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

[skjalf]

[ her mother is here, and she could have asked her for help. but she is of a like mind to katherine insofar as the idea of making allies in this unfamiliar situation seems to be a wise move.

especially since with how her uncle was treating her back home. she is vulnerable here, yes. the present is not the present she knows. at all. ]

My thanks. [ elizabeth frowns thoughtfully and turns over her arm, and pales at the sight of the ink upon her arm. someone has marred her. welp. ] It seems that I do. What do they mean, exactly?

[ beyond being just numbers. ]

[outliver]

[ Is better to make nice with Katherine rather than make yourself a target later on, anyway.

And that speech, she hasn't heard it in a while (if you don't count the Mikaelson family being all English and Old. ]

I do believe the later one is some sort of identification number, like mine. [ She shows her the 190 on her own arm, and then the locker. ]

I'm thinking the other number signals the number of times this has happened, which is a bit worrying, I would say.

[skjalf]

[ seeing as they hail from a similar time period, this should be interesting.

elizabeth tilts her head, noting the 011 as her identification number. ]

I see. This is.. yes, worrisome is a good word to describe this.

This is all very strange. My mother is here, as well. Yet she appears younger than I recall.

[ realizing she has forgotten herself, elizabeth looks up and smiles a little. ]

Forgive me. I am Elizabeth of York.

[outliver]

[ Katherine has the memories of that time period, but she's very much from the last century, whichever is supposed to be. She simply frowns a little, taking mental note from the firsthand account of people coming from different times, apparently. Useful. ]

Of course you are. I'm sorry, it's just that- what year was it back home for you?

[ Priceless, this is priceless. ]

[skjalf]

[ interesting is a mild word to describe this entire situation, tbh. ]

The year of Our Lord 1483. Why do you ask?

[ as far as she's concerned, that is the year it currently is. whoops. ]

[outliver]

[ Oh.

Oh wow. ]

I ask because back home the year is 2013. [ Or whereabouts TV SHOWS WHO KNOWS MAN, AMIRITE ]

Come, let's find your clothes. We can worry about time travel once you're properly clothed.

[skjalf]

[ wow, indeed.

elizabeth freezes, her eyes widening with shock and disbelief. her usual composure has broken. ]

That cannot be. [ because even though she can help her mom call up a rainstorm and curse an entire royal line, time travel is impossible. YEP. ]

Yes, thank you. I cannot begin to understand this at the moment.

[ so if they're heading off, elizabeth is going to follow. she can feel the dull thrum of an oncoming headache pound at her temples. ]

[outliver]

Oh it can, and it's happening.

[ Katherine has seen enough shit to be considerably less shaky than Elizabeth, but she's unnerved nonetheless. Not that it shows. At all.

She then leads the girl through the lockers until she finds one that matches the girl's tattoo. ]

Okay, try here.

[skjalf]

[ she will need to confirm this, somehow. her mother certainly would call her a fool for believing something that is so clearly nonsense.

but she has no idea how this light is being created without candles or a flame or the sun or moon. that alone makes her realize she has a lot to think about.

and when they reach her locker, she is grateful to find that the numbers match. ]

Very well.

[ and sure enough, three of her gowns, along with a variety of other things belonging to her lay inside. she releases a sigh of relief and thinks nothing of changing in front of another woman. she's shared a bed with her sister cecily for a long time. privacy isn't something she's used to anymore.

when she's dressed, she turns to the other woman, and smiles a little. ]

Thank you, madam. I do not think I asked for your name earlier. What is it, if I might ask?

[outliver]

[ Katherine just watches in silence. Hey, it's not creepy, and she's not staring, but naked fifteenth century girls? It's been a while since she saw one.

When Elizabeth is done she smiles back, mostly because she reminds what it was to dress up back then. ]

You look wonderful, Elizabeth. And you may call me Katherine. Perhaps we should find your mother now.

[ She's on a roll of being helpful, aw yeah. ]

[skjalf]

[ to a girl used to sharing a room and a bed with her younger sister, it isn't as creepy as it really ought to be. because it is. but hey, she has not found her uncle unduly creepy yet, and he's the king of creepers. so there you go.

when elizabeth turns back, she returns katherine's smile with one of her own. though tbh if she doesn't, she'll flip out. so she has no choice. ]

My thanks, Katherine. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[ aww, how nice of her. ] Yes, I suppose.

Do you have no one here familiar to you at all?

[outliver]

[ Katherine is glad that at least the girl didn't have to dress up in front of someone far more interested on watching; she might be fairly perverted (in more ways than the obvious) but she's usually very good at reading the situation before acting. She could, perhaps, turn Elizabeh into a toy for some of her... urges, but to what point? The girl is more useful to her intact and sharp. Surely she'll find another expendable playthings. ]

Only if that's what you want of course. It might seem logical to me, but if you wish to go somewhere else...

[ Katherine just shrugs lightly. ]

I don't know, some familiar faces might be around, but family... they are all gone now.

[ Of she's going to lie a of she's from, she's going to lie to everyone. ]

[skjalf]

[ typical for her time period, elizabeth has far more concerned about being modest when men are about. and there are more than a few naked ones out there -- she has tried her best not to stare. she has no idea that anyone could be a threat.

nor that katherine could have potentially been one, had she decided to be. the fact that she did not means there is a chance she might try to befriend the other woman. she doesn't have any, besides her younger sisters. it'd be nice. ]

Yes. I simply do not look forward to.. explaining things. I would not mind delaying it awhile, but I confess I do not know where to go.

[ elizabeth's composure breaks for a split second, as katherine's statement brings a flood of empathy to her eyes. then it is gone, and she says softly: ]

You have my condolences for your losses. I have seen much of that myself recently.

[ her father, brothers, uncle anthony and elder half-brother. all gone. life sucks for everybody no matter the year. a depressing lesson to learn. ]

[outliver]

[ Katherine figures that if this is a thing that happens every now and then she'll have plenty of chance to ogle the guys later on. ]

If she already knows you are here, and you already know she is younger than you remember, then there is little else to say about it. But I get it, it's probably a little to weird when combined with everything else.

[ And then Katherine gives her what might be the first honest smile since she arrived. ]

Thank you, and my thoughts are with you.

[skjalf]

[ elizabeth, too. though she is ten parts excessively shy, and five parts just curious. her mother will kill her if she ever learns of this. ]

Weird? [ a word she's never heard before. ] What does that mean?

Strange, yes. But also.. well. Things have happened. We have lost much in the last months. I do not know how to tell her.

[ elizabeth returns the smile with a genuine one of her own. ]

Of course. And you have my thanks, Katherine. You are very kind.

[outliver]

Weird means odd, strange. Rare.

[ And it's weird she doesn't know/drumroll ]

Perhaps you shouldn't? If there is something she's yet to experience, it wouldn't do her any good to worry about it now.

And please, I'm just looking after myself, in a way. I don't think anyone should have to bear with this on their own. Not you, not me.

[skjalf]

Ah. Well that is.. weird? Language certainly will evolve uniquely over the centuries.

[ hey now, she still waxes shakespearean almost. ]

Perhaps you are right. None of the news would be pleasant at all.

[ elizabeth gazes at her for a moment, and then gives her a smile. ]

All the same, it is kind of you. Even if it is only to yourself, as you say.

[outliver]

You don't even know, Elizabeth.

[ She'll be horrified once she learns of slang then, probably. ]

Then again, you're free to do what you think is best.

[ Katherine smiles back, eyes going again to the gown. ]

I say that sort of things sometimes, but I do like your company, Elizabeth. Forgive me if I sounded like I didn't.

[skjalf]

I have a feeling it will not take me long to find out.

[ and how casually cuss-words are slung about. yep. those are base, and vulgar. ]

Then I shall bide my time and see.

[ elizabeth's smile does not waver. ]

It is all right. You are kinder than my sister. I am glad that you do, Katherine. I happen to enjoy your company, as well.