thisavrou_log | december event log

Entry tags:

december event log

Who: Everyone
When: December 1st and on
Where: The Midway Hub.
What: With the Moira destroyed, the crew travel to the center of the Hub.
Warnings: Potential violence. Lots and lots and lots of walking. Please label your content

E
V
E
N
T

L
O
G

the outer gate
"Open up, and let them in."

The Moira is no more.

With the damage done to the ship due to the timeslip, all that remains is a burning wreckage and parts to be taken—if the crew can find anything in the pieces. Recovery and headcounts are the main objective for the first several hours of being planetside, and once things have settled just enough, Captain Ira calls for a meeting and addresses those who are able in person to explain the situation. He draws a rough map of the area and explains where he believes they are - according to the terrain - and where they must go. For anyone who’s listening, he describes things like an “Outer Gate”, an “Inner Gate” and “gate sectors”. Believing this to be the best course of action, all crew are asked to explore and gather what they think they’ll need to make the long journey towards the central point of the Hub. Because the MIDs are no longer working due to the lack of a network, the Captains distribute a newer tech called the TAB. It serves the same functions as the MID but is lighter, slimmer, and has the ability to stick to any surface.

WELCOME TO THE MIDWAY HUB

Now that the smoke from the crash has cleared, and injured crew have been tended to, the Captains get everyone ready for departure by explaining what they know of the Hub. Almost stone-like, the creators built a domed workspace in the largest solid space on the planet they could find. Gates are the only way inside, and anyone who catches a glimpse of the compound will see that parts of the dome are cracked. Yet, everything still appears to be relatively intact. The Midway Hub’s terrain is very rocky and difficult to walk on at times. Below the surface is a honeycomb of intermittently dense and brittle stone that makes travel difficult due to the unpredictable nature of what lies beneath the crew’s feet. Those who can develop the tech from what’s left of the debris might be able to create something to determine which route is the safest. Ships and small crafts can be used to fly, but landing is a problem—rocks jut up in sharp peaks and the clearer spots can't handle their weight. Vegetation is sparse, consisting of twisted dark gray thistles that have sprung up from cracks in the rock and burn when in direct contact with skin, and what could be considered small animals here can be seen scurrying away the closer crew get to them.

☄ WEEK ONE

Crew are asked to hook cryo beds together and to use any appropriate vehicles that can be made or fashioned to fit the terrain to carry injured crew on the journey to the center of the Hub. Supplies are gathered, and the Captains, as well as any crew who want to, give the Moira a proper sendoff, heads bowed as they say goodbye to what’s been their home. Traveling starts out slowly, a line of a hundred-plus crew members making their way slowly forward. Stops are frequent, but camping for rest only occurs at night. Crew are assigned watch shifts, fires are built, injured tended to, and those who are able are asked to explore nearby caves and hunt for food.

Something akin to deer, though striped and only to be found in pairs, can be stumbled across at night. Throngs of dark purple mammels begin to follow the Moirans on their trip as well. They are friendly, curious, and eat the thistle. Meet the intelligent, watchful predators that aren’t easily scared away and follow the crew from a distance as if waiting to pounce. The thistle can be eaten, but only if cooked first, and those who sample the chewy plant raw will experience a burning sensation in their throat that doesn’t go away until the cooked version is consumed. During the first week, water can’t be found.

Anyone who does hunt, gather, or explore should make sure to that their TABS are on and it’s suggested that nobody goes alone.

Nearing the end of the first week, an Ingress can be spotted close by that crew can explore. If anyone dares to go inside, they will find the texture of the ground and surrounding walls to be rather soft. If inspected closely, crew will discover that what they originally thought to be rock is actually a living organism that’s fed off the energy of the Ingress it’s attached itself to. It’s not harmful and squishy to the touch. If pressed hard enough, it secretes a turquoise liquid with the consistency of water that might make a good substitute for that very thing.

☄ WEEK TWO

When crew finally pass through the sector gates, a strange sensation encompasses them, and a depowering of sorts goes into effect. The creators put in security measures meant to put all visitors on equal footing as well as to protect themselves from harm. All crew will essentially have the strength and abilities of the average human. An unforeseen issue, this causes Captain Thán to slip into a coma as he is no longer able to continue to recover at a steady pace, and with the loss of the former Captain’s abilities, crew can no longer be brought back if they die. For the first time, all Moirans are subject to permanent death.

During this week of travel, broken ingress machines and parts will be found scattered among the rocks, and new crew will come through. Unfortunately, these Ingresses aren’t in good shape, and anyone coming through will be in varying states of distress—some physical and some mental. New individuals will either have suffered an age slip, growing older or younger than their original body, some form of body transformation (perhaps that shiny thing they were wearing is now part of them somehow), or an extreme weakness they had never been subjected to before arriving on the Midway Hub. The new people will be offered to join their group, once found, and seasoned crew will be asked to explain to them where they are going and what they know.

The rest of the week will be a mix of greeting the new arrivals and continuing to travel to the center of the Hub. The closer they get, the less frequently they’ll see animals, and more caves will begin to pop up.

☄ WEEK THREE

Entering the third week of travel, settlements and houses begin to crop up and are prime areas for exploration and general supplies. Those who go inside may find items that have been left behind and evidence showing that those of varying species and cultures lived in the homes. Some appeared to have been scientists while others were explorers, but all living quarters are deserted. Crew who are less lucky in their search might come away with no fresh supplies, and others might walk into traps or safeguards left behind by previous tenants; these come in many forms, from mild paralysis to temporary unconsciousness. As there are more residences, there are also more caves. The entrances vary in size, and light sources will be needed to explore. Once inside, crew can find purple underwater streams, which can be consumed, and glowing surfaces. When crew drink the water, it temporarily restores powers, a few minutes tops, and then, extreme lethargy settles in for a couple of hours.

Further into the cave systems, crew will come across these lovely creatures that are attracted to sound and track through scent. They are highly dangerous and attack simply to feed. Killing them, though, is surprisingly simple as they are just as vulnerable and weak as everyone else. They are vicious in demeanor but only as strong as an average human.

The closer to the Inner Gate crew get, the less homes, wildlife, and more caves there will be.

☄ WEEK FOUR

The Captains, aware that the crew is exhausted, stop and make camp for the first few days. Someone mentions that it’s the holidays where they’re from, and the Captains do their best to throw a party. Set up at the base of a cave, tents are built and fires roar. Soft music is played in the form of guitar, thank you Ira, and Cúrre brings out some legumes that taste like cherries when roasted. There isn’t much in the way of decorations, but crew are encouraged to dig through their pac-discs and contribute to the festivities.

After a brief respite, crew learn that the entrances to Gate A and Gate B are inside one of the caves but any signs or markings have long since worn away or been destroyed. Groups are split, TABS are synced, and crew explore carefully until an entrance is found. Crew discover Gate A first, and all crew are contacted to gather there. The Captains will remain at the cave entrance until all crew are accounted for, and then, they’ll enter through the gate together.

( ooc; For questions, go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Like Tex, York has been living in his armor since they crashed. Hell, he was half living in it before, part out of habit and part just plain not feeling safe. He'd only just started wearing "normal" clothes when the ship failed and now that's a forgotten luxury.... even at a party. He does take off his helmet to try the food being passed around, holding it under one arm and trying in vain to relax a bit as he snacks. When he spots Tex he weaves through the crowd to get to her.

"Taking a night off?" He smiles, showing that he approves even if he isn't doing the same.

"Maybe against my better judgement," she says. She's lounging back, picking at a plate of food. The sight of York, in his armor, yet helmetless, makes her think perhaps she should have made the same choice.

But she's also not one to admit weakness. So she sits up a bit more, drawing back to leave room for him to sit with her if he wants. That's a sort of invitation, she supposes. She doesn't actually speak up to invite him to sit.

"We've paused our descent into hell, you can afford it. I just had nothing better to wear -- shiny is festive, right?" As he plays off his own discomfort with the setting he takes her making space as an invitation, lowering himself smoothly down beside her with a soft clink of metal on metal. His helmet winds up in his lap. "It's been a long time since I celebrated anything," he comments, glancing around at the crowd. "Is it supposed to be Christmas? I didn't get you a present."

"Well, why not?" she says, slightly amused at the tacit apology. "You should go down to the mall in the morning and take care of that. Or just give me all your tens and twenties."

"Shit, didn't I mention it? The Ingress took my wallet." He makes a snapping motion with armored fingers. "And my boots and lighter..." his expression falls at the mention of the lighter, but he shakes his head and then his smile is back. "Next mall we see, I'll hit it. If I have to go back to the barter system, I'll find you something."

She shakes her head with a sly grin. "Only if your guilt over it won't let you sleep at night, York. I really don't need anything." Not considering the situation they're in. Ryuuzaki and York are safe, the people she has been keeping an eye on are all safe, and that's really all she needs.

"Everybody needs something. Even you. It just might not be something to buy." York leans over and claims a legume off Tex's plate, popping it in his mouth casually. He doesn't ask what else she might need, letting the philosophizing hang over them instead.

"What do you think we're going to find at the gate?"

She subtly moves her plate slightly closer to him, not all that interested in the food herself. "I don't know, but I know it'll probably be bullshit." Everything that ever happened to her since she arrived on this ship was a bunch of bullshit.

"Not a way home, then? I don't think so either." He claims something unrecognizable off her plate, bringing it closer to his face to examine before he actually eats it. "I don't pretend to know where it'll take us, but I'm ready for it to be nowhere good. I just wish I had more ammo."

"Are you planning to try?" she says. For her part, she doesn't see the point. She doesn't know if it's going to work, and she has Ryuuzaki in her life now. She might as well enjoy that for what it is while it's here.

"...I don't know." His gaze moves from the food to Tex, studying her face for a moment before speaking again. "I don't have anything keeping me here, not like you do. But there's nothing for me at home either. No real drive to get back. I guess we'll just see how things go."

She nods, then looks contemplatively off to middle space for a moment. "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to get caught up in all that nonsense again," she mutters. "I wasn't so naive I thought charging in like we did was going to fix everything, but..." It would have been nice to walk away knowing they'd made some kind of positive difference.

"But you thought it was going to do more good than it did?" York nods. That's where he's been at with the whole thing since it happened. Maybe he was too hopeful. "Mostly I wish we hadn't had to scatter. I miss my friends." And Carolina most of all. It wasn't his fault what happened to her, not theirs at all and he's come to terms with that, but it still hurts. And he's been too hopeful about that, too, hoping that maybe she somehow made it. But it's never her.

"I would have liked to get to know some of them on that level," she replies. She'd always been kept separate, had always had Omega's influence simmering under the surface, and it had really been too little, too late when she had reached out to some of them. York and North were the only ones she'd really connected with. By then everything was falling apart already.

"At least you and I can get to know each other better here." He smiles faintly -- it's not quite the same as her being able to join the group back in the day, but he really is interested in getting to know her. And York is a good friend to have, loyal to the end. "Maybe if we go home, we can catch back up with them at some point. I'd been trying to find North but was always one step behind."

"Maybe," she says. She looks out at the crowd, at the people moving as they talk to one another, and she clears her throat. "Definitely, I mean, on getting to know each other here. I just don't think I intend to go back there."

York hesitates for a moment -- he understands, but that also means he's jumping into a trap on his own. "Are you gonna leave me on the hook with Wyoming?"

They've never sat down and compared notes on where they each were in the timeline at their arrival—apparently he'd come from a different time from her. A very crucial time, for him. She turns her eyes on him, then looks back out toward the crowd. "York, that was a while back for me. We don't all come here from the same point in the timeline." She presses her lips into a line for a moment, thinking. "I don't know how it changes things for the version of me back there, but...if I were you, I don't think I'd want to go back either."

"...I don't?" He watches her carefully, every little change in her manner when she told him that. She's from farther in the timeline, and is telling him not to go back. There's only one reason she'd say that. "I really don't, do I?"

They're silent for a moment, the party buzzing around them, as York tries to wrap his mind around the fact that he's about to die.

But he has nowhere else to go, no ties here like she has. And what if... "What if I don't, and he kills you back then instead?"

"It changes a lot of things," she says. She shifts a bit, uncomfortable. It changes a lot of things and leaves Church defenseless from Sigma, when Sigma comes seeking him. But if Sigma doesn't get a hold of Delta, he doesn't realize Church is Alpha. She frowns. "If you want to go back," she says quietly, still not looking at him, "it will help to know my gun is going to jam while you're in the middle of a firefight against Wyoming and his guards."

"I don't--" York breathes slowly, truly uncertain of what he wants to do. "I don't have anywhere else to go. We'll see what happens here, I mean. There's nothing back home for me, anyway, if I can find a world I want to go to I guess I might as well, right?"

There's nothing for him at home, he says. Nothing but death. She nods slowly. "I don't know how we're chosen to come here," she says. "But it seems to me that if there's a better choice in going elsewhere, it only makes sense to take it." That's really what's behind her decision to head back with Ryuuzaki to his world. Though her feelings for him are definitely tangled up in that decision.

She works her fist a little; York's death is one of those she has always felt intensely guilty about. She eventually looks to him. "I'm sorry, York."

He nods; she's right about that, if there's a better option then they should take it. But then she's apologizing, and York blinks. "I'm sure it wasn't your fault, Tex. You've saved my life before."

She's apologizing for more than that though. "I know," she says. She looks back out into the crowd. She's horrible at articulating her feelings, and though she feels deeply that many of his troubles over the years are her fault, she's unable to express that. She licks her lips. "I mean for all of it," she eventually says. "All of it."

"I'm not sure what you mean, but. I'll take it." He tries not to feel sorry for himself -- someone else can feel bad about things for him, that's alright. "I wish I could have been more help, back then. That we could have really taken them down."

starting with festivities!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject