[hatch log] +1, +2, +3, ...+4?

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: The Station + Concordia
WHEN: DAY :35 - :36
SUMMARY: Another hatch occurs on the Station; new hosts arrive on Concordia and make their way to Bearings - along with a special guest.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary.

YOU WAKE UP and you will never be the person you were a moment ago. --No. Not a moment. It's been a while, hasn't it? Something feels different. You know intuitively that you've been unconscious for more than just a blink of the eye.

Which might explain how you ended up here: lying in a small faintly hexagonal chamber, a gentle white light emanating from the surrounding walls. It might also explain why any injuries you might have experienced immediately before your escape are also well on their way to being healed. There's something strangely peaceful about waking up here and that feeling persists as you find the tube running from the base of your neck to the compartment's rear wall. But when you disconnect the tube-- Things get loud. A wave of emotion fills the void. Fear, uncertainty, relief, a sense of purpose or loneliness or anxiety; maybe some of these emotions are yours, but they can't all be. After the initial sensory overload, the mental buzz elongates: stretches out into a murmur like the sound of a party behind a closed door.

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. Drop down the ladder to the floor of the Nesting Deck and you’ll find you’re not alone - and that those sounds in your head are louder. Other people’s thoughts swim up: some of them might seem clear, but most of them are a jumbled mess. Every single person here feels like someone you should be familiar with, someone you somehow know. They might look like strangers, but there's something about them that's absolutely vital on a cellular level.

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 your brood members, 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 plans are being put into motion. Stealth missions are being plotted, espionage-laden ploys are being quietly organized, and somewhere Sam Alexander is probably puking into a bucket. If you aren't following someone suspicious - well, maybe you should be? It definitely seems to be in vogue.

But it can't all be derring-do and covert operations; early on Day 35, Carata disappears. Nirad says she's gone to the Station. "I don't know how many more times we'll be able to do this. Someone's going to notice the ship and start asking questions." And maybe some of those questions might lead someone their way. After all, they haven't exactly been keeping a low profile have they?

     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, the rest of your brood is waiting for you.

     IN CONCORDIA
AS NIGHT FALLS IN CONCORDIA, the transport drops into atmosphere and lands in an gutted strip of an industrial waste facility. Once everyone's disembarked, the transport lifts off of its own volition and winks out of sight as its stealth routines come back online. A few minutes later, a transport van arrives being driven by a stoic android. Carata and the other new hosts pile in. It's a long drive to the Bearings Apartment Block, but it feels undeniably like home when they finally reach the Level 13 living space. New hosts are invited to make themselves comfortable. There are as of yet unclaimed rooms, each of which features a customizable digital display wall (pick your color or wallpaper!); there's a fully stocked kitchen (if someone took time to do the grocery shopping) and a great view overlooking Beta Block from the common room. Get familiar with the other hosts, take a well deserved nap or--

     JUST KIDDING.
In the excitement of new hosts arriving, it might be easy to miss it when the powerlift drops back to the lobby a few hours after the arrival of the new hosts. But it's impossible to overlook the android that arrives on Level 13 when it returns. It's stripped down to its most basic parts: a metallic skeleton with a featureless face plate and bright blue ocular inputs, sparks flashing through its internal synthetic viscera like firing synapses.

It looks like a nightmare.

Its jaw unhinges: "I'm looking for Sim Anderson," it says and then abruptly powers down.

---

((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. Any threads on Concordia can be open to both new and old hosts!

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

[quivers]

[ This had been a nice change from where she woke up, still cringing about finding that tube in her neck and the blandness that made her feel very well in a hospital prison. Which that probably was ultimately what it was. At least Concordia had an air like a futuristic New York, creating some sense of familiarity to the setting. ]

Oh, you've been to Jersey? [ Her eyes might light up quite a bit, smile widening. ] Don't worry. That's really all you need. I mean, it's the home of the best people, locals and legends included. And they worship Springsteen like a god there. That's an instant win in my book.

[ Hmm, maybe that's why he seems familiar. Maybe she met him in Jersey. Hmmmm. ]

[decommission]

[ If it's possible for his eyebrow to raise any higher, her reaction manages it. ]

Springsteen? [ Sorry, miss, that name doesn't ring a bell. He starts to shake his head, letting out a light snort. ] You sure we're talking about the same Jersey?

[ He's never once heard anyone talk about Jersey like that. Unless, you know, you're from there but he's not picking up that accent. ]

[quivers]

[ Okay, what — ]

Come on. Born in the USA? Born to Run? Dancing in the Dark? Who doesn't know the great name of Rock n' Roll? [ She takes as a joke for a brief second but his expression makes it seem like he's not pulling her leg here.

She frowns, shoulders dropping. ] I'm thinking maybe we're not. Maybe an alternate dimension thing. Although a Springsteen-less universe sounds like a pretty crappy one, no offense.

[ She shakes her head, laughing. ] Nevermind. It doesn't matter. [ Stepping over closer to him, she holds out her hand. ] Kate Bishop. The new girl, as it shows.

[decommission]

[ Nope. Not a single bell to be rung here by the list she rattles off. He won't take too much offense. Anyone saying that usually knows they're giving out some kind of fighting words, and though Steve's got no love or loyalty toward the Garden State, he's willing to skip to introductions for now (he's the one that's half barged into her room). She's probably right, anyway, they're probably not even from the same universe.

His own hand reaches out to clasp the one offered to him. ] Never woulda guessed. [ Wry humor colors his tone and he tips his head. ] Steve Rogers. Not so new.

[ Practically ancient by the Bearings standards. ]

[quivers]

[ If her hand squeezes his tighter than it should, it's not purposely done, more a result of sudden shock. Color drains from her face as her smile diminishes into some more of confusion. Mostly because her immediate impression of Steve Rogers is usually much larger, much taller and with a higher degree with star spangles.

It takes her a moment to register that Steve Rogers wasn't always the hunky bag of muscles everyone knows (plus, he was all full of wrinkles and grey hair just a few months ago). The serum changed him, and even though she'd only seen it in old pictures at the museums, a Steve that looked like this existed once. ]

Oh, whoa, Cap! I mean — [ Nope. Backtrack. Spoiler alert. ] Steve. You're Steve Rogers.

[decommission]

[ His brow furrows with concern at the sudden change in her demeanor, his arm going tense as her grip tightens on his hand. A question starts to form, mouth opening - then shutting again when she says Cap and his own features shift, realization mingling with wry humor in his tone: ]

Expecting someone taller? [ His head cocks to one side.

Steve's done this number a few times already - the star-spangled captain with the square jaw is a popular guy around here. He's got to start wondering why the Nest is pulling so many folks from the same sort of universes. ]