( september intro log )

[hownkai]

Who: Everyone
When: September 1st and on
Where: The ship and on planet
What: Getting acclimated to ship life and exploring
Warnings: Please label any warnings you have on your threads

SHIP LIFE

"It is not the ship so much as skillful sailing that assures a prosperous voyage."

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 into the main hall with specific instructions not to leave.

☄MAIN HALL ( 09.01 to 09.03 )

After everyone is gathered together, you learn that these are your accommodations for the night. The captains explain that the Moira is not readily suited for such a large influx of people, and that this is only temporary. Placed around the room are a variety of blankets, sheets, and mats in lieu of beds, and crates of MREs have been provided along with H₂O hydration kits. Some time in the “morning hours”, all MIDs will receive a message designating rooming assignments and areas of the ship that are open to exploration.

GALLEY ● MESS HALL ● REC AREA

All remaining areas accessible to crew members are open later in the “evening hours”. Crew are also informed that the Moira is approximately two days from their current destination.

DESCENSION

"A force of nature unto itself."

From a distance, the planet’s reddish atmosphere slowly becomes more transparent the closer the Moira ventures, and mountain ranges, volcanic fields, valleys, ice caps, canyons, deserts, and impact craters are visible in stark detail. The remnants of a lone moon hangs in its outer orbit and impedes the ship’s ability to dock close to the planet’s surface. As the crew prepares to disembark, there are noticeable changes in gravity as well as some disturbances in energy output.

☄EXPLORATORY EXCURSION I ( 09.04 to 09.11 )

Due to unstable atmospheric conditions, crew members must utilize the transporters located in the Cargo Bay to descend to the surface. Each craft holds upwards of six passengers and is piloted remotely via Navigation. Once it lands, orders will be sent to MIDs detailing mission directives. These include: scouting surrounding areas for potential threats, determining if the mile-long road from the transporter to the nearest inhabited area is free of hazards, and assessing local friendliness.

Planetary Environment Details
● The air is breathable. However, there is a pleasant sweetness to it that generates an overall invigoration.
● Vegetation is sparse due to dry and windy weather patterns. It’s dusty, and the ground itself is rather gritty in texture.
● The initial temperature feels hot and causes the skin to prickle with sweat. Yet, the longer one is exposed to the elements, the less you are inclined to notice.
● There is an overall lack of civilization, and what populace there is remains centralized in one area. Crew members may stumble across the occasional explorer returning to their own ship; they are friendly and welcoming but also eager to leave.
● The sun does not seem to set. Even in the “later” hours of the day, it is still as bright as it had been at “noon”.

☄EXPLORATORY EXCURSION II ( 09.12 to 09.17 )

A thriving marketplace that was found during the initial search has been deemed an appropriate place for trade and much needed supplies. Crew members are encouraged to engage in local customs while continuing to maintain their current duties aboard the Moira, and they must assist in the delivery of goods to the transporter. They are more than welcome to explore this new area.

The Marketplace
● There is no monetary system in place; if there is an item you want, trade for it. (Locals will accept anything as payment.)
● Booths, shops, and tents line both sides of the pathways weaving throughout the area. Signs with written language are not recognizable; however, MIDs will translate any spoken languages so they are understood. Vendors are an eclectic mix of species, and not all of them are humanoid in form as they are from varying parts of the universe.
● The smells of foreign foods are everywhere. Yet, that familiar sweetness seems to occasionally overpower it. It is also loud as others bustle about their business.
● Natives are not unkind, but they are not as overly welcoming as strangers in the market are. They are quiet, reserved, and helpful to some extent. They are easily recognizable by the plain masks and hoods worn over their faces.
●Seedy areas are found in the depths of the market. Drug and sex trades are not uncommon but not openly displayed.

( OOC: For any and all questions, go here. Check THIS to see your tag. They have already been added to the comms, but you'll have to tag them onto a post before they show up in the list. )

Comments

Main Hall; 9.01

[captain_america]

Suddenly finding himself in an unfamiliar place isn’t necessarily a surprise. Steve figures that might be a side effect of crashing a place in the arctic in 1945 and waking up in a fake 1940’s hospital in New York City…in 2012. However one minute being in Avengers Tower and the next being on a strange platform having just experienced the worst case of vertigo was definitely not something he expected.

He’d eventually signed the contract, not that he felt he was really given a choice in the matter, and not before demanding answers. His only option it seemed was to work and try to make it back home, which he figured was the same boat everyone else scattered about the main hall was in. The thing that bothered him the most was the fact that his shield had apparently been lost in transit. It was a blow; the shield had at least been the one thing he still had that spanned time with him and now it was gone. He'd been assured that if it turned up it would be delivered to him, but Steve wasn't too optimistic it would. With no other option available to him he figured the only thing he could do was make the best of a bad situation and maybe he’d see a familiar face, which immediately made him feel guilty because he really shouldn’t wish for any of his friends to be here.

He would get used to it, he would make friends and he would do what he had to do to get home. Getting accustomed to a strange place with people he didn’t know was something he was familiar with at least. He’d done it before he could do it again.

[narcissistictendencies]

Tony really didn't expect to see anyone he knew. If anything, he'd expect to see Thor, as they had both been in the same place, generally, when they blew Sokovia. He didn't get to really see the outcome of that, actually. But his math was never wrong, so he was going to assume it went as planned and he didn't get crushed under debris and this was just one big morphine-induced hallucination. To be fair, he was still kind of banking on that hope. Not that this wasn't incredible, and he'd give close to anything for a chance like this, but he'd been in the middle of something. Disappearing after one of his biggest screw-ups? Okay, the biggest screw-up of the Stark name. Yeah, that probably wouldn't look very good.

So imagine his surprise turning around after picking up an MRE to see none other than Captain America looking... not very Captain America-like. It was jarring for a moment. He held out his MRE to Steve and turned to pick up another one.

"Rogers. That is you under all that gloom and doom, right? What's up buttercup? I haven't seen you looking this let down since the day you met me." Yeah, not everyone liked being in Tony's presence. He knew that. He also didn't care. But they had more of a mutual understanding now. Maybe even a mutual respect for eachother? Possibly? "Still feeling portal-lag? I'd say you get used to it, but no. You really don't." In other words, Hi Rogers, good to see you and by the way, you look like hell.

[captain_america]

The familiarity of Tony's voice and his face washed over Steve in something that felt like relief and he couldn't stop the smile that twitched at his lips. Tony was talking- Tony was always talking, but after a year of working and living together Steve realized with a start what a comfort that had become. Listening to Tony ramble on and trying to decipher what he was actually saying.

It was a relief that Tony was here. He may not have been Steve's first choice (sorry, Tony that honor went to Natasha), but he was definitely in the top 3 people who Steve would want if he was ever kidnapped and taken into space.

"Stark." And ok that was definitely the beginning of a smile there. "To be fair some of the gloom and doom from the day I met you had to do with Loki."

[narcissistictendencies]

He saw that tiny hint of a smile, you cheeky bastard. It only relaxed Tony that much more, as odd as it was. He wasn't the only fish out of water here, that was for sure, but it was comforting to know there was a familiar face to flop around and gasp for air with. Yes, that was still a fish pun, get your mind out of the gutter. He tipped his head slightly and feigned hurt, grabbing at his heart with his free hand.

"Ouch. And here I thought it was all me. Way to make a guy feel inadequately annoying. I should have tried harder." There's a smirk in there somewhere, he knows it and he will drag it out by its non-existent ears if he has to! "So, you're the man who's done just about everything about now. Slept for 70 years in a block of ice, saved the world, fought metaphorical ghosts, and now you're on a space ship. How does it feel, Brooklyn?"

[captain_america]

This was an easy routine to fall back into, not that he'd ever really fallen out of it, save for maybe the hour of being alone on a strange space ship. "Well now, if I admitted you were the only one who was annoying your ego would start to take up too much of this ship. We only have so much room in here." Was he looking for this smirk? The one that settled comfortably on Steve's lips.

Way to lay it all out like that Tony. Nice. Steve shook his head, from anyone else the question would have made him bristle, he'll, a year ago the comment coming from Tony would have raised all Steve's defenses, but not anymore. That had to be some kind of growth. "Well, I can't say I was ever prepared for space kidnapping. But I don't think I'm just that kid from Brooklyn anymore. Besides, I didn't do that world saving all by myself, Mr. 'I wouldn't lay down on the wire for anyone is just fly a nuke up through a portal to space'. You must be loving this- well besides the kidnapping part."

[narcissistictendencies]

"You've seen the ship's schematics? Please, do share. Because, oh, I dunno, I think the ship can handle it." There was his prize, right there. That smirk! "Welcome back, Captain America. Captain Storm Cloud was kind of suffocating." He shrugged innocently. "Don't tell him I said that, though." When did he take to cheering people up? He did not get paid enough for this... did he even get paid here? Wow, he was effectively broke on this ship, wasn't he? That was a new feeling for him...

Two years ago? That comment would have sent him into an attack. As it was now, though? His heart only skipped a beat, then kept on beating. He wondered if that flicker passed through his eyes, or remained completely unknown. He hadn't shared that experience with anyone that wasn't involved, which meant the only ones that knew were Rhodey, Pepper, and Harley. He hummed in thought. "Yeah, had my fair share of kidnappings and I could have done without every one of them. But as far as kidnappings go, this one is the most ideal." In other words, yeah, he really is kind of giddy over this whole thing once he gets over the worry for the safety of their home... planet. That just sounded so strange in his own head. "Didn't care for the vertigo either, while we're complaining--well, while I'm complaining."

[innovention]

The thing about Steve is that he's noticeable. It wasn't just his size (although that hardly helped), it was his stature, an easy kind of inner steel that separated him from the crowd of people slouching their way through life. The posture of a commander, maybe. Whatever it was, it was distinct; even here, in shared monotony of the crew uniforms, the man stuck out.

So it was really no surprise that, upon wandering into the hall and scanning over the crew, Howard's gaze immediately fell on one tall, blond, and super-serumed form -- and stopped cold.

That couldn't be Rogers. Rogers was dead.

Rogers was dead, and whoever the hell this was couldn't be him, had to be an impersonator, an impostor, some HYDRA plant or something-- and before he even really registered it, Howard was stalking forward, fists clenched and anger curling bright in his belly. By the time he reached the other man, his rare temper had roared to life, and there was nothing to stop him from roughly seizing the other man by the shoulder.

"Who the hell are you?"

[captain_america]

Steve certainly wasn't expecting that. Not that Howard could actually move him if Steve didn't want him to. He knew he probably has his fair share of enemies but he didn't think any of them would stalk up to him in a crowded room demanding to know who he was. So he turned, his guard up but his curiosity peaked and his eyes landed on someone he never thought he would see again.

"Howard?" It was a little like a punch to the gut. When he had come back Fury had told him Howard had died and Steve had mourned for the loss of his friend but there hadn't been time to dwell on it. Then he'd met Tony and while he would die before he ever said it aloud it was nice to feel that a part of Howard was still around. Even if Tony would kill him for thinking that. They were more alike then he probably realized. But this wasn't a Howard that had lived on fifty years after Steve disappeared, he didn't look a day old than he remembered. Which meant this ship could pull them from anywhere but also any time.

[innovention]

It's Howard, all right, but Howard as very few had ever seen him: brimming with obvious, righteous anger at the thought of someone, anyone using his dead friend's image. Could be HYDRA. Could also be Leviathan. Or, the part of him that didn't dare hope, it could really be Steve. He faltered a little at the other man's tone, because hell, that even sounded like the Rogers he knew, but anyone from home would know his name; Howard wasn't exactly a rare figure in the papers.

"Steve Rogers is dead. I searched for his body myself." And would keep searching, if he had any say in it, "So if you're some god-damned HYDRA science project, you're going to want to think real hard about answering my question: who are you?"

People sometimes forgot, after all, that Howard was first and foremost a weapons developer.

[captain_america]

"I- uh." Well how the hell was he supposed to explain this? If it hadn't happened to him he would barely believe it. Well, probably nothing to say but the truth.

"I didn't die. I was frozen in the arctic for about sixty-eight years. It's 2014 where I come from." Yeah, he really wouldn't believe that either. "Not a HYDRA project, just a kid from Brooklyn."

[innovention]

Howard Stark didn't consider himself a violent man - an odd attribute, in a weapons dealer, but a true one nonetheless. He could count the number of times he'd well and truly lost his temper on one hand. But listening to this? And, even worse, acknowledging it? No. He was done. Just a kid from Brooklyn. Sure.

Taking a step away, Howard dropped his hands to his sides. The anger on his face cleared, slowly, and when he finally looked back up, his gaze was almost friendly. Like he'd actually accepted it all.

...until he calmly, deliberately hauled back and took a swing straight at Rogers' jaw.

[vengeance_driven]

Niko was no big fan of America, but the Steve he'd known? Well, he'd been a sort of a friend. At least an acquaintance with mutual interests, who had been okay with some of Niko's Eastern European music and could accept the Serb's bitterness. He'd liked him.

He also knew people could forget- people forgot at on the Nehada sometimes, either coming as part of different timelines. At one point there had been two Steves there. There had been a lovely red-headed Russian spy who recognized him as a Serb each time they had become acquainted.

He took the risk, anyway, and when he saw the guy he whistled to get his attention and walked in his general direction.

"Hey." In a tone that was friendly enough, even if there was ever a guy afflicted with "resting bitch face" it was this one.

[captain_america]

Steve heard the whistle and turned. He didn't recognize the man walking towards and he didn't look too happy, but his tone wasn't unfriendly exactly. "Hi?" He said cautiously assessing the other man, before sticking out a hand to shake. "Steve Rogers, but I have a feeling you might know that."

[vengeance_driven]

That slowed Niko down, and with a casual shrug and a notable eyeroll he moved on to the handshake.

"Yeah. Things like that will happen aboard ships like these. Sorry."

Both the Steves he knew of had been similar in personality.

"Good to meet you again, I guess." Though without the same situational pressure, you never knew if someone would find someone friendly or even tolerable or not. "Shitty universe gets confusing."

[captain_america]

"So something like this has happened to you before?" Steve asked curiously, dropping his hand after they shook and taking an 'at ease' pose. When he was uncomfortable he easily fell back into the role of a soldier, and this entire situation made him uncomfortable.

[vengeance_driven]

"Yeah." And it could be worse.

Somehow the acting as a soldier seemed familiar, and he wondered how hard Steve would fight against this situation. Despite only knowing him under one set of circumstances, he couldn't imagine that he wouldn't.

"And it's pretty shitty." Even if he knew how much worse it could be. "Then, I think it has to be a person into some pretty sick shit to like this sort of thing." Or someone yanked directly out of hell, which he'd run into before.

[anotheroldsoldier]

Bucky's got a list. He's taken note of every name that might be familiar on the directory in the MID, compiled it all in his head as people he needs to go scope out, see if they recognize him. The moment he gets a look at "Steve's" face, he dreads this encounter the most, because he'd had hope at first that it might be Steve Rogers. That it might be his old partner.

He gets sight of him across the main hall, and his heart sinks down to his stomach, because that face is... not the one he looked for. If this is Steve Rogers, it's a different one, or just a younger one, though he doesn't think it's quite right for that. The features are... Well, there are similarities, but he knows his Steve, knows this probably won't be him. He's much too young, has a babyface the guys would have teased him about endlessly back in North Africa on their first go.

Running away never solves anything. Except when it does, but he doesn't think he can avoid Steve Junior forever on a relatively small ship, so he makes his way over, dressed in his thermals already, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His left is conspicuous, shiny silver instead of scarred flesh, but with a shirt on, the star on his shoulder isn't visible.

"Looking for something?"

[captain_america]

Steve looks up and has to do a double take, because this guy looks startlingly familiar, only he's too old to be the person he thinks he is. The last time he'd encountered Bucky he barely looked like he aged at all, longer hair, tougher look in his eyes, not the bright carefree smile Steve remembers but he still looked like he hadn't aged. This person, while not identical had an uncanny resemblance to what he would imagine Bucky would have looked like had he not fallen off that train. "No, just around..." He trails off and realizes he's staring. "I'm sorry, you remind me of someone."

Then his eyes catch on to Bucky's arm and he looks back up at him, his eyes narrowing. "Bucky?"

[anotheroldsoldier]

Older, rougher around the edges, more worn - and a hell of a lot less pretty, really. A little while in space has meant his hair has grown out almost to his shoulders, and he really needs to cut it again, but it hasn't been a priority. This one, also, doesn't have a knock off serum to keep him looking young.

Despite the metal arm and longer hair, he doesn't quite have the look of the Winter Soldier around him, or the look of Bucky Barnes either - he's somewhere in between, mellowed out a little with age and tragedy.

Steve Junior is staring, and Bucky wonders how much he recognizes, if anything. If this is just Steve really young, then he won't have a clue who Bucky is just from looking at him, but- No. He has some idea. It's there in his eyes.

He blows out a breath. "Guess I don't have to explain the arm, wasn't really looking forward to that part. Hey, Steve. You are a Steve Rogers, right?" As if he doesn't know the answer to that question.

[captain_america]

Bucky, but not his Bucky. Not unless he's from the future, which is also apparently a possibility. Tony's from his future, just a few months but that's still something. At least he knows Steve, and he knows the name Bucky, that's a giant step up from the last time he saw him.

"Yeah, it's me, or well, a Steve Rogers. I guess that's a thing huh?" Alternate universes wasn't something they had covered yet in his world apparently. They were still catching up on there being actual aliens and Norse gods.

[anotheroldsoldier]

"Yeah, that's... a thing." Alternate universes, other dimensions, that's Bucky's new reality, sadly - or at least, protecting his universe from all the other ones, that's his reality. So while the thought of this Steve being a different Steve is distressing, it's... it could be worse. He could always be Evil Steve, right? But this one seems too young, too fresh-faced for that kind of thing. Small favors.

"You're- what year are you from?" He has to know, has to figure out if this is his Steve but younger or another one and still younger.

[noassgardian]

It was... a little hard to miss the guy, honestly. He might not look exactly like the Cap he knew, but it was... a striking similarity. Enough that Billy found himself gravitating towards him with curiosity anyway. Besides, he really should try to get to know people who he'd be working with, right? Or apparently working with, if he wanted to get back home.

"Hey," he greets after a moment, offering up a small smile. "... This is quite a place to be pulled into, huh?"

[captain_america]

Steve is trying to figure out his MID- he's not as horrible at technology like he was when he first woke up. He's a quick learner and he had to learn fast being on a team with Tony Stark, mostly because he never lets Steve live it down when he can't do something Tony deems easy. It took a while to realize most of the time Tony was just teasing him. But it helped now when trying to figure out the features of the thing now permanently attached to his hand. He wasn't sure how he felt about that situation yet.

He looks up and sees the boy who started to talk to him and he smiled back. "Yeah, this is- well not something I ever expected. I'm still having trouble believing it's not just some weird dream or something."

[noassgardian]

"I know what you mean. Sort of. On one hand, I've woken up in an entirely new, creepy place before. On the other hand, I'm not really used to jumping into entirely new ones either."

He nods toward the MID "That's probably the weirdest part. I'm not sure I like having something attached."

[captain_america]

"Have you?" Steve asked, curious about what how many people something like this has happened to before. He might have woken up in a different time, but he was still in his world, just 68 years later. This was entirely different.

Steve agrees. "I know, its one thing to keep tabs on the people on your ship but this is just extra invasive." Someone better at technology then him will have to hack it and figure out what exactly its doing.

"I'm Steve." He said holding out his other hand if Billy wanted to shake it.