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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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thisavrou_log2016-03-01 02:40 pm
moira.
So, once he's taken care of some other things - the amount of sand he's tracking around, for instance - he decides he ought to go find her. If nothing else, he owes her the benefit of the knowledge his time difference grants him.
Of course it's on Mero deck where he eventually catches up with his neighbor. While it would be nice if he could just not have these difficult conversations, he owes her too much to avoid her.
Besides, he's pretty sure they just made eye contact. ]
no subject
She pauses when she steps over the threshold of her room, an all too familiar man coming into her sight, and her mildly pleasant expression flattens into something colder. He sees her, too--that much is clear--and if they're both assigned to this deck, they're going to have to speak eventually. While she would have preferred to schedule this conversation sometime when she didn't feel quite so bedraggled, this is what she has to work with.]
Lando.
no subject
As he does, he inclines his head slightly in greeting. ]
Leia. Han told me you were here... I'm quite sorry that you're also stuck in this mess.
[ That's not insincere; none of them should be here. But after a moment's pause, he shifts slightly toward what he actually needs to say. He did make a promise and while his word hadn't often been worth all that much, there were few things he'd said in his life that he'd put as much actual meaning into. It only seems a part of that promise that he tell her what he knows now, from his slightly advanced point. ]
Though, I had been hoping to speak to you. Provided you have a moment, of course.
no subject
[Leia nods in return, more instinct than actual feeling behind the gesture. If there's one thing she knows all too well, it's how to follow the rules of decorum, regardless of her own desire to do so.
Still, as much as her anger at the situation has simmered over the last half-year, she's not about to show open hostility to Lando. Helping them escape from Bespin and searching for Han counts for...well, the bare minimum, in Leia's mind, but it's earned Lando cool acknowledgment. Especially now that she has Han back.]
It looks like we have all the time in the world.
[Bathing can wait--unlike some people, she didn't show up with sand in places sand should never be.]
What is it?
no subject
He takes a breath as he spares a quick glance to ascertain that the hallway is otherwise unoccupied before he responds, his tone conveying that there is some further meaning and detail behind the more general statement that he offers, ]
When I spoke with Han, we figured out pretty fast that I came from a bit later on than he did - and, it would seem, later than you as well.
[ Which clearly means there are some things he needs to share about that. ]
no subject
How much later are we talking about?
[Her arms are crossed in front of her, but she's listening.]
no subject
Just long enough to be on the other side of a certain operation.
[ And, as earnest as he can ever manage, ]
Han's all right.
no subject
What happened? [And then, a pause.] Or am I better off not knowing?
[She's been a little protective of the future against the likes of Obi-Wan and Anakin. There might be reason for Lando to be the same.]
no subject
Of course, that's a delicate question. He takes in a breath, glancing off to a side momentarily. ]
Personally, I think you may be better off not knowing all of the... finer details.
[ Euphemistically speaking. As he continues on, he underscores the more focal part of his response with a sweeping gesture of his hand that shifts easily into lightly punctuating his speech. ]
From a larger perspective, while there were some aspects that may not have gone precisely as we'd hoped, we did all make it out.
no subject
[The way his gaze leaves her before he answers, she gets the feeling it's nothing good. But now that they're here and Han's escaped the carbonite without so much as blurred vision, maybe it doesn't have to happen. Whatever it is.]
But if we all made it out... [Leia shrugs. She doesn't feel like she can trust Lando, but how much does it matter when they're a billion lightyears away from Darth Vader?] I guess I ought to thank you for your help.
[Probably ought to, yeah.]
no subject
The thanks, though - or, well, the statement that she ought to thank him? ]
Ought you to?
[ He lets a light smirk pull at his lips as he gives a minor shake of his head. Truth is, Lando just isn't that comfortable with the prospect of being thanked. ]
Well, I won't hold you to that.
no subject
If it happens, I will.
[After all, the Moira seems to have taken care of both the carbonite and the hibernation sickness Leia had expected he'd need to overcome. For all they know, they've managed to avoid the entire mess Lando apparently came out of.]
Anything else I should know about?
no subject
I can't say I've heard much about anything else. They snatched me up before we even managed to get off the dust ball.
no subject
If that's all, I should be going. [This is no time for small-talk.]