(backdated to pre-Pan plot -- also threadjack Miles in the comments!)

[vorbarra]

[There is a thin, angular man with dark neat hair and intensely focused hazel eyes on the screen. He clears his throat when the vid starts; he's had to swallow down his nerves and put on his calm political mask to speak. His accent is a gravelly, guttural sort of Russian, as if Russians went into space and were fast-forwarded a thousand years. Which they did.]

Hello. My name's Greg. I'm adding to your barrage of new arrivals. It's still very surreal to be here, if for no other reason than that I'm on pre-space travel Earth.

[He does look honestly bemused by that.]

I was wondering what the regulations are for obtaining jobs around here. They've assigned me one, but I was hoping for something... low key. Normal, menial work. [A quirk of his lips.] I have experience putting in lights, if that's relevant, and as a navigator.

I was also looking for confirmation that all of the, ah, abilities listed in our files are real. I'd prefer not to test something like this to find out.

Thank you.

Comments

[dendarii]

Absolutely. We have shapeships as well, and believe Greg's already mentioned our wormhole nexus?

[driftsintobuffetline]

Cool as those might be, wormholes and spaceships are more Hermann's expertise than mine. That said, I'm not going to bow out if you three decide to have a discussion on warpdrives or some shit, but I'd rather hear about the non-human species you've encountered.

[dendarii]

Alas, none whatsoever.

[driftsintobuffetline]

...Seriously. Seriously?

I mean, call me a skeptic, but there has to be a Wookie or a Vogon or just some little guy needing to phone home. There's...no possible way that I've managed more of an alien encounter than you--and I've never even left Earth!

[dendarii]

On that point you have done more than me, Doctor. [ A beat. ] We have xenofauna, of course, but nothing sentient.

[driftsintobuffetline]

Doesn't have to be sentient to be cool. [His face says it all: Tell me more. He is so easy.]

[dendarii]

... All right. There are very odd jellyfish-like creatures on Sergyar - they float filled with hydrogen. And they attack people's faces.

[driftsintobuffetline]

Okay! Now we're talking. But when you say they 'attack people's faces'... Are they trying to feed on people's faces? Or are they attracted to something about a person's face or mouth--like are they confused and trying to mate with them, or do they like the sugars on their breath or the beauty products or...? You can't say 'attack people's faces' and leave it without explanation.

[dendarii]

Quite literally an attack, I'm told. Predatorial. Attempting to remove the blood of their victims.

[driftsintobuffetline]

Really. Okay, that's cool. What else?

[dendarii]

Quite a few species mutated after the Great War on Earth as well. I'm told that mosquitoes used to be smaller than five inches long, for example ...