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[When the feed starts, Elizabeth is right in the center of the frame, dressed in her uniform, giving off a very formal but pleasant attitude. ~~She practiced this. Several times.~~]

Good morning, everyone. For those of you who I haven't met yet, my name is Elizabeth DeWitt, head librarian. Recently, I was promoted by our captains to the position of First Mate, meaning I have taken on additional responsibilities to the crew aside from encouraging everyone to visit the library and make use of the collection. [Little plug there, forgive her.]

As First Mate, I'll be acting as a liaison between the crew and the captains, should anyone have an issue they would feel more comfortable speaking to me about, or if the captains are off ship. Once I've moved in, my quarters will be located in Section M and I encourage anyone to find me there or at the library if you need me.

...I realize not all of us are happy to find ourselves here, however I am one of the potentially few who very easily call this ship my home. Whatever can be done to make things more efficient, safe, or comfortable, I want to discuss it. But, at the same time, if you just want a reading recommendation and some hot chocolate, I can provide that as well.

[She nods, clearly satisfied with the message and smiles, looking a little relieved that she got through the spiel without embarrassing herself.] I think that about wraps it up, but if there's anything else please feel free to message me. Thank you!

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[Ah. Yeah. She didn't think the suggestion that there might not be a clear answer would go over so well but... what else could she say? In her experience, sometimes you had to trust your instincts because seeing wasn't always believing.]

Not at all, go ahead.

[Robin couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, her instincts are screaming that these so-called captains aren't to be trusted for any reason.]

Somebody told me that if you try to stay on a planet while the ship's leaving, the... Ingress... will make you come back aboard anyway.

[If she sounds like she's not so sure about the word 'Ingress,' it's because she isn't. Nobody's really explained what it is or how it works to her - just that it's the reason everyone is trapped here.]

Is that true?

Honestly I can't say. The past few planets we've landed on, I'd question the sanity of anyone who tried to stay there. [Herself included. There was a point where she had thought about how to stay on Emiri. That wouldn't have worked out so well for her...]

But perhaps someone tried before I arrived?

Well when you ask the captains for the letter, could you ask them about that as well? I want to know whether or not we're free to go.

[Not that she really has anywhere to go other than the same place the ship is going. Really, she's more interested in knowing if this is more of a ship or a prison for the lot of them. If the latter... Well, then what little hope she might actually have that the captains are telling the truth will be completely shattered.

Regardless of the answer she ends up receiving from Elizabeth and the Captains, she'll be asking her fellow crew members about their own experiences. She can hardly take the word of someone she doesn't trust by itself, now can she?]

Another question. [She's got a million of them, of course, but she knows she's probably pushing her luck with these as it is.] This is a big ship. Bigger than the biggest ship I've ever seen.

[She pauses for the briefest moment, trying not to recall the giant warships that had been summoned to destroy her island.]

A ship like this needs a big crew, and everyone I talked to said that everyone aboard was brought here the same way that I was. Is that true?

Certainly. [Though Elizabeth has a feeling that she's not going to like that answer either. The Ingress is a strange thing, she wouldn't be surprised if it kept pulling the crew back to the ship. Or maybe it wouldn't, who knew? The real question is whether or not anybody's actually tried it.]

Aside from the Captains, yes, that is true-- oh! Wait, no, there was someone who joined us from Caducus Primary for a brief time. And there were some refugees from Emiri. But in general, yes, the crew comes from the Ingress.

[See, that's an answer that just brings up more questions.]

...so where did this ship come from, then? Didn't it have a crew before people started showing up?

[Because, as she said before, this is a big ship. How many captains are there, that they were able to sail such an enormous ship by themselves?]

Edited 2016-03-08 23:32 (UTC)

Honestly? I'd think that even the captains don't know-- where it came from or about the crew. They found it empty.

[If this woman really believes that, then the captains were smart to choose her as a first mate. Whether it's unquestioning loyalty to them, or sheer gullibility, it seems like she's a valuable asset to the captains - even if it makes her a nebulous source of answers for Robin at best.]

If that's what you believe, okay.

[Robin most certainly doesn't.]

One last question: What does the Ingress do? Why can't they turn it off, if it keeps stealing people away like it does?

[Oh God, this question. What does the Ingress do?]

[Elizabeth thinks she knows how the Ingress works-- it seems similar to a tear. It must be, if it draws people in from different times and places and experiences. But the fact that it caused such destruction on Caducus Primary has always given her pause.]

The Captains don't exactly know how the Ingress functions or what it is. But, having some experience in the area of quantum physics, I can tell you that it behaves a lot like a... rift that I've seen before.

The universe is made up of timelines-- these timelines are created when we make choices. There could be a Clover out there who's a boy, for example. Or one who likes her hair shorter. This is how, I think, so many of us come from places other people have never heard of before. Or remember things other people don't. The Ingress creates rifts in these timelines and pulls us in, depositing us in one place altogether.

Now, I can't say that I'm certain that's what's happening, but that's my very educated guess.

Right. I... sort of understood that much, I think.

[Sort of, at least. The idea of multiple universes had been explained to her, for the most part. Most people come from a different planet or world or universe or something. It explains why no one she's talked to has known what she meant by "West Blue" - as well as why no one has recognized her as the notoriously wanted fugitive that she is. That, at least, is a little bit of a blessing about this place.]

But it's pulling people in because there's something wrong with it, right? So what's it supposed to do? Why does this ship have one, and why haven't you turned it off or took it apart?

Maybe there's something wrong with it. Maybe it's doing what it's supposed to do. I don't know that we can say exactly what's happening with the Ingress when we don't know much about it to begin with. Or why this ship has one-- I'd offer to ask the captains, but given they found the ship abandoned, who knows for sure?

I suppose we could try to turn it off or take it apart... but I wouldn't recommend it. Without the schematics, without knowing what we're actually doing, we could create a similar situation to what happened on Caducus Primary. Their Ingress was damaged and the planet... was split in half from the resulting release of energy.

[ Robin stares at her screen for a minute, clearly discontent with the answers she's being given.

So the Captains' story is that they arrived here the same way as everyone else, that they don't know anything about anything, and that they're too scared to try to fix the biggest problem on the ship. That raises one important question in Robin's mind: Why are they the Captains?

It isn't because of their leadership skills, clearly. It isn't because they share a bond with the crew, either, if they really require a liason with their own crew. And if their first mate is to be believed, they don't seem to have any useful knowledge about the ship itself. Robin can't b help but think back to the few pirates she's met in her lifetime - who are often led by the greediest and cruelest of the group. Maybe this is like that?

She doesn't voice these concerns to Elizabeth, of course. Such a conversation topic would be skirting pretty close to mutiny - which is not something that one discusses in front of the first mate.]

I see. I think I understand how things are now, thank you.

[It's the truth. Whether the captains are a bunch of completely unhelpful fools, or a malicious lot that's been lying about everything, it seems pretty clear that they're going to be need to be taken care of. ]

[She's sorry Clover, really. She doesn't like knowing all of these answers either, but there's really no other alternative until they find out more about the ship and about the previous crew. Still, Elizabeth tries to sound optimistic--]

Of course. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to contact me. I'll pass what I couldn't answer along to the captains.

[ Well, they could at least not be following the orders of their kidnappers. That's something that should change, if Robin gets any say in things.]

Please do. And let me know if you get an answer back.

Of course!

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