thisavrou_log | (no subject)

Who: Anyone and everyone
When: March 6-16
Where: Namalos
What: A reprieve, for now

The light spreading through the battered interior of Avagi station comes with a sense of displacement. No longer a journey they can choose, residents will find themselves traveling somewhere—being sent, it seems, by an echoing voice that can be heard on the edge of consciousness. Whoever is directing you, and whatever their intent, one thing is clear.

There is something—someone—they want you to find.

The silver glow vanishes. Reality returns... if not as smoothly as before. The space around you seems to lurch and stutter, and you feel yourself stumbling against a wall—pressed, for a moment, under a vast and dispassionate regard. And then, this barrier dissolves. As they return to reality, Avagians will find themselves somewhere completely new: far from both the storms and the light that displaced them.

No light. No portals. Around you, you may see your friends and allies—but nowhere is there any sign of a way back.

Namalos

This land is deceptively beautiful—and just as deadly. The thick forest spreads in all directions, filled with bioluminescent foliage that prevents true darkness from ever descending, but it holds few comforts. The temperature ranges from stiflingly hot during the day to frigid at night, and while there is little fauna to be found, the many insects that make a home here are hungry, aggressive—and often venomous. Even the more edible of the available plants come with a bitter taste and little nutrition.

The wilderness may seem endless, but refuge can be found in half a day's walk to the north, where larger life signs may be detected—an oasis of sorts, in the form of a clearing large enough to hold a small city. They are not alone.

Despite its untamed surroundings, the settlement of Namalos appears extremely civilized—even mundane. Unlike many worlds the travelers have encountered, it has a spaceport. Small crafts appear above the sky, descending below to trade with the locals. Perhaps because of this connection to other planets, Namalans appear to have no single native species, ranging from humanoid to tentacled to oddly reptilian.

Although surprised by guests appearing from the land, not the sky, the Namalans will cautiously welcome the new arrivals, offering them temporary quarters in the outer ring of the city where interstellar travelers sometimes rest before embarking on a return trip. There are local scientists who will offer to look for any traces of portal energy in an attempt to see if a portal can be opened again. Still, getting back isn't the only goal some Avagians might have, and those who spend some effort searching may turn up unsettling facts.

Exploration

Life on Namalos is far more organized than any of Avagi's residents are likely to have experienced before. Despite the different species that call the world home, all locals depart their houses at the same time each morning and return at the same time in the afternoon. Traffic flows freely on pedestrian paths and roads, with no lights or overt signage, but no vehicles collide—as if all beings know their place. In the afternoon, children will appear in front of houses at the same time, play games, and return indoors for dinner like clockwork. If stopped, Namalans will politely answer questions asked of them before returning to routine.

Within the city itself, the Avagians may note some places of interest:

The Central Authority: The government building of Namalos is large and ostentatious, but extremely quiet within, with little noise but the soft sounds of data processing—and there is a great deal of that. No courts can be found, but this bureaucratic machine generates an enormous amount of paperwork.
The Spaceport: This facility, located just outside the largest ring of the city, appears to facilitate trade with other worlds in this solar system—and possibly beyond. Passengers on the ships that come and go appear to be interested in commerce, not leisure visits, but will have no unkind words to say about the Namalans. Rarely will they venture into the city itself, and only for a short time if they do.
The Wellness Center: This large complex near the city's inner ring serves as a place of self-improvement for all who wish to pursue it, free of charge. Physical fitness classes that consist of rhythmic, dance-like routines exist in place of standard gym workouts, and spaces for meditation and quiet chanting in an ancient local language are available to soothe the mind. Other spaces are marked for classes on rhetoric and group facilitation, but these are scheduled by appointment only.
The Locked Building: The lack of crime or violence on Namalos means locked doors are rare, and Avagians may go where they please—with the exception of one utterly plain, undecorated building in the central ring of the city. Located in the shadow of the Central Authority, it is guarded every hour by pairs of Namalans who are no less pleasant for their refusal to let anyone pass.

While some amount of leniency is shown to visitors, the Namalans find disruptions to their routine extremely grating. As strangers disrupt their streets and lives, Namalans grow cold to the prospect of indefinite guests. Those staying in the city for longer than three days will be asked to pay back the hospitality of their hosts, and assigned a task with which to do so. For children, this will consist of school attendance, but adult jobs can vary from stamping papers to mining ore. All complaints about the suitability of an assignment will be thoroughly disregarded, and little sympathy will be provided by your temporary coworkers to those unable to keep pace.

While technically free to travel through the city, Avagians will find that no matter where they go, nearby Namalans keep watch. Their gazes are neither malevolent nor friendly, and can only be deterred through distance—though somehow, outside of the temporary quarters, they will find at least one local always in sight.

Even more curiously, the longer they remain, and the more time they spend personally interacting with Namalans, the more absorbing they may find the local rhythms. Wake up, work, dine, sleep without deviation. They may even find themselves slipping out of awareness for brief intervals... but in such a peaceful place, is this really a bad thing?

[OOC: For more information, or to note particular disruptions your character might cause, please check out the OOC post here!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She's a little surprised by the hug, but — not enough to not return it. After all, he's been comatose after a mission where he was cut off from the majority of the team. If it weren't for past experience making her distrustful, seeing him up and about would be nothing but a huge relief.]

Yes, it seems everyone made it safely, our team included. And good, I am glad to see you're feeling better. Especially since, even if the mission was taxing...

[She looks around at the settlement. Kind of a strange place, but compared to where they just came from, it's paradise.] Well, it's hard to argue with results, isn't it? I would call this a success.

[It feels like second nature to embrace her, after what's happened. After they'd all been so concerned about splitting their party. Alfor got back safe. Allura's here, reassuring him everyone else made it too. It's pure relief that makes him put his arms around her, drawing back when she speaks up again.]

We had to power up the Ingress Memorial -- or else the storm wasn't going to stop. It was Shepard, Diana and I. If it wasn't for them, I don't think we would have pulled it off.

[It's a success because they'd all worked together. That's why -- in his humble opinion. But yes. She's right in that it's miles better than where they were.]

Have you looked around at all?

[Don't think she didn't catch him using 'them'.] And for you! You're allowed to take credit when you helped. All of you did well.

[Maybe someday this team will learn to accept the risks and endangerment involved in this work, and reach a point where people can take pride in their accomplishments without falling prey to guilt. Maybe. It's something they can work towards.]

Not much, other than looking for the team. I know I should get comfortable with this place, but... call me optimistic, but I'm hopeful this is going to be temporary, and we'll be able to make it back with little trouble.

That's not the reaction I thought you were going to give me.

[But he doesn't sound upset at least. He'd figured someone would give him a lecture about being reckless or something like that. He's grateful, though.]

I hope so too. I don't really know what to make of this place... why were dropped here, of all plaes?

Why? It's true. We faced a great threat, and you rose to the occasion, alongside everyone else. ... unless there's more to what happened that you'd like to tell me?

[Because otherwise, it sounds like pretty standard space war dangers this time. Pidge and Hunk might not be as understanding, but...]

I'm curious as well, but I've been asking that about the other planets we've made contact with as well. Being dropped on a safe, inhabited planet is comforting at this point.

Nothing more than usual -- we just got lucky the Ingress Memorials could run on Galra power.

[He waggles metal fingers toward her. If she gets his point.]

You've got a point. This one has a spaceport, too. Maybe we can convince someone to give us all a ride.

They do say that luck is what happens when skill meets opportunity. You should still be a little proud.

[With his handiwork. Which is not a pun the alien princess would say, so no, we're not doing that.]

A spaceport is certainly a start. There's still the question of whether they have any ship that can travel far enough... and how far away the destination is. But! At least we should be able to travel to other worlds, which gives us that many more options.

[Oh Allura... Your Head of Voltron has some kind of weird sixth sense for these kinds of jokes.]

Proud of my handiwork, right?

[Maybe he'll get a pass because he's trying to be good and rest. Surely that means he gets some kind of kudos. But even then, he's still of the mind nothing really would have come if it hadn't been for Diana and Shepard.]

If nothing else, they have ships that can, at least get to other planets. Somewhere, there's bound to be one powerful enough for that kind of travel. Maybe even one Hunk and Pidge can modify for you to fly.

[Like she does the Castle Ship.]

[Why does he do this. It was fine being left in the narration. No one had to actually speak those words. Allura rolls her eyes.]

... yes, you've grasped the point I was trying to make. [And then...] ... not literally grasped. Please don't start with this.

[The whole conversation is ruined, Allura. It's too late to plead for mercy.]

I shouldn't have too much trouble piloting other kinds of ships. The controls are different, since they don't require Altean abilities to operate, but... there's a surprising amount that remains the same. Ships still move the same, for example.

[He does this because how else would they know he wasn't dying? That he was actually doing all right? He has to pull the puns. For their sake.]

Okay, okay. Only because you said please.

[He's laughing anyway. But, wow. It feels like it's been ages since he has. It feels good.]

Mm -- yeah I know. I doubt I'd have trouble either. But... I was thinking more along the lines of the wormhole tech. Easier to find where we need to be if we can just wormhole around like we used to.

[And since she's the first person he can think of who worked it so easily before...]

[Lies. He puns for his own sake and he knows it.]

You mean, something with a teludav? [She pauses thoughtfully, before continuing,] ... it would have been so much easier if we had one, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, I'm not sure how easy it would be to replicate it here. And while adapting other wormhole technology is possible, well...

After everything that's happened, I'm not sure I would want to tamper with other types. Not after everything that's happened with the Ingress.

[~~we never had these problems with wormholes back in my old universe~~]

[Some people think it's funny, Allura!!]

Maybe. You and your father are here... Plus Hunk and Pidge. Kind of makes me optimistic we'd get something figured out.

[Bringing up the Ingress Problems though. That's a valid point.]

What about an Ingress drive itself? Like what the Moira had. It worked for them until we hit the Midway.

An Ingress... well... we probably have enough information to figure out how to build one, and we have a better shot at getting the materials we need. That's more than we can say about our other options.

But you said it yourself. It worked for them up to a point. And... was it really the Midway that started the problems? It seemed as though it was malfunctioning long before that. Need I remind you how many things were lost, back when we arrived?

It's hard to say, exactly. I feel like when we got closer to it, everything started breaking down. Didn't they say the energies there were what brought the ship down?

[He could be wrong. The whole lead up to landing there had been... hazy. To say the least. The time altering. Getting Shepard into the escape pod... and then the crash itself.]

It was just... shoes, though, wasn't it?