welcome to starfield

[airlockedmods]

[Each inmate wakes up in a cell, with no memory of arriving there or of putting on the full body orange jumpsuit. There is a moderately chunky tablet wired into one of their arms, with dials on the side to flick through the different menus, including a limited note-taking function and a map

None of them are alone in their cells, either.

Whether they choose to leave their cell and explore or just stay and get to know their new roommate, it becomes clear that this place isn't anything like any of them have ever seen. For some, it's devoid of anything even remotely familiar. The door labeled Counselor's office is locked. The Counselor's office and the kitchen and mess hall all have placards stating hours when they're closed - or in the former's case, when "private office hours" will be held.

However they while away the next couple of hours, it seems like they're mostly alone on the ship. For a while, anyway.]

Comments

mess hall

[empathiser]

I'm pretty sure it'd count as malnutrition if all we had to live off of was over-sugared cereal.

[says the guy with a whole pot of coffee in front of him. because apparently this place doesn't have whiskey. or at least, none that he can find.]

If this is a jail, they'll have a dietary plan worked up somewhere. [And it will suck.]

[helladoptera]

I can dream, anyway.

[ She wishes she could say this is a dream, but she got over that idea pretty fast. ]

I mean, there's a lot of things about this place that don't seem like a regular jail?

[empathiser]

Right. It seems more like a specialised secure unit rather than a regular jail

[Here comes Mr Fun, Max.]

[helladoptera]

Specialized secure unit... I didn't think random high school girls ended up in those?

[empathiser]

[That... actually gets him to pause.]

That would... depend on what those random high school girls had done.

[And he thinks of a girl, afraid and lost but desperate to keep her family together. Of a slip of a knife in a moment of fear and a decision to trust someone they both would've been better off not trusting at all. Maybe if things had worked out different, Abigail would have ended up locked away too. An accessory to a string of murders that started everything.]

[helladoptera]

Well... nothing. I saw a... I'm a witness to something, but I'm not a criminal. Not that you probably believe me in here, but.

[empathiser]

[All the things he can think off as being "crime" worthy had been deemed self defence, or part of the line of duty in the end. But they seem to be playing loose with what defines a crime here.]

One person is here for "killing King Arthur" so I wouldn't worry too much about why you're here for now.

[It doesn't change the fact that they're here.]

[helladoptera]

I saw. And I... yeah, I think thinking too much about it is just gonna mess me up, especially since I didn't actually do any of those "Other Notable Crimes." At least, not as far as I know.

[empathiser]

[He's beginning to wonder if there's something to the whole "as far as I know" part.]

Me neither. Or I wouldn't have thought I'd end up in a secure unit for sarcasm related offenses.

[helladoptera]

Half the people I know would be here if sarcasm was a criminal offense.

[empathiser]

Then I think it's fair to assume they're making reasons up to keep us here.

[for the moment, at least.]

[helladoptera]

Yeah, I... I get the sense this place isn't super on the level.

[empathiser]

[a brief pause to appreciate that slang, max.]

They can always blow things out of proportion. If you know you didn't do the things they're accusing you of, then there's no point in doubting yourself.

[Second guessing your memories is... not fun. He wouldn't recommend it.]

[helladoptera]

[ there's more where that came from, don't worry ]

Right. All I can really do now is... wait and see if someone in charge shows their face.

[empathiser]

[wowsers trousers]

That, and send yourself into a sugar high.

[Has that cereal gone soggy yet?]

[helladoptera]

Don't worry, I can hold my Frosted Flakes.

[ She'll go ahead and take a bite for emphasis. ]

[empathiser]

[He's just going to pull a face.]

How can you eat that and not feel sick?

[helladoptera]

Experience, mostly?

[empathiser]

[Experience.]

Sounds like a lot of bowls worth of experience.

[helladoptera]

Not a hundred or anything, but... when you're living at school and fending for yourself, you know?

[empathiser]

Did they stop doing the cheap instant ramen packets at the corner shops?

[He's at least 90% sure he replaced his blood with powdered soup broth and veins with noodles when he was doing his grad thesis. Maybe cereal and sugar is just the way things are done now?]

[helladoptera]

No, we still have plenty of noodles, but cereal's an easy breakfast.

[empathiser]

[And lunch, and dinner, he's guessing.]

So's toast. But cereal's probably better tasting, I'll give you that.

[helladoptera]

Mmhm. And you need to find room in your dorm room for a toaster.

[empathiser]

That's what higher education is all about. Creative cooking. Who needs a toaster when you've got a stove top or a selection of candles and a lot of patience?