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]

[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.]