#JPL please explain

[anniemunchkins]

"You're pushing me away because you're afraid."

[curiosi-tea-writes]

Surprise

Pairing: Din Djarin / Cobb Vanth

Modern AU

Summary: Din has never been a fan of surprises, he just doesn't like them. He'd much rather be on the giving side of said surprises, especially when it came to surprise dates with Cobb. But what he didn't know is that sometimes it pays off to have a good surprise.

(Aka, the author wanted to nerd out about space and Din is a perfect outlet. And if you have never been to a space museum before, you should.)

--------------------------------------

"Are you gonna tell me where we're going?" Din asked as he turned away from the window to look at Cobb.

Cobb chuckled and reached across the center console and took Din's hand. He interlocked their fingers and brought it up to his lips and gently placed a kiss to his boyfriend's knuckles. Din felt his face warm up as it always did when Cobb repeated the innocent and simple action. He found it terribly unfair that his boyfriend had so much power over him. "Would you please calm down, Darlin'. You're gonna love this."

It wasn't that Din didn't trust Cobb, of course he did. He was just typically the one to make the plans. But this time Cobb was the one to do it. Cobb was the one who asked Peli to baby sit for the day. He was the one who tossed Din's NASA hoodie at him and told him to get ready. He was the one who insisted on driving so Din wouldn't deduce where they were going. Its just that-

"I don't like surprises, Cobb, you know that," he mumbled.

Cobb chuckled and shook his head. "Trust me." He let go of Din's hand as he made a turn into a mostly abandoned parking lot behind a large building. Din couldn't see any sign of where they were. Though, he supposed that was Cobb's plan.

Once the car was parked and turned off Cobb turned happily towards Din. "Are you ready?"

Din chuckled nervously. "I suppose I have to be."

With both of them out of the car, Cobb led him until they were just about to round the corner. "Alright," Cobb spoke as he made Din stop walking. "Close your eyes."

Din's shoulders dropped. "Seriously?"

"Just do what I asked," Cobb pleaded.

"Technically, you didn't ask," he pointed out with a smirk. Cobb glared at him but a smile played on his lips that betrayed his upset look. "Okay, okay, grumpy."

Cobb held tight around Din's waist as he guided him. Din's grip on Cobb's 'free' had was tight as he tried not to stumble, not trusting his blind footing despite being guided. He felt the warm air of inside the build hit his face, a harsh contrast compared to the nippy winter chill outside. Excitement finally began to creep into Din's chest and replaced the anxiety. Din tried not to be sad at the loss of warmth when Cobb stepped away.

"Okay," Cobb stated happily and Din could hear his smile. "Open your eyes."

Adjusting his glasses, the first thing that really caught his eye was the dark ceiling which had small white lights sparkling another darkness. It took no time at all for Din to realize the lights made constellations and his smile grew impossibly bright.

He quickly snapped his gaze to Cobb's who stood beside him smiling anxiously.

A moment later Din was excitedly pulling Cobb to the different rooms. Cobb let his boyfriend read him all the plaques but it wasn't much of a choice, Din always spoke so dramatically when he read things at museums.

They floated from room to room as Din pointed to different parts of the model space ships and told him specifically what each piece and how they worked. Meanwhile, Cobb listened intently, taking in every single word.

"See this gold thing?" Din said quickly as he pulled Cobb across the room they had just entered to another model. When Cobb nodded he squeezed his hand and continued. "Its instructions!"

"Instructions for what?" Cobb tilted his head and took a closer look.

"For a record!" Din was suddenly extremely grateful that they were practically the only people in the museum so he could properly nerd-out. "They wanted to make sure that if there was life out there," he gestured vaguely up towards the sky, "that they'd be able to play the record. This was the case for the records."

"That was smart of them," Cobb stated with a nod and Din pulled him over to a plaque that had pictures of the records and began explaining what was on them. He could listen to Din talk about this kind of this for hours. This date was as much the perfect thing for him as it was for Din. When he talked about space he just got a sparkle in his eyes that nothing else could possibly compare to.

"So do you think there is actually life out there?" Cobb waved his hand, mimicking the action Din had done moments before.

"I mean probably," Din stated as they moved around the room. "I mean, there's so much out there, there must be something else. I'm sure in some galaxy far, far away, there's a whole bunch of planets with life on them. We just haven't found it yet."

--------------

"Did you know-" 

'Probably not but you're gonna tell me,' Cobb thought with a chuckle. 

They were walking down a long hallway to go to the next room. Din, still holding his boyfriend's hand, was walking slightly in front of him backwards, practically skipping. "-that if the sun’s diameter were eighteen and a half inches long, the diameter of Earth would be roughly that of a bb-bullet?”

Cobb could only laugh and shake his head. "What do you ever plan to do with all this space knowledge you've got up there?" He reached up with his other hand and ruffled his dark mop.

"Tell it all to you, obviously," Din said happily. "I can shut up if you want," his walk slowed a bit as he said it and his smile faltered just slightly.

Cobb squeezed his hand with a smile. "Don't you dare, Darlin'. I want to hear all of it."

--------------

About two hours later they were walking through the gift shop, Cobb watching as Din adjusted his glasses the way he did when he was focusing. Cobb excused himself for a moment for one last surprise while Din looked at the trinkets.

When he came back, he came up behind Din, placing a hand on his back looking over his shoulder. "Find anything you like?"

Din excitedly showed him a keychain with a plastic Saturn on it with a sweet little smiley face and a stuffed astronaut for Grogu. When he turned to head towards the register, he realized Cobb was holding a bag. "What'd you get?"

Cobb shushed him with a chuckled and waved him off towards the counter.

When Din returned, fumbling with his keys to add his new keychain. Cobb wrapped his arm around his waist and guided his boyfriend over to a bench where they had a clear view of a large screen showing a sideshow of pictures taken by the Hubble telescope.

Once they were comfortable and Din placed his keys back in his pocket, Cobb reached into the bag and pulled out a silver and red package. He laughed as he handed it to Din to inspect.

"Astronaut ice cream?" Din gasped which only made Cobb laugh harder.

"Its neapolitan, its your favorite," Cobb pointed out.

Din took a minute and just smiled at his boyfriend. After a moment he pulled out the second package in the bag and laughed before handing Cobb his freeze-dried peaches.

They sat in mostly silence, Din eating his ice cream sandwich and Cobb eating his peaches. Cobb would break the silence every so often to ask a question about the picture currently on the slideshow and Din would happily answer it.

Cobb took a slice of peach and offered it to Din who simply opened his mouth and let Cobb feed it to him. They both laughed for a month before Din copied the action, giving Cobb a bite if his ice cream.

"What would a peach and ice cream taste like together?" Cobb questioned.

Din gave him a slightly disturbed look. "Not good," he stated simply.

Cobb examined his last peach slice thoughtfully. "You don't think it would taste like peach ice cream?"

"No," Din scoffed. "It would not taste like peach ice cream, Cobb."

Before Din could even think to object, Cobb was grabbing half of the last bite of ice cream sandwich he had in his hand. Ignoring his boyfriend blatant protests and claims that it would not taste good, Cobb stuck the peach bite into the ice cream and popped it into his mouth.

They were both silent for a long moment while Cobb ate the combination. "So?"

Cobb hummed and finished the bite. "Not bad actually."

All Din could do was just shake his head, laugh, and eat his last bite.

Cobb and Din made their way out of the space museum hand in hand and walked happily back to the car. Once they were back inside the car, Din placed a hand on Cobb's wrist before he could put the key in. Looking over to see why Din had stopped him, he was pleasantly surprised by Din sliding his hand against Cobb's cheek, pulling him in for a soft kiss. It didn't last long but when they broke they rested their foreheads together. Din gently ran his tumb against the scar on Cobb's temple and smiled softly.

"You know," Din whispered, not wanting to speak too loud and break the moment. When he paused for a second longer than necessary, Cobb hummed, prompting him to continue. Din chuckled lightly. "I think I might like surprises more than I thought."

With another gentle kiss, they pulled away and headed back.

Cobb's heart ached in the best way possible when he dropped Din off at his apartment. Din with his cute thick black glasses and the stuffed astronaut tucked under his arm for his son, and his nerdy NASA hoodie. All Cobb could think about was how precious he found the other man. And how incredibly lucky he was to have him.

(Sources for fic below.)

“Both Voyager spacecraft carry identical copper disks that are specifically encoded with sound recordings and images from Earth. Each record is inside a protective aluminum jacket. [See picture above.] Symbols on the cover explain the origin of the spacecraft and how to play the record.”  -NASA/JPL - Caltech

Assignment done by yours truly in astronomy class. The dot in the center is a bb-bullet representing Earth and the yellow paper (with an 18.5″ diameter) represents the sun.

[lovecolibri]

SaL enthusiast back because if there's any song that needs discussing it's Saturn. Is there any other song that both breaks you apart and immediately puts you back together. Even though the 1st half is just instrumental it's so much!! First your mourning, then it goes calm, then it's pure wonder. Then you do it all over again with the most heart-wrenching lyrics!!! And though it's clearly about someone now dead I still feel the Malex in it, the heartbreak and the beauty and hope.

Yay! Welcome back! Please come as often as you want I will literally never tire of talking about Sleeping at Last, or Malex.

So Saturn is the first song I ever heard by him, and it was on a fanvid for Fitzsimmons from Agents of SHIELD after that season 1 finale and when I tell you I cried! That is one of the few times I went into a youtube comment section because I had to know what the song was. I immediately fell into a rabbit hole and have never recovered. I am a sucker for sad lyrics and string instruments so if there is one song guaranteed to  give me chills and bring me to tears, it’s Saturn. 

For me, this song hits all of my Michael/Nora feels. He got so little time with her, and he didn’t get to ask all his questions about their people and their family, and her, but he does find out the important thing-she loves him. So much. But that storyline is ultimately a tragedy and this song fits so perfectly.

You taught me the courage of stars before you left How light carries on endlessly, even after death With shortness of breath You explained the infinite How rare and beautiful it is to even exist

I couldn't help but ask for you to say it all again I tried to write it down, but I could never find a pen I'd give anything to hear you say it one more time That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes

*ugly crying*

But I do get what you mean about it having some Malex vibes too, because it does end with that tenuous bit of hope.

With shortness of breath I'll explain the infinite How rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist

Not me sobbing into my pillow.

This song is sung with so much emotion but the music itself is enough to make my eyes a little glassy (partly because I know where it’s going, but still). It starts off so soft and then has this big swell in the middle, and then back to almost nothing at the end and even without the lyrics it’s a stunningly beautiful song.  

Sidebar, if anyone is interested, he did a podcast episode about getting to write a song and being at the JPL during the ending of the Cassini space mission to Saturn and that whole story always brings me to tears, but it was lovely to hear him talk about how since Cassini flew past earth and went past Venus and Jupiter that he included bits of the musical themes from those songs in his peace and I believe when he released the finished song he had bits of audio from the mission, possibly from the launch or maybe the end of mission transmission. It’s been awhile since I’ve listed to it, but it was really neat.

Anywho, everyone should go listen to this song and cry and then come back and yell at me about it (this is the post that started it all and the invitation is always open) and everything else Sleeping at Last has done and how much it puts you in your Malex feels. And if anyone needs a suggestion, Touch gave me a mild breakdown recently so come wallow in feelings with me!

[cgswapjplau]

Steven Universe JPL AU: S1 Chapter 1, Lotus Light Trebuchet

Lapis flew towards the boardwalk, Steven perched on her back excitedly. She stopped a few feet away from Fryman's, hovering above the dock so Steven could climb off. He panted as he ran up to the booth, craving a food only Fryman could supply.

"Fryman, gimme the bits!" He called out.

Fryman rolled his eyes with a half smile. "You know we're closed."

"Come on, Fry, give him the bits!" Lapis protested good-naturedly.

"The bits, the bits, the bits, the bits," the lapis lazuli chanted eagerly.

"The bits, the bits, the bits, the bits!" Steven joined in, stars in his eyes.

They repeated it a few more times, until Fryman couldn't take it anymore.

"Alright, alright! Just stop it! Your scaring away the customers."

Lapis looked around, and back at Fryman.

"What customers?"

Steven gasped and giggled into his hand.

Fryman scoffed. "And let me guess, your usual?"

"Uh huh, but two milkshakes instead of one." Lapis answered.

"If you want, I can give you regular fries." He told Steven.

The boy shook his head. "Nope! Just the bits, please!"

Fryman put the fry bits into a bag and handed them to Steven, giving Lapis her milkshakes.

"Thanks, Fry! See you later!" The two said in unison.

Steven climbed onto Lapis' back, and she took off.

"Ah, sunset. My favorite time of day. The sun goes down, and the second sun gets bigger and bigger in the sky!" The half gem exclaimed, looking up at the sky.

Lapis snickered, some of her milkshake spilling out of the container. She used her powers to catch it before it hit the ground and put it back into the shake.

"Yeah, sure. Just love that secon-" Lapis gasped, dropping the whole shake. She used to powers to retrieve it yet again.

"It's here." She whispered, looking up to see a giant thing in the sky.

"Wait, what is?" Steven asked, before Lappis zipped home, Steven holding on to her sleeve for dear life. "Aw, my bits!"

"Well, we're cracked." Jasper muttered. She was standing outside of the house, next to Peridot, who was peering into a telescope. The peridot also had various electronic machines that she kept typing in and adding data to.

"I wish I had never given those an upgrade." She said in a low voice.

"Jasper! Peri!" Lapis called, landing next to them. Steven climbed off of her.

"Yeah, yeah. We saw, Lazuli." Peridot answered. "Some of us are busy protecting Earth. Where were you?"

Lapis rolled her eyes, but Steven saw the hurt look on her face.

"Getting snacks." Lapis said with a smile, quickly recovering. "But look, Peri, I got you a milkshake!"

Peridot took the shake that had never fallen out of the lapis' hand gingerly and took a small sip. She turned away with a small smile.

"Your drink wasn't," Peridot told Lapis with an uncomfortable cough. "Horrible. Thank you."

Lapis crossed her arms with a smile. "Aw, you know you love me. Admit you like it."

Steven changed the subject. "Ooh, can I see?" He asked enthusiastically, grabbing the telescope. "Woah, it's a giant eyeball! So cool!"

Peridot turned away from Lapis and eyed Steven. "No, not cool."

"That thing's a Red Eye." Jasper explained.

"A Red Eye? Oh, no! It's going to infect us all!" Steven yelled.

"Ugh, Steven, that's pink eye." Peridot said.

Lapis and Jasper snickered.

"It's headed for Beach City, and it's going to crush us all." Jasper informed Steven, not seeming that concerned about the situation.

"Along with a bunch of humans, ducks, and mice, and other things!" Lapis added. She looked behind her, shooing away a squirrel and lizard behind her. "Save yourselves." She whispered dramatically with a snicker.

"But how are we supposed to stop it?" Steven asked nervously.

"Rose's trebuchets are the only thing powerful enough to stop it, but they're both nowhere to be found." Jasper replied.

"Wait, they belonged to Mom? Then maybe Dad has them!" Steven lit up.

The three gems looked at each other for a moment, averting their gaze from Steven awkwardly.

"Gregory is nice." Peridot stated with a clearing of the throat.

"But if he had it, he either lost it or broke it. Or I took it." Lapis finished shamelessly.

"No, guys. I bet he's just keeping it somewhere safe!" Steven protested.

"Okay, Steven, you can go ask, but be quick." Jasper agreed.

"Lapis, go with him. If Greg doesn't have it, look in your room." Peridot added.

"If you don't see them, one of Peridot's inventions that are in your room could be useful." The quartz said.

"Fine, but we are NOT using one of my meep-morps to destroy that thing." Lapis snapped.

"But I think we handle it, Steven. Ready?" Lapis asked Peridot, before flying her up to the Red Eye. They flew steadily towards the strange spheroid.

"Okay, I'm fine! Let me go!" Peridot told her as they reached the eyeball.

"If you say so." Lapis replied with a smirk, dropping Peridot into the ocean.

"Ugh, Jasper, just throw me at it instead!" Peridot called.

Jasper nodded.

----------------

Steven and Lapis were in front of It's A Wash, looking at a van.

"Dad, wake up! Dad!" Steven yelled, pounding on the car door. "We have to save the town!"

"Yo, Gregory, wake up!" Lapis called.

Steven grunted and he pounded and shook the van, crawling onto the hood to bang on it. He climbed onto the top, jumping up and down. Just as he was giving up, throwing himself on the van dramatically, the car alarm started. Steven's face brightened as he turned to look at the back doors of the vehicle.

Greg Universe burst out of the automotive, with a weapon at the ready. "Who's there? I've got a frying pan and I'm not afraid to us-"

Greg spotted Lapis and calmed instantly. "Oh, hey, Lapis." He greeted her, shutting off the car alarm.

"Dad! It's me!" Steven called, stumbling off the van.

"Hey there, Schtu-ball." Greg said, giving his son a hug.

"We're looking for Rose's trebuchets." Lapis told him.

"What? Why?" Greg asked.

"To stop that eyeball over there!" His son answered helpfully, pointing at the sky.

Greg and Lapis looked up to see Peridot being thrown at the Red Eye. She collided into it with a big crash, and then fell in the water.

His dad grinned. "I know where they might be."

______________

"It's a shed, for storage." Greg told Steven, pushing up the garage door. Steven's face fell a little as the door opened to reveal a normal looking shed. His face quickly brightened as he got to work.

"If I'm gonna go in there, I'm gonna need some gear," Steven mused. He tied a flashlight to his head with a sock. Lapis snorted and tied a rope to him.

"Gotta go!" Steven exclaimed as he crawled inside the shed.

"Good luck!" Lapis and Greg told him.

Soon, he came across a box. "Dad, I found a bunch of copies of your old CD!" Greg smiled from outside the shed. "Oh man, I couldn't give those away. You know, before I rented the car wash, when I was a one-man band, I traveled the country!"

"I know, Dad." The half-gem answered with a chuckle.

"When I had my concert in Beach City, no one showed up, except-"

"A dragon!" Steven cheered, interrupting his father.

"No, it was your mother." Lapis told him with a small smile.

Steven laughed, "I know!"

"And me, but I was a swan at the time, so I guess that doesn't count." The lapis lazuli reasoned. "Gregory and Rose were always together after that."

His dad smiled sadly. "Until she gave up her physical form to bring you into the world."

As Greg rambled on, Steven stepped on a frame, with a picture of his father and mother inside. He gasped,

"Dad, I broke your picture frame!" Steven told Greg.

"It's okay, Schtu-ball. Remember, if every pork chop were perfect-"

"We wouldn't have hot dogs!" Lapis and Steven finished.

When the two finished the phrase, two identical catapults glowed simultaneously, but only one was in the shed.

Steven noticed it. "Huh?" Suddenly, the boy's eyes went wide with recognition. A massive siege weapon towered over the crouching child, pale pink and decorated with petal shaped molding. A lotus-like spherical bullet was already equipped, as if the dirt-encrusted engine had been waiting. Steven sweeped off the dust with one hand.

"One of the ter-butch-ays." He murmured.

"It's trebuchet." Lapis corrected him.

"Lapis, Dad, I found one!" Steven cried.

"Keep looking for the other!" Lapis instructed him.

After a thorough search, Steven could see they should try somewhere else.

"Well, Steven, guess it's time to look at my place." Lapis said casually.

"I'll drive you," Greg added.

They loaded the weapon into a wagon that was tied to the back of the van, and then sat inside. Greg got in the driver's seat, and started the car.

"This is freaking me out!" Greg exclaimed.

"Can't the van go any faster? We've gotta get go the beach!" Steven said impatiently.

"This is faster!" His father answered.

"Come on, let's put on your CD." Lapis suggested from the backseat.

Steven put in the CD and started to sing along.

Greg parked, and Lapis put the trebuchet on the shore, where Peridot was being yeeted at the Red Eye the twentieth time that day. Steven and Lapis climbed onto the porch and entered the house.

Lapis guided Steven past the living room and kitchen, and up to an elevator. She pressed the down button. A scanner popped up, and Lapis turned around so her gem would be visible. "Whoa," Steven thought aloud. A small ding could be heard, and the frame rotated multiple times, before stopping so that a door with a lapis lazuli gem and water on it could be seen.

The pair entered the elevator. The doors closed, and the elevator went down quickly. Steven yelped and grabbed onto Lapis, who didn't seem bothered by the stomach-churning drop. The elevator slowed to a stop, and the walls turned translucent. A circular waterfall surrounded the elevator, and parted when the elevator doors opened. When the two stepped out, Steven gasped in awe.

The room they entered was like a paradise, with seafoam green grass, ponds, trees, and a pink and orange 'sky'. A section where two short pale blue translucent walls made a corner and a small area of floor was filled with with chests. Small mechanical animals lived in trees and burrows. The whole place had art supplies scattered around on the ground.

"This is your room in the temple?" Steven asked in awe.

"Yup, and I know just where to find the other trebuchet."

____________

"Come on, Dad!" Steven called. He and Lapis were pushing one trebuchet towards the other Crystal Gems, and Steven wanted his dad to be a part of this mission.

His dad followed, helping the two transport the other siege weapon.

Finally spotting them, Jasper looked at the three curiously, and her eyes widened when they started to wheel the trebuchets over, still attached to the van. Peridot looked up from where she had ended up when she was swept up by the tide in awe, but quickly composing herself.

"Good. You guys are here." Peridot said shortly, moving towards the weapons. "There are over one septillion possible combinations of letters, sounds, and numbers, and the Red Eye is almost here."

Lapis exhaled anxiously. "Well, then, we'd better star-" She gasped.

They all looked up to see pieces of the roof shingles breaking off and attaching to the Red Eye. Across town, Fryman's sign was ripping apart, and he yelped in vain, attempting to grab it before it flew away. The statue of Angel Aura broke a fingernail.

"Hurry!" Jasper yelled in alarm, moving the cannon into place.

"What could the password be?" Steven asked.

"This was Rose's, not mine!" Peridot snapped before calming down.

"Dad?" He turned to his father, who shrugged. "Lapis? Jasper?" Steven swiveled to meet the eyes of the pair, who clung to each other in fear, before shaking off each other's grasp. Lapis looked down in defeat, while Jasper turned away. Next to them, Peridot had an epiphany.

"Steven!" She called desperately, grabbing his shoulder and turning him towards her. "You have her gem!"

Lapis rushed over, rubbing Steven's gem against the trebuchets. Peridot slapped her hand with a smirk. "Really?" She turned serious. "It's no use!"

"Forget that. Throw me again." Peridot suggested unenthusiastically, allowing Jasper to scoop her up.

"That's not going to work!" Lapis protest

The wagon holding the trebuchet sank into the dirt, moving Steven around, who was still clung to it. "Whoa!"

"I've got this." Greg said, unlatching the trebuchet. The van slid across the beach, towards the Eye. Steven's father yanked on the rope, trying to reel the van in unsuccessfully.

"Never mind, maybe I don't!" Greg yelped, being pulled to the Red Eye.

"Please work," Steven pleaded to the trebuchets. "Unlock! Activate! Come on!"

"Go! Please?" He continued. "Everyone's counting on you two! You can't just be useless! I know you guys can help!"

"Don't worry, Steven." Lapis reassured him.

"We'll find something else!" Greg added.

A wobbly smile stretched across Steven's face. "Oh, right! If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hot dogs!"

The trebuchets started to glow. The gems and his father looked on in shock.

"It's working!" Jasper exclaimed.

The petals started to open like two blooming roses, and the weights on both sunk down. The sudden decrease in balance launched two lotus flower bullets into the air. They circled each other, shining, before combing to form a pink light silhouette of a familiar woman. She struck the Red Eye, exploding it. There was a bright glow, and when it faded, the woman was gone.

Debris rained on the town. A piece crashed into the boardwalk, next to Fryman. A car was inside the hole, its alarm shrieking loudly.

"Steven, you saved most of Beach City!" Lapis applauded.

"Sorry!" Steven called.

Fryman didn't hear him. "What?"

"How'd you activate the trebuchets?" Peridot asked.

"I just said the thing Dad always says."

"And before you ask, yes, the thing about pork rinds." Jasper told her, amused.

"Hot dogs." Lapis corrected simply.

Greg wiped a tear from his eye. "Rose."

The tide came in, returning Greg's van apologetically.

"My van!" Greg cried.

"It's okay, dad." Steven soothed.

"If every porkchop were perfect-" Lapis started.

"I live in there!" Greg shrieked, before running into the water after it.

[scenes-in-between]

Requiem

CSM

There is, he supposes, a certain poetic justice to it. At the very least, a measure of dramatic irony in the fact that he is dying for real this time, and the only man who could probably save him is one whose death he arranged mere weeks ago.

Then again, it's not as though Cobra would have deigned to lift a finger to help him, not after everything. No, the end result would have been the same, regardless of whether Cobra still lived.

Still, it is inconvenient. The fix should theoretically be a simple one, only there is no one left who might be capable of pinpointing the precise nature of his chip's malfunction. In two weeks, he's gone so rapidly downhill, systems failing one after another, that if he bothered to look in a mirror, he would be hard pressed to recognize himself. If an answer cannot be divined in the very near term, he won't make it through the month.

It is the very best sort of surprise, then, when he learns of the crash in Oregon. New technology, undoubtedly more recent than what they’ve already obtained, could very well hold the answers to a cure. Or if not that, to a temporary reprieve, one that could buy him more time. He needs to get whatever’s on that ship. There is only one small problem.

The group’s more or less disbanded, his recent decline precipitating the final unraveling of the project. Despite all his ego, he never would have actually believed himself to be the glue holding the whole thing together. And yet…

So no, he does not have the resources he once commanded. But there are still a handful of players, if he’s desperate enough to call them up off the bench. And he may well be desperate enough.

“Greta--” His voice is a half-wheeze, half-croak. “I need… for you to get Marita… Covarubias on the phone for me.”

***

Mulder

“There is so much more you need to do with your life. There’s so much more than this. There has to be an end, Scully.”

It’s all too much.

He didn’t expect it to hit him this hard, coming back to Oregon where everything began for them. He certainly didn’t anticipate the bizarre combination of nostalgia and regret that’s been whirling in his chest ever since they got here. Despite everything that’s happened to them in the last seven years, all of the trauma they’ve both endured in their pursuit of the truth, so little has actually changed. It’s like running a marathon on a treadmill -- at the end of it, you’re still in the exact same place you started.

If they’ve been running in place this whole time, is there even a point to any of it?

Worst of all is that he’s held Scully in stasis with him. It would be one thing if he were the only one with nothing to show for all those years spent tilting at windmills, but she didn’t ask for this. She may have chosen to stay with him, but that's not the same thing.

It's impossible to ignore how much has changed for Billy Miles and Teresa Nemman (now Hoese). They've grown up. In some ways, they've grown up even more than he and Scully have. Would Scully be married, perhaps also a mother, his life hadn't derailed hers so thoroughly?

She shivers again, and he reflexively tightens his arm around her, pressing his lips against her temple. If nothing else, this trip has certainly been a wake-up call; he’s been selfish, in a lot of ways, about a lot of things. Not just about the work, but with all of the avoidance around his health and the secrets he’s kept from her. He’s been so damned afraid of admitting the truth to her, to himself, but at what cost? If, god forbid, nothing works and this brain thing takes him out, what sort of fucked-up career and life trajectory will he have left her on?

No, when they get back to Washington, he is going to have to come clean about everything, all of it. And if by some miracle she forgives him, they will have to make some hard decisions about where they go from here.

“Let’s not decide anything right now,” she whispers, and for one heart-stopping moment he wonders if he’s been accidentally thinking out loud. But no, she’s only responding to the last thing he said. “Maybe we’ll find something here that will… that will convince the FBI of the value of our work. Convince them to let us keep going. Maybe this doesn’t have to be an end but a new beginning.”

Our work. She said “our work,” not “your work.”

But it’s not just about the monetary expense or even the validity of the work. Not anymore. It’s taken him way too long to realize it, but he knows he’s right. Still, the last thing he wants to do is upset her when she’s already feeling sick.

“You should get some rest. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

***

Skinner

He stares after the lights, still struggling to believe what he just saw. It can’t be…

“Mulder!” he tries again, somehow knowing it is futile.

This is bad. This is so much worse than he thought was possible. In spite of all Mulder’s worries, of Scully’s as well, he never imagined there was any real danger of losing anyone. They were supposed to come out here and find the thing, that was all. No one was supposed to disappear. Mulder wasn’t supposed to…

His brain finally catches up to the situation, and he pulls his phone from his pocket, punching the speed dial and trying to keep calm.

“Who the hell is this, and how did you get this number?”

“Frohike, it’s Walter Skinner. Agent Mulder gave me your number in case… Listen, I need your help. Something’s happened, I… I don’t know how to explain--”

“Hold on, what are you saying? Is Mulder all right?”

“He’s gone,” Skinner spits out, forcing himself to breathe through the dread and sudden nausea. “He was right here, and then… and then he wasn’t. And then I saw something, some sort of craft, materialize out of thin air before it… before it flew away.”

There is a gap of silence over the line that’s long enough for Skinner to wonder if the call’s been disconnected. He’s about to pull the phone away from his ear to check when Frohike speaks again.

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Why in the hell would I joke about this?! Mulder’s gone, and by all appearances, he’s on some sort of alien ship, and we need to track it now so I can find him! I need you guys to get updated imagery so you can tell me which direction to go.”

“Well that’s going to be a little difficult at the moment.” Frohike’s voice is suddenly tight and quiet. “Scully’s had a… she’s had some sort of episode. We’re at the hospital right now.”

Skinner’s stomach drops out through his feet. No. Not both of them at once.

“What happened, is she okay?”

“I don’t know, man. She just got woozy and passed out. She asked us to take her to the hospital, just to be on the safe side. I don’t know any more than that. She’s in with the doctor now.”

His eyes are drawn upward, to the point in the sky where he last saw the lights. (The craft.) With every passing moment, Mulder is getting farther away, and even if the Gunmen could gain access to new satellite imagery, the damned ship was hard enough to find the first time around, when it was sitting still. Now that it’s a moving target… It was stupid to think he had any hope of being able to follow it. They’re going to have to regroup and come up with a different plan.

“All right. Let me know if anything changes.”

“But what about--?”

“Just make sure she’s okay.”

***

Frohike

“What was that about?”

Byers and Langly pin him with matching, worried expressions as soon as he puts the phone away and turns back around. He lets out a slow breath and shakes his head.

“It’s bad, guys.” He comes closer, dropping his voice to a whisper. “That was AD Skinner on the phone.”

“Has something happened to Mulder?” Byers asks.

Frohike shushes him. “Keep your voice down, man.” They’re standing in the hallway outside the room where Scully’s being evaluated. There is no way he wants her to just overhear this; she’ll need to be told gently.

He swallows. “Skinner says Mulder was taken.”

“You don’t mean…” Langly’s eyes are wide, and Frohike nods.

“Apparently they found what they were looking for. Only when they did, it took Mulder and flew away.”

“Holy shit--”

“Oh my God--”

“Shh!” Frohike’s eyes dart toward the closed door. He motions for them to follow him a bit down the hallway, still within sight of the room but out of earshot. “Look, I don’t know how in the hell we are gonna tell her, but we need to be able to say we’re doing everything we can to find him.”

“I’ll get on the phone to my contact at JPL, see if he can help get us something more to go on,” Langly offers.

“You two should both go, get back to the office,” Byers says. “Pull imagery down off every satellite you can access. If Assistant Director Skinner saw the ship fly away, there’s a good chance it won’t be invisible to satellites anymore, either.”

Frohike wants to argue. He wants to be the one to stay, to break the news to Scully, holding her hand and promising her he will move heaven and Earth to bring Mulder back. But if he truly means that, then he also knows that he can’t stay; Byers is great at a lot of things, but when it comes to hacking, Frohike and Langly are the true kung fu masters.

“You’re right,” he says, resigned but also determined. They are going to find him. “I’ll call you as soon as we know anything.”

Byers nods. “Okay. I’ll do the same. Good luck.”

***

Scully

The world seems to tilt sideways for a moment, and she struggles to wrap her brain around what she's just been told.

“No, that's… that's not possible. There has to be some mistake. That can't be right.”

A lab error. A contamination, or a miscalibration maybe. Or someone else's sample was mislabeled. There has got to be some other explanation for these results. It’s just not possible that she’s actually…

“I had them run the test three times. There’s no mistake.” Doctor Baker is smiling; she knows just as well as Scully does how impossible this should be. “We’ll do a transvaginal ultrasound to confirm, but your HcG levels suggest you’re between three and five weeks along.”

“Oh my God…” She’s been bracing herself for news of a cancer recurrence, trying to prepare for the worst. She can’t even begin to know how to process this.

Mulder.

She should wait until after the ultrasound, after they know for sure -- it still could just be some sort of strange hormonal anomaly -- but in this moment she is nearly overwhelmed by the sudden desire to call him.

“I know it’s a lot to process, but we’ll just take it one step at a time. Okay, Dana?” Doctor Baker makes a note in her chart and hangs it back on the end of her bed. “I’m going to let the ultrasound tech know we’re ready for her, and I’ll be back in a few minutes. All right?”

Scully nods. “Would you, um, would you mind handing me my cell phone?”

As soon as the doctor leaves, she takes a shaky breath and hits the speed-dial number for Mulder’s phone. She still has no idea what she’s going to tell him, or what he’s going to make of all this. Even as she has to blink away tears, she can’t seem to stop smiling.

“The cellular customer you are trying to reach is not available. Please hang up, and try again later.”

“Damn.” He and Skinner must be in the woods already and out of range. It won’t even let her leave a voicemail. She tries to tell herself it’s for the best, that now she’ll be able to get more information before she talks to him, but disappointment is heavy in her stomach.

There’s a soft knock on the door, and she looks up, expecting to see Doctor Baker. She blinks in surprise when it’s Byers’s face peeking into the room instead, and she quickly wipes her eyes.

“Agent Scully? The doctor said I could come in and talk to you, as long as it’s okay with you.”

She nods, not quite trusting herself to speak yet, and he comes all the way into the room, closing the door behind himself. He’s looking at her with such apprehension, undoubtedly mistaking her watery eyes for bad news, and she tries to reassure him with a smile. It really was nice of the guys to stay and wait for her, but there’s a good chance she’s going to be here for at least another day of observation and bed rest. There’s no reason they have to stay, too. Besides, by this time tomorrow, Mulder and Skinner should be back, so she’ll be able to get a ride home with Mulder.

They are going to have so much to talk about. If he and Skinner really do find something in those woods, that may change his mind about wanting to quit, to transition away from the X-Files and figure out what they want to do instead. Initially, she balked at the idea of walking away from their work, but now she doesn’t know what to think. Doctor Baker’s news has changed everything. Maybe this is finally a chance for them to live a normal life…

Realizing Byers is still just standing there looking uncomfortable, she swallows. “Everything’s fine,” she tells him, glad that her voice only sounds a little rough. “The, uh, the doctor said the cancer hasn’t come back or anything. She’s going to run some more tests to try and figure out why I kept feeling faint, but so far it looks like there’s nothing to worry about.”

He nods, stiffly, and something immediately flips in her stomach. Why doesn’t he look relieved?

“I’m glad to hear that,” he says. He doesn’t look glad. He looks like he would rather be anywhere else in this moment.

“Byers? Is something wrong?”

Glancing back toward the door, he pulls a chair up beside her bed. “Do you mind if I sit down?”

Even as she shakes her head, the ECG gives away the panic that has started to take hold of her. Something is definitely wrong. Something has happened to Mulder. Oh God, oh God, oh God…

“We, ah, we just received a call from Assistant Director Skinner.”

She remembers in a rush the realization that lead to the fainting spell that brought her here. Mulder thought it was me that was in danger of being taken, but he had it all wrong.

“Oh my God. They took him, didn’t they? They took Mul--” She chokes on his name, swallowing back a sob.

“Agent Scully, listen to me. We will find him. Langly and Frohike are already on their way to get updated satellite imagery, so we can tell Skinner where to start looking.” He looks like he’s trying not to cry, too. “You have my word. We are going to do everything we can to help bring him home.”

This is not happening. Please, God, no, not this. Not now. Not Mulder.

“I… um… I can’t…” She brings a hand to her mouth and squeezes her eyes shut, trying desperately to breathe slowly through her nose and keep from breaking down completely.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you before we knew more, but I thought…”

Another knock on the door interrupts him and signals the return of Doctor Baker. Scully opens her eyes to see Byers looking at her, his face ashen and eyes wide. Out of instinct, she reaches toward his hand, whether to reassure him or herself, she’s not sure. She squeezes, probably a little too hard, and he gives her hand a startled squeeze back.

“You did the right thing,” she chokes out. “I’m counting on you guys. Find him.”

Doctor Baker holds the door open while a young woman in scrubs pushes a cart full of ultrasound equipment into the room. “Hi, Dana, we’re back. This is Margaret. She’s going to be… Dana? Is everything all right?”

Scully hastily pulls her hand back and wipes her eyes again, forcing herself to pull it together. She barely hears the quiet gasp from beside her, and when she looks back over at Byers, it’s clear he recognizes what’s on the cart. Ultrasonography has many diagnostic purposes, of course, but by the look on his face, he is drawing the correct conclusion as to why it’s being used here. She catches his gaze and shakes her head fractionally, mentally pleading with him not to say anything. Swallowing hard, he gives the barest nod in return, then quickly stands.

“I’ll, ah, I’ll just be outside. I’ll let you know if there’s any news.”

“Thank you, Byers,” she says quietly, before turning to Doctor Baker and forcing a smile.

[rposervices]

Turn Your Career Site into a Recruitment Engine

According to Talent Board’s 2018 Candidate Experience Research Report, 60% of candidates find that employer career sites are the most valuable channel when researching career opportunities. Employers agree. For the fifth year in a row, employers say that career sites are their number one channel for engaging candidates – with 77% citing them as critical for recruiting success. However, despite their importance, career sites continue to be a low priority.  In fact, Talent Board reports less than half of employers to state that they will prioritize career site development. The world’s leading authority in holistic child development sponsorships, Compassion International, states that their success hinges on their transparent, relevant career site. Sam Askew, senior manager of talent acquisition, explains, “Career sites are pivotal in our recruitment success because they are the first touchpoint we have with our candidates. It is vital that we communicate our story to our advocates and potential employees because we have a focused mission, and an important job to do. For us, we’ve found success in focusing our site on relevant content, honest communications, seamless experiences, and adaptive technology.” Together Sam and I believe the following are fundamental building blocks to the future of career sites: Drive candidates directly to your career site with Google and Facebook Your career site is the absolute best resource for candidates to obtain the information they need and to quickly complete and submit a job application. The problem is that before job seekers reach your career site, they’re taken on a detour through staffing agencies and third-party job boards filling out duplicative forms and profiles along the way. It tends to be a frustrating experience for candidates. Google for Jobs and Facebook’s Jobs Tool provides candidates with a streamlined way to find your job listings and be taken directly to your career site, bypassing the middlemen. This simplifies the candidate’s experience applying for a job, without giving up their personal data, while you get qualified candidates, faster. Now that the first full year of Google for Jobs results are in for iCIMS’ clients — January 2018 to January 2019 — the number of candidates that came directly to the career sites of our 4,000+ clients from Google for Jobs increased by 134%. And employers get more relevant applicants. In this same time, the number of completed applications from candidates who originated directly from Google increased by a whopping 350%. By establishing a direct and immediate link between your career site and Google, your job postings will be displayed right in the ubiquitous search window and tailored to the candidate’s specific interests, location, salary, responsibilities, experience, industry, etc. Engage candidates with compelling and relevant content Google revolutionized how companies market their products. To build consumer engagement, the best marketers publish short, visual, shareable and clickable content, ensuring their brand is distinct and memorable.  Great candidate recruitment works the same way. Employers’ career site content must be compelling, and speak directly to the candidate. Share authentic content about your purpose, diversity and inclusion, culture, training, social responsibility, and industry-specific conversations (think women in tech) on your career and social sites to inform your candidates and Google.  NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) career site features videos, photos and detailed profiles of recent and upcoming space missions that illustrate their purpose to attract “explorers and bold, pioneering spirits.”  Broadcasting content like this demonstrates your commitment to your candidates’ success. Compassion International uses “what’s next” videos to be transparent in the recruitment process. Candidates generally don’t know how the hiring process works, so Compassion International uses a series of ‘what’s next’ videos to guide candidates in the job search experience. These educational videos explain where to go, where to check-in, what to bring, and what they’ll see via virtual tours, which makes candidates comfortable. Compassion wants their candidates to envision their life circa six months from now when they are thriving in their new role. Create a consumer-like experience In a world where people stream live sports games, shows and movies on their phones, and where companies provide one-click purchases and same-day shipping, candidates expect the same convenience when applying for jobs. Career sites need to enable candidates to submit a resume through cloud upload, parse their resume – including the skills section – from their mobile phone, and receive an immediate follow-up email – just like when they get their order confirmation and shipment notification after they buy online. Make your site self-service and intuitive Go beyond a traditional keyword search so your candidates will find a greater variety of relevant job opportunities during their career site exploration. By applying the latest search technology, which is based on machine learning from Google, you will provide candidates with a more intuitive way to explore your career site.  Unlike traditional search which only returns a “what you type is what you get” result, the new search algorithms recognize abbreviations and acronyms, apply spelling forgiveness, broaden geo-location options and return results based on contextual connections. This exposes more relevant job postings and better interprets candidates’ interests and skills. What happens when candidates have a burning question for you after hours? Or they’re uncomfortable asking a recruiter directly? Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots fill this need by responding to frequent inquiries.  They also help candidates efficiently through the entire recruiting process including applying. Talent Board reports a 69% increase in employers using chatbots on career sites. Talent Board notes that winning employers understand that a competitive differentiator is communicating earlier with candidates, even before they apply. Use your career site to your advantage by building credibility as a leader in your field and provide potential hires with information that demonstrates your commitment to their success. For more information on delivering a stellar candidate experience, please read The Candidate Experience Report   Editor’s Note: This is the third in an exclusive series from iCIMS on how to enhance your candidate experience strategy. When iCIMS received the news from Talent Board that their candidate engagement hit the mark based on industry standards, they decided to team up with fellow award-winning customers to share key insights on how they’re getting the work done. The series will break down how to improve each aspect of the candidate experience, from practitioner to practitioner.   Read the full article

[anniemunchkins]

If platonic then why these songs?

They really said, "These scenes aren't gay enough. Let's add these sappy-ass love songs over them to gay it up an extra notch."