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

[mylawn]

Sure.

[76’s tone of voice and exactly one (1) raised eyebrow indicates that he finds this answer a little weird. Sleeping exactly like this? You do you, friend, though he does admit that he finds this some cause for concern.

Still, there is something to be said about the high ground.]

How’s the view?

[mylawn]

That’s almost the same thing.

[Blowing off steam through combat—no real difference whether it’s fists or swords. 76 finds it to be a matter of semantics, though it does remind him how painfully incompetent he is with any bladed implement larger than a knife. He files the information away.]

If it’s something methodical you’re looking for, then the ingredients shouldn’t matter, right?

[Because it’s all about the process.]

[mylawn]

Well, you aren’t exactly being quiet.

[If Ryo is being bothered, then he might want to turn down the music—76 says that like a statement of fact. COST is full of nosy people, so he finds it unsurprising that he’s not the first person to come in here and ask what’s going on. Still, he recognizes that Ryo is bothered, and keeps his distance, just close enough to see what’s going on, but a few careful steps away so as not to infringe on the kid’s personal space.

Really, 76 finds it impressive that he can make sense of ostensibly alien technology at all, but perhaps things like hover bikes are relatively universal. He doesn’t know enough about taking them apart and putting them back together to really say.]

Are they in as bad shape as they look?

[mylawn]

I’ll have you know I’m from there.

[Which she already knows, but it seems appropriate to feign offense. He can’t deny that it might be nice to have a mission somewhere else, if only so he doesn’t have to worry about screwing up his own timeline.

76 takes a cursory walk around the room, checking the spines of books as he circles around the couch and finally settles to the side of it, pulling a random volume from the shelf and starting to page through it.]

Is that what we’ve got? Books about Earth?

[mylawn]

You don’t have to eat it.

[Unless she’s injured, in which case she’s pretty good at hiding it. He’ll eat one if he has to, but for now he’s just a bit wary of the whole thing. Shoving strange alien fruits into your mouth without strict testing seems like a bad idea to him, whether there’s a writeup in the BCE or not.

Also, it looks thoroughly unpleasant.]

But knock yourself out, I guess.

[doublejumps]

[ In reality, Genji hasn't been in active combat nearly as much lately as he was back during his Blackwatch days, but that doesn't mean that he has fallen out of practice. Either way, Lena's grown quite a bit in the past six years, he can already see that. He's excited to see what she's capable of now.

He hums to himself in consideration when she asks that question. ]

Maybe hand-to-hand, to start? So that we can get the hang of things again.

[ To that end, he moves to the edge of his mat and sets down his sword, as an act of good will, then stands and faces Lena. ]

Whenever you're ready.

[doublejumps]

[ Metal and synthetic? That's enough to distract Genji from said uncomfortable sensation for a moment, as he gives the blindfolded boy a closer look. It would be impossible to tell that he was anything other than human, at first glance. He's certainly nothing like an omnic.

Not that Genji is going to argue the point with him. They clearly come from different places, and so maybe 'android' would be a more appropriate term for the stranger. ]

Do you not feel it, then? [ Genji holds his fist under his chin, thoughtful. ] If you have readings we can follow, perhaps we should investigate the source of it.

[ It would be slightly dangerous for him, but if he has someone else to keep an eye on him, it might be worth the risk. ]

[faenthras]

I would say raising children is a much more impressive feat. [ It's difficult for her to even consider children right now, the life of Vox Machina is a chaotic one and there is to many loose ends left to tie up. ] They are a lot less predictable than bears.

[faenthras]

[ Vex has always been a difficult person to creep up on, even in her younger days when her brother thought it might be funny to try and scare her. A skill she only improved on as the years went on.

She counts the footsteps of his approach, gaze flicking from the jaybears to her new companion crouching down beside her. She takes a moment to look him over, taking note of his hair, his stance - she hasn't seen him before, then again it was hard to notice much during the tail end of Gallipoli and Vex didn't feel like socializing once they arrived here until she got herself clean.

Shifting, a hand reaches for her bow, verdant green and seemingly covered in vines that look as though they have been building upon themselves over and over as a series of natural leaf scales. It shifts a little in her hand as her attention moves back up to the blue bears, lounging up in their nest. ]

Unfortunately.

[ Thankfully she isn't injured, or at the very least doesn't appear to be. ]

They not exactly aggressive, but they will defend their territory.

[horsepowered]

Perhaps. But they also have fewer claws and their teeth are not nearly as sharp.

[The statement is delivered with a perhaps too cheerful smile.]

It also helps that I only took them on for a few years before they moved elsewhere into the wider world.

[horsepowered]

If you're sure!

[Chiron is happy to let the conversation die there. He keeps moving forward, the forest starting to grow denser and denser. His feet help with avoiding the larger trees, but the thickets and their density? There lies the challenge.]

[thunders]

[ Thor's expression goes from open invitation to brief, but genuine confusion. Meals are to be shared, regardless of who happens to do the work. He realizes this isn't the case everywhere, however. ]

Perhaps not, but I fear that if you do not eat, the beast that growls inside you will consume us all. It sounds formidable. [ He inclines his head. It's clear that he means the teasing in good humor. ] I insist. I would be glad for the company.

[horsepowered]

It may be the expenditure of magic involved?

[Regardless, Chiron scoots in and...well, it seems to work. He sits on his big horse butt, and looks over at Noctis.]

There we go. That should do.

[thunders]

[ The offer isn't necessary, but all the same, he nods. ] Sharing a meal would be agreeable. I'm well-versed with the staff, but if you're interested in sparring, I would welcome a challenge when we return to the base.

[ He starts to move back toward the shore, where his clothes are. ] But first, you may want to look away.

[ He's super naked please let him get dressed. ]

[courtintrigue]

[ That prompts a short laugh. ]

Then perhaps 'tis time for you tell me of its better qualities.

[ She has certainly not found them on her own. Idly she watches him take a book from the shelves. ]

I have found many books seemingly from or about Earth. [ She has to do some cross-referencing with the BCE when coming across location names. ] But I have also found books in languages I do not recognize at all. And a few from my own world, believe it or not.

[ She hardly does. ]

i love him

[thunders]

[ Thor, of course, turns to watch the spectacle. Henry doesn't disappoint. By the time Thor has stopped laughing, he only barely hears the greeting. He tosses Mjolnir in his hand and grins. ] When I said we should have drinks, this isn't what I meant.

[ He wades over to where Henry is and offers him a hand up. The water is shallow enough that it hides nothing, but Thor isn't particularly concerned about his state of undress. It's nothing Henry hasn't seen before, he's certain. ] Forgive me, my friend. You made it too easy.

[garbagepilot]

[That gets an immediate grin out of her, the offer to spar. She's used to training with her staff every day, gets a little stir crazy when she isn't able to get a good workout in, and the idea of having someone to fight against is incredibly appealing.]

I'd like that. [Not that she's ever fought against someone with the intended purpose being a game, but he looks like someone who can take a few knocks from a staff.] But why-

[She's starting to ask why he'd like her to look away, but as he comes closer and the water gets lower around his waist, his hips, she gets the idea. She turns her attention up quickly, focusing on the scattering of clouds and not- well.

A thunder god's hammer. Her cheeks are probably a little red now too, thanks Thor.]

I'm Rey, by the way.

[Lets talk about not your penis.]

I want you to know I think I'm just about to finish route c and I'm dying over your boy

[garbagepilot]

[She doesn't love the idea of leaving the speeder behind, but a selfish part of her knows at least that in the state it's in, no one else can take it and make her work mean nothing. And just to be sure, she reaches in and pulls a fuel distributor out, making sure it won't be going anywhere without her.]

That'd be great. I need to stop back at my room for something anyway.

[There's a medic pack there, something from her time trapped by the Regency that she had managed while she and Noctis were breaking free, and it strikes her now as a bad idea to leave without it, just in case.]

no worries!

[garbagepilot]

[And here she thought they were already in the middle of a truce. Way to go, Hux.]

Or in it.

[That's not that true, honestly, considering she's only been off planet a handful of times at this point, but the Falcon feels more like home than anything else ever has. Picking that to call her new normal seems right.]

Either way, I'm just glad we're somewhere with clean water.

[courtintrigue]

[ Oh, he seems relaxed enough, but she has seen him in action. She has seen him enjoy it. He lacks the speed of Samus or 76 without a boost from her magic, but he is obviously a man who knows how to kill. ]

How obliging of you.

[ On the last break between missions she learned that the best way to fall asleep here at night is to exhaust herself. And a living target will be a much more satisfying challenge.

She offers him a smile of her own, one that bares teeth, and without wasting any more time on words she aims the heel of her palm right at his chin. ]

[mcscouty]

What can I say? I'm a generous soul.

[ The smile never fades, as she moves forward, swinging for a solid strike at his face. Whip-quick he smacks an arm up to deflect the blow, letting her momentum continue but sweep just past his jaw instead.

He doesn't taunt her by lingering -- though the thought uncharitably occurs to him -- and instead he steps past, spins to put himself at her back. Waiting for her to do something about that, like whoever's been teaching her ought to have. ]

[prizeneck]

[While that kind of narcissism has been somehow rare to find in Mamoru's life, he's far from being judgemental. Still, he jerks a shoulder. A "whatever you say" motion.

He lifts his hand, flat, and sways it side to side in a so-so.] I can see all surfaces. Outlines of people, faces, objects, too. If there's a dent, these will pick on it, for instance. It works with sound, so it kind of allows me to see in the dark, too. [He pauses.] Your dark, anyway.

[prizeneck]

Actually tried cuttin' it, but only made a dent. Expands with heat. Could be useful.

[He frowns behind the lenses of his shades, pushing them slightly higher on the bridge of his nose as he hears the tap on the scarf. Now that he does hear it, without the squeaking of the dragokeet and the rustle of the vines, he's reminded of certain materials his partner ordered to his team's base.] I know of bullet-resistant fabric but it's the first time I see that kind of material move like that.

[excelsus]

Well he can certainly consume the same gelatinous nonsense that passes for food, so there is that. [As long as it comes close to looking like fruits and grains. Granted the Hart enjoys the stuff almost as much as Dorian, eating out of the need to do so and not for the sheer pleasure of it.]

I suppose that's true, I've not yet tried to put any plants in my mouth yet, but that's not the only way a plant can bite you in the arse, so to speak. [Touching a plant can have untoward effects and...well...did they know whether or not the air they were breathing was completely safe?]

Ah, well, their philosophy tends to abandon the idea of autonomy, they think the world would be a better place under their "Qun." Everyone would have a purpose and no one would be starving on the streets, that's probably a positive...but what it takes to get there? First there's war, next there's conversion and those who do do not wish to convert are brain-washed and if that doesn't work they are killed, and finally thinking for yourself is prohibited. I would never survive under the Qun, not as a person...and especially as a mage considering what they do to them.

[Not something he'd want to experience honestly.]

Probably. I gave up my own heritage, not as a mage, you can't just stop being a mage...but as a family heir. I left behind the gold, the name, the lofty positions in court, all that rot. It's better.

[inconstantly]

[John allows himself to be guided. He's not any kind of invalid, but leaning against Dorian does admittedly help to steady his step. Once seated John reaches to the side to carefully rest the staff against the wall. It's not like him to be respectful of other people's things, but he has an interest in keeping this one intact.

At Dorian's declaration that John was making a connection John smiles toothily with triumph. He doesn't need the validation, and in fact considers himself very knowledgeable in what he does. But here after joining COST, there are so many people from different worlds that it would be a shame not to glean some knowledge from them. Maybe he was a magpie of magic after all, but that is what, in John's opinion, made him effective. And while he doesn't need that validation, it's always nice to have a stroke to the ego.

As Dorian fetches the wine, John makes himself comfortable on the bed. He pushes himself back to sit with back flat against the wall and he stretches his legs across the horizontal width.]

Bottle. Let no one here say that I'm a gentleman. Anything anyone tells you to the contrary is an utter lie.