crystal.

[cozen]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Bastien
RECIPIENT: Everyone
NOTES: Mmhph.

Bonjour, mes compatriotes. I have a few things.

The Hangman's Papers, I hope you have all seen—it was not my idea, so I am allowed to say that I think it is a brilliant one. If you want to write something, I am the one you should bring it to—

I am Bastien, if you are new. I am up in the Jeshavis office.

Secondly, I have been thinking about putting together an anthology of legends and tales from rifters' worlds. I've spoken to some individuals about it, but they keep disappearing. Vous savez comment c'est. But the bedtime stories that you grew up with, or the condensed plot of a book you have loved. They would need to be edited and annotated, of course. The purpose would be to underscore the similarities in themes and values and make sure they are relatable under the unfamiliar names and places, to show you are ultimately not that strange, so—if you are that strange, you might need to tone it down, [ he says, with all affection. ]

I am open to being told it would be a disaster. But I have something else that a publisher is going to want very much, that might be leveraged to convince them to take on something more risky in the bargain, so now would be the time.

Third, if you are good at fighting in close quarters, or if you are trying to learn to be good at it, I could use some help with something. You are a given, Yseult, [ in the shifting tone of a personal aside, ] but I can only impose on you so often.

And last, I promise: I am handling our trade negotiations for supplies for the time being, so if there is anything you find to be of poor quality, say so, and I will—you know. Probably tell you it is the best we can afford. But maybe not.

Comments

[youwonscience]

It's a bit of a long one, but I could write you a summary. I'm not like ... a writer, someone would probably need to clean it up, but I could outline the plot.

[cozen]

That would be perfect. How about you do that, I write it out long form, and I can give it back to you for notes?

Later, in his mailbox:

[youwonscience]

* OK so there's a captain of a ship who'd been with his crew for a long time, exploring parts unknown to map them and make friendly contact with people who lived there. His name is James Kirk.

* Some of the crew members:

* First officer, he and the captain are soulmates, even though they're not the same race (there's not a great Thedas equivalent but like ... imagine elves and dwarves were from actually different planets. [In smaller script:] I forgot, do Thedas natives know about planets? Yes, right? Ask me if not.) The first officer is called Spock, and his whole deal is being very logical. Kirk is very emotional but they respect and love each other because they've been voyaging together for so many years and shit.

* There's also a grumpy doctor named McCoy, and a kickass communications officer named Uhura, and a navigator (?) named Chekov, and all of them are from the same planet as Kirk.


* So years ago, Kirk marooned this guy named Khan because ... he did something bad, shit, I should remember. I think he tried to take over Kirk's ship? Let's say that.

* In the present, Chekov's on a voyage with another crew. He and another crew member arive at a new world, because they're looking for someplace deserted to test out some heavy-duty new technology. But they misread their map and then end up on the word where Khan and his crew are marooned!

* Khan mind controls the two crew members with ... let's say magic. With them, he takes over their ship and attacks a nearby outpost where the technology was being built.

* Kirk and his crew get the distress signal and go to help, but Khan totally ambushes them. He says he'll spare Kirk and the crew if he hands over everything about the new tech.

* Kirk says suck it, Khan, and successfully counterattacks with his superior captain-ing knowledge.

* Kirk's crew find Chekov and that other mind-controlled guy, only they don't know they're mind-controlled, so they bring them on board the ship. Khan tries to make them kill Kirk. The one guy dies resisting but Chekov breaks free of the mind control, but not before Khan figures out where the tech is.

* Khan grabs the tech.

* There's a whole big fight, and it's kind of a stalemate, but eventually Kirk mortally wounds Khan, who has enough energy left to be a dick and basically turns the new tech into a giant bomb.

* Kirk and the crew can't get away in time because the thing that makes their ship go fast enough to escape got broken in the big fight. Spock goes to fix the thing, and he does, but it gives him a fatal dose of ["radiation" is scratched out] an engine byproduct. Kirk finds him as he's dying and Spock tells him not be sad because sacrificing himself for the crew was a logical decision.

* Then he DIES and Kirk IS sad, and the end of the story is everyone having a funeral for Spock.