And the station opens...

[sanctuaryrpgmods]

There were no flashing lights, no alarms. The doors to the quarantine chambers simply opened, the whoosh of seals breaking was the only fanfare.

Quarantine was on a quiet level of the station, a gently pulsing light set into the wall leading the chamber's temporary residents out into the station proper. Outside, station officials wandered by but paid no particular attention to the newcomers; new arrivals were nothing new to them, just a fact of life on Sanctuary. New people arrived in the chambers, station staff logged them, and the computers arranged everything else. So they went about their business, eyes glued to the screens they held.

Of course the newcomers weren't aware of any of this. Anyone who called out to the station staff was greeted with a wan smile and directed toward one of the many terminal screens lining the walls of the large open space between the central tower and the rest of the station.

The terminal screens asked for a fingerprint before offering any additional information. Their names flashed up with a map to their new home in the living quarters and some basic information on the currency contained in the chip in their hand and what it might buy them. A brief explanation of the silver communication unit followed, and then the news of the past twenty-four hours played. War on planets in a neighbouring system, the weather on a vacation world, sports scores for a game that seems a cross between lacrosse, hockey, and quidditch. Nothing of use, of course, nothing that could get them off the planet.

The quiet entrance to the living quarters was on one side of the atrium, and the sounds of a bustling marketplace that could not be contained came from a much wider opening on the other. People of all shapes, colours, and species walked through the space along with station officials and technicians using their tablet like screens, dark uniformed security officers chatting as they strolled their patrols.

The station carried on obliviously while the newcomers watched, each with only their credit chip, a place to live, and a basic outfit. Clearly that was all the welcome they were to expect; what happened next would be up to them.

[[Gathering post and opening of Sanctuary RPG. Put in your characters coming out their quarantine]]

Comments

[thewinterlady]

"Okay, you need to sit down before you fall down." Molly said, taking his elbow and leading him over to a low wall away from the walkways, next to a small grassy area. "Breathe. Or you're going to throw up all over the only set of clothes we both have."

[finnmurphy]

Letting himself be led, Finn sat on the indicated wall. He was almost certain he wasn't actually going to be sick, but that didn't stop him from feeling like utter crap. He took a few settling breath, silently repeating the phrases his therapist had suggested - although they hadn't been devised for finding yourself apparently stuck in space.

"I think... I think I'm ok." Finn stated after a few moments.

[thewinterlady]

Molly gave him a smile and shook her head. "You're not. But that's okay. None of us are. We got plucked out of our lives and brought to a strange place." She said waving a hand around. "Takes time to adjust." That much was true. She was an old hand at it now, but that didn't mean it wasn't just as confusing and upsetting for her.

[finnmurphy]

"Adjust," he let out a small laugh, "I'd rather just... pass through." Go home. Not be stranded in space after apparently being abducted by aliens. He rubbed his face with his hands, sighing for a moment before letting his hands drop to his side.

[thewinterlady]

Molly nodded, sympathetic. "Maybe we'll be lucky." She doubted it, but he clearly needed something to hold onto for now.

[finnmurphy]

Finn nodded, trying to make that thought something he could hold onto. Rather than whatever reality was occuring right now. "You'd think the instructional video would have been more helpful." He finally said, trying to think of something to fill the space.

[thewinterlady]

That startled a laugh out of Molly and she shook her head. "It was pretty vague, wasn't it?" She agreed. "Though I'm not sure they could have been more specific without us spending a lot longer in the cells."

[finnmurphy]

Considering Finn could remember the first few minutes of the recording by heart, it seemed likely it had played more times than needed. Although admittedly he'd spent the first runs trying to get out of the cell before the panic overwhelmed him. He imagined everyone else had probably attempted an escape as well. "I think I'd have preferred a booklet." Rubbing a hand under his jaw a little nervously, he felt that the skin was smooth where he'd caught himself shaving the previous morning.

[thewinterlady]

"I think that's what these are for." Molly said, pulling out her tablet and poking at it. "Have you looked through it yet? I think it's pretty comprehensive."