starlogs | ( CLOSED ) atlas wasn't given a choice to hold the stars

[ shiro is angry, but he's trying to table that anger for the time being. there are more important things to worry about right now than the injustice of what has happened, the wrongness of it, the role that the lack of information, the mission some teams had been given and the leadership of the eluvio's crew have or might have played in what is happening on the planet right now. what matters is saving as many lives as possible, and his anger is only going to get in the way of that.

so he forces himself to breathe. it's still there in the tension of his shoulders, the length of his strides, the clench of his jaw, but it's under control. on his way to the hangar to get one of the cargo ships, he spots victor. ]

You know about the Fek. You've met them. [ that's as much of a greeting as victor is getting, right now. ] Help me save them. [ trilk lives, too. but it might help to have someone who knows what at least one of the two species is like with him. ]

( Victor glances up from the short messages he's sent out, expression grim. Makkachin is going to have to be patient, and he'll need to find someone who can help walk him if he gets delayed in all this; but for Victor, much like he knows for Yuuri, and feels is true for Eichi, there's no question in what to do.

Victor nods, moving toward Shiro. )

I will. Yuuri's heading out with another group. Let's go.

Allura is heading out, too. [ that brings another surge of anger, because if only she was allowed to take the castle of lions down to the planet, they could save a lot more than five at a time. i can't believe there are no larger ships, shiro almost says, but instead he just gives a nod and starts the process of getting a ship from the crew. at least this isn't too complicated.

he turns back to victor once the crew member has pointed him toward one of the cargo ships. ] I haven't flown one of these before, but I can manage.

You'll be fine.

( Victor has no room in him to wonder at doubt, or to be less than directed and focused. He's angry, too. Angry because they have been used as tools to help create the opportunity being used to eradicate these people. It's an anger that leaves him feeling cold; one of various kinds he's felt before, but never so forcefully. )

Get us down there alive and back up here in the same condition, and we're doing great.

( Jogging for the indicated cargo ship, he swings around and heads up the back ramp. Eyeballing things tells him it's going to be cramped, even with just five of the larger species on board, but it's doable. He thinks the Trilk are comparable in size; his guesstimates say it's feasible. If nothing else, he can judge distance and space well. )

I can convince the Fek to come with us. The Trilk I don't know, but whoever we come across, we'll do what we can.

( He straps himself in after Shiro's taken whatever seat is appropriate; Victor doesn't try parsing the controls right now. )

Ready when you are.

( He still feels sick on entering the atmosphere, but that's besides any point. he'll deal. )

[ shiro takes a moment to make sense of the controls. he's learned how to fly garrison ships, he can make sense of the black lion's controls, he's the head of voltron. this ship isn't that different or that complicated. after a moment, the cargo ship lifts off the ground and shiro navigates them out of the hangar and into open space, toward the planet. ]

We'll save as many as we can. Fek or Trilk. [ given everything he knows of victor so far, he doesn't think that will be a problem in any way. that he says it at all is half strategizing and half just a way to keep himself on task, to keep focused. ]

Of course.

( he follows that lead, checking his straps and making sure he's not in button reaching distance. there's no need for accidental activation of features or systems neither of them are familiar enough with to shut down expediently. )

We bring back anyone we can.

( which means those who want to leave, too. this is a whole different kind of refugee they're dealing with, and there's no decent way to pull back to the same point and get more than the handfuls of population that lived around there in the first place. )

[ they won't be able to save everyone, and that knowledge sits heavily in shiro's chest, but they'll try to save as many as they can. it's a short trip, and shiro spends most of it with his hands tense over the controls. ]

We're about to enter the atmosphere. Hold on. [ he's a good pilot; entry is as smooth as it can be, but the ship is so small that there's no way to correct for the shaking, for some turbulence. ]

( he braces himself best as he can, teeth grit to prevent himself from accidentally biting down on his tongue. his jaw almost aches once things steady out again; he glances at the monitors, attempting to read what they say; finding half of it simply doesn't make sense.

he'll work on that. he needs to. this is apparently the kind of situation he's living in; and that these people, these refugees, will be living in as well. it leaves a sour taste on the back of his tongue.

it doesn't matter. they still need to act. )

Which of these monitors will let us know about life signs on planet?

( the question is really: where are we going? )

[ shiro barely notices the ill-effects of entering into the planet's atmosphere. it's not quite as smooth as it would be in a lion, but he's been in far worse situations and this is the kind of thing he's received ample training for even before becoming a paladin of voltron and everything that has entailed. he notices that victor isn't taking it as easily, but it isn't something he's going to linger on right now. if it becomes a problem, he hopes victor will tell him.

instead, he gestures at one monitor that is showing a number of little red dots on a greyscale and abstract reproduction of oros' surface structure. ]

I'm going to head to the closest cluster of life forms. [ unless victor has a better suggestion, that is. ]

( Victor mouths an "oh," glancing down at the monitor in question. with all that being indicated on there, his lips are pressed into a thin line. what will be the most inequitable of situations might be in aiming into the midst of those clustered life forms. )

Do we have a plan if there's too many who try to board?

( he doesn't like asking this. his tone of voice is so very flat, his displeasure is part of his own delivery of the question: what will they do, if they are unable to communicate there are only limited measures they may provide for the escape? panic and fear do not make communication easier. he can simply hope, and believe, that they'll meet with understanding for the hideous nature of the decisions they must make. )

I'm not sure we can plan for that with just the two of us. I can try to do crowd control, but even with this, I'm only one person, and I don't want to hurt anyone while we're trying to rescue them.

[ with "this" he means his galra arm, but he realises a moment later that victor can't know what the arm can do. so he adds, jaw clenching briefly: ] It's weaponized. [ which is very useful, but shiro wishes he still had his own arm, that it hadn't been replaced with galran technology.

that they hadn't turned him into a weapon. ]

( all signs of tension in an already tense situation. Victor's eyes slide toward Shiro, then away again. he can't imagine what that's like. he hasn't been a weapon of anything other than a certain kind of media and image for his country through the platform of his sport, and it was never so sharp, for the most part. weaponized prosthetics is an almost super-soldier style fancy he wouldn't be fond of if he had time to slow down and think about it.

they don't have that time. he doesn't allow himself to think except in a detached way, understanding basics of crowd control and locking down how he might feel about it best as he can. )

Head for the fringe of the groups. Smaller numbers are less risk. We don't have clear communication with the Orosians and we're running on limited time. I'm sorry, but I just don't think landing in the middle of a big group is going to be most helpful.

( not with just the two of them and one weaponized arm. )

[ victor hardly reacts, and shiro is glad for it. he doesn't particularly want to explain what happened, nor would he be able to because he still doesn't remember most of it.

he gives victor a nod; it's good thinking even if shiro hates that it's necessary at all. ] I don't think we'll manage to fit more than four or five into the ship at any given time. Maybe six. [ he points to a spot on the screen where three dots are moving. ] I'll set down there first.

( pitiful numbers, that handful, but he nods. he doesn't have to be happy about any of this to be facing its reality. )

Five, then. At least five. Starting with these three.

( it isn't enough. but it's going to have to be; three lives are better than zero. are better than what awaits the rest of this world. (though is survival going to be any easier?)

(that's not his call to make.) )

[ five it's not a lot, but if they can make more than one trip before it all goes to hell entirely, maybe they can save more. and they're not the only team down here, trying to save people. shiro tries to find solace in that, but it's a bitter and desperate thing nonetheless. ]

I'll bring her down now. [ is all the warning he gives victor before tipping the nose of the ship downward and beginning their descend properly, toward those three life signs. ]

[Kay had been with Alpha team, and had made sure that the rest of their crew made it to the ship. Cassian was hurt and he was determined to go and help him get back and get checked out, yet, as the explosions started, Kay paused. There was no reason to want to stay here. this was no doubt their fault.]

[Reports of shuttles coming down to round up people came in and Cassian told Kay he could stay and help.]

[He didn't want to...]

[Not really.]

[But this seemed like this fault. So he watched Cassian's ship take off and get him and others back safely. Fine. He'd help.]

[He ran into two Fek, one seemed young and was trying to help an adult along. Wounded. It was a high chance that wounded Feks would be a problem for anyone, but he also knows that he stayed behind to help, so he was going to.]

[A cargo ship in the air, he moved out into view, trying to wave the pilot down. It was a tall black droid with a rifle still in his hand and a battle pack on his back. He's got scarring from sandstorms and attacks, from strange adventures that no one wants to hear about. Dried muck from an exploded sandworm. And... the two Fek. Both seeming displeased that the offworlder droid had no ship, but both having nowhere better to go, so they moved along with him, trying to get back to a pick up site.]

( Victor braces himself in the cargo ship, trusting without question in Shiro's skills to get them down to the surface. He has no choice. He also has no desire to spend time worrying about what he can't control.

He'll focus on what he can do. Not on what he can't.

When Shiro brings them down, he's the first to unbuckle himself and get to the doors to roll them back, mask over his nose and mouth, protective goggles over his eyes. He's forgone the full head helmet, finding it more of an encumbrance with what they need to do in this world. What they're fighting to preserve at the last minute.

He's out the back of the cargo ship and jogging toward Kay and the two Fek, holding a hand up and out toward the Fek's face. One antennae comes around, the injured Fek reaching out and hesitating before touching. Victor wraps his fingers around, making it a mutual hold. )

They don't have a spoken language as far as we can tell, but we managed some basic communication earlier this month. We were told we can take five on per ship.

( His other hand comes up, fingers spread out, letting the injured Fek focus on this strange limb. He then closes his fingers, tugging gently on the antennae holding his wrist. )

One. ( he holds up one finger. nodding his head to the younger of the two Fek, he then holds up a second finger. ) Two.

We can take three more.

Edited 2017-02-03 21:23 (UTC)

[Kay is just glad to see the cargo ship land, and gives it's pilot a wave in thanks. He's trying, very carefully to help along the wounded one with the younger ones help.]

[When the young man came down with out a proper helmet, he held back comment on the safety issues that could cause, as well as the problems with this planet. Except... the planet is blowing up, and it really doesn't matter, does it?]

[He watches as the man comes over to the older Fek, reaching for it.]

I'm just glad you came along. We saw one other fly by in the distance. This one is wounded. [that much was clear.]

Five is not a lot, but my scanners tell me there are some life forms ahead to the north of us. Unfortunately, I am damaged and unable to calculate exactly where.

[He said as he tried to help encourage the younger Fek to keep moving, a nod of his head to it, towards the cargo ship. To the human he said] If you can communicate, you may want to encourage their haste.

I'll do what I can.

( He says without preamble, stomping his feet THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, until the younger Fek likewise thumps one foot down and Victor hauls forward on the antennae he's holding. Not enough to hurt, as far as he's aware, but the thumping and the tug spurs the injured Fek into greater attempts and moving forward. The younger Fek reaches out to run one antennae over Victor's shoulder, feeling him out even as they pick up pace toward the cargo ship. )

Once we're onboard, head up and join our pilot. I'll stay back in the cargo hold and get them secured as we can on short notice. ( He pitches his tone higher, unconsciously mimicking how he speaks to Makkachin when his dog isn't feeling well. Soothing, constant, and relatively meaningless: an all too human trait. ) I know it hurts, and we need to keep going. That's good. You're almost there.

[ shiro waves back for a moment. he doesn't think the droid is native to oros, which must mean he's one of the crew. not that it matters one way or another; he'll help anyone he can off this planet. once he's landed the shuttle properly and run through some protocols to keep it in place, he follows victor, though he stays by the ship's doors.

a young one, and an injured one. ]

We're here to help. [ he tells the fek and kay, though the fek may not understand him. ] Let's get these two onto the ship and head north. [ that's mostly to victor, who is their best shot at getting these two on board with little issue and already doing a good job of it.

to kay, he adds: ] How damaged? Do you need anything?

[Kay, for all the cold he tended to be, did have moments of a soft caring to him. It's just rarely seen. At the moment he spoke softly to the wounded one.] I told you I would find you help. With this ship, your odds of survival have gone up drastically. [it was meant to be comforting, which is... maybe a good thing it can't understand him so well.]

[Still, he gave a nod to the young man, and tried to held herd the two forward. As the pilot came down to help, his head lifted.]

I was part of Alpha Team. We ran into a sandstorm as well a sandworm. between the two and the fighting? I am surprising not as damaged as I could be. [He rolled his shoulder and turned to shift the rifle down and to the side. He was moving along with the Fek's to the ship while he tried to reach a hand behind him.]

I believe I am fully operational right now, but not accurate. There is nothing to be done about it here.

( Victor lets Shiro and Kay handle discussing what he has no skills in handling: repairs for someone who is clearly not organic in their build. A fact which he finds fascinating in its own right, but cannot and will not spare energy for now; he continues to guide and coax, getting the Fek up the back ramp with some firm stomping on the metal and a continuation of his nonsensical words. He's certainly not speaking to either Kay or Shiro when he says: )

It's nice and sturdy, it'd hold ten elephants, you'll be fine. See? Stomp and it'll shake, but it won't break. Our lights aren't as fancy as yours, but our construction is probably sturdier. Less pretty, too.

( Finally addressing his two companions: )

Do we have any first aid kits on board?

[ it's a little odd, seeing a tall robot (or whatever he is) speak so softly to the wounded fek, if only because most of the robots comparable that shiro knows are either galra sentinels or the gladiator: one designed to train fighters, the other designed to keep prisoners in check, to stand guard, as an army for the galra empire as much as galrans themselves are. it's odd, but it's a good kind of odd. shiro gives kay a nod; he's a lot more autonomous and talkative than either sentinels or the gladiator and shiro decides to trust his assessment of his own status. there's not much else he can do. ]

I'll get one. [ he says to victor, tearing his gaze away from kay and the two fek that are slowly but surely following victor up the back ramp. for a moment, he disappears into the ship, coming out again a moment later. ]

If you know how to use control this ship, maybe you can already check the scanners and plot a course north? [ that's to kay, loud enough to be heard across the distance still between them. his voice softens a moment later as he addresses the wounded fek: ] We'll get you fixed up, all right? Just enough that we can transport you.

[Was that speaking softly? Kay has been trying to do better about it, but there isn't always reason to do so. Still, he had told them he would help, or they would all die there in an explosion together, so this was at least better than that?]

[What is an Elephant? If he doesn't know, will they? He just glanced at Victor as he said it, but said nothing. Humans were interesting in their own right, but how he was trying to talk to the others was commendable.]

[He nodded to Shiro as he moved off to get a first aid kit, and he helped the other young organic get the two on board. They were heavy, sure, but the cargo ship was built to hold heavy things. It would be fine.] You have run into Fek's before this? [He said to Victor. He seemed to know what he was doing.]

[To Shiro's comment he paused and moved back to assist by closing the ramp no that all five of them were aboard. When it was closed he moved for the cockpit.]

That I can do. [Respectfully so, he's not sassing as much as he could at the moment. He knows this is a dire situation.]

( he pitches his voice to carry to Kay, answering his question before he heads up front. )

My group was assigned to observe them a few weeks ago.

( it's the most explanation he really has. past that, he's continuing to speak his nonsense words to the two Fek, encouraging them both to settle down. the younger is more antsy, sticking close to the injured Fek, finally letting go of Victor in order to reach out for one of the blankets strapped to the cargo carrier wall. Victor helps free it; in short order, without the first aid kit, the younger Fek is helping with creating a compression bandage over the still bleeding injury to the older Fek's side.

in all honesty, Victor doesn't know if that's a good or bad idea. but if it helps, and it is slowing the bleeding, then it's a place to start. )

I think we're going to have to let them remain where they stand. Or lay.

( he'll stay with them here through the takeoff and landing near the second group Kay was reporting was somewhere nearby. )

I'll stay here.

[ shiro gives victor a nod and sets the first aid kit down near the wounded fek, though it seems that it won't be needed after all. ] I'll try to keep the ride as smooth as possible. [ which shouldn't be an issue, unless they encounter a storm or bombs going off in their vicinity.

a moment later, he returns to the ship's cockpit, glancing at kay and the monitors. ] Did you find anything?

[ and, after a moment: ] I'm Shiro, by the way.

[Kay-tu had gone to the front as indicated, taking no time to wait before he settled in with the system here. The others were dealing with the wounded and the child, and he could at least track down a few more.]

[it was almost upsetting that his systems weren't working as well as he would like, but this ships seemed to be doing okay.]

[Where he had been having to shoot at organics, Victor had been dealing with them in other ways. It was almost refreshing. His fingers moved over monitors and the computer, and he found what he was looking for. Maybe this will help a bit, in the long run. Help them find and save a race that his groups helped ruin.]

A course set for north of us. Systems indicate four, possibly five in a group, moving slowly. [Do they go for that with the possibility of not being to take all of them? or do they carry on and find something else?]

( Victor stays where he is, letting the two of them figure out where they'll be going. He keeps up talking soothingly to the Fek, knowing they're not so verbal themselves, keeping the pressure and glad when the younger Fek joins in. This is easier. This is all much easier if they each feel they have something to do. )

[ four or five individuals. shiro is pretty sure that they can fit no more than three additional ones into the ship, even though the young fek doesn't take up as much space as an adult would. jaw clenching, he gives kay a nod. ]

Let's go get them. [ even if they have to leave some of them behind, they can come back to them. and so a moment later, he gets them back in the air, following the course set by kay. ]

[He's not been informed of the load limit yet, or the fill limit, but he will understand once they get there. Still, taking some is better than none, yes?]

How long do they think we have? I assume they have set a full ship involved evacuation. [Droids should never assume. Because it's not true, and that is upsetting.] Unless, like this last mission, they have left it to the expendable ones. [Us. they left it to us.]

[Due North, and there will indeed be a little clump of five figures. And not far from that, north east, is three more.]

( he hears part of that question, breaking volume, if not cadence, for what he's been saying as he and the young Fek keep pressure on the injured adult. )

It's been left to us. No clarification offered, no older refugees or crew offering to pilot or assist.

( it burns as an anger he allows himself to feel, letting it roll as tension he shrugs off and breathes through, eyes hard. Kay can make of that what he will. he knows his own feelings on it; can guess those of several others. he is not a hero; he is not part of search and rescue.

yet he's still here, much as Yuuri is, on another ship, performing the same unthinkable task. )

[ the same anger burns underneath shiro's skin, making his chest feel tight — but just as he had earlier, he pushes it down and aside. this is no place for anger; he can let himself feel it all later. still, his jaw clenches. ]

I don't think we have much time. Enough for more than one trip, but I don't know how many. At the rate these bombs are going, parts of the planet will be irradiated long before we will no longer be able to land there. [ meaning any fek and trilk there will be doomed to death even if they can still get them out. ]

( CLOSED ) atlas wasn't given a choice to hold the stars — you were.

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Oros - First Load

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