[she's not going to comment upon the different cabin situation! but hehe.
Ava waits by the door with it cracked open, peering into the hallway suspiciously at anyone that happens to wander by. and then calls out when Helena approaches.] Glad you could stop by. Thanks for letting me borrow that book. [in case anyone is listening in!!!! she's clearly a bit on edge.]
How much do you know about... what's going on? The ship, the Captain and Friday, the... cracks that appeared and the memories within them? [she speaks as she moves toward the couch.]
...Very little, I'm afraid. I got Security to tell me what was in the black binder, after Skulduggery removed it - I hadn't had the courage to ask someone before - but beyond that, I feel as if I'm grasping at something where I barely understand what I'm supposed to be reaching for.
[she shrugs, but it's clear this is something that bothers her.]
There's parts of it I get, and parts that feel like...I'd say that I can't see them, but that's a poor analogy. Rather, I can't find the melody to listen to. And I want to, because without it, how are we supposed to help each other? How are we supposed to help the Captain?
Before you got here, we used to. Share information more freely amongst the passengers, when we believed in the common goal of escape. Skulduggery was one of the few that dedicated himself to unraveling the mystery of the Captain, he is a detective after all. And I a spy. It was... natural for us to team up and theorize. [a small laugh, remembering how they met at the photo gallery, where she instantly recognized another paranoid conspiracy type on sight.]
Skulduggery put the black binder together as an easily accessible... well, sorry, mostly. Resource to passengers, about what was collectively learned. But by the time his relationship with the Captain was revealed at the wedding, a substantial group turned against him and his efforts. Started doubting the veracity, and his intentions. Even though he had been, for so long, in favor of making sure everyone got the way out they desired. [but now with everything on the line, she knows choices will have to be made.]
And then. You know, Christmas happened. [Ava takes a seat with a heavy sigh.] And it became apparent, just as I warned him, that there were passengers among us that we could not trust with what we were finding out. That their intentions weren't just escape, but overthrowing and destruction of this reality at all costs. Binding or killing of the Captain to prevent him from doing this again. I tried to talk to them, at their mutiny meeting and individually, about compromise and negotiation, about compassion and how the Captain was... learning to care. That things could be better if we... [Ava swallows roughly, knows she's talking a lot.]
But they've made it clear that they have no interest in working together. And so I've run out of people to turn to, people that Skulduggery and I can trust to not seek to actively harm the Captain or this place.
[carefully, she moves towards the couch, and just listens. Ava will see what passes across her face, the thoughtful consideration, the concern as she addresses what happened at the wedding. it had been momentous, she knew, but not how deep it ran. and not what fissures it unlocked in the passengers, people who would doubt him for...falling in love? when that makes it all the more reliable, because who would declare such things as being photographs without substantial cause to believe? why would he not make a better story, if it was all false? why would he risk everything with an attachment?
it flickers when she says destruction, but when Ava says the word binding, it's larger. a subtle thing, but a reflex that runs through her all the same, a tightening of her hands on her cane. she doesn't understand, doesn't understand it, and Ava will understand why in a subtle way. that assurance Emily gave, of people working together despite their internal differences, in the face of something else. being bound to someone else's control, again - no. no, she can't accept that. just destroying this place, and condemning them all, not when there was the chance that all of them could be happy, could be safe - how do they not understand? how is that path closed to them? she swallows, hard, sitting down.
there is so much she does not know, but one thing is very, very known to her.
those people don't want to work together? fine, Helena thinks. I'll save them anyway.
[she watches Helena's reactions carefully, with more context now to understand the situation the young woman herself came from. the parallels between there and here as the doctor described to her the game that surely could not be won. except this place has never offered false promises of prizes. the Captain has never tried to convince them there was some hope if only they played along.
but she knows despite all odds Helena holds onto hope and kindness where there doesn't seem to be any at all. and that's a bit of what they need right now.]
That's... unfortunately the problem. We're at this breaking point where the only options seem both impossible and not ideal. That no matter which path we take, we might lose everything.
All I can really ask of you is your secrecy. Anything else is up to you.
I can do that. But Ava...if there's anything I can do, I want to help you.
[she pauses, trying to figure out how to say this.]
You...were there. There wasn't anyone there like the Captain to talk to, to try to improve things. So that alone already gives me a sense that things can be changed, for the better. Tell me what I can do, and I'll do it.
I know you do... you've always been patient and willing to listen to my side when so few others have. [fondly]
Right now all I need is... for you to do that again. And share any insights or perspectives you might have. We're low on allies, low on ideas. The Captain has told Skulduggery that it's up to us, what happens next. And we can't do this alone.
Anything you might think is helpful, even the smallest detail.
We're operating with such limited information as it is. Even the Captain himself cannot remember, seems incapable of remembering. When he put Friday in charge of operating so much of the ship, those orders seemed to include to hide terrible secrets from even himself.
I don't want to overwhelm you with information all at once. So please ask me for any elaboration or clarification as you need. But I want you to know how we got to this moment, as far as I've been able to figure out.
These memories that we've been stepping into, there was one that didn't seem to belong to anyone on board that I know of. I know I can't know everyone, but it was as if I was only a witness. Something about a council, and a ship being given up, and a woman who was being called "Your Grace" and called herself immortal. She was infuriated...I wrote it all down, afterwards - I still can't figure out who it was of. That's the first thing that comes to my mind, if it's at all helpful.
[Ava listens curiously, because she has been trying to poke around memories for the possibility of more information, despite her wariness that there's more danger to those cracks than obvious.]
A ship... well, we used to have several pirates aboard, but they're mostly all gone now. The passengers that immediately come to mind are... Tendi, she was part of starfleet. And Ari. She also was aboard... spaceships, I believe? And then Jenny. The storm goddess. She's the passenger from a previous voyage who won her so-called freedom from here, and her own ship to travel. She came back almost a year ago, looking for her brothers. Almost destroyed everything in her desperate search for their souls. We hadn't seen her again, until... the island that the Captain sent us to. Everyone else had a party on the beach, while Skulduggery and a few of us went on a search for a missing item, a lost memory.
We found Jenny there. Helped us through the cursed temple. She... nearly died, and Friday asked to save her. But the only way of doing so was tying her back to the ship, trapping her here yet again. It's a very sad story...
But we... were wondering what happened to her ship. If she wrecked it or... [taking in the implications of giving it up, a council...]
....The woman in what I witnessed talked about her brothers. The other person there did as well. Said something like "if you die, the memory of your brothers dies with you."
[Jenny. she hasn't met her, but that's because Helena mostly minds her own business.]
Do you think it was one of Jenny's recollections, that I heard?
It's one of her brothers that I... summoned, recently. To very unfortunate results.
But a council. Did it sound as if she... possibly told somebody. About the Captain, and where we are? And gave them the ship? But why, for what in return?
[said softly, and Helena folds her hands on her lap.]
I have it all written out - I can make you a copy, if you can read braille. I'll have to translate, if you can, but if you can't then I could read it to you and you could write it down.
Like I mentioned, the Captain had a few of us retrieve a lost object of his from a cursed temple on an island. A real place, not just one of his constructions. It was a memory, of what he was. And we've tried to hold that secret close, to prevent anyone from using it against him. Because as powerful of a magical being he is, he is one that's spent most of his life in servitude. Used as a source, neglected and locked away... until he killed his master and became free.
But I'm afraid that he's... maybe gone and done the same to himself. [sounds doubtful, as if she doesn't quite believe her own conclusions despite all the evidence pointing her that way. there has to be something else she's missing.] And then made himself forget, tasking Friday with protecting that secret and that part of himself that he sealed away.
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Ava waits by the door with it cracked open, peering into the hallway suspiciously at anyone that happens to wander by. and then calls out when Helena approaches.] Glad you could stop by. Thanks for letting me borrow that book. [in case anyone is listening in!!!! she's clearly a bit on edge.]
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[coming into the room, she shuts the door behind her, a confused expression on her face.]
What's all this for, Ava? Your words were a bit concerning...
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[she shrugs, but it's clear this is something that bothers her.]
There's parts of it I get, and parts that feel like...I'd say that I can't see them, but that's a poor analogy. Rather, I can't find the melody to listen to. And I want to, because without it, how are we supposed to help each other? How are we supposed to help the Captain?
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Skulduggery put the black binder together as an easily accessible... well, sorry, mostly. Resource to passengers, about what was collectively learned. But by the time his relationship with the Captain was revealed at the wedding, a substantial group turned against him and his efforts. Started doubting the veracity, and his intentions. Even though he had been, for so long, in favor of making sure everyone got the way out they desired. [but now with everything on the line, she knows choices will have to be made.]
And then. You know, Christmas happened. [Ava takes a seat with a heavy sigh.] And it became apparent, just as I warned him, that there were passengers among us that we could not trust with what we were finding out. That their intentions weren't just escape, but overthrowing and destruction of this reality at all costs. Binding or killing of the Captain to prevent him from doing this again. I tried to talk to them, at their mutiny meeting and individually, about compromise and negotiation, about compassion and how the Captain was... learning to care. That things could be better if we... [Ava swallows roughly, knows she's talking a lot.]
But they've made it clear that they have no interest in working together. And so I've run out of people to turn to, people that Skulduggery and I can trust to not seek to actively harm the Captain or this place.
But both are in danger right now. We all are.
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it flickers when she says destruction, but when Ava says the word binding, it's larger. a subtle thing, but a reflex that runs through her all the same, a tightening of her hands on her cane. she doesn't understand, doesn't understand it, and Ava will understand why in a subtle way. that assurance Emily gave, of people working together despite their internal differences, in the face of something else. being bound to someone else's control, again - no. no, she can't accept that. just destroying this place, and condemning them all, not when there was the chance that all of them could be happy, could be safe - how do they not understand? how is that path closed to them? she swallows, hard, sitting down.
there is so much she does not know, but one thing is very, very known to her.
those people don't want to work together? fine, Helena thinks. I'll save them anyway.
a breath, and her hands relax.]
What can I do to help?
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but she knows despite all odds Helena holds onto hope and kindness where there doesn't seem to be any at all. and that's a bit of what they need right now.]
That's... unfortunately the problem. We're at this breaking point where the only options seem both impossible and not ideal. That no matter which path we take, we might lose everything.
All I can really ask of you is your secrecy. Anything else is up to you.
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[she pauses, trying to figure out how to say this.]
You...were there. There wasn't anyone there like the Captain to talk to, to try to improve things. So that alone already gives me a sense that things can be changed, for the better. Tell me what I can do, and I'll do it.
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Right now all I need is... for you to do that again. And share any insights or perspectives you might have. We're low on allies, low on ideas. The Captain has told Skulduggery that it's up to us, what happens next. And we can't do this alone.
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[setting her cane aside, it's her signal that she's here for the long haul, to be here for this conversation.]
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We're operating with such limited information as it is. Even the Captain himself cannot remember, seems incapable of remembering. When he put Friday in charge of operating so much of the ship, those orders seemed to include to hide terrible secrets from even himself.
I don't want to overwhelm you with information all at once. So please ask me for any elaboration or clarification as you need. But I want you to know how we got to this moment, as far as I've been able to figure out.
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[she nods, and thinks for a moment.]
These memories that we've been stepping into, there was one that didn't seem to belong to anyone on board that I know of. I know I can't know everyone, but it was as if I was only a witness. Something about a council, and a ship being given up, and a woman who was being called "Your Grace" and called herself immortal. She was infuriated...I wrote it all down, afterwards - I still can't figure out who it was of. That's the first thing that comes to my mind, if it's at all helpful.
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A ship... well, we used to have several pirates aboard, but they're mostly all gone now. The passengers that immediately come to mind are... Tendi, she was part of starfleet. And Ari. She also was aboard... spaceships, I believe? And then Jenny. The storm goddess. She's the passenger from a previous voyage who won her so-called freedom from here, and her own ship to travel. She came back almost a year ago, looking for her brothers. Almost destroyed everything in her desperate search for their souls. We hadn't seen her again, until... the island that the Captain sent us to. Everyone else had a party on the beach, while Skulduggery and a few of us went on a search for a missing item, a lost memory.
We found Jenny there. Helped us through the cursed temple. She... nearly died, and Friday asked to save her. But the only way of doing so was tying her back to the ship, trapping her here yet again. It's a very sad story...
But we... were wondering what happened to her ship. If she wrecked it or... [taking in the implications of giving it up, a council...]
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[Jenny. she hasn't met her, but that's because Helena mostly minds her own business.]
Do you think it was one of Jenny's recollections, that I heard?
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It's one of her brothers that I... summoned, recently. To very unfortunate results.
But a council. Did it sound as if she... possibly told somebody. About the Captain, and where we are? And gave them the ship? But why, for what in return?
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[said softly, and Helena folds her hands on her lap.]
I have it all written out - I can make you a copy, if you can read braille. I'll have to translate, if you can, but if you can't then I could read it to you and you could write it down.
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Well. It's troubling. Because if outsiders find us... we have way more to fear than I thought.
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[please don't go gray, Ava.]
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... [but everything feels increasingly impossible to keep herself calm. at least Helena is a grounding presence for her.]
But I wanted to share with you what I've found out. And what I think is going on.
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[what are they really up against? why is it impossible?]
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But I'm afraid that he's... maybe gone and done the same to himself. [sounds doubtful, as if she doesn't quite believe her own conclusions despite all the evidence pointing her that way. there has to be something else she's missing.] And then made himself forget, tasking Friday with protecting that secret and that part of himself that he sealed away.
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