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reach the residents
● ● ● REACH THE RESIDENTS
For any questions you want to ask Viveca or Degar and receive an IC response, please direct them here. Please indicate in the subject line who you are trying to contact.
// VIVECA
Hi, what can I help you with?
// DEGAR
Today was gonna be the day, but they'll never throw it back to you. And by now, you should've somehow realized what you're not to do.
no subject
[ he won't wait for a response before he adds: ]
I'm just gonna give you a super quick run-down of my actual job as commander of this station, not captain, and maybe you can spare the disappointed dad-lecture on me for someone else, huh?
[ for someone otherwise pretty blase and deep in his chillvibes, there is an edge to his voice. peter is really aiming to push at some buttons here. ]
So it fell to me to keep the orbs from doing any damage once you guys have collected them, to keep both eyes on them at all times, and to make sure they didn't do anything to you guys, to us, or to the station itself. I take care of the station, and I make sure that the things that happen on the Ximilia are run under the best security and efficiency that it can.
I'm not a leader, I was never a leader, and our last team — [ man, does he ever hate even thinking about it, let alone bringing it up, but ] — we didn't have a leader then either.
I get that you're frustrated and feeling shitty about what happened on E-23b. We're all feeling it. Viv had her reasons for not telling you guys it was her home, and yeah it might not've been the best decision in hindsight, but you can't tell me everything that happened the moment you found out where you were wasn't done with just a little more fervor — because it became personal. Because you knew Viv and you cared about her and her friends and her mother. She gave you as much information about this world as she's done with any other past mission, keeping out the personal stuff so you could come to your own conclusions.
[ and they did.
he clears his throat. ]
Jeez, I haven't had to talk this much since recounting the 'The Crown on the Head and the Crown on the Heart' to a rowdy clan of trolls.
no subject
That actually explains a lot. [ The 'not being a leader' bit, he means, just as unimpressed as Degar. His tone is flat, however, rather than annoyed. However, Peter doesn't ask anything about the past crew, because he can notice a sore point when he hears it. ] Why aren't you asking for help, then? Is there now other people who might be able to aid you in looking after the orbs and the Ximilia? Because if you are a single person, with Viveca as extra support, what happens if you fail? Or if the orbs get out of control and something in the station breaks in a way you can't fix?
As for the mission, I understand she might have her reasons. But that decision also put us at risk. If she had told us from the beginning that the asshole who ran the place was her father, that her friends were trying to fix things, or simply that she didn't want us involved in anything but finding the orb, wouldn't that have been easier for everyone?
We found out on our own, because despite our many flaws, we're not actually stupid, and that led to infighting and bad decisions. We didn't know what you guys wanted either, or what was the best course of action.
[ Peter lets out a soft sigh, and he's silent for a few seconds before he speaks again. He still doesn't sound mad as he sounds done with everything, but at least now he's aiming for a more conciliatory tone. ]
Listen, I'm not trying to chew you out, or convince you that you need to tell us all your secrets. I'm just asking you to talk to us when it matters, that trust needs to go both ways. Because if things stay the same, we'll have bigger problems than an accidentally exploding tower. We will have a crew that can't work with each other and therefore virtually useless to anything we set to do here.
[ There's another pause, although that one seems to be out of confusion this time. ]
Never heard of that Crown thing, but I did have to deal with space trolls once. If they're the same kind, I don't envy you. They're dumb as an ox. A dead ox.
no subject
If anything happened to you because of those biases, Viveca would never be okay with that.
[ he'll stick by viv's choice no matter what, but he just wants peter to know it was not an easy one to make. ]
Either way, it doesn't change what happened. It's just something we've all gotta learn from in the future, our first — uh, what do they call it? A growing pain? We talk a lot about you guys being a team, but maybe we kept ourselves out of that.
[ hard to say how much of that was intentional or not.
a breath later, and there's a quiet huff of laughter. ]
Yeah, oh yeah. Same kinda troll. Dumb and half-deaf, my voice was hoarse as all get-out before we even got to the second act.
no subject
I understand the sentiment, and her reasons, but there's always going to be an element of emotional turmoil no matter what mission we go on. We're all bleeding hearts, one way or the other.
[ Some of the biggest mistakes Peter ever made were because he's not the best at dealing with his emotions, especially when his loved ones get hurt. He is working on it, but it's an inevitable flaw in his character. Just like some people can't help but act in the face of cruelty and injustice. ]
Growing pains, yes. Learning the hard way is inevitable sometimes, I have plenty of scars as proof of that. We're a crew of over half a hundred, we're not always going to see eye to eye, and we're going to make mistakes. That's why we all need to try better. That's all I am saying.
[ God know he had his ups and down with the Guardians when they first started their partnership, then he couldn't imagine a life without them. Peter wonder if Viveca is all Degar has too. Now that he's gotten what was bothering him out of his chest, he can appreciate Degar's attempt at levity despite Peter still sounding like he needs a a hundred years nap and a spa day to fully relax. ]
Trolls are smelly too, at least most of the ones I encountered. Try showing them pictures next time, it might spare you some trouble.
no subject
[ but not much else is going to come out of this conversation, and while they're agreeing on the same sentiment, there's gonna be other stuff they'll just have to agree to disagree with and leave it at that.
moving on to other topics seems the best way to move forward. ]
Yeah. [ he chuckles. ] I'll keep that in mind. Make sure I pack some paper and a pen with me too.
no subject
You do that. Or maybe just carry comics with you to distract the trolls next time.
[ They can keep it short. If they managed to reach a mutual understanding about why everyone is so upset, Peter is fine with that. ]
As you pointed out, you're a very busy man, so I won't bother you further. Please, tell Viveca that a lot of people worry about her. See you around, Captain.
[ Yes, he knows the right designation is Commander. But alas, Peter is still going to be a troll and call him Captain. He thinks it has a nicer ring to it. ]
no subject
[ there's a sigh and a huff of laughter.
yeah, yeah, all right, you troll. ]
Thanks, Peter. I'll let her know. And yeah, the goal is to be around a little more — as much as the North Wing permits anyway.
Take some of this downtime to relax, man.
no subject
He is letting out a soft hum after Degar's laugh, on the side of amused too. Despite Peter's tempter and tiredness, he's glad that the Commander can take a joke after how badly this conversation started. Things are still far from perfect, but they are all going to try to do better from now on. ]
Thank you, too. You know if there's anything we can do to help, you just have to ask. We can be a really creative bunch.
I'll will try, promise.