riverview | @r.mckay; video

[As the video feed turns on, Rodney is rearranging his hair a little, brushing it into place with his fingers, and then he squares his shoulders, takes a breath, and looks into the camera. Rodney is an average-looking guy in his late-30s and wearing a jacket with a Canadian flag patch on the shoulder, and he's sitting in front of some kind of holographic display with bright neon lights, schematics of some sort.]

Hi. [A beat, and then.] Hello, residents of Riverview Quarantine. My name is Dr. Rodney McKay.

[Another pause, and he takes a deep breath looking directly into the camera.]

As you may or may not be aware, a power relay station deep in the jungle was recently reactivated on minimal power thanks to some massive electric shocks. After seeing how I responded in that situation, I was, well...

[He ducks his head in a show of humility or shyness before looking back at the camera.]

Well. I was honoured with a request from the city representatives to be the new Chief Science Officer of the Wall Research & Development unit. Which means I'm in charge, in a way.

[There is zero trace of shyness now, he just looks smug.]

Which is, frankly, an excellent decision, because this place is a total mess. Who was in here before? Seriously, it looks like a tornado went through here, how could anyone find anything? What use are fancy holographic displays if they're just... [He waves a hand.] Anyway.

What is the purpose of this post, you might ask? Well. The team they've given me here were mostly completely useless and I'd like to reach out. See if anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together might be willing to join my team so we can forge ahead with getting this place in order.

I'm particularly looking for Engineers of pretty much any variety and anyone with high-level computer skills, knowledge of Astrophysics is a major plus. Really, anyone with a degree in science and an ability to think outside the box. Full-time or contract...you know. Whatever floats your boat.

[Lifting his chin, he exhales heavily, and claps his hands together once before rubbing them together.]

I look forward to your replies.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sentient, yes. They're some kind of hybrid between humans and a bug from one of the planets in the Pegasus Galaxy. They suck the life force out of you with their hands. Not a pleasant way to go.

[Raising his brows, Rodney shakes his head.]

That sounds more like a buffalo or something. Cows are smaller, one and a half meters, maybe tops. Only the males have horns, usually short hair.

[ Okay, that's worse than the human-eating sentients he's heard of. ] I didn't think that kind of crossbreeding was possible.

[ Clone armies, sure. Human-bug hybrids? NOT SO MUCH. But hey, different universe, different rules?? ] They sound like fun.

It wasn't exactly crossbreeding. More like a really twisted evolution. The bugs feed on human life source so eventually the genetic material from the bugs corrupted the humans they fed on and it just went on from there until they'd developed into some kind of nasty hybrid thing.

They're essentially committing genocide on the Pegasus Galaxy. My team and I were doing our best to stop them.

[ When Rodney says genocide, Poe's jaw twitches. Wouldn't it be nice never to hear that word again. Wouldn't it be nice if the universes they lived in didn't have monsters focused on destruction or control.

Murderers, warlords, fearmongers, syndicates, genocidal maniacs. There's too much stacked against those who just want to live in peace.

Poe shakes the thought off, straightening. ] So I'm guessing you need to get home, too.

[It takes that twitch of the other man's jaw to remind him how loaded a word genocide is. But he can't really say that's not what it is. It's almost a little more disturbing when Poe says that he guesses that Rodney needs to get home too.

Disturbing. Guilt inducing, too, because he hadn't really given it much thought. Going home. He's been thinking about literally everything but that, though certainly not because he doesn't care about the inhabitants of the Pegasus Galaxy.]

Right. I don't know how likely that is to happen, considering I took a look at their tech surrounding the portal already and if I can't make it more efficient, no one can.

[ Not what Poe wanted to hear. That's clear enough from the look on his face, the way he shifts in his chair. For a moment he looks a lot more like Commander Poe Dameron and a lot less like someone ribbing a genius with jokes about building farm equipment.

Then the moment's passed, and Poe drags a hand through his hair. ]

Yeah. I keep hearing three months, six months, eight months. People who've been here that long and don't expect to go anywhere any time soon.

[Rodney's mouth purses, and he shrugs a bit.]

S'pose that's to be expected. I mean, apparently this thing locks on to people who are supposed to want to leave the place they're at. Have you heard from a lot of people who want to go home?

[A pause, and he shakes his head.]

Not a surprise that someone screwed it up. They were kind enough to give me the specs for the tech they're using to try to navigate the thing, so I'll keep going over it at the lab.

Me and my team.

[ Because that's what Rey and Finn are: his team, which means they might as well be family. And all three of them want to get back to where they belong. They have a war to fight--a war to win.

Poe thumps his fist lightly on his desk and sighs. ] You'll let me know if you find anything?

No desire whatsoever to get away from where you were before you showed up? I'm trying to formulate some theories on how widespread the errors are with this thing and where they lie.

[A blink, and then a nod.]

Yeah, of course. I'm sorry, did I get your name?

None. We're in the middle of a war. We need to be there.

[ ~~Those two statements......... together...... tho........... Poe............~~

He blinks. Because didn't he-- Oh well. Doesn't matter. This guy clearly has things on his mind. ] Poe Dameron.

[They probably shouldn't go together, but Rodney doesn't bat an eye.]

Oh right, yes, you told me that. Commander Dameron or something. Got it.

[He waves a hand almost dismissively.]

So you and your team were all taken completely in error. Interesting. Is there anyone else here from your world who wasn't?

[ A pause. Poe fiddles with the settings on his communicator, switching this conversation to a private filter.] Just Poe is fine.

[ Another, slightly longer pause. ] I can’t speak for everyone on my team. Wouldn’t blame them for a second if they did feel displaced. Honestly I’d be surprised if they didn’t. As for the others from my world, I don’t know them well enough to say. But I absolutely should not be here.

Alright. Poe.

[He does try to remember it, really he does, but it's probably going to be gone again in a few minutes. Sorry.]

Not even a split second of displacement? Not an inkling?

[ Poe’s temper finally gets the better of him. He leans in, expression fiery. ] For the first time, I was exactly where I needed to be. I was home.

[ Which is miles more emotional territory than he meant to give away. Poe swallows, sitting back again. ] Not an inkling. All right?

[Rodney isn't easily intimidated, not even by a square-jawed action hero glaring at him. He just raises a brow a bit and sighs softly.]

Alright, alright. Calm down. I'm not accusing you of anything, just trying to work out a margin of error on this thing.

[ For what it's worth, Poe isn't trying to be intimidating. He's just not good at reeling it in, emotionally speaking. He scratches his forehead. ] Right. Sorry.

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