[open] Toto, I don't think we're on Hedenex anymore....

[bluesuit_handy]

It's been so good to stretch his legs again after so long cooped up on the ship. Andrew loves traveling, of course, and he loves spending time with James and the dogs, but his tolerance for monotonous space journeys is diminishing rather than growing. Their first journey out from Earth was the longest, of course, since they had to reach a jump node before they could travel from world to world in a matter of weeks rather than months, but somehow just a week stuck in a space the size of a largish flat is almost unbearable to him now. If he had to do that longer journey again, he might go mad.

Despite his enthusiasm, there's only so much running about (much of it literal) he can do before he tires out. Hedenex is a friendly sort of planet, with more than a few things to do and see, but just now he's tucked back up in bed in the spaceship he shares with James, their dogs curled up nearby as if watching to make sure he doesn't go off again without them when he wakes up.

His sleep is troubled by dreams that are less bad, necessarily, than they are weird. He's in the midst of grudgingly assembling a floral arrangement under the watchful eye of a robot servant belonging to a version of the Master he hasn't seen in centuries when a chill wind suddenly blows through the beach house where he and Abraham Lincoln have been imprisoned together. He shivers in both the dream and in reality, shifting uncomfortably on the hard red surface of the bleachers that make up the roof of the Times Square TKTS booth. He's wrapped up surprisingly well for someone who was just taken away from his cozy bed and blankets, as he tends to layer up even when he goes to bed, but a fleece onesie with a hoodie over the top half and socks on under the enclosed feet is still not enough. At least he'll look dashing in that yellow ducky-themed print?

Comments

[wildmage_daine]

"Years, I think. Not sure how long the base has been here." She hasn't paid as close attention as she probably should have done when explanations were being parceled out. But then, she'd been more interested in getting back where she came from than learning about where she was.

[bluesuit_handy]

He sucks on his teeth thoughtfully. "Impressive thing to hide -- an entire underground base, right off Central Park. Right under Central Park, if I'm not mistaken. It took someone a good while to put all this together."

[wildmage_daine]

"Blythe could tell you," Daine says with a sheepish shrug. She's really not the right person to ask about... well, pretty much anything relating to this realm.

Fortunately for her, they've reached the library. Daine knocks on the door even though it's standing open before poking her head inside. "Blythe?"

[bluesuit_handy]

"So who is this Blythe?" asks Andrew, though he could wait like two seconds and ask the woman herself. He shifts himself over so he can peer in the door, making no effort to hide the fact that he's staring around at all the things.

[rebelnpc]

"Yes, dear?" asks Blythe, coming to greet them at the door, smiling until she sees Andrew.

"Peter?" she asks, with some confusion. He's not someone you see around here often, and -- certainly not in that clothing. "No, you're not Peter, are you?"

[wildmage_daine]

Daine, not having met Peter, looks a bit confused. "His name is Andrew. He just got here, and he was wondering about Romac." To Andrew, she adds, "Blythe knows everything about Romac."

[bluesuit_handy]

Hey, people don't normally get all frowny at his presence until they've known him for a while. "Who's Peter?" he asks, intrigued. Thank you, Daine, but now he's got all new questions to ask. He'll get to Romac in a minute or two. Hopefully.

"And no, I'm not," he admits. "Whoever he is."

[rebelnpc]

"Just another member who looks quite like you," she replies, waving a hand. She doesn't particularly care to discuss him.

"I'm Blythe Summerset, and I can't say I know everything about them, but I'd sure like to," she adds with a chuckle, and looks at him appraisingly. "Well, I'd say come inside and take of your shoes, but I can see you haven't gotten any. How about we take care of that first?"

She doesn't want anyone muddying up her floors, thank you. The rebel base, by virtue of being an underground base largely made up out of things that were already here, isn't particularly clean, but there are plenty rooms that are well kept and dirt-free, for example her library.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine winces. "Odd's bobs, I fair forgot. I was going to take him to get clothes, but then we got to talking. Sorry," she says, directing the apology to both of them, but mostly Andrew.

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew gives Daine a reassuring little smile. "I'm fine," he reassures her. It's not true, of course, but it's fairly automatic. Turning to Blythe, he glances down with a sheepish air. "If we're doing shoes, I'll need trousers as well," he points out. "It's all sort of one piece, see?"

As if she couldn't just glance at him and immediately see that it's a onesie.

[rebelnpc]

Blythe notices the lie, of course, but doesn't comment on it, as it's meant to make Daine feel better.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure we can find something. Follow me," she answers without fuss, stepping out of the library and leading them. "What's your last name, Andrew?"

[wildmage_daine]

Daine's not entirely sure that she believes him, but Blythe doesn't say anything about it, and she supposes Blythe would know if he was just lying to make her feel better. It doesn't occur to her that Blythe might let a lie slip just to make her feel better, of course. Regardless, she still feels a bit foolish for not getting him proper clothes first thing.

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew flashes a grin at Daine, apparently unaffected, and does his best not to limp at all as he totters along after Blythe on stiff legs and sore feet. "Noble," he answers, not seeing any harm in it -- the worst that could happen is he could get identified and passed off to Torchwood, and a.) that's not so terrible and b.) it seems unlikely under the circumstances. "This Peter person, just how like me does he look?"

[rebelnpc]

"Enough to think you could be twins, but we do get some doubles here, you're not the first," she answers. "You seem quite at ease with the situation. How much has Daine here told you?"

[wildmage_daine]

"Not much," Daine admits. Another reason to feel a bit silly. Huzzah. "But I was in animal shape until just a few minutes ago."

[bluesuit_handy]

"Seasoned traveler, me," replies Andrew, as if that answers why he isn't all that bothered to have woken up in the middle of New York. He is bothered, actually, but more because he's been separated from his family than because of where he's wound up. "I know you've got a rift, and both Daine and I have been through it."

[rebelnpc]

"Then there's still quite a bit to cover," she answers with a smile, leading them through twisting corridors. "Any particular questions you'd like to ask?"

[wildmage_daine]

Daine stuffs her hands in her pockets and looks curiously at Andrew, wondering if he's going to ask about Romac or go off on a completely different tangent. If he does, she might try to steer him back on course (she's learned her lesson), otherwise, she'll keep quiet and listen.

[bluesuit_handy]

"How long's it been active?" he asks. Look, he's sort of on topic! "The rift, I mean. It sounded like you have people coming through all the time -- is that why Romac sprang up, or did they just pick up rift duty after the fact?"

[rebelnpc]

"Oh, quite a few years now. It's difficult to say when it started exactly, as it's grown over time, become more and more active. We're having a peak in activity this weekend," she explains, leading them into a huge storage area, filled with shelves and boxes. "Romac was created as a reaction. Or perhaps I should say over-reaction."

"Howard, do you have some clothes for our new arrival?" she asks to the person working there, who happens to be an antropomorphic duck. He gives Andrew a scrutinising look, grunts, then moodily stalks off down an aisle.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine smiles politely at Howard, even though she finds him just a bit eerie, what with him looking so much like a duck but not feeling like one in her mind. She checks for any spark of wild magic as he leaves, and is a bit unsettled to see nothing. "Huh," she mutters under her breath.

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew smiles at Howard, only mildly surprised to see such a person. "So it's typical for it to pull from different worlds?" he asks Blythe when the other rebel departs without a word. He bounces on the balls of his feet, despite the pain.

"So what is it Romac actually does?" he asks innocently. "I mean you, obviously, you've got the rebellion thing going on -- but what is it you're rebelling against?"

[rebelnpc]

"Different world, different times, different realities. We've had people from all kinds of parallell Earths," she answers with a nod.

She sighs heavily when Andrew asks about Romac. "They're trying to establish a dictatorship. At least that's what it feels like. Every rifty they get their hands on is processed and kept an eye on. If they deem you too dangerous or hostile, you get locked up, or disappear. Oh, in some cases it's been justified. But it's a corrupt and prejudiced system, and while I certainly don't think everyone who works for them is evil or anything like that... It's shady business on a grand scale."

[wildmage_daine]

"I'd probably end up in one of their cages," Daine says, scowling. Folk here have been surprisingly accepting of her magic, but it hasn't escaped her notice that she's one of the (probably) few rifties who could leave the island without too much difficulty if she wanted to. She doesn't, because the rift is here and she wants to be near it in case it either decides to take her home or spits out someone she knows. But she could, and she shudders to think of the lengths Romac might go to in order to make certain she didn't.

[bluesuit_handy]

"Parallel Earths..." repeats Andrew thoughtfully. That would explain why there's a rift in the middle of Manhattan, smack where he remembers no such a thing. It also means he's less and less likely to find James again by returning to Hedenex -- not that it was very likely to begin with, given his lack of spaceship.

He gives a little start and peers at Daine. "Cages?" he asks, the mental image less jail cell and more zoo exhibit. He shakes his head, blinking away the image. "How dangerous is too dangerous?" he asks Blythe, concerned.