[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

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ At least if nothing else, Sam can be sure that Shiro's gonna come out of this feeling a hell of a lot more rested than he had before. Sam knows this kind of exhaustion, now that he's feeling it. It's the kind he had in the months after Riley's death, when sleep was a distant memory and every time he closed his eyes he was back in the desert with smoke and blood and char; the kind he had during his time in the Raft and the nights after.

Damn but Shiro needs help, probably more than what Sam can give, but he sure as hell is going to try anyway. It's never been in him to turn his back on someone like this.

His heart beats steady, chest rising and falling in slow, measured breaths. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, and he shifts just a little so his shoulder is right next to Shiro's bowed head, all but touching. An invitation, as he keeps his arms around him. ]

I got you, all right? It's okay, long as you need, keep going as long as you need and I'll be right here. Just let it go, you don't gotta be alone.

[shiro2hero]

[He's... what does he say? What can he say? Anything that comes to mind is too little. Or too cliche or too... something. How does he thank a stranger for a reassurance he really never thought would ever come? It's like suddenly being offered the key to destroying the Galra forever.]

[Impossible. Unreal.]

[He doesn't really know how long he stands there, rigid, and trying everything not to completely give in to how much his emotions want to run wild and rip through him. The last time that happened, they lose valuable information. And it was all his fault.]

[A lot of things are his fault, aren't they?]

I... can't do that. [Even as he's focusing his best on breathing and stopping himself from crying here.] I can't -- let her hurt.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ It doesn't surprise him that Shiro starts steeling himself back up, shutting down. Honestly, Sam kind of figures that the only reason he got him to open up that much was the sheer shock of not being alone, of hearing there might be a reason for what he was dealing with.

But that doesn't mean Sam's gonna drop it. ]

Brother, I can promise you right now that you being able to break down a little every now and then, when you need it, isn't gonna hurt anybody. Whatever you got going on up here- [ He taps the side of Shiro's temple, lightly. ] It's gonna come out. That's part of what the flashbacks and nightmares are, your brain trying to deal with it all.

[ He steps back a little so he can look at Shiro, hold gone loose. ]

If you want, if you'll let me, I can teach you how to cope with it. How to put yourself back together, how to recognize the signs and stop it before it gets bad. I can show you what works for me, what’s worked for others, and help you find what works for you.

[shiro2hero]

It can't.

[He doesn't mean for it to come out harshly. But it's not the same -- it's not the same for everyone else as it is for him. Maybe... he really is alone.]

[He can't let it come out, because he has to be the one in control. He has to be the leader. There's... no way around that. No wiggle room.]

[When Sam moves away, so does he, forcing any trace of what just happened off his face. Throttling it back under wraps again. And, honestly, trying not to let it show how much he wants to jump at the offer. Latch onto it desperately.]

... It would be appreciated. Thank you.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam's eyebrows raise a little when Shiro says it can't, but the way he's trying to hide how desperate he is keeps Sam from saying too damn bad, it's gonna happen anyway.

Instead he gives Shiro's shoulder a squeeze, voice low but not exactly soft. ]

Why, because people are counting on you? Because if you break down it ain't just yourself you're putting in danger, it's a whole lot of other people? Because you can't let them see you like that, so you're just gonna keep going and keep going cause that's gotta be better, right?

[ He shakes his head. ]

Man, I know about can't, I've heard other people talk about it and I've felt it myself. It's always gonna come through. Best thing you can do is give it an outlet, like this. [ He gestures between them. ] Learn how to keep it from interfering, get better at managing it, but pushing it away or shoving it down isn't gonna do any good.

[shiro2hero]

[He doesn't even know how to hide things at this point. Aside from just not thinking about them. Aggressively not thinking about them.]

[And he doesn't want to admit how right all of that is. How it's so true, it's unnerving. Part of him wants to open up and start spilling everything out. Tell him everything -- the lack of memory, the flashes, the way the others look at him when it happens, how he's already let them down enough --]

[But he flinches, and holds it back. Because he can't let someone see him like that.]

I didn't have any other choice. I've -- I've never had any other choice.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Shiro doesn't have to tell him that all of that hits home - Sam can see it in his face, in the way he flinches.

But he nods at what Shiro says, immediately and without hesitation. ]

No, you probably didn't. Whatever you've done up until now, it's been to survive the best way you can - and it sounds like to protect other people, to keep them surviving. I'm sure as hell never gonna fault you for doing what you needed to do.

[ Lord knows Sam pushed himself past what he should've before he was finally forced to admit he wasn't gonna be any good to anyone if he kept going like he was. He's still holding back on his own shit, for the most part, but a little bit of that trickles through - that others may live - before he lets out another breath. ]

But you got a choice now. I don't expect you to make it immediately, but it's here. You don't have to keep going like that, brother. Any time you feel like you're gonna break, I'm here. [ He gives a final squeeze before he lets go completely, fighting back exhaustion, but hell, at least Shiro should come out of this feeling it less. ] Just think about it. We can start with the other stuff, learning how to keep it from interfering with your life.

[shiro2hero]

[That others may live.]

[That hits hard. Harder than expected. Or wanted. And before he can smother it down, Matt's face is flashing in his mind again, terrified and betrayed on the ground, bloodied by Shiro's own hand. Allura's face -- her resolve and acceptance and she shouldn't have had to do that. He didn't deserve her sacrifice. It's still so fresh, it almost makes him sick to think about.]

[He was supposed to be the one to give himself up for them. Leaders did that. She...]

[His voice is very quiet. As firm as he can make it. Maybe if he doesn't raise his voice very much, he can fake it until he makes it.]

[Story of the Head Of Voltron's life, honestly. No wonder the robot always looks so tired of everything.]

I just need to get by. That's... all I need right now.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Oh. Oh, shit. Sam was all set to end this, to back off on trying to get Shiro to agree to talk to him, because he can usually tell when to push and when to let it go, and then he gets all of that.

It pulls up a whole flurry of things at once for him, from having to watch Riley burn and leave what was left of him behind in the desert to telling Steve to get the hell out of the airport, to leave them all behind -

leaders did that and Sam wonders if Steve felt that way, knows he hated leaving the team behind, knows he came for them as soon as he could, but Sam had made the call and they hadn't had a chance to -

No. The thoughts come and go, lingering a little longer because some of them are things that Sam hasn't gotten to work through, but he still knows his shit. Especially when he's talking to someone he's trying to help, when he's been pulling on stuff he knew back at the VA; he knows how not to let their stuff bring up his. So he lets all of that fade away beneath the cloud layer that he still pictures in his mind, one by one and all at once, keeping himself clear.

Fake it until he makes it, and there's a moment where Sam emphasizes with that so strongly that his chest aches, and that's when he reaches out without a word, gently tugging Shiro back in for another hug. ]

You deserve so much more than that.

[ It's soft, but his tone doesn't leave room for any arguments, and he holds on a moment longer before letting go. ]

Okay. Right now, we'll just make sure you get by.

[shiro2hero]

[He actually winces. Because once again, there's an inadvertent feedback loop. Another step back. Trying not to think of all the flashes of his own failures. Not to remember in more detail having to leave them all behind and --]

[You deserve so much more than that -- except... he wonders if that's true. He's wondered that since he remembered that day in the Arena. Since those words echoed through his head in front of the cryo pod. If he really deserved 'better', deserved 'more', then why did it get to him so badly? Why couldn't he save Pidge's family? Save Allura? Why--]

[Maybe it flickers through his head, but he shoves it aside. Shoves it down and doesn't comment on it. He doesn't know if he could argue, if he tried.]

[So instead, he just wordlessly accepts the contact. Nodding, ever so slightly.]

That's... that's all I need.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ That's pretty much exactly what Sam was expecting, honestly. No one's ever just believed him, not with how deep seated shit like this has to be before it becomes an issue - and Sam himself remembers how long it took for him to stop calling bullshit on anyone who tried to talk sense into him.

He's gonna let it go - but not without a comment. Repetition, he knows that's key, and he'l say it as many times as Shiro needs. ]

Gotta disagree. But you're the one in control here, man, this is all your choice.

[ There's a pause as he makes a little face, rubbing his eyes tiredly with his thumb and forefinger. ]

'Cept we're definitely working on sleep issues, I ain't gonna hug you every day just so you can remember what it's like to feel well rested.

[shiro2hero]

[And his brain will respond with guilt. Because he shouldn't have to need this from someone. He shouldn't need someone to sit there and talk him out of wherever his brain has gone. No one should have to bother like that.]

[He's the Leader. The one In Control.]

[Leaders shouldn't need it. So he just nods, without agreeing out loud. Stepping back as if to end the conversation. Up until that last bit.]

Look, you don't need to do that. Either of those things.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam's gonna have a lot of words for when that happens, because nah, fuck that shit. Everyone needs other people, and there's no shame in accepting someone's help.

But that's definitely not a first conversation topic - granted, a lot of the things they went into weren't exactly first conversation topics, but that's beside the point - so he holds off it for now.

Instead he quirks a little smile at Shiro's protest. ]

Too late, man, already did. Happens whether I want it to or not, if I touch you when you're tired, you're gonna find yourself awake and alert. And the other thing - maybe I want to, huh?

[ He's not going to push it now, though, and he turns back to the original thing he was supposed to be helping Shiro with. ]

Come on, let's find you a room you can claim.

[shiro2hero]

Don't you need consent for that kind of thing?

[Sorry, Sam, it was probably meant to be a joke. But after everything that's happened today, it falls pretty flat. He's on edge, he's discomforted. He doesn't really know what to do with himself here.]

[Maybe if he just keeps his distance...]

All right. Lead on.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam doesn't flinch on the outside, but there's definitely a faint feeling of it through the mental link. Maybe if Shiro had actually managed joking, it wouldn't have touched on what's already a little bit of a raw spot for him - but it does, and Sam runs a hand over the back of his neck. ]

Sorry, man. It's kind of a new thing for me, I don't really know what I'm doing yet. [ It's a quiet admission, but Sam doesn't dwell on it. ] You don't gotta worry, I'm not gonna do anything without asking, all right?

[ With that, he starts out in the direction of the empty bedrooms. ]

[shiro2hero]

I...

[Yeah, he reads that loud and clear. And doesn't know what to say. Or how to say it. He's left standing there in the room as Sam moves off, some kind of half-formed apology bouncing around in his brain.]

[God, some leader he's been so far.]

[No wonder you lost her.]

... You can just point me in the direction, if that's easier.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam stops, looking back at Shiro, and purposefully doesn't think about anything he might be picking up.

Instead he smiles, slow and easy and genuine. ]

Nah, man. It's gonna take more than you awkwardly calling me on my shit to scare me off, 'specially when I'm pretty sure you were aiming for joling. I meant it when I said you don't gotta be alone, but I know all that was pretty damn overwhelming. You got any more questions, you can ask me on the walk there, and then I'll shut up and give you some space to breathe.

[shiro2hero]

[He nods. Folding his arms across his chest before he pads along behind him. But -- no, he doesn't want to talk about the stuff in his head anymore.]

[There are more important questions.]

Where exactly are we? What's our objective here?

[Safer questions.]