[When she'd gone from the gardens to try to surprise Leia, the last she she'd been expecting it to run into someone. Especially someone who was supposed to be dead, she can remember his death and the smell of fires burning around them on Arima. She can remember Legolas' broken leg and the nightmares he'd given to his prisoners and more.

Panic had swelled in her chest and she felt like she forgot how to breathe as she looked up at him and he grabbed her. In another time and place, she apparently finds the courage to rival him but not here and not now. She freezes and then struggles only to be rewarded with a backhand.

It was enough to snap her into action and she did all she could. She sang, one of Daeron's songs but she infused what she could of her own power into it and ran, hoping it would hold him back.

She ran back to the gardens and there she fumbles with her communicator. Her hands are shaking and her face is pale except for a slowly forming bruise under her right eye.]

M-Morgoth-

I saw Morgoth in the halls. [Even knowing Thranduil had cut his head off, somehow he's there.]

In light of recent events, a coordinated response and therefore some discussion on how to proceed is required.

For that purpose, everyone please come to gunnery in five hours sharp.

[ it's vague and imprecise but for time and place, but that is entirely deliberate. the whole point of doing this off the network instead of on it is to avoid giving away more than necessary. ]


[ ooc: see also this post for ooc coordination and this log. ]

Alex Summers is gone.

[ why not immediately get that out of the way. anderson isn't looking particularly happy about it — and she isn't. he'd been one of her closest friends aboard, more of a brother than anything else.

at the edge of the video feed, a dog appears, nudging her, and anderson reaches out to pet anya for a moment before dropping her hand and squaring her shoulders. ] If anyone wants self-defense lessons, to spar, or to get a tour of gunnery, let me know.

[ staying busy is the best way she knows to deal with things. ]

[ Simon comes into view unsmiling and still, standing framed by one of the unadorned walls of his room. ]

Those of you who aren't human. Or are more than only human. If you lie low, or pass, or hide—why? [ He's quiet, with an Irish accent and a cadence that's steady verging on mumbly, and intently focused. He's not uncomfortable, not fidgety or uncertain, but he isn't quite at ease, either, in front of a camera. He's only using video to make a display of his bloodless face and white eyes. ] Has something happened to you here? Or is it a habit you've carried from home?

We may not be in the minority, altogether.

[ That's less threatening than we could outnumber them, right? Right.

That's also the end of what he'd planned to say ahead of time; he shifts back from the screen, looks aside, and nearly disconnects before more occurs to him. ]

If you want to talk and don't trust this to stay private, I'm in room two hundred on the third floor. You can... [ Leave a note, he almost said, but he's yet to see paper or pens. He raises his eyebrows like a shrug. ] Paint your answer on the wall.

Or knock. I'll be here.

[The backdrop of the video feed is the medbay, still somewhat crowded and noisy. Luke clearly hasn't been through the extraction process yet as he's still looking quite sickly and is not covered in tiny micro-abrasions. Because of this he's impatient and cuts right to the chase.]

I need volunteers. Hopefully by now a few of you have had a chance to rest and recover after the extraction process. If you feel like you can be on your feet a lot I need your help.

We need runners to go through the passenger levels and look for anyone who might not have seen the announcement. It's a possibility due to the comm malfunctions and we need to make sure everyone gets taken care of before the jump. It's only a couple days away so we're really down to the wire.

Uh... [Luke pauses to rub his tired eyes and gather his thoughts] if you're not quite as fit but still want to help there might be some people stuck in the lifts and behind doors trying to get to the medbay. Your nanites should be working fine now so you'll be able to help them out. Stay close to the blue lift because that's the one most people will be using.

You don't need to report anywhere, just let me know what you're doing so I know who to call on if someone's in trouble.

Do you have chocolate, by any chance?

[ that was supposed to go to charles xavier only. ]

[When the video transmission starts, there’s a rather neat and tidy man in a suit, seated in one of the passenger quarters.]

I’ll give it to this place, this has to be one of the oddest awakenings I’ve had. Still doesn’t beat Nepal though…

[The last part is muttered, almost to himself, before he turned back to the camera, all business.]

Not to ask the same question twice, but I’d like to go home as much as the next person, so perhaps I’ll save on some of the legwork and reach out. How can I help make sure this ship reaches its destination in one piece? I do have military training and my information gathering skills can be useful.

[There’s a small pause, and then he smiles, a small almost innocent look.]

Also I’m rather decent at poker, if that will help us any. So, who’s recruiting?

Two questions:
What are the expectations here?
What positions are available for those who can work?

[ an exit is what tobias really wants but a perfunctory search could have told him escape is impossible — and he scoured every relevant link, every post about the ship's life he could find.

he'll settle for knowing where the needs of the ship lie. ]

[ when the video feed comes into view it's not the usual dynamic gunnery duo presenting. chris argent is standing just within view, arms crossed in front of him. making announcements to groups isn't anything new to him, though it's never been on a spaceship or based off of information from long range sensors. it’s certainly never been about a stolen shuttle. (he’s slowly, but sure, accepting that his life is an episode of star trek.) ]

Gunnery's long range sensors picked up what looks to be a colony nearby. It's fairly large and inside of an asteroid field. But that's not the interesting part. [ he pauses, turning to look at anderson. ] Anderson.

[ she is standing next to him, hands clasped behind her back and shoulders straight as usual. ] Our sensors also indicate that the shuttle that left the Tranquility and was up until now unaccounted for [ not counting that one network post of singing ] is there. Its exact flight path is unknown, but it reached the colony without any damage, as far as we can tell.

[ the implication being, obviously, that it may well be possible for other shuttles to replicate the result and make it to the colony as well. ]


( ooc: this lovely shade of pink is anderson. dark blue for chris. general discussion/threadjacking/etc encouraged! )

[ the device is resting on a table, a distance from anderson and jax — far enough that both of them are in the picture. anderson’s posture is, as usual, straight; a soldier at ease. jax is slouching, flicking his lighter open and closed. he has a cigarette behind his ear but he doesn’t reach for it. he clears his throat, expectant, nudges her with his elbow. ]

Gonna talk to the good people, Pollyanna?

[ if the video wasn’t already on, anderson would comment on the use of the nickname in what is, essentially, a public service announcement. as it is, she just raises an eyebrow at him before turning back towards the device. ] We realise that the last jump was unpleasant for many of us. Sickness aside, however, our position is no less vulnerable now than it was before.

We asked before, but for those of you who are new, or those who missed it last time: Gunnery is responsible for the defense of the ship — which, regardless of how you may feel about it, is your current place of residence — against attacks, as well as for the maintenance of the armory. We offer weapons training, and I offer self-defense lessons as well.

You get your sea legs under you, you come down, talk to either of us. Can usually find one or the other kicking around Gunnery at any hour, and we don’t mind visitiors if you aren’t acting like an idiot.

[ after a moment to let that sink in, anderson reaches out and turns the device off. ]


[ red is jax, black is anderson.

ps please have a look at ataraxiongunnery if you're so inclined. pps theself-defense log is here, feel free to wander by ]

Good morning, Tranquility.

[ Erik is seated at his desk, eyes fixed flat upon the camera. ]

I’m conducting a poll.

[ The suit he’s wearing is dove grey and freshly pressed. The dress shirt beneath it is discolored about the collar, faded brown blotched behind the (flagrant) purple of his tie. He could stand to shave. He could stand to sleep for more than a few hours before addressing the entire network. ]

On a scale from one to ten, with one being the perpetuation of a meaningless existence at the mandate of an invisible hand for some unknown and likely terrible purpose, and ten being, [ he pauses to take a breath and to check down after his notes, ] ten being no harm done with a side of unlikely survival courtesy of a confusing -- but benevolent -- presence, [ he reads directly: ]

How would you rate the outcome of last month’s attempted mutiny?

[ A show of his teeth when he looks up can’t quite pass for a smile, fleeting and thin as it is. ]

Just curious.

[It's the familiar backdrop of Medbay, hurrah! Simon looks--you guessed it--tired, and he sounds--you guessed it again--exasperated. Cleanup after something like what just happened in Engineering is never very good for the sleep schedule.]

Before anyone asks--Charlotte is in the care of Medbay. She's stable, but isn't in any shape to receive visitors or answer questions. Please don't come to any medical staff requesting to see her.

We'll get what information we can when she's ready to give it. That might not be for some time. Right now, passenger health is the priority.

[And she is, in fact, a passenger.]

If you were...forcibly ejected from Engineering and require any further medical attention, please don't hesitate to see a doctor or nurse. We'll do what we can to alleviate any lingering symptoms.

[Should you go to Medbay with the express purpose of seeing what's up with this Charlotte lady, you'll find she is, as Simon warned, in no shape to receive visitors, drifting in and out of consciousness and in an obviously unhinged state. As she's clearly a danger to herself and others, there's an SEC guard near or around her bedside 24/7.]

[ Static. Bleary audio. This video had been intended for privacy and instead blares across the open network like a tiny digital blizzard of interference. It would be easy to scroll by, even when a voice, distinct to those that already know it, manages to cut through-- ]

--if you aren't asleep. I don't actually know what time it is, so you'll have to forgive me.

[ And there, through the static snow, Charles can be seen, and he has his communicator raised level. He is seated, likely on the floor, head rested back against a wall, and underslept, unkempt. He does not wear grim well, and even through visual static, there are signifiers of stress -- his jawline is haughty and tight, tense around the mouth, eyes half-hooded as he considers his communicator and darts a look, now and then, past it, at everyone else.

Or whatever else.

He swallows. ]

There isn't a lot of hope to go around, so perhaps you have some in reserve. Even if it's kept filed under the notion that even I couldn't be this bloody foolish. [ A crookedish smile at the end of that. Quick to wane. ] I've only just gotten through on this machine, so I hope you receive-- this. I can't keep in touch the usual way, in here, I'm sure you've noticed. It wasn't personal.

Regardless. Your turn, I believe. I could use the company.

[ Aaand end transmission. ]

[ jax is fiddling with his comm, tosses it down on the table after a moment while reaching for the cigarette tucked behind his ear. he looks subdued, shaky, but he visibly steadies himself. anderson is watching him, shoulders straight and expression calm. ]

Listen up, we got business to talk about. Anderson and me, we noticed gunnery needs bodies. Any of you who can shoot, think about stopping by. We could use you.

[ jax breaks off, ducking his head to light his cigarette. and with that introduction out of the way, anderson chimes in: ] If you can’t, but you would be willing to learn, we can teach you.

Never too late to learn your way around a gun, right? And Anderson here, she’ll teach you some self-defense hand-to-hand shit too, if you want.

[ she nods, confirming that. ] There seems to be a shortage in all departments, but if you are at all inclined to fight in order to protect not just yourself but others as well, stop by to talk to us. [ anderson is ever the idealist. jax snorts, blows out a stream of smoke. ]

Or if you just wanna learn to shoot, but you aren’t looking to join. We got nothing against giving some lessons. [ jax spins his lighter in his fingers, stops when he nearly drops it. he glances at anderson. ] You good?

[ smoking will kill you, anderson doesn’t say, raising her eyebrows. instead, she gives a sharp nod. ] Yes. [ and reaches over to the table to turn off the comm.

gunnery out, tranquility. ]

ooc | blue font is jax teller

[ Erik does not introduce himself, but appears hard-faced and grim on the readout. He does not smile; his eyes (an affable blue) are set dead on the camera at an apathetic remove. The lines around them are matter-of-fact. They look like they’ve been there for years. ]

For those of you with a ‘gift,’ who rely upon -- or even value -- the courtesy and discretion of their peers in keeping such matters beneath the radar,

[ there is a distinct clink and slosh when he reaches out of frame to tip an invisible bottle over an invisible glass ]

I advise you to think twice before placing your faith in my erstwhile colleague.

He is passionate, but not always in possession of the best judgment.

[ A wind upward at the corner of his mouth fails to reach his eyes. ]

This message has been brought to you by ‘Magneto,’ and half a bottle of chardonnay.

[ The video cuts out before his voice does. ]

Enjoy your stay.

I'm sure you must all see a lot've messages like this.

[ The man who appears is one who has appeared on the network before -- soft-faced and earnest, anxiety tested in the lines next to his eyes and a direct sort of stare that manages not to miss the tiny camera embedded in the device he's holding. Still, he smiles, just a little.

His address is slow and not exactly formal, just considered. ]

My name is Charles Xavier, and I'm newly arrived. You'll have to forgive me if I ask any questions you've heard before, though I'm doing my utmost to gather what I can on my own. I believe I've got the basic picture, although any advice is of course appreciated.

What I would most like to know is how many are here that had some sort of... [ He hesitates. ] ...gift. A natural ability of some kind, beyond the usual human faculties. A conversation would be of great interest to me.

Thank you.

[ there are others here who cared about roy walker, if not to the same degree or in the same way that anderson cared. that doesn't matter so much, especially not now. ] Roy Walker is gone. [ if she looks and sounds tired and sad -- well, she is.

she does, however, straighten up almost immediately, shoulders going back and features smoothing out. ] If anyone wants lessons in self-defense, please contact me.

[ there is no way to fight what they've been facing lately with fists or weapons, but inactivity is something that needs combatting, too, and there is no guarantee that they won't face threats that are physical rather than mental again one of these days. if she can make a difference in any way, be it by keeping people from losing their mind because they're holed up in their bunks all day, or by preparing them for a future threat-- all she's ever wanted was to make a difference.

and besides, she needs something more to do, too. the time she used to spend with roy in medical has been freed up, hasn't it? ]

I've been meaning to offer.