( april intro log )

[hownkai]

Who: Everyone
When: April 1st and on
Where: The Moira + Del Pascia
What: The crew finds themselves visiting the correctional facility of Del Pascia.
Warnings: Mentions of blood. Please label your content!

I N T R O L O G

slammed & counted "I feel liberated when I'm doing it, and I want other people to feel liberated through it." 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. Shortly after, you are led out and toward the medbay. Inside this room, you are given a physical scan and offered a contract to sign that states you are now part of the crew of the Moira with a specific job. This process consists of a complete work-up of medical history and current health, and afterwards, you are given your MID, a device that is integrated into your hand with only the slightest pinch. From there, you are guided out of the medbay and to your living quarters. With the combined efforts of the crew, the terror plaguing the ship has been successfully removed from the Moira. Yet, it doesn’t come without consequences. Aside from the overall state of those aboard the ship, the Moira itself has taken considerable damage across various sections. Overall functionality seems stable for now, but with necessary repairs to be made and few supplies to actually make them with, the Captains have set a course for any nearby planet with the hope of finding what they need. However, that is much closer than it appears. As new arrivals begin coming through the Ingress, a message is received by those in the Tower and broadcast to everyone: Please be advised. Your vessel is now entering Restricted Space. As per penal code 65208-A, only authorized personnel are to be admitted beyond this point. If necessary, further assistance will be provided once docked. As there is little choice, the Captains instruct Navigation to proceed with caution. All transporters will be required to assist in taking those who volunteer to the main hub. WELCOME TO CORRECTIONAL FACILITY DEL PASCIA Del Pascia is one of many facilities across the universe built to maintain and rehabilitate its inhabitants. With a combined populace of both prisoners and employed civilians, it functions as both prison and living quarters. The central section of Del Pascia is divided into multiple floors that branch out into subdivisions of the facility—clearly and precisely labeled. For those contracted to work in the prison, Del Pas Main is home. There are cafeterias, common areas for exercise and general downtime, divided residences, and work stations. Beyond this area, each remaining wing of Del Pascia separates into cell blocks A through F with similar facilities available to the inmates. Varying degrees of criminals are brought to Del Pascia, ranging from maximum security to juvenile offenders, and security differs depending on which block is visited. Yet, there is something peculiar about this prison upon further investigation: there are no living persons within Del Pascia. The AI, which runs and oversees all of Del Pascia, has made arrangements with the Moira so that those who wish may board and take what is needed to begin repairs. This program, while generally polite in nature, goes simply by the name D-E-L. ☄ ENJOY YOUR STAY ... IN PRISON Those who choose to go to Del Pascia will find themselves greeted by D-E-L. It has already agreed to terms with the Captains, allowing crew to strip nonessential supplies that aren’t needed since the station’s crew and prisoners were relocated due to funding cuts. The only condition placed upon this agreement is that any crew wishing to explore must undergo a mandatory decontamination before proceeding through the rest of Del Pascia. This process takes only minutes and is guaranteed to cause no physical side effects. Following this simple procedure, exploration is open with only warnings to be careful about damaging key systems. It is important to note that there are various security cameras located throughout the correctional facility, and it is not uncommon for D-E-L to comment or show concern for those exploring parts of Del Pascia. ☄ DEATH BECOMES YOU There is salvage to be found in all parts of the facility, including the cell blocks and infirmaries of the prison wings. However, there is something odd about these sectors, a strange charge in the air that follows you as you search for anything useful to bring back to the Moira. Perhaps it is the eyes of D-E-L watching? But then, after an indiscernible amount of time, it's like a switch is flipped. Suddenly, you are wearing your sins where anyone but you can see. For however much death you have wrought or committed, there will be blood on your hands—perhaps even further than that. This bizarre occurrence will appear as an almost digital skin and will not vanish until outside the cell blocks. If exploring the infirmaries for supplies, any and all health stats throughout your life will be visible and easy to read by anyone who happens to take an interest. For those who have killed once or twice, they might find a red stain on their hands, but the higher the kill count will result in larger proportions of blood covering their arms and, in extreme cases, perhaps their entire body. The blood will vanish once you have left the prison wing, though you may occasionally see a flicker of the image while anywhere on the station. The same goes for health stats viewed in infirmary sections of Del Pascia. ☄ WHAT WAS THAT SOUND? Del Pascia is a very large station and has been abandoned for quite some time. D-E-L will regretfully inform anyone who asks that some nonessential areas have fallen into disrepair. It will warn that exploring these areas can be risky as it has no knowledge of what damage these sections have taken. Regardless of that, if you venture in, you’ll find that these sections are in rather bad shape. Exposed wiring sparks in the walls, a great variety of broken tools are thrown about, and it seems that every camera has been purposely broken. Venturing in further will yield valuable components for salvage, and yet... as before, you suspect you aren’t alone. It isn’t often, but sometimes, you might hear a step falling moments after yours or a rattle coming from the vents. Every time you go to investigate... whatever made the noise is gone. Should the AI be queried about this, D-E-L will emphasize that all personnel and prisoners were removed and that there is no one on board except crew from the Moira. ( ooc; For questions, go here. All players, please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! )

Comments

[hellsbel]

Awful, wasn't it? Bel grins in sympathy, turning back to wrestle the rest of the pipe junction loose.

"It's about a wandering pilgrim." The light alto is introspective, with no sign, as they turn with the pipe in their arms, of feeling the blood painting their uniform from breast to feet. "She roamed an endless desert, because deserts were endless in those days, searching for the buried treasures of a lost civilization. One day, she came to the remains of an old highway, guarded at the crossroads by two beautiful archers with ageless, identical faces. I always sort of related to them." One side of Bel's mouth pulls up. The next bolt is promising to be much easier. "Instead of telling her which way to go, the one on the right promised to shoot her if she took the left fork but not the right, and the one on the left promised to shoot her if she made the opposite choice. Conveniently, they each wore a tunic on which someone had printed 'We are both of us terrible liars, but only one of us'--"

--but either Clark has shifted so the light falls more fully on his work or the bloodstain had just started to spread. Bel's wrench drops, their voice suddenly sharp, reaching instinctively for his reddened hand. "Damn -- Clark, you're bleeding. Put that down a moment--"

[heliakal]

Bel's voice, as they speak, has the particular cadence of a well-practiced storyteller, and the story isn't an unfamiliar one at all. The details change in the telling, but the bones of it are generally the same. It's like that with a lot of things from their world, Clark has found.

He scans Bel quickly, just to be certain that there isn't any injury he's somehow missed. It's just a brief furrowing of his brow, and then a blink to dismiss what he sees; Bel looks perfectly normal, unharmed. It doesn't make sense.

He doesn't resist as Bel takes his hand, his expression even more perplexed for a moment. There's nothing on his own palm, not even the faintest sensation of blood from Bel's hands smearing onto it.

"There's nothing there, Bel." Clark speaks as calmly as ever, always held carefully in check. "You've got blood all over your uniform. It... You look like you've butchered something. Are you alright?"

[hellsbel]

"What? No, I--" Confused, both hands still holding Clark's, Bel looks down and sees nothing but rust and dust and grease. It hasn't been tidy work, but blood? And there's no visible wound on Clark's hand, nowhere the blood Bel can see could have come from.....

A sharp, assessing look back up at Clark, mirroring his perplexity. "Looks like we've got our very own liar's paradox. I feel fine and definitely haven't butchered anything recently, and you can't see the bloodstain I see on your hand?" Not even on Ceti before they found out about the sentient whales. Growing accustomed to galactic cuisine, even up to proteins that hadn't been humanely vat-grown, hadn't extended to wanting anything to do with how meat gets to the plate. Military life is bloody enough without thinking about where sausage comes from.

[heliakal]

He shakes his head, no. As far as he's concerned, there's nothing there to look at, but if it's anything like what he sees on Bel... his skin prickles, despite the certainty that there isn't anything there.

"That's interesting." He cups his hand underneath Bel's and turns it for a better view, gently holding it steady, though his grip is loose enough for Bel to pull away easily. He doesn't normally use telescopic vision this way, so it's a little disorienting, but it does let him see the image with a little more detail. There's a slight shimmer to the surface, like light or--

"I think it's some kind of hologram," he says, looking at Bel again. "But I'm not sure why we can only see it on each other... Maybe someone is trying to tell us something?"

[hellsbel]

Bel watches quizzically, hand resting easily in Clark's grasp, Betan reflexes happy to leave it right where it is. The gentle touch isn't surprising. He's a good man, this one.

"If it was trying to tell us something, we'd each be able to see our own." Bel frowns, glancing up at the speakers; the AI is all around them, not lurking behind the wall, but it's easier to pretend one can look at it. "This smells of some sort of mind game."

[heliakal]

Clark releases Bel's hand just as gently as he took it, following their gaze to the speakers. He can hear a faint echo of the AI, warning someone to be careful of debris in another part of the building. So far, it's been fairly benevolent, he just has a feeling about this.

"I think you're right about that... but what could this accomplish?"

[hellsbel]

Patting Clark's hand as it withdraws, an instinctive gesture of reassurance, Bel looks down, imagining what he must be seeing. Simulated blood -- why? Just for the ghoulish effect? To cause arguments as crewpeople disagreed over what they were seeing? A sinister forecast of pain to come? A way to smoke out guilty consciences? A target?

"Any number of things." A wry twist to the lips. "If you have a sick mind. I can't say much for the policies if this was done to prisoners here -- psychological torture can be much worse than anything physical."

It can't be a vision from the past; wading breast-deep in blood is an experience Bel has thankfully missed. If it's the reverse... Bel's not sure of wanting to know.

Best not to give D.E.L. any new ideas, though. A quick round of twenty questions with it might not be amiss.

[heliakal]

Clark gives Bel a small smile in return, reflexive. He appreciates the gesture, and the inclination towards kindness. He hopes that this situation with the blood is some sort of glitch, or just a misunderstanding, but considering their track record he doesn't expect that to be the case.

"And much harder to prove," he says, a grim set to his expression. He grabs a scrap of cloth from nearby to clean the grease off of his hands. "Maybe we should stay together for a while... And take a look around."

The last time he'd worked with Bel, they were looking for the creature that had been stalking the ship. They hadn't found much, but Bel is sharp and experienced. He's likely to see things that Clark would overlook.

[hellsbel]

Bel remembers that time. There'd been safety in numbers then, but they both still bear the scars.

"Mm. Maybe we should." The open pipe doesn't need to be capped -- its lead is already shut off -- but Bel spends a moment stowing the tools they'd been using; the kit slides neatly under the cart, out of the way of anyone who might wander through.

"What do you think? Administrative quarters or prison wing?"

[heliakal]

"Administrative. We might be able to recover something useful from their records, and we can have a chat with D-E-L." It's likely that any particularly incriminating records, if they exist, have long since been wiped from the system... but it's possible that hard copies have survived.

[hellsbel]

"Good pick." Brushing both hands off, Bel looks down at them uneasily for a moment, imagining what Clark must be seeing, and then falls into step beside him. They can debrief D.E.L. on the way.

"I'm suddenly less sanguine about the yes-no answers we've been hearing. This isn't a simple binary trick to play on the prisoners -- there's something more sophisticated at work here."