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Entry tags:
- * setting: base,
- 9s [nier],
- akira kurusu [persona],
- angela zieglar [overwatch],
- armitage hux [star wars],
- arthur [inception],
- ashitaka [princess mononoke],
- chiron [fate],
- commander shepard [mass effect],
- daenerys targaryen [asoiaf],
- dolores abernathy [westworld],
- dorian pavus [dragon age],
- felix [halo],
- genji shimada [overwatch],
- hei [darker than black],
- jeyne westerling [asoiaf],
- john constantine [dc],
- jon snow [asoiaf],
- kel cheris [machineries of empire],
- lena oxton [overwatch],
- mamoru hijikata [until death do us part],
- mordred [fate],
- noctis lucis caelum [final fantasy],
- percival de rolo [dungeons & dragons],
- prompto argentum [final fantasy],
- rey [star wars],
- ryo asuka [devilman],
- ryuji sakamoto [persona],
- samus aran [metroid],
- sebastian michaelis [black butler],
- shouta aizawa [my hero academia],
- siegfried [fate],
- the courier [fallout],
- travis touchdown [no more heroes],
- vax'ildan [dungeons & dragons],
- vex'ahlia [dungeons & dragons]
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.
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.The Time-Step
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 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.
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.
no subject
Then he's back to looking back up at this guy]
Soooo...that's a camera. [Looks ancient, but he'll allow it] And you shoot things with it?
[What's this guy call firing a gun?]
no subject
[He could really sound more confident about this.]
I mean not literally. It's like—a photoshoot. [Prompto, this isn't helpful.] It's slang, y'know? For taking pictures. So you can "shoot" pictures, 'cause you gotta use your aim.
no subject
[He'll freely admit this with a helpless shrug]
But we don't use anything like that, where I come from.
[So hopefully he'll be forgiven his ignorance. To illustrate his point, he lifts a hand, tapping the air in front of him with one finger. A holographic screen appears in front of him, and right in the middle is this fellow with his camera]
See?
[No 9S that doesn't clarify anything]
no subject
He steps closer to the screen, peering at it with his eyebrows raised.]
How'd you do that? [He sounds impressed.] It's not BCE tech, is it?
[He's taken pictures with the BCE optical scans, but he can't project them or anything.]
no subject
[He shakes his head, leaving the screen hovering where it is. It's an accurate projection of his field of vision just as he sees it, readings, HUD, and all]
It's something any Scanner unit can do. Pretty handy for gathering data, and all that. So we don't really have cameras like yours. [He gestures at the box in the guy's hand] Heard of 'em, but never seen one.
[Which makes it quite interesting to him]
no subject
[Priorities.]
Is that what the blindfold is about?
[He motions to it. He's already run into a blind man using technology embedded in a pair of sunglasses to "see", so...maybe that's what's up here? (It doesn't occur to him that 9S himself is a Scanner unit.)]
no subject
[He echoes the word curiously, and unsurprisingly, there's not an ounce of recognition in his tone.
But it's a question he shelves, frowning as he brings a hand to his face]
Blind...you mean my goggles?
[Yes, that's right. Goggles]
no subject
You're wearing goggles?
[Ok, that's. Not much better.]
Always thought those were supposed to be more... Transparent. [How do you see through that, bro.]
no subject
[He can't see through ones other units are wearing either, so it's a one-way kind of deal]
There's some advantages to people not seeing your eyes, besides.
[Like this makes it more sensible than it is]
no subject
Ok, that was a really shady way to phrase it, but I guess? Never really thought about goggles that way. But so is that why this— [he taps the HUD, just minus the actual tapping since it's just a holographic interface] —looks like a video game screen?
no subject
[He'd tested one out before, but it just looked like his hacking interface, so that's a surprise to him.
But asking another question isn't much of an answer, is it?]
That's what I always see. I mean, unless I remove the plug-in chips that control those functions. Which I could, but they're kind of useful.
no subject
[And there he goes, thinking about video game interfaces, which it takes him a second to track the rest of what 9S says.]
—Wait, plug-in chips?
no subject
[All he has for that is a helpless shrug]
But my current chip set should help minimize any need for maintenance.
no subject
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?
no subject
Close? Sort of? [It feel strange to say, because he's nothing close to such noble beings as humans. Yes, androids of his era believe this nonsense] I'm an android, so nothing in me is organic.
[Never was, surely never will be]
Where I'm from, you'd run into guys like me a lot, so being possibly the only one here's a little weird.
no subject
[Welp, time to reframe their whole conversation.]
Where are you from? I'm from Eos, but not too many people here have heard of it before.
no subject
[But that's not surprising, since plenty of things about the Old World have been lost. Why not a place or two?
Because clearly humans come from Earth and Prompto here must be human]
But I guess when I'm from is more the point, and that's...way after everyone else.
no subject
Like...relative to Earth?
[He's just guessing, based on how many people he's met from Earth. But, while Earth uses a calendar nigh identical to Eos, the years mean absolutely nothing to him. He hasn't really thought about it before, but he suddenly realizes he has no idea what qualifies as archaic or futuristic by most recruits' standards.]
Guess it's never really occurred to me to ask when people are from... Like how far are we talking?
no subject
[Like he'd stepped into another world entirely. And in a manner of speaking, he had, since androids look upon the era in which mankind populated the Earth as the Old World]
Met a guy earlier who's from about ten thousand years ago from my perspective.
no subject
[Despite the expletive, it sounds more awestruck than anything else.]
Did you ever have to deal with COST or the Regency? Before they recruited you, I mean. 'Cause they've talked about it being way in the future, but never whose future.
no subject
[But they sure did fight tooth and nail over the planet for no apparent reason for such an incredibly long time it had been doubtful the war would ever end.
9S shrugs, at a loss for relevant data, and yet he knows that really is a very good question]
So far as I know, it was the aliens' machines fighting us androids.
no subject
[He crosses his arms, looking at 9S—and it's honestly kind of hard to wrap his head around the fact he's an android.]
Like I get this is the point of androids, at least in sci-fi series... But you don't really look different from a human? [Prompto knows 9S said he was activated four years ago, but for real. He looks around the same age as Iris.] Maybe it's just weird because there are robots around Eos, but you'd never...no one ever thinks they're human.
no subject
[And there's a small but definite edge to that word, because he is programmed to hate the enemy. At the same time, he has the presence of self to acknowledge how incredibly complex that is, now]
But inside I'm metal and circuits, and my blood's synthetic. Units like me are built in the image of mankind, and that's who we're meant to protect. I even need to breathe, which isn't true of machines.
no subject
[Prompto. Dude. Why are you like this.
In any case, he's not sure he gets the distinction between androids and robots and machines as 9S would define it, beyond breathing. It's precisely because they're metal and circuits that people have always figured MTs were robots, after all.
Maybe his frame of reference is just wrong.]
But so you're fighting aliens on behalf of humans? If I'm getting this right.
no subject
[9S doesn't know what rhyme or reason went into his design, knowing what he does now. But he would like to think that it enables him to relate to the beings he was meant to defend, even if he was never bound to see them until COST came along]
But...that's close. The machines they made turned against them, actually. [And there's a certain, undeniable disdain that colors his tone. He certainly doesn't care for any enemy of mankind, but it's deplorable to turn on one's creators] They just keep on fighting us anyway.
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