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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You handled yours with great care.

[It was clear he wasn't expecting it to be here. Perhaps he lost it?]

I can think of many worse things and worse places. [They have a lot of time to kill and she wouldn't necessarily mind telling him about it--places she's been, the things she's seen, and having done it so utterly alone. No one else would know the things she's experienced, or learned the lessons she's learned... and some part of her thinks that's kind of a shame.

On the other hand, she's very curious and perhaps for those same reasons is interested to hear whatever he'll tell her of his escapades and experiences.]

You're from Earth, right? [It's mostly a blind guess but 20th century earth seemed to be a fairly popular time/location for many COST recruits to hail from.]

Worse place you've been aside from Gallipoli.

Thor, like of the Norse mythology.

[ He knows the lightening and his strength and all that doesn't look like a gimmick, but he still can't help but feel a little incredulous. That being said, he only offers Thor a 'look' before moving onto the question. ]

California, nowadays. If you mean where I was raised, it was mostly in Ireland.

Pugnate, right?

[76 has a small chuckle to himself about that—the Regency seems particularly fond of that one. Still, Ashitaka makes a salient point. It would have been easy to kill the captured recruits, but instead they dragged out the hostage situation, perhaps to extract information, perhaps to bait the rest of their cell to stage a rescue. He finds himself understanding Grothia a little better. She could look the other way if someone launched a rescue operation, but she wouldn’t mobilize the whole cell herself. The amount of loss would be more than they could bear, given their numbers and resources.

That still begs to question, however, what the Regency even aims to do with them, given the opportunity.]

I’m sure we’d be pretty useful if they scrambled our brains enough.

[That said, turning under-equipped, under-trained soldiers against each other is a legitimate strategy in itself. There’s something to be said for psychological warfare.]

Or maybe they’re trying not to look like hypocrites. Can’t be for universal peace if your first order of business is to kill people.

[He offers a thoughtful hm, but otherwise doesn’t press the issue. 9S ends up giving him something of an explanation, though it of course raises more questions. He supposes, however, that if it’s not a company, there are other possibilities.]

Military?

[It’s something of an ambiguous question—was 9S built by the military? Does he consider himself military?

Either way, it might be something they have in common, in a tangential sort of way.]

The Regency showed up?

[He’s heard of other recruits volunteering, but not of anyone actually encountering the Regency before signing on to COST. It’s an interesting development, to say the least—not that the idea of someone with precognition engaging in time travel isn’t interesting.]

What did they want?

( this time all angela does is nod, surprisingly. she still doesn't agree with it, she doesn't want anyone left if there's a chance that they might die, but angela hadn't seen what it had been like back there.

she's also seen what the regency can do, with xici disappearing in front of her eyes piece by piece. it had horrified her and if sending a team in could do it to their own people-- angela believes him )

You'll make sure she can.

( she knows his experience even if not the commanders but angela knows that he wouldn't be backing her decisions if he didn't agree with them tactically )

I trust you to keep everyone safe.

( he'd certainly made her believe that was his goal all the time, whether their methods were agreed on )

Yeah.

[He doesn't elaborate any further than that, mostly because she hasn't requested further clarification. Without knowing how much she knows, he finds it appropriate to make a joke, even if he's the only one who gets it.]

Indiana.

Edited 2018-05-01 20:50 (UTC)

[ Genji can only imagine that most people have a whole host of questions they would like to ask him once they learn what he is, but Mamoru chooses to refrain for now. It's not always the easiest story to tell, so he appreciates it.

Given that time is so fluid here, it seems fair to say that they're from a certain period in time. 2015 is long ago from his perspective, but what Mamoru says of the technology of that time more or less lines up with what Genji knows. ]

I see. That would make it confusing. My left arm is still flesh and blood, but my three other limbs are prosthetic, as you said.

[ When it comes to his chest and his abdomen, it gets even more complicated, and he doubts that anyone wants all of those boring details. ]

[Traumatic histories, scars and overall difficult backgrounds. Three things Mamoru has first-hand experience in, not to mention the people who he ended up meeting and working with in his - he's not sure he should call it a job. It would be to oversimplify it, to cheapen it. It was a normal thing - you don't really end up neck deep with people trying to kill you without much of a story, anyway.

He nods, tapping his cane gently from side to side. There's a buzz coming from their right which tells him there's a droid passing by them at an intersection of the corridors. He entertains the thought that it will scurry past them, take care of the 'flick flick' of a light in need of a replacement a few steps behind. The droid whirs away, to their left, leaving the light flickering at their backs. Hm, it was only a possibility, anyway.

So his question doesn't really go to how Genji came to be what he is today, but how he deals with it now. After all, he can kinda relate - kinda, but not to the same extent. ] How accepted are people with cybernetics, where you're from?

[A snort, humor slipping into his voice, making it drier.] They didn't exactly show up at my door. Ain't that important a guy.

I was merely informed, the kid told me what would happen, about COST, and we made our decisions accordingly. [He shrugs. He recalls the way their superiors took him in without much of a question "why", just a mere indication of what he could bring with him. Mamoru wanting to take his sword - the one he has now - but his partner almost to the point of offended that he wouldn't take the sunglasses instead. ]

What they always want - Peace Through Strength, right? Though I guess we could add some sort of mindfuck in the middle of it.

[He chuckles, just the one huff of breath.] But "If you want peace, prepare for war," I guess.

[He shrugs.] You work with blades long enough, you learn how to keep them in top shape. Even light but constant pressure is enough to get them to bend and fuck up your swing.

[He turns his head slightly to the stairs, as if he could follow the path to where the sword is, resting carefully on his bed.] Not sure why that one is here. I usually work with a lighter one.

I understand... that would certainly be a problem.

[Even if he doesn't know why mixing the colors would be an issue in the first place.]

So... if you separate the clothing and put it into the machine correctly, how do you tell it to clean?

[He's really working from square one, here.]

[Ashitaka gives him a tired smile.] Regardless, anything is worth trying.

[He had already had an impromptu race with the bikes, so testing his speed against another quadruped certainly wouldn't negatively impact him too much. Yakul was a gentle soul, in the end.]

Thank you. [Ashitaka nods as he pulls a blanket over himself, head resting against Yakul's flank as a make-shift pillow.] We will... rest for only a few hours.

[And it takes him maybe less than a minute to fall asleep after that, lulled by the sounds of the crackling fire and the distant rushing of water.]

You're welcome. Rest well.

[Chiron's happy to slip into silence as Ashitaka and Yakul rest. It is a pleasant place to sit and watch the world go by, the soundtrack even finer.

Would that this could be the only other place COST ever needed to go.]

[Ah, so he hadn't been the only one.

There's a faint, sad smile on Ashitaka's face as he nods.] Yes. That was it.

[He's been thinking about this almost constantly since he'd been captured, if not in the forefront of his mind then tangled up somewhere in his subconscious. Since he had seen Xici die, torn apart on a cellular level as she simply ceased to be in the stream of time, he had taken it as a sobering message of what they all faced if they failed. Upon his meeting with Kebechet, seeing that they knew everything about him and where he was from (and knew more about what he was going to do with his life than even he did), he had realized he'd already failed without noticing it. If they knew him, they could destroy him; it was as simple as that.

But they didn't. Why?

76 brings up good points, more fleshed-out versions of fragments that Ashitaka had considered himself, over these last few days.]

They still send people against us, however. Soldiers which seem more than willing to kill. [They'd faced off against them in Gallipoli, both while in Lone Pine and when escaping from it. Of course, one of those agents had captured Ashitaka rather than killing him, but perhaps their orders had changed.] They try to create eternal peace by intervening in wars. In this, they must compromise something.

[He is silent for a moment longer, taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.]

I... [He reconsiders how to approach this.] We have known that, if they discovered our identities, they could erase us as they did Xici. But Kebechet showed me that they already knew who I was. Not only that, but everything I had already done - everything that I would do. [He frowns, his brow knitting together in consternation.] I... asked if it meant the end of me, but Kebechet said that to erase a single person was something they were forbidden to do.

[He feeds another piece of firewood to the fire.] I caution myself in believing what I was told, but they said it was the Windhoek Accord that stopped this. I... have heard that name before. Xici mentioned it, though she did not say what it was.

[Perhaps Ashitaka should have asked more.]

Somewhere behind his eyes, William withdraws, shrinks away from the person she's describing. His mouth pulls tight at the corners. “It's a bad habit,” he says, ducking his head and thinking of how breathlessly she'd repeated real world to him that night in Pariah. He hadn't realized she could see—without even knowing what she was looking at—that worldliness in him.

He brushes his thumb over her knuckles, squeezes her hand in wordless apology. “Comparison.”

He tugs her—gently, glancing over his shoulder every so often—toward the tree, until the light's settled around them. He looks up through the glowing branches, the sky a distant, dark scrap. “No matter where—or when—we go next, no matter what happens, this'll be here.”

Like that, he's smiling again.

[Ashitaka's stare becomes a little blank. He blinks slowly, owlishly.

Until this moment he probably hasn't considered that 9S isn't human. Even with the strange name (and he knows Soldier 76, so human beings with numbers in their names isn't that strange for him), even with a moment or two of something abnormal or beyond the reach of a standard human's ability, there are enough strange people in COST's number (himself included) that he wouldn't have been that confused. He has met people with robotic limbs and even cybernetics integrated with their entire bodies, but even that is usually very easy to pick out...

It is certainly true that he was made in the image of mankind, then, and whoever was behind that design was incredibly capable at what they did. Without having been told, Ashitaka surely wouldn't have guessed.

He slowly regains his composure, nodding and clearing his throat before speaking.] In my own time, machinery is incredibly simple and... antiquated, by nearly anyone else's perspective. I apologize, therefore, for my surprise. [By this point, he should be less fazed, by everything he's seen, but every time he feels he's beginning to understand something, the rug is pulled out from beneath him yet again...]

If you do not mind me saying, it is rather odd that you would remove humans from these fights. In all that we have seen, it is men waging war against their fellow man. It... is foolish, yes, but it would be something else entirely to place the responsibility of settling it upon someone else. [Someone like a machine, or android. Ashitaka believes that humans should be responsible for their own peace, and hopefully decide to reach out and achieve it on their own power.

That's obviously not how things tend to go, though.]

hold on

[He's new at handling this machine, so he climbs the stairs to get in front of the machine in his cell to visualize what he's talking about.]

do you have the detergent

[In an entirely different capsule on BASE, Ashitaka is also standing in front of the washing machine, looking bewildered.]

The what?

[It would be disheartening to see that it was a fault that extended to other civilizations and other species outside of their own world. Ashitaka's only frame of reference was the juxtaposition of humans' greed and arrogance with the reflexive defensiveness of the gods, who were merely trying to defend lands that men were suddenly invading. War had always seemed to be something unique to mankind. Animals would kill, but they did so as nature dictated, and if left unincited, the gods would simply keep to their own lands and leave all else alone.

He had wondered quite a lot about what it was about humans that made them so uniquely susceptible to the vices that left them wanting more, and removed from them the inhibitions which would keep them from doing something terrible in order to get what they wanted. He has only ephemeral ideas, the far more solid one being that such things might not be accessible to the minds of humans.

His first response to the answer is a nod; it makes sense, and he doesn't feel particularly pressured to ask about any reasons. Ashitaka had reasons of his own for leaving his home and embarking on his own journey, and while not secret, he didn't relish the idea of rehashing them very much (or at all).]

We will be well-equipped then. [He wouldn't have minded if Genji knew little about living in the wilderness, but it certainly makes it easier.] I had only just started traveling on my own in my own time, but I am familiar with living in the wilds.

Though...

[He's right. They're on the back of a colossal alien fish in the middle of the timeless, space-less aether. There's no telling what they will find.]

You are right. It will most likely be unlike anything we have seen or experienced. We would do best to be cautious, then.

[He follows along, Yakul keeping pace a short distance behind them.]

It's difficult now to see him smiling. She can't quite place what makes her feel suddenly hollow. Perhaps she's angry at anyone that managed to let their words get to him. While he's not soft, there is something volatile within William that she can't place. She could see glimpses of it with Logan and Lawrence, but it's never anything that lingered. Perhaps it's unfair, but the thought hasn't left her.

Things may be better if it did.

"Someone might have told you it's a bad habit."

The first thing she can think of is to look up at the lights of the trees. She wonders what he sees in them. She's never seen such splendor. It's like the stars wove themselves together into something safe and welcoming: something just for them. Her hollowness starts to fill, like something terrible being written over in a heavy ink.

"But they're wrong. It's who you really are. They can only take that away from you if you let them."

like soap
it's an item that's usually a capsule or powder that you put in the machine with the clothes

It's strange that it's the same for us all.

( not remembering their recruitment. had they even been asked? angela didn't want to question it so much but it definitely seemed questionable )

I think for many others here too.

Oh.

[That would make sense.

After investigating the area immediately around the machine, he does find something along those lines.]

I believe I found it.
Does it go in the machine with the clothing?

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THE AMAZING BASE.

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