ataraxion | captain's log | 015

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captain's log | 015 | voice

[Jim addresses the network with prim efficiency this jump. his voice, curiously, is devoid of most of the warmth and infectious rabel-rousing it normally has. instead, it's clipped and professional; the voice of a captain stating facts and orders. anyone who has been around a while will know that something is off, and as he goes on, it becomes clear why.]

Tranquility this is Jim Kirk. To anyone joining us, welcome, and to anyone returning, welcome back.

I know you all have questions. Myself and those who have been on board for a while will be happy to answer any that you have, but before doing so I'll clear some of the more obvious ones up.

You're on the space ship Tranquility, a colonization vessel in a parallel universe to your own. The year is 938 A.E., and presently, we have no way of returning anyone to their home continuum. We ask, instead, that you lend a hand in the running of the ship. This isn't mandatory, but we are all that's left of a crew. Even if you have no previous experience on a starship, we'll be able to find a place for you.

Attached to this broadcast is what we have of a map of the ship. It's a rough outline, as we've found corridors spontaneously change, commonly with each jump. I ask everyone to be cautious when moving about the ship, and to avoid engaging the entity commonly known as "Smiley" on board.

[here, the pauses briefly, the crux of his attitude coming to light.]

Presently, I'd like anyone with information on missing persons to come forward. Dean Winchester and Doctor Leonard McCoy have both disappeared from our number, and I have the feeling they aren't the only ones.

Kirk out.

(PRIVATE to OCTOBER BANTUM | ENCRYPT 80%)
I meant to contact you sooner, but I've got what you asked for from Strela.

SMILEY.jpg
MAP.jpg
JOBS AND RANKING.txt
ALPHA/BETA SHIFT.txt

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[his gaze cuts to the side without his head turning, his eyes lowered and not quite meeting her face before his focus returns to pouring coffee with perhaps a little too much interest.

then he cracks, just a little, and leans back as he pushes one cup toward her.]

You know, it's really stupid. We're close but- [he shakes his head; unsure how to explain without really explaining, and he doesn't really want to do that.]

[ It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she has to tread carefully here and if he doesn't want to talk about it, she's not going to pry, but part of her's wondering if he's just been waiting for someone to talk to about all of... whatever it is that's got him off his game. Someone who won't judge or go blabbing it around, which is definitely October.

There's been a lot of stuff happening on board - a lot of shitty stuff happening - so she figures she can guess at parts of it. Everybody's got to be wearing thin by now. But the losses of people and how he's taking it? That she can't figure out. ]

But...? [ She takes the mug and balances it on her knee, fingers wrapping loosely around it. ]

God, I'm acting like he's dead or something.

[he laughs, and it's a little off colour. not quite unhinged but definitely with a hint of what the fuck is wrong with me?]

Maybe this place is getting to me. [he says, trying to shrug it off, unsure if he really wants to get into this. if he wants to start talking about it and let someone know that he's certain he knows what this is. that it was Delta Vega, and that something has been deteriorating inside of him since he'd arrived. maybe since he left that planet.]

I think it's getting to all of us. [ October avoids the network and tries really hard to act like none of what's happened has affected her, but she can only turn a blind eye for so long. All of the death lately is unsettling for her, makes her think about her own death too much, so she tries as hard as she can to avoid it.

She blows on her coffee for a moment before she takes a sip, wincing slightly because it's really not the best quality. Yet another thing to miss from home.

Then she stretches her leg out and nudges his arm lightly with her foot. ] You need to figure out some way to let it out before it wears you down. After all, it'd be a real loss to lose a face as pretty as yours. [ It's an attempt to lighten the mood (as best she can) and to see if she can get his mind off whatever it is that's weighing him down right now.

Sure, they're first conversation and his really cheesy line may not be the best distraction, but she's not sure what else she can offer. ]

[he grins, despite himself. Jim doesn't have the most stellar memory when it comes to hitting on the girls around him, but his playing field had drastically shrunk when he'd come aboard the Tranquility. he remembers saying that to her, though it takes him a moment to realize that's what she's alluding to.]

It is a pretty face. [he agrees in a humble tone, winking at her over his mug before taking a sip of the coffee. he's fairly certain his taste buds have become mostly immune to the fact that it tasted worse than what they had on the Enterprise.

then again, Kirk had quickly learned this place wasn't half as refined as where he was from.]

One of the prettiest I've seen. [ Her foot moves back up onto the edge of the counter, coffee mug balancing on her knee with one hand still wrapped around it. The other moves to her thigh, thumbnail digging at the edge of the now faded bloodstain on her jeans. ]

How's Spock doing? [ She never really bothered asking him before - it's none of her business - but she figures she may as well ask. Jim seemed more than a little freaked out when Spock did... whatever it was that he did. ]

Flattery.

[he drawls, but sobers in he moment between her words, when she asks about Spock. he exhales.]

He's fine, thank god. [and then he shakes his head, voice heavy. old.] There's so much more going on here then we know, October.

[ Her grin, even as she shrugs slightly, is brief. The rest of the conversation is a little too important to be having with the grin still on her face.

Pulling her feet up Indian style, October rests her elbows on her knees, coffee cup still cradled between her hands. She watches him for a moment and then drops her gaze to the mug. ] I can't really say I'm surprised. I mean... [ She lets out a huff that's meant to be a laugh - though it falls short - while she moves one hand to rub the bridge of her nose. ] This place is pretty fucked up.

It's more than fucked up. [but he winces after he says it, because it comes out way more ominous than he'd intended it to.] It's unquantifiable. It goes beyond the reach of the science all of us know. [his expression twists and Jim leans against the counter, turning slightly, coffee momentarily forgotten despite the fact it's still in his hand.] I mean, they have this kind of tech but all of their weapons are still projectile, they don't have food replicators? It just doesn't add up.

[the statement might seem like a jump in topic, but Kirk finds it relevant. what the found in the ship, the circumstances, the technology. he's starting think this whole universe is backwards, not just the ship.]

Okay, you're gonna have to expand a little on that for those of us in the class who don't come from a world where casual space travel is common. [ She shifts, turning herself more towards him, and leans forward slightly.

At this point, her coffee's more for warming her hands than anything, considering how awful it tastes, so forgetting it exists isn't too big of a deal. Unless she ends up gesturing with her hands... ] Do you think that they're trying to mess with out heads, or...? [ What's the other option here? Because all October's really sure of is that they're in space and no one knows what year it is or, for that matter, if this is some alternate reality or universe or whatever. ]

Okay. [Kirk sets his coffee mug down and turns toward her to explain, and he holds one hand out to signify what he's talking about.] We've been dragged here through worm hole technology, or at least, that's our theory. This ship was designed to travel through space/time using that technology, and it's not the first of it's kind.

[he's got both hands going now, bringing them together, painting the picture he's trying to detail.] But you've gotta understand, in my universe, that's all just theory. The wormhole technology we came across was from over a hundred years in our future, and I mean, you know what level of tech my universe is. [because he recalls her knowing who he was like a handful of others did.] Laser technology should have been perfected long before we were messing with controlling singularities. Hell, warp should have been invented by now, but in this universe, the human race has left Earth and populated entire other solar systems.

It doesn't make sense. [his hands drop, gaze cutting to the side in thought.] I'm starting to think they didn't know what they were doing to begin with.

[ Olivia recognizes him and his universe well enough, but she doesn't know just how advanced his technology is, not in detail. It's just hard to have a brother like Phin and friends like Swink and not hear about Jim Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise. (Not that it would matter, anyways, since it's such a huge thing in her world.)

But that's not the issue here, so she just figures they can save that for another time. ]

Maybe they were running from something. Maybe... [ She frowns a little in thought and glances down towards her coffee cup. She's not even sure if it would make any kind of sense, but it's all she's got. Either that or there never was an original crew and all of this - including the issues with the technology - is just to fuck with everyone on board now. ] We don't know why they left Earth, right? [ She lifts her gaze again. ] Maybe the only way to get away from whatever they were up against was through space/time, so they figured that out and skipped the rest.

It's possible. [he agrees; it's entirely possible that unlike what happened in his own world, mankind continued a downward spiral that didn't stop after the extinction of the humpback whale. that they didn't recognize they needed to stop before it was too late.] But it doesn't say how they made it to the new system of planets they populate now. We're nine hundred years after Earth, and if what we found in the library is anything to go by they created the jump drive after they ended up on these new planets.

[he exhales, pinches the bridge of his nose because he's been over this with his crew and it still makes no sense.]

I'm sorry. [he says after a moment, and smiles tiredly at her.] This probably isn't making any sense.

[ It doesn't make any sense, especially since it doesn't seem to make sense to him, but it's unsettling. Why would they need the jump drive after making it somewhere safe? Was it created specifically for kidnapping people and holding them hostage?

She suddenly feels a little nauseous at the idea, but she gives him a smile in return. ] Don't worry about it. Sometimes you just need to talk shit out with someone, even if they don't get it. [ Lifting her mug up, October takes a slow sip of her coffee, hoping the uncertainty on her face is hidden well enough that he won't notice it. ]

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