IC Contact - MoM

[ralltiir]

You've reached Commander Jeroen Akobi. I can't respond right now, however leave a message and I will reply as soon as I am able.

Comments

I christen this inbox with the gentle rumble of inevitable drama.

[flightforfreedom]

[ It's a few hours before BB-8 actually has a chance to tell him the news. That shortly after Cassian's ID appeared on the Network, so did someone else's.

He blinked at the droid for a long minute and then rubbed its head fondly and roughly. "Thanks Bud, this is great," he told BB-8, before pulling out his communicator. He was about to start a video message, but then paused. Right. Okay. Might be a little weird, getting a random video from a stranger hours after showing up.

Text?

Text. ]

Is this Commander Akobi of [ He almost wrote 'the Death Star', but then remembered that 622 didn't even recognise the designation, and changed track. ] battlestation DS-1?

Feel free to ignore this message if not.

~it begins~

[ralltiir]

[ He's already been briefed by TK-622 on some facts of their situation here. Namely, that people can come here from any place, and any point in time.

So when he gets a message from someone who apparently knows who he is but whose name he doesn't recognize, Akobi is cautious. ]

It is. Who is this?

[flightforfreedom]

My name is Poe Dameron.

You're name was on my alert list for Port Ins because my friend TK-622 has mentioned you many times, and I know he would be very relieved to hear you've arrived. I've got his contact number, if you want it.

I will say, I'm glad you made it.

[ralltiir]

Thank you, but we've already connected. I'm glad to hear that 622 has made friends here. Any friend of his is a friend of mine.

[ After some thorough vetting, of course. ]

Tell me about yourself, Mr. Dameron. You have me at a disadvantage.

[flightforfreedom]

Likewise. He's one of the best men I know, and he speaks very highly of you.

[ Of course, 622 was also literally programmed to think highly of Imperial Officers, but he still hadn't been impressed by Thrawn and he'd threatened to kill Hux. So Poe trusted his judgement to an extent.

He trusted 622's dismay about Akobi's doubts more, though. ]

He can probably give me a fairly good introduction, but. I'm a Captain in the US airforce, here, and I was a pilot back home.

But, uh... Well, I'm sure 622 mentioned that time works weird, here.

I was born two years after his last memory, on Yavin IV. If that gives you an idea of just how weird things get.

[ralltiir]

[ Of course TK-622 speaks highly of him. Akobi would expect nothing less of his loyal sergeant. ]

I've been briefed on the time discrepancies happening here. It's still a little difficult to wrap my head around, but I'll get used to it.

Tell me, what's the future like?

[ He's already a little cautious of the unknown... Meeting someone from the Republic or the Clone Wars would be one thing. Someone from the future is another category entirely. ]

[flightforfreedom]

[ There's a longer pause before he replies to this one. ]

Are you sure you want to know?

I've learned the hard way that telling people the future rarely helps them, with very few exceptions.

I don't think I could tell you anything you'd be happy to hear.

[ralltiir]

That's a fair point.

[ Though, now that he's been told he might not want to hear about it, he's more determined than ever to learn all he can about this future he won't live to see. ]

Fine, then. If we're not going to talk about the future, we can talk about the present. This planet. I'm still getting used to the facts of it which seem impossible but somehow aren't.

What can you tell me about these powers we've been given? How inconvenient/useful are they?

[flightforfreedom]

[ Blaster dodged, at least for now. He had no doubt in his mind it was going to come up again, but the longer he could delay that conversation the better. ]

Well, I can tell you that as far as I can tell, it's no where near our galaxy. I'm not sure our galaxy even exists, in this universe. There's also no other habited planets or systems, and humans are the only native intelligent species, which weirds me the hell out. They've got some space faring tech but it's extremely limited.

Your powers are completely separate and force only knows how or why we have them - we just do. Everyone has a different set, and they vary wildly.

Me, I can fly anything. Literally anything. It was true in the metaphorical sense back home but it's literal, here. I also have BB-8. [ He left out the TMI Zone power. He hadn't made sense of it yet anyway. ]

I can tell you that they don't necessarily stay the same. I've had my powers change twice, since my original arrival here. You port out, come back, and sometimes have a new set.

Some of them just feel like they are meant to drive you crazy.

[ralltiir]

[ Akobi files certain clues away in his growing assessment of Poe's personality.

- pro-alien sentiment
- use of "force only knows"
- bragging about his ability to fly

The latter isn't so unusual, among the pilots Akobi has known. He had mainly worked with ground troops, but pilots were known to be hot headed. ]

I think I get the feeling. At least they don't seem to be permanent. If anything that happens here can be considered permanent.

[flightforfreedom]

Yeah. Nothing here is permanent. For us, anyway.

I wish I had something more comforting to say about it, but the truth is we live like fireflies here.

Best to just take advantage of what you can, when you can.

There are people here that come from places where powers like this are a lot more normal - if you're having trouble with yours, there are people that can help.

[ralltiir]

Is that coming from a place of having nothing to return to, or are you just that jaded?

Do you have names for any of these people? I could definitely use some insight.

[flightforfreedom]

[ There was a slight pause. ]

Sorry. Just lost a lot of people, here.

Half the time they come back and don't even remember you, and the other half of the time they never come back at all. [ He deleted that part before he sent it. Too much information, not helpful. Force. Was he that jaded? ]

All I meant was, it's best not to think about how long things might last or are going to last and just take it as it comes. That's all.

Yeah, let me see.

Charles was the one who helped me, but he disappeared months ago. I have no idea what happened to his school, but that's what they did there. Skeets would know - Skeets basically knows everything. Can I ask what type of power? That might help narrow it down.

[ralltiir]

The unpredictable nature does carry that risk, doesn't it? No way of knowing who's going to come or go, or when, or how long they'll be here for.

My apologies. I didn't mean to presume my situation applied to you. I assume TK-622 has told you about my fate already.

There's two in my file. "Loyalty Empowerment" is the most useful-sounding one. The other one just seems like a cruel joke.

[flightforfreedom]

Or if they remember anything when they come back. Honestly, that's the worst part about it.

No apologies required. And yeah. He's told me. Honestly, it's... pretty common. Most of the people I live with are in the same position.

But any extra time is extra time, right?

I have no idea what 'loyalty empowerment' would mean, but I will say that the Porter really love it's cruel jokes of a power. I just got a new one that I don't know how in the hell it's supposed to work, too, but I don't know anyone who has anything like it, either.

Sometimes they're just very... dumb. One of my first ones was 'eternal sexy bedhead' to give you an idea.

[ralltiir]

So this porter messes with time, it messes with our bodies, and now it's messing with our memories too? I like it less and less the more I hear about it.

But you're right. Any second chance is a chance worth taking.

Not knowing what you look like I can only assume 'eternal sexy bedhead' was a choice the porter deemed somehow fitting.

[flightforfreedom]

Trust me, I curse it every day.

But doing anything to it means risking my friends - risking their chances at having another life. So, yeah. It sucks, everyone hates it, but it's better than nothing.

It's been made clear to me that I'm not exactly hard on the eyes, no. But you can decide that for yourself in person, if you want.

[ralltiir]

Better to roll with it than rage against it. I can understand that line of thinking.

Are you flirting with me, Mr. Dameron?

[flightforfreedom]

[ ..... Oh.

...... Shit. Was he?

Fuck, he kind of was. Dammit, Dameron. ]

uh



No. Sorry, force of habit. You know, pilots.

I'm actually

622 is kind of

that's something i should probably talk to you about

I just meant in a totally friendly way, with absolutely no implications beyond that, that maybe we should meet in person.

There's probably a few things we should talk about, anyway, and text is only good for so much.

[ralltiir]

Right. Pilots.

[ Something tells him that wasn't the whole of it, and that Poe was just flirty by nature, pilot or not. But he raises a good point. ]

I'd be willing to meet with you. More friends in a strange place can't be a bad thing to have.

[flightforfreedom]

[ Bullet dodged!! Fully successfully and with no doubts!!! ]

Alright, great. Tomorrow morning?

They've got something called coffee, here, which if you kind of squint a little is almost exactly like caf. We can get a cup.

What city did you get stationed in?

[ralltiir]

[ SPOILERS: there are some doubts. ]

I've tried it. It's not bad black.

De Chima. Number 007. You can pick me up at 0800.

[ Which reminds him... ]

How much do you know about this "impostor" 622 mentioned? The one who was posing as a successor to the Emperor?

[flightforfreedom]

Okay, great. You're only a few doors down from 622, that's good.

I'll be there.

Armitage Hux.

Yeah.

Yeah, I know a lot about him.

He's not even imperial. His father was, but he's part of a group called the First Order.

Don't get involved with him. That's the best advice I can give.



If you want to know more I can tell you in person. Anything you ask, I'll answer. But I'll just warn you again that learning about the future isn't likely to make you happy. I won't keep anything from you if you really want to know it, but...

Just be sure you want to know it.

[ralltiir]

Fine. In person, then.

[ Because as unhappy as it may make him, he needs to know. Both for his own sake, and to learn what impact this Hux fellow had on 622 before he arrived. ]

--- >

[flightforfreedom]

I'll see you tomorrow.

[ He was, in fact, ten minutes early - landing just outside Akobi's door on his carpet. He'd taken a while to chose what he was wearing, but he ended up going fairly simply. A dark brown leather jacket, unadorned; a cream shirt; and tight black skinny jeans. It was about as neutral as he could manage while still obviously not reflecting any kind of imperial uniform.

He'd let BB-8 off a block away, so that the droid could stay within the kilometre radius he needed to be active, but not actually be present. He wasn't sure how the man would react to the droid so... best to start slowly. He waited a few minutes, and then gave a brisk knock. ]