agogelogs | 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

[Chiron had seen a great many unique things in his own time and place. Gods were common place, their offspring perhaps more so. There were great beasts on land and sea, and unique divinities who had no place on Olympus, and so roamed the Greek mainland and isles. Some were truly awe inspiring, some just became normal.

The sight of the lux arbor falls into the first category, the great thing swaying quietly. Chiron's inital response is to simply stare at it, not even processing the feeling of true awesomeness, awesomeness in the old sense of the word, overwhelming him.

But the distance is hardly worth it. Chiron trots right up to the thing to begin to conduct a closer examination. Is only once he had drawn down a branch to examine that he even realizes there is another there.]

...Ah! My apologies, I didn't mean to disturb your respite.

[ there's partially something about the lux arbor that keeps percy from jumping readily to his feet. laid across his lap is his rifle wrapped up securely, while he sits at the roots of it. he'd originally been looking up through the trees boughs and leaves, but finds himself directing that attention to the man... or

centaur?

yes, centaur, coming to take a closer look at the tree itself. truth be told, percy has seen all manner of folk - tieflings, elves, fae, vampires... centaurs are not a sight he's ever beheld, but he's not too jarred. though perhaps he glances a hair too long at all four legs before turning his eyes up. ]

Not at all. This tree is quite the spectacle - something straight from the Feywild almost...

[ he smiles slightly with a bit of a shrug ] I thought I might spend some time beneath it, see if it does more than simply sing.

[Chiron doesn't even notice the stare. He's far too used to being a slight surprise, and in truth, he's just pleased to have his normal form back.]

And what have you found so far in your time underneath it?

[He very gingerly releases the branch that was being examined in favor of focusing all of his attention on Percy. It's a shortcut to learning more about the tree's properties.]

[ percy in turn reaches up to a low hanging branch nearby, hoisting himself up onto his feet and leaning against the tree now. ]

Someone has already recorded a wealth of information on it. I didn't quite believe it's calming properties at first, but it is rather soothing, I have to say.

[ he's idly brushing a little bit of dust off his dark jacket now with brows knitted. ]

Though I suppose I should have paid more attention to the fact that it's leavings are rather clingy.

There are worse effects to have to deal with from a plant, I believe.

[Goodness knew that some of the entries listed on the BCE appeared to imply as such. Regardless, it was hard for Chiron to keep his focus on Percy. His eyes kept going up, focusing on the tree's branches and how the thing moved.

It was a stunning thing. Rarely had he seen something this awe inspiring.]

And please, don't feel the need to stand. I'm the one intruding here.

Hardly an intrusion. If I sit here any longer, I might go falling asleep. The last thing I need is to become something's dinner just because I'm enjoying a little music from a singing tree.

[ letting his fingers stray a bit over some of the leaves, he combs through them slowly. there's reverence to it, but also exploration as he feels some of the already very loose leaves come away without resistance into his palms, coating his sleeve also with dust. ]

Reminds me a bit of a tree from home. Though it doesn't sing nearly as well, if at all. Suppose I was feeling a little nostalgic.

You have similar trees to this in your time and space? Where do the similarities lie?

[As Percy's fingers brush over the leaves, Chiron's own thoughts wander elsewhere. There is something he is curious about, and he rubs his chin slowly.]

I wonder if taking a cutting and then growing it on BASE would ensure a new tree coming forth.

THE AMAZING BASE.

2.A

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