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

[mylawn]

You been holed up in BASE this whole time?

[Sounds terrible, frankly, but 76 knows that not everyone is an outdoors person. Given the way this guy is geared up, however, it's hard to believe he chose not to venture out because he was apprehensive.

The general demeanor of the guy gives 76 all the permission he needs to bite back, kicking the bike into gear.]

Needed someone to hold your hand?

[mcscouty]

I mean, the place has an honest-to-God spa. Kind of a shit spa if we're being honest, but after the last mission? You take what you can get.

[ It beat lice and mustard gas and sleeping in the dirt. Not that he couldn't handle all of that just fine, but a little luxury was more than overdue. Now, he's just restless. Bored. Needing to see what's out there.

Someone watching his six during the exploration process? So much the better. ]

[mylawn]

I heard it was haunted.

[Not that he believes in ghosts or anything, but the shower had been enough for him. 76 heads off the way he’s familiar with by now, through the clearing that BASE is currently stuck in, weaving in between some trees as the primordial forest grows thicker around him. It’s harder to hear now that there’s the wind in his ears, so he raises his voice.]

I'd rather take my chances out here.

[mcscouty]

The ghosts can wait their goddamn turn. You know how long it's been since I've gotten to sit in clean water? Way too long. Being on the edge of civilization sucks.

[ Felix, meanwhile, doesn't believe in ghosts for an instant. He's not that sentimental. People die, they stop existing. The worlds in all their number spin on without concern.

As they move through the forest, he keeps a closer eye on their surroundings than his lax demeanor and loud complaining might indicate. ]

You one of those 'beauty of nature' guys? Or just a hermit?

[mylawn]

I like it fine.

[76 chooses not to comment further on the ghosts, mostly because ghosts aren't real. Talking about the outdoors is something a little more concrete, even if he's loath to reveal too much about himself.]

I take it you don't do a lot of camping.

[mcscouty]

Voluntarily? No. But when you're in the middle of a war zone, sometimes you don't get a say. Hell, COST yanked me out of the middle of a firefight and stuck me in the middle of another with just enough time to change clothes.

[ Felix, on the other hand, seems content to say just as much about him as he pleases. It's nothing that couldn't readily be found out some way or another, at least. ]

So yeah. I am full up on my quota of sleeping on dirt, thanks.

[mylawn]

Join the club.

[It's not exactly what happened to 76, but he understands the sentiment when it comes to being pulled away from unfinished business. He takes this to mean that Felix doesn't remember signing on either, but doesn't outwardly address it. By this point, it likely goes unsaid.]

Let's hope you brought your sleeping bag.

[mcscouty]

Damn, you know what? I think I left it in my other suit of armor. Guess we have to go back.

[ Not that he makes any kind of move to. The response is as much a reflex as anything, and his attention is more on their surroundings. Of course, reflective silence and observation isn't going to last more than a minute, if it can be helped. ]

...So is this shit normal where you're from, or are you just that done with everything here already?

[mylawn]

Then I guess you're sleeping on the ground.

[76 matches Felix's sarcasm with a deadpan tone of his own, one that might have someone wondering whether or not he's completely serious.]

I can't say I spend a lot of time on giant alien fish, no.

[mcscouty]

Good. Because if my universe or whatever is the only one without this trippy shit, I'm gonna have words with someone. I mean, aliens who wanna blow humanity to cinders? Day in the life. But this...

[ He shakes his head. ]

Definitely ranks as the weirdest job I've ever taken. And that's saying something.

[mylawn]

No, everything's pretty normal where I'm from.

[But that's not what gets his attention about what Felix says. Sure, they could keep going on about their weird alien camping grounds, but he thinks there's something more important in here somewhere.]

You remember signing up for this?