Reverie

[ Alex looks a little ashen faced and grim, but otherwise no worse for wear. Beside him is Vanessa who looks a little uneasy with the situation. Her hair is loose, arms wrapped around herself and whilst she agreed that they need to do this, and she trusts Alex, it's a little clear that she doesn't want to do it.

Alex clears his throat. ]

Alrigh’, well - I know this ain’t as big news as it would have been a couple weeks ago, but. Vanessa and I - and Bobbie and Kylo - we uh, we had a little chat. With someone who had been on the station before.

Who died on the station before.

And before ya’ll start arguin’ - just listen to what we heard, for a second.

First thing - all this? The crazy shit that we keep gettin’ in to, and why we’re so far from Earth? It’s all because of the Drive. Now we talked to the Medic so I ain’t exactly got a whole lot of technical details, but - they built it because of whatever was going down on Earth at the time, but instead of what it was supposed to do, it moved them.

Moved them, and then started killin’ them.

But the drive is somewhere on the station - or at least it was. So I think we gotta put in a real effort now to find it.

I don't understand this as Alex does. ( her words are quiet as she finally speaks. even if you've not had the conversation with her that she's from 1892 there's a look to her, particularly in her dress, that would heavily suggest that she's not from a “modern” century ) But I trust the information that we received.

( she only knows what the others told her, effectively unconscious during the affair, but there's a feeling that vanessa has. the spirit hadnt meant them harm, nor did it feel like a deception )

It may be that this Drive is behind one of the doors we have yet to open, I don't know, but perhaps someone will discover that.

( her only hope was that there wouldn't be too many questions about how they'd come to learn this information though vanessa doubted that that would be the case )

( there'll be responses from both. vanessa is in purple text )

[ This post has been some time coming. Ever since he volunteered to help Miller unlock the Hangar Bay door last month-- no, even before that, he's been wanting to tell the truth. He'd never told anyone before Miller (and then Alex, and 9S...), but he's never had anyone to tell before. For so long, he lived his life in self-imposed solitary exile, surrounded by millions of people in Tokyo but not letting any of them get too close, for fear they would discover the truth and hate him, fear him, or turn him in to Project Integration.

But now he's in space, and Project Integration couldn't be farther away (barring a few hysterical hallucinations). And he has friends. Friends who deserve to know the truth. The whole truth.

He opts not to use text, thinking it would probably be better to do this as visually as possible. He sits, kneeling in the Japanese style, in front of the camera, hands clenching in the fabric of his jumpsuit pants out of nerves. ]

Hello, everyone. Most of you know me as Hideki Matsukawa. I'm here to— [ He stops, bites his lip. Presses on. ]

I want to come clean. The name Hideki Matsukawa is a lie. It belonged to the man whose body you see now, but that's not me.

Hideki Matsukawa was a bike messenger in Hiroshima, Japan, on Earth. About two years ago, he was hit by a car, suffered major head trauma, and was declared braindead. His body was donated to a group of scientists who called themselves Project Integration. Their purpose was to expand upon the ways in which humanity and technology could be linked. Their main project was to see whether it was possible to install an artificial brain, complete with its own AI, into a human host body.

I... am... that brain.

[ He glances down at his clenched fists, trying not to let his voice shake or his eyes start to water. ]

I'm sorry to have lied to all of you. You thought I was human, but I'm not. I felt I had to lie, because I thought Project Integration was behind all of this, but it's become clear to me now that that's not the case.

[ He lowers his head to the floor in an elaborate bow. ]

Please forgive me! I never meant to hurt anyone with my deceptions. I hope you can accept me now that you know what I am.

[ He stays in that position for a minute longer, then sits back up, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. ]

Please, call me Haruto. That's the name I chose for myself, when I... left Project Integration. That is the name I would prefer to be called.

[ As Midnighter said, it's the name that feels the least like a lie. ]

If you have any further questions, I'll be happy to answer them. I don't want to hide anymore. Thank you.

The more of the station we unlock, the more there is to do. It seems wise to sit down together and figure out just what those things are, and how best to achieve them, if even for no other than reasons than expedience and safety. To that end, I'm proposing a station-wide meeting.

Where: The Bridge
When: 0900
What: Station Agenda

Including:
- The Hangar
- The Drive
- The construction of a coherent set of rules that govern what influence the station has on us
- Public Clue Listing
- The Library
- Accessing 7
- Station Population
- Station Emergency Procedures
- Volunteered Abilities Listing


If you've got information, or even just questions or concerns, you're encouraged to attend and share. If you let me know, I'll set a list for organization's sake. If you just want to come and listen and see if your skills might be of use somewhere, you're also encouraged to attend.

We're all in this together, let's try and keep it that way.

I'll update this post as information comes in.

[OOC: Despite the time given here, I won't be posting the in-character follow-up today or tomorrow. I'm looking to do it later this week/early next week to give everyone time to react to this if they'd like. Have at thee.]

 Hey, ya'll.

[ Hi Reverie Fam, it's your resident faux texan Martian, here, his warm drawl caressing your ears. For those of you that have them and can still hear out of them, anyway. ]

So I've been thinkin'. 

We've been gettin' access to some new areas, but I'll be honest and say that there's on in particular I've been most interested in gettin' in, but we might need a team to do it like we did for the door to Operations. We need to get into the Hangar Bay. We know there is one - the map up in operations made that clear, and I'm pretty sure I even know the exact door we need to get in. We just need to get in  it.

So I thought--

[ He cuts off sharply with an ow!, and then there's a clattering noise as the communicator hits the floor. Silence for a couple seconds, and then in a breathless whisper that sounds like it's coming from several feet away: ]

Holy shit, where did these come from? [ There's another rustling and clattering and the next time his voice is audible, it's from much closer to the mic. ]

Folks, I think we've got a ride. 

I think we've got two rides, and--

Wait, what? Where the hell'd they go??

[The audio disconnects.]

As of this moment, I no longer require any blood donations from those who have offered me in the past, or from those who regularly provided. I thank you for what you have given me. Where I am from, such a thing would be impossible if I were honest with my heritage and requirements. If I can ever repay you for your kindness and generosity, know that I will do so swiftly.

To the rest of you, I wished to speak briefly of the clinic. I have been very fortunate to gain the assistance of Hajime, Jun, and Jennifer who wish to either learn how to help medically or already have the capability to assist. Should there be anyone else who wishes to learn, I will teach you what I know.

However, it has come to my attention due to recent circumstances that I was not as forward thinking as I would have liked. I am equipped to assist with individuals who are primarily organic in nature whose biology is similar enough to a human's. I was less prepared with others, like androids. I have come to learn the anatomy of one, and I have been advised on how to assist with others. I recommend if you have unique needs that you inform me. If you wish to make it a private conversation, I am available to you.

Those who have healing magic, I would ask that you inform me privately. I want to know who else I can rely on. I do not insist, but if supplies end up dwindling or an injury is too great, it will help.

...Lastly. Should any other medical professional have arrived and you are able to help, I encourage you to speak. I am prepared to relinquish my position to someone with more years of experience than I.

Thank you.

( Clary can't sleep. That isn't new, but thanks to the steady application of an Endurance rune she doesn't quite look like the walking dead yet. In fact, her stele turning up has been a godsend. Nourishment to stop her having to eat the weird replicated food, Stealth so that she can wander the halls at all hours, and Soundless so that no one hears her scream if she finally gets a few hours sleep before the nightmares come. But runes can't really help her state of mind, and there's only so much she can do to stop herself going crazy.

Which is what drives her to the network in the middle of the night, thoughts going round in vicious circles. )

if you could wish for one thing in the whole wide world, what would it be?

( Grief isn't new, not to Clary. Each person that gets taken from her is another chip in her heart. But she's used to doing something. With Simon, she'd forced the others to bury him so that he could come back. With Jocelyn, she'd killed the demon who took her. With Jace, there should have been a wish.

If whoever brought her here had waited only two more minutes. She was so close. But now she's here. And he's dead. And in the dark of artificial night she can't put on her cheery smile anymore. )

What if you knew that it was the only one, in the history of all wishes, and that using it would mean it was gone and no matter who might need it down the line it's been used up, would you still take it?

( Jace will be long dead by the time she manages to get home. If she manages. But she spilt blood, Raziel owes her. There's still a chance. )

[The camera is set a few feet away, so both Mike and the Command Deck video screen fit in view. He speaks with an easy authority, a man used to leading meetings.]

As many of you have probably heard, after the door to the Command Deck was breached video logs of the previous crew were discovered. Many of them are corrupted, and a lot of them that aren't don't seem to have any real substance - they're just the day to day operations of the station - but we have found one that's different.

[He leans, reaching out to something just out of view, and suddenly the large video screen comes to life. Mike turns slightly to watch with the camera.

A woman orders one crew member to contact mission command. She then informs mission command that they are about to begin test zero-zero-five and to stand by. The crew clearly knows the protocol for running this test; various crew members call out their tasks, from slowing the rings to a stop (after which gravity ceases on the command desk and presumably everywhere on the station) to initiating drive.

There is a tense moment. A crew member keeps calling percentages: “Drive at five percent. Drive at ten percent.”

Eventually: “Drive steady at 60 percent. Steady -”

Several consoles beep. “Drive failed.”

The woman contacts mission command again: “Be advised. Test zero-zero-five failed after a climb to 60%.”

The video comes to and end and the screen winks to black. Mike looks back at the camera.]

As best as we can tell, the woman giving the orders is the same "Ghost" recently recorded and posted to this same network. Clearly, they were running experiments here. For what end? The videos don't say. But given the state of things.... Bets are they didn't end well.

[ The question Haruto wants to ask is simple, but he doesn't want to risk the "Hideki Matsukawa" persona he's built up for himself. So, he posts using his other, anonymous communicator. ]

if you could help, but doing so would put yourself at risk, would you?

[ the video comes from a random hallway, and Bodhi is sitting against the wall, hair falling free from his hair tie, looking tired. he sighs, resting his chin on a hand. when speaking, he's not gesturing as much as he normally does. ]

I was wondering, how many of you have met people here, that you knew from before? Or... maybe someone you've never met, but they're from the same galaxy or planet as you. Just another -- time. 

[ he pauses. it's not completely unrelated to his next question. this is actually, a bit overdue. given he hasn't thought to try ask the network before, but he has been looking. 

but maybe, even if they aren't here, someone knows who they are? ]

Does the term "Rogue One" mean anything to anyone?

There were people here before, right? So where's all their stuff? Even if they all got chest-bursted their belongings should still be here, but I didn't find so much as a toothbrush in my cabin.

Has anybody found anything useful?

[ What up Reverie Terminal, it's your glowy superdad back on the network again. Apollo is looking pensive today and not quite his usual sunny self. Next to him is someone who's making his first public appearance: Kaldur'ahm faces the camera, gills at his neck clearly visible, a reserved smile on his face. He gives a nod. ]

As you all know, several areas of the station remain inaccessible to us. I believe several people have been talking about ways to open them or attempting to do so already. Brute force may be a means to gain access to a central command deck or something similar. If enough of us work together, especially those of us stronger or superpowered, we may be able to get through.

[ Here, he glances at Apollo, who adds after a beat: ]

Dirk raised a good point: what if those doors have been locked off for a good reason? What if there's something on the other side that needs to be locked away like, I don't know, a pathogen? Or whatever it is that's wiped out the original station crew?

[ Apollo lifts a hand, as if to stem an imaginary silent protest: ]

I'm not saying we shouldn't still give it a go, because after that video Henryk received it's been made pretty clear to us that we need to get off this ship as soon as possible. But it's something we should maybe be prepared for.

So what we're asking is whether or not there's anyone out there who's good at forcefields? Or might have some insight in to how we should tackle this? Just in case we open a door and, uh. Regret it.

[ Apollo frowns a little, determination replacing the pensive expression from before. ]

So there you have it. I know Amos has some good ideas about creating an airlock in case we open a door to an unpressurised deck. But has anyone else got any ideas? [ to which Kaldur adds: ] We would welcome your thoughts and input.