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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
no subject
Ask discreetly enough, you'll find what you're looking for. [ He said in a low tone, probably nothing Kirk didn't already know but at least confirmation that the man could find plenty of like minded individuals.
The comment about drinks with umbrellas got a small snort, no smile and it wasn't a proper laugh but a sound of amusement all the same. Amusement that never reached his eyes on the heels of Kirk's question.
As a rule, Adrien didn't talk about back home. There were the few people on board the ship who had lived it and he had looped Tony in on the situation but beyond that, Adrien kept that information to himself. It hadn't been that big a deal, until these recent events.
While he sat there, in a pensive sort of stillness, Kirk might notice that Courser had sat up, ears lifted as if sensing something. The tracker didn't move away, though he shifted to set his chin on his companion's thigh and Adrien's hand (the one not under his chin) dropped into the bahari's blue mane, carding through it in a self soothing manner.
Adrien weighed his next move carefully, chose his words carefully to give the information he felt was pertinent, without exposing the horror beneath. ]
Circumstances, like this [ he explained. ] where the ship ultimately flies under the banner of an unknown entity, controlling at a distance with motives that are veiled. But giving the impression that the crew is not the highest priority on the ship.
Difficult to put trust in the officers given governance by that entity, where are their priorities? Ultimately, lives on the line and the expectation that we'll get ourselves out of trouble; because help isn't guaranteed.
[ He paused, stroking his hand over Courser's ear as the bahari shifted closer. Again, picking carefully through details. ]
My employer back home, on another ship -not the one I served on- discovered a handful of crew members acting against their interests. Save for the few who had turned in their crew mates, HQ held the crew in cuffs in the ship's brig and obliterated the entire ship.
There were thousands of beings who had no idea what had happened but they died, because those were the stakes; their lives and the safety of their planets were forfeit due to a 'retired contract'.
[ And that wasn't the worst of it, but it was enough to help explain his own position. ]
The crew I served with, we had some very hot headed, heroic types and they suffered under what we were doing; I don't blame them, every last one of us deserve to suffer. But when you're plotting, long term, against a cosmic force that powerful, a little patience and a hell of a lot discretion is called survival.
[ He sighed then and rubbed his hand over his face a couple of times, before shifting Courser off his leg and sitting forward, hands linked together. ]
I'm not saying that what's happened here isn't disquieting, especially given the questions on this ship itself that are going unanswered. But the new Captain and First Mate didn't kill the officers on this ship. Back home? That would have been their first move. We've got some breathing room to be patient in this, collect what we can yes but also see where this new Captain directs us.
[ And one last brush up through his hair, he pointed at the dead console and gave Kirk a wry look. ]
Maybe pull back a little on the risk of electrocuting yourself, at least?
no subject
[ Jim still hasn't earned a smile from the other guy, considering the circumstances, but there was amusement there, he could tell. It seemed to get snuffed out before it got anywhere near his eyes, and he settled himself for the proverbial long haul in case Adrien wanted to share.
When he does start to speak again, he turns his head to watch him, devoting his whole attention. He's glad he did, but he's also not at the very same time. The story hits too damn close to home. Not the same type of circumstances, perhaps, but the same casual disregard for life to serve someone else's goal.
Jim can swallow the panic that the story threatens to bring up, he can focus through the dark of the rooms around them and try his best to not think about he and Scotty's mad dash through a dead ship to get to Engineering and save everyone. And all of it started with one twisted, broken off cell inside of Starfleet mutating and infecting the heart of them. Deciding that lives were forfeit because they weren't human, and putting them into forced servitude. He's had a little over a year to deal with the consequences of Marcus and Khan.
Consequences that still affect him. After all, he's sitting there right then breathing, isn't he? He waits until Adrien is finished explaining before letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. ]
I'm not saying we should storm the bridge and demand answers. That's the last thing I want, even if I do want answers. But I know what happens if we wait too long. If something breaks off and mutates under our watch, even if we don't know it's happening. People suffer and die if we don't make sure we have the right information.
[ Jim watches Adrien pet Courser, and gives a quirk of a smile that is snuffed out almost immediately. ]
Not long ago for me, I made mistakes that allowed an Admiral from my own---organization to use me for his own ends. I almost ended 72 lives, started an Interstellar war with a species we are at high tensions with still, and when I found out too late and tried to fix it---
We tried to bring a prisoner back to Earth for trial after being pursued into a neutral territory, were chased through our warp channel, overtaken, and blown out of it just within range of Earth. Just so one man could have a war he was convinced was coming and wanted. He was willing to end every life aboard my own ship to have it.
[ He doesn't go into Khan, what happened after with Marcus' death, and the devastation of San Franscisco. He doesn't mention what happened to himself to save the Enterprise. That his best friend broke the oath he took as a doctor to save him. I must not play at God. His entire crew, Spock, Uhura, and all of the rest, they pulled together to save him.
Sometimes he still looks in the mirror wondering if anything came back changed and he just doesn't know it yet. ]
I'm not unfamiliar with doing what one has to in order to survive. So, yeah, I'll dial it back on the electrocuting a bit, just for you. [ And because he won't have another crew suffer for his own rash actions. Jim forces a grin at that, and shifts to stand back up. ]
That means we've still got a book to find, right?
no subject
More in line with Adrien's recent experiences than he was used to finding in a complete stranger.
On the one hand it gave him a sense of tentative reassurance that he'd actually chosen right in deciding to trust Kirk with some of his own history. On the other, he was truly regretful that actions like HQs seemed capable of developing in other dimensions.
Not, perhaps, to the same scale as HQ but bad enough.
He still didn't smile but some of the tension across the line of his shoulders relaxed slightly as he sat back, studying Kirk intently. There was so much more to the story, probably more to the story Kirk was telling him, but for the time being, there was enough out between them to suggest an understanding.
Adrien would take it.
He nodded at the last question and reached into the stack beside his chair. ]
Needle in a needle stack.