ten_fwd_ooc | TEST DRIVE #6 - The Bridge and Ten Forward

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test drives

TEST DRIVE #6 - The Bridge and Ten Forward

Option 01. Ten Forward: The first thing you see is a bar. A large, lively bar filled with many different faces and many different smells, sights and sounds. This is Ten Forward, the Enterprise's off-duty lounge; feel free to get acquainted with your fellow travelers and try to find somebody who's in charge: this is your new home now, after all...

Option 02. The Bridge: Well, aren't you a lucky duck? You've found yourself in hallowed quarters. Wherever you were before, you're not there anymore. Now you're in a room that could be some kind of command center or control room; there's a captain's chair flanked by seats for his chief officers, computer panels and stations at each interior wall, and before you a broad viewscreen that shows the wide expanse of space rushing towards you. Have you ever wanted to be a starship captain for a day? Well, here's your chance. Feel free to roam around, but try not to touch anything shiny.

[OOC: The Bridge isn't usually available for in-game posts, so if you've ever wanted to play there, here's your chance!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Not in my knowledge he hasn't." And Henry has spent the past year learning all about Rumplestiltskin's life. "And I don't know you. So be offended all you like but I don't know what you're capable of. For all I know you ordered him to marry you." It was a plausible explanation. Whoever this Belle was knew just as much about the man as Henry did. He was ignoring the tone of voice as anyone can pretend that if they have magic. "I still don't believe he would willingly give it to you."

It's frustrating to speak with him at all. All he can think of is Regina and how cold she is. It makes her skin crawl after spending twenty eight years locked away. She can't take that out on a child not matter how the information is starting to line up. "In my knowledge he has and it's very clear we don't share the same history." She replied back curtly.

The implication that she ordered him to marry her is what ultimately shut her off completely. Belle turns away from him, doesn't reply and heads for the door. When it she can't find a handle she glances down to the flashing lights and buttons on the side.

"Don't follow me." She warns. "If you have your father here then fine. This dagger controls my Rumpelstiltskin and yours should go unaffected." And that's all she has to say on the matter before she finally figures out, by trial and error, that if she stands back a little the door opens on it's own.

"Oh you don't get off that easily." Nope. He's following. What's she gonna do?

"And my father isn't here. I wish he was but he's not." He scowls again but it's more sad than angry. He hates being reminded that he's separated from the man he loves and the man who raised him.

"But how do you know the dagger is only for your Rumplestiltskin? There's one here right now, I wonder if that would actually work." He's starting to ponder trying to take the dagger from her. At least then he didn't have to fear the Gold here. And even if it didn't work, no harm done, right?

"I didn't ask for your permission to leave and I don't need to!" Great now she's shouting at a child. This day could not get any worse. "I'm sorry your father isn't here but there is nothing I could do to fix that." She is done arguing with him. No one gets to boss her around anymore. She's a free woman.

If Henry wants to question her then there is one way to make all of this just stop.

"Fine." She puts a good amount of space between them in the hallway and holds the dagger up again. Does she want to do this again? Can she? It isn't a sin to call upon him, is it? She hesitates a while longer contemplating if she should. Does she need to prove a point? There is also a curiosity to satisfy on her part. So those fateful words leave her lips in a near whisper. "Rumpelstiltskin." She gulps down the lump in her throat. Here she goes again, her voice trying to stay even. She's failing. Louder this time. "Rumpelstiltskin."

When nothing happens a second time she tries again. "Rumpelstiltskin." A tear rushes down her face. Why isn't it working? If he's telling the truth and the Gold he knows is from her world than what's going wrong?

Belle is suddenly reminded of the vision she saw in the mirror.

Everyone sees you for what you really are, Belle. A pathetic coward. Why do you think the Dark One married you? You think it was love? He needed someone weak. Someone he could manipulate. Do you really think he would give you the real dagger? Deep down you know what kind of beast you're dealing with.

She holds the dagger in both her hands now, her eyes dropping down the name imprinted on it. Her voice is solemn. "Does that answer your question?" Her hands are shaking and she can't stop them. She doesn't know what to do anymore or even if she should believe Henry when he said they were stuck in space. Belle just wants to go home.

Or maybe she doesn't anymore.

Maybe she doesn't deserve that. There is one thing that mirror didn't lie about.

She is weak.

Edited (WAT IS SPELLING?) 2014-11-25 16:47 (UTC)

Henry watched her completely. The name of the Dark One being uttered three times while she held the dagger and nothing happened. Nobody came. Was she right? This dagger was that of a different Rumplestiltskin and therefore the one aboard ship didn't hear it's call. Or was there another reason it didn't work?

A thought occurred to Henry. What if that dagger was a fake? What if her Rumple gave her a fake dagger? It made more sense to the boy. Even in marriage, Gold had to have secrets.

"I guess it's useless here. Are you still attached to it?" Even if it didn't work, it would be interesting to see the man's reaction to Henry having it. "And really, you haven't answered my question from before so...no."

"Yes I am." Her eyes drift back on to his. It never occurred to her that the dagger could be fake because she trusted Rumpel. She has to admit that it's probably better he had enough foresight not to trust her. How can she be mad at him for that now?

"If it doesn't work you have no use for it either." Her eyes turn sharp. "I don't care if you think it doesn't answer your question." She decides, instead, to tuck the dagger into the inner pocket of her jacket and zips it up so it remains out of sight.

"As I said before I don't owe any explanations to boys with no manners."

Henry rolled his eyes. "Well then, since you apparently love Rumplestiltskin so much, why don't we do what he does best?" A small smirk crossed his face and you could almost see the family resemblance.

"I'll make you a deal." And Henry even threw into the little handwave the Dark One used to do. "You answer my question, and I'll answer one of yours."

Wow that sass. Her eyebrows go to the roof. Alright she takes the back. She definitely sees how Rumpel could be his father. His tenor even matches for a small child and all that's missing is a little 'dearie' at the end.

Belle sighs. "Fine. Deal. You better make that one question count."

Oh, Henry contemplated it but decided against it. He didn't want to be too Rumplestiltskin.

"All I want to know is when you got married. Was it before or after Gold's trip to Neverland?"

"We were married after his return from Neverland. Quite a while after, actually." One moment her, Neal, and Rumpel were a happy family and the next. . .she doesn't want to think about. She may have never been a mother to Neal but a part of her died the day they buried him.

She can't possibly imagine the pain her husband felt knowing, and then having it compounded by not being able to attend the funeral.

"Is he happy in your world?" Yes, that is her question and that's all she wants to know.

Henry nodded. That would explain why the Gold here hadn't mentioned it. Not that there had been time to ask. He thought about it for a moment but then Belle asked her question and he was forced to think about that instead.

"I...I used to think so." For the first time, Henry wasn't looking at Belle as he spoke. His tone wasn't in anyway negative and he actually looked like a sad ten year old. "Until the curse stuff came up, I would have said yes. But we haven't found Baelfire yet so maybe not? Maybe after we do..." He sighed. This just made him miss his dad even more. Thanks Belle.

Well that answers quite a few of her questions, actually. She's intelligent enough to choose her words carefully. For one, it proves that he is indeed the son of Gold in this alternate version of Storybrooke. Two, he knows about Neal and their town is still under the throes of the first curse cast by Regina Mills. If she is still the Evil Queen in their world. And on top of that she knows she doesn't exist so Gold doesn't have a love interest. That means he has probably spent most of his time with Henry which explains the mannerisms and that temper. Still, he has the softer edges as well.

Perhaps it benefitted her when, a while back, she decided to read all those detective novels.

She got more than she paid for and that's a good a deal as any. "I'm sure he's happy with you." She says, taking a kinder tone. Her expression softens. "He's always been a father first. I bet he loves you as much as he loves Baelfire. So naturally he worries for you both equally. You're safe and his other son is not yet."

Belle sobers, approaching him timidly. "You know you can still talk to the version of Gold that is here. While it's not the same, from my world, you're still family to him. Maybe he's not your father but he still cares about you."

Henry fidgets a bit now. The temper is gone, helped by the dagger out of sight, and he sighs sadly. Still not looking at Belle when he speaks.

"Yeah. I know all about that. And we talk. It's just not ended well. He's not my dad and I want him to be."

He sighs again, looking up. "I'm sorry I yelled. I just know that my dad wouldn't give the dagger to just anyone. He let me hold it once but Storybrooke doesn't even have magic so it couldn't control him. I guess I should have realised how much you must mean to him for him to willingly give you the dagger. But you can't blame me for assuming you took it."

Her heart feels for him. He's displaced as much as she is if that version of Rumpel remembers her or not. Being the sentimental woman she is Belle completely understands his accusations. If only Henry knew how right he was. Maybe it is best he doesn't. Even his son, in another world, could do better at resisting the temptation than she did. What sort of wife does that make her in the end?

"Well why don't I make dinner? You can come over and we can all sit down together. I know he isn't who you want to him to be but you do need to have someone to talk to." She tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "What's your favorite meal?"

She shakes her head. "I don't blame you at all. You know what," she tilts her head to the side with a smile. "I'm glad you reminded me how important it is to protect it."

Henry chuckled a little. "You don't need to make anything. Technology here is very advanced." He took a deep breath. "You know, talking to someone from Storybrooke who isn't Neal or Gold would be kinda nice."

"Let's go back to my room. I have my book and my notes and maybe we could talk without needing a deal." Especially since, if Belle was new, she wouldn't have a room yet.

What does technology have to do with making food? Color her slightly confused on the matter as she has never had a machine make her a meal. Maybe one has presented itself through magic but that's another thing. "What do you mean?"

Belle nods. "I'd be more than willing to do that. No deals required." She prefers her conversations that way. They feel more natural and much more amicable. It's something she enjoyed when she could get Rumpel to talk about himself without needing something in return in the Enchanted Forest.

Then comes the incredulous question. ". . .Are we really in space?"

"It'll be easier if I show you." Henry goes into the turbolift and tells it to go to deck seven. The lift moves on the command and when the doors open, Henry walks out and down the corridor to his room, trusting Belle will follow. He does answer her question while they're in motion though.

"Yeah. You'll see that too."

Belle, giddy as can be by her own curiosity, follows. Will she see the Milky Way Galaxy as clear as it has ever been without disturbance from the Land of No Magic's atmosphere? Those are concepts she's read about but only in her dreams has she seen what they could possibly look like. The view from Storybrooke was one thing but what about a view from a real, live, space ship? "I would love to see."

The turbolift only catches her slightly off as she bends to observe the buttons on the side. His voice making it move surprises her. How advanced and sophisticated. Do any of the other rooms work that way or is it just the lift? There are so many questions to answer, and for once, she has time to investigate them.

"Where are we now?" She asks, following behind him in the corridor.

"This is deck seven. All the visitors from different worlds have rooms here." Entering his room, he gestures for Belle to look around. "This is my room. I share it with a woman called Irian. She appears cold but it's just how her race is. We're in space so there's bound to be aliens."

He moves to the replicator. "And this is how we make food. You tell it and it makes it. No cooking necessary."

"Extraordinary!" She tips her head every so slightly, courtly manners getting the best of her from her memories as she enters his room. So he has a roommate. Does that mean she'll have one as well unless she rooms with Gold?

"That's extremely efficient. I never would have dreamed of a place like this." If there's a chair to find, she does and sits making herself a little more comfortable.

"The machines will take some getting used to. Call me tradition but I like making my tea myself."

There's a couch in the room which she's welcome to sit on. "I'll be right back." Henry said, and left to his room, returning with his backpack. He'd left it here since he wasn't sure if he could fit in the tight corners to the bridge with it on.

Sitting down beside her, he brought out the Once Upon a Time book and set it on the table in front of them as well as small notebook and pens of different colours.

"Okay. Where do we start?"

Once he says he'll be right back she relaxes, taking in the sights around her. This . . .space ship, whatever it is, is so much different than where she was standing last. At least this version of Henry managed to distract her from self destructive thoughts. She perks back up a little when he enters with the book. It's all too familiar even though, as she recalls, she has only seen it a few times sparingly.

"How about we start from the beginning?" She scoots forward on the couch, tempted to reach out for the book but. . .she better not. It is his. They've already had one instance of aggression over an item.

"It might be easier if you tell me what you're wanting to learn. I have lots of stories to choose from." Belle taps at her chin. "But, I guess, most of them are about everyone else in the town. Regina, Mary Margaret, Emma. . ."

"Where's the beginning? Dad told me a lot about his life after the book gave me the basics. You said you got married after Neverland so you already know about Pan and Hook and I bet he's told you the same stuff he's told me."

Henry was ready to take notes. He always was. Information was power. And unlike magic, it didn't have a price.

"I'm sure he has." She answers a little hesitantly. It isn't that she doesn't know details but Belle doesn't like to pry when she doesn't have to. Some subjects are touchier than others with Rumpel.

"Anyway, I can tell you about the past but I can't tell you what happens after Neverland." A pause. "I can tell you there was a second curse, and that second curse brought another person back we weren't bargaining for."

Henry scribbled that down. Second curse. Bad person.

"I only know you guys went to Neverland because that's what Gold said. When I left, I was still on my way to Boston."

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