ataraxion | 001 ☼ video

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001 ☼ video

[ The video feed clicks on to reveal Robert Capa — a man in his mid-thirties with shaggy hair (still damp from the tube where he awoke) and a five o'clock shadow and narrow shoulders covered by the ship's uniform he found in the locker marked with his identifying number. His eyes, bright blue, are particularly striking in that they are wholly calm, despite the latest series of events. The rest of his face is calm as well, the muscles of which never really rearrange themselves much to convey this emotion or that. When he speaks his voice is measured and even, though there is a certain start-stop to the cadence.

His words are prefaced with an inhale. It seems to steady him. ]

I guess I should start with the obvious question. We can figure out where to go from there, depending how the answers trend. [ Capa rubs his chin; the scrape of his stubble is audible. ] Is anyone here part of the ship's natural crew?

[ He pauses, letting that inquiry and whatever implications it may carry set in. There's a vague flicker of emotion, maybe worry, in the set of his mouth but it's as understated as the rest of him. ] And maybe, more importantly: can anyone recall how they got here?

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[ Calm. Capa's always calm. Mace rubs a hand over his head—still clammy and damp with whatever the hell that fluid was—and exhales. There were—are—a lot things he'd been prepared to do, and a lot of things he'd been prepared to have happen to him, but this? Wasn't ever on the list. Didn't even come close.

First time for everything. ]

You think brain damage is somehow gonna explain how we're no longer onboard the Icarus II? There's no sun, Capa. That was the closest thing to us.

[ Yeah, he's still pissed. Moreover, he's confused, and he doesn't give enough of a shit to hide it—why should he? This isn't natural. Waking up in a tank isn't natural, and neither is stumbling out of it half-naked. Not supposed to happen. What was supposed to happen was the successful delivery of the payload, and now they can't even do that. Might not be your fault in grand scheme of things, Capa, but Mace isn't above pinning you as the scapegoat. Give him a reason not to. ]

And the answer's no. No, I don't know how we got here.

Doesn't seem like anyone else does, either.

[ Angry. Mace is always angry.

Granted, Capa knows that Mace has more reason than he normally does to be pissed, but that doesn't make being pinned as the scapegoat for said anger any easier to deal with. Capa doesn't take it personally until Mace makes it personal; which, given last memories and last circumstances, he already has. But those sorts of things aren't important right now because there are bigger questions looming. Questions like who and why, but most importantly how.

Figure out how and you're twice as likely to be able to figure out how to undo it. And undoing it meant returning to Icarus II and her dwindling supply of oxygen. It meant the mission and the payload and no return trip, but it also meant the sun.

And the sun means everything. ]

We don't know there is no sun, [ he says simply. A semantic knitpick but also an analytic truth. He's not going to address everything else. ]

We don't know anything right now. Which is why I'm trying to survey the people that are here.

[ He's quick to answer, near-interrupting, tone accusatory. ]

Yeah, maybe—but we don't know if it's our sun. That's the problem. [ And it's a Big Problem, in case you'd forgotten. This ship is not his ship, end of story, and 2 + 2 = there's no guarantee they're even in the same solar system. ]

Don't you think the people who actually knew something would have spoken up already? You're the physicist. You've probably got a few theories.

[ Let's hear them. ]

[ Capa shuts his eyes, squeezing his lids down so tight that he sees stars for a moment. They're actually pretty complicated compared to the basic optic fireworks that happen when people normally do this and, to credit Capa's dedication to these sorts of things, those dissolving lights are scientifically accurate to the way nebulas appear to plume at a distance in space.

He doesn't want to lose his temper, mostly because he doesn't have one, but Mace has a habit of talking to him like his simple when he's not. (And that's not just ego talking, that's the truth; statistically, debate on the subject isn't even possible.) Capa's gone through the scenarios; he understands what's possible and what isn't. Given the number of hidden variables there are, the number of outcomes is huge. ]

It's not my area of expertise, Mace. You know that. Your guess is as good as mine until we do some legwork.

Then let's do some. [ Another immediate response. He's not giving anyone room to breathe, here—not that Capa needs any, with a mind like his. He can keep his non-existent temper. Mace isn't so picky with putting his on a leash.

Still, he reigns back a little. Checks himself. He wants to know every inch of this place; how it works, what the technology is like, what makes the machinery tick—but he can't do that if he's not thinking straight, and though his head isn't as fuzzy as it was a few minutes ago, it's not in prime condition. He presses at his forehead again—dry, now—brows drawing together. There's an irritated pause, and then the feed cuts briefly. ]

[ And he's back. ]

Cory wants us to meet up. Where are you?

[ Mace, he literally has no idea how to deal with you. Granted, Mace doesn't know how to deal with Capa either, but observationally collected data trends towards Mace not knowing how to deal with anybody — which is cold comfort to say the least.

He rubs at his eyes with the tips of his fingers. ]

Take the lift. It'll bring you to the passenger quarters. I'll meet you where you're let off.

[ A pause and Capa seems like he's about to say something else, but thinks better of it. ]

Capa out.

[ The feed ends. ]

Edited 2011-12-08 09:42 (UTC)

[ Mace, thank god. Three out of Four is good, so it stands to reason the last one ought to be around somewhere. Corazon worries at the thought of Cassie waking up along like this, frightened and disoriented... But she hears that edge to Mace's voice, knows the situation must be panicking him as much as it is her, so she cuts in. If nothing else than to check in, make sure they all have a handle of each others' status. ]

Down, boy. Capa doesn't know any better than us.

[ She takes note of the damp hair and figures he must be somewhere close by the medbay. Seems like the whole lot of them just... suddenly woke up. But with no other ship within thousands of miles, how could they even...? ]

We don't know anything right now. Are you near the lockers? We should meet up - all of us. Find Cassie. Then figure out what's going on.

[ Together. And not scapegoating the physicist. She may not be Searle or Kaneda, but so help her, she will stick you in timeout, son. ]

—Cory. [ There's a pause as he registers her voice, her face, takes in her appearance—fresh from the stasis tanks, apparently, but safe and whole—and then he answers, nodding: ]

Copy that. I'm near the lift. Past the lockers.

[ Meet up, find Cassie, figure out what's happening. Solid plan, space mom. ]

Stay there, I'll be by soon. [ She gives a nod and a smile that tries to be reassuring as she sets the comm device aside to gather her things from the locker, not really feeling safe leaving them behind while she goes adventuring. Jumper, binder, clipboard - all the most important bits seem to be present.

She picks the device back up and moves to head out before glancing down, giving the camera a wry expression. ]

And Mace? Try to keep the testosterone battles to a minimum before I can find places to separate you two, please?

[ Mace shoots her dry look—seriously?—over the video feed; it lasts about a second before he glances away, presumably to keep an eye on the other passengers milling about the medbay. People he doesn't know. People he's not sure he wants to know.

What did they do to deserve ending up here?

He doesn't dignify Corazon's request with an answer, but he does give a half-nod, like he'll consider it. He won't admit that he'd spoken out of line, but he doesn't have any plans on hitting anyone either. Already been there, already done that; he's clear-headed enough to realize Capa hasn't deserved another round.

Mace just wants answers. ]

Whatever you say, Cory. See you soon. Mace out.

[ Yeah, seriously. If you start punching Capa before Capa can get his science on and figure out what's going down, Cory will be so not pleased with you, Mace. She sends him a hard glare that says 'Behave while shit is hitting the fan - this is what you're supposed to be good at', and cuts the feed.

A few moments, a bit of pushing past the horde of new arrivals, and some bewildering staring around the interior of the Tranquility, and Corazon reaches Mace, clipboard and binder under one arm, jumper on and Icarus comms link secured around her neck. All things accounted for. ]

Have you seen Capa yet? Another other familiar faces? [ Anyone from Houston, maybe? A hint at where in the bumfuck nowhere of space this ship even came from? ]

I haven't seen anyone besides you and Capa. [ So that would be a negative on the whole recognizing anyone deal—and as for everything else, the surface tech's pretty foreign, too; Mace'll need a closer look to see what resemblances any of it might bear to the machinery he's used to dealing with.

And if Cassie arrived at the same time as Capa, it's entirely possible she went ahead without them.

He notes the clipboard and binder under Corazon's arm vaguely—all he'd had in his locker (102) was his set of clothes, watch, and comms link, all of which he'd donned. (The ship's crew uniform is still folded, tucked into a corner; like hell Mace is getting into that before he needs to.)

Briefly, he looks over his shoulder, turns back, motions to the lift with a jerk of his head. ]

Capa said he'd meet us in the passenger quarters. [ They'd talked. It went about how you'd expect. ]

[ She takes the comment in with a contemplative frown. She supposes it makes sense - if they were picked up, by... whoever was just able to appear out of nowhere from millions of miles away, then they wouldn't be waiting around getting lost in this mess, would they? Hopefully. She'll hold out of it. For now.

Idly, she scans the room, glancing over unfamiliar face of varying ages and varying levels of orientation to their new surroundings. While some seemed utterly baffled, others appear right at home. And children. Plenty surely not old enough to have been trained for this kind of living. An odd mix. A very odd mix. ]

Then let's not keep him waiting. Come on. [ Looking back to Mace, Corazon gives a jerk of her head towards the lift, wandering over to it to examine the control console. ...New as well. It takes her a moment, but the lift summon button isn't too difficult to find. ] Have you noticed the mix here? Adults, kids. Half these people look like they've never seen a comm device in their life.

[ Looks like half of them haven't been in space before either, which is to be expected, but it needles him. Anyone who isn't a trained astronaut shouldn't forced to endure this kind of shit—it's way too dangerous, especially when when actual space monkeys are trying to make sense of it. ]

The kids shouldn't be here. There's too much of a risk. For them, and everyone else—we don't know who's suited to this kind of environment.

[ The lift chooses that moment to arrive, drawing his attention away from Corazon, even if he's still mulling over the sheer diversity of the ship's arrivals; his expression's blank, but dark, like he's not internally enjoying the prospect of advising these people how to survive.

The ride up to the passenger quarters is quiet, save for the ever-present hum of what he guesses is the ship's massive engines, and the smooth, near-soundless movement of the lift through structured space. It's about ten minutes before it slows, stops; the doors slide open to reveal a long, narrow corridor bathed in artificial light. ]

[ At the end of the corridor is a familiar silhouette — slouchy and slumped and with narrow shoulders, in the same uniform he'd been wearing the last time they'd all seen one another. He's even got his ship's comm device looped around his neck on its telltale lanyard, even though there's no way for it to work without Icarus to power the frequency.

Capa's stooped over his new communicator now instead, his hands moving across its keys as he types out a response to someone about the possible search for medical supplies. At the sound of the lift doors, however, he looks up — his face a quiet mix of attentiveness and curiosity, but with no real surprise. He returns to his comm device just long enough to finish his sentence and press send before he's tucking it in one of the pockets of his pants and coming to meet Corazon and Mace halfway.

His lips press together before he talks. Maybe it's meant to be grim, maybe it's meant to be a smile. It's there and gone too quickly for either to be able to tell. ]

Cory, [ he says acknowledgingly, offering her that half wincing smile. When looks at Mace after, he doesn't say hi, or even offer his name.

Capa just nods. It's enough. To both: ] No problems?

[ Beyond the obvious, of course. ]

Edited 2011-12-10 05:03 (UTC)

[ The silence in the lift ride doesn't particularly bother Corazon. She knows Mace and she knows he likes his quiet time. Cory does as well, so it works. Though the subject of kids does have her particularly concerned, her brow furrowing in thought. Space was not any kind of safe, and luxury ship that this was, there's far too much that's delicate, dangerous or both just sitting out in the open. It's not always recognizable as such. ]

It seems like very few are actually suited. We'll need to find someone to bring them up to speed. Or at least someone to keep an eye on the children. [ Space babysitters. She was actually suggesting space babysitters. But it was true. You can't just have children running around a ship like this.

The lift door zips open and Corazon spots Capa's slouched figure down the hall with a little smile. Looking the same as always. It's a comfort to her. As they approach, she gives the smile he wasn't quiet able to hold, pleased to see him looking calm and together. ] Capa.

[ She glances back to Mace, as if to check that the status is still that of no problems. ]

All's well as is. Aside from missing Cassie. She may have gotten out sooner. Gone ahead?

Edited 2011-12-11 00:12 (UTC)

[ "No problems" might be stretching it. Mace stares hard at Capa, unwilling to give even an inch of (and willing to push it further, if it comes to that). The cold welcome isn't exactly unexpected, but it doesn't fail to ramp up the tension by a few degrees.

At Cory's comment, Mace's otherwise neutral expression turns a little sour—but he'll wait for Capa's answer before leaping to any conclusions concerning Cassie. ]

[ Capa swallows and turns his attention towards the space over Mace and Corazon's shoulders, though which he can see the lift. His expression doesn't change per say (Capa's face isn't nearly as expressive as that most of the time) though a very fine crease appears between his eyebrows. Like he's concentrating on something very hard or perhaps trying to will Cassie through those lift doors.

Which is illogical, of course, so after only a moment the crease disappears again and Capa turns the other way, looking now in the opposite direction. Towards the passengers quarters. ] This ship's passenger capacity's huge. I almost got lost trying to estimate a bed check. [ Which is to say there's no way of finding Cassie on foot if she has gone ahead. But— ] I doubled back here and've been watching the lift ever since.

[ He turns towards Mace and Corazon again. Capa shakes his head. A negative. ] No response to my first hail over the network either. She knows protocol.

[ She would have said something. ]

Edited 2011-12-11 03:35 (UTC)

[ She notices the worry in Capa and the tension in Mace. It's to be expected, but they're holding together just fine. It's what they were trained for. She focuses on the physicist's words, analyzing the information, filing it away for mental reference. The fact Cassie hadn't checked in yet is definitely worrisome. ]

There could be a glitch with her comm device. She might not have picked it up. [ Cory's rationalizing and she knows, but until they've searched the entire ship for her, she's not going to resign to her being missing. How could they have pluck all of them off the Icarus and missed her? It wasn't a big ship and Cassie likely wasn't hiding. ]

A huge passenger capacity, but none of them native. How is that even possible? Crew, passengers, staff. Where would they have gone?

[ It's the question on everyone's mind, she knows. For now, she'd rather focus on that than worry about what could have happened to Cassie. As long as they're still people unidentified and parts of the ship unsearched, she'll hold out hope for her. ]

That's what we need to find out. [ After they find their missing crewmember. ] Cassie's smart. She wouldn't have wandered off if she didn't have any means of communication.

[ He pauses, and because nobody else has mentioned it yet: ]

We have to consider the possibility she's not here at all.

[ The line of Capa's jaw jumps as he clenches his teeth, but it's quick and impulsive and gone before anyone has time to dwell on it. Not that he expect Mace to, but for Corazon it's briefer than brief. Capa's considered the possibility; if he hadn't, he wouldn't be a good scientist, but considering something and mentioning it aren't the same thing. ]

Statistically, the likelihood is she is. For something to take us and leave her— [ There was no logic, no patterns of cause and effect that he could discern. ] —yes, the margins for error here are huge, but any anomaly would have likely occurred ship-wide.

[ Capa frowns suddenly, remembering. ]

—unless the fifth's not here either, [ he says, half to himself. Icarus had said. Five crew members. ]

[ She stiffens a bit at Mace broaching the subject they don't want to think about at the moment. It's true, they need to consider it, but she catches the glimpse of Capa's discomfort - that's all you really ever get, a glimpse. There's no use in dwelling on it currently. ]

Either way, we can't know for certain until everything's calmed down and we've done a proper search for her. So let's not figure too much either way until we have more legwork done. [ Mace, do not be a Debbie Downer. She's about to start flipping through the comm device, looking for a map, for anything - to suggest somewhere to explore - but then she hears the tail end of Capa's spoken aloud thought, the blood in her veins freezing as the words are processed for what they are. ]

Fifth... [ Her eyes are wide, hesitance and apprehension held in them. There was four - Trey died. There was no fifth. ] What fifth?

Trey's gone, Capa. [ Mace's voice is sharp. He's not afraid to say it, and even though he knows Trey isn't who Capa meant, he has to push for more information—has to build off of Cory's apprehension, press for answers. He doesn't like the frown on Capa's face, and he doesn't like where this is going—Capa would never label a fellow crewmember as "the fifth". ]

[ Trey's gone and that's unfortunate and, if he traces back the patterns of cause and effect, the thread terminates (or rather germinates) with Capa. One decision, two payloads (hypothetical). Four crew members, one payload (actual). He doesn't dwell on it. If they're successful, if they make it home, if they have a few breaths left before getting washed away on a solar wind, then Capa will dwell on it. But not a moment before. ]

It's the last thing I can recall before waking up in stasis. [ Capa leans back, away from the others, the slope of his spine finding the back of the lift. He looks down at his feet, but it's not disheartened, he's remembering. With a hand he rubs his face and his stubble scrapes. ]

She said we weren't going to live long enough to deliver the payload. Icarus. 16 hours, complete oxygen depletion. 19 hours, delivery rendezvous. [ He looks up again, first at Corazon and then at Mace. He holds his gaze levelly. ] Five crew members. When I asked her to identify—

She couldn't.

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001 ☼ video

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