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

Rey | Star Wars

[garbagepilot]

[BASE]

[It's funny, the way a familiar set of grey clothes can brighten your spirits, Rey decides. She changes the moment she finds her own clothes sitting on her bed, and as she explores the BASE it's with a new kind of life that hasn't been in her eyes or the set of her shoulders since her escape from the Regency. She's kept to herself, which is normal, but she'd made herself small, someone no one would take notice of.

Now, whether it's poking her head into the kitchen and piling a plate high with protein bars (someone show her how to turn them into things), wandering through the library, or just staring in wonder at a room filled with tubs for bathing in, it's clear she's clawing her way out of that place, refusing to let a little kidnapping and torture get her down.]

[arrival on the fish]

[As soon as Rey steps outside, her cloak now secure around her shoulders, staff slung across her back, it's a wonder she doesn't walk right into someone from how hard she's staring at what she's seeing here. Maybe she does stop in her tracks right in front of someone and get knocked into herself, but she remembers after a moment to move out of the way, still staring up at the trees and the sky, the colors captivating to her after a world of nothing but sand.

Takodana had been green, and Atch-To had been grey. Crait had been a landscape of white with red dirt hidden beneath the salt, but none of it had prepared her for this.

After a moment she has to find a rock, has to sit down before her knees give out, and she leans forward and presses the heels of her hands hard into her eyes. She's not crying, at least not yet, but the last few weeks have not been kind and the peace and tranquility she feels in this place are just a little overwhelming.]

[if you squint, it's a speeder]

[After she collects herself, of course, she's more than ready to explore where they've landed and of course, of course the hoverbikes catch her eye. They look painfully similiar to the speeder she built herself, so she makes a beeline for one... and doesn't get on it.

Instead, she gets her fingers into the cover she assumes is protecting the engine and starts to pull. Give her enough time and she'll have the thing pried open, wires exposed, and grubby little fingers all over the inner workings. Thing look familiar enough that she's not hesitating, just working connections loose and crossing the wires to new places, stripping them with her teeth to make new connections.]

If we could find you an engine, I bet you could really fly.

[Is she talking to the speeder? All signs point to yes don't judge her.]

[wildcard!]
[There's TONS to do here, so literally anything from exploring to camping to BASE shenanigans is on the table. Hit me up at blahblahren or pm this journal for plotting or just feel free to toss something at me! Also, prose or brackets are both fine, I'll follow your lead!]

[deem]

[Although 9S has been assigned a roommate apparently, he hasn't quite managed to spot them yet. Perhaps it's his own wanderings, or theirs, but he suspects he'll find them eventually. For the time being, he explores his new surroundings, finally free of dirt, blood, and assorted muck.

His stay in Gallipoli was brief, but it was certainly a mess, to say the very least.

It's in this exploration of their base of operations that he comes across someone prying one of the hovercraft open. And he waits there, watching her hands work over circuitry and internal components with what must surely be familiarity]

...My guess is they lack the resources.

[Is how he announces himself, after she talks to the craft she's tinkering with. He can understand, having modified a flight unit for greater efficiency himself in the past]

[garbagepilot]

You're probably right. They lack a lot of things around here.

[And it isn't like she can just nip back to the Falcon for a proper set of tools, either. She's limited to tooth and nail, the strength of her fingertips to pry things apart and twist them together, but the hoverbike is still hovering so she must be doing something right.

And then, finally, the fact that someone has answered her while she was talking out loud to an inanimate object hits her. This isn't BB-8, after all, and the bike isn't capable of talking back to her. She glances back, sees a boy with a blindfold and yeah, that throws her for a second, but she's quick to offer a small, friendly enough smile.]

I'm Rey.

[deem]

[And in return for her greeting, he smiles and offers a salute, left hand leveled in front of his chest]

YoRHa unit number 9, type S, Ma'am. [In all the disorienting activity since his arrival, he hasn't always had the presence of mind to offer a proper greeting. But in this case, at least he can do that much] Just call me 9S.

[Because truly, his full designation is suited for little better than describing his unit type and personality data. His name is much the same way, he supposes, but far easier to say in a given moment.

Letting his hand drop, he peers at the hoverbike behind her]

So, were you looking to make some improvements?

[garbagepilot]

[He's military, then, and the way he describes himself sounds like a droid's designation call signals. He looks incredibly human, though, nothing at all like the metal protocol droids that were humanoid but still designed to look obviously like machines.

It's familiar and not all at once, but she decides to just focus on the familiar, on the gentle ache she feels that comes with missing BB-8.]

I was hoping to, but I think it'll take something with a little more power than one of these to get me anywhere. Where are you from, 9S?

[deem]

Me? I guess the simplest answer's Earth, just...not the same time as anybody else around here.

[Which remains really weird, if anyone asks him. But he saw Gallipoli for himself, recognizes it as the Old World. There was no mistaking what he saw, what he felt...

What he smelled.

That place sure was awful. Makes him want to bathe again for good measure, just thinking about it]

But you know...I found a room that looks like a maintenance bay, so maybe if we got the right parts...

HOVABIKES YO

[dorzalta]

"Do you think it's possible to fly?" There's a wistfulness to her tone and expression as she approaches on the opposite side to where Rey is working. She's never seen someone so in their element to the point of using their teeth to accomplish a job.

It's a far greater contrast to the way the girl had been balling her fists against her eyes. She'd seen that too, of course, having heard the approach of someone while she'd been tending to a Dragokeet. Better to leave a person to regaining their composure; she'd needed her own time, as well.

There are three Dragokeets with her now: one perched atop her backpack, nested within her plaited hair, and two perched upon her shoulders. Irriella is skittering about, mandibles clicking happily as she explores the space nearby.

"I haven't flown in months. The last I did, I'd ridden my fiercest's back into battle... but that's the last thing I'd done prior to being taken by COST." A pause. "Is it safe to use your teeth on this?"

[garbagepilot]

"Oh, probably not. It's been a long time since I've been electrocuted by a machine, though, so I sort of miss it."

She's probably joking.

She recognizes the voice, too, so she sits back to answer, to say maybe, if they find a downed ship that's bigger, more powerful, she might be able to switch out an engine or two-

And then catches sight of all the creatures clustered around Dany. Her eyebrows go up, amused and very curious, and she waves her hand vaguely to motion to all of them.

"You've got a parade going."

[dorzalta]

"They remind me of my hatchlings." Her lips twist as she reaches up to offer her finger to one, who nibbles at it playfully. "And they sound as if they can sing."

Base, funnily enough, was its own prison for her as she took time to recover. Stepping out here, where the air is fresh and electric, surrounded by creatures which are the closest she'll reach to home and her children--she has to clear her throat against the sudden tightness in it.

Her eyes and nose sting, but the former remain clear, if not a little brighter.

"What does an electrocution feel like?"

She's not heard that term before. Not before Base.

tlj spoilersss

[garbagepilot]

"It depends on how strong it is," Rey says, leaning back from the bike to watch the way the Dragokeets swarm Dany like she's their mother. The longer she watches the more her smile grows, unbelievably charmed by such a simple thing. "If it's a small one, it just stings a little and your hand might go numb for a few minutes. A bad one can kill you."

And then a darker shadow crosses her face, her smile dims.

"It's like- you can't move, and every part of you feels like it's on fire. You can tell yourself to get up and fight it and your mind might want to, but your body isn't yours anymore. All you can do is wait for it to stop or hope you die so the pain will just stop."

Thinking of that moment in Snoke's throne room wasn't exactly something Rey was expecting to do today, but now that they're talking about electrocution it's a little hard not to think of it again.

el wild card.

[thingpuncher]

Out there in the wilderness, Midnighter's mostly been keeping to himself. He's not averse to company, though, he's just not prone to asking for it. This is probably a good thing, because it means when he gets into trouble, there's no one around. But it also means, when he gets into trouble, there's no one around.

Midnighter crashes out of the line of trees with a total disregard for the solemnity and beauty of nature. He's wearing a Superman T-shirt with the arms ripped off, and that helpfully reveals the extent to which one of his arms is completely fucked. He's swearing under his breath, and trying to wrench this thing off it, though every pull just looses more skin and brings more blood to the fore.

He looks up at Rey, at the campsite he's stumbled into, almost as an afterthought.

"Uh," he says, "you got a knife or something?"

[garbagepilot]

Truthfully, she's come out this far to avoid moments like this. She doesn't want visitors at the moment, had been happy to find a quiet, private place to let her mind water back to her moments with Kebechet, and before that her time with Snoke, with Kylo Ren. A part of her wonders who will be the next one to sink their fingers under her skin, dig their nails into her head and pull out her fears and make her face them, and those things are easier to dwell on alone, where no one will see you brood.

She'd set her tent up, made a fire pit the way Chewie had shown her, and there's even something vaguely bird-shaped on a spit over a fire, crackling and hissing as the fat drips out into the flames below, and it's quiet and tranquil right up until Midnighter goes bursting out of the brush and ruins it all.

Later, she'll be annoyed. The second she sees him, though, and all that blood, her eyebrows raise in concern and she waves him over, drawing a knife from the collection of cutlery and silverware she'd taken from the ship.

"Stop pulling on it, you're just making it worse," she says, giving up on letting him come to her and going to his side again, reaching out for his arm but very much not touching the plant yet. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to touch strange things?"

[thingpuncher]

"Me? No. Literally never." There's too much amusement in his voice for it to be sarcasm. He continues to wrench at the thing, poking and prodding, not showing any visible signs of pain, just frustration.

He is in pain, though. "Whatever you do, don't touch it. Stings like a motherfucker."

[garbagepilot]

"No one ever told me either, but I still know better," she admonishes, but there's a hint of a grin at the corner of her mouth as she says it.

She's absolutely teasing him, in case that wasn't clear.

She's careful, and slow, which she uses the tip of the knife to sort through the vines, the angry looking tendrils clasped around his arm, but instead of cutting it free she frowns and pulls the knife back.

"You're not going to like my suggestion."

Speeder

[widow_of_the_crag]

Do you know how to use one of those?

[It was a silly question to ask. It was obvious Rey knew how to use it, given her response and talk about pieces for it. Still, it was a surprise to see people familiar with this technology instead of struggling as she always seemed to be. Jeyne had heard enough about other worlds to know this wasn't uncommon, but she could still never get used to the idea of others knowing what these things were or how to use them.]

It flies?

[garbagepilot]

It might, if I can find a bigger ship to take parts from.

[She answers the second question first, leaning back from her work and wiping the back of her hand across her cheek, leaving a smudge of engine grease there as she does it.]

I put one like it together once, on the planet I grew up on. The basics all seem to be the same.

[widow_of_the_crag]

Is there any larger ships we can take from?

[While the thought of flying was disturbing (and thrilling), she wanted to see whether or not Rey could really do it.]

Maybe there is a way we can find the parts? Do you have an idea where we can start looking?

[garbagepilot]

[Okay, those questions in such quick succession are kind of adorable and Rey can't help the way she smiles at them, at Jeyne herself.]

If you want to come with me, we can see if we can find anything.

hit the baaase

[masque]

[has just pulled on regular clothes and has (somewhat) gotten used to life back in the base that it's starting to feel a little bit like "home". it's a vague word at this point, knowing the next mission will immediately put him back where he started, but for now, it's a welcome slow down.

he's in the library, tapping at books that don't look interesting but are perfect for passing time. he finds one, some old time english book he probably can't read, but while he's here then he can probably learn.

pulls it down, staring at rey through the shelves.

...]

Rey. [see, i remember.]

[garbagepilot]

[She's not really paying attention to anyone else being in the library, too focused on the rows and rows of information kept in a physical form, the pages of books feeling rough and honestly quite unfamiliar to her. She'd kept a journal, she'd seen the Jedi texts, but paper in good condition and books themselves in this large a number is just something she never thought she'd ever see.

It feels like excess in a very odd way, like something a rich collector would keep to show off his wealth, and it makes her hate and love the library all at once.

So she's distracted when she hears her name in a voice that's almost familiar, and when she looks up, when she sees who she does peering at her through the hole in lines and lines of books, her eyes suddenly burn with the threat of tears.

She'd promised to protect him, to see him through Gallipoli. She had failed, and she had been captured, and Ryuji had lost his best friend, and it had been something weighing on her that she refused to let herself dwell on for the fear of that failure being the thing to finally make her break down into tears after fighting them off so well for so long.

And now there he is, apparently safe, and her heart feels like it might explode.]

Akira. [She sounds so relieved to see him, and in that moment she's so, so glad the bookshelf is between them and keeping her from doing something stupid like grabbing him and pulling him in for a hug. They definitely don't know each other that well.] You're- what happened? We lost you.

[masque]

[is about to smile until he sees her face contort through different emotions, it reminds him of ann, and instead has him stay linefaced. from what he heard about gallipoli and distantly remembering her promise... well.

so he says nothing, instead turns to walk down the shelves until he's finally able to make a turn into her aisle.]

BCE glitched. [simply enough, though it doesn't explain much.] I'm fine, though. How about you?

closed to kylo ren

[garbagepilot]

[She should be used to the way the Force pulls and shifts to make room for the connection between her and Kylo by now, but it still makes her feel a little like the world has stopped spinning, like the air has been sucked out of her lungs and she's gone a little bit deaf when Snoke's link flares to life.

She's gotten more used to it, at least, and when it happens now she's sitting out in the middle of a forest, surrounded by green, seated like Luke had had her sit on that rock on the cliff, trying to meditate on the Force and her connection to it, the way it thrums through the creatures, the rocks and the trees here.

She's still learning, still has so far to go, but she's reached a comfortable place. Peace and contentment radiate from her side of their connection and even when she opens her eyes and sees Kylo there, she doesn't spit insults or demand he go away. She could snap the connection closed, but she doesn't. She just takes a moment to look at him, frowning thoughtfully, before she lets out a resigned breath.]

Maybe we should stick to talking to each other like this. It never goes well when we're face to face.

[ergosphere]

[Kylo was fairly far from BASE himself, though he wasn't meditating or reflecting on nature. He was just walking, feeling disconnected from himself and everything he'd achieved back home now that he had the freedom to think on it. When the silence settled in, his steps slowed, and finally stopped when he spotted her. Of course. This again.]

No, it doesn't. I wonder if this means we're meant to speak about something.

Or it means nothing at all. Just a by-product of Snoke's tampering.

[He didn't really believe that, though, as convenient an excuse as it would be. For as much as he struggled and fought to control the Force for his own powers, he wasn't so foolish as to think it made him immune this sort of... interference.]

blanket spoiler warning for this whole thread tbh

[garbagepilot]

[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?

[ergosphere]

[Her question made him avert his eyes, an almost imperceptible twitch passing across his face. It was a fair question, and if she went right to it, then she wasn't wasting any time if this sort of communication came easier for them than in person.]

I did.

[His reaction to it was less about Luke's passing, though, and more about that pair of dice he'd left behind, even for a few moments. The thought of them, and even that pair he'd found on the beach by unhappy accident, immediately sent his thoughts down darker, painful paths. It prevented him from making vindictive claims of being responsible for killing him at last, or anything of the sort. Every recent victory he'd had back home had been hollow, and most of what he'd faced in their last mission had reminded him of that.

When he looked back to her, his expression was the same carefully blank mask he'd tried to curate in front of her before.]

I don't regret it.