COMMENCE VOYAGE

[bathymetric]

Fun Fact: Did you know the Atlantic Ocean has a surface area of 41.1 million square miles? No reason.

...

There's something uneasy in the air as you come to.

Well, "come to" is an interesting word in this case. It implies waking up, which is not exactly what happens. None of you are in beds, nor are you really asleep in the traditional sense. One moment you're somewhere else, doing something else with your time, and the next? You're somewhere on board a massive cruise ship - maybe lounging on a deck chair by the pool, maybe getting some Gains in the exercise room, maybe enjoying the tasteful décor in the buffet - and you have no idea how you got here or how you might get back. This is not your beautiful house. If you have a beautiful wife, she isn't here.

What you do have, apart from 25 other unlucky souls, is a small smartphone-like device in your pocket with only a handful of things on it: a clock reading 11PM, a pdf of a ticket in your name on a special Atlantic Liners New Year's Eve Cruise, an app labeled Passenger Profiles with some basic information on your traveling companions, and a message:

Welcome aboard, passenger! Please feel free to partake of any of the facilities while you wait for the big event! Remember: when midnight comes, you better make your way to the theatre at the back of Level 1 for the main event! The Captain and the First Mate will be there to take care of you all personally, and to help you ring in the new year in style!

Well, that's a start. But what you do until then, it seems, is up to you!

Comments

[ltcommandroid]

Spells.

[Well. Sure. He sees weird shit all the time, that's service on the Enterprise.]

That is interesting. How do they work?

[guffawsungraciously]

[ah, if only I had a character who would say IT JUST WORKS

unfortunately,]

I doubt this is the case... wherever you are from, but where I am from most individuals have their own personal reserves of magical power that they can use to, say, manipulate the elements, warp to another location, increase an individual’s physical capabilities... those sorts of things.

[ltcommandroid]

You are correct - that is not generally the case. However, some species are capable of feats that humans would have once considered "magic".

[So, like, despite being a future space robot man, he finds this story entirely reasonable!]

But you are not currently able to access these reserves?

[guffawsungraciously]

No, I am not.

[He's at least glad this isn't, like, a struggle to get the other dude to accept...]

Granted, there are some means of blocking others' ability to use magic, so it is more irritating than panic-inducing. The fact that whatever you are using is also blocked is concerning, though I presume it is more a matter of them covering all their bases than something impossible to overcome.

[ltcommandroid]

[Data nods.]

There are also many ways to block communications. It does not always take much - I am not surprised that it was considered.

[guffawsungraciously]

I see. Well, I will keep that in mind as one of the numerous obstacles we will likely have to deal with, then.

[...you know, he may as well ask...]

Are situations like this one common on Earth?

[ltcommandroid]

Not at all. As the location of Federation headquarters, Earth is very well-protected. [...] Situations like this are most common on the Enterprise.

[he speaks truth!]

[guffawsungraciously]

Ah, I see. So there is reason to believe kidnappings of this nature would not be possible.

[...hmmm...]

Is this Enterprise some sort of ship, then?

[ltcommandroid]

It is a starship, and an exploratory vessel. We often encounter unexplained phenomena on the edges of charted space.

[their mission reports are just constant ridiculous bullshit]

Our captain once went through a situation somewhat like this, in fact. He was taken by an alien species and placed in an enclosed chamber with individuals from other planets, for study.

[guffawsungraciously]

Ah, I see... that sounds completely fascinating, actually. Not the menagerie of intelligent beings, of course, the exploration angle.

Though I do imagine hearing the story of your captain’s escape could aid in planning our own.

[ltcommandroid]

He was able to discern that they were being studied, and how, and led the others in refusing to take any further action. They were released because all of that would have tainted the results.

[so like, kinda where we started in terms of escape: figure out what the fuck is happening]

[guffawsungraciously]

That makes enough sense to me. Of course, I imagine it was not particularly simple in practice, but I suppose all we can really do is put the effort in to secure such a clean result.