Hey. [ HELLO, TRANQUILITY. someone appears to have found a razor since their last post. someone also appears to have not slept in the past... well, sleeping's overrated. connor's eyes are droopy and dark, and if the communicator could communicate smell, it'd probably be producing a intense odor of coffee. which is pretty much all he's been drinking lately.

off the side of the feed, there appears to be some kind of shifting, golden light—it's throwing cheerful, twinkly shapes against the walls of his room, lending a pleasant atmosphere to the feed, despite connor's obvious discomfort. the source of this light remains offscreen, but the mask is there nonetheless, sat innocently on connor's bed. despite telling abby he would... he hasn't yet locked it away. he can't seem to make himself do it. (it's got to be there for a reason, right?)

anyway. not the point. ]

Right. Couple of things. I'll try to be quick.( TL;DR AHEAD )

So.

[ well hey, you guys, have a new face on the feed today. he's one of the new arrivals, trying to get used to this new space lifestyle!! which means friends are... probably a good thing. maybe. he's not sure yet, but he knows he needs to meet people. the ~general populace~, so to speak. ]

Space, huh?

[ wait no. he kind of frowns at that. worst opener. but then he considers all the posts that he's seen (memorized) since he's arrived and well, this ain't so bad. ]

I was... woooonnndering, uh. How many of you are from... New York City? Circa... 2011 or 2012. Ish.

[ man this is chalking up to be one of the most awkward experiences of his life. it's just-- this is like skype alright, except when you use skype you usually know who you're talking to-- here? way different. haha posting to a network, that's weird.

he is usually not this bad but you are also all strangers so. yeah. wait, here's a good idea. i mean, he has a lot of free time now so-- ]

Oh yeah and uh, does anyone know where I could get a camera? Thanks.

[ does he end the post now DOES HE END THE POST NOW he totally ends the post now! yes! good job, mike ross. you successfully completed the goal of posting a video post to the network. next time, maybe have an idea of what you want to talk about beforehand. ]

Unlike my predecessor I have the benefit of knowing better than to demand to know if any of this is some kind of terribly unfunny joke. That being said, the sorry state of these so-called uniforms is the worst kind of hilarious. I don't suppose anyone on board has the good luck to have a spare set of clothes (of a decent standard, if you don't mind) and the good grace to share?

100% PRIVATE TO CHAPEL HILL ( + OXFORD FOR ENTERTAINMENT VALUE )
Mr. Sinclair, you do realise we put the LHC where it is for a damn good reason, don't you? Namely because nobody in the Order would split a bollock if Switzerland was blown to hell, least of all the Swiss themselves. So what in God's name ever convinced you and that Temple fellow that it was a good idea to build your own? No matter how redeemingly phallic it must be for you to have control over something that size and shape that doesn't mean you can play with it whenever you feel like it, you know.

And maybe when dear Aberdeen's skills as a hacker matched her arrogance then perhaps getting your sticky little fingers all over those nanites would have been a good idea. Perhaps.


( ooc: rather than clog up the ooc comm with another intro from me I thought I'd pop a quick note here! This is an alternate universe version of the previous Cambridge that was on board before, except this one has 100% more penis but roughly the same amount of terrible attitude. Enjoy, or not. )

[ ah, tranquility, long time no- actually you may have seen one of them around last month. or both. maybe you got lucky on that front. what you do end up seeing, right now, looks suspiciously like one the tranquility's science labs. there's one person in the frame right now, and yes, if you see that blue glow coming from the chest, you can guess that it's tony stark in one of his normal habitats of a lab. you can't see his face but you can hear him saying something to someone off screen. ]

Technically it's not false pretenses if after we're done we do get to play. I'm not going to be the bearer of bad news again without company. Seriously, I don't want to be giving this news in the first place. Not right after "Adventures in the English Moors from Hell" or some other stupidly foggy place.

[ yes tony because that's a good descriptor for silent hill. also. not really helping your case at all. especially when you turned this thing on just so bruce has no other choice to actually help you with this psa. ]

I think those are actually in Scotland.

[ ...bruce that is not helpful or topical, tony carry on. ]

Which is a part of England. You're arguing semantics to get out of my main goal here. Seriously, not doing this PSA alone. They're going to start referring to me as the man who brings the gloom and doom if I do them alone too much. It'll be what the new kids call me and that is not even okay in the slightest. [ see bruce, resistance is futile, your life is now apparently made in star trek quotes and horrible other pop culture thing's. and also tony pulling your arm to get you in the frame with him. which really tony who does that to the hulk. you are so weird. so weird that now you've also shifted the comm up to where everyone can see adventures in bruce and tony being five with faces. ]

Quit grabbing-- are you five? [ that last part is muttered-- well. "muttered". ] Fine, all right. Hi.

[ that last bit addressed to the comm. ] So, I know we've all had it... rough, the last week. [ that was his turn tony you go, have a subtle elbow to the side. ]

Actually thirteen, but thank you for thinking I'm younger than I am. [ tony, that's also not topical and let's try to remember why you came here. ] That was also the worst turn known to man. Anyway! Like Dr. Banner said, we've had a rough last week and some of you were in English Moors and some of you were just on the regular horror filled spaceship. Pretty sure no one won there. That being said, we're about to tell you something that's gonna make it a little worse.

Those of you who are new hopefully know who the one we call Smiley is. If not- Banner, you give them a run down on that. This is going to make no sense if they don't know and I think the ship deserves to hear your dulcet tones. [ …tony that's mean. have an elbow, not subtle at all to your side, bruce. ]

Ow. [ he clutches his side, exaggeratedly affronted. (if you know him, fine. he looks mildly questioning and in need of a haircut like usual, otherwise.) ] Nice cut off point, Tony.

[ and back to the comm. ] Smiley is-- well, the jury's out on what, but he's been a presence in our lives for a while now. If you've heard about lists or puzzles, if it wasn't that guy in the hat-- [ he waves his hands vaguely at the rat's nest on his head. ]

--Or the guy who's obsessed with bacon. Seriously, will someone think of the people who keep kosher? Or you know, the people who actual like eating bacon who don't want to see it ruined.

[ yanking this BACK jesus tony bruce totally isn't quietly laughing at that, no. ] Or him, okay-- if it wasn't one of us, my point is, they probably meant him. We don't... quite know his agenda-- [ correction: we don't know his agenda at all ] But when he communicates, it's better to pay attention.

[ which tony does all the time. even when it's quiet. because he's a paranoid asshole. also you know, just someone who doesn't believe in privacy or things normal people like. right. BACK TO HIM. thank you for no elbow bruce, he was thinking that was his cue, but you didn't give it. ]

Obviously there was no communication while I think, what, half of us were stuck in that fog on the main network of our communication devices. So I was curious, and I checked our subnetwork that he likes to hide on sometimes. Yeah. Got a communication there. First was a riddle, led to some bullshit about not liking planets and and quiet, but liking worlds and peace. FYI, last two words don’t have t’s the first two do. Funny letter play. Anyway, after that, I found this, it’s an imitation, but if you can get someone to hack for you, you’ll find that it’s the same thing I’m sending to all of you right now.

[ do do you all get to have tony turn this to text for a second and get sent this: ]

IT WANTS TO KEEP YOU

It wants to keep you. Not the most welcoming lines, especially considering this entire ship and how it'’s at least vaguely creepy to most of us and how I think most of us want to go home. I'm not saying, be worried- actually, no, I am, because every time something like this pops up we end up either having stupid lists that don't make sense pop up or we turn blue from space sickness and have them lead us to a lab, this lab, actually, that had been teeming with abominations of nature that didn't have any eyes and shouldn't have survived jumps without turning into puddles of monster, but did, and- Bruce, you agree with me, yeah?

[ back him up, bro. also no elbow for you but it's implied. ]

...Oh, I get to talk now? [ very very sassy, mr. banner. but he's not annoyed, and there's a tiny actual grin hovering around the edges of his mouth; bruce banner likes hearing tony stark talk. (and thus were a million s.h.i.e.l.d. employee bets lost.) ] There's a pretty decent rubric, in life, for how worthwhile a hunch is. Once is usually a wild goose chase, two is coincidence, three's worth looking into. Four confirmed sightings-- which is what we have, now-- is a pretty good place to start.

[ bruce holds up one fingers. ] "It wasn't our fault." [ another finger. ] "Succeed and give and it helps you to live." [ a third finger, kind of the boy scout sign bruce go away. ] "It'll only find you faster."

[ he lowers his hand, taking off his glasses to finish the point. ] And now "it wants to keep you." I think we need to worry about what exactly "it" is, now. Which leaves one more very important question--

[ and take us home, tony. ]

Who the fuck is T? There's a list, I know all of you have seen it, if you haven't, I'll send it to you, I guess, but last name our list of people who still don't make any sense is T. I can hear you yelling already Nathan- We knew R and W were Resnik and Ward, we have no clue who T is beyond, what, the Tranquility? [ there's a dismissive snort, sorry guys, but that's not a theory he's subscribing to. ] All the T's were underlined in that message. Smiley seems to not like T if the words are anything to go by. I'm just saying, even beyond what "it" is, who is T and what did T to earn such hate that "it" can't even like words with their initial in them.

Come on Smiley, come out, don't be like Paris and Nicole and just say he knows what he did. We're inquiring minds here, and I personally like a gossip magazine from time to time.

[ tony no. just no. that was, just look at bruce right now. he is side-eyeing so HARD and mouthing 'paris and nicole' because south america on a fugitive's budget didn't lead to lots of us weekly reading okay, god. get back on topic, you two so you can go play. ]

That's actually all we've got, now that I've said this, just watch, something will happen because that's our lives. And no, again, we don't get to say, "Tony you made it angry," because I didn't even talk to it this time and neither did Banner. So, not mine or his fault. Direct questions to the two of us, or whatever, but if we take a bit we're making science related discoveries because I promised Banner a treat for doing this with me.

[ reaching towards the communicator, bruce gets out-- ]

If you compare this to hiding a pill in a piece of cheese for a housepet next, I'm taking my science and going home to Betty.

[ AND THEN CLOSEUP OF BANNER WRIST AND WE’RE OUT. ]

[ ooc | tony, bruce. replies come from both, unless directed to just one in the subject. ]

[ everything in neal's life right now depends on coming off as better-- healing, masking pain maybe, but better. as such: time to get back on the network socialization horse.

he's in his devore, this time, and a fedora to boot; armor, but whatever. hot armor. ]

You know what I've noticed? Space is actually pretty boring in between it trying to kill us all.

In that vein, here's something I haven't done in a while. Pick a or b and try your best.

( ic attachment )

That's a, here's b.

You're on a road-- let's say to the nearest drycleaners. If you don't understand why we need one of those, you're going somewhere else that's very important and exciting, all right? You come to a point in the road where the path is blocked by three guardians; their names are Knight, Knave and Chaos. Knight always tells the truth, and Knave can always be trusted to lie. Chaos just blows whichever way the wind is strongest, that day.

To get past them, you only have to do one thing: by asking three yes or no questions (one to each guardian, double dipping not allowed) figure out which one is Knight, which one is Knave, and which one is Chaos.

There is, as always, one catch: the guardians understand English but will answer you back in their local language, so 'da' means yes and 'ja' means no. Or maybe it's the other way around-- probably should have read the guidebook closer.

So. How do you do it?

And hey, why not one more for the math geeks living among us. Finish the sequence:

4, 6, 12, 18, 30, 42, 60, 72, 102, 108, ?, ?, ?.

( locked to matthew keller )

[ it's been a rough couple months for everyone, and the mystic fall contingent no less so. still, when jenna opens the feed she looks more alert and cheerful-- not to mention: less inebriated-- than she has in a while. the locker full of things both useful and frivolously, uselessly cheerful made a few conversations come back in stark relief, and with new light.

she waves a little, shoving her hair out of her face impatiently after. ]

Hey. Okay, so. If you're new, hi, I'm Jenna. Everyone else-- yes, this is what I look like without a bottle in my hand.

[ she rolls her eyes a little, ducking her chin. ]

Bad joke, but that's part of my point. I've been here since jump one, and it really doesn't take a genius-- [ sup, tony. ] to see that the stress has been getting to me. And while my method of coping ended up being attached to a few too many embarrassing in retrospect public posts, I know I'm not the only one. Whether we've been here almost ten months or a little over a week, this is a stressful situation and I hate to be that person, but it's not getting less stressful.

The point is, nobody wants to be Steve Buscemi in the asteroid movie. Not the Morgan Freeman one, the less intellectual... disaster movie. Anyway. [ she exhales, waves a hand. ] Sorry. The actual point is high pressure situations lead to people breaking down, and we've already started down that way. We need to pull back on that, keep ourselves as healthy and happy as we can be.

[ or we'll end up like gallagher, is what she doesn't say, but for the well-informed the subtext is clear. ]

I have a list. Of suggestions, pretty much. I'm not nominating myself leader for change, I'm really not, but if they help... [ she trails off, then taps a few keys. ] It's not very long, just a few basics.

( ( IC TEXT ATTACHMENT | CUT TO SAVE FLISTS ) )

And I had one more idea, but this one is a little more personal. Godric and now that guy with all the meat got me thinking-- yes, okay, we're all in space and no one can remember signing the kidnapping permission slip. But we're from a million different worlds and times, and-- maybe some kind of organized story swap? Like a culture exchange. [ she's more animated now, moving her hands as she talks. ] Like, okay, for example. I'm someone's bannerwoman, but until Alayne explained the reference to me I didn't get why the word 'banner' came into it at all. And forget knowing what Jersey Shore is, there are plenty of us who have never even seen a tv.

Even just vocabulary is so different in places, seeing us all mix together would be a cultural anthropologist's dream. [ oh right, not just babbling. clearing her throat, jenna shrugs. ] Anyway. I don't have a framework, but before I try that is anyone interested? I thought a place where talking about home is the whole point might be helpful for some people, too.

...I never know how to end these things. Over and out? I guess.

[ This video is rather frantic compared to the rest of Betty's posts. Once again it's in the science department, but this time the camera is facing the ceiling and Betty appears to be crouched behind a cabinet, her voice rushed. ]

There's something in here.

[ Something large and with wings, judging by the movement the camera picks up in the rafters. ]

I think it's-

[ And then suddenly something large slams down onto the floor, wings spread. ]

...Is that a dinosaur?

((ooc: So Betty just found Ianto's pet. ... Yup.))

[ the feed switches on to reveal connor’s face in fuzzy close-up, staticked and blurred. after a moment, it focuses, and he leans back until his shoulders are visible, one arm held out to grasp the camera, which now is recording with a slight worm’s-eye view. his hair is longer, curling around his ears, nearly touching his shoulders, and his stubble's taken on about a month's worth of growth. (he's in his jumpsuit, the sleeves rolled up, so he looks more like a scraggly pilot rather than the mad scientist he actually is, which wouldn’t be such a terrifying thought if he didn’t live up to the stereotype at least 60% of the time.)

hope you guys like handheld shakycam, because this is being filmed more like a horror movie nature documentary than an actual network post.

the background is quite clearly the science department, banks of computers and jumbled heaps of overturned machines stretching on and on for yards behind him. there's an oddly-shaped outcropping of metal jutting out behind his head, but with the angle of the camera, it's difficult to see exactly what it might be—or if it’s anything at all. spoiler: it is. ]

( she blinded me with science! )

[ when the video begins, cali is no less flamboyant than the day he arrived (naturally), though this time he has his long hair pulled into a messy ponytail, expression less potentially hostile than last time. in fact, for those that know him (which is like.. no one but jaye), he actually looks pretty pleased with himself.

he's also standing in the ship's bar, which as he pans the camera around, is looking.. pretty good. ]

All right, so while mosta' y'all were laid up in bed waitin' to feel better, I started cleanin' up an' sortin' out the bar, 'cause it was a goddamn mess. There's only one or two kindsa' booze right now, but whatever, it's good enough for now. You can all say 'thank you, Miss Cali'.

[ he turns it back to himself, lifting his index finger as if asking for a moment. ]

Speakin' of alcohol, anyone be interested in a little homemade wine an' moonshine an' beer an' the like? I have to say, after workin' for Dionysus, mine's prob'ly the best you're gonna' find on this fuckin' ship, but if you people're satisfied with what's already provided, I ain't gonna' make it for no reason.

P I N G _
ian_
user-id_002.004
oxford_
user-id_001.021
overwrite.user-id_005.021
chapel.hill_
user-id_003.180
boston_
user-id_007.108
security level_red

aural communication no longer reliable.
text only.

[ ooc note; after this thread.

any attempts to hack this will be met with extreme aggression, counter-hack and — if she can manage — the security compromise of your device. unlike other encryptions that aberdeen uses, this one is booby-trapped with very large signs to her hacker friends that more or less read: do not touch. ]

( Text; Not an IC Cut; HERE THERE BE MORSE CODE. )



So... I don't do Morse code, but who wants to bet that's the other part of the list?

[He told you he'd pull it off, Tony. OF COURSE, HE DIDN'T GET ANSWERS, but... Yeah.]



( Retroactively added to the post after the code was cracked: ZE LIST. )


[OOC; THE NAMES, TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, ARE NOT PART OF THE CODE. They're just there for reference.]

( locked :: CHAPEL HILL :: encryption 100% )


( locked :: DUNDEE :: encryption 100% )


( locked :: ROBB STARK :: encryption 100% )


( locked :: TECH STUDENTS :: encryption 50% )


[ ooc; attempts to hack, monitor, or otherwise poke at the private encryptions will flag aberdeen's attention. and, depending on who you are, she will poke you back. the 'tech student' filter is specifically for individuals who were paired with aberdeen as a result of spock's call for security tech instruction. if you haven't dropped yourself onto aberdeen's student list, please free to do so now and just assume that aberdeen's included your character on the filter. ]

[ you know what this network needs, denizens of the uss creepy spaceship? 100% more hipsters.

LUCKILY, chapel is here to provide. everyone please mock his cardigan—or listen to what he's got to say. either/or, really. ]

Hey, fellow space kidnappees. If anybody else is interested, I've been organizing all the scientific books I can find—well, I say book; they're more like little holographic USB sticks—and putting them in one place. A lot of 'em are pretty kiddie, but there are some college-level textbooks scattered around, too. Nobody's going to be teaching themselves doctorate-level physics off this library or anything, but there's enough here to kinda get caught up on hundreds of years of scientific development.

There's really only one rule: if you take something, bring it back—and when you bring it back, put it back where you got it. I'm not actually a librarian, and I really don't wanna have to organize all this more than once.

And I think when you close the books, they default to opening on the page they were open to last rather than at the beginning, so be kind and rewind. That's more of a guideline than an actual rule, but you should really do it anyway.

Anyway, that's about it. It's in the 25th floor rec room, right off the green lift. Can't miss it.



[ ooc: also open to action tags/moving into a log if people want. :|b

UPDATE 5/11: tags will probably be a little slow and/or nonexistent until monday. sorry, guys. :c ]

Guessing everyone's feeling a little closer to compos mentis now. Great, that's gonna make this a whole lot easier.

My name is Nathan Petrelli. I'm Senator for New York, elected representative of the people, and recently made Head of Homeland Security by the President himself. It's my job to do what's in the best interests of the people, and in this case I figure that's gonna be easier said than done.

I don't want any of you to worry. Once I get up to speed on the details of what's going on here, I intend to get to the bottom of how we got here, why we were brought here, and how to go about getting back. And I mean how and why, not the bullshit they've been feeding you about jumping and wormholes and the ship needing a crew. There's a malicious intent here I'm gonna address, and then I'm getting everyone back where we belong.

I realise we're not all Americans here, and maybe you think I have no jurisdiction, but I earned the right to intervene the moment I woke up with a tube shoved down my throat, just like everyone else. I want to speak to people who know the most about this place, or be directed toward them. Captain Kirk: you're on my list for starters, but I'd rather speak to the real Captain, rather than some washed up wannabe.

( Not an IC cut - trigger warnings for mentions of depression and suicide, and Nathan is not delicate )