THE AMAZING BASE.

[agogemod]

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? Welcome home, nerds.
WHEN? Outside time and space, in the aether between dimensions.
ANYTHING ELSE? There is also a fish. Please warn in subject lines for anything beyond physical violence and move to a personal journal if things go beyond PG-13.

MYSTERY FISH;

question the mystery fish

DEPARTING GALLIPOLI

The order comes the day after the Marie Antoinette sets sail:

PACK UP AND GET READY TO MOVE OUT. WE'VE DONE ALL WE CAN HERE.

DEPLOYMENT: BASE.

WE NEED TO RESTOCK. BE PREPARED FOR MORE TRANSFERS ON ARRIVAL.

STAY SAFE. TIME-STEP EXPECTED TO BEGIN WITHIN THE HOUR.

FOR THOSE OF YOU NEW TO COST: FIND A SECLUDED SPOT AND TRY NOT TO EAT ANYTHING BEFORE THE JUMP.

The Time-Step

The transfer begins like a vibrating heat on the collar bone, just a hum of sensation.

But the vibration spreads. Veteran COST soldiers often refer to this phenomenon as "the buzz". The feeling builds, not unlike standing near a great engine or the wind-rattled branches of a massive tree. There is a long moment of motion sickness and you can't be sure if the world is shaking you from the inside out or the outside in. It may be better to close your eyes against the growing nausea, as the world blurs out of focus.

A star shines in the distance. You may hear the faint rustling of leaves. Some swear they hear voices in this moment, indistinct words echoing off nothingness. Others say they feel a touch of the divine, that the eyes of the eternal look down upon you. Ancient bones rattle just out of earshot, cold and brittle and nothing more than the suggestion of sound. Or maybe it's only an illusion, brought on by the powerful technology grafted into your skin.

One thing is for sure: One moment you are here and the next you are not.

The shift takes you from whatever solitude you could find aboard the Marie Antoinette to the temperature-regulated hallway of what looks like a very poorly put together space station. Droids rush up and down the long hallway, fixing broken bits of machinery or just chattering with each other. A few crows sit on high ledges, looking down and watching. Someone mutters something about a centaur around the corner.

And you might just notice, provided you were in Gallipoli long enough to acquire stowaways, that the parasites lurking on your skin are mercifully gone.

For new arrivals who didn't experience Gallipoli: You, too, will appear in this long hallway, filled with droids and crows and humans (still filthy and clad in ANZAC uniforms, carrying battered equipment from the first World War). And you'll be wearing the minimal COST-issued athletic underwear and holding whatever one item you were allowed to bring. Surprise!

READ THE BASE INFOPAGE.

home away from home

Those who have been to BASE before may find a strangeness to it all: BASE seems...still. The windows show a verdant world instead of the usual aether (though with the typical paranoia), and the halls are bereft of all but a few crows. A man stands at the end of the long hallway you arrived in, waiting for you to get your bearings before he speaks.

Except, you know, he's not a man. He's a centaur.

"It's been barely a week since you left, by my reckoning. But for you, I'm sure, it's been much longer. Still, much has changed. You may have noticed we are...becalmed. This is due, it seems, to an error in our ways. We kept something that does not belong to us, several wild creatures that are meant to be free. They seem to have psychically called out to their home, and their home responded; we are now somewhat stranded.

"But let me explain—the Aether is the nexus between worlds and times, but it is not a dead thing. Creatures live in it. We have crashed onto the back of one such creature, a mighty beast, as large as a small country and entirely undiscovered. We have found why the creature has intercepted us: we have accidentally taken captive some of its children. Shapers, the wild creatures I mentioned, it seems they form a symbiotic bond with the creature, and live happily within its stomach."

He frowns, considering this.

"Shapers, I should mention, are creatures that briefly infested our fair BASE. The issue was dealt with, though we kept some for experimentation. The coelacanth took issue with this, it seems. It can speak, of course; we are stranded very near its head, and if you wish to ask it a question, I implore you to do so. The creature is older than creation—older than me—and only speaks once to any creature it encounters. It's said its wisdom brings kings to their knees."

His eyes crinkle in humor.

"My name is Chiron and I am the caretaker of this place, for those of you whom I have not had the pleasure of meeting. More importantly, I am a trainer and a teacher of some experience; if you wish training or schooling of any sort, do summon me. I will be happy to assist."

He's easy to contact, often found in the library, the training area, his capsule, or elsewhere in the station, attempting to fix what he understands and arguing with crows.

"We intended to spend this time exploring, for this is a rare opportunity to discover more of an entirely uncharted world. I hasten you to see if anything on the coelacanth can be of use, but be careful. Take only what you need, not what you may want. I intend to learn my lessons well; these creatures are not pets. Takes food, water, and any materials of use to us for our survival and perseverance, but no more. We task you with this: explore the coelacanth, and see what of it can be understood. Bring us back samples, but do try to interrupt the natural habitat as little as possible. We are guests here."

He bows and the action shows a slight limp in one of his back legs.

"I would join you, but I am far too old for such activities. Still, do pepper me with any questions you should encounter. I am always available on the network, or in person, within this hulking mass we call home."

And then he leaves you to find your capsules and rest.

CAPSULE ASSIGNMENTS

Once you've found your room and settled in—perhaps taken a shower, collected clothes, and eaten—a droid will approach you with camping equipment and give you a brief explanation of how to access and use the database. It's time to get your gear and go.

Of course, you can decline. You can stay and tend to the fort, maybe try and clean up this patchwork jumble of metal and machinery. But seeing the sights on the back of a giant fish flying through non-space? Who can say no to that?


the undiscovered country.

BASE's airlocks open into a lush valley, vibrant with color and rustling with life that has thrived on the coelacanth's back for millennia. It's a striking shift from the rot and gunfire of Gallipoli, unmarked by shrapnel, bombshells, and never-fresh air.

No, the air here is clean in a way that can leave you breathless, untouched by pollutants and stirred into a gentle breeze. It's a marked departure for anyone used to a more modern Earth or rough equivalent; letting the air sit on your tongue leaves a crisp, unsullied taste behind. And the whole forest feels alive, in a way that reminds you of how small you really are.

A white crow perches in a tree near BASE's exit, too high up to properly engage but a stark contrast to the bright leaves around her. She merely watches recruits come and go with a shrewd eye, feathers fluffed against the light chill. There are other crows scattered throughout the wilderness, some easier to find than others as they flit through the trees, sit on camping equipment, or hitch rides on the hoverbikes.

Besides those brief flashes of black feathers, however, you're left unsupervised.

Try not to fuck up anything too badly.

EXPLORE:INFOPAGE|DATABASE
talk to a fish | destruction report

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK

Comments

[faenthras]

[ It was inevitable that they find each other, Vex's next stop would have been the very same had she not spent such a long time soaking in the hot waters. Vax just happened to beat her to it.

She screws up her face upon his arrival, pulling her towels a little tighter around herself. Doing what little she can to protect her honor, or something along those lines. ]

The line to the showers was taking to long─ Ow!

[ Vex scowls at him a little, leaning her head back a little before jerking it away from his grip. ]

I'm perfectly fine.

[ Physically, at least, wounds were superficial at most. Still she looks back to the water surrounding her feet at that, a strangeness washing over her briefly. For all she tries to make sense of the situation, she can't. Unable to remember agreeing to this, Percy's inability to remember anything past Glintshore, it sends her mind in a circle she can't seem to break from. ]

We will be alright, somehow.

[millimeter]

[It's reassuring in a way text can't be, hearing her say it in person, and he shakes his head. He pulls back a little, still with one arm around her shoulders—reluctant to let go when she's back—but gives her an earnest look.]

I'm just glad you got out. A lot—

[He pauses, trying to restructure what he wants to say.]

It was a lot, after they grabbed you guys. Things got pretty crazy.

[synergise]

[ neither of those were the right things to say.

shepard's eyes widen for a second, and she opens her mouth, but clearly decides against whatever she was about to say. whether this is because there is some uncomfortably close rustling happening near them, or because she shouldn't be so unkind to someone she doesn't know (is he a teenager? he looks like a teenager) — well, it's probably the latter.

leaning back a little, she gestures silently for him to head to his right, her left. quietly, carefully. he caught on quickly enough to stay quiet, so she has hope! kind of. ]

[millimeter]

[Prompto opens his mouth, probably to echo that very word, before he closes it and tries again.]

You're wearing goggles?

[Ok, that's. Not much better.]

Always thought those were supposed to be more... Transparent. [How do you see through that, bro.]

[faenthras]

They just look big and intimidating, I'm sure they're not nearly as terrible as they seem.

[ Then again she is incredibly biased when it comes to bears, or more a particular bear that she misses greatly. She lightly brushes a finger over the feather, smiling before pinning it behind her ear. Beautiful and strong, she ought to grab a few for arrows before moving onward. ]

It looks like you'll have to go the long way.

mess hall.

[duskmeadow]

[ On the flip side, Vax is skeptical of the robots and reassured by the presence of animals. As unpredictable and unfamiliar as most have been in his single loop through the greenery outside, they behaved in a way that made sense to him. It's manageable, unlike many other aspects of his presence here.

Though the strange-looking food may take a toll on that hard-won sense of reassurance. ]

It smells edible.

[ Vax's tone is so cautious it can hardly be taken as a vote of confidence. He looks past Murphy to the serving area, then frowns back at his plate. ]

How does it taste?

[ Very expectantly. Go ahead, Murphy. ]

[raisedbybirds]

Mamoru, huh?

[It was nice to have a face to put to the name next to hers. She gives him another up and down, this time taking in the scarring on his face, dappled like shrapnel or rocks did a number on him. She's not about to make assumptions about his eyesight just yet and will defer to observation to see if that's even an issue worth addressing. Surely COST would prefer to add capable people to their team.

She lazily gestures him in, a flip of the wrist as if that is as grandiose of a fanfare as this capsule deserves.]

Well, welcome to capsule 6.

[synergise]

[ following the voice, she climbs to the capsule's more communal area, taking stock of the capsule as much as she does of ryo. he looks young. he looks like entirely the wrong kind of person for COST to be taking anywhere.

after gallipoli, shepard wouldn't blame anyone for being on the wary side. hell, there's generally very little about this situation, about becoming part of COST, that don't warrant wariness. it's probably a good thing that shepard has plenty of experience interacting with people that don't trust her, or actively dislike her, though she's sure anyone could have walked in here and received the same response. ]

That's right. I'm Shepard.

[ she doesn't bother with her first name. no one's really called her "jane" for literal years, and she isn't ready to let anyone break the habit now. ]

#promptoshaming

[millimeter]

[Prompto gives the dragokeets a look when they start to mimic the camera shutter, as if they can understand him, and gets one snaking over to him for his trouble. It takes all of three seconds before he sighs and crouches down to put out a hand to it; it sighs back and Prompto makes a startled noise when it takes this as an invite to scramble up his arm.

But he looks back at Ryo, surprised, when he says he can keep the picture, and there's a beat of silence before he stands back up. It's a little unsteady, with the dragokeet half draped over one shoulder.]

...You wanna see? [He motions to the camera.]

[duskmeadow]

[ Somehow.

That's been their shared mantra since they were small. One way or another, so long as they stuck together, things would turn out well for them. Vax levers himself slowly down beside her, bare feet dipping into the water in a mirror image of Vex. ]

I'm going to have to ask Percival to teach me how to use a gun.

[ And he's going to be insufferable about it. At least Grog isn't here to provide running commentary. ]

I wish I'd been able to bring my things.

[ The boots are a boon, but what good is he without his daggers? The ones he'd scavenged would have to do, but it's been a very long time since Vax has felt so adrift and uncertain of his own capabilities. He's been wrong-footed and he doesn't like it. ]

[raisedbybirds]

[Nuts and bolts are abound in little piles; nothing anal retentive but enough organization to know where everything is and if a foot or hoof were to disturb it. She rises up from the other side of the gutted bike and wipes her brow. It's mercifully not hot out but she's working up a small sweat so close to what were once-hot parts. A small smear of grease lines her forehead with that movement.]

Chiron.

[Maybe they didn't explicitly exchange names in Gallipoli but Samus wasn't one to not make use of the BCE's functions and put names to faces she intended to remember. As to his question...]

...I'm fairly sure something's blocking the combustion chamber. [She points out a small patch of disturbed grass and dirt.]

Blocked the airflow and I went for a swim in the dirt.

[faenthras]

[ It's all they can do. Keep close, together, figure out how to survive the situation the best they can, and hopefully find a way home. Together they have a better chance at it than they would alone, and with Percy? Well, there is almost no stopping them.

Vex shifts a little to accommodate him, watching the traces of his reflect settle in beside her. ]

Really? [ She turns her head, lips pursed together. ] Try not to be too much of an ass about it, won't you?

[ He will be an ass regardless, just like Percy will be right back at him. ]

Me too. At least I still have my bow. [ She reaches over, picking up Fenthras from where she had laid it. Fingers gliding over the word she had carved into it. ] Though I wish I still had Trinket with me.

[bivariant]

I could suggest the same to you.

[ a salad is considered an appetizer to the main course, isn't it?

her comment serves her, on multiple levels. as he spares a look for her, she can direct his attention with her eyes and the slow, methodical sweep of her arm -- directing his binoculars to look at the far drumcrown, the one with fresh rends in its back legs. the result of some apex predator getting after it, most likely. it presents an excellent target for the two of them, as it's already lamed. it's a challenging target, because she's found that the drumcrown are not likely to abandon their own until the bitter end.

silently, she points up higher, to a series of rocky shelves along the cliff face. her message, silent, but obvious to a mind that thinks practically, strategically: we move there, and descend upon it. the act itself will avoid the psychedelic properties of the bony crown and the heavy, nimble hooves. ]

[gerechtigkeit]

[Siegfried manages to hold onto his puppy while simultaneously tilting his head. Prompto's first reaction gets a bit of a brow raise, but he blinks at the first question.]

No, I know there are foxwealds, but no dogs. [He hoists his husky higher and she lets out a yowl, proceeding to yip yip yip at Prompto. Siegfried sighs.] She's mine- she was waiting for me in my capsule when we returned.

[Prompto's enthusiasm, however, is contagious, and Siegfried can't help but give the barest of a smile when he tries to reach forward and pet her. The puppy in his arms sticks her nose forward, pushing it right into Prompto's hand.]

Considering she's trying to get out of my arms to say hello, I think you can.

[garbagepilot]

[As reluctant as he is to let go, she's reluctant to shrug him off, holding herself still under the warm, subtle weight of his arm so she won't dislodge him. It's new for her to welcome this kind of extended contact, but Finn has done a lot of the work when it comes to breaking down her walls, and Chewbacca's constant hair ruffling and shoulder patting have certainly put her in a place where she doesn't immediately want to tell people to stop touching her anymore.

The way he looks at her makes her want to apologize again, but she bites it back. Too much and she's going to end up sounding like a guilty broken record.]

But we're all back now. I got out with Noctis, did he- tell you anything?

[About what it was like inside, how they escaped. None of the others strike her as the type to talk about their own personal torture, but it doesn't hurt to make sure Prompto doesn't have any idea just what happened while they were gone.]

[northerndragon]

Robb's appearance in COST had followed so swiftly on the heels of Drogo's second death that Jon had always assumed it might be brief and temporary, but it's true that in many ways, it was better than not seeing him at all. Frustrating, too, if Robb's intent was that Jon should have been his immediate heir... had he taken all those knife wounds for nothing?

But if Jon had become King in the North instead of the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he would never have gone to Hardhome. He wouldn't know, he wouldn't have seen. Thousands more Wildlings would be in the Army of the Dead. And that's just the tip of it: the consequences would have been much broader than that.

All it really comes down to is that he's had the chance to see his brother again. Wouldn't some people give everything they had for that?

As Daenerys's fingers wrap around his arm, he gives her a hesitant nod.

"All right. You should sit, if Ghost will let you around."

He moves towards the wardrobe, shuffling around the direwolf in a little dance, and when he gets the door open, he stops in surprise -- then laughs. His gorget and his armored leather tunic sit on the floor, next to a small mountain of furs.

"They've got my armor back to me. After all this."

Jeyne Westerling | ASOIAF

[widow_of_the_crag]

I. Arrival

[To say Jeyne was out of her element was an understatement. For all the time she had spent during training, seeing the stark differences between this world and her own, it still left her dazed and uncertain when she looked around and saw technology that surpassed anything she had known before. The driods especially made her nervous, but she followed them and took her meal.

It was the showers that threw her for a loop. Communal. The word was unfamiliar, but the meaning was clear. Men and women were expected to share. For however much she might be able to accept everything else, this made her cringe.]

Aren't there any other options?

II. Capsule 14

[Communal showers were one thing, but actually sharing a room with a man that wasn't her husband was another. She hadn't expected very much on arriving at the capsule, but seeing a sleeping form at the table jarred her. It took a few minutes for her to understand what the state of her living arrangement would be, then everything clicked into place.

She stumbled back towards the door, wrapping her arms around her waist.]

What are you doing here?

III. Exploring

[While she wasn't a nurse in the army anymore, it didn't dissuade her from ignoring the things she learned or the continuation of her training. There were a number of different plants in the area, all of them foreign to her and full of uses that they might need in the future.

It had been her luck to discover one breed of plant, a fruit tree with flowers that could ease pain and fevers. It was also small enough that she didn't have to struggle to collect the flowers. The berries were more trouble than they were worth, as she tried to tell anyone that wanted to eat them while she was around.]

Careful, it will make you see things.

IV. Network

FROM: @GOTTAGUN
TO: @ALL

Would anyone be willing to teach me hand to hand? I'm not a fast learner, but I will work very hard. It's something I want to practice until our next mission comes in.

[synergise]

[ if she didn't regret being friendly before, shepard is certainly rethinking her choices now, but angela's suggestion is a good one. slightly difficult to execute in practice, however, considering that as shepard tips her head to look in her pack, the dragokeet seems to take deep offence. it makes a noise of irritation, and tugs sharply at an already uncomfortable strand of hair.

shepard does nothing for a moment, finally clearing her throat lightly as she pulls out a little bag of nondescript but reasonably edible protein snack balls, a last minute decision to request some extra supplies from a droid back at BASE. ]

What's this, huh? [ a wiggle of possible food catches the creature's attention, and it peers around shepard's head, interested. ] You can have it, if you get the hell off me.

[ now certain that the dragokeet is locked onto the ball, shepard tosses it lightly forth into the air. it's intercepted almost immediately, with chittering joy as the dragokeet and its prize flutter off into the trees. shepard sighs, rolling her eyes. ]

Jesus Christ.

3

[widow_of_the_crag]

Despite not having suffered as Daenerys had, Jeyne suffered from insomnia as well. Questions about Robb and self inflicted guilt swarmed her until she could hardly breathe or sleep without feeling as if she were being smothered. It was a lot to take in, the loss of her husband and having to adjust to the quiet. No more screams, no more sounds of guns and death. Only her thoughts to trouble her.

Daenerys' invitation was a blessed relief, almost as welcome as the wine she offered. It was more than a place to drown her sorrows, it was a glimpse of home as well. "Summerwine? Where did you get it?"

Speeder

[widow_of_the_crag]

Do you know how to use one of those?

[It was a silly question to ask. It was obvious Rey knew how to use it, given her response and talk about pieces for it. Still, it was a surprise to see people familiar with this technology instead of struggling as she always seemed to be. Jeyne had heard enough about other worlds to know this wasn't uncommon, but she could still never get used to the idea of others knowing what these things were or how to use them.]

It flies?

😈

[reillumination]

[ Ryo takes a moment's consideration before answering, but in the interim, the dragokeets fill his silence with bars from songs he'd played earlier. It sounds like a right cacophony, but — Ryo's shoulders round, the hand that holds the cigarette flicking the lingering ash off. He pulls his other hand from the collar of his coat, letting Prompto see the full of his face again, his complexion back to its usual pale. Even still, Ryo casts him a guarded, but calculated look.

The dragokeet on his shoulder hums. ]

Let's see it, [ he finally says, shoving his spare hand deep in his pocket. He straightens himself up and makes his way over, not trying to step in too close to Prompto's space as he comes around to his side of the camera silently. It couldn't harm. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had bothered to take his picture. ]

[dorzalta]

If she sits, she might not manage to get back up. Besides, watching him try to dance around Ghost is enough proof of how much a failure her own attempts will be. So instead, she chuckles at his expense.

When he laughs, she's settled against the doorway, considering the bathroom and the door down the hall. Who shares the capsule with him now? Who shares hers?

"Your armor?" That makes her think of her own bedroom and what might be sitting in her closet. But the thought's interrupted when she notices something atop his pillows. "Jon. Is that an egg?"

[synergise]

[ well, that was a more pleasant landing than she was imagining. this isn't her first rodeo gone wrong with a tree — she's got the bruises to show for it, and the highly impractical desire to just keep going at it. it still takes her a moment to process exactly what has happened. falling and not experiencing the thunk of connecting with the ground has her briefly disorientated. ]

Fate's got plans for us, Shaw. [ that was the name, right? bruno shaw. at least she's actually looking like herself, this time. ] Or chance, depending on how you're looking at it.

[ with her feet back on the ground, she casts a brief glance at the skillet (she's even more impressed with the catch, now), then back at the trees above her. ]

I thought I had it, this time.

[thingpuncher]

[Midnighter laughs, gruff, and turns away, going back to poke at his rapidly burning food.]

You can call me Midnighter. Shaw's a covername. Not one I'm too fond of.

[northerndragon]

He glances over to where she's looking, and indeed, there's an egg of some kind on his pillows. Not the color of any egg he's familiar with, though.

"It is."

He gathers some clean clothes from the closet, and a towel for each of them, then moves to the bed (which involves more shuffling around Ghost) to examine the egg. It's covered in intricate carvings, as if it's been formed from embroidered lace.

Even more shuffling has him back in front of her, handing the egg to her.

"This one doesn't talk, unless it talks when you break it. Seems half a shame, though. It's pretty. Not much use, but pretty."