/insert rose petals here

[incousinswithyou]

Who: Haruka, Michiru, and you!!
Broadcast: Two fleet-wide videos
Action: On the Marsiva
When: Now

01.

...in the reaches of space? How ironic.

[ This network station appears to have switched on of its own accord. That or the two people standing next to it wanted to only broadcast part of their conversation. And just their torsos. And hands. The taller person is making a fist. ]

That’s not the word I would use to describe it. [ The shorter one places a hand over that fist. ] They can look after each other.

...I suppose. [ Their fingers intertwine. The taller person’s thumb strokes the side of their companion’s hand. They chuckle. ] Space won’t be so cold. If you’re there.

[ That’s a quiet laugh, and the other one is leaning in and up.

...Better interrupt this sappiness before somebody gets diabetes and/or they magically pretend it didn’t happen on tape. ]

02.

[ Later this same day, from this same broadcast station, another message comes through. This time, there’s a pair of faces on display: a blond “man” and a green-haired lady. Both are way more attractive than they have any right to be. Especially when smiling. ]

Hello. I’m Kaioh Michiru. [ This is not the face of a person who was caught being all PDA on camera. ] If anybody can tell us what this place is, we would be most appreciative.

Tenoh Haruka. [ The blond sticks a hand into “his” pocket. ] Don’t take all day now. We’re busy.

[ And that’s a wink. Nothing to see here. Nothing amiss. ]

Comments

[averagestar]

[Should she bring it up... Probably not... Well, just focus on answering their questions first.]

The implants should fill in a few things, but let's see... You're on the Marsiva, which is something of a "mothership" that all of our ships have to remain within a certain radius of to work. The Marsiva itself seems to be moving according to a flight plan, though we don't have any access to what the flight plan actually is, and the other ships don't actually have any charts to indicate where we are beyond long-range sensors. At the end of the week, you'll both be moved at random to one of the other ships, to work as part of their crew.

...Also, this is apparently a reality show. You've uh... Probably been watched since you arrived.

[actsmagnificent]

[ Wow, the people here are eager to please. Haruka laughs and flashes the girl a charming smile. ]

Are you the welcoming committee?

[averagestar]

I wouldn't say "welcoming committee" exactly, but it's... kind of part of my job to help keep people informed while we're here. It helps to have someone willing to help out too, right?

[Then, let's give a proper bow, and...]

Shimamura Uzuki, of the Golden. Let's all do our best while we're here!

[incousinswithyou]

[here's the other one. Apparently, her first priority isn't always flirting.]

Who are we being watched by?

[averagestar]

To be honest, we can't be sure. The flight plan itself seems to be specifically tailored to avoid making contact with anyone that's actually aware of the show's existence. What we do know is that it's being run by "Atroma", though we're not actually sure what precisely Atroma is. I assume it's an organization of some sort, though we... don't actually have proof of that, either.

[actsmagnificent]

So we're flying blind.

[ A thoughtful look, and then Haruka's exchanging silent glances with Michiru. This all means they only have other people's word for the situation, doesn't it?

But that's their worry and not this girl's, so when Haruka turns back to the screen, she's grinning. ] I can believe we're in show business, though. The reception's cute enough.

[limitstorm]

[ a wink?

erk. somehow, he's turning a little red... he ducks his head down, pulling at his bangs as if that'd hide him. ]

Uh...

I think that camera was on earlier.

Anyway--you already got some answers. For the record, in case you're split apart, you can ask them to put you back together on a ship.

[incousinswithyou]

[one might catch Michiru making the tiniest eyeroll at that last statement.]

Is everybody here in the same situation?

[surely there has to be something more nefarious to their presence here than providing entertainment]

[incousinswithyou]

[and she oh-so-easily ignores that first statement.]

Oh? Does that happen often?

[limitstorm]

People getting split up? Yeah, it does. My friends usually never ended up on my ship, and I'm pretty sure their friends didn't end up on mine, either.

[actsmagnificent]

So pulling acquaintances is common.

[ Haruka looks thoughtful. Which mostly means she's staring into the camera as if it doesn't exist, sorry. ]

[incousinswithyou]

It certainly doesn't sound very random.

[if people you know start showing up too, out of an entire universe of possibilities. That could be troubling.]

Have many of your friends shown up here?

action for michiru

[actsmagnificent]

[ This place is basically a floating, deserted hospital - with an exercise area built in for good measure. Having temporarily split from Michiru to do another once-over of the premises, searching for anything that'll prove or disprove the information they've been given, Haruka picks up a weight and hefts it, testing the ship's induced gravity by assessing the feel of it in her hand.

She doesn't need to look over to know whose footsteps are approaching her now. ] They've cut some corners. The coffee's sour.

[ She's assuming what she got to come out of a machine earlier was coffee, anyway. ]

[incousinswithyou]

Oh? If that's your only complaint...

[the teasing tone drops from her voice though]

Haruka. [and she's pulling her hair up and turning. There's bump of her augment, right under the skin, behind her ear.] What do you see?

[it has to be something, if picking at it fills her with the type of dread reserved for the end of the world.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ ....They messed with Michiru.

Putting the weight down, Haruka resists the urge to feel that same place on herself - now that Michiru's pointed it out, she feels a weird prickling there - and funnels that self-control into tempering her anger. ] Nothing good.

[ And she turns her head so Michiru can confirm the same on her. Whoever put that in even had to shave a little bit of her hair behind her ear, so now her haircut isn't symmetrical in the back, either. ]

[incousinswithyou]

It's there.

[she resists the urge to smooth away that blemish somehow. Not with the way it made her feel.] It's connected to the mind, somehow.

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka nods. Now that Michiru mentions it, this explains a lot. ] I woke up understanding more. It wasn't clear if that was intuition, or...

[ She puts a hand on Michiru's shoulder. ] Does it hurt?

[incousinswithyou]

[if it can do that, what other memories or emotions can it mess around with?

She crosses her arms at her torso, almost hugging herself.] Almost, if you try to do something to it.

[is it something to just overcome, or is it actually a warning?]

[actsmagnificent]

I'll try if you want me to. [ But only if you want her to. She can live with the fear of what it's doing to them if Michiru can. ]

[incousinswithyou]

[it almost gets a reflexive 'no' out of her, but leaving a possibility alone out of fear isn't a good way to go about this.]

Alright. [she's pulling her hair up again and turning around, shoulders straight and hands steady]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Now Haruka has the shivers. Premonition? Or a side-effect?

She'll fight it. Moderating her own breathing, she nods. ] Hold still.

[ ...Getting a scalpel from the medical bay would make more sense, but she doesn't want to risk interruption. Haruka brushes her fingertips over Michiru's implant, looking for purchase - and fights down a sudden wave of dread. Finding an edge, her fingers curl. ]

[incousinswithyou]

[and her free hand is suddenly wrapped tight around your wrist. She's clamping down on the instinct to jerk herself out of your grasp, but it might be getting to that point. Her heart feels like it's going at a million miles per hour, her breathing is uneven, and her pupils are dilated.]

Haruka - [inhale] don't.

[it's like all the pain and feelings of dread from every boss fight decided to hit her all at once.]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka stares. Then those fingers relax and draw away from Michiru's implant, leaving it safely in place - and her hand is sliding down in search of the hand grabbing her wrist. ] Mmn.

[ She's silent, giving Michiru time to recover, giving herself time to gather her thoughts. There's still emotions that need to be mastered, but now she's less afraid and more furious. How dare they. To herself. To Michiru. To everyone, living their uninvolved lives, who never asked for this.

She'll slowly attempt to gather Michiru to herself. Here is a hug if you need it. But it's loose. Haruka also knows the value of space to oneself. ] We'll be playing a long game.

[incousinswithyou]

[deep breaths as the adrenaline ebbs away. The hand you've got is holding on tight, just as tense as the rest of her. There's some resistance to the hug at first, but when the rest of her brain catches up, she starts leaning in.]

As long as you're here.

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka inclines her head so it's resting atop Michiru's, breathing in the scent of her hair (even clean, she can still smell the sea). ] And you.

[ One nice thing about having plenty of time is that they can just let themselves breathe like this. They can calm themselves, and then move forward logically. Coolheadedly. As is their way.

And they'll return to their Mission when the time is right. ]