thisavrou_log | ( november intro log )

Entry tags:

( november intro log )

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.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Twelve or thirteen? ( ivan gives a low whistle and a shake of his head ) Miles and I were seventeen when we entered the Academy.

( or rather: miles failed his entrance exam, went to go visit his grandmother, and ended up with an entire mercenary fleet at his beck and call. shoving him into the academy after that was just a matter of making sure someone could keep an eye on him. )

Really? Why's that? I know I'm twenty-five, and enough weeks have passed that it's probably getting close to winter now back home... ( he's caught by surprise at remembering something ) Gregor's birthday-- it's going to be soon.

( and there won't be fireworks or a ball or anything like that. )

I don't know. We just never celebrated it. But ah... hey, is easy enough to make your own fun when you want it, right? [He says it dismissively, because it is sad, but it's never really struck him as being such. It's just a fact. He never had a birthday cake, and maybe his teeth are all the better for it.]

You're just 25? ...Shit.

Shit, how old am I? I think I am very close to 32 now.

[He gets that distant look of unhappy realization with that, though. When did he get so old?]

That sounds like something you'd say when you've got a glass to toast with. ( and he, sadly, is without alcohol this morning. ) Yeah, soon to be twenty-six. Miles has the earlier birthday by a month or two, although I've never understood why he never angled for two.

( thirty-two. that's so ) Old. ( er. ) Not that's uh. A bad thing?

( nice save there, ivan. )

You know? I bet you are your family's very favorite diplomat.

[Though, all in all, he didn't seem that offended. There were some things that could offend him, but his age was not one of them. Mostly he was astounded that he wasn't dead yet.]

But hey, maybe I can get you this drink, ah? Unless you are saving that for whatever pretty girl you're dress up for.

[A little heteronormative there, but for someone who lived much of his life under the thumb of homophobic superiors he rarely assumed otherwise.]

Oh yeah, even the two politicians in my family come to me for advice.

( he could never see gregor nor uncle aral doing so in their entire lives. he knows where his strength lies, and it's not in anything the rest of his family does on a regular basis.

heteronormative, yes, but right on the mark. and anyway, ivan's from barrayar -- heteronormative is the name of the game. not that ivan hasn't been hit on by men before, but he's never taken them up on it. )

She and I aren't meeting again until much later. ( he finishes his breakfast and stands, throwing the wrapper into the nearest trashcan. ) Name a place and a time.

( or now. ivan vorpatril has been known to indulge in a spot of day... morning drinking here and there. )

Well, we would not want to wear you out too early, friend. Come on, lets have a tea or the nearest thing they have to tea.

[Except no one had good Eastern European tea, fruity and citrus and cinnamon and hot, just the thing to tear open chilled sinuses and warm throats. Everyone had Asian or British teas. Maybe they would at least have something new.]

I will just keep you in mind to share my bottle of vodka when I get it.

So ah, Miles. I am sorry I broke his fingers. I did not know that he was made of twigs. It is very lucky I did not snap his neck.

[He might have back-handed him that once.]

( he grins at both invitations -- shoving his hands into his pockets with a nod and letting niko lead the way forward. ah, right. his tiny, maniac cousin with the soft bones. )

He doesn't get into physical fights much, he could use the learning experience. ( a poor joke, and ivan knows it. miles has seen more action than ivan has, which isn't hard when you're running a goddamn mercenary fleet through sheer ability to talk people into it. ) S'not that I don't understand the temptation. Even on days where he's not -- you know, being made even worse. But there's no way you could have known -- he doesn't really open with "and also my bones will shatter if you touch me too hard" on top of the whole ( ivan gestures at himself, trying to convey miles' unusual height and other physical problems ) thing. Why tell someone who's already going to hate you for looking like that, y'know?

( ah, barrayar. )

That's pretty sad. He doesn't look too bad. He's a good guy- my cousin, big tubby guy. Working on a good second chin. [He makes motions around him to indicate Roman's physique.] But Roman gets many girls and a lot of attention because he makes them feel safe and good about themselves. Miles is kind of like that. Sure he is small and kind of strange looking, but he's a good guy and he smiles a lot, and he seems like he is pretty safe when he is not being shitty asshole.

He probably should not think so bad of himself.

( hold up did this man just call miles safe. )

I think you and me have vastly different definitions of the word safe. Standing next to Miles is a one way ticket to becoming collateral damage -- believe me, I know from experience. ( he got kidnapped. twice! ) Maybe, but no one at home is going to let him forget it. We grew up together, you know, and all his life he's been set on proving that not only can he do everything anyone else can, but he can do it better in half as much time. ( ivan has not forgotten about their lightflyer challenge through the dendarii gorge, where they turned the lights off and flew it with the various safeties off until ivan realized halfway through one of them that miles was doing it with his eyes closed. they hadn't done it since then, thank god, because ivan isn't frigging suicidal. ) It's a good thing that he can or otherwise it'd end with him dead years ago.

( ivan shrugs. )

But he's family.

Edited 2015-11-23 16:24 (UTC)

It is not that kind of safe. Believe me, I invite collateral damage too. With all the people on this ship that do, we're pretty fucked. [He says it casually, but his role as a harbinger of disaster is something he's thoroughly convinced himself of.]

No, what I mean is he is safe for people. My cousin does everything in his power to make the people he loves cared about, even if bad things happen around him. And women especially have a hard time in my world. He's good to them, and they can tell immediately that he is not meant to be dangerous. So, even if he is not handsome, he is quick to be popular.

So, apparently unless he is possessed by fit of asshole, Miles is pretty safe that way. And that is what people care about. [Maybe if he knew that he wouldn't think badly of himself.]

But it is good of you. At least it is nice to know Slavs still remember what it means to be family.

Great, well, nice to know I went from 'happily avoids things and people who are going to get me killed' to roaming around space with a bunch of you. ( his sigh is dramatic and over the top ) Why does this always happen to me?

( back to dishing about his crazy cousin, however. )

Never really thought of it like that. I gotta say, it explains why he can get just about anyone roped into his schemes. He was the worst bully I knew, growing up, except it was never bullying. Just able to talk me and Elena into doing whatever he wanted at the time because it sounded like a great idea. We never minded until he got hurt and we had to explain why we were racing each other down the bannister in Vorkosigan House. ( luckily, aunt cordelia and uncle aral tended to believe them when they said it was miles' idea ) But yeah, he does.

( care, that is )

Seven hundred years couldn't change us completely. Just mostly.

( heyyyyyyy neo-feudalism. )

Maybe we'll cancel each other out.

[That sounds unlikely to him, too.]

Hey, my cousin and brother were a lot like that too. I was the youngest, they give me a hard time. But I still cared. But no good bannisters.

But hey, I think I saw something decent this way. [He starts walking.] Come on. Tell me what has changed. Ивер не би требало да пада далеко од стабла.

[They may not speak Serbian, but it felt appropriate to say in his native tongue.]

I wish. I could have avoided both kidnappings if that were true! ( he does care, and he's so goddamn proud of miles that it hurts if he thinks about it. family, eh? ) Family. Can't live with 'em, can't actually escape them even when you get thrown into a different universe, or whatever this is.

( he perks up at the mention of having found a place for tea, and keeps time with niko's steps, a step behind and to the side. the serbian doesn't translate, but he nods anyway. )

How much has Miles and Gregor told you about Barrayar?

( just so he has a reference point )

Not much. [Niko glances behind them, as sort of a nervous habit of a man used to be followed. There's nothing there. It's just a habit.]

I only spoke with Gregor enough to give him Miles.

It's changed a lot from what it used to be. The Conservatives and the Progressives agree on that, although they can't make up their minds on whether or not it's a good thing. ( start at the beginning, ivan. ) We're not all Russian -- there's four main language groups: Russian, English, French, and Greek. Most of the colonists were from the related countries, back some seven hundred years ago.

( ivan's really not sure where he shakes out along those lines except for not greek, because the greekies tend to keep to themselves. )

Different ships to the same place?

[He actually sounds pretty interested in this. Maybe because in his time, Europe is a wreck of high-powered ethnic and ideological war, has been for nearly a century, and he keeps pondering ways that it can still turn out.]

Edited 2015-11-27 14:29 (UTC)

Nah, same one. Fifty thousand colonists -- no one thought they'd be stranded. But the wormhole collapsed behind them, so they ended up stuck on an unterraformed planet until the rest of the galaxy stumbled across them. About a hundred years ago? Something like that.

( well it's not like they got along, but it certainly wasn't divided amongst ethnic lines, unless you counted everyone's general dismissal of the greek speaking population. )

Anyway, the galaxy finds this planet that's using horses and swords instead of proper weaponry and thinks it's an easy target for conquest. So we fight it out for about twenty years, and eventually they just give up. Er. Not without killing five million of us and nuking Vorkosigan Vashnoi. Ask Miles about that, his grandfather willed the damn glowing crater to him.

Edited 2015-11-27 16:55 (UTC)

That is not very surprising. Unfortunate, but not surprising.

I will remember to ask him about that sometime. I guess being responsible for a war torn land is pretty shitty. [It's hard enough just to live in one.]

My cousin told me the first Americans, the natives, were descended from the people that crossed from Russia. Much longer before, but it would make sense that the same happened to them when the "civilized" people arrived. [He actually made quotes in the air with his fingers as he walked.]

( that makes ivan grin, because he can just imagine. his knowledge of earth history falls apart when it comes to the specifics even after spending months there, but surely human nature hasn't changed all that much. although he's pretty sure the native americas didn't win out against their "civilized" invaders. they just must have not had their version of piotr pierre vorkosigan. )

If they bothered to pay attention to everything that happened in the Time of Isolation they probably wouldn't have tried. Nice to know that civilization is used as an excuse even in the past. And sure, we've got our share of backcountry hicks and all that, but uncivilized is a stretch, when they're barely human. ( ah, cetagandans. but he perks up slightly. ) You mentioned your cousin before. What's he like, and do you want to trade?

( please. please trade him. )

Biggest fucking idiot I have ever known. Addicted to gambling. Slept around when he had a beautiful woman- they had an open relationship, but still, if I had someone this good, it is difficult to imagine how anyone else would get attention.

But I think it is because he is full of love. He is completely pacifist. He would hurt no one. He laughs and finds the good in everyone. His home destroyed, finding himself at the bottom of the barrel, and all he sees is great future. Once I thought he was full of shit when he brags- it's true, in a way. He exaggerated a lot. But I think sometimes it was the only way he could show how good he did. [He used to tell everyone how amazing Niko was, as if he were a legendary figure, a man that was a great lover and adventurer. Maybe that's how Roman actually did see him.]

I think I'll keep him, even if he is a piece of shit moron sometimes. All trouble.

Almost thought I could get rid of him. ( he says with a quick smile. ) Although I can't blame you for not talking him, he's far more trouble than he seems at first.

I think family has to be a piece of shit moron sometimes. It's a requirement.

I guess it is also not one without a "hot-headed chump" either. Which is what my cousin calls me.

[Though for all his talking about Roman, he sincerely misses him now.]

( that makes ivan smile, even as much as miles' name calling veers from 'completely pointless' to 'really have you not come up with anything else besides ivan, you idiot'? )

Yep, name calling between cousins is definitely still a thing on Barrayar.

( or cousins who are more like brothers in most of the ways that count, at any rate. )

[This conversation makes him happier than most would. It means his hard shark smile, the one that looks like he's about to eat someone's face even when he's pleasantly amused, actually manages to look genuine. He misses Roman, and will likely never see him again, but he can't help but smile.]

I hope you at least end up with good ones. And by good ones, I mean ones that are funny in retrospect, when you are not so mad at each other.

[No, Niko, they're not.]

( yeah, that smile is a tad bit unnerving, ivan will admit that. but then again ivan's oldest male relative is a man who used to be known as the butcher of komarr and looked as formidable as the moniker, so he's used to it. still, there's a slight wariness that he can't hide at the edges of his smile before it vanishes into the same, wider smile he'd had plastered on his face since the conversation began. )

He settles for any variation of 'Ivan, you idiot'. ( he's not offended by it at all, honestly. ) I'm the one that has to be creative.

Edited 2015-12-05 07:46 (UTC)

( november intro log )

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God I want you to hear some of the Roman/Niko conversations now

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