ataraxionlogs | thirty-first 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: There is something very easy about waking from the gravcouches this month. The sensation of being watched is absent, and so is much of the sickness - even for those characters who entered Engineering in February. Instead the jump feels comfortable, the stasis fluid warm on your skin, the medbay lights not too harsh as you emerge amongst your fellow passengers. The sensation may be unnerving in its strangeness, but there will be a deep feeling of being well-rested, calm and content, that will not be completely lost no matter how much you question it.

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You wake up in darkness.

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.

You are not alone.
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.

This is your welcome party.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ elizabeth is still in the dark as to how a lot of technology here works. but it still strikes her as odd. ]

Yet I have only noted her sleeping still.

[ if there are others, she doesn't know. and right now, doesn't care. ]

Sometimes it's a bunch of people. Sometimes it's just a couple. As far as I can tell, it's not a perfect system. You probably saw Engineering when it was all fucked up, right? Same deal, kind of. Buggy hardware or whatever.

[She doesn't really have a strong grasp on what most of those words means, but to hell with it. They sound about right and when it comes right down to it, she's pretty sure Lizzie doesn't know any better either.

And she is sure:]

Seriously, your mom's gonna be fine.

I did, yes. [ her glance flickers back to her mother's face. ] She and I both did. Would that I knew how this technology functions.

[ no, she really doesn't. and it is frustrating as all hell to once again have to stand by while her family is taken from her, by one method or another. ]

Your reassurance is kindly meant. I know. [ she closes her eyes. ]

But now I am alone.

Psh. [Supportive, Ellie.] You've probably got a lot of friends and stuff here, right? I mean, you're pretty much ridiculously nice. And besides-- [punctuated with another gentle tap on the casing of the grav couch; when she continues, there's an uncharacteristic kind of softness to it] --you're not alone. She's right here. You just have to be patient.

Edited 2014-05-09 21:46 (UTC)

I—yes. [ even though friendship was an alien and foreign concept o her before arriving here. it is something to grow into and accept, like having cecily for a sister.

meaning she can do this. ellie is being kind for a change and she notes it with a tiny smile of gratitude. if ellie can be nice, then she can be brave. ]

I thank you. You can be kind yourself, when you put your mind to it.

[ slowly, she nods. the nausea is dissipating enough for her to think. ]

In my heart I know that, though I will miss her. But I cannot wrap my mind around this phenomenon or why none question it.

[Hey - wow, first of all: she is totally kind and awesome all the time, so whatever. Ellie wrinkles her nose, her lips curling slightly as she struggles to bite back the thing that's on the tip of her tongue. It takes her a second, but she manages it.]

People question it. They just don't know how to fix it. And it's better not to fuck with it when you know if you just wait she'll be okay. If someone tried to crack this sucker open-- well who knows what would happen.

[She pats the pod. Shrugs.]

You have a friend or something you can stay with if you get lonely, right? Like go pick flowers and braid Lucrezia's hair or whatever?

[ actions speak louder than thoughts, ellie. she is still a pottymouth, and to her credit elizabeth only winces and wrinkles her own nose once. soon enough she will become used to it.

but for now, wow. modern folks sure are foul-mouthed! ]

I suppose not. [ a friend to stay with? oh, ellie. ]

Lucrezia is a newly-wed woman. [ and she lives out in the gardens with the elves but she won't burden them after they have lost so much in the past weeks.

and seeking cesare out when she is lonely is probably not the best idea, either. so elizabeth shrugs. ]

I will oome here and keep her company, should I become lonely.

[Right. Newlyweds. She's from post apocalyptic future and even she knows what that means.]

Well don't lurk down here in medical bay all jump. People might think you're weird. [And then a pause, half a beat because she's thinking it but putting her mouth around the words is harder than it should be. Eventually:] But I guess if you're seriously that hard up for company and you want to listen to some music or read books or whatever, I'm around.

What is "weird"? [ modern slang is so strange. ]

That is very kind of you to offer. [ she glances at her quietly. ]

Thank you.

Uh. "Strange?" I don't know.

[And she dodges the rest entirely with a shrug and an off the cuff scoff:] Sure, whatever. It's not a big deal so don't get all mushy about it.

Oh, strange. It surprises me how language has evolved.

[ the remark makes elizabeth smile faintly. ] Worry not, I will say nothing further on the matter.

[Ellie nods curtly, rearranging her towel where it's wrapped thoroughly around her.] Good. [A beat.] Okay, I'm disgusting. I'm gonna go get this crap off of me, so I guess message me or whatever.

[ still smiling faintly, elizabeth nods. ]

As you will. We shall be in touch again soon enough.

thirty-first jump;

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