(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

[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. )

[quackery]

[l a u g h s]

You should've been paying attention!

[She wades towards him with a grin.]

It's really nice here, isn't it?

[velveteened]

( rude!!! he grins back though, holding off for the moment on watery revenge. )

It is! It'd be nice if we could go to places like this more often, wouldn't it?

[quackery]

Yeah, that'd be really cool! Or if we could go to a bunch of places that were really different, I'd like that too. It'd be like seeing a lot of the world!

[She brushes a stray strand of wet hair out of her face, looking up at the force field.]

Still, it's kind of weird to see them moving out there, don't you think? They're not how I pictured them!

[velveteened]

Isn't that what we've been doing?

( going to a bunch of really different places, that is. he looks up when she does, shading his eyes with a hand (the hat has been abandoned and carefully set down a little ways from the shore). )

The dinosaurs? How did you picture them?

[quackery]

Well, I guess so, but like - exciting places! I mean, going somewhere to get pieces of art is nice, I guess, but not as nice as this. I know it's a war and there's more important stuff than us liking where we get sent, but you know what I mean, right? I mean, someone told me that before either of us got here, everyone got sent to Paris to go to a party! That sounds so wonderful, even if it was only for a night.

[She tilts her head, thoughtful for a moment.]

Mm, like... I dunno, scarier somehow! Although I guess they'd be pretty scary if they could get up close to us even though they don't look like it from far away.

[velveteened]

( that stealing pieces of art is what she thinks to mention is a reminder of how much she's missed, a time that feels so removed from now that it seems dreamlike in retrospect. the mention of paris is only another reminder of that, and he's grateful for the splashes of cool water against his skin at the memories of fire. )

Really?

( grateful too for the way she's looking away as his expression flickers. )

That's true. It's easier to think they aren't so bad when they can't hurt you. ( no, still too heavy. ) Though I bet they're just as curious about us as we are about them! I bet none of them have ever seen a human before.

[quackery]

Yeah! I think it's really cool, thinking that we could all get to go really amazing places like that. [A beat.] Where would you want to go most if you had a choice? Other than home, I mean.

[She laughs, a little nervously.]

It's the fact that they'd be so curious that's kind of freaky, though! I mean, they're pretty big. Can you imagine how weird just standing next to one for a few minutes? P-Plus, some of them are carnivorous, aren't they? At least, that's what they said in school!

[velveteened]

If I had a choice? ( he blinks, shakes his head ) I've never thought about it. What about you?

I can! ( blithely ) I was sitting near some of them for a while, earlier. They were asleep, though.

[quackery]

Well, think about it a little, I'm really curious! [She tilts her head, though, thinking it through for herself.] Mm, somewhere really sunny, with a river or lake or by the ocean, like here! But different than here, too, where we didn't need those mask things. [She gestures towards the dry sand, where her respirator is laying forgotten for the moment.]

Maybe somewhere like - what's it called, it has the pizza and stuff - oh, Hawaii! That one island in the United States. Actually, I'd like to go there in general. From what everybody's said about it it sounds really amazing, New York and California and everywhere else. Gosh, picking just one place is hard.

[And now that she's done rambling and actually pays attention to what he's said—]

Wait, you mean one of the small ones?

[velveteened]

( he listens attentively to that description! )

I've never heard of the United States. What does everyone say about it?

No, the bigger ones! They were on the other side of the barrier, but pretty close.

1/2

[quackery]

Um, it's made up of, like - I guess tiny countries called states, but they're all part of one country. So it's kind of like how a continent is made of different countries, but it's a country itself! At least, that's the impression I got.

[She takes a moment, trying to remember who she's known who lived in that area.]

Well, um, New York is supposed to be really big, and packed with people from all different countries! Um, I've heard the people are supposed to be kind of tough, and not really that nice, but there are exceptions. And New Jersey, I've heard there was a beach there, so it must be by the ocean. And, um, I knew someone from another state, it was called... Ohio! That was it, Ohio. I just think that's a really cool name for a place. I don't think he ever mentioned what it was like, though. Um, I think those are the only states that I've met anyone from. I'm not really sure what it's like all in all, though.

[quackery]

[


screams internally]

Y-You weren't frightened at all or anything? Not that they could have gotten through the barrier thing, but still!

1/2

[velveteened]

( GOOD LORD AHIRU

nah jk he soaks it all up. )

[velveteened]

Not at all! There's no reason to be.

[quackery]

Just because it can't get in doesn't mean most people wouldn't be scared of it! I mean, if there's, like a monster outside your house, you'd still be scared even if it couldn't get in, right?

[And that's immediately followed by a moment of pause, with surprise that she'd thoughtlessly say something like that, but her expression only flickers for a moment before it's back to the doubt she'd been showing a moment ago. She reasons that he has no way of knowing she'd ever experienced something like that, anyways.]

I mean, not that they're monsters, but it's still freaky! I mean, they're still so big.

[velveteened]

( he thinks of the monsters in the housing building; jabberwock twice over in leo and oswald, and the things they could do if they were ever so inclined. )

I don't think so. Worrying about it wouldn't make it go away, right? And as long as it couldn't get inside, it wouldn't be a problem.

[quackery]

But you can't make yourself stop being scared just by saying it's not a problem or that nothing bad will happen!

[SQUINTS]

Anyways, you never answered my question.

[velveteened]

I'm still thinking! I really don't know.

( mulling it...over?? )

Maybe something like the world in Holy Knight? ( WHEN IN DOUBT ) Though even that's based on our world.

[quackery]

[She tilts her head, inquisitive.]

Holy Knight? What's that?

[velveteened]

It's a book series from our world! It's my favorite.

[quackery]

Oh, I love books! Tell me about it. How's the story go?

[velveteened]

( LONG DESCRIPTION OF THE HEROIC EDWIN AND HIS SERVANT EDGAR AS THEY BATTLE ADVERSITY AND THE CLASS SYSTEM AND THREATS OF DISHONOR TO GAIN THE TITLE OF HOLY KNIGHT )

[quackery]

[TOTALLY ENGAGED THE WHOLE TIME]

That sounds so cool! I can see why it's your favorite. What other stories are your favorite?