Open DR post

[texelations]

A fold in the universe exists in the ether of the fifth dimension. This place, because it is somehow a place, consists of nothing, exists nowhere and nowhen.

Yet you find yourself in it.

To the eye of the mortal mind, this space appears to be a white, featureless room, and the portals that have brought you here appear to be nothing but empty thresholds. How you arrived is anyone's guess. Perhaps you were transported while in the throes of death; perhaps it was something so simple as passing through a doorway in your own world.

While here, others may be transported into this dimension join you. At there mere thought of your most treasured or needed possession, the item may appear on the pedestal within. Visitors can freely go to another world contained within one of the portals if they wish, but you must have a companion for the dimensional shift to work. Otherwise passing through the thresholds will be of no effect.

This is no dream; this is no afterlife. And you are in it. What happens next is up to you.

Comments

[bothbarrels]

She's take-charge. He likes that. "Lead the way." He pulls his pistol and brings up the rear, moving through the doorway behind her.

[pain_train]

Makes sense, in a weird way, to put the person with the shorter range weapon in the front. Wouldn't make her any less dead in the long run. Oh well, too bad, so sad for her. Life was short.

Wrath walked boldly across the threshold, and... into a dark space. Just the movement of air currents told her that it was a relatively large room, but definitely a room. She moved to take her hand light from her pocket with her free hand even as she turned, because there was a light source, if a dim one--

--a window. And outside the window, a nebula.

"Oh, what the hell," she whispered.

[bothbarrels]

After the brightness of the room they'd come from it takes quite a while for his eyes to adjust and see the nebula out through the glass. Or whatever this is made from. Being in a spaceship isn't that particularly interesting or surprising to him, other than the method by which they'd arrived. "I don't recognize it," he says, then turns to case the room they've entered. The doorway they'd come through is gone. He moves forward after he turns and notices this, trying to see if moving through the same area causes him to return.

[pain_train]

Well of course North isn't impressed. He'd said he was a space marine. Whatever; this is her moment to just let the glory of it fill her, wash into her brain and into the memory holes that have started niggling lately. At this moment, she no longer cares if this is death, or where she is, or how. It's worth it for this sight.

Wrath only barely remembers the sky, and only in the context of missions, blood and explosions and desperation.

She ignores North and simply limps forward to press her hands against the cool curve of the window, lips parted in wonder.

[bothbarrels]

Once he's sure things are clear he comes to her side and follows her gaze through the gloom. "Beautiful, isn't it? After a while you get to where you've seen one, you've seen them all, but sometimes it's good to remember how impressive the fact that they even exist is."

[pain_train]

Wrath shakes her head, fingers trailing over the window. "Seen one, seen them all. How can you even say that?"

She swallows hard. "The universe is so much bigger than any one of us. Than one stupid city that's too chickenshit to look at the sky." She rests her forehead against the glass then turns enough to see him.

There are tears glittering in her eyes. She doesn't care. "And in all this--I'm standing here and talking to you. Whoever the fuck you are. Somehow we're here, and the stars are out there and nothing matters, except everything matters because this moment--this moment happened. Is happening."

She sniffs, wipes her nose on the armored back of her hand. She's not making any sense and she knows it, but how can you describe a feeling like this with something as inadequate as words? Let alone to just... some guy who no doubt wishes he were anywhere else but here, stuck with the emotional mess. "Never mind."

But she stays leaning against the window a moment longer, breathing as deeply as she can over the ache in her side.

[bothbarrels]

He watches her, fascinated, and fixes his gaze out of the window once it becomes clear that she's so emotional. He doesn't know her but he does want to give her that dignity.

"It's easy to forget how much a moment can matter." He puts his hand on the glass, seeing it now through her eyes. "Where is this city you're talking about?"

have no idea what the planet's called, so I'm making it up

[pain_train]

Yep, make the only human being who is perhaps sort of on her side uncomfortable, way to go Wrath. But she's always been an emotional person, and it's never stopped her from doing her job well, from being the best. Her lips thin for a moment; she doesn't want to apologize for who she is, and she's sure not going to do it for a stranger.

"Yeah, it is," she agrees. "But life is a series of moments. And in any one of them, everything can change." She closes her eyes for a moment. "Alpha-359, fourth planet. City of Proles."