( open ) time is tickin' I cannot waste it love

[scarcastically]

CHARACTERS: Erik Stevens + Everyone / Mingle! I’m not the boss of you.
LOCATION: Open Field near ish the Palace
DATE: Sometime in July
CONTENT: Party, drinks, dancing.
WARNINGS: N/A


( i. party hats )

[ this had been the stupidest condition of his goal, but it’s a doable one so erik handles it the way he would handle any kind of mission; single-mindedly. he gets to work and makes a couple of dozen party hats of various colours and size. some might seem too small, others too big, a few that are just right, no he doesn’t accept constructive criticism. ]

Just put the damn thing on, it won’t kill you.

( ii. food and stuff )

[ unfortunately there are constraints. if they were back in usa, setting up the supplies of food and drink would be a cinch. however, he’s working with fantasy asian cuisine, out of which he knows half of. still, his position as a nobleman’s attendant gave him a hefty salary and he put it to good use. there are plenty of caskets of booze, all the kinds he could find and various eateries and snacks. some from the palace, others he cobbled together with the use of their kitchen like basic butter cookies and wafers.

eat, drink, he’s not here to card you kids ]

( iii. dancing )

[ and of course, there’s music. lively music, slow tunes. erik managed to hire a band (like three people on instruments but details). the sun was setting, the breeze was cool and maybe for a brief moment, you want to enjoy yourself. give up your worries for a day. the light hits the flowers, giving the scenery a warm orange glow.

grab a partner and have a little fun. ]

Comments

[winscenario]

Well, luckily there are many types of parties, we don't all need to like the wild kind. [ Jim could make all kinds of suggestions about parties for two but he'd rather not make Finn's head explode today.

Anyway, interesting question, so he'll stick to that instead. ]

It's the Starfleet Academy, I'm Captain of a starship where I'm from. So yes, among other things, I had to fulfill diplomatic duties every so often. Though I did have skilled advisors on my crew to help me with that.

[hatejakku]

[ Finn has calmed down considerably since all that blustering on the dance floor, but it could totally come back in a heart beat, so- Anyway, that's beside the point.

His eyes practically sparkle with this revelation. ]

I didn't get the impression that you were in a military. [ He still doesn't, in all honesty, and his voice sounds a little skeptical on that front. This seems different. ] What's the complement of your crew? What do you guys do?

[ Sorry, he... has a million questions. ]

[winscenario]

I'm not in military. Starfleet strives to place itself as far away from a military structure as possible. It's... a work in progress, you might say. But I'm definitely not military.

[ He wouldn't call himself a soldier by any stretch, certainly not a fighter. He'll do it if he has to, and even then... ]

We've borrowed the ranks from the now defunct Earth's Navy. Seems fitting, since we're on ships. There's a complement of about one thousand crewmembers on my ship, the Enterprise, and our primary focus is deep space exploration, scientific research, diplomatic relations and peacekeeping.

[hatejakku]

[ Careful, Jim. He's getting all starry-eyed about it. It certainly sounds idealistic compared to his own home, but he doesn't miss the signs that it's not all roses and rainbows. Like how it's a work in progress to make sure they remain non-militant. And the peacekeeping thing.

But still- ]

That sounds amazing. We don't get time back home to just explore our own galaxy. [ Too busy trying to kill/save one another. ] You must have seen some incredible things. Every planet I've been to has something amazing about it.

[ Except Jakku. Unless we're counting the people. ]

[winscenario]

[ Well, some peacekeeping has to be involved when Federation space touches on the Klingon and the Romulan Empires. They're not exactly the friendliest, particularly towards the Federation, although Jim hopes that will change with time. ]

That's too bad. Getting to travel around and visit new places is a great part of the fun for me.

[ The more political aspect of it is a little less exciting for Jim, though he knows it's just as important. ]

Do you have any place you liked more than the others? Anything that stood out to you?

[hatejakku]

[ All of the places Finn liked ended up having some bad memory attached to it. Instead of names, the map in his head consists of "the place Poe got stabbed in the leg during that bar fight" or "the place I tripped and almost fell of a cliff without even being chased" and the like. So he has to think about it and hums while he's doing so. ]

The Core planets are cool sometimes. The more advanced ones, I mean. Coruscant and Corellia are just giant cities. The wealthier areas are- Well, they show off their wealth. [ And it looks cool, Finn's just saying. ]

The places I really liked, though, are the ones that's just wildlife. Not deserts. But there's a few that's like big jungles. They're quiet. Less populated.

But I have seen some crazy things. Like this planet that was covered in white salt with bright red sand just beneath. And there's another that's covered in giant blue crystal spires. I just didn't enjoy them as much as the quiet ones, I guess.

[winscenario]

[ Jim nods, trying to picture all those places in his head. Alas, he's not picturing Finn nearly falling off a cliff on any of them. ]

That's pretty cool. And I agree, the more deserted planets do sound like fun. I've never been too fond of places that like to show off their wealth.

[ Mostly because he's never grown up in wealth, never really gotten used to that notion of social stratification based on currency, and that capitalist mindset still boggles him. ]

I like the ones with warm but not hot environments. Maybe not jungles, but I like mountains, forests, lakes and oceans. Caves can be fun too, sometimes. It depends. And I'm not big on ice planets myself, I kind of hate them, but there's this inhabited moon, Andor, which is an ice world, constant freezing temperatures; the cities are built underground, in complex cave systems that go hundreds of meters or more below the surface of the moon, and they're all connected by deep tunnels that extend for thousands of kilometers. It's all pretty damn impressive.

[hatejakku]

[ Finn most certainly didn't grow up in wealth either. But he likes seeing architecture and fashion and all of that when people are allowed to just imagine it up. Those same people usually ruin it pretty quickly, though. Not to mention how bad things start to look when the credits for a glorified fountain could have fed a thousand villages in the Outer Rim for a year. ]

That's pretty incredible. I've seen some places like that, but they usually inhabit the surface, too. And they didn't go that far. Makes you wonder how things developed in a place like that.

[ The answer back home is usually "displaced colonists stumbled across ancient ruins" or something equally depressing/mysterious. ]

[winscenario]

[ Yeah, that's what rubs Jim the wrong way the most. Earth is beautiful, it has some amazing sights and modern architecture that never depended on currency or wealth, so it is possible to achieve that. The same can be said for plenty of other planets in the Federation. Doesn't take money or sacrificing the basic needs of others to do that. ]

Well, life can evolve in all kinds of unexpected places. The Andorian physiology is very much a mirror of the world they evolved in; cold blood, blue skin, all that. Earth, where I'm from, has a more temperate climate overall, and it shows in the way we've evolved too. [ He sips on his drink, tipping his head at Finn. ] What about you? What kind of world do you come from?

[ Finn's not from Earth, Jim knows that, but he does look Human. Still, Jim wonders. Could be he's from an entirely unfamiliar species to him that just looks very similar. ]

[hatejakku]

[ Earth. He's heard of that planet a few times since coming to the station. Enough to know that there are multiple planets with the same name, because Jim probably would have mention things like giant monsters from the oceans by now.

To the questions, Finn gives a little smile and shakes his head. ]

I grew up in space, on ships. Sometimes we touched down- [ going from base to base ] -but none of those places were home. I'm human, far as I know, though. And there aren't a lot of people that live entire generations on stations, so I'm sure mine were from a planet or moon somewhere, too.

[winscenario]

Oh. You're a space baby, huh. [ Jim smiles, absolutely endeared and none the wiser about the real story of Finn's life, the real tragedy of it all. It's probably going to break his heart when he finds out about it, but anyway. ]

I was born on an emergency shuttle, but I did grow up on my planet. It was only in my twenties that I took off on a ship. I've been pretty much living in one for the past seven or so years.

[hatejakku]

[ Sounds like an exciting birth but probably a tragic one, too. Finn's curious but he doesn't mention it.

He does laugh a little, though. ]

We're opposites, then. I started keeping my feet on the ground more often just a year ago.

[ Well, sort of. Feels like he spends the same amount of time in space, really, but it also isn't the same by a long shot. ]

Sounds you like you've been busy those last seven or so years.

[winscenario]

[ Yes, very tragic. Jim isn't touching that right now. ]

I wouldn't say opposites. I'm guessing you still do space travel, even if less permanently?

[ Jim chuckles, head tilting in a slight nod. ]

Yeah, you could say that. No rest for the wicked or Starfleet Captains, as they say.

[hatejakku]

[ Finn shrugs. ] Definitely less permanently. Kind of hard to avoid space travel completely where I'm from, though.

[ And his smile doesn't falter when he blinks in surprise. ] How long have you been a Captain, anyway?

[ Jim has to be in his early-30s (Finn would have guessed late-20s if he didn't have the earlier context), and it sounds like he may have been Captain for a majority of those seven years. A promotion like that so young during peacetime is... pretty spectacular, actually. Not that Finn has much experience with peacetime. ]

[winscenario]

Not as hard in my reality, it's just something I'm more personally involved in.

[ Obviously, and also it's obvious that he loves it. He often feels like his life never really started until he took his feet off the ground. ]

About five years. I made Captain as soon as I graduated from Starfleet.

[ One might say he also graduated precisely so he could become Captain, but details. ]

[hatejakku]

[ Well, it's hard for him, but there are so few people that actually stay planet bound, who never leave where they were born. He's kind of jealous.

Anyway, his eyebrows pop up. ] Really? I won't say it's unheard of but that's damn impressive. [ Not that Finn has a lot of experience with Academies, but he does know of several troopers who jumped straight to Lieutenant right out of training. And he knows first hand how a person can jump ranks in the Resistance.

But, again, they're supposedly talking peacetime. Jim must be a genius prodigy or something. ]

You must love it. You can't tell me promotion offers haven't come and gone in that time.

[winscenario]

[ It's different for each person, Jim imagines, but one has to try all options before deciding what's right for them. For him, being planet-bound for too long just isn't what he wants. At least not at this point in his life. ]

Thank you, [ He tips his head with a smile, genuine yet very proud. He knows it is damn impressive, it's one hell of an accomplishment and he's not going to play modest about it, even though he knows it was in good part Starfleet rewarding him for what he did. He often believes he'd have benefited from the gradual rise, from the experience of being a Cadet, a Lieutenant, a First Officer, before anything else. But life works in strange, mysterious ways. ]

A few. But I didn't go for them. [ He doesn't go into great detail, particularly his most recent situation. It was still something he's working through personally. ] I want to fly, and I'm not ready to let that go.

[hatejakku]

[ Finn admires that pride. Reminds him of General Organa in the way that James knows exactly what he fought for and earned. His smile grows a little soft. ]

Yeah, I can get that. It's hard when you're watching everyone else go out there while you try to pull strings behind the scenes. And I haven't even been chained to a desk yet. [ Yet. Hopefully soon, considering recent events. ]

It's hard to imagine being grounded like that.

[winscenario]

[ He groans a little at that, though still smiling. ]

God, I can't even imagine. The bureaucratic work is definitely my least part of being a Captain, I can't imagine my job being all about that.

[ Clearly Jim needs excitement in his life. Starfleet would just be too damn boring otherwise. ]

So what do you do out there? Are you an explorer, a fighter...?

[hatejakku]

[ Finn can't honestly deny that he enjoys being out there in the action. A part of him feels like he was made for that life. On the other hand, he doesn't mind bureaucratic work and he's good at it. So long as that desk comes with a view, he can imagine himself being plenty happy.

He takes a sip of the drink and smiles a little while James asks his question. Finn shrugs. ]

A soldier, yeah. My galaxy's been at war for a while. After our last battle, though, I think things are finally over.

But it's hard to be sure. I arrived at the station before we could handle the clean up.

[ Because as much as the war is over, the next war isn't. He can't let another First Order creep out of this Empire. Never another kid. ]

[winscenario]

[ Well, it's not the answer he was hoping for Finn, but it's not a surprising one either. He seems to come from a slightly different reality than Jim's, one where necessity has called for a different approach when it comes to space travel. Still, soldier or no, Jim trusts his gut feelings; he knows Finn's the kind of person who does good. ]

That... would be nice. I hope your galaxy's at peace, then. Or at least your corner of it, that would be a good start.

[ He knows peace isn't easy to achieve, though. Especially on such a large scale. It'll take time and work, and people like Finn. ]

[hatejakku]

[ Peace is something his galaxy knows very little of. But Finn can dream of something better. Can try to strive for it. ]

Me, too. I think it's one the way there. If not, it will be one day.

[ The fight between the light and the dark will always be there. But maybe they can keep it amongst themselves or something. ]

[winscenario]

[ That sentiment in itself is everything already. Just that there are people striving to do better, and to be better, makes all the difference. ]

A bit like my own world. Took us a while, but we got there.

[ And even then it's not perfect, but it's as close to a utopia as anyone could imagine. ]

[hatejakku]

[ Finn smiles and almost stares into the space between them. ]

Honestly? It's hard to imagine. I grew up in this war. Always dreamed of something else, but now that it's so close, I still can't picture it.

[ But he still loves the idea. ]

We'll get there, too. One way or the other.

[winscenario]

Guess it's the kind of thing you need to experience for yourself. You'll get there, I'm sure. You'll like it.

[ It's just a gut feeling, he doesn't know Finn well enough yet; but he seems like the kind of person who's more interested in helping others than anything. There's plenty of that even in times of peace, as Finn will undoubtedly learn for himself. Maybe a little less action, a little more paper-pushing. ]

But for now it looks like your skills will come in handy for these missions. [ Not exactly the most thrilling thing, he knows. But still. ]