trans_9 | 'Meat' 'n Greet

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'Meat' 'n Greet

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.]

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"Simon!!"

At this particular moment in time, Kaylee was wishing she was already rid of the sling that held her left arm. If she hadn't been so excited to see Simon wandering around the room, she might have stayed away until she was at least mostly healed--explaining that a nightmare version of River had shot her didn't seem like the best thing for Simon to be thinking over first off--but she had called out to him before she had really thought about it.

Ah, well. There was always the possibility of making something up, or redirecting attention. Really, she was too happy to see him to otherwise care.

"Simon, you're a sight for sore eyes, lemme tell ya."

So many people and creatures, all in varying states of confusion and disorientation--Simon was beginning to wonder if he'd ever find anyone at all. Finally...finally he heard the unmistakable sound of someone calling his name.

"Kaylee!"

He ordinarily refrained from most touchy-feely behavior (with River as an obvious exception), but after having a ship talk to him inside his head, wandering around naked, and finally being thrown into this giant mingling session, he was about ready to throw his arms around the first familiar person he found and never let go. A sight for sore eyes was probably an understatement.

"I just fell out of a pod filled with mucus." Simon almost laughed at the ridiculousness of that sentence, pushing through the crowd towards her, trying to justify why he was a sight for sore eyes. He was about to make good on the hugging thing when he hesitated, his eyes falling on her arm. "Kaylee, are you hurt?"

It was easy to see how someone who had just popped could be confused by the number of excited people there to greet them. For Kaylee, so far as she remembered, she was going on almost four months on this boat without a crew mate in sight. But Serenity was in the cargo bay, and even an empty ship was still a familiar one.

"Wonderful stuff, ain't it? Gotta warn ya, it's about the consistency of the food 'round here, too."

There was no hesitation on Kaylee's part, not right now, and no worry over later when she would realize how ridiculously giddy her greeting of him had been. She gave a happy bounce, ignored the sling, and threw both arms up around him as best she could.

Of course he asked. "It's fine, almost healed up. I think you'd be pretty impressed by the doctors here."

"Wonderful's not exactly the word I'd use to describe it." Sticky, yes. Disgusting, yes. But leave it to Kaylee to find the upside of everything, even gross alien snot. That familiar attitude was a comfort in itself. He could already feel the weight of apprehension and dread lessening, if only just a little.

Simon wasn't certain if she should be throwing her arms around him like that, mostly because he didn't know what kind of injury she'd sustained and how, but it was very, very difficult not to accept the embrace. He just made sure to do it carefully.

"I am...so glad to see you." He breathed with relief before pulling away to better inspect her arm. Well, at the very least he knew the medical staff was competent. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Better than a lot of words I could come up with for it." At least it was easy enough to clean off. The plant suits, though...about all Kaylee could find to compliment the plant suits on was how they kept a person nice and cool in the humid ship.

She smiled, and held tight a moment before pulling back. "Glad to hear it."

The injury itself was mostly healed over, and the only real sign of it was a section of the plant suit that was thicker than the rest, where it was assisting in the healing process. The arm was perfectly usable, she just wasn't supposed to use it.

Of course Simon couldn't just let a moment be a moment, and had to go on fussing. "It's shiny, like I said. We had a bit of an adventure with..." Oh, he was going to think she was insane. "Everybody referred to him as the Nightmare King. Spent a good long time puttin' everybody through these illusions 'n nightmares, and toward the end they were a little more solid than just illusions." She shrugged. It was nothing, really. Nothing she wanted to worry Simon with.

Simon, on the other hand, would probably feel dirty forever.

"Nightmare King." He echoed, not really sure what that meant. How could an illusion inflict real harm? Then again, this kind of place shouldn't even be possible, and yet, here they were. Simon had a feeling this would be the first of many such unbelievable stories.

"Was that the Ohm Stacy was talking about?"

It was doubtful that anyone could blame Simon at all for sounding a bit skeptical about the Nightmare King. She barely believed it all herself, and she lived through it.

"Not sure the Nightmare King himself is one," she replied, rubbing the back of her neck. "We've got plenty of troublemakers to keep us busy, with all the missions." Plus side. "It's never borin'!"

He was a bit skeptical about everything at the moment, really, but finally hearing from Kaylee was making the whole mess just a bit more believable. He didn't want it to be believable, but it was looking more and more like he didn't have a choice.

Simon felt all at once overwhelmed and exhausted as it became clear he couldn't stay in denial as reality set in.

"River's not here, is she."

More than anything at that moment, Kaylee wished she could have told Simon that River was only a few people over in the crowd, ready and waiting to skip over to greet him. Instead, the corners of her mouth fell a little, and she shook her head solemnly.

"Only you 'n me, so far." That didn't seem exactly right, but there it was. "But if you're here now, too, it means the others're bound to be down there some place. Just a matter of waitin' for 'em, and hopin' they'll come out soon."

A lot of hoping.

He wished that more than anything too. Simon had already encountered multiple crew members who'd all told him they weren't certain that River was on the ship and awake, so there had been a part of him that knew she wasn't here.

Now, hearing Kaylee confirm it, that part had won out. Denial had only worked for so long.

Simon pulled his lips tight and gazed at the floor, taking in the reality of where he was and what had happened. "I hope so too." He said, not sure what good hope would do.

At least one of them could be optimistic. In the meantime, Simon knew he'd have to make himself useful. "Do you think the staff could use another surgeon?"

"Might take some time," she warned. "Been here four months myself already, and you're the first I've seen. Just gotta be patient with it."

If he was willing to jump in and help just like that, though, Kaylee knew he'd be fine. Worried and fretting constantly, but fine.

She glanced around the room to see if she couldn't spot any of the medical staff. "They can always use the help, especially post-mission. Don't see any of 'em right here, but they're bound to be in the room someplace. Dr. McNinja's the head..."

Simon didn't particularly want to be patient, knowing that River was either sleeping in a pod full of goo or dead. Obviously, the former would be preferable, but he would have to wait and see, and it was the waiting that was going to be awful.

He added "Dr. McNinja" onto the list of people he was going to have to find.

"I think I'd like to take a look at the infirmary, if that's all right." A medical team implied a medical bay, after all. If anything, it would take his mind off his sister's absence.

No one on the ship really wanted to be patient. They didn't really have a choice in the matter, unfortunately, not when Stacy was still all scrambled up.

"I can show ya down there, if you like?" Kaylee looked around again, just in case there was someone who could help better. Nope, just a wall of people. "Do you wanna take another look 'round in here first? Just in case we've missed anybody?"

"I'd like that." Simon was about one-hundred-and-ten percent positive that if he struck out on his own to anywhere other than this room, he would get hopelessly lost and never find his way back ever again.

That was a slightly terrifying thought.

As much as he hated to admit it, if they were going to find any of Serenity's crew members, splitting up would help them do it faster. "Only if we can find each other again." He said with a small but somewhat uncertain laugh.

"She's not so bad, once you get used to the system of everythin'," she added. "Stacy, I mean. Just big and there's a lot to her."

It took practice, finding one's way around, exploration and the occasional helping hand from another crew member. Even Stacy would probably help, if one got too lost.

Kaylee thought for a moment, then motioned toward the closest exit. "We can meet right back here, once we're sure." Provided Simon remembered which one it was, at least.

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'Meat' 'n Greet

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