[Let it be known, Marty drops his comm before he finds a body - there's a sharp clanging noise as it bleeps on video, recording a muffled, panicked voice as the video points to the ceiling--]

 Hoooly shit -- holy shit, holy shit.

[There's the sound of feet scuffling, a soft plunk of something liquid being displaced, shoes squeaking. All the while, the nasally mantra of curse words and mumbled confusion continues for a little bit.]

Hey--are you--??

He's dead -- jesus. [A deep breath.] Awww maaan... Sorry, dude, that blows.

[Suddenly the device is picked up, showing Marty's confused face; it's video? He looks back, swallows hard, places his gun out of camera back into his belt as the screen catches what appears to be blood and a man's leg in the corner of the screen, in said man's passenger room. That would be Manfred Von Karma. Marty had stumbled upon his corpse, and it's all history from there.]

Aaaahm -- there's. Uh. There's a fuckin' dead guy up here; he like, just died. There's no pulse or anything, I checked, but I don't think -- he hasn't been dead for a long time. Maybe we should lock our doors? Everybody should probably go inside their rooms? Who the hell do I talk to about this?

[He seems thoroughly disgusted by his knee, looking up, exasperation and anxiety bleeding together.

Not quite as panicked as he could be; he's been around some fucked shit. But still -- this is bad. This is really bad.]

Gaaaaah, I touched blood. Fuck. Sorry.

((OOC: Part of Edgeworth's murder mystery plot! See post 1 and post 2 in the ooc comm for details. Marty's gonna be taken in and questioned as a possible key suspect in the crime until Edgeworth steps in to 'confess', don't mind him. People who might find him on the scene are totally okay for action instead of video, or whatever.))

[it's a question that had come from a time long before this jump. one born from his very arrival; exacerbated by those weeks spent alone in the ship. he needs answers, and he knows that he should be looking to the other jedi for them. but obi-wan isn't an option now. not while he's still dealing with the truths he's learned most recently. quinlan, a master, and still too unapproachable for him. the same again for lucien, a complete stranger. and then there's luke.

no, this is the way it has to go because there is no other option. it's one time where he needs to look beyond the will of the force. he needs to find advice.]

This ship is capable of bringing together those from different dimensions, as we are all aware. But so too is it capable of gathering those from different moments in time.

What do you do, then, if you hear tales of your own future? What if you learn that you will one day go against all that you believe?

[don't worry sw nerds, he isn't talking vader-level issues. more fathering a child-level rule breaking. a child that he isn't around to raise himself.]

Do you take what you have learned as a single, unchangeable future, or do you set all you have learned aside?

Is it even possible to ignore an accomplishment that you know shouldn't have taken place?


[and then, a second post. one unlinked to the first and filtered directly to a single person.]


[locked to luke skywalker]

[despite starting the message, there's a long pause at first. a moment to try and build himself up to it. the force had told him, han had confirmed it. but he still needed to hear it from the one person- the only person -who he knows he can trust completely about this. about their connection.]

I need to hear it from you. I need you to tell me who I am.

[he needs the truth]

Recently it seems that some of us have had our origins and experiences on our mind. If there is anything I have learned from my time here, it is that we do not often suffer a dull day, and that we are all abundant with stories. Stories of ourselves, of the lives we've lived at home, and the lives that we've lived here. We've all arrived here from different circumstances, with a vast array of varying experiences between that, and I think that sometimes we do not allow ourselves time to appreciate that. We have an opportunity to learn so much from each other. [ Oxford pauses, calmly, taking a level breath as he goes on. ] Of course, I don't mean to say this is somehow a priority over the general task of surviving, but I feel that while we keep ourselves and our histories as fresh as we can in our minds, perhaps it could serve us some purpose to keep record of it.

[ Even though he has decided to stick to an audio post, Oxford can't help making habitual, sweeping hand gestures as he speaks. ]

I would like to propose beginning a ship-wide archive, to include whatever information that fellow passengers are willing to share of their lives and worlds, as well as a timeline of events since the first jump. First hand accounts of matters we have tackled, [ with a vague amount of strain, said very soberly ] and a memorial to those we lost. As I've said, this is by no means any kind of priority, just... well, to be quite honest, I like the idea of having a project. Though I would not necessarily say no if anyone was willing to join me in maintaining this proposed archive, I know that we all have our own personal worries and jobs to attend to, thus I am quite glad to take up mantle on my own.

All I really aim to do is to put experiences into words. I'm quite certain that many of you have some extraordinary stories to tell, whether they are from your home or from here, and all I would want is for these things to be shared amongst us. You never know what we might find out each other. [ A vague, mirthless smile is audible in his words. ] I only hope they're relatively good things, of course.

The information volunteered to this archive would be exactly that - voluntary. I won't be hounding everyone on the ship for interviews, because that would be incredibly time consuming and as annoying as conducting door to door sales. Anyone who would like to contribute is advised to come to me - in person or across the network, whichever suits you best. If it happens that I hear of someone's actions through another person's contribution, then I may follow that up.

[ He laughs, mildly. ]

Of course, I might have wasted all this time talking and wasting your time only to have no response. Always a possibility. [ For a moment, he sounds a bit warmer and less business-like. ] Good day to you all.

Do you remember the first man or woman who greeted you upon your arrival to the stars, Tranquility?

[ Lucrezia Borgia sprawled on her bed, a dragonfly ring in hand. ]

I loved the first person I met upon sight, with a love that was stronger that anything I expected to feel at such a time. A love of tales and songs and I carry its mark on my heart until this day.

[ she could end it there but not without the slowest grin of the century. ]

Poets would kill for an opportunity to love so fiercely among stars. It would produce beautiful words for them to deliver to the world to show that love is not a selfish whim.

[ never that, not to Lucrezia Borgia who is still a romantic here. ]

God knows I never sought anything in you except yourself; I wanted simply you, nothing of yours.

[ Daylen rarely uses the network.

In fact, the few times he does it's either in private messages or replies to other people. He can't shake the distrust of it, a distrust as much from inability to understand as general suspicion over how it works.

Still. Alistair uses it. Other people he likes and gives credit to use it. If it indeed works as it seems to, then it could be a useful tool.

More importantly, it could gather him the answers he seeks. Even the ones he might not wish to hear but has to. ]

A moment of your time, for those inclined to answer.

I have heard stories of those who vanish during jumps or before, mixed information.

I have heard that those who vanish completely -- their reference upon these things returns a different message which indicates this.

I have heard some vanish and return at a later 'jump', with different memories. Some remember this place, some do not. Some with different demeanour or events recalled to when they left. Some differently gendered, even.

I would like to hear from people who have experience with this, or anything to add. I wish to understand better. Thank you in advanced.

[Edgeworth sounds characteristically brisk and serious.]

I would like to ask everyone to take a moment to speak here - or to leave a text message - about what it is that they most wish to get home to, or what it is they most appreciate here.

There's a jump approaching, and not too long from now. As we all know, jumps rarely bring good things - they herald lost friends, new disasters. This is a difficult life we have here aboard this ship - one fraught with pain, with misery, with fear. It's far too easy to become lost in the morass of despair. It's too easy, with each jump, to think: what if I don't? What if I do not go to the jump bay? What if I simply sit back and let it all end?

I ask that you, in this post, remind everyone why it's worth it to keep on. Why it's worth it to suffer through these jumps, month after month, and why it's worth it to keep cautious and not just go seeking our death in those hallways, and why it's worth it to keep trying to make life better here. As we approach this new jump, as we prepare ourselves to welcome and console these new arrivals, let us remember why we should continue to fight.

Thank you all for your attention and cooperation.

[The feed clicks on to show Miles Edgeworth, James Kirk and Tyke gathered around the head of the table in the Security office. Kirk is standing between the two, Tyke leaning far back in her seat, while the rigidity of Edgeworth’s posture seems to be trying to make up enough formality for all of them.]

Good day. This is Miles Edgeworth of the Security Department, speaking to you alongside Tyke, the head of Security, and James Kirk of the Gunnery crew. What we bring before you today is the new formation of the Exploratory Team.

[Tyke cuts in, there, expression tense and harshly annoyed.]

Before any of you start getting excited over that name, we’re doing this for those of you who think two deaths and one maiming still makes the dark parts of the ship look like a fun fucking time. You might wanna ignore common sense and us, but our job is to keep you safe, which means we can’t ignore you.

[Edgeworth glances over slightly at the profanity, but doesn’t react any more than that.] There may be some among you who will want to turn off this broadcast right now; you may think that you’re already qualified to simply go out there by yourselves. However, there are a few very good reasons why you’d not wish to do that.

First: the entire purpose of this initiative is indeed to keep you alive. “Highly qualified people” have already gone out there, and they have perished, as shall you if you decide that you, a highly qualified person, can act alone. Second, going through the teams means that you’ll not only have other trained people to watch your back, but you’ll also have access to critical supplies. Food, for instance. And weaponry, from the Gunnery crew.

[Kirk bumps in here, both palms flat on the table, and when he leans toward the camera the light catches in the silver at his temple.]

We know we can’t stop any of you going out there, and we aren’t going to try. We’re offering you the option of going out in teams to let us know when and where you’re going. This is both so we can keep track of everyone and so we know the general direction to head in if you get in trouble. That, and there’s a safety in numbers. Those things hunt in packs and they’re smart. If you get ambushed, you may come out less than fortunate.

[see, Erik Lensherr]

Anyone going out should first check into Security with your group. You’ll be required to have at least one person that knows first aid and to have a weapon. As Edgeworth said, if you’re unarmed and you’re going into the ship, contact the Gunnery and we can discuss letting you borrow a firearm. If you don’t have a group, talk to us and we can form one for you.

[Tyke leans in from her seat, finally. And it’s probably a deliberate choice that she’s only wearing a tank top rather than a hoodie or her jump suit, her own encounter with the manticores clearly evident in the large bite scarred around her right shoulder.]

Gonna say again, this isn’t for everyone to get to head out there. This is us making it so anyone who is really gonna insist on it does it as safe as we can manage. You don’t have the people, we’ll get you in with some. You don’t have the skills, we’ll get you training. We don’t need more people dying if there’s shit we can be doing to prevent it.

[Edgeworth nods once.]

I’ll be handling the administrative side of this. Contact me if you want to register for being formed into a group, or if you have a pre-formed group but wish training or supplies. The smartest thing you can do, if you’re considering heading out there, is sitting down and considering whether your life truly is worth so little on-board this ship. The smartest thing you can do is consider: will people truly miss me so little that I can throw away my life by going out there?

The second-smartest thing you can do is at least go out there prepared. And that’s what we’re ensuring.

[Kirk glances to Edgeworth with that little bit of advice, but doesn’t let the curious frown come through in his expression. he looks back to the camera.]

We’ll be here to answer any questions you have.

[and he reaches forward to end the transmission]


[ooc: And thank you for your collective attention, Tranquility! Use this post to ask questions and to form groups if you’d like. Jump each other! Go wild! Meanwhile, if you’d like to have your characters sign up to join groups, hit up this ooc post here.
LOVELY MAGENTA is for Edgeworth, blue is for Tyke, gold is for Kirk.]

[ Quin's video broadcast comes from the deepest, darkest depths of the jungle levels of the Oxygen Garden, somewhere in the damp, lush lee of a tree so thickly overgrown with intertwining ropes of vines that it's a wonder it's still standing at all. The comms device itself is settled firmly in to a particularly dense clump of verdant greenery and angled just wide enough to capture Quin, cross-legged and grim-faced, and a sharp speck of a crystal sitting on the loam just in front of him.

He's been here for hours - maybe thirty or so, all of them long and hard-spent. Thinking, meditating, fasting, slipping in to the occasional dream - strange and foreign and full of memories that are definitely not his own. Now, awake and with a clear mind, Quin knows that it is finally time to send out this particular message. He picks the crystal up in one battered, bandaged hand and holds it aloft between his finger and thumb so it can catch a single fragile beam of artificial light that has somehow managed to work its way through the canopy above. ]

This belonged to the golem, Shale. A creature of stone but no less full of light. Her body still lies in the depths of this ship but I know that her comrades still remain with us on board. I've seen your faces in her memories, but I don't know your names.

[ His fingers curl around the nature crystal thoughtfully and he draws it closer to his chest as he explains, ]

I need this crystal. It was no accident that I came across it when I did. But I want your blessings, all of you who came from her world. Those who fought with her, those who knew her. [ A pause. ] Talk to me here, or find me in the oxygen gardens. I will help her memory live on if you will all allow it.

 [ He clears his throat. ]

Alistair here. I'm reporting that Shale's body was... irretrievable. [ A small, muttered "I guess". ] The black hole thingie that killed her is still there. So, unless you want to find it yourself, you're going to need a lot of padding and a lot of rope. [ He chuckles, not really that into it, before pausing. ] No, but seriously, don't do that. The black hole will suck you in and you will die.

The gist of it is basically what everybody else has mentioned before. Walking around alone is a bad idea. If the monsters don't get you, the black hole will.

And to everybody else that knew Shale... [ Right. This is the hardest part. But a good king knows how to lie through his teeth. ] She was a good soldier and a good friend. Whether she's by the Maker's side or she returned to The Stone, know that she's in a better place now.

[ good evening tranquility ( or maybe it's daytime, hard to really tell on this ship especially with everything that's happened within the past two days ) you are being greeted by a tony stark in his natural habitat, also known as one of the actual science labs and not one of his fun little makeshift labs on the first floor. it looks like he's actually doing something ( spoilers: not exactly ) but everyone really believes people better when they're working first. at least when they're tony stark. in any case he puts down what he's working on ( which is actually just a buttload of calculations ) and finally actually speaks, exhaling heavily. ]

Good evening Tranquility, at least I'm pretty sure it is, I haven't actually checked, if it's not, replace that with whatever time of day it is. I felt like we needed a Hitchcock flair after the events of oh, what last two months? I'm saying hi from the science not going to tell you all which one because I don't feel like listening to all of you storming the gates. Could have just done this from one of my labs on the first floor, but then I'd definitely have to tell you where those are. And I don't feel like it personally. By the way, not actually going to ever give those up, so if we're consolidating floors, personally vote the fourth floor, so many open rooms up there.

Generous, Tony. Are you-- you're posting? [ and this would be jenna wandering onto camera, carrying a plate in her hand, clearly bringing lunch to tony and prepared to stay and make sure he eats. stefan follows behind her, just nearly out of frame, flashing bits and pieces.

follows like a broody, spiky puppy. kind of. he's fixed his hair, it's very suave. ] Hang on.

[ and she ducks out of frame again. ] Stefan, this is my friend Tony-- not a pirate. Tony, Stefan-- you guys have a lot in common.

[ like being alkies. MASSIVE ALKIES is the subtext here. ] And you guys shake hands or something and I will... not be fixing my hair, because I'm not vain. Tony, you were pretending you speak for the whole first floor?

[ and the whole network gets to see that awkward moment where no one knows if they're shaking hands or not. stefan ends up nodding pleasantly, shuffling a little to the side like he wants to be out of the way. you kids and your newfangled posts. ]

[ ...right yes the— handshake. how about no. because no. so nod back because jenna what does that mean. MOVING ON! MAYBE. KIND OF. ]

I was. Look, a fair amount of those rooms were claimed by me and have my shit in them. So, I can speak for my room. There's like twenty rooms occupied there by us and there's single digits on the fourth floor. it's the logical place if you're going to move us all. Besides, I know someone kept her room and yet is still living in sin in another. Just saying. [ tony that's mean stop that. ] And yes, to the posting. I have another PSA because I'm apparently learning how to be really responsible like that. It's weird.

You're calling dibs. [ comes the quiet, off-camera contribution from stefan, accompanied by the clink of glass against glass. ]

...Traitors. "Dibs". [ hair successfully fixed, jenna steps back into frame. ] As I'm sure Tony meant to say, the first floor has open rooms and if everyone can get along and agree and you don't mind an unreliable lock, dinner is every night.

Okay, pitch done. Continue with the science and telling us all we're doomed. [ it would sound waspish except for how it's clearly an old enough joke 'lol tony you keep fucking it all up' is affectionate. somehow. ]

--oh! No, no, I lied. I would have announced this last month, but-- you know. No Network. I found a therapy department, so... if you don't mind a grad student who you might see at the bar sometime, please come in.

We've got every pillow ever, so you don't even have to talk to me if that's not something you feel comfortable with. Come... I don't know. Beat walls with soft things, it's a very legitimate therapy technique. Anyway: we're open for business, and if I'm not there contact me for an actual appointment at 001 » 016. And related, I'm Jenna. Okay, now you can hit the doom and science.

[ ha ha ha jenna if only this doom wasn't actually doom. for once, tony is maybe going to scare the shit out of everyone with just cause this time. even if maybe you know, black holes aren't exactly his area of expertise. ]

Jenna is lying and don't believe her except for dinner and therapy. [ oh right original reason for posting. ] So we had two deaths in two days, Chase's is incredibly sad and I miss her too, but, the last death, you know the big thing of rocks—

Shale-- [ that would be jenna. ]

—Right, Shale, tumbled down a hole and promptly died. Pretty sure it wasn't capable of dying unless something was say— oh I don't know, something that could destroy matter.

Large, killer black holes. [ stefan still not on camera, but his tone is serious. ]

Broody got it in one. For those of you who are new, once upon a time like jump, six or five or some number we all caught a weird plague that someone I know affectionately calls “dying of blue” and some of us had to go on a wild adventure for a cure that involved a maze with black holes. I know how that sounds and some of you more science savvy people are going to point out that you can't have a black hole let alone several on a ship like this without all of us dying. [ a beat. ] Yeah, usually I'd agree, but whatever killed Shale—

...question. [ that would be jenna, again, actually raising her hand for some reason. ] Okay, you can go back to the monologue but why can't black holes exist in a ship? Just... actually curious.

[ sigh! jenna no, stop interrupting him. ] In simple terms? The entire ship would be pulled into the hole and promptly be smashed into tiny pieces and cease to exist. As I was saying, normally I'd agree, but I've seen it before and nothing else could conceivably kill what was, basically rocks. The maze was from what I remember, not exactly close enough to have us communicate with the network.

Shale was able to broadcast falling down the hole. I'm not entirely sure where that hole is, but, while the hybrid hell monsters are bad. We've got a just slightly bigger problem, if we've got a black hole within broadcasting range. One that seems to kind of defy the laws of normal black holes.

[ when tony takes a breath, jenna moves in. ] It means, in not technical talk: bad things were far out, and now they're closer in. Things always moved in the ship, but this is-- new. New and bad. So if Tony doesn't mind me taking over this PSA-- be careful. Don't be stupid and I don't mean don't do anything, before someone yells about action being needed; I agree. [ jenna's not smiling, her expression earnest but not quite grim. urging.

(hypocrite.) ]

But two members of our group are dead, in two days. That's not okay, and not wandering off alone? That's a good start to stopping this.

[ tony looks like he's going to say something but then he stops instead choosing to just point to his eye that is currently glowing blue through a hole much like a pupil in a normal eye. this is what happens when you do stupid shit like go outside of the normal areas. you go crazy. or you lose an eye. or something like that. ]


[ ooc | in order the fonts are as followed: jenna, stefan, tony. ]

[ Carolyn is, as usual, in the shuttle bay. Today she's out among the shuttles instead of in one of the maintenance rooms, the windows -- the only windows on the ship -- behind her. She figures actually showing people the stars might be a good attention grabber. ]

Tranquility, this is Carolyn Fry. For those of you who are new here, I'm a member of the flight crew and both pilot and captain a spaceship back home. I also have training sessions to help acclimatize people to living in space, which is the main purpose of this broadcast.

For those of you just joining us, there are videos and transcripts of the previous session. [ And ding!, here they are. ] They've been added to the anonymous information post, so this may not be the first time you've seen them if you've checked that out. In addition to these, we're going to have another session. I'm attaching what we'll be going over now.

[ EVACUATION PROCEDURES: Now the formal evacuation protocol for the ship, passengers will go over what to do in the event of emergency evacuation, including what items are considered necessities and what they may be asked to leave behind, shuttle boarding, securing themselves in the shuttle, and the importance of not panicking. Pilot training on request; talk to Carolyn after class.
EMERGENCY BOARDING DRILL
GENERAL SAFETY: Things You Should Not Do On A Spaceship, including but not limited to fire safety, weapons safety, and equipment safety. Includes information on how these things can be used effectively without damaging the ship or yourself, the possible consequences of using things improperly, and the proper steps to take if you should notice something unsafe aboard the ship.
TRANQUILITY-SPECIFIC SAFETY: Things You Should Not Do On The Tranquility, including but not limited to wandering the deeper parts of the ship to try and explore, reverse-hacking or seeking out unknown entities, and jump safety. ]

Like it says, these evacuation procedures are now the official evac procedures for the entire ship. Anyone who was with us last jump may recognize how vital that sort of thing could be in the future, and Commander Resnik asked me to write them up formally. That means that until further notice, if we have to get off this ship in an emergency, this is what we'll be doing. It's important to know and important to practice, and I encourage all of you to show up. Same with the other safety items we'll be going over.

Like the last two sessions, we'll be having this one in the shuttle bay -- so don't bother the flight crew while we're in there. We have a lot to do and not enough people to do it with, so let's just focus on what we're in there to do.

[ And Carolyn's used up her quota of trying to be a captain for the main post, so she dips her head at the communicator in a quick nod. ]

If you have any questions now, feel free to ask. If not, I'll see you in the shuttle bay.

((ooc: Feel free to reply via network or action it up with Carolyn or with each other for the actual space training session in the comments!))