Gumball Wishes and Taxicab Dreams

[thespaceopera]

[On today's episode of the Drift Fleet:

The cargo holds are full of mysterious crates! The crews are filling beyond capacity with new faces! Official alerts are informing the passengers that they are signed to contracts that they've never agreed to! They are docking at the dazzling FS Starlight, but are flat broke!

What are they going to do!? Stay tuned to find out!


...Meaning, this is a kickoff mingle for you all to enjoy the beginning of the latest plot setting. This is a convenient place to start threads relating to the first week of the event-- meeting new crewmembers, reacting to the mysterious cargo, arriving on the station and discovering that you're all broke, etc.

Tag around, start whatever you'd like, have fun. And, as always, feel free to make your own posts and mingles from here on in, as this will be the only mod-posted one for this event!]

Comments

[collegedropout]

[Sam glances in the man's direction, because that's just what he's trained for.

But then he lets it go, looks back to Nami just as quickly.]

Did it involve the saying 'yo ho' at any point?

[redactions]

[ Uhm. Should he say something..? ]

Take care, Sorey.

[monolike]

Right. Yeah, that's a good idea. [It makes him feel more productive anyway, without denying himself the urge to research other planets' histories and societies. He presses closer to Mikleo, the urge to be right next to him getting stronger with every beat of his heart and he sits there with the friend of his entire lifetime, shoved together from knee to shoulder as they flip through books and dwell, happily, comfortably in the knowing silence between them.]

[collegedropout]

... Yeah. Yeah, he would.

[He squints, looking confused for a moment, and then bites the metaphorical hook Cas has accidentally cast out. He doesn't think about it before it pops out of his mouth, because the sudden uncertainty and curiosity is too much. Castiel seems to be troubled by it. And Sam's troubled by Cas' trouble.]

Is Dean... What's he like? In your future.

[collegedropout]

[He rolls his eyes.]

He never pays me enough. [Sam begins to make her drink, though, even in the middle of his obvious exasperation at his brother. It's usually the common reaction Sam has to anything Dean does, okay.] But at least I can say it's funner to look back on than it is to live through.

How about you? Any siblings to piss you off?

[flickerflash]

Oh? [See, Max, she isn't willing to take this lecture from you because headtilt.]

I suppose you're right. You never know when a crazy man is going to pull a knife on you.

Stupid idea to think I'm unarmed or friendly, don't you think?

[She opens a hand palm up and makes a come hither motion. Whisk. You were holding a plant. Now she is. Don't worry! It was guaranteed a safe landing. :')]

You see. Now I'm armed with a plant, at least.

[mikangirl]

Ummmm... close...? Let me think.

[Congratulations, you now have one (1) navigator singing ya-yo yaaa-yoooo under her breath.]

It was catchy, anyway.

[theroadwarrior]

[He stares for a long moment, mouth dropped slightly, and then he — closes his eyes, shakes his head, tries to re-correct the obvious image his brain — and what's in it — is forcing at him. Well. She's still there holding the plant. His startled, wide-eyed confusion dims into something a bit darker.

Goddamn kids. And a kid with some kind of trick to her.

His head throbs, the beginnings of an aggravated headache.]

Give it back. That's not yours.

[He's not fond of people taking things from him, you wicked little creature.]

[flickerflash]

Say you're sorry for scaring me first.

[Sing-song.

She makes no threatening move with the plant, at least. In fact, she's examining the minor damage to it herself while she gets to her feet, shifting from one foot to the other. Hmm, just a minor torn bit of foliage. She could fix that if he still has the other part.]

[stefanged]

[Stefan reaches for his guitar case, deciding to grab his guitar and set the case on the ground.]

Doesn't matter to me. I know most everything he's written.

[A slight understatement: Stefan can play every Bon Jovi song known to man. Which is why he holds the guitar carefully, playing the first few bars to (You Want To) Make a Memory. He tries to smile reassuringly at Kirito, because he saw that concern - but Echoes are sometimes the worst, bro.]

[stefanged]

Huh. [If holy water and sigils count as supernatural things, then... Stefan's more knowledgeable than he thought.] Were you into Occult Studies back home or something?

I know some of this, because Mystic Falls was just that weird, but a lot of people wrote off magic and the supernatural as a waste of time.

[stefanged]

Probably, but that could come in handy down the road.

[It reminds him a little of the inept personnel the Paisley keeps acquiring. Great people, not-so-great counselors.]

In the meantime, I'll dig up what I can too. Better this than the recommended reading lists my department wants.

[beardstrokes]

I'm rather sturdy.

[ Mostly due to the many attempts on his life on a regular basis. ]

Surely, something like this will not end your life.

[beardstrokes]

Yes. An ice planet with the barest of materials and stock. Which isn't surprising, considering the environment. Ahsoka might know more about the planets before this one.

[ No, nothing recognizable. A few planets with two or three suns, but that's hardly unusual. No markings to distinguish it from his system or any others he might know. Still . . . it could help to have. ]

I wonder if they let you copy these materials.

[collegedropout]

Youma. Monsters, right?

[He sits down. Why not, he's been on his feet for a while.

And of course he just brings a water with him, because he's a healthy nerd.]

I've ran into all of that at least once, so I get it.....

I wouldn't mind having your ability, though. A long time ago, I was able to sense ghosts, kinda. But... yeah, that was back when I was younger. Haven't been able to do it since.

[beardstrokes]

As well as it can, I imagine. There's no way to predict it or make it "go well". You simply have to do what you can.

[ He generally has no expectations beyond surviving and the situation working out. The war tends to cut those minor expectations further down. ]

[collegedropout]

[Your faith in liquor is inspiring.

Sam raises his eyebrows.]

Little too old to not know the way home, aren't you?

[beardstrokes]

[ Ah. That makes more sense. It's rare to come across people who are not aware of how technology works, but not strange. ]

It is a device that puts stories into motion. With voices and expression.

Think of a play that could reach millions of people instead of simply the audience.

[stefanged]

Just means you're living in the moment, rather then trying to write it all down. [Which is something he should be doing more of.]

Meanwhile, I think I should probably pick up running again.

[collegedropout]

... Interesting. You sure it's not just something living inside the walls? Or life energy — or something like that — being used for fuel?

[collegedropout]

[He grins wide, dimpled.]

I appreciate it.

[He motions to the datary itself, though; back to the usual.]

You looking for anything in particular?

[experiencepoints]

I seemed sure, but... Again, no memory of it now. I'm pretty sure the Atroma are blocking the memory with the implants, but I don't have any solid proof.

But if it was just something living inside the walls, that something would have been targeted, not the ship itself.

c!

[stefanged]

[The downside of working as a model on this planet: sometimes they have photoshoots in the park, and sometimes Stefan has to make faces at the camera and pretend that he's madly, passionately in love with wildlife and whatever the dominant species is on this station.

It's a small miracle that he's keeping a straight face, because the minute he catches sight of Beverly, his composure's gone completely. The shoot wraps up right after that shot, but it's nowhere near close enough to save his dignity. Stefan'll thank the photographers, rushing over to Beverly with flushed cheeks.

His outfit's not exactly indecent - it's a blazer, t-shirt, and jeans - but the fact that someone caught him at his ah, less than stellar job is more than a little awkward.]

Dr. Crusher! [His voice sounds smaller than usual as he has to ask,] Um, can we keep this secret? Between the two of us?

A

[electrostatics]

If you want to count them all, you can always crack one open. [ He wanders over to thump the crate with his foot, as if to demonstrate.

He hasn't really met Qing yet, but with space getting tighter it was bound to happen. ] Want to try?

[nerdeology]

[Bumps back. He can do this all day, too.]

Don't put words in my mouth. I was doing just fine on my own until you got us kicked out of the park.