( february intro log )

[hownkai]

Who: Everyone
When: February 1st and on
Where: The Moira + Emiri
What: The crew finds themselves on the planet of Emiri
Warnings: Mentions of a corpse. Please label your content!

I N T R O L O G

famed & framed "There will be no prison which can hold our movement down." 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. Yet, unlike most new crew arrivals, this one is in the middle of chaos. Despite more recent events, the planet of Emiri is not as peaceful as it once was. Frederick Link is still missing, and the authorities of Emiri have yet to lift the interplanetary ban they have placed on all space crafts docked at the aerospace. The captains previous held a meeting asking crew for any and all information that might help them locate the Komai, a mysterious group determined to undermine Link'd Inc's work providing flourishing matches across the universe by causing random acts of violence and protest across the three main cities: Harashan, Avelle, and St. Murtel. These things have led to mass arrests as well as an unsettling atmosphere spreading across the planet, and since a previous broadcast, things are beginning to escalate. A downward spiral of these events begins as soon as new arrivals start to leave the Ingress—an unmarked box arrives in the cargo bay addressed to the inhabitants of the Moira. As per his job, Niko Bellic is the one to discover this box and open it. For some, the contents may be particularly gruesome. Link’s body is inside, clothed in a simple white button-down and pants (no shoes), and it looks as if letters have begun to bleed through the material. Anyone with expert knowledge of torture may note that Link was, in fact, tortured for information, and those letters? The writing itself spells out the name St. Murtel. The captains, having been alerted of this, make an attempt to contact those at Link’d Inc. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done. ☄ First: MISCOMMUNICATION Somehow, whether intentional or not, the Komai have once again hacked public systems and networks to brand those of the Moira as the ones behind these terroristic acts. They still use their own name, but the images are different, focusing on familiar faces wearing the ship’s uniforms and traveling to the Aerospace to return to the Moira. Not only that, there are short recordings of Link’s final words that mention a very recognizable name: Captain Thán. The Komai have redirected the blame to the Moira and its crew for their own means, and in response, any and all crew who are captured by authorities will immediately be detained and shipped out to unknown locations. The Captains send a message via MID and request everyone return to the ship to prevent this from happening. Yet, not all messages will be delivered depending on how far away they are. With everyone’s safety hanging in the balance, the Captains have decided to take things into their own hands and find a way to lift the block on the Moira so they can leave Emiri’s orbit and avoid further repercussions regardless of whether or not any one of the crew wants to stay. ☄ Second: DECOY & DISTRACT After learning that Benjamin Link, son of recently deceased Frederick Link, knows how to unlock the ship so they can leave, the captains ask for volunteers to act as decoys on a mission to the Aerospace in Harashan. Their job is to distract guards and Emiri citizens, leaving the path clear for Benjamin to get to the computers. The captains reiterate that they are to use nonfatal methods as they don’t want a repeat of the events on Caducus Primary. Without his help, the ship won’t be able to leave, making this mission critical and extremely time sensitive. ☄ Third: RESCUE During the mission, Benjamin informs the crew that the Komai aren’t incorrect in their claims that Link’d Inc uses unforgivable means to obtain information in order to make their matches perfect. The children the crew dreamed about are just two of many—the offspring of Emirian citizens who had gone missing. It has long been suspected that Link’d Inc was involved in their disappearances, but only recently has the Komai done anything to shed light on these gruesome rumors. Benjamin, after successfully unlocking the ship, disables the security systems in St. Murtel, which will allow the children a chance to escape. They’ll need assistance in getting out of St. Murtel and to a pre-designated area in Avelle where a group of Komai and Emirians will be waiting for them. But be careful. If anyone is recognized as part of the crew, they will be placed under arrest for treason and possibly never heard from again. ☄ Fourth: BREAKING OUT Now that the computer systems in Harashan’s Aerospace have been used to release the Moira, the entire crew are being called back via MID for an expedient exit from Emiri. Crew will be asked to assist other Moirans in getting back to the ship as quickly as possible via transporters or other small crafts as leaving is their only option at this point. In the escape, Emiri launches an attack on the Moira in an attempt to stop them. The ship’s previously unused defense systems activate, and those assigned to those positions are required to man their posts. Perhaps even those who don’t have the clearance are needed. Either way, it’s time to leave. ☄ Fifth: REFUGEES Now that the ship has finally escaped Emiri’s orbit, the crew will notice a group of stragglers in the main hall. During the crew’s quick exit, about fifty Emirians have taken refuge aboard the Moira, and the captains have agreed to take them to the closest planet so they may start again or live a life free of Link’d Inc “rule”. The captains ask the crew to help get them clothes and food for their short stay, no longer than a day at most, and to occupy them as best they can. Tell jokes, sing songs, bring up the kittens so that everyone can attempt to wind down after this series of unfortunate events. Light entertainment won’t be provided, but on request, some crew members may do just that.

( ooc; This plot is spread out over the first half of the month of February, and follows the order of the prompts listed above. Feel free to take as much time as you need to with your characters and use the info above for posts/logs at your discretion. For questions, go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! )

Comments

Rosethorn | Open (Gardens or Medbay), then closed to Peter

[earthandpine]

Rosethorn has fallen into a routine in the past month. Unsurprisingly, the majority of that involves time spent in the garden. She's there every day, and a lot of nights for midnight prayers. Since she's stuck on this ship, she probably ought to go back to keeping temple hours. Rosethorn doesn't have the excuse of being on the road anymore.

She makes medicines in the closed off part of the garden, harvests, waters, transplants, meditates, kneels in front of the altar with some of her very limited stock of incense from home burning... Tiny kittens enjoy interfering in the solemnity of any prayers by climbing all over Rosethorn as she says them. They interfere in most things, and earn themselves stern talkings to on a regular basis.

Despite preferring plants to people a vast majority of the time, she really does try to remember that this is a communal garden. It's the only bit of greenery anyone has access to in this enormous metal box of a ship, and she doesn't get to keep it to herself and guard it quite as zealously as she might her garden at home.

Mostly Rosethorn ignores other people in the garden unless they speak to her first or she's already acquainted with them. Of course, if you want to see her angry, just mistreat a single one of her plants and she will threaten to hang you in a well. It doesn't matter that there's no well on board. She'll figure something out.

--

Because she does spend so much time with medicines and have an understanding of how to triage injuries, she can be found in the med bay offering help in the initial rush after the refugees' arrival. She can at the very least help supplement stores of medicines, but she's a willing pair of hands if doctors are in too short a supply. Her vows say she'll help anyone who needs it, even if Rosethorn does hate playing nursemaid.

--

[For Peter]

Rosethorn would just like to say straight off that she did not volunteer for this buddy system. She's only been here a month herself, and she's hardly what anyone's first impression should be. Rosethorn is good with plants. Not people.

But when she considers ignoring that message, Rosethorn feels a small jab of guilt. This isn't like getting paired with Bruce on that ridiculous matchmaking planet, where they both decided to avoid reaching out. She's denying a helping hand to someone who may be as frustrated and confused as she was a month ago. It isn't long before she gives in.

Peter will get a message on his MID. "Hello. My name is Rosethorn. I was assigned to help you get acclimated for the ship. If you need anything, just respond and I can come meet you."

[takeitslow]

Peter's not had the worst time on the ship. It was terrible at first, sure, but after running into Wanda he'd settled down a little. Any place his sister was couldn't be so bad, even if he'd already managed a fight. Still, he feels green enough about the place that when he gets the message, Peter decides to play along. It sounds like a better time than waiting around all day for the one person he knew to finish their duties.

Peter's message back to Rosethorn reads shorter. "Poolside. It's probably faster if I come to you."

[earthandpine]

"Do you know where the gardens are? If not, I'll find you." She'll concede, though not aloud, the point that she isn't as fast as most people these days, even without knowing about Peter's abilities.

[takeitslow]

"I can find it." He had only been through that area the once, trying to look for a way out when he arrived, but with his speed searching her out wouldn't take any time at all. As it is, he's stopping near her in under a minute. He waves, pulling off his googles while he crosses the rest of the way at a human pace.

"You Rose, then?" Peter asks, smiling.

[earthandpine]

Well, he was right; it was much faster for him to come to her. And she catches a very brief glimpse of why. Or thinks she catches one.

"Rosethorn," she corrects automatically, although not quite as sharply as she might have if not distracted by how Peter got there. Lark can get away with shortening her name. No one else can. ...In part because no one else is immune to the second half of her name the way her lover is. Some people think she's all-thorn.

Dryly, Rosethorn comments, "You got here very quickly." Probing rather than outright asking. Peter isn't the first person she's met with strange magic, and not everyone seems happy to talk about theirs.

[takeitslow]

His smile turns to a smirk. "Of course. I told you I was faster." He wouldn't say it directly, not unless prompted. He had too much fun messing with people over his powers to play nice about it. Besides, if she got vicious about it, it gave him some plausible deniability. He didn't need another argument over mutations.

"So, Rosethorn. I guess you're supposed to be explaining the place to me. Tours and all that. Which I don't really need. Kind of already searched the ship."

I'm so sorry! I am the worst buddy, wound up hiatusing half the month.

[earthandpine]

They're in the gardens, so if she wanted to retaliate for that smug smirk, it would be easy enough to let the plants or the kittens do something surprising.

"Sometimes it's good to have someone else's perspective, but I'm certainly not forcing you into a tour."

Rosethorn's good intentions aside, the kittens never stay away for long when she's here. One of them starts climbing her robes, and she reaches down to pluck its claws free. "Stop that, you silly thing. ...Welcome to the Moira's garden, where miniature kittens grow on trees. Sometimes I think these ones forget they don't still belong up one."

She only wishes she were joking.

[breakin_ur_lore]

There's a garden here. He's been stressed and confused and worried in the few short days he's been here, but all of that melts away at the sight of quiet and friendly greenery. Living without free access to nature, here and in his new home in the Exodar back home, has been...strange, for a boy who grew up in the middle of a forest, and who learned to speak to the elements as a child. It's not horrible, but he's not sure if he's the type that can be cooped up inside for weeks on end.

In a happy daze, he wanders about, breathing in the clean air and the smell of dirt and growing things. Some of the plants he recognizes, but he's not really looking for anything in particular, just enjoying the scenery. He wonders how big this area is. There's a huge tree in the middle; eventually he finds the way down to its roots, and walks around to see them from every angle. He's just wondering if this would be a good climbing tree, and thinking about going back upstairs to see if there are any low enough branches (and if he's brave enough to try climbing on it when he knows he probably should not), when he becomes aware of someone murmuring and something skittering past him on the path.

“There are kitties here!”

Also a person. Who looks like they were in the middle of something. There's incense, she's kneeling....

Welp. This is awkward. Med'an straightens up and tries to look like he wasn't just squealing about kittens.

“I'm very sorry.”

[earthandpine]

It's not possible to sneak up on Rosethorn when she's surrounded by plants. Of course she knew when Med'an entered the garden. She's gotten very used to people entering while she's in the middle of things, though, so she doesn't interrupt her prayers to take note of who it is. The plants will tell her if he gets close enough that she ought to pay attention.

Of course, ignoring Med'an's presence is one thing. Ignoring gleeful exclamations about cats, or the actual kitten currently clawing its way up the back of Rosethorn's robes to perch on her shoulder... well, that's another matter entirely.

She only has time to get out a single huff of annoyance out, turning to face the Med'an, but he's already seen her and offered what seems to be a sincere apology. Rosethorn sighs, biting back the sharp remark that was on the tip of her tongue. Well, at least her midnight prayers are usually uninterrupted. The garden isn't as quiet at this time of day.

Only a little grudgingly, she replies, "It's alright. It's not as if there's an actual temple on board, only the middle of public gardens." Med'an didn't do anything wrong.

"That kittens grew on a tree," she tells him, glancing down at the one on her shoulder. "No one's explained how that was possible to me yet."

[breakin_ur_lore]

His shoulders inch downwards from their position around his ears. She immediately seems like the sort of person you don't want to upset, but fortunately it looks like his apology has been accepted. As a show of appreciation - and relief that he's not being chastised - his odd little face breaks into a smile.

"Are you a priestess?" it's a matter of interest to him, as a paladin-in-training and general curious kid. It would be shocking if she worshiped the Light like him, but it's an inclusive philosophy, so he's more than happy to hear about other beliefs.

He would also be happy to hear about the kittens. He perks up at the mention of them, following her gaze to the one on her shoulder, then blinks a few times in surprise.

"On...a tree in here?" Pause. "Are there more?"

Not that he's the sort to squee over kittens, or anything.

[earthandpine]

"I suppose so." It isn't the term she'd use to describe herself, but it isn't inaccurate. "I took vows to Living Circle."

She plucks the kitten, with its clinging claws, from her shoulder, holding it up to look it in the eyes. "Stop that. I only have one set of robes here to wear over my uniform. I won't have you snagging them."

Surprisingly, when she sets the kitten down, it doesn't try to clamber up using her clothing, just leaps lightly into her lap and settles there peacefully.

Only once she's done with the tiny cat does she address Med'an's question, pointing out a miniature tree nearby. "That shakkan, and not yet. I think we have quite enough tiny kittens on board for the time being. I'm certainly not going to hurry along another crop of them. Bad for the tree."

[breakin_ur_lore]

Living Circle. He's never heard of it, but it sounds...nice. As much as one can derive niceness from two words. Interested, he watches her chastise the kitten, and smiles adoringly when it curls up in her lap.

He looks over at the little tree - it doesn't really look quite like anything he's seen before, and shakkan is not a familiar name - but the way she talks about it, it sounds as though it...behaves like a normal tree? Other than having kittens as fruit(???). "Were there a...was it a..."

Okay, he's sorry, but he can't help but grin about how silly this all is. "A...good crop?" Realizing that he might still be bothering her a bit, he tries to look very polite and adds, "may I join you?"

[earthandpine]

She snorts. "I wasn't here when the tree bore fruit, but judging by the number of tiny kittens on board, I would certainly say so."

Rosethorn is still disapproving of the entire notion of a kitten tree. Taking two perfectly good things and mashing them together, as if they weren't good enough in and of themselves. Now they're all mixed up. Even the kittens aren't quite normal kittens.

"Of course," she answers, gesturing with one hand for him to sit or kneel. It's a public garden and a public altar, and the last thing Rosethorn would do (even if she is admittedly often crochety and unapproachable) is bar people from access to plants or prayer.

[blackblooded]

Just Crona right now, Ragnarok hiding inside Crona's veins, protective and quiet. He's angry, and upset, and Crona doesn't know what to do to calm him down. They should talk more, they should settle things, they should learn to stabilize their souls before they slip so far out of sync that they face a soul rejection. But that's going to come later.

Right now, Crona's in the garden, looking carefully at the plants without touching anything. There's the smell of incense, of fire burning, and that's a little bit too close to the plants to be all right, so Crona follows it. (The little squirt that had followed Crona from the Bastion is left behind to tussle with a kitten).

And, oh, that's someone Crona knows. The name is right there, right where Crona can think of it (but Crona's no good at names, Crona's never been good at names).

"R-Rosethorn?" That's an easy name to remember, and it goes easily with the face. A little step closer, with a little, excited smile.

[earthandpine]

Rosethorn is kneeling on the ground, barefoot and tending to the plants in front of her, when Crona enters the gardens. She's gotten used to people coming in and out, and she doesn't immediately look up from what she's doing. Then she hears her name.

She looks up, sees that genuine smile, and returns it with a very small one of her own. But it isn't a smile of recognition, which is made doubly obvious when she replies, "Yes, I'm Rosethorn. Did someone tell you to find me here?"

I don't actually have the right icon...

[blackblooded]

The smile falls from Crona's face like the mistake it was, leaving the teen looking shell shocked. They weren't close before, Crona thinks. Rosethorn is probably from another world, a Rosethorn who never came to the Bastion from a world the Calamity didn't reach, Crona knows.

"What a forgettable child" is what Lady Medusa would say.

Crona has to lie. There isn't any other option, not one that would be easy. A different kind of smile, wobbly and forced, something in Crona's eyes that's like a cornered animal.

"S-s-someone. Said you knew plants." Crona's not sure where to go with that now. "D-do you know plants?"

[earthandpine]

That's the least convincing smile Rosethorn's ever seen, and while she's never been good at gentle, something tells her she'd better be. Crona looks stricken, almost scared. "I do. If you need any help with those, or with medicines made from them, you've come to the right place."

She doesn't hesitate more than a second before continuing shrewdly, "That isn't why you're here, though, is it?"

[blackblooded]

That attempt at a smile fades away, and Crona glances away, guilty as charged.

"I... um... the little one needed to dig, see? Um... it needs a place to dig, and there isn't any dirt anywhere else. S-so... so I brought it here. It won't hurt anything." Except the kittens, which it's currently ramming and hissing at. The squirt is really territorial.

medbay

[foggybear]

He feels like a clod.

That's mostly what he thinks, eyes scanning the area. It reminds him of Hell's Kitchen and the bombs, before he knew what was really happening. How Karen and him had rushed Mrs. Cardenas to the hospital and how everything was in a panic. He feels like he doesn't even have time to assess much of anything let alone his well being and how he's handling being in space.

This sort of stuff happens to the Avengers. Not Foggy Nelson. Foggy Nelson deserves a bottle of Jameson and the usual fight-turned-something-else with Marci Stahl. He deserves to be worrying about Matt going out and getting his ass kicked instead of refugees, and he definitely deserves listening to the baseball game in their shitty law office and worrying about deadlines. Not this.

But Foggy is a New Yorker and if he understands one thing it's helping out refugees and immigrants just like his Irish ancestors. He's not sure he can do anything, but he's an extra set of hands.

He actually finds advil in his bag and that's the excuse he needs to go to the medbay, bottle half full and clutched tightly in his hands. He hovers at the doorway, taking it all in, and waits until someone--a girl with short hair, a little older than him--passes by close enough.

"Hey--is it safe to donate off-world goods?" He holds up the bottle and feels a twinge of sudden embarrassment. "It's not like I can do much here, but..." He shakes it. "Aspirin never hurt anyone."

[earthandpine]

"That's what I'm here to do," Rosethorn returns dryly, "so I'd hope so. Is it labeled with use and dosage information?"

Not all of hers are, which she's been fixing in between serving as an extra set of hands. Foggy will see a neat line of jars laid out on the table in front of her, with hand-written labels detailing instructions for their use. Half of them still only have a single word or two on top, and Rosethorn has a pen in her right hand.

"I don't know what worlds our healers are from. Fortunately, all the languages seem to be translated for us, or exchanging medicines would be more complicated."

[foggybear]

"Yeah," He turns the bottle so it's got the information in small print, and shakes it as if to prove a point. What point he's proving he's not sure, but it's there and he's half-smiling.

Yup. Still feeling a bit like a clod.

He glances over at the jars, noting how neat they are, and is actually impressed. It doesn't take much--Foggy's handwriting is absolutely terrible thanks to how rushed he is when taking notes. He gets paid to be a lawyer, not do calligraphy.

"So everything is automatically translated? Does that mean you're not speaking English?"

[earthandpine]

"I've never heard of English," Rosethorn informs him calmly. Not only is she not from an English-speaking country, she isn't from the same world as one. As far as she's figured out, no one here is from her world. It makes her even more homesick than she might have been otherwise. Thank goodness for the gardens.

And really, however much Rosethorn hates nursing, there's something soothingly familiar about being in med bay, bandaging injuries if too many come in and otherwise just dealing with medicines.

"You can read this, can't you?" She offers Foggy a jar of burn salve. "That's in Imperial, the same as I'm speaking. I don't think anybody on board would understand it without help translating."

[foggybear]

"Then I'm guessing punjabi doesn't mean anything to you, huh?" He knows she won't get the joke but he will, and right now he's grasping at straws to make himself feel a little better. Overwhelming is putting it mildly.

And while it is overwhelming, there's a part of him that genuinely finds this all fascinating. He takes the jar, turning it over in his hands, mouthing the words softly to himself. They're definitely in English.

"Where I'm from, imperial is unit of measurement. Not even a cool one, either."

[intherigging]

[Jacky liked to read in the gardens, when she could. The lamps were almost like sunlight, up here, and despite being in the middle of the ship it smelled right, too. Earthy, green... Jacky didn't grow up with easy access to such things, but she'd gotten quite used to them.

Spying Rosethorn on one such venture, she smiled.] Halloo!

[earthandpine]

[Rosethorn turns at the familiar voice, smiling slightly.] Hello, Jacky. What are you reading?

[She hasn't visited the library, but maybe she ought to. The only book she has is the one on plants that she bought on Emiri.]