Day Six-Twenty-Two: Sleeping Duty

Hrm. Maybe it wasn't the eel fondue after all. What's going on around here?

Though she was dead determined to see us back at full power last night, Libby gave up 'round 7. She looked utterly exhausted after a more-than-full-day's work, and she went straight from Engineering to our bed. Her only order before conking out was to find a safe place to park the Dauphine. Queen Daena wanted some family time with her kids - I think she's convinced bringing Logan and Jeffrey together for activities is the first step to mending fences - so she was fine with that.

I didn't think it unremarkable that most of the crew vacated the Neo Beefiary by 8. It was a long day. People weren't feeling well. An early bedtime is good. Gave me a chance to have a quiet card game with Ed, Grylock and Plato, refereed by Plato's rat. It's apparently picked up a few games in its time.

I went to bed late, fully expecting to wake up to an active, energetic crew the next morning. I did not expect to wake up and find no one.

The Neo Beefiary is a hub of activity. It's the passage through which one goes to reach Engineering from Command, as well as the Dauphine's many cabins, so it stands to reason that you'd see at least one person there. Bora should always be there, since that's her damned job. Yet when I got up expecting a light breakfast, nobody was there.

"Hello?" I called, stepping between empty chairs and staring towards the bar. "Anybody there?"

The echo of my voice answered me. Nada.

Bora's cabin is beside the bar, so I knocked on the door. She answered after a minute or two, looking a little groggy. "Hi, Dragomir. What's up?"

I pointed to the kitchen. "Uh. Breakfast? Hello? What happened to doin' your job?"

She sneered, obviously half asleep. "I did my job. Made breakfast and everything. Nobody got up to eat it. Stood around for an hour and a half doin' jack shit. So I went back to bed. Anybody out there now?"

I glanced over my shoulder. "Um. Well... not really, but..."

"Yeah." Bora shut the door in my face. "Come back when somebody needs me. I'm sleepy."

Irritated, I walked the corridors, listening at cabin doors. In some I heard very faint movement; in others snoring; in yet others complete silence. No one reacted to my gentle knocks.

I checked Engineering. Same there. The former royal family was dozing on Daena's patch of grass, not at all bothered by my calls. Daena's kicks continued unabated as she snoozed.

I checked Command, through which I'd come in the first place. I found Nagi sleeping atop our planning table, having somehow missed her on my first sweep. She hissed at me when I tried to move her somewhere else.

The only soul I found awake was Plato, at his post, high atop the Dauphine. He quacked a greeting as I stomped up the stairs, pulling a jacket on to ward off the cold and snow.

"Yo." I stood beside him, peering at the rising sun. "You're awake, right?"

Nod.

"How about your rat? How's he doin'?"

Plato shook his head at that. He reached into a pouch at his side and pulled out the rat by its tail. It snorted out a tiny yawn as it dangled in Plato's fingers, then went back to sleep.

"Yeah, I'm gettin' that a lot today." I scratched my head. "This is really weird. By now I should've had Fynn begging me to wrestle with him at least twice. But he's still asleep with his mom."

Plato held a hand above his head, straining on his toes.

"Ahh, he's still a baby, no matter how tall he is. He can stay with us a little while longer." 

Plato shrugged.

I eyed Plato, remembering his shenanigans at the border. "You didn't do this, did you? Not pullin' any more hijacking business?"

An indignant, fearful shake of the head. 

"Yeah, I guess that would be pretty stupid." I tried to inject menace into my voice, but I knew Plato wasn't up to anything. "You... hrm. You stay up here for now, 'kay? Lemme know if you start to doze off. I'm gonna... try... to wake people up. I guess."

And I tried. Lords did I try. And to no avail! Though they seem otherwise healthy, the crew of the Dauphine is caught in a day-long coma. I hope it's only a day long. I have no explanation as to why this is happening, and I fear something beyond my sight is at work.

Why do I fear that? 

Because something beyond my sight is ALWAYS at work when this shit goes down. Always.

This place is really boring when it's this quiet,

Dragomir the Wanderer