(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

[velveteened]

( he cants his head slightly. )

Last time we met, you said you and Gil had helped each other recently. That wasn't long after the bombings, right? Before that, though, he mentioned a woman who'd helped him when he got sick. Was that you?

[gevurah]

[ she nods without any hesitation. seems like her secret has been kept safe, so there's no need to lie about this. ]

It was.

[velveteened]

( as he'd thought, but her admitting to it helps some of the slight awkwardness to bleed out of his expression. he offers a smile this time. )

I've been wanting to thank you for that. It was a relief to hear that there'd been someone to help him when he needed it.

oh my god i switched to lower case damn u zephy

[gevurah]

It's fine. [ She waves a hand. ] We've got to stick together while we're here.

throaty cackles

[velveteened]

Still! ( his gratitude will not be waved off!! ) Thank you, Kate.

hands around throat

[gevurah]

[ Kate offers a tiny smile in response. ]

Also -- [ Her fingers slip behind her neck and into the back of her hair where it's slightly damp from sweat. ] I know your Gil's [ master ] employer, but I hope I wasn't imposing when I came over that evening.

one of us one of us

[velveteened]

Imposing? Not at all. ( honestly - ) I should probably be the one saying that, right?

[gevurah]

[ Maybe his teasing was mostly for Gil... ]

To be blunt, there's nothing going on. [ He would understand that, right? ] I'm not Gil's type.

[velveteened]

( it pretty much was. )

- oh. ( blunt modern women!!!! ) I didn't really think there was.

[gevurah]

[ Rude, Oz. ]

Just so we're on the same page.

[ She now mulls over getting some information out of him. ]

Gil's been working for you for a long time?

[velveteened]

( he finds himself idly wondering what sort of woman would even be gil's type. )

Yes, that's right.

[gevurah]

[ Not lesbians. ]

But you're more like friends.

[velveteened]

( wow it almost seems like she's trying to get some information out of him )

Best friends.

( where is she going with this... )

[gevurah]

[ She's innocent! ]

That's good. Not that any of us should be here, but it's helpful to have someone.

[velveteened]

That's true. Though, it seems like a strange thing to be happy about.

( which he is, mostly, but something he'd thought to himself a lot in those early months was that at least alice and gil don't have to see this )

[gevurah]

Being here makes it complicated. [ She drops her hand, casting a look toward the ocean again. She can see some people resurfacing for air and others playing around.

It's a mission, but everyone seems so laid back. It's slightly jarring. ]

[velveteened]

( he follows her gaze. it's nice to see people so relaxed after the last months, having their fill of sunlight after dark underground chambers and perpetual rain. )

Maybe it's a bad idea to think too much about it. Since we can't control who comes and goes anyway, it's probably better to just worry about it when it happens.

[gevurah]

[ She nods and says nothing more, still watching the gentle waves rock back and forth above the surface.

Bette would have loved this. ]

[velveteened]

( there's a tickle at his feet that has him looking down at the seaweed washing up. he lifts a foot to shake it free from the seaweed, then makes an interested sound and crouches to pick something up. it's a seashell, rounded over; not quite a conch but maybe a larger ancestor. )

[gevurah]

[ She catches movement from him from the corner of her eyes and inclines her head to see. ]

Found something?

[velveteened]

More like, it found me.

( he holds it up so that she can see it too, running fingers over some of the bumps and ridges. )

[gevurah]

[ She peers at it for a moment. ]

Might want to hang onto it.

[velveteened]

Do you think I could?

( it's probably a ridiculous question to ask given what they do, but there's still a sense of what if i break time or something )

[gevurah]

Who knows when we'll get another week at the beach. [ At least people will have some pleasant memories from this. ] It's one seashell. I don't think we'll damage the timeline that way.

Technically we're spreading germs all over the place being here.

[ For all they know they may have wiped out the dinosaurs in this timeline. ]

[velveteened]

Spreading what?

( the germ theory of disease hasn't picked up speed in his time yet, if it's even been articulated, so kate just gets a quizzical look. )