We're Not In Kansas Anymore...

[meat_mooks]

They might have been trying to get to the City, or another level, or anywhere else in the explored parts of Stacy. But when some crewmembers stepped into the transport tubes, they were going to find that where they ended up was not where they were trying to go.

The first sign that something was wrong was the strange electric jolt they get just after stepping into the tubes. The second sign was the unusually long time it took for them to get to their destination. And the third and final sign was the fact that when they arrived, it was in a place they would have never seen before.

To all appearances, it looked like a smaller replica of the crew quarters. If they ventured out a little further, they would find smaller versions of the mess hall, sleeping halls, and bathrooms as well. But there was one important difference.

They were completely and utterly empty.

And with any attempt to go back into the transport tubes failing, they appeared to be stuck here. What were they going to do?

[ooc: ICly this post happens over the course of a day, so not everyone arrives at the same time. If you tag into the post later, you can just assume that your character arrived later in the day. Also, your characters will not find that their omnicomms and communication rings don't work!

If you have a question about anything, you can ask on this ooc post.

Oh, and for this post threadjacking is welcome :P]

Comments

[first_of_steel]

Roger had been on his way to Hydroponics, or at least he thought he'd been on his way to Hydroponics, to suss out the area and get a feel for what somewhere living and green was like when it wasn't arbitrarily generated from his imagination by the Sensoriums. Where he wound up? Was even more weirdly cramped than where he'd left- and, more disturbingly, empty.

Great, just great.

Well. Time to send up an omnicomm signal with his general location- assuming he could get the blasted thing to do it, he was still getting used to its controls- and then start familiarizing himself with the area. It was one thing to stay in one spot and wait for rescue if you were lost and you knew the area. It was something else again in an alien, living ship where anything might well happen.

[encourage]

Anything including finding fellow crewmates when they wandered back around to the transport area, frowned at what wasn't working, then finally noticed someone else there. (Or finally reacted. Harder to say when, and if, Sakura noticed anyone before she had a good frown in.)

"Still only operating one way?" she called out, almost conversational. Really, by now this might as well be the status quo. Bad stuff happens, you shrug and deal.

Looking more sleep deprived as time went on, but that was life for you, wasn't it? No rest until you're dead, and then some.

[first_of_steel]

"Seems like it," Roger answered cautiously. "Can't get the tubes to open up and take me back, at least."

He poked irritably at one of the walls, not that he expected it to do any good. It didn't.

"Haven't seen anything hostile yet, at least."

[encourage]

"Good, none of us are losing our heads yet. We're not the only thing alive in here, though." She frowned, looking over her shoulder. "Outside of the main rooms we've got, smaller than whatever we're used to having, I'm finding evidence of other areas. Wonder why the ship has two sections like this."

Wonder what caused the differences between both. "I'm Sakura, usually found in Medical."

She had turned to him, offering a hand for shaking.

[first_of_steel]

Roger shifted his rifle to his left hand and reached out with the right. "Roger Maxson," he said. "Still pretty new here. Think this place was sealed off for some kind of repair or recovery?"

It was the simplest, least malicious hypothesis he could think of, and more reassuring than most of the alternatives.

[encourage]

"Nice to meet you, Roger Maxson. Welcome to the ship." Half a smile, not all that humorous, after her welcome. Her handshake was firm, probably more so than expected out of a teenager standing at just two inches over five feet.

"If it was, that happened a while ago. The Daligig might have an actual answer, or the ship herself. If we can get her to respond. If the Warden's in control of this sector, well, we'd better all play nice."

Sakura didn't know if that was particularly possible, but... "Not to say they can work like that, but something's up. Maybe it's left-over from things messing up right before podpop, or maybe it's an all new bug in the system. The ship hiccupped, we ended up here. Without working communications."

Hers wasn't in evidence, strapped into a pocket of the flak vest she wore. Plant suit and green flak vest, Sakura was largely unadorned of anything extra than one might expect of people on this ship. "Nothing's made contact, and maybe nothing will. Most the bad things don't take long in showing themselves off as bad."

More of a smile after saying that. "Unless we all start losing time again. Or memories."

[first_of_steel]

"I was wondering about the communications issue," Roger admitted. "Thought I'd broken my device somehow."

He'd taken to strapping his to his armor, which was what he was wearing now; the T-51b suit might've been heavy and impossible to scratch in, but he'd been traveling to an unfamiliar part of the ship and he'd wanted protection just in case. And this? This was just in case.

"What do you mean, losing time or memories?" he asked warily.

[encourage]

"Hopefully nothing," she said with a wan grin. "If we had access to the Media Library, I'd point you toward the report files on those incidents. The ship has a decent history of bizarre events, and the time-loss was a more subtle touch than most the rest. I wouldn't worry about it. What made it happen was destroyed a decent amount of time ago."

The more one knew, or didn't know, about things around this ship, the more one expected that anything could happen. "Who else have you run into so far?"

[first_of_steel]

"... I'll worry about it later," Roger decided after a moment's thought. "No point getting worked up when there's nothing I can do about it."

Paranoia as a survival mechanism only worked for so long. Then it just drained your resources.

"A talking hawk named Tobias," he said, "and a civilian from New York, named Mark. I think his pod popped off schedule and he wandered in here without an orientation."

[encourage]

"Mark didn't hear that first message from the ship? Things really must have messed up in her systems." Not that Stacy explained much in that discussion, but it was the first step down a long, twisted path they were all walking, regardless of like or want.

"All right, that makes at least four. Five, if you count the young woman I ran into earlier. Probably more who we're managing to miss for now. Who knows if the transport will pull anyone else off-course."

Sakura was willing to bet it would, but she wasn't sure for how long. If it were an honest bug, and not planned, the ship herself might shut down the malfunctioning transports.

[first_of_steel]

"The way he was talking, he thought the whole thing was a hallucination. He might've ignored the ship's message." Roger shrugged. "Can't say I blame him. I know I wished it was. Who'd you run across?"

[encourage]

"Maxine. Her name's Maxine." Her very exuberant introduction had made that abundantly clear!

"No one's come through on you since you've been here?" Sakura settled a hand on her hip. "Might be worth posting sentries for a while, to keep an eye out. Just in case we have more than the five of us come through, or more than that five here. Maxine's off that way right now. Tobias and Mark, they were okay last you saw?"

[first_of_steel]

"Tobias was having some trouble flying without proper air currents, but other than that both of them were all right," Roger said. "I intend to go back and check on Mark fairly soon. Didn't seem like the kind of person who could defend himself if things went south."

[encourage]

A nod for Tobias and his problems, which made sense to her overall. Marco'd mentioned things like that before, and she did know how it was birds flew. Well, different birds.

"Not believing in something in most cases won't actually make it go away. Not when it's real. I can sit tight here in the meantime, keep an eye out for anyone else. We should attempt to stay in a group -- or small groups. Get a headcount and try not to get anyone killed."

[first_of_steel]

Roger nodded. "About what I figured," he said, "but arguing with the man didn't seem likely to get anywhere. He'll come around eventually. In the meantime, you're right about the groups. I don't like wandering around where we might lose track of people. Not when we haven't got comms working."

[encourage]

"Too bad we don't have regular radio communicators, pending the ship wouldn't interfere with those, too." She bit down on her lower lip, thinking. Not liking what thoughts were coming to mind.

"Like I said, I can at least keep a headcount here. Groups of at least three would be nice, when folks want to go somewhere other than the smaller mess-hall, or the restrooms."

Oh, by fire, those restrooms. Sakura had reluctantly gotten used to them (in a manner of speaking) since moving post SHODAN rampage. Very, very reluctantly. "Things are going to feel really different here for a while. At least we shouldn't theoretically get hungry."

[first_of_steel]

"I've had to manage on low rations for extended periods before. Not something I want to repeat," Roger muttered. "The mess-hall's as good a place as any to centralize people we find. As far as any place in this pit's reassuring, that'll be it."

[encourage]

"It's at least the most familiar place we could have." Since basically everyone had to go there in order to eat enough to stay healthy. "I can direct people that way as they come in, or stop by, and maybe you can head there with Mark if he's willing to move. Any luck, he might have gotten himself there already."

[first_of_steel]

"If he's not there yet I'll get him there when I find him," Roger says, nodding. "I'll start shunting anybody else I find along. And see if I can't find some way of marking the known corridors out for people who might stumble across them before we run them down."

[encourage]

"Good idea. I can help with that too, after it seems we've got no one else on the way." She pushed hair off out of her face. "If you run into any trouble that could use healing, before I show up in mess hall, you'll be able to find me here. I don't have my kit with me --" she was on her way to get it, actually, when this happened, "-- but I'm good with improvising when I have to, and hopefully most have their plant suits on.

[first_of_steel]

"I'll remember that," Roger said. "Since my medical skills only cover very basic first aid. Hopefully it won't come to that. Anything else I should keep in mind?"

[encourage]

She smiled.

"Nothing other than what I suspect you already do. Maybe never assume you know entirely what's going on, or why. If you had that idea at any point in time."

Such wonderfully not-sage advice.

[first_of_steel]

"I haven't known entirely what was going on in more than twenty years," Roger said wryly. "I'm not about to start now."

[encourage]

Sakura laughed at that. "Then I think you're better off than most when they're new around here. Good luck. Stay safe, Roger."