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[mightbeconcussed]

[The video clicks on to show Lucy bundled up in blankets on her couch. She gives the camera a wan smile.]

So why do you think they send us home? Is it because they think we need a break, or do they lose control or...is it to punish the people here that we leave behind?

Obviously those aren't the only options. I'm just...spitballing here. I guess.

[She clicks the camera off.]

Comments

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[affectioning]

[ Scott for his part is laying on a couch with a blanket over him. In the corner of the video sits his mother in a chair a few feet away. Don't mind her. She's reading. ]

But, if they're gone now, who sends us home? [ A quizzical look, as quizzical as Scott McCall can look. ] Did you go home?

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[mightbeconcussed]

[Lucy shrugs at his first question] Don't know. Someone or something has to be sending us home though.

[ then nods. ]

Yeah and one of my--he used to be my boyfriend is gone now.

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[affectioning]

I'm sorry. [ Scott, not everything is your fault. In fact, almost nothing is. ] Do you think you deserved to be punished?

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[mightbeconcussed]

Unless you're responsible for sending me or any of my friends home, then no need to apologize. If you are, then let me make you some creepy powdered donuts and insist you eat them.

[She purses her lips and shrugs.] I don't think we're supposed to be happy here.

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[mortemscintilla]

Miss Lucy! [ Li beams cheerfully into the screen before he catches her mood and kicks the exuberance down a notch. ] Um... welcome back?

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[mightbeconcussed]

[Li gets a smile regardless. It's just not quite as bright as it could be. ]

Thank you. How are you, Li?

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[mortemscintilla]

[ Don't look so sad, Lucy. He'll fall over himself doing something stupid to cheer you up 8( ]

All right. [ ... ] Which is to say I'm not cursed yet.

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[mortemscintilla]

[ There's a tentative pause, before he ventures, ]

...I-Is something wrong? You seem upset.

[ As if he doesn't keep careful track of the Hall Of The Missing. ]

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[mightbeconcussed]

[ Aww Li, she's touched. Really and she appreciates it as well.]

Pavel is gone.

[She wouldn't have known except she looked for him when she first arrived.]

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[chakotay]

[ civilian clothes or not, he knows he'll get questions eventually just based on the tattoo. still, he's trying to blend in as best he can. during a routine perusal of the network, he comes across this particular transmission and pauses. it's an interesting topic to be sure, one he's curious about, and so he decides to go for a question she might be able to answer rather than speculation she's going for.

of course, answering a question with a question is cheating, but who's keeping count? ]

Is that the only way people go home, being sent back?

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[mightbeconcussed]

I think so. If you die here, you stay here. I mean some people have disappeared and never came back so you could argue they found a way home. I don't know.

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[chakotay]

Maybe it's a matter of these people being "lucky" or "unlucky" enough to have been sent back. Or maybe no one's in control and it's all arbitrary. I'm not sure which is the better option or if there even is one.

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[mightbeconcussed]

[Lucy wrinkles her nose at that. ] Nope. Not accepting that because then there's no one to blame.

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[fastest_dude_ever]

It's probably 'cause they're sadistic boneheads that need to be taken down a peg.

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[mightbeconcussed]

You won't get an argument from me over that one.

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[fastest_dude_ever]

Do people who go home always come back?

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[mightbeconcussed]

No way. I wish they did.

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[skintoskin]

LUCY!

[If Neil could jump through the device to hug her, he would. That's how excited he is to see the familiar face of his boss/friend.]

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[mightbeconcussed]

[The smile that curves her lips the moment she sees Neil is sincere.]

Neil! You're still here.

[She would accept that hug gratefully.]

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[skintoskin]

[And she's happy to see him, too. That is so cool.]

Yep! Can't get rid of me that easily. Are you okay? Where are you?

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[mightbeconcussed]

I'm okay. This last visit home was a lot less traumatic. I'm at my flat. You can come by if you want.

And I'm really, really glad that I can't get rid of you that easily.

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[directives]

[ they. they would suggest that there is a conscious force or entity behind this anomaly, that someone is governing it, controlling it and using it to bring people in selectively with deliberate intent instead of the seemingly random scenario they would otherwise have you believe. janeway is open to both options, neither accepting of them nor ruling either of them out. either way, this woman's question is a good one in spite of being at a loss for a proper answer to give her. ]

I like to think it's something a lot less malicious than the need to punish people. [ though she wouldn't be surprised if it were. ]

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[mightbeconcussed]

You're new here, aren't you?

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[directives]

New is a matter of perspective, but I suppose you could say that. I'm not new when it comes to dealing with anomalies like the one present here.

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[mightbeconcussed]

I've been here three years, coming up on four. The deities like to screw with us. It's fun for them.