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[thespaceopera]

[according to the scanners, the fleet is hitting some kind of anomaly today... or is it? the electronics have all been acting very strangely today. it's hard to tell which readings are real, and which are errors.

like this reading here that says the temperature is plummeting into the negatives. it doesn't feel cold, does it? and this one saying that life-forms are popping up all over the ship is very strange.

though, then again, maybe you're seeing things. if there is something going on with the electronics, maybe it's affecting the augments as well... because some of these things that you're seeing just can't be real.

or maybe you're feeling fine (you're sure of it) and that crewmate of yours--the one who is sitting in the corner and meticulously wadding up an entire roll of toilet paper--he is the one obviously having problems.

either way, between the electronics malfunctioning and the crews' questionable grasp on reality, it's impossible to tell if the strange broadcast crackling through waves of static is even really happening.]

TEN. NINE. [--the voice is digital. robotic. nothing like the boisterous man's voice that follows]

Am I calibrated? I don't feel calibrated... [more static. hissing and buzzing.]

EIGHT. --No, I can't do that. Just get it done, and-- SEVEN. SIX.

Ha! [he laughs. and a woman laughs along with, somewhere deeper in the interference.] Like that would ever happen. FIVE. ...Yeah, get a load of this guy, right? Classic.

Don't forget to smile, darlin'. FOUR. ...Okay, okay. I got it.

[the buzzing rises. and he suddenly sounds much more serious.] Sure. Whatever you say.

THREE. TWO.

--I hate this part--



(ooc: happy april first, floots. these effects only last ICly for today, but feel free to backtag and whatnot if you come to the party late. feel free to use this post for all reactions, hallucinations, confused broadcasts, checking on your crew, or any other related hijinks. have fun!)

Comments

fleet-wide video | action on the paisley

[respired]

[Koltira had expected an interminable stay in this place. That thought alone made him restless; worried. A prolonged confinement, particularly among the living, would not end well for him -- nor for anyone around him.

But it was all right, for now. He has mastery of himself.

At least, he thought he did.

Koltira's gravelly, echoing voice is an eerie murmur over the feed, repeating several times.]

They've returned -- they have returned --

[He clutches at his temples, and his blue eyes go wide. The lichfire blazes, sends sparks of icy flame skittering onto the floor and sparking on the walls around him. On his knees, Koltira starts to howl.

His nails, dug deep into either side of his head, begin to draw black, viscous blood.]

action

[whereivebeen]

[ At some point she's gotta get in touch with Manolo, but for now... wtf?

She crouches down a few feet away, looking... actually concerned. ]

Hey. Hey, dude, what's going on? Who's returned?

[respired]

[He doesn't move from where he kneels, doesn't even look up at her. He can see them everywhere--the black, shadowy specters that once followed his every step on Azeroth. Clawing at him, biting him. He shudders violently.]

Shades -- demons--a punishment.

[He's not sure what they are, in truth. Assailants from the shadow realm, that much he can be sure. Agents of the Lich King, sent to torture him for turning on his master.]

voice

[sadsack]

Oy. [ Bariyan's voice is flat, with just the tiniest undertone of concern. ] What's happening to you?

[respired]

[He exhales hard, out of stress rather than necessity. He presses the palms of his hands against his eyes, and he scowls an answer.]

Shades--everywhere. They have claws, and teeth--and they reach.

[sadsack]

[ Bariyan eyes the video feed. He hmms to himself. He scratches his chin. He squints. ]

I don't see anything. Just you trying to claw yourself up.

Is this common, for you?

[respired]

[Through gritted teeth.]

It was.

[sadsack]

[ Bariyan nearly asks if it's happening again, but stops himself. That's a stupid question. It clearly is. ]

Are they supposed to be invisible to everyone but you?

[ Maybe a slightly less stupid question. ]

[respired]

[It's difficult to focus on this conversation--there are so many shades around him, closing in, more than ever before.]

They--strike from another realm.

[sadsack]

[ Awkward. Back on his own ship, Bariyan curls up a little more against the wall. ]

IS there anything we can do to help?

[respired]

Not unless you have access to that realm.

[And not even then, since he's just hallucinating.]

Are you not--seeing--anything?

[sadsack]

[ Bariyan looks at Koltira's feed, then looks around him, as if checking for ghouls in his immediate vicinity as well. ]

Um... nothing ethereal, certainly. Is there anyone on your ship you can talk to?

[respired]

No. There's -- nothing to be done about it.

[He inhales; exhales sharply.]

Just--hope it abates.