onemind: (Default)
THE N E S T ([personal profile] onemind) wrote in [community profile] station722016-03-14 01:56 pm

[HATCH LOG] IS ANYONE THERE?

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: Station 72
WHEN: Day :150
SUMMARY: Today is the day you wake up.
WARNINGS: None; will edit if necessary.






A MOMENT AGO it seemed like you willingly took the hand of someone beckoning to safety.


NOW YOU WAKE UP in one of many chambers of Station 72’s nesting deck. If you had wounds, they’re (mostly) gone; if you had doubts they are - for the split second between dreaming and waking - gently reassured. This is correct. This is right. You’re safe here. The only question is what here is exactly.

The compartment you find yourself in is small, though gently padded for comfort with enough elbow and head -room to not be wholly claustrophobic. Still, it’s difficult to re-orient yourself; the best way to get to the chamber’s built in ladder and down to the smooth, polished white floor of the nesting is to simply roll over onto your belly and go out feet first.

First thing’s first though: get rid of that tube running from the rear wall of the chamber to the base of your skull. The moment you’ve done that, there’s the sensation like a rubber band popping - a string in your hand being jerked. The headache that punches in falls like the heavy end of a hammer - not serious, but surprisingly abrupt - as a of combination confusion, resolve, anxiety, certainty, delight, and fear and expectation finds you. In fades after a moment, churning to a low dull pressure and a faint hum. It’s feels like standing outside the door of a small party, sounds muffled and incomprehensible. Some pieces rise and swell above the others then fall again. Strain your ears and realize you’re hearing nothing at all.

On the plus side, you’re not hooked into the compartment anymore. Slide out and onto the ladder, though not too fast or you’ll miss the small cubicle built into the wall near the mouth of the chamber. In the cubicle are all the things you brought with you, every small piece you own of the home you left behind. There’s a neatly folded pair of something like white pajamas there as well. They’re definitely in your size, though you have the option not to wear them since you’re still in the clothes you left home in. Granted, for some of you that might not exactly be a blessing. Your clothes haven’t exactly been laundered or repaired, so best hope you didn’t bleed or sweat on them too much during your escape.

Sliding free from the chamber pod and stepping out onto the ladder, you’ll find yourself in an open space. The room is broad and pale and clean, its sloping walls featuring dozens and dozens of holes like the one you just wiggled out of. There are more ladders and a few other people climbing down, or stareing, or already down on the nesting deck’s floor but the sixteen - seventeen, including yourself - people present would hardly fill even a sixth of the room’s available accommodations.

The noise is louder when you near any of the others. It’s as if you've entered the party yourself. Identifiable now is the low wash of feelings, a hum of emotions that only serves to make the slight headache worsen. They feel genuine. They feel like they could belong to you. Still, that pressure in your head doesn't worry you --Shouldn't it worry you? Does worrying - about the headache, about the world and people you left behind, or the strange place you’re in now, the odd collection of people you’re with and the fact that you feel strangely drawn to five or six of them - make the headache better? Or worse?

If you manage to push the sound aside and listen with your true ears, you'd notice you can't hear anything besides this small group of fellow hosts: their footsteps, their oddly sharp breathing. There’s no sound of traffic, no wind in the trees, no birds, no hum of a ship. Only circulating air and silence.

You may not know what a brood is, but finding yours is easy. There are minds among these strangers that call to yours, their voices louder than the rest, their feelings sharper. The nearer to you they are, the more comfortable you feel. Is that strange? You don't know them, but you do. There are few answers to be found on the nesting deck.

Eventually you will have no choice but to head out of the room. There’s only one way out that you can see: up through a spiraling hallway that arches overhead. When it opens again the space seems slightly less alien. There are doorways of a kind lining the walls and each one opens to a small, nearly normal room. There are no doors, so it's easy to see all the rooms are vacant. In seventeen of them there are items neatly stacked on the bed. Most are hygiene supplies. Some of them - a toothbrush, comb, razor - may be familiar to you. Others less so. There's a flat horizontal ledge beside the bed with a small light and a single drawer. Another table, apparently built into the wall, sits across the room with a chair. A mirror is on the desk; it’s slightly mundane and not quite to the Station’s style.

This room is yours for the moment. It doesn't mean someone won't want to trade - or take. Beyond this life support deck stretches the rest of Station 72. It is quiet and and twisting and perfectly inert.

At its most familiar, the Station is merely a still, empty ship with broad chambers and gently mottled light. At its worst, it’s an Escher painting of strange angles and bizarre platforms that seems grown as much as built. There are many ways to many places and while it seems all doors and passages open to you, there’s an unshakeable feeling that the space doesn’t quite match up - that there’s even more to the Station which you can’t yet see. Don’t get lost!




For now, you reach the floor of the nesting deck. When you do, something blooms in your mind. A voice, disturbingly lacking any identifying traits but warm and comfortable like sweetened milk, says:

( ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬...There you are...▬▬▬..Welcome to Station 72 ▬▬. )


If you follow the thread of that voice, you’ll eventually find your way either to Cathaway on the bridge or The Prince in the training wing.








((OOC Notes: Welcome to Station 72! Feel free to check out the SETTINGS page for more information about the Station. If you have any questions about the setting itself, feel free to ask them there; otherwise, please direct all questions to either the FAQ or MOD CONTACT pages.

Prince’s top level should be live in the evening! Keep an eye out for it if you want him to give your character the introduction spiel instead of Cathaway.

Happy hatchday, everyone! :) ))




adamance: (no room for guilt)

[personal profile] adamance 2016-03-17 03:53 am (UTC)(link)
A necessity that we only understand part of. [A feeling of doubt follows these words. All her life, she has been taught not to trust things at face value. Her knee jerk response to trusting someone is a firm "no," and that remains true here. Perhaps it's her lack of knowledge about symbiotes and different worlds, but something doesn't seem right.

She doesn't intend to voice that to a stranger, even a stranger she feels drawn to.]


I am Lexa. I've made a point of meeting the people we've been ... joined with. [There's some discomfort here in her words.]
exhuxperation: (shadows)

[personal profile] exhuxperation 2016-03-17 06:51 am (UTC)(link)
As with all things, the full picture will become clear. [ Sooner or later. Hux has dealt in strategy and theory for far too long to be impatient, as much as he would like the information. Of course, he doesn't expect any of it to drop into his lap– no, there will be work involved. But, one only got what one put in.

For now, he'll sit, wait, and observe. ]


General Hux. [ He snaps to a more relaxed salute, fist against his chest. ] I don't imagine it will be an easy transition.

[ This whole....sharing headspace is deeply uncomfortable. It's a feeling that exudes off of him– he's barely even used to showing his emotions at all, let alone with strangers who will have access at virtually all times. ]
adamance: (imitating a horse)

[personal profile] adamance 2016-03-17 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
[The very concept of patience is enough to put her mind at ease. It isn't complete ease, but it's enough to relieve the tension from her shoulders and put her calmly in step with him. As the leader of her people, she knows that many things come with patience. But with patience comes a degree of control, a degree of certainty—of which she currently lacks. Completely.

Knowing what rests inside of her body further unsettles her.

Knowing that she isn't only holding a symbiote, but is connected to other people—that's even worse.]


Hux, then. It seems we're both of rank among our people. I'm their commander. [It feels important to supply this information, not just for now but for later. They both come from similar walks of life, at least in terms of ranking. Though how he carries himself still tells her that his particular walk of life was of a different brand.]

Do you intend to fight for them? [Lexa knows the risk to fighting, but she also hopes she finds the answers she's looking for—the ones she feels haven't been satisfied yet.]
exhuxperation: (turn shift)

[personal profile] exhuxperation 2016-03-18 06:16 am (UTC)(link)
[ He isn't prying, but her relief is palpable. The connection runs between them and it's strong, difficult to ignore even if he detests that very fact. Hux has honed other ways to get information out of people. This feels like a gross invasion of privacy, even if he can't make out all the details.

Still, in some way it's useful. To know that what he said has resonated with both of them. ]


A leader then. [ They have ground in common, even if the methods will ultimately differ. He barely knows Lexa, but his degree of respect raises a small notch. She's young and firm in her stance. It's admirable. ]

The wise answer would be "yes". [ Though it doesn't necessarily clash with his thoughts. ] It's too early to decide whether that will be "yes, always" or "yes, for now". Do you?
adamance: (yet another ear shot)

[personal profile] adamance 2016-03-20 06:27 am (UTC)(link)
It would be weak not to fight. Still, I've asked others to fight my battles for me countless times. The same might come to be here, though I know my place. No matter what I am to my people, that isn't the same here. [That's a long-winded way of saying that she intends to fight. But it's complicated. Lexa has been behind battle lines for so long that Clarke had never seen her fight, hadn't actually believed in her ability to live. That was with good reason, though. As the Commander, she had to be a figurehead, a symbol for all her people.

She had to also readily exercise the commands that would send others to fight for her.]


So, yes, I do. But if a mission proves too risky, I will let others fight in my place. I intend to return to my people, no matter what they say. [How long she'll cling to that hope, she doesn't know. But as long as she has the fire, the spirit of the past Commanders burning inside of her, she will do what she can to do exactly that.]
exhuxperation: (unintimidated)

[personal profile] exhuxperation 2016-03-21 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
[ That's the price of command, isn't it? Having other people take part and fight for you. Hux feels a swell of pride in thinking of this. His stormtroopers are perfectly trained, designed and molded that way since birth. Since they were young (as perhaps, even himself had been). There's something thrilling about sending them out onto the battlefield and watching them fight tooth and nail for what they believe in.

And at the same time, it's a heavy weight. To watch with a cool and near disinterested gaze from the transparisteel of the deck when TIE fighters are shot down and he cannot do anything more to help. ]


If there's no one else to fight in your place? [ A worst-case scenario for their type. But, something to think about all the same. ]
adamance: (finding a third way - a compromise)

[personal profile] adamance 2016-03-22 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
I can fight in their place. If my time comes because I've been forced onto the battlefield, then so be it. [Death is something she has always approached too casually, and that remains the same now. Though she doesn't say "my death," the meaning to her words is clear. Lexa truly believes that she'll live on in some way, but there is nothing of the Force in how she speaks.

It's something else entirely, linked to a higher power of understanding that is still far from defined by Judeo-Christian tradition.]


As their Commander, I have to be strong enough to take up arms. We have a tradition among my people—trial by combat. You can choose a proxy, someone to fight in your place ... but I've refused it before. [And she's alive.] I'm not ill-prepared for this place and what they might ask of me. [There's a pause as she levels a glance at him.] Are you?
exhuxperation: (pale shift)

[personal profile] exhuxperation 2016-03-22 05:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ Her meaning is crystal clear and he respects her for it. He isn't sure about the impression she gives of living on, but he's never been the spiritual sort. Not even when he sees Ren display his use of the Force so easily. ]

You've survived. [ Admirable, very admirable. Hux hasn't had threatening combat with anyone lately, but he's kept up with his studies as well as he could while in charge of a ship the size of the Finalizer. And on Starkiller (which is no longer, and how he honestly thought he was going to die). ]

I've gone this long; there is no reason not for me to continue fighting.

[ He has goals to achieve and being dead won't get him anywhere. Not fighting is weakness. ]
adamance: (yet another ear shot)

[personal profile] adamance 2016-03-22 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Then if we fight, we will survive. It's in our best interests. [Her decision is a decisive one. They fight because they have no choice but to fight, and given their positions, they have no choice but to live. Their responsibilities are hardly gone, just set aside while they adjust to this new existence.]

Especially given our bond. [Neither had asked for it, but they have to embrace that it's there in some way. Lexa has no interest in growing too close to anyone, but being able to draw upon connections will secure her life, and her eventual return to her people.

No matter how naive she might be in believing that's even possible.]
exhuxperation: (turn shift)

[personal profile] exhuxperation 2016-03-26 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ She's right. It's not as though he's absolved from responsibility here. It's just that the focus has changed. His loyalties will remain to the First Order– he intends to go back. To lead them to glory and fully destroy the New Republic.

Something about this being said out loud by Lexa puts him at ease. She understands. ]


You're correct. [ The bond is new and different. He doesn't like it, feeling like he's so exposed. Like a live nerve. ] How we adjust will dictate how well we do.

[ Hux knows he'll have to take hold of this power and understand it. He knows it. But for the moment, he wants to pretend it doesn't exist. ]
adamance: (no room for guilt)

[personal profile] adamance 2016-03-28 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
We'll have to learn more about what it entails. For now, I've been given reason to believe that we should tread carefully with what has been offered to us. It may be too much in the long term to give up. [Though she's also been given reason to believe that they will never return to their homes, lest they risk the future of their people.

Lexa feels comfortable denying that reality. She will not give up so easily.]
exhuxperation: (shadows)

[personal profile] exhuxperation 2016-03-28 06:00 am (UTC)(link)
Of course. [ The adjustment period, he understands, will take time. As with anything new and far reaching. Not only will they have to get used to each other, they'll have to get used to the emotions. This connection they have and how powerful it is. How strangely exposed everything feels between them, even if they're complete strangers. ]

We'll have to be patient and wait it out. [ Long term strategy. Playing to the big picture and not the small one. Hux excels at this, has been playing this sort of game from the time he started climbing the ranks. ]
adamance: (i've got 50000 problems)

[personal profile] adamance 2016-03-28 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Then I won't worry about you being cautious. Others, it might not be the same.

[Truthfully, Lexa worries that someone like Nicholas might be too appreciative of what this is for him. She doesn't want to get dragged into it because of him, but she decides that she has nothing to worry about when it comes to this General. He knows precisely how to keep himself restrained.

That will help them in the future.]


For now, I'm going to seek out the rest of our brood. I suggest you do the same. [As it will help with that adjustment.]