(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

ota!

[velveteened]

( oz is most certainly enjoying the sunshine.

the whole trip, in fact. phrases like cretaceous period may have gone right over his head, but arriving at this part of the past has illuminated more than enough. he pays some mind to the mission, but mostly spends his time with more frivolous pastimes, wandering the enclosure in newly discovered flip-flops (or barefoot after one too many fumbles and falls) and a huge floppy sun hat gil's insisted on (what if you burn!). other times, he may sit close to the water or splash around in it, though not much more than that since he doesn't know how to swim, or else sit near the walls of the dome and sketches some of the creatures nearby, simply watching when he gets tired of that.

eventually, on the last days, he'll end up with sunburns and bemoan his misery - but until then it's all pure cheer. )

[yourdistraction]

[ When she sees someone walk by with a large floppy hat, Merrill reaches up to touch the top of her head. Her dark hair really absorbs the heat, and it's terrible. She muses out loud, though not directly at him... ]

A hat! What a good idea.

[velveteened]

( he pauses when he hears that, offering her a smile. )

Do you think so?

( it's more amused than curious, really, but he's not entirely sold on the hat when there's so much sun to be had. )

18th

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette was prepared to be REALLY ANGRY. By which I mean upset and fuming until she laughed off and shrugged off the feeling, because when she heard beach, she knew what else was coming.

No chair, no free movement, and way too tired still to maintain via morph.

But then... a miracle! She was being asked to test a prototype solar powered ATV. Which was interesting, she hadn't known such a thing existed in Exsilium, but that appeared to be part of the problem. They didn't know if it'd actually function!

Oh, but as she figured out the controls and tried not to look too excited, what, with her helmet pulled on (egads, the heat was horrible!) and her hands caressing the handles of her ATV. Okay, what had she been told? What did she remember from like, four years ago? )

Okay, turn the key, then press the button for the ignition...

( The engine purrs, the sound much much softer than she remembers. )

Put the thingy into drive...

( She was so amazingly technical, really! )

Then press forward on the thro--woah!

( Turning the throttle forward a little too much, the ATV lurched forward, then stopped as abruptly when she applied the break. Collette blinks where she sits, then lifts both hands off the ATV in a victory gesture over her head. )

Wahoo! I can drive!

( ... Perhaps preemptively celebrating, but really, come on! )

[velveteened]

( between the noise, her cheer, and the sand thrown in multiple directions by the atv in question, oz has certainly noticed her. he looks up at her with a grin, offering a brief round of applause with the pencil still in one hand. )

Congratulations!

last days oh yeah

[bravelyrunsaway]

( Wow, Oz, what a whiner. Licyn appears from out of nowhere to -- helpfully -- clap a hand on Oz's shoulder.

And squeeze, if but briefly, as he offers the young man a smile and a tip of his head as he moves past him. )

Nice whine you're having today. Were you looking for a little cheese to go along with it?

( This is 110% like saying hello again. )

1/2

[velveteened]

( 1) ow, right on the burns!!
2) hey that voice seems fam -
3) NO
4) NO
5) NO!!!!!!!!!!! )

no 2/3

[velveteened]

( why is this person back this day could literally not get any worse )

[velveteened]

What a surprise!

[outliving]

[ Suffice to say, not everyone shared the excitement this place had brought in its wake. Kanda certainly wasn't thrilled. The heat was annoying, the objective of this 'mission' idiotic, if one were to ask him. What was the point of picking up rocks anyway?

After suspiciously eyeing the dome above, and being unable to withstand the heat, he's resolved to rolling up the hems of his pants to dip bare feet into the water.

Until a small splash lands on a bare arm from nearby, and it's causing him to snap his head the other's way. A beat, and there's a flicker of unwilling recognition. ] Oh. It's you.

[velveteened]

( the surf means that he splashes a lot more water than he really means to, underestimating the sheer amount of water - and how dynamic it is, gentler and warmer than the china seas, lapping up his legs and making his clothes stick to him. he looks up at the voice, recognition taking a brief moment to slide into place. )

- Kanda! It's been a while, hasn't it?

[moralperil]

[Mahdi notices Oz playing in the water and splash-runs over to him! He's wearing his hair pulled back in a braid, and a swim-shirt as well as trunks that seem a bit too large, though he's tied them on tightly.]

Isn't this great?!

[velveteened]

( oz has a short-sleeved shirt and long shorts himself, a concession to the weather (fairly happily given) if one that leaves him feeling a little bare. he grins and waves when he sees mahdi. )

It is! I wasn't expecting anything like this.

[debtor]

[Allen, meanwhile, hatless (though seeing Oz's, it occurs to him that that might've been a good idea), wearing long sleeves and a glove on his left hand, like a proper beach-goer. He approaches while Oz is sketching prehistoric critters,]

Hello, Oz.

[and leans closer to get a better look at his work.]

You're quite good!

[IMPRESSED BY ANYTHING BETTER THAN HIS OWN ART SKILLS which is literally everything.]

[velveteened]

( there's a smallish herbivore napping near the barrier that he's sketching, watching it intently enough that he doesn't notice allen's approach. the idea is that, pictures in hand, he'll be able to research more about the creatures they're seeing now. there's the camera on the devices of course, but it's not something that's really occurred to him.

he looks up when allen speaks, smiles at the compliment. )

You think so? Thank you.

( he's no prodigy, but the art classes haven't been wasted on him either. )

[quackery]

[at some point when he's in the water

sneaks up behind

SPLASHES!!]

[velveteened]

( SPLASHED!!! in retrospect, he probably should have grabbed actual swimwear, but he doesn't have it in him to complain. )

Ahiru!

( protested! but laughing. )

[copia]

[ the floppy hat is what catches her attention in the first place! ]

Are you trying to win the biggest-hat-worn-on-a-mission contest, Oz?

[velveteened]

( she gets a bright grin for that )

Do you think I'd win?

[gevurah]

[ Kate's not wearing a hat (maybe she should have snagged one) but she has donned sunglasses to keep her eyes protected from the harsh sting of sunlight. Dressed in a very simple black two piece, she's collecting any and all minerals and rocks she finds and slipping them into the bag she carries around her shoulder.

At some point she sets the bag down and massages her shoulders. While she works on her brief stretches, she notices Oz near the water and watches him quietly, not ready to alert him to her presence.

He'll definitely feel someone's eyes boring on the back of his head in a few seconds, however. ]

[velveteened]

( he does, and it makes him turn to look for the source quizzically. kate's fairly easy to recognize, so when he sees her, he offers a wave. )

[overclocking]

[Chrono is taking a much more reserved approach to the beach, himself; it's not that he isn't enjoying himself so much as it's far more fun to watch everyone else partaking in the shenanigans.

It's during one of his quiet, thoughtful bouts of people-watching that he witnesses Oz take a tumble from the combined treachery of flipflops on sifting sand. He bites his lip to keep from smiling (don't smile when people fall over that is rude) and wanders over to offer a hand up.]

Are you alright?

[velveteened]

( flip-flops seemed like such a good idea at the time! the time being one of the initiative personnel gently suggesting that they might work better for the sand than, say, the heavy boots he's more accustomed to. but they're pretty unwieldy and enough sand's sticking to the bottom of his feet that they seem to be defeating their purpose; but if future people can wear flip-flops they can't be this difficult to figure out!!!

luckily his utter shoe tragedy has not been witnessed by a cute girl, so all is more or less well with the world. )

I'm alright, don't worry. ( he's pretty chipper for someone who just fell on his face at least; he pushes himself up a bit before accepting that hand. ) I think there was a big seashell or something.

( there wasn't at all but shh. )

[silenceandcards]

[While Oz is sitting by the water on one of the days, Keith walks up to him with a cold drink for the kid in hand. Keith isn't the scientist of his world and he only vaguely understands how oxygen-poisoning and sun-poisoning works (he figures that since it has the word "poisoning" in it it must be pretty bad), but he does know how people get thirsty and tired and dizzy when they're in the sun and not drinking a lot. It's not water, but something cold will probably be best.

So, dressed exactly the way he usually is minus the coat and jacket, Keith walks up through the sand to Oz -- and sticks the cold bottle to the side of Oz' face.]

[retraced]

[Days and days of collecting rocks, being hot, cooking and cleaning up for several people have left Gilbert with a sore back, a tiny bit of heat stroke and a bad mood that he can't quite shake. Maybe it's the fact that they're in a world that he doesn't understand, in a time period long before anything that anyone can really comprehend, or maybe it's just because there are HUGE MONSTERS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT INVISIBLE FORCE FIELD that no one seems to be too concerned with.

But in any case, while everyone else has relaxed, Gilbert has completed their work for them so they can all relax. On the final days before they're able to go home, he's confident that he's done a good job, and he can finally relax himself.

That is, until he wakes that morning to find Oz in a state of sunburned misery.]

I told you to wear that hat! [He snaps for the nth time as he opens a bottle of aloe that someone had promised would make his young master's burned skin heal and feel better.]