twenty-sixth jump;

[ataraxites]

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: Your average, run-of-the-mill jump—except some characters don't seem to be waking up from stasis like they should.



Don't worry.




THEY NEEDED THE REST.

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

[needsheadphones]

[ Her head still swimming, Rebecca really can't be blamed for staring blatantly at Connor. Only the thing is, it can't be Connor, and she ends up blurting out half of a name before catching herself. ]

Desm-

[ No, no no no. Can't be Connor, can't be Desmond (who doesn't even look that much like this guy, really, but her brain is stuck on him), and clearly it's just someone... who looks a lot like him. Another Assassin, maybe? A cousin? ]

Sorry, sorry-- I'll... look for that.

[emergingspirit]

[No, not quite, Rebecca.

Connor frowns and narrows his eyes briefly in thought. Does he have a doppelganger out there somewhere?

Well, it's possible.]

Here. This way. [He inclines his head toward the lockers and moves to lead the way.] Have we met before? For a moment, you looked as though you might recognize me, but I am sorry, I do not recognize you.

[needsheadphones]

Uh.

[ It really, really looks like Connor, but Rebecca is still fairly certain that, despite all the weird shit she's seen in the past few years, it is not possible for her to currently be talking to Desmond's ancestor from the 1700s. Which is why her answer is- ]

I... don't think we've met, no. I'm Rebecca.

[ Please tell her your name is Bob or something. ]

[emergingspirit]

[He must look like someone she knows, then. Still, Rebecca, dang. It's rude to stare.]

Connor.

[And here we have the lockers!]

The locker with the number matching your forearm is yours. There will be clothing inside.

[needsheadphones]

[ welp

Please excuse Rebecca while she tries very hard not to run into something. ]

Thanks.

[ She could use a shower, too, but there are more pressing matters. Not her clothes, those can wait, but- ]

Hey, uh, question. It's kind of weird, just go with me. Can you finish this sentence? [ "Without stabbing me?" Either way, her voice drops. ] 'Nothing is true...'

[emergingspirit]

[Okay, Rebecca, that's an odd request but...now it's Connor's turn to look startled, though he does his best to cover it. He'd certainly never expected another Assassin to show up here, though he had very quietly hoped that someone from home might. Unfortunately, while Rebecca is clearly from "home" she isn't from from his home, but even so....]

'Everything is permitted.' [beat] I am sorry I did not realize sooner.

[needsheadphones]

[ Have the most awkward, relieved laugh in the world, Connor. ]

Nah, it's okay. I'm-- kind of from a few hundred years later than you are. Somehow. I'm not really sure how that's possible, right now.

[ Still, she's sure she'll figure it out. Giving him a far more genuine smile now that she's not terrified of being stabbed, Rebecca goes to shove her arm against her locker to open the door. Ta-da. ]

Oh, sweet! My tunes!

[ Excuse her for a moment while she holds her MP3 player and headphones to her chest. ]

[emergingspirit]

[Few hundred years later? As good as it is to know that the Brotherhood survives, that implies the conflict with the Templars is still going--though it was somewhat of a reach to hope he could end it. There is also the question of how much the world has changed between his life and hers; that remains a question he is not quite ready to ask.]

If your time follows mine then perhaps you will be more comfortable with the technology here?

[Please say yes, he's not really up for teaching someone how to use it when he barely manages himself and still has to ask regular questions.]

[needsheadphones]

[ Setting her MP3 player and headphones back (whoops, got some goo on there), Rebecca nods, looking around again. Now that she's not worried that she's going to die because of accidentally pissing off another Assassin, she's taking the chance to really drink in the details. ]

Should be. I'm from December of 2012, so yeah, stuff has changed a lot. I mean, I'll have to see what we've got, but tech's my specialty.

[ Proud of herself? Yeah, just a bit. ]

First thing's first -- we've got showers here, right? Because while I really want to ask you what's going on and where we are and if a certain organization is involved, if we're not in any immediate danger, I'd really like to get this blue stuff off me.

[emergingspirit]

[She's enthusiastic, isn't she? ...Actually, she reminds him a little bit of Dobby, with the way she just barrels through a conversation. Connor waits patiently for an opening to answer her question.]

The showers are through there; there are towels provided. And I do not believe this is the work of Templars.

[HE'S JUST GONNA SAY THAT RIGHT IN THE OPEN, HOPE THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM.]

[needsheadphones]

[ ........ nah, she's cool with it. ]

Oh, good. And you'd tell me if any were around, right? I mean, any you know of.

[ Any other... evil... historical figures. Yeah. That's gonna go well. ]

I can meet you back here when I'm done, if that's cool? In case you need to grab anything or check on anyone or something.

[emergingspirit]

Yes. And even if there were, we have allies here.

[but go take that shower, Rebecca.]

I will wait for you. I need to retrieve some items from a locker, as well.

[needsheadphones]

[ She really wants to ask about those allies, but the siren song of the shower and Connor actually needing to go and get some things makes her set it on the back burner. ]

See you soon, then!

[ Rebecca's going to indulge in the hot water for a little bit, but she doesn't forget about him; she's back by her locker when she's done, wrapped in a towel and hair lightly dripping. ]

[emergingspirit]

[Patience, Becca, patience.

Connor is still there when she returns, though he's dressed in the standard issue jumpsuit now (and yes, he hopes the copies of his Assassin Whites will be done soon, he's tired of this). He turns aside politely when she arrives in an attempt to grant her some privacy while she dresses. Not that there's a lot to be found right now, but he's trying, ok.]

I will do my best to answer any questions you may have, but there is much I do not know.

[needsheadphones]

[ They don't even get special Assassin robes in her time, Connor, be thankful. Giving him a (slightly relieved) smile before he turns his back, Rebecca shucks her towel and starts pulling on the standard Tranquility clothing. Her MP3 player and headphones are last, and after pocketing her pack of batteries and double-checking her locker for everything, she shuts the door. ]

Well, a little bit is better than nothing.

[ Scooping the towel off the floor, she tosses it on the bench. ]

Want to start by telling me where we are?

[emergingspirit]

[Good. A question he can answer.]

A ship called the Tranquility. [beat] In space.

[needsheadphones]

Space?

[ She takes another look around. Hmm. ]

Well, I guess that explains why the pod-things felt like a sci-fi movie. Spaceship. Okay, that's... not what I was expecting, but sure. Space.

[ She is going to be much more excited about that later. ]

I'm guessing we don't know how we got here? Since, well, if we knew that we'd probably be leaving.

[emergingspirit]

There is an observatory, if you would like to see the stars.

[So yes. Space. Also, what's a sci-fi movie?]

As far as I am aware, no. No one on this ship knows exactly how we came here. We all awoke in the same way, as we do every month.

[needsheadphones]

[ Somewhere, Carolyn is laughing at Connor calling "the windows in the shuttle bay" an observatory. ]

Hell yes I want to see the stars.

[ Don't worry about it, Connor. ]

We have to do that goo thing every month?

[emergingspirit]

[You modern people and your weird words. Also shut up, Carolyn, it's a perfectly acceptable way to describe the windows.]

Yes. I...will not profess to fully understand, but every month the ship...moves. [He got it explained to him but it mostly went over his head. There was a lot of science in there that just doesn't exist in his time. Or it does, it's just nobody knows that yet.] When it does, we sleep. After a fashion.

[needsheadphones]

Huh.

[ She'll have to find someone who understands it a little more, but it's a good enough explanation, for now. ]

And where are we... going? I mean, do we know?

[emergingspirit]

[Shrug. Rebecca, you are asking a man from the 18th century about a spaceship. Be glad he's figured out enough to explain this to you in this much detail.]

No.

[Also that he can point out your comm to you.]

That device will allow you to communicate with others on board. It is very useful. [Actually, he kind of wishes he had one back home, too. Organizing missions would be a lot easier if everyone had one.]

[needsheadphones]

[ He may be from the 18th century, but he's an Assassin. She'll take what he can get. ]

Ooh, high tech space phone. This I can figure out, no problem. These go with our arm numbers, too?

[ Because if so, she's going to make sure to write your number down, Connor. ]

[emergingspirit]

[Go ahead and write that number down, because the answer is:] Yes.

[Oof, he's getting terse. Must be tired.]

[needsheadphones]

[ Aw Connor, do you need a nap?

Too bad. ]

So. Those allies?