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

[specialism]

[ han solo might be confident enough to be scowling at someone while he's naked ( while they're both naked ), but ward is confident enough in his ability and training to block the path of the guy bitching at him. he thinks bitching because it is the term that seems to come closest to the tone of voice and annoyance in the man's voice.

more important than that annoyance, though, are the implications of his words. apparently, this is not an unusual occurence for the man. apparently, people wake up naked and covered in goo regularly and repeatedly. apparently, there are showers and lockers, and ward wonders for a moment if there may be weapons — but no, which kidnapper would be stupid enough to supply him with weapons?

so instead he glares at han. ]

Is this centipede's doing?

[ he doesn't think it is; centipede wouldn't be as stupid as to let him walk around freely. centipede may be many things, but stupid is certainly not among them. ]

[carbonite]

[oh good, this one has come out crazy. that's great, that's just great. he might not have ward's combat scores or the mind of it, but han has a lot of years dealing with people that would want to break his neck before even asking for him to get out of the way.

he can't help it, his eyes squeeze shut as if he's trying to process what the hell just came out of the other guy's mouth.]

One, what the hell is a centipede and two, you sort of wish it was because then it would be normal and not a mind bend. Welcome to the Tranquility, it's going to be terrible now move along.

[specialism]

[ he hasn't come out crazy at all, you just don't know what he knows — which would be obvious as soon as ward makes the connection between multiple worlds and universes and portals to other places. he has not yet made that connection, but what he can tell is that while han might not know about centipede ( or might pretend not to know about centipede ), he knows something. ]

The Tranquility?

[ ward isn't feeling particularly tranquil. nor is he feeling inclined to "move along" and to get out of han's way just yet. he doesn't bother telling han that nothing about centipede is normal. ]

[carbonite]

[what the fuck is a centipede and why is this guy still tripping balls about it. han has to rub his eyes, like he's counting down before he just clocks the guy in the face. he hates jumps, he hates that they remind him of being tortured by vader and getting told that he's going to be frozen in carbonite.

he hates that he'll never ever not feel this way about them because he knows that if he doesn't wake up in goo, he'll wake up dead (or so he thinks).]

Yeah, the Tranquility. What I just said. Do you need directions to medical or do you want to keep repeating things at me?

[10.]

[specialism]

[ han is welcome to try and clock him — at this stage, ward would actually welcome it because physical aggression is something he knows very well and it's something he can handle far better than the confusion and lack of intel he's experiencing right now.

jaw clenching, because it seems this guy is deliberately obtuse. ] What is the Tranquility, and where is it?

[carbonite]

Space. Exact coordinates? Deep space. [it's getting worse and han starts to tap his feet. great, more people that haven't experienced what space is like. honestly, what place would not greet you like this? a space port that lets you play a good hand, that's what.

he can't believe that he would rather be on mos eisley.

why is the goo it in between his toes this time??? sand never did that.

9.]

[specialism]

[ deep space does not constitute exact coordinates. ]

You're saying this is a spaceship.

[ there is a hint of disbelief to his voice, but mostly he is calculating odds and wondering how to check the accuracy of what han is telling him.

space —

ward knows that aliens exist; that doesn't make it particularly easy to accept that he's been taken from the bus only to wake up in space, all without having noticed a thing about his capture. ]

[carbonite]

Yes, I just said that this was a space ship.

[8.

han has to breathe slightly as he once more tries to get out of the his guy's way. he is cold and unhappy, staring into nothingness and the goo.

the goo.

7.]

[specialism]

[ try being cold, unhappy and very confused, han. have a little sympathy — or, you know, don't. ward doesn't particularly care either way, he just wants information. ]

Whose spaceship?

[carbonite]

If you were going to interrogate me, you should have made it worth my while.

[3.

he glances down at himself and at ward, raising an eyebrow.]

It costs extra if we're naked.

[specialism]

This isn't an interrogation.

[ if you'd like to experience what it's like to be interrogated by one grant ward sometime, han, he'd happily oblige you. this is a friendly conversation, not an interrogation.

and he still refuses to be embarrassed by his own nudity. ]

[carbonite]

Gee, aren't I the lucky one.

[han isn't ashamed either, but to be fair the guy in front of him that isn't letting him shower is making this embarrassing for the two of them.

-4.]

Listen, asking me questions won't get you a way home. If there was one, we wouldn't be doing this little dance.

[specialism]

[ maybe asking questions won't get him a way home, or not immediately — but having some intel will certainly make ward feel better and a little more secure in his tactical choices.

but he also figures he isn't going to get more out of this guy without a fight. so: ] Suit yourself.

[carbonite]

[you're turning to han solo for anything regarding strategy and tactical choices. there was your first mistake.]

I would like to, but someone is my way. [and he's really cold now.]

[specialism]

[ it's with an exaggerated gesture that ward steps aside and gestures for han to pass. ]

[carbonite]

[great. he makes a hand gesture that would get you shot on Corellia, but this guy is an asshole and pretty much deserves it.]

[specialism]

[ the gesture doesn't constitute an act of aggression, so ward really doesn't care at all. ]