thisavrou_log | ( june intro log )

( june intro log )

Who: Everyone
When: June 1st and on
Where: The Moira + Collectives ASH3 - BF3 - CLF5
What: The crew finds themselves visiting the vacation spot of the Collective.
Warnings: None for now. Please label your content!

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r & r
"Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us."

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.

Having left Amissis-Re behind, tensions among crew members have continued to escalate into ship-wide consequences, and recognizing the need for some separation among those aboard the Moira, the Captains make the unanimous decision to deviate from their present course to a "nearby" planet that is notable for such popular distractions. While it is not a permanent solution, measures are being taken to monitor the crew's morale much more closely. New arrivals will be treated as they always are; yet, now, more than ever, it is important to stress the balance of working together toward their goal of reaching their destination so that everyone will return home.

WELCOME TO COLLECTIVES ASH3 - BF3 - CLF5

The Collective is a paradise resort located far from any other neighboring planets to offer the most leisurely experience possible to its patrons. Artificially created for multiple uses, it is divided into separate locales interconnected with a tubing transport system that is so fast and efficient that it’s like being teleported to the next area. Extensive mapping can be found at various intersecting points to offer some direction, and there are even recognizable adverts from a very familiar stop months before spread out across the Collective. Whether looking to explore or to simply shed the weight of anxiety, there are plenty of opportunities to be found within ASH3, BF3, and CLF5.

All crew members are given a card from the Captains that has an unlimited amount of credits on it. Organized through trade, these allow Moirans access to any of the luxuries that the Collective has to offer aside from the purchase of items considered weapons due to the escalation of recent events. Food, clothes, trinkets, or even a full spa experience—the limits, otherwise, are endless. The Captains emphasize that this is time to relax and take a break from the grind that is living and working on a spaceship as unique as the Moira.

☄ B.E.A.C.H! THE BEST ESCAPE ANYONE CAN HAVE!

For those seeking a fun time, the Collective offers a variety of activities on ASH3. There are multiple beaches to enjoy as well as beachside kiosks offering drinks, beach toys and surf equipment for those a little more sports-minded. The tide washes in beautiful shells to collect, and there are always life-guards on duty to make sure everyone stays safe while enjoying their time on the beach. ASH3 offers a safe and friendly environment with plenty of fun in the sun for everyone. There is also a boardwalk full of restaurants, bars and plenty of games and entertainment for when you want to step off the sand but don’t want to give up being out in the sun.For those who can’t or won’t bear the sun, ASH3 also offers a thriving night life on both beach and boardwalk. There are midnight boat tours to view the bioluminescent schools of fish native to the island and bonfire dance parties that go long into the mornings. On the boardwalk, all shops are open until midnight as well as many clubs and social spots where crew can mingle with other tourists in the area.

So you don’t like the sand. It’s too hot, and it gets everywhere. Then hop onto one of the many transportation systems, slip into some warmer clothes, and take to the slopes. More experienced crew can immediately dive in, but those who need help can take lessons on how to ski or snowboard. There’s hot cocoa, sleds, snowball fights, and the occasional person making a snow angel (or snow person). ASH3 also has areas for rock climbing, sky diving, base jumping, bodyboarding, canoeing, hang gliding, jetskis, mountain biking, hiking, and much more.

☄ WHEN I SHOP, THE WORLD GETS BETTER

Not everyone enjoys shopping, but this Collective entices even the most frugal and reluctant into spending their credits here. In fact, the Captains are encouraging this. They give the explicit “order” to buy whatever you want for yourself and your fellow crew members, but more than that, to consider making purchases to better the ship. Is there any area of the Moira that needs spruced up? Maybe some fresh paint in the mess hall,or new furniture in the decks? Maybe some fancy curtains for all those windows on the observation deck, or a few throw pillows? New pots and pans for the kitchen might be something to add to this list as well as equipment for the rec area, or whatever else you think BF3 will have to help increase comfort aboard the Moira.

To enhance your shopping experience, the technology here allows you to try on clothes without lifting a hand. The food here is an unlimited spread of gourmet dining to comfort food and every dessert you can think of. When you’re finished with your purchases, have all your packages and larger items delivered back to the ship for you.

☄ TREAT YO SELF

The accommodations on the Collective of CLF5 are as unique as they come. Lodging is available for those who want to sleep in an environment that’s underwater or perhaps those who desire something as simple as a soft bed. No matter what kind of room you want to purchase for the night, it’ll be available here, and the only true limit is the imagination. When you aren’t relaxing in a hotel room, you’ll find that there are numerous spas and hair salons that offer varied services. Gold face masks rejuvenate your skin, the Ever Young™ Spa can make you look ten years younger with one treatment, and the mud baths are known across the universes for making you feel youthful and refreshed. If you’re looking for a new hairstyle or to relax, this Collective is the place for you to spend those hard-earned credits.

( ooc; For questions, go here. Please comment to activity check to receive new ranks (if applicable)! )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ What a strange, helpless sensation. Kenobi feels he might say or do anything to help relieve Leia of this pain, labors under the assumption there's nothing to be done. But how can that be?

Obi-Wan tries to think, then, of who it could be — who she might be talking about — and only one face comes to mind. And honestly, he's too legitimately afraid to ask if he's right in his assumption. ]

He's... unstable?

[Leia nods--no pause to consider the question. Unstable covers the way he accused her of abandoning him as easily as it does his declaration that he murdered his father.

Her voice is low when she speaks again. This is veering into private territory, but it should give Obi-Wan an idea of just what kind of behavior she's talking about.]

When he arrived, he tried to beat Han to a pulp. No explanation--nothing. [She digs her fingernails into her shin.] He hates him. And he doesn't like me much more. Whatever we did...

He's a Force user.

[ Which seems like a strange leap from something like that, but it's alarming in a way that lends credence to Leia's words. Obi-Wan doesn't resent his father, but if he did, he would use his fists first.

He has to say it. He tries not to let the words tremble out, but the more layers that build on this long-running tale, the more he hurts to be so distant from any place that could prevent the hurt involved in telling it.

He has to ask. ]

It's Kylo Ren, isn't it?

[Leia gives Obi-Wan a sharp glance at the name, then realizes that her reaction is all the confirmation he's likely to need. Ben--Kylo Ren--clearly isn't in the habit of making neutral acquaintances. Not if the look on Obi-Wan's face is anything to go by.

At least it's stated and out there. Some of the tension leaves her shoulders, but it's not replaced with anything; she simply sags forward a little.]

He calls himself that. [If nothing else comes from this conversation, she wants Obi-Wan to know this much. Despite the weary expression on her face, there's warmth in her voice when she says,] But we named him Ben.

[ He can feel his heart sink — down, down, deep into a well-hidden darkness — and he works his jaw against the strange combination of emotions attempting to force its way out of him.

Kylo Ren. Ben. The mere thought feels like a hand closing tightly around his throat. ]

We've met. [ And then his own little secret: ] He told me something of my death.

He--oh, Obi-Wan, I'm sorry.

[This is my fault. She can sense just how it bothers Obi-Wan, but again, it's hard to be certain whether that's the Force or the ability to read people. Or common sense, she thinks wryly. She and Han were devastated by the future Ben revealed to them; why wouldn't Obi-Wan be as well?]

I'm sorry. [This time quieter still.] He hates...everyone from his life, it seems like--and meeting his namesake probably didn't help.

[It's impossible for her to imagine what arriving here was like for Ben: surrounded by a past he seems desperate to escape, living in close quarters with a family he refuses to acknowledge. He must be so unhappy...but that's not reason for any of this. She's torn by slow-simmering anger and the desire to gather Ben up in her arms.]

[ The chill that runs up his spine suggests something more than just plain unrest. If he's the man's namesake, then the choking maneuver feels that much more insidious. Especially knowing he would be aware of what he was doing at the time. ]

Why? [ He's flabbergasted and almost hurt thinking about it, not that he could blame Leia for that. Or Kylo, really. It feels so strange. Do any of these people even know him, or was this Ben person they (mostly) seem to revere someone entirely different? This begs too many questions. ]

Why would he-? I was long-since dead... I don't understand what he would have against me. Over something like a name?

[ Then again, they did determine he was unstable, didn't they? ]

[She's too old to be able to take Obi-Wan's comfort without offering something in return, but she's too young to have the answers they both long for. All she can do is shoulder blame and look for an opportunity to ask these questions of her son. There's only one person on the Moira who can answer them satisfactorily, and he isn't here.]

I don't know. [Any answer she could give would be speculation at best, and it wouldn't have basis in much more than suspicion and gut feeling.] You have to understand, I met him months ago. He talked to me as if we were strangers--I don't think he ever would have told me, if he'd had his way.

[A pause.] I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. I doubt you were hoping to discuss this when you came to the beach today.

I had no agenda when I arrived here.

[ Which is to say, he never would have left the ship if he hadn't been dragged away by her father. But that's another conversation altogether.

His grip around her tightens and remains tight as he slowly brings himself under control. There's little use in hiding his upset, especially from Leia, but it's the right course of action for a Jedi to always present themselves as an unmoving figure with a calming sense of balance. ]

You don't need to apologize. I'm glad you shared, otherwise I would have spent all my time worrying about what could be the matter.

[ He can show he cares. Or, now he can. ]

Then--thank you.

[This isn't an easy subject to face, and she knows it. Subjecting anyone else to it leaves her with a vague feeling of guilt; if it isn't enough that her friends and family have to suffer Ben's wrath, they have to bear the ugly weight of his identity along with her.

But perhaps knowing the details offers some scant comfort, in its way; at least there's an explanation for Obi-Wan to take hold of. And selfishly, it helps to have confided it in someone else. It feels no less monstrous, but at least it isn't something she and Han have to manage alone.]

When did you meet him? [It's not something either Ben or Obi-Wan has mentioned before.]

A few days after our first mail call. He received my robe and I received— [ A shuddering breath. ] —a mask. [ A wretch, vile thing that had left him and Anakin reeling for days.

He reaches a hand up and scrubs at his beard, but his eyes are distant now, focused out beyond the horizon line. Everything blurs — the past, the present, the future — and he yearns for a full clarity that may never come to him.

And then, a little sadly, he coughs out a laugh. ] I suppose now I can understand how that mix-up might happen.

What mask?

[The empty eyes and vented mouthpiece that made up Lord Vader's approximation of a face fill her mind, but there's no reason--why would they send that to anyone? Let alone to her son?

A different one, she begs silently. Let it be any other mask.]

He called it his property, but it's not his mask.

[ And notice how Obi-Wan isn't speculating. But there's a clear path, he thinks, that leads right back to the holo he took from the temple. It's Darth Vader's mask, and the last thing he sees before his death. Much more speculation and Kenobi isn't so sure he'll like what conclusions he might reach. ]

[Sorry, Obi-Wan. You're not getting out of this that easily--not when that response is the opposite of reassuring.]

What did it look like?

Trouble. Undeniable trouble.

[ When he closes his eyes, he doesn't see the mask, but he can still hear it breathing. ]

[Which doesn't tell her a thing. She's quiet, willing to wait if it means he says more.]

[ Well, they can wait all day here, can't they? As long as everyone's remembered to shield themselves properly against the solar radiation, of course. ]

How did you find out about him? About Ben?

[The subject of the mask seems closed. Leia sighs--but with the luck they've had thus far, perhaps it's best to let it remain a mystery (however slight) for now.]

Wait here. I'll show you.

[She stands, brushing sand off herself as she goes to pick up her bag and towel; after this conversation, she's not sure she's going to manage much more in the way of lazing about. When she returns, she fishes the holo recording out of an inside pocket, then unwraps it from a bit of plastic (to keep it from getting wet, naturally). Without further explanation, she hands it to Obi-Wan.]

[ No need for an instruction manual. Obi-Wan takes the holo and starts it without a word. The image of the young man feels very familiar, even just at the start.

He watches, blue eyes searching each detail, and he almost imagines he can feel this boy's loneliness. It doesn't easily reconcile with the man who saw fit to choke him in a hallway over a melted piece of trash.

When it's finished, Kenobi holds it in his hand as if it could still possess that delicate child cradled in suspense by bits and bytes. ]

I see.

[ He frowns and shakes his head. ]

I'm beginning to think the legacy of the Jedi is not one of peace. We've... left so much destruction in our wake.

[She has to bite down on the inside of her cheek, watching Ben's message. It's something she's kept to herself since the conversation with Han. Once or twice, she's pulled it out to view, when no one else is around to see, but she usually stops it before he says much more than Hi, Mom.

Going further than that means seeing his loneliness without being able to do anything about it. It means drinking deeply of the fact that a little boy with a lopsided smile--a boy who loved her once--grew up into the terror that Obi-Wan met.

Every time he tells her to visit, she longs to find the man he became and wrap him up in her arms. What did I do to you?]

It shouldn't be. [She risks a glance at Obi-Wan, uncertain she wants to see what she'll find there.] The Jedi uphold peace in the galaxy--they serve the most noble cause anyone can.

[She must sound like a child. These are, after all, the sentiments of bedtime stories long since told. But when she sees Luke use the Force, she can still see just what good a Jedi can do.

She shakes her head, looking out at the water.]

I don't know why I'm telling you that. You are a Jedi. But this isn't a failure we can lay at your order's feet.

[It belongs, she's certain, at her own.]

[ Obi-Wan feels lost, although he does what he can to hide that. He feels like a fool, although he does what he can to hide that, too. In all this time he's taken such a simple approach to the Force and the Order, and in the end, neither can be boiled down to the simplicity necessary for his point of view. ]

This is exactly the kind of failure we can lay at the feet of my order.

[ Suddenly the memory of his confrontation with Kylo Ren takes on a different cast of color. The invisible hand isn't only around his throat. ]

His pain is obvious, as is his loneliness. Anakin was the same, and now I see that in some people, there's no setting that aside.

[ And then, not without some impetuousness, he shares his real meaning. ]

Luke didn't see it. [ Uncle Luke. ] He must have learned that from someone.

Edited (TYPO) 2016-06-09 03:41 (UTC)

[She's quiet for a while after Obi-Wan answers. It's easier to take the blame on herself, not least because Ben seems determined to thrust it at her. The Jedi Order, such as it was, was in tatters by the time Luke came looking for teachers; by the time Ben's old enough to learn, all that's left of it, surely, is his mother and uncle. Their choices determine everything.]

Maybe.

[She knows perfectly well that blame probably rests with all of them. Most situations don't have a single emperor orchestrating the downfall of a galaxy--even the emperor doesn't really have that. It's harder to accept an ambiguous answer for this, though. The more muddled and complicated things are, the less likely it is she can change the future.]

But it sounds like I didn't see it, either. I don't know how-- [She cuts herself off, lips pressing tight against each other.] When I watch that holo, I don't recognize the woman he's talking to. Not if she didn't see how unhappy he was.

[ Obi-Wan shakes his head slowly, lips pressed together into a thin line. It's impossible to tell what motivations they might all have in a day or a week or a year. What might feel cold, could very well be a symptom of something greater.

Nevertheless, Kenobi has no suitable answer to offer that might explain her (or Kylo's) pain away. ]

You can't blame yourself for something you haven't done.

[ His voice turns quiet. ]

Has he seen this? Does he know you have it?

If I'm going to, though--

[But she suspects Obi-Wan won't accept that as reasoning. The fact that her son is so deeply troubled is reason enough for her to take on all the blame she can; it's a sort of magical thinking, that if she only carries this pain as heavily as Ben does, she'll be able to understand it.

Leia doesn't strictly approve of magical thinking, but every little bit helps when it comes to long odds. How many times has she worked just a little later, just another hour, as if that would make a real difference for another planet like Alderaan?

At the question, she shakes her head.]

He's violent. [The memory, barely faded, of his fingers bruising her arm comes back to her. All that over the name Ben--just a name.] I wouldn't risk it.

[ He knows this much, but it still alarms him to hear it. Kenobi frowns deeply and turns his attention to Leia, looking her over a little more pointedly. ]

Did he hurt you?

( june intro log )

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