ELEVENTH WAVE

[astrogate]

CHARACTERS: any and all
LOCATION: Gravity Couches and beyond
WARNINGS: maybe some swearing, or even some violence, and more than likely some implied (and possibly explicit) nakedness.
SUMMARY: Another month, another jump, another round of new faces.
NOTES: Keeping up with the tradition and copy pasted like always from the last one


You wake up in darkness.


There's a breathing tube jammed down your trachea, and you're suspended in a tube of clear blue fluid. Upon registering your level of consciousness, the gravity couch drains the fluid surrounding you and retracts the breathing apparatus; the doors in front of you open, and you're deposited on the floor of a stark, sterile medical bay.

You are not alone.


There are others who have come before you, others who are awakening beside you. Some may be familiar to you, perhaps even friends. Others have much less amiable plans. Some are merely alien and inexplicable, but there are always those who might mean you harm.

After you catch your breath and your vision returns, you notice a number on the inside of your forearm. Maybe it's a familiar number. Maybe it means something. Maybe it's just a number. But the number—completely unique to you—is a tattoo, and it does not come off.

If you enter the room adjacent to the medbay, you will find a small locker with your number on it, surrounded by rows upon rows of identical lockers. Inside, you will find a few of your personal items, a communications device, and a ship's uniform in your exact size. The comms device is fully powered and connects directly to the ship's network; it's your only means of communication beyond physical conversation. Upon turning the device on, a neutral, automated voice will say, "Please take the blue lift to the passenger quarters." Any other attempts at communicating with the rest of the network are met only with static.

This is your welcome party.

Comments

[the_vishual]

Those are important. The most important of all, sir. Because they make the skeletal structure of what makes you fundamentally you. What makes you a good soldier.

[learnedtosmile]

[Maybe it's a symptom of how on-edge he's been, that he's not even questioning it anymore, talking to this child who seems to know so much about him. But Blake sits down on the bench again, glancing at the police uniform.] I never wanted to be a soldier.

[the_vishual]

Neither did I. But this is bigger than just us, you have to understand. The remains of your past, or the probability of your future--ultimately, that's something you need to decide on. The uniform, or the bag?

[learnedtosmile]

[The uniform, or the bag? It seems so simple, when she puts it like that. But nothing is ever that simple. Either choice is a tough one.

Maybe he should be glad he's stuck here, so he can put off making it for a while longer.]

That's a hell of a choice.

[the_vishual]

But it's one only you can make.

Free will is a funny thing, isn't it?

[learnedtosmile]

I'm okay with free will. I just have to make sure the choice I make is the right one. [That's the tough part. Knowing what he knows - can he go back to the uniform and the badge? Go back to those rules that would've killed millions of innocent people? Or could he work outside the system? Is that a responsibility he can shoulder?]

[the_vishual]

That's the other good thing about free will. [ She's running a hand through her hair, combing through it, pleased. ] It's your choice on whether it's the right one or not.

[learnedtosmile]

Is it, though? What if the choice I make causes a lot of pain for other people? Wouldn't that make it the wrong one?

[the_vishual]

Sir...

[ She takes a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. ]

Human beings are funny, aren't they? When you look at things objectively. They have so much power but so many fail to live up to their full potential. Beyond the Mages, beyond the Prise. You're given a great gift: to choose. And whichever path you choose, if one believes it enough, it is the right choice.

I have faith, sir. Faith in a lot of things--but also that you'll make the correct decision.

[learnedtosmile]

[That surprises him - not that she has faith - she clearly has that in abundance, in a way that Blake will never have. But that she has faith in him.

It's not that he doesn't think anyone does - he thinks Gordon trusts him, he knows Bruce must have some kind of faith that he might be a worthy successor, somehow, but no one's just said as much to him before.

He stands up, grabs the uniform from the locker, looks at it carefully.]

Faith because you know which decision I'll make? How does that even work - if I have free will, but a destiny, too?

[the_vishual]

Sir, if I could answer that question I wouldn't be the Vishual. I'd be God. And the last person who called himself God on Heaven's Fence was met with the final judgement of the Crowing and I.

[learnedtosmile]

That sounds unpleasant. [He says that without a hint of irony - she might be just a child but she's clearly not stupid.

He sets the uniform down, and digs around in his locker for his other things - pulling out a pair of handcuffs while he's at it.]

Guess these might not be such a bad idea.

[the_vishual]

They're tools for you to use. How you use them is up to you.

[learnedtosmile]

[He quirks an eyebrow at her.] These I think will just be used if I need to handcuff a murderer.

[the_vishual]

Uhm.... With all due respect, sir. I meant.. symbolism.

[learnedtosmile]

[That - shockingly enough, that gets a hint of a smile out of him. Maybe not quite enough to show off his dimples, but it's definitely almost a smile.]

Yeah, I know what you meant.

[the_vishual]

Are you going to be okay now? [ A pause. ] Someone's going to be a little too nauseous and I saw myself giving them a towel immediately after. I have to go find them before it happens.

[learnedtosmile]

[That is simultaneously kind of creepy and yet endearing at the same time. Still, Blake nods a little.] I'm all right. Go be where you need to be.

[He's always all right, sometimes it just takes a little time.]