[hatch log] pull plug, enter multiverse

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: The Station + Concordia
WHEN: DAY :025 - :026
SUMMARY: Somewhere deep in Station 72, a hatch happens; new hosts arrive on Concordia.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary.

YOU WAKE UP and in a very real sense you are born again. You’re not the same person you were the last time your eyes were open. You’ll never be that person again - well, except for you, Jessica Jones. You know how this part goes, don’t you?

You might not know it right away, though. What you do know is that you’re laying down in a place very different than you were before. The walls angle around you, claustrophobic, and they emit a gentle white light that’s faint enough not to hurt your freshly opened eyes. For a moment you feel fine even if you didn’t before you went under. Whatever injuries you might have had, whatever agony you may have been experiencing, whatever fear dogged your heels, they’re all gone. It’s quiet. When you’re conscious enough to take stock of anything beyond that, you realize that you’re wearing your own clothes and that there’s a faint pinch at the base of your skull - notable as the only discomfort you feel. Reach up, feel along the tube running from the base of your neck to the compartment’s back wall. It pulls free without much fuss.

Then it’s not so quiet anymore. There’s the sensation of something more, something louder, something both big and broad and something intimately near to you. There’s the realization that you aren’t alone, that you won’t ever be alone again. You belong here. This is as correct as the murmur of something like muffled voices in the back of your head is somehow familiar, or how the press of emotion that sweeps over you now doesn’t necessarily belong to you but doesn’t feel out of place either.

You can sit up - barely -, and shift out of the pod. There’s a ladder at your feet, and a little cubby just before it with anything you brought with you, as well as a set of crisp, loose-fitting white clothes; while your injuries are healed, whatever you’re wearing is in the exact state it was before. You can hear a sound in the back of your head, a faint buzzing, something like distant waves or the murmur of a party behind a door. Drop down the ladder to the floor of the Nesting Deck and you’ll find you’re not alone - and the those sounds in your head are louder. Other people’s thoughts swim up: some of them seem clear, most of them are a jumbled mess. Some of these people call to you - their voices are louder, their feelings more clear, they feel right. Further, there’s an awareness that there are others like you - not here, not close, but somewhere: an indelible tug at the back of your mind.

Welcome to Station 72. All new hosts will have one day aboard the Station before being whisked off to Concordia to join the others. Get to know the other new hosts, and ask the guardians of the Station - Prince and Cathaway -, any burning questions you might have. By the time the day has passed, Carata will arrive on the hangar to collect you.



MEANWHILE IN CONCORDIA Angel slips into a coma on :025 at almost at the exact same time that some Hosts become aware of missing pieces fitting into place. Those hosts with new brood members waking up on the station will feel somewhere more complete; you might want to let everyone know you’ll be getting new roommates soon.

Everyone might be putting themselves and their broods back together in the wake of the explosion that left the nest down one host and injected everyone with renewed motivation to either find the people responsible or make sure nothing like what happened at Royal Street ever happens again. Things are progressing on multiple fronts, but on DAY 26 there’s an option to put some of those efforts on the back burner...

     ON THE STATION, the new hosts are herded onto a sleek, black brick-shaped transport. Carata, a woman young enough to almost be called a girl, carefully makes sure everyone is seated and strapped in. She’s all gentle, easy smiles and cheerful responses to any questions posed to her. When everyone’s safely aboard, the ship’s landing platform descends through the floor of the hangar. It snaps into place in the airlock and for a moment there’s a beat of perfect stillness, a shiver of anticipation. Then the transport is flung through the shaft, ejected into the wild black of space. There’s a nauseating lurch in your belly as it bursts through the delicate shell of the multiverse and snaps into real space above the blue and yellow marble of the planet Opia. Somewhere, thousands of miles below in the city of Concordia, your brood is waiting for you.

     IN CONCORDIA
IN CONCORDIA, as dark falls, Nirad announces he’s going to fetch Carata and the new hosts from their landing. Anyone’s welcome to accompany him on the hour long drive to the stealth transport’s landing zone. The rented bus - manned by that same (now very stoic) android - takes everyone to the outskirts of the industrial block. They arrive at a different parking garage just as the stealth transport drops out of the sky, shivering into sight as it touches down. The hosts on the ship step down and then the stealth transport lifts back off the rooftop and wrinkles out of sight. It’s unclear how many more time they’ll be able to get away with this.

Get your meet and greets in and stretch your legs; you have a few minutes before everyone piles into the van and takes the long drive back to the Bearings Apartment block where the hosts have rented out the entirely of Level 13. New hosts will find there are rooms there that as of yet unclaimed, and they’re free to begin making this their home in whatever ways they please. Get familiar with your new comrades, explore the city, or maybe just take a well deserved breather. Officially speaking, nothing much happens until--

     EARLY ON DAY 27

A NEW WINDOW POPS UP IN YOUR EXTRANET PANEL...

---

((OOC Notes: This is the hatch log for all new and recently returning hosts; any threads on the Station should be closed to newly awakened hosts or Station-based NPCs; a top level for Cathaway and Prince will be going live shortly. Any threads on Concordia can be open to both new and old hosts! For anything happening beyond these calendar dates, feel free to create your own logs and posts.

If you have questions about the mission specifically, direct them to the most recent calendar post HERE. You can find a more detailed overview of the hatching process HERE; you might also want to take a glance at the MISSION CONCORDIA BRIEFING. For all other questions, please hit up either the FAQ or MOD CONTACT pages.))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[greentech]

[ Listening is good. Pidge can deal with listening. His question brings a pause as she considers the question. She answers with a shake of her head and a little grin. ]

Garrison? No, that was just the name of the base. I was... going to school there. Sort of.

[ Not going to mention that she was sneaking in to get classified information, nope. Just gonna leave that aprt out for now. ]

I'm from Earth, actually.

[batmotif]

[Bruce briefly searches his memories, his own mental databank concerning people, places, events of his world. Though a base by the name of Garrison is certainly mundane, and not outside of the realm of possibility that it may exist in his world, it doesn't ring any proverbial bells.]

You were "sort of" going to school? Sounds as if there's a story behind that.

[If he sounds like he's prying, he probably isn't terribly concerned. Given that they could all just attempt to root around in each other's minds without asking, he figures that actually asking is more than enough.]

I'm from Earth, too. [He wonders if that actually means anything, in a situation where multiverses are now real.] Gotham. Heard of it?

[greentech]

It's... Well, I don't know if it's long, but it's definitely my story.

[ She sounds thoughtful and maybe a mite standoffish. With how many people can probably crawl into her head, she's a bit reserved about sharing her story with just anyone. It's not in her nature to do that, anyway.

Fortunately, she can turn the conversation toward a city she's never heard of. ]

Gotham? Huh... No. No, not really. [ She squints up at him, as if trying to place him in her mental map. ]

Where is it?

[batmotif]

[He certainly knows what that means, i.e. not something she really wants to talk about. That's fine. As curious as he is about his fellow hosts, he isn't so starved for information to force it out of anyone (yet). There are better ways of getting to know people -- often, it's just a matter of time revealing them. And considering their situation, they've plenty of time between the lot of them.

Plus, he can empathize with wanting to keep certain things to yourself. He'd be a giant hypocrite to state otherwise.]

Northeastern United States. It's close to Metropolis, if that helps.

[But he's willing to bet that it doesn't; if you're from his world, you've probably heard of Gotham in passing, at the very least.]

[greentech]

I don't think I've ever heard of Metropolis, either. Is it anywhere near New York?

[ Not that geography is typically her strong suit, but she can pick out a general location on her mental map of the United States. He might be able to get a very exuberant sense of curiosity radiating off of her. This is a puzzle that demands some of her attention. What's with these cities she's never heard of? ]

Are you sure you're from Earth?

[batmotif]

It's close.

[Her question about Earth would be a slightly more amusing if not for the surrounding circumstances.]

I'm sure. [He looks at her a little skeptically, considering something.] I have a feeling this has to do with the notion of multiverses.

[greentech]

Multiverses.

[ Pidge cocks her head to one side, considering the idea. She knows the theory, but this is really the first she's seen it in action (well, so to speak). She makes a little 'huh' sound and then climbs to her feet so she's not craning her neck quite as much as she was when she was sitting down. ]

So, you're from an alternate Earth - or, maybe I am. But I've heard that - infinite worlds, infinite possibilities.

[batmotif]

With everything that we've experienced in the past two days, it's no longer out of the realm of reason.

[He can deal with multiverses. Everyone sharing one mind? That's a bit more frustrating in its own ways.]

[greentech]

After a while, you kind of get used to the weirdness, you know? I've... had to deal with things I never thought I'd have to be dealing with over the last couple weeks. And then this happens and now everything I thought I knew - which I just relearned - is out the window again!

[ She's babbling a bit. ]

So there being multiple versions of the universe out there can't be any weirder then getting myself mind-linked to a bunch of strangers - uh. No offense.

[batmotif]

[Babbling girl, meet mostly stoic man. He listening, though; he isn't one to discard what she has to say simply because it's accompanied with an awful lot of words.]

None taken. [A beat passes before he continues.] They say that misery loves company, you know. I think the majority of us here feel just as lost as you, mind-link notwithstanding.

[greentech]

[ Fortunately, she's known stoic people. Or stoic-seeming people, anyway. They tend to lighten up a bit eventually, but that might just be Shiro and/or Keith. She takes a deep breath and tries to let the tension bleed out of her shoulders. Calm down. ]

Yeah, I know. I guess it's just really easy to get wrapped up in your own thoughts.

[ And doubts. Especially doubts. ]

I guess that's why I came up here.

[batmotif]

[He knows from first-hand experience how easy it is to get lost in one's own thoughts. For him, that isn't the issue. It's the fact that all these strangers are potentially privy to it that bothers him the most.

He's quiet for a moment, taking in the night sky.]

Is it helping?

[greentech]

Maybe. [ Pidge laughs. It's not all that amused, but it's at least a laugh. Right? ]

It's only been a couple days. Maybe it'll get easier tomorrow.

[ She isn't sure she really believes that, but she has to try. ]

[batmotif]

[He feels that skepticism from her; it's amplified, perhaps, because he shares it as well. It rebounds in an odd feedback loop, only strengthening his doubts about their newfound situation.]

You don't have to let it get easier. [A strange sentence. But he does not mean it as discouragement.] Unlike what everyone keeps telling me, that I'll get used to it, I'm not sure that I want to. I'm not sure that it's wise to.

[greentech]

[ It's a lot easier to express doubt when someone is around to back you up on your weird feelings. Not that she needed that much help in feeling some resentment toward her new situation. She grimaces, resisting the urge to stick her hands in her pockets. ]

Yeah, exactly! Who are they to just tell me to "get used to it"? And that I should "get used" to the idea of never seeing my family again? It's stupid! For all we know, they set this whole thing up to make us feel grateful!

[batmotif]

[Well, if you want someone to back up your doubts about this whole fishy situation, Bruce is definitely your man.]

You're right. "For all we know". [His brows crease, his own outward sign of irritation.] Which is what, exactly? For the most part, nothing, other than we're here to fight a war that we didn't even know existed until recently. To fight an enemy that we know nothing about.

And in return, we're told that this is simply how it must be. No recourse, only acceptance. In my opinion, that's not exactly what I call acceptable.

[greentech]

I got pulled into something similar at home... but I knew what I was supposed to be fighting for.

[ Family. Her home planet. The universe. Small things.

Here, it's vague. Here she doesn't have a choice. She frowns and glances up at Bruce. ]

A friend of mine once said that you can't force someone to be on a team. That's not how it's supposed to work. I don't know what they expect...

[batmotif]

I wouldn't know. I was never much of a team player.

[At least Bruce is honest about it, though he agrees with one thing: a team forced to work together was bound to have its complications, if not straight-out fail.]

Unfortunately, for now, it seems like we don't have much of a choice in the matter. Either our "team" meshes or we fall apart spectacularly. Hopefully it's not the latter; I'd like to survive long enough to find a solution to our problem of not being able to return home.

[greentech]

Yeah. Tell me about it...

[ She scrubs a hand through her hair. ]

Besides, I'm pretty sure everyone else here is just as lost as we are, so I wouldn't want to take it out on them, anyway. Maybe we can figure it out together.

[ It's a nice thought, but Pidge is likewise ready to fly solo if she has to. It's how she started out, after all - herself versus the military. ]

[batmotif]

I plan on it. [His response in turn is immediate. It's something he's decided on shortly after his arrival. An unwavering notion in his mind.]

One way or another, I'm going back home to Gotham. If there's a way to send any of us back, we'll all have to keep our eyes open enough to find it.

[It may take a little detective work, but that's nothing new to him.]

[greentech]

I think we're going to have to wait until we're back on the station. That's where they brought us, so there has to be a way to get home from there. One way or another...

[ She's already racking her brain for potential ideas. Wormholes, FTL travel, time travel, holes of space-time...

There's a lot to consider. Especially since she has no idea how any of that really works with the station. Not yet, anyway. ]

It's nice to know I'm not alone, though.

[batmotif]

[Bruce, wait? Surely you jest.]

Concordia still might provide its fair share of answers. It's difficult to tell, given it's a completely different problem for now, but in the end... every new situation is the potential to gather new information. Something you might consider useless could be the key to a bigger mystery, down the line.

[Quite the detective, this guy.] All I'm saying is keep your eyes open at all times.

[She's right, though. They're not alone. Even if they wanted to be, they have a new, big family called a Nest that they couldn't get away from even if they wanted to.]

[greentech]

They've also got all kinds of weird tech here, apparently. We might be able to grab some of it before we leave. If we leave.

[ She has no idea what the plan is. ]

There's too much going on and we've just been... dropped into it. [ She grumbles. ]

I don't know what they expect out of this!

[batmotif]

Honestly, I don't think the ones with the answers know anymore than we do. [His conversation with The Prince proved useless, only stymieing his search for answers.] We'll have to make our own expectations, one way or another.

[But he decides to latch onto something of interest that she mentioned...] You mentioned bringing some of the tech with you. Are you technologically-minded?

[greentech]

I guess you could say that!

[ Pidge's voice picks up a bit. She's a bit happier to be talking about something she enjoys. ]

I'm really good with it. Can hack a Galra cruiser in no time! Or make some modifications to a shuttle or a robot or anything else you want. No big deal.