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 Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 8:03 am
Ganymede had not yet decided if she would be donating energy. She liked the idea of it — sacrificing so little for such a large gain as destroying Metallia would be — but she was not yet convinced that the plan would actually work. It seemed too good to be true, and not without a certain amount of risk.
As for who she trusted… that number was small. Valhalla was right on that subject, so Ganymede tipped her head in agreement.
“Of course we’d want help,” she said.
The idea of something worse coming, whatever shadows lurked beyond the Surrounding, threatening Earth… it weighed on her mind constantly, heightened her suspicions of everyone and everything.
“If something threatened Earth, I’d want as much help as we could get. Without Earth, we’d have nothing left. But wanting help and accepting it doesn’t always lead to trust. We’ve accepted a degree of help from the Negaverse under very specific circumstances, when Destiny City has been threatened from one thing or another, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re our enemy. We don’t let our guard down around them. Or… I don’t.”
It was very difficult for her not to eye Valhalla when she said it. She thought it best not to clearly advertise any of his misjudgements in case the aliens should decide to use that to their advantage somehow.
At least she could depend on him to ask suitable questions.
To those inquiries, Ganymede added, “You seem so certain this plan of yours will be successful, but… I wonder if you’ve considered what you’ll do if it isn’t. You need enough energy. The timing has to be right. There are plenty of opportunities for something to go wrong. What if the Negaverse catches wind of it? I wish I could say otherwise, but some of our allies have loose lips.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 5:25 pm
“ If anyone catches wind of something they shouldn’t, we’ll adapt,” Lyndin said easily. The tension gone--at least, enough of it that Caedus seemed as if he could breathe a bit, he sipped at the drink again. He still seemed distracted and thoughtful, but his attention shifted to whoever was speaking at the moment. “It’s impossible to predict every hardship,” Lyndin continued, “but we will do our best. The machine can be shut down if it comes to that. I know there are a lot of factors to consider, but we wouldn’t have come here with such certainty if we thought there was a chance this would end poorly. We don’t come from a society where we can afford to fail. If I make a mistake on Velencya, every one of us is affected--the very world we live on is affected. If, for whatever reason, this plan doesn’t fail and we can’t save Earth, we won’t abandon you to the fall out. If we make a mess, we will clean it up. We won’t leave your world worse off for meeting us. I hope, at the end of this, we will both be stronger.” There was no denying the honesty when he said, “I just want my people to be taken care of. I know I won’t be here forever, and the methods we’ve relied on will one day become defunct. To know that Earth has survived--in a completely different way than we have--I can only hope that we can combine our experience and prepare for whatever obstacles we’ll face in the future.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 5:51 pm
Valhalla exchanged a look with Ganymede. It was probably very clear that he was won over by both Caedus (but he’d already been won over by him before) and Lyndin now. He could hear in his voice how he just wanted his people taken care of, and Valhalla had to believe that he wouldn’t put them at risk if he wasn’t certain that he would succeed in his plan to take out Metallia.
“I would like us to both be stronger,” Valhalla agreed with a small nod to Lyndin, and a smile at Caedus. He knew Ganymede was skeptical of it all, and he knew there was a likelihood that someone would let it slip and the Negaverse might find out about their guests. But if this went well, then they wouldn’t have to worry about raising their children in fear of the Negaverse corrupting them, or worse.
“I hope that you find what you’re looking for here. Once all this is over, maybe you would like to visit my Wonder,” he offered, and then cringed because he knew that Ganymede would probably scold him for being so open about accepting guests. “Just to see if you have any ideas of further reviving it. Ganymede is doing better than Jupiter as a whole.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2021 7:40 am
Ganymede took another sip of her pumpkin spice latte, eying Lyndin over the lid. He said all the right things, or he said things that other people might perceive as right, as encouraging, but Ganymede could not dismiss her nagging doubt. Perhaps Lyndin spoke the truth, or perhaps it was all well-practiced, telling them what they wanted to hear, heaping reassurance on top of reassurance in the hopes of wearing them down.
Without a way to read his mind, they’d have no way of knowing one way or the other.
She sighed heavily, but avoided giving Valhalla another look.
“I still don’t know that I trust you,” she admitted; she’d give Valhalla a hard time for his wonder trip offer later. “I still don’t have a lot of confidence in this plan of yours, but I won’t stand against you unless you give me a reason to.”
Her gaze shifted between Lyndin and Caedus, eyeing them in turn. Ganymede hoped her frown served as enough of a warning. She wasn’t at full strength at the moment, but she thought she’d made enough of a statement by showing up as a Princess last night that they would take her seriously now, and understand that she was entirely capable of making good on her threats.
“I’ll consider helping, once Valhalla and I have had the chance to discuss matters between ourselves more in depth, but I make no promises, and I don’t know that whatever cooperation I decide to offer will sway too many of the others. A lot of us have grown tired and suspicious. We can’t afford to be anything but.”
Too many times their hopes were raised. Just as often, they ended up dashed.
Ganymede paused to put an appropriate amount of weight behind her next statement. Lifting her gaze to Lyndin, she said, “If you fail, and the Negaverse retaliates — and they will… I hope you’re prepared. I’ve had no experience with Beryl, but I know their new Queen, and her ruthlessness has nothing to do with jealousy.”
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Posted: Fri Oct 01, 2021 8:09 am
Lyndin nodded without hesitation. “I will do my best. All of your offers are welcome and appreciated. Take all the time time you need to discuss anything. You and your questions will be welcome here at any time.” It was only now that he took a sip of the drink, and seemed pleasantly surprised by the flavor. “We don’t have flavors like this on Velencya.” He took another sip, and then nodded. “Thank you.” “I think it tastes a bit like desserts back home,” Caedus said, and he held his cup as if it were some treasured memory in tangible form. Valhalla’s smile was not lost on him, and he returned it while he saved his last few sips. “I would like to see your Wonder.” He looked between Valhalla and Ganymede before he insisted, “If it is all right. I do not wish to cause trouble or mistrust. I have been careful not to wander too much on Earth. But I have not outgrown my wanderlust. If I could help you revive your world in any way, I would like to try.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:54 pm
Valhalla couldn’t help but smile brighter as Lyndin took a sip of the coffee, glad that he seemed to at least enjoy it for the moment. “We’ll have to bring some other treats by. It would be a shame if you only stayed here for a few weeks and didn’t get to experience everything we have to offer. Halloween is coming up. Maybe you’ll get to see some of the things we celebrate.”
He glanced at Ganymede again, hoping she wouldn’t be too upset by it seeming as though he wasn’t taking the potential for things to fail as seriously as she was. He was taking it seriously! But he was optimistic that both Caedus and Lyndin would do whatever they could to help them.
“I don’t know if Caedus told you anything about some of the things he experienced while here. But don’t be surprised if you start seeing a lot more pumpkins or decorations out around the city. Oh… pumpkins are big orange gourds…” he said sheepishly in case they didn’t know what pumpkins were.
“Valhalla -- and Jupiter -- are a lot different from Earth. But yes, I would welcome you to visit some time. Both of you, if you’d like.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:16 am
Ganymede kept as many of her thoughts and emotions off her face as possible, unwilling to share too much with their guests.
Apparently she and Valhalla would have to have another talk. Kindness was acceptable, and preferred in most situations, and it was up to him to decide who he wanted to bring to his Wonder, but if he could be less transparent about both of those things, that would be beneficial. Even after everything, he was still too trusting. With his luck, he’d end up with another hand in his chest, cracking his starseed again — the first to have his Transcendence broken through, and all through his own naïveté.
As for herself, she sincerely hoped these aliens wouldn’t be sticking around until Halloween. She’d rather not have to worry about extraterrestrial visitors and their Metallia-destroying energy weapon while she was taking her kids Trick or Treating.
“One last thing and then we’ll stop monopolizing your time, especially when I imagine you’ll be spending most of today reassuring people of your intentions.”
Ganymede ceased to look between them and put all of her attention onto Caedus. Her expression, though not as confrontational as it could often be, nevertheless carried a serious edge.
“You were lost for a long time,” she said. “I’m sure that isn’t easy to recover from. I’m sure it still affects you. I’m sure a lot has changed in that time, and maybe you’re still playing catch up, even with your own people. I don’t mean to be insensitive to your experiences, but as a word of advice… Be careful with how much power you allow others to have over you. Maybe things are different behind your dome than they have been out here, in front of us and our allies, but I suspect it’s a lot of the same, so… If you are your people’s leader, then lead them. Don’t allow anyone else to do it for you.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2021 8:05 pm
Ganymede’s words obviously registered with Caedus, though he seemed a bit like a deer in headlights with the heaviness of them. He nodded, though there was obvious hesitation. “I have a long way to go before I should be considered a leader,” he said. “I hope to live up to the title, but I know I am disadvantaged. I am very fortunate to have good friends,” he looked to Lyndin, and then back to her, “To help me. I do not think I have earned the authority to command,” nor did he seem to thrive unders uch pressures, “but I will heed your words. I would not do anything that would harm them. And Commodore Lyndin has done a good job taking care of them. I know I have the support I need.” Lyndin listened as he spoke, quiet and contemplative, and nodded when Caedus had finished speaking. “You have good advice, Ganymede.” He placed a hand on Caedus’ shoulder, for only a second, and said, “He is a fast learner. I have faith he’ll make the right choices for us.” He lowered his hand and smiled politely at Valhalla. “Thank you for the warning. We do not have celebrations or customs like that on Velencya. It will be interesting to observe. I look forward to learning about it. And about Valhalla. Earth is very busy. Which, is nice, but. I want to learn how other worlds are coming back to life, too.”
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