video | address from the captain & first mate

[primum]

[ Once the feed starts, it immediately cuts to two of the newest additions of the Moira. From the environment around them, it’s clear that they are still residing in Navigation, for now, and the video adjusts on Egan. ]

First Mate Egan here. After reading the ship logs and having spoken with your current captains, we understand that this will all be a lot to adjust to. But, as we’ve gone over your crew files, we know that you all are very capable, and with that in mind, we have much to address.

First and foremost. [ He steps back and to the side, gesturing towards the man beside him with a nod. ] This is your Captain.

[ A nod in return, and the Captain, Ira, immediately moves into the reason for doing this. After all, he is a man who believes in wasting nothing. ]

As those in command have acquiesced authority to me and my First Mate, we will be making necessary changes to suit the remainder of this journey. I am unaware of how much you have been told about the destination of this vessel, but our course has been routed to reach a central point known as the Midway Hub. It is the home of this ship, and your means home as well. By conserving resources and supplies, the Moira will reach the Hub faster than previously charted by your head Navigator. Ultimately, this is the goal we are going to achieve, and plans are being put into place as we speak to enforce this.

Jobs will also be reassigned accordingly to fit the ship’s current needs. If there is a person you deem worthy of a Head position, please submit them to First Mate Egan. We will consider each seriously and choose the best candidate. [ Ira glances to Egan for him to continue. ]

One second.

[The video cuts to a recording of the Captain and First Mate on the ship. The Moira appears different, cleaner, newer, but everything is quiet and empty. They are in the Ingress room, following the last of surviving crew into the machine. The footage flicks from feed to feed, showing the Ploiatos left alone with those its killed. They disappear inside.]

This was our last time aboard the Moira before we were lost inside the Ingress. We’re still combing through past logs, including those of our own time aboard the ship, but what we know is that Crewman Ploiatos was compromised and committed acts of petty treason toward their fellow crew. For this, and the danger they pose, Ploiatos will remain locked up and an all time guard will be set up immediately to ensure our safety. This room is to never go unwatched. When we reach the Midway Hub, Ploiatos will be escorted to a safe holding facility to await their committee hearing.

Your safety is our duty, and as such, we will be taking the correct measures to make this happen. We want to thank you for your service and offer in return our utmost assurance that the rest of the journey will be swift, smooth, and safe as per the Acelight Delegation. [ The video immediately returns to Ira. ]

If there are questions, we will take them now. Please limit your queries to one per individual. All comments are visible for others to see. [ There’s only a short pause before: ] Thanks.



ooc: All responses will come from these two journals: Captain Ira and First Mate Egan. Each comment to this post will get one response at least, from either the captain or first mate. This is to ensure that all crew members are addressed in a timely manner. This post is public and only public responses will be allowed, so that all crew members can see what is being discussed.

Comments

[voice]

[ryuuzaki]

I'm afraid this is a double-barreled question, but where does your authority derive from, and why have the previous captains acceded to it?

[There was that matter of the Caducans being angry about a previous visit of which Than and company had claimed to be ignorant... anyway, the new arrivals may not address that, but their answer might still offer some insight.]

text;

[primum]

We were chosen during an exhaustive application period to be the Captain and First Mate of this ship when it was first created. We've accessed the ship's systems and showed your captains that we were here, as well as immediately giving them our credentials. As far as I'm aware, they've acceded to it because that is our way. This ship wasn't their responsibility, it's ours, but we will work with them to do what's best for our crew.

text;

[skelepun]

[A month in cryo and suddenly the world goes upside down. Who would've thought.]

welp. i guess this is happening now. glad you're considering skeleton rights, even if that guy is a major asshole.

i don't mean to pry or anything but if you're the captains who the hell's been driving for the past year?

text;

[primum]

Why wouldn't we consider skeleton rights? There is universe upon universe where everyone is different and should be treated fairly. Even assholes.

They took over the ship when our crew left it in haste. It was unmanned, and is the law, made it available for taking.

[vengeance_driven]

Yeah, I got a question.

What is the Acelight Delegation?

[primum]

Acelight Delegation is the training facility where Captain Ira and myself received our credentials. And obviously, our training. We applied at the Midway Hub after completion to be placed onto the Moira.

audio; - post save mode if alright?

[prorenataa]

[ Right, all the self serving questions will have to go unanswered. This is ... painfully familiar territory, so he's going to dive straight into what is necessary, rather than what might ease his personal panic disquiet. ]

Is there any way to up Medbay's ration of power for our equipment, or did we just go into full reduction as a ... [ how to put this in as least alarming verbiage as possible. ] conditional response to internal concerns?

[primum]

The Medbay is an essential area of the ship. It'll have all the power that it needs to run properly. You needn't worry about something like that.

voice;

[procedures]

Captain. Sir.

[ How does one address the first mate? He hasn't done this before. ]

Assuming my recent assignment to the medbay stands - exactly what do you mean by "conserving resources and supplies"?

text;

[primum]

[Sir. Well he kind of likes that.]

If you're in Medbay, I'd assume that conserving resources and supplies there means not building small houses out of tongue depressors. [He thinks he's funny.]

On a serious note, if you don't absolutely need to use it. Don't.

[devilofohara]

[Have a very serious-looking little girl, Egan. The room visible behind her is very clearly one of the beds in the Medbay.]

I'm Robin, the ship's Historian.

[Please take note that that wasn't a question. It wasn't really a question when she applied for the position either, though.]

What happened to the Moira, that it was empty when the Captains found it?

[That's her question. Her life isn't in danger right now, so her priorities are going to be where they always are - historical knowledge.]

[primum]

Hello, Robin, ship's Historian.

[He could access her records to see why she would be in the Medbay, but he asks instead.]

If you don't mind, how'd you end up in Medbay? Have you received proper treatment thus far?

[Egan grimaces, thinking back to the crew he was responsible for. Those lost to Crewman Ploiatos.]

We haven't reviewed the logs yet, and you must understand why. Those were our friends and family we lost back then. We want to know why Crewman Ploiatos changed and then attacked, but we have more important matters to address first. And to answer your question, Crewman Ploiatos is the reason it was empty. If you've a stomach for it, you may review the footage.

[warandpeace]

Sir, my name is Kazuhira Miller. I run the Training Sim Room and serve as Personal Defense Specialist. With standard time limits will it still be permitted for use?

Also there are animals on board of varying usefulness. But despite their ability or inability to perform certain functions, I would like to suggest they be allowed to remain. They raise crew morale significantly, and I have excellent examples of animals being used in field missions.

I acknowledge that this is request as well as a question.

[primum]

Egan, please. Sir is entirely too serious, and I haven't earned the respect of that title from you yet.

The training room may still be used. The betterment of the crew's skills is something to be considered essential, and will be encouraged.

Granted, Crewman Miller. All animals may remain as long as they are in the care of an owner, or as the ship's directory states, the Moira Veterinarian. They can't be allowed to roam freely as they can damage important areas of the ship, but an animal serves many useful purposes.

video;

[seeingscarlet]

I know Ploiatos was normal once.

[Well...if they're going to comb through everything Wanda's not sure there's absolutely no trace of her abilities or that the captains never made a note of it. Best to assume she's already compromised to some degree and see if she can get some actual answers.

Because she knows these people. She's seen them before.]

What happened to him?

video;

[primum]

How do you know Crewman Ploiatos was normal once? He was, mind you, but we've yet to review the old footage to gain the answers to that question ourselves. Would you mind telling me what you know?

[quixotically]

Um... so. When you left the Moira, you left with a whole bunch of people. But you're the only ones who came through, and then you turned off the Ingress.

Where's your crew? Why were you the only ones to come through? Were you able to pinpoint the Moira's Ingress? Why did you turn it off?

[An awkward pause.] Uh. I know we're just supposed to ask one thing. But it's all related? So... yeah.

[primum]

That's complicated, but bear with me here. When we left, we were in a hurry, and the Ingress techs set the machine and went through first. As captain and first mate, we stay until the very last, and when we went in, it was as if only a moment passed before we came back out.

I'm not trained, but I assume in their haste to leave they didn't set the Ingress correctly. I can't be certain yet. I want to hope that the rest of my crew made it back safely.

We turned it off because the readings were off the charts. How many have come through before us? The platform was packed.

[songoftime]

Hi. My name is Link. I would like to ask if you have ever been to Caducus Primary before.

The reason why is a long story, but something bad happened recently. And I heard, the last time the Moira stopped there, the Caducus people told the crew to leave because the Moira made them mad before. You were on the ship before any of us, right? Do you know what happened?

[primum]

We've been asked this twice, so I'll be reviewing the logs as soon as we're through here, but I've never been to Caducus Primary and the Moira hadn't when I was on it. I'm certain if we go through the logs, we can discover what had happened.

Perhaps you can tell me why you'd like to know?

video;

[redshitlord]

Wait, hold up. I thought we already had captains.

text;

[navita]

Temporary ones at best. I am the original captain of this vessel.

video;

[neveroutwrenched]

Okay, so. Why the hell should we trust you? How do we know every word out of your mouth isn't a lie?

And, for the record, that's one question, just...split into two sentences for clarity.

text;

[primum]

I suppose the same could be asked of you. But we've only just met. Trust isn't won in a day, it's earned through hard work and consistency. Anything you want to know, you'll know it.

It's our job to get this ship and its crew back to the Midway Hub safely.

[imaginary_wife]

So the current temperatures on the ship aren't just in low power mode, they are in an unhealthy range for some of our crew members.

Since I'd rather not have some people running around freezing their various alignments of giblets off, I want them to have warmed uniforms specially made for them. We got a tailor, I can come up with some sort of warming material, but until then these people really are gonna need at least one warm area.

text;

[navita]

What area would you suggest? [ He is not of the mind to have the crew freeze to death, of course. ]

text.

[drawed]

what kind of jobs are you keeping?
Because I know one you should get rid of if you really want to cut down.

[ This is for your own good, Nick. And her nose too. ]

[primum]

Essential positions. Which job is that?

text;

[deconstruct]

so what happens to the rest of us who aren't supposed to be here when we get to your hub thing? we get stuffed in cryo too, or did the navigator do something to piss you off?

[primum]

When we get there, we will help you to get home. Our navigator didn't do anything to anger us, she was unwell.

video

[aminerproblem]

Ah, some proper order with the change in leadership. This is a pleasant surprise.

[He was being genuine here. There is only so much disorganized nonsense Megatron can take on one spaceship. He didn't dislike the previous Captains personally, but he didn't approve of their leading style.]

I take it you both have plenty of files to go through, but I would like to discuss the energon situation while you make your adjustments to the ship.

text

[primum]

What is energon and what is our situation on it?

text, private; i hope you're ready for miles's kneejerk insubordination ALL OVER AGAIN

[forwardmomentum]

[ on the one hand, having some semblance of actual order is something he's wanted from day one. on the other, he's got...some concerns. ]

Captain, First Mate. Admiral Miles Naismith here, although of course on this ship I'm merely Crewman Vorkosigan. I'm glad to see some stricter order brought to this ship, although I do have some concerns. I've been in the position of Senior Personnel Officer for about nine months now. Can I trust that this position is indeed considered essential to the ship's functioning, especially considering the current size of our crew?

I'm also curious as to whether or not you'd ever met the other Captains prior to your recent re-arrival, and why you were AWOL for so long. Where were you in the meantime? And what was the original purpose of this ship? Military? Civilian transport? Cargo?

Our initial Captains were working to get us to a destination where the Ingress's proper function could be restored so that we could all get back to our original universes. I understand this ship must be returned to its place of origin, but I'd like some assurance that we'll all be able to get back home once you've fulfilled your duties. Is there a working Ingress at the Midway Hub?

And now that you've shut down the Ingress, what will happen if any crew members die? Will resurgence still work?

And one more thing. Do you know what happened to Captain Típota?

the above message and this one is made public

[primum]

That position is essential, as we need to have our crew placed into positions that they will thrive in and will benefit the ship as a whole. We've never met your captains, and for us, as we mentioned already, we were only gone a minute or two before the Ingress brought us back. We're aware that what was short for us, was quite long for the Moira.

This ship was created to house the first mobile Ingress machine. Our job was to take it to specific locations and allow the machine to bring us back.

As far as we're aware, the Ingress at the hub is still functional. You will remain our crew, and responsibility, until we've held up our end of the agreement. Which is to send you home.

What is resurgence?

video

[knaval]

Uh huh. So where were you guys? Y'got any proof of captaincy?

[honestly, riptide just heard "we're not letting you do what you want anymore" and immediately decided he hates them.]

I'm assuming that resource change accounts for all species on board.

text

[primum]

You can see our training credentials and our proof of being assigned to this ship.

[Both are attached here.]

All species will be asked to be careful of the resources they use. Nobody will be denied what they need, but excess wasting won't be allowed.

voice;

[arcreact]

[ He's more than a little irate to find he can't set his correspondence to private. ]

You say this ship is yours, and for the sake of this conversation, let's assume I buy it. The previous captaincy didn't seem to know anything about our resident deus ex machina portal, including how to turn the damn thing on or off.

[ Which these new guys have obviously managed. ]

Am I to assume - and this is novel - your knowledge of the Ingress is befitting your position? And if so, are you gonna share with the class?

text

[primum]

We're not Ingress technicians, but we do know quite a bit about the technology. How to turn it off and on. To set it on a course. Basic repairs. We're running scans now to find out why it is broken and we'll attempt to fix it. You may have access to our files, but we can't give permission to let anyone mess with the machine until we find out what's wrong.

[VOICE]

[dust_of_life]

[Fatima opts for a voice-only option this time around. Her youth will only serve to work against her. And there's a lot at stake.]

My name is Fatima Merali. Under the last administration, I began piloting a hydroponics program to provide fresh produce for the crew.

I would like to know if I'll be allowed to continue my work. I realize there are other sources of nutrition available, but I will happily make the case for my work, if you require.

text

[primum]

You may continue your work.

voice;

[otiosity]

You know, I'm not sure why everyone always banks on non-hostile takeovers being comforting. No one loses any limbs but the keyword is still takeover. We're still overwhelmed with feelings of suspicion and uncertainty! So I have to ask, how long do you think you'll stay here? Or do we have another "non-hostile" shake up at the top to look forward to?

text

[primum]

This isn't a takeover. We spoke to your captains before doing anything. They relinquished their command, but we'll still be working together. We're not leaving the ship until our crew is safe, and you are our crew now. Even if we have to take you home ourselves, we'll hold up our end.

text; private; after her inevitable meeting with a dirtbag canonmate

[springlocking]

Why did you guys let a child killer to board this ship?

[She has her priorities, and one of them is keeping the nemesis from making things worse.]

this message and the one above is made public

[primum]

We didn't. Anyone that has boarded before our arrival was at the discretion of the Ingress according to your captains.

voice

[heelys]

Dude, why did you guys cut the power?! I was watching a movie! It was getting to the best part! Now what am I gonna do?

[He looks small and petulant and like he's going to be enough of a problem if he wants to be. Also, if you look in the logs, he's never actually shown up for work.] I liked the other captains better, at least they let us have fun.

text

[primum]

we didn't. when we shut down the navigator, it put the ship into emergency functions. the ship will reboot soon and you can go back to watching your movie.

Private - Text

[beautifulspaceraptor]

I am Nihlus Kryik, part of the ship's current Engineering team. We've been spending a lot of time trying to find and map out a complete blueprint of the ship. Considering there are a lot of areas that we cannot access however, this endeavor has been a bit of a dead end.

This is particularly concerning because as far as we could tell, the ship seems to be solely powered by space radiation supplied through the Tower, with the exception of the engines and the Ingress.

Why are we entering a state of energy conservation when the power supply should be readily available and renewable?

this message and the one above it is made public

[primum]

The ship is in emergency functions because we shut down the navigator. We're rebooting the system, and the changes won't last long. This allows us to access every area of the computers and ship so that we can check for errors and damage. It'll all be running again soon.

voice

[caelus]

Captain. First Mate, please let me know if you prefer another form of address. [ His diplomatic tact seems to be a handy thing at the moment. ]

This is James T. Kirk. I know I just got here, but questions seem to be the order of the day. Under the purview of the last captains I was assigned to be an Interpersonal Relationships Officer, which I assume will still be needed, all things considered. You've given everyone a lot to digest in a very short amount of time, and implemented a series of rules in everyone's best interests without fully explaining yourselves.

[ Can they tell that Jim thinks this is utter bullshit and doesn't buy the charm? Cause they are charming, but are they sincere? He doubts it. ]

But for now my only question is after the member of the previous command crew who collapsed on the bridge, and what will be happening to the rest of the former Captains. Call me old fashioned, but I'd like some assurances as to their well-being.

text

[primum]

You may call me Egan, but First Mate works if you're feeling formal.

It's a pleasure James T. Kirk. We understand it's a lot to take in, but we've got a lot of information to digest as well. This ship is different than what we knew, but it is still our duty to make sure the crew is safe and taken care of.

We shut down the Navigator because she'd been affected by Crewman Ploiatos. She's in cryo now being taken care of. You may check on her at any time. The same for your captains. They allowed us to assume our old positions, but they'll still be living and working here. We'll need them to learn of everything that's happened in our absence.