[he breathes out a little laugh, rubbing at the goose bumps on his arms.]
Both. The train cars are...designed to house offensive and defensive equipment. And platoon members man them remotely from their stations at the engine. Or...well, if it's got a few fighter birds, then they climb onto those.
Iron Berger's able to lug around the really heavy cannons...but usually only for big emergencies. Like asteroid sweeps. Stuff like that. Big One's got a nice artillery array, too... [that's where his bias is. as much as he admired Captain Murase's team and rig, Sirius Platoon is where his heart still is.]
All the trains on the railway have...armor plating. Just in case. Asteroids, magnetic storms, pirates...
[ What an absolutely wild series of things he's describing, Mako thinks, trying actively to picture these things and, largely, failing. Fighter birds could mean anything from literal birds to ostrich-horses that Manabu's platoon outfits in armor the way Earth Kingdom troops used to.
Asteroid sweeps, too, could be anything at all, and magnetic storms. Pirates, at least, make sense.
He notes the goosebumps, absently, and leans on the counter across from Manabu and starts pushing heat into the air around them. It's not an easy thing to do by any means, but he can do it with enough concentration, and it's something else to focus on. ]
You're gonna have to explain a few of those things. Asteroid sweeps. The trains are how people get around your universe, right? Are they all that dangerous? How many are there?
[some time after this, Manabu's going to find it weird that he knows two different people who seem capable of heating a space just...at-will. for now, though, he's barely aware that's Mako doing that -- could very well just be the oven on!
...or. y'know. fever stuff. he doesn't know how diseases work here, so who's to say?
that aside, another flood of questions comes. it's nice to be able to talk about things he knows, though Manabu's a little worried he won't be able to keep up with the pace at which these questions are getting shot his way.]
Well, um. I... [he grimaces.] Okay. How...much do you know about how space works? [does he know?]
[ Mako's a human oven, or at least he's been called that at this point by both his brother and also by Wu and probably by anybody he's managed to spoon with over his short years. The boy makes heat when he's not even trying to, and right now, when he's trying to? There's a lot of it. It is a gentle kind of radiating heat, like a steam radiator in the dead of winter.
Mako pauses, though, raising a slow eyebrow as he lets the countertop take more of his weight. He should get back to making the tea, at some point. ]
There are planets, and the moon. In my world the moon has a spirit associated with it. Every 10,000 years every planet in the system lines up, [ he says, like this is a normal space thing because as far as he knows it is ] and... there are comets.
[that's not as terribly low a bar, he supposes. he even knows about systems, which is more than he could say about some other encounters. he'll take it.
so...asteroids.]
Um, so...Asteroids are clumps of rock and metal that typically orbit around a star, and usually in big clusters. Like comets? Except comets are more like hunks of ice and rock, not metal. [hyper details not important. moving on.]
Anyway, usually asteroid fields stay in their systems, just floating around the way everything else does...but there's a notorious field that has a huge orbital swing that spans multiple systems. It can put trains at risk depending on the time, so every once in a long while...SDF members have to go out and do a sweep. Basically just...shooting down some of the larger and more threatening asteroids that could come do some damage to the trains or connecting stations.
They...don't seem like much from afar, but...some asteroids can be larger than a city or country, so getting hit by that...
[ There are definitely a lot of words in there Mako doesn't know—orbital swing chief among them—but again, he can pick up on the context clues and form a fairly rough mental image. Like a debris field, like the kind of thing the Earth Kingdom used to drop into their seas to try and stop invaders getting too close. Like the rocks guarding Kyoshi Island or Serpent's Pass.
Okay, he can get behind this. So Manabu and his platoon are the people who get rid of the threats ahead of the trains so the trains can pass through safely. ]
You're like a strike team. Go out, deal with the problem before it becomes a bigger problem, no matter what the problem is. How'd you get involved in that?
[ He definitely still wants to hear about the ghosts but there's a lot of other stuff here, groundwork he'd like to know about. ]
[with the chill quite quelled by the warmth in the room, Manabu can sit up and feel a little less gnarled up with discomfort in his own skin. he nods, looking over to where Mako's leaning.]
Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Other teams go out looking for trouble before it starts, but if the fire's already started, we get sent to put it out. [is that a bad analogy to use around a fire bender? who knows. Manabu doesn't. his head is empty even without flu in the mix.]
I always wanted to be part of the SDF. My dad used to be captain of Big One, and he led the platoon I'm in. Hell, my big brother was part of the SPG, which are like the boots-on-the-ground division. [his mouth tugs on one side.] You don't grow up seeing stuff like that and not want to follow along, right?
[or...maybe you do, considering their grisly fates. but that didn't stop Manabu. as said before: head empty.]
Most people I came across seem pretty glad for it. I mean-- [his eyes wince.] Not...not everyone, but...I don't think it's easy to please everyone all the time. Or...do right by them, when there's so many.
[that vendor...it was like night and day, the way he was. from a friendly, generous civilian to a suicidal terrorist in the span of a few hours, willing to die to destroy the SDF...
Manabu never did find out why.]
I'd like to think we do more good than anything, at least...
Let me guess. There are some sour seagrapes who think you're hurting them by existing, right?
[ Spoken with, maybe, a little too much familiarity. ]
I mean, I get it. It's not like the RCPD was there to help me out when I was a kid. They could only care about so much, but. As long as you're out there trying to help and you're not, I don't know, following some dictator's orders without thinking about them [ specific example there, bud! ] then you're probably fine.
[sour seagrapes...? that's one way to put it, Manabu supposes. as Mako continues to speak, Manabu slowly, but certainly does catch onto the context. not knowing the full name of the acronym doesn't strip away understanding that this guy's also talking some level of law enforcement, because, as he belatedly recalls, this guy's a detective.
...hence all the questions, huh? Manabu's mouth twitches briefly at the realization, which hits right on time with the prompting of ghost train.]
Aa? [beat.] ...Oh. Mm. Right. Ha. Sorry, I forgot I left you hanging on that one... [jeez. so much has happened since then, too!]
The ghost train's an old 138-model, from way, way early on before the Galaxy Railways project was fully underway. It's said to have no actual destination, or...if it does have one, it's not gotten there yet. But everyone aboard, except the conductor, is a dead soul taking their last journey.
Ha. Yeah... I mean, unless Louis and I just went crazy for a bit and the rest of the team decided to play along? Which isn't likely at all, so. [shrug!]
We hopped on board, chasing after a man who was determined to find his fiancée... [his expression sobers to something more distant and thoughtful; as goofy as a ghost train sounds, there was nothing slapstick about that man's pain.] And it was...just like that: Everyone on there was someone who had passed away, and they were taking one last journey through the stars. Hell, the conductor was an SDF-style android, and he saw nothing weird about it at all!
[he shakes his head.] Never did find out where the people go after they get off the train, though...
But the train itself was solid? It was like a normal one?
[ It wouldn't be the first story of a ship full of spirits that turned out to be real. Mako learned almost as soon as he met Korra than half the things he thought were just fairytales were true.
Ghosts, though. That's something they don't talk about at home. ]
That's... so weird. I mean, I guess I thought a lot of spirit stuff was weird before I met Korra. Spirit stuff comes with the package, with her.
[he nods, then...nods again, though after a hesitation. who's Korra? someone he should know by now? he has a notion to ask, but Mako gets his questions in first.]
Uh, mm. Yeah. It was kind of a close call, since...he was ready to just give up the rest of his life to stay with her, but that'd mean leaving his little sister behind. Luckily we were able to get through to the both of them, and that woman convinced him to let her go.
[he rubs at the back of his head awkwardly, looking askance.]
It was the right call, but still...felt really weird to be there. Something like that...it's pretty intense, you know?
[ Mako winces out of sympathy more than anything. ]
Being a bystander to stuff like that is always weird.
[ There are a lot of reasons that Mako failed to tell Korra that they'd broken up, when she forgot about it, but all the eyes on them, their audience watching and judging Mako's response, was definitely part of it. He can only imagine what being a bystander to all that awkwardness was like. Just remembering it makes his face a bit hot. ]
Was that a big part of your job? The dealing-with-people stuff? I never, uh. Really got that part down. I'm good at following up on leads, but when all these new airbenders started popping up and we had to talk them down, I'm... pretty sure I made it worse.
[the way Mako phrases it, even without the confusing alternate-worldbuild bits, somehow tickles him, and makes Manabu laugh a little. he stifles it behind a closed fist, shaking his head and clearing his throat after a moment.]
Mako... If you didn't want to deal with people, why would you pick a job all about helping them? I wouldn't do what I do if it had nothing to do with helping anyone...
[ Mako's cheeks go even redder. Curse his Fire Nation complexion and how easily his embarrassment shows. ]
I wasn't exactly thinking about that when I took the job. Beifong offered me a job as a beat cop, and... it was about time I did something to help other people instead of just trying to take care of Bolin and myself. I thought it'd be good to have someone like me on the force.
[ Poor, he means. From the very areas the RCPD were often too understaffed to protect, with inside knowledge of Republic City's streets and how the various Triads operated. But that's a lot to explain, and he doesn't like revealing that kind of thing so easily. ]
[Manabu's smile turns a shade apologetic, seeing how ruffled a little laughter made him. but still, he'll ride that feeling for a bit longer, since it feels better than unending aches and the general crumminess of his health at the moment.]
I bet it was...I mean, if it wasn't, you wouldn't have been kept on, right? [because surely even law enforcement isn't a fan of status quo for the sake of it!!!!]
[ Mako snorts in memory, leaning on both elbows on the hard countertop. The air is finally at a steady level of warmth, less like a sauna and more like a sunny day. ]
I wasn't great at the whole... sticking to the hierarchy thing, at first. I don't know about you, but I found it pretty hard to have my leads ignored just because I was new to the force. I was actually onto something, but nobody listened until it was way too late. Took a while to learn the ropes.
[Manabu makes a drawn-out, knowing sound at that, bobbing his head in a slow nod.]
I know how that goes. It's not even always coming from a bad place, is it? It's just...how things work sometimes. [he looks back toward Mako.] That just means it's more important to stick with it. The right people will see your conviction soon enough...and the other right people will whip you up into shape, one way or another.
[ An observation he didn't quite mean to make aloud, but it just hit him so quickly, and it makes him smile. ]
But yeah. That's exactly what happened. Beifong saw that I was right, and I did need to... actually work with the rest of the force. I was just so used to not having anyone else to rely on, you know?
[a stick-with-it guy? Manabu blinks at that, needing a few seconds to get it around his foggy head, and by then Mako's already moved on, so Manabu does as well.]
I-it's good that you found a way to, though...people aren't...made to deal with tough stuff all alone all the time. At least, that's how it usually is. [he can't really speak to outliers, can he? he's been a pain-in-the-ass team player from the get-go; striking out on his own wasn't really ever in the books for him.
lo and behold! he's out on his own here. and it's not going great.]
Though I guess...being here makes that...kind of tough, huh.
[ There is a quiet kind of sympathy in Mako's voice and on his face. He tries to keep it down, because he himself hates being pitied, and he doesn't want to do that to Manabu. He can handle himself, Mako is sure, but— ]
But you're not. Not really. Everyone here is—honestly, it's kind of weird how willing everyone is to help each other. It would never happen like that back home.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Both. The train cars are...designed to house offensive and defensive equipment. And platoon members man them remotely from their stations at the engine. Or...well, if it's got a few fighter birds, then they climb onto those.
Iron Berger's able to lug around the really heavy cannons...but usually only for big emergencies. Like asteroid sweeps. Stuff like that. Big One's got a nice artillery array, too... [that's where his bias is. as much as he admired Captain Murase's team and rig, Sirius Platoon is where his heart still is.]
All the trains on the railway have...armor plating. Just in case. Asteroids, magnetic storms, pirates...
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Asteroid sweeps, too, could be anything at all, and magnetic storms. Pirates, at least, make sense.
He notes the goosebumps, absently, and leans on the counter across from Manabu and starts pushing heat into the air around them. It's not an easy thing to do by any means, but he can do it with enough concentration, and it's something else to focus on. ]
You're gonna have to explain a few of those things. Asteroid sweeps. The trains are how people get around your universe, right? Are they all that dangerous? How many are there?
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...or. y'know. fever stuff. he doesn't know how diseases work here, so who's to say?
that aside, another flood of questions comes. it's nice to be able to talk about things he knows, though Manabu's a little worried he won't be able to keep up with the pace at which these questions are getting shot his way.]
Well, um. I... [he grimaces.] Okay. How...much do you know about how space works? [does he know?]
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Mako pauses, though, raising a slow eyebrow as he lets the countertop take more of his weight. He should get back to making the tea, at some point. ]
There are planets, and the moon. In my world the moon has a spirit associated with it. Every 10,000 years every planet in the system lines up, [ he says, like this is a normal space thing because as far as he knows it is ] and... there are comets.
That's it.
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[that's not as terribly low a bar, he supposes. he even knows about systems, which is more than he could say about some other encounters. he'll take it.
so...asteroids.]
Um, so...Asteroids are clumps of rock and metal that typically orbit around a star, and usually in big clusters. Like comets? Except comets are more like hunks of ice and rock, not metal. [hyper details not important. moving on.]
Anyway, usually asteroid fields stay in their systems, just floating around the way everything else does...but there's a notorious field that has a huge orbital swing that spans multiple systems. It can put trains at risk depending on the time, so every once in a long while...SDF members have to go out and do a sweep. Basically just...shooting down some of the larger and more threatening asteroids that could come do some damage to the trains or connecting stations.
They...don't seem like much from afar, but...some asteroids can be larger than a city or country, so getting hit by that...
[no bueno.]
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Okay, he can get behind this. So Manabu and his platoon are the people who get rid of the threats ahead of the trains so the trains can pass through safely. ]
You're like a strike team. Go out, deal with the problem before it becomes a bigger problem, no matter what the problem is. How'd you get involved in that?
[ He definitely still wants to hear about the ghosts but there's a lot of other stuff here, groundwork he'd like to know about. ]
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Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Other teams go out looking for trouble before it starts, but if the fire's already started, we get sent to put it out. [is that a bad analogy to use around a fire bender? who knows. Manabu doesn't. his head is empty even without flu in the mix.]
I always wanted to be part of the SDF. My dad used to be captain of Big One, and he led the platoon I'm in. Hell, my big brother was part of the SPG, which are like the boots-on-the-ground division. [his mouth tugs on one side.] You don't grow up seeing stuff like that and not want to follow along, right?
[or...maybe you do, considering their grisly fates. but that didn't stop Manabu. as said before: head empty.]
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Anyway, he mostly just smiles a little. ]
I wouldn't know, but that makes sense. My little brother felt the same way about me for a while. Joined the RCPD for a while to see if it was for him.
[ It Was Not. ]
How does the rest of the galaxy think about the SDF?
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[that vendor...it was like night and day, the way he was. from a friendly, generous civilian to a suicidal terrorist in the span of a few hours, willing to die to destroy the SDF...
Manabu never did find out why.]
I'd like to think we do more good than anything, at least...
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[ Spoken with, maybe, a little too much familiarity. ]
I mean, I get it. It's not like the RCPD was there to help me out when I was a kid. They could only care about so much, but. As long as you're out there trying to help and you're not, I don't know, following some dictator's orders without thinking about them [ specific example there, bud! ] then you're probably fine.
So. Ghost train?
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...hence all the questions, huh? Manabu's mouth twitches briefly at the realization, which hits right on time with the prompting of ghost train.]
Aa? [beat.] ...Oh. Mm. Right. Ha. Sorry, I forgot I left you hanging on that one... [jeez. so much has happened since then, too!]
The ghost train's an old 138-model, from way, way early on before the Galaxy Railways project was fully underway. It's said to have no actual destination, or...if it does have one, it's not gotten there yet. But everyone aboard, except the conductor, is a dead soul taking their last journey.
[he smiles a little crookedly.]
Seems like some made-up kids' stuff, huh?
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Yeah, it sounds exactly like a story my mom used to tell us about a ghost ship. But it's real?
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We hopped on board, chasing after a man who was determined to find his fiancée... [his expression sobers to something more distant and thoughtful; as goofy as a ghost train sounds, there was nothing slapstick about that man's pain.] And it was...just like that: Everyone on there was someone who had passed away, and they were taking one last journey through the stars. Hell, the conductor was an SDF-style android, and he saw nothing weird about it at all!
[he shakes his head.] Never did find out where the people go after they get off the train, though...
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[ It wouldn't be the first story of a ship full of spirits that turned out to be real. Mako learned almost as soon as he met Korra than half the things he thought were just fairytales were true.
Ghosts, though. That's something they don't talk about at home. ]
That's... so weird. I mean, I guess I thought a lot of spirit stuff was weird before I met Korra. Spirit stuff comes with the package, with her.
Did you find the guy's fiancée?
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Uh, mm. Yeah. It was kind of a close call, since...he was ready to just give up the rest of his life to stay with her, but that'd mean leaving his little sister behind. Luckily we were able to get through to the both of them, and that woman convinced him to let her go.
[he rubs at the back of his head awkwardly, looking askance.]
It was the right call, but still...felt really weird to be there. Something like that...it's pretty intense, you know?
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Being a bystander to stuff like that is always weird.
[ There are a lot of reasons that Mako failed to tell Korra that they'd broken up, when she forgot about it, but all the eyes on them, their audience watching and judging Mako's response, was definitely part of it. He can only imagine what being a bystander to all that awkwardness was like. Just remembering it makes his face a bit hot. ]
Was that a big part of your job? The dealing-with-people stuff? I never, uh. Really got that part down. I'm good at following up on leads, but when all these new airbenders started popping up and we had to talk them down, I'm... pretty sure I made it worse.
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[the way Mako phrases it, even without the confusing alternate-worldbuild bits, somehow tickles him, and makes Manabu laugh a little. he stifles it behind a closed fist, shaking his head and clearing his throat after a moment.]
Mako... If you didn't want to deal with people, why would you pick a job all about helping them? I wouldn't do what I do if it had nothing to do with helping anyone...
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I wasn't exactly thinking about that when I took the job. Beifong offered me a job as a beat cop, and... it was about time I did something to help other people instead of just trying to take care of Bolin and myself. I thought it'd be good to have someone like me on the force.
[ Poor, he means. From the very areas the RCPD were often too understaffed to protect, with inside knowledge of Republic City's streets and how the various Triads operated. But that's a lot to explain, and he doesn't like revealing that kind of thing so easily. ]
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I bet it was...I mean, if it wasn't, you wouldn't have been kept on, right? [because surely even law enforcement isn't a fan of status quo for the sake of it!!!!]
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[ Mako snorts in memory, leaning on both elbows on the hard countertop. The air is finally at a steady level of warmth, less like a sauna and more like a sunny day. ]
I wasn't great at the whole... sticking to the hierarchy thing, at first. I don't know about you, but I found it pretty hard to have my leads ignored just because I was new to the force. I was actually onto something, but nobody listened until it was way too late. Took a while to learn the ropes.
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I know how that goes. It's not even always coming from a bad place, is it? It's just...how things work sometimes. [he looks back toward Mako.] That just means it's more important to stick with it. The right people will see your conviction soon enough...and the other right people will whip you up into shape, one way or another.
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[ An observation he didn't quite mean to make aloud, but it just hit him so quickly, and it makes him smile. ]
But yeah. That's exactly what happened. Beifong saw that I was right, and I did need to... actually work with the rest of the force. I was just so used to not having anyone else to rely on, you know?
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I-it's good that you found a way to, though...people aren't...made to deal with tough stuff all alone all the time. At least, that's how it usually is. [he can't really speak to outliers, can he? he's been a pain-in-the-ass team player from the get-go; striking out on his own wasn't really ever in the books for him.
lo and behold! he's out on his own here. and it's not going great.]
Though I guess...being here makes that...kind of tough, huh.
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[ There is a quiet kind of sympathy in Mako's voice and on his face. He tries to keep it down, because he himself hates being pitied, and he doesn't want to do that to Manabu. He can handle himself, Mako is sure, but— ]
But you're not. Not really. Everyone here is—honestly, it's kind of weird how willing everyone is to help each other. It would never happen like that back home.
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Guess it...depends on who you run into around here, huh.
[because sometimes rather than help, they deck you.
...then help later.]