ataraxionlogs | forty-third jump;

Entry tags:

forty-third 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: As you emerge from the grav couches following the jump, the chill of the medical bay pales in comparison to the hollow feeling that settles deep within your chest. Grim and foreboding, the grip of isolation spreads through you like a gnawing void, as though you've been left behind. That nagging sensation of neglect that comes from someone turning their back on you only worsens as you move through your routines, leaving you feeling distant, disoriented, and unwanted.

New arrivals will find messages spray-painted in red 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.

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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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Someone has to pull you out of trouble.

[Tadashi ruffles Hiro's already unruly hair for a moment before considering his next step. Despite the assurances that he's not panicking, Tadashi still feels like Hiro's more shaken up than he's letting on. Hiro's squirmed away from more of Aunt Cass's hugs than Tadashi can count, so this does strike him as slightly unusual. But only slightly.

He lifts his gaze back to the lockers for a moment, reading the instructions before making a decision. They're not going to find out anything more until they take a look at these passenger quarters and have a second to regroup without so many strangers around.]

Ready for this?

[If it was supposed to be a warning, it wasn't a very good one -- Tadashi moves fast, turning to loosen Hiro's hug while at the same time crouching and seizing the younger boy's wrists. The end result if Hiro doesn't find a way to wriggle free is Tadashi's awkward version of a piggyback ride: Tadashi holding onto Hiro's wrists over his shoulders and Hiro dangling behind him. He turns his head slightly to casually inform Hiro of what he's come up with with a straight face.]

Here's the plan: we go find the passenger quarters and see if we can get some cell service there.

[The second Hiro tries to escape, Tadashi's going to let him. But he's also going to attempt to hook one arm around the other boy's neck when he does -- he doesn't plan to let Hiro out of his sight until they have a better idea of what's going on.]

[Hiro probably should've known to expect Tadashi to pull him into a sudden piggyback-- but it still catches him off guard and it makes him shout out in surprise.] Dude! What--

[The moment that had him rushing into a hug is definitely gone now, and it leaves Hiro squirming to break free of his brother's hold. He's not a little kid anymore, and being forced into this position is just plain embarrassing. Having his arm around his neck is- well, a little easier to accept, but he's still giving Tadashi such a look.]

Seriously? That's your big plan? Get cell service??

[It's funny how easy it is to slip right back into their old routine, no matter how long it's been since the showcase. Hiro even rolls his eyes, making another (half-hearted) attempt to pull away from Tadashi's grip.]

And then what? Call 911?

I was thinking call for a pizza, but yeah, that works, too.

[He's got that knowing smirk in place, but honestly Tadashi is relieved. Hiro poking holes in what's honestly not much of a plan and rolling his eyes means that he's got it together. As long as they both have their heads on straight, getting out of here will hopefully be a lot easier.

He makes his way past the lockers, veering towards it when he spots the blue lift.]

I'm waiting to hear something better from you, genius. Here -- the lockers said to pick one of the first ten floors. Should we follow that, or go higher?

[There's pros and cons to either option. Whatever automated system is in place wants everyone to follow the number tattooed on their arms, but... whoever has painted on the lockers in red suggests one through ten. Either way, he can't see anything being too detrimental to them at this point. Whoever put them here must know they have a certain amount of freedom to choose...]

[Honestly, Hiro has no complaints about calling for pizza- besides the fact that it probably isn't going to be possible, if what everyone has told him so far is true.]

Dude, I just woke up like thirty minutes ago, don't rush me.

[At Tadashi's question, though, Hiro automatically grabs his arm where the number is and has to stop to think. 170. Really the number itself tells them very little, especially when he doesn't know anything about the ship in the first place.]

Well- The message on the lockers had to have been done by the other passengers, while the numbers on our arms were done by-- [He gestures vaguely at the ship around them.] The machines here. Whatever system they have in place. I'm kind of leaning more toward listening to the people who're in the same situation as us.

[Even if the message does seem ridiculously ominous. It makes him wonder what's so wrong with the floors beyond that.]

That's as good a start as any.

[Once they're actually in the lift, Tadashi finds a way to select the floor, choosing six at random. His finger hovers over four for a moment, but then he half-smiles to himself before continuing with the selection and waiting for the lift to take them to their next pitstop.

Somewhat amused at himself, he turns his arm slightly so Hiro can read the numbers: 043-144.]

Glad I'm not superstitious, but I'm getting this removed the first chance I get. How does your look?

[Hiro follows along with him, stopping abruptly before entering the elevator just to run back and grab his helmet and the rest of his stuff, but that only takes an instant and he's right at Tadashi's side again. Which is comforting, because he'd had a panic stricken moment immediately after running back that if he turned away, his brother would disappear.

He lets Tadashi choose a floor - because really, what does it even matter to Hiro? - while he inspects the items he'd shoved into his helmet again. His attention is drawn again when Tadashi shows him his tattoo and he blinks at the numbers permanently etched into his arm. For a second the notion of superstition evades him, but he remembers it with a jolt that rattles him ever so slightly. He plays it off, though, pushing Tadashi's arm back toward him while he reveals his own.]

Dude, worst number combo ever. I've got 170. [He then makes a little show of looking at it almost appreciatively, the barest smirk on his lips.] I think I'll keep mine. Makes me feel like a true teenage rebel.

[It's Tadashi's turn to roll his eyes as he moves to try to nudge Hiro off balance.]

I don't think so. You're gonna give Aunt Cass a heart attack. How many donuts do think one tattoo is worth?

[Stress eating. Tadashi wouldn't be surprised if she went straight for an entire cake if they both came home with tattoos that looked like prison serial numbers. He's half-amused at the idea, but it also increases that ache of abandonment that's plagued him ever since waking up here. Sure, being nearer to Hiro helps, but nothing seems to make it go completely away. And there doesn't seem to be a reason for it -- it's not something Tadashi has felt so strongly for... for something like ten years. Since the accident.]

Hey--

[He gestures to the helmet in Hiro's hands, glad to have something to take his mind from the current line of thought. He hadn't really had a chance to notice it until just now.]

That's new.

[Hiro just gets that cocky grin on his face when he's nudged, giving Tadashi a good nudge right back.] I dunno, a dozen? Though when she sees that you've got one, she really just might eat everything in the cafe.

[Tadashi's the good kid, after all. The college student that built a robotic nurse, who looks after his little brother and makes sure he doesn't get into too much trouble... It suddenly pains him to remember that those are things that haven't happened in months, and it's way more likely that Aunt Cass would burst into tears if she saw Tadashi step back into the cafe at all.

Hiro bites down on his lip. He's glad Tadashi's here. He is. He's glad that he doesn't even seem to remember what happened, that he went running into a burning building to save someone, only to die in the process. But realizing that he has to keep a secret like that from his brother is... painful.]

Huh? Oh- [He's pulled out of that train of thought when Tadashi points out his helmet, which he raises a little bit so he can see it better.] Uh- Yeah. It's part of a flight suit I made. It's a communicator in it and it connects to a computer in the gloves- [One of which he fishes out to show Tadashi before dropping it back into the helmet.] -but it doesn't look like their battery is anywhere around here. I'll have to figure out an alternative if I wanna use these here.

[Hiro has a point there and Tadashi half-fakes a wince. It's going to take a lot of explaining to turn all of this into something that won't send Aunt Cass straight into panic mode.]

You're probably right.

[Tadashi reaches for one of the gloves if Hiro doesn't protest, lifting it up and turning it around in his hands. He holds it up to peer with one eye inside the glove before grinning and passing it back. It seems like a nice piece of tech.]

This fits you? Huh. The visor projects the readout from the glove computers, I'm guessing? What's the running life like for the batteries you used?

[He's distracted for a moment as their lift reaches the floor he picked. Tadashi steps out, waiting for Hiro to join him before he looks around. Thankfully, it doesn't look as ominous as the painted instructions might have otherwise led him to expect. What does still strike him, though, is the enormity of the place. He expected the passenger areas to feel less... empty.

Tadash presses a hand to his forehead.

Unbelievable.]

The spaceship theory is gaining some credibility.

[He lets Tadashi inspect the glove because - well, he can't help but feel just the teensiest bit proud of himself about the suits he'd made for himself and for the team. Maybe he couldn't give Tadashi all of the details just yet, but for now it's enough for him to see that Tadashi approves of his work.]

Exactly. The batteries are way optimized and I maxed out the specs on some super-capacitors, so they can run for a good 62 hours on a single charge. [That gets his grin to grow a little and he even bounces a bit on his feet. Really he just wants to know that he's impressed Tadashi.

Though once the doors open and both brothers have stepped out onto the floor, thoughts of impressing Tadashi sort of fall to the wayside. Because this place is so much bigger than Hiro would've imagined it to be. Not that he's fully buying into the spaceship idea just yet. It could still be a trick, even if everyone else (including Gogo) seemed to believe that all this is real.]

...Some. [He nods, once, just to show that he agrees with his brother on that.] But until they plan on letting me out there and see things for myself, it's meh.

[Super-capacitors.

Tadashi's eyebrows shoot up. He vaguely remembers it, even if that memory is on the outer edge of everything he currently can't get a grip on. When he was first showing off Baymax, Hiro had told him that super-capacitors were the way to go. The charging time and longevity put his lithium ion plan to shame.

Hiro's outdone him again. It's good to see him using that big brain for something other that botfights.

They're out of the lift now, though, so after a moment Tadashi starts down one hallway of cabins. He knows they're expected to pick a room, but it seems weird to him when he's not convinced yet that they're actually trapped here.]

You're going out there? What if it is space?

[His tone shows that he very much doubts that's the case, but hypothetically...]

No way. There are other ways to test the space theory.

[He stops at one door and experimentally keys the control panel. The door slides open with a pneumatic hiss and Tadashi pokes his head inside, checking out the bare interior before glancing to Hiro and finishing his thought.]

Gravity control isn't exactly easy to replicate -- we would just need to override a system somewhere. If there's a localized loss of gravity, that would be some serious evidence.

[He folds his arms over his chest, the picture of someone who knows what they're talking about. This is way outside of his area of expertise, however -- he's just making guesses and relying on what he's read about or seen in passing before.]

[His response to Tadashi's concern is an automatic roll of his eyes. Typical Tadashi. Always trying to look out for him and for other people, erring on the side of caution... Though Hiro does realize with another sharp pang in his chest that even that's not entirely true. He's seen Tadashi throw caution to the wind before, and it didn't work out. It's probably better that he doesn't even think to do that again.

It's a good thing that Tadashi's more focused on getting this room checked out and doesn't seem to notice that flicker of emotion over Hiro's face. Before Tadashi even turns around, Hiro has himself under control again, putting on his brave face and giving Tadashi a playful nudge as he pushes past him and walks into this random room they've chosen.]

Okay, fine. Find the "artificial gravity" control and switch it off, see what happens. Solid plan, bro, but we don't even know how big this place is. That could take ages.

Or- [And Hiro raises a finger here as he makes his point.] We can totally find out if there's some way to safely go outside and float around in space for ourselves. Way faster.

[Tadashi attempts a shove at the back of Hiro's head after the nudge, but whether the younger Hamada dodges or not, he steps into the room after him. It's smaller than their bedroom back home -- or at least it feels that way with the arrangement set up as it is. He's half-listening to Hiro's awesome plan while he taps at the control panel inside the doorway. It takes him a few minutes, but he has the temperature controls pulled up first. With that out of the way, he works at the interface some more, looking to see if it's localized to the cabin or connects back to other ship systems.

He casts a disapproving look back over his shoulder -- much like the one he'd normally wear if Hiro brought up the pros of botfighting while conveniently neglecting the entire encyclopedia of cons that went with those kinds of ideas.]

Oh, yeah. Great plan. Can't wait to find out what it feels like for my eyes to boil.

[Sorry. Did he drip sarcasm everywhere? Tadashi's not entirely against the idea of space if it's for real and not some trick or scare tactic to keep them trapped. But he doesn't want to add a plethora of unknowns to their plate just yet.

He taps a few more times at the interface, then sighs. He takes the few steps over to one of the unclaimed bed and collapses back onto it, using his elbows to support him enough to still be able to see Hiro while he talks.]

A kid gave me some directions to the shuttle bay. Another guy -- Firo -- offered to show me the way over there. Why don't we start with just having a look outside. Sound fair?

[Hiro's already gone over to one of the beds and flopped back onto it, eyes toward the ceiling while his brain sorts out the information he's gathered so far.] Our eyes would not boil. It's way more likely that the water in our bodies would vaporize and the lack of oxygen would make us lose consciousness.

[That's totally meant to be kind of comforting. And simultaneously condescending. Because that's how Hiro rolls, even with Tadashi.

Still, outer space or not, they're stuck here. Hiro, Tadashi, Gogo, and a whole bunch of other people who probably really want to go home. They can't just ignore that. There has to be some way to get back. They just need to get a little more information on... well, everything before they can even start.]

Fine, fine. We'll start by looking out from the shuttle bay.

[Though Hiro's still pretty sure even that's not going to convince him. A window, no matter how big, could be a giant screen with some really high quality imagery. But it can't hurt to look. Probably.]

I talked to Firo, too... He said something about a girl named Rey that's been here from the beginning. If we could find her and talk to her, we might learn something about this place.

[Letting Hiro's helpful comments roll right over him, Tadashi drops the rest of the way onto the bed to mirror Hiro, eyes focused on the ceiling. Automatically, he searches his pockets and finds the communicator. It's not a ball, but it works -- he tosses it up toward the ceiling and catches it as it falls back down while he thinks.]

Rey, huh?

[Tadashi takes a moment to commit that name to memory, adding it to the few other names and faces he met earlier. He hasn't gotten a clear idea of how long everything has been going on yet, but no matter how long or short a span it's been... someone who's been there every step of the way has to have a few theories or ideas that they can work from.

From what he saw, there's a good number of people trapped wherever they are. Assuming they're all in the same position as himself and Hiro and they've all been working to get away... It's sort of daunting to consider the difficulty involved in solving this problem.]

We'll try that. These people might need as much help from us as we need from them.

[The same people plugging away at the same problem could put them into routines that boxed in their way of thinking. Maybe they could shake things up -- set some fresh eyes onto the situation and actually make a difference.]

[That actually makes Hiro sigh a little, brow furrowing as he stares up at the ceiling. Typical Tadashi. Always helping people. And then there's Hiro, who can really only try to fill his brother's shoes when it comes to helping people. But at least he's been trying... That's something, right?

Except now he feels out of his depth, trapped in a place where everyone claims that science fiction is now science fact, with no Baymax, no supersuit, no teammates... It does help to have Tadashi right there, and at least Gogo's also around, so it's not exactly like he's feeling lonely. No, it's not loneliness. It's-- something else. He just can't quite place it. Not yet, anyway.]

...Yeah. And we'll figure it all out sooner or later.

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forty-third jump;

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