twenty-eighth 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: It could just be the standard sensation of air on wet skin, but if you bother to check, you might notice the steam rising from your body, barely there and gone within a minute. By the time you get to the showers, it will be clear that it's not just taking you time to adjust. The room is cold — colder than usual, but no worse than the last jump. While it's nothing dangerous, it's certainly motivation to hurry through the usual routine and get dressed quickly.



It's getting closer.




YOUR EYES ARE OPEN.

KEEP LOOKING.

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

[unparental]

'My loss'.

[ part of her wants to force the issue ( it wasn't my loss, klaus didn't cause trouble stop hiding behind making everything sound cleaner than it was— than it is ) but after a long moment she sighs, raking a hand through her hair and lifting a shoulder in a helpless shrug. ]

Fine. [ she pauses, tapping a fingertip against her forearm. ] You should know that the rules here are different than at home. Klaus found that out the hard way. [ the image of godric showing klaus exactly what being weaker than someone means is a treasured memory, despite the way it all ended. it's enough to steel her spine, remind her exactly what she needs to do. ] This isn't a threat, but if anything ever happens to Elena again because of your family? I'm not going to understand that, or let it go.

[ which is exactly the kind of thing that encouraged klaus to see if a little extracurricular torture wouldn't improve the situation, but protecting elena takes precedence over self-preservation around originals. ]

[cogere]

I'm not my brother. [ which is fortunate. if she had said anything resembling a threat (a whisper of consequences) to niklaus or kol, perhaps even rebekah, they would rise to the occasion. as for elijah, well, he can respect her protection of elena, but that's the extent of it: a passing regard. ]

Understood. [ if there's a hint of amusement in his voice, it's because he's the arrogant one, after all. 'the rules are different here,' please. ] And if you ever are so unfortunate as to meet my family again, I ask that you avoid an encounter like this. If you were to address them as you have me, they would take your words as no less than a challenge and seek to harm both you and Elena, if not everyone you hold dear. That is a fact, not a threat. [ now, he's offering advice, not a deal. ] Come to me, first, and I will ascertain that they are no threat to you.

[ dear, he has forgotten something. ] Oh, but on the subject of threats: [ a beat. then, icily. ] anyone who harms my family will die by my hand.

Good day, Jenna. [ with a slight inclination of his head, almost a bow, he flashes away. ]

[ a s s h o l e ]

i had to

[unparental]

[ jenna's already shaping a furious retort when elijah removes the chance to deliver it, and she chokes a little on indignant fury before shaking her head disbelievingly. ]

'Oooh, come to me first'. Jackass.

[ after another moment of staring disgustedly at where he was standing, she stalks off herself. at a normal speed like a non-freak, elijah.

...to go get super drunk, can't win 'em all. ]