The Temple of Small Gods was a sizable gathering place -- but more importantly, it was in one of the dead spots on the ship, into which Stacy was apparently unable to spy. It was there that Tarrant waited to address the new crew members.

[This is a briefing meeting for new crew to find out what's goin' on on the ship. Anyone can make subthreads if they want; Tarrant and Ildraniath will be explaining some Rebelliony things. Otherwise feel free to mingle, ask questions, etc etc.]

They had more than a few things to get to, now that Things were Happening at an ever-increasing pace. A new Councilor to bring up to speed; plans to make and information to share; a question of how to deal with integrating new crew members into their plans... and Zetta for one was practically bursting at the binding to tell them a particularly juicy nugget of information.

(And, uh, after that whole unplanned fake traitor thing he'd pulled at Punishment, he owed them some explanations, but he didn't know that.)

Consequently, the Overlord had offered up his Fortress -- a blind spot in the City -- as the next meeting area, which he thought to be a fairly clever stroke of genius. How could it seem suspicious to meet at an extremely egotistical Councilor's home?

So the book sat in a comfy armchair which he'd had pulled up to the dining table he'd bought waaaaay back on XaXing, and waited for the meeting to come to order.

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicomms and comm rings. They are also told they must read information about their current situation and a survival guide with their new omnicomm. New crewmates might see a tall dragonish guy with wings (but don't call him that), a large afro attached to a smaller girl, and talking ponies 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. But thankfully this time, there's a system that was set up to aid the new crew members with a few more experienced ones.

[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. Big brother/sister, there will be a thread for you as well!]

The Kohaku River ran diagonally through most of the City, past Central Park, winding its way between Castle Wyvern and the Bathhouse and Awesome World, and finally ending somewhere in Escherville. Its pristine waters would therefore be an excellent vehicle through which to introduce a convenient new source of protein.

Or so Tarrant reasoned when he began the project. Now, about a third of the way through, the fry he'd introduced into the river earlier (or at least the ones that survived notice by the native carp) were growing rapidly, establishing themselves and their territories.

[The river is open for fishing! The fish species Tarrant is aiming for are the following:

• ayu/sweetfish
• trout
• bass
• catfish
• whiting
• croaker
• freshwater eel
• minnows and an assortment of small prey fish

They are not all exactly like their Earth analogues, and some may come from alien fish species with unusual colors, fin shapes, habits, or other physical attributes. With every successive generation, however, they will become more and more like their target species in behavior and appearance, barring a few changes to make them better adapted for life in this particular habitat.

Feel free to mess around in the river, fish, or bug Tarrant.]

Tarrant stepped into what appeared to be a room of endless white with a single circular artifact in its center and wondered who had chosen this particular setting. Perhaps someone who enjoyed having their retinas seared for hours at a time. The light was irritation itself, but at least it was also illusory.

The Tapestry itself was not illusory... but it didn't exactly look like a tapestry, either. So this device was to be their guide, was it?

He reached out to touch the fae in the room, invisible violet filaments that (for him, anyway), provided at least some respite from the relentless, mundane white. Its tendrils ran heedlessly throughout the room -- naturally attracted to living warmth, though there was currently none in the vicinity. He'd wait until Ildraniath arrived for any real analysis, of course, but for now he reached out experimentally, contacting the surface of the Tapestry with a basic Knowing. What was its purpose? What was it designed for? Was it alive?

Unless it was well-shielded, the fae would grant him his answers.

Ildraniath had found a small park that was out of the way of most of the main streets. It was quiet, shaded. Perfect for a little get together. If people had read her message on the comms, they ought to show up. And if they didn't, she would figure out another way to proceed. Even if she had only a handful of people she could rely on, she would press on. Better than inactivity and waiting for results that never came. She knew patience, but this? Was simply waiting for the sake of waiting.

She folded her hands into the sleeves of her robes and waited, stone still. Once they arrived, she'd have a few words to say to everyone. And then they could begin bandying ideas and organizing.

Tarrant strode along the bank of the River, eyes trained on the invisible, delicate web of power that stretched out even to this remote location. He picked out eddies in the flow, interpreting minute fluctuations as an animal might discern a faint scent in the air or vibrations along the ground.

There was life here, yes. And the river should provide adequate housing and space. Combined with the equipment in the Castle, supplemented with supplies from the various shore leave planets...

He pulled out his datapad, slender fingers dancing along the screen -- rapidly charting out the flow of the water, the depth, the amount of shade. Yes, this might do quite nicely.

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.

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! ]

Who: The Doctors, their assistants and friends, some visitors [Open], and the Master.
Where: The TARDIS, the blue police box located in the Hangar.
Summary: Somebody's made a mess of the old ship. The Doctors are very unhappy. Time to dig in and clean up! Also, there's some necessary hashing-out of titles and ownership between three men who happen to be the same person. And a bit of a problem arises...
Warnings: Possibly mild swearing on Nine's part.
( He didn't like the transport tubes. He was liking what he saw here even less. )

The Tapestry had spoken. Not in words, but in ideas and images, ciphers and cryptic nonsense that had been laboriously deciphered, interrogated with spells and technology, pieced together from scrap. They had led here.

( The mission statement was a bit confused and confusing... )

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the battle with SHODAN the place looks a little worst for wear, but the crew and even Stacy are trying to be in good spirits. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, and the little stunt in trying to kill off the people in the pods, many 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. They are also told they must read information about their current situation and a survival guide with their new omnicom. New crew-mates might see a tall dragonish guy with wings (but don't call him that), a large afro attached to a smaller girl, and talking ponies 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. But thankfully this time, there's a system that was set up to aid the new crew members with a few more experienced ones.

[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. Big brother/sister, there will be a thread for you as well!]

[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... )