Scene #4869: Unwind

Owner	Pose
Staren	Hub - SSC Stranger than Fiction (Location #0) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The walls, floor, and ceiling of the Stranger than Fiction's lower deck are covered with a facade that makes the structure look as if it are constructed of large stone bricks. The 'hub' room is about 25x15' across and about 7 1/3 feet tall. The teleporter pad is in the fore-starboard corner, the doorway to the lab is in the center of the fore wall, and the doorway to manufacturing is in the center of the aft wall. A spiral staircase to storage and the residential deck is in the aft-port corner. Through thick transparisteel windows, you can see space outside. Large storage cupboards are against the walls here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Staren is waiting when Ainsley beams onto the ship. He looks... lost in thought, but smiles as he sees her. "Hey." He moves in for a hug, if she'll allow. "I'm so glad you're safe." Then he releases her and leads her up the stairs to the room she helped decorate -- there's a coffee table, a couch, and a chair or two -- he takes one of the chairs. A violet-haired gynoid in a plain black dress brings tea down from upstairs, then disappears down the stairs. "How have you been?" Staren asks, pouring himself some. "Doing alright?"
Ainsley	Ainsley appears to be wearing a uniform when she arrives. It's a black suit as before, but it has a badge on the left breast over where her heart is. The badge has a four-pointed, cross-like star and a motto written over the top of it, and it appears to be something clipped to the pocket. She has a matching pocket on the other side. She smiles and accepts the hug when given, and follows Staren to the coffee table. She rubs at the side of her face and struggles to answer that question. She answers, with some reluctance, "Stressed. The Union as it was is effectively gone. I lost a lot of my paperwork when Njorun was destroyed." She reaches to pour herself some tea as well when Staren's done with his own. "I can't find my house. I'm not sure if Faruja is okay. I've been keeping a brave face and making sure others know that their loved ones are alive and well. It's... It's taking a lot out of me," she explains, "I haven't slept on a comfortable bed since it happened."
Staren	Staren gives a brief curious look at the badge. Ship cameras get a zoomed-in view so he can read the motto. At her comment about the Union he nods. "I feared as much. On the bright side, it seems the war is finally over." He listens to what she says while blowing on his tea softly to cool it, nodding a little. "I guess I'm pretty lucky... I can't find my home or my parents, but at least Twilight's okay, and most of my stuff is here on the ship. You, uh... you're welcome to the bed if you need it." He gestures to the bed in the corner of the room they're in. "It's smart foam, adjusts to your body and preferences and all that. Twilight says it's very comfortable." He blushes a bit when he realizes what he just said. "I-if you need a place to stay for a bit, that's what we made this guest room for, after all. The ship's got all the amenities. A hot shower, too." He waves a hand up and aftward, in the direction of the bathroom. He takes a small sip of the tea, testing the temperature. "It's only been a couple of days, and we have a lot of Multiverse to explore, but a lot of people are working on it. I have an FTL drive and I'm using it. People who newly unified in the past have found their homes and loved ones after far longer. Um... Okay, that doesn't really help, but... when I worry, I try to remember that my parents can handle themselves. Wherever they are, they'll be okay if it's at all possible. Faruja's the same way. Tough and skilled. We all are..."
Ainsley	The badge looks something like this: (http://sta.sh/01gppjj22unq) Ainsley calms as Staren speaks. A familiar voice does a lot, apparently, to calm her nerves. Especially in a time of uncertainty. She smiles lightly as he tells her that they'll be able to handle themselves. "I got recruited," she tells Staren. "I heard you did, too, but by different people...? What can you tell be about that?"
Staren	Staren quirks a brow at the badge. Software provides a translation, it's a pretty simple phrase. At her question, he sighs, sets his tea down, and steeples his hands. "You heard, huh? I haven't told anyone... these new groups seem to know an awful lot about us, don't they?" He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, then lets it out and opens them. "It's pretty terrible. I'm hearing the voices of a lot of monsters on the radio, at least a couple are people I was sure the Multiverse would be better off without. But... supposedly... if I can find a way to accomplish their real goals /without/ all the murdering people, they at least have to listen and prove to the higher-ups that their way is better somehow if they want to keep doing it. In theory... This could be my chance to do better than kill these people, by helping them make a better future instead. In practice..." He takes another deep breath and lets it out. "Well, it's only been a day. Most people are dealing with the loss of their labs and supplies at the Citadel and are having to gather replacements before they can really do anything or start work on new problems. Obviously, if the theory doesn't bear out, then I'll have to leave." He gives her a look of curiousity. "So, what about you? I haven't heard any details of other new groups forming yet, though I heard the word 'Paladins' once. Is that... is this like the new Union and Confederacy? Are we on opposite sides now?"
Ainsley	"We aren't on opposite sides." Ainsley prefaces that immediately. She raises a hand and makes an urging gesture, "We are not on opposite sides. Of the... four major factions currently brewing, I don't think any of them are diametrically opposed the way the Union and Confederacy were." She sucks in a breath through her nose, and sighs back through it. Then she sips at her tea and explains. "The Paladins are like a multiversal police force, in the typical modern sense. We're beholden to the laws and regulations of the given worlds we are assigned to work in. We exist to stop illegal activity, whatever that may be, wherever that may be." "I'm assigned to the Geas-Busters, and we handle magical law, and work with worlds to devise laws to manage abusive magical practices. Actually... ah..." She rubs the back of her neck. "I'm currently leading the division. They made a good case for it." "So... you, of all people, will probably not ever fall under Paladin scrutiny, because you don't tend to do illegal things. And we aren't vigilantes, so even if you were doing something illegal, we would give you due process because you're a cooperative person."
Staren	"Four??" Staren echoes. There are clearly things going on he hasn't heard of yet! He listens with rapt attention, ears perked up and turned forward. "Oh, congratulations!" he adds, when Ainsley mentions she's leading a division. "I /try/ not to, but obviously, I hold concern for ethics over that of the law. I'm sure the Union broke /tons/ of laws technically, the whole go in and fight bad guys with powers without trials or weapons permits or whatever? I mean... take /everything/ that has to be done in Alberichstadt. Keeping what's happening to those kids a secret from their parents, lying to the school and to the authorities, that's all hella illegal." He blinks as he considers that, then tilts his head. "...Does that mean you have to leave them now? Or is that like... off the books, or not relevant because that world hasn't joined the Paladins?"
Ainsley	"Well." Ainsley considers how to answer that. "Worlds don't join the Paladins. They work with them. The Commonwealth steers us, but people don't need to join that in order to be protected." She clarifies that. "We aren't a military nation, we're a police force." And then she addresses the Persona world problem. "I can still work there, because it is actually impossible to work with local authorities. Protecting the innocent trumps everything else, and that is very much a special case problem. I just keep doing what I've been doing and keep my superiors in the know about what's going on, and try not to do anything that a Paladin shouldn't do."
Staren	Staren nods, leaning forward a little. "Well, it's good that they understand that it's a special case. That there /are/ special cases. Reassuring." He leans back in his chair. "So what are the other two?"
Ainsley	"There's the Concord and... there's this other group, but it's only a murmuring so far. It's hard to say what's going on with any of them, as it's only been a couple of days," Ainsley tells Staren. She puffs a sigh. "I anticipate there will be friction in some cases, especially with the Paladins with all the others. Sometimes legality is an obstacle for someone's goals, and that's where there will be problems. I wouldn't be able to do what I did in Defiant's world again, for instance."
Staren	Staren hmms. "Well, I guess if they /are/ of significant power, they'll be making themselves known soon enough. Good to know there are some other options, though, if this redeeming people in the League thing doesn't work out. Or... at least turning their talents to productive and helpful ends."
Ainsley	"Stick with it, Staren." Ainsley looks very serious about that, the look she gives him and the very steady eye contact. "I know it seems like a daunting task, and that it's in one's nature to avoid pain or discomfort, but the world does not improve unless you're willing to sacrifice something. Even if it is difficult to steer others down a more productive path, it is best to try and to fail, and fail, and fail, and then eventually succeed. You are a scientist, right? That's what scientists and inventors do." "It will be worth it," she tells him.
Staren	Staren blinks, slightly taken aback by the sudden serious look. He nods a little. "I'm really hoping so. I haven't given up yet, it's only been a day. I just needed to vent a bit... Blakely and Xiang are there."
Ainsley	Ainsley winces quite vibrantly when Staren says who he has as colleagues. She knows the names. "Wow... those two aren't sterling examples of moral stability," she mumbles, "And that's putting it lightly." She lets out a biiiig sigh at that. "Well, hopefully not being a part of the Confederacy will give them an excuse to do things more carefully, at the very least."
Staren	Staren nods. "I'm still not entirely sure what Blakely's deal is, but Xiang says the horrible plagues were just because the Confederacy asked him to and he needed funding for his real work of... making people better, or something. So... hopefully, not having to rely on the Confederacy for funding will help tone down the atrocities some."
Ainsley	"Let's hope that holds up over time," Ainsley says, finishing off her cup of tea. "Well, I'm probably going to be extremely busy for the forseeable future. Hopefully this leads somewhere I can be proud of. It looks like it so far. With who we have in charge, it seems like we're going to be walking the good path."
Staren	Staren brightens a little. "But Rhapsody's joined too, and the Izzet, so, that's good! I... yeah, 'hopefully this leads somewhere I can be proud of', that goes for both of us." He blinks. "Who do you have in charge? For us it's..." he makes a face, "Blakely as second-in-charge, under an iteration of Dr. Henry Jekyll I know nothing about."
Ainsley	"Eryl Fairfax and Eliot Ness," Ainsley replies, "A humanitarian cyborg and a legendary cop from the Prohibition. They're good people." She seems quite proud of that.
Staren	Staren's eyebrows shoot up. "Yes, I remember them." He sips his tea and leans back in the chair a bit. "Times sure are changing, huh. The war's over, but a new conflict may take its place... Well, in the short term, exploring the multiverse is pretty cool. I ran into a space blizzard yesterday. No, I'm not sure how that works. I tagged the coordinates for later investigation after I find home." Ssssip. "So, do you need to stay here for awhile? If you can get to work from... anyone else with a ship, or AMALGAM or AMATERASU's warpgates, you can use our teleporter network."
Ainsley	"The time of conflicts like the one between the Union and Confederacy has passed. It was... a strange war. Alien in a lot of respects. The two sides lacked an identity in the grand scheme of things." Ainsley prepares to pour another cup for herself. "I've got a lot more paperwork to look at, and I need to start getting the ball rolling... I might sleep here if I don't manage to track down where my house ended up. Maybe Faruja will show up and tell me where it ended up."
Staren	"It did always seem kinda pointless... I took a long break because of that. Then the Earth-1960 and Sword Art Online incidents showed me that there were things I could help out with besides a pointless war." Staren smiles a little. "You're welcome to the guest bed if you need it." He smiles a little more. "I hope you see Faruja soon."