Futuristic The Black Divide (Paused)

[Cartoonicat]

I laugh at a couple of his stories, finding the thought of a young Victor selling lemonade incredibly endearing. The more we talk, the more he seems like a genuine person instead of the uptight corporate rep that my crew—and, admittedly, myself—saw him as since the start of the journey. My usual shtick is proving right, and I'm glad: Everyone deserves a chance. I can't let stress get to me.

When he drops Captain Schultz's name, I nearly choke on my soda. The fizz burns my nose but I force the cough down and pass off the slight fit with a dismissive hand. The next drink I get is far less carbonated.

The conversation has moved on, but I try to steer the topic in the direction I need. "I imagine that was upsetting, what Schultz did," I say, feigning knowledge. I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about regarding pirates. "But pirates can be... tricky. Perhaps there's more to the story."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Maybe." Victor shrugs, "However, it is unprofessional and that's all the De Rege Technologies care about."

When dinner comes to a close, Victor lets you foot the bill - of course - and stands up from the table before you've even talked to the servers. "Thank you for your time, Captain. I'm looking forward to seeing how we manage the dead spot up ahead. I'm sure you'll do admirably."

Is that sarcasm or not? You honestly can't tell.

- Answer.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Ah, thank you...?" I'd like to think he wasn't being sarcastic, especially after I just treated him to lunch, but it's hard to tell. Regardless, I can't let him leave now; my last inquiry didn't clarify anything. If I can get him to stick around a little longer, I might get him talking again. "H-Hey! We could, uh, hang out a little bit longer, if you like? Y'know, before heading back to the ship"—I hate throwing them under the bus like this, but it might deter Victor from heading back to the Eleos so soon—"and my crew."

 

[ArcticFox]

Victor raises a suspicious eyebrow at you, but still hangs back, "What do you propose?"

- Answer.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Good. I have his attention. All I have to do now is keep it. "Perhaps a walk... somewhere? Um... I mean, the lights are nice even during the day," I say on a whim, unsure if there's a museum or artificial park or any other relatively quiet area good for talking further. "Unless there's somewhere else on Martian Beta that interests you?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"A walk is fine." Victor agrees without protesting too much, surprisingly. Hands behind his back, he walks beside you down a slightly less congested area of the station, frowning at every person that comes close and doing a masterful job at evading being touched by anyone passing by. A couple of vendors call out to him, but he gives them a glare that makes then look away as if they committed a crime.

- Ask him something.
- Walk in silence.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Oh? Ah, I mean, awesome," I nod. Truth be told, I hadn't expected him to agree so easily. The lack of resistance and snide commentary is actually quite nice. "So..." I want to ask more about Schultz and the issue with pirates, but I need to find a way to bring it up that isn't so direct. "What do you think of your stay on the Eleos so far?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"Your lead has been professional for the most part." Victor says with an approving nod, "However, the same cannot be said of your crew, captain. They are still very unruly, I'm afraid you'll have to tighten their reins if you want this journey to end successfully." He sighs, as if the subject has taken away his strength, and then asks. "Is this your first command?"

- Answer.

 

[Cartoonicat]

I knew what I was getting into, asking that question, but to hear such a low opinion of my crew irks me. It takes all I have to remain open to his thoughts instead of defensive. Victor is a person, too.

"The Eleos is my first ship, yes," I say. Then, to explain myself, add: "Others might attribute my leadership methods to inexperience, but in truth my beliefs don't align with viewing my crew as business components. They're more than employees to me."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Fair." Victor shrugs, and doesn't offer any other comment on the matter. You walk for a little while more, then head toward the ship. He bids you goodnight with something resembling a smile and it is a strange sight.

--

The next step in your journey is heading into the featureless expanse between Mars and the Belt: far away from entertainment and civilisation. It's the most isolated you can get on a Vesta Station run, and if you get in real trouble, help is not close.

It will be up to you to keep your ship running and your crew safe.

It's day ninety-five on your journey to Vesta Station, and you've had weeks of an uneventful, featureless Black.

- You like the peace and quiet.
- You want something to happen.
- You only hope you won't encounter pirates.
- You are concerned about your crew.
- You like this kind of space travel.

 

[Cartoonicat]

In the end, I wasn't able to figure out everything behind Schultz's story before leaving Martian Beta. It's disappointing, but it'd been a tall order to start.

I did learn something, though, and had fun in the process. I return Victor's smile, feeling a little bit better by time the Eleos departs.

---

The weeks following our stop at Martian Beta are slow, but I'd rather them be dull than too exciting. If something were to happen out here... well, I don't want to think about that.

Instead, I try to enjoy the calm voyage. It's an excellent atmosphere for staying productive and, when workloads are slow, bonding with the others.

 

[ArcticFox]

But, it's becoming clear to you that your crew are not coping with the peace and quiet with your level of poise: all of your crew need interventions over the course of a week.

At first, it's difficult but it's not extraordinary: Eira comms you to come to the cargo deck, to the supply areas, and when you arrive you find her standing over Dylan, her with a look of confused frustration, and Dylan holding himself up by his forearms on an overturned crate, panting for breath.

"I didn't say anything," Eira says, rolling her eyes. "Hardly anything."

"I'm fine," Dylan rasps, though his hands are shaking. "I'm sorry."

"You're obviously not fine, you absolute blockhead."

Eira puts her hands on his shoulders, presumably to help him stand upright. He flinches away from her with his whole body, a small, soft cry of alarm escaping from his whitened, closed-tight lips.

"All I said," Eira says, "was that I was going to throw him out an airlock if I had to suffer Roshan's cooking. I obviously didn't mean it."

"Leave me alone," Dylan says plaintively, and hides his face in his hands.

- Sent Dylan to his quarters, and reprimand Eira.
- Send Eira off with stern words, and focus on helping Dylan chill out.
- Get Roshan to come help Dylan while you talk to Eira.
- Help them make up.

 

[Cartoonicat]

I look between the two of them, mad at neither one. Really, it isn't Eira's fault. In a standard-setting her words would have been taken as a common joke, but... well, knowing what I do, I can understand Dylan's misinterpretation. It's not my secret to tell, though, so I have to find a way to play both sides without divulging too much information.

"Hey, ah... How about we all take a couple of deep breaths? No talking, just breathing, yeah?" I gesture for them both to take a moment and make a show of inhaling deeply myself. Best to try and sort this out sooner than later—I don't want hard feelings between crew members—but there won't be reconciliation if Dylan's in the midst of panic.

 

[ArcticFox]

It takes real leadership to be able to talk both of them down, to get them to settle their differences, in front of both of them, without being condescending.

Luckily, you know conflict resolution inside and out, and you get them talking about impact and restitution and laughing by the end. Eira sends him off with a friendly bump on the shoulder.

"Sorry," Eira says to you, as if it's an afterthought. "I know that's messed up your schedule for the day."

- Answer.

 

[Cartoonicat]

I shake my head. "Don't worry about it." It's inconvenient, but it's hard to stress when the trip has been so quiet until now. With so little going on, I figure playing mediator can't have caused too much damage to my schedule. Even if it did, I'm just glad the pair made up. A couple of late nights should combat whatever I fell behind on. "How about you, though? Everything going alright?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'm fine." Eira snorts gracelessly. "Next time I'll try to interrupt you with something more fun. Like Roshan breaking her hip."

A couple of drama-free days pass, but then Oscar and Shiori - your two steadiest crewmembers, if you're honest with yourself - wake you up early one morning while they're in the middle of a full-blown shouting match, their voices echoing up and down the crew corridor.

"You need to back off," Oscar's saying when you approach, "and let me do my job."

Shiori's eyes are red-rimmed and her hair is uncharacteristically messy, though her voice is strangled calm, it echoes as loudly as Oscar's snarl. "You are sick with exhaustion and you need to let me look at you."

When Oscar spots you, he gestures sharply at Shiori. "Tell her, Captain. I'm just tired. She;s trying to make me waste my time-"

"Look after yourself," Shiori growls.

"-waste my time sitting around in the medbay. I don't have any symptoms of anything."

Shiori stamps her foot in frustration. "Only because you won't let me check!"

- Put Oscar offduty.
- Urge Oscar to be checked.
- Tell Oscar to slow down a bit.
- Tell Shiori to leave Oscar alone.