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

he'd be the biggest the weeknd fan

[prizeneck]

[What.

There's a short moment of a blink, and he turns his face just slightly to hear what the BCE dictates as it scans the flowers. Really, he knows he won't hear any better if he tilts his head, but since he lost his sight, it's a very difficult habit to break.

'Memory loss ranges from an hour to the entirety of one's past, but only lasts for thirty minutes or so.'

Great.] It is, but it's temporary. You ate a flower?

🎹🎶🎶

[millimeter]

[Mamoru gets an utterly blank look for his trouble.]

You mean these? [He gestures to the field.] They do smell pretty good.

[HE SURE DOESN'T REMEMBER oh my god. He crouches down, reaching for one.]

But they don't look all that edible to me.

💃🏼🕺🏼💃🏼🕺🏼

[prizeneck]

[He quickly unfolds the walking cane that was in his back pocket and smacks - lightly - at his hand.] Don't. You don't remember because you ate one.

[millimeter]

Ow, hey! I wasn't gonna eat it.

[The "ow" is more reflexive than an actual indication of pain, but he gives Mamoru an offended look all the same.]

Do you just carry around canes to slap people? Wow...

[prizeneck]

[A twist of his lip.] Sometimes. What were you going to do with it, then?

[He wouldn't really blame him, actually. He could go for pizza rn.]

[millimeter]

Look at it? Like maybe I don't remember anything, but I don't think you just stick a flower in your mouth.

[He still sounds like he's pouting, but he perks up when something catches his eye.]

Is that a camera? [He starts to reach for it FROM WHERE HE DROPPED IT EARLIER smfh and shoots Mamoru a look, like he's daring him to smack him with the cane again.]

[prizeneck]

The scan just indicated that you need to eat it for it to create memory loss, which is what's happening right now.

That seems like a camera. [Eyebrows shooting up to the mass of hair on his forehead. He shifts his fingers on the handle of the cane, snorting like the asshole he is...

But instead, he folds it back into three pieces, tucks it into his back pocket.]

[millimeter]

But eating flowers?

[He looks up at Mamoru, like he's expecting legitimate guidance, even as he picks up the camera and turns it on. He points it at Mamoru.]

Say—uh. I forget what you're supposed to say. [jfc, how does this amnesia shit even work.]

[prizeneck]

Not just any flowers. These smell good.

[A tilt of his head with a frown.] Cheese.

[millimeter]

They do smell like cheese!

[He says it with such an air of perfectly clueless, cheerful stupidity. This. This right here is why he ate a goddamn mystery flower fruit.]

Anyway, hold still a sec. [Taking pictures of you, bro.]

[prizeneck]

What. Stop that!

[A moment of awkwardness before he decides to wave his cane at him. Get off my lawn, all that jazz]

[millimeter]

[Prompto looks at him from over the top of the camera, frowning.]

What, no way! Or—why? C'mon, don't tell me you're camera shy!

[He now has pics of Mamoru shaking the cane at him, either way.]

[prizeneck]

[He couldn't look older if he tried.]

No. I've just learned to avoid having my picture taken. [Cameras are bad in his line of work.]

[millimeter]

[He gets a long "pshhhhhh" in response.]

I think you could probably unlearn it for a few.

[And he takes another picture of Mamoru for good measure.]

What's it gonna hurt?

[prizeneck]

What--[sigh]

What are you even going to do with them?

[millimeter]

Um. Keep 'em?

[He looks down at the camera in his hands.]

Or whoever this camera belongs to gets to keep them, I guess. Oh man, maybe I should've asked before using it?

[Why this.]

[prizeneck]

[Just realizing that the last picture he took, aside from screen grabs from security cameras, had been a mugshot.

Probably not a good idea to tell the kid now.

There's something a little more pertinent now. Being, making this kid stop fussing.] Who do you think brought it, huh?

[millimeter]

...Oh. [Another one of those crestfallen looks, before it flickers annoyed.] Not being able to remember anything sucks.

[He gives Mamoru a scrutinizing look.]

Ssso, do I know you? [Yes, we're doing this. We're making this happen.]

[prizeneck]

[... oh my god.]

Do you take pictures of people you don't know?

[millimeter]

[He's pretty much the physical manifestation of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ right now.]

Guess I do now! If I didn't before. But I guess that's a yes?

[prizeneck]

[Well. If anything, it tells him that the amnesia doesn't really affect a person enough to dull their first instincts.

Either that or he's seriously underestimating Prompto's paparazzi whims. ]

Yeah, you know me.

[millimeter]

[Probably a little bit of both.]

Cool! What's your name?

[A beat.]

What's my name?

[mfw they only exchanged aliases.]

[prizeneck]

[Oh my god.


He's. used to being called by his codename so it's with a shrug that he goes.] You go by "Quicksilver" or "Kenny", though I'm pretty sure those aren't your real name.

[millimeter]

Ooooook.

[His face clearly says "what the fuck".]

That's weird, but ok. You said this was temporary? Because I don't know about you, but I'm ready for my memory to come back now. [His voice creeps up into a whine at the end.]

[prizeneck]

Anything wrong with them?

[He nods, sighing. It's not like he likes it when people are out of their wits.] Yeah, half an hour? [Tilting his head to his collarbone. The BCE tells him the time.] Ya got 15 minutes.