001;

[privateeyed]

Who: Ben and you folks
Broadcast: Yes
Action: SS Huntress
When: now

action; SS Huntress

[Ben doesn't take teleportation well. In fact, if the confetti and the music didn't tip the ship off, the loud cursing probably does - there you go, Huntress, your security officer is here]

What the fuck—give a guy some fuckin' warning next time, geez! God damn teleporting bullshit.

[once he's calmed down, though - and picked up some of the pudding because far be it from him to turn down free food - he's wandering the ship, peeking his head into rooms to see what's what]


broadcast;

[once he's somewhat settled in and found a place to sit and digest everything going on, Ben decides to set up a broadcast to get some Shit Done]

Anyone here good with cybernetics? Or - I don't know, computers? Advanced stuff, can give you the specfics if you're interested. Don't need you right now, I'm just covering my ass just in case.

[he pauses, and maybe realizes he should . . . introduce himself. Like a normal person would. You know, instead of just getting down to business]

Uh - anyway, name's Ben; if you don't know shit about cybernetics . . . I don't know, come tell me about the weird crap going on here. Or stuff I should know. I like being informed.

Comments

[privateeyed]

[despite the entrance, Ben isn't a freaking out over weird shit kind of guy. Were he not in a mood already, he'd be all about this spooky nonsense. Floating cat? Weird, but awesome.

As it is, he just stops short and stares when he sees it. He doesn't see Mikleo, unfortunately]

Uh. [he stays where he is despite this childish urge to poke] Did they throw me on a haunted ship?

[tsunergy]

[Oh boy. Well, that answers question one. Time for question two:]

Can you hear me?

[The kitten tilts his head at the noise and yawns, but doesn't get up. Just... floats there!]

[privateeyed]

[nada. Ben squints suspiciously when the cat yawns, but when that's all it does, he relaxes just a tad]

I'm going to take that as a "maybe". [he scratches at his cheek] . . . is that a leopard? [what the hell?]

[tsunergy]

[Said leopard is now glaring at him for waking him up. Mikleo furrows his brows, puzzling over how to deal with this - is the guy wearing his comm? he can't just grab at it - and then finally moves to the nearest wall, reaching out and pressing his palm against it. As he runs his hand along the cool surface, frost forms in a long, thin line, like rolling paint. Once it's set in place, he uses his finger to write in the frost, as if on a pane of glass: "N A M E ?"

It won't last long on the wall, but it's an important first step.]

[privateeyed]

[oh, well - that's a nifty trick. Were ghosts supposed to do that? He wasn't a fan of horror movies, so his ghost knowledge was a little thin.

He makes a face, squinting at the writing. This feels like a trap]

Ben. [of course he's going to answer the question] You better not be fucking with me, possible ghost.

[tsunergy]

[Ben! Okay, that's a good start. Mikleo leaves the frost to melt on the wall and pulls out his comm, searching and finding the name via network. Ring ring! He's calling you now. Time for a ghostly phone call.]

[privateeyed]

[he blinks and reaches into his pocket to pull out his communicator, squinting at it suspiciously before he answers]

If you "seven days" me I'm gonna be pissed.

[tsunergy]

[There's a long, confused pause, and then:]

I don't understand what that means.

[privateeyed]

[oh, hey, it works]

It's a movie where I'm from. Gets remade every twenty years or so. This is a lot easier than your ghost trick - which was cool, by the way.

[tsunergy]

Oh.

[no wonder it's lost on him, he's seen like two whole movies in his lifetime.]

Thanks. I'm not a ghost, by the way- I'm a seraph.

[privateeyed]

Yeah. Probably a reference no one will get, my bad.

[bro you need to watch more movies come on now]

Aren't seraph a kind of angel? My bible school knowledge is a little rusty.

[tsunergy]

[There's a long pause, a sudden, tense chill in the air. The kitten actually climbs up to stand on the empty air beneath it and jump off, wandering off a few feet to shake off the feeling and groom itself.

And then, over the comm, a tired sigh.]

Elemental spirit...

[if he ever meets an angel he's going to punch them for existing in literally every other world except his own and stealing that term.

Should he start using malak? he should totally just use malak. nobody ever mistakes malakhim for angels.]

[privateeyed]

[oh boy. Ben takes a step back, just in case he's offended him and look, he doesn't want to be turned into an ice sculpture or something, okay]

Uh - okay, elemental spirit, got it. Not a thing where I'm from.

[tsunergy]

I assumed not.

[Okay, okay, relax. It's not this guy's fault his world is obviously confused.]

My name is Mikleo. There's two other seraphim on this ship, just so you know. I'm the captain, but our vessel and the ship's first mate is human- Sorey- so if you ever need anything just let him know. ...Or use the comm, I suppose. For some reason it always picks up our voices.

[privateeyed]

That's better than picking up nothing at all, I guess. [two more, though . . . yeah, he was going to slip and call them ghosts, too. But that was just how he was] Wait, your - vessel?

How come nobody can you see you anyway?

[tsunergy]

It's the nature of our kind. Most people lack the ability to see us, that's all. As for the vessel thing... that's a little more complicated to explain, but the short version is that we need a pure "house" to keep us protected, or the presence of non-seraphim around us can make us sick. Sorey acts as that house, so we can dwell within him if we need to.

[privateeyed]

[a few inappropriate things come to mind - look, he looks like a dumpster disaster, it's not surprise his mind is there too - but he bites his tongue]

That . . . sort of makes sense. I'll take your word for it. [he scratches at his cheek] If it's an ability, though, is it something that can be learned?

[tsunergy]

[yeah just wait till he finds out they're 'dating'.]

It can be. Actually, it develops fairly easily here in the fleet for some reason... it used to be almost impossible back home.

Anyway, within a few months you should at least be able to hear us without the communicators. How long it takes varies from person to person.

[privateeyed]

[I'm sorry in advance]

Only a few months. [that sounds like a pain in the ass, though] Guess I'll just have to keep this thing on me and not treat it like my phone back home. [the phone he routinely forgets on his desk]

[tsunergy]

Give or take.

[Some have resonance in months! And then there were people like Clay who barely had any after like, a year and a half.]

Like I said, if there are any problems and I need to speak with you urgently, I'll just get Sorey. It's not likely to be a problem, though.

[privateeyed]

Well, that's good. [but his paranoia about literally everything says otherwise] Even so, I'll try not to forget it.

[tsunergy]

I'd appreciate it.

[No offense, buddy, but he hates to repeat himself.]

What's your augment?

[privateeyed]

[none taken, he feels the same way]

It's security.

[tsunergy]

Oh! That's good. We've been without security for a while now. It's hit or miss whether weaponry even becomes relevant, but I'm glad to have it just in case.

[Oh, wait, that's presumptuous.]

Assuming you decide to stay, of course. You're welcome here, but you can choose to move to another ship if you feel so inclined.

[privateeyed]

It's relevant to us folks who don't have fancy powers. [he shrugs] I don't know what I'm supposed to do as security, but I'll do it.

I don't know anyone else, though, so I guess I'll stick around here. I'll try not to be a bother.