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April 25th, 2759*
Level 4, Lounge
Illoca Facility, Durness
6:13 AM (Durness time table)
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Alice Davern
Blake seemed to be starting to get more than just choked up and emotional, and Alice decided to let it slide, turning her attention to the show on the screen. She'd seen Vocalive before, but not on her homeworld. All the twats that participated in contests and shows like these from her planet were annoying to listen to. It wasn't a cappella anymore, just over kill and scratchy voices. So, whenever she did watch the show (i.e boring and sleepless nights), she watched the foreign regionals. But she hadn't seen this group before.
Admittedly, Alice knew shit about a cappella. She liked the way people sounded when they sang, and the way the music was created without instruments, but apart from that, she knew nothing about it and how it was done. She thought their group was good, but had nothing to base their performance off of. Although, with the way the audience was responding to the performance, they certainly thought it was pretty good. She couldn't deny that she enjoyed listening to the music, or that she'd probably spend quite a few nights at this dump of a science facility watching the show, now that Blake had kindled interest in her.
She was turning to Blake, about to make her attempt at an uplifting, cheery comment, when a few men and women walked into the room. Most had on stereotypical white lab coats, with blank expressions and hair either short or pulled back. A few held clipboards, some held PADs, and others were empty-handed. A few more security guards that weren't already in the room wandered in behind them, followed by a few people dressed more casually, but still in stark black and white uniforms.
One of them stepped towards the holo TV and turned it off, the screen flickering off. Someone was taking a candidate head count. For a moment, Alice was panicked, but she realized what time it was- six. Their lessons were supposed to start then, and it was a few minutes after. She hadn't expected the entire facility to pack themselves into the small room on the subject, though.
There was one woman she recognized from the orientation- Marianne Favero. Doctor Favero. She stood at the front, looking read to begin with another lecture, with the other scientists behind her, ready to write down what she said word for word- or so Alice imagined. Pens were poised over clipboards, although eyes were on the candidates, making her feel like a bug under a microscope. She had to fight back the urge to squirm and run away from their scrutinizing eyes.
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April 25th, 2759
Level 4, Candidate Lounge
Illoca Facility, Durness
6:14 AM (Durness time table)
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Marianne Favero
Marianne walked into the room with a group of other scientists, all dressed similarly and nearly indistinguishable from each other. She wasn't an advocate for being paraded around the facility- her facility- with an army of men and woman in tow, but she didn't have much of a choice. It was the UPN way of doing things, and the UPN always won. So, she tolerated it, although she made a mental note to contact somebody about this inconvenience. How was she supposed to do her job if someone escorted her from one lab to the other, every day, at all hours? It was annoying.
Some of the candidates seemed unnerved by the entrance of not only the scientists, but the security guards. Marianne had to admit that it sort of gave off the feeling of a jail or prison, what with all the buff and heavily equipped people in the room, standing at the edges. That little detail was courtesy of Warwick. "You can't trust this good for nothing lot of mice. You can bet your life and lively hood that one of these men are going to mess with shit, stick their noses where it don't belong, and then our facility will be torn right up from under your feet and dangled in front of you like a carrot on a stick." He had said to her. He was drunk at the time, but he held onto his word and beliefs- and he did so by arming himself and Marianne with an armored guard.
She didn't think it was necessary. At least, not now. These people couldn't be expected to be okay with all of this- their abduction, the testing, the training- but for now, they didn't know what would happen to them, and most probably didn't think that there was any way out of the situation at all. From what she had seen, they had all succumbed to the UPN and the Project. If that was the case, then all the armored guards should be sleeping in their rooms, not standing to attention.
She waited for the head count to be completed before she cleared her throat and began to speak. It was a well rehearsed, boring speech. "Good morning, Candidates. I expect you're all well?" She began, glancing across them as if she expected a response that she knew wouldn't come. "Classes begin today- and I'm sure everyone here has examined their PADs and have seen the schedules. Classes are a little late beginning today. We apologize for the inconvenience. Originally, candidates were to be separated into two groups, but we have decided to merge the classes. We expect that with your small number, there will be no issues with merging the two groups into one bigger class.
"Your teachers are scientists working in this facility that have specialized in the subjects you will be studying in. They will introduce themselves in your classes. Be respectful. We know many of you must be tired, but please refrain from falling asleep in your classes. You will receive brief breaks and then later will have your fitness training. So stay energized, hydrated, and awake! If, for any reason, you need medical aid, there are emergency alert buttons near the doors of the classrooms. Fitness trainers will contact emergency services for you if you are injured during their class time."
She paused, glancing again across the bored or nervous looking candidates. For a moment, she felt sort of guilty. Marianne knew what was going to happen to these people, but they didn't really know, did they? It felt like a big, horrible trick. A cruel one. But there wasn't much she could do about it.
So, she forced a smile on her face. Hopefully, it looked genuine. "We hope you find yourselves enjoying your classes, candidates. And we hope you had a good morning."
Then she stepped back, and someone else took the reins, stepping forward and giving instructions to the candidates. People were to report to the elevators- the same ones that had lifted them up to this level of the facility- and then they would be brought to the third level and lead to the education center and their classes. A woman stood by the door, ready to lead the candidates off.
Marianne waited until the room emptied to leave. She glanced at Warwick, who still stood beside her. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get to work." She said, turning her heel and leaving the room.
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April 25th, 2759
Level 4, Candidate Quarters
Illoca Facility, Durness
5:17 AM (Durness time table)
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Simone "Phoenix" Rish
Simone had to tear her eyes away from his stomach- and abs- again, as Riley continued speaking. "There's going to be a lot of stress from here on out. If you need to vent at someone, my door's always open." He said, before he started to perform his crunches, shirt tightening and loosing as he moved. Simone wasn't sure how to respond. She looked down at her hands, searching her thoughts, as somebody else came out of their room, exchanging hello's with Riley before leaving towards the kitchens.
"She... probably has a good idea. Food, you know. So, uhm.. I'll see you later." She said meekly, crossing her arms against her chest. She turned away to leave, but paused, looking back at Riley, still doing those crunches. "And thanks." She murmured.
She made her way into the mess hall as if she were running to salvation. It turned it not to be, but there weren't too many people inside the room, so she was able to grab food and leave to the hall, finding a stretch of hall that was empty and unoccupied by others. She leaned against the wall, allowing herself to slide down to the ground, where she sat, granola bar in hand, thoughts trapped in spinning circles around her head.
"I miss when I was in command of a military unit," she mumbled. "So much easier than this 'social' bullshit."
Maybe it was only Riley that was making her feel like a disaster, although she didn't- and wouldn't ever- admit something stupid like that. He was a flirt, definitely. She couldn't blame herself for being frazzled by it.
Crumpling the paper around her granola bar, she made her way into the lounge room, where she tossed it out into a waste basket and found her way into a chair situated by the back of the room. Forget about it, she told herself. Forget about it, and it won't be able to come back and bother you.
* Months and seasons have been added onto the group page, under the Durness thread.