middleofsomewhere | The Endless River

The Endless River

On the morning of day twenty one of the month of Kazoo there is a message on the ICP screens around the train. Their SCA's will light up the colour of the Void and show the following information.

World #398050 is a void nexus known locally as Tshering. As a void nexus this world has strong links with the void and the connection through worlds. World #398050 is home to the Endless River. Legends speak of this river being powerful enough to send thoughts from one heart to another across any distance. All that is needed is for you to know who it is you wish to reach.

On-board

The dressing carriage is open, filled with clothing best suited to a pleasant spring day. Light, airy and in a rainbow of joyful colours and florals. One closet is entirely filled with wide-brimmed hats bedecked with ribbons, feathers and ornaments. A stack of picnic baskets and containers filled with an alarming variety of passenger-suitable foodstuffs and flasked drinks sits in one corner, next to rolls of thick, weatherproof blankets in the four team colours.

The large box marked Do Not Use Yet, filled with small, empty jute bags, is hopefully still sat in the Luggage carriage, ready for passengers to grab handfuls of its contents as directed by the announcement.

Upon landing (after an appropriate countdown), the train remains on the surface, its carriages partially curved to form a gathering site for the day. Welcome to Tshering, the eighth void nexus!

A Day for Picnics

Tshering, system #398050, is a strange place, only habitable by grace of the passengers' SCAs. The sky is shot through with colours, a cascade of sunsets, and through it, the void shimmering through it in seams like a child's painting of the milky way. Still, there's a beauty to the chaotic mash of colours that soaks through its landscape, and in the shelter of the forests of towering funghi that dot its surface, the Void can go unseen by its visitors.

The temperature seems mild, suitable for the provided clothing, and if there are weather patterns around the world they've taken the day off. The funghi are sturdy enough that what air flow there is doesn't disturb their stalks, and carved grooves and holds in some of the larger examples indicate that climbing them to sit atop their glowing crowns is eminently possible, and, in fact, encouraged.

the Endless River

The Endless River is a font of pure chaos, flowing from a multitude of small rivulets across the area to a central reservoir, from which it pours directly upwards, away from Tshering's surface and out of sight, beyond the world's atmosphere.

Anything bagged and placed within the Endless River will also flow upwards and soon be out of sight, passing, presumably, into the Void. Scattered across the surface of Tshering are small, glittering pebbles, as described in the announcement.

The stones are pleasantly cool to the touch, and all passengers need to do is feel. Messages can be in any form that the Voidtreckers wish. Perhaps words, perhaps feelings, perhaps an image from their mind into the stone. Perhaps a mixture. Once they begin their message the stone will glow slightly and continue to glow as they secure it in the bag and cast it into the river. They will feel, almost instinctively, that they need to focus as they do so, thinking of the person they wish to reach all the while.

There are plenty of bags and many more stones; passengers will not be limited in their sendings.

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"That's a hell of a personality change in the name." Cloudslayer to Sunchaser. Now, they both were pretty good, but a ship always had some kinda personality in his mind. Della probably called it out way sooner.

"Mine was the 'Eclector'."

"Ooo, love it." Thumbs up of approval. "And, yeah, it's a big personality change in pilots. LP's more... how can I put this..."

A giant idiot, but a nice one?

"... He's got some clouds in the head." No, she didn't mean had his head in the clouds.

He chuckles because he can't really help it. What a way to put it.

"I'm gonna be honest, sounds a lot like my boy. Got the biggest heart an' the clearest damn head you could hope for. Has a real problem with who he goes romancin' too. Likes the ones more'n likely to carry sharp objects."

Della sighs a bit. "Oh yeah. He's... a very nice guy, just sometimes a little TOO nice, if you ask me. But he certainly knows his way around women... he can't land a plane, but he can always land a date."

She might sound the tiniest bit jealous. Why does he have so much game when he doesn't know the rules?!

He actually laughs pretty good at that one. "Ah, that's a good one. You been savin' that up for his birthday or somethin'?"

Yondu can appreciate a good insult. He's a space pirate, he can only bother to be so good.

"Yeah, my boy's about like that. An' if what you mentioned is true I bet one o' yours is gonna go that way too. Get ready to fish 'im outa trouble twice as often when he starts learnin' how to date."

Della just clicks her tongue. She doubts Launchpad would ever understand any insult. Even basic sarcasm went over his head.

But onto the subject of her actual boys, Della did a 180 and was happy as could be. "Oh, I know! On the one hand, I want them to stay my innocent little boys forever... but on the other hand, I bet they'll be total heartbreakers when they grow up! Just like their mom!"

"I feel bad I had to be so rough on mine," he says, sobering up.

"My crew wasn't exactly good people. And his real father was a bastard. So I couldn't afford to be as good a daddy as I shoulda been... well, that's just me shittin' myself. I coulda done better. But he turned out pretty good other than the whole dumb as a box of rocks thing."

He ain't innocent, but he's good, and that's something.

Della straightened up, understanding this was a serious conversation. "Hey, if you ask me, you're doing good enough. Really bad parents? They never acknowledge they never did anything wrong. I know I messed up big time... and hopefully I can make up for what I've done."

There are a lot of times he's admitted that he's not done so well with Peter. He still kicks himself all the time for how it went.

But there's something in that phrasing that does make him feel better. That knowing what he did wrong mattered, and that he regretted it and wished he could make up for it. Sure, he realizes he tries too hard to justify it. But that's just tryin' to live with himself for it.

He would, though. Try to make it up for Peter. In fact half of what he does for the kids on this train here is inspired by that.

Such a simple little thing and it makes him ease up on himself. "Cain't imagine nothin' you've done is all that bad."

Della looked away. The weight of her guilt would never really go away. Now she picked at her food instead of chomping it down. She wasn't sure she was comfy to give the full story - but then again, it felt like it always came out to everyone on the train.

"You want the short version?" She said a little bitterly. "... I basically wound up abandoning my kids for a joy ride. It cost me ten years."

"What got you goin'? What brought ya back?"

He doesn't sound judgemental in the slightest. A joyride is still better than what he did, even if he does realize yeah, it definitely ain't a great thing to do. But the stones they're meant to be castin' here ain't for sinners.

And he might just wanna know he ain't the only one that fucked up somethin' important.

Well, here they go. But backstory was important for context.

"... I've traveled the world with my Uncle Scrooge and my twin brother Donald, searching for adventure. I've done it since I was a little girl - and when I got pregnant, I was excited at the thought of my kids doing the same. But at that time, it felt like we'd been everywhere and done everything... so I wanted to give my kids more. I wanted to give them the stars."

Ah, wait, she needed to consider who (what) she was talking to. "In my world, space travel is still brand new. We barely know anything about what's out there."

Now she could return to the grief. "But when I explained my ideas to my family, right about the time I laid my eggs, Donald said I was being irresponsible. That since I was now a mom, I needed to think about my children and stop being so reckless and impulsive. I didn't listen to him because I thought I knew better... my Uncle pretended not to take sides, but I found out he was building a rocket-ship in surprise, for me."

A deep, big sigh. "... So I stole it for a test drive."

Shamefully there is that flicker of a thought that he didn't know where Ducks from Duckworld came from before, but luckily it falls out of his head so he can pay attention to the story.

"I bet that made your brother real mad at both you and your Uncle." She hadn't done it out of meanness. Maybe she didn't care as much as she needed to, or didn't think things through. But it didn't sound like it was out of spite or lack of carin'.

"Then what happened?"

"... I had left behind a note saying what I'd done. Uncle Scrooge managed to radio to me, trying to get me back. And at that moment... there was a meteor storm. I had no idea what I was doing. Turns out there's a big difference between flying a plane and flying a rocket."

Another big sigh. She rubbed her metal leg.

"... I crashed on the moon. Rocket ship was totaled. I lost my leg. And my family had no idea where I was."

So he's mathed out at least that in her universe, Terra went Duckworld's route. But that would mean Luna was the same? Or maybe it had an atmosphere. More technicalities that ruin the heart of the story, though.

Losing a leg is a hell of a thing to go through in a crash. He's been lucky to survive most of his intact, but that's because he was trained in how to handle himself. She sent herself up with next to nothin'.

"Did it take all them years to find you?"

Della shook her head. "They never found me. Not for lack of trying... Uncle Scrooge made more ships, trained astronauts to search space, but it never worked. Eventually, he had to stop, or else he'd be completely broke... and that wouldn't have just affected him - he owns a lot of companies and businesses. It would have meant millions of people losing their job, their livelihoods."

She rolled her shoulders, trying to refocus on her. "As for me... I spent those ten years rebuilding the ship to go back home. Eventually I discovered a civilization that lived on the moon - they were surprised to see me too. But it was thanks to them I could finish the ship and go home."

"Glad they were at least happy to get ya back." He knows it's sometimes a real risk that you won't be forgiven your trespasses. He's been there, and it's left its scars.

He sighs, folding his arms on his knees.

"I know that was probably rough to run through, but it's easier knowin' decent folks messed up." He still messed up worse, but maybe there's some hope that at least Peter found it in him to forgive him? Really, Peter's the most important one there. It'd be nice if his old team would, but Quill is the one who matters.

"Yeah... all the little reunions were great." Her and Scrooge, her and the kids, her and Donald...

She rolls her shoulders and managed to put on a smile. "Nobody's perfect, Yondu. Besides, would you trust anyone who says they were perfect and never made a mistake? That's the sound of a Grade A Narcissist, and not someone I'd rely on."

"Nah, nah. I mean, I know people ain't perfect. An' I know that last type 'cause the whole reason I'm in this mess is 'cause of a fella like that... Okay, not the whole reason. I'm the fault of my own chunk of it... but-"

He scratches the back of his head. Wrinkles his nose. Probably fair here to say what it was that he did.

"So... short context. I was raised as a slave, from the time I was a baby. Somethin' called a battle slave so all I knew was fightin'. An' I was set free by a Ravager captain who invited me to join his team. But I had it in my head that true freedom was havin' stuff, havin' money. 'Cause I didn't have nothin' of my own before, an' all the people what owned me were rich Kree lords.

"Now, Ravagers got a code. You don't steal from other Ravagers. You remember a fallen Ravager. You don't kill one what don't deserve it. An' you don't deal in kids. This fella turns up. Somethin' called a Celestial. Like a god, powerful as hell. An' he's been philanderin' through the universe just makin' him a buncha babies. He can make wealth outa thin air, but he's too busy findin' him women to go account for his youngin's. So, just go pick 'em up! An' I'm thinkin'... y'know, this ain't dealin' in kids. This is basically just runnin' a cab service. I go, I get 'em, I confirm who they is, I take 'em back to their old man.

"Only I went to Terra an' picked up the last one. Before I bring this'n to Ego- that's what his name was -I ask about the last couple I'd dropped off. An' I figure out that he's.. he ain't keepin' his own kids. They ain't around no more. Quill ain't got no mama to watch over 'im anymore, and she put it in his head that his father was the best man in the whole of creation. She didn't know no better. My crew wants to take 'im 'cause they want the money. An' my old friends is so pissed at me for agreein' to the job in the first place they refuse to help. Just kicked my ass out an' were done with me."

He normally doesn't tell this story, because he hates himself so much for it. "I had some good crew, but if my bad crew saw me go soft, they woulda killed me. In fact they almost did, before I came here because they saw I did favor that boy. At least it took 'em until he was grown an' gone. But to keep 'im alive I couldn't look soft, I couldn't let on that his father wanted to know where he was, I had to make 'im strong enough to be crew an' make the crew believe I wanted him to help us. Couldn't talk about how I felt none 'cause that'd just get us dead. I did my best to show 'im I cared but I didn't get to say it until the end."

He's still holding that damn meat, he realizes, just stopped eating. "So that's what I did. I couldn't be real good to 'im. Not like he needed or deserved."

Della kept quiet throughout the explanation, understanding that while Della was reluctant to put out her story, Yondu needed to vent out his own. She nodded very now and then show she was listening - though some of the story definitely got raised eyebrows - and patiently waited for him to finish.

"No, maybe you weren't real good." She replies, trying to choose her words carefully, what does he need to hear? "But you were good enough. I'm not gunna say all your choices were great ones, but they were were it mattered most. I'm sure Quill knows that now."

And if he didn't... well, the train was full of opportunities. Maybe they could meet again.

"He did, he figured it out. An' Ego's dead now, so I'm not worryin' too much about him no more. He ain't got someone out huntin' him."

He shrugs. "I don't tell that often. Only one other person on this train knows an' that was mostly by accident." He told the story in bits until he could figure it out. "Already had my closest friends back home tell me to get lost because of it... Still miss 'em, too." It doesn't help that he had so much emotion tied up in Stakar.

"If feelings were easy to control, life would be a lot easier." Della admitted with a half shrug. "As it stands... I think you're a better person now than you probably were a long time ago. And the Yondu back then wasn't all bad either. So... don't be too hard on yourself. Life's already seen fit to do that to you already."

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The Endless River

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