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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
[ Her smile is wry as he turns to her, perhaps even edging on bitter just ever so slightly. When the whole system is behaving about as well as the holotable and she's stuck inside said system, yes, it's pretty awful. ]
This is better than no power at all, but just barely. When you're used to working quickly, it's agonizing to suddenly be stuck with half of the usual processing power.
[ Boring. Painfully so. She's so used to running multiple processes at once, all functioning quickly, that's how she's supposed to be, but low power hinders her abilities as well as her efficiency. ]
It's certainly one way to kick off a new month.
no subject
[ But he is glad that the failures and reboots haven't damaged her permanently, and that even if the systems all went down she'd likely still be in there, somewhere. Though a thought comes to mind. ]
I've been thinking of setting up a small generator. Since the last time we've had some power issues I've kept some power reserves around, just in case. I can... if you want, I can hook it up to something smaller. Just one computer, or this table, for instance. You can hang around, if you want to. It's kind of small, but...
[ Better than constantly flickering on and off. ]
Ideally I'd suggest a synthetic body but I think that would take me way too long to build. [ But, you know. Just throwing that idea out there. ]
no subject
[ There's amusement in her voice, but the sentiment is honestly appreciated. Not a lot of people take the artificial intelligences into account when there's a power shortage, so it's nice when someone does.
Cortana perks visibly at the mention of a generator and nods, glancing around the room and down at the table thoughtfully. ]
Well, I certainly wouldn't turn down the idea of a synthetic body, but I don't want to add on to your workload.
[ But, you know. A body? That would be helpful in more times than just ones like these. Not to mention... how amazing that would be, to actually have a physical presence...
There are more important things than her own whims, however. She wouldn't want to pull focus from those. ]
A generator would be plenty. Perhaps a bit cramped, yes, but I'd rather be confined and have full processing power than free reign and not enough power to do more than two tasks at once.
no subject
[ There's always the chance that this'll be their new normal, but Bruce genuinely hopes not. Having power this low makes everything so unstable, he's sure that the new captain and first mate will see that the benefits aren't nearly worth the trouble.
He just hopes they'll see that before something disastrous happens. Like it did last time. ]
Alright. Give me a moment and I'll set it up for you, then.
[ And on he goes to do all the science-y things involved with connecting a generator to the holographic table. (Pretend there are a lot of technical details here.) ]
no subject
[ That enthusiasm certainly draws her back to the idea with more eagerness of her own. Having a body is an impossibility for her at home, it's incredible to be here and have people who may actually be able to build something like that for her. It's... It's something she never dreamed she'd ever be able to attain, no matter how much she might want to, so if Bruce is going to seriously make the offer, Cortana will definitely take him up on it. ]
Well, in that case... Honestly? I'd love that. Having a body would be so much more practical.
[ With the generator set up (very technical, much detail), she can feel the increase in power levels immediately and pulls ever part of herself out of the rest of the ship in order to concentrate herself in the holographic table. Her hologram stops flickering and her processes are back up to par.
It's a relief. She even looks relieved, before she offers Bruce an appreciative grin. ]
I can't thank you enough.
no subject
[ Honestly, look at the guy. If it weren't for the fact that he has to keep a strict routine, he'd probably hole himself up in the lab for hours on end. So obviously the prospect of building an artificial body —not just a robot, nothing so simple as that— is a very exciting one to him.
Bruce finishes setting up the table with auxiliary power, then lets her move over to it. Like he said, it's likely not too big a place for her, but he's glad to see that her hologram stops flickering the moment she settles in. ]
You don't have to. [ Except maybe... ] Just drop by sometimes, when things get back to normal. I like having you around. For now, though, you're free to stay for as long as you want. And for the record, you have my full permission to go through all the information I have stored in there.
[ Which is... well, actually, it's a lot. It's pretty much everything he has on the ship, the crew, and their journey so far. ]
no subject
The only exception is John. He'd always treated her like more than a computer, more than something made specifically to help humans. He'd wanted to find Halsey specifically to help her, to try to stop her rampancy so she could live longer... Part of her wishes he was here.
Still. The fact that some of the people here, particularly Bruce, have treated her more along these lines... It's still surprising, but she appreciates it so much. More than she may even be able to express, which is honestly baffling to her. ]
Sure. I actually like dropping by here, it's by far one of the most interesting places on the ship. And filled with the most interesting people.
[ Cortana raises her eyebrows, a playful but affectionate smile playing at her lips. Yes, Bruce is absolutely high on her list of favourite people on the Moira. ]
I'm glad to have that permission, considering I likely would have gone through all the information anyway. At least this way, I don't have to feel guilty about it.
[ It's more teasing, but her voice sobers slightly as she continues. ]
Thank you, Bruce.
no subject
And here? Here, he sees just how far that technology can get. Honestly, it doesn't matter how Cortana came to be, or the fact that she doesn't really exist on a physical plane. She shows a consciousness, a personality, feelings too, so as far as he's concerned, she's a person and she should be treated like one. ]
I appreciate the candidness anyway. [ He says with a bit of a lilt, tipping his head a little and smiling a little wider when she thanks him. ]
Anything for my favorite artificially intelligent person. [ Leaning in a little like that somehow will keep what he'll add next a secret between them, ] Don't tell JARVIS I said that.
no subject
Cortana cares about humans, she really does, but sometimes... Sometimes they have this habit of considering themselves above every other type of being. ]
My lips are sealed.
[ Miming zipping her mouth closed, her hands then fall to her hips and she takes a wide glance around the darkened lab. The room almost seems bigger when she's confined to a single holotable. ]
Now, a synthetic body. That seems a bit outside your usual range of work. You think you're up to the task?
[ If anyone is, she has a feeling that it's Bruce. Honestly, she has total faith in him and his work--she's read enough of the files and gone back over the network history to know what he's capable of--and she'll always be around to offer assistance where he might need it. Building bodies from scratch, she knows nothing about, but she does have a knack for calculations and going over minute details, among... many other things. ]
no subject
Thankfully she shouldn't run into that problem here, not to the same extent anyway. And if she does Bruce is sure that plenty of people would gladly step in and stand on her side— starting with him, for one. ]
Is that a challenge I hear? Because I'll take you up on it.
[ He raises an eyebrow, grinning lopsidedly. Sure, it's not his main field of expertise, but he definitely thinks he's more than capable to get that work done, not to mention the experience he's gotten while working on the prosthetics in Doc Yewll's project. ]