Everyone had their secrets- that was part of life. Some were good, some were bad, and some were so out there that people generally seemed to ignore them. Growing up on Tatooine there had been many things people being raised on the dustball of a planet were expected to be. You were strong or you didn't survive for long. Work was always needed doing when it came to living in the more remote areas of the planet with the constant sand storms that sent people scattering for shelter and devastating the moisture vaporators. Gavin had been a kid when his parents moved their large family to the old Lars Homestead finding the freedom the space brought to them needed as well as doing right by the previous owner after the Lars' had died. Finding space to be himself was beyond possible at times unless the youth found the little nooks and crannies the homestead had to offer.

No one knew that he could draw. Being artistic wasn't something that the planet could offer anyone and his parents had never known their eldest child could do it. Well they had known when he was younger until Biggs had relentlessly teased him for having bigger dreams of doing something other than staying on Tatooine. That was the day Davin had stopped talking to people or showing them what he could do. You couldn't be tough and doodle sketches, his cousin had told him. Secretly he had kept it up though taking what chances or less hours of sleep he could just to capture those little moments that would make the day.

Gavin wasn't exactly sure how he had found the supplies in the city. Poking around enough empty buildings had given him a full sketch book, various colored pencils, and some charcoal sticks. With his old books being gone the memories since leaving Tatooine, even prior to joining the Rogues, were sketchy at best. Which was the reason the young man was curled up in one of the chairs in the observation deck in a back corner facing the stars where hopefully no one he knew could find him out. In only a few hours his fingers had turned black from smudging lines and shading, the book already near half full with things he wanted to remember and faces that he knew. Wes, Hobbie, Lujayne, Corran, Mirax, Ooryl, just to name a few who weren't there, even spreading out to previous planets or combat missions. Then people on the ship with happy expressions before the battle with the Ohm to the more sober looks of near defeated crew members who were just pleased to be alive. Yes, even the cake had made it in to one doodled corner with a knife sticking out of it. Raising his hand, Gavin rubbed at his cheek with his thumb leaving a trail of black that was sort of hard to miss. He was lost in his own little world and very prone to someone walking up on him.

Thrawn had gathered and reviewed every scrap of information Stacy had about the disastrous battle with the Ohm--every after-action report, every camera angle. Now, in the Sensorium, he was watching the skirmish unfold in three unsettling dimensions. It was a reconstruction, only as good as the crews' accounts and his own tactical skill. The latter, at least, was formidable.

Parts of the battlefield were empty, grayed-out in a literal "fog of war," where Thrawn had too little information to fill them in. They shifted and flowed as the fight progressed, crewmembers and Ohm disappearing into them and then popping back into existence where the records picked up again.

Gradually, however, the blank spaces were disappearing, as Thrawn ran various scenarios and decided on the most likely. Combat would pause, reverse itself, and then resume with tiny differences, again and again, as bit by bit, with infinite patience, the Grand Admiral recreated the battle to his satisfaction.

If he had any say in the matter, no confrontation with the Ohm would go so poorly again.

Wedge was tired. He hadn't slept much since they'd gotten back to the ship. He'd been busy going over recordings, sensor-readings and other data from their fight with the Ohm. And in between that he'd been checking up on Shinn in the med bay and moving furniture and other things into the headquarters. But this was important. Discussing what had happened, getting impressions from his people and speaking to them about it would be important. So he waited, leaning against the wall in the briefing room, which had been refurnished, along with the other rooms of the headquarters. At least no one was dead, right?

Everything was starting to get back to.. well it wasn't like it was before on the ship. Not after all that fighting going on and everything. For one member of the crew, unbeknownst to him, he had missed the entire thing because of one happy little people snatching AI. Needless to say the pilot wasn't going to be very thrilled once that little bit of information surfaced. One of the walls shifted, opening in to a dark black space as the orange jump suited man was tossed like someone had him by the collar of his suit and down around his waist.

Head over heels the man flew with his hands grasping hair hoping to catch on to some one or some thing before he crashed against the opposite wall had against his side. It didn't help any that he had one nice shiner already developing on his face. More bruises and aches were something that Gavin did not want to deal with.

"Thank you for your participation,. -subject name here-, must be the pride of -subject hometown here-. A mark has been placed on your official testing record. There will be cake in the lobby." Groaning the man glanced up just in time to see the wall move close.

The cake was a lie.

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.]

[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 Initating|| 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... )