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old but unfamiliar faces
"We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once."
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 nothing is familiar. Shortly after, you are led out and toward the medbay.
Inside this room, you are given a physical scan and offered a contract to sign that states you are now part of the crew of the Moira with a specific job. Any questions you might have would be answered in a straightforward manner as well as an explanation about how the Ingress, the thing that has pulled you onto the Moira, is broken and bringing people here unintentionally. This process also 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 or wrist with only the slightest pinch. From there, you are guided out of the medbay and to your living quarters.
At first, this month seems no more unusual than the previous one for those who have been aboard the Moira for any amount of time. The crew who had landed on the slaver outpost were rescued, and with everyone aboard, the ship has pushed forward into the darker parts of the Runoff. Anyone arriving through the Ingress follows the same routine—moving from the Ingress room into the Medbay for their physical and contract before being assisted by seasoned crew members and helped to their assigned decks. But all familiar things must eventually come to an end: two final travelers come through the Ingress. The first, and most noticeable difference between them and all the others, is their clothing. Both are dressed in standard Moira uniforms, though they bear the insignia of one sharing the same rank as Captains Cúrre and Thán. After a moment to take in all the people on the platform ahead of them, one of the two latest arrivals approaches one of the Ingress panels and begins to manipulate the controls. The Ingress completely shuts down. Unlike before, however, there isn’t an imbalance felt across the ship; everything remains normal and stable.
Utilizing the computer systems located in the Ingress room, they send out the following message to the crew via the MID:To all those aboard this vessel: I am Ira Phirun, assigned captain of the Moira. First Mate Egan and I will be commandeering all rights to the ship as soon as word is sent to those currently in charge. Expect a more detailed report as soon as all records and logs in Navigation have been reviewed by myself and the First Mate. All questions will be answered in a timely matter. For now, there will be no interruption of daily routine or reprimand if conduct among ranks is broken. Thanks for your time. Heading to Navigation, the Captain and First Mate, for seemingly unknown reasons, approach Navigator Manasseh and have her show them all records and logs of the Moira. Those working in Navigation when the Captain and First Mate arrive will see Mana greet them in a professional manner. Oddly, the Captain and First Mate act very familiar with the Navigator. They review all documents, but when they come upon news that the Ploiatos is on board, their mostly friendly demeanor shifts quickly. The Captain issues a sharp order, unintelligible to those who are close enough to overhear parts of their conversation, and without any warning at all, Mana loses consciousness and collapses right there on the bridge. Within minutes of this happening, the ship as a whole falls into a low power state with basic functions only. Mana’s MID alerts Medbay, and without hesitation, Captain Cúrre places her in cryo with strict orders to those who work there not to disturb the unit.
As promised, the Captain and First Mate soon address the crew.☄ lights down low The lighting has dimmed in all the rooms and halls, the normally crisp air that is pumped from the vents low, and all machines and tech are running at half-speed. These effects can be found throughout the ship. Water in the showers remain hot for only a few minutes before reverting to cold. Recreational equipment powers off not long after it has been turned on. The sanitation and water filtration systems require an hourly manual reboot, and all unused areas of the ship have no power allotted to them until a crew member steps inside. Even then, most functions are not optimal. It’s as if the Moira has been transformed into a dark house with only a candle flickering on the window sill. ☄ reuse & recycle The Captain and First Mate are quick to establish that this is a new regime and go about making the ship and its crew more efficient in the wake of their change in course and the low power state of the ship itself. This means they will systematically inspect each occupied barracks room and leave notes for what needs to be disposed of or stowed away. Unlike before, this is no longer a pleasure cruise, and each member of the crew is a guest on board; they will not tolerate useless clutter. Anything seen as unnecessary will be either placed into storage in the Cargo Bay or disposed of through the airlock. This new need for efficiency also extends to the need to conserve resources until they reach their destination. The showers are set to an automatic timer to minimize water waste. Those few minutes of hot water are all a crew member is now given. Meals are smaller, bordering on ration sizes, and luxuries are done away with entirely in order to preserve supplies so that the ship can go longer before needing to dock at a planet. ☄ new jobs, same faces The Captain and his First Mate, as expressed in their addressing of the Moira, explain that work efficiency is a priority. Applications for a head of the following departments will be accepted for a short period: Navigation, the Tower, Medbay, Defense, the Hold, Sanitation, Ingress work, and the Galley/Mess Hall. (Here.) After reviewing what they receive, one head of department will be chosen and tasked with helping crew find positions relevant to those departments and their own skillsets. They will be allowed to retain any positions that they held before that aren’t ship-functional jobs, but they will have to be done in leisure time. In two weeks time, they’ll be accepting department position applications which will be approved, and all those that do not apply will be assigned in accordance with their initial work application. They will also choose three individuals to act as guards of Ploiatos to ensure that there is a rotation available at all times. Will you choose to follow this new decision and promote yourself into a position of responsibility? Or will you simply wait for a reassignment?
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hownkai) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thisavrou_log2016-08-01 12:13 am
nomo 024 ;
Unfortunately, here are the cons: a) that he is a roommate in the first place. Sorry about him existing in your general vicinity, to be honest.
And b), because here's the kicker— Venom is here with a dog. An eyepatch wolfdog, who earnestly moves over to 76 and tries to sniff his hand. Because he is a dog.
Sorry again. ]
no subject
Probably military. Hopefully. At least he'll be in good company.
It takes him an additional moment to realize that there is something cold and wet touching his hand, and he's about ready to flip the heck out before he manages to understand that it's a dog. There's a dog here. Okay.]
Is this your dog?
[He says, like this could possibly be anyone else's dog.]
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He turns his head at the question. Unhelpfully, he just stands there and watches as his dog tries to put its face on his new roommate's knee. ]
Yeah. [ oh my god V use your words ] —That gonna be a problem?
[ Despite the vocabulary he uses, despite how the words are arranged, this is Not a Challenge; Venom's tone is so laughably mild that he might as well be asking if 76 wants the top or bottom bunk, instead of asking if it's ok to keep a huge wolfdog in a 4-person room. ]
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[76 looks like he doesn't really know what to do about a dog in his personal space. For a moment it seems like he's going to pet it? But his hand just hovers awkwardly as the dog attempts to press into it, and after a few more prolonged seconds, he turns back to his gun.]
Is it?
[That sounds almost threatening, and he accompanies it with the ominous snap of an ammo magazine back into the rifle as he reassembles it. This thing better be house trained.]
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The dog is the only one in this room that wants to make friends, amazing. ]
He won't bite.
[ Venom says, as if that's the real concern here. He knows it isn't, but here's to having some sense of humor (is that really humor, though) under his overwhelming sense of neutrality.
He also sits down on the bed opposite of 76, and starts cleaning his handgun. Not much for talking, he's about to leave it at that, until he figures he should ask at least one thing: ] Military?
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Mercenary.
[Untrue. He is military--has spent most of his life in it, and even now he's more a vigilante than anything. Back home, if anyone asked for his services, he'd likely say that he isn't for sale. Here, claiming to be a hired gun will be good enough for his purposes. It would explain his skill set without giving the people he used to know more cause for suspicion.
In the meantime, he'll jump on the opportunity to turn the conversation towards Venom.]
You?
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[ He answers without skipping a beat, single eye trained on his weapon as he slides it apart effortlessly, mechanical fingers as deft as their human counterparts.
In a way, 76's affiliation— or lack thereof— is a point of interest. It's common ground, in a way: the notion that their allegiances are mostly to themselves, and not to governments who so often forget that the people they send to do their dirty work are humans who cut and bleed.
Okay, maybe that latter bit is just borrowed bitterness, but still. Venom looks up for a brief second, blood-red bionic hovered over his disassembled pistol. ]
Easier that way.
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He takes note of the man's bionic arm for the first time, but his gaze doesn't linger on it.]
Got a name?
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The one he finally decides on is: ] Ahab. [ Please, no Moby Dick jokes. Here, he'll preemptively make one for you. ] Unfortunately not the captain of this ship.
[ Because they are in space, on a spaceship. The humor never stops. ] You?
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His is a complicated issue, too. He'd entered the vigilante scene with no concern for a name or what he'd be called. That hadn't been important. The media had chosen a name for him, and he'd decided it was good enough for his purposes.]
76.
[It's. It's right there on the back of his jacket.]
no subject
[ VENOM PLEASE, this is not a funny joke. He delivers it so matter-of-factly, though, that it might as well be just a statement of the obvious.
He doesn't move to shake hands, doesn't salute or really do anything to embellish this meeting with anything other than a courteous, respectful nod. ]
...Anything I should know about sharing quarters with you.
[ This question is just military etiquette, bred from years of sleeping in close quarters with fellow soldiers; barracks are nothing new for him, and he'll leave it at that if 76 says 'no'. ]
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[If he thinks it's funny, he doesn't show it (probably he doesn't think it's funny. Possibly he's heard it before), only responds with a short grunt.
Luckily, he knows how to live in barracks. He doesn't anticipate this arrangement being a problem, as long as the dog is house trained.]
Don't plan on being here often. I'll stay out of your way.
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So. Canting his head lightly to the side, subtly inquisitive without being intrusive: ] Got a plan in mind?
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It's partly because he knows he doesn't play well with others. Mostly because he has actual work to do.]
I don't expect this to end well.
[Not the roommate situation, and he'll gesture vaguely to indicate he means this in a more general sense. He'll be out memorizing the layout of the ship; making contingency plans. He doesn't expect it to do much, but it's something, at least.]
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But he's not going to be a dad and say something incredibly trite like 'don't be reckless', because that's unnecessary and patronizing— no, he just breathes one of those vague hns that's between a grunt and a sigh. ]
Let me know if you need a list of potential threats on this ship.
[ A throwaway comment, because guess what kind of advantages you get when your incredibly bureaucratic friends have been here for 6+ months?? Very detailed knowledge about the ins and outs of this place, that's what. ]
did i really not finish a sentence in there good job me
Do you have a list of potential threats?
[Suffice to say, he's interested, if something like that actually exists.]
story of my life tbh
[ Space, the answer is space. It's apparent that Venom has no idea how the logistics of any of this work, but the fact of the matter is that his frighteningly efficient bureaucratic friends have been doing their jobs. ]
They've had a few months to gather intel.
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The important thing is that he's being offered a potentially valuable source of information. He's not about to pass that up.]
What's their verdict on this place?
[The ship. The management. Just generally speaking.]
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[ Relayed without much in the way of discouragement, because this is exactly what he expected from a spaceship that 'accidentally' kidnaps people.
After a beat, he adds to this with one of those sardonic half-sighs that should convey: get a load of this bullshit, but perhaps a bit more maturely. ] —Also managed to destroy an entire planet, apparently. [ yeah ]
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What Ahab says next, however, is something he wasn't expecting.]
How do you manage to destroy a planet?
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[ Which he also heard about from his XO. Read: everything is a complete Mess, for reasons that are perhaps beyond their understanding. ]
Which means that we're gonna have to count on some of the others on this ship when things start going south.
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Anyone dependable?
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[ Even if his allies occasionally spend half their time yelling at him and trying to get him to murder people who are continents away, he trusts them with his life. Always has.
But that said, he feels like he should ask another important question. ]
No one from your world show up with you?
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[He's not one for allies, but he can recognize when something like this might be advantageous. This situation is so full of unknowns that he's ready to jump at anything that will give him a leg up, at least insofar as intel is concerned.
As for Ahab's second question...]
A few. Just people I know of. Never met them personally until now.
[It's complicated. He's inclined to deny it, but he doesn't want to run the risk of the rest of them giving conflicting stories. Best not to raise suspicion.]
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...Yesterday's bitter enemy may be tomorrow's ally. Might be beneficial to touch base with some of the familiar faces from your world.
[ Shut up, Venom Snake.
But he also appreciates that he has no idea what 76's circumstances are, so he leaves that well enough alone, before he offers up some suggestions. ]
Consult 'Kazuhira Miller' if you want a thorough briefing about this place. If anything, he can give you a map of the ship and set you up with training equipment.
(no subject)