( december intro log )

[hownkai]

Who: Everyone
When: December 1st and on
Where: Throughout the Moira
What: Repercussions of Caducus Primary + New Arrivals + The Unknown
Warnings: None, but please label anything you do that needs a warning

SHIP LIFE

"In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are consequences."

The Ingress has pulled you in. Your body experiences several sensations at once: being pushed forward as if a hand is resting on your back, momentary and startling blindness, a gentle ringing in your head. You have difficulty discerning whether it is hot or cold, but where you have been prodded is noticeably warmer than the rest of you. Some may suffer from dizziness while others are perfectly fine. Once equilibrium has been reestablished, you will notice you are standing on a long platform and that the room is filled with a soft cerulean light. It's slightly humid and dark despite the glow around you, and various machines line the walls on either side, though they are not accessible from where you stand. Shortly after, you are led out and toward the medbay.

Inside this room, you are given a physical scan and sign a contract that states you are now part of the crew of the Moira with a specific job. This process consists of a complete work-up of medical history and current health, and afterwards, you are given your MID, a device that is integrated into your hand with only the slightest pinch. From there, you are guided out of the medbay and to your living quarters.

MERO DECK ● NOMO DECK ● MORO DECK

☄ Due to the circumstances of Caducus Primary, the captains appear abnormally absent. Unlike before, they will not be seen or heard from after processing the newest members of the crew. They can still be contacted via their MID devices for emergencies only, but otherwise, they have retreated to their rooms and clearly do not want disturbed. They are displeased with the events and will be less accommodating in regards to resources and rank privileges. In fact, they may feel less like a privilege and more like a punishment.





☄DRUM THRUM THUD

Reverberations of what has happened to Caducus Primary are still being felt despite having left the chaos behind. After the initial influx of new crew, there seems to be the occasional flicker of the power all throughout the Moira—like a pulse, a breath. Do the shadows move, or is it just a trick of the light? Several hours pass, and a message flashes across all MIDs. It is labeled urgent and comes directly from Thán; however, any responses will be automatically rejected.

Our ship has sustained minor outer damage, and the systems are fluctuating as they reboot themselves individually. Take care of darker areas, and travel with other crew if you need to leave your room.

Crew safety is severely stressed this month, especially after what's occurred, and anyone in need of medical attention is to report to the Medbay posthaste. Yet, the crew may soon realize it's not only the power that appears to be having issues as the days progress in their travels.

☄IN THE FRIDGE

From the 3rd on, things start to grow a bit chilly. With current power issues, a problem that even those in areas responsible for its function cannot seem to solve, there has been a steady decline of less vital life support systems. It soon grows cold enough that sections of the ship that house any sort of water systems may find them slowly freezing over, and even showers don't seem as warm as they should be. ( Those in Mero Deck may find their communal bathroom a rink. ) In the mess hall, late in the evening after all shifts are finished, several pipes rupture and create particles of ice (snow) and a solid slippery sheet across the entirety of the floor. Melting it may be a temporary solution, but as there is no way to keep the water in its liquid form, it might be inadvisable to try more than once.

Other areas of the ship are also open to exploration, though they may be affected by the power and temperature changes as well. Please advise the captains' warning.

( ooc; For questions, go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! )

Comments

December 2!

[seeingscarlet]

And amidst all of the black uniforms is a flash of red: Wanda's leather coat thrown over a modified version of the standard-issue outfit. But given the ominous job title, perhaps red is not the most comforting color she could wear.

She snaps her locket shut when the mess hall door slides open and tries to pretend she's interested in lunch. Unfortunately, her appetite's been a bit off since the incident, so it's much easier to actually be interested in the new person. "The potatoes are not bad," she offers. "Not today, anyway."

:D!

[hellsbel]

The room is bustling already, though Bel had allowed plenty of time to reach the mess hall before the afternoon shift was due to begin. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday... at least the days of the week had regular names. There'd been no making head or tail of the ranking system.

Pausing by the woman's seat, Bel smiles gratefully. "But steer clear of the casserole?" Perching one foot on the next chair over, Bel leans there to catch their breath. "Thanks, I'll try them out."

The coat must be one of her own possessions from home; nobody else seemed to have one like it. Her face, turning up toward theirs, is drawn and sad, marked with the dull horror evident on too many faces around them. But after the last thirty-odd hours, the friendly, mundane remark is a badly needed breath of normality.

"I'm Captain Thorne of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries. Broken down to--" a glance at the Moira uniform -- "trainee, I suppose, while we're here. Since when do trainees get put in charge of ship's security?"

[seeingscarlet]

Wanda shrugs. "How lucky do you feel?" It's not actually that terrible, but banter comes easily enough despite the emotional exhaustion that's settled in her bones. Whatever progress she'd made in recovering from the destruction of Novi Grad had suffered a severe setback.

"Wanda Maximoff of the Avengers." Not as glamorous, but it's certainly less threatening than her actual job title here. "I don't know if you heard what happened, but...it is good to have help from someone who knows what they are doing."

[hellsbel]

"Not that lucky." Bel smirks. It's a good sign, that she can toss the banter right back. I've seen worse after some combat drops, even in hardened mercs with hundreds of training hours....

"'Avengers'? There's a story behind that, I can tell. But you must be the other Intimidation Tech!" The sharp face lights up. "I have to take this shift, if there's anyone to report to in there -- is it cleanup or serving, or a pleasant mix of both? -- But where will you be in... whenever the afternoon shift's done?"

A rush of feet and the room really begins to fill up. Bel stands straight again, tugging futilely at the hem of the uniform jacket. "I did hear what happened. I found a friend here who was..." A muscle jumps along Bel's jaw. "Involved."

An understatement, from what the Vor had told them yesterday, in those eerie soft Barrayaran accents.

"It's bound to leave a mark." No shame in that; and she certainly wasn't alone. "If there's anything I can do... I would like to hear... whatever you'd want to tell me."


[[They can cut to after the shift? :) ]]

[seeingscarlet]

That gets a laugh from her and for half a heartbeat things are okay. "It is not so bad. I've never had to actually do anything." Matt had talked about crimes at home and what to do about them before he had disappeared, but in some ways Wanda was content to let that slide. Anything that would keep Bruce from finding out what she had done - was going to do? - to him.

"They will tell you what you need to do. It could be either or both." She doesn't want to keep them and get them in trouble on their first day, not when the captains are in such a foul mood. Story time will have to wait, and it's not really a conversation she wants to have in such a public space. "I will wait on the observation deck. We can talk after this."

[[aaaaaand cut?]]

:D!

[hellsbel]

A proper laugh -- good. Bel grins back, wanting to pat her on the cheek but remembering in time that many galactics don't parse casual touch the way Beta Colony does.

"That's promising, at least. All right, Wanda. See you then!"

___

The shift was long, but not difficult. Mess duty, laundry, cleaning, maintenance -- they were all vital functions to any group living in close quarters. Bel finished the job without complaint, and jogged easily up to the observation deck.

The first glimpse of that vast expanse of dark space took Bel's breath away. Few ships traveled with such wide areas open to the void, even under the protection of force fields. Stars, distant as pinpricks and laced with faint ribbons of dust, glittered through the shielding.

Another plus -- the dim lighting, all the better to see the starscape, made it easy to pick out the red coat some distance away.

"Wanda?"

[seeingscarlet]

It's quiet on the observation deck in every sense of the word. Wanda used to come here when she needed to get away from the mental chatter of the rest of the ship and despite the bad memories now associated with this place, it still fulfills her need for peace.

She's deliberately sitting on the opposite side of the deck she'd watched C-Primary implode from, back pressed against one of the cold metal columns. Is it the memories getting to her or is it actually slightly chillier here than normal? She pulls her coat tighter around herself and looks up to see Bel. Good timing - the quiet is good but sometimes it gets a bit eerie up here.

"Good, you didn't get lost." Wanda scoots over to make room against the column. The deck could really do with some proper seating. Maybe a few cushions. "They did not overwork you, I hope?"

[hellsbel]

"I did," Bel grins. "Had to ask someone for directions. I almost ended up in the engine room." At least the practice meant there'd be no directions needed tomorrow. Sauntering over, glancing up again once or twice -- the vast transparency leaves an impression; one could almost imagine the cold leaking in -- Bel drops easily into place beside her.

Zipping the uniform jacket halfway down had allowed more freedom of movement, but the thermal top was still too tight, and sometimes one didn't want to deal with strangers being distracted by one's anatomy. Bel resolved to take a leaf from Wanda's book and wear their Dendarii uniform tunic over the Moira top tomorrow.

"It was all right." Shrugging, Bel leaned back against the column. "I haven't done mess duty in almost ten years. Takes you right back." A glance at Wanda's uniform, whatever was visible under the coat. "How long have you been here? They listed off a series of ranks, but it made no sense to me."

[seeingscarlet]

There weren't many useful identification marks visible - Wanda hated the uniform and would wear as little of it as she could get away with. The shirt was grey to represent her area of work, but that was all the help anyone was getting. It's a subtle rebellion, an unspoken reminder that while she may lend her powers, they are not at the captains' beck and call. If she's going to use them for darker ends, that's her choice alone.

"It will get easier. Though I still think everything looks the same, even two months later." It's mostly muscle memory at this point. She shrugs. "The ranks here are more like a currency with the captains. It doesn't really mean anything to the rest of us. There will always be mess hall shifts."

Which is fine if everyone continues pitching in equally. No buying your way out of work here, at least. "It is very different from your ship, yes?"

[hellsbel]

"A currency." Bel's head thunked back against the column, eyes closing in frustration. "That's not how it works in any other deep-space crew I've ever heard of." A bitter note touched the habitually ironic voice. "Slavers and prison ships, yes."

To Bel, who had served in space for twenty-three years, the mishandling of a ship and its crew were a soul-deep betrayal. Survival situations came with their own grim necessities, but made training, organization, and clarity of function all the more vital. This was a nightmare.

It was tempting to tell Wanda all about the Ariel, but this ship had to come first. "How has morale been?" An important temperature gauge for a security department. "I've heard we went through a... disaster, recently." The unspoken question came through in a concerned glance at Wanda: how are you holding up?

[seeingscarlet]

Not well, if Wanda's body language was any indication. She shifted to sit half curled up with her knees to her chest and looked away. "The planet we visited...this ship had been there before and stolen from them. They found out and told us to go, but the captains didn't listen."

They are hard to read, but Wanda was sure that they must have known about it at the very least if the stolen goods were still on board. And if they'd declined to at least warn the crew there might be trouble, what else are they hiding in those locked rooms?

"So the people of Caducus Primary tried to make us leave. And not kindly if they woke the Hulk." She turned to Bel and it was obvious that this 'Hulk' frightened her. "He is nothing but rage and strength if violence wakes him. A planet made of glass never had a chance." Wanda stopped, took a breath, and looked away again. Objectively she knew it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help but replay the event and wonder if there was anything better she could have done.

"There is no Caducus Primary anymore. The captains are punishing us with extra cleaning. If nothing changes, sooner or later someone will snap."