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

cafeteria

[prizeneck]

[He can't see her, but the scent of whatever the goop she ordered carries captures his attention. He can't really place it, not having been to the UK and therefore not tasting any British dishes before.


A couple of seats to Lena's side, he stops from leaning into the noodles between his chopsticks, turns his head, nostrils flaring just a little to try to capture more of it.] What's that...?

no worries, no worries!

[reillumination]

[ Ryo looks like he wants to add something midway through the man's admittance, but he stops himself on the next thread of thought. Does he have somewhere to be? Of course he does, but getting from here to there is so far an impossibility.

He's slow to follow the request to look, but when he does there's something about the way he pays him mind that's heavy and unrelenting. He narrows his eyes minutely, a small give that the man had struck some kind of nerve, but — ]

Don't we all? [ he says after a moment, taking the cigarette from his lips with his other hand. The question has an light edge, like one adjusting the handle of a knife in their grip. Still, Ryo offers with a sudden shift into sobriety: ] But, I can find them.

[ Ryo follows the turn of his shoulder, takes even and quiet steps to join him. He crosses into the man's space with some expectation that he'll nudge aside to let him look through the system for the song he's thinking of, his eyes flitting back to him occasionally. They're more alert than they should be in a person his age, twice as calculating. It's an easy read that Ryo doesn't put trust in anyone.

It takes him a moment's worth of tinkering, but he manages. The song is low in quality, but the beat is still clear. Satisfied enough, he'll move on back out of the man's space again and maintain a respectable distance. His posture as he leans back against the neighboring hoverbike is more of a suggestion of comfort than it actually is. ] They were popular in the 60s and 70s, [ he adds, like an after thought. ]

[thingpuncher]

Midnighter does laugh, though. It's sharp and hard, a vicious bark from a man tailor made for intimidation. His voice is scraping and rough to match-- "Cute. Real fucking cute, jackass." And with that, he decides he likes her.

"I'll go in ahead," he says, holding up an arm, palm out flat, in a sign that he hopes is universal for 'stop'. "If they got any booby traps or whatever, I can take 'em."

He doesn't mention her getting him out of them. Seems presumptuous. Midnighter puts down his hand, and dives right into the sundered craft.

[thingpuncher]

Prefer hard concrete myself. [Two can play this game...] Park bench in a pinch.

[He turns to stare at the bird, staring back down.] I dunno. Not really keen on talking to fucking birds. But I heard it's people smart. Posted on the network and everything. I wonder if it did it with its beak or its, uh, claws? Talons? Whatever. Its feet.

[thingpuncher]

Contrary to expectation, Midnighter doesn't seem to have a problem with this. Burns are fine. They won't hurt worse than the fucking death vine on his arm. Actually, they might burn out some nerves, cauterize the pain out until it begins healing.

Then it'll be a real screamer, but still not worse than half the shit Midnighter's had done to him. So there's no sign of any qualms in his voice when he shrugs and begins walking toward the fire. "Fun fact, burning human skin? Smells like pork."

[prizeneck]

Don't think you're supposed to live in that place, to begin with. [He snorts, tilting his head. Bathroom, and... that should be his room.

He would go up the stairs, following his new roommate, if he hadn't glimpsed at something in the room - it's so familiar, especially within everything that looks foreign to him.] Huh.

[He holds the sword, fingers that are usually rough suddenly careful. Turning it in his hands, unsheathing it.

Why was it here? There were other things, too, another pair of sunglasses, and a walking cane. But this. This, was odd.] Don't suppose you left this here as a house-warming gift, right?

[thingpuncher]

Fuck, no. [Does he look like the outdoorsy type to you?] But it can't be that hard, you just tie the fucker to a string.

[Midnighter leans down and pulls a few loose threads from his jeans, begins coiling them together to make a stronger string.]

So, why're you trying to scale Mt. Everest over there? [He nods toward the tree.]

[prizeneck]

[He would grumble under his breath at kids trying unknown substances on their own in foreign places. But now that he's here, this kid isn't exactly alone, now, is he?] Well...? anything interesting outta that?

[dipolar]

(listening to her slow crawl into the moon mist's nest, hei keeps steady save for a bare turn of his head. shepard gets a dark, sidelong stare, silently gauging, before he looks back to the surface of the lake.)

The Moon Mist. A humanoid mollusc... I think. (at least that's what his BCE tells him.

it's clear by now, from assessing him, that one of his arms simply refuses to move. it hangs by his side like dead weight and his sleeve's damaged where the fucker caught him with one of his slimy, disgusting fins — now the whole limb up to the shoulder socket is number than he's ever experienced, threatening to prickle uncomfortably later when it no doubt shakes itself out of its fugue.

hei wonders what kind of salve he can make out of its mucus.)

It's their mating season. If it senses you in there, it might think you're one of them.

(literally no one signed up for this, the warbling's getting louder and that can only mean that it's getting closer. lured into a false sense of security, ripples spread from the centre of the lake and make water lap gently at the muddy shore.)

[excelsus]

I suppose that's what happens when you spend too much time around rule abiding soldiers. [Dorian offered a lamenting sigh that was meant to be entirely sarcastic, the truth was, Dorian had never been very good at doing what he was told.

As John presented one of his pilfered bottles Dorian grinned knowingly, but it still amuses him that the other man offered proof that there was hardly anything more naughty than bottle of booze under his bed. The mage had suspected this the whole time.]

In the event that we are thrust into shitier events than the one we were previously dragged out of? I cannot imagine why not, though if they order me to bring him? Well, they can stick their orders up their wits end, I'm not putting my life in danger.

[After all bringing an animal into that sort of situation was risky and if Dorian was too busy looking after it then he wouldn't be looking after himself.]

someone's gotta serve it on this fish

[reillumination]

[ There was no peace for Ryo Asuka.

Since he could recall, he had felt at odds with himself — with his own body. The world was at once too small and too large, too comprehensible and too incomprehensible. His memory, as fragmented and foggy as it was to him now, brings to the surface moments of isolation and overwhelming emotion like fish beneath a frozen pond. It was easier to watch, to not burn his palms against its surface in an attempt to connect with it all, to know the spring from which it was fed at all. Even now, as far as he could be from the source.

But, it does not stifle him from knowing, innately, that humans were never meant to be here. That humans, their visitation, would change the surface of this microcosm irreparably. No matter how careful Ryo himself is, how careful he's noted Ashitaka to be as well — contact, no matter how brief and kind, can destroy a living thing entirely. Ryo's mouth downturns, in time enough to catch Ashitaka's look. He knows that familiar bite of a challenge, he's seen it in Akira more than once. Cynical, is how Akira had placed. Ryo Asuka, in all his desires to save humanity, was a cynic.

How odd that was.

Still, Ryo absorbs the glance with a moment's consideration. He knows that it is possible for many things to live harmoniously, but — ]

It might be, [ he concedes, but there's something else in him that grows nauseous and resentful at the thought of it, that twists against the admission that tastes more like a lie. And so, he does his best to quell it: ]

But, this place has developed its own system, [ Ryo starts, voice thoughtful and quiet. He stares out over the landscape before them, how untouched and unblemished it is by their noise. ] We have no idea how long it's existed before we came upon it or whether or not there's anything like us. [ The apex predator, that is. No matter where they roamed, animals relied on instinct. He's seen it even here. But, the conversation is... Nostalgic. Ryo's chest, for a moment, inexplicably tightens. ] All these creatures and plants have grown to defend themselves against their natural predators. If we decided to stay, their ability to adapt would never be enough to accommodate.

[ There's almost like a longing there, something Ryo ] Even if we were cautious, we're a new variable in the chain they never accounted for. [ Extinction was rampant back home. He recalls absently the dodo, how humans scrubbed the Earth of them for no more than pleasure because they weren't quick enough to save themselves. And, in lesser examples, how even the presence of humanity had cleansed the environment indirectly — a testament to human obliviousness and strength. ]

shit prompto would listen to

[millimeter]

Oh.

[He looks downcast, dropping his hands with a frown, but only briefly.]

I guess I should be worried about that? [His face scrunches up.] Like I'm pretty sure that's the right reaction, but I don't actually remember.

he'd be the biggest the weeknd fan

[prizeneck]

[What.

There's a short moment of a blink, and he turns his face just slightly to hear what the BCE dictates as it scans the flowers. Really, he knows he won't hear any better if he tilts his head, but since he lost his sight, it's a very difficult habit to break.

'Memory loss ranges from an hour to the entirety of one's past, but only lasts for thirty minutes or so.'

Great.] It is, but it's temporary. You ate a flower?

🎹🎶🎶

[millimeter]

[Mamoru gets an utterly blank look for his trouble.]

You mean these? [He gestures to the field.] They do smell pretty good.

[HE SURE DOESN'T REMEMBER oh my god. He crouches down, reaching for one.]

But they don't look all that edible to me.

[millimeter]

[His whole face lights up when she bumps his hand and he scratches behind her ears.]

She's so small. Aw, look at you... [Yes, he keeps alternating between cooing over the puppy and talking to Siegfried.]

Man, that's so lucky, dude! What's her name?

💃🏼🕺🏼💃🏼🕺🏼

[prizeneck]

[He quickly unfolds the walking cane that was in his back pocket and smacks - lightly - at his hand.] Don't. You don't remember because you ate one.

[millimeter]

Ow, hey! I wasn't gonna eat it.

[The "ow" is more reflexive than an actual indication of pain, but he gives Mamoru an offended look all the same.]

Do you just carry around canes to slap people? Wow...

[prizeneck]

[A twist of his lip.] Sometimes. What were you going to do with it, then?

[He wouldn't really blame him, actually. He could go for pizza rn.]

[millimeter]

Look at it? Like maybe I don't remember anything, but I don't think you just stick a flower in your mouth.

[He still sounds like he's pouting, but he perks up when something catches his eye.]

Is that a camera? [He starts to reach for it FROM WHERE HE DROPPED IT EARLIER smfh and shoots Mamoru a look, like he's daring him to smack him with the cane again.]

FOUR

[doublejumps]

[ Genji is minding his own business and enjoying the sights when he catches the sound of rain and thunder. He pauses for a moment, tilting his head to the sky where there's not a cloud to be found. It takes another few seconds of listening before he realizes it's a recording, and by that point someone is urgently calling out to him. ]

Hmm? [ He moves over to the man and his hoverbike, which seems to be the source of the ambient noise. It is loud, but it's not exactly disruptive as far as Genji's concerned. It seems relaxing, if anything.

All the same, this man seems to want to put a stop to it. Genji is no mechanic, but he is from the year 2076, and he knows a thing or two about machines. ] Is it malfunctioning? [ He crouches down next to the bike to see if he can spot the source of the problem. ]

[prizeneck]

The scan just indicated that you need to eat it for it to create memory loss, which is what's happening right now.

That seems like a camera. [Eyebrows shooting up to the mass of hair on his forehead. He shifts his fingers on the handle of the cane, snorting like the asshole he is...

But instead, he folds it back into three pieces, tucks it into his back pocket.]

[millimeter]

yeah, it IS pretty weird iggy and gladio arent around
def can't blame him when he doesn't remember joining

do you remember btw?

[raisedbybirds]

[She watches him carefully and raises a brow.]

That was in here before I entered.

[Along with the other items that she left alone, assuming they were for him, and that he left them there--though that doesn't match up with what he's say or the other things he said upon entry, as if this was his first time in here. If he didn't leave them, then who did?]

They're yours?

[millimeter]

[He brightens immediately, emotions playing easily—transparently—across his face, and clicks rapidly through the settings on the camera to bring up the still. He leans in closer to make sure Ryo can see it, oblivious; Prompto is just Not Great at gauging personal space and his attention is half on the camera that he holds out.

It is a good picture, though, even if Ryo's hair is pretty wild. Prompto had taken his time lining up the shot.]

What do you think? [Which is quickly followed by one dragokeet piping up with a "think!" at the same time another goes "what!" and Prompto snorts.] Yeah, thanks, guys.

[prizeneck]

[A jerk of his head towards the other items on the bed.] Those, yes. But I didn't bring them here.

[He frowns, mutters a 'magnify', tilts his head at the length of the blade, the line of its edge, smooth, sloping perfectly. Very carefully, he twists it again, takes a good look at the handle.

Is this a hoax? Where's the catch? As if he's handling something delicate, he places both his hands on the cool steel. Feeling the weight. It's not a mock-off. It's too perfect to be.

It had been left at the Unimog, back in Tokyo, with Haruka. It's as if the kid suddenly decided to slip back into his thoughts, even if she hadn't really left. He can almost hear the rustle of her tiny hands on the sheath, clutching at it as if it weighed a ton, even if it's a mere wakizashi and not a longer weapon.

Did she predict this? ] This is mine, but... unexpected.

[He turns to Samus] This mean it doesn't happen often?