Welcome to Spaceo Kart!

[geonomy]

Who: All aboard the SS Vanquish!
Broadcast: Neh (Maybe)
Action: All over the ship! Maybe beyond!
When: The last half of August.

[Racing, racing, racing! It seems like the nearly the entire crew is into this racing business, whether that means winning or losing some of these races. Clearly, they all have competitive streaks deep inside.

It's the middle of the week, so they're not expecting someone new to show up. But wouldn't you know it? Someone does. Time to break out the confetti and chocolate pudding ready, and welcome to the newest member of the Vanquish crew!]

Comments

action

[stickupherforehead]

Kitchen/common area

[Pearl is here, duly prepared to greet a new shipmate. Except...]

Is that really chocolate pudding? I never realized it could retain its shape like that. [like it was squeezed straight outta a gel packet. Yum.]

Shuttle bay

[she's got one of the engines out, parts strewn (in an orderly fashion) all over the floor. They want to win, right?]

action

[geonomy]

[Aha, Clay's been looking for their engineer! Once he finds her at the shuttle bay, he'll eye what she's doing with a big smile of approval, then crosses his arms, head tilted to the side as he offers:]

Hey, Pearl. Wanna race with me? I bet we could win big if we teamed up together!

[stickupherforehead]

[glancing up and then craning her neck to look into the shuttle interior]

Is there room in there? [granted, she's practically a stick]

[geonomy]

It might be a tight fit, but if we can explore the ocean with this, then we can race with it! [He goes up to the shuttle and leans against it, craning his own neck to look into the interior.] We'll be just fine!

[alloys]

[ ARRIVAL ]

[ so, this has been one hell of a day. tony woke up on the marsiva, finding that he lacked the pair of red wings he'd begrudgingly grown accustomed to, and also that he had not, apparently, made it home this time after leaving luceti. nope. he's woken up in another universe, again. in space, this time!

at least this place had the technological upper hand, and tony assumes the reason he gets assigned to a ship so quickly is because he's already attempted to hack into the network with his communicator. it's remarkably elegant, and a distraction to keep his pent-up worries at bay.

but soon enough he's assigned to the vanquish. he had no idea what to expect and will make the most of it, whatever that means. maybe they're all his closest friends. maybe they're all idiots. part of the reason he hadn't made a broadcast yet was because he didn't necessarily want the answer to that question, if it went the less favorable way.

still, there's no hesitation in his step when he steps into the teleporter and arrives, momentarily, on the bridge of the vanquish. the hell - is that confetti? and music?

well, it's not the welcome he really deserves, but it's better than nothing? ]

What, no fireworks? I mean, no offense, but you should probably be pulling out all the stops. Because it's me.

[ you all know who he is, right. RIGHT.

here's your new crewmember, vanquish! nosy as ever, tony will attempt to mingle and speak to everyone who doesn't manage to speak to him first. ]

[touchofrogue]

[There is just no way on Earth (or any other planet) that Rogue has any idea what is about to happen to her little Drift Fleet world. Atroma probably knows. It's probably got extra cameras ready, just to cover all the angles, assuming a ratings bump.

As it was, Rogue was in their tiny little rec room, in one of her jumpsuits. She did not bother with the treadmill, preferring to keep track with core exercises, and was in the middle of her upteenth set of sit-ups when she was interrupted by the swell of music.

...What? She hadn't been here long, but she knew that 'Flooters' were only shifted on weekends. This made no sense.

Brow furrowed, she grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off her face before sliding her gloves back on and searching for signs of a new arrival -- yup. There was the confetti and chocolate and the back of a head she recognized -- or at least, thought she did.

And even if it was him, there was no reason he would remember.

And if he didn't remember, Rogue hoped it wasn't him. She hadn't felt like this in weeks, felt that strange contraction of the heart, that mix of anxiety and hope and aching--

Setting her face into as neutral an expression as possible, Rogue cleared her throat.]

Thinkin' we'd all know better than ta set fireworks off inside a spaceship, no matter who's gracin' us with their presence.

[There. Sarcasm. Excellent mask, hardly any tension in her voice at all. She awards herself 4 out of 5 points.]

[alloys]

[ each time that tony had left luceti and returned, he'd returned to half memories and vague connections that took time to clear, like trying to see through fog. but this time was remarkably different; everything he remembered from luceti felt sharp and recent, even if he couldn't say for certain how long it had been since he had been there last. even if these were memories he didn't have back home. there they all were, clear and sharp. sharp enough to prod at his heart, when he saw who had entered the bridge, and when he heard her speak.

even in his happy moments, tony tended to "play it cool". but not this time. he grins, like he's seeing an old friend, or a long-lost family member, because, well? he is. ]

I think you know it's okay to break rules for me, Rogurt. [ and then, logic catches up with him. he knows this game. people come and go, from different timelines and universes, and they were a long way from luceti now. she might not know him. she might be nothing like the rogue he knew.

and that's actually so much worse than if she wasn't here at all. he watches her closely, because so much hung on how she responded to him. dammit, he knew better than to hope she knew him, but he doesn't even want to consider the alternative. ]

[touchofrogue]

[And then he turned around, and hey, good to know, she still recognized Tony Stark from all angles. And it hurt an awful lot, but that was to be expected and--

Rogurt.

It felt like -- like there was suddenly oxygen, and she hadn't known it was missing, because she'd forgotten to breathe.

She couldn't even protest that hideous nickname.

There would be no reason to wonder if Rogue recognized him or not. Her posture relaxed, like a puppet with cut strings, and her face changed, mouth parting in surprise and she felt that it was - just a little bit - exactly like coming home.]

Toto, you--

[And then she was moving forward and - very carefully, very quickly, (and quite firmly), hugging him.]

[stickupherforehead]

[oh. Another human (?). Without a glowy thing.

She looks up at their (not very high) ceiling.] Fireworks would cause too much damage.

[alloys]

Very astute observation there, Strawberry. [ yep, the nicknames are already happening. ]

I think it'd be worth a little property damage. I mean, property damage is fun.

[stickupherforehead]

[at least she's sort of used to odd nicknames. This is one is new though.]

I don't know about that. It sounds rather messy, since these ships aren't the best, by any means.

[geonomy]

[Clay really wasn't expecting a new crew member. Don't they usually come at the end of the week, not the middle of it?

So when he comes in and sees there's already confetti on the floor, he stares for a moment, unsure how to process this until, well. He does.]

Whoa, did we get a new crewmate already? [Now he is ON THE HUNT for this new crewmate; it's his responsibility as a captain to welcome him or her aboard!]

[alloys]

[ tony is the exception to the rule. or at least, that's how he likes to think of himself!! ]

It's your lucky day. [ if clay hasn't spotted the unfamiliar face yet, tony wastes no time drawing attention to himself. ] They were just too excited to send me over that I'm here already.

[ or excited to get him off the marsiva. either way. ]

[geonomy]

[Oh, there he is! Clay takes a quick second to look over the new guy, then puts his hands on his hips with a big grin.]

Ha, they must've been! [Then he holds out one hand, an offering for a handshake.] Well, welcome to the SS Vanquish! I'm Clay Terran, and I'm the pilot as well as the captain of the ship. And you are?

action;

[zessica]

[Personnel Room]
[Zessica likes having her own office, even if it is occupied by two cots belonging to her and Rogue. Despite those, there's still ample space for the desk, couch, two chairs, and walking around them all. To help with privacy, she's managed to put a sign on the door asking others to please knock first. For now, she's lounging on the couch, reading a book she managed to get somewhere. It's probably on something islandy.]

[Shuttle Area]
[She's heard about the races, and she's actually interested. For the past twenty minutes or so, she's been sitting on a crate or something similar, looking at the shuttle and kicking her feet.]

I wonder how similar it is... [Musing aloud is a sure sign she needs to talk to an actual person.]

shuttle area

[stickupherforehead]

How similar what is?

[Pearl's walking through the door, large toolbox under an arm.

Huh. She hasn't really talked to you before, right?]

[zessica]

[Zessica looks over when Pearl enters, blinking a little at the sight of the thing in her forehead. Despite that, she nods in greeting.]

The shuttles. I flew... something back home that might be pretty close to this. The races and stuff got me thinking.

[stickupherforehead]

[man, all these humans are so different]

Well, if you want, we can always take it out for a spin.

[she may not have the pilot augment, but she's been working on ships for long enough]

action;

[geonomy]

[Guess who's been having the time of his life racing and would like to share that with other people?

Clay almost doesn't even knock before going into the office, but he manages to see the sign just as he puts his hand on it. With that in mind, Clay knocks first, then heads inside with a big grin.]

Hey Zessicaaaaaaa. [It's pretty clear from his smile and his tone that he wants to do something.]

action;

[zessica]

Hm? [She hears the knock, and then with no time to go answer, the door opens. All she does is put down her book and roll on to her stomach so she's able to face him. Her feet are in the air, and she's kicking them to and fro, a curious look beginning.]

Hello to you, too. [The familiar mischievous grin spreads across her face now, replacing the previous curiosity.] Are you here for some one on one time?

action;

[geonomy]

Mmhmmm.

[He raises an eyebrow, stays quiet for a moment for a dramatic pause... then raises the other as he explains further:]

In a race.

[touchofrogue]

"Rec" room. Ha ha.

[Rogue is here to work out. She basically ignores the treadmill and does a ridiculous amount of strength and core training using her own body weight and a small, sturdy wooden box. Gawd, she'd been spoiled in Luceti. She missed her 1.5 gravity uneven bars, heck, she even missed her 'DR Runs' and the lasers and the floor opening up beneath her...

What were those side to side shuffle exercises -- they might work after some lunges. She's probably been at it for almost an hour, and doesn't really show any sign of stopping any time soon.]


Kitchen.

[Coffee. Coffeecoffeecoffee... best birthday trade ever.

See Rogue sitting on the counter, sipping her coffee, and going through her augmented database of protein paste recipes to try to decide what to make and modify this evening.]

[geonomy]

[Clay shows up soon after Rogue starts her workouts, wishing for the umpteenth time that he had his phone with him so that he could at least have a few tunes to do his routine to. When he spots Rogue, he gives a cheery wave and smile; it's not the first time he's seen her in here, and it's always a pleasure to see someone here and shunning the treadmill like he does.]

Hey Rogue! [Once Clay's close enough to talk without raising his voice, he stops to do some stretching, seeing how that's an important part of starting an exercise.] When'd you get here?

[touchofrogue]

[Rogue's voice was hardly even winded, and she continued to exercise without pause.] I dunno. There's no clock in here.

[/sob. What kind of a gym didn't even have a clock? All she could do was count her sets and reps.]

[geonomy]

We should get one someday. [Because seriously, it's hard to figure out if he's done his time's worth of exercise or not without a clock here.] Hey, did you hear about the racing going on?