nysalogs | the sky was made of amethyst ( & open )

[There are forces out there that can overwhelm even the most advanced of societies. Or, rather, it's easier to think that no matter what, there's always something more powerful waiting in another reach of the galaxy.

Takasugi doesn't plan on lingering in Thesa's reach longer than necessary, but... he wouldn't mind being here when whatever it is this guy is imagining comes to fruition.

To see their faces, met with insurmountable odds.]

Yet they present themselves as such. To some, I'm sure they seem that way. Not everyone had seen the stars so close, before arriving here.

To them, everything that gleams above must be heavenly.

[An image the Natha do nothing to dispel. They aren't exactly a humble bunch.]

It's common in beings with metaphysical powers. Or just.. more advanced beings, period. [ Jim does not sound like a fan, for the record. He was sick of this sort of shit long before he ever arrived in El Nysa. (HE MEANS YOU, Q CONTINUUM, GET A LIFE or at the very least come reset reality properly away from the Natha, thx.) ]

How much of the stars had you seen?

[ Meanwhile: Jim moves towards the door, nodding for this other guy here to come with him. Let's go see what the state the rest of the place is in, now. ]

[The man's vague consternation may as well be blunt distaste, with how loudly it rings in his words. Takasugi's focus had been meandering, staring down a set of particularly erratic lights, but with that it turns to his companion in its entirety.

He follows, no haste in his step. The view of the stars out of the windows that haven't been locked down will be the same no matter their pace.]

Enough to know I haven't seen much at all.

[Whether there's an end to space at all had been a frequent debate among his crew.] Though, we'd only had a decade to explore them.

[When he was a child, he'd been among the people who regard the stars as divine, unreachable by anything except folktales.]

That must be an exciting time. Beginnings. [ Sincere. Achieving warp drive and opening the door to true space travel, not just laborious, dangerous trips to and from the moon, was the thing that marked humanity's first steps away from the darkness of the post-apocalyptic horror. It's a very interesting kind of period of anyone's history, for most Starfleet dorks.

Meanwhile: locked door after locked door, even benign ones like storage closets and viewport hallways. ]

It was an ending.

[The demise of a country as everyone knew it. An entire way of life eroded by outside forces that pried the nation open like the belly of a beast, ribs cracked to devour the meat within.

Some viewed their new journeys among the stars with jubilation.

Takasugi wasn't one of them - and he assumes this man would have been.

Stark as the difference is, it doesn't embitter him to the man.] A change like that comes with its own kind of violence.

[A door cracks as they pass, only to slowly slide shut again, locked tight. With memory evoked so clearly, Takasugi's barely paying any mind to the ship's shutdown.]

[ Man, everybody is so bleak. It can be exhausting, living in this community of refugees who have a cynical lens on at all times. How did humanity ever get anything done during those dark times before Earth was united?

But Jim's used to working through exhaustion. Oh, well. ]

Mm. [ Agreement? Maybe. Acknowledgement, more like. Jim, more than the vast majority of people from his time and world, understands darkness and horror; but he defines himself by having evolved away from it. He applies optimism like a weapon.

Now, though, he applies his hand to a door that can't seem to make up its mind. The proximity sensor halts its erratic movement, but doesn't budge further open when he presses. ]

C'mon, [ he mutters at it. ]

[Acknowledgement is all that can be given when differences are already so plainly stated. Takasugi accepts it with a slight nod, and tears his eyes from the dimmed view port filled with stars.

Someday, this man may become an enemy.

No need to rush it.]

You want to get trapped inside?

[Slide the door open, and there's a new avenue of exploration. Rather than answers, Takasugi assumes they'll find themselves trapped by the fickle technology.] If you want in, better to break it.

[There he goes again, suggesting destruction. (It's a constant.)]

[ is this why somebody yanked ur eyeball out, bro ]

The goal isn't 'in', [ Jim says. Fifteen years ago, his thinking would have probably aligned with the other man's. Things in his way were kicked aside, shoved down, burned away. For him, it was angry, insecure bullshit. Justified anger, sure, but it sure as hell wasn't productive. ] The goal is to understand what the problem is. Breaking it would be failure.

[ Jim does manage to catch the sensor - for a moment. Ah. ]

Looks like the power's too low. Sensor's cutting in and out.

['Productive anger' is impossible. Anger destroys, thrashing and tearing down everything surrounding until its bearer is left in tatters. Takasugi is fine with that - he doesn't care to create, nor to repair.

What happens to the wreckage after he's done with it is none of his concern.]

I'd say the power's low everywhere- [Dimmed lights imply as much, on the surface level, and a sensor malfunction would explain... basically everything else. A surprisingly simple solution, but.]

Do you have a way to fix that? [If Kirk doesn't want his 'help', he'll have to suffer pejorative backseat driving.]

[ Sometimes even the most sophisticated systems have basic bitch malfunctions; machines aren't perfect, it's why manual docking options exist still even on Constitution class starships. blah blah star trek trivia ]

Yeah, actually. [ Mild sass. ] You got a mirror or, I dunno, a spoon handy?

[From the requested items, Takasugi can surmise Kirk's solution. Just as simple as the problem, or it would be, if either of them had the equipment to make it possible.

Though, even for this, there's another simple solution.] Wait.

[He departs, still no haste in his pace, down the darkened hallway. There's a wrenching sound, metal groaning, which really could be anything, but it's timing is pretty conspicuous.

And then he returns, a small panel of metal - reflective - in his hand.] Here.

Get to work. [Sometimes, you need to break shit in order to fix it.

But Takasugi just wanted to tear something up.]

[ Jim's expression goes cartoonishly line-faced when he hears that noise. Maybe he should have just turned out pockets to look for a gum wrapper.

He gives him an unimpressed look. ]

Thanks, [ he says, wryly. ] What's your name, anyway? So I know who to complain into the void about when I go repair whatever you just did.

[ As noted, wry, but he doesn't actually sound mad. There's no point in getting mad - it's a waste of time, and who knows, maybe.. this weirdo can be influenced for the better!! ... Right?? Anyway, Jim's gonna slip the bit of metal around by the sensor, and after a moment, the door slides open peacefully. ]

[~~Jim is a good boy and he deserves better than Takasugi.~~

Takasugi greets the man's condemnation with a smile, like he's just somehow won an argument. What he'd done was simply tear an outer panel from a view port - the damage is purely cosmetic.

But this man seems dedicated to wasting his time. (The door slides open, but it could have been carved open minutes ago.) Takasugi doesn't doubt that he'll fix it.]

Takasugi. [He peers into the newly opened passageway, a narrow and darkened corridor, illuminated only by flickering emergency lights.] What about you?

I'll need to know who to give credit to, when they ask who fixed the ship single-handedly. [Mocking, but the sort that's done in passing. This man does deserve some praise - he knows more about the technology they're dealing with than Takasugi does.

But he'd rather deride him than give that respect outright.]

[ Jim has been in too many ancient starships and crumbling bases to overlook even the most minor instance of damage; complicated machines like this are like living bodies. If one thing goes wrong, it can have a ripple effect, or become a problem down the line when you least expect it. They're lucky to have this facility, and life in this dimension would be much more inconvenient without it. ]

Jim Kirk, Starfleet officer and captain of the USS Enterprise, [ he says, as though impervious to the attitude. Only a little bit like a parent tolerating a child shoving their homework off the table. He's in charge of a lot of people at home. ]

I don't take anything for granted. [ Of fixing the 'ship'. He knows what it's like to have nothing, after all. ]

[Sounds official.

It's easy to assume that 'captain' is used in a military context, and Takasugi settles on that conclusion without much thought spared to other possibilities. Space is, at its core, simply an expansion of territory and resources to fight over.

Lawless, there's little way to get by without at least a willingness to fight.]

You'd make a better captain here than Darma, in that case. [She's alien. She's dismissive of their plight - thinking everyone would be satisfied, stolen from their worlds and forced to settle on a foreign planet.

While she swears protection of their comrades, but can't keep her own ship running.

Takasugi passes into the newly revealed corridor entirely, though he stands off to the side. Waiting to follow this 'captain's' lead.]

Who knows, but I'd sure answer questions.

[ Continued verbal lineface. Jim's ego doesn't need any encouragement to think he'd do a better job of being in charge in just about any situation, that's for sure. In this situation, it's hard to make a ballpark guess because no one knows what all else the Natha are dealing with behind the scenes. But whatever it is, it's led to them dropping the ball in a big way with the planet.

In the new corridor, Jim takes stock of much of the same - but doesn't linger, heading to the hangar doors to see how that's faring. And hey, those are fully powered. ]

Well, at least people'll be able to get into these if need be.

[Takasugi doesn't doubt Kirk would answer questions - he seems like a man who likes the sound of his own voice. A leader with an insatiable ego is easier to deal with than a leader who plays at being untouchable.

Those are the sort Takasugi wants to drag down to the ground. To everyone else's level.

Stepping into the hangar, he can't help a small chuckle.]

They've left us in the dark- [Literally.] -but they still expect us to fight their war for them.

[For most, the people left in stasis are as good as hostages.]

the sky was made of amethyst ( & open )

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