[The picture on the side table is of a happy family, including a smiling Maes. Obviously this is his room. However, Cambot is broadcasting another face sprawled out on Maes's bed. No one on board is likely to recognize the face.

Is it someone new? If so, what happened to Maes? Suddenly the man yawns and sits up, rubbing his face, and reaching for a pair of glasses on the table. He blinks a few times before noticing something is off. He touches his face and then looks to Cambot.]

All right, what's going on now?

[The man frowns some more. His voice doesn't sound right either.]


[[ooc: Maes can shapeshift people now. He had a dream about Roy last night which is why he is now like this...only Maes doesn't realize he has this ability yet]]

[Cambot comes in to find Maes leaning back in his chair and wearing some new threads. Also, he has no idea where that banjo came from but he's plucking away at it like he knows what he's doing.

It sort of sounds like a familiar song.

Maes looks up and smiles.]

I didn't even know I COULD play banjo. Is this part of the new thing happening up here?

[Cambot hadn't seen Maes lately...

Oh but what's this? He's asleep in his room...and is that a pie plate on the floor?

Uh oh.]

[Cambot floats down the hallway when suddenly there is a loud cry]

NOOOOOOOOOO ELYSIA!

[Maes bursts out the door to his room, sees Cambot, and rushes towards him. He grabs Cambot.]

Guys! We have a serious crisis on our hands! IT'S TERRIBLE! THE WORST THING THAT COULD POSSIBLE HAPPEN HAS HAPPENED!

[There's a pause, Maes seems distraught and panicked. He flings Cambot away]

MY PRECIOUS PHOTOS OF ELYSIA ARE GONE! GONE!

[Suddenly he whirls back around, grabbing Cambot and getting deadly serious.]



The photos better be back in my room by 2200 or things will get serious.

[Launch Bay. Cambot is hovering near Maes as the man stares off. He is standing near one of the pods and it looks like he had been about to launch but why will have to wait. Maes closes his mouth and turns to Cambot]

Uh...guys. Please tell me this isn't a further delusion from the ghost vision thing going on. I mean, if it was I'd already be dead, but...here.

[He grabs cambot and turns him towards what WOULD be the open bay doors and the vastness of space...but instead it's a forest. Maes then turns Cambot back to himself]

It wasn't like that before, right? I mean, Pinkie I've seen you go FLOATING out there. We're supposed to be in SPACE, not, well, in some forest.

[The illogical nature of it all might start to be getting to Maes.]

[Maes is sitting at a table in the media deck, reading a medical text book. He looks bored out of his mind but isn't going to stop. He taps a pencil up and down a few times and Cambot zooms in when he starts to hear Maes say something...or at least, he thought he was. Instead Cambot picks up this]

Do do-do-doo

[Oh no. It can't be. He can't be starting to sing]

Mahna Mahna

[Maes blinks and looks up at Cambot.]

[A pony has his hooves to his face, glasses pushed up towards his black mane. Eventually he pulls his hooves down and the glasses fall back into place. He's not sure if he's disturbed, mortified, or just confused.]

So this is the madness we have to deal with this week? Pinkie, Rarity, Luna...are you guys still ponies because I think I need a little help here figuring out how you do...well...pretty much anything without fingers.

[Muttering]

Glad I don't shave any more, that's for sure.

[Maes looks troubled. You may notice that his room is empty, no more ganger. You would think this would make Maes happy but he looks far from it]

Well. I tried to get my doppleganger to talk to me. I was hoping it would tell me where it was from or how it got here. We've had a lot of weird things happen on the satellite but, for the most part, they've been harmless. This was different so I was hoping to find something out.

Unfortunately, I didn't. In fact. I can't help but worry that this may get worse or lead to something bad down the road. It didn't answer any questions I asked and only after awhile did it start to say anything related to the question and not just taunt me.

[pause] It said "You'll see." Ominous, right? After awhile I decided to just get rid of it.

I think...I know it's up to you how you handle it or if you need help I'll GLADLY dispatch your double. But these things do NOT need to be up here. They're a threat to people and I think it's best we deal with them now before more show up.

[From within Maes's room there is a loud shout followed by the sounds of a struggle. Cambot whizzes down the hall, keen to find out what's going on. Just before he enters he hears someone, Maes, shout]

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE YOU BASTARD!

[Well that doesn't sound much like Maes. The door opens for Cambot and he flies in, only to find Maes has...himself pinned down? Well, it looks SORT of like Maes. Except he is completely black and grey. The colorful version of Maes sits on top of him, having pinned him to the ground and has a knife at his throat. Cambot seems alarmed by this and Maes doesn't seem to be aware of the camera's presence, too focused on this shadowy version of himself]

I don't know who you are or why you're trying to look like me, monster, but I'll make sure I kill you this time for what you took from me.

[The shadowy figure whispers something that Cambot can't seem to pick up, but judging by the way Maes's face pales it seems to do the trick]

No...no you're not ME. That's insane. You're that shape shifting monster that---

[The shadowy figure's lips move again and it sneers. Maes decides he's had enough and punches it in the face, knocking it unconscious. At least he didn't kill it, but that's mostly because he wants to know what the hell is going on. He looks up to see Cambot lurking in the doorway and Maes pales a little. How much had Cambot seen? He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, getting off of the shadowy figure]

Sorry, you had to see that. I think this is the monster that tried to---[he trails off as he starts to realize that the coloring is all wrong on his doppleganger.] Wait a minute, the shape shifter from before...he got Lt. Ross's mole wrong but he wasn't THIS far off. Why would he take my shape anyway? It wouldn't do any good to appear as me. For that matter how would he have even known I was here if he had just arrived himself?

[Maes stoops down to study the figure, his frown is prominent.]

Does that mean he really is me?

[As people recover from the hangovers, you may notice that the hallways are not JUST covered in Christmas decorations any more. No, in the midst of all the chaos someone went through the entire Cafeteria deck and pasted various pictures of Elysia all over everything. Some have been blown up to be more like posters than actual pictures, but it's mostly just Elysia EVERYWHERE. A trail of these pictures can even be found going down to the dormitory decks, but it's not as bad as the cafeteria which looks like it EXPLODED with Elysia pictures.

Cambot shows all of this and eventually find the culprit, sleeping with a large stuffed animal (a dog) and curled up in the pantry. He is still wearing the Santa hat but no other part of the costume.]

[Maes appears on the screen. After much searching he has found a Santa hat and is wearing it to be festive. Viewers may notice a slightly burned/used candle on his bedside table and a picture of his family next to it. He even has some wrapped gifts nearby, but Maes quickly pushes them underneath his bed and smiles. This post is not as random as it may first seem.]

Happy Holidays everybody! I was just helping Rarity decorate for the season and we started talking about decorations and traditions and the things that make this holiday, or any holiday, what it is. It got me wondering though what everyone else's favorite traditions are. Even if it's not Christmas you celebrate, but something else, what is something you HAVE to do to make the season feel right?

Personally? I always loved mistletoe. [He holds up a sprig of the plant] It's a classic and romantic tradition that brings together couples and maybe gives courage to those who aren't quite couples. What you do is hang it from a doorway usually and when someone meets you under it you exchange a kiss. Back home, I made sure to get some for the house every Christmas and catch my beautiful wife Gracia by surprise underneath it. She always loved it and I always loved the look on her face when I would sweep her off her feet and give her a big kiss on Christmas Eve. Not that I need an excuse to kiss my wife, but it was always made that much more romantic and special beneath a sprig of mistletoe. [By this point he is totally grinning like an idiot]

[After a minute he remembers why he made this broadcast in the first place] So, what are some of your favorite traditions?

[Maes is in his room with stacks of books, manuals, paper and pens. He seems to be researching some things but Cambot isn't angled properly to show you. After a few minutes Maes finally looks up and grins]

Oh, hey Cambot you made it. Sorry, didn't hear you come in. [Maes closes a notebook, looking directly at Cambot]

So I know it's been awhile since I gave an update, but let's just say I've been distracted. Unfortunately this won't be much of an update because I haven't really discovered anything new to report. I've been keeping a record of everyone who appears and, as we've seen, disappears from this satellite [He taps one of the notebooks which is apparently the one keeping this information] and so far there doesn't really seem to be a pattern to it. We've all appeared at random from a variety of places, though Earth is the most common, and everyone is a variety of ages and sexes. [Sighs, because he hates not having anything NEW to add and probably everyone figured that much out anyway] Heck, we're not even all the same species or from the same time period...possibly even the same UNIVERSE.

[He shakes his head and moves on] Anyway, I can't keep looking for results there so while I'll maintain my records I think it's time I started looking somewhere else for answers. As you may have noticed, while the satellite seems to continually gain new members, the lair of our mad scientists in charge of the weekly experiments seems to remain just the two of them. It leads me to believe that whatever is happening is concentrated on this point in space and not on the planet below. I realize there's not really a way to test that, but I do have some people I want to talk to about it.

[He adjusts his glasses] Since I know the Mad Scientists can see our broadcasts I'd like to speak with them. That is if you're up to it. I'd also like to talk with Gypsy...if she's not too busy. [Leans back in his chair and waits]

[Maes is wandering down one of the decks and examining some of the Renaissance stuff. He pauses when he notices a crate with some jester costumes and several colorful balls sitting next to the crate. Clearly these balls were meant for juggling.]

Hmm....I wonder if I can still...

[Maes picks up three of the balls and Cambot swoops back so he can get a clear shot of what Maes is about to do. Maes starts to toss the balls in the air and soon they are going round and round as he juggles them]

Hah! I knew I still had it. [He grins] I forgot how fun this was.

[Maes is looking out a window where the rain is hitting pretty hard. He shakes his head and looks over at Cambot who is broadcasting]

Correct me if I'm wrong here but I thought rain required an atmosphere which doesn't exist in space. How exactly is it raining outside?

[Cambot zooms out to show that Maes is in a pair of pink pajamas with duckies on them and seems to have a mug of hot cocoa as well. Yes, yes he looks comfortable doesn't he. Maes looks down at his PJs and then back at Cambot]

What? They remind me of a pair Elysia gave me for Father's Day once. [sips his cocoa cause he'd rather not get all mopey on a rainy day, that's just too cliche. Time to change the topic]

Anyone up for a pleasant chat and some hot cocoa?

[Maes is looking displeased for once]

Okay, who fed the freaky growth cupcakes to a hamster and why did they decide to put it IN MY ROOM?

[Cambot pans out to show a HUGE hamster curled up on Maes's floor, it blinks its beady little eyes as if it knows Maes is talking about it, before snuggling back into a ball of fluff. Maes huffs, rubbing his temple]

Look, I get that Halloween is all about pranks, but between the giants, worms, masks, and scarecrows I would really like some answers as to what is even going on anymore. What does a giant hamster have to do with Halloween?

[He leans back and scratches behind the hamster's ears, apparently he's not blaming the poor rodent. As he scratches an idea starts to form in his head which you can clearly see on his face as the light glints off his glasses]

Wait a second...don't hamsters use straw as bedding.

Heh...heh heh heh, I think I have an idea of how to take care of one of our problems after all.

[Maes stands up and looks over to the hamster]

Come on Rhino. I have a better place for you to sleep.

[Maes is out of his military uniform, now wearing a simple black shirt and some pants. Although you can probably see the military jacket hanging up in the background. He's leaning back in a chair at his desk, looking thoughtful. Of course, he has the Cambot on so does he have a reason for posting. Finally he sits forward, letting the chair legs hit the floor again. He waves.]

Greetings everyone! Just wanted to check in and see how you all were doing. Now that I'm settled in I've had the chance to think a little more about our situation. I can't say that I know anything about it, but I figure we need to start looking for answers at some point. The best way to start that is by collecting data. Any information you can give me will be helpful. After all, I get the feeling that a lot of you have been here for awhile before I got here.

[Scratches his chin] Actually, that might not be a bad place to start. So how long have you been here? When did all of this start happening? And what were you doing before you got here? [pauses to consider] Hmm, when you're from might be a good question too. Since apparently I'm the only one from 1914.

[Looks up] And don't worry! If you don't want to broadcast this information I've already sent Cambot around with a paper version of the survey you can fill out anonymously! You should find it under your door.

[[ooc: Make sure to note whether or not the person if filling out the paper version or not so I know if Maes needs to respond. Paper Version looks like this:
Length Of Time Here:
What You Were Doing Prior to Arrival:
What Time Period are you From: ]]

[ooc: Takes place right after Log Post, so if you want to do action stuff go there]

[Blink blink. The cambot is close up on someone's face and is eventually held out at arm's reach as Maes stares at it with a look of confusion] What is this thing? I've never seen anything like it before...is it like a camera then? [He taps the lens] It does have a lens, but it doesn't seem to have any way of releasing the photograph or anything.

[He releases the cambot, letting it float away and up. Cambot continues to record him. Maes smiles slightly] Right. So, I expect a few answers about this place. I didn't think Heaven would be so...weird looking. [Frown as he remembers something, he shakes it off] It'd be great if you could just answer a few questions and help a guy out. I'm Maes Hughes by the way and I have to say this place certainly looks interesting.