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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
no subject
I'd argue one walking corpse is still one too many. [Adam's tone isn't as bitter as the words themselves sound– there's a wry note underlying it all, but it quickly sobers again.
He takes a deep breath and slowly exhales, as if willing himself steadier. At length, he finally adds:] There're some… Gaps in my memory. [A pause.] One filled itself in all of a sudden. That's all.
["That's all," he says, as if he hadn't just nearly had a heart attack because of a shower– but he's not about to share that little detail.]
no subject
No arguments there. [ He's honestly waiting for the moment when this get-out-of-death-free card comes back to bite them in the ass, but he also hasn't gotten himself killed. Nor does he plan to.
As soon as that heavy inhale and exhale starts, Snake draws closer to join the stranger at his side, a good foot of distance between them. Gaps in the memory could be caused by any number of things, but at least now Snake has a better idea of what this guy is going through.
He stares through the small window at the stars as he talks. ] So the Ingress yanked you here in the middle of a life-or-death situation. Nice of it.
no subject
Maybe. In the middle or maybe even afterwards, I still can't fully recall. [He remembers a decision to make. The calm, child-like tones of Eliza Cassan offering him a series of choices – each one more unthinkable than the last – and then... The water, and the cold.
He resists the urge to swallow hard.]
When you said I wasn't the only one, did you mean...? [Yourself included?]
no subject
What's the point in going home if only death is waiting for you?
At the question, Snake shakes his head. ] No, I've managed to skirt death so far. [ Although he'd spent a good chunk of time faking his own death back home. But as he'd told Raiden once, he's still got too much to do. ]
You must have signed the contract... you planning on going back?
no subject
And he'll continue to do so here, he supposes. Too stubborn not to. Even if what's waiting for him at the end of their journey is... A bit of an unknown.
At length, he finally replies:] I think I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
[Winging it is a strategy he probably employs a little too often for his own good, but it's hard to argue with the results. When he used to walk a beat, a cop fresh on the streets, he'd learned very early on not to ignore his instincts – he'd regretted it every time he had.]
But if there's even the smallest chance that I'm still alive when I get back– it's worth it to go. [There's some business that only he can take care of. His tone might imply as much.]
no subject
There's a determination in the guy's tone that Snake's drawn to, if only because it matches his own feelings about returning. ]
Sounds like we both have unfinished business.
[ Snake looks away from the window and shifts to face the newcomer more directly, extending his hand to shake. ]
What's your name? I'm Snake -- it's a code name. [ May as well get that out of the way, otherwise he's bound to get weird looks. ]
no subject
Adam Jensen. [He withdraws his hand, folding his arms. There's a pause and then, wryly:] Real name.
[But as it turns out, the whole code name thing isn't what's going to earn Snake a weird look here – because he happens to be the third person with a serpent-themed name that he's met today.]
...It's kind of funny, though. Is it just a coincidence that there're so many of you guys around?
[Said with a fair amount of irony. If he's being honest, recent events have made him a lot less likely to believe in mere coincidence.]
no subject
Distracted as he might be by this revelation, Snake still manages to put Adam's name to memory, glancing up only when he asks that question.
Great. With Ahab here now, this is going to happen more and more often, isn't it? ]
Not a coincidence. [ Snake closes his eyes for a moment, barely holding back a sigh. ] Who did you talk to? [ He's never going to be comfortable explaining any of this, but he may as well try to figure out some sort of canned response. ]
no subject
[It's meant to be a joke, but man – if only he knew.
But that reaction doesn't go unnoticed because Adam's tone quickly sobers after that, head at a slight tilt as he watches the look on Snake's face.] Starting to get the impression you get this a lot. If you'd rather not have to explain for the millionth time…
[Then he'll just find the answer himself– because in spite of himself, he's kind of intrigued now. Venom had already been a mystery unto himself. Liquid… Much less so. Still worth his curiosity, all the same.]
no subject
Well, you found Solid.
[ He lets that sink in for a second. ]
There's no Gaseous, but there is a Solidus -- don't worry, he's not here.
[ And he isn't even going to get into "Naked."
Since the hallway appears to be relatively empty, Snake leans himself up against the wall and crosses his arms. ] It's fine. The Snake name is a code name, like I told you, but it's also kind of like a title that's awarded to certain people. Liquid's my twin brother, and Venom is... a little more complicated. [ He doesn't need to be revealing the truth of that situation to someone he just met. It also isn't his story to tell. ] He's from further back in time than us, I don't really know him that well. You can kind of think of him like our... predecessor, I guess. [ There's technically no family connection between them, so he doesn't need to go into that. ]