thisavrou_log | december event log

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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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[It is strange, but Kerrigan had spent the past few years traveling space inside a giant living thing and living in places where even the surface beneath her feet was alive and actively helpful. Not using her hands was the least of it. But after the way that made him shudder she was in no hurry to share.]

Right to the tricky questions, Tethras. I told you I'm the Queen of Blades. That's as much what and who I am as saying my species is Zerg. But anything that would really answer that question is a long story.

[Kerrigan scooped up her cards and surveyed them with a glance and no outward reaction to her hand. But then he smiled at her, the kind that looked real, and said she's not so bad. A pained expression crossed her face for a moment.

Sitting here and explaining cards to her was the sum of his knowledge of her and the Zerg. No one here knew anything of her past. Of the millions of lives she ended. It was unnerving and uncomfortable.]

Being brought here against our will has us all on the same side. That's how that happens.

[Varric mirrored the odd woman before him, scooping up the cards in his own hands and studying them. It was an awful hand, and he was glad he hadn't mentioned anything about betting. Maybe he'd bring it up eventually, but for now it was playing to his advantage.]

You got that right. [He had more questions, but he wasn't going to press it. He got the sentiment -- this wasn't the first time a bunch of people had been brought together by circumstances beyond them. That was what the Inquisition had been all about. And if he could get along with a Qunari spy and a grouchy elf, he could get along with Kerrigan.]

[Not that there had ever been a question of all that. Strange hair, demon claws and whatever else the woman had up her non-existent sleeves, it didn't matter. She wasn't here to hurt him.]

[Varric drew a card, studied it, and placed it face up. Worthless to him.]

[Just maybe rob him of his dignity if he lost. She may have been harmless, but she might very well rob him of his dignity if he wasn't careful.]

Your turn, Noodles.

[Kerrigan found her hand acceptable, and the card she as worth keeping. She pulled one of the other cards out and set it face down as well. Then adjusted her posture and how she held a hand so it'd be easier to see if Varric tried anything.

Just going for four of a suit was a lot less complicated than going for a decent hand in poker. Maybe she should introduce him to the game if she can remember all the tiny details of the game.]

Speaking of stories, you said you're a writer. What do you write about?

[She was never one for a lot of reading just for fun. There was never time, and books had always been something to do on downtime when there was nothing else to do. And there was always something else to do.]

[Varric's eyes narrowed at the woman's hand, watching her discard something different than what she had pulled up. Maybe it was a play -- he couldn't say he knew Kerrigan well enough to know her techniques -- but it seemed that she had at least one match. He gave a disgusted glance down to his own cards, then drew one for himself.]

[A match, he noted with some relief. Noodles still had a leg up on him, but at least he wasn't being left entirely in the dust. He laid down a card and, somewhat carefully, attempted to slide the one beneath it out with his thumb, hoping that between his subtleties and the growing conversation, the woman wouldn't notice.]

A bit of everything. Action. Adventure. Romance. [He shook his head at that-- how anyone managed to enjoy "Swords and Shields was beyond him.] I'm popular enough to have garnered a few people trying to ride my coattails to fame. Had to put down a few people who tried to write unauthorized sequels to one of my best pieces.

[Varric withdrew his hand, giving the pilfered card a glance as he did.]

Of course, my best work is somewhat autobiographical. I happened to be close friends with one of the most famous women in my world.

[Kerrigan's eyes flicked to the discard pile, but said nothing. She couldn't say for sure if he'd done anything but as she replayed the motion in her mind- what she saw of it- he'd had a chance to do something.]

I can't say I'm familiar with the intrigues of the publishing business but that sounds a little harsh.

[She disapproved. Killing people over writing seemed petty with so many more pressing matters that could have one's attention.]

You must have an interesting life, being friends with someone famous.

[In her experience the people everyone knew the name of were people who made waves. She drew a card, glanced at her hand, and set it down, knocking the discard pile just slightly askew so it'd be easier to see if he tried something.]

[He shrugged. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, it didn't really matter to him. It was the way he had grown up, his own personal way of life. Between the Coterie, the Merchants Guild and the general way of Kirkwall, pulling a few strings and shoving a few knives in backs was relatively normal.]

Guess that's what makes us different. [Varric glanced at his cards, then to the placement of Kerrigan's own. She'd at least taken notice, a fact that Varric noted with some amount of approval. A quick learner, then.]

[He drew another card, scrutinized it, and then laid a different one down on the pile. His hand was shaping up, thanks in part to his earlier deceit. After casting a brief glance at Kerrigan, Varric made a show of looking around. The woman had picked up enough thusfar, which made Varric all the more curious as to whether or not she would play into the rest of the game. Judging by some of her comments, he was a little skeptical.]

[What a shame it would be if she wound up being the rule-abiding type.]

I know a lot of famous people. Hawke just happened to be the only one worth writing a book about. [If Kerrigan had met Hawke, she would understand.] She was-- is, I mean, a living legend. [Varric bit his cheek at his stumble, hoping that Noodles would be too caught up in the game to realize his mistake.]

Dueled a real bastard of a beast who tried to take over our city. Faced down a demon and a half trying to do the same thing three years later. [And then sacrificed herself to a demon in order to spare a new hero. Varric grimaced at the thought.]

What about you? Any good stories?

[Varric looking around made the more cautious, paranoid parts of Kerrigan almost itch with a need to look. She settled for pulling the appendages on her back up a little straighter and flexing the spear-like tip at the joint where it split into three long, barbed claws. He was also given a flat, unimpressed look before she drew a card and spent a moment lingering over her decision.

Though she looked mostly at Varric and the discard pile while she thought, and then laid it down. She didn't miss the was/is slip up either, but she knew how that was. Thinking someone was dead when they weren't.]

All my stories begin and end with a lot of dying and are worse in the middle. They're not pleasant to hear or to tell.

[And this game played more to the skill set she had before she was Zerg at all, back when she'd been an assassin tricked by an ideal and a charming smile that hid a man who would cheerfully make them all into monsters. She wasn't not sure she liked it.]

[Varric tensed up as he noticed Kerrigan's more... unsavory parts wriggling around. He looked the woman over, mind running over his words and searching for anything he might have said to offend her. His eyes scanned his cards, wondering if she was considering impaling him for his deceit. He'd made a point of leaving out the whole killing people for cheating thing for a reason.]

Easy, N-- [He paused.] Kerrigan. It's just a game.

[Varric plucked out a card, very careful to not even so much as look like he was cheating. He could play straight.]

[For awhile at least.]

[As it was, he wasn't so caught up in his own mortality that he didn't notice Kerrigan's words. He frowned in the slightest, mind drifting toward his own losses. Sure, he'd come out a hero both times, but he'd lost a lot along the way, too.]

That's... usually how most stories I know go. [His voice was soft, and not just because he was still afraid of meeting his end by those rather menacing tips.] Still, I'm... sorry to hear it. I'd offer to buy you a drink for bringing it up but I'm fresh out of both coin and booze.

[The statement caught her a bit off guard. She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything right away, at a bit of a loss for his reaction. Then she realized, and made a slight effort to relax.

She remembered more than a little violence taking place around the table when people were drunk and there were accusations of cheating. That must be another thing their universes had in common. Especially if Varric was willing to have people killed over writing.]

I made it through, so did the people I care about.

[Kerrigan would've been sad if Jim had lost all his men, but more because they were important to Jim and were fighting on the correct side than because she had any attachment to them. She would've been sad to lose Zagara or Alexi, even, and while she didn't mourn Zeratul, Kerrigan would've preferred he lived to see the destruction of Amon's body.]

I'd have to turn you down even if you could buy me a drink. It wouldn't be safe for anyone for me to get drunk, and I have no idea what it would do to me right now.

[She lifted a hand, wiggling her claws and showing off the sharp edges that ran down her fore-arm, ending in a spike at her elbow that may or may not have dried blood from the creatures in the caves on it.]

I could trip and kill a couple people.

[Now Varric's smile faded completely. He looked Kerrigan over, torn between relief and jealousy toward the woman. No one deserved what he had been through, to have had so much ripped away by circumstances out of his control. Bianca had been easy enough to get through -- a few dalliances and some well-spun stories had even him believing he was okay.]

[But losing Hawke?]

[How was it that he came through relatively unscathed but without a best friend, while Kerrigan had been through whatever kind of hell came along with her appearance and held on to those she cared for.]

[Now more than ever, Varric wished he had a drink.]

That's good. [His voice, while not curt by any stretch of the imagination, was tight and guarded. He avoided her gaze for a moment, relieved when she even offered a visual display for him to focus on. Sharp claws. Kerrigan being capable of ripping him in half without using her hands. That was a far better focus for his attentions.]

I have a friend who was bigger than big. I saw him fall once or twice, nearly took a few people out with his horns too. He still kept on drinking. [Varric forced a laugh, even though the earlier strain had yet to ease up.] Can't hurt to have something one day.

[Kerrigan noticed the smile fading away. It had her inclining her head slightly in response. Not everyone made it through alright, that was something she'd had made abundantly clear to her when she'd heard news of Jim's execution. Finding out later that he was alive was the kind of break she didn't feel she deserved, but Jim certainly had. The fact that he still cared and still believed in her after she chose to become Zerg again, she definitely did not deserve.

At his description, though, she was picturing a man as tall as a Protoss with horns. She shrugged again at his suggestion.]

I'll just end up all mopey and sad. Or worse, angry.

[She's seen the different ways people get when drunk. She will not be a happy drunk, that's just not in her.]

And who knows what kind of incoherent things I'll say. I might just have to trip and fall on whoever overhears it to save my dignity.

[Kerrigan is trying to bring a little levity to the situation, but it's obviously forced. But it's her turn, so she picks up a card and discards it haphazardly.]

Ah, dignity. [Varric sensed her attempts, and quickly moved from the earlier subject. It wasn't particularly difficult, seeing as how it wasn't the kind of topic he enjoyed lingering on.] Been awhile since I met someone who cared about that.

[Sure, the upper brass of the Inquisition was all about maintaining their image, but the folks he spent his time with... not so much. People like Sera and the Bull didn't care much for all that mess. And of course, there was Hawke.]

[Varric shook the image of the raven-haired woman from his mind. Much as he enjoyed thinking about her, lately her face had been leading to far more troubling thoughts. Noodles was doing her best to keep his mood up, and he couldn't bear watching the embarrassing attempts much longer.]

You know, I once gambled an upstanding commander out of his clothes. He had to go running through our fortress naked.

[Kerrigan grinned at him at him, he was a lot better at this than she was, and she almost wished she could poke around inside his mind to see what his comments looked like as they formed. Peek at the ones he decided weren't funny enough to say. And make sure he wasn't something more menacing than he seemed]

I can see his dilemma. Order someone to bring him clothes and have that on the rumor mill, or make a run for it and hope he got lucky.

I should teach you poker. That game is all about gambling.

[And more engaging than this game was, beyond the whole 'watch for cheating' part. Of course, she had always had the added entertainment when spectating of hearing what everyone was thinking about as they tried to figure out what everyone else had.]

[Varric let out a rumble of a chuckle, quickly accompanied by a smile. Weird looking as she was on the whole, the woman had a pleasant enough smile. And given where they had started their conversation, Varric took its presence as a compliment.]

Where I come from, you so much as breathe wrong and the rumor mill went nuts. [That was the Orlesian way, after all. Having set up his own vantage point near the most talkative of the bunch, he'd had a front row seat to the most interesting of gossip. It'd been fairly amusing, at least until the speculation centered around him.]

[Turns out, crying over the death of your best friend made for some interesting stories. It was only for the Inquisition's benefit that he'd stayed his hand.]

You'll have to teach me, then. And get a group together.

[Cards weren't nearly as fun without groups of people. Pair it with a dry game, and Varric was sufficiently bored. Enough so that drawing a card slipped his mind once again.]

I always thought gossip was a waste of time. But it does keep people busy.

[ Kerrigan never had any use for it, not when she was always plucking thoughts from people's minds, and the things she really needed to know weren't the things people gossiped about. She folds her hand up since the game had stalled.]

The deck for it isn't so complicated. Fifty two cards in four suits. I don't know many people here, and the kinds I make friends with might not be the kind you want to get in a group to play cards.

During war, busy is what you need. [Anything that took their minds off the hell going on right outside their walls was a good thing. It might have been a waste of time, but when the world was falling apart, who could blame them? At least, that had been Varric's experience back in Kirkwall, and Skyhold thereafter.]

Not too different than Wicked Grace. [At least, so far. Four suits was familiar, at least.] Don't worry about the group then. A few people from my team made it here as well. You teach them to play and they'll come running.

Where I'm from, we enjoy our bad habits in full.

[Kerrigan was very familiar with the need to be busy. Especially since arriving. She needed to take her mind off the way everything felt wrong, as if she was in the wrong body entirely, and the unsettling silence in her mind. Ever since her inhibitor chip was removed she'd spent all her time save a very small amount near other minds she could listen to, or feel.]

Not only do you come with a deck of cards, but a group to play with.

[She grinned at him.]

Poker isn't a game for cheating, though. It's a game of betting, bluffing, and knowing your opponents.

[Three skills she suspected Varric could manage very well.]

But it's still your turn.

I'm a man of many talents and resources. [Varric gave a flourish with his arm, the usual grin on his lips. The people weren't necessarily his doing, but he wouldn't admit to that, nor would he bemoan the fact that they were there to begin with.]

[His grin fell, however, as Kerrigan detailed this new game. No cheating sounded like a boring game. Sure, he was scared as hell when he thought Kerrigan might kill him for his earlier play, but that just made it fun.]

[For the time being, Varric only nodded, and then wrinkled his nose at the game in front of him.]

We still playing this? [He'd wanted to forget about it, but it seemed Noodles wasn't going to let him. He reached out, hoped for the Angel of Death, and grimaced when he pulled a Songs.]

[Kerrigan thought briefly of what it would be like to have people she knew here with her. There were only a few whose company she would enjoy. She couldn't help but grin more at Varric's face upon being told he couldn't cheat.

She nodded, drew her own card, and raised an eyebrow.]

Not anymore.

[She set down the Angel of Death, along with a hand containing three angels and two serpents.]

[Varric gave his hand a defeated look. It wasn't often that he found himself bested. He chalked it up to the minimal amount of players and lack of alcohol. Drunk, chatty patrons often made for distracted players.]

[Easier to grab what he needed]

[The dwarf laid down his hand, two songs and two angels. He met Kerrigan's eyes with a grin.]

Beginners luck, Noodles.

[Kerrigan grinned a little at his defeated look and then grinned wider when he grinned at her.]

I have to have something going for me with everything else that's not working as it should.

[Without cheating the game is more a matter of luck with a little bit of math. She likes poker better, but she's not in the mood to start another game or try to explain it right now. It's been a long couple of weeks.]

You can say that again.

[With no weapon and a somewhat distant friend, Varric was starting to feel like he needed something too. He grimaced at the thought, the mirth quickly fading from his eyes. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't the winner of a card game, and didn't have that to sustain him.]

You let me know if you need anything, alright? Anyone who can beat me in cards is deserving of my friendship.

[Kerrigan nods, and rises to her feet. He looked like he could use some time alone, or the kind of friendship and conversation Kerrigan had never been good at offering.]

We'll play again. And next time I beat you, it won't be due to beginner's luck.

[Varric's eyes flashed, body briefly burning with the delight of a challenge. This new place might have been a crock of bullshit, but at least some things stayed the same.]

We'll see about that, Noodles.

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december event log

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