Chapter 2: Into the Unknown

8:07 PM, Launch Day

Cryo Pod Room #11037, Sub-Basement Level

ISS Amerigo

Deep within the bowels of the Amerigo, Marvin led the group of Ultimates down a series of hallways and corridors, past a near endless amount of doors meant for storage, either for other cryogenic pods, or actual storage areas for supplies, luggage, and everything in between. Finally, he stopped in front of a specific set of doors, a placard above proclaiming it as 'Cryogenic Pod Storage Facility #11037'. Marvin flashed his ID badge over a scanner next to the door, and it opened up for them.

He led them inside, the group now able to see where they would be staying for the next few decades, if not centuries. A set of sixteen cryogenic pods were lined up against the farthest wall, arranged in rows of four. A series of cables connected from the pods to a central console in the room, presumably the control panel for the whole thing.

"Here we are!" Marvin declared, gesturing toward the pods. "This is where we shall be sleeping for the duration of this trip. Not the most comfortable looking arrangement, I know, but it'll work all the same!"

"I guess it isn't that much smaller of a space than I'm used to working in, and hopefully I won't feel as much gravity inside," Inaba joked as the Pilot took a good look at the pod. "Is everyone going to be okay with this kind of thing though?"

Nyjah tugged at the collar of his track jacket as he said, "We're supposed to be out cold for the whole thing, right? Kind of unnerves me a bit, but if we fall asleep here and wake up at our destination I should be fine."

"Oh, yes! It'll be like taking a nap. We'll fall asleep, and we should all wake back up here in this room, once the system wakes us up. It'll barely feel like any time has passed at all," Marvin assured.

"'Should' wake up?" Kasumi noted with a worried frown.

"Will, of course," he smoothly corrected himself. "My company has worked to make this entire ship and operation as state of the art as can be. We'll even be free of any possibilities of human error! After liftoff, the main crew will also undergo cryogenic sleep, and our ship's AI will take over all functions thereafter."

Miles shifted uncomfortably, then after trying to take a moment to compose himself stepped forward. "Excuse me Lord Guster, but if I may. Is the whole trip really going to be left in the, er, 'hands' of an AI? Is that really for the best?"

"Well, it's only natural, isn't it?" John interjected, looking about the room with minor interest. "After all, our journey will take hundreds of thousands of years. I believe last estimates for arriving at our destination would be over 200,000 years. Our organic crew would expire long before we arrived, unfortunately."

"Exactly!" Marvin nodded. "My company has made some great strides and advances in our propulsion system, so we should be able to cut such a lengthy journey in half, compared to anything NASA has available. But, still, it'll take well over a hundred thousand years to reach our new world. Heck, it'll take about 3,000 years alone to leave our solar system in its entirety. Our human crew simply couldn't live that long."

"The fact we will be asleep for that long is truly incredible," Miracle praised. "And we won't face any negative effects by being in these tubes for that long?"

"We already have the ability to keep people alive in medically induced comas, the problem is keeping a body preserved for extended periods from natural aging, but as we have seen with fossil remains, deep freezing can do the job of preserving the body but not the brain function," Sydney explained with a frown. "So the claim here is these pods marry the two ideas, yeah?"

"Correct! That was the big breakthrough with our technology. These cryogenic pods are designed to keep both the body and the brain in stasis. We conducted thorough experimentation on other, ah, subjects before we even reached human trials. We kept one person on ice for two years without any negative aftereffects. So long as our ship maintains its power, we could, in theory, be kept in cryogenic sleep for an eternity, and still come out the same way we came in," Marvin bragged.

"Hey as long as it means I can still get up afterwards, it sounds all good to me," Jingai happily mused.

Adrian gave a shake of his head before he tilted his head toward Marvin and asked, "What of if an emergency occurs? Say we run into an asteroid field and an engine or something gets disabled? Can the AI account for that?"

"Of course. There are numerous robotic shells that our AI can inhabit to inspect and repair any damage done to the ship. In any emergency situation, the AI is also allowed to awaken the main crew and any other critical passengers to further assess and repair any danger," Marvin declared with a bright smile. "Besides, space is big, and our ship's passive scanners should pick up anything threatening enough to damage our ship well before they could collide with us."

Yasu arched an eyebrow at that, crossing her arms as she commented, "Well, that sounds good, I suppose. It certainly sounds like you thought of everything. There were a lot of cases and eventualities covered in the contract we all signed as well, if I recall."

"Ah, you read the entire thing? I have to admit, I sort of went cross-eyed after a bit, and just skipped to sign at the bottom," Kasumi mentioned with a slight giggle.

"You read any of it? I got bored of it almost immediately. I just did what the guy in the funny suit told me to do," Tellan remarked as she scratched behind her ear, as she stood off to the side from most of the group.

Haru nodded in understanding. "It was such a boring read, but it was good info... I had to help translate it into a few different languages, though." The Linguist let out a small huff. "That was super boring."

Tiana chuckled. "We appreciate your commitment to making sure everyone could understand what we're signing up for."

Clint stifled a yawn as he said, "Well, I can't speak for any of y'all, but I'm just about ready to settle down for sleep. Would prefer a good nap than a deep freeze right now, but it is what it is. Any tips for not being stiff when we come out of this? Actually, is there a specific way we have to lay in these things?"

"Well, the optimal position is to lay down on your back, arms at your sides," Marvin offered with a small shrug. "Though really, as long as you have room for it, you should be able to take up any position you want. So long as you're lying down in the pod, of course."

"Better be careful how you lay down then," Mitsuko stated with a smile. "Otherwise you're going to have a killer pain the neck."

"Eh, I guess, but none of the positions I like are so vanilla to involve just lying down," the Detective added with a shrug.

"Well, if there aren't any other questions..." Marvin began, looking the group over. "Then we can all start getting into our pods and beginning the procedure. The AI, AMIS, will be operating the controls here, so we can all just get into our pods and let her start the whole process."

A soft chime filled the air from a small speaker on one side of the room. An electronic neutral voice robotically explained, "All members of the population deck have been checked in and entered cryo-stasis. Crew members not needed for launch operations are advised to make their way into their own pods to prepare."

"Well, it seems like it's time for us to head to our eternal slumber," John remarked, walking over to a pod in the back row.

"...Please don't phrase it like that," Yasu grimaced, though she started walking over as well.

"Well, it's not an inaccurate term," Kasumi chimed in. "I mean, we'll be asleep for hundreds of thousands of years, so it'll definitely feel like an eternity, if nothing else."

"Still a somewhat concerning way to phrase it," Miracle commented.

"Hopefully it'll just be a long beauty sleep," Tiana joked, climbing into a pod next to Jin.

Miles stood still, staring nervously at the pod, nearly jumping as he felt a hand land on his shoulder. Inaba moved up beside the Knight and tried to give a smile. "You doing okay there? I don't blame you if not, it's kind of a lot, huh?"

"Y-Yes, it is certainly nothing I am really too prepared for. Though I suppose as a knight, it is unbecoming of me to falter like this, not when everyone else is already starting this whole thing."

"It's okay Mister Knight, some people have their own pace, I don't mind waiting to make sure you get settled, all right?" Haru offered.

Miles gave a sigh as he turned towards the pods, still a little wary of them. "That is very kind of you, your Majesty. If you do not mind I believe that is more than kind. Now I suppose we shouldn't dally too long."

"Ooh, I'm so excited!" Mitsuko squealed. She glanced over at Sydney, who was walking to the back corner. "What about you, Sydney? Are you excited?"

"Thrilled, can't you tell?" The Surgeon didn't bother waiting for a response, choosing to continue her path to the back of the room.

"Well, guess I'll be seeing ya when we wake up," Clint remarked as he was already settled in his pod, his hat tipped down over his eyes.

Nyjah quirked an eyebrow at the mercenary as he approached one of the adjacent pods and noted, "I wish I could be as relaxed about this as you."

"Nervous about all this? I'll admit there's something in the back of my mind that's making me a bit anxious too," Adrian said as he approached the Olympian.

"Little bit of nerves, yeah. Just gotta make that last leap and do it, ya know," Nyjah said as he shook his hands, as if to shake away the nerves.

The Maestro nodded in agreement and said, "Well, with any luck it will be like what I hear it's like when you go under for surgery with anesthesia. Before we know it we'll wake up in a whole new world."

"Come on, come on, let's go already," Tellan groaned as she circled her pod, "The sooner we get there, the sooner I can start using my bow again!"

The group made their way into the various pods, some more reluctant than others, but as many of the pods began to hiss as they closed and started to turn on, Jingai sighed as he turned away back towards the Tech Pioneer. Noticing everyone else had entered the pods, he moved up to Marvin.

"So, something I've been wondering. Why are you so nervous? Like, you're keeping it under wraps well, but it's there. So, is it just because you don't really know how any of this works, or is it something else? It doesn't really matter now, but I can't wait to see how it goes," Jin said with a wink.

Marvin blinked rapidly, carefully keeping a blank face as Jin finally got into his own pod. Once everyone else was sealed up, he started to approach his own, though paused just before entering.

"AMIS, everything is proceeding as scheduled, yes?" he asked aloud.

The same soft chime played after a moment. "Yes, Executive Guster. All systems are reporting proper status and crew members have already finished check in or entered cryosleep. Waiting on final authorization to complete preparations."

Marvin nodded at that, giving a soft sigh before he focused back on the pod in front of him. "Very well, then. Please proceed with all final preparations."

With that said, he stepped into the pod, turning around to lay back as it closed on him.

"Understood, Executive Guster. Have a good rest, sir," AMIS responded with one final chime sound as the intercom clicked off.

?:? ?, Day 1

Library, 1st Floor

ISS Amerigo

Haru gave a small yawn as they slowly opened their eyes. There was a moment of confusion as they slowly looked around and took in their new surroundings. The Linguist was currently sitting on a soft plush couch, one of many set up around a fireplace, though a screen was in place of an actual fire. Around that were several shelves of countless novels and other assorted books. Along the back wall there was a set of double doors marked 'Archives'.

"Huh, this doesn't look like the pods... Weird," Haru muttered aloud as they stood up. They straightened their trench coat. Taking a step closer to the fake fireplace they were surprised to feel relaxing heat despite the artificial nature. Their eyes drifted away from the fireplace back to the rest of the room. The Linguist jumped a little in surprise as they noticed another person laying on one of the other sofas.

Haru sighed a little in relief as they moved up to the still sleeping Marvin Guster. Not wasting another moment they reached out and started gently shaking the Tech Pioneer. "This is your wakeup call, sleepy head! I can provide it in dozens of other languages if need be!"

Marvin startled awake as Haru shook him, the shorter man blinking rapidly as he looked around in confusion. His brow furrowed in confusion, and he slowly sat up, clearly just as befuddled as Haru was.

"What…? This isn't right. Why am I…I should have woken up in the pod," he murmured to himself, glancing himself over. "Was there an emergency? But… no, that wouldn't explain it either. How on earth did I end up here…?"

"Uhhh... dunno. I was kinda hoping you would be the guy to ask about that one, chief," Haru said as they gave a shrug.

Marvin's frown deepened, and he drummed his fingers against his leg, his mind racing to make sense of things. "Well… hm. So we're both out of the cryo-pods, then. Someone clearly dethawed us, but didn't keep us in the pod long enough for us to be fully restored to consciousness. And it sure doesn't look like we've arrived at our destination, yet. We'd be hearing an announcement play if we had. How…bizarre. Maybe there was an emergency? The caretaker AI is authorized to take select crew members out of cryo-stasis in the event of an emergency that only human help can take care of. I'm not sure why it'd just dump us in here, however…"

"I guess that makes some sense, but uh... I don't know why it would pick me. Can't really think of a language emergency they'd need me for," Haru joked a little as they took a step back. "Well if they got me up, they probably woke up some others, right?"

"Well… presumably so," Marvin allowed, rubbing his chin in thought. "I doubt if there was an emergency, it'd just wake us up. Hm, is there anyone else here in the… library? Hm, odd that the system dropped us off here…"

"Not that I saw, but it's not like I opened every last book yet before I got you up," Haru mused. After another moment they frowned a little as they looked down at the Pioneer. "So this really isn't like some planned event?"

"Goodness, no. No, nothing like this was planned at all," Marvin immediately denied, strenuously shaking his head. "Or if it was, at the very least, it was planned without my input."

"There you are! About damn time I tracked you down! You think this is some kind of joke," an angry voice called out as Clint angrily stomped into the library, the echoes from his footfalls quieting as he went from the metal flooring of the corridor to the carpeted interior of the room.

Haru backed up a little as the Mercenary was making a beeline for the pair. "Y-Yeah, we're just waking up... Is everything okay, Clint?"

Clint snorted, "You mean besides waking up in one of those private rooms in the infirmary? Thought I was in a jail cell for a second before I got my wits about me." The mercenary then shook his head, "Only a handful of us are out of that freeze sleep or whatever it's called. I didn't run into any of the crew while looking around. But more importantly, someone took my revolver." To prove his point, he moved his poncho to reveal the empty holster. "I don't trust anyone having it besides me," Clint said as he looked at Marvin, "So I'll ask again, what kind of a joke is this? You're the one in charge here, so what the hell?"

"I assure you, I know nothing about what's going on here," Marvin denied again, taking a step back from Clint. "Why on earth would I take your gun? You're supposed to be part of our security!"

Haru looked between the two and took a small step towards Clint. "H-Hey, we can figure this all out, so just stay calm."

Clint crossed his arms, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes, he said, "Look, all I know is I had my gun when we went to sleep, and now I don't. And you're the first person I found with any sort of authority around here. You're also the only people I've run into so far, but that's beside the point. Isn't this your ship? Shouldn't you be able to, I don't know, control every bit of it or something?"

Marvin blinked at that, frowning again as he seemed to realize something. He started patting himself down, looking down at himself before turning to look at the couch he'd been sitting on.

"My pad… it's missing!" he yelped, panic clear in his tone. "I-I had a tablet on me, and it had administrative access to several different functions on the ship. But, I can't find it now. I… short of going into the main control room, I don't have any administrative access to the ship's systems."

"Okay, so that means this has to be someone else's doing?" Haru asked as they looked between the two men. "So where does that leave us?"

"Can't say I know for sure what's going on, but I've got a bad feeling about all this. We need to learn as much as we can about what's going on though. Marvin, you said you can get access in the main control room right? Then that's where we go first," Clint said as he turned around and made to leave the room, cracking his fingers as he did so.

Marvin searched the couch one more time before he moved to follow Clint. "That… sounds like as good an idea as any in this situation. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this…"

"Yeah, I think I want to get back to sleep ASAP. It's actually a little creepy being almost alone on such a huge ship..." Haru muttered as they followed after the other two.

?:? ?, Day 1

Museum, 1st Floor

ISS Amerigo

Miles' head throbbed in pain as he roused himself away. He was currently staring at a rather high ceiling that was covered in small spotlights that were pointed along various spots along the walls. As the Knight moved he found himself on hardwood floors, laying just below a small backless couch set up in the middle of the area.

"Wha...? Where?" He groaned a little as he got to his feet but felt his breath catch in his throat. Around the room, set up in many windowed displays were countless artifacts and art pieces from all over the world. "Am I? Mother! Am I actually back home?!"

"No, actually, we're still on the ship. I think," a feminine voice noted near Miles.

Once he started looking around, he spotted Kasumi standing near the end of the room, her eyes trained on a katana locked behind a display case. She glanced back over at him, smiling slightly as she continued.

"I think we're in the museum? Not sure why, but, well, it's where we woke up," she added, shrugging. "I've been up for a little bit, actually. I just...didn't want to wake you. You seemed pretty peaceful, and, well, I did want to take a look around..."

Miles quickly moved to stand at attention, trying to hide his small blush of embarrassment of realizing he wasn't alone. "Er, yes, well I suppose that makes sense. Honestly I can't say I don't want to do the same, Lady Kamukura, but this is odd, isn't it?'

The Knight took a moment to relax as he checked over the area again. "Lord Guster made it quite clear we would be awakening in the pod room. Though if I am being honest, I am quite bedeviled by this ship's high tech sorcery."

"Yes, it is quite odd..." Kasumi agreed with a thoughtful look. "We should be waking up in the pod room. I'm honestly not sure how or why we ended up here. Maybe there was a change of plan, or something?"

"I suppose that is possible. Perhaps we have landed already? It's hard to tell from here. I suppose we sho-" Miles cut his sentence as he moved his hands onto his hips. Only once it was there, did he finally notice that his sword was missing, the empty scabbard still hanging there.

"NOO! NO! No no nonononono! What villainous cur has absconded with you, Mendax!" The Knight suddenly cried out as he grabbed the side of his head. "To think I was robbed so easily because of the accursed cry-whatever. Never again shall I allow myself to fall victim to this place's sinister machinations!"

Kasumi blinked rapidly, tilting her head as Miles despaired over the loss of his blade. She looked off to the side awkwardly, clearing her throat a moment later as she spoke. "Oh, um, your sword is gone, is it? That is concerning. I don't know why someone would have taken it from you. You're sure you had it on you, right? It wasn't in your luggage, or something?"

"Ah, what? Um, no. No I definitely had Mendax at my side. I didn't need to draw it, but I kept a hand on it while I was helping keep guard of the ship," Miles explained as he quickly composed himself, again only seeming to realize he wasn't alone because of his outburst.

'I... I believe I have made a poor presentation of myself. And in such a quaint museum. While not as nice as the one my mother curated, she would still be quite disappointed by my outcry here." He dropped to one knee and bowed his head deeply in shame. "Please forgive my failure, Lady Kamukura!"

"Uh..."

Kasumi looked side to side, as if making sure there really wasn't anyone else in the room. She cleared her throat awkwardly, motioning for Miles to get back up. "Really, it's fine, it's fine! I totally understand. You uh, don't have to beg for my forgiveness or anything."

"R-Right, of course. I'm sor- er... Well, um... You said you have already been giving this place a look, yes? How is it?" Miles asked awkwardly as he moved to his feet, sheepishly looking up a little to the Historian.

"Ah, well… I haven't seen anyone else, so far. Besides that, well, the museum itself is pretty interesting," Kasumi admitted. "Lots of historic artifacts I've always wanted to see. I'm surprised Marvin was able to get so many put on board this ship. But, yes, I haven't run into anyone else right now. Honestly, I have no clue where any of the others could be."

Miles nodded as he started to rub his chin. "Yes, well, I'd imagine that would involve them chancing upon us or you leaving here. Which I suppose I am glad you didn't do, I would be quite lost if I'd woken up here all alone."

Kasumi nodded at that. "We should probably leave the museum, then, if we want to try and find any of the others. It's possible that they all got scattered around, too. If nothing else, we might be able to get some answers on what happened to us."

"Yes, best to find out what is happening as soon a possible. And at least this place will be here to appreciate afterwards," Miles added with a small smile. He moved to the door and turned back to the Historian, offering his hand. "For now at least to regain my honor, allow me to lead you, Lady Kamukura."

Kasumi gave a nod, taking Miles's hand after a moment. A small smile rested on her lips as she said, "Well, if you insist. Let's get going, then!"

?:? ?, Day 1

Artificial Park, 1st Floor

ISS Amerigo

With a small groan, Jingai slowly opened his eyes. His body ached a little as he moved to get up from the wooden bench. Above him was the wooden ceiling of the gazebo and past that a bright pale blue sky. It took a moment but he quickly shot up and started scanning all around. "Wait, what the fuck?! Am I? Was the ship even..."

For a moment, it looked like he was just in some random park, trees and flowers lining the area, with a field of high but not overgrown grass. But after enough looking, some of the trees were just paintings on walls that surrounded the clearing. The sky itself was a simple blank face that had color projected onto it.

"Either we both just had the weirdest joint dream, or we're somewhere on the ship," Tiana grumbled, stretching and cracking her joints. "God, that's going to hurt later!"

"Ugh, no kidding," the Detective muttered as he rubbed his back. "This place is definitely just made to look nice, but it's totally faker than my breastforms."

Tiana swung her legs off the bench and onto the floor of the gazebo. "I'm curious how we wound up here, though. We should still be in the pods." She then paused. When she moved her legs, she didn't feel anything hit or rub against her thigh aside from her dress. She glanced down, and her eyes widened at what she saw, or lack thereof. "Someone stole my riding crop!"

"That's just more shit to add on top of everything. At least we can get a good switch from one of those trees if we really need it," Jin mused as he gestured out, adding a wink.

The Domme let out a snicker before letting out a sigh. "Hopefully I can find it, but I won't die if I don't have it." She stood up and smoothed out her dress before glancing back at the Detective. "For now, though, we should see if anyone else is awake. If we woke up like this, there's got to be at least one other person in a similar situation."

Jingai nodded as he pulled out a small compact to check himself over. "Makes sense, but who knows how long it's even been. Maybe an hour later, or a million years. At least my wings stayed perfect."

"You didn't have to pull a mirror out to check that. I could've told you that myself." Tiana flashed Jin a smile before stepping out of the gazebo. "Are you coming, Jin?"

"Oh fine, I thought this place would be good enough, hell, the risk of splinters would just add some spice. But if you insist," the Detective joked as he moved to follow the blonde.

Tiana playfully rolled her eyes at his quip, but she continued on her way. After walking for a few more seconds, she finally found something. It had been difficult to spot from the gazebo, but moving closer, Tiana was able to see it: A crack in the blue sky. "I think I found the door out of here." She breathed a sigh before stepping closer to it. "Hopefully the ship hasn't been overtaken by aliens."

As they moved towards the concealed door, a few more cracks seemed to form around it as it started to push open. It cleanly slid to the side as a figure was instantly revealed. Sydney was standing there with a bored expression, though it broke for a moment as she noticed the two approaching.

"Would you look at that, Ms. Ray of Fucking Sunshine herself is parting the sky," Jingai said with a shit eating grin. The Surgeon's frown immediately reformed.

"I don't know whether to be glad we found someone so quickly, or concerned that someone else is actually awake as well," Tiana muttered with a small frown. "I am glad to see you're alright at least, Syd."

Sydney gave a lazy shrug. "Yeah well, I haven't found anyone who actually knows whatever the fuck is going on. Not that I've seen anyone besides you two and the knockoff cowboy. He was in the medical bed beside mine when I woke up."

"Ooh, you and Clint huh? I'd guess a guy like him knows how to use some rope, so that must have been fun," Jingai said, not losing his smile. After a moment of the girl's icy stare he rolled his eyes. "So did you and the rough rider decide to split up and search or what?"

"No, he didn't wake up when I did so I moved on to look for someone important. Looks like I'm not done looking yet," the black-haired girl stated as she looked past the pair into the empty room behind them. "Seems like there's nothing here."

"Unfortunately yeah, it's just an artificial garden," Tiana confirmed. "Very gorgeous, but not exactly practical."

"Well it's probably to keep people from going stir crazy," Jingai said with a shrug. "So looks like we may need to get searching with you."

Sydney stared at the crossdresser blankly for a moment. "I don't think so. Last thing I need is you two pervs testing my last nerve."

Tiana cocked an eyebrow before taking a noticeably deeper breath and releasing it. "I can understand why you might think that about me, but Jin is just foul-mouthed." She cracked a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Besides, it would be better to move a unit than for you to be going alone."

"Whatever, I'm not in charge of you two,' Sydney said with a scoff. She stopped to give the room one last look over before she decided to turn around and start moving back to the hallway.

Jingai quietly looked from Sydney towards Tiana, studying her expression for a moment. His smirk reformed as he moved beside Tiana and hugged against her arm. "Don't pay her any mind. Besides, look at the bright side, she'd probably be really easy to go down on since she's so much of a cunt!" He had made an effort to sound like he was whispering but was clearly making sure he could be heard. He giggled as the Surgeon held up a middle finger over her shoulder without turning to face them. "A really sensitive one, too."

Tiana couldn't help but laugh as she and the Detective made their way down the hallway. "You are such a brat, Jin." She smirked at him before winking. "I like it." After taking another deep breath to calm herself down, she let out a content sigh. "Now, let's see if we can find anyone else."

AN

The cast has taken off! And now the fun can begin! Thank you for reading and happy new year!