World of Darkness: The Darkness of Space - [Darkness of Space] Command Staff Meeting 2b

[LydaLynn]

The day after the chaos of a transport carrier attacked by pirates and two days until opening ceremonies and Base Commander Dove Hawke has called a Command Staff Meeting. Also invited is a young man with a gift for prophesy. Just as the day's first shifts begin Command Staff files, yawning, into a meeting room, various breakfast pastries sit on a tray in the middle of the table and beverages are on a side table. Dove stands beside her chair at the head of the table, her head barely even with the top of the tall backed chair. Her short blond hair stirs a bit under the ventilation system's breeze and but her eyes are steady and serious.

[Wyrd]

Click to reveal.. (ST)

LL, I need to know if I was able to successfully examine Batsibf's character if he has been brought in by now, and if I have been able to establish communication with him. Given that he is not in an immediate emergency situation but speaks no known language, I would not have permitted someone to use Mind to communicate with him without authorization from Dove. Don't want to create an interspecies Incident here. However, I'm sure that the report on him would be part of this meeting.

Wyrd wandered into the room and grabbed a cheese danish. Sure, it wasn't the healthiest of breakfasts, but they were just too tasty to pass up and she had had a more nutritious small meal before coming in. "Morning, Commander," she said. Despite the hour, she didn't appear to be particularly tired, nor did she appear to be annoyingly chipper like some morning people.

Sitting at the table, she pulled out a PDA and gathered the information she expected to need for easy reference.

[Thomas Froit]

Click to reveal..

Glitch has to do sensing and other stuff in the previous thread right? Anyway, please pass on what happened notably between the previous thread and this one.

Glitch walked in, dark circles around his eyes as testament to the sleepless night he had. Dove could recognize it well enough, as the young head of Communications had been privy to the disappearing ships and the lost fighters. Frankly, the boy Grimm's ominous words and Dove's worry at the time had somehow worried him.

It nearly felt as bad as- Glitch desperately cut off that line of thinking before the memories took hold of him. Don't think about New Detroit. Don't think about the name. He clawed for a cup of some hot beverage and pulled it to himself slowly. "Morning."

[LydaLynn]

Click to reveal.. (Wyrd)

It will be at the end of the meeting - hopefully we'll be caught up by then - as for examine - only with instruments and such - with you in a full enviro suit - VERY limited communication established -- yes/no etc.

Click to reveal.. (Glitch)

Glitch, and everyone else who watched the progress of the fighters, has no memory of any more ships being sent than actually returned. No memory of other pilots or ships. No record in any computer that there was ever more to those squadrons than what is currently parked in the fighter bay. Reviewing the records from earlier in the mission, there were never more ships, though the ones that were there were flying as if in a formation that had more ships with spaces where the rest of a squadron would fill in. Even the memory of the transport ship itself is somewhat fuzzy and there are no records, on the base or elsewhere, of the name of the ship. When the planet the transport left from is questioned, they have no record of any such ship, let alone it's departure. Though they do have records of processing the passengers you have on board.

Dove nods slightly at Wyrd and Glitch, there was still ten minutes before the meeting started and the other staffers were late. She did make note of who arrived when, appreciating promptness in her staff.

[Vortican]

A panel on the far wall slides to the side to reveal a slightly less dirty Mik from the inner workings beyond. He is holding the remnants of a cigar between his teeth, though it is not lit, he nods to Dove taking note of the others here.

He saunters over to the table with the breakfast makings grabbing himself a doughnut. Then reaching into a satchel over his shoulder he pulls a large mug and fills it to the brim with equal parts cream, sugar, and coffee. Sipping and walking over to a chair close to him in the back of the room he drops into a chair, leans decently far back, and props somewhat dirty boots onto the table.

Looking to Dove and pressing a button on his collar device he says.

"Who else are we watin' on ta get this meet'n ta gear? An compliments on tha coffee lass, ye always had the best taste fer it.

Then tearing into a large bite of pastry.

[LydaLynn]

Dove gives Mik a look, one of THOSE looks. "Get your feet off my table!" She could handle him chewing that unlit cigar butt and his less than clean appearance, but shoes on a table someone might be eating from Dove would not tolerate.

"As for who we're waiting for, there's Sam of course. Then Dr. Neesa from Counseling. La'Kindy as part of the research staff and an expert on strange phenomena." Dove continues to list command staff members, or their alternates for those who have not yet arrived on station. "And Grimm, an apparent seer who might have some insight on some of the happenings from yesterday."

[Vortican]

A wide smirk comes from him at "the Look" as he takes his boots down and nods to the long list being rattled off. He takes a sort of clean rag and wipes up his mess watching those around him. His respect of the lass enough to make his actions just a little regretted. He hears the continuation of the list go on and tilts his head slightly to the side.

"Tha's an awful lot o'people yer try'n ta put in one room lass. Sure'n we do nae need a bigger one?"

[LydaLynn]

Another look, "There are enough chairs. That's why we're meeting in this room. Had I extended to upper staff as well, we'd have taken one of the ambassadorial conference halls." With a sigh she looks back to the door and greets the new arrival from Security.

[Grimm]

"I don't take up much space." said a quiet young voice.

The others present blinked, wondering how they'd overlooked the skinny boy who was currently at the buffet loading a plate with danishes. He hadn't exactly snuck in: it was more as though he just hadn't been noticed until he spoke, at which point the adults became aware that he had been there the whole time. Grimm wasn't a terribly prepossessing first glance. Though he'd taken advantage of the room Dove had given him to rest properly and shower, the young magus's clothing was still sorely in need of mending or, better yet, burning and replacing. Apart from the finely-woven blue cloak, of course, which was currently thrown back over his shoulders as he moved to a seat at one end of the table.

He gave Dove a respectful (and thankful) nod, sitting and biting into a danish he held in one scarred hand whilst looked around with his oddly-shaded eyes. The adults became aware of being studied with a frankly appraising gaze, odd in one so young.

[Neesa]

The door opens to reveal Neesa. She enters slowly, eyes bright and awake. The top half of her hair swept back in a clip and flowing down her back, bouncing just a little as she moves. Her expression calm, she looks around for a brief moment. Sending the room in general a friendly, happy smile and Dove a nod of respectful greeting, she steps over to the drinks. Her motions graceful and quiet, she fills a cup with tea and finds a seat. Lips pursing as she blows on the surface to cool the tea enough to sip it, she waits patiently for the meeting to start. Noticing the breakfast offerings she reaches for a sweet pastry with a gleeful smile and takes a bite, having not yet eaten.

[LydaLynn]

Dove nods welcome to the last of the arrivals and hurries to help Sam to his seat as the still exhausted Mage enters last.

"Thank you all for coming. I know the meeting was pushed up a day, so I appreciate you rearranging your schedules." Dove still didn't sit down. But then, as slight as she is, she might get lost in the chair. Her personality, however, is sufficiently commanding that no one notices her size.

"I would like to start this meeting with recaps of yesterday's excitement. First, if we can get a report from medical on the status of the wounded, I think that would be a good place to start. After medical, I would like to hear from Mr. Glitch of C&C. Dr. Wyrd, I turn the floor over to you."

[Wyrd]

Wyrd clears her throat and consults her pad as she speaks. "Fortunately we were very nearly operational when this hit. We only lost four patients, another twenty are requiring extended stay in the medical dome, and there is a werewolf I expect to come back complaining about the pain from the shrapnel he wouldn't let us remove in about a week. If it weren't so widespread, I'd attribute it just to the trauma, but most of the refugees can't name the ship they were on and remember very little about being attacked by pirates, if anything. It is possible that the stress of the emergency transport and/or gasses released by damage to the ship interfered with their short term memories."

She turns an apologetic look to Mik before continuing, "This stress test also revealed several systems that couldn't handle full loads. I've sent you a file of reported malfunctions for when your crew can get to them."

"Dr. Neesa has only recently arrived and her crew have only just begun to check for psychological issues caused by the trauma. Do you have anything to add, Doctor?"

[Neesa]

Nessa sits up at attention, and sets aside her tea cup looking thoughtfully at it for a moment. Taking a breath, raising her gaze, she begins to speak in a calm and confident tone while her eyes look slow and steady around the room as she reports.

"First, Hello everyone. My name is Doctor Neesa Donovan for those that do not know me. Doctor Neesa is fine to be called as well. It is nice to finally make it here. As for the question, any trauma and especially physiological trauma, can not just be shaken off or appear as a medical issue might. It may take weeks or months for some to show signs. A few have shown the signs already and to some extent they all have. However the depth of the damage will take time to uncover. My crew and I will be working with everyone on it for quite some time to come. Some might get their memory back and some may never recover it. It will depend on the individual. From the initial reports, however, it seems that more then normal have the short term memory loss, we will know the exact number once all the parties involved have been seen and spoken to. Its to soon to say for certain, but its my experience that not even the gasses and the trauma of the transport would be responsible for the extent of this memory loss. My crew and I will keep searching for answers and trying to help recover what memory we can from those willing to work at it."

Smiling warmly, She nods to everyone and picks up her cup. Relaxing her posture into the chair and taking a drink to indicate shes done speaking.

[LydaLynn]

Dove nods, "Thank you both. I imagine the memory loss will prove permanent. Though the fact that they're still around at all is something of a miracle. We'll have more on my speculation later. Mr. Glitch, if you would please give your report?"

[Wyrd]

Click to reveal..

Checking everyone present for type. Many of these checks can be presumed to have happened before this meeting except for people Wyrd has not met before. If your type is in your medical files, then I can be assumed to have already reviewed them for all command staff.

Click to reveal.. (LydaLynn)

Wyrd] 2:36 pm: Rolling for checks in DoS. Not using any magical enhancement at this point. In order, Neesa,
Glitch, Mik, Grimm.
Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 8+6+10: 24
Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 1+8+5: 14
Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 8+4+5: 17
Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 8+9+4: 21
Not bothering with Dove
Lore checks for the two successes:
Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 7+4+7: 18
Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 10+1+1: 12

Click to reveal.. (Neesa)

You first: Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 8+6+10: 24
2 successes, so moving on to lore check
Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 7+4+7: 18

Click to reveal.. (Glitch)

Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 1+8+5: 14
So, just faint awareness that you aren't human unless you are, as I suspect, a mage.

Click to reveal.. (Mik)

Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 8+4+5: 17
So faint awareness that you aren't human unless you are a mage, in which case I could recognize you as a felow willworker

Click to reveal.. (Glitch)

Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 8+9+4: 21
Lore check: Wyrd *rolls* 3d10: 10+1+1: 12
Almost a botch there, but I recognize you as a mage

[LydaLynn]

Click to reveal.. (Wyrd)

Neesa is not a mage.
All the others you checked are mages.
Are you sure you don't want to check Dove?

[Thomas Froit]

Glitch brought his head up, and started speaking immediately, without consulting a pad or reference source like Wyrd did, ironic considering the situation. It seemed to the others like he had memorized everything he was speaking of. "We dispatched Alpha and Delta squadrons to rendezvous with the transport. However upon arrival, squadron leaders reported no sign of any ships or any debris that would have resulted from the reported engagement. 'Empty space' I quote."

"As for the squadrons themselves, there are anomalies regarding the number of ships in the squadrons... all who watched their progress including myself have no memory of sending additional fighters beyond those who returned. There are no records of there being any more pilots and fighters sent, or having been there in the first place, but the formation held significant gaps where other fighters would have filled in..."

He shook his head and continued. "As for the transport itself, we have no memory or records of the ship's name anywhere on base. Even a communique to the planet of departure turned up nothing. They didn't have any records of the ship in any way, except for processing the passengers on board."

"Naturally, we're investigating if our systems were hacked, but nothing has shown up so far."

[LydaLynn]

Dove nods, "Thank you Glitch. I feel confident we won't turn anything up. This has happened before, though usually everyone is lost and the only way to know something is missing is to pay attention to information gaps."

Walking around the table, Dove clicks on a monitor. A map of the galaxy pops up with gates marked in blue or red. "What no one outside this room has been told is the true purpose of this base. I have gathered the best people I could find and made sure to include the few people I know of who have had encounters similar to the ones we had yesterday."

Pointing, "If you will notice, most gates take you to occupied systems. Because creating a gate is such and expensive and time consuming process, the requirements for a system to have a gate are vary rigorous. One of the most basic requirements to even apply for a gate is a world that is either the origination of a species, holds a civilization of at least Industrial level, contains rare raw resources and a complete harvesting facility, or has a population in excess of the standard populous index ratio."

"That said, you may notice there are a few gates in systems with no planets that fit any of these requirements. Some even float in empty space. When one looks into the records on these gates, all information is missing, even placement board meeting individual written notes are found to only contain blank pages. It has taken a while for some of us to start putting the pieces together. And the picture it paints is terrifying."

Dove looks at the screen, the blue gates disappear as she clicks another button. The red gates seem to glow brighter and more ominous now that they are alone. There are at least thirty red gates. "Someone is erasing the universe. And none of us can remember it."

Dove stops talking for a moment to let the murmuring die down again. "We don't know what all is missing. I feel confident that there are more systems missing than just those with gates, but we can't find any information that would lead us to discovering what all we have lost. There are at least two non-Earth species out there adrift with no memory of their home planet. We have two more ambassadorial suites than we have ambassador positions."

"What we do know is that whatever it is that is doing this doesn't seem to be able to touch this system. A ship fleeing something it could only describe as 'hungry darkness' made it to the system and the video, though heavily corrupted, shows the planet below us sending out a pulse of glowing energy that pushes the star blotting shadow back. We think part of the reason the video is so damaged is that we can see in parts of it what look to be other ships disappearing into the void space, ships we have no record of ever existing."

"We need to find out all we can on these holes in space and information and see how much we can piece back together of what the universe used to look like. We need to set up a time line of how quickly this has happened. We need to study the planet below us and see what it is that protects this place. And we need to keep people from panicking about a threat we can't even define, let alone predict."

"For now, only command staff will know our real purpose here and a few select others we feel need to know. If you have someone you want to bring in on the project, please send me their file with information on why they should be included and I will make final approval decisions. If anything happens to me, Sam will take my place on this."

With a sigh, "I will now open the floor to questions, please don't all talk at once." Dove returns to her seat and finally sits.

[Wyrd]

Quote:

He shook his head and continued. "As for the transport itself, we have no memory or records of the ship's name anywhere on base. Even a communique to the planet of departure turned up nothing. They didn't have any records of the ship in any way, except for processing the passengers on board."

At these words, Wyrd turns a slightly panicked look towards Neesa and whispers to her, "You didn't bring HIM with you again, did you?" At her headshake and slightly widened eyes, Wyrd taps a search into her PDA, telling it to look for anyone with a first, middle, last, nick-, or even pet named "Poker" before turning her attention fully back to Dove's speech.

Quote:

With a sigh, "I will now open the floor to questions, please don't all talk at once." Dove returns to her seat and finally sits.

As Dove finishes her speech, though, and she realizes the scale of the problem, Wyrd tentatively raises her hand and says, "Um... I think I and Doctor Neesa escaped one of these events once. There was no record of the station we were on or any of the other people aboard it ever existing afterwards. I had thought that it was just a paradox cascade ejecting a localized portion of reality; there were, after all, a great many mages on board, as the purpose of this station was interspecies study, awareness, and exchange of ideas and knowledge. We only escaped thanks to the magic of a powerful but relatively harmless marauder who called himself Poker, who was there as a patient of Dr. Neesa and exhibit of what an insane Mage is like.

Please note that I would have seriously reconsidered even visiting that station, opportunities be damned, if I had had any idea that there was someone crazy enough to willingly bring a mad Mage there."

She paused for a moment before finishing, "The real difference seems to be that we have full memories of the station and the other people aboard it, so it could be an unrelated coincidence."

Click to reveal..

LL, I fully expect for Dove to ask for more details, and will give them once asked, I just wasn't certain how to write Dove in this situation so decided not to take any liberties with her character

[LydaLynn]

Dove displays an expressive and creative display of profanity in many and varied languages. Finally she brings herself back to the conversation at hand, "I knew you had had an experience, it is part of why I invited you to your positions. But . . . Please tell me he isn't here. I've had more than enough of Poker to fill several eternities."

Sam, for the first time, this meeting, opens his mouth to speak. "If Poker was there, however, it likely means there was other intervention. You know the circles he's been known to travel in and the attention he can attract, Dove. If his wife got involved . . . it could explain the abnormalities. I will need to interview you both, doctors, at your earliest convenience. Any information that might be gleaned could be of immense help."

Dove sighed and settled again, "You're right. But Gaia help us all if that man manages to make it onto the station. Even if he leads a charmed life, he's more trouble than he's worth."

The sudden deep chuckle from the empty corner of the room surprises most of the people at the counsel. Those who are quick see a white dragon fade away with the sound.

[Neesa]

After shaking her head at Wyrd, slightly shocked at the question, Neesa listens quietly with a solemn face. Considering briefly of correcting the assumption she was Pokers Doctor, then letting the assumption stand as it was close enough to the truth and wasn't important enough to correct. Casting her thoughts back through the many memories, she brings up that time on the station with the Darkness. A frown plays with the corner of her mouth as the gravity of the situation sinks in. Dove's question pulls her out of her thoughts and she shakes her head mutely.

Eyes switching to Sam, she listens and nods slowly as the thoughts of that time drift through the back of her mind again. Tapping her fingers gently against the tea cup, she opens her mouth to respond after Dove is finished speaking, when the chuckle has her closing it again.

Raising her eyebrows but not bothering to do more then glance in that direction, she waits a moment and speaks in a calm, confident, and serious tone.

"Sam, I would be happy to set up an appointment as soon as possible. I want to help all I can. Dove, I did not bring him, Im very sure I would have noticed. He's, well, rather hard to miss" a brief grin surfaces as the thought of trying to hide Poker amuses her "I haven't seen him here either, although to be true I have just arrived myself. But so far, this has been an interesting welcome. I wonder what tomorrow will bring."

She smiles slightly,glancing around the table. Reaching for another pastry, she relaxes into her chair, manner calm and patient. Tearing off the corner of the pastry, she pops it into her mouth and chews slowly, savoring the sweetness.

[Wyrd]

Wyrd speaks up again. "I'll be happy to give a detailed report later. The short version is that on an otherwise ordinary day, as much as there is day in a space station, the station suddenly found itself in the path of a swarm of micrometeorites that had not been detected or mapped until moments before the station was struck. The meteorites perforated the station, depressurizing much of it. We only survived that through the aid of Poker providing some space suits and a sword that could cut through the bulkheads between us and the hangar. We found and rescued one person who was not in the cafeteria with us at the time of the strike. As far as my Life senses could tell, there was nobody else alive on the station mere minutes after the meteorites struck.

As we worked our way towards the hangar, it was as if space itself grew darker. We had lights with us, but they carried less and less far, even though we walked in void. Examining it with Spirit sight, it was like an increasingly dense Gauntlet was forming around us, like reality itself was collapsing. The only thing I knew of that could cause this was an extreme expression of paradox causing reality to expel the source, but I was unaware of anything aboard that could cause such a level of reaction. We barely managed to escape on one of the ships parked in the hangar."

[LydaLynn]

Sam nods, "Thank you, I'll make sure to schedule in depth interviews later." He turns back to Dove.

Looking around, Dove's eyes light on Grimm. That is an impressive enough feat given his proclivity to fade into the background. Truth be told, she had the help of a dragon pointing right at him.

"Grimm, if you don't mind, though I should have asked you earlier and I apologize for the lack, could you please relate your vision and anything about it that might prove helpful?"

[Grimm]

"Certainly." the boy said from his spot at the end of the table where he leaned on his elbows, pushing the now-cleaned plate of pastries to one side. He looked around at the adults present, his sharp thin features composed and not at all nervous, at least on the outside. "Firstly, those of you unfamiliar with the seer's art must understand that it's called an art for a reason. It isn't measurable or containable, not even by the standards of Weavery. I am a true seer, as was my grandmother, I am told, and that is both a blessing and a curse. To answer some common questions first: no, I don't know anything more than what I saw and felt. The real skill of a seer lies in the interpretation, of using the clues provided by the Norns as a detective uses fingerprints." He clasped his thin hands together, the thin white scars tracing all over their surface standing out against the skin.

"First, I will give you the words that were spoken through me." he looked at them all, then at Dove and nodded before reciting in a formal fashion. "Patterns seen in the falling of straws / The runes speak true / Darkness hungers / Old dark draws near / It starves and it yearns / Full of love and hatred it is / For what it wants, it cannot have!" He let that hang in the silent room for a moment, then sighed, wiping one scarred hand over his eyes. "I felt a massive sense of something dark, unbelievably dark and old and hungry. It wants nothing more than to consume, and it can never be satisfied, and it is sapient, an intelligent force capable of jealousy and the kind of yearning we can have for... things we want."

He sighed then and shrugged. "I've not had time yet to research this thing, yet what the two doctors tell us enforces my instinct. There is something very old, maybe something that predates the War of the Triat. Legend is filled with such entities, nameless and hungering. I'll be hitting the books later to find out more." He looked at Dove and smiled a little. "Now that I've had time to rest."

[LydaLynn]

Dove nods, "Thank you Grimm. I will now open the floor to questions."

[LydaLynn]

After a prolonged pause, Dove nods. "No questions then. Please proceed to engage in your normal tasks for the week, keeping an eye out for anything that might be related to what we have discussed. Meeting adjourned."