Welcome to the Program

[airlockedmods]

Good Morning, Champions. In the interest of maintaining healthy sleep patterns, a day/night cycle is in effect. Your presence is expected in the cafeteria in exactly one hour.

[The voice comes through not a large speaker, but through the device that's attached to each Champion's arm. Further investigation of the features of the device will reveal a list of profiles, a mini-map, and a list of rules. The hallways are shiny white and silver, with running lights along the floor and lights on the ceiling, and at the junction of the hallways is a sign with a knife and fork icon and an arrow pointing down the hall.

Welcome to the Excellence Program, Champions. Time to get to know your teammates.]

Comments

[kingshaming]

[He had been with Corrin and his other siblings on the roof of the Northern Fortress. They had been laughing about Leo's flipped collar... Corrin was finally going to get her chance to leave that cold lonely place and-

'This is certainly no time for a nap. Did... I pass out after our spar?'

No, that was impossible. True, his sister had actually managed to damage him, but it was like the scratch of a kitten compared to something he'd earn in a real battle. Then how...?

He woke with a start as his mind caught up to the fact that he was in no bed he recognized, that even the scents were strange and foreign. His first instinct was to reach for his blade and-

-gods, the Siegfried was gone. He was in some stranger's bed, un-armored and his sword was gone.

It takes some time before he comes out, dealing with the leotard (which is something even a Dark Mage would be shy to walk around in, even if it showed less skin) and then gaping at the electric lights- magic orbs, certainly. But keeping such things running so constantly was nearly impossible. Who ever owned this place had to be wealthy beyond measure, even in Castle Krakenburg such a thing was a novelty.

But eventually he does come out eyeing the other doors around Room 17 first, but not approaching anyone unless approached first- to be honest he's half convinced they and this place are a hallucination or dream after not sleeping too long and sparked by stress. And considering the scowl on his face and his size perhaps no one wants to make that first step- maybe wise.

Soon he ends up in the cafeteria as asked, probably before anyone else, body tense and ready for an attack and hands crossed behind his back.

...though anyone peeking at him when he thinks he's not being watched might see a look of fear cross his face- or the occasional tugging at his 'outfit', mumbling under his breath.]

...you can see everything in this damned thing...

[Oh yes, you certainly can. Or well, a PG-13 level of 'see' but still, it's enough for a man used to being in full plate to feel a bit exposed]

[ratherdoweddings]

Ugh... what is this thing?

[As Yurika walks through the hallway, she's making faces at her PIP and trying unsuccessfully to tug it off of her.]

It won't even move! I know you can get nanomachine implants in your body, but those don't do this...

[Aaaaand she's just walked into a wall. She groans and rubs her head.]

Okay, Yurika. First things first, let's figure out who renovated my ship.

[kininaru]

[ The first thing Chitanda Eru notices when she wakes up is the massive, clunky device that's managed to attach itself to her wrist while she was asleep. It's left a bit of a red mark on her face, from sleeping on the screen, but when attempting to get it off renders her with a zap strong enough to frizz up her straight, black hair, she gives up on trying to mess around with it too much, instead focusing on what exactly it has to say. After all, she can't glean too much from a chrome room and an unfamiliar ceiling, but these rules might give her some insight...

And, well. That Rule 7 is certainly striking, but she's certain that it won't have to come to that, right? And, after all, would anyone really be so desperate to leave here? If this device is to be believed, they're on a space station! Wouldn't they want to take the time to explore around? After all, the map provided is only so helpful, with all of these blank spaces...it sounds like she'll need to do some poking around! And, not to mention, all of the people in these profiles are so interesting!

...Granted, some of them aren't people, which is, well. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, won't we? A hedgehog, a griffin, a...doll? A soul? What could all of this mean..?

It's all so...curious! Chitanda can't stop thinking about it! She can hardly wait to make herself decent and explore, even if this unitard is just a bit of a strange fashion choice! So when she pops out of room 5, with a spring in her step and not a hint of panic (she...is in a kidnapping situation, isn't she? She can hardly bring herself to care about that just yet, there are far more important matters at hand), she's immediately drawn to the windows, and stunned to see nothing but a sea of stars staring back at her. ]

I-it's beautiful...

[ Can this be real? Even it isn't, the sight is too gorgeous to ignore...

It takes a bit of time, but she does eventually make her way to the cafeteria. And once she's there, she can't possibly contain herself. She doesn't discriminate, either, because whether you're black, white, green or blue, she's heading right for you with your profile on the screen of her PIP. She tries not to breach people's personal space too much, but, she just has so many questions-- ]

E-excuse me! Would you mind answering just a few questions about yourself for me? I hope I'm not being rude, but, something I read on here has me curious...

[ Maybe you'd almost rather deal with an Overseer at this point..? She's just a cute teenager, though, so what harm can she do? ]

cafeteria

[ratherdoweddings]

[Yurika steps in just as he says that and covers her face with her hands. ...he'll probably notice the marking that shows up on one of them, but that's neither here nor there.]

Oh! I won't look if you don't want. Besides, I'm only interested in Akito! [She pauses and spreads her fingers to look through the cracks.] But what are you doing here, anyway? This doesn't look like my ship at all.

[bylight]

[Lightning awoke not on the purge train, but somewhere else. She had just been on her way to be thrown onto Pulse. This... This was not Cocoon. This was not where she was after derailing that train with that man who she never got the name of.

Her clothes are different, she feels different.

Wait!

She looks around in a hurry. Where was her gunblade? She stands in a hurry, looking under anything she can before rushing out of the room. That's when she notices the device on her arm. It's about as advanced as the technology from her world. Maybe it held the answers.

Scrolling through the screens she find the rules, and then she happens upon the profiles.]

.... I am not 521. What the hell kind of typo is that? [And that title... No, she was far from a Champion Sister. Not with how she treated Serah...]

[cyan_maid]

[A young lady stands in her bedroom. It just so happens that today, the 11th of November, 2011, is the date scheduled for the launch of a highly exclusive playtesting experience for a much anticipated game. The young lady is expecting to find this game in her mailbox today. She is expecting the game to be enclosed in a pair of envelopes, and printed on these envelopes, she is expecting to find -

...No. No, wait, that's not right, something's not right here. Had she still been drowsy and slipped back into bed to wait for everyone to wake up and come online? Of course she wouldn't do that - Jane Crocker has things to do today, important things, monumental things. How could she fall back to sleep on a day like today?

It's this thought, coupled with the unfamiliar voice right in her goshdarned ear that jolts Jane from sleep, and it takes her a moment or two to properly register that this is not her bedroom at home, not by a longshot, and she certainly shouldn't have a machine so unusually fused to her arm, or a - a set of clingy footie pajamas in her wardrobe, much less on her person.

She finds herself in the cafeteria quickly enough, walking quietly and with purpose, her arms wrapped protectively around her middle and her eyes wide, quick, studying every foreign detail as her brow knits.

She mutters, more to herself but loud enough to be caught by an attentive ear,] If this is another assassination attempt, it's a darned thorough one...

[kingshaming]

[He notes the mark, but her comment is much more important right now. He had already felt exposed, but her reaction makes him feel even MORE so, and without really thinking he darts his hands down to cover himself]

Excuse yo- wait, this is your ship?

[Sorry Yurika, you have a large man coming towards you like he's about to start shit]

[bylight]

[Panic is hardly something that a soldier does. Or at least shows on the outside. Light can be scared just like the rest of them.

The windows yielded nothing but the profound darkness of what she assumes the sky out on Pulse is supposed to look like. Her entire life has been spent in Cocoon, the only glimpses of the world outside being the huge crack in the shell of her home.

Having an artificial night sky wasn't the same as seeing this.

A voice pulls her out of her thoughts, and she turns to the young girl. Lightning wasn't the type to share things about herself, so please don't hold her tense demeanor against her.]

Only if it's about things on the profile. [Why would she reveal anything else?]

[tasteslikesurvival]

[Finding the RV had been a blessing. Even if the previous owner had such an unfortunate end, they couldn't afford being picky. Trying to sleep in a car with three other people was a nightmare: none of them could properly stretch out and almost always woke up with stiff necks. Most of them could push through it but Yuki... Well, giving her a proper bed was a good idea.

Good morning, Champions--

That gets Kurumi to sit straight up. Did Yuki turn on the radio in the middle of the night? No. That's definitely coming from her arm.]

What the hell... [It looks like a Pipboy from Bailout! Where was she? Where was her shovel?! All this noise was just going to bring out them. As she got to the door, she winces. The fabric of her jumpsuit is rubbing against her raw arm. She'll have to take care of that soon.

Kurumi leans out of Room 7 and says into the hall,] Oi--Yuki! Rii-san! Miki...! This isn't funny.

[Later, she actually looks at her device as she starts heading towards the cafeteria. Every few steps she tries not to wince. That's when she sees it.] Inoculation?! What kind of joke is that?!

room 17

[ambecomedeath]

[There's a muffled yell of frustration before the door to room 16 bursts open and a unitard-wearing penguin tumbles out, landing flat on his face.]

Ow.

[tasteslikesurvival]

[Kurumi's staying a ways from most of the group. She's sociable enough but there's just something about being in a crowd. Twenty is definitely a crowd to her and the windows are just making her feel isolated. It feels empty. Cold.

There's just a slight moment of her shoulders tensing up when she hears the question before she forces herself to relax.]

Yeah? Well, I can try. [She regrets it almost immediately.]

[tasteslikesurvival]

Unless it's to assassinate all of us, I doubt it. [Kurumi doesn't mean to sound so rough but the idea anyone wanting to kill her is almost laughable. Well. Maybe not the desire to kill... the ability to plan so much is new.]

[tasteslikesurvival]

You tell me and then we'll both know.

[Yeah. Captain, you sure look suspicious. Kurumi is leaning on the hallway and just watching her with a furrowed brow. Notably she's leaning on the shoulder of the arm with the PIP rather than her dominant arm. Not that it probably means anything.]

[ratherdoweddings]

I was going to say! If you were, it must be one of those mysterious time travel things, and I don't understand any of that at all.

[ratherdoweddings]

I have no idea! This looks nothing like the Nadesico, and I don't see any of my crew. But if this isn't the Nadesico, where is it?

[bylight]

[Time travel?]

Time travel doesn't exist. At least not where I'm from.

[ratherdoweddings]

I sure hope not. But the UEAF can't be trying to kill us, and why would the Jovians kidnap a bunch of people like this?

[ratherdoweddings]

It should be, but it isn't. Everything's all wrong. But I have no idea where else this could be! [She takes her hands down from her face and pouts. You don't just get kidnapped into space, do you?

[tasteslikesurvival]

Like hell if I know. I don't like it.

[ratherdoweddings]

I thought that too, but my crew and I just made an eight-month jump when we went through that Chulip! Maybe it just hasn't made the news yet. [Yurika taps her chin. The mark on her hand goes a dull grey.] But I still have no idea how any of it worked.

[kingshaming]

...

[That sure is a.... bird? Honestly Xander's never seen a penguin before so he has no clue. But it's small and can talk and he's just gonna stare at it]

Are you... alright?

[He just sounds flabbergasted give him a moment]

[ratherdoweddings]

The UEAF wouldn't have done this just because they were upset, were they? [Yurika sighs and looks around.] It's definitely not my ship, and it doesn't look quite like any other Earth ship I've ever seen.

[ambecomedeath]

[He's gonna sign up for the UPC today and be AWESOME while taking down LOADS OF VARELSI SCUM and -

Champions? That's not right. He's on a ship of refugees, they're not the Champions of anything. They're just the folk who - whatever. WhatEVER, the best thing to do is always know the situation. Which first involves getting out of the room.

Stupid rooms, not being made for other species. You'd think!! With all the advancements space travel had made!! They could make a room designed to accommodate any traveler!!! Once he's out in front of room 16, Toby fiddles with his P.I.P. for a few minutes.

If he thought the room was poorly designed, it's nothing compared to how well this thing doesn't work with his flippers. Honestly, who owns this ship? Toby has a few (dozen) things to say to them about accessibility and good design.

Regardless, Toby shows up in the cafeteria like he's told. If this is some kind of test, he totally doesn't want to be disqualified because he didn't show up in a timely manner.

. . . He is going to climb up on the table, though. Wouldn't want someone to overlook him just because he's short!]

[kingshaming]

... it's not something I make a habit of, no.

[SPACE, wtf? He hasn't looked out the window yet cuz that might fry his brain]

[voltrounds]

[Ricky's initial assumption, once she's done realizing this definitely isn't the Rooster Inn, is that she's somewhere in Gladsheim. It looks totally different, but there's electric lighting, and that narrows down the possibilities considerably. She's a bit apprehensive about wandering around Gladsheim unarmed, unarmored, and itemless, but the alternative is to just sit in that room waiting for something to happen.

Step one, then, is to cautiously exit Room 10.]

Hello? Is anyone here? ...M.I.K.E.?

[Step two is to make her way down the obvious hallway right in front of her to the cafeteria, where--]

Whoa!

[--she gets a look out the window.]

Are we in space?