a blip

[thespaceopera]

[the fleet has been clear of the musical signals for a day or so... but things still aren't quite right. signals occasionally fail, there is static in the wires. and, apparently, the ships' scanning equipment hasn't been as sensitive as it should be.

it isn't until the fleet is far from the last planet's range that some kind of invisible cloud clears... and several blips show up on every ship's radar. those ships that have a communications officer on-board will actually hear a little alert. and those that don't may miss it entirely, if no one else on board happens to glance at the monitors.

--you aren't alone.

for the first time, there is something showing up on the scanners that isn't the innocuous signatures of local traffic between stations, or the lone, short-range ships out doing their jobs. this is something else.

the communications officers and pilots can attempt to scan them, maybe try and hail... but they lie at the absolute far edge of the equipment's range. just hovering--maybe watching, maybe waiting. maybe not realizing that the drifting fleet is unblinded enough to see them. and there's no telling how long they may have been there.

and once noticed, they only remain for a few minutes before disappearing again into the black.]

...

ooc: this is an entirely-optional mini-event. you can reply or not, and there is no rush to do so. the ships on the radar cannot actually be reached, and will disappear regardless of what is attempted. but if you want to try anyway, post reactions, etc., go ahead and knock yourself out here. they won't answer, but maybe they are listening regardless. this can also be used as a mingle, if anyone wants to talk to each other, or try to bludgeon their communications officer into getting off their butts to actually do anything.

this is just a small event, or clue, and can be played with or ignored as you all wish! enjoy!

Comments

aboard the ss bishop

[carreau]

[ Your captain is indeed a communications officer. He is also really excited about this. ]

Hey, hey~ Come look at this! There's something here!

[ladiesss]

Huh?

[she, instead of passing by, comes closer to lean in and take a look...]

Hey, there's a thingy!

[carreau]

There is~ So there's someone out there~

[ He looks way too excited. He probably thinks this means war. ]

SS Pathstone

[onlyanapple]

[Crowley spends a lot of time at his Communications desk, mostly so he can listen in on everyone else's conversations. It kills the time. This...is something new, though.]

...There's some weird shite going on out there. Just thought I'd let you know.

[He's not actually going to do anything about it, unless pushed. Be glad he let you all know.]

[amarant]

...anything else you know?

[ GOOD SHIT? BAD SHIT? ]

[faithfulwisdom]

Most helpful, Master Crowley. [There would be an eyeroll here, if he were not so dignified.]

Three Twins // Comm

[serpentis]

a. Three Twins

[Dorian is still figuring out the details of the communications equipment, but he knows the basics, somehow. He tries not to think about it too much. With Nel mostly out of commission, he's been spending more time at his station.

Today, he's browsing the smaller communicator, feet crossed at the ankles and kicked up onto the top of the console. Things are quiet, mostly, save for...

What is this...?

[He speaks to himself in Tevene, his native tongue, taking his feet off the console and shifting in his seat, leaning forward. That must be a mistake, right? A novice's mistake? He clears his throat, trying to send out a communication to the ships that the equipment found.]

Well, hello there. Who is this?

b. Open to Fleet

[Getting nothing, Dorian sends out an open, unencrypted message to the rest of the fleet.]

Perhaps this isn't the best time, but did anyone else happen to notice their equipment detecting ships? I am willing to believe it may have been a novice mistake.

hello Three Twins

[thespaceopera]

[if he's not mistaken... there is an open channel formed between his ship and the newcomers. there is empty air; they theoretically might be able to hear him.

but there is no reply.]

a

[ino]

[ She's just chillin' at the front of the ship, inspecting her nails out of boredom .... but once she hears him talking to the communicator, she's wandering over curiously to see what the heck he's doing ]

SS Wonderduck

[devilsinthedetails]

[Who cares if he was just recently stabbed and poisoned, Cole's going to be hanging out in his comms station to stop the boredom and fretting and sad looks from everyone else. Aaand hey, there's something out there while he's scanning and poking around.

Something omnious. Guess who is now bellowing loud enough for the entire ship to hear. Thank god for demon lungs. Even though it hurts. ow.]

Something's on the scanners!

[wilder]

[This past week sure has been something. After what happened recently, Kaneis has been nice enough to keep his distance from the demon for a bit. Since really, it's understandable that angels might make the guy jumpy]

[That is, until he hears Cole's bellow. Then he'll head up to the bridge. Since oh yeah, someone might actually have to pilot this thing]

What is it?

ss huntress;

[merchantprince]

[Varric is more than done at this point. Stick a fork in him, he's basically charred. But he can't ignore the weirdness that is the change in screens. He's always interested when another ship goes by, minding its own business; it's a nice reminder they're not the only ones, that this isn't some kind of weird illusion. There are other people out there.

But this is different. It's not zooming by, it's just. Sitting there.]

The hell?

[hearsthesea]

[Well, that's not what you want to hear from someone hanging around anything vital to a ship's function. It definitely gets Shirley's attention, drawing her out towards the equipment.]

Varric, what's wrong?

Re: ss huntress;

[hopefullyyours]

[Komaeda pops in like some kind of deeply-unwanted genie, looking around curiously.]

What is it? [Don't mind him, he's just peeeeering over Varric's head to see for himself.]

Tourist

[got_it_memorized]

[action]
[Axel rather likes the communications augment, it helps him keep up his tendency to be nosy. He likes to know where the other ships are, he likes to check up on other people's conversations, just to make sure nobody's talking about anything interesting without him. Today, though... today there's something very interesting, and it's got nothing to do with gossip.

He can be found at his station, trying in vain to scan the ghostly new blips.]

[open hailing channel]
Yo, anybody there? You really ought to introduce yourself instead'a just lurking, you know.

hello Tourist

[thespaceopera]

[the channel is open. theoretically, they're listening.

but they don't say a thing.]

voice;

[limitstorm]

They're not responding.

[ oh-so helpful voice. ]

SS First Breath

[proteusmoon]

[ Normally, Tim would be on the bridge more than she, but it's a bit late by now and she thinks he might be off preparing to sleep. In her typical insomniac fashion, that leaves her wandering around the ship alone and the bridge is often where she ends up because it has the largest view of the outside and because it's where she's used to lingering from when she was captain of the Wonderduck.

When she catches sight of the spacecraft, she furrows her brow and leans in closer to the viewport, as though it will help her see the thing better. She tries to adjust the ship's controls to enable her to see it more closely, but she's neither a comms officer nor a pilot and so she doesn't really know how to work it well. She doesn't keep trying for fear of seriously damaging something after her first couple attempts. Instead, she just continues to watch it quietly before turning to opening the network. ]

( Open network video; )
Hello, this is security officer Cecil Harvey of the SS First Breath. I'm sorry to disturb the fleet at this hour, but is anyone else picking up the unidentified spacecraft in the distance? Has anyone managed to establish contact with it?

Video;

[serpentis]

Ah, hello there, Cecil. This is Dorian Pavus, of the Three Twins. I've attempted to open communications, but it would seem they are not swayed by my charms. I've received no reply.

Action

[treasureling]

[ He's awake, too - difficult to sleep here. The bed's a little bit too comfortable, which is laughable, and definitely too cramped. There's not the scorching heat of a fire on one side. His daughters aren't there, and it seems all the lonelier in the middle of the night, listening to the hum of the ship's systems.

So he rises and wanders around, fixing little things, examining wires and conduits, trying to put it all together in his mind. He has the knowledge, but not the experience, not the muscle memory, and that will be a long time coming.

He thinks he hears a voice from the bridge, and he moves that way, slipping inside. ]

Unidentified spacecraft?

video;

[limitstorm]

[ a tired yawn answers her for a moment--riku tries to cover it with a hand, but then he sort of bleary-eyed looks into the feed. ]

Security officer Riku of the Bloodsport. Activity seen and recorded, but no response given to the fleet, over.

[ he might look like he's about to fall over from lack of sleep. ]

[blindoptimism]

a. aboard the SS Red Fish

[the ship wide feed crackles to life. Man, she hasn't had to use this system yet, but any worries about startling people is overridden by the thought that people need to know about this now. So she skips straight to the point]

Everyone, there's a fleet of ships stationed outside, the appeared on the scanners only a moment ago. They do not appear to be hostile, but they vastly outnumber us.

.. I will continue to update you all as the situation develops. [TIME TO GET TO WOOOOORK]



b. over the network to the SS Blue Fish

Excuse me for intruding, but I've discovered something. You've all likely seen it but I... [still consider you guys my crew too so I want to look out for you B(]

There seems to be a large fleet of ships nearby. Our scanners are barely picking them up, but they're there and they can be seen out of any window. I'll continue to monitor them and tell you all anything that I discover.

HELLO THIS IS BLUE FISH

[alwayscomeback]

Yeah, I've seen them, but no one's filled in our communications area yet, so we can't hail them.

[He'll be staring out through the windows, frowning.]

Are they responding to anything at all?

hey red fish hey

[theboogieman]

[he does not understand how the comms system works at all, but he still shows up on the bridge pretty quick, to quickly ask--]

How many.

ss Pathstone

[faithfulwisdom]

[Action]

[Your actually helpful communications officer is working away at his desk, his brow furrowed in concentration. ...There may be a few mutterings in Sindarin as well.]

[Open Hailing Channel]

[Look, the tech stuff might be challenging. This? This is diplomacy of a sort. Practically second nature.]

This is Finrod Felagund, Communications Officer of the SS Pathstone, seeking to make contact with persons unknown. We intend you no harm and request that you identify yourself that we may establish diplomatic relations.