Twelfth Cycle - Season Premier!

[thespaceopera]

[Everything is quite dark as the passengers regain consciousness, with little lights and panels on the walls just now beginning to wink to life. It seems as though everyone and their new homes are rising from slumber together. Even the air is sleepy, and it tastes stale--it must have been a long time since it's been anywhere other than recycled endlessly through this space.

And for a few minutes, the only sounds that aren't coming from the passengers themselves is the omnipresent hum of electrical and mechanical parts surrounding them on every side, and the occasional scratch of vermin-feet in the walls. Then, regardless of where each passenger wakes in their ship, a short musical tune and an exuberant female voice crackles to life over speaker panels in every room.]

--Good morning, honored passengers! My name is Diamond, and on behalf of Atroma and our entire audience, congratulations on being selected to participate in the twelfth cycle of Drift Fleet! We are all eager to get to know you, and I just know you must all be eager to get started, so let's get right to it!

[And with that, whoever happens to be on the bridge of their ship at the time will be treated to watching the solid panels slide away from the windows, revealing infinite black and uncountable stars... and whether or not they've ever been capable of comprehending the concept before, they immediately recognize outer space.]

In a few minutes, the HS Marsiva will come into view through the windows to my left. Please familiarize yourself with her presence.

For more information on your new roles, and of the Drift Fleet itself, please refer to the helpful information files already uploaded to the network. And from here on out, it shall be up to you to refer new cremates to these information files and to make sure that their stays on your crews are pleasant and rewarding!

...Also--speaking of your new responsibilities as crewmembers--I expect captain forms to be filled out and submitted by the end of the week.

[The smile practically drips from her voice at that last point, and there's a little pause before she continues]

And finally-- we won't be approaching our first system for a few days yet, so you are all encouraged to get to know each other and enjoy the ride in the meantime.

Welcome to Drift Fleet, and remember... the worlds are watching!

[and the voice cuts out, but the lines are still open. the network is live and listening.]



((ooc: the Fleet is now live! dive in and tag around! it's a good idea to put whether or not your thread is open to the network, and what ship you're on, in the subject of your reply. to see who is on which crew, please refer to this sheet! have fun!))

Comments

voice

[aberrant_type]

Very reasonable! May I ask who's speaking? [She sounds approving but also cheerful, like surprise! waking up in space ain't no thang.]

video;

[proteusmoon]

[ Honestly, she's not sure if she's relieved or concerned to hear such a cheery voice on the other end. ]

Cecil Harvey, miss. And you are?

[aberrant_type]

Zoe Hange. Pleased to meet you! I'm sure there must be plenty of people glad to hear someone level-headed around.

[proteusmoon]

And I you.

[ Cecil smiles back into the feed genuinely. ]

Well, I would hope so, Miss Hange, but honestly speaking, I've really only managed to catch the attention of a few friends of mine and past acquaintances. Besides you and my crewmates, that is. I'm thankful for it, but it sounds as though a lot of our fellows are rather upset.

[aberrant_type]

Ah, we're in no immediate danger. Let them run off some energy and better tempers will rule out in the long run. You're taking care of the people close to you, which is probably your most immediate duty anyway!

[proteusmoon]

Yes, as much as I dislike the idea of leaving others to their own devices, I do have a few responsibilities regarding my friends already.

[ There's a flicker of worry across her expression at that, but it's fleeting. ]

I'm on the Wonderduck. What about you? Have you settled in all right? Is there anyone you know here?

[aberrant_type]

I haven't found the ship name yet, [it didn't seem like the most important item of business for her] and no, there's not a single person I know here. [And she's worried, but not showing even a flicker of it. Eren...

She'll have to trust to the forces of humanity to retrieve him.]

I have two crewmates so far and they seem to be in one piece! I'm glad for that.

[proteusmoon]

[ She nods in agreement. ]

I am too. That's a relief.

I don't suppose you think it'd be wise for all crews and ships to pool our resources, just in case? I presume we were mostly healed and nursed back to decent health while they fiddled with our heads, but I doubt we'll be fortunate enough for their experimenting to have gone flawlessly. We don't have an official medic, but we have a pilot and an engineer.

[aberrant_type]

I've spoken to at least one young lady with the ability to heal others, or so she says. I do believe it would be worthwhile finding out what each person is capable of and delegating responsibilities from there.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that our ships are at a good distance from each other. That's going to make pooling resources, besides knowledge, more difficult.

[proteusmoon]

Yes, I did think of that as well. Our pilot has proven to be decently efficient at his job thanks to the... ah, augments, I suppose they're called. It might be best to go about identifying the other pilots and seeing who can and would be willing to shuttle others about in emergency situations.

[aberrant_type]

That's a reasonable place to start. Hopefully all the ships have been lucky enough to end up with at least one person capable of taking on a leadership role.

[LOOKING AT YOU, CROWLEY, TEK AND EMBLICA'S SHIP...]

[proteusmoon]

It does seem as though at least one of my crew is in support of me assuming the role of captain. I suppose I will be filling out that paperwork later...

[aberrant_type]

I'm not sure how much of an actual responsibility it will be, given we've been brought here against our will in the first place, but at least I know I'm qualified to some degree to take them on.

What's your experience?

[proteusmoon]

I obtained my proof of knighthood at sixteen and I am proficient in the use of most melee weaponry and some ranged weaponry as well. I served as captain of my country's esteemed airship fleet, the Red Wings, for the last three years, served in the military for five prior to that. Recently, I've also had some experience in operating advanced technology similar to these ships, but my primary duty is, ah...

[ She hesitates for a moment. She hasn't spoken to anyone about this yet-- not even her friends. ]

...Well, I ascended to the throne of my country last month.

[aberrant_type]

Congratulations! That's quite an impressive resume. You must be concerned about having arrived here, though.

[Yeah that's about the extent of her verbal reaction - she's pleased, though. Good, someone with experience in positions of authority and leadership. Thank somebody that a person like this is here.]

[proteusmoon]

I am, but this isn't the first time I've ended up in what is possibly another universe. My hope is that this one functions as the other one did when it comes to time.

[aberrant_type]

Oh really? You're the second person I've met who's mentioned crossing worlds. How did time work in your other place?

[proteusmoon]

Well, when I returned from Court, the other world, to my own home, it was as though no time had passed at all since I'd left.

1/2

[aberrant_type]

... Really.

[Good.]

[aberrant_type]

How could something like that be possible?

[proteusmoon]

I'm not sure. My father's people were well-versed in the sciences and magical arts, but I'm afraid I hadn't thought to ask any of them for their opinions on the matter and, of my accomplishments, the workings of time and space aren't among anything I've studied at length. I can only tell you that myself, two men named Robin and Tek, a young lady named Rin, and a being called Barakiel also retain their memories of Court. Perhaps one of them might have a better idea— especially Robin and Barakiel.

[ As far as she knows, they are the super old immortals of the bunch, after all. ]

[aberrant_type]

As it happens, Robin was one of the other world-hoppers I spoke to. I'll look him up to ask more about that. If it's true that things will keep at home while I'm stuck here, I'm very glad to hear it.

[proteusmoon]

I'm sure.

[ She offers a little knowing smile. ]

I think we all have certain responsibilities to attend to at home, so that at least is a comforting thought, yes. Might I ask what your experience in leadership is? You have me curious now.

1/2

[aberrant_type]

Of course! My home has three main military branches: the military police, the stationary troops, and the reconnaissance corps, also known as the scouting legion. The latter branch is tasked with exploration and information gathering about the outside world...

[aberrant_type]

Which I suppose I should explain has mostly been impassable to humans for around one hundred years because of the appearance of titans, giant humanoids that devour humans! Ahem, I've been a member of the scouting legion since I graduated my military training at sixteen, and carrying out research since then... anyway, I'm in charge of various squads of scouts for those purposes.