( may event log )

[hownkai]

Who: Everyone
When: May 1st and on
Where: The Moira + Amissis-Re
What: The crew finds themselves visiting the very barren planet of Amissis-Re.
Warnings:None, but please label your content!

E V E N T L O G

far from nowhere "the trees rustle in the evening when we stand uneasy before our own thoughts." With the events of Del Pascia behind the Moira, things are only now beginning to settle—and not very well. Through the combined efforts of some of the crew, D-E-L and her permanent residents were incinerated into the dust of space. While it’s not the most peaceful end, it is one, and not many are going to be thinking back on how nice Del Pascia’s facilities were for quite some time. Repairing what they could of the ship’s interior and putting as much distance between the Moira and the prison as possible, those aboard are informed by Navigation that they are approaching another planet. This means, of course, the potential for better supplies, as some things are beginning to dwindle, and the Captains elect to dock so long as the crew follows protocol. WELCOME TO AMISSIS-RE Amissis-Re is an unregistered planet with no documented histories or signs of life. The Moira’s Navigation crew have scanned the planet for any usable resources and have discovered a faint signal emitting from beneath the surface of Amissi-Re. Using the transporters and any other crafts located in the Cargo Bay, the crew are able to travel to the source of the signal. Upon arriving in its exact location, they’ll find a small series of lakes that lead to a tower-like structure that appears to be in use. Crew must cross a poorly assembled bridge system that sways and dips when weight is applied to it in order to gain access to the entrance. Once there, a woman comes out to greet them and explains, excitedly, that she is so very happy that they have come to Amissis-Re. Everyone can go home. Their host insists that she has done the impossible and has somewhat fixed the Ingress that’s been built on Amissis-Re a long time ago, and what’s more, she can send crew home for short bursts of time. Upon following this woman inside, crew will find that the planet is not, in fact, barren at all. Diving deep into the underbelly of Amissis-Re, it’s like an eternal factory of machines, and while vast, for whatever reason, it also seems incredibly welcoming... ☄ LEAP OF FAITH ( 05.01 and on ) The barren planet of Amissis-Re is devoid of vegetation and organic life except for a lone woman, and the planet itself is an intricate honeycomb of machines that go for miles below the surface. Yet, that seems insignificant and unimportant in comparison to the news that the crew has just received. After Thán has looked at the Ingress, he tells the crew that he cannot say for certain that it is properly functioning, but Emiri native, Ben Link, will volunteer to test it out. An elevator takes crew down to a glass platform that overlooks an inverted Ingress portal. In order to return home, the Moirans will have to take a leap of faith and jump in. Ben, in order to show his commitment to the crew and willingness to help get them home, takes that jump with Captain Thán seconds behind him. Jumping feels like dropping through wind; lights swirl, it’s warm, and a soft buzzing encompasses you as you fall. You don’t feel the landing. One moment you’re falling, and the next, you’re in a new world. A few hours pass before a similar elevator rises from below and to the left of the Ingress, stopping beside the platform. Ben and Thán step out unharmed. It works, and everyone can temporarily go home. Will you jump? ☄ COMBINE THE EXTREMES ( 05.01 and on ) The woman that greeted the crew and led them to the platform will allow anyone that wants to go home the opportunity to go. There’s only one catch: it’s not permanent. She’s worked for years to fix the Ingress so that she can return to her own home but hasn’t been able to make the trip an everlasting one. Everyone always comes back. Always. They go for a few hours, at first, but that amount of time increases with each visit. The one guideline, she says, is that you can’t go alone. Each trip requires a partner, or it becomes too much for the mind to bear. These rules are simple: the world takes shape depending on who jumps first, but if crew go hand-in-hand and leap at the same time, the worlds combine. This new world will be populated with people that existed in both and may appear to be a jarring combination of both worlds. It may seem unusual, but if the woman is asked, she’ll explain that the combined world does exist as there are more universes than can be imagined. The Ingress tries to take the person to their own home, their original home, but when jumping together, it finds the closest possible match and deposits them there instead. From that point on, you can travel the world together or split up, but remember, this world is a living, functioning world. It doesn’t matter if it’s the home of one crew member or a combination. You meet other people. You can get hurt. You influence and are influenced by others. Be cautious, and enjoy your visit “home”. ☄ LINGER ON ( 05.05 and on ) The more times the Amissis-Re Ingress is visited, the more it seems that your trips last longer and the experience becomes even more vivid. More real and harder to distinguish from the current reality that you know. It’s difficult to explain why, but you get the feeling that maybe if you went without the aid of the host, that perhaps you’d be able to stay. Forever. It takes some subterfuge, but in time, you see your chance: she’s nowhere in sight, and you take it. The world you are in now is completely your own, whether another crew member accompanied you or not. The people you know are there, everything around you is exactly as you remember. A few hours pass, and you don’t feel that familiar tug, that invisible hook at the base of your spine that signals that your visit is over. Even more time goes by, and you’re still in that world, your home. When the first day has passed, you begin to question if you’ll ever go back, or if life on the Moira was all a dream. The person with you won’t be able to convince you otherwise, and they’ll start to feel less real, a stranger that you used to know. There’s only one way to go back to the Moira. Someone from the other side has to come in and retrieve you both. Once in, contact with a third will jump-start a link through the Ingress, and it will pull all crew back to the platform. ( ooc; For questions, go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! )

Comments

Kazuhira Miller

[warandpeace]

☄ Every step of the way Will find us | Motherbase | Closed
Motherbase was constructed of a series of hexagonal platform, situated in the warm blue ocean just off the Seychelles. Miller was eager in some regards, wanting to see home, wanting to see the men, but also still paranoid. He was choosy about who he was willing to bring along.

Before this particular trip he had to refit his stick of a prosthetic leg, hide the newer ones that he'd gotten while on the ship. Sure, had to make everything complicated. But once he reached the command platform, the mild inconvenience was worth it the moment people started saluting him. As if he hadn't been gone more than an hour.

When the person with him received skeptical looks, he would usher them along beside him. It was odd, though. Miller didn't often have guests.


☄ With the cares of the world Far behind us | MSF | Closed to Lara
When he found out they could go a little bit of everywhere, there was one place he had to go. He told himself it was for keepsakes, for little trinkets.

But the moment he was at the edge of a dense jungle forest, at the treeline, watching the men from the Caribbean platform through his binoculars as they stood along the stretch of sandy beach and argue over who won a volleyball game of all things. His heart was already hurting, each beat more a throbbing ache than a real pulse. He was pretty sure he recognized a voice through the sensitive binoculars sound. Bison? Mammoth? Couldn't remember exactly. It was oddly high for his name, and he could remember that day he crumpled under a bullet as Cipher invaded his home. The day that base sank into the ocean. His first real home.

He shifted his gaze, unaware that the edges of distress were starting to show plainly on his face, even with the glasses shielding anguished eyes. "There's a jeep down there. It should have some pictures in the glove compartment." He should know. It's the jeep he used to drive. Hell knows where his younger self is, but he wants what's in that vehicle.


☄ We have all the time in the world | Amisses-Re Ingress | Open
He wasn't going to go in the damn thing again. Or so he intended. Probably wouldn't go the way he planned. But when did anything ever?

He waited a little off, out of the way as possible, guitar in his hands and very quietly playing a slow song to pass the time. Lazy enough that he wasn't paying attention. Beside him? Some muffins he'd made in the kitchens and some sandwich parts. He figured when his friends got back they'd be hungry. You know, if they ever got back.

That was okay. Kaz was very good at waiting.

[rraidergirl]

There are things Lara doesn't need to be told to understand. She's not sure if it's instinct or basic sympathy, but regardless, Miller asked her along to get some things and so here she is. Lara watches Miller more than she watches their surroundings, although she's subconsciously tuned in to the noises around them as well. Returning to Yamatai had been a mixed... whatever it was.

Now she was here, settling her hand on his arm for a brief moment, hoping to steady him a little before she nods. "That should be easy enough. Just in and out, yes?"

[warandpeace]

"Yeah, we'll make it quick."

He could hear birds in the distance, the ones Cecile had gone on about. He wondered if she was down there somewhere, and there might have been the slightest ache in his heart. Not because what he'd felt for her was true love or anything; no, it was a young annoying man hung up on a pretty girl. But it was more need for the times. Even if it had been petty admiration, she had been there in the days when all he could see was what was beautiful. Before it was too bright, too harsh, when sunsets still mattered and he adored the sound of trains. He didn't know if she would be so pretty now. He hoped that much hadn't changed in the way he saw the world.

Luckily he wasn't wearing the Moira's odd uniform. Instead, his Diamond Dogs attire, complete with gloves to hide his hands. It meant if anyone saw him, he could cobble together some bullshit story. Would have to make it quick. Thankfully he looked different enough from his younger self that he could get away with simple similarity if he pulled off his glasses. He'd changed that much and he knew it.

"This is where the MSF used to be based, before we got the platform. The Militaires Sans Frontières. Snake created it to serve as a military force for whoever needed it. A mercenary organization, free of national alignment. At the time, it was a noble idea to me. As a member of the JSDF I had come to realize that the umbrella of protection that Japan used the US for wouldn't actually serve them in an attack, and countries with similar restrictions on their militaries could use someone to call on, which dedicating the bulk of their finances to their own civilian development."

He'd felt like a man in charge of ronin. That they were changing the world for the better.

"I always made a point to remember the men had real lives, too. Birthdays. Games. No matter what outfit they came in from, what army they used to represent, all matters had to be resolved with civility and respect. Because they had left their nations behind." It had been important to him, that if they chose them, there would be peace within the unit. They'd all been his men. Big Boss's too. Still, it was hard to believe that somewhere along the line Snake stopped valuing them as soldiers and more as tools of war, less as people.

Maybe he just remembered this version of him too strongly.

we have all the time in the world

[quixotically]

Elle...

Maybe it's weird that Elle didn't charge right through the reversed Ingress. Jumping before looking is kind of a thing she does. But... Ever since they arrived, Elle has... Elle has had a weird feeling about this whole thing. So, she hasn't ventured in herself, just yet. She's stayed on this side, occasionally coming around to watch people come and go, silently hovering, hoping everyone... is okay. Stays okay.

So, it's probably no surprise that Kazuhira catches her attention. She gravitates towards him slowly, a small, rueful, but awkward smile on her face. "Hey," she offers.

[warandpeace]

He tried not to pay too much attention to her whenever she was around. Sometimes he found himself doing it anyway. But then there she was, standing there, acknowledging him.

Kaz slowed his strumming, and looked up at her. "Hey."

Then he looked at the snacks, which... well he'd been here for more than a couple of hours.

"You want something to eat? I don't think they'll be back as soon as I thought."

[quixotically]

Elle blinks a few times, first at him, then at the snacks. "Oh -- " She holds up her hands, sheepishness crossing over her face. "That's... I don't wanna -- If they're for your friends, I don't wanna take 'em. It's okay."

She sits herself down next to him, smoothing her skirt over her knees. She hasn't bothered with a uniform today; she didn't have to work today, so there's no real reason why she should be wearing it. Instead, she's got on one of the dresses she asked Harry to make, yellow like the one the Ingress took, but with a floral pattern, along with the Kings' jacket.

"How long have you been waiting?"

[warandpeace]

"I've been waiting for a few hours. It's fine. You can have something."

He watched her sit, frowning to himself but not in a way that was displeased. Even if half his expression was hidden by his sunglasses, mostly he just looked... confused.

He reached into his overcoat pocket and started to thumb through some pictures, things he hadn't tucked away in his room yet, and hesitated a good long time over one. It was that, an old black and white photograph of a slender Japanese woman, young and very much like Elle, that he held out to her.

"She looks a lot like you, doesn't she?"

[quixotically]

Well... If he insists. By her standards, the muffins would still be good in a few more hours. They'd still be good days from now. But if he's sure, she supposes she'll go ahead and help herself.

She's in the middle of tearing a muffin into pieces when he pulls out the photographs. She pretty much immediately forgets what she's doing. Her curiousity has her sitting up straighter before he even finds the one he's looking for. When he doesn't do anything for a moment, just looks at it, Elle starts to wonder... if she was being presumptuous. Maybe he isn't wanting to show it to her. Maybe he's just wanting to sit quietly and think. She's about to open her mouth to apologize when he holds it out.

Elle stares, her eyes slightly wide, growing wider by the second. That... "I... She... Y -- Yeah. I...?" She isn't getting That Feeling, though. The one she gets when something is familiar in a way she can't place, forgotten-word-at-the-tip-of-her-tongue, scar-itching. Her eyes finally start to return to their normal size as her brow furrows. She looks away from the photograph, finally, and back up to Kazuhira. "Who... is she?"

all the time in the world

[bloodbinds]

Ava had already returned from all of the excursions she was willing to make. She'd seen the sunlight again, gotten some of her supplies she left, and did everything she could to try and alter what had happened to her. She was still there, though, and still cursed, so it stood to reason that, in the long run, there was nothing to be gained by making more trips back to the hellish wasteland Los Angeles had become.

Instead, she came to the Ingress to watch and learn, to see what could be gleamed from the people making continued trips. It was there she heard the music and eventually came upon Miller sitting there, and she approached somewhat hesitantly. She didn't want to interrupt him, and instead found a seat nearby, her eyes fixed on the portal.

"Waiting for someone to join you, or for someone to return?"

[warandpeace]

He stopped playing whatever he was playing. It was bits and pieces of songs strung together. The parts he liked rather than the entire things. He remembered her. The interesting woman from the whale platform. Had some abilities he hadn't worked out completely.

He didn't mind the company at all.

"No, seems like they're gonna keep me waiting for a while. Do you want something to eat?" he asked, none the wiser as he tipped his head towards the food that he'd brought.

[bloodbinds]

She glanced over at the food and, after a moment's pause, shook her head. Being human for a short time in her past made her miss it and looking at what he had was painful. If only she could have come back human, too. "No, thanks. I ate already." Not precisely a lie, but an easy way to decline without much question.

Ava looked back at the Ingress, frowning at it in thought. Again, she turned to Miller. "Did you go through, back to your world? Or did you end up going with someone else to theirs?" Enough people seemed to have qualms about returning home. It wouldn't be a shock to find someone else reluctant to return. "How long have you been waiting?"

[warandpeace]

"I did." A little. "Brought people back to mine, too. Think I've had enough until I go home for good." But what if it happened sooner. Was he ready? For a man who tried to be ready for anything, he didn't feel like it.

"I've been waiting for a few hours. They seem to like it, whatever they're doing."

Then he changed the subject. Miller was good at waiting, even when it was bad for him. "How about you? Had a place to go back to?"

[bloodbinds]

"Is this their first time through? I went back a few times. The last time, I was there for almost half a day." Which nearly killed her, frankly, when she went back when everything had gone to shit. Why couldn't she have been able to spend twelve, sixteen hours as a human, instead? The Ingress giveth and taketh away, she supposed. "Maybe it's letting them stay there longer." Or maybe they were enjoying it. The way he said it, she wasn't certain if that was something strange or not.

Ava gave a half-shrug of indifference. "Yeah. It floated me through a few different time periods, strangely enough. I'm not really interested in going back to what I last saw." And going back when there was a blood hunt on her was equally unappealing. "Do you think we will ever go back for good, or is that just something the captains need to say so we don't riot?"

[dancingblade]

In a place full of the sounds of machinery, the lone guitar playing is enough to draw the spirit's attention. Where ever Fi goes, a soft glittering noise is what announces her presence more than the chime that she used to make when appearing from within the sword. It doesn't take long before she starts singing along with the song Miller's playing and that properly announces her arrival. She hasn't gone through the Ingress.

"..."

She stops after a moment to look at Miller and then picks up again. If he keeps going, he'll notice she'll stop whenever he switches songs and will start up again when a recognizable rhythm starts. As if this was something she was programmed created to do.

[warandpeace]

Sometimes Link would play his Ocarina with him. It was like a subtle way of communicating, offering some camaraderie. So when the young man's sword starts to sing he's not all that surprised. Glad too.

So he does change the song once or twice, to see if she matches. Amazingly she does. He really can't get over how she's elegant to a fault- pretty much the true personification of a sword. It would only make sense to him if she was musical, too.

"There was a smith in Japan, Masamune... It was said that he took so much care in creating his blades, he put some of his personality into his creations. Every sword has its own spirit, because they have a little of his." He knew whatever she was was deeper, more profound than that, but there are moments when someone had to wonder about how things delegated to stories could be real in a place like this.

He switched and started playing something that Link taught him.

[dancingblade]

She stops singing the moment Miller speaks and listens attentively. It seems to cause her pause. It wouldn't be impossible to imagine that someone would have created a story about this sort of thing doesn't surprise her. Fi had made no attempt to hide her nature as a sword spirit and humans were known to believe in the strangest things. If it gave them comfort, then it carried some measure of value.

"Would that not be something associated with artistry? Though I have no data to confirm it, this belief is not uncommon from my realm as well. I cannot speak for other blades, but her Grace created me with the purpose of guiding her chosen champion. It would be highly unproductive if I could not communicate her messages to him." She comments. There's a pause and it's impossible to read as Fi continues to float there peacefully.

"Do you believe that those swords carry their creator's spirit?"

When Miller starts playing again, she cants her head to one side before following him again; the same response as the other songs, indicating her unfamiliarity with it. That song came long after she's gone to sleep but it sounds familiar nonetheless. As if it took cues from an older song... Though Fi's fairly certain that's not the case. Those songs were for the Hero alone, after all.

[warandpeace]

"I believe any labor of love carries it's creator's spirit." Maybe that was it, a message through artistry. "Depends on what one thinks of as a spirit, I guess."

He wondered what helped her float like that, passingly, but there was so much weird nonsense he didn't know what to do with himself.

He continued to play that bit, repeating the cords. "Who is her Grace?" Link hadn't told him much. And Fi had a uniquely blunt way of dispensing information.

[sidecars]

Bucky, for his part, is absolutely elated. The smell of the sea, the strong wind, the magnificent structures, all of it is incredible. He looks like the boy he refuses to admit being, following beside Miller as a human puppy. But a smart one. Knowing what he knows about his friend's future, Bucky stays stuck to his right side to be a second arm. No one's allowed anywhere near him so long as Bucky's around!

"It's all so big!" He's never seen anything like it, and all growing out of the sea! Now he kind of wishes he had a pair of sunglasses like Miller's. It's fucking bright out here!

[warandpeace]

Bucky gets a few odd glances here and there, but the soldiers seem to accept that if Miller, the ultimate symbol of paranoia, has a soldier with him they must have clearance.

"The first platform I financed and paid for myself. Traveled the globe and rallied what was left of the old men. I collected enough GMP to purchase this platform. It was with Ahab's help that it came to be this size."

He stopped in his stride, though, walked over to the platform's edge. Stared out over the water.

"The one in the Caribbean was a lot like this. I took a big risk in getting that home... That's why he'll never really care about me, you know? Ishmael I mean. As much as I care for him, anyway. I made a deal with a man that- I didn't know what he was at the time. But he was someone Ishmael hated, and I'd just trusted that he would get us out of the situation. I wanted that new home more than anything."

That's why he was paranoid of spies. Of "helpers". Because he knew how easily even he had slipped under the radar. Good intentions put you on a fast track to hell, and even after Kaz was in it he well and thoroughly dug himself in. Perhaps he was exaggerating; Ishmael did care. In another time, where Kaz had bothered to make peace. Did he here? Off in his Ivory Tower? Possibly not. "If I'd known it would have cost me him in the long run? I wouldn't have bothered... I guess I did okay with this one. But it's... It is what it is."

Kaz turned quickly and moved for one of the four-wheel drives. He made good stride with that crutch. Even now, having not used it in a while, he could still get around pretty quick.

"I need you to drive us over to R & D. Go down that path and over to the next platform. I'm going to get you a surprise." Which was a much happier subject.

[sidecars]

Bucky listens, but doesn't add much to the story. Honestly, there's not much he can say about it. He does many things behind his partner's back, but the man has to see that he is as duty bound to his country as Cap. If he's told to kill, he's going to ask how many targets.

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't sometimes," he finally tells Miller. That's how he sees his friend's dilemma. But he's thankful the man changes the subject as they round one of the all-terrain vehicles and get in, with him in the driver's seat. Aw yeah! No sidecar for Bucky today!

"Ooo I'm so excited! Like a kid in a candy store!" Or a soldier in an armory. Turning the ignition, Bucky rattles the stick shift a moment before shifting into first gear and following the man's directions.

"Jesus... This place is fuckin' enormous. How do you not get lost?"

[warandpeace]

"I helped design it. Snake managed to earn the GMP for all the platforms and I approved and facilitated them. It was about all I could do outside of the motivational speeches."

Speaking of which, he had to prop his hip against the vehicle, put his crutch in the back open it up carefully and lower himself into it with calculated effort, make sure his coat was tucked in before he closed the door, and then put on the seatbelt. With only one arm to use, this seemed like a bigger ordeal than one would think.

"It'll help keep you safe. People on the ship get into trouble often enough, don't want to see you in another situation like you were in."

We Have All The Time In The World (and yet I'm still late :V)

[tsunclonus]

Even at the best of time Cyclonus wouldn't be interested in Miller's snacks - though he'd probably appreciate the music - but this clearly is not one of his better days.

He stumbles off the elevator as it arrives at the top of the strange Ingress chamber, dropping to one knee. BB's chip clatters out if his hand and across the floor. Black liquid speckles his face.

Somebody did not have a fun trip.

[warandpeace]

Appreciating music or not, the guitar was immediately moved to the side with a hollow thud and Miller came over. Almost ludicrous, since it was obvious he couldn't really offer him help standing up. No way he'd know how to repair whatever was producing that conspicuous black liquid without instruction.

He did pick up the fallen chip, though, and stand half crouched, looking up as he looked over him for damage.

"What the hell happened?"

[tsunclonus]

"A moment..." Cyclonus can already feel the press of the living universe on him, the way his corrupted spark struggles under the pressure of it.

But he can adjust, he's done it before. He took years to diminish the first time, he's not going to expire immediately.

Shifting into a kneeling position with his hands on his thighs, he centers himself.

"Miller," he states, finally focusing enough to identify the human in front of him. "I... visited somewhere I would have preferred not to."

[warandpeace]

"Doesn't look like you had a great time, no." He said it dryly, without real judgement. Even if he can't really help, he reached up, put his hand on a metallic arm.

If there was ever a time a man felt very small, it was the first time that he attempted to give a mech a comforting pat as if it would do any good. And in that moment, having some sort of physical confirmation that Cyclonus was indeed a big metal person and not some figment of his imagination. Completely different from touching the quiet shell of a Metal Gear.

Never mind that bewildering thought of almost wonder, something had happened here. He looked at what he had picked up, the thing Cyclonus had dropped, and then back to him.

"Should I go get Tailgate?"