thisavrou_log | december event log

Entry tags:

december event log

Who: Everyone
When: December 1st and on
Where: The Midway Hub.
What: With the Moira destroyed, the crew travel to the center of the Hub.
Warnings: Potential violence. Lots and lots and lots of walking. Please label your content

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the outer gate
"Open up, and let them in."

The Moira is no more.

With the damage done to the ship due to the timeslip, all that remains is a burning wreckage and parts to be taken—if the crew can find anything in the pieces. Recovery and headcounts are the main objective for the first several hours of being planetside, and once things have settled just enough, Captain Ira calls for a meeting and addresses those who are able in person to explain the situation. He draws a rough map of the area and explains where he believes they are - according to the terrain - and where they must go. For anyone who’s listening, he describes things like an “Outer Gate”, an “Inner Gate” and “gate sectors”. Believing this to be the best course of action, all crew are asked to explore and gather what they think they’ll need to make the long journey towards the central point of the Hub. Because the MIDs are no longer working due to the lack of a network, the Captains distribute a newer tech called the TAB. It serves the same functions as the MID but is lighter, slimmer, and has the ability to stick to any surface.

WELCOME TO THE MIDWAY HUB

Now that the smoke from the crash has cleared, and injured crew have been tended to, the Captains get everyone ready for departure by explaining what they know of the Hub. Almost stone-like, the creators built a domed workspace in the largest solid space on the planet they could find. Gates are the only way inside, and anyone who catches a glimpse of the compound will see that parts of the dome are cracked. Yet, everything still appears to be relatively intact. The Midway Hub’s terrain is very rocky and difficult to walk on at times. Below the surface is a honeycomb of intermittently dense and brittle stone that makes travel difficult due to the unpredictable nature of what lies beneath the crew’s feet. Those who can develop the tech from what’s left of the debris might be able to create something to determine which route is the safest. Ships and small crafts can be used to fly, but landing is a problem—rocks jut up in sharp peaks and the clearer spots can't handle their weight. Vegetation is sparse, consisting of twisted dark gray thistles that have sprung up from cracks in the rock and burn when in direct contact with skin, and what could be considered small animals here can be seen scurrying away the closer crew get to them.

☄ WEEK ONE

Crew are asked to hook cryo beds together and to use any appropriate vehicles that can be made or fashioned to fit the terrain to carry injured crew on the journey to the center of the Hub. Supplies are gathered, and the Captains, as well as any crew who want to, give the Moira a proper sendoff, heads bowed as they say goodbye to what’s been their home. Traveling starts out slowly, a line of a hundred-plus crew members making their way slowly forward. Stops are frequent, but camping for rest only occurs at night. Crew are assigned watch shifts, fires are built, injured tended to, and those who are able are asked to explore nearby caves and hunt for food.

Something akin to deer, though striped and only to be found in pairs, can be stumbled across at night. Throngs of dark purple mammels begin to follow the Moirans on their trip as well. They are friendly, curious, and eat the thistle. Meet the intelligent, watchful predators that aren’t easily scared away and follow the crew from a distance as if waiting to pounce. The thistle can be eaten, but only if cooked first, and those who sample the chewy plant raw will experience a burning sensation in their throat that doesn’t go away until the cooked version is consumed. During the first week, water can’t be found.

Anyone who does hunt, gather, or explore should make sure to that their TABS are on and it’s suggested that nobody goes alone.

Nearing the end of the first week, an Ingress can be spotted close by that crew can explore. If anyone dares to go inside, they will find the texture of the ground and surrounding walls to be rather soft. If inspected closely, crew will discover that what they originally thought to be rock is actually a living organism that’s fed off the energy of the Ingress it’s attached itself to. It’s not harmful and squishy to the touch. If pressed hard enough, it secretes a turquoise liquid with the consistency of water that might make a good substitute for that very thing.

☄ WEEK TWO

When crew finally pass through the sector gates, a strange sensation encompasses them, and a depowering of sorts goes into effect. The creators put in security measures meant to put all visitors on equal footing as well as to protect themselves from harm. All crew will essentially have the strength and abilities of the average human. An unforeseen issue, this causes Captain Thán to slip into a coma as he is no longer able to continue to recover at a steady pace, and with the loss of the former Captain’s abilities, crew can no longer be brought back if they die. For the first time, all Moirans are subject to permanent death.

During this week of travel, broken ingress machines and parts will be found scattered among the rocks, and new crew will come through. Unfortunately, these Ingresses aren’t in good shape, and anyone coming through will be in varying states of distress—some physical and some mental. New individuals will either have suffered an age slip, growing older or younger than their original body, some form of body transformation (perhaps that shiny thing they were wearing is now part of them somehow), or an extreme weakness they had never been subjected to before arriving on the Midway Hub. The new people will be offered to join their group, once found, and seasoned crew will be asked to explain to them where they are going and what they know.

The rest of the week will be a mix of greeting the new arrivals and continuing to travel to the center of the Hub. The closer they get, the less frequently they’ll see animals, and more caves will begin to pop up.

☄ WEEK THREE

Entering the third week of travel, settlements and houses begin to crop up and are prime areas for exploration and general supplies. Those who go inside may find items that have been left behind and evidence showing that those of varying species and cultures lived in the homes. Some appeared to have been scientists while others were explorers, but all living quarters are deserted. Crew who are less lucky in their search might come away with no fresh supplies, and others might walk into traps or safeguards left behind by previous tenants; these come in many forms, from mild paralysis to temporary unconsciousness. As there are more residences, there are also more caves. The entrances vary in size, and light sources will be needed to explore. Once inside, crew can find purple underwater streams, which can be consumed, and glowing surfaces. When crew drink the water, it temporarily restores powers, a few minutes tops, and then, extreme lethargy settles in for a couple of hours.

Further into the cave systems, crew will come across these lovely creatures that are attracted to sound and track through scent. They are highly dangerous and attack simply to feed. Killing them, though, is surprisingly simple as they are just as vulnerable and weak as everyone else. They are vicious in demeanor but only as strong as an average human.

The closer to the Inner Gate crew get, the less homes, wildlife, and more caves there will be.

☄ WEEK FOUR

The Captains, aware that the crew is exhausted, stop and make camp for the first few days. Someone mentions that it’s the holidays where they’re from, and the Captains do their best to throw a party. Set up at the base of a cave, tents are built and fires roar. Soft music is played in the form of guitar, thank you Ira, and Cúrre brings out some legumes that taste like cherries when roasted. There isn’t much in the way of decorations, but crew are encouraged to dig through their pac-discs and contribute to the festivities.

After a brief respite, crew learn that the entrances to Gate A and Gate B are inside one of the caves but any signs or markings have long since worn away or been destroyed. Groups are split, TABS are synced, and crew explore carefully until an entrance is found. Crew discover Gate A first, and all crew are contacted to gather there. The Captains will remain at the cave entrance until all crew are accounted for, and then, they’ll enter through the gate together.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Darin makes a fart noise with his mouth.]

That'd be hard to do with even a lot of radiation. I soak up radiation like sunshine. I drink radiation with breakfast in the morning. Radiation takes one look at me and goes 'nope, not that guy. He's too tough.'

[He's grinning from ear to ear at his own unkillability.]

...So, what's radiation again?

[Damn. That would've worked on Lance. Mainly because Lance would more or less know what radiation is.

For now, she just quirks her lips to one side, trying to decide what the best way to explain it is.]

Basically radiation is raw energy that can potentially change the chemic-- uh, whatever's in the air for better or worse. Usually worse.

Sooo...radiation is bad.

Got it.

...You're good at explaining stuff.

Yes, radiation is bad. So maybe stop claiming that you eat it for breakfast.

[That comment has her raising an eyebrow at him again. It's probably a genuine compliment, but it's still kind of weird.] Do you actually understand what I explain to you?

It'd be pretty impressive if I did though, huh?

[He laughs.]

Well...yeah, of course I do. You just make things easy for a guy like me to understand. You don't bog things down with technical terms. It's basic but it's enough for me to grasp. I have a feeling I could learn a lot from you.

Impressive isn't the word I'd use. [At all. Really.]

[Her head tilts slightly to one side as she listens to him, giving him a kind of curious look. Darin's a much smarter guy than she gives him credit for. He's more like a healthy combination of Lance and Hunk than he is a clone of Lance.]

I could get technical. But I think that'd just lead to a lot more questions.

...What's wrong with questions though? Isn't that how you learn?

[He rolls onto his stomach and plops his chin in his crosses arms, kicking his legs idly in the air behind him. Despite being a year younger than Shiro, Darin sometimes has the mannerisms and innocence of a kid.]

I mean...I want to learn. I hate being an anchor to everyone. Most people know at least basic level stuff about technology. I feel like I just discovered fire here.

...Besides. The more I learn, the more I can implement that knowledge into my work. The more I can expand my worldview and maybe...help more people.

[If Pidge seems totally stunned, that's probably because she is. As childish as he is, Darin really does seem to be serious about learning. Chalk up another thing to give him more credit for.]

That's... yeah, but a lot of things are gonna have really complicated answers.

[She eyes him for a second, trying to figure out just how sincere he is about the wanting to help people thing.]

...Do you still have all your notebooks and stuff?

Yeah, I got them all in that disc thing they gave us right before the ship went down. I'm up to my sixth notebook now!

[Darin reaches back into his back pocket where he keeps the notebook and pencil and pulls it out. He starts flipping g through it proudly.]

This one has been about the planet we're on so far. Maps and notes and anything that could be useful.

I should probably start trying to conserve space. There isn't exactly a store around to get more notebooks.

Your sixth? [Her eyes are a little wider and rounder as she watches him pull it out and start flipping through it. It's kind of impressive and also kind of insane.] I think you need to get thicker ones if you use them that much.

[Fortunately for Pidge, all of her notes are filed away in her mental database. It isn't often that she feels the need to write things down. ...That's probably just her, though.

Also, sorry Darin. She's reaching out to snag that notebook from you now so she can get a good look.] Gimme that.

I would, but smaller ones are easier to carry with me. Never know when I'll see something interesting or when inspiration will strike.

[Darin gladly hands over the notebook. As Pidge flips through it, she'll see all kinds of things: Two page sketches of the wreckage of the Moira, notes on the parts and things he managed to scavenge, sketches of the massive exodus and of the terrain, hand drawn maps with notes on the things he's observed and found. He's incredibly thorough. There's times and dates by every observation...]

[Hey, there's even some sketches of crew members in here! There's a little doodle of Lucio skating around and there's one of Shiro with a perpetual lineface. There's even a caption: "Explain to me this alien concept of 'smile.'" Oh, and there's one of Allura too. She's breathing fire and the caption says "DARIN IS DUMB"]

[Pidge kind of makes a face at that.] Yeah, but unless you've got another hundred stashed in your pac disc, you really are bound to run out soon.

[But then she's much too busy flipping through the pages. And again, she has to hand it to him: he's thorough as hell. The Moira sketches, the maps, all the annotations that go with them... It's good. Despite appearances, Darin really does seem to be a genuinely a hard worker. Kind of refreshing, really.

And then she hits the crew sketches. Lucio, Shiro, and Allura are the only ones she recognizes, and despite herself she snorts in laughter at what he's done. It's... accurate. She has to bite down on her lip just to keep her shit-eating grin in check.] Wow.

It'd be nice if I could find something that just produced infinite paper. I tend to get carried away with my notes.

[He grins confidently.]

Impressive, right? I pride myself in my accurate note taking and my sketches!

You basically need a tablet.

[She says that kind of absentmindedly as she keeps going through the notebook pages.]

But yeah, this is pretty cool.

...Why would I want to write on stone?

...Hold on, is that a caveman joke?! Have you been taking to that damn Princess?!

[Her head snaps back up again, blinking in honest confusion.] What-

[And then she realizes what she just said. It kind of makes her snort in laughter, shaking her head and raising a hand to stop him.] No no, it's a tech thing. A tablet computer. It's basically a notebook that has almost unlimited paper to write or draw on.

Whoa...unlimited paper is actually a thing??

I was just being like...larger than life! Exaggerating!

[He considers it for a second.]

But...at the same time, don't you think that's a little...underwhelming?

[She very nearly looks personally offended by that comment. Wide eyes, both eyebrows raised, staring at Darin as if he'd grown three heads.]

What do you mean?

Well, I mean...sure I bet something like that would be totally handy but...

These notebooks are an accumulation of everything I've seen and learned since I boarded the Moira. Everything good, everything bad...every new experience, every lesson learned, every sight, every meeting...

...Wherever I end up, I think I'd like to be able to walk into my room and see a wall lined with these books. Floor to ceiling, wall to wall...

It's a sight I can be proud of. Something I can look at and say "I did all of this. These are all of my experiences. My accomplishments."

[Darin rolls onto his back and lifts his hand to the sky, gazing at his fingers and beyond. His voice takes on an eager, almost dreamy tone]

A blacksmith from a small port town got to see and do all of these things...got to go on all of these adventures...

[Pidge frowns a little. Not that she disapproves or thinks he's insane or anything. He's just... one of those people. The kind that would insist on keeping all of their DVDs for posterity's sake. Except it's with information and not so much souvenirs.]

Well, sure, I guess. But with a computer you can still have all the information and notes you've made perfectly preserved for as long as you need it to be. And I've seen tech that can translate that data into a visual projection to get that same effect.

Whoa...that's really cool...!

But...I mean, I kind of know firsthand that computers can be broken. If something happens, can the data be extracted? I think, in an instance like that, I'd prefer both the physical and digital copies.

[She raises a finger, making a point.] Not if you save everything to a cloud.

And so long as the hard drive isn't damaged too badly, you can still pull information from it. The same goes for a physical copy, though. Drop it into water, someone sets it on fire, wind blows it away...

[...Huh. Pidge's head tilts slightly to the side.] Nothing's permanent, I guess. At least a computer's easy to carry around.

To...a...cloud...?

...You didn't hear a thing I said after that, did you.

Not really, because I'm trying to figure how you send things up into the clouds.

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