Other Worlds: V 1.0

[initiatesnpc]

Date & Time: May 14th at 9 AM to May 15th at 9 AM.
Location: Elmer's world
Characters: Elmer and his volunteer squad (and some Initiative NPCs).
Summary: The Initiative is tentatively trying to find a way to get Transports home, as outlined here. This is their first excursion.
Warnings: n/a

The Initiative employees who stand with the Transports at the Transporter pad are silent, nervous, but determined. They’re good words for the entire Initiative Hold today, really. For a room full of scientists all poised at their stations, it’s awfully quiet in here.

Transports and employees alike have been thoroughly briefed, warned repeatedly about the dangers, and finally, thanked for their bravery and contribution to the efforts to find a safe way home for unwilling Transports. (And yes, everyone has been promised a healthy pay bonus, pending their successful return.) There isn’t much left to be said. With one final nod, a white-coated woman at the forefront of the home-side scientists throws a switch.

There’s a hum, a rumble, a light...

...And then a lot of water.

It’s different from being sent back in time on missions; there is disorientation, a fleeting confusion. But as all of those along acclimate to their new universe, they might become aware of their surroundings. The fighters among them, having been warned repeatedly that there could be anything waiting for them on the other side, might even be a little disappointed.

They’re on a giant black cruise liner in the year 2002 — a veritable floating palace, with room for 2500 passeners and 1000 more crew on top of that. They seem to have just left shore, and the group’s en masse arrival on deck has drawn a few curious stares. Fortunately, their holographic devices should already have been activated before leaving, so the stranger-looking ones among them (you know who you are, green, gray, winged, and pointy-eared folks) won’t get more idle curiosity than the rest.

“Well,” says one of your resident lab-coated companions, “Mr Albatross, welcome home. Techs, spread out, get on the readings.” He tosses a doubtful glance at the rest of the Transports, a little apologetic. Really, they’d been prepared for a lot more explosions and gunshots than this. “The rest of you... see what you can find. I have a best-case-scenario list* from the higher ups, supplies they need. If anyone wants to see if there’s anything around here, be my guest.”

So there it is: you have a day, and a luxury cruise liner to spend it on. Better get to it.


*THE SCAVENGER HUNT LIST:
A lot of this list, handed out to the group on request, is really long, complex names of chemical compounds and fuel sources. Really, it’s mostly just wistful thinking on the part of the Initiative. But, hey, how were they supposed to be sure the group wouldn’t find itself teleported into a well-stocked laboratory in a futuristic world?

There is one very mundane mention on this list, though: alcohol. Is there a shortage in Exsilium? Do they just want better quality alcohol back home? Or is this for some extravagant party back in the Hold? Who knows. What is clear is it’s about the only thing on this list available on the cruise liner (although you never know, diligent searchers may get lucky with other items), and the Initiative has only given all travelers about $50 each.

[[ ooc; You’re welcome to make your own threads, mingle, or make up basically any scenario you’d like here! Feel free to tag the NPC, or handwave any communication with him entirely. They’ll be told to reconvene in 24 hours in the same place on the deck (except Elmer, who is to stay and look for any longer-term effects), and anyone not there runs the risk of being left behind when they attempt to reopen the portal back. ]]

Comments

[initiatesnpc]

[ Douglas Pontifex here has been chosen as head of the scientific team for this expedition. His hologram makes him look like a 40-something vacationing dad, complete with a terrible flowered shirt. His various instruments have even been disguised to look like an early smart phone, and the way he can't seem to take his eyes from them or ever part with them probably makes the poor guy look like he wishes he were still back in the office, and not on vacation.

He'll be around to answer any questions, or look sternly at anyone enjoying themselves too much. This isn't a vacation, dammit, it's a high-risk scientific expedition that happens to be on a marvelous cruise liner with every known luxury available. ]

[shelkethetransparent]

[Hey Science Dude there is a small child frowning at you.]

What do you need alcohol for?

[If this was all just a complicated way to get the scientists loaded...]

[reassures]

[Nill waves a hand to get Douglas's attention, before holding up a notepad for him to look at. Normally she'd just use her tablet, but she's not sure if that tech would be too advanced to just have out for a mission like this, so it's hidden away in her jacket for the moment.]

what kind of alcohol do you need?

[pixieboots]

[ Robin's leaning in a little close for personal space. Or maybe he's just unsubtly working on sneaking a peak at whatever it is Pontifex has in his hands there. ]

So what's with the alcohol?

[lar]

[ There comes Ella, enjoying herself quite a bit. She looked like that before they even got there, so it might not be directly related to the mission at all.

Okay, so she's on a mission, which is pretty awesome. It's partly because of that. ]

So this list, how badly do you need the things here? And what can I get if I give you the hard stuff?

[neveraskedforthis]

[ Wow man, what is this list even? And why are they on a cruise liner--that doesn't leave much room for exploration, literally. ]

So! [ He approaches. Casually, waving the list around a little. ] In other words, we're supposed to steal from this world. How, exactly, is that any different from what the UE does?

[imperfect]

[After skimming the list for a few seconds, Ed walks over to tap the man on the shoulder and, without waiting for an immediate response, brandishes it semi-accusingly.]

About some of these compounds...

[keep_smiling]

[At one point, Elmer will approach him, clasping a friendly hand on his shoulder.]

I hope you're enjoying yourself! With a tense face like that, it's hard to tell.

open

[keep_smiling]

[Elmer's pretty surprised by this. When he arrived in Exsilium, his friends were preparing for this trip, but hadn't made it on to the ship. But now here they are! How convenient.

Elmer turns to his fellow transports, grinning as always.]

This is a lot better than expected, right? Look around you! Isn't this great? So smile, everyone!

My friends should be on board here, so I'm going to take a look for them. You can't miss them, really. Especially Nile. Look for the huge bloke in a tribal mask, and that's him.

[And with that, Elmer trots off in search of his fellow immortals. Anyone is free to accompany him.]

open for threadjacking!

[pabulously]

[Okay, he can do this. He can totally do this. Sure, it's kind of scary that he's here without Korra or Asami, or anybody else he really knows.

BUT THAT'S OKAY. Because he's with a group of people, and he likes people. And he'll be paid well, which is awesome.

He's all pumped up listening to Elmer speak when --]

Wait a second. Did you say we're looking for a guy in a mask?!

[fraternize]

[—well, he'll follow along in his usual black clothes and crimson red cloak (not smiling), but he's just... thinking about something, now.]

...what will you do if they're not here?

[because he has to wonder. if they don't find anyone he knows, what are they going to do? it's good to think about that, too, right?]

[gevurah]

[ She can't blame him for being so excited. ]

Tribal mask, huh.

Open! - Various Locations

[dawningsun]

[He looked like any other human on board, perhaps dressed a bit better in a tailored deep purple long-sleeved shirt and black pants. It coordinated well with the dark purple and gold cane that he was thankful for- he didn't have much experience at all with ships, and keeping his balance at first was proving to be a tricky task.]

A.)
[Kirian is at the duty-free shops, looking at alcohol, and frowning at the various flavored and "novelty" liquors. He's eyeing the glass display case with a very, very, very expensive bottle of brandy inside.

He was used to buying things on the cheap, but that didn't mean he couldn't look.]

B.)
[A Mission in a mission, but that doesn't mean he can't do his own thing. He's looking about, passing through the casino on the mid-level and furrowing his brows at all of the bright colors and noise. UGH.]

C.)
[Well, he's made his way onto deck zero, and he's frowning furiously at the scavenger hunt list and trying to avoid the staff. He's walking toward the medical center. There has to be something here they can use, right?]

( c )

[gevurah]

[ So she's wasted no time trying to familiarize herself with the ship and eventually heading down to the lowest deck. Like Kirian, she thinks their best bet might be in the medical center.

She's very good at sneaking around people. As soon as she sees Kirian, whom she recognized from earlier, she heads over to him casually, wary of any staff that may pass by. ]

Medical facility?

Open - various places

[demonbloodblade]

[Meliantha's glad for the holodevice, but wished she knew how to adjust it - she had an idea but it was going to need some assistance. She's also kind of annoyed that the device makes her look very androgynous - almost manly.]

A.
[Meliantha is exploring the ship, including looking for a place that the travellers can hole up in if they need to, as well as the crew quarters and the laundry. Because some things are better with looking like you belong there.]

B.
[Having provided a quick map to others with the locations of usable rooms from A (not many), Meliantha is now checking how things work in the public areas of the ship, because she's never been in a place like this before. It's very, very weird.]

C.
[Near the scheduled time to depart, she's gotten a hand-cart and some boxes, and is in an alcove near the departure point, so that people's grabs for the scav hunt can be collected and moved quickly if need be. Already on the cart is a case of vodka, lifted from ship's stores while she was wearing a crew uniform. Please add to it if you like.]

C

[immortal_smoke]

[Mokou has mostly been exploring the ship, trying to figure out what the various cruise ship parts actually are, rather than finding much of note. She iddly scans Meliantha's cart as it passes by.]

I wonder if they really need alcohol so much that they'd mourn a bottle or two going missing before we returned.

[lar]

[ So this wasn't half bad. Ella was sort of hopping explosions and gunshots too, though. She shouldn't feel disappointed of things being safe though.

So She's just going to wander around the ship, reading the list under her breath; if the Initiative is so inclined to get this stuff, there's a good chance she can create all of this stuff, given enough time. ]

But...can I even buy booze anyway?

[flarp]

[ Vriska has elected that walking is for chumps today, and has spent the entire mission hovering a couple inches from the ground. If there is a deadly bacteria down there that infects people through their shoes, she'll be prepared.

Spotting Ella moves her from a couple inches to about a half dozen feet until she can successfully curl herself over her beloved crewmate and hassle her upside down while her hair does super saiyan things towards the ground. ]

Why buy anything when you can just get it for free?

[keep_smiling]

[As Ella's walking around the deck, she can spot Elmer, the guy who's world this is supposed to be, excitedly talking to another man who looks rather unamused.]

No, I swear, I'm not lying! This is really important! And I know it didn't seem like I was gone, I can prove it! Several people were brought here along with me.

[The other man folds his arms, as if waiting. Care to back Elmer up?]

Open!

[reassures]

( A )

[Of all the things that Nill was expecting out of this trip, ending up on a cruise liner was probably the most unexpected thing of them all. She's quick to shove the guns at her sides into her jacket as soon as it's evident that they're in no immediate danger from their surroundings. This was... not what she expected, but maybe it meant the Initiative was finally getting their shit together.

It was a good and a bad thing, in her opinion. And she couldn't really complain when the sun was actually shining above them.

She doesn't stick around on the deck for very long. The Initiative had a list, and while Nill didn't really want to help them, she needed to start looking useful. Time to find where they store the alcohol on this ship.]

( B )

[About six hours later Nill has returned to the deck, having found a light sundress somewhere on board and a place to change. It's cut low in the back for her wings, so it shows off a couple scars, but she doesn't seem to mind much. She's sitting on a chair in a nice, sunny spot, and generally trying to get a tan to take back with her, and not just the contents of the two backpacks next to her on the ground.

Come say hi if you want, though... does she look a little green around the gills? Must be your imagination.]

((ooc: Telepathy permissions!))

( a )

[gevurah]

[ It may be Elmer's home, but after a long, long time she feels this is the closest to home she's going to get in a while. As much as this may feel and look like a vacation Kate knows like the others this is a mission she needs to stay focused on. She rarely wanders off to daze off into the vast ocean around them or join the crowds for a swim in their on deck pool or fancy dining. She's done these things already.

Thankfully for the holographic devices, she can be found sporting a particular look. Maybe she'll get some sun on this porcelain skin. (No, she won't.)

She sees Nill not too long after she decides to see if she can hoard some alcohol back to Exsilium. Nill's telepathy will pick up quick and curt thoughts from Kate as she approaches. She'd been surveying Nill the whole time as she approached and could already tell the girl had hidden something underneath her jacket. Maybe her sentient weapon. ]

Any luck, Nill?

Open!

[pixieboots]

A [ So maybe it’s a little bit of a letdown, being stranded on the Love Boat with $50 to his name. After all that talk about risks and danger and bravery. After the promise of maybe maybe finding a way home, if they do this right.

But if being Robin has taught him anything it’s that a lot of things aren’t what they seem to be when you're willing to poke around a little under the surface. So when opportunity (and more than a few seconds alone) comes knocking he’s jimmying out a panel on the air filtering system, peering inside and looking for a way in. ]


B [ There’s only so many places on a cruise ship a kid can go unaccompanied. Without drawing the stares he doesn’t want; wouldn’t want even if they hadn’t been under orders for a couple of good reasons.

So he’s perched on a high stool in one of the restaurants above deck, leaning his chin on an open palm while the server takes his $50 for linguini with stuffed shallots before he can really think through what it is he’s ordering. It’s an Alfred dish. An Alfred meal, that would’ve been at least a little for the empty spot beside him too.

So close. He’d been so close this time.

The server takes his money and he huffs out the breath he’s holding in a sigh before that ache can turn into the nagging, frustrated hurt it wants to be. ]


C [ Cannonballs in the pool sometime before they leave is pretty much a given. He’s lifted a towel from the laundry room and left his tunic and cape neatly folded on a lawn chair, which... he can only imagine how they'll show up with the hologram on. But it’s one more thing he’ll worry about later. Who knows when he’ll have the chance to do this again. ]

B

[shelkethetransparent]

[From where Dick is perched on the bar, he might notice that several bottles of alcohol, the highest proof they have, are lifting themselves off the back shelf while the bartender is at the far end of the bar serving someone else. They hover there, the labels half visible as if small hands are covering them up, before they suddenly vanish from sight as if placed inside something.]

[This continues for almost a minute, eight bottles or so disappearing, before there's a light shimmer in the air as a small figure hurries away, the very faint clinking of glass audible in the air.]

Open.

[shelkethetransparent]

A. Shelke could be found sitting under an umbrella, sitting on a lounge chair by the pool. She's dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, her legs folded under her as she watches the families coming and going, the kids playing in the pool. It's a life she barely remembers, one that was stolen from her a decade ago, and she's never really had a chance to just...watch it. Other people having a normal, happy life.

She can't decide if she's jealous, or if she thinks it's pointless. So she's just watching quietly.

B. If anyone else made it down to the engine area, they might see a tiny redhead searching amongst the machines for various things on the 'scavenger' list they had been given. She had a backpack over her shoulder, a simple fabric one she had stolen from some poor guest, and there are a few things sticking out of the top. She occasionally vanished as crew came nearby, but otherwise wasn't that difficult to find if you knew other people might be snooping.

[ooc: Prose or action tags are fine!]

A

[keep_smiling]

[Before he had run off, Elmer had mentioned that one of the people he was looking for was a large man in a tribal mask. Well, this was probably that guy. A broad, dark-skinned man in strange mask was walking past the pool area, gathering some attention as he want. Some of the children pointed at him, and some of the adults whispered among themselves about how he must be one of the stage performers here. There was something about him, though. A dangerous air. Maybe it was the way he carried himself.]

opennnn

[neveraskedforthis]

A

[ This is pretty ridiculous--the list, especially--and Adam seriously wonders how they're going to get anything done on a damn cruiser. If this is just for testing if the transport back feature works correctly, he might as well enjoy some time off and just laze about, because so far, he hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. For the year 2002, anyway.

He resists the temptation to buy nothing but booze with the $50 (to keep for himself, of course) and instead, can be found leaning against the railing, starboard, just watching the waves for a while. Again, there's so much nostalgia to be felt when staring into the endless blue. ]

B

[ Fuck this, he's going to treat himself to a fancy meal in the restaurant, since he hasn't done so in what feels like forever, living off pizza and candy and cereal. So he's sitting alone, at a table, currently studying the menu--feel free to join him and hope for friendly conversation. If he's in the mood. ]

(( ooc: CASIE permission post for face to face interaction ))

[gevurah]

[ At some point when she's been able to sneak some alcohol off into a locker room and ensure its safety, she's back in the halls of the ship. If anyone's seen Kate before and even around the ship this entire time, they probably have noticed she doesn't dawdle for long anywhere. While she's remained conflicted about her seemingly never ending stay in Exsilium and how the Initiative handles things, she knows when to follow orders.

She's heading below deck again. She looks like any other passenger; exploring the marvelous cruise's every nook and cranny, but she's actually headed to where the cleaning services keep the products they use on board. ]

open for anyone, open for threadjacks, open for your mom...

[fe_male]

[ Tony finds this list to be moderately hilarious, especially given where they've been teleported to. He's more than at home in such luxurious environments, and while he seriously doubts that most, if not all, of these compounds are actually going to be onboard, the alcohol should be easy enough to procure. Granted, that's the attitude of most of their little group, but he feels like there will still be enough to go around. Tony Stark is a pro at obtaining alcohol, and at schmoozing and entertaining himself, and while he doesn't really go for big boats that often, he can still appreciate the change in scenery for a day.

It is a little strange to be in a place that looks like home, feels like home, smells like home, but clearly isn't home, because there's no one coming up to him to shake his hand and compliment him or try and take a picture with their hilariously sized early-2000s cell phone without him noticing. But what the hell does he care - he's still Tony Stark, with this face and this charm, and it's not long before he's found some nice sexagenarian at one of the upper deck restaurants by the bow of the ship and makes her day while getting some of the basic low down on this world in general and this boat in specific. Information gathering, but with tact. Pepper would be surprised. Also he got a meal out of it, and that was pretty fine quality grub too.

He's more than happy to let everyone else search the lower decks for the chemical compounds they were asked to find. He'll look later, maybe. But right now he's just standing on the deck of the ship, by the railing, sipping on an ice tea and enjoying the moment while it's here and thinking about a time when he said someone else could do the same and how much stranger his life has become than he would have ever considered. He's used this trip to talk to people who weren't in the middle of a war, who weren't being held against their will outside of their natural lives for whatever reasons, and to get a glimpse of normalcy again. It's been nice, especially considering he was potentially coming here to fight unknowns and vent his constantly ramping frustrations out that way. This way... Probably a little healthier. A sudden pang as he wishes Pepper was here for today, but given the uncertainty he hadn't even told her he was volunteering. Oh well.

If anyone wants to come across him, they can find him at the railing now, towards the end of the day, or earlier when he was inside charming and wining his way through the ship's bars and restaurants. ]