It's all over but the crying

[ginger_firebird]

Who: Psycho Mantis and you.

Broadcast: Yes

Action: SS Bishop

When: Today

(Video – Fleetwide)

My god, it’s full of stars.

[He wandered around the ship in a bit of a daze. First came the larger ship, then the small celebration welcoming him to the second, and he is just as confused as he was when he first woke up. It’s been a long couple of days for him and he finds his way to the bridge of the ship. Stars. So many stars, He slumps in one of the many chairs nearest the window looking out onto space. There’s a cup of tea in his hand and his head turns between the feed he managed to open and the view.]

It’s a dream, isn’t it? It has to be. I remember what happened.

[He’s still dressed in his leathers, not quite trusting himself to wear the ship standards just yet. It’s so clinical. So real… He curls up more in the chair, lifting his mask a little out of the way to have a sip.]

This ship is called Bishop. Like the clergymen and the chess piece. If…anyone is out there, where is here?

(Action – Bishop)

[Still on the bridge of the ship, Mantis decides to make use of the music system to play something classical in the hopes of soothing some of his confusion. The tea doesn’t hurt either, and he sighs heavily as he tries to count the stars he can see. His malaise is such that someone could reasonably sneak up on him if they were so inclined. He is making good company with the chair he singled out.]

Comments

video;

[maledictus_semper]

Why yes, it is full of stars. Funny how space can be like that.

[The man is mysterious, calm but dressed in a fedora and fancy clothes. Watch this one, Mantis. His voice is one of refinement, a soft eloquent accent, which resembles that which comes from someone rather powerful.]

There is no gas aboard these ships, so you need not wear a gas mask.

video;

[ginger_firebird]

The mask stays on. It's my uniform and my style.

[He raises his cup of tea in greetings to the new face. Weird red hair. Weird fancy clothes. Weird attracts weird, he supposes.]

Psycho Mantis. Do you have any idea how I ended up in space? I would have thought I'd remember that- [He rubs his neck, feeling the lump under his skin.] And yet, I am drawing a blank.

video

[pickingupgoodvibrations]

[Shay is rather confused herself as to how she got here, and where here is, but right now, she's rather concerned for the person on the other side of the video. They seem a bit...in shock.]

Are you well?

video

[ginger_firebird]

[Shock is the least of what he's feeling, but it is the main emotion as of now. He jumps slightly when he sees her over the video feed. That is...distinctly not human.]

N-no. I'm... [His head tilts to one side slowly, and the next few words come out with equal speed.] What are you?

[pickingupgoodvibrations]

[She could ask the same. That is a strangely shaped face! Almost like a bug.]

Oh! I am Balmeran. [Shay smiles.] My name is Shay.

[ginger_firebird]

Psycho Mantis. [He points to himself, mask and all.] Human. You- You're an...alien?

[It's the only word he really has at his disposal for meeting a non-human sentient life form.]

[pickingupgoodvibrations]

You are human? [She tilts her head to the side.] Your appearance is...dissimilar to the humans I have met.

[Shay chuckles at that and shrugs.] I have been called that before by a human. We do not share a homeworld, if that is what you are suggesting.

[ginger_firebird]

As far as anyone has ever told me, yes. [He taps his mask.] I wear this to cover my face.

[His shoulders shake a little.] If people who looked like you lived where I come from, I would know. [He pauses briefly.] That would make my "homeworld" Earth.

[pickingupgoodvibrations]

Oh! [Ever seen a rock blush? Now you have.] Forgive me, I mistook it for your face. I have not seen many other races.

I have heard of Earth! That is the homeworld of the Paladins of Voltron! [She smiles suddenly.] I am from Balmera. The Paladins freed us and healed Balmera when she was dying. Do you know them?

[ginger_firebird]

[It's fascinating and an incredible kind of distraction from his mood. He's too curious to feel quite as miserable as he was waking up on the ship.]

Well, I never knew that there were anything but humans until now, so we're both learning something. [He shakes his head at her question.] I have no idea what Voltron or the Paladins even are. They must be the helping kind if they saved your people.

[tough_love]

[He'd have to be very, very lost in his own thoughts if Looma's approach took him by surprise. Even if he didn't hear the heavy footsteps approaching, she was large enough he'd probably be able to feel them by the time she got to the bridge. She's big, but just small enough to make it through the doorway, if she angles herself right. Not a tight fit, but it might be wise to avoid trying to squeeze past her in the future.]

Another new face? [figuratively speaking, anyway]

I am beginning to wonder what is responsible for the Bishop's sudden popularity.

[She's not...terribly social, so the giant four-armed, four-eyed war princess makes her way over to her own chair. She might as well start reading the updated personnel list, if only to figure out just what to expect from this person. From what little information it would provide, that is- but even knowing what augment he'd picked up would be useful.]

[ginger_firebird]

[His head turns to kind of look over one shoulder as the footsteps get closer. Big. Heavy. He's surprised by the youth evident in her voice, but doesn't turn around.]

It was not my choice to be brought here.

[He can hear the youth in her voice along with the assumed authority, but it's her appearance that makes him drop his cup of tea right to the floor. His mouth moves as his brain tries to make sense of what he's seeing. There's little to be found. It's telling him red skin, multiple arms and eyes, and at least twice as tall as he is.

He pinches the skin at his wrist, both disappointed and terrified by the pain he feels. After a few awkward seconds of struggling to find the words, he finally relaxes from the tense state his body has entered. If she meant to hurt him, she would have.]

Are you...part of the crew? [His voice is stuck at a bit of an awed whisper.]

[tough_love]

[Okay there is definitely a smug little smirk going on now. Much as she has actually tried to get used to working with people- instead of, well, terrorizing them- there's still plenty of satisfaction to be found in these sorts of reactions. Even if it was more out of surprise than fear, hey, she'd take it.]

I am its captain. I am Princess Looma of House Red Wind. And none of us chose to be brought here.

[She hoped not anyway. Whoever willingly signed on for this was the sort of depraved individual who'd benefit the galaxy most by being sent out an airlock.]

[pickingupgoodvibrations]

[He isn't offended, which is a relief. Shay relaxes somewhat.]

They are! Your world must be untouched by Galra. So you are...free. [It's still a relatively new word.]

[ginger_firebird]

That is one word for it. My kind does a fairly good job of subjugating themselves over a number of petty things.

[He sighs.] Even aliens have to deal with warlords? Galra sounds like a big problem where you come from.

[ginger_firebird]

[Oh great, she's a princess on top of everything else. Mantis does not doubt a word she says, but he still isn't sure what to think of Looma. She can certainly loom over him, but thus far, carries herself not unlike the many people he's served while in the military.]

Psycho Mantis. Personnel support, I think. [He touches the lump under his skin, just behind the ear.] There's something telling me that. Can you tell me anything about this ship or how I came to be on it?

[He glances down at the cup lying abandoned on the floor. It wobbles a little before lifting itself up and back into his hand. At least that still works...]

[tough_love]

We have not had one before. Your presence may have changed something.

[Something to look into later, at least.]

I can tell you very little, as our hosts remain secretive. The ship is armed, but could hardly be considered a warship. Its facilities will also change based on who is present. Security personnel seems to grant us an armory, and the hidden compartments from tactical support vanished when I changed roles.

[She has no idea how, though. And there's a big four-armed shrug at trying to explain the how.]

As for how you arrived- I do not know for certain. Our hosts cause new arrivals to appear on a ship when the mood strikes them. How they do so is unknown.

[pickingupgoodvibrations]

[Shay isn't really sure what that means, so she just nods slightly.]

The Galra Empire has ruled the universe for the last ten thousand years.

[ginger_firebird]

Personnel... That type tends to get an office of some kind. [He laughs briefly.] Oh no. Maybe I've been conscripted as a therapist. That is a horrible idea.

[He perks up at the use of the word "host", relaxing enough to set his feet back on the floor. Looma has clearly been at this longer than he has, and her description of how the ship changed over time has him honestly very curious.]

I might actually have an office. If I do, I should find it. They obviously have a particular standard regarding what role on a ship requires what kind of space. But you call these unseen people "hosts". I would have gone with "captor" myself, or something more militaristic.

[ginger_firebird]

Then Earth has been either unaffected or unaware of their presence.

[Or Shay's idea of the universe is smaller than she thinks. He's not entirely sure of much at the moment.]

Many of the stars we can see from Earth are that many years away.

[maledictus_semper]

Oh, I would not ask you to remove it just for my sakes. A man wears a mask for a reason and sometimes that reason needs to remain a secret.

[Don't mind this guy. He likes to talk in riddles.]

Psycho....Mantis. An interesting name I must say, yet a curious one at that. In what way do you reflect the mantis' long, powerful claws, which grab passing insects?

[Ardyn had no idea why anyone would be called that. Perhaps, it was his nickname?]

The Atroma; they bring us here against our will and place us within these ships for their viewers avid entertainment.

text.

[torsion]

Your first time in space, huh. It all starts to blur after a while, a little like staring out into the ocean. You can't tell one point from another.

I'm on the Heron. I'm afraid I can't tell you where here is, though.

action

[redatheart]

[Sayid isn't trying to sneak up on anyone. He's just come up to the bridge to access the network from the comm station, because needed or not he likes to spend at least an hour or so a day at his post.

...But maybe his footfalls are softer than they need to be. In any event, he passes through the open hatch door, moves towards the comm station, and...

Ah. Well. That's a distinctive new face. Distinctive being...the very very operative word here.]

Hello. I don't think we've met.

[ginger_firebird]

[Irritating riddles, but Mantis has too ventured down that road to mess with people. He won't judge harshly.]

In the way I take hold of people to do my job. [He flexes the fingers on one hand in a grabbing motion.] So the people who brought me here are the Atroma? Strange name for strange people.

[Mantis makes a dissatisfied grunt and crosses his arms.]

I don't like this. There is far too much that I don't know.

text.

[ginger_firebird]

I usually stare at space from the safety of my planet.

Is Heron a different ship? How many are in this fleet?