As the battle raged on far away on Lirath, the crew that remained on Balisair faced a different challenge.

The planet itself was bleak and simple, a rugged landscape covered with sparse forests. The colony itself wasn't very large, but a massive refugee camp was already being set up outside the walls. Numerous tents were already filling up with wounded and scared refugees, and more were coming. They would need help to take all of them in.

Numerous evacuation ships, still scarred from their close calls back at Lirath, were pouring in from the Bleed-Gate that appeared in orbit above the colony, bringing even more refugees with them.

On top of all this, there was yet another problem: Some of the colonists, concerned the sudden influx of refugees would tax the small colony's already small reserve of supplies, were holding back critical supplies the refugee camp needed. It would take someone to convince them to help out for the greater good to get them to part with these supplies.

The crew had their work cut out for them.

[ooc: Open!]

Paranoia was a perfectly reasonable reaction to waking up in a strange place covered in slime, having a fight with tentacles that put some kind of throbbing...thing on him, and then being forced to run through mazes that shot fire, a cruel voice passive-aggressively taunting him the entire time.

Tarzan didn't know where he was, didn't know what was going on, and didn't know what happened to the people--and gorillas---he cared about most. His entire world had been turned upside down. He'd found himself in a strange place completely full of people, more people than he'd even imagined existed. It was full of lots of strange people, and some of them walked on two legs but didn't look human; others were clearly animals but they conversed with humans with apparently no difficulty.

They all were strange to him. Frightening, even to one that had faced Sabor. It was all so confusing. Even terrifying, all the more so because he couldn't find Jane or his mother anywhere, even when he searched during the times other slept.

So he'd hidden in Hydroponics, and taken to the trees, wary of every living being on the ship.

Anyone that entered Hydroponics and stayed there for long might find themselves having the unmistakable feeling that they were being watched.

But he was just as curious as he was frightened and cautious. As much as he was holding back from the people on the ship, he had a burning desire to speak to them, to figure out what they were all about.

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 tall man in green armor 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.]

Next to the Mall Hotel, a large bazaar sprawled out through the streets. Food stalls, jewelery stalls, plastic surgery stalls...might want to stay away from that last one. But since the bizaar was close by, it served as a good place for the crew to meet up and start their exploration of XaXing.

[[ooc: This is just a general mingling post guys, so jump in and start threads, tag into other people's, whatever you want!]]

||Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention, all personnel...||

All over the ship, Stacy's voice continues to repeat the announcement until all crew members have reported to the Orbs Deck. Once there a dossier appears on the screen. Next to the dossier is the picture of a rotating planet, one that is almost entirely covered in cities with a few small patches of green ocean, and the planet's stats:

Planet Designation: XaXing
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Minimal flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: A significant number of species of intelligent life. Most are not native.
Water: 30% of the planet's surface.

Climate: Similar to Earth's Mediterranean regions. [Click here for cultural equivalents for non-Earth cultures.]
Landscape: 96% of land is developed for primarily commercial purposes.
Air: Normoxic concentration: 29% oxygen, 60% nitrogen, 3% xenon, 6% trace gases, such as hydrogen, krypton, and argon.

Air Pressure: 14.499 pounds per square inch.
Sky: Green with gold clouds.
Sun: A class D3L, yellow star.

Warnings: Some inhabitants may not follow fair trading practices.

Mission: None. Shore leave is now initiated. Requisition of resources is recommended. Each crew member will be provided with 3000 XaXingian credits.

It's time for another Shore Leave, guys.

[[ooc: Shore Leave is go! Post reactions to the announcement here]]

 By now they had reached the start of the space walk, giving a shocking, knee-wobblingly expansive view of the space around them that practically demanded at least a tiny knee-wobble of awe. It was all very impressive. 

The Doctor might have picked this as their first stop on purpose. Call it a weakness or a character flaw, but he so did love impressing humans. Something about watching their faces light up. Didn't much matter to him if they were young, old, armed with unfortunately huge eyebrows or ones that could use a bit more work before they could even be called proper eyebrows. He glanced at Inara when she asked about the Elpexxi body surfing, shooting her a grin that makes him look even more boyish.

"Of course, I wouldn't keep going if it wasn't fun," the Doctor said. "It's all in the arms," he made an angling motion with his hands, leaning forward like a skinny Time Lord torpedo, "and dodging the rocks."

Actually, he'd gotten better at it over his regenerations, seeing as some of them he'd been...rounder back then (with wonderful taste in hats, though). On some level the Doctor was aware of the small talk but he never saw the point of making it small. Might as well talk about interesting things, right? The Doctor headed down the spacewalk, the not-quite-glass surface stretching over their heads as he headed toward Hydroponics, patting Inara's hand on his elbow. Despite his face, the gesture was more like an old man's as the Doctor pointed toward the door leading toward Hydroponics. The last time he'd been here, he'd had to hunt down his very own human after Jamie proved he was rather good at Doctor evasion tactics. At the very least it should be less humid here.

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 tall man in green armor 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... )

Peace seemed to be a hard thing to find on a ship full of beings from different races, planets and different times, but Inara had found it, at least for a little while, in the sensorium. She had needed the quiet to sort her thoughts, to try to remember something.. someone which fluttered right at the edge of her consciousness. She had though the tranquility of the training house on Shinon would help with that. It had always been a place where she felt comfortable, accepted and mostly a place she felt completely in control of herself.

She stood on the ledge of the steps which lead down away from her private rooms and looked over the impressive mountains and trees which surrounded the training house. A soft breeze caused the gazar curtains to stir softly and the chimes to make a low almost melancholy sound.

Clasping her hands before her, Inara sighed softly. It seemed as though no matter how hard she tried to grasp what she thought she needed to remember, the memory was determined to stay right out of her reach and that was indeed very frustrating to her. Closing her eyes, she lifted her face up, allowing the sun to wash over her and tried to clear her mind once again.

Kang was feeling particularly homesick that day.

He was standing on a plateau* in an arid savanna, overlooking a walled city, very obviously medieval in nature, with some areas still in construction. Draconians of brass, bronze, copper, silver, and the rare gold moved about, busy with their daily lives; an oddity was that almost every single one was an adult. There were very few children, and none appeared older than the average human toddler. The occasional dwarf or human was there as well, but not many, and they tended to be in the market area, selling wares.

The bozak still had a bandage on his tail and wing (the one on the latter bigger than it had been before), but the one on his leg was gone, showing a healing gash that was likely to leave a scar. Smiling to himself, he sat down, one knee bent and an arm resting on it.

"...you weren't perfect, but you were mine."

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice anyone entering the Sensoriums.

*Look Out Hill, on the map. :D

The Nightmare King has been defeated. Those crew members who were touched by his madness have been taken down.

The City is a mess. So is the rest of the ship. As is most of the crew.

But it's all over. Finally.

There is a traitor in your midst, meatship. A crew member working for the Nightmare King, enacting his will subtly on the crew.

This person has access to all the Nightmare King knows about their crewmates, and there's plenty the horrible being can glean from their dreams.

Today, it's time to act, to try to cripple all they can, to bring the fears of their crewmates to the forefront to make them easier prey. Today they revel in their cruelty, their soul twisting and writhing in the grips of their cruel master.

[ooc: This is your cue! Each of you, tag in making a new subthread, and set up the setting of where your character is, like you'd do for an post to the comm in general. In the OOC post please lay out the fears and insecurities you plan to exploit in your character's final nightmare to help with the messin'--they'd be bringing those fears to the forefront with their comments, to make it easier for the Nightmare King to act on them]

The crew will see them slinking off, disappearing around hallways--shifting shadow shapes and the backs of heads ducking around corners. They're always people they think they know. Dead loved ones, perhaps, or loved ones they're not sure are dead or alive. They lead crew members into dangerous places, sudden drops, parts of Stacy where things can go wrong.

And they do go wrong. Floors drop out. Ducts become damaged somehow, invisibly, and suddenly spew hot steam. Around the children, items slam into walls--poltergeist activity.

Whether these are really those lost souls, or just illusions, is hard to tell. Either way, those that are part-ghost or have supernatural powers will have a helluva workout. The upside is the presence of the ghosts might disrupt the Waking Dreams to allow people to escape them more easily.

Which is good because the dreams will start to cause injuries now. Real ones.

And refusing to go to sleep doesn't save you when the dreams can happen while you're awake.

[ooc: Waking dreams will continue--and start causing injuries. Furthermore, ghostly apparitions will start to cause poltergeist activity and lead the crew into danger. Start to raise the alarm, meatship. It's starting.]

Everybody needed a little comfort now and again. Stacy was a nice enough ship, and there was plenty of repairs and preparations to keep a person busy, but she wasn't exactly home. Kaylee was alright with where she was--she'd come to terms with the whole idea of destroyed worlds, missing crew and family, all that good stuff--but sometimes there was just no use in fighting the need to go home.

A good point of the Sensoriums was that she could do just that. It wasn't real, and it wouldn't be for a long while, but it was the comfort she needed, especially if her estimate of the days was accurate.

Chinese New Year.

A little ranch, complete with cozy farm house and mechanic's shop, all draped in red and gold in celebration. Chinese lanterns were hung up in trees and off of rooftops. Kaylee herself had curled up on the swing that hung down from the porch's roof, with her eyes closed as she hummed old songs.

It was good to be home.

Jacen Solo was seated in the mess hall, yes, but did he have some sort of sustenance in front of him to go along with the place he was seated in? No. He was just sitting at a table, staring blankly to the surface with his hands clasped in his lap and eyes faintly glazed over. No matter where he had been since he arrived here, this was usually how he looked. Completely and utterly lost in thought.

Why had he been brought here? And why had he been brought so soon after he fought for the right to finally relax? It was only days after the war with the Yuuzhan Vong ended. Days.

He had been thinking of traveling around the galaxy, maybe making a stop by Hapes to visit an old friend, maybe stopping by Yavin 4 for a quick round of meditation techniques in the now-ruined Jedi Temple, but no. Not anymore. Now Jacen was left to ponder once more. He was here now. He had met new people (which was usually a plus to him) and he had seen his Aunt and Uncle (he still wondered why they were here too -- and why there had been vague sparks of discomfort when he spoke to them) and he had heard other members of his family were here. Why hadn't he found them?

Jacen didn't want to admit that he probably hadn't found them yet because he was too busy sitting around moping brooding.

His stomach growled at him quite loudly but he was too busy listening to the never-ending chatter of his own thoughts. Just like usual.

Running a hand over the smooth fabric of her dress, Inara stood at the open bay doors of Serenity, waiting for Tony Stark to arrive for their scheduled tea time. Things were already set up in her shuttle - the tea already seeping and she'd even managed to procure a small plate of cookies. She couldn't help but smile as she folded her hands patiently before her, as she had found him rather intriguing during their first meeting.

He'd had an aura of self-assurance, charm and playfulness to him. Which in her mind were always good things to have, but she hoped that during this meeting, she'd find out more about the man.

Spotting him walking toward her, her smile grew and she lifted her hand in a wave of greeting. "Tony, huān yíng, welcome. I'm glad you could make it."

Mal was sitting at the table in the dining room on Serenity with his gun resting in front of him. He'd just finished cleaning it out and reloading it, and was now taking a minute to just relax. It was ironic that the only thing that made him forget about the worries caused by living on Stacy was a good round of drinks and pleasurable company. He and Wolfwood had hit it off, but also the drinking game he did with Jo was definitely enjoyable.

But now it was business as usual, looking after Serenity and what there was of his crew. Even though they weren't all there, not all of them, he still felt he had the responsibility to watch over them and make sure they didn't get themselves in too much trouble. Inara could handle herself for the most part, so he rarely interfered with her, but Kaylee was the one he was most concerned about.

He had a soft spot for her anyway, so seeing her get hurt or in trouble was the last thing he wanted.

Mal shook his head then, thinking he was getting too lost in his own mind. He picked up the gun and pointed it at a random spot in front of him, and pretended he was firing it. There wasn't much cause to shoot things on Stacy, and she probably wouldn't have liked it if he did. Maybe a couple of hours in the Sensoriums would take care of that, he thought as he sat there with the gun still in his hand.

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.]

It is that time again, meatship.

Once again, the King of Nightmares has deigned to spread his touch to all of your dreams.

This time, however, he has decided to give them a much more personal touch, sending his very own children to visit each and every one of you, slowly sowing the seeds of madness within all of you.

Such a kind and loving king he is, isn't he?

[ooc: Alright folks, Nightmare King is ramping things up a bit. These nightmares are a good bit more dangerous now, and he's sending in his minions to make things a little more real. The nightmares will be of a much more serious nature this time, designed to start driving the crew slowly insane. Characters are more likely to run into nightmare minions in the guise of someone or something that will tug at the edges of their sanity. Also, this time, the characters can have joint dreams, as these nightmares are of a more mystical nature this time. Once again, tagging in isn't mandatory, but if you want to, go crazy (literally)!]

[Additional Note: Any injuries won't be carrying over to real life at this point in the plot but don't worry, we'll get there eventually!]

She'd been met by silence. Silence so loud that it hurt.

That's all there seemed to be.

It was eerie walking around Serenity and not running into Zöe or Wash, strange not seeing Simon in the infirmary, and it felt wrong not seeing Shepard Book studying his bible at the table. It was even strange not running into a leering Jayne.

Inara was finding that she missed them all. Missed the cheeriness that at most times could not only be found, but felt aboard Serenity.

That's part of the reason she found herself standing beside the ship, her hand resting lightly on the hull and staring up at it - her eyes wide and dark. Her fingers brush slowly against the cool metal and she shook her head. It wasn't right not having the whole crew there.