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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
Boats
[While Tailgate isn't a huge master of human social cues, there's something about this guy that weirds him out. It might have something to do with how intensely he's been staring at people throughout the flight. The holomatter form shifts its weight from one foot to another as he tries to think of an interesting way to say 'no'.]
I recognize a few people. I mean, I've lived on the Moira for two months now. Are you new? I feel like you must be.
no subject
"New? Yes." He punctuates this with a firm nod, which is followed by a brief wave of mild dizziness; his eyes flicker closed momentarily, but he pushes them open in an act of will. "Did you recognize anyone when you were new? People from home, or...?"
no subject
He realizes that he's babbling and falls into an embarrassed silence that lasts about three seconds. "Are you okay? Have you eaten anything lately? What about drinking?"
no subject
"I had breakfast this morning. Coffee, some sort of porridge." He shakes his head as if to clear it. "Nothing since the Ingress. It seems like it has an effect on people. Is there somewhere to get food, other than the ship? What sort of food is usually available there?"
He keeps the question casual, but the answer is of paramount importance.
no subject
Imagine, if you will, that Tailgate was a giant alien robot who doesn't eat or drink organic food. It never once occurred to him to look for food places.
"There has to be some somewhere. I mean, I've never been on this planet before now, but I'd hate to think that they'd put all of you down here just to starve you. Let's go look for something when the boat lands! It'll be an adventure."
no subject
She doesn't seem to be looking at him like a potential meal.
"All right." He makes a mental note not to stray too far from anyone else's line of sight, just in case. "Do you know if they've landed here before in the recent past at all? Has anyone mentioned it?"
no subject
Tailgate is genuinely delighted by this task. Find his new friend some food! How exciting!
"So, what's your name anyway? Mine is Tailgate, it's nice to meet you."
no subject
"Ryuuzaki." He inclines his head in acknowledgement. "Tell me, Tailgate... what kind of places have you stopped at?"
His ears are open for certain names, not least of them Van Rijn.
no subject
And he feels faintly like a failure because of it. It's not a new feeling, however, so Tailgate easily muscles his way past it.
"Ryuuzaki." He says, the name sounding strange on his hologram lips. "Ryuuzaki. I think I can remember that!"
"So, what kind of food do you like? Do you like chocolate?" He says, only faintly aware that chocolate isn't actually food.
no subject
Tailgate would probably have an easier time remembering L's real name, but this place seems to represent a fresh start: that security breach may be blessedly caulked, for the time being. If it's not, people are still going to be expecting him to say his name is Ryuuzaki.
''What do you mean about matchmaking on Emiri?" Based on what he's been told so far, it seems like a strange reason for a stop. But maybe he's misinterpreting what she's telling him.
no subject
With that important information out of the way, Tailgate launches into his explanation.
"Matchmaking! Romantic matchmaking that is. Basically they made us do these tests and then matched us with our best match. Or so they said anyway. I was paired up with a dwarf named Varric, and we had a pretty good time together. He was, using an English term, full of shit, but I liked him a lot anyway. I have no idea why we went through it all, but it was a lot of fun. Even if things on the planet went bad afterwards. I didn't get to see a lot of it though, as I was stuck in cyro for a couple weeks."
no subject
"Two questions: in what way did things 'go bad,' and what's cryo?"
no subject
Like Ultra Magnus was frozen for a while too. Who even knows why that happens.
"But I don't think it's anything to worry about."
no subject
"It isn't? Is it possible that you were injured in the rebellion... could it have been a kind of medical treatment?"
It reminds him of the times the gravity couches never released him at all, making him dream through a month of almost everyone else's lives, plus the time of the preceding and following jumps, which might have been months in themselves.