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ximilialog2024-04-03 01:15 pm
CONCLUSION: STATION FINAL
The orbs work in whispers. When they start they are unnoticeable, a soft inhale next to the ear, a breath of a suggestion upon suggestion burrowing itself directly into the brain, still quiet at first until their voice grows stronger, loud enough that they can no longer be ignored – until no resistance remains in the mind of those that are affected.
The orbs have played their hand, set their pieces, and the board is now ready to repeat the tragedy that has taken place once before.
But this time, however … the team is prepared.
Fortunately, their opponent is not one person imbued with the power of all the orbs, but several with a sliver of that power each; a useful advantage when those who still retain a part of their mind fights through the haze of insistent voices, begging to be restrained — knocked out, bound or duct-taped, whatever it takes to be stopped — and their minds can be cleansed.
Some of the others don’t surrender so easily. Physical altercations break out in the hallways, Orber against Orber, some pulled from the hold of the orbs by their friends through any desperate means of reaching them: a touch, a reminder of some important memory that evokes the bonds of friendship they’ve built together. There are those willing to help too — Joric, Minimus, Vash, among others — and stop the orbers trying to do their fellow crewmates harm. It is a group effort, and not an easy one, but eventually everyone whose mind has been affected is brought to a halt, some willingly, and some with great reluctance.
With great urgency, the two original members from the first team waste no time to step in and do what they can now, after swearing that no one else would ever be taken control of again. Not after the last time.
It takes some doing, of modifying each spell to combat the effects of each individual orb and its influence, but Viveca and Degar move from Orber to Orber, coming away with visible relief when they reach the end of the line and no fatalities can be reported aboard the station, and that despite the surmountable odds, every member of the team has made it alive, their minds belonging to themselves once more.
The bright gold of the spell doesn’t hurt when it envelops the Orbers that have been affected, leaving them with a sense of warmth that seeps into their bones, and a lightness that comes from the heavy presence of the orbs being extracted from their minds.
After the detained are cured and free, Viveca and Degar carefully check over everyone else, a precaution that must be taken now. If they’re going to unify the orbs, if they’re going to complete this last segment of their entire mission, they need to be sure that not even a spectre of a threat remains. The process is long and thorough, but eventually Viveca’s voice reaches everyone on the station.
As her voice cuts off, leaving the comms in silence, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind what she means. Time is limited, and the team will only have this night to spend with their friends and loved ones before they reach the end of this story.
This moment of respite is a much deserved one for all of the good the team has done, all of the worlds and the people they've saved — but the victory comes with a double-edged price. Time being as limited as it is, there is none of it to spare in brooding. This might just be the last time you have with your teammates, in this shared space, all together.
The celebrations seem to go on into the night, every member of the Ximilia crew suddenly revived with newfound energy — or perhaps in denial that the night was coming too quickly to an end. Stories are shared: anecdotes from a home characters haven’t been to in so long they can barely remember it in more than wisps of memory, almost like dreams; quiet truths and little secrets that had never been revealed to anyone throughout all seventeen missions until now, just one last confession to a friend they will never see again; memories (some in appreciation, some in sadness) and laughs shared over members of the crew who had once been an intrinsic part of the team and have since left: Hermann Gottlieb, Clara Oswald, Sam Wilson, Gwen Stacy, Rhysand, Blue, Steve Harrington, Leonard McCoy, Shang-Chi, Finn and Jake, Drift, Finn, Iris Black … just to name a few.
Viveca and Degar add their own stories to the circle, expounding on some of the faces that the crew are now familiar with, colouring the life they had led before the current crew arrived. Viveca and Degar’s hands link before the night is through, fingers twining with one another’s as they remember their old friends and their old commander. It’s the first time they admit aloud to the emptiness that the old crew had left behind when the orbs had relentlessly pushed their way into the lives of their previous comrades, left many dead in their wake, and tortured the last of them with what could only be described as an insatiable glee.
They share one last round of drinks before Viveca, ever the responsible one, finally calls it and orders the crew to bed. Tomorrow, she says, is going to be a busy one, and they’ll need their energy and their wits about them.
It’s early in the morning when Wei Wuxian, Newt Geiszler, Stephen Strange, Sabriel, and Yzak are called to the North Wing. The doors slide open easily as the small crew are gathered into the space that has rarely been accessible by anyone other than the Commander and the AI. It doesn’t look any different than it had the first time the team were invited in. The clear barrier that occupies most of the centre of the room now is filled with bright light, pulsing slightly the moment any of the crew dares to turn their gaze towards it, as though the light still aims to beckon them forward and tempt them with promises they are no longer in any position to keep. To the side is a smaller container bearing an identical resemblance and one single glowing orb on its own.
Degar turns towards the group, hands folded together. He still looks a little ridiculous in his leather tunic, socks, sandals, and deep green cargo pants, like his bottom half and top half couldn’t agree on the era they were going for, trapped in between dragon-slaying and backpacking across Earth’s Europe.
Remembering a conversation he had with Yzak not so long ago, Degar explains that in between missions and while the crew were away, he has continued to work on strengthening the barrier for when the orb was made whole, but that while he has enough power to contain them as smaller, separate shards, the weight and strength of the one Orb will admittedly be a challenge. This and the Ximilia station itself will require stronger walls and better defenses if they are to keep the Orb intact but away from finding its way into other worlds and repeating the chaos they so crave.
Without hesitation, Wei Wuxian shakes his head and lifts a hand in a ‘say no more’ gesture. He looks to the others gathered with him and offers his magic and abilities however they might be useful to strengthen the hold Degar needs over the orb’s barrier. With a grateful nod, the group gets to work, fortifying the barrier and its controls through a combination of magic and advanced technology.
It doesn’t take long before the group have only mere moments to prepare for their inevitable goodbyes. Those who have decided to see their goals to the end and are ready to leave the station get their affairs in order. Beds are made, while others remain in disarray. Bags are packed; wall-posters come down, and souvenirs from worlds away are left on night-stands and dressers, unable to be taken to where crew members are going. A favourite mug is placed in the caring hands of a teammate who has decided to stay aboard for just a little longer. A basket of cookies is left in the kitchen, one last gift from a leaving crewmate.
Of the fifty-three members that still remain of the Ximilia crew, a small group of a little under ten decide to remain indefinitely, to help Degar and Viveca keep the Ximilia running and watch over the Orb: Bob, Ziggy, Itachi Uchiha, Wei Wuxian, Natasha Romanoff, Dean Winchester, Takeshi Kovacs and Minimus. They are joined for a time by Marta Cabrera, Cal Kestis, Clarke Griffin and Newt Geiszler, all of whom mean to return to their homes eventually, but want to stay a part of the crew for a while longer.
Others, such as Yujin Mikotoba, Bucky Barnes, The Doctor, Yamato, Ahsoka Tano, Alucard, Noah, Hagakure, Yennefer, Sherlock Holmes, Murderbot, Ryunosuke, Lan Sizhui, Stephen Strange, and Alina Starkov have decided to return to their homes, at peace with never having their regret undone and the course of their world changed forever because of their decision. Perhaps, as Yujin believes, the cost of a regret undone is too great. The orbs, after all, had sought to use this to their advantage and in doing so caused even more destruction across the endless stars.
And finally, some members of the crew who had always been so sure of their reason for being here — that is to collect as many orbs as they could to fulfill their contract and undo their deepest regret — leave knowing that they have done exactly what they set out to do: Andromache, Lúthien, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Joric, Ivy, Yzak Jule, Rita Farr, The Darkling, Sabriel, Nie Huaisang, Daisy Johnson, Peter Quill, and Vash. Their exit means anticipation to return to a world now changed, and hopefully for the better.
With the bittersweet prompting of an old familiar ping! to each orber’s ear piece, Viveca announces that those departing should gather into the North Wing, which had up until now been a fairly mysterious location. There is no mission anymore, but the path through Ximilia’s corridors still feels so familiar, so well-trodden, it’s hard not to feel almost nostalgic for it. The doors are already open and it’s the soft sound of music from one of Degar’s playlists that fills the room over the station’s intercoms. The light from the collected orbs pulses brightly upon the crew’s entrance before they congregate before the clear barrier. Between Degar’s gloved hands is a smaller container holding the last of the orbs, purposefully kept away from the others to buy the crew their one last night of time.
With that, the crew choosing to leave the Ximilia station do so for the very last time. No preamble is necessary when the orb is made whole the way several of the crew had seen it done once before — though under far more tragic circumstances. The too-familiar tug at the navel pulls those crew members away, bright light filling their vision to nothing but white; however, the trip is peaceful this time … quiet, save for the very last soothing note from one of Degar’s songs.