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

[decisions]

[ when the machine roars to life, percy's head jerks up, his hand snatching bad news up off the ground and slinging it over his shoulders. he makes his way over towards the device for a moment, leaning just a bit to take a little closer look at it now that it's hovering and not just lying on it's side like a gutted animal. ]

I should be thankful that it isn't a broom.

[ though to be honest, vex's broom had at least familiarity and vex on its side. the space on the back of the bike is an invitation enough, as too close for comfort as it might be but hey.

he's getting on. while he isn't one to easily trust, there's something they both need out there, and if this means percy gets a lesson in some tech along the way, he'll take it up for as long as he can.. where the fuck does he hold on. ]

Let's be off then.

[reillumination]

[ ryo isn't one to trust either. he keeps himself equipped and alert, cognizant and sharp. he keeps track of where percy's hands are, what the feel of his proximity entails. he's like a wary animal, always expecting the worst is yet to come – that teeth and nails will turn to fangs and claws. but, there are necessities. and this is necessity enough, if ryo wants to improve on his hoverbike and touch up his own guns.

and besides, there's possibilities to be had that might not have been feasible to consider before. and so, while he does not let himself relax, he sets his feet properly and gives him only this before upshifting and giving it a bit of whatever this thing runs on. ]

You might want to hold onto something and get ready to track.

[ fun fact: while these things don't go very fast, whatever ryo did gave it a little extra pep. he's definitely experienced (if a little reckless), at least, and it shows as he expertly swings the hoverbike away from BASE and out into the open landscape.

ryo never was one who was patient. ]

[decisions]

[ holding on would probably be a good idea, so with bad news tightly strapped to his chest, he grabs hold of the back of the seat with a firm grip, setting his feet firmly on whatever little ledge there might be. it's a tight fit, but it somehow works, albeit a little precariously. still, nothing's quite as precarious as hanging off of a broom, so really. he's seen enough to know how to keep steady on a narrow, moving object.

he gives ryo a brief nod before the hoverbike lifts off at a slightly faster speed (a breath's worth), but it's enough to make percy's eyes pop open wide, his other hand flying up to push his glasses further up his face as he moves with the jerk of the bike.

sure. why not floor it. great. fantaaaaaastic. ]

Fuck - !

[ there's a very unbecoming yelp from behind, but percy doesn't deign it with any kind of recognition beyond the swear, merely clearing his throat as they move from the base. he pulls up what information he can on the bce, scanning it while holding (white-knuckled) for dear life. ] There's a nearby stream - it shouldn't be too far off of that.

[reillumination]

[ holding on would be the best idea, percy. if ryo seems to be under the impression that percy is in duress, however, he doesn't seem to acknowledge it. he's too busy paying attention to the feeling of wind in his hair and the faint thrum of adrenaline that comes with being a reckless driver. if there's something to be noted about ryo, it's that this sort of freedom is freedom to him. like this, he's faster than most animals he's met across the boreal wilderness on the back of a monstrous fish - he's faster than most anything he's spotted out here at all.

sure, it isn't the same as his car back home or the bikes that he's lifted at the advent of the end of the world, but it doesn't matter. this, the rumble of the engine and the way he seems to expertly tilt his weight when he needs to to turn, is more comfortable than most anything at all he's encountered here. it's like he has something to prove, innately. or perhaps he has something to flaunt in someone's face. perhaps he's just a moody teenager with that pep and vigor of mistaken immortality thrumming through his veins.

even so, ryo takes the direction and skims toward the river, letting the bike border the lip of its bed. as they go, a few curious eyes of any assorted creatures follow them. he's always very careful to stay out of their range, however. if there's nothing more conflicting about his personality, it's that he's very contentious of the life around them in that context. ]

Does it look a little like that? [ he calls back to him, after a considerable spell of quiet. sure enough, there's something coming up quick ahead. ]