agogelogs | THE AMAZING BASE.

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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

[He gives him a shrug, jerks his chin to where his sword is, leaning against a corner in the wall.] That.

[It's not a huge secret, sorry to disappoint. It's as if it's his answer to everything and he is plainly aware of it.] Cooking also helps. It's methodical. Too bad the ingredients are shit, here.

That’s almost the same thing.

[Blowing off steam through combat—no real difference whether it’s fists or swords. 76 finds it to be a matter of semantics, though it does remind him how painfully incompetent he is with any bladed implement larger than a knife. He files the information away.]

If it’s something methodical you’re looking for, then the ingredients shouldn’t matter, right?

[Because it’s all about the process.]

[A snort.] Know a few boxers who would tell ya different.

[While Mamoru has been a purist in some things, he does realize the advantage of bringing a hybrid of different schools, different techniques, hell, entirely different modalities, into a fight. He does get the gist of it. Exhertion to find some clearness of mind. Interesting that this guy seems to need both that and a bottle of whiskey to have some sort of success.

Then again, he had met two teachers who could still work at their best with a stomach full of bourbon. As long as they kept their wits to them and didn't endanger others, Mamoru had no problems with.

He actually ponders about the reply to that question for a second, a shoulder rolling lower as he tilts his head:] Method alone doesn't make miracles. Think there's a point to follow one if the end result is shitty?

Maybe.

[76 doesn't know any boxers, so Mamoru has already won this round. He's not exactly a connoisseur of swords or cooking, so he might have to concede the point on other things, too. He decides that since they're talking, he might as well have a seat, and does so, letting out something of an exasperated sigh. 76 thinks about reaching for the bottle, but then reconsiders it.

He waves a hand dismissively instead.]

For some people it's the journey, not the destination, I guess.

Suppose so. Never been that kinda guy, though. [He takes that cue to get the sword against the wall, flicking the hand towel he had brought with him over his shoulder. He had decided to test his balance then, so his socked feet sound light but steady on the floor.

He grabs the sword, and the weight of it feels so comfortable, it almost compensates for the fact that this ship isn't home. Not that he had much of a home, to begin with, but this meant he could go back to basics. He picks up the shoes that he had left there, too, moving back to sit on the bench near 76 as he puts them on, resting the blade beside him.] I'm all about the destination.

[76 doesn’t think he’s that kind of guy either—especially not recently, with all his end justifies the means activities. Before COST, he’d been single-mindedly focused on one goal, and mostly uncaring about how he was going to get there.

But that’s not quite the same as cooking, is it?

When Mamoru picks up the sword, all it does is remind 76 of how inadequate he is at the blade, and how that’s probably going to bite him in the ass sooner, rather than later. He can’t assume that every mission from here on out will involve guns, and it’s doubtful that being skilled in a knife fight will serve him well when it comes to actual swords.

Generally speaking, 76 is proud, but he’s also realistic, and knows when it’s a good idea to take advantage of an opportunity. He nods at the sword, as if to indicate it.]

How did you learn?

Since I was a kid. Eight, I think. [He stops for a bit, giving his shoelaces a sharp tug to make sure they won't untie suddenly.] Think I don't remember not learning about it.

[That's only half a lie, actually. He does remember the days before he ever touched a wooden practice sword. But those are blurry memories of moments where he now feels he didn't really belong. Or that he did, but wasn't meant to last. Those memories are getting blurrier with the years, even if the emptiness he felt whenever they floated back to the surface was still there.

He doesn't remember actually living when he wasn't learning the way of the sword.

He turns to 76, though, and the outline of his face brings another one - familiar, even if somewhat smaller. Which is interesting, because Alpha had already a very striking presence.] Where were you deployed?

[During the missions, and even his whole demeanor, 76 just screamed some sort of special taskforce. He had to ask, even if it meant the same thing as breaking that whiskey bottle and stepping on the glass.]

Good to start early.

[Makes it easier to learn. 76 already knows he's going to have a tough time of trying to pick up the sword now, especially with so many other combat habits ingrained in his person. They're going to be hard to break, especially because he's been fighting a certain way and with certain equipment for over thirty years.

It takes him a moment to realize that Mamoru has asked a question about him, and

Everywhere.

[That's what happens when you get your start in what equates to a world war, and spend the next twenty years heading up a global peacekeeping operation. He doesn't want to provide that much detail, but he estimates there are very few places he hasn't been.]

I got around.

[A snort.] Should've started earlier. There's still a lot to be studied.

[He knows that somewhere, an assassin with a messiah's name would cry out "Nerd!" at him. Since they're stuck in a giant whale in the aether, he doesn't really know where that somewhere is. But it's not something he really denies being, either, so he shrugs at that voice in his mind.]

I figured. You kinda stood out from the kids in Gallipoli. [He stands out from the kids here, too]

Yeah, I'm old.

[Not that old, but certainly older than everyone here (at least physically, anyway). He's well aware that it makes him stick out, but Gallipoli had been extremely stark in that regard. Most of the soldiers there were kids, but then again, he was a kid too when he went to war.]

Or did something else give it away?

[He snorts, shakes his head.] Ya seemed like you knew what you were supposed to be doing, contrary to most. ANZACs and not.

Anyone looks like they know what they're doing when you line them up next to a bunch of kids.

[He says that with a shrug, but he's clearly trying to downplay his own experience, which is--as Mamoru has already guessed--substantial.]

[He would give him a pointed look if the action coming from a blind man wasn't so useless, probably a little creepy.

As it is, he scoffs. ] Depends on the kid. Knew a couple of teenagers who could pack a punch. Not literally, though.

[76 raises an eyebrow. The addendum of not literally doesn't do much to make him think beyond the obvious.]

You get beat up by a teenager?

[Because, uh. That's what it sounds like.]

[A snort] Worse. I got played.

[And not to defend himself, but more to explain the context.] Kid is a precog, can predict the future, or some variations of it. Some sort of quantum physics stuff that I'm not an expert on. We partnered together but then had to split.

[ He doesn't sound too distraught about it - he sounds a bit... proud?] She turned out to be a good strategist.

[76 nods in return, because he can respect someone who admits when they got owned, even if it was by a teenager. Perhaps, especially because it was by a teenager, but he gets the idea that if she had some kind of precognition, it was a special case. How do you stay one step ahead of that?]

If she had precognition, I hope so.

[Strategy seems like exactly the thing someone who can tell the future should be doing.]

Yeah, but then the Regency showed up and kind of skewed both of our plans, really.

[He remembers it clearly. Stepping into the room - Wiseman looking at once enthralled and scared shitless, Zelm carefully not trying to sweat into his expensive suit, but the grip on his cane shifting restlessly. Her voice, calm and direct and sounding suddenly a lot more adult than ever, even though the weak radio frequency Igawa suddenly managed to patch through while he bit at the skin surrounding his fingernails.

From that moment on she had changed her perspective - all her predictions, past and future, mean something totally different.

But there was still one thing to do. ] I volunteered shortly after. And though this ain't really a place for a little girl, I do wonder how this whole [he waves a hand in general, not sure how to describe their situation] ordeal would affect her precognition.

The Regency showed up?

[He’s heard of other recruits volunteering, but not of anyone actually encountering the Regency before signing on to COST. It’s an interesting development, to say the least—not that the idea of someone with precognition engaging in time travel isn’t interesting.]

What did they want?

[A snort, humor slipping into his voice, making it drier.] They didn't exactly show up at my door. Ain't that important a guy.

I was merely informed, the kid told me what would happen, about COST, and we made our decisions accordingly. [He shrugs. He recalls the way their superiors took him in without much of a question "why", just a mere indication of what he could bring with him. Mamoru wanting to take his sword - the one he has now - but his partner almost to the point of offended that he wouldn't take the sunglasses instead. ]

What they always want - Peace Through Strength, right? Though I guess we could add some sort of mindfuck in the middle of it.

[He chuckles, just the one huff of breath.] But "If you want peace, prepare for war," I guess.

Ah.

[Perhaps 76 sounds a bit disappointed to hear that. He ends up nodding along to the rest of it--76 knows better than most the kinds of sacrifices that must be made to secure peace. It's never real peace, either, because keeping it that way is a struggle. He's done things he's not proud of in the name of it, and it's easy to see where the slippery slope of the Regency begins.]

Your friend. She signed on too?

[He shakes his head, and his voice sounds part relieved, part cutting, as if he had spent a long time arguing about it.] She's thirteen. She's of more use there than here.

[Even if she did want to. But her predictions showed her back home, at least of what she could see. A good thing, too; her will to follow him at all times tended to err on the side of guilt-tripping. Even terrifying, at times. Not just because where he tends to go is no place for a kid - she has proven herself resilient enough to stand some of the violent dealings. But she kept predicting the several ways Mamoru would die, over and over, until finding a viable future where he survived.

He tries not to think too much about how he should've kept some distance from the kid.] I'm not sure if her precognition would be valid here, either. With different timelines and worlds. She has to be emotionally involved for it to work, too.

Well, at least someone draws the line at child soldiers.

[It's a joke, but the sentiment behind it is clear. 76 would rather fight this war if it means other, younger people get to stay out of it, despite his general misgivings about the state of COST. He finds himself wondering, again, if Ana agreed to enlist with him and found herself in a different cell, and here he is, unable to remember any of it.

At least Mamoru has that luxury.]

You've got someone holding down the fort at home. That's what matters.

[He huffs a breath, similar to a snort, and Mamoru nods all the same.] Kid started to have to look over her shoulder way too young to not be a child soldier, though. But yeah, this ain't a place for a kid or a civilian.

[The corner of his lip curls sharply. It's fleeting, but it's there, its remains in Mamoru's voice as he says it.] She will whip everyone into shape.

[He glances at him. It's unseeing, save for the gridwork in his retina, but he hears something in 76's voice that he can't really describe.] Do you not?

Edited 2018-05-12 12:00 (UTC)

I can’t be sure.

[He highly doubts he would have signed up for this if Ana wasn’t with him, which means that the only logical conclusion is that she joined him and they ended up separated. 76 supposes he could always ask, but he’s not sure what he’s more afraid of—Grothia confirming this, or Grothia being s in the dark about it as he is.

What he does know is that it’s been reiterated that COST cells tend not to talk to each other for their own safety. The thought of her being unable to contact him in all this doesn’t sit well with him, either.]

I like to think my partner would’ve signed on with me.

[It doesn’t feel quite right, calling her his partner. He likes to think their relationship transcends that, but it’s hard to describe, something that’s evident on his face as he says it.]

[The word itself and its weight is something that Mamoru knows well. Not exactly in the way Haruka would've wanted, and he doubts to the same extent 76 is referring to, but with a certain charge to it, a voltage that when cut, disappears and leaves some sort of emptiness that neither of them wants to acknowledge.

He's been left in the dark many times, so Mamoru can't help but wince at the fact that he was lucky his BCE hadn't glitched. He would've hated to be in this guy's shoes.]

You don't seem to be someone who believes in something just because. [He rolls his shoulders. Stretches out the worn muscles and the 'what ifs' in the air.]

THE AMAZING BASE.

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btw i played ow yesterday and i was crying at jack and ana's interactions

i am never not sad about ana and jack

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