Work Text:
On the day they had announced the mission team for the Starblaster expedition, Barry Bluejeans had been quaking in his boots. He had spent the last six months working overtime in the IPRE labs, hoping that he’d make the cut, and he had very little hope that he’d qualify. He was a very nervous man, although he liked to think of himself as the dashing and confident scientist that he imagined the Starblaster mission coordinator would be looking for- so when his supervisor sat down and gave him the good news, he almost passed out. He’d caught him by surprise- he was hard at work filing a report on the results of a recent experiment regarding the result of magical energies on cell reproduction. He barely heard his boss, Gralmund, come in. Gralmund was a stern dwarf with a deep voice and a brilliant mind, and Barry was immediately confused once he realized he was there to speak with him. He strode across the room and climbed on the stool next to him. Barry jumped up from his work and tried his best to act like he wasn’t startled beyond belief at the realization that someone was sitting right next to him. How long had he been there? Had he been daydreaming?
“Sir? Is there something you need?”
“Yes, I’d like to congratulate you.”
“For what, exactly…?”
“After extensive review by both myself and the program supervisor, you have been chosen as the department of science’s representative for the Starblaster expedition.”
The few other scientists who were working in the lab alongside him burst into applause and cheers. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.
“What? I have?! This is- Sir, are you sure-“
“I’m very proud of you, Barry. It’s obvious that you have put your heart and soul into your vocation, and if anyone was to see what’s out there, I thought it should be you.”
“Thank you so much, sir, this really means the world to me-“
From that moment on he was caught up in a flurry of attention- interviews, meetings, and finally a series of press conferences on the days leading up to the start of the mission. He had met the other members of the team before, one on one, but this would be the first time they’d have all been together at the same time. They were all very nice people- intelligent, kind, and eager to get started- but there was one, an arcanist and chef, that immediately took a liking to him. She had found him standing awkwardly by himself while he waited for Gralmund to finish speaking with some gnomes who were eager for an interview and the opportunity for an autograph. They had cornered him on his way to the restroom, and he couldn’t have been more embarrassed. She didn’t even notice, and sidled up to him and introduced herself without fear, cutting off everyone waiting to speak with him. Her name was Lup- a tall, bright eyed elf with a sly smile and a firm handshake. He didn’t quite know what to think about her. She was a fast talker and self-assured, and told him more about magic in the first ten minutes of talking to him than he ever knew in his entire life. He thought he understood quite a bit of magic, and here she was blowing him out of the water instantly. It was awe-inspiring, really. He tried to wrestle the conversation back towards something he could actually make sense of.
“So, why did you apply for the mission?”
“I like to live life on the edge, Barry. I can’t spend my entire life waiting for some massive destructive magical force to consume my entire plane and destroy my whole scene. I got things to do.”
“Don’t you worry though?” He tried not to sound too apprehensive. “You know, about what might be out there? I mean, we’re going all over the conceivable universe and just… I don’t know, winging it?”
“Sure! There could be all sorts of monsters and creatures and scorned deities trying to take us out. But believe me, Barry- we got you covered. Trust the team. Winging it is what I DO.”
He had to smile. She was right- there really wasn’t anything to be afraid of. There couldn’t be, could there?
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“What made YOU apply for the mission?”
“I’ve just always wondered what was out there beyond what we can see. I used to spend hours outside with a telescope and a compass making sky maps and looking for shooting stars. I feel really honored to be one of the first people to experience all this.”
“I’m glad too.” When she smiled, his heart skipped a beat.
_____________________________
During the press conference, Lup kept drawing his gaze. Something about her astonished him- the way she glided up to the podium with the confidence of a queen, the swish of her bright yellow hair against her scarlet robe. But what he noticed most was that she made him laugh. Gods help Greg Grimaldis, whoever he was. Talking to her had made him a lot less nervous about leaving everything he knew for the unknown- even though she (and her brother, for that matter) were loud and in your face and sometimes vulgar, he felt a little braver, a little bolder, like he’d absorbed some of her certainty. Sure, when he’d gone up to the podium she whispered ‘nerd alert’, and she probably thought he was the least interesting of everyone on the mission team, but he didn’t mind. He was a nerd, he didn’t have any shame about it. He did blush a little, though.
When it was his turn, he gave everyone a friendly wave before jumping into his description of his role as science officer of the mission. It was hard to focus- he had so much he wanted to say, but it was obvious that he had a time limit. He finished up as concisely as possible and let Magnus take the stage. By the time he was back in his chair, his anxiety had given way to a sense of peace. He was really going interplanar. It was no longer a dream but a reality. And it seemed like he had a good team for it, too.
Lup’s twin brother, Taako, the arcanist and chef, had seemed a little dramatic- actually, very dramatic, but he had a great sense of humor and he felt that he wouldn’t have a problem warming up to him. Captain Davenport and Lucretia seemed very professional. Lucretia was especially excited to be on the team. Her skills as chronicler were incredibly valuable, and he hoped that after the mission he would be allowed to have a copy of her notes for further research.
“If you’d like them, I’d be happy to get you an extra copy after the mission.” Lucretia said. She rummaged in the small bag she kept at her side and proudly withdrew three little notebooks. “I have more, of course, but I have an arcane quill of replication, so I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”
“Thank you! That would be very kind of you. I’ll try to find something to give you in return.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary at all. We’re teammates, remember?”
“No, really-“ Barry insisted. Lucretia was being far too kind- he hadn’t really meant to inconvenience her by actually expecting a copy- he’d been too rude, hadn’t he?
“Hey guys!” Magnus butted into their conversation, pulling everyone in for an embrace. “Are you excited or what? I’ve never had roommates before!”
Lucretia gave a small laugh. They could all agree that Magnus was the most optimistic, glowing man they had ever met in their lives. He was a golden retriever of a man- happy to be wherever he ended up, and friendlier than anyone would expect. No one would expect his personality coming from the tall, muscular man with the sideburns and rough features, but he always kept a smile on his face, and Barry immediately liked him.
“Do you think they’ll let me bring back a pet?” He looked eagerly at them. He couldn’t help it. He was a sucker for cute animals. “Cause I want one.”
“Absolutely not.” Lucretia looked at Magnus like he had three extra heads. “We can’t bring anything more than small samples! Taking an animal out of it’s natural habitat could make it difficult to control. It could even kill the creature.”
“Oh. So no dogs then?”
“No dogs.”
“Hey, wait,” Magnus narrowed his eyes. “Davenport’s the one who’s the captain. You’re not the boss of me.”
Lucretia got a look in her eye that Barry recognized from his own mother- the ‘oh really?’ face. He’d seen it many times before, and it had proved him wrong each and every time. He was in for it. Lucretia’s eyes shifted to Davenport, who was standing next to her.
“Captain Davenport, is Magnus allowed to keep a pet during or after our mission?”
“Let me think about it.” He waited exactly four seconds before boldly stating “Nope.”
“Oh come on!” Magnus looked exasperatedly at Lucretia, and then at Davenport with the slightest tinge of betrayal in his eyes. “Don’t take her side, it would be so fun! We could have cool alien kittens or a giant bird friend or one of those little dragons that grows up and eats your enemies!”
“Fun for you. I have to captain. Plus, we’ll be living on a ship. There’s not enough room for pets. At least, I don’t think so.”
“Ugh, whatever.”
Lup walked past unassumingly, and Magnus strongly but kindly redirected her into their little clump in the hallway. She appeared confused but not disappointed in the new direction her day was going.
“Uh, Hi.”
“So,” Magnus said. “Do you think we should be able to have pets on this mission?”
“Hell yeah. I want a snake.”
“SEE? Snake. Pets. Mission. Finally SOMEONE agrees with me.”
He looked back and forth between Lucretia and Davenport with a grateful yet pleading expression. They did not respond, but Lup took one step forward, cocked her head to the side, and spoke in a low, steady voice-
“You used me… to win an argument?”
She looked at him for a moment. Barry was silently observing, trying not to laugh at the whole situation. Lup looked very… intimidating. He couldn’t tell whether she was going to kill him or not. He hoped she would have mercy on poor Magnus. Poor guy just wanted a space dog.
“Y…yes.”
There was another moment’s pause before she spoke. She was very clearly trying to find the words for the exact emotion she was trying to express. However, she was smiling, so that was a good sign. Or, he thought, a very, very bad sign. He knew absolutely nothing about her, other than that she was an arcanist. He didn’t know her specialization, or much about her personality. Was he going to be able to get along with her for a year? Or even longer than that? Or would they be constantly quarreling about minor things like this? There was no way of knowing until they’d be stuck in space together, all of them, with no one else to talk to. The thought of that thrilled and terrified him. Was he ready? But wait- he was getting off track. Lup looked like she was getting ready to respond. She stared Magnus dead in the eyes, smiled darkly, and pulled her thick hair up in a ponytail before giving him a solid thumbs up.
“Neat. Stick it to the man.”
Wow, he thought. She really is something else.
_____________________________
The starblaster a clean, chrome, beautiful ship of the highest quality- Davenport had made sure of that. It had been completed with the highest and most up to date technology yet- a bond engine- and was fully stocked with everything one might need for a long journey such as theirs. Although their journey was planned to last about a year or so, they had no guarantee that they would get back in that time. Who knew if they would even get back in the first place? Barry shook his head, trying to banish the thought as he went through his clothes and supplies back in his room in the tavern. Everyone else had gone out for the night, but he needed to check on his stuff one more time, just in case. He had a habit of being forgetful, and heaven forbid if he left anything vital at home...
"Hey." A muffled voice came through the door, and he recognized it immediately. "Open up nerd. Lookit these rad shoes I stole."
Barry sighed. It was extremely late at night. Everyone else was supposed to be asleep. However, he did think that Lup was probably the type to be a night owl. He went over and edged the door open. She was still dressed, and she smelled like she had had more than her fair share of mead. She didn't look drunk, though.
"What are you doing awake?" He whispered. "It's, what, almost four in the morning! You need sleep before we head out!"
"Then why are you awake, mister jean jacket?"
Barry blushed. His uniform was a bright red denim jacket with the round IPRE patch attached firmly to his breast pocket. He hadn't thought that it might look strange to other people paired with even more denim. He just liked his jeans, was all. She scooted into the room and made herself comfortable on the small hand-carved chair (courtesy of magnus) in the corner of the room. She put her feet up on a matching stool and watched him place his various instruments and testing equipment in his trunk.
"Nervous, huh?"
"No. Just... thinking."
"There's no shame in being nervous, Barry. Like I said before, I'd be nervous if you weren't nervous. But I can't sleep. Taako's out like a light as usual, you can hear the snoring in Merle's and Magnus' rooms enough that I don't want to get anywhere near them, and I'm not sure where Davenport or Lucretia are. I can't sleep, and you seem cool."
"I do? I thought you thought I was a nerd."
"I also think you're a scientist, and that's massively interesting, even though I don't get it and probably never will. So I'll meet you in the middle on that one."
"Works for me." Barry smiled. "There's a lot of magic I don't get either. I tried a little conjuring once when I was a kid with my mom, and we don't even talk about what happened! I wasn't old enough to remember what I did, but I'm pretty sure it was bad."
"Dude. That's freaking hilarious. Your mom just thought 'hey let's give a literal baby a stick and see what kind of magic happens'? That's baller as hell, and also insanely irresponsible. I mean, Taako and I- never mind."
"You're good enough at magic that I highly doubt you had any trouble."
"No, we had our fair share. We definitely got kicked out of a few places." She grinned and ran a hand through her hair, combing a few strands away from her face. "You should have seen it. We were a catastrophe wherever we went."
Barry was trying not to stare at her. He didn't want to be rude, but she just had such an interesting face to look at. She had beautiful brown skin and piercing green eyes that made it look like she was always thinking about something far away, even when she was talking to you. He noticed that sometimes he'd caught her overfocusing on a cantrip or spell that she'd been practicing for the past few days; there would be a look on her face so intense it was like she had fire glittering through her like sparks bursting in her blonde hair. She had peculiar features- freckles that covered her from head to toe that he found charming and unique. Unique- that was perhaps the truest way to describe her. There was simply no one like her that he had ever met. He wondered what it would be like with just the seven of them for a year, far from home. He wouldn't mind getting to know her better. She was interesting.
"Ugh, man." Lup was putting pressure on her temples, still grinning. "I think I'd better dip out. Got a headache, you know? I'll catch you tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that, and- well, night night, sleep tight, don't let anything bite you, really. It's kind of weird."
With that, she hopped up, gave him a couple finger guns for good measure, and closed the door behind her. Unsure what to do other than lay down and process all that social interaction, Barry lay down on his modest cot, set his watch to ring at 6, and blew out the little candle that stood on his bedside table. It had been a long day, and tomorrow was going to be much, much longer.