Howard's nervous. It's not as if this is a new feeling for him, or even one that's unusual, but he's more nervous than he typically is. He sits in a far-off section of the Medical Bay with Sakura, away from prying eyes, and chews on his pen. He's currently on his second pot of coffee.

"Worst thing about Stacy time is that I can't even bitch that they're late."

Behind them, on a giant lab table, rests the thawing body of their dissected Ohm. It's clearly spent a little too long in the freezer, because one of its toes actually broke off during the transportation, and true to his nature Howard's wondering if said digit is edible. The corpse also stinks up this section of the Medical Bay a little like dead fish.

If the damn thing weren't so hard to move around, and if they weren't guaranteed a relative amount of privacy here, Howard would suggest they do this somewhere else (somewhere with a big windshield he could hide behind while everyone else does the dangerous stuff and possibly deals with crazy Ohmed up Jaime), but there really isn't another place that would work for it.

So they sit and wait for Kon and Jaime.

[Tag order is Sakura, Jaime, Kon, then we go from there.]

While he'd wandered the city, Mark hadn't found his apartment or the building he worked at. In fact, he didn't find anything he recognized. But he did find a nice house that was only partly demolished. And inside was nice, comfortable furniture. No black leather couches but that was probably for the best.

Mark quickly moved a chair opposite one of the couches and took a seat. He took out his omnicomm and tried typing a few notes to himself as practice. Then he tried lying down in said couch and looked around. He could see the faded pastel colors of the wallpaper, a nice fireplace on the other side of the room. There weren't any paintings let alone upbeat posters promoting diversity, unity, or asking people to get tested for lycanthropy. Oh well, you couldn't have everything.

Mark got up, sent a message to his first patients letting them know when and where to meet him, and walked outside of the house. He took several deep breaths.

"O.K. Mark, there's no need to worry. You're on a living space ship full of people you've never met. How bad can it be?"

"One, two, three, four..." Howard glances over his shoulder and slips another bottle of painkillers into his sleeve. It's a late shift, mostly quiet, and due to the fact that Med Bay's unreasonably gigantic, Howard's feeling safe enough to get away with kiping a few more things for his hoard. He managed to find some of the emergency medical supplies in a secluded cabinet.

He has a few reasons to be taking things from the medical bay. Terminators taking over the Med Bay and choking off the supply of medical equipment is still a fresh memory, and he runs his fingertips over the scar above his ear he received in that fight. And superimposed over that is the deep, ingrained paranoia of never having enough when it matters. He still wakes up most nights with nightmares about running out of medicine, out of food, out of water, out of air.

And secondly, he just doesn't care about other people's property rights. If they didn't want him to take things they'd nail them down.

He slides the fourth bottle of pills from his sleeve to his pocket in one deft movement and takes a fifth.

Who: Barbara and Anyone
Where: The Media Library and possible roaming
Summary: Research, tea, discussion and all that jazz. Feel free to simply come and bug her.
Warnings: None

After watching the Daligig slaughter the previous crew twice, Barbara went in search of any kind of material on the Daligig, Stacey, pod-popping and the crews which had traveled on Stacey. She didn't expect to find much more than what GLaDOS had told her but it was worth a look. Especially with all this talk of rebellion and distrust.

So, in a corner of the Media Library Barbara sat with piles books, stacks of visual recordings and audio recordings, plus pot of tea which had been sitting empty for a while. She was lost in her own world, memorising what she could and trying to gain a better picture of the ship, the war and everything else which could be considered relevant.

It's been a long time since Howard engaged in some harmless graffiti. Two years, if not a little more. He's exhausted from a long shift in Med Bay and then hitting the Media Library for his new Leon-appointed position, but it seems like the urge to vandalize things has been pent up for so long that he has all the energy in the world to do this.

The memory-statues and painting under the giant lit-up head in the Art Hall are as good a place as any. Using permanent marker, some pink spraypaint and his knife, he starts to carve and mark things into the shifting wall.

DGIG KILLED 1ST CREW

STACY WIPES MINDS

DON'T TRUST THEM

The paintings and statues shift and mold to his memories, images both calm and terrifying, images he remembers and ones he's long forgotten. There's him playing basketball in his driveway. There's Orc's face torn open by flesh-eating worms. There's a massacre, and there's a busy cafeteria, and there's Disneyland, there's the first time he broke his nose and there's him sleeping in math class. The statue becomes a child's corpse and then an impatient P.E. coach and then his grandmother. On the wall, the images keep shifting, but the marks he's making stay where they are, black and pink and chiseled.

WRITE IT ALL DOWN

Hana had, of course, been napping when he’d felt something that stirred him.

( [follow me out towards the horizon] )

“I missed you.”

**********************************

Hana was laid on one of the patches of grass in Ruffnut’s garden, grinning madly up at the sky. He’s completely immersed with chatting the ghosts around him, which obviously means to a lot of people he appears to be laughing and joking with himself, but it seems Hana couldn’t care less, because his face holds a look of total happiness.

End of Day Two

If there were any signs of life at all, it could be said that the town is now sleeping. After a blistering day in the sun, the cool of night may be a welcome relief - at least, in terms of temperature. The knowledge that the crews foes are out there, now hidden under the cover of darkness, will be decidedly less comforting.

On the south end of the city, a series of red signal flares goes up, signaling that at least one crewmember has found safety out there. Howard waits across the street with binoculars, ready to hail anyone he sees down.

Ever since the medical briefing on the comms, the medical bay staff has been preparing for an influx of appointments for physical evaluations, as well as a few walk-ins. After that, the hunt will be on for those who've been skipping such appointments.

A few of the staff members are going about their regular duties, expecting patients or simply biding time at the coffee machine until they're called on.

[OOC: please state the name of which med character(s) you want to administer the evaluation in the header to your comment. If you're fine with anyone tagging in, please indicate so. Available characters are Sakura, Howard, Dr. Faiza Hussain, Soren and Dr. Carson Beckett.]

There were some things that Karis knew just had to be blown up once she saw them. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was one of them. Exploring the city was about the only thing that came close to entertaining her and when she saw that building, just sitting there and looking like it was about to fall over, she knew that she had to help it finish its journey. It called to her.

Karis glanced at Ter'thelas, "We need to blow this building up. You know that, right?"

_{[OOC: Please keep responses to one thread; no tag order, though, so feel free to threadjack at will.]}

The recent discussion on the comms had reignited Jaime's boundless curiosity and a desire to learn more about the ship that he and so many others found themselves riding across the multiverse. And what better way to find out more about the ship than to look at the hallowed command deck? There had to be something useful here, right?

Jaime seated himself at one of the various stations and peered intently at the panel. The chirruping buzz of Khaji's voice vibrated against the back of his mind.

Suggestio|\|: Frie|\|d Jaime: press butto|\|s.

"Yeah. Right. Good idea. Let's just push buttons on the bridge of the super powerful meatship." Despite his sarcastic rejoinder, the young man reached out and slowly pressed a switch.

Nothing happened.

"Not that one, then." He pressed another. Toggled a switch. This might go on for a while.

It's shaping up to be another average day on the Transmigration 9. Crew members are going about their business as usual and all is (to most appearances, at least) about as "well" as things ever are on the ship.

Some crew members are going to be stopped out of the blue by impact with a force field.

"Attention Crewmen: You have been chosen to participate in an experiment!" GLaDOS's voice informs. They're not alone, someone else that was nearby is also caught within the same narrow radius. "Participation is mandatory. Please try to relax and enjoy the experience, as this will improve the quality of the test results."

Clearly this is going to be a wonderful day for science.

"You and your new scientific partner are now on a date," GLaDOS goes on. "As it would be detrimental to our study of the date experience if you were to be separated, you must remain close to your partner for the duration of the experiment. This will be enforced with the Transmigration 9 Crewman Containment Field. Prolonged exposure to the Transmigration 9 Crewman Containment Field may have unexpected side-effects. While any side-effects encountered will be documented and your desire to offer yourself to science is commendable, it is not a necessary part of this experiment."

"You will be informed when the test has been completed. We would like to thank you in advance for your full cooperation in the experiment and failure to attempt to foil it in any way."

"The experiment has begun, so you may begin dating."

( OOC Notes Below Cut! )

When Orc woke up it took him five minutes before he had his first thought.

Dry.

His craggy lips felt entirely too dry. In fact his mouth, throat, his skin felt like he'd been sand blasted and thrown into the desert. The only moisture that he was aware of came when he slowly rose from the table to find a string of drool coming off his lower lip to a puddle on the table. Half of it was on his cheek, but he couldn't feel that.

His head began to pound as another powerful hangover settled in. How long had he been in this bar? He'd lost track of time.

That was fine, it was all fine. There was more beer here. He could wash away the pain in his head and subsequent painful thoughts. All he had to do was get himself out of the booth and over to the bar.

...

That might take more effort. He couldn't seem to will his heavy body to do more then sit up just yet. Days spent in a drunken stupor had caught up with him and were spinning his stomach like a blender full of misery and yuk.

Somehow, he'd gotten himself into a bet. He didn't even really remember how it had happened or how they had gotten on the subject. But then suddenly the bet had been accepted and it was too late to back down, and now he was sitting at the very same Mess Hall table Sakura and the others had been sitting at the other day while they'd been discussing the source of the ship's mystery meat food supply.

To be fair to Sakura, he'd picked a shade of pink to match her own, natural hair color. But the results were... jarring. Also, hopefully no one would recognize either of them.

The two women had waited until a good number of people had gathered in the sensorium next to where the Tapestry was kept. Sakura glanced toward Howard, wanting a visual reassurance that he was there with a recording device. He was someone she could count on for the paranoid sensibilities that she sometimes put aside in favor of other practicalities. With everyone gathered, they turned toward each other, and the sensorium came alive.
( Such a sight as we have seen... )... leaving everyone standing in the sensorium's blank interface as the mental replay shut down.

[ ooc: Feel free to make your own threads and discuss as your characters are want to do! You are absolutely not required to respond to either Barbara or Sakura's question threads. That is optional! ]

Jaime wasn't exactly an expert in all this clandestine stuff, but he'd read enough of what had been left for him to know that giving away too much of anything, including trust, on this ship, might end up disastrous. So, he'd spoken with Howard briefly on the omnicomms and now he waited in the park, leaning against a tree. He wasn't quite sure what he was hoping for with this meeting. Maybe just to help with moving things along.

He shrugged and rolled his shoulders, glancing around for the approach of his contact. It was quiet now and he was a little worried about being watched. Though that might be Khaji's paranoia rubbing off on him.

"C'mon, where are you. . .?"

There's a forest setting in the Sensoriums today, made of thick deciduous trees, high rocks, and bits of ruined stone buildings. It's autumn, and though the trees haven't yet lost all their leaves, many already litter the ground, making stealthy movement near-impossible.

There's a row of paintball rifles spread out near the entrance to the Sensoriums.

ARE YOU A BAD ENOUGH DUDE TO SURVIVE MEATSHIP PAINTBALL?

[Open to all, have fun! CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES. Threadjacking is A-OK]

Thump.

"God damn it!" Howard hops out of the car he's been practicing parking in and runs behind it to check what he hit. Just one of the cones he set up, thank goodness, and there's no damage to the car, but after four hours of this he's getting beyond frustrated. He sets the cone back up and gets back in the car.

The car itself is, in the kindest form of the word, a junker. Howard considers it a minor miracle that between pouring over the manual and putting pieces of it together with duct tape and dried bubblegum he's managed to get the engine running. Granted, he doubts it can handle more than ten miles an hour, the brake lights and turn signals don't work, and the windshield and rearview window are missing, but he isn't looking for a permanent vehicle here. He just needs something to practice in.

Normal fifteen year-olds take driver's ed, right? And he's always done better learning on his own than listening to lectures. So after reading through a few books on driving and watching some tapes in the Media Library, not to mention having driven around a few times back in the FAYZ, he thinks he's about due to do something this normal. Scratch that - the universe owes it to him. So that's why he found a mostly empty street in the city to set up a little driving obstacle course.

He does, however, wish he could have found an automatic junker to salvage. Clearly the inventor of the stick-shift only created it so he could mess with Howard. And with those poor traffic cones.

Thunk.

[OOC: bendied to before foodplot and survivalist plot.]

People disappeared all the time.

It was a fact that Mami knew quite well. First it had been Madoka. She had came back, for that one brief day. But she had been taken away from them just as quickly. That first time felt like someone had ripped her still-beating heart straight out of her chest. The second time wasn't much better either. Then it had been Sayaka, in the midst of the confusion with SHODAN. By then the pain had dulled a little, so perhaps Mami was adapting to it. Then Homura was returned to the pods, only a short time after they had established... something. Mami still wasn't sure what it was, but it had been nice.

Then Madoka had returned, right around the time Homura was repodded. It helped dull that pain, and Mami was so happy. But at the same time, she was worried. She had suffered through her friends leaving several times over the months she'd been on the ship, and she didn't want to deal with that again. But she couldn't just stay away from Madoka. Her friend needed her, just like she needed Madoka. So going against her common sense, she proceeded to enjoy the weeks following Madoka's return.

So when she awoke and noticed the bed opposite hers was vacant, and after she spent the entire day reaching out and trying to grasp even a hint of that new yet familiar magical energy... something broke in her. But she didn't cry. She didn't scream. She didn't lash out in pain or frustration or anger, like she might have months ago. It's like she's been submerged under water. Everything is muted; her surroundings, her thoughts... even the pain in her chest - which she's sure should be reaching an unbearable level at this point - is just a dull ache.

She doesn't know how long she wandered the ship after that. She doesn't acknowledge any fellow crew members who might pass by - and should they, it doesn't take much to notice something's... off, about the girl. She moves mechanically, like a puppet slowly being dragged by its strings.

Eventually, Mami ends up in the Obs Deck, slouched over on one of the many chairs scattered throughout it. She's rolling her Soul Gem absently between her fingers, watching the gathering dark blotches in the golden glow. The light from the gem doesn't seem to reflect in her eyes, either, which gives her a bit of an eerie look right now. Do you dare to approach?

After the 'bitching about Stacy' session finally reached a head, Sakura and Howard decided to actually do something about all the questions they had about their spacefaring fleshy home. Granted, they couldn't really find anything out about the Ohm on their own, and the Daligig were Right Out, so that left exploring the ship itself.

Time for them to find out what it is that they're putting in their bodies.

They drew on a few people they trust, or at least have figured out well enough to not distrust (more than they usually do), and now they're gathered at the mess hall at some awkward hour when no one is there to eat. They've brought Kanoe Zouichi (specialties: stuff going boom and wrangling Howard into being cooperative) and Ian Chesterton (specialties: hot cocoa, also science). And Ian's brought Barbara Wright (specialties: ??? and pissing Howard off).

Howard's tucking away at a tray of slop, figuring that if they're going to find anything that puts them off eating food forever, he might as well enjoy sweet, delicious ignorance now.

Carson has found his way to the Medical section, after spending a day exploring the accessible areas of the ship, and is a bit hesitant as he walks in.

"H-Hello?"

He's feeling a wee bit out of place, but he needs to get this over with!