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by the inquest
"Arguments on their nature are refuted by those who return to shore, wide-eyed with tales of their savagery."
All Moirans are woken to the sounds of the ship coming to a rather grating halt some time in the early morning cycle. It’s no faster or slower than any other stop, but it is unexpected as the captains didn’t mention an upcoming disembarkment. Shortly after, a message is sent to every MID:Navigation has informed us that we’re approaching bad traveling conditions: an overactive star. Instead of stopping on Liant El, we’ll be docking here on Ceta. Please exercise caution while gathering supplies and during excursions. Follow their safety guidelines. If the chance allows, we’ll also be signing new crew on the planet. Please greet them first and show them to the ship. Thank you. The Ingress has pulled you in. Your body experiences several sensations at once: being pushed forward as if a hand is resting on your back, momentary and startling blindness, a gentle ringing in your head. You have difficulty discerning whether it is hot or cold, but where you have been prodded is noticeably warmer than the rest of you. Some may suffer from dizziness while others are perfectly fine. Once equilibrium has been reestablished, you will notice you are standing on a long platform and that the room is filled with a soft cerulean light. It's slightly humid and dark despite the glow around you, and nothing is familiar.
For those few who come through Ceta's Ingress, there will be crew of the Moira there to greet you. They tell you of the Ingress, how it is broken, even on this planet, and that the ship is headed back to the origin of this technology. This planet’s Ingress is set precariously atop a floating rock formation, the only way from one area to the next is on small air-propelled boats. Crew members will guide everyone back to the Moira and take them to the Medbay; contracts will be signed posthaste.
WELCOME TO CETA
At first glance, Ceta seems mostly inhabitable, and that's because it is. The atmosphere around the planet is surprisingly thick in most places, sometimes thin in others, and without some way to filter the air, it is mostly unbreathable; it's a giant gas planet, its core made of various molten metals and the atmosphere a mix of oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrous. Ceta's gravity is also uneven, meaning that some areas will have stronger focal points than others. The terrain, when it is visible, appears rather rocky—hardly the best conditions for life and stable living. What's more unusual, however, is that despite this fact, there is, indeed, a small populace "living" among the mist and clouds, but it's clear they do not live here year-round. It's hunting season, and they are there for the bounty.
These visitors have built small platforms that are hooked together by ropes and swinging bridges, which they call "temporaries". Unstable buildings are rare, dangerous, and spread out over these temporaries to prevent damage or accidents. The temporaries float along, swaying and shifting with the planet’s atmosphere, and posted at every point of entry and all open surfaces are a particular set of rules that everyone must abide by. They are written in dark ink and large block letters so that all passing by will stop and read them:
NO FIRE. Flammables, ignition sources, matches, lighters, and anything that creates a spark is prohibited. The atmosphere has higher levels of hydrogen, and the smallest spark will create a problem.
AIR BREATHABILITY. Monitor your vitals. Wear masks or re-breathers if needed.
WATCH THE EDGE. All walkways are the only thing from you and falling. Be cautious and watch your step. These signs should be given their due attention. The edge is just that: the end of where it is safe to walk. If a wooden plank gives way beneath your feet, you will plummet through hundred of miles of atmosphere before hitting the planet’s thin surface. The captains reiterate that crew should be careful and stick to the main temporaries, gather supplies, visit at their leisure, and then go back to the ship.
☄ IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A PLANE!The organisms that have evolved on this planet are unintelligent—a fact that is told to you by the other visitors. As there is no solid materials or ways for them to interact with their environments, these giants float along within the atmosphere, though it appears that they are flying when they are merely navigating through. They travel in groups of three or more and sometimes come close to the outskirts of the temporaries. Because there is an invisible filtration dome around the temporaries, this allows the creatures to pass through without harm and return again into the mist as they please. They are difficult to see at night and are rather skittish in the presence of sudden light.
☄ @ THE MUSEUM Every evening when work is done, artificial light sources illuminate the streets of the temporaries. There is one bar, if you can actually call it that, but the main attraction is a museum. The support structure appears to be made out of the skeletal system of the giants that "swim" and live on Ceta, and though the outside seems rather unassuming, the inside is not for the faint of heart. As it's considered informative, there are displays of the internal structures and functions of the very creatures that seem harmless and as unintelligent as the visitors claim. There are sections of the museum dedicated to their anatomy and what makes them so valuable: inside their air sacs, which is what gives the illusion to flying through the atmosphere, is a mineral that, when harvested, attunes and sharpens the senses so that brain capacity and function excel over one-hundred percent efficiency. Likewise, aside from these informative areas, there is also a history of how and when the visitors began to hunt them for this valuable, unnamed resource.
☄ HARVEST SEASON Are you looking for work? Or perhaps you're bored with your duties aboard the Moira and prefer to see just what it is these visitors do during the day? Hunters will often pay for menial labor to help with the killing and retrieval of the giants of Ceta. It is by day, not by hour, and once aboard one of the many ships, you will be put to work handling equipment or being on the lookout for "signs" of the creatures. Once they've been spotted, the real work isn't in capturing them or even trying to subdue them—though they give a good fight. It's in the harvest, done below deck once they have been safely brought into the ship's cargo areas by the tethers, that can get quite gruesome. As a defense mechanism, cutting into the skin creates a rather noxious emission that can cause disorientation, hallucinations, or unconsciousness. Worst case scenarios can often result in death.
☄ WORD LIMITS As things are beginning to wind up (or down), something seems to have gotten into the MID systems and caused a malfunction. On the morning of 03.13, it suddenly becomes clear that communicating with others who are not from the same universe or similar timelines seems very difficult. Understanding each other becomes rather hopeless as the day continues, and these repercussions can be felt across the entire ship. The Captains send out another MID message that appears as a jumble of unusual letters and symbols. However, there is one word that can be read by everyone and (hopefully) understood: RATCHET. Figuring out this problem shouldn't take long if everyone can leap the language barriers and work together.
( ooc; All New Arrivals: you have the choice of coming through the Moira's Ingress OR Ceta's Ingress. For questions, go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! )
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hownkai) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thisavrou_log2016-03-01 02:40 pm
aboard the moira
[Scott does nothing to keep his voice low or the awe from his face. Another one. Another giant robot guy that he's going to befriend.
Maybe, if it isn't too weird or doesn't come across like he wants to feel the guy up, he'd let him see what he's made of. Literally, because Scott likes science and technology, and he's super curious.]
Do you know Riptide? Because you guys look kind of similar, but not completely the same.
[They are also both giant robots and he's not a robot discriminator, but still.]
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[So, instead, he just grins, and attempts to pose.]
Yeah? Pretty awesome, right?
[The cocky grin fades a bit though, at the question, and he shakes his head.]
Uhhh, nope. Sorry, dude. Never heard of the guy.
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It is, man.
[He's not sure of the etiquette for shaking giant robot hands, but he sticks his fist out anyways, looking for a little bump.]
Well, that sucks, you should meet him sometime. I'm Scott.
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[He has to be careful though, he found that out the hard way before.]
Is he around here? Or...? [His grin returns.] Sideswipe. The one and only.
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He's probably in his room. Or in the cargo bay.
[Honestly, he figured he was generally around somewhere close by and he was big enough, no offense Riptide, that he'd be hard to miss.]
Sideswipe. Cool name. Not as cool as Scott, but it's pretty close.
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What's he look like, anyway?
[Because wandering around yelling this guy's name doesn't seem like a way to spend the afternoon. Morning. Night. Whichever it was.]
Uh, yeah it is.
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[Scott nods, that's the perfect description, only not really and he's going to roll with it.]
I don't think you'd miss him. Everyone's about my size here, give or take, except for the others that look like you.
[He wonders if all the robots come from the same place or if it's just coincidence that they look alike.]
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[A big blue robot can't be that hard to find. Especially if he's like Grimlock-sized. Which wouldn't surprise him.]
[But wait.]
Who all's here anyway?
[Please don't say Strongarm please don't say Strongarm.]
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[Scott had heard there were others but he didn't know anybody's names or anything like that.]
You should check out your MID. The directory says names but I'm not sure if it'll be any help.
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[Sideswipe you're not helping. It also means no Grimlock -- which is a huge drag. The big dinobot was hard to miss.]
My... what now?
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[That doesn't sound good and sounds like something they should be watching out for.]
It's the communication device they give us. Let's us talk to each other and you can even play games on it. Sorta like a cell phone.
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[Because they're not good, and it is now his duty to warn his New Friend about them.]
Oh -- hey! Really? Games?
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[Scott puts that name to memory so that if they do pop in, he can tell Sideswipe as soon as possible.]
There's a game where you can play with kittens and one that's like a dating sim.
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[Yes, good call, dude, tell the teenager.]
Dating sim? What's that?
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Basically, you pretend to date the other people on the ship. Take them out, buy them stuff, get them to fall in love with you.
[Not awkward at all.]
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[Look how much he brightens up at that. Actually excited.]
The ones where the humans meet and have to pick the one they want and then get money or something. Like that, right?
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[He shakes a finger at Sideswipe, lowering his voice conspiratorially.]
Don't let anyone catch you playing it. Some of the choices look a lot like the crew.
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[One of his "eyebrows" quirks.]
And that's... bad?
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[Scott shakes his head.]
I don't mean it's bad like that. If you get caught, man, you'll have to deal with that.
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[Sideswipe you're like the ONLY speedster on Earth, that's not hard.]
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[Scott has no idea what Sideswipe is capable of, and if he says he's fast enough to not get caught, he believes him.]
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Any good ones?
[Sideswipe like you'd know "what's good". You've never had a real date. Let alone virtual ones.]
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[Scott lifts his wrist, taps the MID a few times and shows Sideswipe the character he's romancing. It looks an awful lot like Clone Shepard.]
She's tough and beautiful.
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[He peers at it, before making a face.]
Nah. Too much like a bot I know back home. And she's a pain in the gearshift.
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[Scott raises a brow, surprised by that even though he shouldn't be. It's a small ship, relatively speaking.]
What's she like?
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