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

[woodlander]

[ Tauriel glances up, then back at Ianto and by now she's definitely amused. She lifts one eyebrow, while replacing her arrow in her quiver. ]

Well, then that is quite a difficulty you are in. Perhaps you could find something sweet to coax her...cooperation? Otherwise it would seem she has you by the collar.

[coffeeking]

[Ianto sighs, hands on hips.]

Much easier said than done, I'm afraid. She has particular tastes, and they're shared by most of the people on this ship. You wouldn't believe how many "secret" stashes of chocolate I've found over the years.

[He even makes the quotation marks in the air.]

It's alright. She'll get bored of the game eventually and forgive me. Doesn't mean I'll forgive her!

[He raises his voice at the last, glaring at Myfanwy, who trills happily. If she understands him, she definitely doesn't believe him.]

[woodlander]

Years, indeed.

[ He is not the first that has mentioned such a time period to Tauriel, though it seems to disquiet her. In truth, the more she hears of it, the more it worries her. ]

I have never tasted chocolate. Perhaps that is a good thing. My name is Tauriel. My apologies, for threatening your friend.

[coffeeking]

It's alright, I know she can be alarming. I used to have signs up at the entrance to the gardens telling people not to hunt her or Jaye's animals, but they disappeared at some point.

I'm Ianto.

[And now that he's simmering down from his frustration and outrage, he suddenly feels just a bit awkward for yelling at Tauriel, who is a very, very pretty woman. That she's not human or that he's spoken for is neither here nor there — he still manages to flush.]

[woodlander]

[ She smiles at that name. It's very different from any she's heard before, although in fairness, that could be said for most people's names here. Her own is probably the stranger of the two, but that matters little to her own ears. ]

I would not wish to hunt that which was no threat to me. These creatures are unlike what I would find in my home. But you seem to care for them. I am sure that I will become used to them, in time.

Where are you from, Ianto?