"Seems to me that whatever sort of operation this is, they've expanded over the years. Those other places are still up and running." Yuri's a layman where universes are concerned. What the stars even really are isn't common knowledge in his world, and all of this goes beyond that by orders of magnitude. "The trouble with comparing notes with the neighbors is they might just decide fresh meat's an easy target, yeah?"

It's difficult to ply any other cities for information when they have to be careful not to tip their hand. Vulnerability is dangerous.

"I certainly don't." Yuri admits it readily, airily, because it'd be abundantly clear to anyone with that knowledge that he lacks it. "But the premise here's one hell of a motivation to learn, whether it's true or not."

So many people, so many worlds exist beyond the small scope of his own.

"Funny thing about that." Yuri pauses for dramatic effect, shifting his egg to one arm so he can point a finger at the sky. "I was among a few poor saps who popped up in some vessel that traverses a sea of stars. There was, of course, something terribly wrong with it, including an endless parade of murderous mad jesters."

It sounds like the most terrible jest, and he delivers it with full flippancy, but it's all true. "Imagine my surprise waking to that."

It was terrible and Yuri could go off about it, but he'll behave himself. At least Dimitri had survived his misguided crusade against those cursed lunatics. Sure his heart was in the right-ish place (right-adjacent), but the damned jesters never stopped.

"Well, we ended up flung to that Moorecroft place and had to blend in. As for the vessel, it crashed." He thinks. It's still hard to believe that massive structure looked like it had. What remained, anyhow. "We've got not one damn thing like it back home."

"I can safely say we don't have some lunatic clown legion back home." Yuri finds himself grateful for it now, having never conceived of such a thing before. How many worlds are plagued by that special brand of madness?

Kirk being his first Batman, Yuri has no idea...

"Fortunately not," Yuri replies, and he does consider that much a mercy. If it was an endless parade of insanity, the lot of them would be in serious trouble. "Of course, once it happens the once, nothing's to say we won't get a repeat performance."

"Fair point, they might favor variety." Yuri can easily concede that. He's only had a couple of missions under his belt, and beyond that he can only refer to others' network commentary. "One thing though: that blighted business seemed unanticipated by our keepers here."

Yuri flaps a gloved hand in the open air. "Don't know the proper name for whatever it was we dealt with a couple months back. Others surely do, but it seemed like a blight to me."

"Referring to that business I mentioned before, with people being influenced and the like." Yuri's quick to clarify, not having intended to suggest that particular brand of madness had occurred twice.

He doesn't quite know what that business with the stuffed animals was, though. It came before his time and is hard to conceptualize. Evil stuffies, imagine.

It's a good question. Yuri considers it with a low, thoughtful hum as he shifts the egg bundle closer against him. Eggs need warmth, after all. "In my time here, missions come near monthly. Oddities come with it, though not all of them dangerous."

"It does strike me as something of a loose schedule," Yuri agrees easily, considering that while it may not be rigid, he has the distinct impression of a routine. "What they ask of us is less predictable so far, but the general timing's there."

"Now that one I'd call much more regular. From what I've observed, it's routinely once a month," Yuri replies before fumbling to procure a little well-worn leatherbound notebook from somewhere in his fitted attire. This is followed by more fumbling to reach the right page (Kirk needn't know he writes down the name of every person he feels he's failed to save) before awkwardly maneuvering the notebook to show Kirk the arrival dates he's recorded in his tenure. "Been keeping track here."