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

[walksonrooftops]

[Asato understood half of that so far at most, but it doesn't keep him from listening carefully, committing words and concepts to memory even if he doesn't know precisely what they mean. Tri-Mages and Heaven's Fence--he can ask for clarification later. He does understand that there was one man left on a planet going to ruin, a man who wouldn't leave his home no matter what. He can get involved in a tale like that.

Right now, he doesn't want to interrupt her story, not while she's so into sharing it.]

I do. Please keep going.

[the_vishual]

God, who had no love for the Supreme Tri-Mage, heard his voice. He looked down and was impressed with the doomed man's determination. So when the waters capsized him and drove him into the depths; when his damned voice was finally silenced, instead of letting him drown God intervened.

God transformed him into a great serpent who swims the watery planet, and each time he surfaces he causes great tidal waves, and who's voice echoes and causes thunder.

It's said if you listen very carefully, and are insane enough to be in Donar in the first place, you can still hear him. Roaring and damning his enemy. At least, that's how the story goes.

Some even claim that the dragon of Donar resides in the clouds instead, preparing to knock from the skies any foolish visitors. Especially those who support the Supreme Tri-Mage's cause.

[walksonrooftops]

I see...

[Some of this rings true to the stories he's heard as a child too, but most of it is entirely new and foreign to learn about. Still, he's more than happy to learn, eager to find out what kind of world Chase comes from. It almost sounds more like a fairy tale than anything else, but he knows better than to doubt her. So--a dragon of Donar it is. He can't prove otherwise, anyway.]

That's a really amazing story, Chase.

[He smiles and his tail gives a flick before he nudges her with his forehead. When he pulls back, he checks on her braid again, using that moment as an opportunity to think.]

I can tell you the story of my world too, if you want.

[the_vishual]

Oooh--yes! Can you tell me a story of where you lived? What do you have in mind? I want to hear all of your stories.

[walksonrooftops]

I can tell you how our world was made. [Because he doesn't have a whole lot to say about Kira. Nothing pleasant, anyway. But the legends and myths, those are easier to swallow and easier to share.]

Our world is called Sisa. And it's watched by two gods, Two Cane and his wife, Ribika. Two Cane walked on two legs like sticks, and Ribika had wings, a tail, and ears. And together they made a rainbow egg. Ribika treasured that egg.

But one day, when she was holding it up, the sunlight hit it. It was too bright, the sun shining off that rainbow. So she had to look away, and she dropped her egg on accident. It fell down from where the gods lived, and it hit a cloud and broke into many, many pieces.

And inside the egg was a seed. When it fell down to the ground, Ribika was sad and scared. She thought her egg had broken and that her child would die. She wanted to make sure what was in the egg could live. So she sang to it. She sang to it every day. The seed heard her song. It grew roots, and it spread over the ground. And it grew flowers and bloomed into all kinds of life. Into animals and plants, and into the earth. That's how Sisa was born.

[He smiles a bit, brushing a few stray strands of hair behind her ear.] I lived in a village in Sisa called Kira. It was down at the bottom of a deep ravine. But I could live there alright, and my mother told me a lot of stories.

[the_vishual]

She told you ones like that? [ Chase's smile is big and bright--the story is nice, so very beautiful. She's getting used to the idea that there are other Gods in other worlds, and these two seemed nice. Maybe a bit like Asato himself. So she smiles wide, helps herself and crawls into Asato's lap, and nuzzles him the same way he sometimes nuzzles her, even if she can't quite purr properly. ]

It's a lovely story. I want to visit Sisa and see everyone. And pet more Ribika like you, and maybe talk to Two Cane and her. But now I know why you sing sometimes!

[walksonrooftops]

[He mumbles a "yeah" in response to her first question, a bit surprised when she makes herself comfy on his lap. His arms wind around her in a loose hug and he nuzzles back, offering her a quiet, rumbling purr or two. His mother was never hesitant about telling him these stories, though he can't remember ever being overly curious about their world. He's glad he can share them now.]

Maybe it's best to pet the ones here. It's dangerous where we live, sometimes. And sometimes food is hard to find. If there was a way I know you'd stay safe, though, I'd show you Kira. Definitely.

[The big cities are better, more protected and prosperous, with a wealth of food and vendors that sell anything one can imagine--but Asato doesn't know that.]

[the_vishual]

I can handle myself, Asato. You should know! I'm big and strong. Well.. Maybe not big.

[walksonrooftops]

I'd still watch over you. Just in case.

[Because a little girl versus enormous monsters? Not the best odds, in his opinion. Not even when that little girl is Chase.]

Come on, I'll try to make you some food from my world. It can't be that hard.

[the_vishual]

Do you not cook? I mean I don't cook.. Maybe we'll blow up the kitchen.

[ But she's holding onto Asato's hand tightly. It doesn't matter where they go or what happens--it matters that they're together and they care about each other. ]

One day I want you to meet Sizer.

[walksonrooftops]

I can make a fire. And I can hold things over it until they're good to eat.

[And that's all he needs to know if he wants to fill his belly, right?

He carefully picks Chase up off his lap and stands, ready to make his way to the kitchen. She's light, and he'd have no trouble carrying her that far, but he'll put her down if she'd rather walk with him. Either is more than enough for him; he's just happy to be with Chase again, no matter what they get up to, and it shows in his small smile and the easy sway of his tail.]

Who is Sizer?

[the_vishual]

[ Chase feels like rewarding herself, feels like being lazy. So she wraps her arms around the other's neck and grins. ] It's better than I can do. But I'm good at making sandwiches.

Sizer is my brother.

[walksonrooftops]

[That's fine by him. He gives her a nuzzle as they walk, content to let her be as lazy as she feels like being. His hold on her is safe and secure, and he looks ahead as he answers her.]

I didn't know you had a brother. Does he look a lot like you?

[the_vishual]

No. He's very big--big big big. He's four but he's huge, looks about 20. And he's a monster, but I'm very proud of him.

[walksonrooftops]

That's a strange thing to say. That you're proud of a monster.

[Still, he doesn't know who Sizer is, so who is he to judge?]

But if he's your brother and he's important to you, then I want to meet him.

[the_vishual]

When he transforms, he has no flesh. And he gets bigger! Bigger than big, and strong. And has tremendous jaws and tremendous strength. He was built for melee combat, you see. But he's very nice. He acts like a child but he's very nice.

[walksonrooftops]

I'd think I'd like to see that. That he acts like a child doesn't matter a lot. As long as he's nice and took good care of you.

[He opens the kitchen door while he speaks and sets Chase gently down on a chair, moving away to look through the cabinets and refrigerator. This would be much easier if more of the food were fresh, but he'll have to do with the canned and nonperishable alternatives.]

Do you have any other family, Chase?

[the_vishual]

[ It's hard to find the right words--difficult. Very difficult. She quiets but it's not out of sorrow, it's more to attempt to explain the situation. ]

Yes. Though he does not call me daughter and I am not to call him father.

[walksonrooftops]

[He gives her a glance over his shoulder at that, already suspecting this is something he won't fully understand. After a moment, he goes back to his food hunt--nuts, pre-frozen fruit, juice and oil. He scours the freezer for meat someone might not have gotten to yet and finds a vaccuum-sealed packet of chicken thighs. Not the best thing in the world, but it's more than he thought he'd find.]

Even if you don't call him that, do you love him like your father?

[the_vishual]

Despite being told not to, I do. And I think, despite not wanting to, he does.

[walksonrooftops]

That's all you need, right? That's all a family really needs.

[He doesn't stop working while he speaks, trying to figure out how to cook all this stuff into something that makes sense. Well, there's potatoes, and potatoes aren't hard to cook, and he can toss them in with the chicken and some frozen apples and carrots...]

I'd like you to meet Kagari, too. She's not my mother, but she took care of me. She's a fierce woman. But she'd probably like you because you're really smart.

[the_vishual]

Ka...Ga....ri. [ She likes your language, it just takes a while. But Chase nods, looking at all of the stuff. It looks good, even frozen, so she's up on her tip-toes to watch. ] That sounds like a warrior name.

[walksonrooftops]

She is a warrior. Every cat in Kira is a warrior. [He adds some broth from a can to a pot over the stove and drops the chicken in another pan while he speaks. He's never been an extraordinary cook, but he's had to fend for himself for as long as he remembers, so he's sure he can make this into something edible.]

After my mother died, Kagari was the only female cat in our village. But she was stronger than any of the men for sure.

[the_vishual]

The only female?! Oh, wow, that must have been tough! Especially taking care of Asato and asserting her dominance on the rest of Ribika kitties!

[walksonrooftops]

I think it was hard for her. But she was even tougher than that.

[He smiles over his shoulder at her, his tail swaying relaxedly from side to side.] It's because of her that I'm here now. She's the only family I had, at least back home. So I definitely would like it if Chase met her one day. I want to show her all the people I've met here.