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With a grunt and click from his knee, Ben hauled himself out of the pod. [i]Damn things[/i] he mentally griped, [i]they might keep you alive but they sure as hell don't keep you comfy.[/i] He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck, feeling a familiar set of pops and cracks as joints woke up and moved for the first time in... how long? How long had he been in the pod? Ben couldn't remember getting into the damn thing or agreeing to let anyone knock him out. So how long had he been frozen? A quick sweeping glance of the room didn't reveal any obvious time keeping devices, just a four piles of clothes and four other pods. [i]There's always the old fashioned way[/i] he thought, running a hand across his beard and head. If he'd been in the pod a long time, he would likely have a very different amount of hair than last time he looked in a mirror. His cursory examination lead him to believe he'd been frozen for not too long, given that his beard and hair felt familiar. [i]Of course, someone might have thawed me out temporarily and given me a shave. Or am I just paranoid?[/i] With a grunt, he concluded there was no sure way to know how long he'd been out, nor where he was. What did know was that he wasn't wearing this pod suit any longer than he had to.

He stepped forward and sorted quickly through the pile of clothes in front of his pod. His normal gear, a nondescript black jumpsuit, fingerless gloves, some necessaries and a pair of well maintained black shoes. But none of the little hold outs he liked to have with him, just in case. Someone or perhaps several someones had very carefully gone through his clothes and removed them, even the little knife stored in the heel of his left boot. On the one hand, anyone that confiscates your weapons is unlikely to be your friend. On the other, they could always have shot him while he was in the pod so whoever took his stuff probably didn't want him dead. Small comfort. As he rifled through his pile, he noticed a girl clamber from her pod, pull on some clothes from the pile and then introduce herself. [i]Seems harmless enough[/i] he thought after giving her a once over. Before he could respond, another person stumbled into view. This one looked a lot more familiar to Ben, in a way. The man wasn't familiar, the face wasn't known to him but the stance, the body type and the slight growl in his voice all spoke to Ben. [i]Definitely a fighter, possibly a bounty hunter?[/i] he thought as the man suited up. [i]Moves like he's used to the weight of a gun on his hip and paces like a caged tiger.[/i] The other two didn't seem to have emerged from their pods yet.

Ben shrugged. This wasn't the first time he'd awoken with no damn clue where he was or how he'd got there. True, it was normally a lot easier to guess, due to a thumping headache, but he'd be damned if he'd look unsure in front of any youngster a quarter of his age. Nodding to the two in front of him, he said "[color=slategray]Name's Ben, some calls me Old Ben, now look away if you're the shy retiring type or don't want to know me a whole lot better.[/color]" With that, he started to struggle out of the pod suit. Working his arms and chest out, he revealed hard, wiry muscles beneath skin that looked like it could tell a whole omnibus of stories. Scars, burns and strange marks jostled for position with long forgotten marks of the wind and weather. Eventually he got the suit off and pulled on his own, much softer gear. Lacing up the boots, he stood up and stretched again. "[color=slategray]Ya ain't really awake until you're dressed, I always say[/color]" he said, to signal to the others they could look back without seeing something they might regret later. Just then, a mechanical voice spoke, telling them to head to the bridge. The second one to emerge, Jericho Cross, strode away with the air of one about to hit something and the girl trailed after him.

"[color=slategray]No time like the present[/color]" grunted Ben, walking after them.