outer_divide | 001 ♖ [video]

[The man on your video screen is wearing a tux. He's not James Bond though.

In fact he's a writer from New York City, who was on his way to get married (for the third time) when he blacked out while driving and woke up in a pod. It was by far the oddest experience he's ever had, and Richard Castle has had many odd experiences. At first he thought he was in some kind of government facility, that the SUV with the black out windows that had been tailing him had put him here where some kind of weird experiments happened. Waking up in a pod in your boxers is enough to throw anyone. He'd put on the clothes he'd been wearing, found in the footlocker next to the pod and managed to locate the rest of his stuff. His cell phone was deader than dead, of course, so he couldn't call Kate. It seemed, other than the creepy pods filled with what looked to be people, nobody was around keeping him in one place. He wasn't a prisoner, so he decided to explore.

Stepping out of the hatch, he observed a completely different world. It was not New York. It was possibly not even Earth.]

Uh. I take it this isn't the Hamptons?

[What the hell has he gotten himself into now?]

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[Fortunately for Castle he's basically the opposite of Mal.]

Wokling? And I clearly must have hit my head, otherwise I'm actually on another planet and I'm pretty sure that's not possible...

[Eyebrow raised.]

You don't know who I am. [...but Mal sure as hell did. She'd definitely messed with him more than a little when he arrived.]

What's your name? And what planet were you on last?

Rick Castle. Earth.

And I've already been told that this is apparently a place called Verdana.

Another Earthling. Okay, cool. Heya, Rick. I'm Kerra. Kerra Holt.

You hurt? Or okay?

Other than the shock, I think I'm ok. Nice to meet you... considering.

Is there a woman here named Kate Beckett at all?

[She just has to be here. The two of them are hardly ever separated.]

I can't say I've heard the name.

[Kerra's voice softens a bit.]

What's she look like?

Tall, thin, brown hair... really beautiful wavy brown hair actually. Kind of authoritative. Probably not happy to be here.

[Probably also really skeptical that this is another planet.]

That last bit describes just about everyone here, Rick. But she doesn't sound like one of the other offworlders like us. Unless that's a nickname for Sif.

She doesn't go by Sif or any nicknames... I doubt she'd change her name here.

[He glances off into the distance, down the dusty road that leads to the settlement.]

Any suggestions?

Just that she's not likely here.

My advice would be to find a place to stay and a job. Got any marketable skills?

[He exhales slowly.]

I'm a bestselling author.

[Whatever that gets him.]

[Okay. She hadn't expected that. Kerra stifles a laugh though.]

Oh? Fiction?

Murder mysteries.

[And don't laugh. He has a ton of money that he probably has no access to here.]

Awesome. Doesn't...seem to be much market for them here, but you look like you're not bad to have in a fight. Or moving cargo or something.

A fight?

[Don't let his size fool you. Castle's not a fighter. Unless you threaten someone he loves, then he'll rip your face off.]

Are those the only kind of jobs that are available here?

Nah, those are just the kind I can help you find. Unless you're a pilot, too.

Definitely not a pilot. [He sighs.] I can help with some type of police work, maybe.

Then you'd wanna talk to either my flatmate Mulan, or Skywalker. I'm not in law enforcement.

But if you do find a publishing job or a copy of your book? Definitely let me know. I love good mystery stories.

Spoke to Mulan. Spoke to a Mrs. Skywalker but not Luke yet.

[Castle can't wait for that.]

I will. Hey, I magically appeared here, maybe my books will too.

Good, good.

You need anything else, just give me a shout, okay?

I will. Nice to meet you considering... all of this.