etraya | (UN: amidala

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(UN: amidala | Text)

I have tried to stay optimistic - hopeful, at least - in regards to our mission. I have seen planets die and stars burn out; even relocating those on said dying planets doesn't always work out well. Not everyone is equipped to adjust to new environments even if they are similar to what they had before.

(They have to be successful in other words. They have to.)

I wish to represent multiple worlds since there are many in my galaxy that have no representation. Are there any others in our number who feel likewise? I know that space travel isn't common; we can only help the worlds that we recall.

(She wishes she had brought maps with her!)

I am also curious how many of us have military or fighting experience? I would like to know who to call on should I find myself or others in a tight situation.

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[ ...hum. He looks over to the companion bot inside the café, who is actually coming over now with their orders--but as they make their arrival, Gorgug asks Padme quickly: ]

Should we ask them?

[ The café bot. Surely they might know about Guns. ]

Might as well. (Padmé smiles up at the bot and accepts her drink.) Excuse us, but could you tell us what you know about guns?

(The bot provides what information is known about the weapons - mainly that each gun requires a special caliber of bullet and that some require cartridges of bullets.)

[ Very interesting, very interesting. Might as well follow that up with: ]

Can she [ a nod to Padme ] get one?

[ The bot helps, that certainly, she could get one if she asks Aurora. They're unfortunately too busy to retrieve it, they answer apologetically, but another bot should be able to bring it, as long as Aurora confirms the exchange. ]

(One way or another, Padmé will be better protected! She smiles warmly at Gorgug's help, reaching across the table to squeeze his wrist.)

Would you like one too? Or is there another weapon you prefer?

It sounds cool... [ It really does, and that's his immediate thought when she asks. ] Um, maybe you can tell me how much it costs? I have an axe--but maybe I can save up.

[ Though- ] Would you show me how it shoots?

[ He wants to see the lasers.... ]

I'm not sure. Let me figure out the details and I'll find a way to message you. (She doesn't want to lie and it might be costly.) It would be worthwhile, but I can show you when I get mine instead of you simply taking my word for it.

Sure, yeah. At least you've got something now, even if it isn't-- it isn't the better gun. It does sound like getting around danger's come up a few times...

[ Even if he isn't sure if that's just unfortunate luck on the part of the people who shared that with him, or just the result of people willingly going into spots advertised as dangerous. ]

But I wonder if we're all meant to try and get involved in everything. Not everything's... not all of it sounds like something everyone can do. Like dealing with the big snakes or figuring out what's wrong with the spaceship that's stuck by a black hole.

I remember when I first arrived here... No one knew about the water. I watched a few people splash into it, hoping to swim or rinse off. They all hurried back to the shore in blinding pain.

(So...danger can be hidden. It's not all about being stubborn or hot-headed unfortunately.)

You're right. We need to stick with our abilities and support those that can do something about the current problem. Even if that just means being a shoulder to cry on when it's done.

[ The water. Gorgug...knows she can't be talking about all water, and yet does Gorgug glance at his drink that he was just taking a sip of anyway? ]

The-- water was bad?

[ help he doesn't know about the bad water. ]

Oh not this water! (She sees her mistake immediately and feels bad. Poor Gorgug.) The river near the hospital. There are signs all around it saying to not swim or bathe in the water.

Oh--that water. [ That water. He's blushing a little in embarrassment, but. ]

That's the hospital people usually show up at, right? I never went there. It's just that water that's bad?

I went there after I first arrived. Everything looked...scenic. But there is definitely something wrong with the river.

(She had to find quick cures for a few people, poor things.)

I wonder if something is dumped into it?

Edited 2024-08-08 13:44 (UTC)

A waste makes sense. [ Especially if it's noticeable, too. ] I guess that, uh, Aurora? She wouldn't tell you? I talked to them once but they wouldn't tell me anything new.

[ It might be like that for everyone. ]

She is very careful about the information she provides. (There must be a reason behind her tight lips; a reason that might cause them to stop in their tracks and be unwilling to help, she theorizes.)

You were given the same reception everyone else was. We just have to go forward with what we know.

[ He nods. But since he's thinking about now what he did try to ask Aurora... ]

Do you... do you have an idea about what they're looking from us from the missions they give us? I don't know if helping the snakes was a mission-- or handling them, [ he fixes, ] but...

[ He doesn't finish, since he's asking her opinion, though it's safe to assume by where he leaves it, Gorgug thinks there was a purpose to that. It's probably not out there for any of them to assume. ]

I think they want to know our fears and our limitations. (Padmé responds after a quiet moment of thought.) If we are put off by animals, we might not be as useful to them in the future. But if we can overcome our hesitations and our phobias, the sky is the limit.

(It feels like they are being built up. The real reason they are here has yet to be revealed.)

They were really big snakes. It was pretty hard to do anything with them. [ Well, other than the obvious. But speaking of that obvious: ] I didn't wanna just go and kill them when we're getting judged about what's gonna happen to our own worlds. But it's hard when we don't have a lot of options.

[ Which speaks to their limitations, but it feels unfair, too. A lot is unfair, but putting some large snakes in the middle of a city and being told what to do with them was...a struggle. ]

I think they are testing us. Constantly. (She has been in a similar environment - though less random and harsh, of course. As a queen and then a senator, people were always looking for cracks in her armor.)

Don't worry about what you have to do to protect yourself and others, Gorgug. We just need to try our best and rely on one another.

I'm okay. [ He chose to go out there, and he didn't take the action of killing many snakes, so his conscious isn't loaded (or, awkward about the fact--going out and killing random snakes is pretty awkward). ] And, um, it's good to find out how many of us want to work together. I can understand why people wouldn't want to if, you know, this feels like a competition. If all our universes can't get out of this alive.

[ It's a good enough reason to avoid teamwork. ]

Do you think most of the people you've met would want to work together?

(It's a good question and one Anakin has brought up to her multiple times. Why should they help anyone else when their worlds - their galaxy - is in jeopardy? Shouldn't they just fight for themselves? But Padmé isn't wired that way. She can't see others suffering and do nothing.)

I think there is kindness and that's all that's needed for us to empathize with one another.

(Empathizing quietly is different from acting, of course.)

I don't care if this is a competition. If I can help someone, I will.

[ He nods slowly, understanding. They'll have people working for their own benefit: that can't be changed, regardless of Padme--or anyone's--actions to bring people together. And he hadn't asked as a test for her own resolve, but for her own perspective so face on Etraya: do the people look like they swing towards self-preservation or community?

Because it does look like the former to Gorgug, but he doesn't have the same experience. But all you can focus on, maybe, when you're in Padme's position and you want to bring about teamwork, is on opening a more cooperative channel between people. ]

I don't think that's wrong, [ he says, after a moment or so. A small smile as he does. ] Um, it might be good to push for that, too. If we think more of us want to work together... more of us will try.

And we probably want to make more friends around here, for the real problem we have.

(She thinks she has seen movement towards working as a whole, but a single circumstance shift can change that overnight. They have to be resolved.)

Since we can't see the full picture, it's best to stand together. Anyone I talk to, I will try to emphasize that point. The more broken we are, the more vulnerable we are and that could mean all of our worlds are doomed.

(Besides, there is nothing wrong with helping another. "Winning" while someone else suffers needlessly doesn't appeal to her.)

If we don't work like they want us to? [ True... ] I wish we did have a better idea of what's threatening so many worlds. Something about it being too-- bloated?

But I don't know how any of this really... how what we're doing decides if ours gets to be saved.

[ It's like she said, they can't see the full picture--they're not being allowed to. But it's so strange to Gorgug, too. Why them? ]

I don't know how our challenges apply to our worlds, either. Except where our skills might be concerned. And they might be monitoring how we work together.

(That's all she can conclude.)

I would rather be on good terms with everyone if... (If, in the end, they need to turn on this world and their deities.) But we wait for now.

[ Gorgug nods, though he can't quite guess what she was going to ask, and doesn't think to ask. What she says is good enough. ]

Um, I hope talking to Aurora or whoever else you can talk to goes well. Maybe I'll try... I really want to know what's happening about the spaceship.

[ He misses the spaceship.... ]

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