While I sure do love having my precious moments spread around the ship like an episode of Dawson's Creek, I can't help but think most of you aren't making the best of this - admittedly awful - situation. Sure, it sucks, but it has its perks.

Which is to say: nyah, nyah, guess which one of us got to fly the Millennium Falcon?

[ Also Chewbacca is dead, but he's not letting it harsh his vibe. Here's to fulfilling boyhood dreams. ]

[ Peter's decided to show his face on film again, despite everything that's gone on the past week or so. Mostly he looks tired, eyes blood shot, moderately banged up. And then there's the fact that he looks immensely annoyed. ]

So-- question for everyone. Everyone who isn't busy trying to get better in the medbay. [ a brief moment of silence for those folks. ]

Humor me.

[ he folds his arms, gets down to business. ]

How many of you guys deal with this sort of thing on a daily basis back home? And by this sort of thing, I mean the monsters and the... whatever else they might have been. And if i'm calling them the wrong thing, go ahead and fill me in, i'd rather be an informed idiot than just an asshole.

Because me, personally? [ aaand his arms go uncrossed. which is to say, prepare for some intense gesticulation. use your imagination. ] I'm sort of caught somewhere in-between. Doesn't matter how many weird things happen, I still happen to think they're pretty damn weird. I'm just gonna have to go ahead and put some of the things i've seen into a category of absolute absurdity, but that? It sort of ranked up there with the worst of it.

And maybe what I want to know is, for the people who had to get used to this - y'know, those of you who weren't born into vampires and dinosaurs and bears, oh my - what the hell do you do to cope? Not to protect yourself, i'm not looking to take a class on self defense and deep breathing, but how do you relearn how to sleep at night? No pun intended. I sure as hell wasn't prepared to find monsters deciding the engineering department held answers to the universe. But I wasn't prepared for a chimera either, and I got past that one.

Do you all just get used to it? Or do we get better at pretending it doesn't actually matter?

[ It's been almost a year since Casey last posted to the network. He works, keeps to himself, occasionally slides in to add an acerbic commentary to something someone says--that sort of thing. People who know Jayne will recognize him as a red faced version of the same; he's the one without the dodgy beard, is precious about Star Wars, dislikes animals, and despite that has a young ginger cat swinging its tail as it clambers up his chest to perch on his shoulder, furry bottom pressed against his ear. ]

Get the hell down from there, m'busy.

[ His voice is gravely, his face is a little red, eyes a little bloodshot. Casey scowls when a meow is his only response, and shifts forward and backward in quick little movements, attempting to dislodge the cat, but all that happens is that it digs its claws in. Grimacing, Casey decides to just get on with it. The feed clicks off and is replaced by an attached video file, featuring about a minute of prerecorded material from one of the Tranquility's shuttles. It shows the sparkling pinprick stars of space, the Cyllene coming into view, and a long panning view of the station as they circle it.  ]

Doesn't look like a deathtrap, does it? The real good ones usually don't. Got damn near frozen to death for a goddamned pair of sneakers. [ That explains why he looks ill, at least. ] Any of you lot get stuck on board that last day, I suggest you get yourselves checked up by the doctor. We have sensitive gear in the shuttle bay picking up trace radiation, and that means anyone could have been zapped by it, and getting cooked to death from the inside isn't a real nice way to go. Same goes for things you took that day. Might not be as safe as they look, especially if we're talking edibles.

[ Look at that, he's practically being caring. And realizing that he quickly turns off the video feed. But not before a tiny bit of blushing and another furious scowl. ]

Shut up.

[ The video clicks on to show Carolyn in the shuttle bay (of course), standing in front of one of the windows showing the vast expanse of space. After letting the camera roll for a moment so that you, dear viewer, can come to terms with what you're looking at, she focuses it on her face and starts to speak. ]

This is overdue, but we're going to be having another information session on space, space travel, and the features we're aware of on board the Tranquility in a few hours. Make the time to attend. For those of you who want to get caught up on the previous lessons, I'll include a link to the recordings.

We're going to be going over everything, including evacuation protocols, but I'm going to be paying special attention to what I know about stasis. [ Which admittedly isn't much, as they use cryosleep, but it's more than most of the ship. ] It's been a popular topic lately, after all.

[ There's some fiddling with the buttons and after a pause, viewers will have a link to a sub-network with the videos embedded. ]

If any of you newcomers are interested in joining the flight crew, whether you have experience or not, we'd be glad to have you. Come on down and talk to myself, Hikaru Sulu, or John Casey.

[ Carolyn pauses, shifting a little uncomfortably. ]

For those of you that knew her, Kara Thrace has gone home.

[ Aaand: ]

The kittens are ready, if those who talked to me are still interested.

[ Peter's not exactly thrilled to be appearing on film, like handing over his location to the FBI with bells on, and he's not out to try too hard to pretend that he is. But he's taken part in his fair share of interrogations (on both sides) and he can seat himself in front of a camera and look serious.... and entirely well-intentioned, hopefully. ]

I don't do bored. I've never actually done bored very well, but before all of you jump on me and say I should give it a week and there'll be something for me to do- [ he holds up a hand; talk to it. ] I'll save you the time. I believe you.

Absolute chaos and destruction - combined with space's every attempt at a science experiment - should definitely give people something to do. [ Peter talks almost entirely with his hands, gesturing unconsciously all about. ] Not sure i'd expect anything less, but hey, not judging anyone if they choose to keep out of the fray, either. But the rest of the time, in-between one horror movie plot and the next, i'm not capable of sitting around and acting like this is the next best thing to a vacation without the benefits of getting to relax. Even though I can find my fair share of things to do, they won't be accomplishing anything. And at the end of the day there's only so many card tricks I can practice.

[ yes, okay, he's getting on with it. ]

I know there's departments, and I know what most of them are for. [ ... he pauses for a second and then shakes his head. ] Okay, I probably don't know everything they do, and I want to change that. I want to know more. Not sure I know much about farming, i'll just fess up to that now, but what I really want to know, is which departments need the most help. What you're looking for, what I can do to make things easier. Holding down a job isn't exactly a specialty of mine either, but I still want to get involved as much as I just... [ tensing for a moment, he finally sighs. ] -I like a good challenge.

You want to know what I can do? Sure, fine. But i'm only showing you mine if you show me yours.

[That's a really nice view of a kitchen ceiling popping up on your comms. Forgive the 90's kid for his lack of experience in smart phones - or maybe don't, because it might just be he's too lazy to hold the thing up while he's talking. Or it might be where he's busy rifling through every food cupboard he can find, his talking punctuated here and there by the sound of food packets being investigated, shaken around, crinkled.]

Not that I want to disrupt all the great work you people've been doing here, but those two assholes you think are in charge - you checked they're human? Might wanna label it some post-traumatic shit, but recent experience has given me a healthy distrust of taking anyone as they appear. And it'd explain this situation better than any of the vague mysterious bullshit you've been going with so far.

[There's a pause, then the sound of a box of something or other getting torn open, and yeah, when he talks again he's obviously doing it around a mouthful of food. It's been a rough couple of days, and he's hungry. It's also good for covering up any glimmers of actual concern in his voice as he carries on.]

I'm missing some people. Yeah, you heard it all before. But you see a short bug-eyed freak called Casey running around, do me a solid and point him my way.

[[ooc: backdated to early on the day after the jump!]]

[ when the feed begins, luke is seated somewhere looking a little on the worse-for-wear side. dressed in the same all black he'd worn on the death star, his expression is pleasant enough, if exhausted. but he can't quite rest yet-- not until he has a few things sorted out.

he offers a smile that he hopes seems less sheepish than dignified, bobbing his head in a polite nod. ]

Hello. I'm Commander Luke Skywalker of the, ah, Alliance of Free Worlds-- but as our ranks mean very little in the grand scheme of things here, please feel free to call me Luke. I apologize, since I know we're all still settling in after the jump, but I had a request and an offer.

[ he lifts his right hand with a wince, pulling the glove back slightly to reveal the blaster damage to his prosthetic. he pulls it back down over the hole, then, fingers clicking as he curls them and lowers that hand. ]

As you can see, I have a prosthetic, and it's seen quite a bit of damage in the last few-- well, weeks, really, but it's at the point now where I can't ignore it. I was hoping someone on the ship had access to tools for delicate work that I could borrow. The sooner the better, in all honesty.

[ a brief pause, straightening slightly. ]

The offer is in regards to my place on this ship. I'm told that there are gaps in the manning in several departments, and I'm happy to offer my services. Skillset-wise, I'm most suited to security or engineering, I think, but I'm a quick study if I'm needed elsewhere.

[ he seems to consider that for a moment and, satisfied, offers a quick salute. ]

Skywalker out.

[ the feed ends. ]

[When Desmond's voice comes over the line, he sounds.... Crazy, so it's basically a Tuesday, except maybe you ought to listen to him this time, because this sounds extremely important.]

All right, look- [Muffled, as if said to someone behind him.] Get off, I'm fine! [Back to the comm] I don't know if anyone's even considered trying to pilot the Scylla, because believe me, it sounds like a lovely idea. But don't. There's a-a dead man's switch embedded in the flight controls. If anyone touches it- [He pauses to chuckle under his breath- it sounds crazy, but also painfully exasperated] - boom.

[He hesitates for a moment, as if already anticipating the protests.]

Don't believe me- send someone from flight crew to check it out. I know what I saw- [He hisses- goddammit, he needs to keep that shit under wraps better] I just know. 

[[OOC: POSTED WITH MOD PERMISSION. Basically, as of this log, Desmond will have had one of his flashes (which are now back thanks to his adventures in the ship- thanks for that, TQ). I need a couple volunteers to tag in and be witnesses to the discovery of the dead man's switch and Desmond's subsequent freak out, but yeah, as of this post, anyone who was on the Scylla probably would have heard Desmond being Final Destination about not touching the switch.]]

(welcome to the shuttle bay with han and obi-wan. excuse the fact that there's a shuttle that han's stripped and that obi-wan generally looks like he has a bad feeling about all of this.)

I think if you follow the guidelines set by the Security Team, you should be safe. Stay in groups. Don't engage.

(there's a beep and a long protest as Arfour says something, but she's not in view. that's when han just takes off his goggles off to actually prove obi-wan wrong.)

No, this is what you do. If you see a pirate? Shoot them. (wait, this is a jedi he's talking to.) Or use the Force, you know what you do.

(obi-wan looks irritated for a moment, but he'll take this moment to roll his eyes and cross his arms)

If you don't have training, don't engage.

If you don't have training, get someone else to shoot them. If they talk to you, shoot them. If they even look at you, shoot them. If they ask you how you're doing, shoot them. If they're dying outside your room, watch them die and then shoot them to make sure they don't get up.

(han's getting a little serious about this.)

I'm going back to work.

(aaaaaand Obi-Wan walks a little away, Arfour beeping after him, but she's still not visible on screen)

Don't touch anything, I'm redoing the - (han was running after him before running back to turn off the communicator.)

Tranquility - the last transmission on the network was not a hoax. We have been boarded.

All non-combat personnel should keep to their quarters at the present moment. Further instructions will follow.

Note please that the boarders are able to hack all transmissions, including those which are highly encrypted. Do not discuss tactical information over the network. Do not discuss extraneous things. We do not know what will be of use to these brigands, and we need to deny them as much information as possible. Keep silent; keep vigilant; updates to come.

[The feed crackles on to show a man leaning in close to the camera over some kind of console. Everything about him seems dry and harsh, from the lines of his features to the colour of his eyes, like too much sun and dust has sapped all the softness out of him. And his voice — when he finally speaks after a long moment of simply looking silently at the camera — is a light, husky tone, rough-edged.]

Tranquility. [A pause.] I am Felix Laurens, I am captain of the Scylla. My crew and I are boarding this vessel. We will take what we want from it, and then we will leave.

[A very long pause, where he seems to be considering something, looking at the camera silently.]

Keep out of our way and you won't be harmed.

[And with that, he's done with the message. He turns and walks away from the camera, revealing a view of the room behind him — though much smaller and less well-kept, it's a clear match to the shuttle bay. Part of a blonde head ducks into view after Laurens finishes speaking, clearly trying to find the 'off' switch for the console.]

Did he just—every time. Every fucking time.

[That remark garners him a bony elbow to the ribs, sneaking in from just out of sight to jab hard at his exposed side, voice quiet but still impatient.] Shut up. [Extending her arm out a little more to jab at the console, Hayes severs the transmission.]

Last time I was this ruttin’ drunk, Mal got married to a-- a-- [ there are some words there that sound vaguely like butchered Mandarin; it’s a futuristic dialect, but the man speaking it is also so drunk that it sounds like the communicator can’t quite translate it. ] An’ I passed out.

But he did later, ‘cause he kissed ‘er on the mouth.

[ The device suddenly turns over, Jayne staring down at it. From the look of him and the several empty bottles sitting next to him -- on the floor -- he’s been drinking for a while. Reaching for another bottle of something that looks extraordinarily cheap, he takes a swig, then sighs. ]

I miss my guns.

[ Judging by the flash of furniture and kneecaps, Carolyn is crouching down next to her bed when she turns the video on. She's smiling today, but there's more than happiness there: there's wonder, awe, and a bit of surprise. ]

Spot had her kittens, [ she breathes, then turns the camera and carefully slides it under the furniture to get as much of an image as she can until the momma cat hisses at her. ]

( cut for image )

I'm not sure how many there are yet. They're so small...

[ Her voice trails off, and Carolyn seems to realize that she's being overly sentimental about a bunch of kittens and shakes herself, standing. The motion seems to smooth her back into something harder, even if it's slightly ruined by her quick glance back toward the bed. ]

I didn't arrive on the ship with cats. Their original owners left, and they stayed behind. It may be a good idea for everyone to come up with a contingency plan for their possessions, in case they return home or something happens to them. This is especially true for animals, but if there's something that you'd especially like certain people to have, it could help guarantee that it gets to them.

[Hey, Tranquility, have the fuzzy, broken-up picture of one very frightened mechanic. She's not in a part of the ship that she would normally be in - not in a part of the ship that is recognizable at all, as a matter of fact.

Sorry for the crappy quality, she's doing her best, but it keeps cutting in and out.]

- on the lifts? [More fuzz, snowy picture quality, like a TV with bad antenna reception.] -ost. This ain't funny -

[And the feed cuts.]

[ There is a naked, brightly glowing blue man standing a short distance away from where his comm device is holding steady in the air. He’s hardly bothered by the fact that he’s naked... nor does he look as if he’s bothered by, well, much of anything. ]

It has become clear to me that, while I am entirely capable of moving my own matter both through time and space, I have been moved into a plane that has hindered this ability. I have found that i’m unable to manipulate my own particles to the extent that I have become accustomed to. It seems that this is not true in all instances, however. [ His tone indicates a shrug might go here, but he doesn’t move an inch. ] I was not able to foresee this event, likely a cause of whatever is altering my intrinsic field.

[ Jon almost sighs, almost looks dejected, but mostly looks nothing too terribly different. ]

While I am aware that this is possible, I have yet to understand exactly how it’s occurring. Once I have, however, I intend to stop it. I have begun research in the science department for this reason only. [ Still as blase as ever. ]

I am curious, however, as to how this plane affects the atoms of others. It can only serve to further advance my own research if I understand how other particles have proven to react in such a place. [ He tips his head slightly, curiously, and then proceeds to wait for his answers. ]

Hello, Tranquility. [ For once, Carolyn's background isn't the shuttle bay. It's medbay instead, though she's not a patient. Simon can occasionally be seen in the background, doing... doctor-things. ] I'm Carolyn Fry. On this ship, I work on the flight crew; back home I was the pilot and captain of another ship. I've got a few things I'd like to talk about today.

First is the flight crew. We're always looking for more members -- we're responsible for the maintenance, repair, and upkeep of the shuttles as well as flying them. We've gotten more members over the last few months but we'd always like more. If you're interested, we just want to know a bit about your skills. If you don't have any experience with spacecraft or aircraft of any time, several of us work together to provide flight training. If you're interested, we have some sign-ups on the subnetwork as follows.

[ FLIGHT CREW SUBNETWORK PAGE ]

Second, I'm aware that many of the people on-board have never been in space before. If this applies to you or you're looking for a better understanding of this ship specifically, I'll be holding one of our semi-monthly [ jumply? ] space training courses in two hours. This jump's focus will be on medical situations and health thanks to Doctor Simon Tam, and as a result, we'll be meeting in the medbay. Dr. Tam will be reviewing space-specific medical concerns as well as general medical concerns, teaching people who to use the automated medical machines, and several other topics.

In addition, I'll be covering what we know about the Tranquility specifically and what's happened here, as well as what we know about this universe. There's a lot of information out there and while the anonymous information page is quite helpful, sometimes it's easier to hear about it from someone else. I haven't been here for all of it but I'll do my best to answer any questions, as will Dr. Tam -- and anyone else is welcome to offer insight as well. This is also a good chance to get to know everyone else stuck here, if that's your thing.

For those of you who've missed any prior sessions and are interested, please see the following subnetwork page. [ SPACE TRAINING SUBNETWORK PAGE ] If you have any suggestions on making these sessions more accessible or anything you'd like to see covered, please let me know.

[ Pausing to run a hand through her hair, there's a barely audible "I'm starting to sound like Kirk" before she continues. Time to fix that. ]

This is new to all of us, even those of us who've been in space before. If you've got sense, there's no reason not to use the resources on board in order to be better prepared to survive. We may have bars and beds but this isn't a pleasure cruise. People have died and if you don't take care of yourself and exercise some caution [ and not break into the shuttle bay, Zaeed ] then it could be you next.

I'll hopefully see all of you in medical in two hours. Try not to disturb anyone working in there.

((ooc: Free-for-all log is here.))

[its been a day already, and anakin spent most of that time trying to regain his bearings. waking up in that pod, senses muted. it isn't something he cares to repeat. but after scouring the network he knows that's a choice he doesn't get to make. not if these "jumps" are real. and with his senses back in full swing again, he's fairly certain that it's all true. that, or the force itself is trying to trick him in to believing a lie.

when the feed cuts in it's to a low-angled shot of anakin, already mid-conversation. no, he isn't aware that it's recording, because no, he isn't the one responsible for it.]

--eels strange though. It's him, but it's almost like-

[there's a few beeps to interrupt him, and anakin finally turns his attention back to its source. and subsequently, the camera.]

What are you...? Oh. [right. camera. time to think quickly. see, he's even putting on his jedi face. you know, alert and serious looking. this is just how he planned to make first contact with the wider world. obviously.]

I am Padawan learner Anakin Skywalker. I would like to speak with somebody from the Flight Crew. Specifically, whoever is in charge of the shuttles, if you have time. [he has a list of the people on flight crew of course. artoo already took care of that. but now he's looking for the kind of details that don't come in digital form.

a little more from the droid and he nods. his concern would be obvious to those who know him. but seeing as there's only one person who fits the bill here (or so he'd like to think)-]

Master, I know you're here.

[he just isn't sure what's wrong. there were two force users, but neither he could identify. it wasn't until artoo had found his name in the ships records that he'd realised obi-wan was one of those two.

he can feel him there now; a bright spot in the force. but it isn't right. it feels like their bond is muted in some way, and he knows it can't be on his end. he isn't holding back any more than he usually does. he wants to ask, of course. but that would mean admitting a weakness in their bond, and he's not about to do that while the rest of the ship could be watching. no, better to meet up and find out what's going on, right?]

Artoo wants to see you.

[yes, when all else fails, blame the droid.]

Given all that has happened lately, we need more help down in Shuttle Bay.
We currently have 5 shuttles properly running and we need more if we ever have to leave here.
So if you're interested in helping there let one of us know, we'll answer any questions you may have.

We're also looking for a few others who are willing to learn to fly – idiots need not apply.

- Capt. K. Thrace (battlestar galactica)

[ Wait, something’s wrong. When you open the message to start your reply, it seems to glitch, and then Casey’s face appears on the screen. ]

Hah, got it. Now listen up, if you’re hearing this it’s because you’re about to throw in and offer your no doubt endless talents to a good cause down here in the shuttle bay. I thought it only fair to warn you that we don’t take nerds who can’t keep their mouths shut down here. [ No breaking Obi-Wan, okay? ] We want hard workers and only hard workers, because if the shit hits the fan you lot are going to be grateful that there’s a fleet of shuttles kept ship shape to save your sorry asses.

And if you want to learn to fly, you’d better have a good sense of direction and survival instinct, because with Captain Fry as your teacher you’re going to need it.

Casey out. [ The video feed crackles and is dead. ]


[ ooc: this is a basic call to arms from your lovely flight crew, and any questions your character may have will be answered from any one of them. Please sign up and join the team…they play poker, drink, bitch and get things done. ]