TEST DRIVE #1 - Ten Forward

[tenforward_m]

You know how you were standing there, back in your home world, just minding your own business?

Time to forget all about that.

Instead of doing whatever the heck you were just doing, you're standing in the middle of this very stylish, sedate barroom. Happily, you're not alone there - in fact you're surrounded by people who seem to be as confused as you are...and some of them look a little, well unusual

Now would be a great time to do....well, something. Ask some questions of the person nearest you, throw a fit, stage a coup....maybe do a little exploring? No matter what you do, you're going to be here for a very long time.

For others might call it the USS Enterprise, but for the foreseeable future, you'll be calling it home.

[OOC: this test drive's open until the next app period.]

Comments

[splendid_roman]

They looked the same - he hoped she remembered which was which. He had a sip of one, which tasted just like scotch, and then the other. Which also tasted like scotch. "If one of them really is synthehol then it's very good."

He tried another sip of each before pointing to the one on the right. "I think that one's not quite as good as the other." Probably. But he had a 50/50 chance of choosing the right one.

[queenofmay]

"Starship," Marian wonders over the word, giving the room a look again.

A few seconds longer on the window she and Caspian had looked out earlier. Before she nods at Kate's gesture toward the tables, as sitting wouldn't be entirely amiss in new circumstances. It's strange, and different, but that's at least something she's gotten some aplomb with after the last few years and the end the universe.

It doesn't make it comforting, but it doesn't make it something to panic about instantly.

Especially as Kate is nowhere near any kind of reaction to the sort either. "Rather like Mal's ship, but larger?"

[queenofmay]

They are odd looking. It's not like it's impossible to tell what part of a cup does what, nor passing anywhere near uncertain than Milliways has give her odd things a time or two. Or that people in Milliways have brought odd ones. But these are definitely different from any of the ones she's seen there, too.

But it's still a cup, and the tea still generally smells good. Though the steam means she'll hold it a while.

"That would all depends on what you are looking for there," Marian answered easily, part rebuff, but mostly faint affection. Mistress Bar would always be a favorite, with her endless supply of things. "The Lady there has a tendency to be able to make anything any person is looking for."

Beat. "But I would say tea does seem to be a precarious liking for only certain people even there."

[do_your_duty]

John can huff and puff all he wants, and only earn the continued curl of a raised eyebrow. She doesn't like this. Unexpected large numbers of people and rooms appearing out of nowhere. It's not normal, whatever he says, and even more it should be normal for anyone here. They should have security somewhere, too. A place like this.

"Fine." Again. Puncture down like a knife blade or a shot.

While reaching up with her other hand to tap her comm badge. "Zhaan, D'Argo, come in." But there is only silence after it. Not that she was expecting much from the appearing room. With it's strange, subtle sophistication that also looked nothing like a Peacekeeper ship. "Pilot? Can anyone hear me?"

[not_annika]

She hasn't expected to see her, but she recovers quickly, even as questions are still in her mind to ask. One step at a time, however. Seven doesn't have her implants and Janeway is a captain, so she has to be careful of what she says.

She takes a deep breath and calms her. "Captain," she begins. "I am... uncertain as to how I am here. This is a Galaxy class starship."

[holds_her_own]

"Ah, damn. You'd think there would be one universe where I was director."

She shakes her head and has a swig of beer.

The questions don't surprise her, but Rogers, she's hurt.

"If you head out the door behind you, it's two lefts, a right, and about three security agents to the nearest elevator, or 'turbolift' as they call them. Security is easily handled with a few minor fractures and a good sleeper hold; the lift is voice-activated, bridge located on Deck One. Once you reach the bridge, there's between eight and ten officers on deck: two helmsmen, two security officers, a communications officer, the captain and his second in command, and other operations officers. You could try the same techniques to incapacitate as many officers as possible, but if you get hit by their 'phasers' it's pretty much over. They've got a kick like a night-night gun."

She stretches her shoulder to emphasize this point.

"The captain, by the way, took his lessons at the same school of Glower & Intimidate as Director Fury. From there he'll tell you that some spatial anomaly is behind the sudden one-way ticket to their ship, their peaceful ship, and they're working on a way to get all of us home. I don't believe it, personally. I think someone is behind all of this; we've seen Asgardians with enough power to open portals between galaxies and we're just scratching the surface of interstellar travel. Regardless, you'll then be given the choice of returning to Ten Forward or spending the rest of your time here in the brig, and any agent worth their salt will choose the option that allows for more reconnaissance work."

How's that for a plan?

She has another swig of beer.

"So by all means, go ahead and get started. I'll meet you back here in twenty?"

[holds_her_own]

"Maria Hill."

She forgoes adding 'Agent' or 'Commander' for now.

(The verbal sparring is excellent, and it'll no doubt come up eventually.)

"Does that make you a lover and not a fighter?"

There's more sarcasm than flirtatiousness, but Maria purposely makes it difficult to know where you stand in her book.

[therighttime]

Welp. That certainly does sound like a plan.

Steph sighs quietly and turns her gaze to the door Hill indicated, thoughtful. There's no point, so far as she can see, in putting anyone in a sleeper hold right now. By information gathering, she was thinking more along the lines of, you know, talking. To people.

As she turns back to the table, facing Hill, Steph's gaze moves upward and catches briefly on a ventilation shaft.

Too bad Barton isn't here.

But Hill is. irritating or not, there's a reason she's Fury's right hand.

(maybe a reason she's not the Director, too, she's just saying)

"Sounds like you've done the leg work well enough for both of us," Steph says, quiet, and spares a longing glance at Hill's beer. "I don't mind some reconnaissance."

She'd prefer her couch back in Brooklyn with a record and a book, but sure.

"Asgard hasn't seemed the type so far to lie about what they're doing. Pretty straight-forward in the attack."

[bobbyprentice]

"Yessir," Bobby says. "First in space, anyway. I was at Utopia Planitia for my first two years."

It was nice there. Not exactly exciting - and Gray, assigned to sickbay on a science ship right out of the Academy, wasn't exactly within reach - but it was steady, and Bobby's good at the kind of repair work he was assigned back there.

And whether or not Gray's in reach doesn't exactly matter any more, Bobby thinks bitterly.

I'M SORRRY FOR TAKING SO LONG BABBU 8(

[lord_of_arms]

"Are you sure?" Firion couldn't help but ask immediately.

The man didn't look fine. He was breathing heavy and seemed to be on the verge of shaking himself into a tizzy. He tilted his head, a few beads clinking together as he did so. He didn't want to pry, it wasn't his place. But he didn't like seeing others not looking well, even if they were strangers.

"Would you like some water?" He still had some in a skin, from his travels. He had been on his way home, after all, his memory still fuzzy from returning from the Conflict but not quite making it back home yet.

[mintgiver]

It happens to be the tone that regularly puts the fear of death into robots worldwide. But his voice jolts her only partway out of her rant.

"Great!" She gestures toward Loki. "I told you to stop putting them in here, Bobo." Then she finally addresses Loki directly. "So, what are you? A size five hat?"

[is_great]

She probably won't like them very much, after she gets done talking to Bender.

He's just gonna keep on pickin' that pocket. She's getting a full-color glimpse of Bender in action, baby!

[mojitoing]

If Sam knew he was coming, he'd've brought a bottle of the best wine he could lay hands on - which, considering his numerous sources, would have been a pretty excellent little jug of booze.

He automatically turns on the charm, leaning forward with a grin. "A gentleman's always prepared." The glass comes to a gentle rest upon the table. "...For anything but being being blipped right up from the beach to this joint." He's going to presume he hasn't been drugged and dragged here, because terrorists and arms dealers normally have a knee planted in your groin by this part of the conversation.

[mojitoing]

Well, Sam does know spies well - and spyish demeanors. He pretends not to be affected by her close examination as he pastes on his Friendly Tourist Sam smile. The more harmless he seems to her, the more time Mike and Fi will have to extract him from his weird ur-enterprise he's been dumped on.

Damn, and she'd normally be his type. And that's an EXPENSIVE garish shirt, or so his last sugarmoma told him.

"Take a picture, sweetheart, it'll last longer." He waggles his eyebrows and sips at his drink.

[shut_up_dammit]

Well at least he had a name. He wasn't in the mood to be flirting with her though, so where he stood was not important.

"Makes me a healer."

Ignoring the lover bit, thanks.

"I don't have time to be fighting anyone. My job's taking care of all the others that do."

Ash Williams || Evil Dead Trilogy || OTA

[boomsticking]

Bet the last thing you expected to see was an angry guy with a chainsaw for a hand, soaked in mud and looking angry as heck.

"All right...what's the deal? You. Tell me."

Hope he's not talking to you.

[zerocharliexray]

"Got it in one."

She sticks her hands back into her jacket pockets, blows a resigned puff of breath up towards the shiny brim of her service hat. "Thought I'd stretch my legs out on the tarmac for a minute, but when I climbed back into the cockpit, I get this instead."

Accompanied by a jerk of her chin to the room around them, before she crooks a grin at her newfound companion. "Not that I'm complaining. So, Army, if I'm gonna get to know you, I'd better get started. Preferably over a drink."

Or seven.

[never_felt_better]

A-yup. That's about what John had been expecting, even though he'd been hoping this was still somehow part of Moya. He didn't feel the physical shift associated with traveling through a wormhole, not even a skip; hell, not even a jiggle. Just one step, then another, and bam! Hailing frequencies open.

Or closed, it looks like.

He faces the room, his back now to Aeryn, and surveys the crowd. "'Scuse me!" he hollers. "Can anybody tell us where we are?"

No, it isn't subtle, but it'll get the job done. Eyes are already turning on them, and one guy in a really familiar red and black jumpsuit is looking particularly promising. John blinks. "Well, butter my bottom and call me toast."

[do_your_duty]

Aeryn is certain that one didn't translate right. Even after the sudden yelling.

But then what else is new with John, and the strange things that come out of his mouth.

Inane, obviously untranslatable, witticisms aside, she doesn't miss the way his expression shifts. Because as much as she says she doesn't take the time to notice him, or the rest of the crew, she can't not either. She was trained to be a good soldier, a good team member. One of many. To know the weaknesses and strengths of her teams. Until they could read each other in battle, and out.

And John looks...amused. Surprised. But pleasantly. Like he's suddenly pleased with this place, and whatever he just spotted. Which just confuses her more. Especially when she's looks at the same group of milling people in uniforms and not, including one unsurprisingly headed for them now, and back to John. "What?"

[never_felt_better]

Nope, just good ol' fashioned Southern colloquialisms, Aeryn. John has an endless supply and all the cycles in the universe to introduce you to each and every one of them.

"This is too good," he says, voice hitting that higher register he gets when he's about to get his geek on. "Hey, Aeryn, watch this. I'm about to show you some mind-reading voodoo I bet you never learned in commando boot camp. Ten bucks says the next few words out of this guy's mouth are Enterprise, Starfleet, and Federation."

He straightens his shirt and clears his throat, biting back his grin as much as he can. The officer stops and asks how he can be of assistance, and John answers: "Greetings! My friend and I come from a, uh, galaxy far, far away. How did we end up here? Oh, and uh, where is here?"

Re: Ash Williams || Evil Dead Trilogy || OTA

[just_a_chemical]

...well, strange as it might be to think, that's actually more like home than the sleek futurism and all-over neutral color scheme of the Enterprise. People can get used to anything, probably.

"They say we're on a ship," says Eleanor--normal-looking, English-sounding. "Somewhere in space. They gave the coordinates, but it didn't mean anything to me. Just a string of numbers."

[bet_on_the_river]

"Sometimes you can't trust appearances," he says. "Your neighbors might look respectable, but you never know what they're up to at home. This place could look good for visitors, but have lots of parts they don't show us."

Most places do. The parts of towns you won't find in the guidebook.

[bet_on_the_river]

It seems a strange place to have a welcome center, but if your people come aboard by being transported in... well, that probably changes architectural requirements. No entrances, just exits.

Or maybe it's where everyone takes their meals? There don't seem to be that many people aboard, if that's the case. Or it's an off time. He has no idea how time works here.

"What kind of feelings?"

[trial_never_ends]

"Madness?" he asks, as though he is offended that his actions might be labeled so, and by Picard of all people.

"Madness, Captain? No, not at all--that would imply I don't know what I'm doing, and I can assure you that I do. A game might look like madness if you don't know the rules: run over here, now stop, now go there, now do something with a ball. Your provincialism does not equate to my madness."

[never_felt_better]

John laughs, clapping Ian's shoulder. "My man!"

He likes the way Ian thinks. It's been a long time since John's had a decent beer, too. But if there's one thing that stays the same from planet to planet, it's that everyone has their own brand of knock-you-on-your-ass alcohol.

"This is the real test, right here," he says, finding what he's pretty sure is a replicator. "Not that I don't believe you, but if this thing can make real chocolate I'll know this isn't some Peacekeeper-induced hallucination. You want anything?"