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the glass menagerie
"I want the world to be fragile. There is no place to hide a dark heart."
After the missive from the people aboard the vessel carrying those from Caducus Secondary, the Moira is alive with preparations for defending the ship. No matter how big or small, each individual is entrusted with the responsibility of protecting themselves and their fellow crew members at all costs. With the Captains having divided them into teams to devise appropriate Plans of Action, they have decided to merge all the ideas into a singular strategy and have relayed it to the entirety of the crew via the MID. Everyone has been given a vital part to play, and although the Captains realize that some aboard are passive, now isn’t the time to be idle. Now is the time for action.
☄ Step 1: Negotiate & Infiltrate
With this part of the plan enacted, a small number of those who have volunteered to attempt negotiations have been heard by the Caducans and have been temporarily “invited” to board their vessel. However, due to this highly stressful situation, a portion of the offensive team have been asked to accompany them in order to disable as much of the opposing ship and its crew to force them to evacuate onto the Moira. Regardless of time and what reparations are offered, negotiations ultimately fail. The Caducans want the debt of their planet to be paid by the people of the Moira with their very lives. While boarded with the Caducans, they will attempt to incapacitate the negotiation party through violent means, and it will be the responsibility of this particular team to attempt disengage the Caducans’ ship to prevent it from attacking the Moira. However, despite all efforts to sabotage their systems, the ship itself shuts its primary units into Lockdown Mode.
All Moirans are forced to make a decision: stay and be shut inside an unfamiliar ship with the remaining Caducans who are still out for blood or make an attempt to flee to the emergency escape units on that ship with the other Caducans who have used them to head straight for the Moira. Meanwhile, back on the Moira, the crew must work to secure the ship against the incoming assault by the Caducans after having left their ship via emergency escape units. This means that some of the defense team will have disabled the gunnery to make it look as if the Moira is defenseless and secure the rest of the area with those on the offense team. There is no place for mercy; the Caducans will board the ship through the Cargo Bay. They are not interested in granting it to the crew after all the losses they suffered at Caducus Primary. The only choice will be to fight for their lives (kill or be killed) or find a way to lure the Caducans into the Ingress room to send them to some unknown place where they will no longer be a threat. The Captains have given all members of the crew leave to use whatever means necessary to protect both themselves and the ship’s systems from the invaders. Failure is not an option.☄ Step 3: ???? & Step 4: Profit
In the aftermath of the fight, the Moira is in a state of devastation. Bodies of the Caducans as well as some of the Moira’s own crew can be found in the hallways. Those who were stuck aboard the Caducan ship have either been rescued or rescue attempts are underway. This is the time to recover, to calculate what has been lost and come together as the crew the Captains have wanted since the Ingress had brought them aboard. Any and all Medbay personnel will be at the crew’s disposal, though the Captains will be focusing their attention on the Ingress room and what has become of it after having thrown so many people inside it.
The Ingress technology is broken. Various events on planets and on the ship have shown that fixing it is near impossible, and that it is entirely unpredictable in nature. The Moira’s Ingress had recently turned off, sending the ship into a slight freefall before it restored and righted itself. Hours after sending the remaining Caducan crew members through the Ingress, the swirling blue light goes still and emits a pulse that ripples out in waves as far out around the ship as a few miles. For one lingering breath, it’s impossible to move, a near blinding light surrounding every crew member. The rush of wind is the only sound that can be heard. Moments later, every Moiran, even those that were on the Caducan ship, are now in the same place. The Ingress has malfunctioned, causing time and space to overlap—the two ships have twisted together into something unseemly and new. ☄ Shattered & Swept Aside
Parts of the Moira have ceased to exist. Areas of the ship have become crystalline and transparent. There are rooms that were never there before. The Mess Hall is gone, replaced by a single empty room devoid of all furniture. The tree at the center of the garden is still there exactly as it was except it is now made of glass. The floors are a jarred mess of glass and steel, and there is broken glass littering the ship. The air filtration systems are going into overdrive to clear out the miniscule particles floating everywhere. So, sometimes, too deep a breath may end with inhaling shards of glass. The clothing you’re wearing might have turned to glass, doors are sealed shut, and it’s hard to discern where the Moira starts and the Caducan ship ends.
Everyone has only one job: be careful of the glass. ☄ We Break Fast, We Are Glass
The crystalline glass that is woven into the ship is now possibly a part of the crew. The transition from skin to glass might be painful or feel as if it’s always been that way. Hair has turned to glass, and arms, eyes, patches of skin or entire bodies are now transparent and reflect light. Joints may be stiff, or flex and move as good as they did before. If a crystalline hand is smashed against a wall it might break, or dent steel. For those who need medical attention, all staff have been summoned to the Medbay once more to help their fellow crew. Prosthetics and coverings will be made and offered to ensure that the glass doesn’t get broken or to prevent further breakage. Crew may assist each other in finding a way to remove the glass, or leave it as it is until a permanent solution can be found.
( ooc; When it comes to barracks, each player can decide if their room has ceased to exist for the event or not. Characters that have roommates need to decide together what they’d prefer. The amount of glass that a character has turned to is up to the player, as well as if it is painful or uncomfortable in any way. For questions, please go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! ) ( Other helpful links: Original Negotiation Plan | Defense Plan | Offense Plan ) |
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hownkai) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thisavrou_log2016-07-02 12:22 am
wounded
Eventually... and it does take some effort... he finds her slumped against a wall, weeping.]
Clara.
[It's soft, but not questioning -- mostly, he doesn't want to startle her.
The glass hasn't been completely kind to him, but it could have been worse. One of his forearms... the one without the nanite tattoo... is hard and heavy, a cloudy, blue-grey glass, covered with a soft padded sleeve more to keep him from hurting himself than to keep it from breaking. One of his eyes is glass, and part of his forehead above it, mostly hidden under his hair. He can still see out of the eye -- that doesn't seem like it should be feasible.
None of this hurts, except for slight itching near his elbow and wrist where the glass transitions to skin, and breathing, sometimes, and the coughing, which comes and goes. If someone looks closely, there are hints that his skin is already trying to grow over the glass, which seems to be atypical for people who have been affected this way.]
no subject
[She starts to cough in the middle of saying his name, and the effort of doing it through her crying makes her wince as his name dies off on her tongue. She tries to make it act intentional, like it's a nickname, and forces a slight smile as she looks up at him to take in his condition.
He's alive, which is good, enough for her to feel relief even through her overwhelming sadness. But where she has a glass scar across her face, itching and burning, his seems to be much worse. She focuses in on his glass eye for a moment before looking down and away, reaching up to wipe at her eyes.]
Are you alright?
[It's more important for her to establish that he's not in any pain, and then try to deflect from the fact that she's sitting alone and crying.]
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Yes, it's fine.
[His arm is heavier than he's used to, and lately, his shoulders have ached a little. The whole thing has thrown off his center of gravity and his already-sometimes-questionable posture.]
I've seen worse.
[His head tilts, and he comes closer and examines her.]
But you're not.
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[She's quick to be defensive, even while she's still crying.]
I'm fine. Just a bit knackered, that's all. I can't find my room with everything going on, so I thought I'd rest here.
[It's a weak lie and she knows it, but she still feels the need to say it anyway. Ryuuzaki is someone that she doesn't want to think she's weak, although she's certain he likely thinks it after the failed negotiations and the fact that she managed to get herself injured in the first place. So all she can do is hang her head and quietly cry, willing the tears to stop before he could see how pathetic she looks right now.]
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[He speaks even more gently, and after a moment, seems to come to a decision. Bending a little, he offers her a hand -- not the one attached to the glass arm.]
You're still crying. Come on... I'll help you up.
[When this kind of strain is in play, it really isn't a matter of weakness.]
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I don't know where to go.
[It's a soft admission, admitting how lost she feels in the moment.]
Are you sure you're alright? Your eye has changed.
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I'm fine. [And he'd probably insist that he was fine regardless, unless he needed immediate medical attention or it was useful to him to seem sick or hurt.] I can see, and I'm not in pain.
Come with me.
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Alright, but where are we going?
no subject
[He lets her squeeze his hand without anything more than a slight reassuring pressure in return -- nothing that will hurt.]
You should go to medical and get your hands cleaned up, but I thought you might want a cup of tea first.
[That is to say: the entire purpose of this foray was to check on Clara, and he wants a cup of tea. Now that he's seen her, though, he thinks she should drink something hot as well.]
Or coffee.
[But they're English; the idea of a cuppa has deep roots.]
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[She quickly corrects him, giving him a look that says she can't even believe he's suggested otherwise.]
I've had enough coffee the past week to last me a lifetime, thank you.
[She wants to protest that she doesn't need to visit medical, because there's people worse off who need attention more than she does. But she assumes that he could help her wash up and bandage her hands before tea, if nothing else. ]
If you could help me clean up, I wouldn't need to go to medical. There's other people who need their attention more than I do.
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Tea.
I'll help you clean up, but you should consider it a preliminary effort. There are also people who need medical attention less than you do.
[A pause, and then,]
Have you cut your fingers on any loose glass, or only...?
[He just leaves the implication hanging in the air.]
no subject
[She lifts her hand so she can take a look at the blood on her hand, finally taking it all in for the first time. It's unsettling, and makes her eyes widen in her shock.]
Some of it's likely from my coughing, though. There's glass in the air. I think we're all breathing it in.
[Which makes her even more concerned about him.]
You feel it too, don't you? The pain when you breathe?
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[He waits for the answer, seeming especially attentive.]
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[As strong as she is, and as tough as she makes herself out to seem, she's definitely not used to dealing with so much physical pain or mental anguish. So it's all blurred together to be one giant, overwhelming mess and she isn't sure how to deal with any of it.]
Do you think I'm going to die because of it?
[Because she's got a lot of things she wants to take care of before dying.]
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I think if you were going to die, you probably would have already.
The respiratory pain... I may have a slight advantage over some people. It's hard enough for me, I really can't imagine --
Listen, Clara, if you think you might die, then you certainly need medical attention as much as anyone... but I don't think an hour in either direction will make much of a difference.
no subject
[She hisses out the words, eyes narrowing slightly.]
I was asking if you thought I was going to, that's completely different. You're treating me so delicately, I wasn't sure what to think. You're the one with a glass eye, you must be closer to dying than I am.
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I'm not particularly close to dying either... probably further than you, I think. As I said, I have a slight advantage. I mentioned the nanites to you before. My lungs are getting irritated, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were microscopic perforations -- there's blood sometimes -- but it seems to come and go. Silicosis is still a long-term risk, however.
Do you want to be treated less delicately?
[It's not actually that common for him to make an effort to seem -- be -- kind and solicitous, particularly one that involves actually seeking someone out.]
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[She's only snappy because she's embarrassed and tired. So she heaves out a sigh and uses a bloody hand to rub at her face.]
I don't mind you taking care of me. God knows I need it. I just -
[She helplessly shrugs, not finding the words to explain to him why she's just snapped at him.]
Thank you. For finding me.
[Gratitude is probably something that goes a long way right now. So she places a quick kiss to his cheek before motioning for him to continue along.]
That's what I want to say. Forget I said anything else, would you?
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I... [(he inhales, exhales)]... you're welcome. [His demeanor brightens considerably before he continues,] It's forgotten.
[It's not, but he didn't take particular offense to begin with. If he hadn't found Clara in a corner crying, he wouldn't have drawn the conclusion that a delicate approach was called for.]
Does it really look that bad?
[He doesn't care how it looks, as long as the proverbial children aren't screaming and running from him.]
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Not that bad at all. It's hardly noticeable.
[A lie, and they both know it. The smile on her face says she's trying to tease, in order to make the mood lighter.]
I'm sure we'll find a way to fix it all soon. It's not like it can be permanent.
[The way she says it might sound flippant, but it's really an attempt to get his opinions on whether or not he thinks it's going to be permanent.]
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If it stays this way forever, he'll look into ways to cover at least that part of it, if only because it could draw unwanted attention. He can't cover his eyeball.]
I really hope it isn't permanent. Fixing it could be traumatic, however. If the merging of the two ships was this violent....
[He trails off, to allow her to finish the thought. At the same time, they've reached a bathroom, and he indicates that she should go inside.]
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It can't be permanent. Even if the captains are incompetent, there's people here who actually know what they're doing. They'll be able to fix the Ingress and get us all back to normal.
[There's a pause, and she glances off to the side, shrugging.]
As normal as any of us here can get, anyway.
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[He thinks of the unwelcome guest he'd had in his head, months earlier.]
I wonder if any of this has changed our DNA codes. It might only be superficial, or it might be as extensive as that.
[He steers her to a sink, turns the water on, flicks his fingertips under the stream to make sure it's not too hot. Practicalities. Then he moves to take one hand -- the bloodier one -- to ease it under the stream of water. His touch is very delicate.]
no subject
[The way she says it sounds like it must be fact, just because she believes it couldn't be. ]
The Ingress or whatever caused this likely doesn't have the power to do something like that. It must be superficial.
[She glances down at him putting her hand under the water, hissing slightly and flinching as it hits her hand. It's not too hot, but there's a slight sting where she's sliced open her hands attempting to tear the glass out of her skin.]
Things will change once the Ingress decides to malfunction again.
[Whether or not it will be a good change is yet to be seen.]
no subject
[When she flinches, he holds her hand a little more firmly, but not enough so to be uncomfortable, just enough to keep her from instinctively withdrawing it from under the faucet. His speech is still gentle, though.]
Just another minute now.
Things will change, but for the better or for worse, I can't say. I was hoping we'd be able to avoid this kind of thing. That they'd act so stupidly....
[A slow shake of his head, and he releases her hand and reaches for something to wrap it with.]
I've never had to kill anyone before.
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