ataraxionlogs | a crow beside me, a scavenger king [open]

CHARACTERS: Rey and You!
LOCATION: Here and there and anywhere!
WARNINGS: Rey's table manners.
SUMMARY: Catch-all log for the month, plus some starter prompts.
NOTES: Feel free to tag either prose or action brackets!

If recent events hadn't been enough of an indicator that something in the ship was terribly, terribly wrong, the jump sealed the deal.

The path planned for them is gone. More and more, those words are starting to make more sense, but it still doesn't leave any less a bitter taste in Rey's mouth.

And time, like a river, moves on.

I. Kitchens.

Anyone who had known Rey during the earlier days on this ship wouldn't catch her in the kitchens that often. Not only did her body require not as much nourishment from the average human, she had a history of sensory alteration, which had her deprived of certain senses. Her sight, hearing, and smell were heightened while her touch and taste were either tapered or deprived entirely. Whether it was gourmet or packaged shit, food would often taste either bland or rotten in her mouth, taking away the charm of nurturing her body or taking up on anyone's offer to accompany them for a meal. There was a sick reason for it, too, yet not something that she prides in very often.

Those who know her now, however, can catch her in the kitchens more often. Thanks to one of her previous trips back home, she had returned not only having been put back together after dying, but all five senses corrected as well.

Most of the things she eats for the first time is a new experience, so you can't really blame the way she wolfishly shovels food in her mouth. Whether she's slurping spaghetti or noodles or soup, or chowing down on a sandwich or produce from the gardens, her uncouth etiquette is enough to just about deter anyone's appetite.

Hell if she cares, though.

You may catch her during one of her moments, chugging beer or water or juice, or shoveling bread or vegetables while chewing open-mouthed, or anything that she is capable of whipping together in the kitchens on her own. Having spent over nine decades without a sense of taste didn't really inspire her to look into recipes to fulfill her nonexistent hunger.

Either way, you can bet your life that it's probably one of the most horrific displays you have ever seen at a dinner table.

II. Rec Room.

Another rare sight is seeing Rey dressed in anything that has sleeves. Anyone either on a casual stroll or wishing to pass time in one of the recreational rooms of the ship would catch her wearing a particularly different outfit from her usual attire of tanktops and cargo pants. Instead, she is covered completely by a black suit, tight-fitting with light indicators trailing from her feet, shoulders, and neck; the spinal column of the suit seemingly revealing some sort of additional function that has yet to be displayed. One final noticeable detail one may find is the upper back of the suit depicting a particular amphibian.

Hmm.

Even if you're just meandering by whilst minding your own business, it may be rather difficult not to notice the sudden whoosh of fire as flames trail around the fingers of her right hand, around her palm, and up her forearm.

It's quite a change of pace from several months ago, when she was struggling and attempting to shake herself free of the uncontrollable flames encompassing her arms, but never consuming or burning them. Rather than spewing expletives as she had back then, however, she can't help but crack a satisfied smile over the suit's effectiveness.

But to you, that sure is just a woman calmly standing there with her arm on fire.

III. Choose Your Own Adventure.

[In which case I can tailor a super awesome starter for you, or vice versa!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As accustomed as he'd gotten to the general college experience of guys eating with abandon at college, Tadashi still frowns slightly and lifts an eyebrow as Rey's particular way of eating distracts him. He tears his attention back to the more important matter in the next instant.

"Two of them? I think I only heard about the one -- and even then, it was in passing. What happened? Is it okay if I ask?"

It's almost a good thing to get out of the way before Tadashi would have this crazy idea in his head that Rey was actually dignified or whatever. It sure did come as a surprise to Firo when he learned this the hard way.

Shrugging impassively, Rey waves her free hand. The one missing three fingers. Which makes gesticulating somewhat awkward. "The first one was attempted by some idiot with a big head who thought he could take control of the bridge by himself. That was a colossal failure, as you can imagine. The second wasn't much successful, either, though better organized. We were trapped in that place for a good while, and very nearly didn't make it back to the gravity couches in time."

Implying, of course, that Rey herself had partaken in the second mutiny. The first one she literally watched with someone eating popcorn because that was before she ever started giving any single solitary fuck about anything.

Tadashi digests that information for a moment. The first attempt sounds like it ended just how anyone would expect, but the second? It's a little alarming to fully realize that the passengers here -- who seem so capable in the little time he's spent aboard the Tranquility -- were unsuccessful in their attempt.

"Was it the two original crew who trapped you? What do they have invested in keeping anyone away from the bridge now, anyway?" From what he understands, no one has been in control of the ship's course. It just sort of... went. Still a mystery even to those on board who tried to understand what was happening.

Working with primarily secondhand information and offhand comments likely meant that there were some holes in Tadashi's understanding still. He was going to take advantage of a friendly conversation with Rey while it was an option.

"Has anyone been up there since?"

"Doubt it. If it was them, chances are we wouldn't have made it out at all in time to make the jump."

Most would find it disturbing... unsettling to think about and reflect on. However, Rey is casual. This was during a time in which she was actively throwing herself into life-threatening situations with the intent of dying. A goal that, fortunately, hasn't been on her agenda for some time now. (You could say she gets by with a little help from her friends.)

She shakes her head. "No, and even if anyone did it probably wouldn't do any good. Our nanites don't have the necessary clearance to utilize terminals, and even after spending five days in there, any sort of extensive hacking proved fruitless." Rey stops, remembering something. "One thing we did notice, however, was that it appeared that the bridge is still in command by someone. And when we were released, it seemed that Smiley was the one who opened the doors."

Make of that however you will.

That just seems to call up more questions than answers. It's good information, though, and gives Tadashi something to mull over in addition to his usual worries and concerns -- or perhaps in place of them. He still has a few problems that he prefers to avoid rather than face.

"Smiley... isn't an original crew member, right?" Everything he's heard so far makes Tadashi leery of coming into contact with whoever -- or whatever Smiley turns out to be.

Then, as another thought strikes him: "There's a machine in medical that extracts nanites. Would that work for gaining the necessary clearance? Assuming that accessing the original crew is even a possibility. But... if there's an emergency and it needs to happen?"

It unnerves him still that they don't have access to the Jump Drive. That seems like the best thing to study to discover a way to send everyone home -- his one potential lead when it comes to getting Hiro back to Aunt Cass.

"If he is, we have no way of knowing."

Rey's had her own suspicions regarding the origins of Smiley, but nothing concrete outside of mere conjectures and some of the things he has said in the past.

She does give Tadashi a nonplussed look when he mentions the extraction of nanites. It wasn't like Rey had familiarized herself with the medbay and its equipment, admittedly she had no idea that such a machine in there existed.

"Only if there was a way to force a higher level clearance. As it is, Ward and Resnik were the ones who seemed capable of expanding our access remotely when they were issuing department heads. We didn't always have that type of authorization here. Wouldn't recommend ever removing the nanites so long as we're here, though."

"If the nanites are tied to the clearance and you managed to take someone else's nanites, that could be one way to go about it."

Admittedly, that wasn't the way Tadashi would prefer to go even during an emergency. Surely the original crew members wouldn't just let them die if they needed access to the control room for an important reason. Such as avoiding a black hole or... other space dangers that Tadashi wasn't yet familiar with.

That aside, taking someone else's nanites likely wouldn't work. The system seemed complex enough that failsafes should be in place to wipe the coding from nanites when they were extracted.

If that were an option, Rey feels like someone would've already tried. While she may have questionable morals herself, there's something oddly cruel about extracting someone's nanites from their bodies.

...Perhaps she's just been in this damned place for way too long.

"That's assuming either of the two around would let you get close enough to extract them."

After all, Rey's pretty sure that she's never even seen Ward and Resnik at a jump before. But she also knows that there are parts of the ship that aren't affected or protected by the jumps, if the White Room and the manticores have been proof enough.

"Yeah, I guess so," Tadashi admits reluctantly.

He's just throwing thoughts out there, but there's something frustrating about not seeing any paths towards clear solutions. A lot of surviving on this ship seems to be based around luck and making sure to avoid certain places when things are going wrong.

It's unsettling relying on the mysterious Ward and Resnik to continue allowing them what access they have. After all -- if they were able to give higher clearance, surely they could take clearance away if someone crossed them. Maybe that's just worry and cynicism talking, though. They're not states of mind Tadashi usually allows himself to humor for long.

Shaking his head to clear it, Tadashi wraps up the food he's made and balances it all in his arms. With any luck, he won't make any wrong turns on his way to deliver it to Hiro. He pauses for one last moment, though, thinking about what else he wants to say.

Maybe this is enough for one day.

"I'll keep thinking about it. Who knows -- maybe with a little luck I can come up with an angle that hasn't been tried before."

Not necessarily any grand plan to take the bridge, but at least a theory of something that might work. In case of any emergencies. It never hurts to be prepared.

a crow beside me, a scavenger king [open]

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