intro log

[ceoqueen]

who. everyone!
what. entering omega.
where. landing pads
when. today
warnings. none for now

You’re not sure how it happened.

A minute ago, you had somewhere to go, someplace to be. Maybe something important to do, or maybe you were just going out to buy groceries. Whatever it was, it doesn’t matter anymore.

You’re in some kind of transport -- a shuttle, given the turbulence and the sounds outside. You’re surrounded by strangers, some of whom might not even be the same species you are. There’s no point in asking. They don’t know how they got here either. The cockpit’s blocked off, like someone forgot to put in a door, and not even a glance at your omni-tool -- a holographic interface accessible by merely tapping the sensor on your left arm -- is any help.

You’ve only got a minute or so before the shuttle starts descending. There aren’t any windows -- this doesn’t look like a shuttle meant for long trips. When it finally touches down, the doors open automatically.

Before you are landing pads, abandoned equipment scattered about. There are other shuttles landing, and whether you like it or not, you’re going to have to get off before yours dumps you out the door. Turn around, and you’re met with a hazy skyline, only half the buildings seem to be coming from above.

Welcome to Omega.


ooc notes
You’re free to expand past the landing area, but please start all threads here. Please remember that your character will not have housing until Aria makes a post granting it; it’ll be on outsiders and linked here when it goes up.

Comments

open open

[articletwelve]

[ Well, this is familiar.

Except it's not, because a year and a half on Sacrosanct, for all its ups and downs, had been fairly predictable. Sure, the station had its fair share of chaos, whether the teleporters were changing people into something weird or spitting dinosaurs out everywhere, but it looked about the same every day. Less populous, after Hypatia was gone, but he'd gotten used to that, in turn.

There had been a lot to get used to, over time. The way people always came and went, even those he cared about more than he thought he ever could. The realization that nothing was permanent, not really, when any step through a teleporter could mean he never came out the other side. But for all the pain he'd endured, he'd accepted what life there meant, and he'd done everything he could to settle in.

He'd just never expected to end up somewhere else.

Wash looks down at his armor, at the blue and yellow, and it comes to him like a vivid memory, though not as fractured as Epsilon's had been. He remembers the facility, remembers seeing Epsilon again, remembers Carolina-- and he knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it's true.

But there's no time to process it. The shuttle's touching down, the aliens around him pushing towards the exit, and Wash finds himself swept along with them. He steps down onto the landing pad, instinctively reaching for his gun, only to realize his hand's already full. There's an uncertain meow, and Wash lifts the cat carrier up to peer inside.

At least Rainier's still with him. ]

[ ooc: Wash is in blue armor (as in this icon), but I only have a couple of blue armor icons right now. Just assume it's blue even if I use a gray one! ]

c'mere u

[oldcrimes]

[ Well, this is familiar.

But at the same time, it really isn't because there is something different on Omega and she can't quite put her finger on. You know, besides the fact that she was at the Carcharodon a few moments ago and now she's here. Maybe something went wrong with the Relay but she isn't an expert on that. How the hell would that fuck up, she would like to know. Really.

And why now? Overthinking aside (sort of, she can't really turn it off), Omega isn't a strange place to her, per say, she used to work here anyway, but she sure as hell never saw that kind of blue armour. And she digs going through inventory enough to understand about armour. Then again, Omega is different and he's sporting a blue colour. Maybe he's a Blue Sun.

With a cat. Wow, she hasn't seen one of those in a while. What the hell? ]

Hey, you! [ The voice that comes out is much like that out of a walkie-talkie and it's definitely male. ] You with the Blue Suns? What's going on here?

[articletwelve]

[ Wash jerks at the voice -- there's a lot to take in, from the decor to the confused people coming off the shuttles. His first guess is that this is a space station, though it's not one he's familiar with, and looking around isn't exactly telling him much.

But the guy in front of him -- who sounds like he's using a UNSC-issued helmet radio, if the quality is anything to go by -- is looking at him like he has some idea of what's going on, and for a moment, all Wash can do is stare. ]

The-- what? I'm not a-- I'm on Blue Team, not... whatever that is. I don't even know where I am.

[ Though, he thinks, that just figures. ]

[oldcrimes]

Blue Team? Is that what they're calling it now? [ Seems a little more generic than your regular mercenary, but maybe it's a marketing move. That is to say, Keelan doesn't think anyone at all buys the whole "security for sale" kind of deal the Blue Suns try to pass themselves as, but a name change could probably improve their image. Maybe. Unless that image comes attached with the same deal.

Maybe it's one of the new recruits. Damn, sending a new recruit straight to the middle of Omega, that's just ruthless. Or he's just serving as a meat shield.

Either way. ]

What do you mean, you don't know where you are? [ And then she looks down. ] And why do you have a feline? Are you selling it as gourmet food?

[articletwelve]

It was that or "those idiots in blue armor."

[ ...which he's now one of, Wash realizes, but there's not much he can do about that. It's something he's come to accept, over time, along with a lot of other things.

Maybe he's getting old.

Anything else he has to say is completely thrown out of his head at that suggestion, though, and Wash instinctively tugs the carrier closer. ]

What? Are you crazy? I'm not going to-- I wouldn't eat a cat! No one would!

Re: open open

[hellodeadpeople]

[ Of all the weird shit Jack expects to see or hear on Omega - be it dying screams, street vendors pitching illegal drug trade, or hell pyjak fighting rings - a meow is not one of them.

And as she glances over to the source, trying to figure out if that is actually a cat or some moron who thinks they're a cat, or some new freak species of cat people, she sees what looks like a human doing their best Krogan and/or Shepard impression. Or just... being six feet tall and decked out in heavy armor for the hell of it. Heavy, fabulously painted armor. Maybe it's an Amazonian style humanoid. That is apparently blind if that's the color palette they settled on. Whatever, eventually her eyes make it to the cat carrier and she's just... staring a little. And judging. Before she speaks up. ]

...Did you seriously just bring a kitten onto Omega? [ Snort. ] I will not be surprised if a passing Vorcha tries to eat that thing.

[articletwelve]

[ Wash lowers the carrier from his face -- Rainier looks okay, if frightened from all the commotion; she's hardly ever left the apartment -- and looks over at the woman. The first thing he notices are the tattoos; honestly, he thinks she might have more of them than she's got clothes on. His eyes linger a little too long (it's been a while, okay) before his helmet tips back up to her face. ]

Hey, it's not like I meant to. [ He didn't even own a cat carrier, what the hell. Rainier's a perfectly happy indoor cat. ] I don't know about you, but I didn't exactly end up here on purpose. ...Again.

[hellodeadpeople]

[ Are you seriously elevator eyeing her right now. With that outfit on. Eyeroll goes here, with some deadpan. ] Eyes up here, douchebag.

[ But once he's actually spoken (and it is a dude apparently), what's said is a near startling kind of familiar. She'd thought it'd only been her, and that Abax had some how fucked up in not erasing her memories after, or sticking her back where she should be. It's the 'Again' that causes concern. ]

Again? What do you mean again?

[articletwelve]

Huh? Wait, I didn't mean-- sorry.

[ Yeah, no, Wash, just leave it right there, man. He'd gotten into a heap of trouble on Sacrosanct with seeing things he wasn't supposed to, and it figures he's doing the same here.

He lets out a sigh at the question, rubbing the back of his helmet, and looks up at the hazy skyline, shaking his head at all the signs of life. That's the strangest thing about this place. ]

I mean I've already done this song and dance before. Spent a year and a half trapped on another space station. No way home. People sometimes vanished, but... [ He shakes his head. ] I never thought I'd end up in another universe entirely.

[airraid]

[man what is with all of this weird-looking armor.

hold on a second. is this guy coming with -

is that a goddamn cat carrier?]

.. I guess it won't really be home unless you've got your furry friend with you, huh?

[he's judging you.]

[articletwelve]

[ He's just gonna deadeye you, okay. No one will shut up about his poor cat. ]

Better than leaving her to starve to death on an empty space station.

[airraid]

[deadeye all you want because it's just weird to carry a cat around in armor.

and .. well, it's weird to be carrying a cat around on omega in general.

which brings him to ....] Mm, you might want to watch out for her here, though. I hear vorcha like cats as snacks. Have you seen their teeth? They're kinda scary.

[articletwelve]

No, and from what people keep telling me, I don't want to.

[ Siiiigh. Look, it's not his fault his cat came with, okay. ]

Anything else I should look out for while you're at it?

[anarrowtotheeye]

[Well, at least that's something familiar. Xiahou Dun peers over the blue armoured soldier's shoulder and raises an eyebrow at the cat.]

Cute, but unnecessary. It'll be a liability before too long. You should get rid of it.

[articletwelve]

[ Wash turns, instinctively holding onto his poor cat closer, and he can't help but stare for a couple seconds at the guy's armor. They might have different armor here, but his just looks completely out of place.

He catches himself after a moment and frowns behind his visor, irritation creeping into his tone. Everyone seems to have an opinion, and none of them are good. ]

I'm not getting rid of it. I just need to find someplace safe.

[anarrowtotheeye]

And does this hell look like it has anything resembling safe?

[He gestures at the sprawling skyline of Omega.]

Keep it if you have to, but it'll make your life harder here.

[articletwelve]

Then I'll fit right in.

[ Things going easy? Yeah, no, that's for other people. Life likes taking a dump on Wash. ]

What about you? You look... [ He gestures at.. whatever the guy is wearing. ] Well, that doesn't exactly look bulletproof.

[cosmosic]

[Ino has seen a lot of crazy things, being tossed onto space stations is pretty of the norm in her book, having that entire station turn into a unbearably humid hotbox another, suddenly wearing a purple dress and a crown out of no where while traveling through pipes has happened too.

But seeing a guy decked out in armor, looking pretty dangerous with that gun, and holding a cat in a little carrier isn't one of them.

Not at all. He reminds her a lot of those alien models she read in the magazines and carried around their little pet, covered in bows and wearing some weird accessories.

She really had thought she'd seen it all by now.

From beside him, Ino leans in to peer into the carrier too and smiles a bit at Rainier.]

Ooh? That's a cute cat. What's it's name?

[articletwelve]

[ She's the first person who's been even remotely pleasant, and after the day he's had so far Wash is grateful for any measure of kindness.

Besides, it's a teenage girl. How bad could this go? ]

Rainier. [ He keeps the carrier where it is, letting her peer into it. ]

[cosmosic]

Rainier, huh? [It's a unique name. She looks back at the cat and then sticks her fingers near the carrier to let Rainier sniff them.

While it does, Ino lightly asks;]

Does that mean you found him or her in the rain?

[articletwelve]

[ Rainier lets out another soft meow and chances coming closer -- she's not quite a kitten anymore, but she's never been around even half this many people. ]

Ah-- no. It's after a mountain, in Washington. [ Let no one ever say that Wash is good at naming cats. ] I'm Wash.

[oldsoldiers]

[ Kaidan's no historian, but he's learned that back in the 21st century, photos of cats were traded as online currency. He's not entirely sure why he recalled that very specific fact— maybe it's the only semi-rational explanation for why this guy has a meowing cat carrier.

rational. riiight. mark my words, future generations are really going to think cat macros were worth money. ]

Housecat, right? And I thought Shepard was crazy enough with his hamster.

[articletwelve]

[ Let's face it, cat macros would be the coolest currency system ever. Of all time.

...Man, he's been spending too much time around Grif.

Wash turns, looking over at the guy, and there's a vague flicker of recognition, but nothing he can quite catch. The name, however, means something, and Wash tips his helmet towards him, curious. ]

You know a Commander Shepard?

[oldsoldiers]

We're acquainted.

[ a little more than that, but revealing everything to a stranger seems a bit careless, considering the current situation. Kaidan's gaze remains neutral, but his tone takes a turn for the curious.

A Commander Shepard? no one used that article unless 1) there were multiple Shepards, or 2) it's a delivery guy looking for a patsy to dump a package off with ]

Ah— please don't tell me that it's his cat.

[articletwelve]

Huh--? Oh, no, she's mine.

[ Wash isn't quite sure how to respond without sounding -- well, without sounding like a lunatic, and he gets enough of that on a daily basis. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, uncertain. ]

Is she-- I mean, is he from here?

[ ...yeah, that wasn't much better. ]