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

[wolfchild]

I didn't eat before the jump. I should get something now.

[ a little pause. ]

I ought see to Engineering.

[bullshead]

It might still be hot.

[wolfchild]

That's why I have to see.

[ because dutyyyyyy ]

[bullshead]

Want me to come with you?

[wolfchild]

[ yes. ]

I guess. [ arya jumps to her feet. ] Nymeria!

[ at the sound of her name, nymeria lopes toward her, the towel in her mouth. arya takes it from her and tosses it aside. ]

Come on, you.

[bullshead]

[ he doesn't laugh, though some sort of sound leaves his mouth. gendry shakes his head and falls into an all too familiar step. ]

You serious about shaving her?

[wolfchild]

No.

[ arya raises an eyebrow at him. ]

But I will shave you.

[bullshead]

I don't need shaving.

[wolfchild]

[ she wrinkles her nose. ]

Have you seen your face?

[bullshead]

Yes.

[wolfchild]

Then you know you need a shave.

[bullshead]

I don't need a shave.

[wolfchild]

Yes, you do.

[ stark stubbornness: engaged. ]

If you don't do it, I'll shave you.

[ reaching the lifts, she punches the call button. ]

[bullshead]

No. [ HIS FACE!!! NOT YOURS. ]

[wolfchild]

[ it's for your own good!! ]

Why are you so stubborn? I'm not going to cut you! [ hopefully. ]

[bullshead]

You probably will!

[wolfchild]

I would not!

[ when the doors open, she gets into the car first. she shoots gendry a cross look. ]

If I wanted to cut you, I'd do it. I wouldn't offer you a shave.

[bullshead]

Just because you can cut a man's throat doesn't mean you know how to shave him.

[ gendry joins her not long after, nose screwed up as if he had smelt something foul. ]

[wolfchild]

I have four brothers, I've seen it done a hundred times.

[ that may be an exaggeration but. ]

Do you really think I would cut you?

[bullshead]

But you haven't done it.

[ silly arya, watching is different from actually doing. ]

Not on purpose.

[wolfchild]

I am not going to cut you. Will you let me shave you?

[bullshead]

You won't stop bugging me about it, will you?

[wolfchild]

Not until you get rid of it.

[ it's for your own good. ]

[bullshead]

[ E Y E R O L L. ]

[wolfchild]

[ she's taking that as a win.

to shave gendry they go! ]