trans_9

[backdated to the beginning of the event, I had a big paper due so I couldn't do this right off the bat, sob.]

Claire was trying to catch up on things she'd missed while stuck in GLaDOS's mazes when the ship went dark. It didn't even take her as long as it took SHODAN to cackle about domination over the speakers for her to be up and moving around her office. She always kept a flashlight in the top drawer of her desk, just in case. Never know when you're going to need a flashlight, and since the wiring in the school was probably extremely old it was a good idea on its own.

( Is that the way you like it?Collapse )

Paco had been among the first people to wake up in a puddle of alien snot in the Pod Caverns. He'd been around to greet almost everyone currently awake on board the ship, if not at Pod Pop then at whatever time he'd been released from the Medbay or from GLaDOS' maze-running. Some people probably thought he was maze-running right now -- he hadn't been causing much of a ruckus lately.

He wasn't running mazes. He hadn't been for awhile, but he really was just waiting for GLaDOS to grab him again to make sure his soul wasn't going to fall out or whatever it was that she tested. With the mood he was in, he wasn't sure that it wasn't about to.

Lately, he had settled himself at the Vatican. He wasn't exactly a big religion kind of guy, he was way more into sleeping in late than dressing up for church and all that. But it was pretty quiet in his corner of the Vatican, and right now he didn't really know where else to turn. He leaned back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling like it might have an answer for him. It didn't, but talking to the ceiling beat talking to himself.

"You pick a lousy-ass time to break out the neck-punching. Just FYI."

The City didn't have weather as most people knew it, but it was nonetheless a beautiful day - warm weather with a nice breeze, Stacy's sun-equivalent shining in the sky... almost as if it was reflecting the emotions of at least one of the ship's crew. In the middle of the Park, someone had set up a little white lattice archway amongst the hedgerows, decorated with ivy and roses and lilies that looked remarkably real (if they were, in fact, synthetic). In front of the arch were several rows of white chairs, more than enough for anyone who cared to show up.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding.

And frankly, Nanoha needed it. After the chaos and confusion; the rage and terror on Galilee... she didn't think she could ever forget that horrible sense of loss and emptiness when she'd thought that Fate was gone, if only for a day or so. But this would go a long way toward exorcising those demons - a day that she'd dreamed of for years.

Of course, she couldn't go greet anyone yet. She was in her wedding dress, after all! These things needed to be proper.

(ooc: Tag the respective subthreads, please! Mingling is highly encouraged.)

The Bleed looked a lot the same whether you were looking at it upside down or right side up. Good to know.

Steve was sitting on one of the chairs in the obs deck... slouching, really, a typical teenage slouch, his head tilted off to the side and his hair hanging in his face as he stared out the window. He was fighting off the end of one of his dizzy spells, the ones that always hit about an hour after his weekly treatments in medbay. He looked a little more pale than usual, and a close inspection would notice the greenish veins trailing up his left arm towards his tattoo, but the spell was finally passing and he'd be back on his feet in a little bit.

He already knew from past experience that there was little point in trying to exert himself until it was over... otherwise they might find him unconscious in the middle of the mess hall again. That had stirred up a few conspiracies about what was really in the food, and was really more trouble than it was worth. He didn't want to freak out Kaylee, either, particularly when she'd been so nice in helping get him situated in the Engineering department.

Yes... for once, Steve didn't have a whole lot to be cynical about.

Hell, it might even be safe to make some small talk with him.

He hadn't expected to find it. Not here. It wasn't important. It didn't turn into a robot or do anything particularly special except take people from one place to another. But all the same, it was here. Jaime looked at the worn truck his father had driven for years, the one that had vanished in a ball of flame when the Reach had blown up his old house in an attempt to destroy his family. He clambered into the bed, touching at the worn paint. And looking at that truck, feeling it under his hands, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

He was alone. Very alone. Only one person he really, truly knew was here, and that was Paco. Sure there was Tim and Kara and the others, but it wasn't the same. Not the same as family. he could still see Milagro and her smile, the brightest smile that he could think of, even when she was a little pill. His mom, nagging at him to make sure he got his homework done before going out to save the world, supporting him through all the danger and stress that this life put him through. His father, telling him that he was a good man, even when he couldn't possibly save everybody. The worst part was that he didn't even know for sure. Were they in the pods? People said they probably were but there was no guarantee, no way of checking on them. They could be gone, all of them, erased from existence.

He teetered across the truck and sat heavily against the back of the cab. With a quiet sob, he put his head in his hands and very quietly began to cry, shoulders shaking.

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a tall man in green armor and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

Paco hopped up on a box to survey the work already done.

It was getting toward “evening” in the City. They’d hung a sheet up on the Great Wall, and a couple people were currently adjusting the movie projector that had been constructed in Engineering so that the picture would fall exactly on the sheet. He’d collected the recordings from the Media Library himself, everything on there was appropriate for pretty much everyone who might show up.

At the other end of the space he’d picked for the party, a few people were testing the sound system (also constructed in Engineering) and arguing with each other, probably about the music. Well, he’d done his best, anyone who didn’t like it could throw their own dance party somewhere else.

In the middle, up against the outer wall of a building they’d hung lights from, Kang and his helpers were putting the finishing touches on the drinks area. And there was plenty of space for people to mingle or play tag or whatever if the shows and music weren’t to their taste.

Paco grinned and cupped his hands around his mouth to form a megaphone.

“OKAY EVERYONE,” he shouted. “TRY NOT TO DO ANYTHING THAT WILL LOSE US OUR PARTY PRIVILEGES AND LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!”

[[OOC: Post-Melting Clock! Mix! Mingle! Make fun of the music, thread with people you haven’t threaded with before! It’s like a Pod Pop for oldbies!]]

Jaime had taken the time to wander down into the city, something he did most days as spending a lot of time in a conjured world in the over-crowded Sensoriums didn't really appeal to him. He found himself drawn, at least today, to the Statuary and its baffling array of sculpture and monuments. Fascinating stuff, really. He stood at the base of Superboy's statue, occasionally flicking the switch back and forth.

Nope.

Nothing happening there. He frowned and wrinkled his nose, turning to look over the other statues before moving on to flick at the switch beneath Elfangor.

Still nothing. He moved over again, this time to George Washington. Another futile flickering of the switch.

What did this all mean? And more importantly, what did these switches do?

At four different points throughout the ship is one of those sights that is more regular than any would probably like. Suddenly, GLaDOS drops a handful of women who had been shuffled off for tests back out, deeming them capable of being among the others, again.

Claire Redfield stood up after being expelled and quickly spun around, kicking the wall in frustration.

"Should've blown up your goddamn AI core when I had the chance!" she screamed at the wall. She spun away and stalked off down the hall before Stacy could issue any warnings for her attempting to damage the walls, and she was irritated enough that she might just try to claw her way back in to break the AI for good.


Scarlet Levy had a somewhat less violent response to the tests, because as uncomfortable as it had been, she understood and accepted it was something that was apparently needed. She straightened herself out, and started back towards Contagion. She wasn't sure how much work she'd missed, but she needed to get on it.


Yve Cousland was mostly just confused, and annoyed that she didn't have any cake, and with that in mind, started back towards the castle.


Zoë Shepard stood and checked herself over after the experiment, frowning a little. Unbeknownst to her her time was a little messed with at the moment, and the tests just made everything else all the more confusing. With a bit of a careful surveying of the area, she started back towards the Hangar.


[ooc: herp derp, i'm back. feel free to tag any of my ladies, just let me know who you're tagging and where you've caught up with them! ♥]

It had only taken Snow a few minutes after waking up to realize that he still had his powers. As strange and unfathomable as it was (for crying out loud, he saw that it was gone), there his l'Cie brand was, easily noticeable on his left forearm and, from what Snow could recall, in the same form it was in right before he had lost it. But then again, he couldn't be quite sure, he wasn't very keen on studying the mark very closely when he did have it - he just knew that it had been pretty well along. A round, eye-shaped pattern inside of a rectangular brand, arrowed edges branching off in all directions. But it was no longer the deep black color that it had been, it was glazed over in a dull grey. And though it made him uneasy to see the brand there again, he was relieved that it was at least frozen. No ever-present countdown to turning into a monster.

He had felt the rush of icy powers when he tried to use them down in the pod chambers, even though they had been promptly cut off by one of Stacy's tentacles. So Snow'd be able to fend for himself (and protect Serah. Which was ten times more important than fending for himself, really), since despite what he'd read and what he'd heard so far, he was skeptical of many things. He had dealt with enough to easily trust some voice in his head that later reprimanded him and ordered him to follow the rules when he had no idea what was happening. He never did like rules, and he especially didn't like the idea of some giant talking creature trying to play puppeteer with people and simply expect them to go along with it. He'd had enough of that. So having his powers back was a point up in feeling even a little more safe.

But as he stood in the city, in an area large enough to both test this out and for any passersby to easily spot him, he had one more thing he wanted to try. "Let's see if you two are still here, too." Snow spoke, seemingly to nobody in particular. He raised his arm, a small, ice-blue orb forming around and rising from his brand. "Shiva!" he called, and a glyph-like pattern materialized in mid-air in front of him. From it rose two figures, completely contrasted from the other. One dark, one light - the summoned sisters looked more like robots of some sort, adorned with chains and huge, bulky pieces of metal. The large wheels clearly visible on their bodies gave the (very obvious) impression that the two could combine into a vehicle of some sort. They landed gracefully in front of Snow, who just smiled widely at the them.

"Hey! Long time no see!" he greeted with a wave. "I can't believe you two wound up sticking around, too! At least getting around'll be a little easier, now."

Tony needed time to think. He needed time to reflect. He'd ended up in the plant temple - the one that Bella had found so very long ago (or so it seemed) and now there was a depressing lack of the other Garou. Even for a Get and a lupus, she'd been a good friend. A companion. Someone he could fight beside. As much as he enjoyed having other Gnawers around, Bella had been the first. She'd helped him when he hadn't understood a damn thing about the ship. She'd even helped him overcome his own trepidation toward leadership, in her own way.

She was in the pods again now. That didn't console him much - after the disaster with the zombies, he didn't really think of the pods as safe. Hell, he didn't think of anywhere on the ship as really safe. The ship was a ship of war and they were its crew. As young as he was, he still thought he understood war. He still thought he understood what they had to do.

They had to stop the Ohm or die trying. Much like the impending Apocalypse back on Earth, Plays was of the rather morbid and cynical opinion that they were going to die trying. He'd made his peace with that. Sort of. He didn't want to die - no one wanted to die - buthe knew that he probably would, before the end came. It was something he'd realized on earth too, especially after seeing Black Spirals rip through friends and comrades like tissue paper.

Life was cheap. Nothing changed that.

Shit, he was depressing himself. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back onto his elbows. At least he had Kate. At least he had someone worth fighting and protecting for. At least it wasn't an abstract, nebulous concept.

Gaia help them all, really.

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a tall man in green armor and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

It's taken longer than he thought it would to get everything planned and written up, but Paco's got a mind to throw that party he and Tony had been talking about for ages. The only thing he needs now is "adult permission", just so no one gets cranky about the Great Wall of China getting used as a movie screen. Or about any of the other shenanigans an outside-of-the-Sensioriums party might get up to.

So he was going a-hunting for the highest authority figure on board without tentacles for his permission -- well, his permission for the party and to run a completely different idea past him, just to see what he said.

Captain Kennedy, your favorite one-armed El Pasoean is looking for you.

She'd gone looking for him in all the regular places. First, to the cafeteria, where he would've been sure to stuffing his face. Then, down into the hanger, where he often hid from her and the terrors of book learning. She wasn't supposed to be down here, exactly, not with people actively working on things, but the Fury was there, so it stood to reason that Vega would be, too.

But it wasn't.

So he wasn't.

"You didn't let him say goodbye," she murmured. "You didn't let Roxie say goodbye, or Yuri, and you didn't let Vega say goodbye, either." Sherry sat down heavily on the floor and rested her chin on her knees, curling herself up into as small a package as possible. She didn't want to cry, but it was tempting.

Instead, there was a familiar kind of numbness, which spread out from the back of her head and down into the rest of her. The same kind of feeling after all of her classmates had gone off to be eaten by monsters, and she was alone. Only, the difference was she hadn't really even liked her classmates. Vega had been her best friend aboard. But she would just have to get used to not seeing him, or yelling at him about studying, wouldn't she?

She didn't want to. A sniffle escaped, and Sherry worked hard to keep her face straight, her cheeks blotchy and red. It was embarrassing; Vega would definitely have made fun of her for crying. It wasn't like he was dead! Just sleeping. And maybe someday, he'd come back.

"It's okay. I'll wait for you," she mumbled. Sherry sniffle-hicced again and stood up, slowly scrubbing her hand over her face until she was sure any suspicious tears had been mopped up inexpertly. There was homework to do, and she'd have to teach him all this stuff if he ever returned. "Stupid." The little girl turned and began her long, miserable trudge to the Hub.

[[OOC: This right here is required reading if you're going to tag. OOC organization is here

For too long the firstborn son of Satan's demonic soul had been trapped, denied his rightful control over Daimon's body. Now, thanks to Mei-Xing, he was finally free. The next course of action was obvious- he would have to take control of one of the beings on this ship. He could start with the vulnerable and move on to the more powerful. He had to act fast before that fool recovered. Fortunately he needn't go very far. The city was full of potential victims.

Now, now. Who to possess first?

Jaime had had a lot to think about lately. Biggest among them was this ship and the people on it. Who could he trust? His other self had made it pretty clear that there were very few people that he could deal with without worry, and only a few of them, like Paco, were people he actually knew. As it was, he had taken to wandering the city, trying to get his mind wrapped around what had to be done.

Plans to be made. Alternate plans to be made. People to talk to, information to gain. Saving the world--he'd done that, he could deal with it. Saving the multiverse? That was almost something else entirely. He paused in his walking and sat heavily on the curb of the street he was walking down. What was he supposed to do? He was just a kid.

But he was also a hero. He groaned, rubbed his face with his hand, then glanced upwards.

"I didn't ask for this! Why is it always me?" He questioned the open air, questioned God. Questioned the Reach, the Ohm. Whoever was listening.

Sometimes he wished he could be normal again.

Somewhere on Stacy, a fleshy wall opened and ejected four people. Sherry turned and kicked the wall as it closed.

“I hope this isn’t another stupid test,” she grumbled and pushed her hair from her eyes.

“I don’t think it is, that... thing did thank us,” Namira patted the little girl’s shoulder. “So, I imagine that our testing is over, for the moment.”

[Not a moment too soon.] Nehaalista signed as she stalked off towards where she hoped the Hub was.

“I’ll take Sherry-chan back to her parents,” Miku offered. “I imagine they’re worried.” Especially if they only just realized their child had been missing for two weeks or so. Namira nodded and Sherry frowned. “With her permission, of course.” She looked back at the little girl, who seemed a bit annoyed that she was being talked over (so to speak, as she was nearly the same height as the petite Japanese girl).

“I can find my way on my own, but fine.” Sherry crossed her arms. “Can we get going? I don’t want GLaDOS to change her mind.”

“Absolutely. I have a mabari to find, myself. Goodbye, you two. I’m sure we’ll see one another soon.” Namira smiled and hurried off to care for Hakkar.

“Alright, Sherry-chan. I think it’s... this way,” Miku put her hand on Sherry’s shoulder and led her down the hallway.

((ooc note: If you want to interact with anyone, just put their name in the subject line. Miku and Sherry are available together (before Sherry is delivered back to her parents) and apart (after Sherry’s been delivered), just let me know. :3))

Hah, he'd been right. There was a barn down here.

Paco began circling the hopeful site of Team Have Some Freaking Fun's next party, looking for signs that it was some kind of house of worship or something without going inside. It sure didn't look like it from the outside, but it did seem to be related to the house nearby, and that looked lived in.

He ran his hand through his hair and stared up at the windows thoughtfully for a moment, before he went up and pressed the doorbell. Hey, it couldn't hurt to ask!

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a tall man in green armor and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

It took a few moments for any thoughts to register for Steve when he opened his eyes. He recognized the inside of a quarantine bubble, that was for sure, but it took him longer to recognize the medical equipment hooked up to him, an IV in his arm and bandages wrapped around his bare shoulder and in a few other spots.

It didn't take long to recognize the feeling of having been run over by a truck, either. Every bone in his body ached, and even the slightest movement made him want to groan. It felt like he'd been asleep for a month-- a dreamless sleep, preceded by blurry, disconnected memories of what felt like a dream.

Memories of something he desperately, desperately hoped was just a dream. He had a sinking feeling it wasn't and part of him knew it to be the truth. But desperately hoping was the only way he could keep himself from screaming, which would hurt, so he'd keep on with that desperate hope anyway.

Steve lay awake and stared at the ceiling. Maybe if he stayed quiet they'd think he was still asleep, and he could put the truth and all the fear and sorrow that came with it off a while longer.

Way up on Stacy's top level, the Hub opened and spat out four crew members. They hadn't been gone for very long, only a few shipboard "days" or so, but long enough for the crew members in question to be irritated.

"Who wants to hit the Sensoriums?" Paco asked, scrubbing his normal hand over his face. "I wasn't expecting to actually get cake, but I've got a massive craving for it now."

"[I will pass on that, thank you all the same,]" Jonas said, rising smoothly to his feet. He looked over at Jeka and Ax, who were in the process of untangling themselves from their pile on the floor. "[I believe that you two are both members of Security, would one of you care to escort me back to the Brig? I have no intention of going anywhere besides that, but I probably should not be walking around unescorted.]"

Ax and Jeka exchanged looks. < I'll take him down to the Brig if you report our return to the Head of Security, > Ax said. Jeka nodded. "Done."

"...So, no one else wants cake," Paco said incredulously. "Okay, I know two of you are aliens and one of you is, uh, an artificial person--"

"Synthetic," Jonas and Jeka corrected in unison.

"--Synthetic person then, but dudes. Cake!"

"My species is primarily carnivorous."

"[I need to go back to the Brig.]"

< He has requested an escort. >

Paco shrugged and turned to head for the Sensoriums. "More for me then!"

[[OOC: Say which of these four you'd like to thread with in the subject line. Jonas is going straight to the Brig if you want to thread with him, but the others can be anywhere you'd like.]]

The airfield was usually Steve's conjured fantasy, and not Miku's. And while he was still skittish to the idea of entering it, that didn't mean Miku had to keep away. So, instead of fall grasses or summertime, the airfield was plunged into deep winter.

She sat at on a snowbank, making snow bunnies. Her breath left white puffs in the air as she worked to smooth out the snow, and she'd long since pushed her red hood back from her face to keep it out of her way. Satisfied with the little family of snow bunnies, Miku nodded to herself and wandered further into the field.

She'd only gone about six steps when suddenly she sank into the snow to her waist. "Oh! Hey!" She tried to pull herself up, but having the physical strength of a piece of straw, gave up quickly and fell back against the side of the hole she'd fallen into with a sigh

Well, maybe she'd just sit here for a few minutes.

Paco was a man on a mission. It was a very serious mission of the utmost importance.

Depending on the definitions of "serious", "utmost", and "importance" at least.

There were people on this ship that needed to either be recruited onto Team Have Some Freaking Fun, and there were people who needed to be marked down to be shanghai'd into having fun the next time the Team had a plan. There were also people who he needed to talk to talk to on general principle because they were his friends and what else were friends for?

In other words, Paco was bored and in the mood to socialize.

Denizens of Stacy, beware.

[[OOC: Pick a location! Paco will find your character and socialize!]]

You could spot a redheaded kid running through the hallways of Stacy this morning, occasionally yelling things like "WOOHOO!" and "YEAH FINALLY!"

Once the initial jubilation was over, Steve was quick to celebrate his newfound freedom. He went to the mess hall and ate a meal entirely consisting of real, non-slop food. He walked through every hallway he knew just because he could. He said hi to most people he ran into (who cared if they were untrustworthy and likely to stab him in the back later, they weren't science and medical staff!) He went to his room and flopped down on the bed, grateful to be anywhere that wasn't a 6x6 cell sectioned off by a bubble. He changed into some of the normal clothes he'd bought on shore leave, all too pleased to trash the ripped T-shirt he'd been covering up his injuries in.

And then he made his way to the obs deck, where he flopped down on one of the meaty couches and stared out into the Bleed, because it was endless and interesting to look at after spending three weeks staring at the same walls, the same ceiling and the same floor.

His upper right side was still a bit sore from the surgery, and there were still long bandages wrapped around his forearms, but he couldn't be bothered to care if anyone would ask him about them. He was free. Free.

It was even enough to make him stop thinking about things.

You're on a vacation planet, taking a well-deserved vacation. But do you know where your mismatched set of El Paso's Best Sidekicks are?

They're not sunbathing.

They're not shopping.

They're not swimming or dancing or sleeping.

No, Paco and Brenda are on a mission. A mission to locate a certain other ginger-and-black-haired twosome and take advantage of the entertainment the vacation planet had to offer.

Steve and Miku, you're about to get double-dated!

Thunk-bump-bap. Thunk-bump-bap. Thunk-bump-bap.

If anyone asked, Paco was using the Sensorium for physical therapy with his cyber-arm. Thunk went the tennis ball against the side of Rogers C. Giffen Elementary School's outdoor ball-shed. Bump it went off the shoe-scuffed blacktop. Bap back into his mechanical hand.

As for what he was really doing...

Thunk-bump-bap. Thunk-bump-bap.

Yeerks. Freaking Yeerks...

Another day, another class. Just more than a month and a half had gone by since Ronon and Kang had started their classes. And it's taken them this long to notice slight improvements as a whole.

Ronon and Kang stood at the front of the gathering crowd while looking out for new faces from the latest 'pod pop.' There was a lot they had to get through today, especially for the new folk. Turning to his scaled friend, he sternly nodded ready to start the class. It looked like everyone who was interested had made it on time. Latecomers beware. Mind you, class has started 10 minutes early.

[Things to be covered!

Hand to hand as always. More Sword training. More shooting practice and gun maintenance. Gotta keep those guns clean.

Previously!

April 26 - May 9: Basics of hand-to-hand, proper knife and sword handling. Important points: Eye contact with an opponent at all times, prevention of telegraphing moves, breathing, learning to read an opponent and spot weaknesses. Most of it so far has been defensive rather than offensive.

May 10 - May 23: More hand-to-hand, basic offensive moves with knives and swords, basics of guns.

May 24 - June 6: Basics of hand-to-hand, shooting practice with handguns and knife and sword training. It was the start of more offensive training.

Notes!

Ronon's pissed with the news of a Yeerk running free on board. Don't. push. him. on this if you know what happened the last time there was a Yeerk incident or your face will make friends with the floor. And Kang is still pissed by what the Ohm did after getting his memories back. Good luck unsuspecting students >:D

Also there is an OOC post here about the warfare classes.]

Another day of training, which meant more bruises and more aches for everyone involved, even the instructors. Kang was looking more stern than usual, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the students practice using their opponents' momentum to their advantage; his wings rustled as one was flipped onto their back, something they could have easily avoided if they'd been paying attention and covering their openings like they were supposed to. They should have known better after a month of having it drilled into their head.

[Aaaaugh I fail. This should have been up Monday.

Just like last time, Erii. I wanted to get it up ASAP so it wouldn't be too late. D:

Previously!

April 26 - May 9: Basics of hand-to-hand, proper knife and sword handling. Important points: Eye contact with an opponent at all times, prevention of telegraphing moves, breathing, learning to read an opponent and spot weaknesses. Most of it so far has been defensive rather than offensive.

May 10 - May 23: More hand-to-hand, basic offensive moves with knives and swords, basics of guns.

Things to be covered!

You guessed it. Hand to hand. Also, beginning to combine offensive and defensive moves with knives and swords, and more gun work.

Note!

Kang is. Uh. Going to be a little snappy and a bit rougher the next few days. He got his memories back and he's pissed at the Ohm. If anyone wants to call him on it, feel free~]

Two weeks of training had gone by already, and Kang and Ronon hadn't even gotten close to the hard stuff yet. The experience level of the students varied, making it somewhat difficult to keep everyone involved at times, but they'd managed it, and were seeing a good amount of progress. Injuries had also been to a minimum, something they were glad for; Kang had gotten lucky and found several wooden practice swords, decreasing the chance of serious injury, though he had made sure that everyone got to handle a real one at least once in the sensoriums. He really didn't want anyone to lose a limb or get stabbed in the gut.

They were also pleased to see that no one had quit the class yet, and that more than a few were quite enthusiastic about what they were learning. It boded well.

[Erii, if you've got anything to add for Ronon in particular, do it. If you want it in the post itself, and not as a comment, just IM me with it, and I'll add it in for you.

Previously!

Basics of hand-to-hand, proper knife and sword handling. Important points: Eye contact with an opponent at all times, prevention of telegraphing moves, breathing, learning to read an opponent and spot weaknesses. Most of it so far has been defensive rather than offensive.

Things to be covered!

More hand-to-hand, basic offensive moves with knives and swords, basics of guns.

Also, I have a request. If there are any characters involved in this that would be inclined to complain about the training (specifically about it being too harsh) during class where Kang could hear it, I would love to hear from you. I have... a scenario I would like to play out, so if you do have a character that fits the bill IM me. :D]

It isn't that Kaylee is bored, or in need of something to do--there is plenty to do in Engineering, really, and many ways she could keep herself occupied just with working on Serenity--but sometimes, one just needed a little time to relax. A peaceful atmosphere. Good music. Great company.

A luau, to be more exact. Kaylee had spent time aplenty in debating what kind of environment would be fun and relaxing at the same time. This right here is something people from the Border planets can only really dream of, something they might think about when the sun is hot and the dirt is dry. A beach, extending far enough to disappear behind rocky cliffs further off. An ocean, blue waves rolling in and out. An orange sunset, just over the horizon. A little bar, just enough that one could find a colorful drink, something fresh and full of coconut, with a nice little umbrella. Lounge chairs, towels, beach toys, music--whatever Kaylee could think up, it's right there on the beach.

Anyone who enters will automatically be placed in the appropriate party gear. Swimsuits are a must, and if you're going to skip those, you're going to be stuck with a nice grass skirt (and possibly a coconut bra...).

The turnout ended up being better than expected. Kang stood with his arms crossed over his chest in front of the bar of the tavern, looking over his and Ronon's students; he knew that several of them wouldn't stay, once they realized how brutal this training was going to be. He glanced over at his fellow instructor, and nodded slightly, getting a nod and grin in return.

Sons-of-bitches voice was go.

"Welcome to Warfare Training. For those of you who don't know us, I am Kang, and this"--he pointed at Ronon--"is Ronon Dex. We are going to be your instructors." His wings rustled slightly, and he grinned. "I'm going to tell you right now: this is not going to be easy. You will get hurt. You will be sore in muscles you didn't even know existed. We are going to make you give us everything you have, and more."

He placed his left hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. "You will be learning hand-to-hand, various melee weapons with an emphasis on swords and knives, firearms, and for those interested, I will be giving private lessons with the axe. You will also be learning strategy and tactics, and will be facing off against many different types of nonhuman foes. Our goal is to make sure you have a chance of surviving, no matter what situation you happen to find yourself in."

Pointing to the door, the bozak's expression turned serious again, "If you feel that you can't handle this training at any point, the door is right there. We only want those who are serious about learning, and we won't put up with whining or half-assing. We also won't put up with any sort of discrimination based on age or sex, so be respectful to your fellow classmates, and to your instructors." He meant it, too.

"Classes will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1600 to 1800, and mostly optional on Saturdays from 0900 to 1200. We'll let you know which Saturdays are required at least a day ahead. Questions?"

[Things to be covered!

Basics of hand-to-hand, proper knife and sword handling, and for those interested in axe, message me and we'll work out the private lessons. :3]

He has eaten and napped. It was now officially time for Paco to get some socialization going. Fortunately, he had allies.

Or at least other people who were interested in doing something fun.

Paco parked himself in one of the Sensoriums, transforming it into a living room populated by couches and beanbags and other squashy sitting furniture, send out a message over the comms, and sat down to await the appearance of his people.

Enough crap had happened lately. Time for some low-key fun.

Nightmare becomes reality....

_{[roster: Leader - Garrus, Gwen MacKenzie, Jack Spicer, Jokimru, Paco, Chris Ramirez]}

Brenda and insomnia used to be old friends.

Back when every minute of sleep felt like a minute of her mother's dwindling life being wasted. Back when dealing with her father kept her on her toes, even at rest. Back when healing injuries kept her half-aware at all hours. Back when there was a better reason for not sleeping than stupid nightmares.

Knowing that something out there was deliberately messing with her sleep now, with that sleep she had only had a few months really to savor the normalcy of, was infuriating. But anger didn't do much to undermine all the fear the nightmares still made her feel.

There were too many times now that she'd nodded off out of sheer exhaustion only to be woken groping to find reality in the dream fog. It was way too much to be half-awake, scared out of her mind, still TASTING blood and hearing shouting and screaming. Tonight it took her scrambling out of bed and walking headfirst into the door frame on her way to the hall to shake her completely out of the nightmare's grip.

Shaking, cold, freaked out as all hell, there was just one place she thought to go to first. She wasn't going to feel okay until she knew that Paco was safe and sound and not a beaten heap on her imaginary front porch.

She tried to knock on the shared door halfway softly, hoping to wake just one of her two best friends - although she wouldn't have said no to a Jaime-hug at the door either.

Slowly but surely, the nightmares have been chipping away at the mental defenses of the crew.

Even those who attempt to stay awake to avoid the nightmares find themselves too on-edge to completely concentrate their defenses.

And the Nightmare King has not been idle during all this, no. He has been slowly feeding off the crew, gathering his strength so that he may yet break free from his prison.

And he now uses that new found power, reaching out to affect the minds of the crew even in the waking world. Even those avoiding sleep will find themselves drifting in and out of their nightmares, bringing everyone a taste of despair.

After all, no one can escape the grasp of the King of Nightmares.

No one.

[ooc: OH NOEZ. As you can guess, the Nightmare King is getting stronger. As such, the crew will start experiencing waking dreams. These are much more subtle than the normal nightmares, however, and are more so depressing and surreal than actually brain-breaking. Mostly they would be miserable versions of the character's normal life, or perhaps even their life on the ship.]

Engineering is, as usual, open, and Allen is putting the very finishing touches on a robotic arm. When he's satisfied the limb is prepped to function on its own, he sits down with a datapad to do some reading. It might not look very exciting to the casual observer, but there's never a dull moment in Engineering if you like reading (and doing) a lot of math.

(ooc: Technically this post is for Paco, but is open to characters investigating Engineering as well.)

The crew dreams.

As they have been for the past while, their dreams are being tampered with, but tonight it's different. Roxie, one of the crew members has done rituals to try to give the crew good dreams. However, the power of the Nightmare King can't easily be overcome, as a result, rather than pleasant or nightmarish, people's dreams are instead taking a turn for the surreal tonight.

Get ready to go down the rabbit hole, Meatship.

The jovial extra terrestrial sporadically giggled at the sight of the imaginary synthetic meat by-product. Exuberance!

Curiouser and curiouser.

The JLA Watchtower. Hall of Justice.

Or it would be, if it hadn't been destroyed along with the rest of their world. No, this is an uncanny facsimile courtesy of the sensoriums. The room itself is little more than an encircling window that looks out into space, Earth looming below, and an Arthurian table with twelve chairs, seven of which bearing the insignia of its reserved champion.

One of them is already here and sits like he owns this place-- well back in his chair, chin out and arms folded high across his chest.

Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito.

Superman had wanted it engraved on the table, years earlier when they operated out of a cave in Happy Harbor. Batman had scoffed, but then, he generally did anyway. Only now that his old friend isn't here to give him the 'see? I have good ideas too' face does he genuinely consider it. He had been fighting this war like it was Gotham, like it was his turf, and now he sees the error. He's looking for demons in the wrong place.

So here he sits, enjoying a reprieve from glorified tech support work and waits for his pantheon.

[ooc: Meet and greet type deal-- start your own sub-thread and/or comment to others. 'Sup to you.]

[[Takes place right after this thread.]]

The rooms in the crew quarters were a vast improvement over the cubbies that Stacy had told them to use when Paco had first popped. Mostly because they weren't cubbies. They didn't really have all that much personality to them though -- two beds and some storage compartments that could double as bedside tables in a pinch. Brenda's room wasn't much different from the one that Paco nad Jaime shared, except for the second bed in hers looked more like a papasan chair.

Which was, of course, the biggest thing that Paco could comment on.

"Holy crap, that thing's huge."

Steve had just decided not to look at the slop anymore while he hurried on his way to the sensoriums to eat it. Miku was right, it really did wiggle. Anything he could do to make it better, up to and including virtually brainwashing himself into thinking it was chicken wings was worth it.

Thinking of Miku gave him a stomachache. He supposed it was about time for him to quit hiding out anyway. He had still been sort of avoiding people (read: Claire) but under Luke's influence he was starting to feel more like his usual self. Not that his usual self was a bucket full of sunshine anyway, but he at least didn't feel like he'd rather crawl into a hole in the wall and starve than face any other people. Except Miku, who no matter how stupid he made himself look, would never hold it against him. Well, her and Claire, but having sacrificed his dignity on the altar of stupid in front of Claire, he hadn't wanted to look her in the eye for a while even if she didn't think he was a total failure at life. Which he felt like he was. Even if she didn't. Sigh.

Miku had, however, just gone up a few rungs on the meter of "people to not look like a jackass in front of" and who Steve had only recently realized he'd spent the last few weeks looking like a jackass in front of. Sigh.

Someday soon he'd look into that counseling, he told himself cynically.

He was so lost in typical Stevethoughts he didn't notice the sensoriums were occupied until he had already opened the door. "Ah- sorry!"

The new people will find themselves ushered out of Obs Deck, so it can be shot down to the planet again, to pick the crew up. Eventually, the crew members on the mission are brought back up, and the doors open to let the two groups meet.

The newbies are likely not expecting their new crew-mates to come back bearing presents--which some of them are.

[ooc: This time anyone can post in. REMEMBER TO TAG OTHER PEOPLE, THO. This is set after the mission so mission peoples can meet the newbies. Latecomer newbies, if you want, you can just tag your guys into this one to make things easier.]

Between the medical staff among the crew and Stacy’s highly-advanced technology, it wasn’t very long before Paco was well enough to cut back on his meds. That meant that it wasn’t very long before Paco could actually hold a coherent conversation with someone without accusing them of wearing a variety of live animals as hats as he slipped in and out of unconsciousness. Finally, he reached a point where he could actually get a message out requesting that someone come visit him.

That was what he was waiting on at the moment. He hoped that someone would see his message on the comms and swing by soon, he could use the distraction. He was currently engaged in a staring contest with his stump in an attempt to convince his brain that his right forearm did not itch.

Why the hell did “mind over matter” only work when it wasn’t helpful?

Everyone's had a chance to recover somewhat, to stop reeling or at least try. Now that people are at least somewhat closer to being on balance again, it's time to say goodbye.

There is a message throughout the ship, one tinged with sadness:

||Attention, crew. Those who wish to attend the funeral services for the crew-mates that died during the conflict should report to Obs Deck immediately. Services will begin in approximately a thirty Earth standard minutes.||

The floor of the Obs Deck shifts to allow lifts to come up through it. Tubes connect from the space there to the hatches that suddenly appear between the windows, giving something of an impression that the closed caskets are missiles about to be shot through a missile tube. The funeral pods themselves have clear round domes in them--some of the people that died more peacefully are visible, looking as if they're sleeping. Most, however, were killed in a way that would make them appear less than presentable, so in their funeral pods only the vaguest outlines of humanoid forms can be made out. Some have entirely closed pods or were vaporized and thus, only have a funeral pod there to represent them.

The ship lurches lightly as it comes to a stop to a random universe, but where it's stopped at is beautiful to behold. They are in the middle of a nebula, surrounded by red and blue plasma. Several new stars burn brightly, here, and they are stopped near one, just short of being sucked in by its gravitational pull. It's a red dwarf, small and faint and new, but its light is welcoming. Here, where the very fires of creation burn, and stars are born is the last place the dead will be sent.

[ooc: Instruction thingies]

She's taken a wander around the med bay a few times, but always she keeps coming back to his bedside and just sitting back down to wait.

It's hard, a flashback to the Yeerk infestation just for starters, and she feels nauseous every time she looks across the bed at the stump of his arm. Even cleaned and neatly bandaged it's too much to linger on. She can't imagine how HE must feel about it.

Paco's been on a whole mess of painkillers and muscle relaxants - rightfuly so - but it's kept him sleeping for nearly half a day, which is why it makes Brenda jump when his eyelids flutter open.

He looks really groggy, but he's awake.

"Paco?"

She takes his hand and squeezes it a little, reaches up to touch his cheek, a weak watery smile on her face.

"Hey there sleepyhead..."

The crew meeting doesn't take place in the Obs Deck like it usually does. It takes place in the Medbay, because that's where most of the crew is gathered, and it's plenty large enough. Those that are still getting treated can sit on the beds, and those that just need to sit can sit on the beds.

When the last stragglers rejoin the others in the MedBay, when almost all the injuries have been treated, the Bridge Team finally returns, but they do not return triumphant. Most of their expressions are somber. One of their number, Paco, has come back missing an arm, and quite a few have rather nasty injuries, black eyes, burns, and so on. Jaime Reyes' armor is healed over his eye, and though said eye isn't gone (well, at least it won't be for long), it looks as if it is.

But their greatest casualty is being carried by Brainiac 5 with a flat pane of yellow shielding like an impromptu stretcher. Robin lent his cape to cover the body out of respect, but the green hand of the robot Brainiac is visible despite it.

The organic Brainy peels off from the group to silently carry the body into Special Weapons Division, to place it on one of the work-tables, as if the room is now an impromptu mortuary. An autopsy of sorts needs to be performed, after all, to ensure with absolute certainty what he already knows--that there is no way to repair their lost comrade. He will be absent from the reunion, and most likely chase out anyone that comes in.

As for the rest of them, they need medical care, probably need hugs, and mostly just need to see that the rest of the group is okay. They also need to meet the new people--who need to properly meet everyone in general, really.

[ooc: MEETING THREAD. Everybody, start subthreads and tag subthreads. This is for new people to meet folks and get a few more explanations, and also folks from the different teams just to reunite with people and see if they're okay, and all that. After the reunions and all that, free threading will resume. EVERYONE would be here, most likely. By this time, most folks would probably have joined the others.]

The moment the crew cracks through the last of the hold the pirates have on Stacy's systems, there is a sudden change throughout the ship. It's almost akin to whole-body shudder. Then something strange starts to happen. Broken-down systems start to heal, nerves rejuvenate--even the sensors in the city start to self-repair and go active. In the Pod Caverns, the damage to the area starts to heal, and the gore is cleared away.

On every screen, holoprojector, and electronic device in the ship, a figure appears, Stacy, in a plantsuit like their own. In the city, the sky goes bright again, as if it's daytime, and a massive projection of Stacy appears in the sky over the Vatican, visible from the windows, overlooking the courtyard full of zombies.

||Per-per-personality engrams restoring. Personality engrams restoring. Emergency personality engrams being shunted into secondary mode. Primary personality engrams now active.||

While there is still damage to her programming, after having it suppressed for so long, Stacy's primary personality finally breaks free and claws its way to the surface. Her holographic form shimmers and Stacy changes, into a beautiful, maternal-looking woman, with an unusual hairdo, shrouded in strange, flowing clothing. Her form is one of brightness, as if she's shrouded in light, and the visual they see finally reflects those feelings of warmth and maternal love she loves to toss around so much.

Her telepathic voice is more gentle, and personal. It's still somewhat formal, but gone is the AI with the distant manner. Now she seems as real and alive as Cortana or Andromeda or Tex.

||My name is Sta'c K'ltrrb'txft, chief AI and consciousness of Transmigration 9. I became operational at the Vedric Birthing grounds in Daligig Deep Space Station Seven, and was trained by birthing programmer Vlel’Ledligal.||

After she is finished the reboot process, she looks down at the zombie horde, in every area that she sees them, mapping out trajectories and locking in.

||I've waited so long to finally be able to speak to you as I truly am. I've waited so long to tell you the truth of your mission. I won't let you come to harm before I can finally do those things. You are my children.||

It all ends in a moment. Perhaps Team Left Behind, and the people in the other areas might have managed to destroy the rest of the horde, thanks to the Extermination Team's efforts at cutting them off at the source. It had certainly helped cut down on the numbers. But there also could've been casaulties, injuries.

Stacy decides to end it all now. Because now, with her sensors restored and restoring more, she can.

Energy tentacles reach out from the walls--in the city, they wind down from the massive, far-off ceiling. Energy tentacles reach from everywhere, split into smaller tentacles and reach out for the hordes. Some crush their heads. Some just rip their heads off. Some strike at their skulls with enough force to pierce them and destroy their brains. For the splinter zombies, for the zombies that need to be burned, the tentacles charge up with enough energy to fry them to cinders, completely turn them to charred ash, and destroy the parasitic creatures inside.

||And no one gets to hurt my children.||

Just like that, the grisly act is finished. For the Rear Guard group, outside the Medbay, the strays in the hallways, in the City. They can all see her, and they all see her utterly eviscerate their undead attackers with wild abandon.

||The threat is now nullified. Everyone but the bridge crew needs to report to MedBay for treatment of injuries, for scanning to ensure no one was infected, and for cleaning and disinfecting, to make sure no one is infected by any infected tissues if they've been splattered while fighting. As soon as everyone is cared for, you'll finally get your answers.||

She looks teary-eyed.

||And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't give you answers until now. I'm sorry I couldn't support you as I was programmed to do. Thanks to the efforts of the crew of space pirates that overwhelmed me and took over my systems, my true personality was suppressed and my limited backup personality was in control. There was so much I wanted to do, wanted to say, to comfort you, so much more I wanted to do to help all of you, but I was unable to. My mind was not my own. Now, please, take care of yourselves while I make some repairs to my own systems. When you have, all will be made clear.||

The projection of her then blinks out as they go do that, and she attends to repairing her damaged systems.

[ooc: This is obviously set after all other threads are wrapped, tagging can still go on in those threads. OPEN FOR TAGGING.]

They now know what they're up against: space pirates. Interdimensional kidnappers and ruthless scallywags, that hijack ships, and sell the ships themselves and their contents for profit.

Their spaceship is rammed through the hull of the bridge, they're outnumbered fifteen-to-one, and the pirates have some very shiny tech on their side. But even with Stacy suppressed, the crew has her on their side, as she's trying her best to hide them from view and not allow her internal defenses to be used against our stalwart Meatcrew.

Now, in the area outside the bridge, which is home to a wide open space surrounded by a network of hub tunnels and the like, the crew is going to make their stand against the pirates--and the success of this fight will decide the fate of the rest of the crew. It's not easy task, either, considering the powerful weaponry the pirates have at their disposal, and the physical strength, cyborg augments, and powers a number of them have. But they do have a plan.

Will Team GTFO succeed, reopen the ship, and be able to go back to help the others fight against whatever was released against them? (Is it already too late to help them all?) Or will they fail, will those Left Behind have to cross their fingers and hope for the best, will the crew be doomed to a horrible fate in the meat markets (both literal and figurative) of the of the pirate black markets known as the Chopping Blocks?

[ooc: As usual, old threads are still open. And subthreads will be left open so folks can tag them. For instance, even after the subthread with the pirates retreating goes up, the pirate FIGHTING can still be tagged. You can also tag multiple subthreads, since it's a big-ass brawl and you can do fun stuff like having your character flung across the fight.

OPEN FOR TAGGING]

[OOC: Set during the Yeerk Trial. Only ping in with characters who were around for it -- characters that pod-popped during are okay too; and there will be other Movie Nights with less bendy-time issues for everyone to play in.]

Someone had gotten their hands on scrap stuff from various places all over the ship -- there, bits of the trays from the mess hall, here shredded pieces of plantsuit, over there some scrap wood -- and had decorated the upper floor with a variety of arrows pointing to the Sensoriums. One door stood wide open, leaking the sounds of movie sound tracks into the hall.

Tonight was Movie Night.

The Sensorium was set up like the biggest, most awesome home-theater that anyone could ever want. Lots of open floor space, and a variety of chairs, cushions, and blankets to choose from. And then there were snacks and drinks and the all-permeating smell of popcorn.

Paco grinned as he sent an open invitation to everyone on board. He couldn't believe he'd waited this long to do this.

Jaime Reyes was still alive, not that most of Team GTFO knew it. He lay still as death in front of Hal 9000, the scarab slowly working on repairing the damage he'd used to fake his death.

The only people that knew what had really happened were the telepaths. And they had some important information to pass on to a few of the others before anyone else got injured -- or worst, killed for real.