console.     “Tuvok, are we in tractor range?”     “Not quite. We would need to get three hundred meters closer,” he said.     “Do it,” Janeway said.     “That’s dangerously close, ma’am,” Harry said.     “Full reverse thrusters once we have a lock on the Flyer,” she said. “We can do this.”

Voyager shuddered as they moved closer to the graviton ellipse, space around it looking as it had on the viewscreen when it was first appearing.     “I have them, Captain,” Tuvok said, several tense seconds later.     “Good work. Now get us out of here.”

---

    “So in the end, we collected sixty teraquads of data on the anomaly,” Seven told Sam as they walked toward the turbolift side by side.     “Impressive work, Annie.”     “The entire team deserves credit for the effort,” Seven said.     “Well, still,” Sam said.     “Will you be joining us on the bridge for the ceremony?”     “I don’t think so,” Sam said. “I’ve never been good at funerals. Even if it was for someone I never met. It’s good that Lieutenant Kelly is going to get a proper one though. His poor family back on Earth, three hundred years ago, they probably had a memorial service, but without a body I imagine for some of them it made it hard to accept.”     “Well, since I am attending, I suppose this is where we part ways until lunch.” Seven gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. “I will see you later.”     “See ya,” Sam said, turning to head back the way they come, as Seven continued on to the turbolift to the bridge.

Once there, Seven moved to join the rest of the senior staff as they gathered around Kelly's remains, which had been put into a photon torpedo casing draped in a Starfleet Command flag.

“Are we ready to begin?” Janeway said.     “The ceremony is being broadcast shipwide, Captain,” Harry said.     “Very well,” Janeway said, clearing her throat before continuing.

“Space. Literally it means ‘nothing.’ A vacuum between stars and planets, but by the same token it means "everything." It's what connects all our worlds; Vulcan, Qo'noS, Talax, Earth. Centuries ago mankind sent its first wave of explorers into that void, astronauts like Mister Kelly. They paved the way for the first colonies, the first starships for those of us who've made space our home. We commend the spirit and the bravery of Lieutenant John Mark Kelly as we commit his body to space. He will not be forgotten.

  “Oh, and one last thing. I don’t know if Mister Kelly can hear us now, but on the off-chance he can…” Janeway smiled as she put her hand on the torpedo casing. “The Yankees, in Game Six.”

[shinygoku]

Revised TAG Finale Ideas

So, I love TAG very, very much! But that doesn’t stop me from finding the grand finale underwhelming, and I’m here with a couple of suggestions to make it better or at least somewhat more consistent with the series as a whole, haha

Spoilers going forwards!

Jeff Tracy

The enduring mystery of what happened to him, and whether he is MIA or KIA is really interesting and a strong through-line in the more Plot heavy episodes. His [metaphorical] ghost affecting choices is some good storytelling! But... if they were gonna whip out an ending like that it may’ve been better if he was actually dead, and I mean that in the nicest way possible!

Either him confirmed KIA or the mystery book never being closed would have had the powerful bittersweetness that the overly convenient ending in the show has for all of 2 minutes. The 2 minutes were really good, damn it! But my beef ain’t that he was alive the entire time, it’s the silly stakes and reliance on weak secondary characters to enable the Missing for 8 Years thing.

The Missing for 8 Years

What we get: He was in a Space Cloud beyond our Solar System, which is why they never found him even with all the Space Missions that 3 and 5 partake in.

Why this sucks: Because it’s so far off, they can’t just pile in 3 to fetch him. No, they need the bad luck charm that is the ZERO-X. Dubiously the star of the Thunderbirds Are Go movie [from the 60′s], it’s a unique design and it also fails in some way every damn time it shows. First time? A boot stops the hydraulics, forcing the crew to bail after 5 minutes of flight, not even getting out of Earth’s atmosphere. Second time? After some poop snakes scare the Astronauts off Mars, the landing gear doesn’t connect and fucks over not just that, but also the escape pod, somehow!! Third time?? It causes the more menacing Martians, Mysterons, to declare war on Earth after Captain Black destroys their city in confusion. Cue Captain Scarlet series.

And in TAG [2015 series], it continues this bad streak! First it explodes after the Hood steals it [though this is the big twist, it actually nyoomed off into space] and then they make the Zero-XL and they can’t get that to take off until they whip out The Mechanic and he was good all along?? and they need to have a Megaman.EXE digibattle to remove the Hood’s chip in his head?? What is happening??? Anyway then everything is fine and goes so smoothly it’s anticlimactic. No long space flight, they just turn on the Warp and get there as trivially as if they has just popped to the moon for milk and eggs. Boooo!

Revision Idea 1

Oh my god, I was wrong! It was Earth, all along! If Jeff had forced the Zero-X into space but managed to cut his way out of the cockpit or something, he coulda been found by the recently escaped-from-the-escape-pod Hood, who spends the next 8 years for some sexual tension charged failed interrogations. Hood want info on da bois and dem Birds, but Jeff ain’t spilling the beans. The Hood feigns ignorance when he crosses the Tracys in his side gigs, as admitting he has Jeff tied up in his basement would cue the full wrath of the boys with explosive-wielding rocketships to blast him to smithereens and fish their father out of the flaming wreckage.

Arguably anticlimactic, but I think it could be a cool twist [if written well...] if it turns out he’s alive and well and kinda local, seeing how trivial Space Travel is in the setting, it’s much more shocking that he was under their nose the whole time.

Revision Idea 2

This is the voice of the Mysterons. Oh yeah baby, if you’re gonna insist on using the flying lemon that is the Zero-X, then tie it further into the lore it already has! The Supermarionation Sister Series, Captain Scarlet! While it would be a slight deviation to bring them in before SPECTRUM, and their MO might hafta be shifted a little, the idea of them taking Jeff captive after he winds up in their neighbourhood and sending a double down to spy on them could be a really cool thread.

You could take it even further, with the Mysteron Copy getting exploded or something, causing the Tracys to assume he’s dead, until Braman comes back with the new message, as is the case in the fantastic SOS episodes. Again, Mars ain’t as far as Space Fart, so I can enjoy some more Character Moments with the boys on their half hour or so flight instead of them hitting the Teleport Button to arrive instantly.

The Mysterons may not be entirely willing to let go of Jeff, but maybe they do just let them take him, as long as International Rescue are peaceful and don’t bomb their city on sight. Either way, this could then lead into a new CGI reboot of Captain Scarlet! One with less Playstation-y models! Why not blend the stories together into a new plot where International Rescue are involved with controlling the damaged caused by the Mysterons and Spectrum try to prevent incidents before they start.

So, anyway...

Again, I would like to stress my immense love for Thunderbirds are Go! It’s one’a my favourite shows (and I like to think my taste is pretty damn good!) and I wouldn’t care enough to come up with alternate ideas and write about them without the passion behind it. And uhh, sadly this isn’t my only gripe with the TAG series [lame ass bad guys, missed chances for character development, questionable bit characters, and the Age Order are also sins of the series] but when it’s the ending, it feels more important to stick it! And I remember watching it wrap and thinking “Huh. They shoulda changed some things.”

I don’t wanna get into fights, but I do welcome good faith discussion. Also if anyone want to borrow these concepts for a fic, I sure can’t copyright ‘em so go ahead, lol, maybe show me the results :>

[therearemonstersinthedark]

Astronautical Ch 19: Picking Fights with the Past

A Guardians of the Galaxy Fanwork

Pairings: Peter Quill / Gamora (one-sided)

Genre: Adventure, general

Word Count: 4.5k

Rating: T to be safe, mild gore

Links: Fanfiction.net || Ao3

Summary: Before the meetup on Traxxon III, the Guardians try to relax and prepare, but some inner turmoil and bad blood make for a rough night.

Author’s Notes: Title is from ‘Sorry About Your Parents’ from Icon For Hire

Chapter 19: Picking Fights with the Past

Peter hung around long enough to give Yondu a very brief version of the events that occurred in the other universe, stopping after the death of Ronan and creation of the Guardians. He didn't see any reason to tell the Ravager captain that his own men had mutinied and that Peter had met his father, who had ultimately lead to Yondu's own death. Yondu didn't ask any questions, and by the time the captain let him go, Peter still wasn't sure if he believed anything he had told him. He didn't have time to worry about that right now, though. They had a little under a half of a cycle left until the designated time.

On his way back to the ship, Cosmo met up with him with a sharp bark.

Brother Peter! The cheerful, heavily accented voice boomed in Peter's head as he was descending the last flight of stairs into the hangar. The dog was waiting for him at the base, tail held high and waving back and forth.

"Hey Cosmo, what's up?" he asked as he made his way to the bay floor.

Cosmo will be accompanying Peter's group during the trade, Cosmo answered, falling into step as they made their way together towards the Milano. Cosmo thinks it would be best if he boarded now, and would like to place a, howyousay, curtain over green woman's mind.

"A curtain?"

Da. Is like... camouflage. In case anyone tries to peer into her mind. Will not hold up to close scrutiny, but will reassure anyone who tries to touch it from a distance.

"Oh. That sounds like a good idea. Thanks man."

Is no problem.

"No really it's... not to sound ungrateful, but, why? Why... all of this? Why are you willing to go so far to help me?"

Cosmo and Peter are brothers. Cosmo tilted his head up at Peter, like he was confused by the question. Are Earth-brothers and Light-brothers and Cosmo knows that this is wrong path. Universe must be returned to correct course, and Cosmo believes Peter can do that.

Peter swallowed thickly. Cosmo's faith in him was both reassuring and terrifying. It also confirmed Nebula's theory about Peter's connection to the Light being responsible for his ability to remember the other universe, which meant that Ego would definitely remember everything that had happened. A fresh wave of guilt ground down on him as he was forced to finally consider the fate of his last unaccounted for teammate. He had no idea what had become of Mantis.

-x-

Peter and Cosmo returned to the Milano together to the sound of arguing.

"That can't be good," Peter grumbled under his breath as he sped up a bit. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with this right now.

In the common room, Gamora and Nebula were standing on either side of the table. Gamora had drawn herself up to her full height with her arms crossed tightly over her chest, while Nebula was leaning forward with her hands on the table.

"I was trying to help you," Gamora was saying as he stepped foot on the ship.

"You were helping yourself!" Nebula shot back. "You never cared about anything else!"

"I kept you alive!"

"YOU DESTROYED ME!" she screamed, slamming her hands on the table with a loud bang.

"I didn't know!" Gamora's face remained stoic, but her voice was raising as she struggled to keep herself under control against her sister's needling. "How are you not getting this?"

"Right. And how convenient! You didn't know, so I guess everything is forgiven! Poor little Gamora has an excuse for everything. Nothing is ever your fault, is it!?"

"HEY!" Peter shouted, jogging up to the table. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

Nebula snapped her head around to shoot him a glare so heated that it actually gave him pause. After noticing his flinch, she seemed to cool off just a bit.

"Forget it," she growled, dragging herself away from the table, and storming towards the flight deck past Drax, who was standing with Groot at the far side of the table, looking ready to break up any physical altercation, but otherwise unwilling to get involved. "Just call me when we're ready for the final jump."

"What the hell happened?" Peter asked in the resulting silence. Drax just offered him a half shrug, his own arms crossed tightly as well, and Groot seemed to be at as much of a loss as Peter was.

"Gamora?" he tried. The green assassin was staring after her sister with a strange look on her face, and her lips pressed tight. She refused to meet his eyes.

Perhaps it would be best to give them some time to cool off. Cosmo trotted up the ramp after Peter, moments before the engines pulled to life and the ramp began to raise. Cosmo needs to discuss placing curtain over mind with Green woman anyways. Is best to do this alone, with no distractions.

It was a not-so subtle dismissal, and the annoyance Peter felt at being ordered around on his own ship paled in comparison to the wave of guilty relief he felt at the letting someone else take over for a bit.

Peter was so worn out, he had a hard time believing it hadn't even been a whole cycle since he had first stepped foot on Knowhere and met Cosmo. It felt more like a week ago now, and he was honestly a little grateful for the excuse to let Cosmo take over and slip into his room for a break.

-x-

In his room, Peter was disappointed to find that, despite his exhaustion, sleep would not come easy. He lay on his mattress for some while, staring at his ceiling and matching his breathing to the soft K-thunk of the engine, and wishing he had his Walkman. At the very least, it would be a comfort to be able to fiddle with it, but he must have left it in the cockpit, because when he pulled open the drawer to look for it, it was gone.

Instead, he carefully rolled the box containing the Awesome Mix Vol 2 in his hands. He had moved it to his room for safe keeping after his ship had been ransacked on the Dark Aster, and it had bounced around with all the other debri during their wild escape. There was a little rip in the corner of his mother's careful wrap job, where it must have struck against the corner of something. Even though he knew what was inside, he hadn't opened it yet.

Now that he had a chance to breath, and the escape of sleep was stubbornly eluding him, he had no choice but to actually deal with the reality of everything he had learned this past cycle. And the reality was bad. It was so bad.

This whole time, he was sure that as long as he got his team back, they could fix the stream and everything would go back to how it was before he woke up here. This was all just going to be some weird dream that he could laugh about over breakfast while he looked into the smiling, safe, friendly, faces of all of his friends. But now he had found out that even if they did pull that off, Thanos could just snap his fingers and this whole nightmare started over again, or worse. How was he supposed to defeat Thanos? The biggest warlord in the known Universe, who took out Xandar and the Nova Corps like it was nothing, and just demolished a three-galaxy stronghold?

The hair on his arms seemed to stand up as the cold realization settled in that he probably wouldn't be going back any time soon. He might not be going back at all. Ever. This broken, shattered, abused version of his friends suddenly became a lot more real. Just snapping his fingers and fixing everything felt so stupid now. He felt stupid. A burning, shameful heat crawled across his cheeks and settled heavily on his chest.

He hadn't been taking this all one hundred percent seriously. He hadn't wanted to, to be honest. Taking things seriously had never really been his strong point. It was just how he dealt with bad things; He laughed. He took his blows, he shook them off, and he hobbled onward. The wounds would heal in time, so what was the use in dwelling on them in the mean time?

'Sometimes you just have to laugh it off,' his mother had told him once, back when he was very little and she still had hair that shimmered like spun gold all around him while she cradled him and his freshly scraped knee in her lap.

'Life is funny sometimes, my little Star-lord,' she had whispered into his hair while tears slipped down her face and dripped onto his head, a receipt for a doctor's visit crumpled and shaking in her hand.

'Smile for me, Peter. No matter what, promise me you'll never stop smiling,' she had begged him with a tattered voice and eyes that couldn't quite seem to focus on where he stood beside her hospital bed.

And he had promised. And in his life, he had broken that promise precisely four times. Once when she had asked for his hand and he had fled in terror, a day that he would regret for the rest of his living days. Once, when he thought he was going to fall to his death on the Dark Aster, and Groot had burned to cinders around him. Once, when he discovered that Ego had been responsible for the loss of Meredith Quill, when Yondu had died in his arms and Peter could do nothing but cling to him and watch as he died. And once, in the engine room of the broken Milano when he had driven Nebula away and had woken up bound and betrayed in the dark.

Logically, Peter knew that his broken promise was not what had led to these terrible moments, but Peter had never been a very logical person. He didn't like not laughing because 'The real world hurts, kiddo,' as Yondu had told him once, and at the time, spitting out blood on the dirty floor of the Eclector while the Ravagers laughed around him, he had thought that truer words had never been spoken.

Peter didn't like not laughing, because when he stopped laughing he made terrible decisions. He ran away. He picked fights with people that were much bigger than him, and his friends and allies paid the price.

In the silence between his laughter, he had watched his loved ones die, and as the weight of this reality settled on him and the silence filled the room, he wondered who he was going to lose this time. The smiling faces of his friends flashed behind his stinging eyes; Groot, who had been locked in the dark and used as a punching bag, Drax, who had been thrown in that pit and left to die, Gamora, who's entire life had been a lie, Rocket, who had never once known freedom, and Mantis... He didn't know what had become of Mantis... He was afraid he'd already lost them all, and just hadn't realized it.

He didn't know how long he had spent stewing in misery and self-pity, and letting his thoughts chase each other in circles, when the door to his room opened. He was more than a bit surprised when Nebula slipped through, closing the door after herself.

"Here," was his only warning before she tossed something at him.

He caught it just before it landed on his chest and was surprised again to find it was his Walkman.

"I fixed it," she said, and Peter pulled himself up into a sitting position to open and close the little plastic door and toggle the on switch. The clear plastic screen still had little fractures tracing through it, but the tape started spinning and the first few notes of 'Come and Get Your Love' played before he shut it back off.

"Thank you," he said, setting it and the Awesome Mix Vol 2 in his lap.

"Your welcome," she said quietly, and moved to leave.

"So... what did you do?"

"What?" she asked, stopping to look back at him.

"Please," he snorted softly. "Rocket pulls this exact same crap. Whenever he does something he feels bad about, he never apologizes outright, but it's like he has to make up for it by fixing things. I finally realized, you do the same thing. Like when he stole the Anulax batteries and blamed himself for Yondu's death, then he called the rest of the Ravagers for the funeral, and slaved over repairing Yondu's arrow for Kraglin. Or when you were upset about the fight on Halfworld so you basically fixed the entire Milano on your own..."

"You're comparing me to a talking woodland creature?" she asked with a flat look.

"That's not how I think of him." Peter replied, and was surprised for a third time when she actually looked chastised and dropped her eyes.

"So..." he said, lifting up the Walkman and wiggling it slightly. "What is this about?"

"Nothing," she said with a defensive tone bleeding into her voice. Her shoulders were pulled tight and she looked like she was still debating just leaving.

Peter stayed quiet, taking a page out of Gamora's playbook when she was trying to draw a confession out of Peter and just letting Nebula work her way through the problem without pushing her, which would undoubtedly end this conversation right away.

"You weren't aware of Gamora's altered mind?" she finally let out, still not looking at him.

"No," he answered with a scrunch of his eyebrows. "How could I have been?"

"But you knew her in your universe, and she had never mentioned it there?"

"I don't think she had it there. She didn't have her parents either. She told me outright that Thanos had murdered them both in front of her. I guess, maybe Thanos thought he could control her better this way."

Nebula crossed her arms tightly and lapsed into another beat of silence.

"But she was still... her?" Nebula asked.

"What do you mean?"

"She was still Thanos's favorite?" She finally looked back up to meet his eyes. "She still... did everything that he ordered her to do, even with a free mind?"

Peter had no clue where she was trying to go with this.

"...She was still a monster?" It was a barely audible whisper, with a desperate crack.

And then something clicked, and Peter thought he might know what she was trying to say here. "Is that was this is all about?" he asked. "You think that because you did all those things with a free mind, it makes you somehow... less than her?"

"I have always been weaker than her." Peter wasn't sure he was actually meant to hear that. She was staring at something a million miles away, and was beginning to resemble a trapped animal again, and Peter realized that whatever he did here, he had to be very careful. He could easily destroy every hard-won scrap of trust that had developed between them with a few misplaced words.

Without taking his eyes from her, he set his Walkman and the wrapped present aside and scooted over to make room on the mattress. When she just curled her lip slightly at that, he sighed and slid off the bed entirely so that he was sitting on the floor with his back against it, and gestured again for her to take a seat. A breath he hadn't realized he was holding slipped out when she dropped her arms to her side and actually sat down on the floor across from him with her back pressed against the wall and her knees drawn up as though trying not to touch him in the cramped space between his bed and the wall.

"Yes. As far as I know, Gamora was never under any sort of mind control in my universe. And yes, she was still the most feared woman in the galaxies, and Thanos's favorite daughter, yadda yadda. But that doesn't matter. Whatever... method Thanos used doesn't matter. He stole you both when you were children, and forced you to do whatever he wanted. You said you were an infant when you met Gamora. Do you even have any memories of before him?"

Nebula didn't answer, but the way she seemed to crumble inward at the question told him anyways.

"You're not a monster," he continued. Measuring his hushed words carefully in the silent room. "I mean, you're not totally innocent, neither of you are, but I really don't think you're a monster. And neither does Drax, or Groot, or the Ravagers. I think they actually like you more than they like me right now." He tried and failed to keep a small note of jealousy out of that last bit, but she didn't seem to notice.

"I killed them."

"What?"

"In your universe, I killed them. Isn't that what you told Gamora?"

"Wow." Peter let out a long breath. His poor sleep-deprived brain could only take so much. "Okay, look, I'm not going to get into the details because... It's really something I don't want to talk about, but you didn't actually kill anyone, so much as you opened up the door for a mutiny that was a long time coming. A mutiny that, may have ultimately been caused by me. I don't want to start playing the blame game here, because, to be honest, none of us are going to come out of that looking too pretty. I guess it was just easier to say you did it, than to admit the part I played in it. And I really didn't want to do that at the time. I didn't realize it was bothering you this whole time, and for that, I'm really sorry."

Nebula blinked at him, her eyes wide, like she wasn't sure what to do with his apology. This was at least his third time apologizing to her since she'd saved him from the Dark Aster, but he got the feeling it wasn't something that had been a regular occurrence for her growing up.

"You've done some pretty terrible things, I'm not going to deny that, but you're not a bad person, and you're making up for it now. I mean, I'd be dead at least three times over if not for you, and who knows if I'd have been able to even find Drax and Groot. No one here is comparing you to Gamora except yourself, so do us all a big favor and at least try to stop, Okay? You're not the same, and that's fine. We don't need a second Gamora, we need you. Don't get me wrong, I love Gamora. We have this whole... unspoken thing..."

Nebula's brows raised as some of the misery melted away, replaced by what Peter could only call bemused disgust.

"That's funny," Peter laughed. "I think that's the same face she made when I told her that."

"I thought you were trying to say we weren't the same?" she shot back. Her voice was still hushed, but she was beginning to sound like her normal sarcastic self again.

"You're not, but you're definitely siblings," he said with a smile.

Nebula just let out a small snort and a tiny shake of her head, but her lips were pressed together now like she was holding back the start of a smile herself.

"So... are we good?" Peter asked.

"You're not going to tell me why you're so upset?" she asked, looking pointedly at where the Awesome Mix Vol. 2 was set on the stand by his head.

"Are you... asking me how I'm feeling?"

Nebula made a face, like she hadn't even realized what she had done, then stood to leave.

"No, wait!" he called. "I'm sorry. Come back. I actually do need to talk to someone, but it's about... Celestial stuff, and the others don't know about that yet..."

"You haven't told them?" Nebula asked dubiously, but she settled back down.

"No," he sighed. "I will, I just... It's not a conversation I'm looking forward to."

"So what is this about?"

"The thing is... there's one more Guardian," he admitted, staring at his hands.

"Another friend?" There was a note of either annoyance or suspicion in her voice. "Why have you never mentioned them before?"

"Because... She wasn't with us when we took on Ronan, and I had thought that I could make it back and none of this would matter. Remember when I told you my dad's kind of a total asshole? Well, she's kind of with my dad, and when I first got here, I figured she'd be safe there. Safer than any of the rest of us, anyways. It didn't even cross my mind that he might remember everything when no one else seemed to. Then when the dreams started-"

"Dreams?" Nebula interrupted.

"Yeah. I've been having weird dreams about... galaxies, and the Light, and something... there's something out there that always seems to be chasing me, but I can't see it. They started to get more vivid after Halfworld. I started to hear his voice, and I thought he was looking for me, but lately, I'm not so sure..." Peter thought again of that creepy version of Ego with Yondu's teeth that he'd seen in the space outside of Gamora's mind, and Cosmo's warning about other things lurking in the Blind Place. "But we were so close to getting Rocket back, I still thought I could fix this all without having to see that deadbeat again. That sounds so terrible."

"It sounds prudent," Nebula replied. "You were working with the knowledge you had, to take the quickest path to your goal."

Peter leaned forward and rubbed a hand across his face. His forehead was warm to the touch.

"But then you told me your theory about how being a Celestial is why I remembered, and Cosmo confirmed that he remembers, too. This whole time, I've just left her there. If what you said about Thanos is true, too, then I'm not going back any time soon, and we need to go save her before it's too late. If it's not already." Peter hung his head miserably. He had wasted so much time chasing the hope of a quick fix, and that could have cost his newest friend everything. "I've wasted so much time."

"If it makes you feel any better;" Nebula started slowly. "If he did intend to kill her, I'm sure she would have been dead long before you could have possibly made it there, even if you had known."

"That... really doesn't," Peter said, looking up.

Nebula just pulled her brows together in apparent confusion and tipped her head slightly.

"Thanks anyways."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Huh?"

"If you really are intending on taking on a Celestial, then you'll need a plan and you'll need to focus. I suggest you stop dwelling on what you didn't do, and starting thinking about what you can do now. Start with retrieving Rocket and surviving tomorrow." Nebula stood and he got the sense she was done with this for now.

"Thank you, for staying," he said, still a bit surprised she'd actually done it.

"You would have bothered me with it sooner or later," She said, reaching the door. "This was more efficient."

Peter frowned and reached behind himself to grab the pillow from his bed and lob it at her, but she was already gone and it bounced off the closing door harmlessly.

For a while, he just sat on the floor, leaning his elbows on his knees and staring at his pillow. His talk had help him break through the worst of the funk.

Nebula was right; He didn't have a plan to defeat Thanos, not even the start of one, but he didn't need one yet. The only thing he needed right now was to make it through tomorrow, and to get his friend back. If anyone could figure out a way to take down Thanos, Rocket and Nebula could. They were both terrifying on their own. If he could get them working together... who knows what crazy impossibilities they could pull off.

So he would get Rocket back. Then they would go rescue Mantis. He wouldn't consider the possibility that she wasn't there. He couldn't. Then they would do what they had always done; They would protect the Galaxies. Now that the panic had passed, Peter was surprised to find that this changed nothing right now. It changed nothing yet. But if he wanted to make it through this, if he wanted to save his friends in this universe, and if he ever wanted to get back to his, he was going to have to start taking things a lot more seriously.

He could do this. One step at a time, and with his friends at his side. It played like a mantra in his head. He could do this. They weren't dead yet.

-x-

Peter managed to get a few hours of sleep in before he couldn't take it anymore and returned to the common room. The others appeared to be equally antsy, and were seated around the table. Drax and Gamora had mugs of coffee set in front of themselves, and Peter poured one for himself before taking a seat between Gamora and Cosmo.

"Where's Nebula?" he asked, realizing someone was missing again.

"She is monitoring the ship and keeping an eye out for any enemy ships," Drax told him, laying another card down on the table between himself and Groot. Peter thought he recognized this as a game Drax had taught them all to play in his other universe. "We have been taking turns."

"I am Groot."

Peter smiled into his coffee. The likely hood of them being attacked before making it to the point was minimal at best, and the ship was fully capable of handling itself in autopilot. Groot was probably right; She was probably mostly just sleeping up there. That was fine, though, she had hardly had a chance to recover from whatever she'd been doing during their time apart, so she probably needed it.

"How are you doing?" he asked, turning to Gamora, who had been watching Drax and Groot's game with a casual interest.

Her gaze briefly flickered over to him before returning to the game, clearly not impressed by his concern for her.

"Do you want to play?" he tried. "I have another deck around here somewhere."

"Will it put an end to these awkward attempts at conversation?"

"It's your best bet." He grinned, knowing he had won.

"Fine," she said with a wave of her hand, and Peter wasted no time hunting down the spare playing deck.

End