TEST DRIVE #10 - Cetacean Pool and Ten Forward

[tenforward_m]

#1

Option 001. Cetacean Pool/Aquatics Lab: Of all the places in the world, you open your eyes and you find yourself in a medium-sized aquatics laboratory, filled with various living specimens along with various science officers bustling about trying to maintain order. There's much to explore here (and hopefully, in the crew's opinion, not break), but the main attraction is the large pool at the far end of the lab; enormous but tanklike in appearance, it contains several dolphins happily swimming about, seemingly without a care in the world.


2

Option 002. Aboard the Enterprise, Ten Forward: You have no idea what just happened. One minute you were home, and now you're on a spaceship, in the middle of a crowded room. It looks like a bar. There are people eating and drinking, some in uniform, others not. Some are clearly aliens.

You've managed to land in Ten Forward a long bar with barstools and a bartender, tables sprinkled throughout, and the far wall is nothing but windows out to space. It looks like a nice lounge, low conversation making the room hum.

Better ask some questions and find out where you are, or just tap the closest person on the shoulder and try to make friends. The bar is open.

Comments

[liamjones]

"My brother, you are telling a tale in pieces, trying to fill my sail with scraps of breezes when we need gusts."

[makesbettermouth]

"You'd love the Jimmy Jab games," she said. "Unless you don't like expired chinese food...which I think everybody does."

There's gentle under-the-chin scritching for Veena. "Does she normally like people outside the family at all?" She wants to check and see if she's something of a fluke.

[reincarnshaman]

"Actually, I haven't had much Chinese food in my life. Blackthorn - the town I grew up in - didn't have any Chinese restaurants and so I've never really seen it as a food option, you know? Even after I moved out," Trever admits.

As for Veena.

"She's been funny around girls lately. Possibly eligible for dating girls, to be exact." Which is very irritating when you're trying to get a date and the cat just ups and dislikes them. "I don't know why."

Actually, he has a suspicion as to why, he's just not going to talk about that.

Re: Karrin Murphy Option 2

[engineermage]

"It can't give you anything proper," Kale said in a cheerful Cork accent as he dropped into the chair next to the woman. "Really. It's almost as bad as fairy food ... except... less prone to having bad things happen to you afterward because you ate it."

Kale and his twin brother Trever (who is elsewhere in the room), have been SERIOUSLY disappointed in this place. Oh, the shiny technology and the fact it seemed to come right out of a science fiction novel is grand but non-alcoholic alcohol? That is a crime.

Still, the two of them have a Plan to get out of this. After all, you don't grow up with a family whiskey distillery business without learning how to make whiskey.

[warp_9]

A slight tilt of the head.

"Whilst it is correct that I am, indeed, not lost, I do have some questions on how I got relocated from O'ahu to the USS Enterprise."

Max nods at the introduction. "Dr. Yewll, a pleasure. I am Dr. Max Bergman." And his attention gets diverted towards the replicators. "Mahalo, but... I think somewhere to wash my hands would be better than coffee at the moment. I was pulled from a crime scene."

[midnighthour]

"Sadly the name Kitty came before the bite. I don't much care for Kathrine." She sighed knowing that he, like man others, would find it silly. It was delightful irony though she didn't much care for the reactions it got her.

Kitty eyed the meat curiously taking a deep breath. She could smell everything, the sterile smell that clung to Isaac's clothes, the scent of fur and then the smells of the room around them. It was clean but it was strange. The air recycled and it didn't taste as fresh as it would in the forest. Then she smelled the meat and while there was something off about it, it smelled good.

When he presents to her the food she stares at it for a moment before picking up her knife and fork. It was strange but Kitty clung to human tendencies and so she was glad. This wasn't like with a pack though it was hard to slip away from that mentality. She took a bite as well her eyes taking in the sight of his pointed teeth. Just how often did he change for that to happen? She hadn't seen that before, even with TJ who she worried was going to become a wolf and then never turn back. Thinking of TJ stung and so she shifted her thoughts.

"It is." She agreed tossing another piece in her mouth. "So." She lightly tapped her teeth with the edge of her fork. "I've never seen that before. Though I haven't met many others." Besides the pack she left behind. "Is it normal?"

[dresdensluck]

Harry chuckled, at once relieved and shy, and facepalmed. "Now wait a minute. That's not..." He sighed.

"I'm from your future. A ways. And in my time, you know I am alive, and have for some time." He winced, not wanting to spoil things, too much, but really, that much he had to say. "I don't know if I should say more about it, but.... argh... I hate time travel!"

He spread his hands, and rubbed his face, and tried his best to figure out what to say.

[seekingcrocodile]

"The man I told you about, the one who killed the first woman I loved, he had a son. He chose magic over his son and was separated from the boy. He created a curse to find his son again, but he needed it to be broken for that to work. Emma is the one who broke it."

[savedbylove]

Emma looked startled, and immediately frightened for her son. She was surprised he called her mom, but she wasn't going to complain. "Hurt me? You could never hurt me. I love you."

[liamjones]

"So... she is a savior... because she reunited a villain with his son?" Liam asked, quite confused as to how that worked.

[seekingcrocodile]

He sees Gold as a villain already, that's a start. "No. The curse, it sent people to the land without magic. Those who were affected forgot who they really were. They all had false identities and were trapped in a place where time didn't move. She broke the curse and they all remembered who they were."

[liamjones]

"I am confused, brother, what does that have to do with the man and his son? And if no one remembered who they were, and time did not move, how did she know to break the curse?"

[seekingcrocodile]

Apparently he used to be better at telling stories. He should work on that. "His son ended up in the land without magic. In order for him to find his son, he had to get to the land without magic. He needed the curse for that. Then he needed it to be broken so that he could restore magic and use it to help him find his son.

Emma knew about the curse because her son read about it in a storybook and tracked her down and told her about it."

[liamjones]

"This sounds like quite the tall tale, Killian. Surely there are simpler ways to cross the realms." A Pegasus sail, for one...

[anothertonysoprano]

"You look like an asshole, you know."

Close by? Nah, over by the bar. And you shut your mouth about his cologne, Daniel. He's been here for two days now and apparently they don't keep patchouli in space. The animals.

He grabs his napkin and wipes his mouth, though it's still full enough that his voice is muffled by meatballs and spaghetti. "Use your cane, numb nuts."

[effingblind]

Larry, he knew it!

He'll say what he wants about your cologne. It's just too bad there are no windows to turn down on a starship. He'll settle for an airlock to deal with you though, god.

Danny's face screws up when he hears his brother talking with his mouth full. Are you kidding?

"You shut your mouth," he complains, starting towards him. Guess what he's not using? Just guess. He keeps his hands out, guiding off where he heard his brother's voice come from, and is managing so far not to bump into too much of anything.

"What did you do this time?"

[anothertonysoprano]

Yeah, right, you try to open the windows out here and we're all dead. Don't even think about the airlocks, ma will kill you. Jesus.

"Shut your mouth," he snaps back, still mid-chew. Part of him's thinking about just sitting there and watching the idiot try to make it across the room like that, because he knows what's coming once Danny's finally in arm's length. He can't do that, though. He's his stupid brother. "Jesus, Danny."

He rolls his eyes and gets off his stool. "You're going to land in somebody's plate and ruin their nice dinner, just use your fucking cane. C'mere. Here." He reaches for Danny's arm.

ooc: gah, sorry this took so long!

[stark_spangled]

It would be hard for anyone to get to the place in his heart Steve reserves for Bucky, but that ain't anything against Howard. Bucky was his family, his partner. Howard played a big part in making Steve the man he is today, but Bucky made him the man Erskine first saw. And sure, they've had their ups and downs, but Steve knows underneath it all Howard's got a decent heart.

His hand stays sure and strong, for Howard. For his friend.

At least, until he remarks on that story about Peg with that particular look in his eyes. Steve's brow gathers, a hard line forming between his eyebrows. Here's one other thing that hasn't changed about him: his mind still jumps to the worst case scenario. "If I socked you, Stark, it would be because you deserved it. So I hope you can tell me you don't."

Even at their worst, he could never believe Howard would hurt Peggy. And he knows she can take care of herself. But what was that he was saying about the roots she's left in his heart?

"You're on a spaceship with a guy you thought was dead, and the first thing you want to know about besides their liquor license is if you can play with alien tech?" he asks, with a little more levity in his voice. He can't help but chuckle a little, shaking his head. "Yes, they have more than one lab. I think before they'll let you touch them you're going to have to prove to them that you're not crazy, though."

Let them start out small. There is a lot to say, but they'll get there.

[someonetocarryyou]

As she talks, Zoë's smile grows a mite softer.

"Haven't seen the Cap'n since I got here," she says, sounding all kinds of sorry for it.

If Mal were here, she'd at least have someone she trusts watching her back while they figure a way back home.

At least now there's Inara.

"The call the ship Enterprise. I've never seen anything like it myself," she says, shaking her head. "I don't think it's Alliance, but it sure as hell ain't from any borderplanet I've ever stepped foot on."

[my_guardian_devil]

Great. Even in outer space Reddington still manages to be pedantic. She watches him carefully, filing away each micro-expression and every frustrating lack thereof as he hands her the glass of scotch. She takes it, even spends a few seconds looking at it, but she takes a drink without any further remark. Maybe that says something. Maybe it doesn't.

"That's terrible," she says, making a face at the glass. "They call that scotch?"

If there was ever going to be any convincing proof she's not on Earth, that would be it. She sets the glass down on the bar, and takes a breath.

"You're trying to tell me that I somehow ended up on some alien spaceship, with no memories of how I got here, no sense of time passing," she begins, eyes soft and imploring. "And that you just happen to be here, but I haven't been drugged?"

ooc: WOW OKAY HAVE A SUPER BELATED TAG, weeps

[stark_spangled]

Steve doesn't get mistaken for many people back where he's from, so if he knew what was on her mind he might think of it as a refreshing change of pace. If he knew who Oliver Queen was, on the other hand -- well, it's just a good thing they're both walking into this a little blind.

Even without the added nicety, Steve still would have rose to his feet and politely offered to pull out a chair for her. Maybe she'll think it's presumptuous of him, but it's not exactly meant as an invitation to join him so much as it is for what he's about to say she might want to be sitting.

"Of course. You're on the Enterprise," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "The, uh. Starship Enterprise."

[tea_earlgrey_hot]

His spine straightens almost instinctively at the question, but the surprise is short-lived. He pulls his hands back with no further prompting than the aggravated tug and complaint provide, pursing his lips and sighing in disapproval. He feels no call to apologize. Perhaps he had been staring, but it seems obvious to him that the boy is simply trying to get a rise out of him.

"It certainly is not," he says, as terse as he had been a moment ago. "Everything I have told you is true. Now, I imagine from your actions that you do not need my help, but perhaps if you would calm yourself for a moment I might explain your situation better."

If he can deign to be civil.

[tea_earlgrey_hot]

It is bad enough to have Q playing chess with the universe and involving Picard's ship. The constant revolving door of peoples from different worlds, times, and universes, brings with it the expected issues. But when there is a child involved, it becomes a matter of deeper annoyance for Picard.

While he is not good with children, and often leaves the task of dealing with them to his first officer or the ship's CMO, he can certainly tell when one is in distress. And seeing as that is the case, he cannot in good conscience turn away. He only realizes as he approaches that the boy bears a striking resemblance to a boy he's seen before, only some years older.

"Henry?" he ventures, giving him a once-over. "Is that you? Are you quite all right?"

[makesbettermouth]

"Come to New York," she says. "We live off of it at the precinct." Why, she doesn't know. "I'm not even sure if the ship has one - but it's so big it has to, right? Maybe if you ask it nicely you can get some?" She's babbling. It happens. The paw holding her fingers gets rubbed. "Aww, she's flirting for you." The idea's too cute for words. Why can't she find a nice german shepherd willing to point her toward cute guys?

[reincarnshaman]

While their conversation has been going on at a fairly good pace of nothing particulars they've now hit on a stickler point for Trever and he gives her a baffled look and asks
"Where's New York?"

Considering this guy's Irish accent, it's pretty easy to assume he'd know where New York was. And yet he doesn't.

"Oh. Yes. And when she was younger and more agreeable to it, I'd user her as bait. Little kittens wearing ribbons toddling after you in some places ..."

Shameless Trever is shameless.

Meanwhile, Veena continues to tolerate this. She also decides that rubbing her nose is Amy's ear is a good thing.