(open) mission: hit the beach

[aithinkthereforeaiam]

Date & Time: July 18th-24th, Exsilium Time
Location: Sea Shore during the Late Cretaceous Period
Characters: All! Oh those pesky mandatory missions.
Summary: In lieu of the success of the space shuttle's test flight, all of the Transports have been sent back to the Cretaceous period to gather mineral supplies and volcanic rock, while doubling as a sort of 'vacation' and chance to get Transports out of the Initiative's hair. With well stocked supplies, camping gear, and more burlap sacks than anyone could possibly ever use, the Transports have been set under a protective dome and told to collect what they can... and to enjoy the sunshine.
Warnings: Shenanigans!

The overflow log can be found HERE!

It's almost surreal, the quality of color, of light, of oxygen saturation in the air once people arrive. It's so rich that the Initiative sent people back with respirators, to help ease the transition, and warned those who would listen about the effects of too much oxygen on a system.

What they don't warn for is the sheer alien familiarity of the landscape, the warmth, the roughness of the sand on the beaches. This is not the fine, sandy beaches out of vacation dreams, but a rougher, larger granule sort, with shells that might be recognizeable as ancestors to ones those from Earth would remember washing up on familiar beaches, millions of years later.

Most striking is the lack of abundant wildlife found among the fronds and leaves and foliage, or underneath the surface of the saltier, much warmer waters extending off the beach. While acting as a permeable membrane to oxygen and water, along with the sorts of phytoplankton that kept sea creatures alive, all the larger animals had been pushed out by the Initiative's installment of the safety dome. Along the transparent walls, curious creatures would come close, peer in, tap against the barrier and run off if frightened, but very few were found inside at any size larger than that of a house cat. It was for the better in the long run.

Too bad that the Initiative didn't have ultra-violet blocking technology in their shielding. For all the atmosphere is in much better shape millions of years in the past, the sun is as strong as ever, and the unwary will be burned through and through if they're not careful.

Comments

Saul | o-p-e-n

[5055034455]

[So someone looks like he's just fallen out of the world's most cliched beach scene: Saul is sporting a not-that-hideous Hawaiian shirt, a pair of khaki shorts, some fly shades, and a smear of sunblock on the bridge of his nose to complete the picture.

And let's not forget that stupid grin of his.

He can be found in any number of places during the day: socializing in the sun, napping in the shade, trailing along the edge of the water to wet his feet. At night, he's raiding the alcohol stores, drinking just enough to feel even giddier about this whole thing.

A beach. Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs that can't kill them.

This is great.]

[pilot]

[ s'up saul. there's a sort of familiar if you squint man also raiding the alcohol stores. what do.

yep. that's it. that's the entire tag. ]

[5055034455]

[Oh, hey. Look. It's that guy.]

Mr. Sulu!



[fuck wait no wrong franchise]

...Solo! Mr. Solo. Han, right? I've seen you on the network.

[pilot]

[ he straightens slowly, studying saul over his shoulder. ]

Yeah. And you're...?

[ninjamanager]

[Charles spent a decent portion of his morning doing his share of the work... but you can bet once the sun gets high, he's headed for the water, shucking off his short sleeved shirt and cooling off. once he comes back out of the surf, he grabs a towel and moves for where he put his glasses. he gives Saul a nod of greeting]

Afternoon.

[5055034455]

[Oh, so that's whose glasses Saul almost stepped on. Good to know.

Saul returns the nod with a pleasant little smile.]

Hey. Nice weather, huh?

[ninjamanager]

It certainly is. I'm going to guess they're not usually this accomodating with their location choices. [he'll just clean those off before putting them back on, and offer a hand] Charles Ofdensen.

[curatesecrets]

[oh god this entire mission is pain. Artie coated himself in sunscreen and spent his day moving as much material as possible, but it wasn't much, as the only shape he could really he considered to be in is "human cookie jar". as such, he's collapsed in a beach chair at the end of the day, a broad and somewhat ridiculous straw hat helpingkeep the setting sun out of his eyes.]

Ugh...

[and oh god there is Saul. no no he is too tired for this. he will just blatantly pull his hat down and hope it makes him invisible]

[5055034455]

[Oh.

Well then.

Since Artie so obviously doesn't want to see Saul, Saul will pretend like he didn't notice Artie and that stupid hat at all. In fact, he walks all the way away, disappearing from sight...

...so he can sneak up behind Artie's chair and creepily whisper:] Nice hat, Nielsen.

[curatesecrets]

[that earns Saul a very spectacular flail as Artie nearly falls out of his chair and dumps himself onto the sand. he just manages to catch himself, though he does lose that nice hat in the process. he scoops it up and turns in his seat, sullenly brushing the sand off of his beloved hat. grudgingly:]

Thank you.

[then he sighs, realizing that it's not Saul's fault he had to do menial labor today]

This is not exactly my idea of a relaxing getaway. I feel like I should have orange coveralls and a chain on my ankle.

[ensorceler]

[ Wow, that is a colorful outfit. Enough to catch Anne's attention while she laboriously works her way along the shoreline; the water soothing but the humidity still stifling for her in her heavy skirts and corset and bodice. The only alteration she could modestly make is to braid her hair back in a weave and then wrap it in a bun, pinning it with a native flower she'd found among the jungle of green just beyond the beach.

When she spots him, they just happen to be heading towards each other, and so Anne duly steps aside away from the water when it's time and curtsies in passing. He could be nothing but a peasant, but it's always smarter to play it safe with strangers, and she had to admire his doublet. It's colorful, whereas so many opt for bland in this time. Rather...Exsilium's time. ]

Sir.

[5055034455]

[Saul has a number of weaknesses, but somewhere near the top of the list is definitely "women in period clothing being demure and curtseying at him."

He actually didn't know this was a Thing of his, but that's probably because it's never happened before. You learn something new every day, right? So he stops, flashes the kind young lady a grin, and reaches for her hand.

C'mon, Anne. Let him kiss it like a proper gentleman.]

Milady.

[ensorceler]

[ Well in that case, you bet! It means that she'll wait until he does before straightening up, too, but one might be surprised at how long she could hold a curtsy, even when she's dying from heat and discomfort. Period women know how to hide discomfort like nobody's business, all behind a careful smile. ]

I find such manners here so rarely.

[crossbearing]

( Good God, Saul.

Helena is wearing something rather less offensive to behold than that shirt. The advantage of a one piece is that it is exceptionally good at covering the many scars, bullet sourced and otherwise, and also the Abs of Vigilanteism.

She was rather enjoying just walking along the beach, until she spies that eyesore of a shirt. She was on her way to finding Barbara, but wow. That shirt. She's going to just push her sunglasses back up and grimace a little. )

[5055034455]

[That is much less offensive to behold, yes. Saul notices her staring, and he sure as hell notices the look she's offering, so he's just going to go ahead and be his usual self about it.

He smirks and dips his head, regarding Helena over the rims of his sunglasses.]

Like what you see?

[crossbearing]

No at all.

( And there it is: Sicily in a can. Or an accent, whatever. Men and their egos. He even looks like some of the men her father used to work with: smug, pleased with himself, although far far more offensively dressed. )

[ningwofuren]

[ It was the hideousness of that blue Hawaiian monstrosity that Saul dared to call "a shirt" that won Cao Cao's attention. He eyed the strange man with a look of slight bafflement.

This was not a vacation nor was this time for any of them to relax and soak up the sun. If anything, the King of Wei believed that the transports should make use of their time here by honing their skills. However, it would seem that not everyone was as shrewd or practical as Cao Cao.

Watching as the buffoon napped within the shade of a nearby tree, a wicked thought passed through Cao Cao's mind. Without so much as a warning, the warlord struck his sheathed blade against the tree as loudly as he could to awake lazy man. ]

Get up!

omg yes.

[5055034455]

[Saul's a light sleeper anyway, so he's already half-awake when he hears Cao Cao approaching. He cracks one eye open just in time to see what he's pretty sure is some kind of weapon swinging over his head and promptly yelps, throwing his arms over his head and ducking into the sand.

NOT COOL, ASSHOLE.]

What the — [Cue a groggy glare.] Jesus. Are you crazy?

[quackery]

[A certain teenager definitely agrees with him about how great this beach is! Which is why she's hurrying along the sand quickly, and with so much fascination towards her surroundings that she doesn't notice him as she rushes through a bit of shade. This means that she succeeds in catching her foot on one of his outstretched legs as he sleeps, effectively sending herself tumbling to the ground as she looks backwards to see who she's disturbed.]

Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I should have been - oh, it's you.

[Which isn't said through any actual dislike or ill will; her voice is instead light and teasing rather than cold. She's met enough people like him to know that joking around like this is usually better than being serious. Still, though—]

Are you alright?

[5055034455]

[JESUS CHRIST IT'S



only Ahiru.

They have pretty much the same reaction; Saul sits up with a violent start, then sighs and leans back once more when he realizes who just tumbled over him. While running a hand over his face:] No, I think you broke something.

[It's like he just wiped a deadpan onto his face.]

Please. You're tiny. I'm fine. Are you alright?

[onehundredswords]

[Getting a drink? Lucky you, so is Gin! When he approaches their stash and sees Saul he almost doesn't recognize him.]

In yer' own time there, guy.

[5055034455]

[OH HEY, GIN. What's up.

Saul doesn't recognize him immediately, either, mostly because he's tipsy and sleepy and trying to pour himself a new glass of wine. When he realizes he can't quite manage to hold the bottle steady, he takes a swig straight from it.

Problem solving.]

Hm?

only a few days later than I promised

[controlledvariable]

[So far avoiding Saul has been a pretty good strategy: she's happy with Ellie, she's not stressed or fretting about how weird things are, and while the guilt lingers, everything else this month (Babs, thank god) has been enough of a distraction that it hasn't been too awful.

Hiding from her problems, running away from them, has always been too easy, and now that she's feeling a lot more steady, she decides it's time to stop.

She enjoys Saul's company too much to avoid him forever, even if things might be awkward and difficult for a little while. Still, when she spots him at the edge of the water, she makes her way over, dressed in a modest one piece and cut-off denim shorts.]

Hey, Saul.

[Her hands are in her pockets, body languade a little closed off but not too awkward, offering Saul a bit of a wry smile.]

pukes on

[5055034455]

[Saul knows better than to think he can get away with avoiding his problems forever, so he's not surprised when he spots Stephanie approaching from the corner of his eye. He's a little glad — okay, no; he's way more than just a little glad — that she's the one taking the initiative here, because his plan was to give her as much space for as much time as she needed, and keeping away from her has proven exponentially more difficult than he thought it would be.

But he did it. And now he doesn't have to anymore, because she has Ellie and he —

Well.

The thing with Effie is weird. Complicated. But then again, it wouldn't be a relationship involving him if it weren't weird and complicated, would it?

The important thing here is that he's over Stephanie and doesn't love her anymore, not in the way he thought he did, except then he makes the mistake of looking over and meeting her gaze and even he knows that's bullshit.

Luckily, he's reacquired his camouflage skills in recent weeks, so he mirrors her smile and rocks back on his heels in a little bow.]

Hey, Steph.

LAAATE, THIS IS SO LAAAAAATE OTL

[showmeyourwreath]

SUCH A LATE OVERFLOOOW>/a>