forty-second 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: There's a strange sense of contentment that greets you as you wake from the jump. Deep and certain, it doesn't warm you or cloak the unpleasantness of the stasis fluid on your skin and the disorientation spinning in your head. It feels disconcertingly distant, instead, a sense as though an answer has been decided on - and that you won't much like to experience it coming to fruition...

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 ̧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.

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Comments

[foundafamily]

[Firo's own mission at home wasn't quite as dire as the alien's and definitely not on such a large scale. But he could still understand the desperation one would feel when kidnapped like this. He had people back home who needed him--he couldn't be here.

So his frustration is evident in his voice and the tension in his shoulders, but it's definitely not directed at the other.]

Who the hell knows? Most a' the time it seems like they want us here just to torture us.

[glacius]

Torture? [Wow, this keeps getting worse and worse.] No--no. I cannot abide this. I will not stand for it! I must figure out a way to get out of here, back to my mission... to my people.

[foundafamily]

[Firo's shoulders slump a little more, his voice not unsympathetic.]

Listen, if we knew a way outta here, I wouldn't be talkin' to you right now. I've got crap to take care of back home too--a lotta us do.

Sometimes people do just disappear, but we can't make that happen ourselves. Don't even know what happens to 'em.

[glacius]

Where does that leave us? Just keeping our heads down and enduring the trials of our captors? [That hits way too close to home. Glacius hisses, clenching his fists.] I won't give up. I'll find a way to... I don't know. Escape, or get word out... but I will not accept this.

[foundafamily]

We've been findin' out what we can.

[He can't help but feel a little defensive. It's not a lack of wanting or trying that is keeping them from going home.]

Everybody's said the shuttles we've got can't travel far enough to get us away from here. And we've got these communication device things... but we've only been able to talk to people close by. And even then, only usually when they talk to us first.

[He dares to sound a little hopeful.]

...I'm all ears if you've got any ideas, though.

[glacius]

[The alien tilts his head.] In time, perhaps. Right now I have no idea where I am or what I am even dealing with. It would be unwise to launch any plans without getting my bearings. [And no offense to Firo, but he'd like to get to know someone before he potentially ropes them in on anything!]

[foundafamily]

[Firo shrugs a shoulder and nods. He wouldn't get his hopes too high about anything anymore, so he can't be disappointed by the answer.]

Yeah. We don't need you trippin' out of an airlock or somethin' either.

Honestly, though, I don't know how much the rest of us can tell you about what you're dealin' with. We've got a big problem here--

[He waves his hands around to indicate the ship in general.]

--and nobody to beat up about it.

[Which is just hell on earth for a mobster.]

[glacius]

[Glacius tilts his head at that. Despite his prowess as a fighter, he is not one to go looking for conflicts... though he has to admit, he'd be tempted if he found out who was responsible for all of this.] So what is left to us, then? We just sit back and enjoy the ride? [He can't help himself; he scoffs somewhat. Not at Firo, just at the idea of being forced into helplessness on what he's gathered is a prison barge.]

[foundafamily]

Pretty much, if you can find anything to enjoy about this place.

[He pauses and shrugs. Okay, he can be a little more fair than that.]

I mean, it ain't like it's hell on earth--there's still booze, food, we're not locked up all the time--but things get pretty crazy sometimes.

[glacius]

[A small grunt.] What is "booze". [Sorry, the culture gap is cropping up. His people have alcohol, of course--though that might not be obvious given his lack of mouth might raise the question of how he would ingest it--but this is a new term to him.]

[foundafamily]

No way, are you serious?

[Suddenly, Firo's all business. His look of slackjawed surprise tightens into a determined frown.]

All right, well, first thing we gotta do is get you a drink. It's the one thing that'll make you feel better about this place.

[glacius]

No, no, that's okay, no... [Glacius isn't sure how he feels about being lead somewhere by a human, but the protest is quite honestly half-hearted.] Though... I suppose it would do me well to know where I could locate nourishment and hydration... [Still sort of missing the point, whoops.]

[foundafamily]

[That the apology isn't firm only seems to encourage Firo. He nods enthusiastically when the alien seems to be reconsidering.]

Yeah, well, the kitchen and the bar ain't exactly in the same place, but I can show you both. Like you said, you'll hafta find 'em eventually.

[glacius]

[The alien seems to continue considering for a moment longer... and then his shoulders droop and he exhales in a sigh.] Alright. Lead the way; I will follow. [And silently pray that seeing a giant icy alien walking around doesn't set off any alarms in the general populace, but you know.]

[foundafamily]

Really?

[He smiles.]

That was easier than I thought. C'mon, then. We get outta the Medbay this way.

[He's already walking, waving his hand for the guy to follow.]

[glacius]

[Glacius gives a small nod; his long legs allow him to keep up with the human at a very casual pace. If Firo happens to glance back at him as he follows, he'll notice that the alien is curious, peering at things as he passes by... but there's also a strong note of uncertainty about him. He's moving cautiously, like he's not sure he wants to be detected here. This one individual has proved to be amicable enough, but Glacius isn't sure how other humans might react to seeing him--and unfortunately, his bad experiences outweigh the good.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo doesn't have much height at all, but he moves at a good clip as they make their way through the area. Both because they have a mission and because hanging around all the naked and half-dressed people is kind of gross.]

We can stop by the lockers, too, if you think you woulda' gotten somethin' from where you were before. Even if you didn't--

[Mid-babbling, he glances over his shoulder at his new companion. He cuts himself off and scratches his head. Someone being wary is, he supposes, pretty logical in a situation like this. Still, he can't just not check on him.]

You okay, pal?

[glacius]

[Glacius' gaze snaps down to blink at Firo. He's not really used to humans, of all beings, asking after his state of being. He averts his gaze, but only momentarily, and then his green eyes are focusing back on Firo once more.] ... Yes. Just... ill at ease. This place is strange, and... I do not know how others will react to seeing me.

[foundafamily]

[Strange? Heck, yeah, Firo understands that. There's also not a whole lot he can do to allay that concern, so he only knows to nod sympathetically until Glacius continues.

Oh. Yep, a huge alien probably would be concerned on a spaceship full of human-y-looking things.]

I'm not gonna lie, most people here don't really look like you. But you also don't look like the things that go bump in the hallways, so I don't think anybody's gonna attack you.

I mean, except for people who'd just go around attackin' anybody, but I haven't really run into anybody like that on board.

[glacius]

Things that go bump in the hallways? What is that supposed to mean? [He's unfamiliar with the expression, but the context and the way Firo said it makes him think it can't be a good thing.]

[foundafamily]

[Should he give this guy even more worries? He'll run into them sooner or later...]

Monsters. They're not always around, but they're out there.

...Not sayin' anybody should go callin' you a monster, but people like to jump to conclusions about people who're different.

[glacius]

[Well, this situation only seems to be getting worse and worse. Thankfully Glacius has dealt with his fair share of monsters, so he's prepared, even if it's not a thought he enjoys.]

Yes, I understand. For the record, I appreciate you not being one of those people.

[foundafamily]

Hey, you seem like an all right guy. Ain't like people who aren't...

[How does he even describe this guy? He waves his hands around inarticulately.]

...well, huge and blue, are all gonna be safe, so why jump to conclusions about you?

[glacius]

Well. Not every human holds the same mindset. [Glacius isn't going to go in depth about his history with humanity until he knows Firo a little bit better, but the way he says it makes it clear his encounters with them prior to this hadn't been the happiest of ones. It feels very odd to be acting so... casually around one, but it is a good change of pace, he's decided.]

So how do we travel between locations on this ship?

[foundafamily]

Yeah, really.

[Firo has no idea what this guy's been through, but he knows that his own experiences with people haven't been totally rosy.]

There're these things called "lifts" that take you between floors. They've actually been workin' just fine lately, but it ain't like there's an alternative for when they're not.

[What's wrong with good, old-fashioned stairs, huh?]