0001: A New Beginning

[crux_mods]

Whatever your activities before, they're interrupted by a sudden lurching feeling, like someone's put a hook into the pit of your very being and yanked. There's a brief burst, a brilliantly twisting tunnel? And then silence. Stars fill your vision, along with bodies, machines, and not much else before everything mercifully goes black. The shock of it, more than the lack of air.

And then, there's sound. There's not much at first. Beeping. Lots of beeping. Some of it is irritatingly loud, and apparently it's the cause of a lot of excitement. When vision returns, the first thing to note would be alien writing blinking in your field of vision, displayed on a monitor or a clear bubble somewhere. Alien, but familiar enough for you to read "Awakening". Whatever that means, you're apparently not alone, as people in black and white uniforms are rushing through the large room you're in, the room filled with people hooked up to all kinds of machines. Of course, some of them don't look entirely like people.

All of a sudden, a haggered face fills your field of vision. "Great Shades of Elvis! Another one! Look, please remain calm." The poor nurse turns and starts to fiddle with some of the machines surrounding you. "There's been an accident, but you're okay. Try to stay quiet and don't disturb the other patients. Someone will be with you in a moment." They turn away to shout across the room, as if that wouldn't disturb anyone. "Hoi, Oglaf! Mark this one as alive so Security can take them for the briefing!" He gestures at some official looking people in red and black uniforms assisting other patients into wheelchairs. "Just flag one of them down, they'll take you to the briefing. We'll explain everything. Just don't panic, you're in good hands." He grins and pats your shin. "Welcome to the Fleet, eh? 'scume, someone else is starting to budge and I gotta make sure it's not some poor sot swallowed his tongue again." With that, he leaves you alone with your thoughts and the bright lights.

[Medical Arrival | Hangar Arrival | Briefing | Post-Briefing 1 | Post-Briefing 2]

Comments

Post-Briefing Part 2

[crux_npcs]

[Because that last one is getting huge.]

Aibghalien Marsai | Birthright, D&D, OC

[wizardsaregodtier]

One of these things was not like the others, one of this things just didn't belong -- in other words, the tall, imperious elf was signing an immense amount of paperwork with a quiet but growing anger that he had to laboriously explain the purpose of each and every single wand or staff he possessed.

Now, the sensible person might suggest that he probably ought to go into somewhat less detail on his descriptions, especially after he had to attach five supplemental forms to the description of the Staff of Evocation, but he simply gritted his teeth and took it as a challenge. if they wanted to know what a Wall of Force was and could do, then by the gods he actively rejected! they would learn!

He added each item as he received it to the growing inventory of blatantly magical paraphernalia on his person, because at this point, being an elf clearly wasn't distinctive enough.

[fonewearl]

"You know, it's less painful for everyone in the long run if you just summarize it," came a voice from off to one side. "They'll ask for the details if they really need 'em."

A blue-haired girl—similar to an elf in appearance, but with enough differences to suggest that she was not one, or at least not the kind Aibghalien knew—stood there with a tablet-model comm device in one hand, having already signed for her own admittedly very few possessions. She had chosen that moment to look back toward the line of people who still had yet to gather their things, and what she saw was that line being held up by a six-page report.

[wizardsaregodtier]

"I attempted a summary. It was deemed inadequate." He probably could have attempted a slightly less succinct summary before waxing into this much detail, admittedly, but at a certain point he felt that the resulting confusion would be less harmful in the long run. "I am certain I will be called upon to explain eventually anyway. Technology and magic appear to have an antithetical relationship on a societal level, an observation born out by the lack of magic anyhwhere."

He swept a hand around to encompass the room and by extension, anywhere else on this ship-world he had seen.

Gaige The Mechromancer | Borderlands

[fuckaccuracy]

There was some serious bullshit going on around here.

Having to actually sign papers just to get back the guns that were rightfully hers? What the hell was that all about? Maybe she had spent a little too much time on Pandora. Killing bandits, taking down Hyperion, and making a name for herself. Or maybe she just thought that these people were just being flat out stupid.

Gaige was leaning towards the latter.

At least it wasn't the first time she'd been ripped away from everything she had known. And at least there weren't any science fairs and undeserving classmates getting first place.

Bitch.

Anyways, vault hunting had been taken away and with that, the prospect any new sweet new loot. Gaige wasn't happy about this. "You jokers can't tell me what to do. Anarchy forever!" Said the angry little redhead, continuing to mouth off her irritation.

[blight_phoenix]

She had a feeling this was going to start becoming a pattern. Meeting Krieg had restored her optimism about her fellow Vault Hunters making it to the other side of this crazy leap across the universe. But with that optimism also came a strangely affectionate acceptance that she was going to be having to put a silence on any number of rowdy scenes in order to signify that reunion.

Gaige proved her right.

Before she could get into anymore trouble, a familiar hand clapped down on her shoulder, accompanied by a familiar voice. "Calm down, Gaige. It's not your fight right now."

[fuckaccuracy]

"The hell it ain't!" Gauge responded, well used to Maya being the voice of reason among vault hunters.

Wait.

The mechromancer turned around and...

"Holy crap, it really is you!" Not that Gaige wasn't already a total badass in her own right. But having Maya there with her? Kind of a huge relief.

"Can you believe these jokers are trying to pull?"

Eve (Code Nemesis?) | Elsword | OTA

[spearsurfing]

After retrieving... 'her' items, changing to her proper clothing is her first priority. A queen can't just wander around in hospital garbs. She doesn't want to leave anyone here with the wrong impression about her! After locating a suitable changing room (as suitable as she can get around here, anyway), Eve swiftly exits wearing her dress.

She then spends the next twenty minutes or so fussing next to a mirror. It feels... dressy. Too dressy. Absolutely nothing like what she's used to, and hardly suitable for combat—how is she supposed to fight in this, if someone were to attack her? The dress sticks out too much, and it's hardly aerodynamic, not to mention all the pieces that could catch...

Every now and then she turns to her hovering drones, asking things like Does Eve look okay? and You're sure this is correct? To which the drones can only eagerly chatter and nod with approval, though it doesn't seem to be convincing enough for her.

Hopefully no one planned on using that mirror, 'cause it doesn't look like she's moving out of the way any time soon.

[wizardsaregodtier]

The first time Aibghalien wandered past, he took no note of the girl whatsoever besides the usual mental cataloging that an advanced intellect allowed for.

That cataloging meant that twenty minutes later, when he came back that way after acquiring much of his basic apparel, her continued presence there made him take note.

"Does that mirror have some particular anomaly about it?" he asked curiously, because of course, why would that not be the obvious conclusions to come to based on all available evidence.

[spearsurfing]

She looks up when he approaches, confusion flashing across her face briefly before turning into a mix of embarrassment and annoyance. It's just now occurring to her how long she's been standing here, fussing over her appearance in a public space.

"There is nothing wrong with the mirror, and there is nothing to imply that it is in any way abnormal," she says rather defensively, folding her arms over her chest (awkwardly, with those poofy sleeves getting in the way). "Eve was only making certain that everything was correctly attached. Is that not what this mirror is here for?"

Re: Eve (Code Nemesis?) | Elsword | OTA

[pinkspaceprincess]

"I think you look great!" said Tsumugi, bending down a little so that she didn't tower over Eve quite as much as she usually might. "I really like your dress! It looks so soft, and it doesn't have any patches at all... you must be taking good care of it!"

Tsumugi herself was rather fond of dresses, which was fortunate because the organic skirts growing from her body naturally gave off the impression of one.

[spearsurfing]

The second time it happens, she's a bit more level-headed. After all, she's doing nothing wrong. There's nothing negative to say about a queen who cares about the way she looks, even if she requires more time than others to be sure of herself under these... odd circumstances.

She turns to face the one addressing her... then cranes her head back to actually see this person, much to her surprise. She vaguely recalls seeing this strange creature during the briefing, but the way she presents herself is rather unexpected (though not unwanted). Her appearance reminds Eve of the demons, but she's never known a demon to be so... friendly?

Her expression remains blank, but she's still staring. Ah, this isn't how a queen should act when being addressed.

"Eve thanks you for the compliment," she says, straightening out the hems of the dress. "It has been... well maintained, while Eve was offline." The phrasing is a bit awkward, and she's not sure how else to reply. She really doesn't remember owning this dress. Would it be correct to say she's been taking care of it?

countdown to. . .

[reassembling]

Eve is on a mission. She's familiarizing herself with the ship, sure, but she also has a secondary objective (or maybe it's primary objective, in this case?).

Namely, finding her doppelganger and hoping it doesn't actually turn out to be a rogue Q-Proto_00, especially with no Apple around to restrain the combat model. Not that she doubts that she could handle it, really, but Apple was the one who knew the most about the ancient prototype, having been responsible for her development in the first place, so it's logical enough to conclude that the princess would've been the best prepared for the task.

So, with how much she's focusing on these objectives, she nearly misses the sight of herself in a mirror, such a familiar sight it is. It takes her point-seven-two-five seconds to notice her oversight.

That was Moby and Remy. Her Moby and Remy. ...But the drones beside her were Moby and Remy too. ...Oh no.

Still, she's the Queen of Nasod, so she's confident she can handle whatever is going on here. If with a fair amount of caution, but.

So with that, she levitates over to a few meters away from the other Nasod (well, it's not Q-Proto, at least) and addresses her calmly but firmly: "There has been a mistake in the distribution of our possessions. You have been given Eve's belongings. Eve suspects that it is the same in reverse. Please relinquish anything you might have been given so that we may swiftly resolve this matter."

The Eleventh Doctor | Doctor Who

[meddler]

The Doctor doesn't "do" paperwork.

Not that there's anything wrong with the paperwork provided, because he's absolutely sure that it really is lovely paperwork. No, he's far more concerned about... well.. everything. Nothing he knew about human history had ever indicated anything like... this could happen. Of course, there was certainly a good chance that this was all an alternate universe. Actually... there was almost a complete chance that this was an alternate universe (after all, the Doctor knows his human history).

But never mind that. If it had just been the sonic screwdriver and the psychic paper, he might not have minded quite as much, but it wasn't. No, what he needed right now was the TARDIS. His trusty companion who had been with him for... well... longer then he would like to mention. And she didn't deserve to be reduced to mere paperwork (at least, he's assuming that's how he's going to get her back).

So please don't mind the man trying to... circumvent the whole bureaucracy thing by being incredibly sneaky.

Or, as sneaky as a thousand-year-old (give or take) Time Lord can be.

[maddeninghatter]

[ As sneaky as a gawky guy in hospital pajamas can be. Break wonders idly why the man hasn't simply filled in the forms (he's quite certain nobody is looking at them too closely: he'd written his in all-caps, filled the margins with rude drawings, and signed it "Emily"). He speculates that perhaps the fellow doesn't have any clothes. Was he was whisked here in the altogether? Poor fellow.

In any case, Mister Altogether has the appearance of somebody who is trying to be furtive, who would very much like to slip past unnoticed, thus Break very helpfully.... ]

Hi there!!!

[ ....greets him loudly, clapping him on the shoulder for good measure. ]

[tinywife]

Pinoko watched the man in the hospital gown trying to be sneaky. However, he wasn't very good at it. And he was being rather obvious. She was honestly surprised that no one had seen him yet.

"Um. What are you doing?" she asked, watching as this man tried to... was he trying to tiptoe around them?

"You know... the nice man who gives back your things isn't that bad. You just have to sign a form and then you're done. And you get all your things back. No sneaking around in your pajamas required."

[notpeterparker]

Carol watches the Doctor for a little bit, wondering what it is he's trying to do. Maybe he dropped something? She thinks she can help him if he did.

"Um, excuse me. Are you looking for something?"

[shitflashpointsays]

Flashpoint's looking for the hanger bay. It's cramped just about anywhere but the open spaces on this city-ship and apparently the fleet's working on temporary housing for people her size in the hanger bays.

Not exactly stellar accommodations but at this point she'll take three walls and a door she can defend at the very least, even if that's a just a fraggin' maintenance closet. How she's supposed to recharge safely after that whole 'take you of out of your body for our own good' rustwash, she has no idea.

Suffice it to say, a healthy dose of fleet-induced paranoia plus her special ops instincts means she catches sight of the small humanoid acting suspiciously. Cue some leery peering and a flatly delivered question.

"Going somewhere?"

Eve (Code Empress?) | Elsword

[reassembling]

Retrieving her belongings went smoothly enough, inasmuch as very politely reclaiming her servants from the engineers (and retrieving their respective equipment) and being given the wrong belongings can be called smooth. Given that the hospital garments aren't fit to be worn for any extended period of time, she is dressed in the clothing she did receive, sans the bladed portions (clunky. what was the point of such attachments anyway?), and with her hair lightly braided in the back. There are a couple of assorted tools scattered around her position at the side of one of the halls, but that's not quite the most noticeable part of the scene.

No, what is is more likely to be the small congregation of robots in said hall, one of which is emitting some distinctly distressed-sounding electronic noises as Eve pins him with a steely glare.

Eve herself is occupied enough with running diagnostic checks on anything and everything, as her hands are practically flying across a veritable blizzard of holoscreens. When her scans aren't enough she also takes to physically checking her servants over. (Some of said positions look a little painful.)

She is not fussing. What she is doing is not fussing.

She's merely making sure that everything is in working order and that no permanent damage has occurred, whether it be because of the dimensional warping or at the hands of some more daring engineers.

Absolutely not fussing.

(This most likely would've ended up happening in the hangar itself were it not for the fact that there were too many distractions there, with the engineers still swarming in the wake of their awakenings. She did see fit to relocate, but unfortunately her patience has long since evaporated, and her chosen position may or may not be the most discreet. Or convenient. Oops.)

Re: Eve (Code Empress?) | Elsword

[pinkspaceprincess]

Robots! Tsumugi had sent one of her tentacles out into the hall, and once it had caught sight of the automatons, it couldn't help but be curious. Using its two feelers at arms, it mimicked the motions of one of the more humanoid-looking robots.

"Hi there!" it said. "Wow, I've never met so many of you before! What's your name? Do you like it here so far?"

Wrathion | Warcraft

[freeprince]

[ After some amount of exploring, the Black Prince had just gotten frustrated with getting lost and feeling aimless. Thus, he set himself to handle three simple objectives on this first day: to talk up people who looked like promising champions, to find whatever room he has been supplied to live, and to find somewhere where he could get a worthwhile cup of tea.

The last one will end up proving the most difficult, and as he keeps moving around looking for it, he might be seen munching on some oddly purple colored pastries. ]

[sharkastic]

[After getting a good deal of running done and also enough mental acrobatics accomplished for probably the next seven years, on top of a somewhat memorable experience earlier involving food -- let's just say Rin's pretty much starving, and doesn't really have any reason to deprive himself.

Who doesn't think more clearly on a full stomach? Maybe it'll help things make sense, and maybe he'll stop either hallucinating or dreaming the most absurd shit imaginable. Never mind that the food's probably in on it, too.

So yes, he's now making his way in approximate direction of where the map is pointing; he's not quite close enough yet for the scent of food to become his guide when he happens to pass Wrathion. Rin doesn't notice the pastries, but his stomach sure does.]

... Those any good?

[Just striking up conversation to cover up unfortunate and inevitable stomach growling, nothing to see here.]

Kaname Chidori | Full Metal Panic!

[pivotpoint]

[Kaname has already picked up her lime green flip phone (such awful taste), which was immediately outmoded by the comm device she was offered. She ended up picking out a bracelet-type device that sits on her wrist much like her old leather banded watch did. In fact one can find her doing:

A
Breezing through the tutorial of the comm-device almost as if she has done something similar before. As she does this she might look dazed, or some what not all there. Her movements are almost ghastly or possessed. Anybody not paying attention might not catch this, but if you take more than a brief glance it could be concerning. If oblivious or uncaring, perhaps you can try to get her to help you with your device!

B
After that she keeps trying to navigate her way to her designated residence. Despite her "ease" with handling the device and its informational maps the crowds keep getting her turned around. Any attempts at setting up an automated navigational system similar to a GPS all result in agony. RECALCULATING is a word she never wants to hear again. In the middle of a particularly large crowd she throws up her arms and screams.]

What the hell does a girl have to do to get outta here!?

B

[pinkspaceprincess]

[Tsumugi was more crowdwatching than trying to get anywhere in particular; being 66 feet tall meant that she had to be very, very careful where she placed her feet. Although it also meant that people were skirting around her and giving her some distance rather than barreling right into her.

When she heard Kaname, she sent one of her tentacles up into the air above the crowd, looking for the source of the outburst. Luckily, it could speak and see on its own. It waved one of its feelers at Kaname.]

Hello! Is there something wrong? Are you lost?

B

[sharkastic]

... Well, screaming your way through's not gonna get you anywhere, even if you gave it a good try.

[It's not that Rin doesn't sympathize with the cruel and unusual punishment provided by the comm map system because he does, really he does.

It doesn't mean he's any better pleased about being the casualty standing next to a girl screaming at the top of her lungs, though. Still, grudgingly, he points at some of the elevated walkways above their heads; there's also some rail bridges for the maglev and a few stray sundry aerial transportation vehicles.]

Public transportation.