the veil is thin . . .

[thespaceopera]

[ On the night of the 16th, the feeling of tension and horrid anticipation comes to a head. Everything stops when the sun goes down-- even the ever-present music in the hoppingest part of the city center. One by one, everyone turns their eyes to the skies. The young and old alike pour out of their houses, some in bare feet, and they point to the velvety blanket of stars.

It takes a second to find it, especially if one is unaccustomed to the starscape. But even a casual observer can see it.

A brightly-shining star, larger than the others, and growing larger.

An announcement cuts across all communication channels that encourages people to evacuate to the space station, but it’s clear that these are just people and they’ll need some help. Supplies, equipment, organization, there’s something for everyone to do.

Civilization is disrupted by a panicked stampede of people vying for limited seats aboard spacefaring craft. Within hours, there will be crushed glass, looting, and chaos.

The clock is ticking. Will you help? Or would you rather watch the dying gasps of a Singing Planet from a safe distance? ]

[OOC: Please see this post for plot details. Phase two has begun! Feel free to use this post as a reaction post, mingle, etc. or make your own!]

Comments

[candothat]

Very well, I will.

[Chekov makes his way over to the troublemakers and (politely, respectfully) explains how minimal the difference in their arrival times to the space station will be regardless of the order in which they leave and, not to belittle the importance of both heritage and luck in this culture, such things are irrelevant in a shared struggle such as the imminent destruction of their planet.

As anyone who doesn't have as much misplaced faith in people as Chekov could have predicted, the two fellows resist this appeal to rationality and disregard him entirely. The Russian puts himself between them and (politely, patiently) informs them both that, if their argument is so important that they absolutely must have it right now, they will need to step aside to allow everyone who isn't behaving idiotically to board.

On one hand, they notice him this time and find it in their hearts to set aside their differences for the sake of a common goal.

On the other hand, that common goal involves shoving Chekov aside and saying rather rude things about his lineage.

Because Chekov is just as tired and tense as everyone else on this planet, he chooses to hold his ground. It doesn't look like his third attempt at reasoning with them (still politely, but with an undercurrent of keep pushing me and I, in true Russian fashion, will fight you aggressively and with no regard for my personal well-being until one of us is incapacitated) is going to be any more successful than the last two.

Will Looma continue observing?]

[tough_love]

[She can't say any of it was proceeding unexpectedly so far. He was given a few points for effort, but as far as results went, he had nothing to show for it.

Still, she'd given him a chance, so the least she planned on doing was allowing him to fully see it through. Though, admittedly, she had moved herself a few steps away from the line closest to her. It'd be easier to make a clear leap to Chekov's current position if things got any more physical than they already had. She was allowing enough time to be wasted humoring him as it was, she wasn't going to tolerate a full-blown fight breaking out.

That, and however misguided she thought he was, his heart was in the right place and he stood by his convictions. That alone meant she wasn't going to let him get roughed up too badly.]

[candothat]

[This is an extremely inefficient (and ineffectual) means of maintaining order. As much as Chekov would like to see the situation handled in a way that is slightly gentler and less terrifying than Looma's, these are not Starfleet officers who are willing to conduct themselves in a calm and professional manner in a time of stress.

The current situation continues to unfold as might be expected: the two gentlemen are no more impressed with Chekov's reasoning the third time than they were the other two times; one of them shoves him again; the Russian warns him against repeating that particular action; the shove-er finally throws a punch that catches Chekov's jaw.

Chekov is neither a violent person nor quick to anger, but this is ridiculous and the only response he can come up with is a retaliatory punch.

Tensions are high and this has the potential to get ugly.]

[tough_love]

[For better or worse, Looma's not leaving Chekov to his own devices. once things turn physical she's already on high alert- once the punches get thrown, she is quite literally leaping into action.

She lands next to the poor fool once he readies a second blow, catching his wrist in one hand and hoisting him off his feet with a wordless snarl. Chekov might do well to ignore the nauseating chorus of muffled pops that ring out- Looma, for her part, exercises some measure of caution and covers the man's mouth with another hand as she looks down to Chekov with the closest thing to concern she can muster.]

Are you unharmed, Chekov?

[He may have been clocked in the face, but hey, that's life. She just wants to make sure he still has his wits about him- he doesn't seem to be the sort used to physical confrontation, after all.]

[candothat]

[As grateful as he is for Looma's intervention, Chekov is still somewhat disturbed by her methods. Still... she's preventing the situation from escalating into an all-out brawl and he thinks that she's being relatively gentle. You know, for her.

He nods and touches his jaw, more bothered by the fussing that a bruise will probably encourage than anything else. It's not actually the first time that he's been involved in a scuffle. Admittedly, he's usually an innocent bystander who happens to get caught in the action instead of one of the instigators...]

I am, thank you. [He looks around at the evacuees. They're all being rather quiet and well-behaved now.] My apologies for criticizing you. In this situation, your approach is a very successful one.

You, ah... I believe you have shown this person [a nod to the Lyukian who undoubtedly regrets all of his recent choices] the importance of polite conduct. [Please let him go before he loses his arm.]