Unleash the Podlings!

[cityship]

||Pod Release Protocols Initiating,|| Stacy announced to the denizens of the upper levels. Down the the Pod Caverns, familiar sounds made themselves known:

Pop. Pop pop pop. Poppuhpoppoppop. KASCHUNKhiiiiiiiissssss.

Mist sprayed from the cracks in the pods before the new crew members were summarily ejected from warm, comfortable stasis to their new chilly, damp reality. They'd either meet each other in the Caverns or in the upper levels, where the previously popped crew would also be waiting for them, if Stacy had anything to say about it.

This time, there were two pods spitting mechanical beings out of a more oily mixture, and one podling who was significantly smaller than most of the others.

Pop. Poppop. KASCHUNKhiiiiiissss.

Comments

[prettycoolguy]

John-117, better known as the Master Chief, is awake now and vigorously so. That happened when he hit the deck and in a second or so he's already regained his feet through pure reflex. The temperature is the first thing that bothers him, even as he runs through a quick checklist of his limbs and finds them all undamaged. He's too warm. You NEVER wake up from cryo sleep without feeling slightly frozen. Or from a fleshy pod. Or dripping ooze, bad-tasting ooze that he's quietly spitting out and wiping from his face. Okay, this isn't making any sense. His eyes rake across the pod room around him, looking for signs of danger. It's like a Flood hive in here, the floor is fleshy under his bare feet and the other pods and the rest of the room are doing nothing to refute the similarity. It smells differently though... the decay is missing. It doesn't quite feel the same, but it does nothing good for his nerves.

Think, John. Where were you? In cryo in the back half of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, drifting in empty space. His only conclusion now is that something found him. But what? Where is his armor? And Cortana? How long has he been out? Long enough for those bruised ribs to stop hurting at least...

[cityship]

||Hello John-117.||

That 'something' is speaking to him. There's something strange about the voice though, like he didn't actually hear anything...

[prettycoolguy]

The Chief whips around, looking for whoever said that. Something about the voice niggles at the back of his mind, like it's all in his head, but that's less important than figuring out what's going on in a broader sense right now.

"Who are you?" he addresses the voice, eyes now scanning along the ceiling for something that might be a PA. Not to mention the fact it knows his name. It KNOWS his NAME. That just makes this about seven thousand times creepier, and though you wouldn't know it from looking at him his heartrate's up and the adrenaline is flowing.

[cityship]

||I am STA'C K'LTRRB'TXFT,|| the voice answers. A swell of emotion accompanies the name -- Chief will feel some strange mix of motherly love, duty, honor, and dozens of other, more difficult to name, emotions. They're certainly not a result of the voice, which is almost mechanical in its "speech". ||Many of the crew refer to me as Stacy.||

||Your heart rate indicates that you are distressed,|| Stacy notes further. A tentacle detaches itself from the wall, armed with a needle. ||Would you care for a sedative?||

[morphitudinous]

Billy couldn't recall the last time that waking up had been so thoroughly unpleasant. He'd expected to awaken in his bedroom, or his lab, or perhaps even the Command Center, but he'd never risen to consciousness coated in the slimy fluid now clinging to him.

The foreign situation immediately kicked his still-sluggish mind into gear. His imagination provided him with vivid images of torture at the hands of Rita Repulsa and her bumbling minions. If they'd captured him in his sleep, he was in deep trouble. His fingers rapidly flew to his wrist to contact Zordon or another Ranger, but they only encountered skin and slime.

This triggered the first stirrings of panic. Billy reached for the morpher that always hung at the base of his back, and again, found nothing but slime-coated flesh. Stomach twisting, he looked over his form and deduced that he was completely naked. He covered himself with one hand and unsteadily pushed to his feet with the other.

Billy couldn't make out the details of his new surroundings, but the pulsating lights flashing on the edges of the blur in front of him were more than unsettling enough. Goosebumps prickled down his arms, though whether they were from the chill in the air or the rising apprehension in his mind was anyone's guess. A slimy, powerless Billy without visual aid was at an extreme disadvantage in any fight. And somehow, he doubted he was on a pleasure cruise.

At any rate, staring at the fuzzy picture of a cavern in front of him wasn't providing answers. He spoke hesitantly, hoping despite the odds that a friendly English-speaking life form was present.

"Is anyone there?"

[prettycoolguy]

"Stacy," he repeats, feeling a strange wash of emotions flowing through him. He says it because his mouth can and his brain's a bit too busy spazzing in survival mode to give it anything better.

Tentacle with a needle! He dodges away from it, keeping his back to a pod. Tentacles, he's dealt with. Tentacles with NEEDLES are new. All you've managed to do is scare him more, Stacy.

"Not necessary. What are you, where am I, and what did you do with my armor?"

[cityship]

||I am here, William Cranston,|| answers a voice. It's emotionless, almost mechanical in nature but not quite. Possibly feminine. And there's something strange about the way it sounds, as if "sounds" isn't even the right word at all...

[cityship]

Aww, yet another person who doesn't want the sedatives. She worked so hard on them too! The tentacle and needle disappear back into the wall.

||Information classified. You are in the Pod Caverns. Information classified.||

[prettycoolguy]

He sighs, or at least exhales. So far, it hasn't tried to kill him. So far. The needle's gone, at the very least. But he's still naked in a fleshy cavern talking to a voice, so it's only slightly comforting.

Information classified. He's now fairly sure that whatever speaking to him is automated, perhaps an AI? And that last one was a bit beyond hope, he'll admit. At least he has a location name, though it doesn't mean anything to him.

"Why am I in the Pod Caverns?"

[cityship]

||Because you have been Chosen.||

With a capital 'C' and everything. Be proud, John. You're one of...well, okay, from the number of pods on the walls stretching out into the distance, you're one of millions, possibly billions, possibly even more people.

[morphitudinous]

Billy's head snapped up at the sound of the voice. He twisted on his heel, looking for any moving blobs that were likely to be the source of the voice, but none could be found.

Well, whoever she was, she knew his language and his name. That was a start, if a creepy one. Naturally, he'd follow up with the next logical questions.

"Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

[cityship]

||My name is STA'C K'LTRRB'TXFT.|| For such a strange name (one clearly impossible to pronounce with human vocal folds), it stirs up a great deal of emotion. Motherly love, duty, and honor foremost among them. ||You may call me Stacy, if you prefer. I know your name because it is on the crew roster. Is there something else you wish to be called?||

[prettycoolguy]

John's been chosen for something before, it involved being abducted at age six and being raised in the military. He didn't like it much at the time. He's liking this even less.

"What do you want?"

There's probably no use arguing with this thing, so for now he'll let the AI boss him until he can do something about it. Preferably that something involves getting out of this place, wherever it is, and contacting the UNSC.

[gogopowersuit.livejournal.com]

All of Samus's thoughts could be summed up in pretty much one word: Ugh. Dripping goo was never a good thing, especially if you were naked and covered in it. This brought another thought to her mind, why was she naked? An immediate reaction was an attempt to activate her power suit, which promptly failed. Another attempt. Failure. Her current surroundings, even though it was painfully obvious she was no longer on her ship, didn't even phase her as she worked out any possible reasons why it wouldn't work.

And nothing came to mind. There was absolutely no reason she should be naked, covered in goo, and stuck with a malfunctioning suit that was supposed to be fitted to her like a second skin. She wiped some of the ooze off of her face and looked at it. She tried to figure out what it was from, but couldn't identify it.

She was oddly calm as she stood up, though, figuring out a plan in her head. It wasn't her favorite idea, but it would be easiest to contact the Galactic Federation. She could get out of here and get her suit fixed. Yeah. That'll work.

[cityship]

Stacy's not that big on the podlings choosing stuff.

||I have no particular desire at this point in time.||

No, no use arguing with her. There were a surprising number who tried, though.

[prettycoolguy]

"Then what do you advise?"

He can always ignore it if it's suicidal, after all. Like going through a Forerunner Library infested with the Flood. That one turned out really well, didn't it John?

[cityship]

||Would you like clothing?|| Stacy asks. Most of the podlings did, eventually. But there were always exceptions!

[prettycoolguy]

"Yes. I would prefer my armor, but yes."

He doubts this "Stacy" will take the hint, but he's frustrated and nervous and it would be very nice to have something between his skin and the thin air again. Ridiculously nice. Nice like whoah.

[morphitudinous]

Billy closed his eyes, puzzling over the odd feelings that the name brought to the surface. He wasn't sure how he would classify Stacy yet, but he supposed he'd faced far worse things than her.

"Actually, most people address me as Billy." He paused to regain his slipping balance, unnerved by the sensation of the floor pulsating under his feet. With that settled, he refocused on the more important issue at hand---he wanted to know why he'd been seemingly abducted from Angel Grove.

"I don't remember adding myself to any crew roster. Why am I here?"

[cityship]

||You are here because you have been Chosen.||

It's certainly not much of an answer.

[cityship]

||Hello, Samus Aran.|| The voice seemed feminine in nature, but also manufactured. It didn't appear to come from anywhere specific, either.

[cityship]

Fleshy pustules on the floor at his feet light up, leading off through the caverns.

||Please follow the lights,|| Stacy instructs him. If she got the hint about his armor, she's not saying anything about it.

[morphitudinous]

Wonderful. Billy's worst enemy, right under 'false answers' and 'no answers', is 'vague answers'.

"What task was I chosen for, and can I decline? I have obligations back in Angel Grove." Yeah. Obligations. And a family, and a life, and a home too. He can't possibly know yet that Zordon replaces Power Rangers as frequently as Kimberly replaces purses, so the prospect of the Rangers being missing a member worries him.

[prettycoolguy]

The Spartan starts walking along the light trail on the floor at a steady but not quite brisk pace. He keeps scanning the way ahead with his eyes, hunting for movement or other possible signs that something might try to jump him. He's painfully aware of how much easier he'd be to ambush unarmed and unclothed.

[gogopowersuit.livejournal.com]

Not many things catch Samus Aran but surprise, but the voice from nowhere was certainly... unexpected. Scanning the room, she tried to find the source but can't seem to figure out where the voice is coming from.

"Who are you? Where is this?" were the first questions she asked, but they really sounded more like demands.