ataraxionlogs | thirty-ninth jump;

Entry tags:

thirty-ninth jump;

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: A feeling of deep dread greets you as you stumble out of the gravcouch, strong enough to hold you still for a long moment, searching your surroundings for the source of your wariness. Nothing becomes apparent, only your fellow passengers waking up. Eventually you gather the resolve to pick yourself up and start moving, the feeling fading slowly as you progress through routine.

New arrivals will find messages spraypainted across their lockers telling them not to follow their tattoo numbers, and instead to find a room on Floors 001-010.

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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.

ＹＯ́Ｕ̴ ̧Ａ̨ＲＥＮＯＴ҉ ̷ＡＬＯ̨ＮＥ҉

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.

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And what would that be?

[Because if it's something she can just go find rather than leaving him to muck around willy nilly it will save everyone a lot of trouble.

And if it's not something she's willing to go find she wants to know that too.]

Newt rolls his eyes, but it's seemingly affectionate, and gets up to shuffle around behind her so he can settle down. "What I mean's choppin' it in three different directions. Looks like you've got your head moved like you're tryin' to ask a question all the time." But, it still kind of suits her--Johanna is sort of wild, as Newt's learned, so maybe the wild haircut fits her better than anything else.

But! He'll fix it anyway. It's the least he can do. Carefully, he uses the sharp edge of the knife to trim away some of the messed up pieces--the back takes longer than the side had, and he keeps glancing over the side of her head and back to make sure it looks okay in comparison to the rest of it. Gotta do a proper good job, after all. As for his skills, he just chuckles. "Nah. Wouldn't let anybody touch it--mine was bout as long as any girl's coulda been up till I got the Tranquility. Figured while I was in space it'd be easier short, so I just tied it up and sawed it off a couple months ago. I trusted just 'bout all of the boys there with my life, but the shanks who volunteered to cut it just made me nervous."

It's kind of funny to imagine that now, mostly because he knows Alby would have been super careful, but--well. He can't dwell on Alby for too long. "This something you do often at home? Just kinda saw it all off for the hell of it."

They'll be fine.

[ That's a little more defensive than he means it to be. He seems to regret it immediately, offering an apologetic look as he reins in his tone. ]

It isn't for anyone. Or it's not for someone else, anyway. I have a— [ Fitz hesitates, then gestures somewhat absently towards his own temple. ] I have this thing. And I couldn't fix it at home, but I thought maybe I could here.

Your space family--[ what ] This isn't your first jump? I'll be shucked.

[ this kid's probably been here even longer than newt, from the sound of it. for a kid, he seems pretty confident, both in his posture and his clothes, and it kind of makes newt smile a little, mostly because he's seen a lot of similar posturing from greenies fresh out of the box. gally, minho. people he'd known for all of his remembered life. he's definitely not letting this kid out of his sight until he's reunited with said "space family", because that's a topic near and dear to his heart. all friendly, newt cocks his head. ]

You mind if I help you keep an eye out? I'll keep you company till we find 'em, how's that sound.

A couple others, yeah. No one I knew. [ unlike most of the other people in the glade, newt had always been the one to at least try and answer some of thomas's many questions. he knows tommy well enough now that he's brilliant, and if he can figure out some sort of answer as to why he was trapped in that thing for so long, then newt'll try to aid that the best that he can. which, also similarly to how it was in the glade, isn't that well. it feels like questions with no answers are becoming the theme to his life.

but. newt's also more concerned with the fact that thomas was just basically in a coma for a month, so. with the hand that thomas dropped, he reaches over and wraps it around his bicep. ] C'mon, can you stand? Let's get you cleaned up. We can talk about this more when you're not naked as the bloody day you were born.

[Clarke stops finally, slowing down for a moment to let him process the information before she explains further but when Bellamy speaks up again, his words take her by surprise, the disbelief is evident from her face while she is speechless for a good few moments clearly having trouble processing what he is telling her.

"I saw you was yesterday, you killed Finn, remember?" The words echo in her mind and she feels like someone just punched her in the gut. Hearing that she killed Finn is something she is struggling to believe mostly since she doesn't understand why]

I— what? [She shakes her head, still refusing to accept any of it. She trusts Bellamy but at the same time, she wasn't sure what to make of any of this either] No, that can't be true. How am I supposed to remember something that didn't happen?

[ It's a little odd, the contact, but it's also Sirius, so somehow it avoids being outright patronizing. Fitz stays quiet for a few seconds, lips pressed together firmly as he gets up the nerve to say it outright — and works out how to say it, exactly. ]

Long enough for this. Hypoxia. It's a— [ He points to his temple, as if that's somehow shorthand for anything useful, then drops his hand again. ] Damage to the brain cells.

[ The last bit's said with a slight shrug, dismissive, but the way he's waiting intently on Sirius's reaction betrays it. ]

[ There's one more resistant pause, then he gives up entirely. ]

The brain. Anything about the brain, scans, research. Tech. I need to know what the ship can do for it.

[ 'It' being brains in general, presumably. The chagrin's gone, replaced by a determined focus. If she can help, he'll take it. ]

Clarke.

[He begins seriously, ducking his head to pin her with a frank, honest look. He's not beating around the bush, he's not softening the blow, his primary concern is that they get on the same page. Feelings are an afterthought, because he's a brash asshole that isn't considering them right now.]

It happened. I saw it, Raven saw it, the entire Ark station saw it, an army of grounders saw it.

[He shifts forward, crossing his arms.]

And if you don't remember it, there's something seriously wrong with you. If there are doctors on this ship, I think we need to see one now.

[ it's for the best. even jax isn't sure to describe anything that went on, can't even pluck up the fragments of the dream to make the attempt. instead he holds out a hand, lets the dog snuffle at it. ]

Lincoln. [ jax says, stretching the name out. ] Not bad. He'll grow into it.

[ that's maybe a more optimistic statement than the tranquility warrants, but if they can't be optimistic about pets, what's the point? ]

What happened with the cloud?

[ not quite a tiny jax. not yet, anyway. jax smiles, head ducked, then exhales. ]

He got a little bigger. Hat's snug on him. Or it was, last time I saw him.

[ but time stops. that's what everyone says. so maybe he's not missing much of anything, will go right back to the same old problems. it said something about the tranquility that all the old problems seemed a relief next to this. ]

Still in diapers and drooling everywhere, if that's what you're asking.

[It is clear that Cullen is a commander, instantly jumping to strategic thinking, plans and practicalities. Dorian values that sort of thing, certainly, and he sees the need for it - but he also feels a burning curiosity, a need to know more and learn all that he can of this strange place.

Well, that is why he's a mage and not a leader of men, he supposes.]

I see no reason to trust it, but we can investigate it without trust. I have my magic, and you have your sword, yes? We're not defenseless, and we don't have any other leads.

[Sometimes you have to play into your enemy's hands in order to get them to reveal everything. Dorian is certainly getting the impression that this is going to be one of those times. After all, they can't very well just stay here.]

We can speak to whoever we find here, collect some information, and then take the 'lift'. Whatever that is.

Octavia's not so bad. Got a friend named Siggy. What's his name, your brother? [ newt keeps meeting people with families on the ship, and that just makes a part of him sort of happy, reminds him of home. nothing could ever have replaced the blank space where his parents were supposed to be (he had a sister, and a dog, he knows that but their faces are missing, like someone rubbed an eraser through his head) but the boys in the glade were something close. so, if he can help people find their families on their ship, then so be it--thus why he asks after his name, in case it's a familiar one.

at least the girl--octavia--seems to be coming back to earth, now. newt squints an eye shut, thinking. ] Sorta. Back where I'm from, all of us had our memories taken away, save for ideas of things. Could tell ya what Christmas was, but I don't know anything about it or why I liked it, just that I did. [ that's a little off the point, though. ] So when we got our memories swiped they took our names, too, gave us new ones. Iunno what my real name is--hope it's not Newt. Whoever named their shuck kid that's just asking for them to get beat up.

[ his tone's faintly teasing, and he smiles--the way he talks about this, he's fairly comfortable with it, now. it was three years ago. ] Takes a couple hours after you wake up to remember it, like somebody wants you to remember the name they gave you. [ newt shrugs. ] We all started usin' greenies because every time someone new'd come, they'd turn green as the bloody grass tryin' not to puke.

[He's not gonna throw up. (He might throw up.) But he swallows and nods - understood - takes one shaky hand to scrub at his face and attempt to wipe away everything that's got Takeshi worried and Heather subtly reassuring him where their kiddo can't see it. Tears: downgraded to leaking, for the moment.]

I'll - try.

[Not to cry or not to throw up it is a mystery. Meanwhile Lodewijk has joined Hoi Hoi and is attentively observing, for once.]

Not that much then.

[ though jax isn't kidding himself. it was never quiet aboard this ship. he's sure there was something happening, and he's sure that whatever he dreamed, it was--

well, it was something. it felt like something. he slings his arm around anderson's shoulder, moving slow, giving her time to shrug him off. ]

You okay?

[ he's side-stepping her question, because he doesn't know the answer, and he doesn't want to lie. it's bad form, but it's the best he can do. ]

[ of all the people on the ship who could judge her for weaponry, jax isn't one of them. he reaches into his locker and comes back out with his knife, flips it to her to offer the handle. ]

This'll do it.

[ she's strange, he thinks. a kid who vehemently denies smoking, but wants a knife to make herself a tie for her hair. she's gotta be a trip. probably worth keeping an eye on, if just out of curiosity if nothing else. ]

You know, someone around here'll probably have one for you to borrow. But I can spot you my lighter, if you're determined.

Got some whiskey.

[ and everything else was a wash. the clothes were good, but his father's manuscript, the baby hat, that was a mixed bag. he flashes maria a grin anyway, expression somewhat relieved. he hasn't had time to take stock, to figure out who was still around. it's good to see her. ]

I'll let you sample some, if you ask nice.

Uh. Wait. He shifts from his sprawl to look at Marty and knits his brows, then raises a brow, wondering if that's all Marty got from his mini-speech, there. And - losing Josie sucked, losing Bran last jump sucked (he wonders if they knew one another), but that wasn't exactly his point.

So he just grunts for the first reply and nods for the second. Jerks his thumb over his shoulder and up and left a little, pointed toward the Gardens, for the third. And then, flatly.

"You were gone, too. When we built the incubator." Maybe that'll work. Just in case though. "You left."

[She thinks that maybe if she doesn't accept it then won't be real but between seeing the look on his face and hearing his words, she knows he wouldn't making something like that up.

Nothing is making sense to her and it only seems to raise more questions for her. If she didn't feel like she was losing her mind before then this cements it for her. She's not surprised that he thinks there is something wrong with her and for a second she almost believes it because who hell even knows what they even had in her Mount Weather for or what they did to her. She nods though as if in a sort of reluctant sort of acceptance despite the urge she had to argue against it] Maybe you're right, I don't know, Bellamy.

The last memory I have is exactly what I told you and when I said it's been months that's because I've been on this ship for about two. For Raven, Finn and Jasper it's been longer since they were already here before I got here. [She starts off with that before even touching on asking him to explain everything else, namely the fact that she killed Finn]

[ look, it might not have been the smartest plan to go grabbing zoë's arm without any kind of announcement, but for a smart kid river doesn't always make the best choices. at any rate, she's too excited at the prospect of the woman being here with her for decisions that involve a little common sense.

so she grabs away, perfectly content to smoothly dodge any reactions that came her way, and when she hears her own name she beams. ]

Exactly! [ it's been a while. and she's missed her crew a lot. not that she hasn't made other connections without them, but it's not the same. there's something inherently familial about serenity, and she doesn't give much warning before neatly stepping in to go for a hug. honestly, she's very happy to see zoë. ] Present and accounted for.

Yes, he's a doctor. All good spaceships should have one, I'm told. He is here. [ that much at least she's certain of, and she's focused enough on her brother that other curiosities take a little longer than usual to become apparent.

not too long, though, and after only a brief pause she squints slightly, loosening her grip slightly on the arm belonging to the very interesting woman in front of her. ]

...Is she an angel? [ she asks, as much to herself as to galadriel really, clearly very keenly interested. ] Met some before, and it's not the same, the static, but-

[ she vaguely waves her free hand a little, fingers wiggling as if that helps her explanation at all, and then just shrugs. ]

An angel. Must be. Right?

That's not possible.

[He says, denying it vehemently. It's just not- not unless he was in that pod for two months, and he really hopes he wasn't. It can't have been that long, hell, it felt like minutes since he stood there with Raven, since he watched Clarke slip the blade into Finn's abdomen, since he watched the boy go slack and watched Clarke hold her head up high.

His mind flashes back to the fight, though he'd been groggy at the time he still remembers the words spilling out of Finn and Raven. I have to find Clarke, Do you want to die? Because that's what's going to happen-

He stops suddenly, still, tracing a hand over his mouth.]

Raven knows about it, too. She remembers Finn dying, and Finn-

[Well, he at least remembers looking for Clarke, which is a step further than Clarke is, probably.]

This doesn't make any sense.

[He murmurs, pacing toward one of the benches. Slowly, he lowers himself onto it.]

Edited 2015-01-11 07:08 (UTC)

Really, this whole place is fascinating.

It's not that it's a spaceship - she's been on those before. It isn't even waking up in a strange place surrounded by unknown people - she's done that too, actually, and this is far more familiar to her than the last place she'd woken up in, even if there was a lot more invasive tracheal tubes involved this time. It could be the ship itself, River isn't quite sure, but for whatever reason she can't help but feel it incredibly necessary to start exploring the moment she can make a quick and quiet get away from the various familiar faces around the Tranquility.

That's precisely what she's doing, light footsteps falling as she carefully picks her way along the very edge of the hallway, as close to the wall as possible. One of her hands trails lightly alongside her, fingertips brushing against the wall of the corridor, and she makes abrupt and intermittent stops between steps (every fourteen to be precise, not that anyone besides her is keeping track) to press her hand flat against the wall. Not that any of this is doing much. Between the population and River's own lack of focus all she gets is the impression that everyone is secretly very, very worried. It's curious, certainly, but nothing out of the ordinary. After all, who wouldn't be concerned by waking up in a pod full of blue goo? It's a distressing occurrence.

Still she wanders on, whether because it gives a grounding sense of focus or because she genuinely believes she may learn something is anyone's guess, and it isn't until she feels a very distinctive presence that she stops dead in her tracks.

It isn't something she's really had to deal with before, and she wonders idly if this is what it feels like to be around her - it's harder, she hasn't got the training or control necessary to direct attention like this, but it is decidedly invasive all the same. Hand still against the wall, she wiggles her fingers lightly before narrowing down her gaze on the person looking directly at her - must be him - and she tuts softly under her breath, eyebrows raising.

"That's very rude," she comments, more intrigued than in any way annoyed by the presence, and she tilts her head lightly from one side to the other as though adjusting to the phantom presence, "He should ask first, really."

Which is admittedly a bit 'pot-kettle-black', but River is remarkable at hypocrisy when she wants to be.

[ Excuse you, Wash, you'd be in a state too in her situation.

But really though, Wash is just about as good a find as Simon, all things considered, and she's quick to switch from just a touch short of creepy to sweet and positively beaming at her pilot. ]

No one mentioned you were here. [ not that anyone she'd run into knew to, not yet, but she still sounded very disappointed in these people all the same, even shaking her head a little. ] A surprise, though. A good one. Didn't know I liked those.

[ As intriguing as meeting everyone is, ever since learning from Dean that her brother was aboard the Tranquility River had pretty much set her sights on locating him as quickly as possible - naturally, of course. It's not been long for her since she's seen him, of course, barely a few days, but this is Simon. Besides her time at the Academy, they'd barely been apart for long at all.

So needless to say she's hunting pretty hard, especially given the medical bay had turned up empty despite many people's insistence that he'd likely be there. Two ships passing in the wind and all that, they'd missed each other - until now.

Her head jerks around at his voice, and she's just as quick to close the gap between them as him. Hugging him tight, she actually laughs a little as her arms close around his shoulders and for a moment there everything is okay. But everything isn't okay, she can tell almost immediately something is wrong, not least of all because there's no efforts to hide it from her either.

(Which, granted, are never guaranteed to work - but this? She can't miss this). ]

Simon-

[ she pulls back a little, not enough to release him but just enough to look into his eyes with a soft, sad smile. ] Sad, you're so sad. Why?

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thirty-ninth jump;

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i always take super late, especially if it involves coffee

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