agogelogs | THE AMAZING BASE.

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THE AMAZING BASE.

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

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Truthfully, she's come out this far to avoid moments like this. She doesn't want visitors at the moment, had been happy to find a quiet, private place to let her mind water back to her moments with Kebechet, and before that her time with Snoke, with Kylo Ren. A part of her wonders who will be the next one to sink their fingers under her skin, dig their nails into her head and pull out her fears and make her face them, and those things are easier to dwell on alone, where no one will see you brood.

She'd set her tent up, made a fire pit the way Chewie had shown her, and there's even something vaguely bird-shaped on a spit over a fire, crackling and hissing as the fat drips out into the flames below, and it's quiet and tranquil right up until Midnighter goes bursting out of the brush and ruins it all.

Later, she'll be annoyed. The second she sees him, though, and all that blood, her eyebrows raise in concern and she waves him over, drawing a knife from the collection of cutlery and silverware she'd taken from the ship.

"Stop pulling on it, you're just making it worse," she says, giving up on letting him come to her and going to his side again, reaching out for his arm but very much not touching the plant yet. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to touch strange things?"

It might, if I can find a bigger ship to take parts from.

[She answers the second question first, leaning back from her work and wiping the back of her hand across her cheek, leaving a smudge of engine grease there as she does it.]

I put one like it together once, on the planet I grew up on. The basics all seem to be the same.

[He's military, then, and the way he describes himself sounds like a droid's designation call signals. He looks incredibly human, though, nothing at all like the metal protocol droids that were humanoid but still designed to look obviously like machines.

It's familiar and not all at once, but she decides to just focus on the familiar, on the gentle ache she feels that comes with missing BB-8.]

I was hoping to, but I think it'll take something with a little more power than one of these to get me anywhere. Where are you from, 9S?

[Sword fighting lessons? Not that Mamoru needs them, but well.]

who's this again

Thank you very much.

[Chiron trots over, careful not to distrb Yakul. In having four legs back, there's a lot more mass to keep track of, and it takes a little bit more effort to lower oneself down onto the ground in order to sit. It's a very small complaint in the grand scheme of things though, and in truth, a problem Chiron is happy to have.

He settles not only on the grass, but into a much older thought pattern. Not since being alive has Chiron been afforded the opportunity to sit down and look at nature from a particular perch, and that is a strange thing to realize. The presence of Ashitaka is the only difference, but it is a pleasurable one to be sure.]

I believe it might be worth petitioning for nature breaks after every mission.

[Chiron is only partially joking, that much is obvious. It's in how he runs his hands over the grass, how he looks out at the world in front of them as if noticing every little movement.]

"The adequate collection materials is the part that concerns me, actually," Chiron admits. There's no embarrassment at it, but he does seem a little disappointed that this is his primary concern rather than the...studiousness...of fellow COST members.

"I've no idea what those supplies might be like, and I'd hate to waste resources."

If there is one thing Chiron has tried to be respectful of since learning that another version of himself was the second in command, it was not draining resources or making demands. If only to make life easier for himself.

Can one get saddle sore without actually having a saddle, Dorian?

[The question is both a joke and utterly genuine. It's something worth having an answer to, if only for future reference. He'll let Dorian decide on giving an answer though.]

Well, his good health so far speaks to either very safe plants or an extremely hardy constitution. Regardless, I don't believe I've seen a creature in such good spirits as your friend. [It's downright charming is what all the splashing about and noises are. Chiron's smile, directed at the Hart, is unmistakably fond.]

It was easier than I thought, adapting to having two legs, but being back to normal, I've no idea how I dealt with a more human form to begin with. Ridiculous, isn't it? [Having more mass and being longer is it's own re-learning, but.] I believe you'll figure it out.

It...might be easier if I witnessed the game play, actually, metaphors for my age aside.

[Chiron crouches down as Samus points to the patch of dirt and grass, narrowing his eyes somewhat. The ins and outs of modern machinery is the opposite of what he has skills with, and so he simply nods to show he understands the theory.]

At least any injuries are superfical, I presume? [He didn't see much blood or anything of the sort.]

How can I assist?

[ percy seems like the decent sort, a good head on his shoulders. shepard decides quickly enough that he wouldn't be the worst person to head out and explore with. what could go wrong, hm? he's there to talk her out of trying to scale the trees with only her arm strength and an omni-blade, and thank god they bikes have a puttering, well behaved autopilot option —

nothing good lasts, shepard thinks, with no lack of vitriol.

though she had no illusions about the potential dangers of this decidedly abnormal, uh, location, honestly she had thought they would have to try a little harder to get themselves into the bad books of a very territorial and very angry sphinx. the plus side might have been that at least they now knew another area where the creatures were active. barely a plus side, all things considered. at this point, shepard isn't going to care about this detail later.

it's instinct that gets her ass on the hoverbike, but not a good instinct. she's not going to mess around with autopilot right now, she's just going to have to... drive the damn thing. percy's in one piece still, and shepard would prefer to keep it that way. at least, she figures, if she's controlling this stupid contraption, she'll take the brunt of any head on collisions. it's a weird relief, knowing you're less breakable than the average individual. hurts like hell most of the time, but still a relief.

this is such a terrible idea. maybe the sphinx should just eat them. ]

Sure, you just — just — just hold on.

[ if that doesn't fill percy with confidence, shepard doesn't know what will.

please, god, let this be less hellish than the mako.

her silent pleas fall on deaf ears, anyway. at least the mako could build up what felt like reasonable speed. the hoverbike, on the other hand, seemed to take more than a few issues with being asked to go at anything other than a leisurely pace. not made for quick getaways, which was exactly what they really needed.

as she tries to accelerate, the hoverbike merely lurches and lunges forward like a turian drunk on ryncol, but thankfully, it seems to be very tentatively picking up some manner of speed. ]

Come on, come on, come on!

Edited 2018-03-19 22:50 (UTC)

[Chiron somewhat doubts this particular fact. Bears are bears, and usually not the most friendly of creatures out there. Regardless, there is no point contesting the opinion, there is only a quiet resignation that she's quite right.]

It seems you're quite correct, miss. May I ask why you're so drawn to these creatures?

[ ah. shepard also laughs, shortly, a sound that's more interested than amused. ]

Right. I imagine "Midnighter" might've turned one too many heads back in the trenches. You can still call me Shepard, though.

[ nodding at his endeavours, ] Having fun?

[Chiron wasn't keen to use the motorbikes. It wasn't due to a dislike of technology or anything along those lines, it was because he had just been given the chance to regain his centaur form. Like hell he was going to use anything but his own four legs to get around.

But it's hard not to overhear questions and not lend a hand. Quietly he trots over in Vax's direction, his pace leisurely.]

I believe it's meant to be quite durable.

[But as for starting, Chiron can only guess. He closes the gap between himself and the bike, looking for anything like a starting mechanism.]

Hand to hand huh
any type in specific

[ going out there and "enjoying" the great outdoors is not even remotely at the top of shepard's "things she'd like to do" list, but it feels like the only option she really has. she might have zero desire to do it, but BASE isn't too far, there's COST folk about all over the place, and what else was she going to do? everyone else was getting into the spirit of it, or at least trying to. doing things she doesn't want to do is nothing new, so she packs up, takes her tent, and resolves to get stuck in.

it isn't entirely surprising that she's the only one with her doubts — she imagines that must be the case, if you're going to linger like murphy is. he looks like another teenager, which prods something indescribable and slightly irritated at the base of her spine.

she ignores it, but approaches him nonetheless. ]

Having second thoughts? [ she sounds wry, if nothing else. ] I know I am.

[ but from the way her pack is shouldered, it's clear enough that the first thoughts won out anyway. ]

[Chiron had seen a great many unique things in his own time and place. Gods were common place, their offspring perhaps more so. There were great beasts on land and sea, and unique divinities who had no place on Olympus, and so roamed the Greek mainland and isles. Some were truly awe inspiring, some just became normal.

The sight of the lux arbor falls into the first category, the great thing swaying quietly. Chiron's inital response is to simply stare at it, not even processing the feeling of true awesomeness, awesomeness in the old sense of the word, overwhelming him.

But the distance is hardly worth it. Chiron trots right up to the thing to begin to conduct a closer examination. Is only once he had drawn down a branch to examine that he even realizes there is another there.]

...Ah! My apologies, I didn't mean to disturb your respite.

Lucky you with the normie name, rub it in. [But there's a fondness in his eyes when he rolls them.]

[Midnighter snorts back at her.] Don't really need to eat. Never learned to make food. But I killed this squirrel thing and wanted to see if it was edible. Guess not.

[ and it's from the top of the rock formation that shepard quietly watches john work, helplessly curious about what he might be getting up to. from even her short time in the trenches and the final push on the beaches, she's certainly figured out that she's far from the only interesting individual here. in fact, she'd almost call her biotic abilities boring in comparison to what others are pulling out from their sleeves, but then again, she's also used to her own abilities. they're hardly unique, back home, even if they're not enormously common amongst humans.

she sits, knees bent and arms propped up loosely on them, enjoys the show.

snorts with short laughter when she sees what the fire spells out. she feels ya, john, she really feels ya. ]

Either you're feeling great about this place and our prospects, or you need to expand your vocabulary.

"Me? No. Literally never." There's too much amusement in his voice for it to be sarcasm. He continues to wrench at the thing, poking and prodding, not showing any visible signs of pain, just frustration.

He is in pain, though. "Whatever you do, don't touch it. Stings like a motherfucker."

"No one ever told me either, but I still know better," she admonishes, but there's a hint of a grin at the corner of her mouth as she says it.

She's absolutely teasing him, in case that wasn't clear.

She's careful, and slow, which she uses the tip of the knife to sort through the vines, the angry looking tendrils clasped around his arm, but instead of cutting it free she frowns and pulls the knife back.

"You're not going to like my suggestion."

[he's exiting, as well, but only because he wanted to replenish his stock of whatever makeshift attempt at chocolate bars from the droids that had been shoved into one of his pockets.

looking at the zipper of the jacket pocket and making sure it was shut, he can hear the shift of the air around Vax before he can bump into him.

so he tilts his head, frowning at the back of his head] You on your way out or in?

[It was a good thing that Angela had the foresight to contact him from base—Jack had been more than ready to tear Gallipoli apart in search of her, mission be damned. To say he was glad to hear from her was an understatement, and he’d spent the last few days in the trenches worried about her, even though she was arguably in the safer position.

Still, she owes him an explanation. He hasn’t forgotten her avoidance of the subject when he asked her why she was pulled off the mission. Jack supposes he could get an answer from Chiron, but he’d rather hear it from Angela, first. He has no reason to believe she’ll keep avoiding the subject now that they’re all back.

For now, however, he just wants to make sure she’s safe. Jack isn’t a very physical person, military formality practically ingrained in his person, but he can’t help running to meet her and opening his arms to her at the first opportunity. She has to check him over first, because that’s just how she is, but soon enough he’s trying to pull her into a hug, which he’ll be content to hold for a few long moments.]

It’s good to see you, Ange.

[It doesn’t surprise him in the least that Saber has found her way into his room, despite the fact that they aren’t roommates anymore. 76 has already decided that this isn’t the hill he wants to die on—though he can’t help but look a little surprised to find that she’s not only beaten him here, but is already going through the pile of his belongings on the bed.

Nice to have the visor back, at least, though the sight of the blue trench coat makes him a little uncomfortable—not that she’d know why. He leans in the door frame, trying to look nonchalant.]

That’s my tactical visor.

[He says, like everyone is going to know what a tactical visor is and what it does. 76 is a little to exhausted from Gallipoli to have the personal property fight with Saber right now. Maybe if he pretends it’s not so interesting, she’ll give it up without a fight.]

There’s a button on the side if you want to turn it on.

[It’s not a toy, but as long as she doesn’t look like she’s going to damage anything, he’s accepted her going through his stuff as a fact of life. If she does hit the button, she’ll find the interior display blinking to life, offering her environmental readouts.]

[He’d struggled through the briefing as best as he could—it had been necessary, to get their whole group on the same page—but as soon as he was given the opportunity, Jack headed out into the woods. The others could always message him if necessary, and he needs the time to clear his head. Going hunting perhaps isn’t the main goal of the exploratory mission, but it might be nice to eat something that isn’t protein blocks. Perhaps the rest of the crew will appreciate it, too.

Despite his desire to spend some time alone, he isn’t exactly discreet about his location, and he’s not surprised when Lena finds her way into his clearing. The look on her face is what surprises him, until he realizes that she probably wasn’t expecting this. Jack has been a soldier and a commander the entire time they’ve known each other—this is a little out of that skill set.

Also there’s blood everywhere.]

You have to, uh. Pull the guts out.

[The aforementioned guts are sitting nearby on the forest floor. He’ll dispose of them soon, not wanting to attract the attention of something bigger or meaner or more predatory. Lena looks a little worse for the wear, and Jack lets out an awkward cough as he tries to think about how to go about this.]

Hungry?

[Sure, it’s dead alien deer, but that’s as good a peace offering as any.]

[Yeah, that’s not exactly what 76 expected to see, but Chiron seems fairly unconcerned about it. He has to backpedal on his offer to share the bike, looking equal parts confused and embarrassed—hopefully none of that had been insulting.]

We could always race.

[Downplaying it seems to be the best way to handle it, as Chrion seems fairly good-natured about the development. He recalls that Genji had been made to appear completely human at Gallipoli. Perhaps Chiron has just been appearing human all this time as well.

Perhaps it’s a little offensive to ask, but 76 knows he needs to check, if only for his own sanity.]

Is this, uh. How things are supposed to be? For you?

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THE AMAZING BASE.

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@SWORDARTONLINE

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oh god here we go

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Hoverbike

@SWORDARTONLINE

THE EXIT

2.A

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oh oh oh, it's magic, you knooowwww

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Exiting

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