|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2025 6:01 pm
Khaz hated lying to his family more than necessary. An omission, like his sexuality and gender, was one thing; outright lying about swim practice so he could sneak off to Aberdonia instead of walking Yasmeen home from ballet practice felt like an utter violation. Next time he could, he was absolutely buying Yasmeen and Keesh ice cream. With all the trimmings. It seemed the minimum he could do for lying when he knew he should be a responsible older brother.
But, ever since the weird purple storms had started, he'd been feeling an increasingly urgent tugging sensation to go to Aberdonia. Like his asteroid was trying to get his attention, or maybe even call him home. It was getting distracting enough that he'd almost gotten careless with the Bunsen burner in the middle of chemistry and toasted his school shirt yesterday. Worse, the tugging seemed...desperate? Worried? Was there something wrong on Aberdonia?
At which point, he'd realized he needed to go check in on the asteroid, see why it seemed so desperate to get his attention, ASAP. Feigning emergency swim practice, Khaz had packed supplies for a trip home and checked his senshi phone for any messages pertaining to travel to the homeworlds recently. It turned out there had been notes to the effect that magic was going haywire, so it seemed sensible to prepare a lot of extra supplies, and pray to Allah that he wasn't gone too long.
Before leaving home that morning, he'd ensured his subspace was packed with food, water, blankets, notepads and pencils (with spare lead and erasers), plus a fully charged power bank and charging cable. He'd probably crammed too much in there, but that was going to have to be a problem for future Aberdonia.
Once school was out, Khaz made his way to an isolated part of a park near school. Above his head, the clouds fumed angrily, but offered no thunder, lightning, rain, or wind. Just mute, fuming, anger, and a close and muggy atmosphere. Aberdonia was probably mostly desert, but it had to be preferable to steaming in this sulky weather.
Reaching into subspace, he plucked out his pen, and winced as he sensed other things shifting into the space his pen had vacated. That probably wasn't good.
Huddled behind a park storage unit that generally went ignored, he raised his pen toward the questionable skies, and murmured, "Aberdonia Power, Make-Up!" The light suffused him, and left him in his sleek outfit, glad to be in lighter, more breathable clothing. Plucking his senshi phone out of subspace, now that the pen had vanished to...wherever the pen went when he transformed...he flipped it open, and tapped the button that would take him home, concentrating on the sense of need and urgency in his mind and his worries about his asteroid.
A column of light rose behind the storage unit toward the skies.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2025 3:27 pm
Daesva's eyes narrowed as she followed the readings on her ComTech. It was honing in on an Order energy, a first rank senshi. She was hoping to get a chance to head back up into space, take scans of the events on other worlds if possible. The more data they could collect, the better, right?
She wasn't entirely sure what else she could do to help here. Daesva was the type to fight, yes, but this was... far beyond anything she could manage solo. She knew that. But in terms of even trying to give herself suggestions on where to go, what to do, what to focus on....
She was floundering. Failing. And that frustrated her beyond belief.
It made her steps harsher as she approached where the signature was coming from, intent on speaking to the senshi and asking them if they'd had any odd experiences lately off-Earth, or any information they'd heard about the events--if they were willing to share, of course.
The Cadet hadn't expected to spot the senshi starting the process of teleportation, and there wasn't even a moment of consideration before she bolted forward, reaching out to grab hold of their arm to join along with this process--if she could.
Otherwise, this might be painful... well. She reached out with her non-dominant hand, at least.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2025 5:41 pm
Aberdonia was startled to feel someone grab his arm, and would have tried to shake them off, but it was too late, they had firmly attached themselves to him, and he was already in transit. Whoever they were, they were along for the ride now.
The light deposited them in the courtyard outside the palace, and Aberdonia finally tugged his arm free, stumbling away from the stranger...only to be startled by what he saw.
It wasn't the fact that the purple storm was here, too, though that alone was freaky. It seemed improbable that both worlds were sharing an unknown freak weather phenomenon, and he'd seen logs to the effect that other senshi had been observing it on their respective homeworlds, too. Plus, the sky had been beautifully clear and starry the last time.
What caught his attention was the palace gates. The dents were gone, and gold gleamed proudly in the shapes of papyrus reeds, topped with stylized blooming umbels. The gates had been pretty badly busted to heck and back the last time, not--not perfectly pristine. They'd been hanging off the hinges and dented, the glint and gleam of the gold gilding faded under ages of neglect. This...begged an awful lot of questions. Questions that would have to wait, since he had an uninvited guest tagging along with his visit home.
The senshi whirled around and folded his arms expectantly.
"Okay, you grabbed my arm and stowed away on a trip home. You have officially gotten my attention, babe. So, who are you, and what's so important that you had to grab my arm to achieve whatever the heck you wanted to achieve?" he asked, wishing for just one moment to sound more authoritative than he probably did. Badass and authoritative was just not his jam; it was generally considerate and thoughtful that was his jam. But those didn't feel like the right response to asking a stranger what the actual eff they'd intended to do when they hitchhiked to this abandoned and lonely asteroid.
What he was not expecting as he gazed upon the intruder was a girl with long, deep red hair bound in a braid to her waist, intense aqua eyes with a cat-slit pupil, and pale, cloudly blue skin, dressed in an outfit that looked ripped straight out of science fiction.
An alien? She didn't look like a senshi. Were there alien non-senshi on Earth? It wouldn't terribly surprise him. Did her world have a senshi, and what was going on if there were non-senshi on Earth? Had the planet died, but left more survivors beyond just the senshi? Or had the senshi died saving the citizenry? Or was it something else?
Questions he'd have to ask later flooded his head, and he forcibly shoved them back. His questions about what the heck with the hitchhiking, and then he could pester her with alien research questions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2025 12:43 pm
The sensation of transporting like this was odd, but not painful or skin-crawling. Daesva at least had enough of her wits about her to take quick steps back once she felt hard ground under her feet again, feet planted somewhat wide apart to better strengthen her stance in case of oddities in gravity--or hostilities. She had just hitchhiked, after all. Though her attention was mainly on the senshi she'd latched onto, she quickly glanced about the area and... huh. It was pretty. The gleaming gold and floral motifs made her wonder if such plants held special significance to this place--or if they used them because they looked nice. Both were valid reasons. As valid as the senshi's questions, really. Even if his use of the--term of endearment? Insult insinuating a diminutive status?--was odd. "Cadet Daesva, of the Vanguard," she answered simply, tapping on the screen of the ComTech around her wrist to bring up the video recording and photography app. "Apologies for the intrusion. I would have spoken to you and requested the chance to accompany you, had I caught up to you sooner. My interest is only in examining the state of worlds, specifically, the storms if they are present. And that," she said with a general chin jerk towards the clouds, "I'm assuming is not typical weather here?" Her bright eyes turned to him, not the least bit ruffled or overly apologetic about her behavior--it'd served the purpose she'd wanted, anyway. Her foot did softly tap on the ground, though, a bit of that energy that always plagued her itching to be utilized for work. "I'd like to take photos of the storm, along with video and sound recordings if you'll allow it. I can share anything I get with you, including any results from any scans I take while I'm here, if that sounds reasonable to you?" She spoke plainly, crisp but not rushed or unkind. She was aware of her status as a stranger in this place, and her less than respectful means of joining him on this... hm. Place. Wherever it was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2025 5:33 pm
Aberdonia was even more caught off-guard by the brusque, but polite, response by his hitchhiker--Daesva, of whoever the Vanguard were--were they a military or scouting expedition or some such, to be called "cadet"?
"Ummm...this is only my second time on my homeworld, so...I honestly don't know. I don't think it's normal." He paused a moment, trying to get his brain to pick a direction and stick with it. "And by 'my' homeworld, I mean, it's the homeworld I was the senshi of in my past life, or lives, or whatever, so, yeah, I don't really have a great grasp on any of this, except that it looks kinda like ancient Egypt down on Earth. As for the photos and recordings, uhhh, sure, fine, I guess?" he replied, finally finding ground he could work with. It sounded scientific, and like the Vanguard was a scouting expedition. He internally relaxed.
"That said, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be wandering around loose, and the asteroid has been calling me all week, so I'm going to ask you to come with me while I try to figure out why I was needed here so urgently," he added, gesturing her to come with him. He'd looked around a little, and nothing appeared to be urgently on fire. Or in imminent danger. So his best gut instinct was to begin doing research. And one of the best bets for research would be digging in the Aberdonian royal archives, which were most likely kept in the palace compound somewhere.
The senshi glanced around, trying to guess at which of the seemingly identical-looking structures most likely held the archives. Most of the buildings appeared to be surrounded by water features or gardens--except one. In a dry place like this, where records might be a fire hazard, you'd keep your archives somewhere away from anything that could damage your records, right? So that seemed a plausible place to start looking.
Without waiting to see if Daesva would follow, he turned toward the building he hoped would turn out to be the archives. Over his shoulder, he threw back, "I think all the other people on this world are dead, so unless you have some supplies with you, I don't think there's any usable food here; plus, I have no idea if you can teleport home, so, again, I don't think you wanna get left behind. I just need to ransack the archives, and then we can take a look at the storm."
Thunder rumbled above him, and a purple cast infused the landscape.
"Which I think will hit by the time we're done, so I think we should be able to get readings from the archives."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2025 10:37 am
His... second? A brow lifted as Daesva considered the implications of this. Was that... common for senshi to go to their source of power so rarely..? Or perhaps this one hadn't been with his power for long..?
Her confusion was two-fold, though, head tilting as she beheld him. "My communicator is translating your language for me, and why you hear me speaking English, so I am aware the translations might not be fully accurate at times... but isn't Earth your homeworld? Why do you refer to this asteroid as such?" Did she misunderstand how humans view Earth, or was homeworld a more... generic term? Even if it was the homeworld of his past self, that didn't make it his homeworld, he wasn't born here, nor did he reside here permanently. "Would it not just be... your asteroid? Or your..." She shook her head after a moment, realizing the topic was extremely off the rails of where she wanted to focus.
"Never mind. That is unimportant. I appreciate your allowing me to perform the scans and recordings, at any rate." She held up her arm with her ComTech on it, hitting the activation on the video and audio recorder to begin to do a simple capture of the courtyard they were in. Of course, she also got shots of the storm on the approach, repeating what the senshi had stated about this likely not being typical weather upon this world.
When he began to walk, she followed, zooming in on any signage or what she thought might be some old language. They could have just been pretty decorations, really, for all she knew. Pausing the recording, though, she nodded in silent agreement with his assessments. "I have rations and water in subspace if they are necessary, enough to share for a few days, though the split would be... unpleasant if you are used to larger, more consistent meals," she admitted, frowning a bit at the prospect. No, she'd stick with him. Best chances for her to get useful information, and of course, get back to Earth. "You would benefit from bringing non-perishable supplies here, however. If you have any storage space where water wouldn't all evaporate, there are plenty of easy to purchase Earth military ration packs you can acquire and store here that come with individual cooking stoves, along with supplies of clean water. Also camping supplies would be useful." Perhaps she was being too forward with that, but he had mentioned it was only his second time up here, and when she'd gone to Mercury to visit Knight Ekstrom's wonder, she'd clearly brought up numerous cleaning and other supplies.
"What may I address you as?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2025 3:59 am
"'Aberdonia' is fine. I mean, yes, technically, Earth is my homeworld in this life, but calling it 'my asteroid' feels like I'm a b****** industrialist, and 'my power source' feels like I'm treating it like a glorified battery, and both feel disrespectful to an asteroid that used to be populated with its own civilization with its own laws and customs," he replied as they walked.
He glanced at the walls as they passed through the threshold, noting the presence of murals surrounded by hieroglyphs, though these looked a bit different from the ones he'd seen ascribed to Egypt. Specifically, some of the flora and fauna looked a bit different. And there seemed to be some astronomical shapes mixed in. Whatever the language had been like, it probably wasn't actual ancient Egyptian, so trying that route wouldn't make any sense. Plus, he'd rather not feed the alien invader conspiracy theories about Egypt.
As he observed these carvings, he listened to Daesva. "I have an allowance I could spend on that stuff, but if it started going into stuff that I refused to explain, my mother would have questions about what the heck I'm doing with it, as it's not really public knowledge that I'm a senshi. Or really who any of the other Powered people are under their aliases, once you get right down to it. Sure, I could see it having been public knowledge before everyone started congregating on Earth on account of the vast majority of the celestial bodies being too dead for anybody to have babies, from what I've been able to piece together." He flipped open his phone, toggling on the flashlight, and holding the phone aloft to survey the dark interior.
Jackpot. Stone shelves were filled with racks and racks texts, mostly scrolls interspersed with collections of clay tablets. He didn't have the literacy to navigate, but he could either try unrolling scrolls at random, which felt like a dangerous thing to do carelessly with texts that looked like they could crumble if handled callously, or he could do the weird thing, and ask Aberdonia itself where it needed him to go. If there were any records of events like these, they'd probably be in some kind of special or restricted collection, right? So...not near the front.
Looking around, he started slowly making his way through the shelves, looking for secluded areas. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be able to set up a base camp, I just don't know where I'd do it, beyond 'somewhere in the palace complex'. And camping supplies sound like the best option. If I can get a lifeguard job at one of the public pools this summer, sure, I could start building the supplies for a more serious camp, but I kinda feel like, if I'm going to do that, I'm going to need more than just the basics: I'm probably going to need a sickle, or a machete, to cut through the vegetation, and an awful lot of gardening supplies and other tools intended to try to get the asteroid's maintenance back under control. And I'm not really sure where to start on a whole freaking asteroid. I mean, maybe install some lights in the archives? Or something? Maybe clear the farm fields? Or maybe we should also get bakeries and other, more necessary craft workshops going. I don't think we're going to need to worry about stonemasonry, the architecture looks pretty freaking stable."
Coming to the center of the main room, he paused, taking a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut, and asking the asteroid, "Okay, I'm here. Whaddaya wanna show me that was worth me getting toasted with a Bunsen burner at school?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
