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

[countermand]

Nah, got it. [There's nothing quite like tying off bandages using his teeth. Reminds him of Iraq. When he's finished, he'll glance at the sign and then back to Bennett again.]

But space questions. [She doesn't seem to excited to be here, nonetheless.] Don't have any of those.

[Mostly because he doesn't know anything about space. He's not that well-versed in things he never cared about on Earth.]

[glassesonachain]

[Not a bit. She's doing this as a favor to a friend.]

It can be a bit more general than that. Questions about...all of this. This place, the ship and how we got here. Anything like that is also fair game.

[countermand]

[He'll use a couple more squares of gauze to wipe off any of the excess blood on his face before tossing them in the trash. Looks like he'll survive after all.]

Uh. [Those are all pretty important questions, aren't they.] How did we get here, ma'am?

[glassesonachain]

[She can't tell if he's being genuine or a smart ass since she just said that. Hooray for being completely unable to navigate normal human interaction.]

Short answer? We really don't know. The ship just seems to kidnap people across dimensions.

[countermand]

[Mike blinks at the answer. Wait. Something seems wrong with this situation.]

Anybody been asking questions why? Kidnapping's a pretty big deal where I come from.

[glassesonachain]

Of course. All the answers we have are purely speculation, though. We don't, we don't have anything concrete. Sorry. I wish we did.

[countermand]

[Mike grimaces but nods. He's used to answers like that, honestly. Comes with the job.]

How long've you been here, ma'am?

[glassesonachain]

[She frowns for a moment, looking up and honestly having to think about it for a second. Time seems to...blend together here after a while.]

This was my fifth jump so. About four months?

[countermand]

[Mike can understand how that goes, but he's a little startled by the amount of time.]

Has everyone been here as long as you?