Captain Jack Aubrey: Debut

[luckyjackaubrey]

Jack's transportation out of the cell and into one of the largest rooms he'd ever encountered was no less disconcerting than his arrival in that cell twenty-four hours earlier. At least Jack's ability to sleep through anything and at any time had no failed him, and most of his confinement he had spent snoring with no notion of the time on waking which was just as well.

In any case, having no explanation for either arrival, Jack dismissed the question from his mind and set about examining the area. His footfalls echoed off the great empty chamber as he paced about, first in one direction and then the other, finding no clue at all as to the manner of his capture, for captured he surely had been.

"Discourteous of the buggers not to present themselves and state their intentions," he said softly to himself.

Finally, Jack stopped, facing down one of the long corridors, and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Ahoy!" he called in his booming ship's voice. "Hello!"

Comments

[good_cop]

Sam's eyes swept over the man before her. It seemed clear from his manner of speech and the polite little bow that he wasn't from 'today' (or her today anyway), but with the identical outfits the inhabitants of the station all found themselves in on transportation it was impossible to say much more than that - going by the ma'am only gave her any time between about the first half of the twentieth century and... maybe the seventeenth? ...and even then it was hard to say given the general inaccuracies that tended to creep in with costumed affairs, not to mention the fact he might not even really be speaking English... I'm sure Sherlock Holmes would have him pegged to within a decade in under a minute. Well, regardless...

"'Fraid that's a difficult question," Sam said with an apologetic smile. "As far as the people who live here go, there isn't anyone 'in charge' exactly, for reasons we can get into - some good and some... less so." She paused, trying to figure out the best way to frame her next words without confusing, scaring or angering the poor man. "Beyond our little group... everyone was brought here against their will, just like you, but if we have a prison guard, we've seen hide nor hair of them."

Accommodation. The word came floating back to Sam from her undergrad as she said 'hide nor hair'. She was slipping into archaic turns of phrase she would never usually use to make this man feel less uncomfortable, just the way she used to broaden or lighten her accent speaking to some interviewees depending on how they spoke. Once a copper...

"Anyway, we're in a bit of an upheaval at the moment for various reasons but I'll answer any questions I can. I'm Samantha Murray," she finished, reaching out a mercifully not too sweaty hand to him. Her full name, because just 'Sam' might be a little unsettling. The handshake from a woman because, well, best start as we mean to go on, eh?

[luckyjackaubrey]

Cautiously, Jack took her hand and shook it, although his expression turned a touch puzzled as he scanned what she told him. "Captain Jack Aubrey," he offered.

"Miss Murray, if I am to understand you correctly, are you saying that you have met neither captors nor guards?" he asked. "Neither you nor your fellows? Well that would be troubling. How long do you expect your rations to last?" he continued, assuming that their troubles stemmed from being locked together without any access to additional help or resources.

[good_cop]

"Ah, well, hm..." Sam shot Jack another rather tight smile. "There's a lot to explain, Captain Aubery. I think perhaps we should sit down, and I'll start at the beginning..."


* * *


"...And that's as much as I know, in general terms. Just where - and when - this station is we really don't know - whether it's the same world as one of the people here, or a different place entirely, or just no place at all somehow..." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I realise this must all sound completely bonkers - insane. Believe me, it does to me too - where I come from none of this sort of science exists yet, except in fiction. But it's all I've got for you."

Sam took a swig from her water bottle then offered it to Jack, who seemed to be taking all the information she'd just imparted remarkably well.

[luckyjackaubrey]

Jack sat back and brought a hand to his face for a moment before he straightened up again. "You'll have to pardon my skepticism," he said finally, a great deal of what you have said is beyond my experience. You must have held up very well," he added.

He glanced at her as she offered the bottle and then nodded, taking it from her and followed suit.

[good_cop]

"Not even close," Sam said with a wry chuckle. "I literally collapsed and had to be sedated. I was already a bit... ill... before I got here, so this made it worse for a while. And honestly, if you weren't skeptical I'd wonder about your sanity. This whole thing sounds completely mad, I know. So, er... can I ask, where do you come from? I'm guessing you're a British naval officer, but beyond that..."

[luckyjackaubrey]

"Yes ma'am," he said, unwilling to comment on any of the rest of her most personal information. "Captain of the HMS Surprise, late of Malta," he added, wishing that he were on dear old Surprise now.

Then after an uncomfortable moment he spoke again, "That is, 1813 England. My wife and I are settled just outside of Portsmouth."

She'd mentioned that most of the prisoners here were from different times as well as places, and while that seemed unfathomable to Jack, he had the decency to at least play along with the charade. He wasn't sure if she was mad or not, but there was something in his being that told him she spoke truly to the best of her knowledge and so far nothing he had seen had added up to anything that he had known.

[good_cop]

Sam nodded - apparently this was about what she expected. "I'm from Glasgow 2012," she said. "I was a police officer."

[luckyjackaubrey]

"A lady constable?" he asked, brow furrowing with the question before the rest of what she'd said caught up with him. "2012," he repeated. "I cannot fathom it. If this place were a bit more familiar, I might have thought you were having a laugh." The whole thing seemed like it ought to be some political scheme to discredit him, but he didn't think that even Admiral Harte, who certainly wished him no good will, had enough cleverness or resources to do such a thing. Even the cleverest of smoke and mirror charades could not have achieved what was apparent to Jack's own eyes.

[good_cop]

"If it's any consolation, going by the nature of this place there's a good chance that you and I are much closer to one other in time than we are to this. I'd offer you a potted history of the next couple of hundred years for you, but you'll be able to investigate for yourself soon enough."

[luckyjackaubrey]

It wasn't, but Jack was too polite to say so. The fact of the matter was that she was farther away from his time than he was comfortable with, but as she was the only person he'd seen so far, he was not about to turn her out for his own comfort.

"I think," he said carefully, "That may be a tale for another day." He was not certain that he wanted to know more about the next few hundred years.

"Tell me, if you will, what of others? How many of you are there?"

[good_cop]

"A bit shy of forty - although some of them are currently indisposed." And just as well. "They're from all over - some from long before you, and some from after me quite possibly. I think. Maybe." Sam made an uncertain face at this - she really wasn't sure on that one, but it was a fair guess, probably?

[luckyjackaubrey]

Jack nodding, considering the number. From the vastness of the place, he was surprised. Forty men would not have done for a full watch on Surprise.

"Why, the place is practically empty."

[good_cop]

Sam smiled a little in spite of hersefl. "I suppose so. Doesn't feel that way, sometimes - the stretch of living quarters available to us only has a few empty rooms left, though I believe there are more elsewhere on the station. But we don't really have to... run things, here. They more or less run themselves. There's a great deal of automation." As she used the last word, her eyes caught Jack's, clearly seeking for confirmation that he understood the concept - was the idea of 'automation' widely discussed before the industrial revolution? Suddenly she wished she'd studied more history at uni...