driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Pavel Chekov
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: For the crew of the SS Wonderduck (and video for everyone else)
When: Now

[Chekov wishes he could be surprised or, at the very least, unsettled when he wakes up in a foreign place, but there's a point at which this sort of thing becomes a fairly routine--if always unpleasant--occurrence. Losing people is never easy, no matter the universe, no matter the number of times it happens.

But taking stock of the situation and establishing who is here has to come before mourning those who were left behind in MarinaNova. To that end, Chekov, somewhat familiarized with his new home and in clothes that are slightly more dignified than the pajamas that he initially woke up in on the Marsiva, begins a broadcast. Are you listening to this in Standard/English/Common? If so, enjoy the ridiculously thick Russian accent.]

This is Lieutenant Pavel Andreievich Chekov of the Federation starship Enterprise. If you have met me already or if you are affiliated with Starfleet, please respond to this message. [He smiles even though he's in no real mood to be cheerful.] I would also be happy with replies from you if we're strangers.

Thank you for your time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. I'm pretty sure there's a few people from your Federation around here somewhere, but I'm sure they'd found you by now.

[He's interested to meet more of them himself, to be honest.]

Thank you, sir. [Not only did this man refer to him by rank, but there's also something about him that says military. That warrants a certain amount of formality.] I am in communication with three of them, yes. Do you know of the Federation of Planets from your world, sir, or have they spoken of it?

[It seemed fitting to acknowledge the way Chekov had chosen to introduce himself, even if it didn't seem entirely necessary.]

The captain of your ship told me a little about it, actually. As far as I can tell...we're not from the same universe.

[Which still sounds really weird to say out loud]

From my experience, very few of us will meet others from our universes. I've been lucky. [Or unlucky. This is his fourth run-in with Kirk and his third with McCoy where neither of them remember him.]

May I ask for your name, sir?

Major Kaidan Alenko. Though, uh...I'm pretty sure we're not in the same chain of command, so...Kaidan's okay.

[Not Spectre, though, even though he's mentioned it to Kirk. It goes against his training to be free with the information, even if Atroma probably knows everything about him. Better to be cautious.]

Alenko... is your family Russian? [Please be Russian.] Please call me Pavel, Kaidan.

Ukrainian, but more than a few generations back. [Sorry, Pavel.]

Is there anything I can do to help? I've only been aboard the fleet for a few months, but I give you what intel I have.

[Which is still pathetically little]

Also a fine country. [There is a remarkable lack of Russians in space in all universes. What's up with that? They invented space travel!]

I would gladly listen to whatever information you have. I'm interested in Atroma and our purpose here, especially.

Pretty sure you've heard the line about the reality show. That were're supposed to be entertainment for Atroma's audience. It's up to you if you buy it. I haven't met anyone on the planets we've been to that know who we are. The Atroma almost never speak to us, and they haven't since I've been aboard, so it's been hard to find out anything else. I don't even know if they're a group, a race, or something else entirely.

Mm... then little is known for certain. No entities that abduct other sentient beings are ever very communicative.

Do you believe that we're being watched?

Yeah...I believe it. I'm just not sure by who.

Somehow I find that only slightly less unsettling than the thought that this is being watched by billions across the universe.

[He lets out a soft chuckle]

I might have said the same once, but it's not that different that being even mildly extranet famous. You get used to it. Sort of.

Ah, so you're accustomed to being a celebrity already.

Also... what is "extranet famous"?

[He laughs awkwardly]

Um...do they have the extranet where you come from? Internet? Some kind of...multi-world digital information sharing network?

Internet, yes, of course. I have never heard of anyone being famous only there and not anywhere else.

Well, the two do tend to do hand in hand. But if you're going to be any kind of famous the extranet kind of has to be involved, considering it has to cross the galaxy to even count.

[He clears his throat] Anyway, famous is a kind of a strong word.