( november intro log )

[hownkai]

Who: Everyone
When: November 1st and on
Where: The ship and on planet
What: Exploration + new arrivals
Warnings: Please label any warnings you have on your threads

THE INFLUX

"It is not so much about beginnings and endings; it is about muddling through the middle."

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.

Welcome to Caducus Primary

Shortly after your arrival, you are met by one of the captains and any of the crew of the Moira who might have accompanied him. You are given a brief physical scan and are asked to sign a contract that states you are now part 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. Much like the Moira's own Ingress, C-Primary's Ingress seems to be malfunctioning, and nothing can return through it. If you choose to disregard this offer, you will be detained indefinitely by the natives of Caducus Primary. (Joining the Moira is really the only choice you have.)

DESCENSION

"I am the keeper of fragile things."

From a distance, Caducus Primary doesn't look like much. The weather on the planet is extremely stable, and the vegetation is neat, almost pristine. What stands out about C-Primary, however, is the fact that there are hundreds of VERY TALL buildings packed together in many of the cities. They are elevated about the ground on what appear to be stilts and sway almost gracefully in the gentle breeze that is always present. Their stability never wavers; they don't fall down. The streets are lined with beautiful sculptures that are placed wherever light is needed. Many other designs can be found outside as well as in. This planet is rather wealthy, and the abundance of their natural resources reflect in everything. The world glitters just as glass would in the sunlight.

Native Details
● They have darker skin tones, but their hair styles and colors are all as unique as they can make them. This can be seen as influence from other travelers.
● Friendly, welcoming, and encouraging to the crew to trade with them for what they need.
● There are no visible "poor" areas.
● Calm and organized. If lost or in need of directions, they will offer to take you where you are going.
● Vey strict when it comes to rules. (Trade what you say you're going to trade.)

☄CITY PROPER

There are many things to do once on planet. In the city proper, stepping into one of the multiple shops reveals workers crafting glass figurines, jewelry, cups, and other items to your specifications. Trading is the same as on all other planets—there is no one accepted monetary unit. Yet, any unsavory cargo (such as weapons, explosives, alcohol, and drugs) will not be found anywhere in the vicinity of these areas. Other travelers have set up places outside the cities near transporter zones for these particular necessities. Trade at your discretion. At night, if you catch your reflection in a surface that isn't quite as transparent (on a sculpture, the side of a building, anything made of glass), there will be a momentary glimpse of your past or future self. A blink, and then, it will be gone.

Staying on the Moira isn't required during time spent on Caducus Primary. Visit one of its many fine hotels with its beautiful accomodations. The price is remarkably inexpensive: it's free.

( OOC: For any and all questions and to see new rank privileges, go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! Check THIS to see your tag. They have already been added to the comms, but you'll have to tag them onto a post before they show up in the list. )

Comments

[keelahselai]

There's a short silence while Shepard almost seems to be sizing her up - it's easy for Tali to assume simply that Shepard's taking in how she looks - how a quarian looks - without a suit and mask. For a lot of people she's met on the Moira - and before that on the Neheda - she was the first alien they'd ever seen, ever really talked to. (Ever fallen for, in one case) And somehow that feels less daunting than being sized up by Shepard in this moment.

And then she flinches a little. "Harsh, Shepard." But there's no real bite to it - being reminded of what she used to be isn't so much of a sting.

"I'm fine - it's a long story, but I don't need a suit anymore. I don't need anything." She shrugs, fiddles with her hands a little and not really sure why she's doing it. And then - "And, ah... It's just Tali'Zorah." Her look at Shepard is almost apologetic, because even though she has no memory of ever being that person, that Tali who for reasons she isn't clear on took the name of an alien ship, Shepard remembers that Tali. She tells herself being Tali'Zorah is perfectly fine for Shepard...but.

"I don't remember being vas Normandy at all."

[petridish]

She frowns, wondering why the quarian's being neutral and even nice towards her, first about the dig at her immune system and then about her own memory problems, and then suddenly it hits her like a dreadnought: vas Normandy doesn't recognize her as the clone.

vas Normandy thinks she's the real thing.

The realization that somehow, she's fooled one of Shepard's longest serving flunkies almost makes her giddy, but it comes with a second realization, that she has to use this. She has to keep vas Normandy on her side just in case more of the squad or even Shepard comes through the Ingress at some future date - never mind the rest of the Moira believing it; they have no reason to doubt her, but others from their galaxy would, especially when faced with the real Shepard in all her mysterious specialness.

So how to make vas Normandy continue believing she's Shepard, without Shepard's memories...?

Absently, she massages the back of her head where her implants are, and there's her answer: After emerging from the Ingress, she'd needed her biotic implant slightly realigned (thankfully only from the uncomfortable range and not actually painful), and she'd seen other new arrivals looking dizzy, needing to catch their breath. Maybe she can pretend she had a longer term side effect.

Brooks had never bothered to give her acting lessons, but her helpless Staff Analyst front certainly provided a good example. "Did coming through the Ingress mess with your head too?" she asks, hoping her poor attempt at sympathy will come off as frustration at the situation and herself. "My implant got rattled, and I feel like I've got... gaps, in my memory..."

[keelahselai]

Maybe back home, presented with both the clone Shepard and the real one, it wouldn't take Tali long to figure out which was real. But here and now - this, to her, is Shepard. Who else could it be? Even if she is being pretty damn abrasive at the moment - but then, is that even so strange? Who wouldn't be in a bad mood in this situation? Before she can say anything else, though, Shepard's massaging the back of her head and...

"It wasn't too bad for me," she says, instantly snapping to concern. "Just some dizziness...but I don't have any neural implants, either, and I don't know if anybody else here does. Maybe we should go to the Medbay? They should be able to adjust the implant if it's causing problems."

[petridish]

She's not sure if that abrupt mood swing makes her sick, or even more envious of Shepard. It's not unlike the way Shepard's squadmates had run to help her up from the edge of the Normandy's docking doors - it's completely unlike Brooks backing away from her.

"No," she blurts out, heading off this train of thought. No need for the ship doctors to show the lie for what it is as soon as it's come out of her mouth, and besides, she's already made a bad enough impression on her fellow medbaby tech. "The doctors already checked me out by the Ingress here - I told them how it should be positioned, but it's not like I know how it all works in my head, and neither do they."

That much is actually true, even if her implant wasn't as badly out of place as she makes it sound. She sighs. "I should've just been an Engineer instead of messing around with biotics."

Tech work does come easier to her than biotics, but she wouldn't have had such a plausible sounding excuse.

argh so late sorry!

[keelahselai]

The very abrupt refusal doesn't really surprise Tali as much as it might have. Shepard refusing to spend any more time in medical than she really needs to seems pretty standard - and though Tali doesn't know the details of her...resurrection? Recovery?... by Cerberus, she can't imagine that's made it any easier. She's still eyeing Shepard with some concern, but she's not going to insist her friend take herself off to medical.

"Well, it's true - tech is just better," she says, a teasing note in her voice. She's making some attempt to keep it...kind of light, because the next question's not going to be an easy one either.

"What are you having trouble remembering? I don't know if I can help much, the last time I saw you back home was at Freedom's Progress."

my turn to apologize!

[petridish]

What the hell is Freedom's Progress? Why wasn't more of this in the dossiers Brooks made, or in the codex on the extranet?

"Yeah, that's blurry to me," she says, gesturing towards her. "I didn't even realize it was until you brought it up. I remember us on the shuttle back from Rannoch: We just killed a Reaper, and stopped the war with the geth."

A pointless diversion, she thinks. She would have let the quarians and geth kill each other off. As it is, the most both sides are good for is Reaper cannon fodder.

[keelahselai]

Her heart judders in her chest like it's trying to remind her it's there - trying to remind her that even if she does keep telling herself she doesn't want to go back to her people and back to Rannoch, she's ultimately lying. She wants to remember that shuttle ride - wants her planet and her people back.

"I don't remember that at all," she says simply, and maybe Shepard can hear the wistful sort of regret there. "As far as I remember, we're still at war, and the homeworld's a long way away. Sorry, there's not much I can clear up for you. I really wish I could."

[petridish]

Somehow, on this horrible day of ruined plans and betrayal and more aliens, she's gotten one good thing: The quarian doesn't remember meeting her any more than she remembers anything more of Rannoch than what was shown on the news vids. She could grin. But that, of course, would give her away, especially after that sad tone Tali'Zorah's just used, so she merely shrugs.

"I'm sure it'll all come back eventually," she says bracingly, though she lets the slight downward turn to her mouth suggest she's not at all sure. "But if you mention something and I don't remember it - blame the Ingress."

well played, cloney. well played <3

[keelahselai]

"There's a lot of things I blame on the Ingress," she grouches, but there's no real bite to it. It's more dry than anything else. It would be easy to let herself just sink into thoughts of a planet she's never going to see, of a people she'll never be with again, of everything in her life that's been taken from her and ruined, if not in reality in her own mind.

But she's so pleased to see Shepard again she doesn't want to let that all in. She's done her moping - probably more of it than she needs in a lifetime. Instead she looks up at the commander and can barely stifle a grin.

"I'm so glad to see you, Shepard," she says, and the emotion in the words is genuine, swelling in each word. And... Here's hoping Shepard's OK with hugging, because Tali is about to grab her.

she tries so hard

[petridish]

She's never been hugged before. At first she stiffens in her armor, not expecting the physical contact and not wanting it from an alien, but gradually she relaxes, and awkwardly pats her on the back like she's seen people doing on the Citadel. That's the correct response, right?

"You too," she says quietly. "Everything here's so new and strange - it's nice to have... a friend around."

Sure, an alien wouldn't have been her first choice of Shepard's squadmates to have around and thinking she was the real thing, but she's something mildly familiar from the dossiers and trash talk to use as an anchor point, someone she can say 'asari' and 'volus' to without her mishearing or getting confused. 'Friend' is a vast exaggeration which she had to think to use instead of her instinctive 'something familiar', but the sentiment is real.

[keelahselai]

She's not even sure if she's really hugged Shepard before - in the CDC, probably, but Shepard clearly doesn't remember that. Tali's past the point of caring if any of her old friends from the Normandy remember the CDC - she's not going to tell them, will take that to the grave - she just wants them there.

Even if sometimes she feels that now she's the worst of them.

Either way, she's not too surprised if Shepard's tense.

"I know the feeling," she murmurs, and it might be a little uncomfortable holding her around the armour, but it's the thought that counts. "Trust me, I know the feeling."

She pulls back a moment later, still smiling broadly. "Do you want to go and eat somewhere? I can fill you in on what's been going on with this ship - with the Moira."

[petridish]

The smile she tries for once Tali lets her go is partially in relief that she no longer has to tolerate physical contact with an alien, and partially a concentrated effort of thinking about more pleasurable things (clean shots on a target, the Normandy lifting off, Shepard sealed in a vault).

"If there's something here you can eat, sure," she says; with the only aliens she's seen being Moira crew, she'd be surprised if the apparently human population of this planet have dextro food. "I get the feeling there's a lot to learn about it - I just wanted to see the planet while we're here." She's never been on a planet before, only ships and space stations.