Changeling-Earth 2: Freehold Earth - Manifest's Rescue Zone: The Mess

[Dawn OOC]

A long tent has been erected well away from the Morgue, the wreck of the Manifest or anything else that might further upset the diner. Some kind soul was trying, but few people had an appetite at the moment, save the rescuers from the Intrepid. They came in at a fast walk, grabbed food and ate it on their way back out, not lingering. The survivors of the Manifest who were trying to eat were doing so slowly and painful, swallowing despite wrenched necks or any of a number of other injuries. There is plenty of seating, for anyone interested in trying to eat.

[Helena Lindsay]

"...Bye?" Helena replied quietly, belatedly, as she waved to the disappearing ATV. She shook her head, willing herself to stop staring dazedly after the man who'd helped her. Steve, he'd called himself, and the memory of his bright smile lingered long after he'd disappeared in a literal cloud of dust. Everything about him had suggested optimism and goodwill, and an unbidden grin tugged at the corners of her mouth.

It warmed her heart and gave her hope that, even in the midst of a crisis, these people were banding together both efficiently and compassionately, but...

An involuntary shudder of horror and suppressed fear raced up her spine. She was in shock, she knew. The sense of detachment would certainly fade once things had settled down, and she'd had time alone with her thoughts. And then what?

I'll be a useless, crying wreck, that's what.

But not yet, she resolved. Not when there was still so much that could be done.

Turning, she peered into the near-deserted tent behind her. It was quiet, with only the occasional murmur of conversation breaking the weary silence. A few people seated in folding chairs morosely stirred their food, nudging it around small plates, but few seemed interested in actually eating. Impossibly, her stomach grumbled. When was the last time she'd eaten? As she tried to recall when she'd had her last meal, and what it might've been, the chaos from a cluster of buildings nearer the wreckage caught her attention. A line of people extended out into the common areas, with more arriving on transports like the one that had brought her to what seemed to be a makeshift mess hall.

It was strange, almost surreal; the collection of pre-fab buildings and tents, the wreckage of the ship, the sharp, acrid tang of smoke and scorched earth, and the survivors... Colonists, she corrected herself... milling around, all cast against the brilliant sky and lush verdure of an untamed world. Even the ground underfoot seemed curiously resilient, fairly springing back under her feet as she began making her way towards the medical facility.

"'Lena, dear, you're a long way from Luna," the scientist acknowledged, marveling at the contrast between the visibly fecund earth, the flora, the very air here and those back home. Slowly, she let the small handful of earth from the crash site sift through her fingers. In this soil, anything would grow.

A sudden flash of red- blood, spreading like a flower in bloom across a jumpsuit as someone was rushed into the first of the medical buildings- drew her attention, and instantly, her vision shifted. She was huddled inside the relative safety of her berth, choking on her terror-

-deep red color... four pupils... staring... alien... wrong... claws... just outside, scrabbling-

For a moment, Helena couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't summon up more than an strangled moan that wrenched itself from her throat instead of a scream.

And then, just as quickly, she was standing in the middle of the encampment, staring off into the distance. Her lower lip throbbed, and the bright, metallic taste of copper lingered on her tongue.

Shivering despite the warmth of the day, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jumpsuit, licking her lips absently as she trudged across the open ground to the medbay.

[Dawn OOC]

Volos found that the Mess was teeming with activity, despite the digital readout indicating that they were in the eleventh hour of the night cycle. Given the cycle was thirty-six, Volos wasn't sure what that equated to, but it felt really late. The air was cold, and his body was telling him it was too dark, too cold to be up. It didn't care that there were about four hours of true dark left, or that he'd just gotten out of bed; his body wanted to be asleep.

His adreniline took one look at the ugly mood of the crowd and prompty overrode his body's exhaustion. Knots of people talked in low, angry voices, glaring from one group to another. There seemed to be two clear sides; the battered and tired colonists from the Manifest and the grim-faced and tired colonists from somewhere else. After a moment of staring, Volos saw that they had the Intrepid's symbol on their shoulder patches.

Clearly, something was up, and it was neatly divided down ship lines. Before he could muse on it, a woman walked up. She was older, with a severe face and leathery skin that added to her sense of age. "Hungry?" she asked.

When he nodded automatically, she motioned to a table and turned away, leaving him to find an empty seat. Despite he number of people here, many were crowded around a few tables, leaving lots of places to sit. He sat down carefully, arranging his crutches.

After a moment, the woman was back, setting a tray down in front of him. "Not much," she said, sitting down next to him. "Just some chili, probably freeze dried, and some water. We're a bit short on stuff, ya know?" She seemed to catch herself and extended her hand. There were bandages on every finger, and her knuckles were scrapped and bruised. "I'm Agatha, from the Manifest."

[Volos]

Volos sighed and dug into the meager meal before him. "I'm Volos." His hunger a secondary concern, but one that should be taken care of. He began to wonder what had happened, and why he had survived when so many hadn't. He shook those thoughts out of his head, and smiled at the flavor of the chili.

"So, did any of the science crew, or equipment, perish? And is the construction equipment still working? Any notable deaths? I've been unconscious since the crash."

He almost choked on a small chunk in his chili, and his coughs racked his small body. When his coughing fit subsided, he looked up at Agatha and smiled. "So what do you do? Aside from help invalids... " Volos smiled and chuckled to himself.

[Dawn OOC]

"Good to meet you, Volos. I'm supposed to be doing animal husbandry - you know, learning which animals can easily be domesticated and then working on it," Agatha said, propping an elbow on the table as she watched the two groups in the Mess. "But I have first aid, and I don't mind pitching in, ever. But the injured have been tended to, so they don't need me anymore. If they find some of the missing folks, they might need me again."

She turned in her chair, dragging another one over so that she could prop up her feet. "I'm not sure what our numbers are. I know at least some of the scientists are dead," Agatha said. "Ditto for the equipment. I'm sure that someone will tell us what to do soon, but I've heard that our Mission Leader is dying... Oh, this doesn't look good."

Volos followed her gaze to see the two groups approaching one another. Both of them were clearly in confrontational moods, according to their body language. Warily, Agatha watched them.

[Volos]

Volos sighs and slowly picks up his crutches, shaking his head. He begins to lever himself up and gets out of his seat. Painfully, he makes his way closer to the middle of the room, his eyes avoiding looking at the converging crowds. Volos moves as quickly as he can, and slowly climbs up on a table that can be seen easily by both the large groups.

He clears his throat at high volume, breaking some of the entrancement that seems to have passed over the crowd. When the crowd looks over, Volos smiles nervously. "Excuse me, but I think that everyone needs to take a deep breath. This isn't the place for a fight, unless it's a good, clean, food fight." He chuckles a little. "I know i'm associated with the Manifest's crew. However, at this point, I think that any fight at all would be counter-productive." His manner becomes more steady and solid. "I don't want to have to make this an order, but everyone needs to calm down. The workers from the crew of the Intrepid have been here for a bit, but they were not able to warn us. The crash is not their fault. They have been working to save lives. Without them, more of us would have died." He then turns to the crew from the Intrepid, "And you need to calm down, too. I know this is stressful, and exhausting, but you have our thanks. When this is over, I'll buy you all a drink." He slowly climbs down and makes his way back over to Agatha, not looking around at the room.

Volos leans over to Agatha and whispers to her, "Think they bought it?"

[Dawn OOC]

Agatha looked at him and opened her mouth to answer when someone shouted, "Fuck that! These fucks know what's going on, and they aren't telling us!"

His shout was joined with other voices clamoring, making statements like, "We deserve to know what we're up against!" and "They can't keep us in the dark!" The mood was getting steadily uglier, their anger and frustration increasing by the second.

"Hey, we're just doing what we're told!" someone from the Intrepid's crew shouted, and that was met with more angry accusations from the Manifest's people.

Volos shouted for order again, and to his pleasure, a couple of people joined in with him, requesting order and civility. Then the first punch was thrown, and the fight began. Agatha grabbed him and tried to help him down, but he had barely started to move when someone slammed into the tables, jarring them and throwing him off balance. He fell, his stomach twisted with half-memories of the crash and the free-fall; then hands caught him, and Volos found himself being carefully put on his feet by a huge black man.

The second he on his own feet, the man drew out a pistol and fired into the ground. The roar of the weapon stopped the fight quickly, as people ducked and jerked away from enemies. Agatha grabbed him, her face worried as she pulled him behind the man, who was flanked by a skinny guy and a petite girl.

"I am Zeus!" the man roared into the sudden silence. "And as far as you are all concerned, I am the God of Thunder. And I don't like people trying to be louder than me. I ain't gonna tell you not to gather, or to not get to know our friends here on the Intrepid. But you are going to do it quietly. Or else I'm going to come down on you with my thunder bolts, and ain't none of you going to like it."

He paused to make sure everyone was paying attention to him and wasn't going to try to argue with him; then he said, "So now we're going to have a meeting here tomorrow at sunrise. I suggest everyone find a bed and get some rest. You'll have all your questions answered then." He waited another moment for protest and then said, "I believe that I suggested that it was bedtime."

As the grumbling people left and headed for the dorms, Zeus glanced down at Volos. "You ok?"

"Yes, thank you," Volos said. "I was just trying to calm them down."

"Good," Zeus said, "we need people to keep their heads clear. You need help getting to a bed?"

"I've got him," Agatha said, nodding. She led him to dorm and helped him settle in before collapsing into a cot herself.

[Helena Lindsay]

In the pale light of dawn, Helena stumbled wearily away from the cluster of technicians and security personnel near the flier. It hadn't taken long to rouse her once they'd landed; too much adrenaline had flooded her system to let her rest for long. Her body ached, her chest burned, and she could guess that at least one or two of her ribs were bruised, if not cracked... and she'd been one of the lucky ones.

Luckier by far than Mary, she realized, and the mere memory of the sound the other woman had made as she died sent her stomach churning.

She darted around the side of the nearest building, fingernails scrabbling at the wall as she dropped to one knee, coughing. The nausea was overwhelming, but even as she heaved, retching violently into the dust, only bitter, acidic bile came up, burning her throat just as sharply as the spasms in her abdomen pained her aching chest. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as her stomach convulsed.

"I'm... I'm s-sorry... 'm so... so sor-ry," she whispered between hiccuping sobs, trembling with the release of emotion suppressed too long. She sat there on her heels, even after her stomach stopped heaving, with her arms wrapped around her knees as she wept.

The rational part of Helena's mind knew that what happened wasn't her fault. The aliens were an unknown variable introduced into the colonists' equation, and Helena's presence or absence would not, she knew, have affected their chances last night in any meaningful way. She couldn't have logically done much more than she had, not against whatever those things were.

Unfortunately, recent events had done very little to support rationality or logic, which seemed in short supply on T-998, and the chaos was taking an obvious toll on the normally level-headed scientist. The loss of Lee was particularly difficult. He probably could've gotten away, if he hadn't been dragging her... He could've saved himself, and it was a gut-wrenching blow to her conscience. He was someone she could respect- someone all of them could respect- and he'd been taken by that alien bitch because he'd tried to help her. A man had lost his life, for her.

Worse, the Intrepid had lost its Mission Leader, and with that loss, hope.

When someone finally touched her on the shoulder, long after her tears had dried into trails of clean, pink skin beneath the dirt on her cheeks and her trembling had subsided, she shrieked quietly and spun, wide-eyed, to see an equally startled woman of middling years.

Edging away from the manic-looking doctor, the heavy-set woman simply said, "They're gathering at the mess, ma'am. Some kind of meeting. You might want to head that way, when you, uh... Feel better."

"Th-thanks," Helena nodded, wincing as she rose to her feet. Her mouth tasted horrible, her glasses, she realized, were bent and the lenses cracked, and her jumpsuit was covered in smears of dirt and green plant matter. Absently, she ran a hand back through the tangled mass of her hair and half-walked, half-stumbled in the direction of the sign swaying overhead.

[Dawn OOC]

Day Two

The Mess was already full. The promise of information had brought most people to arrive before dawn; the reality of food had kept them distracted and calm. The long night had given them time to rest, so many had been up before dawn. And while most of them had something that they could be doing, many were still tired and in shock from all that had happened already. Only the most energetic among them were showing any signs of life.

The rumor mill was active, with several confirmed rumors and dozens of more implied. Everyone was sure that Saul Armstrong had passed away from injuries - most of the medical staff gave clear tells when people asked about him - but it was also being whispered that Intrepid's Mission Leader was gone, too. An accident with the local wildlife, sometime in the night, was the current theory.

Also up for discussion was the local wildlife itself. It was rumored that the Treppies, as those insulted by the Mannie's nickname had taken to calling those from the Intrepid, were terribly afraid of both the night and the forest. They were also unusually paranoid and jumpy, which added to the whispered gossip flying around. And there were some among the Manifest who were saying that they'd seen something they couldn't explain.

But by far the darkest rumors surrounded the difficulty in finding all the bodies. Everyone knew someone who knew someone who was missing. Some of those disappearances were just waiting identification in the morgue, but a growing number of people were convinced that something more was going on. It was hoped that the new Mission Leaders wouldn't sweep things under the rug or try to sugarcoat it.

These people had known that things might be bad here, that the wildlife might be too violent to subdue or that the plants might be toxic. They were prepared to fight for every single thing they gained. But one thing they wanted from their leaders was honesty. The general consensus was that they could do anything, face any adversity, so long as they knew what they were up against.

Pensively, they waited for their leaders to lead them into their new life.

[SalmonMax]

Rochelle decided to lurk at the open 'doorway' to the Mess as she saw the crowd accreting within. Her hurt ankle had been wrapped tightly and now throbbed like a bitch, and a big coldpad had been stuck to her swollen cheek. She'd managed to get one of the last few crutches though, which was nice. Even so, the idea of gimping along on it through all those people...no thanks. Besides, this way, if her leg started acting up, or if something else went wrong, she'd be in a great position to bug out and hit Medbay again.

She wished she still had the rifle though. Her palms itched madly, and part of her was aware that she was focusing on things right NOW to a ridiculous extreme, because otherwise she'd have to deal with what had happened THEN and...

No.

So she waited for the presentation or whatever it was going to be.

[Helena Lindsay]

Standing room only, Helena thought distantly as she made her way through the doorway and into the tense crowd. The acrid scent of sweat, amplified by fear and anxiety, filled the narrow building and she instinctively wrinkled her nose in distaste. Wincing slightly as she pulled off the warped frame of her glasses, she folded them as carefully as possible and tucked them into the breast pocket of her jumpsuit.

A small, dark-haired woman near the entrance looked familiar, but it took a moment for the horticulturist to place her. In the light of a new day and with a coldpack on her cheek, Rochelle looked like someone else entirely.

She smiled wanly at the technician. It was a faint, joyless compression of her lips that was more an acknowledgment of their shared ordeal than a greeting. The two of them, better than perhaps anyone else present, had an idea of what they were up against; if the other woman's expression was any indication, that knowledge had come at too great a cost. Helena knew that if she bothered to check her reflection, she'd probably see that same look mirrored in her own eyes.

The realization brought no comfort, and Helena dipped her head in weariness and sorrow as she kept moving.

Or, rather, tried to keep moving.

She only managed a couple of steps before a the back of a human-sized wall impeded her passage.

"Excuse me," she murmured, trying to edge around the dark-skinned giant.

"Oh, sor-" the man rumbled, as he turned to apologize. His brown eyes widened slowly in disbelief, and the sound of the familiar, impossibly deep voice froze her in her tracks. "Hey, wait. Helena? What the hell are you doin' here? Oh, damn, girl, it is you," he continued, looking her over with a shake of his head and the beginnings of a grin. "Bristow's gonna Shit. A. Brick."

Zeus? What the hell...? she wondered. Then, Wait. Bristow?! Inwardly, she groaned, even as she forced herself to smile up at the massive man in front of her. Just when she thought things couldn't possibly get any worse...

"Hi, Zeus." She lifted one hand to tuck a pale, coppery curl behind her ear in a nervous, self-conscious gesture. "So, I guess you guys bought into that whole time-share scam, too, huh?"

[Khalid Al-jamari]

Khalid saw that the Mess hall was packed as he approached. He quickly thought of another approach and veared off to the Medbay. He grabbed a fresh cover-all with the Medical insignia and a semi-secluded place to change. In a flash (not really - he has that back injury after all) he was back to one of the entrances of the Mess hall and making his way forward.

"Medical. Coming through," he would say to help his passage. Finally he found a good spot, right behind some seated people and close enough he should hear any announcements being made.

Too bad I can't snag a cup of coffee.

The rumor mill caught him off guard. It wasn't that they were such rumours, but that the rumours would so directly effect him. Normally Khalid would have scoffed at this kind of fanciful wonderings, but now ...

Khalid hadn't seen Evan all night - nearly twenty hours. He, Khalid, needed to look in on his sister, Akilah now. His niece might still be missing. Had Evan found her? Had something else found her? Had something else found both of them? Khalid shuddered, his own close call with the hound in the night still with him.

'She's his wife', he moaned inwardly, 'and his family.'

Khalid had his own problems like that harpy McGill, who was working overtime to make his life hell.

Still, if he was seen looking after his sister and neice, it might make people believe ... he was something ... more like what he wanted to be ... when he wasn't high.

Besideds, he loved them. He was close with his sister growing up, her just a bit older and very protective of the baby of the family. Lila was surprisingly well behave, but then she wasn't a teenager yet either.

Buck up. You've got a family to take care of now!

Family means a lot of work for me ...

Why are so many people out to make my life so difficult?

[Adam]

Ms. Harper briefed Adam about everything during their walk (limp) to the Mess Hall. It was a lot to take in, and Adam, although not stupid, wasn't a very fast thinker. Not at times like these when every word needed to be carefully spoken, every action was carefully monitored and every expression was being read and re-read for some sign of weakness within the leadership.

The couple entered the Mess Hall via a back entrance behind a large curtain to hide them from frantic questions, accusations, or panicked demands.

"That's all we know at this point Adam. I'm sorry this is so sudden, I know it's all coming at you so fast." Ms. Harper tried her best to ease some of the sudden burden placed on his shoulders with kind words and a soft hand on his arm.

"It's okay. I can handle it," he lied through his ever-loving teeth. "We're gonna get through this, we just need to keep our wits and come together as one." The last part he was dead serious about, but had no idea how he said it without his voice cracking just slightly. Adam was a tough guy, but even he had limits.

"Yo! Playboy!" A thunderous voice boomed over all the assembled behind the curtain. Zeus stomped up, a bit of concern and excitement in his voice. He saw Ms. Harper now standing next to him and cleared his throat a bit embarrassed. "I mean, uh, Sergeant Bristow, I ne-, I need a word with you for a minute. Uh... sir." Most of the CorpSec members hadn't used formal titles in over thirty years. Zeus was proving that with every word.

"Playboy?" Ms. Harper asked with a cute and inquisitive smile.

"Well, we all have nick names, you see... uhh, mine was, er, is...," Mayday! Mayday... we are going down, crashing and burning! Adam looked at Zeus, hoping to change the conversation as quickly as possible. "What is it Big Guy?"

"You are not going to believe who is out there."

"Bro, there are a lot of people out there. A lot of people scared, and wanting answers. A lot of people who are probably going to want to kick my ass once I say the things that need to be said. So unless it's the ghost of Abe Lincoln I need you out there keeping the peace."

"Bu-" Zeus's rebuttal fell a bit short.

"No buts. I need everyone at their posts, and to stay there." Adam slapped the Goliath of a man on the arm. "C'mon, I really everyone playing by the book for right now."

Zeus nodded his head sternly. "Aight. But I don't wanna hear it later." With a toothy smile and a wink to the lovely blond Zeus strolled back to the assembled masses of the Mess Hall. He's gonna shit, and I'm going to laugh my ass my off. There were no words to describe the huge grin on the large man's face. He smiled and nodded to Helena as he took his post on the west end of the hall.

[Dawn OOC]

The low murmur of voices died as the beautiful blonde and the handsome dark-haired man stepped onto the low stage - which were just flat boxes stacked at one end of the room. For most of the people here, it was surprising just how attractive - both separately and together - the two leaders of the colony ships were. For Helena, it was proof that she'd managed to sign on with the same group as Adam Bristow. Any hope that Zeus had been somehow wrong was dashed as Bristow took his place on the raised area.

"I'm Barbara Harper, Mission Leader for the Intrepid," the woman said, stepping forward without preamble. "This is Adam Bristow, whom I believe most of you already know, or have heard of."

Those close to Zeus hear him softly mutter, "Yeah, some of us know him better than others."

"Wink, wink, nudge, nudge," Bertowski snickered.

"Shut up," Rabbit hissed with a scowl. The two men just looked amused; they knew exactly where Rabbit's bad mood was coming from.

Having missed that exchange, Harper had continued. "Many of you have heard rumors regarding what we're facing from indigenous life. I'm here to deliver the bad news that the rumors are probably as bad as you think." A low murmur shot through the room; Harper pushed on.

"When the Intrepid crashed eight days ago, we had our engines simply shut down when they entered T-998's atmosphere. This would be a freaking weird anomaly, save that the exact same thing happened when the Manifest Destiny entered the atmosphere. We now believe that this was a malicious action, designed to cast us into chaos and confusion."

"What? You make it sound like someone did this to us," a woman in the front row of tables shouted.

"I need everyone to calm down and stay quiet until I and Adam are done talking," Harper said, her voice firm. "We have a lot to get through and there will be time for questions." She looked out at the room, braced herself and said, "It's not someone; it's something. We're not facing anything remotely human. They are intelligent, they are powerful and they are not interested in peaceful relations."

There was a terrible silence as everyone absorbed this. Somewhere, in the back of the room, someone started to cry. This had always been a possibility; the colonists had known it. Their nightmare was here, and they struggled to absorb it.

"Here's what we have," Harper said. "Until this morning, we thought that light was enough of a deterrent to stop them. But we now know that they simply don't like the light; it will not stop them." Barbara paused, cleared her throat and continued. "Rifles will hurt them, though we've never managed to kill one of them yet. They can kill from a distance without apparent weapons and at least one has been reported to fly. They don't always kill; sometimes they kidnap us. No one has been returned, and no ransom asked." Adam noted that she left out the sighting of one eating a dead human.

"I know that this all seems like an insurmountable problem," Harper added. "We have a plan. First, I suggest that the Manifest and the Intrepid combine into one settlement. I know that originally we were supposed to make two settlements, but there is safety in numbers. Things will be a little crowded, but we can make it work.

"For the long term, we plan to repair one of the ships enough to escape this planet. Between the two ships, we hope to find enough materials to be able to escape this planet. And of course, to survive until that point.

"Make no mistake," Harper added, "we're in a fight for our lives. But we need to come together. We need to work together. I don't know about you, but I don't intend to stay here with these batass crazy aliens."

[Helena Lindsay]

The woman was talking sense, Helena had to admit, which was a welcome change from the madness since the Manifest had crashed. She was reasonable, she was rational, and she was composed up there, in front of the angry, frightened eyes of the volatile group of colonists.

She also happened to be blonde, busty, and standing next to Helena's ex-lover, who looked tired, haggard, and sexier in a vest and fatigues than any man had a right to be. Unreasonably, a twinge of envy sparked in her breast as she watched the two address the crowd. It was unreasonable because she did not know the woman or her relationship with Adam (nor, she chided herself, did she care), but reminding herself of that fact did nothing to alleviate the instantaneous feeling of jealousy- even if she refused to acknowledge it.

Any hope of Zeus being wrong, or just screwing with her, disappeared into the bottomless pit that opened up in her stomach as she stared at the man standing on the makeshift stage. Unconsciously, her hand flew to the chain around her throat, and the silver half-moon shaped pendant that hung from it. Her fingers curled possessively around the right half of a gleaming silver dollar, and her chest constricted.

Oh, god. Oh, why, why did he have to be here?!

The haze of three decades lost to stasis-induced sleep fell away, and she was utterly unprepared for the reality of the present. Adam. Adam. Adam Bristow was here, not twenty feet away, and it was all she could do to stifle the whimper that rose unbidden in her throat. Nothing else the woman said penetrated her reverie; the murmurs, the weeping, and the shouts of denial went completely unheard.

Adrift in a sea of memories, of emotions long-buried and against which she had no defense, Helena foundered, and was lost to the moment.

[Adam]

Batass crazy? Nice Barb, real diplomatic. Ms. Harper stood aside and looked at Adam to take the 'podium'. Slowly he walked over to take her place, he clutched his side and winced a bit. The ribs were still very tender and the vest he wore wasn't helping them heal at the moment.

He stood there for a second, rubbing his hand his stubble in the true fashion of a man too cool for words. They needed to see him. They needed to know he was waiting on them. That he was patient enough to give them a moment to digest what they had heard. As he knew they would, after a few moments they began to quiet themselves down, shushing their neighbors and giving him and Ms. Harper their attention once more.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat. He never was good at public speaking. In Eleventh grade he vomited on Mrs. Voight's desk when she had him come to the front of the class and read a note he was planning on passing to Holly McDermont. He rubbed something that dangled from a chain around his neck. It wasn't anything fancy, just half of an old American coin. He rubbed it when he was nervous, it gave him confidence.

"Ladies and gentleman. As Ms. Harper said I'm CorpSec Sergeant Adam Bristow of the Manifest Destiny." Rabbit nearly swooned; he sounded so cool when he said his official title like that. "I'm not about to stand up here and lie to you. Those of you that know me know that I'm not like that."

He looked out at the crowd, his thumb rubbing his half of a coin gently. "Look, I'm just a guy, like all of you, I'm just a guy who came here to start over and fulfill a dream. We knew this might happen, we trained for this and when we signed on we all knew in the pit of our stomachs that there was a chance, no matter how slim, that we might face a situation like this." He paused for effect. "I look around in here and I see fear. That's okay, I'm scared too. I look around and I see anger. That's okay, I'm angry too, but you know what else I see? I see men and women who have in the past twenty four hours acted selflessly and more courageously than I have words for."

He pointed at a few people. "You, all of you, helping those around you. Pulling survivors from the wreckage, volunteering here in the mess hall, or giving what aid you could in the Infirmary. Those are the men and women I know." He met the eyes of a few members of the crowd. "Throughout humanity's history it's been our ability to come together when tragedy strikes that has always been our greatest strength! Look around you."

The people looked from side to side, not really sure why, but they did. Soft murmurs rose up from the crowd. "Some of you owe the man or woman next to you your life. I know I do."

He looked to Zeus who only smiled and nodded his head once in recognition. "Thanks again bro, that's two I owe you."

"Three, you're forgetting that fracas on Ganymede." He smiled and let the man continue his speech. The crowd laughed slightly as best they could.

"I'm not asking for anything more than to for us to come together and work together so that we can come to a solution. We can't do that unless we calm down, come together and help each other get through this."

"I'm asking ya. Can you do that for us?" He didn't wait for an answer. He gently kissed the coin and raised his hand in a salute and nodded to the crowd. "Thank you."

Quote:

Oratory: Presence +3, Persuasion +1, Striking Looks +1, Crowd Scared -1

Dice Pool=4 (6,9,9,10,(10 again roll: 3): 3 Successes)

[Khalid Al-jamari]

Khalid couldn't believe these people were all that stupid. Maybe they were just that scared, but didn't they see the fatal flaws in this plan?

Number One: What made anyone think that the engines would work now when no one seemed to know what caused them to be taken out in the first place? Come on People!

Number Two: Would the ammo last long enough to make a difference? They already were admitting they hadn't killed the creatures with the weapons on hand. How much longer before there was a full on strike against the innocent civilians (me included)?

Still, standing up and rocking the boat was plain stupid. All it would do was bring him to the attention of the thugs with the guns. That was no good and since the leadership didn't appear to be all that logical, asking even a simple question of CorpSec was a Fool's Errand.

Instead ...

Making sure Security was not close at hand, he quietly asked,

"How do we know the Engines will start when we don't know how these ... Natives did it in the first place?"

A few choice thoughts later, he added,

"Why aren't we finding what these things want first? They have the power to drop our ships out of the sky. They must want something."

Once the conversation had moved safetly away from him in all directions, Khalid sparred himself a smile. He had done good, bringing the truth to light ... even if it might now only be what the truth should be.

[Volos]

Volos wakes up slowly and painfully. He grabs the crutches and makes his way over to the mess. He stands in a spot near the door, out of the way. When the speech begins, his face sets as if in stone... but by the time that Adam gets to speak, his hands are shaking with the tightness of the grip they have on the crutches. Once Adam is done with his speaking, Volos moves to the side near the front of the mess, where the speech was given. He waits patiently for the speakers to make their way towards the crowd, and tries to call the speakers to himself in a quiet, unobtrusive manner. He looks around while waiting for Adam and Barbara to notice him, trying to spot other scientists both from Intrepid and Manifest.

[Dawn OOC]

This is going well; Adam saw the relief in Barbara's face when she turned and gave him a dazzling smile. The hand down by her side, the side turned away from the audience, gave him a little thumbs up.

Then things went par for the course on T-998: straight to hell. "Wait a fucking second!" someone yelled. The man was on the edge of a rippling ball of discontent that was growing, powered by whispers: What if the engines still won't work? Have we tried to talk to them? Maybe something could be worked out?

The man didn't shy at being the center of attention. "Look," he said. "We don't know how these things made the engines stop."

"We should talk to them! Baragin with them!" a woman shouted.

"No," Barbara said, her voice cutting through the growing noise of the crowd somehow. "We don't talk to them. We don't negiotate with them. They're fucking animals. Have you been listening? They kill us. We didn't attack them. They attacked us, before we'd even landed. They took our people. They took Lee. There's no way we'll get any peace from them."

An angry mutter passed through the crowd. "Fine," the first man to speak said, "but I'd like my question answered. How do we know the engines will work if we do fix them?"

Barbara faltered; for a second everyone saw her working on the answer to that question. "We are working on the problem," she said, "and I believe that we'll have an answer by the time we're done with the engines."

It wasn't a good answer and combined with the clear second of hesitation that said, Uhh, I didn't think of that, it sent crowd over the edge. In a second, they were all up on their feet screaming and surging toward the stage or the doors. Mass panic, restrained only by a hairs breath before, had broken out.

Near the door, Rochelle found herself being pushed against the walls of the Mess. Here, people seemed to be focused on leaving, but people were getting hurt. Someone pressed her against the plastic wall, which thankfully gave and saved her from being crushed. Instead, she was pinned in place, forced to watch the stampeding people running for a safety that didn't exist, hurting others in their rush. Volos, likewise, is in the same position; pinned by panicking people, forced to watch them run each other down.

Khalid was at the heart of another storm; people were running away from him, but some were turning and pointing to him, shouting, "He knows what he's talking about! Get him to lead us!" A dozen people clapped him on the shoulders and offered to back him, if he wanted to lead. The fact that they didn't know him personally met little to them; his only qualification was that he'd managed to say something smart at the right time, and he was male. The sad truth was that had Lee or Adam been talking, Barbara's answer might have been better received.

Helena was in another hell. She was too close to the stage, trapped in the room by chairs and tables and too many people. She stood in alarm as a sudden surge forward caught her and pushed her along. She was shoved into the people in front of her, crushed for one terrible second before they gave away and were pushed toward the stage. Here, the din was terrible; shattered tables and chairs that couldn't be replaced mixed with cries of pain and outrage. She tried to get to the western wall, to get to Zeus, but she was caught in a human riptide

The stage itself got a first-person view of the charging mob. Whether they intended violence or just intended to get in peoples' faces was uncertain. All Adam could tell was that they looked pissed. He had seconds before he would find out which route they would go.

Originally Posted By: rolls

Barbara's willpower roll, with dice penalty for grief and stress (1d10=9, 1d10=10, 1d10=4)

The crowd's willpower roll when Barbara ...1d10=6, 1d10=7)

Barbara's Int + Persuade to come up with...1d10=4, 1d10=9)

Barbara's Pre + Persuasion to soothe the...1d10=7, 1d10=6)

[Khalid Al-jamari]

Khalid turned on his supporters, serene despite (or perhaps becuase of) the chaos.

"No," he shook his head as he quieted his erstwhile followers, "we will get nowhere storming the guns. Go. Protect your families and your livelyhoods. Find me at the medbay if you still want to do more. I'm Khalid."

Looking around with furitive eyes,

"Come on. Let's get out of here.

Khalid moved to lead his people out of the Mess and into the light.

[Helena Lindsay]

The sudden surge of violence caught Helena completely off-guard. It was ridiculous to her, with a largely academic understanding of human emotion, that otherwise intelligent people would so quickly and eagerly descend into madness. Didn't they realize that such divisive, destructive behaviors only served to strengthen the aliens and diminish the colonists' ability to cooperate and find solutions? She couldn't understand it, couldn't fathom what had changed the atmosphere of the room so completely, but then...

In the center of a knot of people, amid the shouts of support and defiance, a handsome dark-skinned man stood like some messianic figure, trying to make himself heard to the small group of supporters over the din. Besides being surrounded by a cluster of rioters pointing at him and yelling, "He's right! Let him lead us!" the crisp, bright white and red of his clean, fresh medical jumpsuit made it almost impossible to miss him in the throng of dirty, weary colonists.

Buffeted by the waves of people, Helena couldn't get to him, couldn't shout a warning over the chaos, so she resigned herself angrily to committing his face and features to memory as he and the cluster of people around him tried to force their way to the exit through the frenzied crowd.

What the hell is wrong with you?! she raged inwardly, utterly incredulous. How can a doctor endanger all of these peo-

She didn't have time to think any further when an elbow found its way into her solar plexus, driving the air from her lungs, and a hard shoulder grazed her jaw. Reeling, she stumbled forward, gasping for air and pushing feebly at the throng of angry people around her. The pain in her ribs exploded into bright, hot agony as she was forced by the surging crowd against the edge of a table, and a shriek tore itself from her throat. The sound was lost amid other cries of pain and fear, and though it was clearly a losing battle, she struggled to remain upright, clawing at the table in front of her- anything to keep from being trampled to death.

An idea struck her suddenly, wild and impulsive, and she knew instinctively that it was probably not going to end well. With an inward shrug, she rationalized it to herself thus:

Hey, it always works in the movies, right?

The logic was shakier than the furniture being overturned, but the worry that someone would be seriously injured, or worse, spurred her on. Roughly, she grabbed at the shoulders of the men next to her and heaved downward with all her strength, gritting her teeth and willing her tired body to move.

With a grunt of pain, she managed to push herself up onto the long, fold-out dining table, and quickly scrambled to her feet.

"Well," she muttered to herself. "Here goes."

As the table wobbled beneath her, she hefted the revolver Lee had given her from the holster at her side. Her hands trembled as she pulled the hammer back and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with air.

"Everyone stop! NOW!" she screamed as loudly as she could manage.

The last syllable was punctuated by the resounding boom of the pistol gripped tightly in both hands, held aloft over her head.

Originally Posted By: Invisible Castle

Str+Ath to climb on the table in the mid...f WP. (4d10=30) 2 successes.

10 again rule. (2d10=11)No additional successes, total successes: 2

Firing a gun into the air to quell a riot. 3d10(Presence) -1d10 (No Intimidate) 3d10 Situational Mod (Gun)= 5d10.

(5d10.hitsopen(8,10)=4)4 successes on gunshot.

[SalmonMax]

Things happened so fast, Rochelle was taken by surprise, even though she was standing right next to the exit. There were words spoken, then some people yelled. Then suddenly an avalanche of bodies was coming her way, pushing her aside and mashing her hard enough against the rigid plastic wall to bruise her ribs...adding another instrument to the symphony of aches and pains she had been listening to.

For a second, she thought she was going to die. For a second, it had almost made her laugh at the sheer irony of surviving an attack of magic aliens...only to die in a panicked stampede of ordinary human beings.

Fortunately, she hadn't laughed. It occurred to her that it might be a lot harder to inhale after laughing what with all the pressing against her. So instead of laughing, she held her breath and tried to think through the pain.

People are getting hurt...doorway's too small, too many people. Everyone's panicking. It's like pressure. How do you relieve pressure? Reduce temperature, but I don't think that's happening... Reduce temperature or...

Widen the aperture.

Rochelle craned her head around until she could see the square wave outline of one of the joists where the building slabs met. These structures were meant to be temporary...used until more permanent digs could be built more conventionally. They were just plastic squares with slots and tabs that interlocked. They were a snap to put together.

And pretty easy to take apart too...

With a grunt, the technician blew the air out of her lungs to get some desperately needed room to maneuver. In the moment when she was blessedly able to move, she lunged to her right, towards the edge of the building panel and managed to get her fingers into the crack. With that leverage she managed to pull herself up to the shared border between panels.

With nimble fingers, despite it being far from ideal circumstances, she started to undo the latches that held the metal tabs out, locking the panels together. Undo the latch, the tab retracted, and that part of the joist was undone. Unhook them all and there'd be a new door here...one that she was definitely first in line for.

From Dawn:

The pain and pressure reached a higher point, and Rochelle's fingers lacked the strength to continue. It was too much; she went limp against the wall.

However, her efforts weren't in vain; someone had seen what she was doing. He grabbed a couple of buddies and they began to mess with the latches. In seconds, they had another opening. But not enough to matter, not yet.

Unnoticed, an older woman with an ageless face scooped up the unconscious woman and carried her through the new hole in the wall.

Originally Posted By: Rolls

Str+Athletics, minus penalties for damage (1d10=4)

Perception roll to see what Rochelle is doing (1d10=7, 1d10=8, 1d10=9)

[Adam]

At what point did we lose control of this situation? Adam asked himself as the people rushed the stage. A voice screamed over the crowd and a gun shot was fired.

Helena? What the fu-

"Helena!? What're you doing! Here... I mean!" He shouted, despite the rushing crowd. Worry spread over his face and he concentrated on the crowd. "We'll talk later. I hope."

He knew he couldn't take them all at once, he was already injured and the slightest movement at the moment caused extreme pain in his side.

No options. Helena? How did I not know she was... His mind kept trailing back to his ex-lover making it difficult to focus. Harper!

With no options available Adam moved back and stood facing the mob keeping Barbra blocked and protected by using himself as a human shield.

He locked eyes with the first colonist the approached. "Do what you feel is the right thing, but don't come at me if you know that you might miss."

Quote:

Intimidate: Presence +3, Intimidate +1, Striking Looks +1, Higher Ground +1, Status +2

Dice Pool=8 (8,6,10,3,4,10,9,10(10 again roll: 1,10,2,)(10 again roll: 4): 6 Successes)

[Dawn OOC]

The people closest to Adam began to reverse, creating more confusion as an area cleared around him. Behind them, Zeus was pushing off the wall, plowing through people to get to Adam, Rabbit and Bert flanking him like dolphins surfing in a ship's wake. Unlike Adam, they were armed and were using them to vigorously surpress the violent around them.

Many had reacted to Helena, calming down as their primal brains calculated the odds of getting shot by the crazy lady if they didn't.

One of the walls had a five-foot section removed, with more people working to remove another five-foot section. More people were streaming out, with more still slowly letting go of their anger.

But a few were outraged. "You're going to get us killed!" someone screamed at Barbara, who was cowering behind Adam. Another man was shaking his finger at her - and Adam - but didn't advance on the stage. There seemed to be a stalemate, but that was changing with each step that Zeus took. No one really wanted to be in his way.

Around Volos, the crush receeded and he could breathe again. People were still upset, still trying to leave, but the gunshots and the drop off in violence was creating a more rational atmosphere.

Khalid's group was moving him to the exit, talking excitedly to him, asking what his ideas were. "Do you think we should send a delgation to them? See what they want?" "Let's test some other engines. We should do that, right?"

[Khalid Al-jamari]

Khalid slowed his congregation so as not to press so hard against the others.

"Getting out quickly won't help us," he cautioned.

"Do you think we should send a delegation to them?"

"The government, or the Aliens," Khalid asked uncertain."

"The aliens. the government won't listen to us!" came the response. Khalid weighed that terrible fate for a moment.

"Well," he began, "We aren't a democracy ... yet. Don't expect them to respect us. Thanks to all the shooting, it will be dangerous."

Khalid gulped as the took the plunge.

"But," he adds determinedly, "if you want someone to go, I'll do it. We'll write out some concerns, and I will deliver them."

He wished his smile was braver.

"See what they want?"

"What want is probably to not have any more ships fall on them. Something with the first probes must have gone wrong for this kind of response. Why else imprison us here?"

"No," he adds with a greater degree of confidence,"this is obviously a misunderstanding. I'm sure we can get the killing to stop and the lost people returned.

"Let's test some other engines. We should do that, right?"

"Let's talk to some engineers and see what they have to say before anything else. They were on duty when the engines failed. They can help us. Tell them our concerns. If the engines fail, they will be the one's dying."

The push of the crowd had moved them outside and its relative safety.

"For those who don't know, I'm Khalid. You can contact me at the hospital, or at housing unit 63 near their. Let's see what we can find out and meet ... say past noontime outside my domicile."

"Now, some people were injured in the panic and I need to get to the hospital to heal them. We have a plan and now we have some real hope!"

With that, Khalid shook a few hands, wished his people "Godspeed", and headed to Medical. He made up his mind to talk with Nurse McGill as soon as possible. With the way things had taken a mystic turn for him, Khalid couldn't help but be happy as he ran to his duty station.

[Adam]

"Zeus, Rabbit, Bert!" Adam looked to his comrades. "Get these people out of here." He looked at the crowd, trying not to focus too much on Helena. "When we can have a gathering and a discuss things like civilized people then we'll have another one of these get togethers."

He remained where he stood, ready to strike out at anyone who came after him or the woman he protected.

[Helena Lindsay]

Originally Posted By: Bristow

"Get these people out of here."

Opening one eye, Helena quickly glanced down at herself, double-checking that she was still alive and in one piece. The sound of the gunshot was still ringing in her ears, but her ex-boyfriend's voice was unmistakable. At some point, she noticed as she opened the other eye and looked around, someone had gotten the idea of disassembling one of the sections of the pre-fab wall, and she heaved a sigh of relief. Even if the rabble-rouser was gone (and he seemed to be), the people were still frightened and panicky, and those who wanted out had at least one more avenue of escape from the mob- an escape many hadn't gotten, as they struggled to their feet, or leaned on a fellow colonist for support. The ones who couldn't would have medical staff brought to them, instead of trying to move them after such trauma. She'd see to that much herself, if she had to, she vowed.

When Adam called out to his friends, she rolled her eyes and dropped her arms limply to her sides, exasperation written plainly across her dirt-smudged features.

"Talk. To. Them," she mouthed at the newly-initiated mission leaders, gesturing pleadingly at the groups of people who remained in the mess either due to injury, anger, or perhaps a combination of both. "They. Need. You. Both."

[Adam]

She was right. God he hated that, she was always right. Adam looked about at those who reamined, he sighed and shook his head, more out of pity than remorse.

He stepped off the stage, right into the thick of those who were about to rush him just moments ago. "Excellent work every one." He said as wades though a few men and knelt down. "This'll solve all our problems, won't it?"

He picked up a young girl who had been trampled just moments ago. "Yeah, so far you've managed to trample a child, injure several innocent people, oh, and break our tables and chairs." He handed the small girl over to a volunteer. "Guess we'll be eating off the floor until they're fixed. I know you're all scared, but please tell what lashing out at others around it going to solve?"

He had no fear as he walked around the Mess Hall. They'd either kill him or not at this point. "Nothing. You think I'm not scared? I haven't see what we're up against ladies and gentleman, but I know it's been less than friendly. Now, maybe it thinks we're a threat, maybe it doesn't know we just want peace. To relax, kick back, start a colony, and raise a bunch of babies." The CorpSec Leader shrugged his arms and held his hands out. "I don't have the answers. Really, I don't. You know why?"

He smiled and it was pure irritation. "Because I can't get any answers. I've been up in the med with broken ribs for the past 36 hours, and this is what I come out to! We don't have to worry about what's out there, you all keep acting like this and whatever is out there is going to have their work cut out for them!"

"Maybe they're hostile now, if we can learn something and make contact perhaps we can make peace. If one of those things want to stroll in here for a latte and danish, hey people, I'm all for it. I'll do my damnedest to see to it knows we mean them no harm. But if it wants to come up in here and start all kinds of hell, then I'll bring down rain the likes of which I'm sure they've never seen, or will see again."

Adam twisted his arm, revolving it in the socket of his shoulder to loosen the muscles down by his ribs. "I'm willing to fight and die to keep everyone here safe. That also means that anyone who jeopardizes the safety of others within this colony will find me to be a very unforgiving man. Take that however you like ladies and gentleman, but this sort of rage and lack of forethought, and turning against our fellow man is what cost us our planet to begin with. I just found a new home people, I'm not about to start off on the wrong foot with it."

[Dawn OOC]

People were starting to calm; the swell of people pushing at the doors had slowed greatly, and some people weren't even trying to leave anymore. There was a sense of shame hovering over the area. People had faced their own fear, and had faltered in the face of it.

A woman stopped in front of Adam. Her voice was shaking as she said, "I lost my husband in the crash. My oldest boy disappeared sometime last night. I'm afraid for my other two children. I'm just so scared and I don't know what to do." She was crying when done, her hands pressed to her face, tears running over her fingers.

Others were nodding, desperate to convince Adam and themselves that this was an aberration, that they wouldn't normally have behaved like mindless animals. A few were starting to assess the damage to the materials. And a change came over the crowd. It started with one girl, who held two broken pieces of a table together and said, "Hey, I think I can fix this."

That sense of optimism spread and people began to pick up what they had broken. The helpless feelings faded as people began to do what they could to fix their lives. They had caused the destruction, but they knew they could fix it, too. And they set to it with ferver and determination.

[Helena Lindsay]

Helena's sudden spike of fear-induced energy ebbed as the mood of the crowd shifted once more, and she found herself wobbling slightly on the table.

Oh, that's not good, she thought, forcing bleary eyes to focus as she half-climbed, half-fell back to the floor, only narrowly managing to brace one hand on a chair to remain upright. She winced, rubbing the knee that had scraped the edge of the table, and started to hobble out of the building.

"'Scuse me," she murmured, weaving around people who quickly moved aside, unwilling to get in the way of the disheveled woman casually waving a revolver. "Pardon me, coming through. Thank you." She stumbled outside, blinking in the bright sunlight; a few small clusters of people still hovered nearby, whispering anxiously to each other. As she shuffled past, she started to wave, momentarily perplexed at the weight in her hand.

"Oh, hell," she grumbled aloud, embarrassed and a little annoyed. She holstered the gun with a huff, wiggling it slightly until it settled into the worn leather. "Er, sorry," she offered by way of apology, and shuffled off as quickly as she could toward the medbay.

After a cursory explanation and one look at the exhausted scientist and her decidedly unkempt appearance, three volunteers from the temporary clinic gathered some supplies and a portable stretcher and jogged to the mess to tend the injured. The volunteers- a broad-shouldered, swarthy man with tattooed hands, a tomboyish young woman with close-cropped blonde hair, and an attractive man she only later recognized as Steve- moved quickly, purposefully across the clearing, and she managed a smile as the world slowly began to dim.

Slowly, painstakingly, Helena trudged toward the small building she'd been told was the dorm she shared with two other colonists. Every step required an excruciating level of concentration when every muscle in her body fairly screamed for oblivion. She hadn't slept since the crash, and food was a distant memory. Left. Right. ... Left. ... Right... Left...

She was unconscious just before she hit the ground, less than five feet from the as-yet unassembled pieces of her cot.

[Moved to the Dorms Thread]