(OPEN | Mutiny Log) Well it's been so long

[alittlesweptup]

Date & Time: Nov. 16 ~0300 through Nov.19th ~0230hrs, 3133
Location: Housing, Cafeteria, VR rooms, hallways etc (read: everywhere)
Characters: YOU!
Summary: Mutiny on the moon base! Vital systems are offline, mutineers are making PA announcements, and there’s conflict and turmoil brewing in the halls. Dun dun duuun!
Warnings: None yet (possible violence?)
Notes: Specify a date and location in your top comment. You may specify multiple dates/locations. A timeline for the plot and the IC PA announcements made during are available HERE.

[In the dead of night - or as close to ‘the dead of night’ as is possible to have in moon base - a small group of transports finally make the move they’ve been planning for weeks. Pre-determined teams, maintaining radio contact throughout, simultaneously take control of the Transporter Room and take multiple systems offline.

One moment things are normal; they next, they’re not. With a last message flagged as ‘maintenance’ left on the network, the network cuts out. A moment later, Transports across the base find themselves losing contact with the ground or shifting in their sleep and gently floating out of their beds from the force as the gravity drops. Lighting flicks over to emergency only: bathing corridors and rooms in a desolate, lonely red. Doors work - and then they don’t. Transports will find themselves confined to housing (and washrooms), the VR rooms, and the cafeteria; it’s plenty of space to be comfortable and largely covers most Transport’s basic needs (unless you’re fond of cheery light or having your feet on the ground in which case you may be out of luck).

Hours later-- Click-HHHSSSHK-click!

A woman’s voice speaks over the moon base’s PA system, echoing through the dark corridors and off the odds and ends gently floating through them thanks to the lack of gravity regulation. The voice is rich and accented, with a certain practiced ease to it - one that sharpens to a point the longer she talks:]

Testing. Testing-- are we good? Christ, I'm not echoing, am I? No?

All right good. Listen up, fellow transports. As you might have noticed, some of the base's general systems have gone offline: this, I assure you, is absolutely intentional. There's no need to panic.

So moving on from the understandably frustrating to the even more frustrating, I'm sure you all have also noticed the fact that we're currently all stuck-- starving and defenseless-- on the bloody moon. In a base that was, up until a few days ago, overrun with zombies. And before that, thousands of lives were bombed right out of existence, and before that, an entire world-- and before that we were all still being thrown at the United Earth for the sake of dying off repeatedly in a war we never stood a chance or had a say in. Transports have been treated like pawns since day one, and I'm sorry, but we don't deserve it.

If we're giving up our lives and our freedom, I'd say it's about time we earned ourselves a little equality.

We deserve a say in what goes on in this fight, and with that in mind, a few of us have decided to hold onto the transporter for a while. Just until the Initiative agrees to treat us like people instead of ammunition. Trust me, we’re not here to hurt anyone; none of this has to end badly. But it does need to end. Things have got to change. And if this is what it takes? This is what it’s going to be.

We need your help; please don’t make it any harder for us.

[The PA clicks off, pitching the base once more into complete radio silence.

Near the end of the first day, gravity regulation is re-established. The network is brought back online the following day, allowing everyone to communicate more freely. Lighting doesn’t come back online until the 18th and the door regulation isn’t normalized or operable until the 19th. Throughout the four days, the mutineers make multiple PA announcements.

In the mean time? Keep your friends close, come to the aid of your neighbors; help with reconnaissance and choose sides - are you neutral in this mess? Are you trying to help bring systems back online and root out the mutineers? Are you sympathetic to the mutiny and trying to sabotage those Transports standing for the Initiative?]

Comments

[hostage]

[Mumbled into her neck:]

Nooo, you're noooot.

[controlledvariable]

Have you met me?

[She's pretty sure he has. Considering the cuddling.]

[hostage]

You're totally smart and stuff.

[Jesse argues good while mashed into Steph's collarbone.]

[controlledvariable]

Yeah, that's why I managed to get all my feelings yanked out.

[~sarcasm~]

[hostage]

What makes you think that's got anything to do with how smart you are?

[controlledvariable]

I shouldn't have tried to take her alone.

[It was cocky and stupid. Nevermind that if someone else had been there, Max could have done the same thing to them.

A beat, and a shaky breath.]

That post about the Initiative, I dunno if you saw it, but that was me. Roslyn was really angry about it, 'cause it was stupid, and I think she was right.

[hostage]

[If she's stupid for taking on Max alone, then he's extra stupid for doing the exact same thing right after her. But this isn't about him.]

I didn't see it. What happened?

[controlledvariable]

[She didn't know about the powers, he didn't know about the martial arts; they would've made a good team.]

I dunno, just-- I thought it'd help, but it seems like I'm not very good at that.

[Trying to help, trying to make things better. She just screws everything up.]

[hostage]

I know the feeling.

[He gives her a light squeeze.]

But you help us a lot. You help us all the time. Even if you can't save the world, just saving a few people... That's a big deal, you know? It makes a difference to somebody.

[controlledvariable]

I know.

[Or... she used to. It used to be enough to help one person, to make that difference in someone's life. Even when she started looking at the bigger picture, when she started wanting to change the whole damn system, she could still take pride in the smaller things.

Now it never feels like enough.]

Can you promise to answer something honestly for me?

[The good thing about Jesse is that he has a habit of being brutally honest, sometimes.]

[hostage]

[Can he? Maybe. It depends. Nothing makes him more nervous that hearing that, but he nods.]

Yeah. What is it?

[controlledvariable]

[She's silent for a long moment; she knows what she wants to say, she's just a little scared of the answer.

Quietly:]

Do you think I'm a good person?

[hostage]

[Oh, is that it? That's such an easy question. What concerns him now is why she's asking it. He sits up so that he can see her face clearly and search it.

The answer he gives her, at least, is certain and earnest:]

Yes, I do.

[controlledvariable]

[She won't quite meet his gaze, and even if she feels a little less wrecked after being with him for a little while, she's still kind of a mess.

His answer doesn't really help. She's not sure what she wanted, because even if she asked for honesty, she doesn't really believe him. Did she want him to say no and confirm it, when Saul won't?]

'Kay.

[She should say more than that, but for a long second she isn't sure what.]

Thanks.

[Close enough.]

[hostage]

[No, no. He recognizes this thing. He does this thing. Jesse reaches to brush her hair back and cup her cheek with his palm: look at him.]

Steph.

I think you're amazing. And you're so, so brave. And yeah, you make mistakes. Everybody does. And because you're doing all this big important stuff, sometimes the mistakes you make end up big and important, too.

But that don't make you bad. You hear me? Messing up sometimes doesn't make you bad. Even if you mess up big.

[controlledvariable]

[The touch helps; it takes a second, but she manages to look at him. It doesn't make it easier to deal with everything he says, but it's... a little easier to listen to, than when Saul says it, because Jesse isn't biased the same way Saul is.]

What if it's not mistakes? What if it's the things I choose to do?

[hostage]

[He wishes he could tell her the truth. If he could, maybe she'd listen to him, because she'd know that he knows what real evil is. But it's just as likely that she'd hate him, and then she'd never hear a word he said ever again.

Instead, he tries to phrase it carefully:]

I don't... believe you'd ever hurt anybody that didn't deserve hurting. Not on purpose.

[controlledvariable]

[Her gaze drops again.]

I killed scientists and technicians over in the United Earth; I could have taken the time to neutralize without killing them, but I didn't want to risk any of our people getting hurt. They're not bad people, they're just under the United Earth's control, and I didn't even hesitate.

[It's been months since then, but it's still weighing on her.]

[hostage]

If they're with the U.E., they're trying to kill us. It's us or them, Steph.

[controlledvariable]

They're victims, as well.

[She should be protecting them, not hurting them.]

[hostage]

We're not gonna be able to save 'em if they wipe us out first. You understand? It ain't the kinda situation you can talk out nice. When you're drinking the U.E.'s kool-aid, you're literally outta your mind.

Trust me, I know. I've used verstatsi. I know how they feel probably better than anybody. And being dead is better than that.

[controlledvariable]

[She winces, closing her eyes and just tries to remember how to breathe for a second.

Logically, Jesse has a point. It's how she justified it to herself before they went in there, but she's still struggling with it.]

What do I do if Batman turns up?

[hostage]

[He caresses her cheek, not really sure how else to comfort her.]

Do whatever you want. He wasn't here. He ain't in any position to judge. And you don't gotta answer to him if you don't wanna.

[controlledvariable]

[She closes her eyes, leaning into the touch a little.]

He'd take Batgirl away from me.

[And there's nothing she could do about it, not really.]

[hostage]

Ain't nobody in the world who can take Batgirl away from you, Steph.