driftfleet | Who goes there?

[After weeks of relative silence, our intrepid passengers finally travel within visual range of a blue planet. Marsiva's slow-and-steady course makes it clear that this is the Drift Fleet's next destination--but just as your ships come within scanning range and your computers begin to gather data, a fleet of quick little watchdog ships zip out of the planet's atmosphere, heading straight for you!

They do not swoop in for an attack, but hold their positions between you and the planet. They look close enough to cause some trouble, and any working Communications Officer can tell you that they have weapons locked on the Fleet in warning.

The tell-tale sound of an incoming hailing frequency chimes over your ship's alert system. Someone would like you to pick up the phone. Thanks to their augment, all passengers instinctively know that they'll be looking for the Captain or the Communications Officer of the ship--but no one says someone else can't pick it up first.

On the bridge, the hailing frequency can be viewed on screen, along with the attached subject: "Identify yourselves." The notification chime goes off every seven seconds. These ships don't look like they're going anywhere, but they don't want to be kept waiting, either.

What do you do? Will you accept the frequency?]

ooc → see the July Star System post for details about this event! there is no real rush in this post (we won't even be around to begin responding to it until Sunday afternoon), so take your time, feel free to tag each other in this post (maybe try to get your Comms officers off their asses), and there is no time too late to tag into this post. the element of urgency is all IC, and there is no OOC pressure at all.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Anders smiles broadly at her in return, because of course he's fine! This is fine. Everything is fine.

Provided he doesn't encourage them to start blasting right out of the gate, of course.]

Be sure to make our daring escape extra speedy, on the off-chance this goes sideways. As egregiously overequipped as we are [thanks, team security!] I'm not keen on sticking around to test our mettle, if it comes to that.

[a beat]

Not that it's going to go sideways. Just as a— small backup plan.

[ Everything is so totally fine. She has confidence! Or... well, enough sense not to mess with all this shit herself and let someone else take care of it. ]

My foot's on the pedal ready to put it to the metal. Hey, we can't help it if they turn out to be asshats off the bat, right?

My thoughts exactly. I knew there was a reason I liked you!

[Both for being ready to fly really really fast, and also because he in no way feels obligated to these whoever-they-are beyond making sure they don't turn the ship into swiss cheese immediately. If they're asshats, they're asshats.]

Oh, so my charming wit and good looks aren't enough.

[ She gives him an amused head tilt before shifting to see what's going to happen with the communications. ]

Just give me the signal. Or, like, say a signal. Do we have a signal on this ship?

We should have one of those, shouldn't we? Do we like hand gestures?

[He does some bizarre and complex configuration with his hands that he'll forget in a half second.]

Or do we prefer codewords?

I like hand gestures. Harder to crack.

[ She grins at that, making a simple a-okay handsign back. ]

But a phrase would work in case we can't see each other. Right?

[He copies her, a-okay. The hand gesture doesn't have much meaning for him, so he's happy to accept it as the "go fast so nobody dies" signal.]

Hmmm, good point! Though I suppose Maker please go now is a bit too literal, isn't it?

Make 'er? I hardly know 'er.

[ She chuckles a bit, but leans back in her seat just enough to seem casual. ]

Probably. Simple, easily discernible words are the best.

[He appreciates the joke, either way, going by the way his grin blooms on his face. It's a nice respite from what he's about to do, at the very least.]

Easily discernible, easy to say, relevant to the task at hand but not confusing... [This is a really serious decision, by the way.] Fire has too many other connotations. Maybe— hmm, thunder? Or something like wheels, if we want to be really on the nose about it.

[a beat]

Or we could go with something completely different. Like turnip.

[ That's one thing she's good for. Being able to appreciate the seriousness of something without letting it get her down. ]

Lightning. What about lightning? Who has storms in space that cause lightning? Or, maybe turnip is the right direction and we should really just yell out carrot when we really want to hoof it.

[He snaps his fingers.]

Or both! We can use lightning when we need a quick hop, skip, and a jump out of somewhere, and carrot when the situation is more "we're going to die if we don't move right this second." Yes?

Oh, that sounds pretty good. More innocuous for a more dangerous situation. They'd never see it coming.

Genius, if I do say so myself! I think we're going to do well, you and I.

[He points to his eyes and then points to her, a slight misuse of the hand gesture, but he likes it anyway.]

... Provided we get through this whole mess first. But that'll be fine. Especially now that we have our escape words in order.

[He hopes.]

Absolutely. Point me in any direction and I'll send you right there.

[ She sees the gesture, quirks a confused brow at it, but doesn't say anything for now. Not the time to cross whatever weird gaps in culture they've got going on. ]

Just... I don't know, let's try and make this peaceful, huh?

Who goes there?

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