[hatch log] the stealth ship's running out of fuel

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: The Station + Concordia
WHEN: DAY :29 - :30
SUMMARY: A new brood hatches; two new hosts arrive in Concordia.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary.

YOU WAKE UP. Something is different - something unnamable, but palpable. You aren't the same person you were the last time you were aware of yourself.

You might not know it right away, though. What you do know: you're in a just slightly claustrophobic compartment. A gentle white light diffuses from the top panel. You're wearing the clothes you remember from wherever you came from. You feel... good - regardless of what condition you might have been in before you came to this place. 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. Lastly, there’s a faint pinch at the base of your skull. Reach back to it and there's a small cable connected to the base of your neck and running back into the rear wall of the compartment. Disconnect it. Then it’s not so quiet anymore. Wherever here is, you aren't alone. You can feel that in your head: something big taking up space.

Welcome to Station 72, Mara and Murphy. All new hosts will have one day aboard the Station before being whisked off to Concordia to join the others. Get to know one another, ask the guardians of the Station - Prince and Cathaway - any burning questions you might have, explore Station 72. At the end of the day, a slick stealth shuttle will arrive in the hangar to take you to Concordia.

The pilot of the craft of a young man who buzzes across the fresh mental connection. It's loud enough to be irritating; he apologizes for it a few times during the trip through the pieces of the multiverse, as the ship pops into existence over the planet, and descends into the bustling inner city of Concordia in the dark hours of the morning on DAY 30. Nirad lands the stealth craft in a garden district; once you've disembarked, the ship reverts to an autopilot sequence and lifts off of it's own accord.

From there, it's just a short tram ride to the Bearings Apartment block building. The hosts, Nirad explains, have rented out Level 13. There are still some empty rooms there if you want one (you probably want one). That said-- if you don't want to go to Bearings and meet your new family comrades in arms ...friends...?

No one's stopping you. But some of them might come looking.

---

((OOC Notes: This is a mini-hatch log for Mara Jade and John Murphy; on-Station prompts should be closed to either one another or Station NPCs, but Concordia prompts may be open to everyone.

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

[batmotif]

[w o w

Mere seconds ago, Bruce was on the edge of waffling between his charismatic persona versus his decidedly more standoffish one. Now he has cleanly fallen to one side, and it isn't Playboy Billionaire Bruce Wayne™.

The look he gives is unimpressed by her words, brow creasing juuust enough to betray a sense of annoyance. His retort is plain but quick. And edged in sarcasm.]

Just like I'm sure you're quick to collect friends with your shining personality.

[pot meet kettle]

[snaphiss]

[Mara fires back in kind,] If I was in the market for friendship, you wouldn't have been informed. [She says it with a casual shrug. Really, people shouldn't take things so personally. It's not like she ever does that.]

[She gives him a proper once-over, curious, but taking care to at least look unimpressed.] Who are you supposed to be? [He can take that however he wants.]

[batmotif]

[Despite his flash of annoyance, Bruce's pride remains unscathed. It takes more than words to provoke him to anything more than a vague irritation; her words roll off of him, just as easily as his do, though the initial first impression lingers.

Bruce chooses to take that question both ways, but he responds literally.] Someone just taking in the sights. [He's not quick to give a real introduction in public. Some of the hosts have already been careless in the past, if the recent hacking is of any indication, and he sees no need to add to the recklessness.]

Didn't expect to run into someone from the... Glimmering Gazette. Looking for an interview?

[Don't sound too excited, Bruce.]

[snaphiss]

[Mara smirks. At least this guy can keep up. She takes her datapad back out.]

I'm always looking for an interview. [Because that's what journalists do or whatever, right?] How long have you been in town?

[How long can they keep the ask-questions-without-asking game?]

[batmotif]

[Bruce can play this game, if that's what she wants. He quirks a brow, only slightly, before mentally readjusting. He shifts his weight, putting one hand in his pocket while the other gestures as he speaks. HIs demeanor becomes something more approachable, a bit lighter -- a switch that comes oddly naturally to him, as if he's had fair practice at it.]

I've just got into town. [He's as fresh of a face as she is, relatively speaking.] It's been... what, five days now? Not even a week.

[snaphiss]

[Mara's just glad not everyone around here takes things so personally. She keeps on smirking.]

And how have you been settling in? [She takes out her datapad, as though she's actually taking this down for posterity.]

[batmotif]

[Best not to take Bruce as an example of people in general -- he's a bit of an outlier.]

It's a big city, full of opportunities. It's difficult not to get excited about that. But every place has its problems; looks like the debate of anti-synthetic versus pro-synthetic is going to reach everyone's doorsteps, sooner or later.

[Don't think that she's going to be the only asking questions, though.] Are you new with the Gazette?

[snaphiss]

Oh, I'm freelance, but I came here to start on the articles they've ordered. They're a small net-based journal, very hush-hush. Surprisingly forceful recruitment office. [Double meanings aside, she purposefully picked a blog that didn't list any easily accessible contact information, so anyone attempting to verify her story would have to hack the gazette's private correspondence.]

[It's all a cover story she rattles off quickly, without any evident thought. But if they're testing each other...]

What are you in town for in the first place?

[batmotif]

[And Bruce actually gives a small chuckle at that, one hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck.

On the outside, at least.

Internally, he still finds his proposed cover story quite ridiculous. But it's all in the (forged) documents and IDs, so straying from them wouldn't even be worth the trouble.]

Well... it's a little embarrassing, actually. I'm here looking for a career change, something a little more secure than what I was doing before.

[snaphiss]

[Mara smiles benignly, wondering if she could reach through his mind and snatch out the answer. Probably, but not without setting off a few alarms. Not worth it.]

Feel free to elaborate, if you'd like. I'm trying to get a feel for the locals.

[batmotif]

[Bruce makes it a point to keep up a mental barrier, for people like Mara who might entertain the thought of snatching thoughts from his head without asking. At the very least, he would certainly notice.

(Not that he cares if someone finds out, really, what the details of his cover are. That would be inane. His concern is that, if someone reaches in to pull out information from his head, they might grab a few extra tidbits about himself that he'd prefer to keep personal.

Her curiosity will be satiated, anyway, with his answer.]

I was a professional cosplayer.

[snaphiss]

[She narrows her eyes, and it's with the driest humor that she says,] I'll note that I'm speaking with a consummate professional.

[Anyway, onto more important topics. There's really only one thing she wants from other members of the Nest, and she's waited long enough to ask it:] What's your opinion of the emerging political situation? You implied you thought it was fairly important.

[batmotif]

Glad to hear it. [-is said with a faux smile that could be easily written off as sincere.

But at the broaching of a ever more important subject, Bruce seems to adhere to a more somber tone.]

Well, it is. It brings up a lot of questions about synthetic rights and discrimination. Not to mention the recent bombings, which have been needlessly instilling fear in the population, making it all the more volatile of a subject.

[Mara will be hearing Bruce's voice again, but this time in her head. There, his words have lost their courtesy for the sake of being blunt. ]

(If this is the conversation you want to have, there's no point in doing it under the guise of who we're pretending to be.)

[snaphiss]

[Mara's heard voices in her head recently enough, and with enough frequency, to no longer flinch or go still from the intrusion. Thankfully, the urge to bend to one knee died years ago.]

An interesting perspective. Would you like to sit down at that cafe and discuss it?

( You're buying. )

[batmotif]

[Bruce gives her his best sort of congenial smile, then gives a little half nod at the cafe down the street.]

I don't see why not. It's about that time to grab something to eat, anyway.

(Just don't draw too much undue attention.)

[snaphiss]

( I'm no amateur. ) [Is all she says before taking his arm. She's going to see how much she can get away with, because, well, why not?] Lead the way, sir. [All fluttering eyes and a wide smile, obviously fake from the angrily determined pulse through the link.]

[batmotif]

[Bruce is prepared enough that he doesn't flinch when Mara takes his arm; in fact, this would certainly not be the first time that he'd been seen in public with a woman on his arm. He takes hers in return, the gesture swift and practiced. He even adds a faint smile in the face of her grin, ignoring the undertones of frustration he can literally feel radiating through their connection.]

(We'll see.)

Right this way.

[It doesn't take long for him to lead her there. The cafe is small and alive, but there's enough isolated seating for them to enjoy a private conversation without having to constantly look over their shoulders, or continuously rely on their mental link. Naturally, he chooses a table in the corner, away from the bulk of the crowd. Out of habit alone, he pulls out a chair for her to be seated, the facade so second nature to him that it may as well be part of himself, in a way.]

[snaphiss]

[Mara sends the mental equivalent of an eyeroll though the link. She has no reason to think this man is anything but a layman, a businessperson, a... cosplayer, whatever that is. She follows unworried.]

[She ignores the proffered chair, instead taking a seat with her back to the wall. It's a good choice in location, but Mara will take every advantage she can get. Mara steeples her fingers in front of her, a common gesture learned before she can remember.]

[She stares at the empty chair.] How gentlemanly.

[batmotif]

[Bruce actually has to make an attempt to not roll his own eyes a little before he sits down at his side of the table, an effort to hide his own personal inclinations towards making a dry, sarcastic remark as equally strong. Even though is own politeness was all for show, she made her defiant nature resounding clear.]

Old habits die hard.

[He watches her for a moment, elbows leaning into the table, making himself comfortable.] I hope I'm not making you feel like a cornered animal. [It's said almost dully, as if pointing out that he did indeed notice that she took the seat with her back to the wall.]