trans_9 | Mission 02 - Stacy Says Follow the Yules

There is a resounding mental alarum that sounds through the ship. Nearly "deafening." Lights flash from places for extra emphasis, making it impossible to ignore.

||Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention, all personnel...||

It's entirely likely that she won't stop repeating the announcement until, well, everyone reports to Obs Deck. Outside the windows, a very Earth-like planet is visible, hanging in space. The mouth in the huge statue opens, revealing a screen. On it, the dossier for the mission flickers into display, understandable to every person there. Smaller copies of the dossier appear in holographic form in front of everyone.

The planet's stats, right next to a rotating holographic picture of it, marbled blue and green, are as follows:

Planet Designation: Earth-78734XM45
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Extensive flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: Homo Sapiens. [Various translations of "human" appear here so everyone understands it]
Water: 69.5% of the planet's surface.

Climate: Earth-like, in the throes of a mild nuclear winter [Click here for cultural equivalents for non-Earth cultures.]
Landscape: Varied.
Air: Normoxic concentration. Slightly elevated levels of carbon dioxide.

Air Pressure: 101.3 kPa (kilopascals) = 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch)
Sky: Blue. Often overcast.
Sun: A class G2V, yellow star.

Warnings: Wildlife and plant-life can be hazardous. Humans can be hazardous. A human cultural and legal database is available. [click here]

Mission: Revive the spiritual entity at the North Pole.

--

Following that, there are various maps and things visible. The version of Earth this world is may be very recognizable to some, but vast cities dot its surface.

||Attention, podmates. Attention.||

Apparently Stacy wants their attention.

||It is critical that you pay attention at this time.||

A few people will be able to avoid the call by being in the right place at the right time, but most will be gathered up on Obs Deck.

[ooc: Organization Post | You can post into the gathering thread. I'll add more subthreads with explanations of aspects of the mission as we go. Note: If you don't have time to post to this mission briefing but still want to have your character in the plot, that's fine. You can just pretend they were there the whole time. If you DON'T want your characters to be in this plot altogether, however, don't have them in the briefing--Stacy could have missed snagging them.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jamie turns to regard Aeneas, trying not to stare. He's fairly acclimated to strange things by now but, well, Aeneas is stranger than anything he's seen yet.

"...yeah, I guess that's where humans originally came from," he says, after he's composed himself. "I've never been there, though. And I guess we're supposed to save some...spirit. Thing. At one of the poles." He shrugs.

Being stared at by humans was something that Aeneas had long since become acclimated to, so this male’s reaction was by no means unusual or surprising. What was unusual was the answer he gave the alien—that being, exactly what the hologram said the mission should be.

“…Really?” Aeneas blinked curiously, “I thought she was kidding.”

"I don't...think she kids," Jamie replied. "And I mean...it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, I dunno how we're supposed to save a spirit, but I've heard of weirder stuff, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's true."

Aeneas shrugged lightly. “I would not know the ship’s mannerisms or reasoning for myself. I only just got here, after all.”

Yes, he would have a lot of learning to do. In any case, he assumed that the ‘spirit’ was a misrepresentation of something else that could only be seen within another universe’s “lighting”, per se, and so he left it at that.

“Speaking of which, I feel that this is our first time meeting,” the alien purred, offering a webbed handshake, “You may call me Aeneas. What should I call you?”

Good point, that. Jamie supposed he couldn't really blame the guy for not being familiar with Stacy if he was brand new.

Jamie took the proffered hand with a barely-noticeable pause, one of curiosity more than hesitance - he'd never met someone with webbed hands before. "I'm Jamie Hemeros. Nice to meet you."

“You as well,” Aeneas trilled, eyes squinting with a smile. This human seemed nice enough.

Also, something he’d said earlier had piqued his curiosity. Perhaps now he could bring it up.

“…You mentioned that Earth was where humans originally came from,” the alien remarked inquiringly, “Were you from Earth yourself?”

"Not me personally, no," Jamie replied. "I come from a planet called Zi - 's on the edge of the same galaxy Earth's in. Humans came there from Earth hundreds of years ago to colonize it."

He regarded Aeneas quizzically. "Where're you from?"

Eh. It was as valid a question as any. Jamie Hemeros was not going to like the answer though.

“That…” Aeneas glanced at the floor, a little embarrassed, “…That is a wonderful question.”

In other words, he doesn’t actually know.

“In a less technical sense, most of what I have learned thus far comes from the planet Walrum.”

On the other hand, it was nice to finally meet a casual, space-faring human. Jamie would be one of the first Aeneas had encountered.

Mission 02 - Stacy Says Follow the Yules

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