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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
3
"What, books? Or flying around like that?"
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She makes a face at the boy below. "Neither. I mean we didn't really have either, so there wasn't much there to ban."
And no, she's not gonna cop to reading a dirty book, he's going to have to pry the information out of her.
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Not that Peter needed anymore abilities than what he had, but priorities.
"So what did you mean, then?"
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Still casually ignoring that question about what she was reading, sorry, buddy.
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If she wants to ignore it, Peter can too. He doesn't care much about books anyway. That's the other twin's territory. "What else can you do then? Flying's kind of cool enough on it's own, you know?"
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Her smile gets a little sharper at his question, riding that fine line of flirting and teasing. "Maybe that's a secret. Do you ask all the girls you just meet what they're superpowers are?"
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"Only to pretty ones," he fires back, leaning back against a bookshelf. Recent exploits have given him a little more confidence on the flirting front. It doesn't hurt that he knows he's fast enough to run if she decides to smack him.
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"Smooth," she says, shifting into a reclining position, "You first, hotshot, what tricks do you have?"
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In a blink the hat on his head and Kara are on the other side of the library, the only sign of movement the telltale gust of wind. "Fancy that, me too."
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It feels a little like the world's finally catching up to his mind. He's wanted forever to find someone else like him, someone with the same speed and the problems that came with it. And here on this ship he's found two. It's like Christmas came early and finally made good on all those presents his mother could never afford.
"Another speed demon. Well, well. Cute and interesting." He runs up to her, hand held out to get his hat back. "I haven't ever met anyone who goes fast like that before. Kind of makes me want to ask a lot of questions."
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"Oh yeah?" she says, tipping her head up at him, "A little early for tragic backstory swapping, don't you think. Usually you're supposed to swap codenames first, right."
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"No one ever said we had to talk tragedy, I'm just interested in the mechanics." Some of his questions were on the less than positive side, but she doesn't need to know that now. "Not all of us come from places with code names. Next you'll be asking me about my spandex."
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"Just the mechanics?" I'll just bet. She's tempted to hip check him, just to watch him bounce across the room, but that's too mean. Plus she likes the attention, like putting a firm and final note on all of the Powerboy bullshit. "Now that's a question worth asking. What seedster doesn't wear spandex?"
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"What? I'm not allowed to be curious when someone else with speed shows up? It's not very common where I'm from." His grin turns a shade flirty and though the look over he gives her is quick, it's obvious he's checking her out. "Besides, who wouldn't want to understand you a little?"
He's the kind of speedster that doesn't wear spandex, thank you. "One that doesn't want to look ridiculous all the time? Can't imagine that most guys pull it off, you know?"
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"Oh, you'd be surprised..." She tips her head to the side, letting her own glance linger a little, "I think you could pull it off."
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His grin threatens to split his face once he realizes she's looking at him too. This is the kind of fun only J's been letting him have and it's even better to find someone else willing to play along. "Yeah? Maybe I'll have to invest in some, see if you're right."