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[holdensteady]

» WHO? James Holden, OTA
» WHEN? mid-late June
» WHERE? various
» WHAT? intro/catch-all post
» WARNINGS? none at this time

( A. Arrival, Deck 3 near Crew Quarters )

Waking up in the middle of a grimy hallway, in a jumpsuit similar to the one he always wears and yet different is disorientating. As he comes to, Holden doesn't feel quite right. It's with some difficulty that he pushes himself up off the ground, a low grunt of pain as the maneuver is difficult on his leg still healing from being crushed. The repeating message becomes the forefront of his focus then and he keeps one hand pressed to the wall as he searched out the sound, quickly seeing the device on the ground. He picks it up with a grimace, studying it and the logo doesn't mean a damned thing to him the same as nothing in his current surroundings do. His mind is searching for an explanation of his location. He slips the device on before using the wall as he moves down the hallway, searching for anyone to ask where the hell he is.

The last thing he remembers is being in the med bay on the Roci with Naomi and now he's certainly not on the Roci and Naomi isn't in sight either.

( B. Bar )

[ It doesn't take long to find the bar, not that it's what Holden's looking for. It's by chance but upon realizing what it is he goes in, searching for any familiar face. If he doesn't see one immediately he finds a place to sit -- not particularly interested in drinking and more concerned about finding his crew and answers. He keeps a watchful eye on those around, though, not immediately trying to talk to anyone and instead looks at the device again, trying to glean any useful information he could from it.

If nothing else, it gives him a rest from putting weight on his leg.

There is a point where he gives up on simply observing and whether someone's sitting nearby or walks by he says: ]

Hey, can I ask you a question? [ Namely, what the hell is going on? ]

( C. Wildcard )

[ Don't see what you want? Hit me with your best shot or contact me via PM or at poetanarchy! He's very likely to be found getting coffee in the mess hall or checking out the observation deck. ]

Comments

c, somewhere between a and b

[donkeyballs]

[ It was a good day.

Well, good was probably overselling it. A lot. It was not a day that Alex would have called good back home, and it was not a day that he would have called good even two weeks ago. But compared to the days he has had for the last week, it was good. It was the first day where he wasn't just obsessively running over what had happened to him in his head, and it was the first day that he felt like he was actually helping, somehow, rather than dragging the whole crew down with him. He had something to focus on - something to pay attention to.

His daily sweeps for Holden with Naomi and Frank hadn't turned up anything - they never did - and today hadn't been any different. It was luck, that had Alex on the third floor, heading to the bar to grab a bottle of some kind of horrific alcohol. They'd been hard at work at the door all day, and he'd figured something to take the edge off, for some of them, would be a good thing.

So he was focused elsewhere entirely, when his eyes fell across the familiar silhouette. He didn't even register it, at first, glossing over him - but then his brain clicked in and his heart went straight into his throat. ]

Chief!

[ It was a relieved word, and he was already rushing over - until something made him pause, a brief flash of panic on his face as he slowed his approach. He was alone. He hadn't thought about it before he had left them all at the door - had just gone and done what had needed to be done. But he had very carefully been avoiding being alone, and now here he was, by himself, and the Captain just happened to turn up?

His heart rate spiked suddenly, but he tried to force the panic down. If it was a hallucination, then he'd - he'd deal with it. He'd deal with it.

But he needed to know. ]

... Holden? That you?

[holdensteady]

[ In the short amount of time that Holden had been there all he wanted to do was find his crew and get a better read of their situation from people he actually trusted instead of strangers, hopefully they were all there. It's still a bit difficult to believe this is all completely real, but too much of it points to that very fact for him to keep doubting it.

It's a surge of relief when he hears Alex even before he sees him but he's quick to pinpoint the other's location and then Alex was there. He exhales a breath of relief to actually see him. Even if he didn't speak as sentimentally as Alex was prone to the crew meant more to him than he let on sometimes. ]

Yeah it's me. I'm glad to see you here. [ Glad in a very loose sense of the word since they're kind of stuck here it seems and this place definitely ain't as nice as the Roci. ]

[donkeyballs]

[ Relief swept through him and he crossed the rest of the space, reaching out to put a hand on Holden's arm, squeezing as if he wanted to make sure that the other man was solid. ]

You ain't even a quarter as glad to see me as I am to see you, hoss. [ That much was very evident, the emotion was thick in his voice. ] Did you just wake up? What do you remember?

wildcard coffee buddies take 2 (we can say this is after he meets up with the crew!)

[oorah]

[ the soft takka takka of dog's claws can be heard, the only break in the continuous cacophony of magboots against metal grating. frank's click in place behind holden in the long, winding coffee line of the early morning. he hasn't seen alex in a bit so he's looking out for him now, and pretends not to notice when he jostles the man in front of him a bit. the truth is, frank never forgets a face and he knows every one on this station, whether he's talked to them or not. this one is new and maybe he wants to throw him off kilter a little. at least until he figures out what his deal is. ]

Sorry. [ he mutters without sounding that sorry at all, and max the big brown pitbull looks over their new addition thoughtfully as frank leans across him to grab a plastic mug. his boots are engaged even though the gravity is a comfy .33G ] If you need space school, I can point you in the right direction.

[ everything about frank is a little threatening, from his closely cropped hair to the black hoodie over his faded blue jumpsuit to the deep bruising mottling his face, an especially notable purple ring around his right eye. but his voice sounds friendly enough, though it also has the warm quality of michelin tires chugging through rough gravel. ]

thumbs up :D

[holdensteady]

[ Holden is only taken off guard for a moment after being jostled but it wasn't particularly hard and it doesn't bother him -- or he chooses not to be bothered -- even though the guy doesn't particularly sound sorry, which is sort of strange in a way. He looks over the man and the dor, the dog looks a bit more friendly than the human but one can't always judge by appearances and he doesn't completely.

He's finishing up with retrieving his cup of terrible coffee as the other grabs the mug. ]

I definitely don't think I need space school. [ In general, a school about this place might be helpful but the Science seems to mostly line up to what he knows it's the logic of being here that doesn't. ]

👌

[oorah]

No? Good, because I don't know dick about space.

[ there's the hint of a smile around the words, but it could easily be imagined. he would've just directed this guy to amos and alex anyway, or shown amos' SPACE RULES post to a newbie for the millionth time. he's glad enough to skip it.

frank drinks down his lukewarm coffee before instantly refilling it and moving on to snatch a protein bar from the replicators. it's much easier than trying to calibrate those things, a feat he usually doesn't have the patience for on a good day. ]

If you're a space guy, might wanna keep it to yourself. The rest of us have a nasty habit of asking annoying questions.

(A) fingerguns

[pampa]

Miller rounds a corner on his way back to the bar. Mess Hall - Bar - his quarters. The rounds of a man who knows he's dead but is somehow alive here anyway, and like the ghost he is he's gotten pretty good at haunting the place. "I'll buy you a gin," he says before he registers the face in front of him. It's a throwaway joke he'd waste on any sorry soul here, and honestly, he'd thought it was Kovacs, so used to looking up (and up) and seeing that guy pacing the hall. He wants a cigarette, well. The day he gets one is the day Miller spaces him. A sense of familiarity washes over him then - not Kovacs. Not any other idiot here, only a handful Miller had gotten to know anyway; but he isn't any one of them. He walks right up to Holden, like he's going to reach out, but he consciously does no such thing, staring into his eyes from a breadth away. It forces him to crane his neck a little - tall motherfuckers.

The dull ache of his chalky ribs subsides just to look at the other man, an Earther he'd placed all of his collapsible faith sturdily into. He'd hurt himself two weeks ago saving Alex from becoming space trash, but it isn't like he expected to turn left and see the face of Jim Holden staring back at him. His whole body goes numb, vibrating from the effort to keep still and convince himself it isn't another hallucination fueled by lack of sleep or just plain wishful thinking. He isn't seeing Julie now either, though he can feel the weight of her necklace in his pocket, and the presence of her picture inside his hat. His jumpsuit is a faded olive color, proclaiming him to be Reverie Terminal crew - the same as Holden. This isn't exactly how he planned to get a bunk on the same barge as him.

"I would ask if you were really here, but you look too fucked up to be a mirage, kid." And maybe he says it just to beat Jim to the punch, backing off just a little bit so he doesn't have to go cross-eyed to meet the other man's eyes. "I take it back, I'm gonna need all the gin for myself." He knocks into Holden's shoulder on the way past, though it's way to gauge if he was solid more than anything. And then he's just walking on by and through the open doorway to slide onto a barstool like it's the most natural thing in the universe. Maybe it is for a man like him. He's already pouring them both a drink by the time Holden gathers his wits about him to follow, watching the liquid travel through the low gravity and neatly catching it in each glass. It's gonna be a long fucking day.

[holdensteady]

It's the voice first, the all too familiar voice. It's a voice that haunts him sometimes when he can't sleep, which is often. There's a sense of guilt associated to Miller, that failure to save everyone even though it had really seemed that Miller didn't want to be saved. That doesn't help to know because who actually wants to die.

Holden doesn't recover quick enough before Miller speaks again and a grin threatens to pull at the corner of his lip, almost winning. He can only imagine how he looks, and the fact he's favoring to one leg.

"I wouldn't want to come between you and your gin," he says and then he follows him, the physical contact had made it clear that Miller's not a ghost -- at least not by any definition that Holden knows. The shock is starting to settle in as the fact that Miller is really there truly registers in Holden's mind.

He's frowning by the time he sits down, but he watches the drink being poured. There's more than a few questions on the tip of his tongue but he doesn't end up asking any of them and just stares at Miller as if already unsure again if he's real.

[pampa]

He picks up Holden's glass when the other man doesn't and pushes it into his hand. If this is really happening, he's not the only one getting wasted okay. Once he's confident he has a hold on the drink, Miller gently tips his against Jim's before downing it all in one go. Yep, that takes the edge off for sure. Sucking gin off his teeth, he pours another and leans back a little. His ribs are still healing from saving Alex a few weeks ago, so he'll gladly ignore Holden's injuries if the man pays him the same courtesy.

"It's no Ganymede, but it hits the spot." And then corrodes the spot tbh.

[veristitalian]

"Yes?"

She answers, glancing up from the book she's got her nose in and taking him in. The jump suits make it difficult to infer things about people, but Jasnah looks him up and down by habit. He's not someone she recognizes- so probably new.

So, questions then. Jasnah slips the marker back into her book, shuts it gently, and inclines her head; what would he like to know?

[holdensteady]

Holden did hate to interrupt someone who was reading but, well, these were strange times. Though, there was something comforting about someone doing something that's mostly mundane in a place that seems rather troublesome to say the least.

It's hard to decide what question is the most important. He could ask about his crew but he hesitates and instead goes for perhaps the more generic question... "What exactly is this place?"

It's a better question than Is this real, at least. The pain in his leg is enough proof to him that it's at least real even if nothing is as it seems -- or maybe everything's exactly as it seems which is more strange.

[veristitalian]

"We don't know."

She says, bluntly; she's learning how to get this explanation shorter and shorter.

"What we understand is that it's a space station, and that when we arrived it was abandoned. There are signs that something terrible happened to the previous inhabitants, possibly that an AI within the station walls was trying to kill them."

Efficiency does not make it necessarily more comforting.

"But that's just one hypothesis."

b

[subplot]

[Karen's sitting next to him, but is lost in thought when he first shows up. She keeps to herself, drinking slowly as she looks over some pages she's brought with her. She's become obsessed with these access codes, and has kept to herself for the past few weeks trying to piece things together with the panels at the doors. When she hears someone speak to her she reluctantly pulls away her attention from it, turning to glance his way.]

Of course you can.

[It feels like it's been so long since she's been social that it feels weird to try doing it now. Shifting in her seat, she tries to look more relaxed and approachable.]

What's on your mind?

[holdensteady]

[ Holden gives her an apologetic smile, glancing at the papers but not for long before meeting her eyes. In truth, he doesn't particularly like asking strangers for information but thus far this place is full of strangers. ]

Do you know much about this place?

[ A pause and he adds, in an attempt to actually use some manners: ]

My name's James Holden.

[subplot]

Karen Page.

[If Karen imagines hard enough, she can pretend she's back on Earth and at a normal bar where she might be talking to an attractive guy. But she's not back home, she's trapped on a space station where she's absolutely miserable.]

And I think -

[She pauses to take a drink.]

That has the potential to be a loaded question. [There's a slightly amused smile over the top of her cup.]

Everything any of us know is mostly based on assumption.

a

[neuralnet]

Haruto is used to the trickling in of new arrivals at this point, so when he leaves his room on Deck 3 and sees a man limping down the corridor, looking somewhat confused, he's pretty sure he must be new. (At least this one isn't a wolf.) The limp catches his attention, as he was also injured when he arrived.

"Hello," he says with a small wave and a friendly smile (once he's run the man's face through his internal database of Project Integration collaborators). "Are you alright?"

[holdensteady]

Holden looked in the direction of the voice and he nodded.

"I'm fine, I just..."

There's a pause before he shakes his head. "I suppose I don't really know where I am."

B

[notyourrookie]

[Wash hasn't had a drink in... it might very well be years. Weirdly, no-one had been keen to let him drink in prison, or under close medical supervision, go figure.

But he thinks that with all the bullshit that's going on, he's probably earnt one. Or five.

Better stick to one for now. He still doesn't trust any of the people here.

He knows he isn't the most approachable person, and he likes it that way, so he's more than a little surprised when someone actually approaches him.]


I can't stop you.

[holdensteady]

[ Holden has run into his fair share of people that are mostly unapproachable and they don't particularly phase him anymore. They're just a part of life and sometimes they can provide rather good information or insights. ]

Have you been here very long?

b

[raverie]

[ Sonya's first explorations upon waking up led her to the bar as well. And then she thought: well, alcohol could be used to sterilize wounds, that kind of thing. Reading the network told her there's at least a slapdash medical facility set up, but she'd be more confident with her own supplies. ]

Shoot.

[ That's her reply, from behind the bar counter. ]

You want a drink?

[ Since she's poised, and all. ]

[holdensteady]

[ Holden smiles briefly at her and then nods at the question about a drink. He might as well, what do they say -- when in Rome? ]

I woke up here but I don't really remember coming here. [ That's not really a question, though. ]

Where are we?

a!

[marineris]

[There are only so many places one can go on this station, and Bobbie tends to cycle between the gym, the bar, the observation deck, and their room. She's honestly starting to go a little stir crazy, and she's sick of drinking the swill this place calls alcohol, so today, she's just sitting, people watching. She's distracted when Holden sits beside her, so she doesn't react until he speaks up, and then she nearly flinches, turning so quickly it gives her a crick in her neck.]

Holden?

I'm sorry i'm the worst this week. <3

[holdensteady]

[ It's not exactly the reaction Holden expects when he asks a question and he raises a brow as he looks at her. ]

That's me.

b /wanders in 20 minutes late with starbucks

[onlydoubts]

[ For someone who didn't drink all that much, Bodhi found himself at the bar on more than one occasion. call it a lack of much else better to do, a certain restlessness that came from being stuck in one place for so long, feeling less than helpful amongst so many that were better suited for all of this.

He has a glass of the usual swill, which he's only drank a little from. Keeping mostly to himself, he's a little surprised to be approached. A quick once over shows he's never met this man, before. ]

Sure, what's on your mind?

[holdensteady]

[ Holden is getting used to asking questions of strangers at this point. He just wants to get as much information as he can about this place he woke up in and all the things that he doesn't quite understand about it. ]

I'm James Holden. [ It's hard to know what to ask, though. He has so many questions and he feels like he'll never really have any answers. ]

Do you know where we are... [ A pause... ] Aside from the whole Reverie thing.

[ It's hard to believe that no one knows. ]