I'm waiting for you, Kenobi, Vader thought, broadcasting loudly enough through the Force that any nearby Jedi (or other sensitives) would cringe. The Sensoriums around him held a familiar image: the fiery surface of Mustafar. The hellish landscape occasionally flickered in and out, replaced with scenes from Vader's memory that bubbled too close to the surface.

The hour of your demise draws near.

Vanyel was unaccustomed to sitting still for long - and unaccustomed to feeling so alone in his own head. The solution to both, he had decided, was simply to not sit still long enough for either feeling to sink in.

Puzzling out the communication device he'd been given kept him busy for a little while. It was unlike anything he was familiar with from his own world, but not incredibly difficult to grasp, once he'd figured out the basic workings of it. After that, though, he found himself at a bit of a loss, and ended up sitting at a table in the mess hall for some time, staring blankly at the screen of his omnicom, before he managed finally to drag himself out of his thoughts with a shake of his head and a sigh.

I've gotten too used to Yfandes kicking me when I start to brood, he thought with a faint smile. It's a lot harder to avoid when I have to drag myself out of it... And he knew very well that left to his own devices, he tended to relapse to a sulky teenager all too easily. Not a state of affairs even he was particularly fond of. Right. I could do worse than to learn how to find my way around this labyrinth. If nothing else, I should be able to navigate by the ley-lines here...

So anyone wandering the ship that day might have run into a Herald as he explored, tracing a path through the ship seemingly random but blazingly obvious to anyone with the Mage Gift. That "running into" was... probably not literal, though from time to time Vanyel was considerably more focused on his magical surroundings than the physical - staring into thin air, from a non-mage's perspective - so a collision might not have been entirely out of the question.

[[OOC: Feel free to run into Vanyel in the mess hall, or anywhere in the ship he might reasonably be - he'll probably end up somewhere in the City, eventually, but he's going to be wandering for a while before then.]]

Training was coming along. Also the house they were living in, but it still needed more repairs. That Xander guy was a big help, even if Dean didn't care for how the guy would sometimes stare at his brother too long. It was weird, and he'd be apologetic about it as he'd get back to work. But it's weird. All the one eyed guy would say would be how he knew the other Sam and they worked together against the Yeerk. The very idea of his brother being possessed again by something evil... that was worse, and reminded him too much of the possible futures he kept hearing or seeing. Sam saying yes. Like he was always going to bend over to Lucifer for one reason or another. And Dean had to allow it. Just sit back like some useless bitch while everything falls. Well hell with that, hell with the damn future for that matter. He hoped Adam was in the pods perhaps, and maybe his old man. At very least Mikey can't have them take his place.

Or you can accept your destiny, Dean.

Crap, he could do without the background commentary. He needed a drink or something to fight. He was half hoping Vader would show up somewhere so he could go kick his Sith ass. Be better than contemplating how much his future will suck if they get their world back. Eh, screw it, he needed to practice or something. He checked the time. Hunter class was yesterday, so he was free and clear there. He hated using the Sensoriums but it did work for training purposes. Like the hunting sim he rigged up a few times.

Now, time for something different. Cas was probably poking around the hydroponics. As long as he was just growing herbs and weed and not trying to partake anything narcotic, it seemed like a good idea. Gave him something else to do. Just like what Dean was doing. Keep moving, keep busy. Fight and bury the thoughts down in the hole.

Today's practice didn't involve a gun though. It involved a longsword. His old man gave them some pointers about bladed weapons, and an overview just in case. But most of their battles involved guns and bigger weapons. Still, better to be diverse as possible.

Jacen hadn't known about the courtyard he was currently seated in. He had explored the city and most of the other parts of the ship he was allowed in, but he had only recently discovered this courtyard. When he first saw it, he had stood at the entrance, eyes glazed over and mouth hanging open. He had caught himself, then shook his head and shut his mouth entering the courtyard and seating himself in the middle of it.

That's where he was now, with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. He could vaguely hear some sort of a soft rustling in the greenery around him, but he had shut out just about everything around him and focused on his thoughts. They were of his life before now. His friends that weren't here -- that didnt make it here -- he was relieved to see his family appearing slowly but surely (their age didn't matter to him), but there were still people he missed.

Jacen kept telling himself he needed to open up to more others here on the ship, but that had always been a slightly difficult thing for him to do anyways. He figured he would just keep telling himself that and maybe one day it would actually happen.

Bedrest in the Medbay wasn't that bad. It wouldn't be for long, after all. But it was a little boring, and Hiccup spent most of his time talking to Astrid, who had taken to hovering periodically, or reading messages on his omnicom, or reading books on his omnicom.

Mostly, he slept, because he was in dire need of it.

One his leg was finished healed up around the new dock, he'd get his automail attached to the dock for the first time, and then have to worry about the rehab.

For now, though, he certainly didn't mind visitors, whether they were were his friends on ship or new people just wandering through.

"Bored bored boredboredbored booored bored..."

Vader was not impressed by the hangar.

Outwardly, he was unmoved, and inwardly he was floored, but he would not ever admit to being impressed by the rows of ships, many of which he'd never seen before. He walked down each row as impassively as though this were any normal Imperial muster, only pausing to examine something that caught his eye if he felt like he was free from the gaze of spies.

After talking to Ben, Luke had decided to go to the Jedi Temple and practice some of his lightsaber forms, working off some of the energy that had built up with a full night of sleep and a healing trance besides.  As well as to calm his mind, keep it focused; he had the sense that they were standing on the brink, watching the storm come swiftly in, and knew that he and the other Jedi would need to get together and work things out, checking in with all of them.

Focus.  Feel the Force, let it flow through you.

His green blade sliced through the air, leaving glowing trails behind, concentrating on those first teachings Obi-Wan had given to him on the Falcon, many years ago.  And gradually, Luke slipped into a sort of trance, the Force wrapping around him and supporting every simulated parry, every practiced strike.

If there could be a little line following where Hiccup was going through the ship, it'd show that the young man couldn't stand still. Several things were on his mind.

1) Finding Astrid.

2) Finding some mead or ale to thank Kang.

3) Finding the other two that had helped save him, other than Astrid and Kang.

4) Finding Ed to learn about science.

5) Finding this "Engineering" place that was clearly the kind of place that would be wonder and a joy for him to be in.

The search was afoot. He had people, places, and booze to find.

And thus Hiccup hobbled through the halls with a set of crutches (he really shouldn't be putting much weight on his injured leg yet), on his mighty Viking quest.

The battle against the Ohm raged on, and the casualties on the ground were mounting. Injured crew members got emergency treatment in the field, which largely amounted to patching them up so they wouldn't die sometime within the next fifteen minutes. After that, they were quickly picked up by shuttle and brought back to the ship, where they were sent to a medbay that was getting progressively more crowded.

The situation was growing increasingly dire, to the point that Stacy activated one of the AI's to help out.



"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

The reactor may have been saved, but the Ohm's primary purpose in overloading it had been achieved: the planetary defense network on Zokez II was now deactivated.

It was now the true invasion could begin.

A matter of minutes after the reactor had been saved, a number of vast, Ohm Leviathans appeared in orbit above the planet, some of them devouring those fleeing ships they could get their hands on.

Across all of the islands on the planet below, numerous shimmering lights appeared, and out of them poured hordes of Grunts, Grenadiers, Tanks, and all manner of other Ohm types. They swarmed over the cities, destroying everything in their path, and slaughtering anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in their way.

Wherever they went, destruction followed. Left unopposed, they would raze the entire planet without any effort.

But they are not unopposed.

It was time for the crew to finally do what they were Chosen to do.

[ooc: General Ohm fightyness! Check here before posting.]

Morale was high, and everyone had their share of fun, but now it was time to part ways with Zokez II.

As everyone made their way back to the spaceport to be picked up, they could see the Obs Deck waiting for them with ramp open, and large tendrils eagerly moving vehicles and cargo back aboard.

It's about time to say goodbye to this planet...but fate, it seems, has other ideas.

[OOC: PLOT BEGINS! Here's how it goes: A handful of techies and a couple fighty people (as escort) will be on the reactor end of this part of the plot, while everyone else can help out with the evacuation.]

[OOC pt 2: Also, sorry, it apparently wasn't clear that they hadn't actually gotten back onto the ship yet. Plot is obviously taking place on the planet.]

[OOC: Time is an illusion, and also very bendy]

Vader, upon his return to Stacy, has found the Sensoriums.

He's been absorbed in them for the better part of an hour- first fighting numerous lightsaber duels with a holographic Obi-Wan Kenobi, ending each duel with a triumphant and increasingly violent killing stroke, then simply dismembering the hologram through various means. He was currently on Mustafar, kneeling by a river of lava and shoving Obi-Wan's face in and out of the flow, pausing to evaluate the various shrieks and gurgles of the simulated man.

It was beginning to bore him. It was not nearly as satisfying as he knew the real thing would be.

To say Vader was out of his element was the understatement of the millennium. He'd taken refuge under a large umbrella and was seated in his his chair as though it were the Emperor's own throne. Under the pretense of meditating, he was keeping a three-foot radius of space around him sand-free.

His beach towel would stay immaculate until he got someone else's blood on it.

Arha did not care if he did not wish her there.  She came with her hair loose, clad in her plantsuit, barefoot, empty handed.  This was not a lightsaber battle, nor was it one of any blade at all.  She had peeled the plantsuit up to allow her feet to dig in against the deck of the medical room, should she need it.  There was no steeling in preparation, she came open, her shields dropped and baldfaced before Vader.

She studied him from the doorway, her head tilted and her blue-within-blue eyes half-slitted in contemplation.  He would be rude, she would ignore it, he would yell, and she would speak softly.  The poison in him, this Dark Side, it was just poison.  Arha had survived The Water of Life--so, too, would she survive the taint that flowed through him. 

Poison always burned.

She swept a cursory probe over the work she had done the day before and found it well and still healing.  It needed help, but this was why she came.  It was not easy to initiate contact, to push aside the darkness, but such a thing was to be done and she would get better at doing it in time.  She moved into the room and took a seat beside his bed.

For the moment, she sad nothing.

[[For this post I have music: Canvas.]]

Kenobi!

Vader's eyes snapped open as he jerked to consciousness, his last memory of Kenobi's smirk burnt into his memory. The treacherous Jedi had thwarted him again. Why he was not dead was beyond him, but the second time Kenobi had left him for dead without having the stomach to actually finish the deed would be the last.

His mouth curled disdainfully as he surveyed his surroundings. It may have been foreign, but he recognized a medcenter when he saw one-- and liked it as little as he liked any other. The ventilator tubes had been reinserted into his nose, and he began to examine the large machine he was bound to. He could, in theory, take it apart and convert it into something more manageable. He had no idea if his kidnappers ever intended to return his suit and lightsaber. If he wanted his revenge on Kenobi and reclaim his son (his son-- no, he had to put that out of his mind), he would have to act quickly, before the...ship...realized his intentions.

[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 Initiating|| 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... )

Stacy's voice speaks over the whole of the ship. What she has to say has become very familiar over the the podlings have spent here.

||Pod Release Protocols Initiating,|| she says. ||Please proceed to the Observation Deck to meet your new crew mates.||

Those crew members that don't head to the Obs Deck on their own are hurried there via gentle but insistent tentacles. A few people stop by Engineering to help bring and pass out omnicoms and comm rings to the new crew members as well.

[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.]