19014/2616 Light Years Isn't So Much

2616 Light Years Isn't So Much
Date of Scene:	06 September 2024
Location:	Common Area - Milano
Synopsis:	Mantis and Sue perform an exchange of goods. Peter tells his tale. No one gets probed... yet.
Cast of Characters:	Peter Quill, Susan Richards, Mantis

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Peter Quill has posed:
"Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking... we are, uh, still really far from anywhere, but we'll be coming out of Hyperspace in just a minute, so if you're eating or using the head? Well, uh, you might want to hurry that up."

It's nice to get a warning!

A little less than a minute later, there is a bit of a jerk as the ship makes that transition from hyperspace to real, passing through a weird geometric fracture in spacetime and appearing amidst the stars. Quill pulls a lever, pushes a button, does a few more things to look busy and useful, and then pops up from the pilot's seat to head back amidships.

"How we all doing back here, folks?" He's probably not checking up on Drax.

Susan Richards has posed:
Sue was located in the passenger area of the ship, with one foot up on the edge of a seat across from her. Wearing one of her Fantastic Four suits, a suit with royal blue the primary shade, fading in to a navy blue at the extremes of her arms and legs, and capped off with a white circle on her chest with a black 4 embalazoned within the white, the blonde haired woman had her eyes on a tablet computer, and a hand on the handle of a metal cup of some hot beverage.

She smiled toward the Captain, when he came in, her eyes looking up and over to him. "Choppy exit from jump there. The ship operating at peak performance, I hope?" She asks him, really just teasing the young man with a clear smile showing on her features.

She moved the cup toward her lips, and just before taking a sip, she chimed up again. "Are we there yet?" She asked, before the sip was taken.

"Sorry..." She said after. "My kids liked to say that to us, when we'd go galavanting around the galaxy with them in tow..."

Mantis has posed:
"Yes. I am fine," Mantis confirms, appearing in partition that separates the cockpit from the rest of the Milano. She holds a serving tray with an assortment of snacks and beverages typically kept in stock for when they have passengers. It's usually Mantis who handles the hospitality-adjacent tasks for the benefit of their visitors, though no one really asks her to. But, perhaps, no one else will. "But I should check on our passengers from Terra. They are so fragile," she points out.

When Mantis enters the passenger compartment with the serving tray, her inky black eyes immediately lock on to the cup held by Sue Storm. "Oh, she brought her own," Mantis mutters to herself, possibly to Peter, and frowns a little bit about it. "How nice." It doesn't sound like she thinks it's nice.

"How are your fragile bones?" Mantis asks Sue after placing the serving tray on a nearby table.

Peter Quill has posed:
The fact that the first words he gets from Sue are criticism of his ship and/or piloting looks like it truly wounds Peter to his core. If there's anything he can legitimately show off, flying ranks right up there with his dance moves! It's a little funny how quickly he goes to making excues for it:

"We uh, actually we're probably due for a tune-up. Been a rough couple weeks, you know? Running back and forth, fleeing from giant space-face guy." This is equivalent to 'the water was really cold.'

Arriving at more or less the same time as Mantis, he's quick to reassure: "I'm sure her bones are just fine. Lovely even." What?

Then his attention turns back to Sue. "We're about... twelve percent to 'there,' but it's not exactly linear. But seeing as we've been out a while already and we'll definitely be out a while longer, I wanted to check if you need a break or anything. We've got a cluster with some inhabited planetoids a few parsecs out."

That was a measure of distance AND he's from Earth so that unit usage is 100% accurate and acceptable!

Susan Richards has posed:
With Mantis arriving with a tray, Sue sat up a little straighter in her claimed seat, she set her mug aside, and regarded the young (looking?) woman with the antennae. "Hey, I'm willing to make a trade." She told her, showing a warm smile, as she motioned toward her mug, that was branded in a F4 logo itself, and shining a cobalt blue. "this is just some hot tea. The mug keeps it warm to the temperature you like most. Works with the computer here." She said, as she indicated her tablet, before she set it down upon the table. "Did you make something?" She asked Mantis, her blue eyes scanning over whatever the young (looking?) woman had brought in. She had to grin at the question, and the response she heard from Peter. "I think my bones are alright. They /feel/ alright anyway... but now I'm starting to try and see if I can feel them, which is a weird thought to have in my head. But hey, we're a number of parsecs away from Earth, so it's time for weird. Right?"

Her blue eyes went to Peter then, and she showed him a soft smirk. "You know any good sights out this way? You're the experienced traveller here. I'm the tourist. Sorta, anyway. My family, and I, have mostly traveled in the total opposite direction. Our goal has always been to slowly fan ourselves outward, rather than pick a random direction and see where it leads. But, in the lives we live, random is an inevitability too."

Sue pushed the mug toward Mantis.

"It is all yours. Now give me something in return." She said, showing a reserved smile for the young (looking?) woman.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis gives Peter a curious look, experiencing his discomfort on an entirely personal level. She watches and feels him process the indignity that comes from the Milano coming under such scrutiny, staring far too long for it to be just a simple glance. Awkward. She opens her mouth, perhaps to protest. Perhaps to come to the defense of Peter and the Milano. Most likely, though, would be a thoughtless remark that somehow makes the moment even more uncomfortable. She doesn't get the chance, though, as her attention is captured by the cup being offered to her.

"A trade..." Mantis repeats softly, saying the word like she holds the possibility in high esteem. Given her track record and responses towards normal, everyday interactions, this may be her first ever trade. She stares at the cup with wide eyes.

Suddenly, Mantis takes off running, presumably to her personal quarters on the Milano!

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter nabs one of the drinks from Mantis' tray, while the two of them are still sorting out this apparent social impasse. Does he look worried? Nah. It's fine. Well, OK, it was fine, and then Mantis goes running off.

I'm a little worried what she's going to bring you," he now admits.

It does give him a precious moment alone with the Fantastic Blonde, so he quickly takes advantage. Well, not like that. He walks over, drink in hand, and takes his own spot, sitting backwards on a seat that happens to be a bit more turned away, so that he's looking over the back at Sue.

"I know all kinds of space stuff!" He's eager to fulfill her own vision of him as an Experienced Space Explorer, even if the reality is that he's never been this way before. Space is huge, the chance of actually being familiar with any particular route is probably a gajillion to one. "A cluster like this, yeah, there's bound to be some good stuff. We could detour by a medium-sized asteroid, see what kind of action they've got going."

What kind of action could he possibly be imagining?!

Susan Richards has posed:
Sue sat up a little straighter when Mantis got a glint in her eyes, and made a run for the exit to the lounge. She did a quick search around with her eyes, before Quill was the recipient of her stare. "I meant for whatever she prepared... on the... tray..." She quietly said, before she glanced at her mug, and then smirked. "I really hope she doesn't bring the raccoon back in here..."

When Quill settled in to his seat, and gave her a few choice words, she put her eyes back upon him, and moved her hands to push her tablet computer across the table to rest it beside the mug.

"Is that so?" She asked him, in a coy fashion, amused by his general demeanor. "You guys see a lot of action out here?" She fired back, because she assumed she was twice his age, maybe? But he didn't seem to notice. Those damn magical age defying science things, they have worked wonders for her.

She had to grin, just had to, but she added in a shake of her head. "Honestly, I'm an explorer at heart. Being on this trip really is a gas for me. I'm eager to see whatever you think really is worth checking out."

That could be taken any number of ways.

Mantis has posed:
It doesn't take long, but Mantis soon returns to the passenger cabin, ready to make a trade. She walks in carrying something in front of her with both hands, staring down at it as she carefully makes her way back to Sue. Mantis moves slowly, cautiously, and without the same enthusiasm from moments ago. Whatever she has, parting with it is a somber affair. But, a trade's a trade and, in this part of the galaxy, nothing is free.

"Please take good care of this," Mantis requests, extending both arms towards Sue so she can present her with...

...a 1-foot by 1-foot square of St. Augustine sod. Bits of dirt fall from its underside.

Mantis plops it onto Sue's lap and immediately reaches for the temperature-controlled mug with both hands.

Peter Quill has posed:
"I... I don't think she'd try to trade you Rocket. But it's hard to be sure." He really isn't sure. Mantis is full of surprises! "And he probably wouldn't agree to it either way. Well, almost definitely not." Is he not even sure his space raccoon is loyal to him over some random Earth-babe?

Given the appropriate opening, he's very eager to brag. "Oh yeah, alllll kinds of action. It's wild out here, you know? I was raised by space pirates," pirates = cool, obviously, "so I saw a lot of crazy stuff, even just growing up. Then I hooked up with these guys. Do a bit of saving the galaxy, other odd jobs, you know how it is."

He looks over his shoulder as Mantis returns, conveniently before he can get too deep into bragging about his history to Sue.

Plop goes the dirt.

Quill leans over a little closer to Sue. "She'll uh- it's a big honor, trust me."

Susan Richards has posed:
Sue had her forearms together in front of her, resting them on the edge of the table. She had her blue eyes on Peter, as he gave a bit of insight in to his personal self. Legitimately, some of it was a little confusing to Sue, considering the man looked as much from Earth as she did. "You're Human, right?" She asked, her voice soft and low. "How did a kid end up with space pirates?" She had to ask. "Honestly, I thought my family were the first Humans to leave the solar system... maybe I'm wrong about tha---"

Mantis returned, or at least crept back in to Sue's peripheral vision. Her blue eyes were now going from Mantis' eyes, toward what she was carrying. "I---" Sue was about to spak, when she leaned back, and had a square of dirt dropped in her lap. It thwapped down against her thighs within her body suit, and with it she felt it just lay around her thighs, like good dirt should.

"I, uh...." She hears Peter insist that it is a big deal to the alien woman, and because of it, Sue raised her eyes from her lap, back to Mantis, and gave her a happy smile. "I'll treasure it forever." She says, a warm sincerity in her voice. "Do you have any tips for how I should handle it?" She asked, as she motioned to the F4 branded metal mug. "It is all yours. I'll get the heat control software on the ship computeer, or any device that you'd like it installed on."

Mantis has posed:
The 1-foot by 1-foot square of St. Augustine sod Mantis just presented to Sue Storm isn't a big deal to her at all. But, Mantis doesn't have many things. As soon as the sod is placed into Sue's lap, Mantis never looks at it again. She's too focused on her new mug, holding it up to the light so she can get a good look at the Fantastic Four logo branded on its side. She doesn't even look away from it to answer Sue's questions about how to care for the sod that Peter insists is important to her.

"I don't know," Mantis answers immediately. "I don't even know what it is."

After staring at her new mug for several more seconds, Mantis smiles brightly at it and presses it against her chest like it's her precious. Sue and Peter each get a brief smile before Mantis shifts her weight to leave again. "Please excuse me," she tells them. "I would like to show Drax."

Peter Quill has posed:
"Human? Last time I checked." Quill answers Sue with a big grin, and an exaggerated display of holding up one of his hands to look it over. She's probably lucky he's not standing up, or the self-inspection of his 'humanity' could get a bit more involved. "Maybe you guys were the first ones to do it on purpose? I couldn't really tell you who's got the actual record. Probably some neanderthal. Sees a bright light, wanders out of home sweet cave, and then BAM! Next thing you know? Probe town."

This warrants a very serious look. You don't want to end up in probe town unless you mean it.

A little more awkwardly, as she deals with the section of grass and dirt: "We can... probably get you a tray or something for that, if you want."

That interlude aside, he continues his story. "Well, they kidnapped me. The pirates, that is. Space is pretty nasty, you know. Mercenaries, pirates, slavers, there's all kinds of stuff. The Ravagers do a bit of all that stuff, but I lucked out, I guess, got mentored rather than turned into a pleasure slave."

That... was never the plan, but then again, the real reasons have to do with those FAMILY SECRETS and all.

Mantis has posed:
Mantis is just about gone, but then Peter starts talking about his early years. This causes her to stop and linger in the doorway for reasons that remain personal to her and wholly unknown to others. Still clutching her brand new mug with both hands, she lurks in the doorway, watching and listening as Peter tells his story.

It's a story she knows all too well. She's heard Peter tell this countless times, but there's always the possibility that he might reveal something new. There are some parts to Peter's story that remain hers to tell, but there's always a worry that she might hear it come out of Peter's mouth before her own.

It doesn't. Instead, Mantis hears the phrase 'pleasure slave' and drops her new Fantastic Four mug, filling the passenger cabin with the sound of metal clanging against metal until she picks it up and escapes to the crew quarters.

Susan Richards has posed:
AS Peter spoke, Sue placed the square of sod up on to the crew table. She had a smile cross her lips at the sight of it, and the question about something to store it on. "Maybe a plastic bag, if you have one lying around? I think I know where I'll take it. Either the Lunar Colony back home, or our green space at the tower in Manhattan. Should fit in well in either."

She smoothed her hands over the grass, before she looked up toward Peter again.

A smirk touched her lips, and a shake of her haed was given to him. "My family has been at this for awhile. We've been to Probe planet before. I still have nightmares..." She said, a bit of dry humor, and a challenging read to see the truth behind it too. "I'm pretty sure we've all had a brief stint in a pleasure slave role too. You should've seen Ben in that outfit." That had to be a joke, right?

But at the sound of how Peter spoke, and the way he said it all, Sue stopped smiling as much, though a faint ghostly expression of one remained. After a second, she shook her head. "I don't see a pirate in your eyes, Captain." She said to him, a voice with sincerity in it. "I mean, maybe it's the mother in me, seeing hope in people. Hoping my kids don't grow up to be psychopaths, or the people around them don't try to take advantage of them. But, I don't know, I see something completely opposite of a pirate, when I look at how you carry yourself."

She smiled again, but the clatter of the cup falling to the ground shook her attention away, and she looked in the direction from which Mantis had gone.

Peter Quill has posed:
"Wait seriously?" Did Sue just successfully 'turn it around' on Peter, getting him to take it seriously when it's her pulling his leg? The way he stares, slightly slack-jawed for a moment, means he is almost definitely imagining the Fantastic Four, in all their heoric glory, done up in the most inappropriate for modern audiences outfits that can be imagined. Or at least Sue.

... and maybe Ben.

Definitely Ben too.

Not to be anything less than a great host, he pushes up from his weird backward position on the chair and promptly goes to find whatever's handy among the junk that pretty much always litters various surfaces in the ship, returning with some kind of polymer bag and what might be a baking tin. "See if these'll work?"

Then he puts the charming smile back on. "Hey, I said that I was raised by psychopaths and bloodthirsty mercenaries and slavers, not that I am one. Mostly, I guess you could say I lucked out. There's a lot of Ravager clans, and some are better, some are worse. Depends on the personality in charge. I had someone half-decent take me under his wing." It could all sound very sentimental if he didn't quickly add a bit more: "No doubt because he saw my amazing potential as a future pilot, thief, gunslinger, and general adventurer among the stars!"

"We still work... let's just say 'around' the law, but there's degrees to everything. Anyway." He turns back toward the cockpit. "I'm gonna see if I can't find us one of those probe worlds in the cluster, while I plot our next jump."

Susan Richards has posed:
Sue was quick to accept the bag, and the tin to go with it. She had the sod slipped inside it, careful whether Mantis cared or not; as it belonged to her now, a fair trade. She smirked faintly, as she settled the items on the bench beside where her bag was located. "Well, if they raised you to be one, they did a bad job." She fired back, showing him a happy smile.

At his words of mapping out a course, the blonde was left laughing as he made his return toward the cockpit.

"Please don't make me try to trade exchange for a stun weapon." She could be heard saying, as she took a seat once more, reaching for her tablet computer again.

After about thirty seconds, she looked up, and around. "What am I supposed to drink now?" She quietly said to herself.