007. [ RL; backdated to before shadow plot ]

[areyoulovers]

[ As the shuttle docked, Mileina was practically bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement. She got to go on a trip and Mr. Stratos was so nice and she got to meet Pearls and and and and-- she jumped out of her seat as soon as it was safe, grinning hugely ]

Come on, Mr. Stratos! Let's go, let's go!

Comments

[nick-4-maya.livejournal.com]

[Running with Mileina, keeping a hold of her hand!] Really? I don't know the names of any of the stars because I wasn't taught any astronomy, but I'd love to learn some!

[areyoulovers]

[ They make it to the window; there's another lounge here, with fewer people, but Mileina rushes right over to the window to orient herself ] Um, let's see, we're at longitude 20 so we can see... oh, there! That's the constellation Gemini, I know a lot about it because it's my zodiac sign! That's Castor and Pollux, or alpha and beta Geminorum. Except Castor is actually six stars together, and Pollux has a planet! Isn't it amazing that they can figure that out without being able to see it?

[lockon2urheart]

[Man it's lucky Lockon's got longer legs than them, having to run to keep up would look even more undignified-looking than the speedy walk he's had to use.]

If it's your star sign, Mileina, do you know about the legend behind it?

[Listening to a story might stop them bouncing off the walls quite so much, after all. Maybe.]

[nick-4-maya.livejournal.com]

[There's a story? Pearl's interest is pinged!]

There's a legend behind it, Mr. Stratos? What is it?

[areyoulovers]

I know that it's a story from ancient Greece, but that's all! Do you know about it, Mr. Stratos?

[lockon2urheart]

[nod, nod!] That's right, the story came from Greece to begin with. It's the reason that the Gemini star sign is called the Twins, too.

The story goes that Zeus, king of the gods, came to earth in the form of a swan and wooed a Spartan queen. [...little sheepish laugh] I know it's weird, but bear with me.

The queen became pregnant with twin boys, but only one of them had Zeus as a father, the other was the son of the queen's husband. When they were born, they were called Castor and Pollux. Pollux was the immortal son, while Castor was as human as they come.

They grew up to be great horsemen and had many adventures together, but during one of them, Castor was fatally wounded by an enemy. Pollux was saved by his immortality, but he begged Zeus to save his brother too. Zeus offered him the choice to give up half of his immortality to his brother, which would mean he could never go and live in the city of the gods, and Pollux said yes. Castor lived, and Pollux wasn't fully immortal any more.

When they both died, in the end, Zeus put them in the sky as stars with the other heroes. [pointing again at the stars, one-castor-two-pollux] They became the constellation Gemini, The Twins.

Or at least, that's how the story goes. [:'D shrug]

[nick-4-maya.livejournal.com]

[Totally in awe here, her mouth open in a little "o" shape] That's such an amazing story! Even if it is sad that they both had to die, it was so brave of Pollux to stop being immortal for his brother.

[areyoulovers]

[ THINKING FACE ] Mr. Stratos, that's a nice story, and it was very dramatic in the end, but I think it's biologically impossible...

[lockon2urheart]

[NOT-CRACKING-UP FACE, just grinning] I think all the rules of biology are supposed to go out of the window when a god's involved, Mileina. And you don't need to call me Mr Stratos, you know; just call me Lockon. That goes for you too, Pearl.

[nick-4-maya.livejournal.com]

Are you sure that that's okay?

[areyoulovers]

Um, if you're sure, Mr. Lockon! Wow, that feels so strange to say...!

[lockon2urheart]

[...you guys are just too cute. Nod comes with a laugh, here.] It's fine. Calling me "Mr Stratos" makes me feel old.

[nick-4-maya.livejournal.com]

Oh, I see... [And he's certainly not old. Pearl talks to countries. Now they're old.] Alright then, Lockon, if you're really sure, I understand!

[areyoulovers]

[ BUT YOU ARE BIG AND TALL AND GROWN UP oh well time to play tour guide! ] Okay, Pearl, what else do you want to see? Or we could go to the cafe and look out from there! Ooh, or we could tell you more about the elevator!

[lockon2urheart]

[Just grins wider when Pearl uses his name, and lets Mileina play tour guide.]

[nick-4-maya.livejournal.com]

Oo, can you tell me more about the elevator? We can walk to the cafe while you tell me, can't we?

[areyoulovers]

[ starts leading the way :3 ] Let's see, this one was the last of three to be completed because they had a problem with the purge system! It belongs to the AEU, which is Europe and Africa for you, I did some research! Right now we're in the low orbit station, that's for civilian use. There are two other parts for the military, and then there's the solar panels that power millions and millions of homes and companies. It's very impressive engineering!