#they're looking at like a security crew manifest or something

[bumblingbabooshka]

Tuvoktober Day 31: Bring Your Twins to Work Day [Patreon | Commissions]

[thebibliomancer]

That observation about SkekSa's lack of navigational skills reminds of this particular headcanon I've made where said skill isn't just a literal flaw but also a reflection of the inner turmoil she faces within herself. That and the Mariner title was something that she placed on herself, not the Emperor.

When she first left the castle, what she really wanted to find was her "fortune". But what was it exactly? Is it freedom? Maybe love? Validation? Power?

Whatever it was, she knew she wasn't going to find it by being a court member.

And given her fascination with the Gelfling residing next/living out at sea, she thought that this would be a way to start fresh.

But in order to do that, she had to legitimize her presence to them. However that would come at the cost of trying to show off her true self. So when UrSan ended up coming into her life, she began to notice this toxic mentality that not only manifested within herself but also the company she keeps. They're a crew full of extreme mind-setted Sifans who have no intention of going back to land.

Sure, maybe creating this exaggerated version of yourself could potentially give you all the friends and gifts you wanted or never asked for, but it wouldn't be enough to focus on the things that truly mattered.

So UrSan balances that out by trying to get her involved in things like map making, star gazing, or just appreciating the simple things that the silver sea has to offer.

Also, she tries to channel SkekSa's positive trait. The type of trait that attracted so many Gelfling to her in the first place--her kindness.

But even that's not enough.

As time goes on, some of the Gelfling in her crew would come and go either through death or just leaving in general. Such thoughts terrify her because it feels like everything she worked so hard to protect is meaningless. And if that's the case, then that would mean her purpose--her entire existence--is meaningness. And all of that would only result in facing the inedible future where she dies alone and forgotten by the waves of time. It's why she tries to engage in a power struggle.

But even if she had the ability to take the power away from the castle, it would still be a pointless endeavor. Nothing will change. The Gelfling would still die under her watch and some would still leave her crew out of self-security.

Every attempt at trying to find her "fortune" failed because--other than being a Skeksis--she's exploring in a region that is well beyond her reach.

Just being in the castle and her entire existence in general is nothing but a prison. And deep down, she's knows it so she tries to either run away, deny, or cope her way through life in order to not confront the reality in front of her. It really makes you think that her alcoholism isn't some silly pirate trait.

The Sifans may live in the moment, but SkekSa looked towards the horizon. And that may have doomed her from the start.

TL;DR: SkekSa kept looking outward instead of looking inward, thus giving her an existential crisis.

Thanks for sharing this very good headcanon with me!

I very enjoyed reading it. skekSa is such a fascinating, tragic figure.

[justanothalyehr]

"Thank you, Myalos," Voyna pats the little toy as well, before returning them inside the bag.

"And this means that you have enough information to distract you safely for an extended period of time, correct?" Voyna smiles, Notha's excitement lifting her up as well.

"As for what to start with..." Voyna frowns thoughtfully. "I want to know what happened to the passengers- why that corpse was there to begin with. And if what happened to the passengers happened all of a sudden, then perhaps they didn't have the time to write a logged report about it.

"I think we should start with the manifest, then. Find if anything dangerous was being carried here.

"Hang on, let me go back into the security menu, I think there were logged video feed," Notha went back in, poking around before her eyes widened. "uhhhhh, let me turn those off, hang on."

There was a distinct whirr as the turrets powered down. "Wow, it's amazing we weren't shot. Okay, security feed, security feed. Looks like it went for a while before the automatic systems shut down due to lack of activity. Go back, go back, go back, this is gonna be a while..."

After a while, watching for a bit and then skipping backwards if the file didn't change, she finally got to a file that showed the previous crew going about their business.

"Got something, found their last moments."

She set the video to play on one of the display screens and leaned on the console to watch. She sped through the teams going about their business, doing some kind of work on the computers, cooking something in one of the alcoves she'd seen in passing and eating it, sitting around and talking to one another. It seemed like they all were just having a normal day, enjoying one another's company, checking different areas of the ship at this time revealed more of the same, a few other crew members who weren't in this section when they died.

She switched back to the Engine room feed.

A warning played overhead in the alien's language, Notha pulled down her goggles again, started a program, rewound the file, and hit play.

"Warning, high anomalous radiation detected," Notha said, soft, without affect after the warning played again. On screen one of the crewmates ran for the security console. Frantically they began fiddling with buttons and switches. "Current Shielding insufficient, evasive maneuvers recommended. someone?--Protect us." She continued translating, adding in words for the crewmate that spoke as well. All the while static like snow was starting to bloom and flicker across the screen.

The alien shouted something. They spoke into what may have been a communicator or microphone.

"Bridge, this is--I can't pronounce that name--we have to jump, do you copy? They're saying someone's name, over and over--Please answer!"

The static worsened, one of the other crew members stumbled, their coworker caught them, pulled them in close. "It's too late, you're not getting through the static. Come here."

The crewmate at the console slammed their fist down, frustrated, before swaying their way over and hugging their friends.

"Thanks for everything. I'm sorry." They said.

"It's not your fault. It's anomalous, right? Who could predict that. It's an accident." The one holding them up said.

"No better way than together, right?" The one that stumbled patted them both. "It's better than going alone."

"By--I literally can't pronounce that--'s grace, may we meet again." They pressed their heads together.

"Til All are one." They spoke together.

The static is almost completely filling the screen, a pulse of bright, sharp color warps everything, you can just barely see the figures drop into the heap you saw them before. They fall like puppets with their strings cut.

Notha pauses the feed. Switches the feed, checks room after room. For what? They're all long dead. Even if someone survived that, how miserable it would have been to live, in the floating mausoleum of your once-friends and coworkers.

She checks back on the Engine room, hitting play, and then fast forward. The static slowly clears following the pulse passing through the ship, but that's all that changes, for ages upon ages until the cameras stop recording. Bodies lying together in one last embrace.

She turns off the translator but leaves her goggles in place. The dust must be irritating her eyes. She's not going to make anyone worry just because they're watering a little from foreign space contaminants.

She closed the file and backed out again. "Haha! That sure was dark, huh? Why don't I find that inventory and manifest, I sure hope nothing else is radioactive! Actually, maybe I should have been using a Geiger counter... ehhh, Lock or Myalos would have warned us if it was still a danger, right?"

Her hands were shaking.

Random Encounter Adventure

R!E: You’ve finally managed to escape, however it is you’ve managed to do so. Hopefully you’ve brought provisions, there’s plenty of ship to explore. And you do have a habit of losing yourself in the…er, scientific process.

But you’ve reached the room you’d opened in the process of removing the doors and you’re in luck. It’s the engine room, the power room. It’s so dark in here that you can barely see more than a few feet away from yourself. But a bit of exploring and you’ll see some faint, glowing items in the depths of the room. Approaching them, you see that they seem to be some kind of highly charged energy crystal. Whatever mineral this is, it seems to be some kind of near-limitless power supply. You can almost feel the crackle-buzz of sheer power through your gloves. This may be what got knocked out of their proper connectors to provide power to the ship. Roll for intelligence/technical knowledge to make sense of your surroundings and attempt repair.

(15 +2 modifier, 17 total) Notha is nothing if not resourceful. It’s not the same but the last few months working on Myalos, Lock and Key have got her in the head space to intuit this system. Electronics are electronics. Mechanics are mechanics. More or less. She rigs it up roughly. After about an hour of tinkering, the engine hums to life, the lights flicker on, though what all this meant, she didn’t fully yet know.