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

[andblockbuster]

If it is, half the ship's not even gonna be around for it, so if the ship's hoping for a really big turnout this time, it's gonna be disappointed. [Topher stares at the ceiling in dismay.] So maybe it'll just be peace and quiet this time around and we can actually get something done.

[We can spend our afternoons looking under rocks in the oxygen gardens.]

[testgasm]

[WOW HIS FAVORITE THING

Wheatley does not, however, think that this will be the case, and fixes Topher with a look that says as much. They should be so lucky, really.]

Did you have anything in mind? To get done?

[andblockbuster]

[He pinches the bridge of his nose.] Looking into the nanites, mostly. I'm afraid to even start anything with the you-know-what until I know exactly what those things are doing. Putting someone through the process might cause a reaction.

[Because he needed to know that on top of seeing the really painful screaming agony parts of the imprint process.]

[testgasm]

[LITTLE DOES TOPHER KNOW that Wheatley has been having some recent reservations, mostly related to the screaming agony parts of the imprint process. For a split second, he looks almost relieved that there's a legitimate delay outside his own cowardice.

ON THIS, HIS SECOND BIRTHDAY.

But then Topher says something that is probably a bad idea.]

Are you--are you sure that's something you should be doing?

[andblockbuster]

Looking into the nanites? [He raises an eyebrow.] I'm not... touching them. [...yet] I'm not looking to get us all locked out of our rooms or anything- I just. Don't you wanna know if they're messing with us?

[MEMORY SHARE. MEMORY SHARE.]

[testgasm]

I'm just saying, it seems like a slippery slope, mate.

[You know, first you look, and then you want to touch, and so you do touch, and the next thing you know you've fried the brain that you need to help your friend get back in his body.]

It's sort of obvious they've been messing with us, I'd think.

[andblockbuster]

[AND HE SURE HAS AWESOME LUCK WITH THOSE.]

But how is the question. [He scrubs his face and mutters.] I dunno. If I think I can figure things out, is that curiosity or arrogance?

[testgasm]

Uh, both. I'd say.

[Both sounds good. And probably accurate. But who knows, really. Wheatley thinks that's kind of a weird thing to say.]

I'm gonna go with both.