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

[lonelywar]

[But he is using the system...

(Though, yes, asking other COST agents isn't the same as using references, sure...)]

I... believe so.

[not really he has no idea where these might be, he only mostly understands how to send messages]

Even if I did such a thing, I do not know what I would search for, because I do not know what they are.

[prizeneck]

usually i ask for available inventory

[It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue]

[lonelywar]

[A brief pause.]

I see. One moment.

[Another longer pause where he makes the inquiry to the system and then rather slowly goes through the process of elimination of the other strange things he's accumulated. Then:]

Futhark ear buds?
They are meant to go in your ears?

[why]

[prizeneck]

[He has no idea about Futhark, but he'll do his own research later.

Earbuds, though, he recognizes.]

yeah
like headphones probably

[lonelywar]

Headphones...?

[Muromachi Period, Japan, Mamoru...]

What are they supposed to do?

[prizeneck]

[It's not like he knows, either.]

they convert electricity to sound
makes you able to listen to things like music or speech without it blaring all over the place for everyone to hear

you're not familiar with that kind of technology

[lonelywar]

[the communication breakdance is truly something

There's a pronounced pause which might suggest that this attempt at clarification only had an averse effect.]

I was unfamiliar with electricity until I was recruited.

But I believe I understand what you mean, about how they work.

[Being able to listen to voice messages without having to find an empty place while on a mission would be helpful... Ashitaka is still learning about the musical and similar capabilities of the BCE, though...]

[prizeneck]

[Unfamiliar with electricity, of all things.

Well, considering they're going back and forth in time, in some missions, it... kind of makes sense.]

they can be good for covert work
how's the whole spaceship thing working out for you then

[lonelywar]

Yes, it seems they would be.

[Though wouldn't someone notice if you were wearing them? Perhaps if your hair was long enough to hide them, or if you were wearing a hat... He would have to think about this.

And, ah, yes, right. Is it that obvious? (Yes.)]

It has been... difficult in many ways.

I still do not understand what many of the machines do.

[As in: the entire kitchen is a frightening mystery to him.]

[prizeneck]

anything in particular ya want to know about

[lonelywar]

[The kitchen is a lost cause to him, he feels. Even if he could operate it, none of the food BASE made was anything like he was used to back home. Sure, the droids could make something similar, but at that point why not just eat what they were given normally...]

The... machine that washes clothes.

I have tried it a few times but something always seems to go wrong.

[His last roommate got pretty fed up with that pretty quick... He'd just started using the sink...]

[prizeneck]

hah
that one did take me a while to get and i'm used to that kind of appliance

if you want i can guide you through it

[lonelywar]

[That makes him feel a little better, Mamoru, thank you.

There's a brief pause before he answers:]

Through text?

[There's a bit of trepidation there. He's just worried he'll use words or terms for things he doesn't understand, just because this technology is literally hundreds of years from his understanding.]

wtf i didn't get notifs for a bunch of tags on this log i can't

[prizeneck]

unless you have any ideas

ITS OK that happens to me sometimes... the biggest betrayal

[lonelywar]

I am only concerned as I fear I will not understand the instructions. I do not know what many of the parts are called.

[them's just the breaks when you are 500-800 years older than everyone else.]

[prizeneck]

think i can deal with that

[lonelywar]

If you believe so, then I am all ears.

[...Or eyes. Whatever.]

[prizeneck]

do you have clothes that need washing now

[lonelywar]

I do, yes.

[That, or he can certainly find something.]

[prizeneck]

well make sure they have similar colors and don't mix them up
that at least i do remember

[lonelywar]

["At least..."

Ashitaka is starting to feel a lot less sure about this now...]

Why is that an issue?

[prizeneck]

my clothes are usually neutral colored
i'm blind but i have an aid that helps me see shapes
just not the colors

[lonelywar]

I understand... that would certainly be a problem.

[Even if he doesn't know why mixing the colors would be an issue in the first place.]

So... if you separate the clothing and put it into the machine correctly, how do you tell it to clean?

[He's really working from square one, here.]

[prizeneck]

hold on

[He's new at handling this machine, so he climbs the stairs to get in front of the machine in his cell to visualize what he's talking about.]

do you have the detergent

i love this

[lonelywar]

[In an entirely different capsule on BASE, Ashitaka is also standing in front of the washing machine, looking bewildered.]

The what?