( open ) you are descended from animals

[hyperkinesia]

Who: Bruce Banner and anyone!
When: First half of March.
Where: Several places around the Moira.
What: A general catch-all if anyone wants to run into him on the ship since he won't be going down to the planet at all.
Warnings: None for the moment, will update if need be.
( a note: I'm good with both brackets and prose, so just pick whichever you prefer and I'll match! )

WORKING; SCIENCE DEPARTMENT.

Things seem a little calmer now, and while that leaves Bruce feeling wary of what might yet happen, it also offers him a semblance of peace and quiet. The planet seems interesting but not very welcoming, and for that reason he decides not to go down there and visit himself, opting for staying on the ship and spending a good amount of his time in the science department.

Especially as he starts getting data from the planet, helpfully provided by Clark, he dedicates himself to putting together a file with all the thorough information, as well as building a holographic projection of the surface, based on the images and sensors Clark got him. It's exciting work to him, even if it might not seem like much to some, and he can often be found at the department, poring over all the images and information collected.

TRAINING & MEDITATING; OBSERVATION DECK, GARDENS, RECREATION AREA.

It's not all work for him, though. He knows he can't push himself past a certain point of exhaustion, and even if things seem calm right now, it's always good to keep practicing a little, and keep himself well in check. His favorite meditation spot is the observation deck, and he's likely to be found there more often than not, sitting on a small blanket, legs crossed and hands resting over his knees. The gardens are also a close second, and he goes there a few times too, enjoying what little of nature they have on board.

At the recreation area, he makes use mostly of the pool about once a week, going for a few leisurely laps at odd hours, when the place happens to be empty - or close enough to it.

MEALS & DUTIES; MESS HALL.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday afternoons are spent doing his duties at the mess hall, clearing out tables and making sure there's always food at the buffet for people to help themselves. Outside of that schedule, he can be found there during meal hours, sitting by himself and more often than not reading some file or, most likely, a book.

WILDCARD; ANYWHERE.

Run into him on a corridor, spot him at the library, what have you - Bruce regularly visits different areas of the ship so it's not unlikely for him to be spotted in a myriad of different places. Go wild!

Comments

science department

[cardboard_boss]

[ooc: want to examine this guy, Bruce? His body is full of shrapnel and he should be dead.]

Snake found himself wandering through the many decks of the Moira just exploring really. That's what he did best, being the soldier he was. Except he didn't have his cardboard box with him now. The Ingress took care of that and it took his phantom cigar off him too. Damn. Yet, Snake's mind was now focused on entering what looked like some sort of R+D room. Science department. It reminded him of a futuristic Mother Base of sorts.

"Can I come in here?" Snake saw a man working.

[hyperkinesia]

( ooc: boy does that sound familiar! )


Despite being a place mostly for specialized work, the science department kept an open door policy, and Bruce had more than once invited people to drop by and check out the place. It wasn't as if the work being done here was a secret, and if at any point they were running a more sensitive or potentially dangerous experiment, appropriate measures would be taken.

Today wasn't the case, though. It was fairly quiet at this hour, the large open area empty save for Bruce, who was sitting in front of a holographic screen, sliding information from there to the table nearby to add to the planet's projection. He stopped at the voice, turning around to look towards the open door.

"Go right ahead," he said as he stood up, giving the man a cursory glance, and finding him oddly familiar. Reminded him of Snake, he realized a moment later, and made him wonder if they might be from the same place. "New arrival, I take it?"

[cardboard_boss]

[ooc: a bit like Tony, right?]

"Yeah, you could say that." Snake rubbed the back of his neck then sighed deeply. "My head is still spinning right now." He could hardly take it all in. Being aboard a space ship was a big thing. "So, you the science guy around here?" He noticed the guy had some pretty fancy high-tech gear on him. What would the costs be to run this place?

[notpatsy]

Seen from a wider perspective, It really wasn't long since the last time Trish and Bruce shared a meal, took a walk or just had a conversation about everything and nothing. Not much time has passed at all, and it's not like she hasn't seen him around. The ship isn't that big, running into each other (and thus exchanging awkward greetings and maybe some stilted pleasantries) has been more or less unavoidable.

So why does she miss him so damn much?

Whenever she sits down to do a broadcast, part of her sends a thought to Bruce, wondering if he'll be listening. It's a little frightening, really, to discover how much he has come to mean to her already.

Undoubtedly part of this is because she is trapped on a space ship traveling through unknown galaxies with no way to get home, and he has basically been the best thing about this whole experience, and she does try to tell herself that this is just another reason why it's a good thing that they seem to have come to some sort of unspoken agreement to avoid each other. She wouldn't want to start something with a man just because she's cold and alone in outer space and he's been kind to her and made it all so much easier, right?

Right.

She still misses him though.

And eventually, she decides to seek him out, because this just isn't working for her.

He's meditating, and since she doesn't want to disturb him before he's done, she sits down on the floor behind him, her back to him as she gazes out at the stars.

[hyperkinesia]

It's a weird thing, suddenly finding the silence unsettling, or the solitude so very lonely. He's been alone before, he's lived years actively staying away from people, spent days in which he spoke the bare minimum, if at all, so it's not as if he's not used to it.

And yet, right now, staying away feels like it's one of the most difficult things he's ever done.

It's ridiculous, honestly. It's barely been over a week since they've talked properly, and considering they've only known each other for roughly a month, it really shouldn't get to him this much. But then, that's probably what scares him most. How quickly, and how very easily he's grown to care about Trish in a way that can't even be described as a friend anymore. Well, he still thinks of her as a friend, obviously, but things are a little more complicated than just that, and Bruce isn't really sure he likes complicated; he's got enough of that as it is already, without having to worry about developing feelings for someone.

He wondered at first if Trish would be upset about him avoiding her, but as days go by and she doesn't so much as walk down the hallway with him when they cross paths, nor does she send him a text or spare more than a brief cordial greeting when she sees him, he feels a little more relieved that she either understands the reason why, or she's not intent on asking him about it. He's also sad about it too, but that's neither here nor there. That's not a feeling he's all that unused to anyway.

Eventually, he knows they'll see each other again. He just doesn't expect it to be so soon— or right this instant. Even with his eyes closed, he can hear someone walking across the observation deck and sitting down behind him, and after a few more minutes he finally takes one last deep breath and looks over his shoulder, surprise taking him when he sees who it is.

It's alright, though. They're still friends after all, right? He can manage that much.

"Joining me?" He smiles, turning around where he sits so he's facing her instead.

[notpatsy]

Trish smiles too as she turns to face him, because when she sees his stupid face she kind of always wants to smile, even if it currently comes with a large side of "fuck my life".

"I've been having some problems with the whole peace of mind thing lately so I figured it was time to go ask my master for help."

Master yoda reference, not bdsm joke. She's fairly certain he'll follow.

Rec Area

[takeitslow]

When it's late and Peter's overactive mind keeps him awake, he's taken to running around the ship. The rec room is a favorite to visit, when everyone else is too busy or too asleep to give him any attention. The treadmills are a decent enough distraction, at least. But he's not going to bother with that now, not when someone's here and it's someone he actually doesn't mind talking to.

Peter disappears from the room almost a quickly as he came, not returning for several minutes. When he does appear again, he's sitting at the side of the pool with his boots off and the legs of his uniform rolled to his knees so he can stick his feet in. There's two glasses sitting beside him and a bowl in his lap. He kicks water at Bruce instead of giving a greeting, lifting a hand to wave the man over.

[hyperkinesia]

Bruce doesn't even notice someone coming in and dashing out, so quick Peter is— and even when he comes back, it's not until he's kicking water at Bruce while he's doing a lap that he actually realizes there's someone there. He slows to a halt, taking off his swimming goggles and brushing his hair back as he looks over to the edge of the pool.

"Peter," he greets, making his way over to where he is, gripping along the edge as he looks at the glasses, the bowl, and gives Peter a quick once-over. "You don't look like you're dressed for a swim."

[takeitslow]

"Nope," he says, popping the 'p'. He grabs one of the glasses and offers it to Bruce when he nears. He points at the bowl too.

"Usually I just come down here for those treadmills. They're pretty slow, but you know how it is." Everything is to him, no use expecting anything different. "Didn't think anyone would be down here. You usually decide to hang around for some after hours exercise or just have something to swim out today?"

[heliakal]

Truth be told, Clark feels a little badly for Bruce. He understands why he'd stay - it's the best choice to make considering the last time they ran into less than friendly locals - but at the same time, the novelty of visiting different worlds isn't something that wears off.

After stopping to by the science department and agreeing to take some equipment down, Clark had gotten on the first shuttle planetside. Aside from wanting to keep an eye on the crew, flying is a nice way to clear his head, usually, and there's been a lot going on with the new arrivals. Even despite the circumstances, he can't really believe what's happened in the last few hours. He has a cousin. He has family. He would have asked Kara or Conner to come out here with him, but he knows they need their space to digest all of this too.

Instead, he focuses on flying. It isn't quite as easy as it usually is, despite his best intentions in trying to keep the camera steady for Bruce. The irregularities in gravity aren't so frequent or severe that they he'd consider them dangerous, but soon enough he has to give up on trying to fight them to keep steady. Whenever Bruce doesn't give him specific instructions, he's doing loops in lighter gravity or speeding through valleys and severe drops that seem to go on into nothing. He's mostly just enjoying himself, or calling Bruce's attention to any interesting features of the landscape - insofar as there is one to show.

The only other downside is the atmosphere burns a little to breathe. The few times he does it by accident, he coughs for a while - longer each time. Maybe he'll head back and get a breather in a little bit, but he's not worried.

"How's it looking up there, big guy?"

[hyperkinesia]

Bruce doesn't feel so bad, honestly. As curious as he might be, he can recognize a potentially dangerous situation when he sees one, and although he would've liked to see the creatures navigating through the thick atmosphere with his own two eyes, for now he chooses not to risk it. Maybe later on he'll do a quick trip down there just once, but he doesn't want to now, especially knowing how the beautiful creatures are just getting hunted down and killed.

As much as he doesn't want to get involved with other planets' habits and customs, this one is a little too gruesome and barbaric for him to just sit around and watch.

Right now, he's sitting in the science department, a large holographic screen pulled up in front of him showing the feed in real time, a couple smaller ones on the side showing him any information coming in through the sensors Clark's taken with him too. The radius of the sensors is wide enough to provide him with the topography of the planet in large portions, which will prove extremely useful when he starts working on a holographic projection of Ceta.

"Pretty great." He can't help but smile at the way Clark addresses him in a term he clearly doesn't mind— rather the opposite. "How about you? Sounds like you should've taken a mask with you too." A bit jokingly, though it does sound like he's having a bit of difficulty breathing. Maybe a rebreather would've helped with that.

[heliakal]

Clark is no stranger to the idea of animals being harvested; he grew up on a farm, after all. Food is something people need to survive, and whether it's farmed or hunted, it's a necessary way of life for some. The problem for him isn't the hunt itself - it's the reasoning behind it. The loss of life for a non-essential drug, of all things, seems completely barbaric.

He's doing his best not to interfere in a way that will spark yet another large conflict, but at the same time - it's hard not to. Better to work on something else until he really makes up his mind. Bruce seems to be in a good mood, at least.

"Yeah, maybe." Clark admits, but he doesn't sound even a little concerned. "I think it'll be alright. If anything happens, you'll just have to resuscitate me."

He's teasing, but it's well-meaning. He can't help but find Bruce's continued fussing sort of charming. "So what's all of the data collection for? Scientific curiosity?"

Science department!

[peridork]

Peridot's presence around the ship has been increasingly scarce, following her injury back on Emiri. Lots more time spent holed up in the armory, only emerging when her mess hall duties absolutely require her to do so. Strange, but perhaps not too far out of the ordinary for the workaholic gem.

Consciously, she's not really sure what draws her out of her own workshop and into Banner's office of all places, on this particular day. All she's really aware of is feeling restless, with the ship docked at a new planet and a lot of stuff still on her mind. The truth of it is, there are very few people she's comfortable approaching right now, in the wake of the strange visions the cryo chamber left her with. Steven is one of them, Bruce is another... Starflight, perhaps, although the two of them don't always see eye-to-eye very easily. Steven is helpful, but she feels like maybe she needs to be around someone who's not from her own world, in this particular instance, which really only leaves one option.

...Plus, Bruce has the benefit of being right across the hall.

She's not even looking to talk to him about her problems, or explain anything when she enters, which is the strangest part. She never used to feel the need to just... be around other people for no particular reason before she had to go into that stupid cryo chamber. Above all else, this weird need for socialization is the hardest and most confusing shift.

"So I hear that this planet exhibits a very unusual type of fauna," says Peridot as she enters the office, without so much as a hello or any other announcement of her arrival.

[hyperkinesia]

Between moving out to his own room and working on the science department, not to mention Peridot's own work taking up her time, he ends up feeling that whatever silence and lack of keeping in touch there is, it's mostly because they've both got their hands full. Given some time, he might've thought it strange, but not so much that he actually worries or seeks her out about it just yet.

He knows she got hurt down in Emiri, knows she stayed a while in one of the cryo units, but soon after he saw her walking out and about as before, so he thought no more of it.

And right now, just as always, she steps inside and addresses Bruce in as nonchalant a way as ever, not even sparing him a greeting or a question of how he's feeling. He doesn't mind— in fact if anything he's come to like this direct attitude of hers.

"It does, it's very interesting," he looks up from the holographic projection he's working on, hands braced against the edge of the table, and offers her a smile. "Do you want to see? I didn't go down there myself, but I had someone else do some recordings for me."

god I'm slow IM SORRY

[peridork]

She perks up, a flash of undisguised glee in her eyes at the sight of the hologram. "OoooOOOooohhh... Yes, yes, I haven't had the chance to go down there yet myself, either," Peridot rambles, plodding over to get a closer look. "Viewing it this way is far preferable to wasting my time heading down there in person..."

wildcard/gardens

[isdronning]

[ It shouldn't be all that surprising that Elsa has opted to avoid going planetside. Despite all the help and offers of help she's received from crew members, she still doesn't feel all that comfortable being around people. It's true, even after getting out of cryo, she's back to avoiding people where she can. With the ship docked, it seems like much of the crew is off-ship, which gives her a little more free-reign to wander around without feeling so anxious.

This is something she has, admittedly, been taking advantage of. And one of her favourite places to go is to the gardens. When it's empty of people, it's so peaceful... True, she sometimes frosts over a leaf or two, but it doesn't seem like she's done any permanent damage, so she hasn't stopped coming every now and then.

As she enters this time, however, she's surprised to find another person there. Coming to a fast halt, she draws a breath and prepares for a retreat. ]

--I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt--

[ Then she pauses just before turning around to leave. The face is familiar. Yes, she remembers speaking with this man over her MID a few weeks ago, and she recalls identifying with him a fair deal. Relaxing in her stance somewhat, Elsa adjusts her ship uniform and offers a small but friendly smile. ]

Oh, Bruce. It's nice to meet you in person. ...I do hope I haven't interrupted anything?

[hyperkinesia]

[ More often than not, when Bruce is sitting by himself like this, the sound of people around him goes by ignored. He still notices them, his senses always alert to his own surroundings, but unless he's spoken to or approached in a more threatening way, he doesn't bother with so much as glancing over or even opening his eyes most times.

It's different with people he knows. They tend to at least say 'hello' when they find him meditating, and Bruce doesn't mind pausing to greet them too, spare a few friendly words, or even stopping the session altogether. Granted, Elsa's voice isn't one he recognizes at first, but her first words make it obvious that she's addressing him, so he opens his eyes to reassure her. ]

You didn't.

[ He places a name to the face almost instantly, and with a deep breath he lets his stance slip, hands sliding to settle both on the point where his legs cross. ]

Elsa, hi. No, not at all. I was practicing, actually— those exercises I told you about? [ He pauses for a moment, offering with a smile. ] You want to join me?

[ They don't even have to do anything, simply being around someone else and talking for a while will likely do her good. ]

SCIENCE department, also hello Boss

[anomaliiiiies]

Despite the loss of her notebook, (WHERE DID IT GO???), Jane's glad for one thing. She's got science to do. And she knew her boss. Well by name and reputation.

"Hello, Dr. Banner. I wasn't expecting to meet you here."

\o/ hello!

[hyperkinesia]

With the new arrivals, Bruce has paid a lot of attention to the directory list, looking for names he might recognize, so it's natural that among them, Jane Foster sticks out. He hasn't met her yet, but he does know enough to guess that it's her when she walks into the science department. His guess is all but confirmed when she addressed him by name.

"By 'here', I assume you mean on this ship."

Because anyone who knows Bruce even only remotely, knows he would naturally gravitate to any area such as this. He walks up to her, a hand reaching out.

"Dr. Jane Foster, I take it?"

observation deck

[handing]

It's an odd sort of parallel that's developed between them; like Bruce, Pepper has to confine herself to the ship for the duration of their stay on this particularly gaseous planet. Her own genetic alteration might prove to be more disastrous than his otherwise, and she isn't keen on being the next person responsible for the devastation of a world. But beyond that, she also can't work herself to the point of utter fatigue for much the same reason. There's still so much about Extremis she doesn't know, things she hasn't really been able to bring herself to think about before. But if she wants to live with it, harness it, Pepper has to consider it part of her. Not so simple a thing, when the thought of it still bring to mind bad, bitter memories, things she would much rather forget if she could.

But ignoring it, any of it, won't magically make the stuff disappear. And she could be rid of it, thanks to Tony, but--would it be the wiser course? If she can control it, learn to make it her own, Pepper would have a brand of security not everyone on the Moira could boast. More, she could actually do something beyond what feels like the ineffectual job handed to her by the captains, morale booster and sometimes babysitter.

And beyond that, there's something Pepper can't quite name yet, save to call it a sense that coming to terms with Extremis might mean she could settle other things within her.

It all has Pepper seeking out Bruce on the observation deck, her approach quiet. She wants to get his attention but without being disruptive, two conflicting goals which has her unsure just what she should do. In the end he would hopefully forgive her, and she calls out softly from a short distance behind him.

"Bruce? I'm sorry to bother you."

[hyperkinesia]

Of all the people that came to Bruce's mind when they got the details and he did the readings on Ceta, Pepper's probably the one he was originally most concerned about. On the other hand, he knows he has no reason to worry; Pepper's a smart and cautious person, and he knows that she wouldn't step down onto the planet when her ability could very well set the entire place ablaze. So, despite wondering about her for a while, he doesn't actually go so far as to contact her or warn her not to go down there— he knows she won't.

He's still intent on going and finding her sometime, so they can talk a little more about Extremis, and they can both start to figure out how she can better control her ability, plus he wants to be sure of the stability of the compound. So it's actually a happy coincidence that she finds him herself.

Hearing someone approach doesn't bother Bruce, in fact it's hardly news at this point. The observation deck is always a little more popular whenever there's a wave of new arrivals, and besides noise and activity have never bothered him. Just like getting interrupted or addressed doesn't bother him either.

He doesn't open his eyes at first, though he does recognize her approach, head lifting just slightly as he speaks up, his voice quiet and mellow. "Pepper." He takes a few more deep breaths still, finally looking up at her, smiling a little as he shakes his head and dismisses her worries. "It's alright. How are you doing?"

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

J isn't exactly a fan of planet Ceta. First of all, it looks ugly. The surface is hellish to walk on, the air is difficult to breathe and the last straw for her was the "no fire"-rule. Of course she understood why it was necessary to have but it only gave her more reason to stay inside of the ship more.

She comes to the Cargo Bay to look for Danny, hoping that she'd be able to get some company out of him. But after walking around the place for a while she sees another familiar face, Bruce, standing on the other side of the hall way and working on something that only looked like a giant metal cube.

At first she thinks of calling him to get his attention, but when she notices just how focused he's in his work she gets a better idea. A very tempting idea.

Quietly, she tiptoes closer to him until she's standing right behind him and then leans over to whisper to his ear with a low voice as she places her hand on his butt, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Hello, doctor."

[hyperkinesia]

Bruce's problem right now is probably that he's been letting his guard down too much. He already had an incident in the cargo bay not that long ago, getting shot by a dart seemingly out of nowhere, so by all rights he shouldn't be quite so relaxed as he does some readings on the cage that was built for him.

But here he is, too wrapped up in his own work to even hear someone approaching... until it's too late.

The invasion of his personal space is quick and unexpected, and so's his reaction. His whole body tenses and he lets out something close enough to a yelp, all but jumping away as he turns around on the spot, just barely managing not to trip over his own feet.

"J!" He says her name with a scolding tone, louder than his usual voice, eyebrows knitting together. "Could you please... not do that? Ever?"

WILDCARD... sort of /cracks knuckles

[higginsdrive]

Ok. So, probably not the best plan to sneak up on a guy that could probably kick her ass if she pissed him off enough. Although, this ship wasn't all that great at giving people many opportunities to break from patterns. Everyone had set jobs and schedules so finding the pattern, wasn't all that hard. And the mess hall while he was catching a meal was the most regulated spot to catch him. Away from the lab and his meditation spots. She doesn't hesitate when she walks into the mess hall and approaches his table, taking a seat across from him and resting her hands on the table in front of her with a bit of a solid thud.

"Hi." It's not exactly enthusiastic, like the way you might greet someone when trying to make friends. Good thing she wasn't going into this with a plan for long-term friendship. At least not yet. Look, she could be an asshole, but when she was stuck on a ship with this many people? Well she couldn't make more full-on enemies than neutral-ish not friends. But not everyone on this ship was responsible for getting her sister worked up like this. She'd started to let her guard down with Trish's last fling and look where that had gotten them. Considering her last fling wasn't the Hulk? Yeah, she's not gonna beat around the bush on this one.

"We need to talk."

ehehehe

[hyperkinesia]

In the meantime, Bruce is blissfully oblivious to the fact that he's being currently tracked down by someone on the ship. Well— actually that's not entirely true, Trish did tell him about her sister and that he should fully expect her to come find him at some point. Still, he's not exactly sure what he should be looking out for, so when a seemingly complete stranger sits across from him halfway through his lunch, sparing him a curt greeting, he doesn't make the connection.

He looks up, at first, forkful of something that looks like rice stilling halfway up to his mouth. He's silent for a while, slowly setting down the fork and sitting a little more upright, glancing sideways before he asks, tentative and confused.

"Do I know you?"