thirty-ninth 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: 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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ＹＯＵ͘ ̨ＷＡＫＥ̢ ̧ＵＰ ́ＩＮ ＤＡ̛ＲＫＮ̢Ｅ̕ＳＳ̶

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 ̧Ａ̨ＲＥ ＮＯＴ҉ ̷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.

ＴＨ̀ＩＳ͜ ̶Ｉ͠Ｓ͡ ͘Ｙ̵Ｏ͝ＵＲ ̕Ｗ͝Ｅ̛Ｌ̨Ｃ͡Ｏ͝Ｍ͏Ｅ Ｐ̛ＡＲ̴ＴＹ͜

Comments

[songofhappiness]

[ There's a laugh from Caroline as she pulls back, hands still on Elena's shoulders as she takes a good look at her.

Something seems different. She can't put her finger on it, since Elena looks pretty much the same as before, but still. Something's changed.

Maybe she's looking into things a little too much. Wouldn't be the first time. ]

I bet. Being stuck in them for every jump always sucks, but for that long? [ She gives her friend's shoulders a sympathetic squeeze before dropping her hands to turn around and close the locker. ] I'm just glad you're back.

[sacrifica]

I hope you never have to go through it.

( Whilst she was trying to focus on the now, and being back with Caroline, she still felt pretty disorientated by the whole thing. There was something that had happened that she couldn't quite remember, like a dream but she couldn't put her finger on it to figure out what it was. Maybe being in them for that long was a really bad thing )

Why don't we get some- food- ( You know the stuff ) -and you can tell me everything that happened. And I want everything.

[songofhappiness]

[ Turning back to Elena, there's a moment where she studies her friend. Really studies her. It seems like there's something different, but Caroline can't put her finger on it.

Whatever, she's probably just relieved to see her again. ]

You got it. There wasn't a whole lot of drama or anything, but my gumbo making skills are top notch now. [ She casually loops her arm through Elena's. ] I've got some stuff back in my room, come on.

[sacrifica]

You really have been spending a lot of time with Benny.

( Because gumbo, Caroline? That is so not Mystic Falls-y )

I kind of wished there'd been something big that I could have missed. ( The only upside to being in a coma is skipping the bad stuff, right? ) But at least you're okay. That's more important than anything.

( And Elena turns to look at her, keeping a firm hold on Caroline's arm )

You're okay, right? Minus going crazy over me.

( There might have been no drama but everything else was right, right? What could have happened so big in a month that she wouldn't be? )

[songofhappiness]

[ It may not be Mystic Falls, but it is delicious. ]

You do? [ Caroline tilts her head, thinking she could agree with that. If she was gone for a month or so, she would want to come back to something gossip-y. At least to keep her mind off things. ] I get that.

And yeah, I'm okay. [ She pats Elena's arm, giving her a bright smile. She won't get into the details on how she practically didn't sleep the whole time, or how she had some really bad moments, but those were private and they're over with. ] It was rough, I won't lie, but you know. Just kinda kept going, since that's what I'd want you to do if it happened to me.

[ And speaking of things happening... ]

You know, the whole staying in a coma thing happened to a few people, not just you. Like the ship malfunctioned or something. Weird.

[sacrifica]

I'd have to keep going otherwise for when you got out of that pod. I couldn't leave you.

( She just might find it difficult to keep going but she had friends here that could help? Sorry Benny, you'll find an Elena next to you if this ever happens to Caroline )

But wait- how many people did it happen to? Are they okay?

( She's clearly okay but vampires bounce back so easily. She wasn't assuming that they all were )

[songofhappiness]

Not sure how many were effected exactly, but it was enough to be noticed. [ Even if Elena hadn't been gone, the pod and locker area had been much emptier. ] Maybe it was some kind of fluke.

I mean, we did end up stopped in the middle of some crazy space cloud, maybe that's why. [ It's all speculation on her part, though, and she shrugs. ] Anyway, you're here now and that's all that matters! I keep expecting more people we know to show up sometime, but so far no luck.

[ When they reach the lifts, she peers at Elena. ]

Did you, like, dream or anything?

[sacrifica]

Maybe.

( There was a small nod, a tipping of her head to the side. Who knew what it would be. Space cloud could be as likely as something just going wrong. It's not like they knew what was going on.

And she was back. Like Caroline said that was the most important thing, and she was going to say something on that note until Caroline's question. That caused her to frown, turning to face her friend as they waited for the lift )

I don't know. My head feels pretty foggy. ( It's a little disorientating of an experience. She didn't know if she didn't remember dreaming, if she hadn't or if it was something else entirely. Was something stopping her from remembering? ) Which I guess is pretty normal after a coma.

( #medstudentlyfe )

[songofhappiness]

[ She frowns over at Elena, wondering if she should insist her friend lay down for a little bit.

Yeah, that's what she's gonna do. ]

Maybe we should go straight to your room, and you can rest. I can do the gumbo thing later.

[ Worry worry worry. She lost you recently, Elena, let's not have you foggy brained. ]

[sacrifica]

No. ( Caroliiiine ) I have been resting for... I don't even know how long those jumps last but I've been in my pod for too long. I'm rested.

( See how okay she is? Things just feel fuzzy )

I would rather hear every little detail of what didn't happen here and have some gumbo.

( And sneak a blood bag from the medbay later too )

I'm okay, really. I just want to do something.

[songofhappiness]

[ She gives Elena a look - narrow eyed and suspicious. It's a known fact Elena tends to hand wave her own pain, since she doesn't like people to fuss over her. ]

Okay, well I'm keeping an eye on you. [ She ends this with pointing two fingers at her eyes and then at Elena. ] If I even suspect you need to rest, I will haul you into a bed.

[ If she were super worried, but right now she's really just teasing. ]

I didn't get to do Benny's date thing yet. He's kinda worried about...you know. Losing control, temptation.

[sacrifica]

Well that's what he's got us for, right? To pull him back.

( Not that anything would happen Benny's their vamp papa he's too good far that awfulness )

But I guess that worry isn't ever something that goes away. I mean look at Stefan.

( Especially when they'd first started going out. Stefan wasn't like her or Caroline - he did not have a good blood relationship. Not that Elena's was entirely pristine either )

I think he can handle it. He just needs a confidence boost.

[songofhappiness]

That's exactly what I'm thinking. We can help him keep it together, you know. Go, team!

[ She ends this with a cheerful little punch to the air. Caroline has full confidence that they'll be able to help Benny, because nothing can be worse than Stefan in his Ripper phases. ]

We can be his sober coaches. Hey, maybe we can get him one of those little sobriety coins for him, or something like that.

[sacrifica]

Make him one. It'll be even more special.

( Would having it mean more make it harder to go back on his promise? She could hope that )

Lexi told me about how she'd helped Stefan. Maybe some of that could help? At least him teaching you gumbo means he was out and around people. And you'd have said if it went bad.

( And it clearly didn't. So him being out already was good. Having something to focus on helped. Focusing her anger on killing Rebekah had stopped her breaking down again over Jeremy. It wasn't the best example but focus is good )

Let's keep doing that.

[songofhappiness]

Good idea.

[ PROJECT TIME!!! ]

Oh yeah, anything that Lexi filled you in on or whatever you know about her methods could only help.

[ Okay, she might be a little over invested in someone else's well being, since it's easier to focus on than her own, but that's how she rolls. ]

Cooking classes with Benny is great, too. Let me tell you, is he an awesome cook.

[sacrifica]

You'll have to make sure I actually cook and don't just eat everything he's made.

( Because if he's that good of a cook she would definitely rather taste test it all. It would taste so much better than hers, there's no question about that )

I'll have to see what I remember about what Lexi said. We'll be fine. Benny will be fine.