Logs Of Communications Officer Samuel Lambert

We don't get to choose who we fight with, we don't get to choose who we fight against, we only get to choose how we stand together against the enemy. (Profile picture by @vetchtibbles!!)

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Greetings, salutations!

This is an archive of the logs of Communications Officer Samuel E. Lambert, aboard the U.S.S. Hephaestus Station.

Any questions, queries, or other forms of written communication that one might want to pose should be submitted through "Incoming Transmission?", as Mr. Cutter has stated that, as Communication Officer, it is my solemn duty to handle any missives from Earth to the Hephaestus. Please try and refrain from any shenaniganery, as I really have a lot of work to do conducting the D.S.A.L.S. and trying to keep Captain Lovelace on track.

This is Communications Officer Lambert, signing off.

Okay, hi, y'all, it's Sophie. I finally gave up and made this blog (Late at night, I might add). For what reasons? Who knows! But, if you know me, then you know I do not do any romance or NSFW content. Other than that, it's pretty much go for whatever. I have never run a roleplay account before, so please be patient with my no doubt frequent mistakes. Thank you, and have fun!

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Good evening, Mr. Lambert!

How have you been? For a communications officer, I've been noticing a lack of updates from your end. I'm sure it's just an internal failure, I'd hate to think that you've been falling behind lately.

Command sends their best.

- @rachel-e-young

Ms. Young, what an unexpected surprise.

I hope you have been well, and I apologise for the lack of communications; I was not aware you had been promoted to Head of Communications for the Hephaestus mission?

If you must know, there have been communications sent to Command, just to those appropriate. Thank you very much for your concern, and I will make sure to update you as necessary. With respect to Mr. Cutter, of course.

This is Communications Officer Samuel Lambert, signing off.

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.352

If it can’t be said nicely, it shouldn’t be said at all – especially if saying it won’t save your life anyway.

[officer-eiffel-comms-hail]

Hello?

Lambda Sigma Sector, Bearing Eighteen, is there anyone out there?

(@communicationsofficerslambert)

Wh—??

What the hell? Oh my god, is this actually?

… Wait. That sounds like the same system we’re using. I just checked that sector, how come they—? I thought the closest team out here was over near…

Oh, wait. Maybe I should actually… do my job and say something.

Um… hello? Anyone, here… uh— human anyones. I guess that doesn’t matter unless we’re looking for the same thing… we’re all human here, right?

[communicationsofficerslambert]

What do you mean "we're all human here"?

A) Of course I'm human, why on Earth else would I be doing the D.S.A.L.S.? And B) That is an incredibly suspicious thing to say if I weren't already certain that you must be another Goddard Futuristics employee. There's no one else up here with such sophisticated comms tech; we must have just gotten too close to one another.

What ship are you hailing from?

[officer-eiffel-comms-hail]

Huh… I dunno whether to be disappointed or relieved. I just hadn’t heard of another outpost being set up around here, is all— didn’t mean to make things all Men At Work.

Uh— anyway, this is the U.S.S. Hephaestus! Honestly, it’s a miracle you decided to intercept our frequency when you did, we could really use a hand, here. Where exactly are you guys phoning in from?

[communicationsofficerslambert]

"The U.S.S. Hephaestus"? That categorically cannot be true. I am on the U.S.S. Hephaestus, currently, and there is only one Hephaestus on Goddard Futuristics' roster. I would know. I asked.

Is this some sort of prank? Is this Dr. Hui and Captain Lovelace? Captain, as you well know, "Some things are too serious to ever be joked about", Pryce and Carter 769, and I would say that this is one of them. The D.S.A.L.S. may not be important to you, but to me, and to Command, they are no laughing matter.

As your Second in Command, I would advise you to please return to your assigned tasks. Immediately.

[communicationsofficerslambert]

@miranda-pryces-new-world

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Lambert sighed, suppressing the urge to cough. The noise was difficult, if only because it was incessant. There was never a quiet moment in the lab, and although he sometimes wished that it were, he had to acknowledge that it was probably better than being completely alone with his thoughts. But the beeps and whirs and whistles from the various pieces of machinery had begun to metaphorically drill a hole in his skull at this point.

Shifting slightly on the thin gurney cot, he even began to wish that Dr. Pryce would come back. It was awful to have her staring at him with her strange eyes, but at least it had been some kind of human(?) interaction. He wasn't sure if she still counted as human anymore, though he suspected she might have been at some point.

At that point, the humming vibrations of the door unlocking rang through the room, interrupting his train of thought.

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

Samuel Lambert had been in the custody of Goddard Futuristics for... How long, now? It was hard to say, at least from his perspective. He was just one of Doctor Pryce's pet projects— one that she apparently liked enough that she had arranged for someone to feed him in her absence.

Not all of her projects had been so lucky.

The door opened, as it so often did. Two pairs of heavy, clomping footsteps. Those would be the guards, the staff.

Doctor Pryce had a distinctive gait, too. Was she back? She hadn't been back in so long! Was she-

The doctor appeared at the side of his bed, looking down at him. Two guards flanked her. She was dressed in a lab coat, but it seemed ill-fitting, as though she didn't know how to wear it.

She blinked.

"I don't understand."

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Trying to sit up, but hindered slightly by the various IVs and tubing hooked up to him, he faltered. "Doc– Doctor Pryce?" He did cough, then, though he made an attempt to smother it.

"What," he croaked, "what do you want?" He knew that talking back in such a way would likely result in punishment later, but he was utterly bewildered.

Squinting at the woman before him, he noticed the differences between her and the imposing figure in his memory. The ill-fitting lab coat, the hunched shoulders, but most of all the nervous way her strange, strange eyes darted around. Yes, he knew those eyes. But not in the current expression in which they were housed. This did not seem to be the Doctor Pryce he was expecting, but nor did it seem to be a stranger entirely.

"Who are you?" He whispered hoarsely.

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

Miranda didn't like seeing the man like this. Something about his appearance made her uncomfortable. She had had plenty of tubes and IVs in her short time on earth, but he had far surpassed that amount.

"I'm... Um-" She glanced at the guards, then back at Lambert. "My name is Doctor Pryce.

Who are you?"

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Lambert's forehead wrinkled as he listened. This most certainly did not seem to be Doctor Pryce, but then again, looks could be deceiving.

"My name is Communications Officer Samuel Lambert." He rattled off, and oh, how long had it been since someone asked him his name? And here he was, still chaining himself to a company that only saw fit to use him.

Glancing up at her face once more, he resolved that this really must be Doctor Pryce, if only for her eyes.

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

"Oh. Okay. I don't know you."

She sounded so small, her voice at a different pitch than usual. Higher. Younger? She almost sounded like it.

"Why are you here?"

[communicationsofficerslambert]

That... was not what he was expecting.

"That's– That's a complicated question, Doctor Pryce." He cleared his throat, trying to find the words. "Why don't you tell me why you're here?" He said slowly, mind working as fast as it could to put the pieces together.

How was she here? And why didn't she seem to be herself? The coat, the posture, the voice... There was definitely something off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Maybe if he could just find the right questions, the right words, then he could understand.

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

Miranda felt much the same, at times. If she could find the right questions to ask, then maybe, just maybe, she could finally understand what was going on.

"Well, I was on the Hephaestus. Or... Doctor Pryce was on the Hephaestus. But then she got hurt. And she, um-

Well, she died. And now I'm here."

She looked at the staff minding her for approval.

[communicationsofficerslambert]

The guard standing at her left shoulder nodded, glancing back at a woman Lambert hadn't noticed before, standing just past them. Pushing her hair behind her ear, she stepped forward, holding a clipboard to her chest.

"What happened to Doctor Pryce is more or less an unknown phenomenon; we are still studying it. However, the long and short of it is that her mind has been wiped. All memories; gone. So, in a manner of speaking, yes, Doctor Pryce did die."

She shuffled a bit, an excited smile growing on her face. "But, the main point of this exercise was to see if she might be able to regain some of herself with, er, well, you as a catalyst."

Lambert blinked. "And you thought me, a throwaway comms officer from the Hephaestus mission, who was only useful as a test subject, would be the 'catalyst' for her to regain her memory?"

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

The woman continued:

"Many of the people she knew well perished on the same mission in which she lost her memories. You're a familiar face.

Besides, you were already in her lab."

And, oddly enough, one of the guards started to let him up from the bed.

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Shakily, Lambert tried to climb out of the gurney, but his arms collapsed under him almost immediately as he attempted to use them to support his weight. Choosing the simpler method of just swinging his legs over the edge and using the remaining guardrails to keep himself upright, he squinted at the woman with the clipboard.

"What do you mean '[they] perished'? Who did?"

The woman looked uncomfortable for a brief moment, but quickly regained her composure. "That's none of your business. Only necessary information is shared with test subjects, and who is and isn't alive anymore certainly doesn't concern you."

Gesturing for the guards to follow her, she turned on her heel and moved toward the door.

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

Miranda didn't follow. She hadn't been ordered to follow, so she didn't.

Instead, she just stared at Lambert. She seemed to relax a little once the others were out of the room.

She gave Lambert an awkward look.

"Um... Hi. You can call me Miranda."

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Slowly, Lambert nodded. "I'm Communica–" he grit his teeth, letting out a controlled breath. "You can call me 'Samuel'. Or 'Lambert'. But I'm not really a Communications Officer anymore..."

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

"Oh. You're like Doug. Or, like Doug used to be, I guess."

She pulled over a chair and sat down, swinging her legs.

"Have you been here for a long time?"

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Looking up at the ceiling, Lambert tried to count the time.

"It's been... a while." He said eventually, glancing back down at her. "Who is 'Doug'? Is he one of the people who died?"

Immediately, cringed. That was a great way to put it, why don't you upset the woman who tortured you for probably years?

"I'm sorry," he backpedaled, "I didn't mean it like that. Is he... a friend of yours?"

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

"Douglas Eiffel." It sounded like she was reciting something. "Communications officer of the USS Hephaestus station."

[communicationsofficerslambert]

"O-kay," Lambert nodded hesitantly. "So... he was a Communications Officer as well? How did that go?"

[miranda-pryces-new-world]

"I am told he was not very good at his job. But it doesn't matter anymore. He doesn't remember anything, either."

She gave an odd, lopsided smile.

"Just like me. He's my friend. He doesn't mind... Me."

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Despite his want to be respectful and cautious, Lambert couldn't help feeling bitter. "He doesn't mind you? He doesn't mind all the things you did? Does he know?"

He looked again at her smile, at the quiet peace in her strange eyes.

"How... how did you two meet?" He asked, lamely, as if he could make up for the sharp remark.

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Have you ever participated in goose simulation games?

"Goose simulation games"?

Wait. Is this another test? I swear I'm perfectly sane and prepared and utterly committed to the mission! Please, Mr. Cutter, I promise! Don't make me do all that again...

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.831

It’s always time to make some little changes.

[officer-eiffel-comms-hail]

Hello?

Lambda Sigma Sector, Bearing Eighteen, is there anyone out there?

(@communicationsofficerslambert)

Wh—??

What the hell? Oh my god, is this actually?

… Wait. That sounds like the same system we’re using. I just checked that sector, how come they—? I thought the closest team out here was over near…

Oh, wait. Maybe I should actually… do my job and say something.

Um… hello? Anyone, here… uh— human anyones. I guess that doesn’t matter unless we’re looking for the same thing… we’re all human here, right?

[communicationsofficerslambert]

What do you mean "we're all human here"?

A) Of course I'm human, why on Earth else would I be doing the D.S.A.L.S.? And B) That is an incredibly suspicious thing to say if I weren't already certain that you must be another Goddard Futuristics employee. There's no one else up here with such sophisticated comms tech; we must have just gotten too close to one another.

What ship are you hailing from?

[communicationsofficerslambert]

Huge thanks to @ocean-lilac and @thrilling-fantasm for inspiring/writing some of the dialogue for this!!

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.277

Leave the party while it’s still oxygen-rich enough to support you.

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.45

Always let your superior have the last word.

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.971

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? PUT THAT DOWN IMMEDIATELY!

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.85

Accept yourself as you are, warts and all. Unless, of course, you have literal warts. The face is one of the most prominent potential sites of infection, and you should report to medical to have that checked immediately.

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.537

Trust your fellow crew members with your life.

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.897

The only acceptable kind of intoxication while on duty is being drunk on power.

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.729

Official command directives are to be followed, no matter how obtuse, counterproductive, contradictory, arbitrarily nihilistic, or libertarian they may seem at first glance.

[daily-pryce-and-carter]

Survival Tip No.885

ONSIDE: In the ship doing your job. OFFSIDE: Floating aimlessly alone in space without your suit. Onside. Offside. Remember the difference.