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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[ It's as she's reading the birth certificate that Caroline turns a corner and spots her.

She's relieved to see Fortescue - after that last jump, with Elena being gone, Caroline's been a little more neurotic than usual, if that were possible. As it was, she stuck close to Benny's side and did her best to check in with others, including Fortescue, just in case they should suddenly disappear, too.

Benny did get lost in the hallways a couple of months ago. That's reason enough to keep an eye on people.

In her relief, she doesn't immediately notice Fortescue's demeanor. Instead, she practically bounces over to the woman. ]

Okay, I'll admit I was totally worried that everyone I knew would be stuck in the gravcouches, but it looks like that - [ Once she's closer, she notices there's something off about Fortescue. Looking down at Jazz, Caroline tilts her head to the woman, as if asking the cat if she's okay. Whether he gives any indication of any understanding is up to interpretation, but he's the closest being she can do this with.

With much less bounce to her step, she comes a little closer, looking worried. ]

Are you okay?

[Still sopping wet, mostly, there are bits of the cat's fur sticking up, making him look like a true ball of fuzz as he cleans one of his paws and tries to clean his face, as if that will dry him faster. But he likes Caroline, so instead of ignoring her he lifts his gaze and peers up at her, making a mournful little mew for attention. He knows something's wrong with his human, all of a sudden; their rather profound connection gives him that information.

Fortescue keeps reading the same line over and over. Cause of death... Succumbed to radiation... If only there was more. If only she had the doctors' notes and knew exactly what condition Mirabelle Fortescue had been when she'd died. She'd thrown her life away to save the girl, and she'd died at the age of ten. All of that potential, gone.

She realizes that the source of sound near her has stopped, and her mind lurches back to the present. Caroline's standing there. Fortescue swallows the large lump which has sprung into being in her throat and folds the death certificate back in half.]

I'm fine. [A shaky comment, at best. She turns slightly to face the younger woman.] Is everyone back? Or... mostly everyone?

[Maybe she can distract herself. Maybe.]

[ When it takes Fortescue a little longer to reply, enough time for Caroline to shoot another worried glance at Jazz, she wavers between leaving the woman be about whatever it is that's on her mind, or encouraging her to spill the beans.

Encouraging could turn into worried nagging, but she worries. It's what she does. ]

Can't say for sure, but it seems like there are way more people waking up this time around. Probably a good sign. [ She should probably feel bad for hoping her best friend is still on their with her, instead of at home, but what can she say? She's a little selfish. ] Haven't seen Benny yet or anything, but I'm sure he's around.

I saw more than a few empty pods. [But looking up the corridor of lockers, Fortescue can tell that there's more general activity than the last month. Even as numb and out of it as she suddenly feels.] But I suppose that's just... something to get used to.

[Stark's pod had been empty. That shouldn't sting as much as it does, but she'd grown very comfortable with their complimentary senses of humor. The easy banter had made her first months on the ship less uncomfortable and strange, and they'd seen eye to eye on more than a few subjects. Now he's... well, hopefully he's back home. That's good, isn't it?]

Still, an empty pod is better than not waking up at all.

[Because that had just been plain old weird.]

[ She has to agree with that - being back home is always better. Even if she can't saw what she would personally be going back to. Everything was too confusing right before she left, and even being on here for a few months hasn't cleared anything up for her at all.

It's frustrating. ]

Exactly. I mean, if Elena left left I would be super sad. [ Understatement. ] But I would be happy that she was back home for the most part. I'd miss her.

[ There's a shake of her head, as if to force the depressing thoughts from her mind. ]

Anyway, I'm glad you woke up. What was that paper you were looking at? Something from your locker?

[Fortescue's smile is a little stiff as she closes the door of her locker. In her left hand is the worn, rich leather of her father's workbook, and tucked inside it is the heavy parchment of the death certificate.]

Seems the ship finally decided to give me something other than a knife.

[Which, hey, she's not complaining about, but she'd really like a change of clothes, ship, other than the dress and jump suit. She holds up the book slightly.]

It was my father's. Paper was already on the way out when he was a boy, but my grandfather considered it the best material for a scientist to scrawl on. Something about stimulating the mind.

[She's trying so hard not to think about that damned certificate. Maybe if she doesn't mention it again, it'll just go away.]

Seriously? [ Caroline leans in a little to give the book a good once over. The outside doesn't tell her much, but it's obvious it has been well used. ] That's kinda great, isn't it? I mean, getting some kind of memento from home is always nice.

[ She actually has a picture of her father back in her room, something that arrived with her on her first jump. ]

What kind of scientist was he?

[Making an indistinct noise in the back of her throat, she doesn't offer up anything else to the first question. It's not a proper deflection, but she doesn't have anything clever to mask up the fact that she and her family have a... complicated relationship.

One where she's the last to carry the family name.]

He was an experimental physicist, and an arcanist. So was my mother. That's how they met.

[And from what her mother had always said, Clyde Fortescue had almost mucked things up between them by being 'a giant tosser'. Or a dork, as Fortescue remembers him.]

I haven't seen this since... [Since he disappeared.] Well, a long time ago.

[ Caroline notices that Fortescue doesn't seem that thrilled with her gift. This could be for a number of reasons, but most of the ones she can guess at are more along the lines of being tied to something terrible.. She bites her lip, looking unsure before speaking. ]

You don't really seem happy about having it. Bad memories or something?

[ Anyone else, they might think it's not their business. Caroline considers her a friend, and Caroline considers everything that's her friend's business her own. ]

[There's a weighty pause before Fortescue responds. If the question wasn't from someone she values as a friend, she'd probably just shrug it off or make a dry comment. She's still learning to trust people. Ivy Chance had taken that desire away from her, for a while, but she's starting to feel like she can trust again. Just maybe.]

He disappeared when I was a girl.

[Still, she doesn't feel the need to punctuate the truth with too many details. It had been a painful chapter of her life. And, ultimately, the start of her emotional distance with her mother.]

His book went with him.

[Which points to it as a clue, but... she'd spent so much of her energy trying to figure out why he'd gone. So many nights spent crying and distraught, hiding away from her sister so that Mirabelle wouldn't know that the story she'd been told was a lie. A lie her mother had forced her to tell.]

[ Though Fortescue doesn't give her extreme details, it's enough for Caroline. She's the biggest busybody to ever busybody, but even she knows there's a line.

And while she might not be able to exactly relate to the situation, she is very familiar with the special kind of pain that's associated with parents. Her own father had tortured her, tried to force her to associate her cravings for blood with pain, and that was an experience that will stay with her forever, regardless of her father's death years ago. ]

Oh. [ Her voice is softer when she speaks. ] Definitely bad memories then. I'm sorry.

You don't think it was put there on purpose, do you? To make you feel bad? [ The softness quickly turns to steel since that's just cruel. ] We can try to find whoever did it, and have a talk.

[ Not that she has any idea where to begin, but she is a determined vampire, if she does say so herself. ]

[She smiles slightly, lips curling in appreciation, and it's the most genuine-looking smile that she's managed yet.]

Thank you, darling, but I don't think that's possible. Not yet, at least. [But will she ever give them a piece of her mind when she finds them. Gate's sake, what's wrong with this ship.] But it's definitely here on purpose.

[The other thing, the paper she's not mentioning, that's here to hurt. No bones about it. This is the one document in the multiverse that could instantly remind her of the failure she considers herself to be. And has already done so. Fortescue swallows, turning the book over in her hands.]

Did you find anything in your locker?

[ Fortescue's got a point, but it doesn't keep Caroline from being offended on her behalf. ]

Okay, yeah, it's hard to pinpoint who's up to all the shady stuff, but there's gotta be someone. [ Someone needs to answer for everything, honestly. With a sigh, her arms drop to her sides. ] And they are really good at hiding or whatever they're doing.

[ In answer, she shakes her head. After every jump, she'd never really thought about something new showing up in her locker, but now... ]

Just the stuff in there when I first showed up. My purse, a few things I had inside, and some clothes.

I'm glad it didn't give you something awful, too.

[There's only so much a person can shoulder at one time, and Fortescue already feels like she's walking on ice.]

And you're right. The people responsible for this whole mess are probably the best shady folk I've ever come across. [She smiles, although it's more of a grimace.] And I've come across quite a few. Just, uh. Be careful, opening your locker from now on. When I first came to the ship someone told me they'd found a severed head in theirs.

Oh, trust me. I'll definitely be careful in the future. I just got done talking to a guy going on about finding a zombie hand or arm in his locker once.

[ And she looks appropriately disgusted about it. ]

He kept it for a pet. Also a stoner, so kinda not surprised. Still creepy. [ She shakes her head. Seriously, stoners. ] Anyway. You don't think your dad's book might have some kind of magical way of getting off this ship, do you?

[ She's joking, trying to keep it lighthearted since the book's arrival has Fortescue in low spirits. ]

...A pet. [Fortescue's eyebrows go up into her hairline.] And here sometimes people give me lip for having a cat who rides around on my shoulders.

[Having a zombie hand for a pet would probably give those same people a conniption. Actually, it might be worth it just for that. ...or... nah. No. She'll pass on zombie hands. No thank you.

Instead, she looks down at the book in her hands.]

Somehow, I doubt this scenario would have occurred to him. [Her smile is a little less grimace, this time.] But, who knows. Perhaps he thought of something we could use. Stranger things have probably happened. I'll let you know, shall I?

[If she's going to peruse this book, she's also going to get very, very drunk.]

At this point, a cat is totally tame. [ At this, she wiggles her fingers at Jazz playfully. ] Way cuter, too.

[ Dropping her hand, she gives Fortescue a small smile. She wishes there was something she could do or say to make her feel better, even without knowing specifics about the book. Her ever present need to fix things for people she cares about is still there, but now she's stumped. ]

Yeah, let me know. No rush, obviously, since it's something pretty personal and all.

[Jazz mewls softly at Caroline in response. Why, yes, he is cuter than whatever is distressing his mistress.]

Better to get it out of the way sooner, rather than later, if I'm honest. [Rather than dallying and just letting the anxiety of what she'll find completely take her.] At least I can put it in my room and forget about it. You can't exactly do that with a hand.

[Unless you ignore basic cleanliness, as a rule.]

That's usually my philosophy, too. Get it done and over with and it can be behind you.

[ Maybe not totally forgotten, but better than to have it hanging over her head forever, right? The mention of the hand has Caroline wrinkling her nose, trying to imagine what that was like. ]

Yeah, a book won't start to decompose and smell awful, which is a plus.

[ She lets out a sigh, brushing her damp hair back off her shoulders. ]

I think I'm gonna check back with the pods, see if I can catch Elena. Hopefully, she'll wake up this time. [ She's still worried, though. ]

[Fortescue nods.]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you both. [She knows how worried you are, Miss Sunshine.] See you later?

[The ship is big, but hey, it's no secret what level she's on if Caroline needs to talk to someone. Someone who isn't a Cajun vampire, anyway.]

Count on it.

[ Because they are friends, and that means Fortescue is stuck with a perky vampire for as long as possible.

Giving Fortescue and Jazz a little wave, she turns toward the pod area and starts off on her path to (hopefully) finding her childhood friend. ]

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