Through the Looking Glass: Chapter Four

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Kay pulled him further into the room, so they had a bit more privacy. He tucked the tablet away so he could use both his hands, snuggling into Asher and carefully resting one wing around him as well. Yes this was very wierd, but it was also really nice.

"Seems a bit... weird to keep hush hush and.. b.. become something as high profile as a captain." Stellan shrugged. "I don't... really know how to use a gun. Not much call for that where I grew up. "

"Money talks." Was all Shock said. "And plus, easier to convince people you are the last alive."

Asher sat near Kay and enjoyed the view of space, letting Kay eat in peace. He didn't mind just sitting and relaxing. He would have checked the news, but it was depressing to read and there wasn't much he could do about it here anyway.

Kay set his plate aside and wrote [It's nice here. Quiet. ] For a space ship anyway. He looked around curiously, and a little sadly. [Do you think they'll figure out a way to free this Vestia? Can she be free? ] Poor thing was a mess.

"I'm sure it's possible to free her. The collar is designed to be removable, although it might require some cutting, since it's been on her far too long." Asher winced at the thought. That was going to hurt the poor ship a lot, although it'd be healthier for her in the long run. "Whether she can psychologically handle freedom after a lifetime of slavery? Even she doesn't know that. But we have to try, of course."

Kay nodded, poor Vestia. [I wonder what they'll all do once we're gone. Will they go back to slavery, or will they try to forge a new path? I'm still not sure I entirely trust Starr's other self, Starr's memories may have softened her a little, but whether that's enough to change her, who knows. ] He shook his head. [I know both my brothers would argue what happens next isn't our problem, but we set this series of events in motion, we have to hold ourselves at least somewhat accountable.]

James shook his head. "You're way too quick to justify the actions of slavers, Shock."

"it.. it might be unwise to discuss slavery with androids. " Stellan set the last bottle on the counter. "th.. they have a bit of a ... unique perspective." He shook his head. "y.. you are an avian yes?" He asked Shock, tilting his head. "You have a curiously diverse crew."

"Some of them will, I've sure. Many of these guys have been slavers all their working lives, and changing careers won't be appealing to them. But I think some will take the opportunity to seize a new life. Certainly the slaves will appreciate the chance to start over." Asher smiled softly, "Maybe things won't be perfect, but I think we can at least leave everyone with the opportunity to do something better."

~~
James nodded. "Yep, slavers and robots don't mix."

Kay nodded. [Here's hoping.] He gazed out at the stars.

"I just don't think the universe is as shit as everyone says it is." Shock shrugged, picking up an empty bottle and looking down its neck like a telescope. He looked through the glass at the two. "I like to think there's always something to find at a new angle. And maybe that means thinking people aren't all bad, and that I joke around too much, but I can't really help it."

Asher looked at Kay, "We have some time to figure things out. In the mean time, are you still up for that Scrabble game?"

Kay nodded. [Sure] Though he wasn't entirely enthusiastic, it was something to do.

--
Stellan nodded. "As a coping strategy.. there's w... worse things. " He shrugged. "Just remember n.. not everyone will agree with your rosy view." He smiled oddly. "A lot of pessimists in your crew. "

"Whatever works for you, I guess," James said to Shock with a shrug. "Personally, I've run into a few things I wouldn't laugh about, and people who were irredeemable."

~~
Asher pulled up the app on his tablet. It had a multiplayer mode for two tablets, which he chose so they could both see the board without handing it back and forth. "Satare only?" Asher said.

[You think you can handle that?] Kay smiled softly. Well it'd be an interesting test of Asher's language skills certainly.

Asher laughed and shook his head. "Probably not, but it's a good way to practice a bit," he said. Switching to somewhat halting Satare with a distinct Galactic Common accent he added, <<It's worth a try, right?>>

Kay smiled, it was strange to hear Asher speaking his native tongue. He nodded and switched his tablet to stop auto translating. [<<You need to work on your accent, but it's better than my galactic common i'm sure.>>]

Asher nodded in agreement, switching back to Common momentarily to reply, "It takes a while to train a natural voice synthesizer to handle a new language." <<I should improve eventually, if I practice.>>

[<<Don't worry, even organics have trouble with accents. Matt's very good at imitating, Esk not so much. >>] It was true, while Matt could soften his accent quite effectively, Esk still had a rather odd way of pronouncing certain words. He looked down at his tablet. [<<Want to start?>>]

<<As long as people understand what I say, that's fine>> Asher smiled broadly and placed a word. <<Since I'm a beginner, it's only fair.>>

"So there is, apparently." Shock smiled, "Not that it mattered to me. My damn planet got blown up and I'm still sitting here." He mimicked explosion sounds. "But... I suppose... why I can see why some wouldn't find it appealing."

"you planet was blown up?" Stellan frowned. "That's pretty... catastrophic.. " He shook his head, yeah, the other universe sounded even shitter from what he'd learned. He had absolutely zero want to go there.

---

Kay nodded, and placed a word. [<<It's strange hearing you speak my native tongue. Even Matt doesn't bother speaking it these days.>>]

"Their creator linked them all to their home planet so they all went borderline suicidal for a while after it blew up," James said, shaking his head. "Crappy stuff."

~~
Asher smiled. <<Seems only fair that I should know your first language too. Besides, it could be useful someday, not just for... This>> He gestured to the game. Yeah, he didn't know how to translate 'Scrabble' to Satare.

"That... seems extremely stupid." Stellan looked bewildered. "Losing your whole world though m.. must be hard. I.. I mean I know my home world's still out there..." He gestured vaguely. "If.. if I ever want to go back. it's reassuring."

"Yeah. See, one of the Slavers from our universe, pissed off this group of wannabe gods called the Family. And this slaver happened to be wed to an Avian. And to get back they decided to go overboard..." Shock seemed to slowly grown angrier and angrier.

"Fuck slavers. They ruin everything," James growled. "They and the Family need to die."

"N.. not so easy to kill wannabe gods. Not without special tools. " Stellan frowned. "Are they like Merith? " He looked a little worried at Shock's anger.