Things were looking rather dire for the captives of the Brainiacs. They were very securely trapped, no one knew where they were, the old Brainiac 5 appeared to be completely gone, incapable of his old morality, and apparently, Brainiac 4 had some sort of plans that involved getting past Stacy's defenses.

There was no sound in the hangar, where the signal could be traced to something transmitting it that was hidden among the ships. The omnicom itself that was in Brenda's possession was transmitting, but there was something else in the hangar that had been amplifying the signal and carrying it along through the shielded depths of the ship back when the omnicom had been in the lab and wirelessly hacked by the strange mental array attached to Brainy's brain, and that was what they were tracing the signal to rather than the omnicom itself, months of hard work finally letting them crack the code.

There were no sounds of running or of someone being chased. That was possibly alarming. Silence, when someone had been running for their lives, was a bad thing.

[ooc: Closed to: the Brainies, Danny Phantom, Brenda, Red Robin, Zuko, Shoutaro, Jeka, and Punchy. Cole-player, I'll give you your cue to hop in and witness the trap going off by email and give you a setup when it's time.]

Even with a rebellion looming and everything it entails - planning and plotting, information gathering, getting the new crew up to speed - things on Stacy continue as normal for now. They have to, until everything is set. People still go about their day to day tasks, the departments continue to do their work, and those who fight still continue to train...including the Rangers.

As of late, however, Jamie has been finding himself, well, a wee bit bored with the standard training sessions. There's only so often that they can run through the usual practices without it all becoming a little too monotonous and the sessions blurring together. What they needed was a good fight, with maybe a few unexpected twists and turns along the way. And after thinking it over for some time, Jamie thinks he may have an idea that might just work to make things more interesting.

He starts with sending a message at a time slightly different than when training usually takes place, asking them to meet in the Sensoriums. Oh, he knows it means he may not get all the Rangers, not if they've other tasks to do. But even if he doesn't, fighting in smaller groups is still good practice. And, well...large groups might not work, given the setting he has in mind. After the message is sent, he steps inside, and the empty Sensorium he's chosen flickers, switching from a blank room to a large, old growth forest. It's peaceful, and relatively quiet, with the usual forest sounds one would expect in such a place. He doesn't morph, though, not yet. That can wait for everyone else to arrive. Instead, he settles in under a tree and leans against it, enjoying the peaceful part of things while he can.

((OOC: Bendytimed to before to Devil Wouldn't Recognize You. Tags from Jamie may also come from the wontforgetyou account.))

Punchy sends a quick message off onto the comms, requesting that Maxine meet him soon underneath the Whomping Willow. He sends a mention that she can bring the monkey, too, and then sits back down under the tree in wait, wearing his nicest clothes (and by that, he means run through a washing machine recently).

There's a nice picnic basket set on a blanket in front of a tree for her, and a few glow sticks Punchy's stuck into a candleholder to light the night. More impressive than that, though, is that he got white Christmas lights all up in the Whomping Willow's branches, spread out in a giant heart.

Oh yeah. He's got showmanship. Some people would fight a dragon for their girl, but Punchy? Punchy fights a tree.

With the information they received from Zetta, the hack team arrives at Programming, armed with the tools they'll need to make digital avatars of themselves to go into Stacy's programming, as if it were virtual reality. Cortana again reminds them of the danger, mentioning that if they die in this world, they will die in the real world as well, and that any injuries will translate, though more minorly, to their physical forms.

The hackers close their eyes and sink into the digital world. When they open their eyes again, they are inside the lobby of an empty hotel. According to the AIs, they must explore the hotel and find where the files are, which will hopefully manifest themselves as physical cabinets but are more likely to show up as something much more esoteric.

"Good luck," Cortana wishes them, and the hack team sets off and splits into groups.

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!]

WHUMPF.

In one of the lost rooms, a costumed teenager is being flown across a grassy hill like a particularly colorful projectile. He lands hard on the ground, tumbling over and over into the mud, and then, with a grunt, gets back up.

"Goddamn tree's putting the ig on me." Punchy wipes dirt off his face and spits a piece of grass (and possibly a tooth) out. "Let's see how you like getting stomped topwise by a real OG."

The Whomping Willow spreads its two largest branches wide, as if to say 'come at me, bro'. Punchy rushes headfirst at it, trying to think of some witty or scathing put-down to throw at this uppity piece of lumber, and instead only coming up with 'take that!' - and getting tossed, once again across the room and into the earth.

If anyone walks in on him lying facedown in the mud, he's totally just playing dead and going to get the Willow off-guard. Really.

It's a nice enough service. Granted, there wasn't much of a body left for a wake, just a puddle of bloody goo, but the flowers he gathers from hydroponics, the covered vase he found for the remains of her - it's nice. Nice and quiet.

It's so unlike the last time he was at his sister's funeral. To tell the truth, he doesn't really remember it. He was ten, too preoccupied with the stories in his head to pay attention to the coffin being lowered into the ground. Maybe it was a coping mechanism. Maybe he was just a frightfully callous child. He doesn't like to think back on it enough to figure it out. But that ceremony was filled with people, and today's it's just him.

Punchy sits on a little patch of grass over on Religion Row and lights a candle next to the hole he's digging. There's no priest to bless the ground or offer absolution, but he did manage to find black clothes for the occasion. As he places the vase in the ground and starts to cover it with Earth, he recites, "whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty..."

Three attempts in and this had not been going well.

Outside the transport tubes in the city hovered one pegasus pony, staring in irritation at said tubes. One hoof rested on what was unmistakably a cloud -- a puffy, friendly-looking white cloud, just the right size to make a comfy napping spot for a pegasus who, well, really liked napping.

"You stupid tube tentacle... things!" she said, expecting that the ship would somehow respond. "Let me take the cloud up to that Hydro-whatsit place!"

Who: Shoutarou and anyone.
Where: Various places
Summary: After the events of SHODAN have passed by, Shou tries to deal with the personal fallout, once the majority of the shipwide fallout has passed..
Warnings: Depressed detective, boozing, angst in general.
( Someone try and cheer the poor guy up, eh? )

||Attention, Attention. The following personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. The following personnel please report to the Observation Deck.

Billy Cranston
Jamie McCrimmon
Ron Stoppable
Lash
Kate Bishop
Punchy
Dustin Brooks||

On the Obs Deck, the following mission information was displayed, for any who cared to see:

Planet Designation: Kanpo
Status: Terrestrial, H-class
Non-sentient life: Extensive flora and fauna
Semi-sentient life: Yes
Sentient life: Extinct
Water: 70.7% of planet's surface
Climate: Earth-like
Landscape: Landscape at and around landing point is heavily foresred
Air: Normoxic concentration: 31% oxygen, 60% nitrogen, 2% xenon, 4% trace gases, such as hydrogen, krypton, and argon.
Air Pressure: 93.8 kPa (kilopascals) = 13.6 psi (pounds per square inch)
Sky: Blue.
Sun: Class G yellow star
Warnings: Occasional poisonous plant life.
Mission: Locate jungle temple. Disengage any defense measures temple might have and retrieve artifact.

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

Stacy's voiced called the entire crew, until all of them were gathered at the Obs Deck. Then, a dossier appeared on the screens, along with the image of a rotating planet.

Planet Designation: Pelau
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Moderate flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: Yes
Water: 75% of the planet's surface.

Climate: Climate varies by region.
Landscape: Landscape at the North Pole varies. Within the biodomes, significant development. Outside the domes remains mostly pristine.
Air: Normoxic concentration: 29% oxygen, 60% nitrogen, 3% xenon, 6% trace gases, such as hydrogen, krypton, and argon.

Air Pressure: 14.352 pounds per square inch.
Sky: Blue/violet with white clouds.
Sun: A class D4K, yellow star.

Warnings: Be careful of frostbite outside the biodomes.

Mission: None. Shore leave is now initiated.

[Here's a handy map of the North Biodome where the crew is being dropped]


( Read more... )

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!]

There was a lot of cleaning up to do after SHODAN and her robot armies had been defeated. Among the structural damage was parts of the Drunken Dragon Tavern: the store room and everything in it had been utterly destroyed, the pots that had rarely been used on-ship were strewn around the kitchen, and a couple of tables, one bench and a chair, and a portion of the stage needed repairs. The building next door that Kang used for half of his storage and called home had managed to escape relatively unscathed.

He had sustained some damage himself, with a few minor cuts and bruises, and a rough hole slightly larger than an orange missing from the membrane of his right wing. It hadn't healed completely yet, and the bandages didn't hide it very well at all.

He had personal matters to attend to before reconstruction could begin, though. Two draconians had been killed in the pod caverns, two that he'd known personally; they had served under him for over thirty years when he'd been Commander of the First Dragonarmy Engineering Regiment. Unlike the others that had been killed, there was nothing left of them. Vlemess, as a kapak, had melted into a pool of acid, and Urul the baaz had turned to stone, and then dust.

It was customary, because of the nature of draconian deaths, to simply place a headstone along with any personal possessions that could be salvaged. Sakura had helped Kang procure two suitable stones from the wreckage of the Great Wall, and he'd decided to place them in the little herb garden Kali had started before she'd gotten repodded (said garden hadn't been cared for since). It was visible from the tavern, and he felt that it was appropriate to have them near a piece of home.

He knelt down to clear a space on the north side of the garden, digging shallow holes for Urul's belt and one of Vlemess's bracers. He'd gotten lucky in finding their few possessions in the lockers.

[OOC: He invited/mentioned it to anyone that he counts as family or a friend, but it's cool for others to stop by too if they'd like. Threadjacking is also encouraged!]

Hydroponics That was a good place to go when you wanted to get away from the rest of the ship, wasn't it? Honestly, it reminded Jake of the landscape underneath Erik's house and the Chee that tended to run around down there. The Chee. There was a group he hadn't bothered to think about in long time. Especially since it brought up painful memories of his last battle. The Pool Ship. The Blade Ship. Tom. What might have been, if the dracon beams hadn't been disabled.

That was in the past though – a very long time in the past. Something more recent was troubling him today. For once, he wasn't dwelling on his own perceived failures or what he planned to do once he and the other Animorphs found a way to start contributing to the war effort. The whole affair with SHODAN and the killer robots had rattled him and not much seemed to rattle him anymore. He'd been totally powerless for most of it, hiding out from robots, unable to strike back. No way to morph, no way to escape. Just him and his fragile human body versus robots. It hadn't led to him getting hurt, of course, but for some reason it stayed with him at the back of his mind. What would he have done if he'd had to fight? How could he have fought?

He'd been morphing for seven years and when he felt as if he'd lost the power, it had made him stop and think. His whole adult life had been defined by his ability to morph. Without it, he didn't even have the military job back home. He didn't have anything. He was just a smart (arguably) kid who had fought a war. Jake frowned and ran a hand through his hair as he stared hard at a particular tree.

Why was he spending so much time dwelling on it? He was alive. He could morph again. So why did losing that power, however briefly, still rattle him?

Maybe he would have to think a bit more. Jake sighed and then, after a brief moment of reflection, swung himself up onto the lower branch of a tree. He wasn't much of a climber, but maybe it'd help him think.

Hasn't it just been...so lovely and quiet on the ship? No constant jabbering and tinkering and sonick-y whinging and explosions and...no? Really? Well, that's a disappointment, it's probably been far more exciting on and off the ship than running around in an endless rat maze after...admittedly very delicious looking cheesecake.

He might have to visit the sensoriums at some point just for a vague sense of accomplishment. He's not a rat, he just likes a month or so of effort to be for some greater purpose or another...and at this point he's wiling to make that purpose 'cake' if it's between cake and 'purposefully wasting your time, sir'.

Anyway, that's about how his thoughts go when he's abruptly spit out of that endlessly looping maze and into one of Stacy's (almost vaguely now) familiar hallways. What comes out it much more to the point.

"--There wasn't even any cake!"

Chancy as it was to move between levels, it was still quite often a necessity. Especially when there was more to try and get out of Medical and the nearby Science Department, before the cogs and wheels hands of SHODAN ran amuck over everything.

It didn't make for easy transitions, on the otherhand. Those traveling upward found themselves abruptly diverted to the second level, at the hub of the pod caverns. This unintentional side-effect of something the wired fiends were doing made it both necessary to stop off and stay out of a larger group's way, as well as finding immediate progress elsewhere inconvenient. Getting down to the MedBay again would be easiest, and with a safezone set up in Contagion it wasn't a bad bet.

The problem primarily being they still needed some contact and transfer of supplies between safepoints, if that really could have been left in more organized hands. Things the ship needed to work on? Possibly a sense of coherency, but Sakura was admittedly biased. It's what she expected from folks at home, and what she'd been made to act on and with during the war. Her war. Her world's war. Might as well apply it to space.

Whatever poor sods had also gotten the shaft and ended up in the hub to the pod caverns had similar options to what Sakura was facing. "They were headed this way. We need to move." Finding someplace to either be out of the way and line of attention, or to use as a stronghold if they needed to, would be important. If the metal and plastic minions were following them into the caverns, they'd hopefully leave soon afterward. If not...

If not, they had even more of the many problems SHODAN had dropped in their deliciously frail buggy hands.

[ ooc: Any and all who wanted to be around before the Pods were known to be under attack/to witness the Pods coming under attack, get in here! Trudy's rallying for a drive of robots out here -- SHODAN will be killing pods in this log. ]

Once Atom had read the initial comm post, he headed over to the closest place where he thought people would be -- the Vatican, once converted into a fortress against outside attack. It had since been mostly restored to its original state, but some fortifications still remained -- hopefully, some food and supplies, too. He'd heard people had used it as a safe area before, so maybe some of them would head there now. As he touched down within its limits, his rocket boosters kicked off. His footsteps seemed to echo through the tall construction as he walked along the paved stone... but for now, he seemed to be alone, in the midst of dead silence.

Or was he?

"Hello?" he called. "Is anyone there? Does anyone need help?"

[Robutts will be forthcoming 83. I'll bring some Terminators, but if anyone else could NPC some other robots, that'd be great!

P.S. I will be waiting for more people to tag in before I add robots.]

This still was not enough.

Sadness and depression continued, and now confusion had entered the mix. Nezaitben grew desperate that night, for the need was too great and the souls of those in the pods could not be taken. That could possibly kill them. But she still needed more followers.

There was, she thought, no other choice but to allow fate to pick for her.

That night, or what passed as a night for in the ship, Nezaitben took to the 'sky' once again, this time passing over everything she could, sending even more of her own essence fall on top of the sleeping populace, or those that were not sleeping finding themselves feeling the need too. Enveloping the ship into a peaceful slumber for a second day, she searched their dreams. The dreamcatchers of those who did not have connections were harder to weave together but it was still a skill she could do, and carefully, she did.

New empty husks of the bodies that weren't being used showed up at her palace, making the mass somewhat larger. With a heavy sigh, she began to dress them up, hoping this would be enough.

That morning, some of the crewmen would wake up to a strange surprise...and this time it wasn't just because their souls fit. In fact it was much worse, considering.

Beward of young, naive gods bearing gifts.

[OOC - Just a few rules. Keep in mind the listed rules. You can all start your own threads of waking up in the bodies of others. If you feel like leaving a 2nd post for other people to intact with them, start a reply to your own first post with OPEN header. That way everyone else will know where to post and if you don't feel like having an open interaction post right away, you won't have to!

There will also be another post for all the soulless characters to go around spreading joy and love, so look forward to that too!]