shiroi_tiger | The Pacific, July 12th, 1876, and The Beach, Morning, January 3rd, 2009

July 12th, 1876

There is some comfort in the emptiness of the sea. No past. No future. And then at once I am confronted by a hard truth in present circumstances. I have been hired to suppress the rebellion of yet another tribal leader. Apparently, this is the only job for which I am suited. I am beset by the ironies of my life.

Algren paused in his writing to pour himself another glass of whiskey. To run his hands over the rawhide, elaborately beaded bag in which he kept his journal, to move on to the chest that contained his uniform, and to fall inside his own head again as he pulled on his jacket.

Fire. Screaming. The sound of hooves beating against the ground and children and women falling and--

Abruptly, he pulled off the jacket. Slowly and deliberately made his way back to his whiskey. Poured himself another glass.

The rest of the night was lost in the haze of alcohol and his attempts to drown away his memories.

And that was why, when Captain Nathan Algren woke up on the beach with a lifeboat turned upside-down beside him and a suitcase filled with only the essentials- his military blues, the bag containing his journal, and a half-empty flask of whiskey- he didn't have the foggiest idea how he had arrived there. Only that, somewhere through the course of the night, apparently he'd managed to find himself a different job. On an island. Which was nowhere near the ship he'd been sailing on.

The ironies of his life, indeed.

[The journal entry is taken right out of The Last Samurai, the drunken rowboat thing is my brain telling me to switch to decaf. And now Algren is on Fandom Island! Hoorah! Open if anyone has any reason to be wandering the beach at Stupid-O'Clock AM.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Simon had woken early and felt rested, so he had decided to go for a walk before breakfast. The beach was always a good place - it seemed he couldn't get enough of sea air since his time on Serenity.

Noticing a man behind a turned over boat made him frown however, and he walked faster towards him.

Nathan managed to get most of his wits about him about the same time he noticed the other man coming his way. He pulled himself to his feet, poked a toe at the boat (how he made it to the shore in that little thing at all was a mystery to him), and then turned his attention toward the stranger.

"I don't suppose you would be able to tell me," he ventured, "where in the world I've landed?"

He had his suspicions that this was not Japan.

Simon was relieved to see that the man get to his feet as he approached.

"Fandom," he said. "Are you ok? I'm a doctor, and... well, after a boat accident like this it might be a good idea to visit the clinic." He paused for a moment. "You're not from here then?"

[Bedtime for me :(]

"I'm fine," Nathan stressed, though he probably wouldn't have admitted otherwise even if he had been wounded. "I'm not exactly a sailor, but I appear to have arrived more or less in one piece."

He bent over to inspect his suitcase, which appeared to be, also, more or less in one piece.

"Thank you."

[Good night! We can slowplay this out if you'd like. :) ]

"The town isn't far from here," Simon told him, still a little concerned. "You can find food and a place to stay until you find out where you need to be."

[Yay SP!]

"Where I need to be," Algren echoed. And then he nodded. "Town is back the way you came, then?"

He'd gathered up his bag and was already walking. He really had no desire to spend more time than necessary on the shore.

Simon hurried to catch up, deciding to take it upon himself to make sure this man didn't collapse somewhere on the way. "I'm Simon Tam," he said, deciding an introduction was a good idea.

"Captain Nathan Algren," came the reply as Algren picked his way along the beach. "It's a pleasure, Mr. Tam."

That was said about as earnestly as one could expect from a man who had woken up on a beach, really.

"So, what can you tell me about this town I'm headed to? Its name? Businesses I can expect to find? Some place where I can safely store my effects?"

"Fandom Town," Simon replied. "It's small but the most important facilities are there. The hotel is good, there are restaurants..." He paused for a moment. "Excuse me, Captain Algren, but what time are you from?"

"What?" Algren stopped in his tracks, eyeing Simon with a raised eyebrow. "What sort of question is that supposed to be?"

Really, he would have settled for the location of the hotel and a good restaurant recommendation.

"I mean, what year and date did you, uh, leave?" Simon had never had to explain this before.

Simon was now receiving Algren's best, 'I think you are crazy, sir,' look.

It was a pretty withering sort of look.

"It was July 12th, last I remember," Algren said flatly. "And anyone can tell you what the year is, Mr. Tam. Unless I've been out to sea far longer than I think I have, it's still 1876, yes."

Simon wasn't sure how to say this. "Uh, it's January 3rd, 2009," he replied, then added hastily: "This place is confusing. I'm from a different solar system myself."

The withering look had how shifted somewhat, to the sort of look that people gave others when they were taking a step backward for fear of the crazy being contagious.

"Is that so?" Maybe another step back. For good measure. "Tell me about this solar system of yours."

Noticing the reaction, Simon ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "I was born on a planet called Osiris. In my universe people emigrated from Earth due to overpopulations." He wasn't sure this was improving anything.

It really wasn't.

"People left Earth, you say. Because it was crowded." This story would have made for an interesting dime novel, perhaps. The Mad Doctor From Osiris.

He'd be rich in no time.

"So, what brings you to Earth, then, given the booming population issues?" Nathan's gaze drifted with bemusement over the nice, empty beach.

"My sister," he said, feeling his heart sink. This wasn't going well. "She went to school here, and after graduation she never returned home, so I came here and found out that she had been kidnapped."

"By people from space, I suppose," Algren stated, making an effort not to smile too obviously. "The fiends."

He set his suitcase down again, crossed his arms over his chest, and raised an eyebrow. "So, what exactly is keeping you from going after her?"

"By one of her former teachers," Simon replied, sounding tired. "And she took my sister to her own universe in a different dimension which I can't get to."

Algren wasn't sure he was even following this conversation anymore.

There were treatments for this sort of behavior, weren't there? None of them were typically pleasant.

"Well. You let me know when you figure out how to get into this different dimension, and I'll happily help you get your sister back," he stated. Because sometimes, it was just better to humor the crazy people.

"...thank you." Simon stopped, not sure there was any point in continuing this conversation. "If you stop by the hotel you can let Mary know you met me."

"Of course," Algren agreed, giving a nod as he gathered up his bag again. "Thank you for all of your help, Mr. Tam. You have yourself a... good day."

Oh, he was going to owe poor Simon one hell of an apology later.

"You too."

Simon sighed, then turned and walked in the other direction. At least he had tried.

The Pacific, July 12th, 1876, and The Beach, Morning, January 3rd, 2009

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject