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deep in the murk
"It comes first and follows after. Ends life, kills laughter."
With the outcome of the battle against the Caducans and the Moira having twisted together with their ship to form a strange combination of glass, metal, and organic parts (both across the ship and among the crewmembers), there is still the matter of the Ingress not functioning “properly”. It hasn’t worked correctly since the very first person arrived on the Moira through it, and there is little the Captains themselves know about its functions. However, now, more than before, it’s even worse than that. The Ingress malfunctions yet again. This time, though, it doesn’t simply combine time and space and objects around it—it encompasses the entirety of the ship and sends it far off into a completely different universe. Welcome to:
( click text for a rough map/layout )This puts the Moira closer to its final destination, and most of the glass has disappeared as the Caducan ship has been left behind aside from small things here and there (i.e., some of the walls in the corridors, random furniture in the rooming decks, the rooms themselves). Even the mess hall has permanently changed. Yet, there is some bad news that comes with this transition. The universe the ship is in is so terrible that it has been given its own name so that travelers avoid it altogether. Even the Captains themselves are aware of just how Bad News this universe is and had originally planned to take “the long way around” to avoid it. Anything shady or unsavory can be found in the Runoff, and while it might not appeal to the majority, it is simply second-nature to those who inhabit it. From arms trafficking to drugs, whatever one might think is illegal somewhere else is suddenly very legal and very dangerous.
Through the transition, some of the crew will accidentally end up on a nearby outpost specifically used for slave trade. It is a covered, temporary establishment used only for this purpose, meaning there are no open markets, hotels, or businesses of any sort. Stalls and tents line dirty streets, and ships litter the space around the outpost. This is a slave trade zone. People come and go but do not stay. Various lifeforms can be found here, and there are many different forms of slave trade happening. The motto “honor among thieves” does not exist in this place either. Crew who end up here will be “free”; however, this means that there is the potential to be taken and sold or kept by those of the Runoff. The Moira will not be close to this outpost, but the signals given from their MIDs will alert the crew to their location. Rescue, obviously, is imminent, but those who choose to help their fellow crewmembers must keep to small stealth missions using transporters or other crafts with one important detail in mind: they cannot bring attention or notice to the Moira itself.
Almost one-third of the crew has found themselves on the slave trade outpost, leaving the rest to plan for rescue. The Captains will immediately divulge all information that they have about the outpost, which is unfortunately very little outside of the stigma associated with the Runoff. The Captains will ask any MID techs or those with skills to create a program that allows person to person location; this function will allow crewmembers to search for those on the outpost via their MIDs. Rescue efforts are encouraged, and all the ships and transporters in the cargo bay will be available for public use. Crew will be told to be careful and quiet, bringing no attention to the Moira’s location, and most importantly, do not stand out. If crew look and act like they don’t belong there, others will notice. Stealth is the name of the game, and blending in is a necessity. ☄ time goes by slowly The unfortunate crewmembers who ended up on the outpost have now found themselves pursued by those looking to make a profit through slave trade. The standards of hard labor vary from owner to owner, but it is what it sounds like. Rough, hard work that will last as long as the body performing it can endure. If purchased, owners might examine their new property to determine what type of work they’d be best suited for and then split them up into holding areas until they are done with their purchases. Others might have their slaves begin work by cleaning their ship or holding stalls or packing up their tents and gear. The owners, and their needs, are as varied as the universe. Did you manage to escape? Or were you forced to work before you were rescued? ☄ and it seems to last forever Like the crewmembers taken by general labor owners, the murdersport slavers buy and take whomever they believe can last the longest in the pit. Some take those who appear to be strong or have great stamina, and some take those who are light on their feet or are quick-witted. Some crew are chosen simply based on appearance and how good they’ll look in their gear. If pursued, the slavers will do everything they can to capture the Moirans, and if captured, crew might be taken to a holding stall or a testing pit so that their skills can be witnessed by the public and tested. Some slavers want to show off their new property by throwing them into small roped off areas with other slaves, various creatures, or machines. Some make them stand up in front of groups and simply show them off, boasting that, at the next big event in the Runoff, they’ll surely win the grand prize. What kind of slaver has taken you? Will you be forced to fight before you rescue? Or will you not make it to the Moira before the Ingress pulls you back? ☄ but then it starts to fly ( cw: sex ) As is typical of this universe, slave trade comes in various forms. The most notorious being its illustrious sex trade. Slaves are bought and sold quickly and often, with no notable preference for appearance or species. Buyers come from all over to find slaves to work in their brothels, for personal use, as in-house entertainment, and much more. While the other two most popular type of slave trade don’t care as much about the physical well being of their property, these specific owners usually do. They might try to incapacitate first, so that the slaves aren’t bruised or cut, and if necessary, use binds until they can get them back to their ships or holding stalls. Some owners have their slaves cleaned and dressed in the finest attire, while others shove them into uniforms and tossed into stalls. Were you captured? Did you escape? Or were you rescued before something untoward occurred? What's more, events of the past always have a way of coming back to haunt you.
Months past, a monster terrorized the crew and left a very literal mark upon those that it touched. Those scarred by encounters with the Ploiatos will find their minds drifting as they work and go about their day. They may also find themselves in a different part of the ship than intended when they come back to themselves. It happens slowly, these small moments of lost time. But both before and after these events occur, one might notice that the scars seem to shift slightly. Where the patterns have been stable for months, suddenly the branching arms of the scars appear to be in a slightly different position than before. More often than not, those who lose time will regain awareness and find themselves in Navigation. When this happens, oftentimes Captain Manasseh will herd them out with a quiet, but undeniably firm, suggestion to visit the infirmary. More unsettling are the moments when they awaken in the I.L.R. standing outside the one door that should never be opened. As for those who were lucky enough to avoid encounters with the creature locked within, they must figure out how to deal with their friends and fellow crew who seem to walk around in a fog with no control of their actions.
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hownkai) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thisavrou_log2016-07-19 01:11 am
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[He cups Billy's face, careful to keep his touch light.]
What else could you have done, Billy, with your captors alert to your magic?
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I don't know... But the way they treated people-- it was disgusting, Loki. No one deserves that.
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[He gives Billy a look, before he leans in to press a kiss to his lips.]
But inside their pens, where they had most of the power- you did well enough defending yourself, Billy. You caused them no small amount of trouble. I was quite impressed, really, considering how much of their attention you drew.
[He hesitates.]
And... if it helps, they won't do it again any time soon.
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Causing trouble is my specialty, I guess...
[And whether Loki is just saying it or not, the reassurance is nice to hear.]
You sure about that?
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[He shakes his head slightly, giving Billy a mildly disapproving look.]
I'm reasonably confident they won't escape the consequences any time soon, yes. It's not impossible, but even if they do... well, I'm not sure they'll be in any state to carry on what they did.
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He doesn't really want to be the reason Loki takes any steps back.]
I guess so.
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[He raises an eyebrow, questioning. He isn't very good at working out what he should have done, sometimes, and right now he isn't sure what else he could have done, either.]
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[He tilts his head back a bit, looking at Loki.]
Sorry. Just tired still, I guess. And thinking way too much.
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[He looks back at Billy, not quite managing his usual slightly aloof face, still a little concerned.]
Will you sleep? Or should I distract you, somehow?
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[Because he doubts he'll be sleeping overly well anytime soon, even with Loki there. He glimpses up, hoping he's managing something like a convincing, playful smile.]
Tell me a story or something.
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[And the smile is ghastly, but he suspects Billy is trying, at least. He leans in, kissing Billy as softly as he can.]
And I suspect you know most of the myths as well as I do. A myth, or something more recent?
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[He returns that kiss lightly, leaning into Loki a little further.]
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[But for now, he makes a humming noise, settling in.]
This is the story of the time I stabbed my brother, for all the best of reasons. Something was desperately off with Thor, you see. He'd become a bully of the worst kind, mean and loutish and quick to take offence. No doubt you've met his kind?
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[Although, it can be sometimes...
He sighs, eyes drifting shut as he listens to Loki talk. It's nice, getting to focus just on the sound of his voice rather than anything else.]
Mhm, I might be familiar.
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[He settles in, watching Billy carefully.]
He'd been disrespectful to Freya- which is, honestly, usually my role-. He'd offended his friends, and been generally unpleasant to everyone. I was still working for my mother at the time, and it was the All-Mothers who gave me the assignment to find out what exactly was wrong. Which was a little difficult, as Thor had made himself a den in the tower of your Avengers. My mother wanted him to be shown the error of his ways, and as I've never been terribly known for telling the truth- I needed a tool that could do it for me. So the first task was to locate the sword of truth.
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So, what did you do then?
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[He gives Billy a smile, amused.]
I won it mostly fair and square in a game of space poker from its former owner. He called us the toughest pantheon in known space, you know.
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[He lets out a laugh, pressing in a little closer to Loki, tilting his head in against him.]
How much cheating did you do during poker?