[FTL RP, WE'RE BACK, REBOOTED!] The Rogue Cadets

[Chickengames]

"I mean, they'll have to, won't they? You were part of the mission to save the federation from a black hole weapon from the future. That's not something they can just overlook. If they don't welcome you, we'll just not go. At least I won't." Kyrie noticed she was winning quite a few the first few rounds and started to play more cautiously, in case Lux had some trick up her sleeve. "Honestly I don't know how eden does it, with her always looking pregnant with twins at least. And how do you even fit a whole person into your mouth and then down your throat. There's no way it stretchs that wide."

[stylesrj]

At least The Gift doesn't spread beyond the first infection or else everyone here would have to be quarantined... Lux thought to herself, But that doesn't mean someone couldn't be spreading it deliberately...
"Well... I'd say she carries herself well because she's a heavyworlder..." Lux commented, glancing back over at Eden. "But as for the other parts? The Gift does weird things to the Human body; I ate an entire Slug body the other day and while I felt weighed down, it was a very wonderful feeling... I can see why it's called The Gift if it does that..."
She picked up another card and then smirked. It was a losing hand as well. "Well I guess I got the poker face, but not the poker skills" she chuckled.

[JakeCollins]

Jake wandered onto the station, in a fog. He felt as if someone was gently pulling him, urging him of where to go. Before he knew it, Jake was standing in some dark side room. He looked around wearily. There was some kind of... system in the room. A great mass of tubes, dangling down from the ceiling and snaking through the room. Viscous fluids gurgled through these tubes, as electricity sparked on some kind of dark metal structure in the center of the room.

The dark metal structure was pyramid shaped, and looked like some kind of heavy duty rack, or a series of heavy duty street grates. Electricity sparked through this rack.

"What the hell?" Jake said to no one.

"Your reaction to the system is unconventional," A voice said from behind. It was a very slim looking rockman, slumped in the corner. "Just like mine was,"

"You know about this?" Jake asked.

"I know enough, or, well, I've figured it out. I'm a scientist, or, I was..."

"Well, what is it?" Jake gestured to the device.

"It emits some kind of energy field which stimulates the neurological reactions in the brains of others. It manipulates the brain,"

"To what end?"

"It triggers massive amounts of dopamine to be released into the body. It makes you have fun. It's a fun machine, you could say."

"But... why?"

"This is a Pleasure Cruiser. They want you to feel pleasure. Not only that, they want you to stay here for as long as possible. Forever. Think of the profit, having people stay here forever! Buying food! Clothes! Cheap stuff! This device makes you forget the outside world. You just have fun... pleasure... here... forever."

"But I could just get in my ship and leave right now!" Jake exclaimed.

"That's the point. You could leave, but this device makes you not want to. You don't want to leave, and neither does your crew,"

"Sorry, buddy - but I want to get the hell out of here,"

"I know. So do I. That's why I said our reactions our different. This technology is by no means complete, it's still very crude. For most people, it just makes them happy and docile. But for a slim few, it draws them here. It attracts them. Our brains are stronger, somehow. Our minds are not subdued. We were lead here. It's unintentional, the device is not intended to do that."

"So... our brains are different. That's why we weren't affected like the others?"

"Yeah. But make no mistake, we were affected too. Just not in the same way."

"Why haven't you left? Where's your crew?"

"My crew is having fun in the casino. Like they've been doing for the past 25 years. One of my men already died of old age, playing poker. He never stopped playing. And those playing with him didn't stop to help. They just kept playing on and on."

"They're all addicted to this place..."

"Yes."

"Why haven't you tried to leave?"

"I don't... I don't know... You see? We're under the influence too!"

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"The human sitting next to me, my first officer, he starved to death years ago." The rockman gestured to a withered, dried out skeleton next to him. "But Rockmen don't need to eat much. We can go for years without anything."

Jake felt his legs getting heavy. He just wanted to sit down... to sit down... He began to fall back onto the floor.

"DON'T SIT!" The rockman screamed. The loud noise made Jake's body stiffen. "If you sit, you'll never want to get up again,"

This is just a very early, simple, and crude form of Mind Control

[BrenTenkage]

Over with Ruwen he was busy meditating when he heard something, people coming in...and not his friends

He walked over and could see two slugs looking around muttering

"Can I help you?" he asked

"Woah, uh yeah just checking out the place, yeah, your crew wants to stay here and sent us to look over the ship" one said clearly lying

"Uh huh" he said folding his arms, "How about the real reason before I kill you" he said annoyed by this

"Listen buddy if I were you I'd just relax, go inside, have a good time, we will take care of the ship" the slug said changing tactics, when he was ordered to go into here and take the ship he didn't expect to see a weird rockman, oh well pleasure device works on em all

"Very well then" he said his personal translator doing well to explain his displeasure, "But if I come back and anything is robbed...well I'm sure you know what will happen to you" he said walking out to find his friends

The slugs looked at each other, "Maybe we shouldn't do this....I feel like...maybe he might not be bluffing" he said

"Look you heard the boss, get as many suckers on board, they stay there and we get plenty of weapons,scrap and ships, no one is immune to our waves" his buddy said

"Yeah but what about those monsters?" the first asked

"They were just robots." The second said maybe just a bit too quickly, like he wasn't too sure himself

(well I can think of two things it won't work on, Lanius or Crystals, both for the same reason...no one to configure the waves to, so its more annoying to them. Hell they might have gotten attacked earlier because the waves triggered something in the lanius)

Back with Bren he was walking out of the back room with a smile on his face, seems the lady had friends of her own... and he saw the poker game, "Oh hey guys, man the ladies here are awesome" he said sitting down, not playing but talking

Gorlag meanwhile was still chatting with Grema, but he couldn't help but feel something was off, like in the back of his mind...but hey everyone was having a good time why shouldn't he?

[Chickengames]

"Wonderful feeling? What do you mean? It isn't that type of feeling is it?" Kyrie won yet another hand, surprised at how much she was winning. Just then, Bren walked up and sat down. "Glad your enjoying yourself. How do zoltans, like... do it?" She dealt out another round. "You have to be low on money by now, Lux. Let's see if I can get some your clothes," she said betting most of the money she had.

[stylesrj]

"Well... probably that sort of feeling. Like carrying a child except well..." Lux said "If she were alive I could ask my mother about..."
She looked down at her cards as she remembered what happened in the past. Admiral Tully telling her about the incident... she tried to sigh in a brief moment of sadness only to...
Tears started rolling down her eyes. "Excuse me... I think I need to..." she stammered, sniffling heavily.
She tried to stand up from her seat; but despite her emotional breakdown she found herself just unable to motivate her legs to get her away. So instead she dropped her cards and put her head on the table in sorrow.

Meanwhile on the Pelican, the crew was too busy on the Runabout project and also just too crazy to consider for control. After all, if the customers were eaten alive by crazy cannibals, there wouldn't be anyone to exploit.
So of course no one came onboard to check out the hauler.
Eden kept floating in the pool, wondering what was going on for a brief moment before deciding that the pool was really relaxing. Give me a few more minutes, then I might return to the ship she thought to herself.

Eden is sorta under the influence but of course I think they'd want her to leave.

[BrenTenkage]

"Wonderful feeling? What do you mean? It isn't that type of feeling is it?" Kyrie won yet another hand, surprised at how much she was winning. Just then, Bren walked up and sat down. "Glad your enjoying yourself. How do zoltans, like... do it?" She dealt out another round. "You have to be low on money by now, Lux. Let's see if I can get some your clothes," she said betting most of the money she had.

"Zoltans "do it" by sharing postive and negative electrons...as well as things ahems....you humans do...." he said blushing lightly

[Chickengames]

Kyrie placed a hand on Lux's shoulder. "Anything we can do, Lux? Maybe to take your mind off it?"

[stylesrj]

"Well you could..." Lux started but then Glemma excused herself for a moment and approached Lux and Kyrie and offered to provide drinks.
"This'll blast the sorrow right out of her!" she said, handing over a very suspicious-looking drink to the two.
Before anyone could take it off her or question the nature of the drink, Lux immediately chugged it down. "Get me another one!" she declared.

Eden looked over at Lux and commented "I'll have what she's having..."
She patted her belly and added "Make it three. I don't think Engies drink."

[BrenTenkage]

"Well you could..." Lux started but then Glemma excused herself for a moment and approached Lux and Kyrie and offered to provide drinks.
"This'll blast the sorrow right out of her!" she said, handing over a very suspicious-looking drink to the two.
Before anyone could take it off her or question the nature of the drink, Lux immediately chugged it down. "Get me another one!" she declared.

Eden looked over at Lux and commented "I'll have what she's having..."
She patted her belly and added "Make it three. I don't think Engies drink."

"Get me something with a lot of elctrolytes" Bren ordered