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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[ Thor, likewise, is earnest in his desire to practice a skill he rarely has occasion to use. The last mission has taught him that his hammer may not always be in easy reach. He's fortunate that he's met someone confident enough in her skill to meet a challenge.

Thor isn't particularly self-conscious about his state of undress, but he doesn't exactly make a habit of wandering around naked in front of young women he's never met before. He's grateful that she does get the idea and look away. The clothing provided by COST is, for the most part, loose enough that he pat himself dry and pull it on fairly quickly. His hair is still soaking wet, but he'll live with it. ]

I'm Thor, son of Odin. [ He holds out his hand as he approaches her. ] It's good to meet you, Rey. My apologies for the... display. I assumed that I was alone.

I didn't concern myself with it much, since I'm built for all sorts of conditions.

[Just not magic. Not combating it, certainly. The modification installed into him by COST is a daily reminder, an unsettling thing he half expects to backfire and damage his systems one of these days.

But he thinks Genji is right about this environmental anomaly bearing investigation. He pokes the air, prompting a holographic screen to appear in front of him, various readings on their surroundings littered across it and fluctuating by small degrees]

Atmospheric pressure, gravitational pull, air composition...

[9S' gloved finger drifts across the screen, only to halt over a module with a line, stuttering up and down in small spikes]

I've been trying to figure this one out.

Yes. [Without thinking his left arm moves to settle upon his right forearm, squeezing lightly, knowing by heart the shape of the mark that lie underneath his clothing, which reached up his arm and encircled around his chest. "Troublesome" isn't really the way he would put it, but Ashitaka wasn't naturally the type of person to rail against the misfortunes in his life. They happened, and so now they were a part of him. If he had stopped to curse his own fate, he most likely would have slowed so much in his quest that the one pursuing his life very well might have claimed him.

Yakul remains still as she reaches out to him, apparently trusting her enough to do so. His head is soft and warm, and his liquid black eyes close at the affectionate touch.

(Annoying... that's almost sweet, Mordred.)

Regardless, Ashitaka remains silent for a moment longer, once again giving the impression that he's carefully picking and choosing what to say.] Upon my recruitment, COST gave me what I needed to avoid the curse killing me. Had they not intervened, I would have been dead long ago.

But...

[The caveat hangs heavy in the air for a moment.]

Should it take control of me, it is not myself who I fear for. [Behind his eyes he remembers his time with Kebechet, the stark moment when the curse (which had been, until that point, suppressed by the Regency's nullifying powers) had activated and attacked, assaulted and overwhelmed him. He presses his eyes closed, trying to dispel the memory.] It wishes for violence and little else, and for this, I am its instrument. Do you understand?

[What remains of Nago, impressed into his body, seems to be able to adjust. Without the ability to kill him outright, in revenge, why not use him as a host to continue to lash out, as it did in life?]

[9S recognizes at a glance that the craft won't function without that part. It's a good way to secure it, in lieu of hacking or means they lack the resources for. Someone would need another such craft if they wanted hers.

And at that point they'd still only have one functional hover bike. That really should keep it safe]

Good to hear. I don't know how many of us have that much technical knowledge...

[He trails off, frowning in thought, before he shrugs]

Well, anyway, it's pretty easy to get to. Let me know if we pass your room along the way. No sense in having to double back if it's right there.

[She seems to have the bad (or good) luck of seeing random naked manchest, it's fine.

She shakes his hand, though, and decides the best move is to just move on like everything is normal. Her palms are rough and callused, a sign of a fighter, and her staff is slung across her back to give a hint towards how they might have gotten that way, but she smiles at him all the same.]

Son of Odin, huh? [She's never heard anyone introduce themselves like that, so it stands out.] And- to be fair, you were alone. I'm sorry I surprised you.

"Sir Henry then?" 9S asks, because due formalities ought to be observed unless he's told to dispense with them. It's good to know the man's name if he needs to identify him, but a unit such as himself certainly isn't on equal footing with the race that created his own.

Natural order, and all that.

"But that's my name," he carries right along, seeing nothing too strange about it himself. By now, though, he's aware he's the only android unit here. "Number 9, Type S. So 9S. But my friends call...called me Nines."

[ Thor watches John climb into his bed with one eyebrow slightly raised. Usually he insists on dinner first. ]

The trick is that there is no trick. Mjolnir moves for a just heart. If ever I am not worthy of it, it won't be moved by my hand either.

[ That is its purpose, after all - to remind him of who he is to be. Still, he's not without sympathy for John's plight. He knows what it is to strain against his hammer while it remains unmoving. ]

My brother was quite skilled with magic as well. If there was a spell that could be cast against Mjolnir, he would have found it. [ Thor shakes his head. There's a very long list of reasons why Molnir would not move for Loki, but John doesn't need to know that. ] Come now, you're going to hurt yourself. Perhaps you could rescue a kitten from a tree and try again later?

Probably more than you'd expect, but not as many as you need. That's seemed to be the case when it comes to people here.

[Wiping her hands off on the grass rather than staining her newly returned pants, Rey stands up and heads towards him, motioning for him to lead the way.]

How did you end up finding that room, anyway?

[With her gesture as indication, 9S turns and heads back toward the entrance of the base]

Well you see, scouting's one of my primary duties, where I'm from. And I was also wondering what the facility was like...

[How it's compare with the Bunker, rather, but the words stick in his throat]

They haven't built an electronic lock yet that'd keep me out.

[Her smile is ten times brighter than before, pleased to be remembered to that extent, rather than just another face in the crowd. It was something she experienced all too often, but had resigned herself to. There had to be average people in the world to make those more special burn all the brighter.]

The water is calmer too. You won't have to worry about riptides while learning to swim...or currents. The ocean is beautiful, but it's not easy for beginners.

Do you think you could teach me a bit about these...things?

[She waved a hand at the hover bikes.]

That's a lot to learn.
Would you be willing to teach me? It sounds as if you have experience in this?
I don't have very much, but I could repay you somehow?

"Do you look forward to returning home?" A sharp pang rumbled through her heart, the sudden reminder that she would have to go back as well was painful and frightening.

Gods, let it be far from now. Let her find some answers and peace first before it was all taken away again.

"Cersei did this? Not her father?" No, she shook her head, stirring it back to life. No, Tywin was dead. Daenerys had told her that, someone had killed him on the privy. The Freys were gone as well. The only one left was her mother. "I...I'm not sure. I don't feel anything for the Lannisters, not after what they did. But I don't know if I will be able to make that decision. Where they are sending me, I'm surrounded by guards with orders to kill me if I run. I'm to be secluded in my home, watched and monitored for a child." A child they would kill, if she was pregnant.

"I want the Lannisters gone...but they were my liege lords once. It's...not an easy thing to turn against." They were already oathbreakers through her marriage to Robb, though her mother found the way to repair that, by using her daughter to kill the Northern threat. "I don't have the power that Lady Olenna does or any of the other great houses. My family is a minor one and I have no army to command. It's only me."

Prude?

[She tries to sputter out a better retort, but her mind stalls as he gets to his feet. He's clearly drunk and that only makes the situation more frightening and aggravating. She was placed in this capsule, not only with a man, but a drunk one at that. If it was some kind of cruel joke, she didn't see the humor in it.

She crossed her arms over her chest, pressing her back against the wall.]

I'm sure it isn't wherever you're from, but it is in my world.

[But she wasn't there now. She was here and had to get used to these rules. Yet somehow, this was what she balked against the most.]

Suppose so. Never been that kinda guy, though. [He takes that cue to get the sword against the wall, flicking the hand towel he had brought with him over his shoulder. He had decided to test his balance then, so his socked feet sound light but steady on the floor.

He grabs the sword, and the weight of it feels so comfortable, it almost compensates for the fact that this ship isn't home. Not that he had much of a home, to begin with, but this meant he could go back to basics. He picks up the shoes that he had left there, too, moving back to sit on the bench near 76 as he puts them on, resting the blade beside him.] I'm all about the destination.

it becomes second nature once you get it
don't think you can repay me anyway
but yeah ill do it

[Ashitaka very much understands COST's position, especially having spoken with the sergeant and the commander in all the times that he has. They are a rebel outfit with very little resources in comparison to their enemy, and they had to recruit where they could and do what was in their power to keep those recruits willing to aid their cause despite it not really feeling like their own battle (even though time was all of their battle, technically, but it was certainly an abstract). Giving them what little they could, from comforts of home and familiar weaponry and even animal companions, was one of the smaller ways they could try to make them more content to continue the fight.

Regardless, the extra life around BASE would be nice. A good change of pace from the otherwise-quiet corridors filled with skittering robots and the legion of crows that compromised Young.

He doesn't argue at all with the particular diction Chiron chooses; he will certainly be forced to come back to BASE whenever they have to get ready for the next mission. Not necessarily escorted, but certainly called back with a very stern message. He smiles, giving an understanding nod to what his companion had said.]

That is true.

[He still only marginally understands the rules for what sort of entities Chiron and Mordred were, but that they were summoned through space and time was something he'd picked up on.]

You are used to such a thing. [He considers this a moment longer.] Do you have more freedom now or previously? [He knows it was all relative; none of them really have much freedom when it comes right down to it. But he finds himself curious.]

When can we meet and get started?
I'm a bit hopeless, so this might take a lot of practice.
I will try my best though, if that helps anything?

[ Eren nods in agreement, and hops off his bike with ease that would have surprised anyone who had known him when he went without a leg. As he pulls his bag from off the back end of his vehicle, he turns his head around to ask Ashitaka a question. ]

How much do you have prepared? [ Eren slings his luggage over his shoulder. ] I'm only carrying what they issued us.

i'm always around the gym you can meet me there
you can start by stopping saying that
hopeless and not athletic i mean
it all starts with conviction

[ Her reaction's amusing, but he doesn't let that show on his face. He continues to be sardonic and has zero intention of relenting. There's a moment of silence after she's done speaking where he quirks a brow, before realizing she's insulting his home world. Well, he couldn't quite blame her for that one. ]

Why so straight-laced? Were you married before all this? Is it bad form to live in a house with a man that you've never seen before?

[ He's...being really insensitive at the moment. ]

(ooc: im just imagining 9S on that one tree in Destiny Islands now)

Oh.

[He looks away from 9S once more, out across the grand expanse of landscape laid out before them. Truth be told, he often forgets the truth of their situation, that they are on the back of a giant primordial fish floating through the expanse of aether that exists outside space and time. There are obvious tells, of course. The sky is not stars, just the twisting nether they saw outside the portholes of BASE, and that means there isn't really day or night. But when scaling mountains or fording rivers or navigating forests or running through fields, he finds himself forgetting, instead wrapping himself in the comforting memories of home.]

I was not aware he had a name.

[A brief pause...]

Or that he could speak. [He supposes you just go wherever his head is and talk to him? Ashitaka hadn't considered such a thing. Perhaps he would journey there, though he isn't sure what he would say to him.]

I hope he does not get lonely. It does not seem like circumstances align often for him to have visitors.

[The whole situation with the shapers and their being brought here, though... perhaps whenever he got lonely he just summoned company like that?]

Yes, it seems they would be.

[Though wouldn't someone notice if you were wearing them? Perhaps if your hair was long enough to hide them, or if you were wearing a hat... He would have to think about this.

And, ah, yes, right. Is it that obvious? (Yes.)]

It has been... difficult in many ways.

I still do not understand what many of the machines do.

[As in: the entire kitchen is a frightening mystery to him.]

[She doesn't believe it either, and she doesn't believe for a second that he feels that way. It's not worth denying, so she just takes a moment instead to think about that.

She knows that the Force still has something it wants from Kylo, some role that he's meant to play, and that's enough to make her wonder if he isn't right. She isn't meant to kill him, not to join him, so... well, listening to him doesn't sound that insane. When they had seen each other on Crait there hadn't been any compassion in her eyes, but there hadn't been any hate, either. In Gallipoli that hadn't been as true, but she thinks the constant pressure of their surroundings is part of why she'd been unable to resist lashing out when he gave her the opportunity.

Truthfully, they're probably just bad for each other no matter the setting, but the distance between them now makes this almost easy.]

Did you feel it when Luke died?

There is a little chuckle that comes unbidden from Hux's lips, somehow unsurprised. "Well, at least we were paired with someone compatible, hm?" He had been dreading the roommate situation, but this was turning out a great deal better than he could have anticipated.

Glancing about the kitchen, he listens to Hei, quirking an eyebrow. "You seem to be someone that would have a higher rank than 'food supervisor'." Still, "...I confess I wouldn't know what to ask for." A hint of a color comes to his cheeks. "Besides the rare times I've been to higher off-ship functions, I eat food that's highly regulated." [Read: MRE type things. Help him, Hei.]

"But I wouldn't mind easing into other foods. I'm a bit--my one indulgence is a particular kind of bitter tea; I'll be looking for a replacement to that, first."

[Prompto blinks.

9S looks like a normal kid. Well, a normal kid with a blindfold and weird colored hair, but hey, Prompto is from FFXV where everyone's hair is kind of weird and also pretty embarrassing. Maybe 9S is just a really enthusiastic cosplayer. Seems legit.

In any case, in Prompto's experience, "unit" is a word that's reserved for MTs. Or tactical RPGs, but that probably isn't relevant.]

Ssso, then you're... [how do you even phrase a question like this] like a cyborg?

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Page 55 of 92

THE AMAZING BASE.

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Route C...the heart pain...did you find the flight unit in flooded city ruins?

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no but I finished the whole thing last night so now I can go back and look while I cry forever

I missed it originally too...then stumbled upon it and more crying

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blanket spoiler warning for this whole thread tbh

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