Rec Room

[hellsbel]

The wardroom, or rec room, is a place to connect.

---

thisavrou IC Inbox

[A sharp, ambiguous face appears on the directory screen; the voice is a curt, ironic alto.]

You've reached Bel Thorne. Leave me a vidcall or message here and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

[note: Bel is in cryo from May 9 to May 23, and messages received during that span will be answered after it.]

---

Please state the nature of the communication (video, audio, text, etc) in the subject line. Non-electronic communications can be directed to Bel's quarters (Nomo Deck, room #005), or left in Bel's shipboard mailbox. If responding to a Spacebook post, please indicate which one.

Comments

12/21ish

[forwardmomentum]

Just touching base. You alright?

[hellsbel]

[back in their quarters, report-writing under a pile of blankets; soft smile at the name on the MID]

All good now. Were you there when they locked it back in? What happened?

[forwardmomentum]

[ oh, thank god. miles hadn't heard from bel in the last few days, and granted, it's been pretty chaotic, but even so -- at least that's one less person he has to worry about. ]

Glad to hear it. And I was, yeah, with Athena and Eggsy and...Metabee, I think that's his name. The little yellow robot. We managed to corner it in one of the corridors. Turns out it doesn't like crowds. Athena gave it a shove into one of the unused rooms there and Metabee locked it up tight. Everyone got out alright.

[hellsbel]

[tries to update spacebook status regularly, but the last few days have been.... yeah. always at home to messages though<3]

Well done! That should be a combat bonus for each of you. Double for Athena if she actually touched it. [hopes that doesn't cause any ill effects for her]

Metabee -- yes, that's him. Did he bring his plasma rifle? Too bad he couldn't shoot the thing.

[forwardmomentum]

[ you know how bad he is about keeping in touch sometimes, bel. someone really ought to talk to him about that. apparently the first dozen times didn't stick. ]

She seems alright, and at any rate Doc Yewll's been tending to everyone pretty well.

Wait, he's got a plasma rifle?

[ miles' own plasma arc had been destroyed along with caducus primary and his body. it'd be nice to have one again. ]

I don't suppose he's selling it.

1/2, stupid o'clock

[seeingscarlet]

[It's not much - a slight disturbance on a spider's web, a faint twinge of pain - but Wanda's a light sleeper and it's enough. For a few moments, she's disoriented, unsure what woke her or what's wrong.

It only takes a few minutes to work it out, and she's not sure if she should be worried yet. This has never happened before with someone who wasn't Pietro.]

Are you all right?

Stupidest o'clock~

[hellsbel]

[it actually takes about five minutes more for a response. the pain might grow, a bit.]

Wanda, good, Iwas j

[accidentally hit send. again. what is messaging with blood all up on th

the next message takes another minute or so; typing is hard.]

bout to let you kno.w Brief version: fight on Obs. Deck, new crewman vs one of ours. I stunned him. Manasseh will probably need you to shake him down tomorrow.

I'll be in medbay. Rouond knives, what the hell. Someo ne's on their way, don't worry?

\o/

[seeingscarlet]

[She's well past that point, Bel. In those five minutes, Wanda's thrown on shoes and a shawl and headed out into the hallways in nothing else but her pajamas. at least practicality isn't an issue if she has to fight something

They won't get a response. Instead, she makes a beeline for the medbay, slipping into the room as soon as they'll let her.]

Bel... [She doesn't ask if they're all right or if it hurts - she already knows. Instead, Wanda simply slips her hand into theirs and squeezes, relief that is wasn't worse evident.]

aw ^^;

[hellsbel]

[no response. good, she's probably asleep and will check in tomorrow mor--]

...oh...! [tired eyes open in surprise, hand instinctively gripping hers back. wanda? you didn't have to -- damn, she's upset, it's really okay though, they're all wrapped up now, it's fine? and true, there's nothing visible above the sheets; the repairs are all undercover. the face turning toward hers is unusually greyed, though, and the grip on her hand is sincere but weak.

the soft, tender attempt at a smile is also instinctive. it's not that Bel isn't used to people caring, exactly; it's that caring tended to take a far rougher and more hands-off form back in the fleet, and it's been... a while since there was anything else aside from that.]

Thanks for coming....

[the voice is soft, breathless. blood loss is the main issue, but that's being dealt with.]

these two messes :S

[seeingscarlet]

[Gently:] You really thought I wouldn't? This is not a time to be alone.

[She starts adjusting the edges of the blanket with her free hand, not because it's actually been messed up but just for fussing's sake. No one she cares about can ever stay out of trouble, can they?]

The one who did this...he is locked up now?

[warandpeace]

I have a question concerning Rinzler. He asked about the consequences of his actions. I was wondering if you knew anything about that.

[hellsbel]

[wry] Up to this point, or is he still talking about trying again? [because their last conversation with him was not very promising in that regard.]

If he were my crewman, he'd be going straight from the brig to the next ship home. Unfortunately for all of us, we are that ship. Once Wanda has all the facts, it'll go to the captains.

[warandpeace]

It would be the same way on our base. [Unless the Boss took a fit of pity on the person. Quiet got away with entirely more shit than she should have. But... well, he'll try not to be bitter over that. That's a good thing about being away from home.]

He just said he'd interpreted the other man as a threat and that's why he was attacked. I asked him if he should seek treatment for his wounds, and then he refused. Then he asked about consequences.

Talks less than even some people I know. But that's what I gathered. I'll go ask.

Thanks for the help.

[hellsbel]

[nods -- of course it would; that makes sense.]

'Interpreted'? Funny way to put it.

Anytime. We haven't really had a test case for this kind of thing since I've been here. It'll be illuminating to see how they resolve it.

[by which Bel means if there were popcorn on this boat, its volume would be steadily decreasing as they speak.]

[warandpeace]

Somehow it seemed a little more complicated than "he just decided". But then again I could be wrong. I don't know all that much about what they are.

[backsassin]

[On the evening of the arrival of this month’s latest newcomers, Bel will get a video message on their MID from an unfamiliar woman. At least, her face and voice are unfamiliar. The MID itself says the call is from Zam Wesell. Which is exactly the problem really.]

Bel? I need you to call me back as soon as you get this message. I don’t want to worry you or anything, but… [She sighs, running a hand through her hair. Her unfamiliar face is made even more unrecognizable by her tense expression; neither the easy confidence Zam has in their day-to-day interactions or the occasional gloomy contemplation infrequently recorded on the network. She actually looks afraid -- not an emotion the bounty hunter has had much use for since dying.] A lot of things are happening at once. And I might need an extra pair of eyes and ears.

This is Zam, by the way. You’ve probably already figured that out. I can explain more later, but just… Please respond, okay?

video; private

[hellsbel]

[calls back even before getting to the end of the message, listening to the last few words with increasing concern. damn, why had it taken this long to get away and check messages.... it couldn't have been but a few minutes, but what was the matter?]

Zam? That's a new look on you. [not just the face, either, for all Bel's wicked glee at some of her uses for her abilities.] What's going on?

Re: video; private

[backsassin]

[Zam picks up the second she gets the call back.] Took you long enough, [she murmurs, though she sounds more relieved than irritated.]

There’s... a group of people who arrived through the Ingress. [She’s hesitant, even when she knows she doesn’t have the time to be. She’s kept the circumstances of her death obscure since she arrived here, the better to avoid being reminded of it, but now it’s looking like she doesn’t have much choice in the matter anymore. Not with those faces now among the crew. She takes a breath and, after one more brief moment of reluctance, lets the words spill out.]

I think the man who killed me is here. Along with the two who were interrogating me when it happened. It’s… a long story. [No, it’s not. But it’s a painful one that she’d rather not tell.] The man who killed me is a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Wears silver and blue armor. I’ve been trying to scrub my name from the network for the past few hours and it’s not working, and there’s no way he doesn’t have his MID by now, which means he knows I’m here. [Her voice is sharp edged with fear and frustration; after months of being stuck on this ship, it feels like the walls are finally starting to close in -- there’s nowhere else to go.]

He hasn’t seen this face before but he knows I’m a changeling. If he knows I’m here, he’ll be looking for me. I need you to keep an eye out for him and if you do see him, tell me when and where.

And don’t try to approach him. [Except the way Zam says it, it sounds more like “Don’t try and start a fight.”]

video; private

[hellsbel]

[deeply ironic face. yes, it is indeed Ingress Day; they've spent all morning waiting for the screams.] Tell me about it, they're all over the ship--

[but her explanation makes the dour expression drop right off. plenty of mercenaries don't talk about their pasts -- as one of them, it's Bel's habit not to press for personal details that haven't been volunteered. Zam? Zam had died. little is more personal. that she's opening up about it at all shows how serious this is.]

Got it. Damn -- where are you? [silver-and-blue? hasn't seen one of those so far, and Tailgate had already been on board so it couldn't be him. scrolling through the ship's map as they speak -- too many unfamiliar entries, but nothing looking like a Jango.

doesn't respond in kind to her tone at the end there, either -- a sign of how serious this is to Bel, too. the bounty hunter would have to go through Bel to get to Zam if it came to that, but this is a tactical situation and going by Zam's intel is just good common sense.]

I don't see his name. Who are the others? [small grim smile] Is there anything I should innocently ask them if I run into them?

[backsassin]

Library. He’s got no reason to think I’d be here and he’s sure as hell not going to come in for some light reading. [Jango never had been one for books. And even if he did decide to pay a visit, Zam’s positioned herself on the second floor where she has a clear view of the entrance, and the quiet of the place ensures anyone would have a difficult time sneaking up on her. It’s still not an ideal hiding place, but at least remaining on the ship means she’ll be able to depend on her blaster if it comes down to it -- she’s not about to get into a firefight on a hydrogen-atmosphere gas planet.]

Two human male Jedi. [Seeing as most people here haven’t even heard of the Force, Zam doubts that word has any meaning here.] Members of a religious order turned Republic heavies. If they haven’t changed into uniforms yet, they’ll be in brown robes. [Her tone grows wry despite the circumstances.] I wasn’t able to get on a first-name basis with either of them.

The politician they were protecting came through as well. Human woman by the name of Amidala. If you’re going to talk to anyone, talk to her. Maybe ask what she was doing before she came through the Ingress -- find out if Jango finished the job after he… disposed of me. [And would that just be the best joke? That Zam should die with, or perhaps even in place of the woman she’d been assigned to kill? Sounds like something straight out of a Mabari sermon. She shakes her head in disgust.]

I wouldn’t try striking up conversation with the Jedi if I were you. They have… abilities. Ways of getting inside people’s heads. There’s a good chance they’d learn more from you than you would from them.

text; waves hands vaguely about time

[niffin]

Crewman Thorne,

I was wondering if you might consider contributing to a course. Strictly on a volunteer basis.

text; yay!

[hellsbel]

It's 'crewperson', just to clarify. A training course? What did you have in mind?

[and how have you been, Crewwoman Quinn? they've seen too little of you since the trials.]

[niffin]

[ That's the handy thing about invisibility: You don't really have to see anyone. ]

Sorry. My bad.

Your suggestions about ship safety courses, they were good ones. But I think using them punitively (and I'm assuming: presenting the information tediously) isn't as helpful as making them available to the crew at large.

We're all stuck here, and a lot of people don't come from places where ships like this are even a thing. We've got a space 101 lecture going already, and I think your ideas would compliment it well.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you've had practical experience before this.

[ It's why she's using a title to address Bel in the first place, inaccurate or not. When you're fishing for information, any reaction helps. ]

(In the interests of disclosure: I'm also asking Shepard.)

[hellsbel]

It's all right, Crewwoman Quinn. We have three genders where I'm from; men, women, and both. Most people I meet here are just used to one end of the binary.

[intrigued -- can't say they hadn't thought about doing something of the sort; other things had just kept coming up. she's being so carefully professional, though, and merits a response in kind.]

Yes, I'm a captain in a deep-space military fleet back home. We'd live on our ships for years on end, during deployments and between actions. My light cruiser carried a crew of twenty, trained to within an inch of their lives because every one of them knew they'd have to depend on each other.

[this is a ship of civilians, most of whom don't want to be here, most of whom don't have any organized training, a significant fraction of whom are perfectly willing to kill fellow crewpersons, trapped on a literal haunted ship under an inexperienced captain triad on an unmapped route through hell. to Bel, it's been a systemic disaster from the start.

a glimmer of humor] It's a big crew. Do you think the two of us will be enough? -- Agreed, it should be a course taken on arrival. I think people who disregard the warnings should be put through a refresher, but it does have to start somewhere. Count me in.

1/2

[niffin]

We sort of have that too, it's just not very widespread. Are there any pronouns you prefer?

Other than 'Captain'. I'm not sure how that one would work in a sentence.

Thank you for agreeing. I'll keep you updated with it. I'm hoping to find a civilian volunteer as well, but it seems like that's even rarer here.

[ Even Leia had talked about having a war to return to, and she's discounting anyone from the CDC outright. ]

And for stuff like emergency procedures, that kind of discipline's probably useful anyway.