here they talked of revolution, here it was they lit the flame

[initiates]

Date: October 1st
Location: The Observatory.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports arrive and are shuffled into the Observatory for the show of the year. Initial briefings are very brief this time around, and that Greeter just won't stop crying.
Warnings: new confused people and old sad people??

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, with eyes red as if she'd just finished crying. 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. There, 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. The only lighting comes from dull red emergency lights, and the scenes of a dreary, rainy city from various cameras up on the screens; the largest of the screens opens up to a view of Earth from a good distance away -- this one isn't a screen at all, you might realize, but a window. As you watch, all screens in the room fill with light, impossibly bright. It consumes the buildings, the people, everything. There is no sound played, perhaps mercifully, only that white light -- and then nothing.

Through the large window, there's a pinprick of light over one of the landmasses on the blue planet. It grows to a tiny blossom and then dies away, but a cloud begins to mushroom outward in the same spot. It pushes the natural clouds out of the way, claiming that small portion of the world and wrapping it in a uniform gray.

Strings of numbers begin to fill the blanked out screens as the base's AI begins collecting data and calculations, but the show seems to be over. 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, with front row seats to the grave of Exsilium.

[[ooc; reminder! The Network will be down for 8 hours after the wave of new Transports.]]

Comments

[importance]

[ it only confirms what she'd been afraid of. leia has come to fear little, but the loss of han or luke are high on that brief list; explaining what happened to him — well, it's not entirely a pleasant subject or a series of memories she'd like to recall in vivid detail, either.

she almost says it directly: that's what i was afraid of, but she doesn't need to, not when the small fall in her expression is obvious, despite the blatant attempt to disguise it. ]

It's not exactly the type of conversation you have in public.

[ which means finding a better place to talk, somewhere more private and less filled with chatter, is on the agenda. she makes a small attempt at a smile and, while it isn't completely convincing, it isn't marked by ingenuity. complications aside, she's more than happy to see him, safe and unharmed.

she moves to lace their hands together, offering what's intended to be a reassuring touch. ]

You'll have to give me the tour. [ because trying to lead him into somewhere private to talk without knowing the layout? that'll only end in tears and disaster. she tugs his hand lightly. ] Come on.

[pilot]

Yeah.

[ a tour. not much to see to be honest and she'll hate the reason why even more. but he'll deal with that when they come to it.

han wraps an arm around her back. his fingers trip over the bronze links at her hip and his mouth presses into a thin line. covered as she is, he still casts a vicious glare at anyone staring overlong. as they walk, he mentions a few of the places distantly. ]

Cafeteria's that way. You just came from the transport pad; it's our only way out and never for long. Everyone's brought back kicking and screaming if they have to be. Most of the place is in ruins. In between piloting the only ship we have, I've been helping Luke with the repairs. We got a room to ourselves—there's a spare bed if you want it.

[ only at the end of the little monologue does he look at leia. he doesn't seem like the cocky smuggler but rather a little boy fearing he's about to be told "no." ]

[importance]

[ it isn't much, but she's not entirely accustomed to more than the basics these days. her focus is, for the most part, elsewhere — but she commits each direction to memory for future use.

the question — or, more accurately, the offer — takes her a bit by surprise, but it smooths itself out into an expression that's more casual, warmer. ]

If my alternative is leaving you two to get into trouble by yourselves, I don't see any other option but to take it.

[ yeah, let's pretend that's the only reason she's agreeing to claim that spare bed as her own. ]

[pilot]

[ his expression relaxes into a familiar half-grin. ]

Hey. We've been here months, and no one's taken out a bounty on us yet.

[importance]

Yet.

[ that's the important word here. ]

Anyway, it's not Luke I'm worried about someone taking out a bounty on.

[ luke might be more optimistic than the lot of them, but she doubts he'd make any enemies so swiftly. she gives his arm a nudge, smile faint but evident. ]

You'll have to show me to our room.

[ come on, tour guide solo. ]