Losing Face

<snip>
“I got it.” Jamie said, working his way through the crowd of people as only a man used to fighting through touch undergrowth could.

“Yeah, don’t you touch that Slick.” Came a derisive voice as Jamie approached the control panel with a screwdriver.

“What? Who?” Jamie said, looking around as he was approached by a cocky looking engineer.
</snip>

Something in the back of his mind was repeating thoughts and information that he'd got from the time his mind was linked with Cass'. Something about dimensional theory, and how it deals with changes.

Lateral Reincarnation: May have to deal with meeting people that you should know, but have no memory of.

"The lift is overloaded, and I'm an engineer." Jamie said, with a shrug. He didn't understand what the problem was.

"The thing is, you're barely an engineer." Replied the cocky newcomer. As he got closer, Jamie was able to notice the nametag and rank markings.

"But Justin, we need to get people out of here, and..." Jamie started, but Justin just took the screwdriver from his hand, and stepped towards the control panel.

"Go get the grease, and make sure the gears are moving properly." he said, with a tone that sounded like an order to someone that scarcely followed them. He spoke with authority, clarity and intelligence. As the only one that had been able to get through the crowd by now, and given Jay's example in following what he had been told by the authority figures of their new world, he followed those orders to the letter.

When Jay, Jade and Cass caught up with him, through the crowd, he was dangling upside-down from a support beam, while he greased the gearing.

"What are you doing up there?" Jade asked. since his positioning looked uncomfortable and strained.

"I got a physical downgrade too." Jamie said as he climbed back down, breathing heavily from the exertion. "Something tells me I didn't get stuck on a jungle planet for 10 years in this universe."

"That doesn't answer my question." Jade said, still wondering what was going on.

"Yeah, normally you'd have that thing fixed already." Jay said, and Cass looked over at the lift mechanism while Justin wasn't looking.

"He seems to be doing a good job of it, though." She said, as she turned back to face everyone.

"He's making it look harder than it is." Jamie observed, as the crowd of people trying to escape the promenade and return to the safety of the crew levels.

"Some things never change." Jay commented, "He was like that for us, too."

"But it was never by choice." added Cass, "the man was an idiot."

"We need to get out of here and figure out what's happening outside." Jay said, looking up at the ceiling of the promenade, at thet top of the lift shaft that still wasn't working.

"Service Corridors." Jamie said, and started leading them off towards the side of the promenade, without even looking back to see if they were following him. Justin was too busy engaged in fixing the lift, so all he saw was Jamie pulling the cover closed behind him, as everyone else vanished inside.

As they walked, and climbed, and shuffled, they talked about the differences they'd experienced so far. Cass complained that the system security was keeping her out, and Jay complained that they wouldn't let him fly. Jade revelled for a moment in the fact that she wasn't missing an arm in this world, and Jamie complained that he wasn't as fit as he had been.

Eventually, they made it to the drive room. explosions were still being felt, though since they were outside the ship, anything reaching them was just rumbles of the metalwork. Jay stepped through the door to the driveroom first.

"What the hell are you doing up here?" Ashley Ferrington-Blonde asked, she was sat in the captain's chair issuing orders to everyone.

"We're here to see the Captain." Jay said, taking command of their group, as always.

"Hah! If he's been hanging out with you log, no wonder he's gone crazy!" she almost shouted so everyone in the drive room could hear. "Get them out of here, take them to the Captain if it'll shut them up."

<Tag. trying to get us all together - how is everyone going to react to this? Will Jay try and take command to fight off the Ffionians? Is Cass going to try and plant something that'll let her get control of the computers? Will Eve stand up for her friends and get kicked out of the drive room with them? Where is everyone else?>