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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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thisavrou_log2016-08-01 12:13 am
Lights Down Low
He'd assumed that the Mess Hall would probably be empty, but he catches the young woman out of the corner of his eye as he passes through it. Several things are clear: she's wet, probably just out of the shower... maybe a pool, but he doubts that, under the current conditions. She's lying flat on the floor. Even from across the big room in the low lighting, he recognizes her, and it causes his stomach to twist, something he wouldn't have expected.
His pace slows and his hand falls to his side as he looks at her, just for a beat before speaking.
She doesn't have her glasses.
He stops himself before saying her name. If she doesn't recognize him, an explanation of how he knows her could get awkward quickly: I was your boss on another ship like this one, only much worse. We survived some extreme circumstances together. We saved each other's lives. I haven't seen you since just after we were both psychologically tortured for a long time by an entity who had some kind of control of our environment and a mental connection with each of us. I had nightmares for a month after I got here, and in a number of them, something terrible was happening to you. It would sound crazy, and that was without going into the experimentation, although Tex, at least, could attest to the manticores.
Nothing about Darcy has ever suggested to him that she'll be similarly circumspect if she's familiar with him, but if she is... if that even occurs to her... he can always check her arm for the nanite tattoo.
And what if it's not Darcy after all? He's seen more unrelated people who look alike on these ships than he ever had back at home.]
Are you all right? This used to be a cafeteria, but it's been gone for about a month. Still, it wouldn't be difficult to find some coffee.
[His low voice echoes in the big, empty room.]
no subject
The voice draws her out of her thoughts, out of the what-ifs that had already started to burrow their way into her mind. That reminder that even if she got home, Thor had peaced with Jane and who knew when or if they'd see either of them again. Something had been wrong, like supernaturally wrong. Not that she knew the actual what. There's a single word that actually catches her attention above everything else, finally working on returning to some form of being upright. Ok, so this used to be a cafeteria - explained why it was so big. But that just really created more questions than answers and right now, she wasn't sure what else she could handle when it came to revelations about this place. ]
I'm -- This is all... [ She gives a sigh with a gesture, brushing a few stray curls out of her face with her other hand as she starts to get up. ] You'd be my new hero if you were able to track down the liquid gold.
[ Ok, maybe space wasn't so bad after all. ]
no subject
No sign of recognition, and he's not sure whether that's good or bad. It would be nice to know that she's out of that place, that she's somewhere at least marginally safer, and that it's not in her future. But he thinks if it were, and this were in her past, then she might have recognized him the first time he met her.
It's hard to say -- sometimes hard to wrap even a sharp mind around the Many Worlds interpretation and what you can reasonably expect from living demonstrations of it. Still, it's Darcy's face, Darcy's love for coffee... it's what he would expect.]
Your new hero? That might be a lot to live up to, but I'll do my best.
You haven't been here long, have you?
[The way he phrases it sounds more like a statement than a question.]
no subject