Session 30 - Mind The Skies

Previously, across the Horizon...
The Seventh Dawn played host to Linnet Leveche during a near-dawn visit, and an introduction to Doctor Celadon Isara Dural, Doctor Cid for short.
Linnet had spun a story about looking for a new ship to an impressionable and eager young deckhand, and he arranged for Linnet to meet the leader of their little band herself.
Doctor Cid told Linnet about her mission: to see the fallen stars restored to the sky, the constellations once again splashed across space above, and to ensure that those stars could never again form the core power of a new Great Crystal, locking all of humanity into following the guidance of a few select powerful people who could control that crystal.
To underline her point, Doctor Cid showed the cargo hold of the Seventh Dawn to Linnet, a hold with well over a hundred places to store masks -- masks of fallen stars, masks of sentient creatures, like Cinnabar, like the mask Yves found in Alterna's fleshy forest, like the mask the Azure Dragoon carried out of the Triad just a day before.
Linnet then had a chance to speak to Cassiat Alyon, Orrey's little sister, the reason for this particular venture into enemy (?) territory, and while she could confirm that Cassiat seemed unharmed, she did not seem unchanged, with Galley not by her side and some unresolved tension regarding her brother lingering.
A dinner was promised, and a dinner would be attended, with Orrey having returned from his stakeout with Apoc, Isa and Bast no doubt overjoyed to have his return happen without spells, spears, and side-eyes tossed about, and Yves forcibly dragged away from the engines once again.
We join our heroes on the deck of the Starfall making their final preparations for a night of food, diplomacy, and family reunions...
**
"...plans that would be enough for an engineer to tell what sort of weapons could be installed on our deck without breaking it and where. I want something we can file with the port authority without anyone getting excited about it." Bast finishes his instructions to Shula while fastening the vest of his disguise as a minor merchant, ruthlessly commandeered from the troupe's costume stash.
"Am I never going to get you to wear that captain's coat?" Linnet asks.
"Not while it's built to snag on everything around it. And while we can't back it up."
Linnet has been dressing for three hours, two and a half of which were spent brushing out her hair. That aside, her outfit is surprisingly restrained, if a little on the wild-and-free boho side and heavy on the flowers in her hair.
Shula nods as Rahel bites the tip of her tongue, adjusting Bast's pompom so it better sits evenly above his hat. "No excitement. The picture of boring proficiency," Shula confirms.
Yves has procured, somehow, a black-on-black brocade vest done up in intricately embroidered vines and skulls. It is being matched with a black dinner jacket and black slacks that look like they might have actually made an appearance in a real formal event once before. The stark white cravat at his throat supports this idea; his usual heavy black boots with all their silver buckles and the piercings in his ears, rather less so. He is currently examining his lop ears critically in a small hand mirror, and muttering something under his breath about wire supports versus aggressive gel.
"Yves, you look lovely, you don't need any gel." Linnet spoils the effect a bit by ruffling his ears playfully.
Apoc is notable by his absence, mostly because Apoc has been around the periphery of every social gathering on the Starfall since joining. Jasper makes one more round, handing out flowers if they're needed, pocket squares if they're needed, mints if they're not needed, and prop peacebond ties on weapons that will fall away with barely any effort should they be needed.
Yves accepts a mint, a pocket square, and, after a moment, no peacebond on his weapon, because really how /would/ you peacebond that anyway?
The Hive are all clustered around Orrey, having adopted him as their favorite non-Linnet person aboard.
Orrey fidgets with his tie as he stands uncomfortably in his attire. Grey slacks, a light blue button up shirt, and a jacket with elbow patches are fairly standard, but the tie is in Alyon colors: bright purple, dark grey, and a vivid green in a pattern somewhere between trellis, lattice, and plaid.
Every piece of Isa's wardrobe communicates "uniform" and her formalwear is no different, the high-collared jacket buttoned off-center and her trousers sharply creased. Her hair is unbraided, loose curls down her back and pinned away from her face. The volume of hair and her ramrod-straight posture leave no indication of where she may be carrying her spear.
(Linnet has not bothered hiding a sword somewhere behind twenty pounds of hair or tucked into her flowing skirt. If it comes to it, ice, thunder, and wind will have to be sufficient. Besides, a sword is just one more thing to remember. She's wearing shoes, that's weird enough for tonight.)
Orrey has his satchel on, complete with all of his usual gear. Including the BFK.
"You look dashing, you look perfect like always, you look like a million gil, you look elegant, you look like a spiked shadow," Rahel says, going down the line by the ramp. "You're all going to do great. And if anything explodes, we've got the engines on standby!"
"Should we bring Cinnabun? Or at least, um, the possibility of Cinnabun?" Linnet asks.
"Into there?" Yves tugs anxiously on an ear. "Surely not. Imagine what they might /do/."
"But maybe it's got some collective intelligence with the others?"
"All the more reason to leave it here," Isa says. "At least not when we're also trying to negotiate with someone who may or may not be our enemy."
"...you're not big on any plan that involves possibly talking to things we don't fully understand, right." Linnet sighs. "I would like it noted that I wanted to be several city-states away from here by now, rather than actually going to this dinner. But, fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go touch up my makeup, by which I mean have a minor panic attack in the head."
"We should keep Cinnabun safe," Yves says firmly. "No bringing more hostages into the hostage situation."
Bast looks down at his recently unearthed leather shoes (polished but showing some wear), dark grey pants that might be best described as Respectable, a subtly grey-patterned vest over a dark green shirt...he shudders slightly as he pulls on the black dining jacket, picked out a size too big to leave room for the grenade pouches, and takes an experimental stroll along the deck. "This'll do, I guess. Oh, and Isa? Bring Cassiat's street crystals."
Isa lifts an eyebrow at Bast, but ducks back to her cabin before debarking with everyone else.
(Linnet had the courtesy to have a very speedy panic attack and is now merely tense, though her makeup is perfect.)
(The mechanical city remains in Bast's cabin, safely hidden.)
With a round of hugs, friendly waves, and one sort of salute that is most certainly not what they do in Cardia, but perhaps it's the thought that counts, Rahel ushers everyone on their way.
The Seventh Dawn is exactly where Linnet left it, though the harpoon cannon looks fully prepared and fastened, now. As you approach, you can see that lights have been strung up along the railings, with torches flickering with soft green flames positioned along the deck; less welcoming, perhaps, than one would have expected.
The moogle with the golden shield and crossbow is waiting at the bottom of the ramp, and inclines his head as they approach. "Miss Leveche and guests," he says, every word crisp and carefully constructed. "I welcome you aboard the Seventh Dawn. My name is Byakko. If you need anything tonight, you need but say. Please, proceed." He holds his hand to the ramp, and steps aside.
"Byakko, friend! Good to see you. For propriety's sake, it should probably be 'Captain Bast, Miss Leveche, and guests.'" Linnet winks at him.
He inclines his head again, exactly as before, just with his attention slid slightly to the left. "Captain Bast, Miss Leveche, and guests."
"Captain, please, the lead is yours. Don't ask me for directions, I only went one way in and out."
Bast does his best to look slightly uncomfortable with the formalities. "Very well, thank you. On the deck, you said?" That last to Linnet over his shoulder as he starts making his way up.
"I think so? It's certainly warm enough for it."
Orrey goes up to Byakko, smiles, and asks, "Anything? Could you tell me where I can find Cassiat Alyon?"
His smile stays firmly in place. "She is waiting for you on the deck."
Yves is still looking like a spiky shadow, if a slightly vague-eyed one.
"Now, Orrey, no starting a fight over dinner. You can fight after."
"I'm not looking for a fight, Linnet." Orrey frowns at her.
A long table is set up on the deck, covered in a fine white runner. There are thirteen chairs around it - six on either of the lengthy sides, and one at the end, back to the bow. There are four figures here waiting for you, three unfamiliar, one familiar. Standing behind the leftmost chair, closest to the bow, is a fire sylph, with slate-gray skin and a braid of fire that flickers and flits behind him. He wears free-flowing loose black pants, a white sleeveless top, and seven black bracelets that cover his left arm from wrist to forearm. He rests his forearms on the back of the chair and inspects all of them as they approach.
(Linnet does her best not to stare, but she does whistle, if very quietly.)
At his side stands a water sylph, tall and lanky, long black hair plastered to his frame, sea-green skin revealing through the gaps in the folds of his clothing, less a robe and more a long strand of white-gold fabric wound around him multiple times. Four scimitars hang from belts draped over his hips. The chair next to him is empty. The chair next to the empty chair has Cassiat Alyon behind it, pointedly not looking at any of them. The chair next to her is empty, but only until Byakko walks around behind it to wait, hands behind his back. The chair next to Byakko, the last on this side of the table, has an ambulatory suit of brown and silver plate armor, visor down, two glowing golden eyes peering out from inside. They hold a staff, a a coiled iron snake around a wooden walking stick. The door to the bridge opens, and Doctor Cid emerges, all smiles, still dressed in the same sensible, comfortable outfit. "Ah, Linnet, I am so glad you and your friends were able to join us. Please, please, take a seat. Anywhere you like on that side," she says, coming to the chair in between Cassiat and the water sylph.
"Doctor, thank you so much for your generous invitation. Allow me to present Captain Bast, Isa, Yves, and Orrey." Linnet takes a seat near the fire sylph and as far from the armor as she can manage without looking hugely rude.
"A pleasure to be here, Captain." Bast essays a polite smile. "Or...would you prefer Doctor?"
Orrey sits opposite his sister and smiles at her. "Glad to see you in one piece." "Ma and Pa both send their love."
"Oh, Doctor, please. Captain sounds entirely too formal and unearned." She smiles warmly. "Allow me to introduce Suzaku, Seiryu, Cassiat whom you all know, Byakko, and Genbu," she says, pointing them each out in order. She sits, and then the other four sit in unison, Cassiat following three seconds later.
Bast takes that as his invitation to be seated as well, taking the chair across from Doctor Cid.
Isa nods respectfully, seating herself after Bast does.
Yves drops into the nearest unoccupied chair, still looking a little vague.
As soon as everyone has been seated, a team of viera appear from the shadows, taking drink orders and bringing out bread, wine, water, and some local seafood delicacies. Doctor Cid clasps her hands together, looks from Linnet all the way down to Yves, and then smiles. "So many interested parties. I am glad you could all come, because I believe there is much we can learn from each other. It would be rude for me to immediately begin asking questions, so instead, Seiryu?" Seiryu nods. "Of course, Doctor." His voice is smooth, each word just sliding out of his mouth and drifting across the table. "We count ourselves as primary members of the Rising Stars, here to secure Ducorde against the tyranny of predestination and the shackles of fate. To further that goal, we travel the world searching for fallen stars, so that we might speed them along back into the heavens. I understand that this may seem strange to you, so we are here to answer any questions that you might have, in the eventual hopes of securing your assistance, and, dare I say, friendship." Suzaku snorts next to him, drawing quite the glare in return.
Linnet leans over to him and asks him quietly, "Which part, the assistance or the friendship?"
Suzaku flashes a quick 'two' at Linnet with an easy grin.
"Linnet did tell us some of what she has learned about your mission. That...is a lot to take in, I must admit."
"Have you ever seen a falling star?" Seiryu asks Bast directly.
Orrey looks like he's about to respond, but waits for Bast.
"Once or twice? But not in the sense you mean, I believe. Unless I am more confused about the...cosmology?...of the matter than I realize."
Seiryu looks down the table. Genbu shifts forward in their chair, some creaking coming along with it.
(Linnet has taken the opportunity to start a quiet side conversation with Suzaku, starting with "I don't recognize this seafood" and asking if he helped cook it. Elemental-to-elemental things.)
"In the time before the Alternan Empire, there were twelve constellations in the sky. The names we have for them are certainly inaccurate and draw from lost Alternan histories. It is said that in the period after the Great Crystal shattered, those constellations returned to the sky, but then they have been degrading ever since. Only half of Pashtarot remains above us," they say, pointing with a gauntlet to stars in the sky that may or may not form half of a shape? Genbu's voice is tinny and quiet. "With each star that falls, the world slips closer to another age of imprisonment."
Yves mumbles something under his breath about astronomy not being a required class for his major, but but does look up into the sky.
"You may have seen a star streak across the sky," Seiryu says to Bast. "If you had seen one land, you would know."
Orrey nods in agreement before he can stop himself.
"Or if you stumbled across the aftermath," Suzaku adds, and then lets a little trickle of flame spread out from his fingers, traveling about an inch in all directions before wisping into smoke. "What about you, Orrey?" Seiryu asks. "You carry yourself like a scholar."
"Somewhat, I suppose. In the process of becoming one."
Doctor Cid sits, listening to the conversation like a satisfied schoolteacher. Seiryu starts to say something, and then stops himself. "My apologies. It is not my place to question." "What brought you all together?" Suzaku asks as the first course arrives. "You don't seem like natural bedfellows, if you follow."
Yves looks, briefly, less vague than horrified, before he catches up with the metaphor.
Isa takes a sip of wine. "Travel has a way of bringing people together."
"Happenstance, curiosity, and a really obnoxious travel companion in our first car. I think we all kind of bonded over our mutual loathing of that guy."
"Oh yes. The hero."
"What was his name, Chris? Kevin?"
"Kurt. Now why can I remember that, and I can't remember whether I fed my birds before I left?"
"Offering fame by the train car for a low, low membership fee in his band of...heroes?"
Something glitters in Suzaku's eyes, and a grin is spreading slowly across his face.
Bast smiles dryly. "There's something about trains. Rather more than the usual something, that one day."
Linnet gives Suzaku a look of mock horror. "Please don't tell me you're Kurt in disguise."
"I don't think it's very heroic if you have to buy in with real money, anyway," Yves says.
Suzaku starts to answer, clearly with something positively filthy, until Seiryu nudges him with a sigh of infinite patience.
"Oh yeah, and we met TWO other Cids that day!"
Five heads swivel to Orrey.
(Six, actually.)
Suzaku's the first to find his voice. "Oh yeah?"
("You'll share the joke before we leave, right?" Linnet half-whispers to Suzaku.)
("He gets so grouchy when I make friends," Suzaku whispers back.)
("Jealous?")
"Weird, right?"
"I don't remember that many Cids," Yves says, frowning vaguely to himself. "Is this one of those 'Bob is short for Robert' things?"
(Seiryu shifts his infinite patience to Linnet.)
"Ah yes, the "what is a hero anyway" philosopher and the Officer of the Law." "Trains." Bast shakes his head slightly as he turns his attention to the first course.
"Tantalus would be the former," Doctor Cid says. "I have met him. An interesting fellow, though not half as interesting as he thinks he is."
"Something about males in academia. I think it's endemic," Linnet replies while chasing a bit of something with tentacles around her plate.
"They want something from you?" Suzaku asks, lounging in his chair now. Byakko calmly eats.
"One was searching for the other, if I recall correctly."
Genbu looks at their plate, and then at their utensils, and then back at the food, and their shoulders settle a little. "And so, brought together by mutual loathing in the middle of someone else's story, a fast friendship was forged," Suzaku says, sarcasm making itself at home.
"Nah, that was a mildly sarcastic acquaintanceship. Fast friendship took some drinking and a few late-night library raids." "They still won't approve my plans for a weekly Dramatic Reading Night, but I'll wear 'em down eventually."
One of the viera happens by, refilling Orrey's glass.
(To Suzaku: "Are you two, ah, together? Should I back off?")
Orrey thanks the viera and looks up to see their face more clearly.
Suzaku and Seiryu share a glance, and then both look at Linnet, Seiryu's smile very small and restrained, Suzaku's the smile of the sylph in the cookie jar. The viera is no one Orrey recognizes, and she gives him a cheerful smile before taking his plate.
Yves leans across the table to ask Genbu quietly, "Everything okay?" as he makes a vague little gesture with his fork.
Genbu nods, and then shrugs, and then nods again.
Orrey looks over at Cassiat. "I'm anxious to hear about what happened after...the last time we parted. How'd you end up on this ship?"
Cassiat looks over at Doctor Cid, and then Seiryu. Neither let on anything that Orrey can see.
"And where Galley got off to," Isa adds.
Yves is sort of poking at his food, but eating.
Cassiat then turns back to Orrey. "The Seventh Dawn rescued us from the Avengers just west of Alterna," she says, eyes down at the table. "The ship was damaged in the fighting, and they hauled us back to the Triad. The ship was totaled. Galley left because of it. I stayed."
"Why'd you stay?"
Linnet casts Cassiat a ruefully sympathetic look over her wine glass.
Cassiat looks at Orrey, straight in the eyes, and her fingers tighten around her glass.
"I mean, I trust your opinion more than anyone else. What about this mission pulls at you?"
"I don't know, maybe diving into history's mysteries at the expense of everything else in life just speaks to me. Must be the Alyon blood." She sets her jaw and stabs at a piece of fish with her fork, missing entirely. Suzaku sits more attentively now.
"It's not just history, Cass!" "All of that affects us now, rippling out of the past and causing the future to be horribly uncertain!"
(Linnet casts Suzaku a mock despairing glance and mouths "siblings" at him.)
"Also, I'm sorry. I should have rethought my priorities. It was a mistake."
"You know what wasn't uncertain, Orrey?!" Cassiat snaps.
Orrey feels a well-polished boot on his instep, with only a warning amount of pressure on it. Isa's face is perfectly composed around a bite of food.
Orrey whips his head towards Isa, starts to say something, but backs off and faces his sister again.
"We were there for a reason, you know! We were there to find Papa! Because he'd been fucking kidnapped, you remember? Do you remember? And I was going there on my own, and you and all your friends asked to tag along, and I said yes, and I was the one that actually had the airship, and then as soon as we get there it's all about whatever it was that you and your friends wanted to do!" Cassiat's temperature is rising. "And then you say we're going, we're going, we're going right then, and then you turn around -- don't you dare interrupt me--!" "And then you turn around and you just go spelunking in that stupid temple so you can test out your new-- your new climbing rig--" "You lied to me, Orrey!"
Yves sighs faintly, down at his end of the table, and quietly says to the suit of armor across from him, "Have you had a chance to do anything interesting in this city, since you've arrived? I still don't know what any of the bars around here are like, or the playhouses."
"I thought family mattered to you, but apparently we're just a means to your ends." Cassiat glares at him, half out of her seat, breathing heavily. Genbu blinks their glowing orbs. "I did go see a play, but it was one I'd seen before, so it wasn't that interesting."
"Of course family matters to me! Why do you think I'm here! I had no idea where you went, no idea if you were safe or dead or being held captive by some band of WHATEVER the hell these people are!!"
(Linnet resumes a Very Deliberate Conversation with the two sylphs about important things, such as the wine, or the torches decorating the ship.)
A chair scrapes on the deck. Byakko is standing up now, all of his attention on Orrey.
(until...) Linnet glances up sharply at the words "whatever the hell these people are" and prepares the "I am so sorry" face and speech for Dr. Cid.
"Orrey. Please. I know you've been afraid for Cassiat, but she's clearly safe here."
"Oh, the same cast, or just the same play done by someone else?" Yves asks, looking a little more focused now. "I've seen two versions of this one opera, Under Green Tower, by two different companies, that gave the same material such a very different feel. But a lot of places are very prosaic about taking the most obvious reading of a script."
Orrey takes a breath.
Isa looks slantwise towards Cid. "Do you have siblings, Doctor?"
"I-I'm sorry, I should probably pay attention in case I have to fight you," Genbu says diplomatically.
"Oh! Oh, yes, good point. Sorry. Maybe we can talk more later, if, uh, this doesn't turn into violence or anything," Yves says, turning to look toward Isa and Bast.
Doctor Cid looks disappointed, more than anything else. "I do not, I'm afraid." Cassiat is readying another salvo, but all of that rushed out of her so fast she has to catch her breath first.
Yves does add, in a whisper, toward Genbu, "I think those two are always like this when they're in the same place. Maybe it's for the best we're on separate crews."
Isa nods. "I wish I could say this is unusual for them, but if my sister and I are any indication, consider yourself blessed to be a singleton."
"Doctor Cid, I apologize for my outburst. It's been a trying time for our family, and I fear that I've hurt my sister worse than I thought." Orrey stares down at his plate.
Linnet does not speak, but her face very clearly says "I am so sorry for my incredibly embarrassing companions" to Dr. Cid and "you idiots" to the Alyon siblings.
"Maybe we should finish this conversation over there on the deck, Cass?"
"You're goddamned right you did," Cassiat snaps, and then raises her hands, palms out, in reluctant peace as she sits down. "So we'll keep them on separate floors for now," Suzaku says into the silence.
"Do you have a separate ship?" Linnet mutters into her plate.
"Oh, like those fish that fight each other, or their reflections!" Yves says brightly. Then coughs slightly, and goes back to poking at his food.
Doctor Cid sighs, a schoolteacher of a different temperament now. "You had other questions, I assume," she says, her tone briefer than before. Cassiat shows zero interest in talking to Orrey further.
"I do," Isa says politely.
"Then please, proceed."
Linnet withdraws behind the conversational wall of Bast and Isa; her questions now are all about the wonderful marinade on this octopus.
"You mentioned the pre-Imperial constellations. What names do you know for them?"
Yves turns back to Genbu, now that violence seems to have been postponed for another course. "So, which play was it?"
"It was -- oh, just a moment," Genbu says, shifting. They clear their throat, and then recite the names from memory. "Loghrif, the Transcendent Mitron, the Chastiser Emet-Selch, Angel of Truth Pashtarot, Knight-Star Fandaniel, the Protector Ultima, the High-Seraph Halmarut, the Arbiter Nabriales, the Majestic Igeyorhm, the Martyr Deudalaphon, the Benevolent Emmerololth, Holy Queen Lahabrea, Abyssal Celebrant."
"And you did that all in one breath. Color me impressed." And she is! "...so, if they've started falling from the sky, do you know which ones you've found?"
Orrey grabs a notebook from his bag before he really thinks about it...then sort of slowly jots all that down while not quite making eye contact with anyone. "Fascinating! I've never heard of any of those."
"We have found --" Genbu starts, but Seiryu waves them off. "How many have you found?" he asks instead. "Of the stars."
"...I mean, your captain showed me six."
"And there was a seventh in town today."
"I think. Two were so close they might have been one."
"Is that one per constellation, or one per star?" Yves asks. "I mean, those names sound kinda like individuals, but I always thought of constellations as being sort of metaphorical pattern-making..."
"Twelve constellations, made up of twelve stars," Seiryu says, looking directly at Orrey. "One hundred and forty-four stars, either hanging up above us, raging across Ducorde, or secured in preparations for their return to the sky above." "How many have you found?" he repeats.
"One attacked us in Caerwyn," Isa confesses, "but was driven off, and hasn't been seen in some time."
"How do you return a star?" Yves asks. "Because my first thought is 'rockets', but a lot of that depends on how they were staying up there in the first place, and why they fell. You can't just toss something at the ceiling and hope it sticks. So are there, like, star... glue buckets? Nails?"
"There's a ritual," Genbu starts, and then stops. "Well clearly those two are made for each other," Suzaku gripes.
"I think it's sweet. Yves doesn't take to people easily."
"Rituals are good, if it's not, like, full of morally dubious requirements," Yves says approvingly. "It's like lab procedures. Anyway, what do the stars think about all that? Like, are they trying to fall? Trying not to fall? Is there some reason you're not returning the ones you have already?"
Seiryu looks at Isa, and then takes in her attire, and then back up to her face. "You saw a mask in town," he says. "The dragon?"
"Dragoon," Isa corrects. "Claimed a mask as a bounty. They didn't share any details with me."
"The one with all the scarabs, right?" Yves says to Isa, but he's mostly busy being full of enthusiasm directed at Genbu, who can maybe tell him some Cool Star Factz.
"Right."
Seiryu looks over at Suzaku, who mimes erasing a checkmark.
"...were they ALL masks? Or a bunch of them together formed a living mask? Man, that's creepy."
"...I should have brought a notebook. Hey, Orrey, do you have a spare? And maybe another pencil?"
Orrey tosses Yves a notebook and pencil behind Isa's back.
Doctor Cid rests her forearms on the edge of the table. "The stars will be returned once the constellation is complete. If they are returned prematurely, they will fall again."
Yves fumble-grabs the notebook and pencil, and starts jotting things down. "So why did they start falling?" he asks. "Presumably you know that, or have a good guess. You need to know the causes if you want it to not happen all over again."
"Are you joining our crew?" Doctor Cid asks.
Linnet looks at Bast.
"Do I get to see more of that fight if they do?" Suzaku asks.
"Do you know what the stars want?" Yves asks Doctor Cid.
"I must admit I'm curious, Doctor - how did the Rising Stars begin? This seems like a crew that has been together for a long time, and here we are just finding out something that seems of, well, world-changing importance," Bast asks.
"I made my discovery sixteen months ago. I confirmed the first star fourteen months ago, and began putting the crew together at that time. We have all been through a lot together in this past year," she says. "We carry ourselves as a family, or at least as best we can."
Orrey glances over to Cassiat at the mention of family.
Cassiat's return glance is withering.
"What the stars want, Yves?" Doctor Cid asks.
"They are tormented," Isa says, suddenly and almost despite herself.
"Yes," Yves says. "What do they want? Are you helping them get home? Saving them from kidnappers? Or forcing them back into a prison they've been trying to escape? Do you know what they want?" Yves adds, rather less forcefully, "I'm trying to, uh, take ethical considerations into account when I make major decisions. It's a work in progress."
(Linnet's expression has shifted from "kill me now" to "well, he's got a point.")
"They want nothing," she replies. "They are mindless beasts. They are forces of nature. They are monsters with the powers of gods. They are dangerous and have no place here on Ducorde, controlling the people of this planet."
One of Yves' ears twitches.
"Mindless?" Isa says.
"Have you tried asking their side of the story, Doctor?" Linnet asks, very quietly.
"What is there to ask?" Doctor Cid says.
"You haven't," Yves says. He pushes his chair back, and stands. "Well. I know what it's like to work for someone who thinks of others as things. I'm not up for another round of it, thank you kindly."
Orrey's hand drifts to his pocket watch.
The Rising Stars, as one, rise.
Cassiat stays sitting.
"Doctor Cid...I was only in that room a few minutes, and I talked to them. It might be to your benefit to try," Linnet says.
"Thank you for dinner," Isa says as she stands.
Yves offers the captain a small bow, then one to Genbu. "It was a fascinating conversation. I appreciated the chance to meet you all."
"There is much a monster will say to get you to fall into its trap," Doctor Cid says. "You would do well to remember that."
"And we would do well to consider who we refer to as monsters, Doctor," Linnet says.
"Cass, can I talk to you before we go? And is there any message you want me to pass along to Ma and Pa?" Orrey doesn't have much hope of her agreeing to him, but he has to try one more time.
Linnet stands and offers a genuinely regretful handshake to Suzaku. "It was a pleasure, at least at first. I hope to meet you two again under more pleasant circumstances. Perhaps in a pub somewhere, with a lot of stories to tell."
"Something mindless can't argue in its own defense. And someone with a mind can justify anything they've already decided on." Yves shows his teeth in what is not, precisely, a smile. "I had an object lesson. I have justified /so/ many things, myself. Now I am learning to listen. I listened to you, Captain Cid. It's part of my whole... personal growth process."
Suzaku shakes Linnet's hand. "You seem a decent sort. Try not to die out there."
Linnet takes a stand next to Yves and rests her hand on his shoulder.
Yves is trembling faintly. But he pulled off that bow decently.
Then Linnet calls off to the side, "Oh, and Cass? Captain's still looking for his toolbox. You too, Suzaku. And Seiryu. And Byakko. All of you, really. Please try not to get between a falling star and the ground. That can't end well."
Genbu wobbles in place for a moment, and then pulls a book out of some compartment of armor that didn't seem possible. "For you," they say, to Yves.
Yves blinks, then reaches out to take the book. "Thank you," he says. "I really would like to talk more, some... other time."
Cassiat's fingers twitch.
Linnet faces Dr. Cid. "Doctor...it's been an enlightening experience. I really do wish you'd try talking to those masks. You might be surprised what you hear."
"They are leaving, Cassiat," Doctor Cid says. "Say goodbye, and come with me."
Bast takes a long, slow breath. "Well." He picks up a napkin and dabs at his mouth, then carefully folds it and sets it down by his plate, rising in a somewhat exaggeratedly slow motion. "Thank you for the invitation, and the conversation. I do hope we'll meet again. And - Cassiat, I'd like a word before we leave."
"We're not leaving before that word, incidentally," Linnet adds.
Cassiat steels herself. "I owe them their toolbox," she says.
Doctor Cid thinks. "Byakko, retrieve it. It's their property, not ours."
"We are guests here, Linnet. There's no need to be unpleasant, I'm sure," Bast says.
"Try telling that to the squabbling siblings half an hour ago. Sir." That was mostly under Linnet's breath.
Very, very reluctantly, the moogle leaves, not taking his eyes off of Yves until he's through the door.
Orrey withers a bit at Linnet's quiet rebuke.
A moment later, Byakko returns, carrying a very familiar toolbox in both hands. He pushes it into Cassiat's hands, and then returns to his place right by Doctor Cid's side.
Cassiat steps forward, toolbox in both hands, halfway between the Rising Stars and the crew of the Starfall. "Here," she says to Bast. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd taken it off when you decided you were going to use the boat."
The toolbox has clearly been opened -- the Machine City that once was inside is no longer, as you expected -- but the other important part has not been breached.
Yves is looking at the book he's holding, rather than Teen Events.
Yves's book is called Time of the Dreamwatch.
Bast nods in response, setting the toolbox down and popping the catches in an obviously practiced motion. "I thought that's about how it went. I hope you won't hold that delay against Orrey forever; it was mostly my idea to test the equipment before we rushed in, to make sure it wouldn't fail when we really needed it to work."
"If I wanted to mail you a letter, or the like, how would I make sure it reached you?" Yves asks Genbu quietly. His shakiness is more visible than it was before.
Genbu's shoulders slide up and down again. "I don't know. I'm sorry."
He nods with a small smile as he runs his fingers over the familiar equipment, then closes the box again. "I'm glad you and your dad both got out of that trainwreck safely, and that the Dawn turned up when it did."
Cassiat looks down at the deck, out at the city, anywhere but Orrey. "I know how excited he was. I heard his voice. I know what's important to him. Tell Papa and Mama I miss them and I love them."
"Well--" Yves gives Genbu a small, flickering smile. "If we have the chance to speak again, or such, let's."
Genbu's helmet bobs up and down. "Okay."
"He gets a bit strange about ancient things, yeah. But I've seen him worrying about your father - and you - for days on end. He does care, even if it's hard to see sometimes," Bast says. He lifts the box in his left hand and pauses, thinking. "I know it might not hold much appeal right now, but if you can bring yourself to be around your idiot brother again someday, you're always welcome with us." He offers Cassiat his hand before turning away.
Linnet tells Cass in a quiet, sisterly manner, "You'll be fine, kiddo. Keep practicing, remember to take a deep breath once in a while, and seriously, keep your eye out for those Harman boys." Then she turns to Yves and starts plotting a dessert menu from the Starfall's galley.
Cassiat shakes Bast's hand, but doesn't say anything. To Linnet, a nod.
Yves wiggles a little wave to Genbu as he turns to consult on dessert with Linnet.
Orrey looks up sadly at his sister. "Make sure you get home every now and then and let us know how you're doing. I'll be doing the same. Leave messages there if you need anything."
Cassiat looks at Orrey, the same pain written across her face.
"You too."
She then turns and leaves.
Orrey sighs and heads off with his new family. End session.