KY321B; voice; night 007

[backsassin]

[ It’s the dead of night when the broadcasts start—short, choppy bursts initially, static interspersed with the occasional snatches of a woman’s voice against the low susurrus of waves on sand. It’s several long moments before they resolve into an actual message. ]

—anyone there? Please, anyone—I don’t care who you are, just say something!

[ There’s a clear edge of desperation in her voice and it’s no wonder; Zam had woken up pressed against a sand dune in the pitch black night, her last memory being of her own untimely murder. She’d thought she was buried at first, then in hell—and then she’d noticed the radio clutched in her one remaining hand. Then came the struggle of trying to figure out what it was and how to operate it one-handed in the dark and—suffice to say, she is experiencing a lot of stress at the moment. ]

Does this thing even work? [ More static as Zam starts blindly pressing buttons in the dark. ] —anyone receiving?

Comments

voice | callsign: KD201D

[obeir]

[ Another recent arrival from the sounds of it. K waits, listening, until the erratic bursts of static resolve into intelligible messages, then he answers. ]

It works, I'm receiving. [ The masculine voice on the other end is pitched low, calm. ] Press and hold down the topmost button on the side when you're speaking, so your messages don't get cut off. Release the button once you're done speaking.

[ Because it seems prudent to cover the basics first. ]

[backsassin]

[ There’s a brief silence on Zam’s end as she fumbles with the device, trying to figure out which side is the top in the dark. After a few seconds, she figures it out. ]

Hello? [ She’s breathless now, desperately relieved to hear another person’s voice. ] Who is this? You can hear me now, right? Can you tell me where we are?

[obeir]

[ He debates how to introduce himself. Having never been named by his owner, he possesses only a serial number and a shortened form of it that could be mistaken for a name. That potential deception doesn't sit well with him. Probably best to be honest about his identity from the get-go, he decides. ]

That's better, I can hear you. I'm KD6-3.7. Not a clue where we are, though. Judging by the stars I can see, it's an equatorial location on a version of the planet Earth, if that means anything to you.

[ Difficult to narrow it down when he's aware of the existence of countless variant Earths scattered throughout the multiverse. But this one decidedly isn't his native Earth, he knows that much. Too much greenery and breathable air, not enough pollution and nuclear fallout. ]

And who am I speaking with? [ Maybe it'll help just having someone to talk to. ]

[backsassin]

[ KD6-3.7. It sounds like the name of a droid, though that doesn't match the very organic voice she hears on the other end of the broadcast. It adds another layer of ambiguity on top of everything else, another facet that doesn't make sense.

'At least if it's a droid, then this probably isn't the afterlife,' she thinks absurdly. 'Droids wouldn't go to the same afterlife organics do.' ]

Zam. My name is Zam. I don't know how I got here; I was on Coruscant and then I just—I just woke up on this beach. [ She doesn't understand. It had almost felt like waking up from a nightmare, but the cauterized stump where her right forearm used to be testifies to the reality of her memories. ]

I think—I don't know if this is real. I shouldn't even be alive right now.

[obeir]

Zam. Shame we couldn't meet under better circumstances, but it's good to hear another voice out here. I arrived the same way. Woke up on the beach with this radio next to me, and no recollection of how I got here.

[ He considers her words for several moments, frowning in thought as he takes stock of his body. How different it feels, in ways that are difficult to articulate. It becomes more pronounced the longer he's here. Having never experienced hunger pangs before, he hasn't yet realised that's the source of his growing discomfort. ]

It feels real enough. [ Yet there's a hint of uncertainty in his voice. ] Even if— something here... changed me. Physiologically. [ Weakening him considerably in the process, though he refrains from sharing that detail just yet. The whole ordeal is more deeply unsettling to him than he'd like to admit. ] Maybe the same thing that's kept you alive? [ More importantly: ] Are you injured?

[backsassin]

[ Changed him physiologically? Zam's not sure she likes the sound of that—though, as he points out, whatever is responsible might be the same thing that had saved her from her own death. Or, perhaps, had brought her back.

She grimaces at the question. ]

My arm's been cut off, so yes. The wound's cauterized though, so I won't bleed out. [ An exhale through her teeth. ] Just have to worry about infection.

[ Zam probably shouldn't look a gift dewback in the mouth, but if something had saved her from death, it seems pretty strange that it would promptly drop her into another life-threatening situation without so much as wrapping up her wounds. Of course, she's assuming that it has an agenda at all; for all she knows, it has as much reasoning ability as a black hole. ]

How long have you been here? And how many others are there?

BT612L; audio

[ichoosefight]

It works, it works! There are people here, it's just really late.

Are you okay?

[backsassin]

Fierfek, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that.

[ If there's other people here, people she can hear and speak to, then maybe she really isn't dead—even if she isn't sure how she could have possibly survived. Taking a lethal dose of neurotoxin straight to the carotid artery should be a guaranteed death sentence. Unless... Had Jango spared her after all? ]

I... don't really know. I'm uh— [ She winces. ] Someone cut off my arm but it's not bleeding. Cauterized. It doesn't even hurt as much as it probably should though that might just be the shock talking. [ A small, light-headed laugh. ] I don't know. Someone might've just killed me. I'm, uh... I'm still trying to figure that one out.

[ In short: no. No, she's not doing great. ]

[ichoosefight]

Okay, wow.

[ That sure is a hell of a lot. But 'not bleeding' is a good start. ]

So, bad news first, if you're in shock you need water, and it's not easy to get. Good news, you're not dead now by most people's definition.

Are you on a beach? Can you see the sun, or the moon?

[backsassin]

[ Right. She has to find water. On a deserted island. While in shock and missing an arm. Okay. ]

I see the moon. And yes, I'm on a beach with—I guess they're dunes? They go on for a while and then there's trees, but it's too dark to see anything past that.

[ Stars, she hopes that sounds familiar to someone. Why'd she have to wash up here at night? ]

I don't know, do I just—do I just start walking? I don't think I can make it through the forest in this dark, but maybe I could just skirt around the beach...

[ichoosefight]

Okay, the moon should be East at this hour. Which direction is the forest?

Don't try to navigate the woods, but find a spot where you'll be under cover in the morning. And then I need you to sit down, breathe, and tell me your condition in detail.

TO994M; voice

[cactusy]

The arm thing - this happened here?

[backsassin]

No. Order of operations is: got arm cut off, got shot, woke up here. All in the space of a few minutes.

[ A very disorientating few minutes, needless to say. ]

[cactusy]

Guessing nobody near you at home could have healed you, right?

[salamanca]

[ Wait, she lost an arm??? He thought she was just freaking out for no reason! Shit. Now he has to pretend to be sorry for how he responded before. ]

You... You lost an arm? [ He sounds shocked; remorseful. ] I'm sorry — I didn't realize —

Do you remember it being cauterized before you arrived here?

[backsassin]

[ She recognizes the voice of the jokester from before. ]

Don't worry about it. I needed the laugh.

[ It was exactly the dumb sort of joke Zam would've made if their positions were reversed; she can't really get mad about it. ]

Yeah, I think so. They used a... a plasma weapon. [ She's not going to say 'lightsaber' when that could potentially invite questions as to how she'd pissed off a Jedi. ] Those cut and burn at the same time.

[salamanca]

[ Despite himself, Lalo can't help but feel a sense of relief seep through him at the sound of her, apparently not angry, voice. Oh, good. She's not pissed off. He doesn't have to grovel.

And it means she has a sense of humor. He approves! And decides, at least for the time being, that he likes her. ]

Then it was my pleasure. I'm Ben, by the way. Ben De Guzman.

[ He would not know what a Jedi was, anyway! He doesn't even understand the concept of a plasma weapon, as evidenced by the obvious confusion in his voice. ] Plasma... weapon...? Ah...

audio | callsign: DI481O

[salamanca]

Something!

[ You told him to say "something," okay, he's just obliging. He can hear the desperation in her voice, but... it's not like he gives a fuck. Why should he? He doesn't know this woman.

But it's not just that. Despite his overall indifference to her plight, Lalo's not making fun of her. Or not just making fun of her, anyway.

Sometimes what you really need during a freakout like this is for somebody to lighten the mood. Cut the tension with a joke. Then, you can start to think.

Would he feel the same if he knew she was missing an arm? Well, it's Lalo, so... hard to say! ]

[backsassin]

[ Oh good, they have a comedian on this island. Zam is a little busy fielding the other responses to reply to one smartass comment, but it does get an incredulous little huff of laughter from her despite everything. ]

[salamanca]

[ Lalo is delighted by her laughter!!! Finally someone to appreciate his genius! ]

audio | callsign TN811N

[hyakuoku]

[ This is the most exciting thing he's heard on this network all week because he's a little nuts. But he's got his heart in the right place! He's just like !!!! SHAPESHIFTER???? SPACE??? hearing her talk.

He listens for awhile before he finally chimes in. ]

Sounds like you got an earful already, but far as I know, no one here is from anywhere called Coruscant. Majority of us are from Earth, though at different points in time. It's a lot to wake up to no matter when it happens, but you ten billion percent have it worse waking up at night like this.

You're probably best staying where you are until morning. I don't have antiseptic, just some soap, but with an injury like that, I think cleaning it as soon as possible is a priority. In the daylight maybe we can figure out where you are relative to the rest of us.

[backsassin]

[ That does explain the people asking when Zam is from. Still, it's an odd to realize that she's an aberration in a situation that's already so anomalous. If the majority of people here had been native to Earth—the planet they might very well be on right now—how had she been pulled here all the way from Coruscant? ]

Can you tell me where the rest of you are? Landmarks, general directions—any way I can find my way over to you? I think I must be on the southern tip of the island...

[hyakuoku]

I don't know where everyone is. Some people aren't very trusting so they don't wanna share.

[ SHRUG EMOJI ]

On the southwest part of the island, there's something like a resort…hm, will that description make sense? I'm not sure what kinds of things you have on Coruscant or what would be analogous.

[ He's DYING to know, he loves space. Unfortunately he's doing this out loud so he probably sounds really interested. ]

We have an airfield too, but no actual planes. Though you spoke as if you have interplanetary travel where you're from and we sure as hell never got that far. We barely got to Earth's moon. So maybe that's a little bit behind your tech level...

Anyway, there's a tall tower here, for air traffic control I think. You can probably see that from a ways away once it's light out.

[ Senku's sense of self-preservation is high but his trust of other people is also pretty high; giving away their location just doesn't bother him that much. He'd much rather take a chance and help someone who needs it, especially someone with an injury that could fester, rather than be a paranoid pain the ass about whether Zam could or would hurt them. ]

[backsassin]

[ Makes sense. Zam can't exactly fault people for not feeling too trusting in this situation; if her circumstances weren't so dire, she'd probably act warier, too. As it stands, however, Zam knows that in her current condition, the only way she's going to survive this is with help. ]

Yeah, we're well beyond interplanetary travel; interstellar's the norm where I'm from. Don't expect me to reverse-engineer you a starship, though.

[ So, trapped on an island on a planet without a history of interplanetary travel, surrounded by people who also have no experience of it. It seems Zam is doubly stranded. ]

I'll try to make my way west once the sun's up. What else can you tell me about this "resort?" Any supplies or usable facilities there?

[hyakuoku]

[ INTERSTELLAR he's going to die, this is the coolest shit he's ever heard in his life. ]

Never say never. I wanna hear all about it anyway.

[ If he understood the tech HE could reverse engineer it given enough time, he just has to reach the understanding level. Maybe someday. He's gonna get to space someday, damnit. (Spoilers: he will actually do that, but only to the moon.) Though that would also take YEARS and a lot more materials than one island will afford them...still, even science boys can dream! ]

Nothing much. We have shelter and we've distilled water to drink. I'm working on making more soap, but I need an oven to do that. We'll get there.

[ He isn't too fussed about it. ]

Haven't found any working facilities, nothing electric yet. There's signs that there was stuff like that, but it's all screwed up. The hotel is burned out but I'm not sure what caused it. None of the planes are here. There are obvious outlets for electrical things to plug into but no wires, which is ten billion percent suspicious.

And one locked house with a keypad I haven't cracked yet, powered by solar panelling on the roof.

Other side of the island has a prison that apparently does have electronic locks. I haven't been over there and I'm not going to travel all the way there just yet. There are drones there that will catch you and toss you in those cells too, though, so…

Well, I wanna get my hands on one of them but I need a plan to make sure we don't all get zapped by them.

[ Senku, blissfully unaware that he sounds like a lunatic once he gets going. ]