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

[pivotpoint]

[...Wow, it's docile? Hell, almost passive.]

What are you? [Wow way to be rude, Kaname. Sorry, she's out of sorts.]

[pinkspaceprincess]

My name is Tsumugi. I'm a chimera...

[Aaawkward.] Um, so you're okay?

[pivotpoint]

Chimera. Right.

[She sighs in defeat, and her posture slumps.] Am I okay? I dunno. I'm angry, lost, and-

[Talking to a mutated dolphin.] I just haven't had a good day.

[pinkspaceprincess]

[Oh, dear.]

I'm sorry to hear that... but they are working on a way to get us back to our homes, after all.

I'm sure you'll be back in no time!

[pivotpoint]

Uh, well... I'm also lost as in I can't find the temporary housing that they're giving us new comers.

[pinkspaceprincess]

I see...

[Tsumugi paused for a moment; the truth was, she hadn't really mapped out the corridors for herself.]

If you'd like, I could help you look. Not all of me, of course, but I can stretch pretty far.

[pivotpoint]

Um, sure? Thanks.

[She checks the map on her comm-device, and-] Can you find 3rd Street for me?

[pinkspaceprincess]

[The tentacle peered at the map, looked around for street signs to orient itself, then pointed with one feeler.]

If the streets are numbered sequentially, it should be this way!

[pivotpoint]

Great!

[She perks up just a bit at the glimmer of hope that gives. However it is quickly replaced by annoyance. Desperately she tries to push through the dense crowd of people both marginally taller and shorter than her. People? Aliens? Whatever they were they came in all shapes and sizes, and it was a pain to get passed them. In five minutes she makes about a foot and a half of headway.]

[pinkspaceprincess]

[Tsumugi's tentacle, meanwhile, cheers her on from slightly above the crowd.]

You can do it! Press your way forward, Miss! Squiiish!

[pivotpoint]

[She makes it to a clearer part of the crowd. It's less dense here, but she can't actually make out the street signs.]

Is it still further down?

[pinkspaceprincess]

[The tentacle moved up like a periscope over the crowd, looking all around and using its feeler to shade its face.]

Hmm... it seems that we might have a bit of a problem.

[pivotpoint]

[Her expression and voice drops to a significantly more pissed off tone.]

What kind of problem?

[pinkspaceprincess]

Well, it would seem that there aren't any signs this way! Or at least I can't see any.

Hmm, I wonder if it was an oversight...

[Tsumugi seemed remarkably unbothered by the idea.]

[pivotpoint]

Are you kidding me?!

[Now she's becoming increasingly distressed!]