At least there's no elevator music...

[thespaceopera]

[At least two weeks have passed since the Drift Fleet passengers woke up on this strange wing of the Marsiva... Some new passengers have even joined the group instead of being Shuffled off to a fleet ship! The large monitor in the central room remains quiet for now, so how is everyone holding up?

Have you been relaxing? Enjoying the Earth media? If you can even remember them, how have Calibrations been treating you? Has anyone started getting a little stir-crazy?

Don't worry... This ship has no shortage of mysteries, and you'll be seeing a few more soon.]


ooc: here's another mingle for the current game event! players can start or continue threads here from any point during the event. the additional setting information is still being postponed due to sickly mods, but y'all are welcome to post additional topcomments for reactions and investigation once it's up!

Comments

[dancingmd]

Yes well... There seems to be no rhyme or reason to how long people stay here. Supposedly it has to do with our ratings but I am not so sure of that now...

[admirably]

The whole concept is foreign to me. [ Though, he could perhaps see the appeal of finding amusement at the behavior of other people. Schadenfreude and all that. ] But you don't sound entirely convinced that story is true.

[dancingmd]

[Sigh.] I don't know what to think anymore... [There's a pause, but then her smile is back, in an attempt to be reassuring.] I'm sorry, I know this is a lot to take in without having to worry about theories and speculations. It was a lot easier to get acclimated when there was just one ship and a few crewmembers, not the whole fleet stuck together in a few rooms for a couple of weeks.

[admirably]

So, this is out of the ordinary, then?

[ It had seemed rather odd to him, but then again, he had no idea what to expect from this place. ]

[dancingmd]

Very much so. Normally we're all on smaller, individual ships with crews of no more than ten or so. We cannot move out of a certain range of the Marsiva but we do have more freedom of movement than here at least. Usually we stop at a new planet or space station every month, where again, we can explore on our own.

[admirably]

[ Now, that's interesting. Visiting different planets? Virtually different worlds? ]

Fascinating! What are these planets like?

[dancingmd]

Oh, they can be almost anything, really! The last planet - or moon, rather, a moon orbiting a gas giant - we were on was mostly desert, but the one before that was mostly ocean, with everyone living on beautiful tropical islands. We’ve also been to one covered in thick, almost impenetrable forest, where the plants were sentient - and didn’t much like you being there either.

[It’s clear the exploring is all very exciting to her, despite their kidnapped circumstances.]

[admirably]

[ Hans can only follow what she's explaining thanks to the information provided so considerately by his implant. ]

Sounds like quite the eclectic itinerary. And do you have an idea of where our final destination may be?

[ Surely, they must be going somewhere. ]

[dancingmd]

No idea. They don't even tell where we're headed in the next month, much less by the end of this... cycle.

[admirably]

Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by "cycle"? As in the seasons?

[ Did the seasons even matter in space? ]

[dancingmd]

Ah... No. A "cycle" is what Atroma calls one of these... Rounds of "competition." We are being broadcast for entertainment, and apparently we are not the first group of people to be kidnapped for this purpose. We have no idea how long each cycle lasts, though. It has already been a year since this one began.

[admirably]

And what's the objective of this so-called competition?

[ Was there a game to be won? Because if so, he was ready to play. ]

[dancingmd]

They've been vague on the parameters of the game so far and frankly, I don't care. I'm not interested in performing for them.

[admirably]

[ Hans wasn't interested in performing, either. Cheating them, however... ]

I should hope not, after they so rudely brought us here without asking first.

[dancingmd]

[... probably one of the few times Beverly would be okay with cheating, to be honest.]

Where is home for you anyway? Are you from Earth as well?

[admirably]

Yes, though I suppose I don't really think of it in terms like that. I'm from the Southern Isles, to be specific.

[dancingmd]

Southern Isles? I don't think I'm familiar with them. Maybe we have a different name for them.

[...]

Then again, I'm not technically from Earth.

[admirably]

[ He gives her a look. ] I beg your pardon, but what do you mean by "technically"?

[dancingmd]

Well, I am completely human, so in that sense, I am from Earth. However, I was born on the moon and grew up on other planets. I only lived on Earth for a short time.

[She will pause there before trying to explain Starfleet, given how most people here have reacted to the whole being from the moon thing.]

[admirably]

[ It's a good thing she pauses, because as sharp as he is, it's still a little baffling to process the idea of someone being born on the moon. ]

Well, now! That's quite the story, I'm sure. Tell me, what was living on the moon like?

[dancingmd]

Not much different than Earth really, except for the artificial climate. [She smiles, very aware of how strange her nonchalance about such things sounds.] You have to realize, by the time I was born, the moon had been colonized for centuries. It's kind of like... Well, if someone from a landlocked country met you and wanted to know what it was like to live surrounded by the ocean, it might take you a minute to know what to say, since it seems normal to you to be on an island.

[admirably]

I see. [ The metaphor, fortunately, is easier for him to grasp.

He chuckles, goodnatured. ] I must seem positively primeval compared to the world you're used to.

[dancingmd]

Hey, just because I'm from the future doesn't mean I know everything. What works for me in my world isn't necessarily right for you in your world.