'Meat' 'n Greet

[cityship]

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 green-skinned alien 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.]

Comments

[savin-ur-data.livejournal.com]

She nodded, "The mazes weren't so bad this time. I kept a saying in mind, 'keep moving forward.' It helped me a bit."

She smiled more at the 'not the same without you' comment, "I missed working in the lab. I missed everyone. It's good to be back."

[morphitudinous]

"I've never seen them, and I don't think I look forward to it," he replied with a shake of his head. "But I'm glad you made it through."

Looking around at everyone, he added: "There's still plenty of work in the laboratory if you're interested, but you'd probably do well to re-acquaint yourself with the ship and meet the old and new crew members. They've experienced a major shake-up since you disappeared."

[savin-ur-data.livejournal.com]

"Oh?" Now she was concerned. "What happened?"

[morphitudinous]

"When you were awake here, you may have heard of a being called the Nightmare King sealed in the city. Shortly after my last memory of talking to you, his seal began to crack. From that point on, we began to have progressively more horrifying nightmares every night. Eventually, they hurt---and the injuries we sustained carried over to the waking world. At the instruction of the Magic Department, we began to train to face our fears: the fears he preyed on."

"Many of my memories are a blur. For some reason, I have difficulty remembering who was involved in different stages of the effort. I remember training, and losing sleep, and waiting for it all to end...well, it did end, but not in a way I would like." Deep breath. This is the tough part, but it's become easier to say with time and healing.

"We were all brought together in a nightmare world. There, I was overwhelmed and transformed into my worst nightmare---an evil version of myself. I used my power to attack my friends and very nearly killed them. If I hadn't maintained the sliver of self-awareness that I did, I would have." Blink. That was the most difficult part to acknowledge. The rest is easier.

"Others had similarly terrifying experiences, and we all came out worse for the wear. In the end, though, the team fighting the Nightmare King won and the rest of us were freed. We're slowly recovering now, though it hasn't been beneficial to the crew to have their worst fears extracted and used against them. So the crew members you meet may not be as responsive as usual."

[savin-ur-data.livejournal.com]

Mei Ling didn't answer for a moment. She looked down. That was a lot to take in. She didn't think she was gone for that long, yet the crew had gone through so much. While she was relieved that she had not experienced the Nightmares, she was saddened for the crew that had. She had almost gotten off easy...

She lifted her chin to look back at Billy, a frown on her face. Her worries were apparent. "Is everyone alright?" Are you alright?

[morphitudinous]

Mei Ling's saddened look bothers him. Oh, how he hates to be the bearer of bad news. Fortunately, there is better news to report:

"You'll have to ask them individually to get a definite answer, but overall they appear to be better. It's helped to return to our normal sleeping schedules, and we held parties to celebrate the team's victory and everyone's freedom." He'd enjoyed some of the livelier stories at the parties. A welcome distraction from the remnants of nightmares.

[savin-ur-data.livejournal.com]

That cheered her up a bit. A small smile crept across her lips.

"I'm very glad to hear it."