exsiliumlogs | (no subject)

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Date: November 1st
Location: The Observatory.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports arrive and are shuffled into the Observatory after their initial briefings. The zombie plot will not spill over into this area, this area is safe and unaffected! To face zombies, characters must leave the area, and please move to the event log with those threads.
Warnings: None.

Your arrival here has been very unceremonious. One second you were somewhere else, and now, very suddenly, your feet hit the glowing white of the Transporter pad, and you're here. You aren't alone, either. There's a crowd of others around you, each seeming just as bewildered, angry, or confused as you might feel. At the head of the group is a woman in purple robes, solemn and taciturn. She hurries over a quick overview of your intended purpose here, and gives direct answers when asked for them, but to most things she simply shows you how to access the tablet you've just been given, or tells you that the DITR's greeters will explain everything. On the tablet, you can find the history of this place and a record of what your new cohorts have experienced — although it won't have Network access for another 8 hours. Someone stands on hand to give you a weapon, and though the armory is now greatly reduced, you should be able to find something to suit you.

You're shepherded down a walkway tunnel and into the Observatory, where you will find screens mounted on three sides of the wide room. It's night outside the great wide windows, and the lunar landscape isn't much to look at right now; the only lighting comes from dull red emergency lights, but there are… noises. Listen carefully. Over the voices of your fellow Transports, now and then you might catch the sound of a scrape, or a low and muffled cry. It doesn't sound human. Are there animals up here?

You're free to explore the base, visit and use any of the VR rooms, or discover your new room and roommates, but try not to step out of any airlocks if oxygen is a requirement for your system.

Welcome to the moon base, and to the remains of Exsilium.

[[ ooc; As a note for players of current characters: please keep your root comments confined to the various groups and organizations that set up root comments to greet new characters! We highly encourage tagging around here, but since it's a log meant for new characters specifically, we ask that they be the ones to set up root threads to the entry. Thank you, and happy playing! ]]

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[ Perhaps one of the metal benches meant to make the new arrivals more comfortable or any of the stuff the existing Transports have put out to achieve the same goal, and fail, as it seems to be in your case. Call it instinct or habit, but Cesare hardly needs to think before reaching to hopefully rest his hand against the small of her back and another to hold her arm to keep her from falling. ]

You were drunk enough for that.

Believe me, I haven't had a decent glass of anything all day.

[ and it's true. her recent memory is all scrambling off of a makeshift doctor's table and being cornered by a vampire, and she's lucky she isn't drained of blood yet. she doesn't shuffle back from whatever's caught her, instead lazily turning her head back to look at him.

oh. look at that. handsome men coming to the rescue. if someone's going to complain, it's certainly not going to be julia hoffman. ]

Uh. Thanks.

[ He has had less gracious expressions of gratitude before, ones with words not suitable for polite company, so he is even becoming accustomed to this. He makes sure she can stand on her own again before letting go with a nod. ]

We must remedy that soonest, surely?

You offering?

[ hopefully he'll forgive that slightly dumbfounded expression, because really, this isn't something that happens every day. maybe the moon isn't too terrible a place to be, after all. if her theory proves correct, she'll take it. ]

I must have a good reason to offer.

[ Whether that is a request for her to give him a reason or reassurance that she has is a mystery, but he does offer his hand to presumably escort her somewhere. ]

Have you any questions, first?

[ and, predictably, she's more than happy to accept the invitation, taking hold of his hand. truth be told, she's several questions, but none that aren't terribly typical, and, honestly, have been answered by the technicians. ]

So, what, were they playing some kind of prank back there? A war. Seriously. Do they know they're being assholes about this draft, or?

[ He holds her hand loosely, ever the gentleman, and starts walking slowly toward one of the welcoming tents. Those people do a better job of talking nice to the newcomers. But she doesn't strike him as the kind to care much for niceties. ]

I believe they do but care not. Desperate times, as you can imagine.

Oh, so they just think we care when this doesn't even affect us?

[ come to think of it, it reminds her of her (former? julia doesn't want to think about that) employer. she pushes the thought out of her mind but not without an idle thought at the idea that the initiative might have a collins behind it. ]

Don't tell me everyone here's such an obvious narcissist.

It does affect us, but that is a long story, and will require at least a place to sit if not also something to drink.

[ The tent he leads her to has several chairs and benches but only cookies to start, all wholesome goodness, and no alcohol in sight. ]

Are you hungry?

Isn't that what we're looking for? [ said with an arch of her eyebrow. this certainly isn't the bar she was expecting, but - well. sometimes julia does have a bit of a sweet tooth. without asking, she plucks a gaudily-decorated one off of one of the tables and takes a bite. at least she has the decency to talk after she's finished chewing. ]

Sugar's low. Actually. And I don't think they made any mention of a bakery back there.

[ Cesare can be generous enough with his time to help out the new Transports; one never knows which of them might prove useful. But he isn't quite so giving with his booze. Still he chuckles at her response. ]

A few of us made the effort to seem more welcoming. [ Hence the cookies. But drinks would really have been better. ] But I would not presume to invite you to my room to find what we are looking for.

You counting yourself among those? [ because, honestly, she got her hopes up for alcohol. and if he says "yes," she will quite loudly beg to differ. ]

-Why the hell not? Is chivalry still a thing on the moon, or something? I think I can handle it.

[ He just chuckles. Not quite. He painted a few cookies black because that's how he rolls, but that's only because he was trolling someone else. ]

Lesser men abide by chivalry.

- Huh. Can't say I've heard that one.

[ she finishes off that cookie and debates grabbing another, but decides against it, instead turning back to him with a discerning frown. julia crosses her arms. ]

Sorry, what did you say your name was?

[ He totally made that up just then. ]

Cesare.

[ He seems distracted for a moment, peering over the platefuls of cookies, until he spots a few with black icing and grin with amusement to himself. Alright. ]

Might I ask for yours?

Doctor Julia Hoffman.

[ she straightens, and there's a tiny, stiff shake of her shoulders. it's all apart of her stance; she's never not been one to be visibly proud of her title. but at his peering at the cookies, she turns toward them and -

and okay, some of them look weird, but. ]

What is it? Do you want one?

Ah, a dottore. You will prove useful.

[ He seems to brighten up at the idea, even if he shakes his head at her offer. Doctors are good people to make allies of. ]

Perhaps you will not need to see the battlefield.

Good god, let's hope, right?. [ yeah, she goes for another cookie. not one of the black ones. this isn't a funeral. ] The closest thing to a weapon I've ever held in my life is a scalpel, and somehow I don't think that's gonna get me by.

[ regardless of what they'd said about weapons in the transport room. julia rolls her eyes. though, honestly, it wouldn't be good to underestimate her with an empty liquor bottle. one of the heavy ones. ]

Is it that bad out there?

[ There's also the technology that he can't even begin to understand but even then they still require doctors. It's easier, seeing her strange dress, to assume they are all from about the same point in time in the future. ]

Bad enough. The Initiative tends to be considerate when sending one on missions.

If I may ask what weapon you chose for yourself?

How comforting. [ she rolls her eyes. it's not comforting at all.

but julia reaches for a chain around her neck and offers up an explanation with no trouble at all. ]

I mean, they said I could pick something on me, so why not. [ there's a beaded pendant on the end of that chain, and she seems absolutely giddy about it. ] Are you familiar with hypnotism?

[ That earns her one of those rare smiles that isn't a smirk. A real happy one. His mother chose her rosary. Any resemblance to her is certainly a great compliment to Julia. ]

The power to induce one to slumber? I know many with great skill in that regard.

[ His smile now turns cheeky. He means clerics with their dull sermons. ]

Yeah? [ she straightens. noticing the smile and taking it as a boost to her pride. ] It's not just that. I mean, it does involve getting the truth out of people. It's a way to shut the conscious mind down and get to the root of many medical problems, actually. [ THE MORE YOU KNOW.GIF ]

[ That sounds pretty cool to him, which probably shows on his face, though he doesn't quite catch the connection when plagues have nothing to do with one's conscience. What? ]

You heal by convincing your patient that he is healed? That sounds much like a priest.

Well, not exactly. Religion doesn't have much of anything to do with it, really. It's strictly scientific.

[ except when vampires are involved.

especially when vampires are involved.

julia does not mention this. ]

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