[ there's a rustling before the feed begins- but the sound is impossible to place as any one thing. in the background, the tell-tale beep and hum of medical can be heard, chased by heavy footfalls and the clacking of records. melissa's head lifts into the feed, hair a messy knot on top of her head trying desperately to escape.

there may or may not be a plate of waffles and inhuman amount of empty mugs sitting on the table just visible over her elbow. ]

Hey listen, I know you've probably heard it all before, and I know the network is just packed with don't-go-out messages from people you don't even know, but please.

[ her hands come together before the feed, fingers laced and pleading. ]

Please, from all of us working eighteen hour shifts- don't go out. Give us a week? Keep your arms and legs on your bodies? Because frankly, my last decent meal was a microwaved burrito and that was three days ago.

A week, please, that's all I ask.






And maybe if someone could run by with a few extra coffee filters.
We're getting a little desperate.

[this is Stilinski's first time using the video function, because hey this guy doesn't even use Skype back home, why would he do it on the Tranquility. still, he has a question and he's not really sure who to ask so why not ask everyone, right? this is supposed to be a forum.]

I hope with the most recent injuries people are going to be exercising a little more caution up here. We can't keep you people safe if you keep running off into the ship.

[he's been around medical, he knows how hard the staff are working, and he isn't going ot elaborate because while he's on security, it isn't his job to police people. not until he gets that order.]

Got a question for ya though. Is it normal to get things in your locker that aren't yours?

[his expression crinkles, because he knows how that sounds.]

I don't mean something significant that isn't yours, like a picture or- or a ring that belonged to someone you knew. But I mean, something you've never seen before in your life.

[and because that isn't all that clear and because he honestly doesn't know that this is a potentially dangerous substance, he holds the bottle up.]

I thought this was gun powder or a spice or something, but, it isn't. And I have no idea what it is.

[he looks at it again, shrugs, sets it down, and ends the transmission.]

[ somber is not a look that suits her. but with all that's been going on, it's hard to be anything but. she's in the oxygen gardens — alone for the time being even if she knows that might not be the best of choices. at least it's peaceful here.

she's rifling through a bag at the moment, seemingly distracted despite having turned on the feed with a purpose. it only lasts about as long as it takes her to pull out an unopened pack of cigarettes. ]

I don't smoke. But I got these in my locker so, I figure I should do something with them, right?

— that doesn't mean giving it a try space adults, don't worry. [ too many hugs not drugs campaigns yo. and also if there's any vices to be picked up, she'll take time going through all the choices lbr. ]

I'm willing to trade if anyone's got something. [ shrugs. her other option is to just leave them as an anonymous gift to the first person she finds, but this is better. ] I don't really know what to ask for in return yet, but hey, if you make me an offer I'll think about it.

[ she moves to turn off the feed, but at the last minute — ]

Does anyone want to hang out? If you ignore the dinosaur, it's almost like back home.

[It's a rare video post from Edgeworth. He looks tired, but he seems less depressed than he did a few hours ago; he's focusing on his anger to carry him through.]

Security has a certain amount of the ship secured. These areas are the ones we patrol, the ones you're all accustomed to: the passenger quarters, the oxygen gardens, the medical bay, et cetera. The areas in which you reside. If you stay within those boundaries, we try to keep you safe to the fullest of our abilities; though our manpower is limited, we will do what we can.

If you stray, then we can do nothing. As I said, our manpower is limited, and beyond where we have secured, it is essentially enemy territory. So all of you, no matter how impressed you are with your survival skills and abilities, needs to treat it like enemy territory. It isn't a place to have a walk. It isn't a place to go out and search for monsters so that you can get your fun cracking a few heads. It isn't a research lab. It is a place fraught with danger, and if you go out there, you run the risk of death.

So if you go out, then you will treat it like it is enemy territory. You will not go out alone. You will not go out unarmed. You will not go out without notifying security. If you fail to do any of these things, then you should damn well compose your suicide note to your friends on-board, because you're very likely going to die. And while security isn't ever going to leave anyone to die, you can't treat this ship like an amusement park and expect to live to see the next jump.

[And he glares at the camera a moment longer - and then he glances off to the side, his lips relaxing very slightly.]

Condolences. To those who knew them.

[Hey guys, Paceface here to chat! How's the weather aboard? Bloody and depressing? Right... sounds on par.]

I've only been here for a little over a month, and things have progressed this much? 

[He won't say 'finally, about time', because that's just rude as hell. People are dead, and he's not so heartless to ignore that.]

Once a creature is killed, don't assume others won't take its place; monsters like them? They're greedy and stubborn. And they're like rats. How long have they been grouping in those halls after you'd cleared out that single department? How long have they known about that incident? If they're capable of reproducing, we're in even more trouble. There could be a ring of them around us and we'd never even know it, possibly just waiting for our pods to malfunction again... or for our doors and lights to stop working.

[Scaring people? Yes, I like to scare people. But it's for good intentions, at least. He'd like to at least put those thoughts out there.]

I think it'd be in everyone's best interests to not wander into the dark abyss of hallways alone from this point. [don't listen to him, he's a hypocrite] Though... if anyone's planning to regroup and send out a hunting team, I would be more than happy to join one. I've nothing to lose, and death doesn't particularly scare me like it used to. I don't think I'm the only one out there that would agree to that, especially with the things so many have seen and suffered through.

... Death just isn't as scary as it used to be.

[... Speaking of 'death'. He pauses, thoughtful.]

I hope the kid finds peace in hers. She was a brave girl... and considering what I've seen of her on the network, I imagine she's no ordinary child; does anyone see anything familiar about the map she'd drawn on the walls? Her own little mural, so to speak. What did she see in that little head of hers that prompted an art session? Where does this floor plan lead? If it's truly one at all.

... Let us know on the network if anyone finds out more.

[ ah, the Network. weirdly, Wichita missed it. probably because she hates when things are too quiet, and the sound of static really just reminds her of the movie The Poltergeist ( which, she doesn't care who you are, that movie was freaking horrifying ) so. yeah. she missed this bit of normalcy that she'd gotten used to since she arrived here on the ship. and oh yeah, its been a year. a year. that's way longer than- well, it's too long. but anyway, she's in a good mood, oh yes, for the first time in say.. oh.. a month, ish, she's in a genuinely good mood. why? oh, no reason. also, just ignore that curly-haired guy sitting on the bed behind her. dumdedum. ]

I'm not sure how I feel about these messages of mine becoming a regular thing, but considering the last month? Whatever. Basically - the bar's up in full swing, as always, except Brian's back in action so prepare yourselves for the same verbal assault you've all come to know and love when enjoying a drink there. [ why does she sound so fond of that concept ] Since we've got some new faces, I figure I might ask - anybody got an iPod they wouldn't mind loaning to the bar sometimes? Not for nothing, but I feel bad borrowing Jenna's every day, and I can't handle listening to the same ten 90s dance jams CDs that we got in there. So. iPod! Lend them out for the common good, please. But only if you've got good taste in music.

[ and with that, she clicks her tongue, gives a mock salute, and ends the open feed]

--

[ TEAM JAILBAIT ENCRYPTION: 90% ]
Alright, after this last jump pod fiasco, I'm done with waiting around. If you can read this, it means you're into the idea of meeting up to talk about the stuff that goes on here, and teaming up if the situation calls for it. It means you're done waiting around for the "guys in charge" to let us know what's up when they think we can handle it. I know Hayley's been seeking people out - good. I've given the encryption to a few people myself, just 'cause I know you all weren't around when we got hit with the smurf plague. That's what kinda started all this. And it doesn't matter if you weren't here for it, we still want to, uh. Team up and stay safe.

This ship is full of people that will stab you in the back if it means getting out ahead, and that means we need to know we can trust each other to watch out for each other. [ was that redundant? it was redundant. whatever. she's not a public speaker, get off her ass. also yeah, she realizes that anybody that ran into her while she was wearing her mask will realize she pretty much just described her old self to a T, but she won't bring up the irony of it. ] I think the best way to figure out where we all stand and what we're willing to do, is to meet up. Talk it out. Let's put it all out there so we know who we've got, what we can do, and how we can use it to our advantage.

If that... sounds like something you're into, I'm calling a meeting, officially. Three hours from now, in the Rec Room on the 20th floor. For the new people, there's lits that'll bring you straight up, no problem. And you've probably heard by now that wandering the halls alone is unsafe, so grab someone to head up there with you, but for the most part, the passenger halls are fine. ..Just watch out if you see a turkey wandering around, she's an asshole. ... Right.

Oh, and keep this to yourselves, yeah? If we're gonna be pooling information, I want it to stay between us. Kinda defeats the purpose if we've got people breathing down our necks, yeah?

See you soon.


[ ooc: want your "kid" in on this? see this ooc post, please! ]

[ Yes that's Nickelback don't judge me.

Up in the Oxygen Garden once again, Jaye's leaning on a tree near the pen for the larger animals. They're just out of sight, but the sound of the cow chewing cud can be heard if you really listen. ]

Well now that this piece of crap is back up [ she gives the comm a shake, making the image go blurry for a moment until she stops ] it's time for me to share what Mordecai, Lilith, and I found last month. [ Pause. ] We went wandering around the ship.

There are a bunch of super deep holes and a creepy painting with hands that follows you around. We took pictures, if you all want to go nuts.

And I guess this is the part where you can yell at me for going looking, too, but all of you people who were comatose -- if you don't remember the network being down and aren't new you were in a coma, by the way, or maybe just really stupid -- should know that I was trying to help you all. And I didn't go alone, like some people.

Anyway, pictures.

[ And now linked are several pictures of this and this. Enjoy! ]

"The cure for boredom is curiosity.
There is no cure for curiosity."

[ neal's not quite back to his fighting weight, but he looks a whole lot better (and a whole lot less crazy, natch) than his last network outing.

he's also fussing with the cuffs on his devore, because you never go to battle without your best armor, right?

metaphorical, of course. ]

Wise words from a wise lady. [ and now with a slowy flip, he sets a fedora on his head and gives the camera a smile that's lovely lovely lovely and just a bit barbed. ] Résumé seemed apt, too, but a little dark given the occasion.

So, how was the month off, Tranquility? --and welcome to the new additions, of course. Watch out for Kardashians.

[ neal stop telling the ren faire kardashians are a horrible demon from your world, son, it's not as funny as you think.

also: one more hat flip because he can and we're out, tq. welcome back to the airwaves. ]

[ leave the woods to the wolves and the dark to the beasts.

Allison must have deleted that message, along with the rest of them, because when she crawls close enough back to civilization (hah, this ship and that word) and her comm crackles to life in her back pocket from one too many times jamming the power button down, the sound of twigs and nature speaks the truth for her.

how - how - do people keep getting lost in the ship, and how did she let herself become one of them? ]

Now I know why we never went camping when I was younger. [ she sighs and grumbles, wondering if there are any leaves in her hair, or if her skin is ever going to stop feeling like she's walking through the silk of spiders, never seeing the web until she's in the thick of it. and as though she's experienced in lectures that revolve around a) doing what's ill-advised and b) stumbling back apologetically, she steps in first because there's no turning back a butt dial. ] Since that's out of my system, I might as well say that I'm done jogging a path in the gardens without a partner. And no, I don't need assistance.

[ dirt on her cheeks and her shirt and filthy hair aside, she's fine, except that she went for a run to clear her head and find her ground and fell away from it instead. proof in point, she's dusting herself off and holding her shoulders square. ] But I do have one request.

Lydia Martin and Stiles Stilinski. Are they still passengers aboard this ship? [ and how long was i missing? ]

[ Well, hey TQ, hope you don't mind this fresh face on the network. She normally sticks to texting because if it looks like a phone and acts like a (kind of sci-fi upgraded) phone, why not use it like one? But she's been going through the other features — slow day on the ship, you know how it is — and after rifling through everything she can easily find on the communicator, she decides to post up a video.

So here's a young, teenaged girl setting the comm in front of her before she sits down cross-legged and twirls a lock of her hair. Alas, it's got less of a bounce than it normally does, but that's what lack of hot rollers on a ship will do. ]

If I write my best essay and promise to stay on my best behavior after, am I allowed to leave Space Detention? I mean, I haven't even gotten to mess around in a library, so this kind of blows.

[ she smiles because she's kind of hoping someone will catch the reference. If not, then well: ] Or are we all waiting for some big, space musical number?

Are there even any boomboxes to hold up outside that red smiley thing's window? If it has one. [ seriously, what is up with that thing. ] Also, I guess it'd have to be this phone thing, since I don't have an iPod anymore.

[ She lets out a very put upon sigh before admitting something you never would have guessed!! clearly!! But it's followed by a smile that's all teeth and too much eyelash batting. ]

Okay, so I'm bored. And I can't really miss anyone who left, since I just got here. [ not even touching whatever's up with the masks. ] You'd think the aliens would be able to hook us up with better movie selections or something.

I don't suppose there's someone on here with something entertaining to do?

[ faith is smoking slowly when she turns on the feed, clearly lingering over the last of her stash in a way she really should have implemented sooner.

she has a veritable arsenal out and unloaded, covering a lot of the bits of her room that can be seen-- weapons cleaning is a totally sane hobby, why is everyone nervous when they try and sit down in here-- and she has a gun clearly unloaded and half taken apart in her hands, gleaming already but apparently not good enough.

her mask is chilling out in the back of her closet, but that's nobody's business but her own. ]

So, here's my thing. And I'm not talking for SEC here, so don't give me shit duty again, all right boss? Just thinking out loud is all.

[ she loves you, tyke. ]

So, what. We got-- hell and darkness out there? Yeah, and? I've done hell and darkness, it's pretty freaking routine for me.

Why are we letting jackasses like Caffrey and Stark head out alone and come back all fucked up and useless?

[ wait for it. ]

No offense, or anything.

Look-- back home, this is where we start talking about mounting up and heading out to take a little tour ourselves, is all I'm saying.

[ pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease oh please won't someone give her permission to troll the creepy space doom, oh oh oh pick her! ]

[ Look, it's an Isaac, slouching in his old room - the one that matches the numbers on his arm, not the one he sleeps in. It looks mostly unused because he's only been in there for all of six hours before he moved down to Derek's space. "Mostly" is a keyword, though; he's been staying here infrequently, in between avoiding Derek and other familiar (adult) faces. Maybe Erica knows where he's been. Or Remus, or Hayley, or Tyler, or Seraphim. He's pretty sure no one over eighteen knows, Isaac's gone lengths on the matter.

He's not wearing his mask, even if he's been wearing it a lot lately; Isaac knows a thing or two about keeping quiet, especially about things that can and do hurt you. The confused sad look he's wearing right now, though - it's a bit too clean. It's sincere, mostly.

"Mostly" is our word of the day.

Then he holds up a combat knife for the network to see.]

I don't know anyone she was friends with, but for what it's worth, Miss Rosella's not around anymore. She left me this, for some reason.

It's a pretty big knife.

Anyway, people have been disappearing, and there's this big thing going down about Smiley and stuff, so I guess this is a bad time to ask about gym equipment, and like. Who do we talk to about appropriating one of the bigger rooms or a holodeck to set up a gym? I mean, we probably already have one or two but this one's more of like, a club thing?

More of a thing that's just ours, not something pre-made and ready to use. Is that allowed?

- - - - -

( FILTERED-- DEREK : AUGGIE : JENNA : JOSH || viewable to erica )

- - - - -

[ ooc: if anyone wants to say they saw isaac sneaking around and stuff, feel free to say something about it! isaac's been: a) helping erica look for boyd, b) helping tyler look for his uncle, c) hiding from hunters, d) hiding from derek, e) hiding from adults in general, so if you're 21+ and you noticed a teenager quietly avoiding you in the hallways, it's probably isaac. team jailbait can just throw him a rock or something, though, because he's been emoting over some of the recent drops. ]

[ since waking up in the pod, dean's had quite the eventful time. between people telling him he's been here twice before, some nut job hiding behind a red smiley face, and cas being anything but the angel he remembers from home-- well, needless to say dean's feeling a little like someone who had the rug pulled from under his feet.

that, and the now clear memories of what went down back home on top of it all make for shit storm he's not quite ready to deal with yet. if ever.

but speaking of home, there's something that's been bothering more as he's watched the network ever since the jump had landed him in this mess. so today finds him poking this very problem. ]

So, about people going home.

I don't get it. What's the big deal? Ain't it a good thing when someone gets a couple post stamps slapped on their forehead and then shipped off back to whatever factory they popped out of? I'm not saying whatever's waiting back home is all sunshine and puppies for everyone 'round here -- [ it's no paradise he's ready to kick some ass for either. ] -- but settlin' like this place is some kinda home doesn't seem right. Especially if the things I've heard 'bout our ride're true.

[ he gets that things haven't been exactly a breeze on the ship, really. ]

Just sayin'. Sounds like an awful lot of people gettin' too cozy 'round here.

[ and with those deep and meaningful thoughts, dean cuts the feed. ]

Hello, my fellow abductees on the S.S. I-Never-Asked-For-This-Let-Me-Go-Home, your resident blind guy here with an offer, I suppose. I know this is going to seem a bit out of place, considering the state of things, but I figured some people could, perhaps, enjoy a little zen to their day! Correct me if I'm wrong though.

[ auggie you're rambling here ]

Right, last Jump I received some... ah, music in my locker -- on a USB -- and I've been fiddling around a bit with it to see how I could use it. I ended up converting it to put on my communicator, meaning hey look at that, suddenly iPod. I know, I know, maybe not the best use of my time here but whatever, right?

Aaaanyway, the point of this is -- I'm going to share it now with you all. I've listed the music I have available but if anyone has something they're willing to share, we can kind of make a music swap? The iTunes store, without the .99 cents surcharge and the comfort of your own personal computer screen. Though, sadly, you'll have to get your own headphones.

[ there's a quiet breath here, barely audible but the only hint of tension in his casual tone. he doesn't really know if he's jumping the gun here or not but he does think it would help, if anyone wants this. ]

The app's source is from my computer at Communications. If any of you have iPods or anything like that and want to offer to share your stuff, just hit me up and I'll convert it to the app for easy accessibility. I'm kind of rambling here and maybe being that bit presumptuous but I thought I'd offer anyway. Feel free to ignore it.

[ a pause ]

Thanks for listening.

[ and now, if anyone does go pursue what auggie's attached to his post, they will find this: ]

( SPACE NAPSTER )

(( OOC: Anyway, yeah! Auggie made Space Napster. He needed a reason to distract himself so has probably been working on this in Comms since the Jump. Basically what he said runs true, think "music app" for your iPhone or whatever -- that's basically what this is, h-haha. :'D Anyway, here is the journal post where you can either ICly or OOCly add music to it, I'll update them as needed. Thanks a bunch! ))

[He doesn't know what to say for a while. How do you apologize for threatening everyone on board; for alienating your friends at best and trying carelessly to start a work at worst? How do you even show your face after something like that?

So he keeps it short and simple:]

I'm sorry.



I'd advise anyone reading this to remove their mask. I haven't been able to [bring myself to, he nearly writes, but edits that out later] remove it entirely, but I've locked it away. I shan't be wearing it again.

Hi! It’s, um, Alistair again. [ never mind that his last post was months ago ] Sorry to bother your important networking business but me and my friend Kane just want to ask about this… Jenna person as she is known to procure chips of the cheesy variety, apparently, or anybody else that could help our “chee-toes” problem, really.

Uh… I’d be willing to trade for it. I have some… [ He scatters his items on his table, but all the network could hear is some rattling. ] …gold coins. And some health poultices.

[ This video starts out much like any other - new person being mildly awkward, staring a little to the left. Sheepish might be a good descriptor for Peter at the moment. ]

Right, so. [ Which isn't what he planned to open with, hang on, let's rewind. ] My name's Peter Petrelli. I'm from New York, year 2006. I've read back on the network enough to get a decent idea about what's going on, but not nearly enough to make sense. I did read that we have a medbay, and that I was here before. So uh, sorry about this, but I don't remember being here the first time around.

I guess what I'm trying to say is — who do I actually talk to about getting on the medical team?

Oh, and I can't figure out the space microwave. A little help with that, maybe?