Arc III Arrival Log

[savmods]

Who: Everyone
When: October 1
Where: Avagi
What: The dust settles.
Warnings: None at present - label your headers if necessary!

Arrival

There's the sensation of falling, but in no particular direction. Anyone who opens their eyes will see very little, but it isn't blackness—it's every color at the same time, every place that's ever been, and time seems to be stretching out and snapping back together all at once. And suddenly the travelers are here. Where 'here' is has not yet been determined, but all at once there is a sense of solidness in place and time as the journey they were on comes to an abrupt stop. Those with quick reactions may be able to brace themselves enough to stay on their feet; those without it may find themselves sprawled across a solid metal deck. They are in a large room with a ceiling that is not smooth, but jagged with patchwork repairs. Standing before them is a massive metal slab, twisted and scorched but clearly once part of some unknown machine. But the piece has been cleaned, polished and place upon a pedestal, a focal point for the comfortable seating arranged in an opposing semi-circle across the room. Someone had a use for this room once, but now, the space is silent. The new arrivals may remain for however long they choose. No one, it seems, has detected their sudden arrival, much less come to investigate. When they venture out of this quiet room, they may have an inkling why. The corridors outside and the laboratories, workshops and other places they lead to are well made, but strangely dusty and show no recent signs of maintenance. No one will come to harm them or greet them because, it seems, no one is here. The layout of the halls may seem strangely familiar, though it will take some searching to discover why. Few windows can be found, and those that exist are solidly reinforced with thick transparent material, revealing little more than the swirling of familiar storms outside. There are no doors to the outside, only to more corridors or interior locations. Any traveler who accesses the systems of this facility through their own abilities or through a computer workstation or control panel will learn the reason: this is a space station, and so cannot open to the outside. The system will reveal one other truth. This is not just a space station. This was the Ingress Complex, and the date is 300 years in the future. Welcome to Thisavrou.

Avagi

The station is not as they remember it. Once a place of transit and scientific research, a place of rest but not truly home to most who lived there, it now shows clear signs of being a lived-in space for more than just a working crew. While records and outdated maps in the system make its former identity clear, more recent references to the station use a different name: Avagi. A common word to multiple old Savrii dialects, the word roughly translates to "dawn". Many locations on the complex have changed, and others put to entirely new use. But whoever made these changes are nowhere to be found; the only 'living' creatures anyone encounters are low-level AI taskbots, small robots that scuttle throughout the complex executing simple maintenance subroutines. And there is a limit to the exploration that can be done. The accessible areas of Avagi compose only a fraction of the former complex, and attempting to breach the seal on the main exit will set off an alarm, notifying anyone in the vicinity that the bordering compartment has been compromised, and if they continue, they will allow storm energy into the area they are in now. Entry to a few other corridors is simply too badly damaged to get through, although whether the damage was caused in the initial blast or later is unknown. Short of self-created hazards, no danger will present itself in the next few weeks. During the early days of their arrival, several newcomers arrive, stumbling through pockets of glowing, warped reality that seem to lead somewhere else before disappearing just as fast. With nowhere else to go for the moment, everyone is free to explore Avagi's current confines—but certain points of interest might be worth devoting attention to first: The Residential Block: Whoever lived here left little behind in the converted studios and apartments—so they won't mind if someone moves in, will they? People need to sleep somewhere. The Library: Exploring the collected knowledge here might yield more information on what has happened here, but the computer lab will need some work first. Labs & Engineering: The space and resources that can be found here offer the best opportunity to fix things up around here. Note that while a network transmitter is embedded in the region, the differing technology levels means that communication will be garbled at first. Text messages will be corrupted, and video/audio communication will cut out regularly every few seconds. Happily, there are a plethora of comm devices on hand that could adapt the TABS to Avagi's systems. Hybridizing the devices with old and new technology also allows the tech-inclined to customize their own data security. The Greenery: Nutrition blocks are all well and good, but getting this garden in order would make meals a lot more enjoyable. Who knows what you might be able to grow?

[ooc: For more information and options to explore, please check out the locations page and ooc post!]

Comments

[skelepun]

Not really, no. [He lifts his glass in a silent toast.] Why d'ya think I'm out here telling jokes, my health?

[... Well, it was, in a way. But the specifics of monster anatomy weren't on the table here, fleshy allusions aside.]

Alcohol's enough of a depressant on its own, dontcha think?

[lavelly]

Is it? [He really isn't bothering to even feign curiosity anymore. He's just responding in the same flat tone.]

I've always found it just makes me not give so much of a shit.

[skelepun]

[Well see, giving a shit to begin with is your first mistake.

Not that Sans says it aloud. It's not exactly the kind of rhetoric he likes spreading, no matter how often it keeps proving itself so.]

Well, far be it from me to keep you from it. [He winks, companionable more than teasing this time.] But I'll be here if you wanna hear that termite joke.

[lavelly]

[Lavellan doesn't respond at first, letting the not uncomfortable silence stretch. But after a few moments, he realizes that Sans's chatter actually was good at helping keep him distracted.

How sad is that?]

You're not really here to tell jokes, are you? I'm sure you could easily find a more receptive audience.

[skelepun]

[It's pretty sad. But at least he wouldn't be the first person with that particular realization.

When Lavellan pipes up again, Sans turns as if there was never a break in their conversation. It's a talent, picking right back up where others leave off.]

More receptive than a bar? If you can think of one, I'm all ears. [He cups a hand up against his very earless skull.] Been a while since I got to know the crew.

[lavelly]

[He almost misses it, but--now that's interesting.

He pauses, and actually puts down his drink so he can look at Sans with renewed interest. Amazing.]

What do you mean, it's been a while?

[skelepun]

Whaddya mean what do I mean? [He asks, brow bone creased in what could be confusion or at least a facsimile of it.] Seems like a pretty straight forward statement to me.

I was here, then I wasn't, now... [He gestures to himself. Here.]

[lavelly]

[Oh.

Well.

That's a hell of a thing. He tries to keep his voice steady and his face calm.]

A lot has happened. When were you last here?

[skelepun]

If you asked me that when I got here, last week.

[His smile is still stretched wide, though perhaps this is the first time Lavellan will get the sense that it's not an accurate representation.]

Lately, I'm thinking it's been a little longer.

[He takes another drink, tipping it towards Lavellan before upturning it against his teeth.] Clocked by time, amiright?

[lavelly]

[Yeah. He recognizes that look all too well.

And he knows the best thing to do is not point it out. So he doesn't.]

This place does seem to have a penchant for toying with the concept. [Also, fuck time travel. He got enough of that bullshit back home.] Quite a bit has happened recently. Maybe I can help you get caught up.

[skelepun]

[Doing nothing. It might be an absence of a gesture, to some, but to Sans it's one of the greater kindnesses a person can give another.

But maybe that's just his perspective. It's been wrong before.]

I got the basic rundown. Moira crashed. You guys wound up somewhere no one wanted you. Eviction.

[To put it mildly.]

Any gaps you wanna fill?

[lavelly]

[Oh, there are plenty of gaps, but none he wants to fill in particular.

Sans might pick up on the sudden tension in his posture, the way his gaze goes distant.]

That depends on how much of the gritty details you want to know.

[There we go. Let Sans pick the direction. That way Lavellan doesn't have to dwell.]

Anything in particular you'd like explained?

[skelepun]

[Passing the expository buck, huh? That's his move, guy. But he'll let it slide, for now.

Whatever it was that happened, whatever specific tragedies befell this stranger sharing a drink, Sans got the sense he'd suffered enough.]

How about you tell me how long you've been here. I don't I remember you, n' I make a point of learning faces.

[lavelly]

[Lavellan shrugs easily, like he'd never had any kind of lapse.]

You had to be told the Moira crashed? Then we weren't here at the same time. I arrived after they'd already settled on Thisavrou.

[He had to be told about the Moira, period.

This also means this is the first time he's ever actually been up in space proper. Ha ha. Not thinking about that.]

[skelepun]

Right. That's the name of the planet. Wanda told me.
[Way more of a tongue twister than Moira. Sans is kinda grateful he missed it. And that he didn't have a tongue.]

How long where you there? Little under a year, right?

[lavelly]

[He actually has to mentally count backward. Shit, it feels like years, sometimes.]

Eight months, I think it was.

[skelepun]

Sounds like plenty of time to make a decent home.

[lavelly]

[He actually bursts out laughing.

He hadn't meant to, and there's more hysteria than humor in it. But once it's started it takes a while to calm back down, actually get to where he can speak again.]

A decent home. Right.

[Friend, metaphorical definitions of "home" aside, he'd been living like a hobo for most of those eight months.]

I can't say I'll miss the place.

[skelepun]

[Finally. It's about time he got that laugh. He's been working for it for the past half hour, and that's more than he likes to work on just about anything.

Sans taps a finger bone against his now-empty glass.]

That rough, huh?

[lavelly]

[He just smirks, this time, but it's still better than the stoniness he'd been exuding so far in the evening. He even refills Sans's glass from his bottle--he'd eschewed the glasses himself. Efficiency! Warning, it tastes like shoe polish and may in fact be 100% alcohol.]

I suppose. Not all of us were blameless.

[And that's all he's going to say on that without further prompting. This is already getting too close to things he'd really rather not think about.]

[skelepun]

[No tongue, throat, or liver to burn? No problem.]

Yeah, well... get a big enough group of people together, there're bound to be disagreements. Moira was never really a tightknit crew.

[Ask him about the murders sometime. Or don't, actually.]

Thought fighting survival together might've changed that.

[lavelly]

Infighting wasn't the problem.

[What good humor he'd managed to scrape together is gone, now.]

I'm not sure I'm the right person to be telling you about this.

[skelepun]

And yet, you offered. [Still, fixed grin aside, the steady plink of Sans' fingers against his glass seems to briefly hesitate.]

For real though pal, I'm still happy to go back to telling jokes. S'your call. I've got a really good one about a horse.

[lavelly]

[He sighs, but it's actually somewhat good-natured this time.]

All right. Tell me the one about the horse.

[skelepun]

[Progress is progress. Sans leans forward, almost conspiratorial, as if he was sharing the secret of the universe and not a terrible joke.]

Two horses walk into a bar. One turns to the other and says, "Have you been here before?" Other horse looks around and says: [Wait for it.] "I know this pace, but I can't remember the mane."

[Ba dum CHA.]