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Thomas was not really a big fan of pod duty. Not because it was hard work, no, it was pretty much the opposite, just waiting for something to happen for hours. But still, that was not the problem either. The problem was he didn't like seeing all of those bodies in those pods, held in an eerie stasis, stuck there for an indeterminate amount of time, before, eventually, if the did not awaken, they were disposed of.

Like animals in a too crowded shelter.

The countdown to the end of his shift was on, his fingers from one hand drumming against a table top, his nose buried in some smutty romance novel he'd borrowed as his eyes continued to flick up towards the clock.

And then the unthinkable happened. Something that had never happened to him in all of his time on pod duty, to date.

There was a beeping sound, an alarm, an all too familiar hiss of air that he remembered hearing himself from inside of a pod when he had first woken up. Startled, he dropped the book, blinked dark eyes, and then looked down to the clipboard in front of him before scooping it up and standing.

Deep breaths. He could handle this! As long as whoever was coming out of his pod wasn't difficult in any way, this should go just fine!

Making his way down on particular row of pods were the alarm had sounded from, he could see the one that was open with just a glance, and soon after, a man emerged. Making his way towards him, he called out, his voice thick with an Italian accent, though his English was quite good.

"Hello? If you are frightened, do not be. I am a human person, just like you." He didn't want there to be any surprise attacks. After all, Thomas himself had thought that he had been abducted by aliens when he had first woken up, and had not taken it well at all.

He grinned at the memory, mentally shaking it off as it seemed just silly now.

He continued to approach, and stopped when he was just a few feet away. "You are..." he glanced at the pod, it's number, and back to his chart. "Clyde? Clyde Pierce? It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Tommy."

Tommy returned the handshake with a large smile, gaze flicking up and down the man now that he was close enough to get a good look at him. And of course, he was beautiful, though perhaps handsome was a more apt description.

Everyone on the island seemed to be. Maybe it was just in whatever genes allowed them to see the spooky scary ~paranormal~. Hunter prerequisite: must be incredibly good looking. Though to be fair, Thomas could easily find the beauty and appeal in anybody, no matter how ugly they were, either above or below the surface. There was always at least one redeeming quality that, to him, managed to make a person stunning, in their own way.

But it meant little to him, in the end. He could admire such things, and not be tempted by them. And, in any case, now was a time for business. His smile only grew at the questions.

"Ah, I know, it can be a bit confusing at first. Your memories will come back, perhaps slowly, but perhaps quickly. It differs, from person to person. What you need to know is that you most definitely came here voluntarily. Enlisted yourself, so to speak, in a very unique military organization, for a very unique kind of war." He paused then, and let out a short laugh.

"It is 2015, so unless you have been asleep for a very, very long time, which is unlikely, I would say it is not so far into the future as you might believe. The technology here is quite different from what you were used to, I am sure."

So far this entire encounter seemed to be going quite splendidly! Clyde seemed like a fairly down to earth kind of guy, one who was rationalizing well and, thankfully, not panicking in the slightest. He was taking in the information with relative ease, and while he may have questioned things a little bit, it only seemed natural to Tommy that one would do so.

"It will come back to you, this I do promise. It just may take a little time." He gave the other man a chance to speak some more than, or to ask whatever questions he might have, before continuing on.

"Ah, no. Well, so long as things work out. I have heard that some get put back in for a time, if things are not going well or...well, as punishment? But I would not worry about such things. No, you will be given proper accommodations. Well, after you ah, are acquainted with your new partner of course." He tapped the side of his head as he said this, and then realized that Clyde likely had no idea what he was talking about.

"Sorry, your weapon, I mean. It is special, and very important."

Tommy let out a short laugh, and gave his head a small shake. Perhaps he had gotten too far ahead of himself? He decided to backtrack a little.

"Ah, no. Here, let me start over. You may remember, at some point, being approached by someone, probably a hooded person, somebody ah, mysterious? They would have explained to you about how they knew that you could see things." Tommy watched Clyde carefully then, searching for any clue that he might have triggered something.

"Monsters, ghosts, demons, they are all real, and you are special, because you can see what others can not. The shadows." He reached up to run fingers through his hair, respiking the purple strands as he did so.

"They may have told you about this place, about Deus Ex Machina, an island, uncharted, in the bermuda triangle. This is where people like us are trained, where we are given our weapons, where we learn to fight the darkness in the world, those that use human's for energy, to sustain them, through FEAR. It is the weapon, however, that is truly important. It is unique, it is....well here, let me show you."

He leaned down to put his clipboard on the floor, and straightened up, to hold out both of his hands, revealing a plain silver bracelet on each wrist.

"This.." He paused, flexed his fingers, and summoned Jaida, his weapon, a blue glow overwhelming first the bracelets and then spreading up over his wrist and hands, and when it faded his spiked knuckled gauntlets with a small crossbow mounted on each had taken it's place on his hands.

"Is my weapon. Her name is Jaida, she has a voice, she talks to me," He turned his hands over spread his fingers wide, before lowering his hands back down to his sides. "She is in here." He smiled, and reached up a hand to tap on his head. "And she says hi."

Except she didn't, really. She was mostly silent, save for a indignant hum of disapproval when he gave her false greeting.

< I disapprove of you even more now. A liar as well as a disappointment. > She sneered in the back of his head.

"She is just ever so delightful." Tommy said, out loud, smiling even more, though he nearly laughed at the hiss of agitation he heard coming from her next.

Now they seemed to be getting somewhere! Everything was going so smoothly, that Tommy had to wonder why he'd even been remotely nervous to begin with. He was a showman, after all. Dealing with people, entertaining them, either putting them at ease or on the edge of their seats, that was his thing, and this, really, was just another show like any other.

He grinned at the other man's reaction to Jaida, and though she'd been acting rather surly, as usual, in his head, she perked up when Clyde called her beautiful.

< This one has good sense. And is appealing to look at as well. You could and have done much worse for friends. >

Tommy gave her a mental smile and a laugh, never one to be too put off by her typical sour attitude.

"She appreciates the compliment." He said out loud, "And yes, something like this. A weapon, unique in appearance, with a voice of it's own that only you will be able to here. It is a bond, and a necessary one, because without it, well...you would not be able to survive, here. But ah, all of that after you have gotten your weapon! You will be escorted from here to the cove, and given instructions on what to expect." If his escort was kind enough to do so, at least. "And after that, you will be given your tour of Deus Ex, a room, and a jacket which will have an emblem on it, one that denotes the division you will be in." Thomas turned around then, his own sleeveless and hooded white jacket flaring out behind him, and he gestured towards the golden symbol at it's bottom.

"Mine is for for the Mist division. We are like the ah, jack of all trades if you will."

"Yes, yes! Of course you will! You would not have woken up if it were not so." Thomas continued to grin, turning back around and desummoning Jaida so that she went back to her totem form of plain silver encircling each of Tommy's wrists.

"Anyways, that is enough from me. You must be getting to your weapon! They may have been waiting quite a long time for you, and it would not be polite to make them wait any longer!" he chuckled and nodded to the side back towards the way he had first come from, over towards the door that would lead Clyde out and into the labs, where somebody would be waiting to take him to the cove.

"You must come find me when you are through with your orientation! It would be very nice to see who your partner ends up being." He smiled. "Maybe we could even have a friendly spar, to test each others strength." He stopped at the door, and turned back to Clyde.

"Well, here is where we will be parting, for now. I must stay, in case another awakens." Doubtful but, well, it could happen.