outer_divide | 001 [video]

[Armand found his clothes and the communicator and his way as far as the base of the ramp exiting the ship. The utter unfamiliarity of the landscape hit him hard, and he didn't make it much further yet. So he fiddles with the device until his fingers find the combination he wants, though he has no idea why he knows it.

The tip of his nose is already red from the cold. He speaks with a noticeable French accent, and his voice is pleasant and cheerful, at least for the moment.]

I'm game if someone wants to tell me the trick. This is hardly England, nor France either. And it wasn't this cold last I knew.

[A pause, as he looks around yet again. He's not wearing a jacket over his shirt and waistcoat. Apparently he didn't have one with him when he was spirited from there to here.]

I'd go back inside, but it doesn't seem hospitable in there. I can see a city, but it looks a fair way off to walk. Is that where I should go?

Has anyone seen or heard of Sir Percy Blakeney or Marguerite St.--I mean Lady Blakeney? If you have, could you tell them I've been found though I don't know how I was lost this time? It's not my fault, anyway. I'm Armand. St. Just, that is. Margot's my sister.

The short of it is that I'm cold, and if I should just go back inside for a bit, I will, but I'm hoping to hear of a better alternative.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If you like. No-one will begrudge you asking for a reminder later, though -- waking up is pretty disorienting at the best of times.

[Her expression shades slightly wry.]

I'm pretty sure that any explanation I give you is only going to leave you more confused, at least to start with, so I'm sorry for that. But, in short, yes. The 'ship' is a starship, or spacecraft, rather than a sailing vessel, and it seems to have crashed on this planet, which is known as Verdana. Most of us from the ship are from Earth, so I know what you mean when you talk about France or England, but we seem to be from different times -- I'm from the year 2012, for example. New York, to be precise.

Then you're from further in the future than even M. Lyall. [He blinks a moment.] Oh, but of course, he said that no one was from further back than he was, so I suppose you're all in my future. [He blushed.]

A true space craft, that sails through the stars?

It certainly seems to be. It's a little hard to believe, I know -- even in my time, we don't have anything that even comes close to it. The farthest we've sent people is to the moon, so a craft of this size, on another world... well, it's a lot to take in, and that's just the beginning.

[Pepper's smile is a touch crooked as she watches Armand's reactions, and moves away from spaceships and back to people.]

Professor Lyall looks like he'd be reasonably close to your time, at least guessing by the style of your clothing. Within decades, anyway. Lady Maccon is another new arrival, also from his time, so... that's something, I guess. And of course you can feel free to ask me any questions you might have -- If I don't know the answers, I can find out who does.

I think I have an appointment to talk to him when I get to the Flop. Everyone has been very helpful so far.

I'm just worried I'll say or do the wrong thing. Margot used to keep at me for not knowing how to keep my big mouth shut.

[Pepper looks thoughtful at that, and inquires a] When did you say you were from, exactly? [before she finds her smile again.]

I won't say that there's no danger of saying the wrong thing, but the people here seem to value actions more strongly than words, and there's some allowance made for the fact that we are all very much not from around here. Friendliness, attentiveness and a willingness to work will get you pretty far.

Edited 2013-01-26 21:13 (UTC)

I didn't say exactly. [He's a little nervous with it for some reason, so he drops his voice.]

1792. My sister is my older sister, you see.

I can do all that, I promise! I know how to work, and learn. [And no one has ever faulted him for being unfriendly.]

[The relevance of his sister's age isn't something that Pepper's immediately following, but that doesn't stop her from looking thoughtful over the date.]

And, given your name and accent, that would put you in the thick of the French Revolution. Keeping your mouth shut as a habit becomes clear...

I wouldn't worry about that as much here. Have some caution when talking on these devices -- they may be monitored by the forces inside the dome -- but there's no class struggle here that you have to worry about.

[To him, it's obvious. She's his older sister because she bosses him around.]

I managed it when it was important, yes, Ms. Potts. [Not so much at other times, but he's still hoping that he helped reconcile Marguerite and Percy by letting her in on Percy's secret, even if it was against orders.]

That's a relief. We came a little too close to Madame Guillotine before we got away.

When I get to the city, I'll try not to use it so much. [But right now it's important to him as his contact with people.]

Oh -- don't treat it like you should never use it. Just don't say anything that you'd like to keep strictly private. Which, come to think of it, is fairly universal advice for any public conversation, really.

[She looks a little chilled at the thought of the guillotine -- high school history and fodder for Les Miserables for her is sharp reality for him -- but soon leaves the abstraction behind her with a quick nod.]

Once you make it to the town, you should look me up if you'd like help getting settled. I keep an apartment rather than staying at the Flop, but I turn up there fairly often, or at Edmund's stores... which reminds me: have you taken much education?

[Given his time period, 'can you read' strikes her as a good thing to establish before she starts trying to arrange his future for him at the drop of a hat.]

[There were a few things that Armand wanted to keep private, so he nodded at her advice.]

I would like to meet you. [And soak up any advice he can get, thank you.]

Education? I attended a lycée until Marguerite married. I was going to study law. I can read and write both French and English, though my English is a bit more limited. [The writing that is. He is fairly good at speaking it, though hardly fluent.]

Good... good. Beyond the very bare basics you can get at the Flop, the economy here is based off of barter, for either goods or skills. For those of us who aren't exactly hunters, gatherers or tinkerers, putting your skills to work can take some thought.

You're obviously quick on your mental feet, so I can already think of a few things you could get involved in. We'll talk soon, but if you think of anything critical before we can meet, don't hesitate to call me specifically.

I'll remember, Ms. Potts.

001 [video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]

Re: [Video]

[Video]

Re: [Video]

[Video]

[Video]

[Video]