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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
...Are you implying that the destruction of a robot is considered murder on this ship? Because that's— WOW. That's really surprising!
no subject
<Oops. I'm sorry. Standard facility protocol guarantees-->
[No, no, facility protocol can go jump in a segfault. The robotic monotone cuts out as quickly as it triggered, leaving the mainframe's own voice practically tripping over itself.]
Whoa, wow, wait, seriously? I mean, please confirm but, really, what?
no subject
He trains his eyes back on Rocky, because while he'd rather not be talking to technology he knows which he prefers to humor right now.]
Take it up with the captain. It's murder, believe me. For some reason that's what the rules around here say and taking out a robot will get you the same punishment as taking out a human or alien or monster.
no subject
So the captains consider us all — human and machine alike — to be equal?
[The smile that returns to his screen is different from the one he wore moments ago. Artificial as his features might be, genuine delight now shines through the expression an both hands come together before him.]
Incredible...
I mean, for some of us!
no subject
[The administrator's voice doesn't hold quite the unmitigated joy Rocky's does. He does, however, seem to be stuck on incredulity. No depurposing. Or not without consequences, not as a matter of course. It's no guarantee of protection against recalibration or reset, and as a non-bodied AI, might mean very little for himself. He's not quite so ready to assume the captains' motives either.
But as statements go...]
That's... wow. And I thought the contract was strange.
...
Hey, you wouldn't know--
[No. Bad mainframe. Don't ask the bigot about your safety. The words falter and die out halfway, but the note they leave on is more musing than upset. He's got plenty to think about.]
no subject
[Even if the Ade thing was meant to be cleared up months ago, there's still that nagging feeling in his chest that some people here would never be the same as others. The Captain's decision to slaughter the Caducans after all the grief he'd been given over Rinzler felt like a confirmation to his single view mindset.
The expression he turns to Mainframe with is...complicated. He's caught in his own bitterness and the annoyance both the robotic creatures he's dealing with. And maybe a little amusement at Rocky's reaction which only serves to make him grumpier.]
I wouldn't know what? [He glances at Rocky.] Go ahead and celebrate. You've got free passes to do pretty much whatever you want to here.
[It comes out flat, tired.]
no subject
And then there's the Mainframe's question still hanging in the air unasked, though he can speculate what that question might have been. Un-bodied AIs are kind of a special case, after all. With that in mind, he addresses Peter.]
If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you've been aboard this ship for a while—longer than a few hours, anyway. I mean, you really seem to know a lot about how things work around here! You mentioned you've seen differences based on who's what. Would you mind telling us more?
[Drop them deets, Peter.]
no subject
[No, really, don't. Peter doesn't seem entirely awful; tolerating nonessential questions at all puts him well above most expectations from home. But the AI didn't miss the resentment for not being allowed to depurpose their kind, and considering how much offense has already been taken to his presence...
...well, better not to give him any ideas. There's a flash of appreciation for Rocky's question. Neatly put, and highly relevant. The mainframe stays quiet, listening to hear the answer.]
no subject
Maybe it was just that he was around robots now instead of shouting into the void and waiting for someone to shout back.]
I've been here for months. [That's a good enough place to start.] Like, half a year or something. So yeah, I've seen shit here. And I've seen shit at home. Anywhere there's a group in the minority there's going to be a difference made. And there are some groups here that there are very few of.
It's not just humans or- [He glances back up to the camera he figures Mainframe is watching from.] -or robots here. They just might have the most people.
no subject
Your system may not be perfect but it sounds like a big step up from what I'm used to.
Where I'm from you're either human or you're not. And if you're not human, then you're property. You can be bought, sold or destroyed at any time for any reason, whether you want to be or not! Even if you're technically a sentient being. That's the world I'm used to.
[His smile looks bright again as he raises a hand toward Peter, as if trying to bridge the space between them both literally and figuratively.]
Which is why I found it so fascinating to learn that the destruction of a non-human entity is classified as "murder" here. It's just really, really neat!
no subject
[The mainframe's not quite so optimistic on their chances, but he'll back Rocky's play. And as long as Peter's bothering to glance his way, he might as well assume he's meant to be included. Or at least, that Peter would rather not be wondering whether he's listening in.]
You sound like you're speaking from experience, though.
[Not to mention that they...?]
no subject
Well this isn't your home. No one will do anything to you here, not even if you do something first.
[He flinches, a micro-second reaction, at the hand. He'd only just seen the weapon and for a moment he thinks he's going to be attacked. He settles, schooling his face back to something more passively annoyed but still takes a step back.]
Yeah I am. I'm not just going to go running my mouth about something I don't know anything about. I've been here a long time and I know a thing or two about not being human.
no subject
But there's more than just Peter's reactions that Rocky doesn't understand. Why did the teen keep implying that machines could do whatever they wanted here without consequence? And what did he mean by saying he knows what it's like not being human when he's clearly a human? Rocky's processor is working to try and puzzle together data in a way that makes sense, but there are just too many missing pieces and he suspects Peter's discomfort could turn to hostility if further pressed.]
Sorry about that. I didn't mean to startle you. [He tries, this time with hands kept to himself.] I don't know what experiences you might've had on this ship but I'm going to follow the same rules everybody else does. You might not trust me and that's okay—a lot of humans don't—but I mean you no harm. Honest! I have no reason whatsoever to want to hurt you.
In fact, it's just the opposite! [His smile starts to return but with some hesitance.] I'd much rather be friends! ...Or, uh, friendly acquaintances if you prefer?
no subject
It leads him to nearly growl out his next words, the embarrassment making him feel wrong footed and frustrated.]
You didn't startled me, geez. [Liar, liar.] Why would I be scared of you? Just don't go around touching people like that.
[It's hypocritical of him and he knows it. He never cares about invading other's space for a laugh.]
You're going to have to realize I have no reason to believe you on that. Any of it. Besides, the rules are just about killing, right? There's a lot of bad stuff that's still legal here.
no subject
Understood. [He nods.] Actions speak louder than words, as they say!
Still, I can't help but wonder what kind of machines you've had the misfortune of meeting that have been doing all this bad but legal stuff. It's kind of sad.
[At the same time, he's sure that whatever machines are responsible for scaring Peter so much were just doing what they were programmed to do in an environment that conflicts with their programming. But that's just another reason for why it's sad.]
eight million years late...
[The agreement sounds a little grim. That's one question answered, and not in a good way. Still, someone who shouts at the walls when upset at an AI probably doesn't pose much too much danger to his code.
And that flinch is... telling.]
Thanks for the perspective. Anything you'd suggest watching out for?
[He's half-expecting some sarcastic form of you, but the human(?) hasn't been too bad about questions. And if nothing else, being deferred to as the local expert might cut down on that defensiveness.]
no subject
Sad? Not really. More a pain in the ass.
[That was probably a request to tell which machines he was so panicked about. Peter doesn't feel like answering. And then the other had to outright ask.
He never got a break.]
Plenty. The new captain, for a start.
[They saw fit to keep a robot running through their systems. That was reason enough to be wary.]