mental link, v important questions;

[narcissithstic]

(Tell me, have any of you spoken to Cathaway within the last two months.)

[The newer Hosts are the most likely suspects, but perhaps through the link—

Perhaps he feels nothing not because of distance, but because she's chosen to keep him locked out. The possibility is a nagging itch at the base of his skull; he'd rather know for certain.]

Comments

[spideys]

( Hey - I recognize that name.

Yeah.

I have.

Why? )

[narcissithstic]

(How did she seem to you?)

[Distant? Melancholy, perhaps.] (Did she ask you to relay anything?)

[Dude u thirsty.]

[inflori]

( No, why? )

[ With a distinctive twang of whoooo caaaares. ]

[narcissithstic]

[Consider yourself mentally swatted for that flippant response, Petre. Much as you might be brothers, Cathaway is an entirely different matter altogether.]

(We haven't spoken to one another in a very long time.

It must be weighing on her.)

[snaphiss]

( When I first arrived, yes. Why, is she of particular interest to you? )

[narcissithstic]

(What did she say?

What did she tell you?)

[Answer his questions first, Aunt Mara.]

[greentech]

( She was on the Station, right? )

[narcissithstic]

(She was.

If you'd met her, you wouldn't have forgotten it.)

[A consciousness so vast, so brightly burning that it made Snoke seem shallow by comparison. Useless.]

[headinjuries]

( Not since I got here. Which was...a month ago? Ish? )

[ He's bad at keeping track of time once he's off Earth, okay. ]

[narcissithstic]

[Unfortunate, but fine. Good. At least so far it's all predictable news: she hasn't chosen herself a new favorite surrogate in the time it's taken them to part ways and advance the mission to this point.]

(What did you make of her?)

[wrackful]

( Yeah, we spoke. What, she not meant to be able to do that anymore? )

[narcissithstic]

(Not while we're away from the Station.)

[It's a crudely pointed statement, punctuated by Ren's own train of thought. Sup, Murph, where were you when you spoke to her.]

[adamance]

( What are you hoping to gain here? )

[It's an odd question to pose, knowing what she knows of him and her.

And then there's that whole matter of distance.]

[narcissithstic]

(Insight.)

[Is he learning in Mara Jade's footsteps or just being an ass? Probably the latter, let's be real.]

(It's been too long since we last spoke, or felt her at our sides.)

[circumspector]

( No, not yet.






... I miss her and Prince. )

[ :C ]

[narcissithstic]

(It won't be much longer.)

[Prince, according to the discomfort stuck to the tip of his tongue, he misses less. But whatever.]

(More hosts seem to finally want to move forward without hesitation.)

[unsea]

[ He hasn't heard from either of their elusive "mentors" since arriving in Concordia. He has so many Questions for them.

More to the point: ] ( Nirad and Carata seem to hold the reins on any communication with her.

They are the ones tasked with transport to and from the Station. )

[narcissithstic]

(I was hoping one of them would respond.) ['Hope' being the key word: he knows with so much at stake and on the line, they're likely busy— or possibly unattuned to indirect discussion.

And confronting them directly would be...]

[shiro2hero]

(Cathaway?)

(Can't say I have. Did something happen to them?)

[narcissithstic]

(No. She is the heart of the Nest, the Station itself. We go where she can't.

And it's been a long time since I last saw her.)

[nirsighted]

[Vague, absentminded, the sensation of doing other things.]

( I saw her and Prince when I went back. Carata probably did too? )

[narcissithstic]

[Yes, yes, softboy. He knows you're very busy and sad.]

(Did she say anything about us?)

[—about him.]

[vocalis]

[ He could ask Nirad privately, but the connection is conveniently here. While he has no intention of giving Kylo Ren the time of day, asking about Cathaway did remind Aoba of something- ]

Hey Nirad, I've been meaning to ask... if you go back to the Station again, would you mind asking Cathaway about maybe getting another bottle of that medication she made for me?

[ The mission has gone on a long time. He's rationing what he has left more carefully than ever. ]

[deployed]

( Why? )

[ Bellamy hadn't even approached her when he'd hatched, but he can't let the question stand without inquiring as to why it's necessary. ]

[narcissithstic]

(The Nest is hers - her blood, her veins - she is a conduit for its foresight and strength. Whatever connection we feel to one another, hers is so much more.

But she can't reach us here.)

[decommission]

[ you are so embarrassing ]

( You get the answer you needed? )

[ He's asked the new kids similar questions, though he'd been trying to get a feel for how much of an introduction they'd gotten before their trip down. Not exactly the same reasons Ren's asking. ]

[narcissithstic]

[That's 'Mommy's Special Boy' to you, Rogers.]

(No.

But I can wait.) [However long it takes, whatever it steals from him, for her— and himself— he'll endure.] (We will not fail the Nest again.)