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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
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[It's more a growl than actual words, spit out before Reaper's fist connects with his own visor, bouncing his head off the floor as white explodes behind his eyes. His response is outright animalistic--too angry to care that he's letting Reaper see how far he's fallen. 76 lurches forward even as he's pinned by the shoulder, a desperate attempt to throw him and flip their positions.]
If it's so easy, do it.
[76 gasps it out, gulping for air as Reaper crushes it out of him with his fist. It doesn't matter how augmented he is. Being at the mercy of someone similarly enhanced is going to hurt. But there's no small amount of smugness in his voice, real satisfaction in reminding Reaper that he hasn't managed to off him yet. He'd brought an entire building down on him and he's still not dead.]
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Rather than recover his blows, he makes a long reach for 76's rifle, gripping it by its barrel so that he can swing it like a club as retribution.]
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If choking him is even something that would work. He's so fixated on keeping hold that doesn't realize Reaper is reaching for his gun until it's already swinging at him.
Right, he dropped his gun. He remembers it just as it's cracking against his face like a baseball bat. The force of the blow snaps him to the side, sending him onto his hands and knees.]
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Did you really think you'd get away from me that easily, you damned coward?
[Reaper forces the press of his knee into the other man's lower spine. He can't check the clip on the rifle while Jack is struggling, but he doesn't need a bullet to kill him.]
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Even if he could dignify Reaper with an answer to his clearly rhetorical question, he doesn't think he wants to. He certainly doesn't deserve it.
Besides, 76 has to put all of his energy into getting out of this hold. He thrashes, trying to reach backwards, claw at him, but the pressure on his throat and the foot in the small of his back means there's not much he can do. The good thing (if he can call it a good thing) is that he expects Reaper to want to make this slow and painful. 76 still has a chance to find an opening, as long as he can stay conscious.
He shifts his head, trying to take the weight off his windpipe. Reaches out to grab Reaper by the ankle that isn't currently pinning him to the floor, trying to pull his leg out from under him.]
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He balances on his knees, but the floor is rough and his body armor keeps him unstable. It quickly becomes a struggle to keep 76 from finding enough of a grip to toss him off.]
Stop squirming and die already.
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But his maneuver works, even if it doesn't bring Reaper all the way down. It loosens the gun on his throat just long enough for him to get a hand between it and his neck. From there, he uses the leverage to try and throw his opponent off, twisting his body and sending his elbow backwards, on a collision course with Reaper's face.]
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Death had done him a few favors, but his body was still flesh and bone that needed recovery time just like everyone else. The difference was that there was rarely a limit to the abuse he could take.
76 has just a few short seconds to retaliate, and in the moment he attempts, Reaper has likely already turned to try and throw him to the ground again.]
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He doesn't expect it to do much (thanks to body armor or otherwise), the pulse blasts more to drive Reaper back than anything else, because even unloading his rifle's entire clip isn't satisfying enough after everything that's happened between them. There's no time to keep firing for more than a few seconds, however, because Reaper is already back on him.
This time, 76 is ready, outright throwing the gun aside and meeting Reaper's tackle with full resistance, digging his heels into the ground.]
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He is off-balance when they begin to struggle against one another. The lack of gun means he has to sacrifice his grip if he wants to punch 76 in the face.
And that's exactly what he does, dropping his left hand and aiming to clock the other man right in the jaw.]
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So, they won't get asked at all. 76 can only focus on the fact that the barrage of pulse fire hasn't stopped Reaper, and that he's going to need to think fast before he loses the upper hand.
He takes the punch and staggers backward, because Reaper is still impossibly fast and just as strong as he remembers, but he's newly emboldened by scoring those hits. 76 is quick to recover this time, swinging a wild punch of his own even as he sees double. If he misses, he'll just follow through again, trying to take away any chance Reaper might have to recover.
It's brutal, unhinged. Feral. He doesn't seem to care about leaving himself open. All he wants is the feeling of impact.]
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His plan works, and the wildness of Reaper's punches means he eventually misses and gets knocked to the ground with a loud crack of bone and metal. Where his punch had failed, 76's had not and the consistency coupled with the still-cauterizing pulsefire wound means Reyes sits perpetually at a disadvantage.
Dazed and weakened, his lungs struggle fruitlessly against the regeneration factor. Where he bleeds, his skin continues to smoke unnaturally, and the most he can do is pull his arms under him to push himself up enough to show that he isn't dead yet.]
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A more rational part of him knows that this will not get him the answers that he wants, but 76 isn't exactly rational, nowadays. Having Reyes increasingly at his mercy (after everything, after everything he did) feels too good to stop.
When he hears that crack, he's down on the ground after him, twisting hands into the black cloak and using that grip to slam him into the floor.]
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He's lost -- even his battered skull knows as much, and if he hangs around, there's a strong chance the other man would kill him. Reaper certainly would, if their positions were reversed.
But that doesn't mean he is going to run without making Jack feel like he got nothing out of this. The smoking from his wounds increases.]
Go on, Jack. Do it. Again.
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It's only after he slams his fist into the mask again that he seems to register the fact that Reaper isn't bleeding. Not only that--he knows what this is. Reyes is mocking him, telling him to do it again, telling him to end it, because they both know it isn't possible. 76 has heard things. Seen footage. He pulls Reyes up by the collar, staring him down like he can see past the mask if he tries hard enough.]
What are you?
[What happened? His voice has come down from outright snarls to little more than a hiss.]
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Dead. Mostly. But not as dead as you're going to be.
[Reaper rapidly begins to lose weight and solid form, becoming little more than black smoke in the other man's hands. Once he loses all shape, the wraith vanishes into the nearest vent.]
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76 tries to follow the smoke until he's standing and his hands are empty, and it occurs to him that Reaper could have escaped this way the whole time. That infuriates him even more--he bites back an enraged snarl, not wanting to give Reaper the satisfaction of hearing it, in the event he isn't really gone.
76 takes off down the hall at a clip until the sharp pain of his injuries starts to creep into his awareness. He forces himself to stop after a few steps, knowing full well that he's not going to find Reyes until he wants to be found.
He'll regroup. Think this through. Tell himself that he can outsmart Reaper, even if he's not sure that's true. In the end, chasing ghosts is all he knows how to do.]