[The video clicks on and Roxanne is smiling that careful, tediously perfected reporters smile of hers. She’s paused in a corridor, leaning against a wall.
 
She is not lost, okay. Not at all.]
 
Over the course of my sixteen days and counting stint on this lovely ship called the Tranquility, I’ve gotten lost at least ten times. I’m sure it’s realistically more, but I stopped counting after day five. [Not lost. Definitely not lost.]
 
I know there’s been some commwide chatter about passenger manifests and maps. I’ve started work on my own mapping progress, but it’s incredibly slow going. While my artistic skills are fairly good, my knowledge of architecture – especially…something of this caliber – is severely limited.
 
[Ruefully tugs on the collar of her jumpsuit.]
 
This is what I propose – all of those interested in combining knowledge via information they've collected – let’s collaborate. Meet up, exchange notes, see what each other has to offer. [She smiles again, the barest hint of a smirk crossing her features.]
 
I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.

[This is a crawlspace. It's tight, kinda dirty. The cleaners haven't been working, or whatever. Either way? Musty, dusty, dirty. Also dark. Barely lit by the communicator's light. Megmaind is smudged and filthy after crawling into small tight places where that big head of his is something of a hindrance.]

So I heard something rattling around in one of the crawlspaces in engineering. Not sure how it happened -- it was a pretty weird noise. When I poked around to investigate I found him.

[Cue focus on a orange tabby, who is equally filthy, and curled up at the end of a vent making mrrrr mrrrr warning noises as he presses himself flat and tries to not be a target of the 'big bad alien'.]

I haven't seen Ellen Ripley since the last jump -- but I found her cat. Don't suppose there's a vet on board? I don't know how long he's been up here or what he's been eating -- but I do know he's a walking dust mop and I'm sure not bathing him, leather gloves or no leather gloves.

[He shifts the comm to another hand-- and sighs, reaching out to gather up Jones (who yowls in protest but does not bite or claw) and tucks him into his jumpsuit, zipping it up. All the while, Megamind is not in focus, muttering something like claw my chest up and you are going to be fed to that guy who eats garbage before he shifts position again, and then turns off the comm so he can get out of the crawlspaces.]

[ The video starts, with the above slammed into the screen. And then, the paper relents and moves back to show that familiar loser kid. ]

Hi, I am looking for a really good person to be a best friend for my good friend, orange Dave! He's an asshole but he's pretty nice, and he has lots of friends like me and Rose and Jade, but one of his bestest friends died a long time ago, and it is really hard to be good enough. So I am taking applications for a new best friend for him. Rose and Jade don't have to apply, but you can if you want! And the rest of you can go meet him yourself later, but he's really nice.

[ And it switches to text. ]

<b>1. Are you awesome?</b> <b>2. Are you a nice person?</b> <b>3. What are your thoughts about cake?</b> <b>4. Nick Cage is awesome.</b> <b>5. Why are you good enough to be friends with him?</b> <b>6. Are you going to play awesome pranks on him?</b> <b>7. And pretend to piss in his apple juice?</b> <b>8. I don't really know why I'm doing this.</b> <b>9. But he's a really good friend, so I hope you take care of him.</b>

[Ianto pops up on screen with a professional smile. He's never bothered to introduce himself on the network before, but he's never had anything important to say to everyone until now.]

Now that everyone's had the chance to settle in, I was hoping you would all be kind enough to answer some questions.

Waking up here doesn't tend to be a pleasant experience, and I doubt it ever will be. But I believe it could be made just a bit less confusing and uncomfortable, if explanations and answers to questions are closer at hand. So the questions are simple ones:

What would you have liked to know immediately upon waking? What reassurances would you have liked to hear? Was the information you were given by others too sparse for comfort, too much to process in your immediate condition, or just too unbelievable? And if your first reaction was disbelief, what sort of evidence would you have liked to see?

My ultimate goal is to keep new arrivals as calm and well-informed as possible when they wake. The situation will never be pleasant or easy to swallow, but we can at least stave off some of the worst reactions and keep anyone from panicking.

Well, that night was far more exciting than any other I've spent on this ship. Any chances of making it a weekly occurrence? I think we could all stand to be kept on our toes, given the ship's unpredictability.

( ENCRYPTION TO TONY STARK » 100% )

( ENCRYPTION TO PEPPER POTTS » 100% )