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

[doublejumps]

[ Had it not been for the fact that Genji has sparred with Lena before, that move certainly would have thrown him for a loop. He still has to guess at where she blinked to, but given that he doesn't see her in his peripheral vision, there's really only one option.

He spins around -- his reaction time is quick, but she'll still have the advantage. (Time is on her side.) He aims a kick at her, to force her to react and possibly throw her off-balance. Not that he expects it to be that easy, with Lena. ]

[desynched]

[ Lena grins to herself. She's sure she only thew him for a split second, but it's still gratifying. She's not surprised when he guesses where she is, but she doesn't quite have time to back off. Instead, she has to block. It doesn't throw her off, but it keeps her in one spot for a split second. Enough time to follow up, if he chooses. ]

[doublejumps]

[ Most people wouldn't have even had the time to block, so that's impressive enough on its own. Still, they're in close quarters now. Both of them excel in this area, but it also puts them most at danger. This is all an exercise for fun, but Genji looks focused and serious as he redirects the angle of his kick in response to Lena's block, aiming to sweep her feet out from under her instead. ]

[desynched]

[ It's always a little gratifying when someone like Genji-- who has trained his entire life-- takes her seriously in a fight.

He does get her, though she keeps her balance enough to roll into the fall and make it back on her feet. Now she's forced to be on the defensive, however, until she can regain her lost momentum. ]

[doublejumps]

[ Lena takes the hit, but recovers from it so quickly that it barely seems to matter. She hasn't yet rewound time on him (a 'recall,' isn't that what they'd dubbed it?), at least as far as he can tell, and he's wondering if he can push her to that.

Whenever Genji's enemy is on the defensive, he knows the best thing is to keep applying pressure until they're forced to compromise. So he lunges to her side and then darts in toward her, shoving the heel of his palm toward her shoulder. In a real situation he might have gone for the chest, but he isn't about to risk any accidental damage to her accelerator. ]

[desynched]

[ She backs off and even leans away from the blow just to be sure. He's trying to apply pressure and she's going to have to answer before he backs her into a corner.

So she rewinds with just a bit of regret-- she hates pulling out the ace up her sleeve so early on-- but it does get her out of there and in a good position to retaliate.

Lena aims a sweeping kick at his side, hoping to hit but expecting more that he'll back off and regroup. She's not worried about hurting him-- she's seen what his body can endure and, short of magically summoning Doomfist's gauntlet and punching him into several cars, she's pretty sure she won't make much of an impact. ]

[doublejumps]

[ Genji has sparred with Lena enough times that he can tell the difference between a blink and a recall. There's no streak of blue light to give her away this time, she simply vanishes, and Genji tries to count back in his mind and figure out where she'd been a few seconds before.

He half-turns in order to meet the kick, but isn't quite fast enough to keep it from connecting. He is fast enough to grab for her ankle before she lowers her leg, though, lifting it further up to force her off-balance. ]

You've been staying sharp, Lena.

[ There's something teasing in it. Not sharp enough, is the implication, though in all seriousness she's giving him a run for his money. Since this is just a friendly spar, Genji's taking the chance to enjoy himself. ]

[desynched]

[ Lena smiles, quite smug, when the blow lands. But the smile fades into mild alarm when she realizes he has a hold of her leg. Without a recall, she's stuck and his attempt to knock her off-balance is successful.

She hears it: "not sharp enough." But it just makes Lena grin wickedly. She loves a challenge. ]

I'm still warming up.

[doublejumps]

[ When Genji sees Lena stagger in an attempt to regain her balance, he could press forward to continue to the attack while her guard was down. There's no need to make this vicious, though. Once they're more used to each other, they can see about some more serious bouts. For now, he gives her some time to recover. ]

You arrived here at a similar time to me, correct? How was your experience at Gallipoli?

[ Genji had only run into Lena after they made it back to BASE. He wouldn't mind hearing some of her thoughts on their first mission, even if they'd only been there for a couple of days at most. ]

[desynched]

[ He lets her regain her balance and she wonders if she should be offended that he's going easy on her. Then again, this is a friendly spar and they're both just warming up.

Lena takes the opportunity to catch her breath and change her stance. ]

Not a great mission to be dumped into all of a sudden. But, even after all of it, I'm glad we could help 'em.

[doublejumps]

[ No arguments to that assessment. Genji nods firmly. ]

As am I. It never feels good to have to retreat, but sometimes that is the best option, when it comes to saving the most lives.

[ COST seems to view it as a success, so he won't dwell too much on it. Genji squares his shoulders, inviting Lena to come at him again if she wishes. ]

I'm also relieved that those who were captured by the Regency were able to escape.