eighteenth jump;

[mathematically]

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

[nonsomno]

[It's the meows that catch Talia's attention, but it's the little girl who keeps it. She can't be more than-- god, what, ten? Twelve? Too young for this, and Talia's mouth curls in disgust.

Quiet as the grave, she pads over. She makes a fearful sight, weapons strapped to her sides, her arms, but her voice is gentle as she crouches down next to Prim and speaks.]

I can find some milk, if you'd like.

[littleduck]

[Prim turns to look at the woman, and while she's surprised by seeing all the weapons she knows that people here like to carry them. After some of the things that have happened, she also knows that weapons are needed in a place like this. So she doesn't focus on those, but the woman's face instead. Her offer is kind, and Prim smiles.]

Buttercup does like milk. Waking up the way we do every month isn't ever easy on him, so it's good to spoil him. Just a little.

[But she doesn't want someone to have to do the work for her, so she gives a slight shake of her head.]

You don't have to get it for me.

[nonsomno]

I don't, no. But I'd like to.

[A beat. She wrinkles her nose.]

Though I don't know where the milk is kept. Perhaps you and Buttercup could show me?

[littleduck]

I'd like that.

[Prim quickly decides that this woman is a friend, if she's offering to help with Buttercup. She's met so many people here that have put her mind better at ease with trusting others a bit more easily, so her smile is natural and genuine as she glances up and motions for her to follow. Buttercup is held tightly in her arms, and despite protesting mews he just flops there grumpy as can be.]

The kitchens are this way. The ones I use, anyway. They're not that far, not really. [She pauses, looking a bit more concerned now.]

Is this your first time here?

[nonsomno]

It is, yes.

[She glances down at her.]

How long have you and Buttercup been here?

[littleduck]

It's complicated. [She frowns, shaking her head.]

I was here before, for a few months. And then left, I think. But now I'm back, with a new number on my arm. So I must have left. This is my first time waking up here, with this new number.

[nonsomno]

[She frowns. That makes sense, sort of, but it's disquieting.]

Was there any significance to the time you left and came back?

[littleduck]

[Once again, she shakes her head. She gives a helpless little shrug of her shoulders.]

I'm not sure. I wish I knew, but it's hard to keep track of time at all here. I don't remember much of anything happening at home, though, if that helps any. It didn't feel like any time at all had passed when I woke up again. I don't think it's anything to worry about, though. Not really.

[nonsomno]

Why not?

[littleduck]

Because if I worry about it, that means there's something else here to be afraid of.

[nonsomno]

[Despite herself, she snorts.]

That's one way to look at it.

[She reaches down, squeezing her shoulder.]

Do you know how to protect yourself?

[littleduck]

[She thinks that's a bit of a trick question, and hesitates in answering.]

I'm learning. [Is what she finally responds with, giving a nod of her head.] I know more now than I used to. I still don't know a lot, but that's okay. I have people here that help me.

[nonsomno]

I think that's a smart thing to learn.

[She says that seriously, but she smiles after a moment.]

Though I suspect it's obvious advice, coming from someone looking as I do.