trans_9 | Snap, Crackle, and POP

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Snap, Crackle, and POP

[ooc: Newbie Helpers List | Instructions: Post your character with one post establishing them as being podpopped. Tag each other in groups of 2's, 3's, and 4's, to get some interaction to start with. If a thread doesn't already have 2 or 3 people tagged in, tag it with your character's podpop popping near the other people, rather than making a new subthread. If you would like to play out them talking to the AI, please send an email to the mods making the request--we do this only by request. Then move onto the big Newbie Meeting. Once your character has gotten the rundown from the old crew, you may start posting entrance posts and freely tagging.]

||Pod Release Protocols Initating|| Stacy's familiar voice sounds out to all the podmates through the ship.

In the Pod Caverns, there are the sounds of: Pop. Pop pop pop. Poppuhpoppoppop. KASCHUNKhiiiiiiiissssss.

There is condensation and mist spraying out from cracks in the pods, as the people inside slide out onto the floors, covered in slime.

--

There was nothing. You were going about your normal life, then there was a bright light, and then? Nothing.

Then the world lurches.

The chamber here is humid.

Actually, "chamber" isn't quite accurate. You're in a cavern, half-lit by an eerie greenish light, going on and on as far as the eye can see. The light is coming from what can only be described as pods, glistening, round greenish-yellow things, glowing with a pale inner light, outlining human -- and not quite human -- forms. Each is rooted to the floor, to the walls, with something black, twisted, and unidentifiable.

They line the walls of the cavern, go up in maddeningly high columns, curling and corkscrewing up into the darkness, until the light from them is like that of the stars, glowing pale and mournful in clusters in the darkness above. Twisted walkways and stairs crisscross, traverse the platforms in front of the pods, wending their way back and forth, up and down through the chamber.

You just came from one of those pods, broke free like a butterfly from a (slimy, nasty) chrysalis.

Now you stand alone but not quite alone, naked, not knowing how you got there, who took you, or why you were taken.

As your body heats up again, you realize the air is warm -- just a few degrees too warm to be comfortable -- and muggy; it smells acrid and organic, like freshly spilt blood and sweat. Your mouth tastes of salt.

The floors are pulsing under your feet, throbbing...

Wherever you are, this entire place...is alive.

Oh, and also you're naked and covered in alien snot.

When you call out, ask where you are, a voice speaks to you, in your head. She tells you:

||You are here.||

When you ask who she is, she tells you that her name is STA'C K'LTRRB'TXFT, but that you may call her Stacy. When she tells you who she is, there is a gush of emotion, love, maternal warmth. You are on a ship. She is that ship. Her name is Stacy and she loves you. Her voice is warm and motherly, even if these messages sound almost automated.

Glowing phosphorescenet lights appear in pustules along the floor. They lead you up a massive spiraling walkway that gives you a view of what are possibly millions in stasis. At the top is a room with moving vines that clean you and clothe you in a plant-like body-suit--soft, but durable. After that, the lights lead you to a great cavernous room with a clear floor that lets you see all the holes and tunnels in the walls of it. When you reach the center, the last thing she tells you before whisking you away to gather your belongings and meet the rest of the crew is this reassuring thought:

||You have been Chosen to accomplish a Great Purpose. You have been Chosen to help fight the Ohm, a race of insectoid beings that are the destroyers of worlds.||

||You have been Chosen as champions of life, as protectors of the worlds and peoples that are left. The others are waiting for you. They will explain everything.||

She will tell you nothing more. Your answers lie with these "others" she speaks of.

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"I extend the same sentiments," he said, now that she had done so. It was more of a privilege for her to receive his trivial greetings, and thus the delay. "But we should make use of what we can, however unfortunate it may be."

Ba'al did find that he could likely grow to respect this woman. She seemed a fine specimen, all things considered. Far from admiration, but a sort of respect was due, it seemed. And she was right - they had a certain amount of leverage, in this situation, though 'how much' still needed to be determined. "Of course. I'm certain there are some among us who are capable of being quite persuasive, should the need arise." He, of course, would be one such individual - but he would prefer not to get his own hands dirty, just yet. In such a position as this, he would have to be careful for a time. But at the same time, it was true that he was likely needed, somehow. "But the complete nature of the situation is yet to be seen."

((ooc: Sorry for disappearing for a few days!))

Her lips twitched at the emphasis Ba'al put on the word "persuasion." She had to admit that he was a rather imposing man, so for him persuasion probably meant the physical kind, or at least the threat of it. She preferred verbal persuasion herself, but she knew the value the promise of physical violence could have on the right person in the right situation.

"Your point is well taken, athough personally I would prefer to use the less... shall we say, aggressive means of persuasion we have at our disposal first. One should never reveal the full extent of their arsenal unless absolutely necessary after all." She flipped her short, slime-sodden hair out her eyes and gave Ba'al a knowing look.

"I think it's high time we sought out these 'others' and encouraged them to be more forthcoming, don't you?" With that she walked off with her head held high, apparently unphased by the stares her hourglass figure drew from several of the men she passed and even a few of the women.

[ooc: Not a problem! It happens to me more often than I'd like. :P I have to say that I'm surprised Ba'al and Reyna are getting along as well as they are. It's probably helps that Ba'al's natural arrogance really brings out Reyna's fiery spirit. :) ]

Ah, so she wasn't naïve, either - even better. He was fully aware, though, of her point - he always preferred to keep his true intentions, abilities, etcetera, hidden from all others, while allied or not. Violence or threats therefore were not necessarily a full display of strength, after all. But still, Reyna was evidently wise enough in these matters. "But there is always the promise of reward as well," he commented, perhaps a little slyly. "For cooperation."

"But your assessment is true, all the same. There are certainly preferable methods, to begin with." He returned the look, though it was perhaps more severe than her own.

He could certainly agree about it being time to get out of that wretched place they had begun in. "I couldn't agree more," he said, somehow akin to friendly as he said it (or as close as he would come, really). He gave her something of a final once over, before he took began to move out, from there, stride confident, as if he felt he owned the place.

((ooc: Yeah really. XD It helps that she's stronger and smarter than he feels most people are, too. :P So it works out, somehow!))

Reyna glanced up at Ba'al when he caught up with her. He seemed equally uncaring about the stares direct his way, and her respect for his resolve went up a notch as a result. Anyone who had such determination would make an excellent ally or a formidable foe, and Reyna was glad that they seemed to be on the same side.

"What's the last thing you remember before finding yourself here?" she asked Ba'al as they followed the path of glowing lights on the floor. "If our experiences are similar than perhaps a pattern can be established that will give us some insight into our abductors."

[ooc: As long as Reyna doesn't find out that Ba'al is a ruthless dictator who likes to portray himself as a god they might actually form a weird kind of friendship! XD ]

Ba'al's pose remained confident, his stride steady as he followed along beside her - or rather, if he could manage it, just a step ahead of her. An important position, perhaps. He folded his hands behind his back, while he considered her question for a brief moment. Considering what he had been doing, he had to be careful about his response, but could not show any hesitance, either.

"I was on my way to a business meeting," he lied calmly, drawing on his normal 'human' persona of CEO for the situation. "And yourself?"

((ooc: Yay! He'll be playing it cool, luckily... at least for now. :'D))

Reyna smiled mentally at Ba'al's statement. His haughty demeanor, the touch of arrogance in his voice, his views on negotiations - all of it fit perfectly the image of a high-powered business man. It did make her curious though as to why people like herself and Ba'al, people who apparently lacked combat skills, had been abducted to fight a race of homicidal beings. She mulled that over for a minute or two before answering Ba'al.

"I was returning to my homeworld after a lengthy diplomatic assignment. As I stepped off the shuttle there was a moment where everything seemed oddly distorted followed by a bright flash of light that swallowed everything around me." She blinked unconsciously at the memory. "Then what seemed like only a moment later I found myself as you see me know, as you must also have found." She paused for a moment before asking, "What about you? Did you also see a bright flash of light before being taken?"

Ba'al was quick to make a few mental notes about Reyna then and there. First, that her people were evidently more advanced than many of the cultures he was used to; therefore she would naturally be more well versed. Second, and perhaps more importantly, she was a diplomat, if she were being honest about her work. Diplomacy was a truly valuable skill, and one that - while he wasn't totally lacking in it himself - he could make use of, from her. "Your homeworld?" he asked, playing dumb, for the moment. Just a vague surprise, before he addressed the more important matter.

"That is an apt description of it," he agreed, offering her a nod of agreement. "Especially the light. That was most certainly present." Fortunately, it didn't bother him so much as it made him angry - that anything had been able to get past his defences and his guard. Surely, someone would pay for that, if there was anything left. "It sounds as if that is the only common factor, then." He had been about to travel to another planet, but even that wasn't quite the same.

"Yes. Alderaan to be exact," Reyna replied, sounding as if she expected Ba'al to recognize the name. She chuckled wryly and added, "Ending up here instead of at my family's estate was certainly not how I envisioned my 'triumphant return.'" She had been very much looking forward to seeing her friends and family again, especially her father and Hayleigh, and waking up here had been disappointing to say the least.

Reyna frowned slightly as Ba'al shared more of the details of his abduction. He was right that the light was the only common link between their two experiences. That gave them very little to go on and Reyna found that to be rather disconcerting.

"The bright flash of light before we were taken does indeed seem to be the only common factor. Sadly I don't think that's enough for us to form any kind of hypothesis beyond what we already know - that whomever, or whatever, is behind our abductions is far superior to us technologically."

The trail of pulsing lights they were following eventually ended at a eerily organic looking staircase. Clearly the only way out of the cavern, Reyna mounted the steps without hesitation, doing her best to hide her sense of discomfort at feeling the steps softly throbbing beneath her bare feet.

"I suppose then that travel among your stars was a common occurrence," he commented idly, glancing sideways at her. He was, in part, playing dumb, in order to gain as much intelligence as possible. The planet did not ring a bell - he imagined that that simply meant, however, that the world had shed any names he might have been familiar with. Ba'al gave her an almost mirthless smile, "Yes, I imagine that put quite a... damper on festivities." Naturally, he avoided going any further into his own circumstances, fictitious or otherwise. There was little purpose to deceiving more than was necessary.

However, the lack of commonality between her story and his actual situation was unpleasant. He began to grimace before he suppressed it, at her suggestion that the this power was superior. A hard pill to swallow, regardless of the likelihood. "Not necessarily," he said, practically boasting. "The only other common link, it seems, is necessity - of us. And any being, regardless of its nature, that needs something inferior to it is likely not as well off as it would have others believe." Discounting slaves and armies, of course; those were another matter all together.

Ba'al hardly gave the staircase a glance beyond the initial survey of it. It was unpleasant, yes, but he tried not to let that show. There were still far more pressing matters, and so he felt free to ignore it. Perhaps he could complain more formally later.

"From your statement is seems that my stars are not your stars," Reyna mused as they ascended the stairs. It was an interesting notion but one that didn't necessarily sound any alarms. The galaxy was a big place and the Republic couldn't possibly hope to encompass all of it. "But you are correct; interstellar travel is a way of life where I come from. And you? Is travel between different worlds a reality for your people?" Reyna was always curious to learn about other cultures, even in a situation as unpleasant as her current one.

"That is an excellent point," Reyna conceded, impressed with Ba'al assessment. "In light of that I have to I agree that Stacy, or whomever is controlling her, may not be as powerful as they would like us to believe." She chuckled grimly. "'Never believe everything you hear' as they say."

When they reached the top of the stairs they were confronted by row upon row of gently swaying vines. Intrigued, Reyna cautiously approached them, her hand outstretched. She was almost close enough to touch the nearest vine when several of them suddenly lashed out and wrapped themselves around her arms and legs. Reyna cursed and struggled but was unable to break free. She had no choice but to stand there helplessly as the vines slithered over every inch of her curvaceous form.

"It is a distinct possibility," Ba'al agreed, with a brief incline of his head. He still thought it more likely an issue of nomenclature, though he could not deny the possibility of her being from another galaxy; there were many, after all. Regardless of probability, though, it was wiser to play dumb, so to speak. Regardless of where she was from, it was typically easier to gain information under the pretence of ignorance. It was a position he detested, but a useful one all the same. For the time being, he simply answered her question. "To an extent, yes," he commented, still being at least partially truthful. "But it is often considered a... privilege." Something reserved for the gods and their servants, for example - even on earth it was a guarded secret, and so even his persona functioned much the same. He flashed a smile then, and said as earnestly as he could manage: "I wish to hear more of this Alderaan."

"Precisely," he agreed. While he would be seeking as much information as possible, he needed to take everything with a grain of proverbial salt. And besides, there was no way he could have been overpowered so simply.

Ba'al, however, did not trust those vines. "Wait," he tried to call after Reyna as she approached them haphazardly. Just like an idiotic human to fall so easily to a trap.

However, his slight movement forward, and the raising of his hand at his protest of her walking into it set it off for himself as well. The vines were far too far, seizing him before they set to their work, separating him further from his reluctant (on both ends, he would imagine) companion. "Release me!" he shouted, in vain.

Even though the vines withdrew from her body at roughly the same time that Ba'al cried out, Reyna was unable to go to his aid. She was still reeling from the horribly invasive actions of the vines and all she could do for the moment was stare dumbly at the greenish suit that new clothed her freshly scrubbed body. The suit had an extremely organic look and feel to it that was reinforced by the plant-like vines running long its surface as well as a faint but noticeable pulsing. It clung to her voluptuous form like a second skin but she found she preferred it to being stark naked.

She regained her composure as the vines released Ba'al, leaving him similarly cleansed and clothed. The experience had clearly been as distressing for him as it had for her, but where she had been embarrassed and humiliated he seem to more angry and indignant. Shaking her head at the very male reaction, Reyna motioned for Ba'al to follow her.

"The exit appears to be this way. It's time to get those answers I think..."

[OOC: I think this is a good place to wrap this up, assuming that's still okay with you. :) ]

((ooc: late ooc reply is late, but yeah, I think we can safely call this wrapped up! o7 ))

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Snap, Crackle, and POP

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