agogelogs | THE AMAZING BASE.

Entry tags:

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Did something happen?

[Chiron trots over the bike, having seen the mass sitting down on the ground and not caring who the rider might be. He's careful as to not step on any nuts and bolts that might be on the ground, especially if someone is in the middle of repairs.]

And do you need any assistance?

[Nuts and bolts are abound in little piles; nothing anal retentive but enough organization to know where everything is and if a foot or hoof were to disturb it. She rises up from the other side of the gutted bike and wipes her brow. It's mercifully not hot out but she's working up a small sweat so close to what were once-hot parts. A small smear of grease lines her forehead with that movement.]

Chiron.

[Maybe they didn't explicitly exchange names in Gallipoli but Samus wasn't one to not make use of the BCE's functions and put names to faces she intended to remember. As to his question...]

...I'm fairly sure something's blocking the combustion chamber. [She points out a small patch of disturbed grass and dirt.]

Blocked the airflow and I went for a swim in the dirt.

[Chiron crouches down as Samus points to the patch of dirt and grass, narrowing his eyes somewhat. The ins and outs of modern machinery is the opposite of what he has skills with, and so he simply nods to show he understands the theory.]

At least any injuries are superfical, I presume? [He didn't see much blood or anything of the sort.]

How can I assist?

I'm fine. [Really, she is; she holds her arms up placatingly to prove it and turns them around so he doesn't fret over her any further; her elbows have a grass rash at the very worst. She knows how to tuck and roll.]

It's fine. [That's blurted automatically. She's not sure she'll ever get used to someone so selflessly and immediately offering help as much as he does but it's not unwelcome. She's just not sure what to do with it again.

It takes her looking at the dismantled turbine-part of the bike's engine to remember where she left off and she realizes, yeah, a second pair of hands to hold the case still while she undoes the last set of bolt would help.]

I only need to take this vent off. [She taps it with the end of a socket wrench-like tool--clang clang--] Then maybe I can see what's causing the problem.

Well, mechanics may not be anything I'm skilled at, but I can hold or hand over things as needed.

[Chiron is, in fact, completely lost as to what the bits and bobs that go into a hoverbike are.]

Or fetch things like water, if parts need to be cleaned off.

[She makes a laughing sort of noise through her nose and the corner of her lip tries to so do something. She shakes her head as if to shake it off but there's a warm lit in her tone.]

I think you could spend an entire year cleaning this bike and it'd still find a way to be dirty.

Here-- [She somehow doesn't have the heart to shoo him away and instructs him to sit.] hold this still while I unscrew.

It's clearly just cursed to be dirty.

[CHiron's glad for that warmth, and he does sit as instructed. It's...a little clunkier now that he's a centaur, but still do-able.]

Of course.

[Yeah, about that...]

So...

[It's not that she hasn't seen hybrid humans and strange things--the way she asks is extremely casual--but this certainly wasn't how she met him. Then again, she supposed if this was his natural form he'd have to disguise it in Gallipoli. Kudos to COST for figuring that one out.]

...when'd you get those?

This is my natural form, in truth.

[Not that COST had disguised it, but that wasn't worth getting into. There's a smile on Chiron's face as he adds:]

It's just not conducive to being out and about most places when the watchword is subtle.

There's nothing subtle about that. [She tries to think about the last time she saw so many limbs on a person and she's pretty sure it was probably the last time she saw a Reptilicus. It was of course trying to kill her and she thinks he probably wouldn't appreciate the comparison.]

Not that it's a bad look.

Not at all. Although in places like this, it's extremely useful for getting around and ensuring that everyone has transportation.

[Who needs a bike wen you have this many limbs? Not this weird horse, that's who.]

Thank you. It's been exceedingly nice to have it back.

[He has a great point. She can imagine how liberating it must feel with all this fresh air and open land to run around on. Even she feels more at ease with the alien wildlife around.]

I've been eager for my equipment to sync with the BCE proper so I can have it back. [She continues to work the bike parts until she's able to access the piece she needs to.] Did you have any trouble adjusting to COSTS's preferences?

In truth, I didn't. I had been summoned in my human form for another matter before I arrived here, so I was comfortable enough on two legs. [After all, a centaur's pretty obvious in a Holy Grail War too.]

May I ask how much equipment you have to sync into the BCE?

Not much but... it's unique. [She might get a little cagey talking about it because it's so unique, and on more than one occasion have enemies and comrades alike have tried to replicate her equipment for their own gain... and with no success. She'd like to keep it that way. But she thinks giving some very basic cliff notes to him would be harmless. They're allies, it would be beneficial to know each other's strengths and weaknesses... and extra limbs, as it were.]

Armor and weapons crafted by my adoptive parents, an ancient race now gone from the cosmos. It normally works on conscious materialization. [You know, good ol' video game hammerspace.]

I'm sure when COST has the resources for it, it'll come. It would be greatly advantageous to the cause, even if I have to modify it to work with their technology. [She's careful about saying their cause or our cause, even if she felt convicted enough that COST's battle would be both her and everyone's problem if not addressed. The fact is she still thinks about returning to her corners of dark space after the Regency's threat has been vanquished.]

[Chiron doesn't pry for any further details. But he listens, and he hooks into the sentiments that come with the armor. How many wepaons like that have his students had over the years? There's familarity in there, even if the technology is worlds away from his own. It puts a smile on his face, soft and wistful.]

I'd be extremely interested to see it. Not to divine any information, but to see how it functions for the sake of it.

I hope I don't disappoint when the time comes.

[It'd normally be said with an air of self-depreciation, a strange mix of humility and confidence Samus would skirt before deflecting the rest of the subject away entirely. Her and her suit and her abilities have always been ogled by the federation, and their acute interest in it all hardly for the sake of it. Here however, she thinks she'd like to genuinely know what Chiron thinks of her armor.]

Oh, I doubt that would be possible.

[Chiron smiles, easy and reassuring. There's nothing but truth in his words.]

It also helps that your technology is far more advanced than anything I've seen. In many ways, you could show me something all too simple and I'd stare slack jawed and amazed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

THE AMAZING BASE.

Hoverbike

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i suck this took so long

No worries dude that's why we've got backtagging

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