(no subject)

[initiates]

Date: November 1st
Location: The Observatory.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports arrive and are shuffled into the Observatory after their initial briefings. The zombie plot will not spill over into this area, this area is safe and unaffected! To face zombies, characters must leave the area, and please move to the event log with those threads.
Warnings: None.

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, solemn and taciturn. 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, or tells you that the DITR's greeters will explain everything. On the tablet, 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. It's night outside the great wide windows, and the lunar landscape isn't much to look at right now; the only lighting comes from dull red emergency lights, but there are… noises. Listen carefully. Over the voices of your fellow Transports, now and then you might catch the sound of a scrape, or a low and muffled cry. It doesn't sound human. Are there animals up here?

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, and to the remains of Exsilium.

[[ ooc; As a note for players of current characters: please keep your root comments confined to the various groups and organizations that set up root comments to greet new characters! We highly encourage tagging around here, but since it's a log meant for new characters specifically, we ask that they be the ones to set up root threads to the entry. Thank you, and happy playing! ]]

Comments

[unmasking]

At least I can probably help out their science department. If they have a science department. I sorta forgot to ask.

[And that's easier than saying that he is built for it in his own way.

He does focus on that last bit, though, because what he can or can't do isn't important. The fact that this guy doesn't deem himself as "important," that's ... well, in his book, that's the important part.

(Then again, maybe he shouldn't be thinking that way, given what he just came from.)]

Why isn't it important?

[mallarkey]

Well we are in a space station -- so I would hope. Science is what runs this whole place, isn't it?

[ He doesn't have the clearest understanding of how this -- or how science -- works, obviously.

Glancing at Peter, he seems a little surprised at the question. Oh; better clarify he didn't intend it to sound that disparaging. ]

Oh, it's important. Just... less. You know what they say, kids are our future. Teenagers. Whatever.

[unmasking]

Yeah, but we need adults to hold the fort until we get there, right? We can't have the world turning into ... one of those dystopian novels. [Then again, that's Peter's own sensibilities when it comes to people needing to live out their lives. He wouldn't have made it as far as he did without his aunt, anyway, so he's not of the mindset that one person is more valuable than another.]

[mallarkey]

[ It's a good thing he's not facing the windows right now, otherwise Wayne would be tempted to glance out of one. ]

Might be a little late for that part. I'm not sure. But you've got a point, none of us would be here if there wasn't something to do. Least in theory.

[unmasking]

That's definitely all in theory. I'd like to think that we're all here for a reason, but I'm not going to count on that right away.

[After all, Peter's well-aware that they might be offering weapons, but what if someone is a pacifist? What if they just aren't built for it? He eyes Wayne for a moment.]

Was your world a rough one?

[mallarkey]

Yeah. If nothing else that does seem to be the go-to explanation, but--

[ There's also no accounting for accidents. Or freak occurrences. Whatever the hell this really is. ]

They're probably all a little rough. What about yours?

[unmasking]

Definitely rough. Like supervillain floods the world but especially New York City rough. A lot of us nearly died in that one. [Us referring to New Yorkers, rather than anything else.] Once you live through that, a war on the moon doesn't seem so bad. [And everything else, really; so far, his impression is that they have time to give them cookies. That's something!]

[mallarkey]

[ Wow.

He's not sure how seriously he takes the "supervillain" part just yet -- maybe that's just a slightly geeky teenage coping mechanism -- but the rest is pretty objectively terrible. ]

Pretty rough then, yeah. Definitely beyond the usual pale -- I've just dealt with flash floods. Generally. Glad you're okay though, uh-- [ Pauses. ] I'm Doug, by the way.

[unmasking]

... Not flash floods. [Peter feels it's important to get that out of the way. Definitely not flash floods. He doesn't want to give anyone the impression that he hasn't been through crap. If anything, it bolsters his "he's seen some shit" rating, and he's on the moon, it's got to help.]

And it's good to meet you. I'm Peter.

[mallarkey]

Yeah, I-- I mean, New York City doesn't really get those, does it? More of a townie thing. City floods are actually real disasters.

[ Or like something out of disaster movies, which is the extent of the experience Wayne has with city floods.

He raises his eyebrows a little. ]

Your name's Pete? ... I mean, Peter. Sorry, I used to know someone named Pete. Nice name.

[unmasking]

[There are always warnings of it, he thinks, but Magneto's great disaster was more than a warning. Actually, it happened without warning. That's how much more than a "warning" it was.]

Yeah, it was definitely a disaster. And yeah, that's me. Glad to have a nice name.

[mallarkey]

Well -- you can probably count on no floods happening up here, so that's a relief.

[ Some shitty optimism. ]

Just gotta worry about little stuff, like... meteors and black holes.

[unmasking]

Unless those guys ... the UE? Unless they figure out the perfect way to traumatize us once they get closer is a drowning simulation.

[And Peter is assuming that will happen because the villains—or the effective ones—always seem to find him.]

And the likelihood of meteors and black holes is actually slim to none, but don't quote me on that.

[mallarkey]

Do you know how to swim? 'Cause that'd help. But if I had to bet money I'd guess aliens first.

[ That's a mild relief, actually. ]

Really? I always thought they were all over the place... everywhere. But seeing it all up close, it is pretty big out there. You've probably got the right idea.

[unmasking]

Good on swimming. [He doesn't seem too pleased to test that, though. That flood really was a big deal.]

And I think I've got the right idea, unless this is a universe that's undergoing some problems. Which is possible. The time travel factor could be knocking a few holes in things.

[mallarkey]

"Some problems" seems pretty accurate if we can't even live on a planet anymore. We're not even on Mars, we're on the moon.

[ It's messed up. He doesn't like space. ]

At least if time travel caused the problems, it can probably also fix 'em. That's usually how it works, isn't it?

[unmasking]

The moon is slightly more stable than Mars, though. I mean, if we had to choose, but it says that life didn't get advanced enough to consider Mars, or they decided against it. Either way. But when it comes to time travel, if they have that technology, then the fact that it is actually one of their most advanced forms of tech tells me that it could be doing more damage.

[When it comes to the whole time travel deal, he knows he's lacking enough of the scientific background to make a fully educated opinion, but something tells me that the same could be said of the guys at work here.]

[mallarkey]

[ Something of an unsettling notion, somehow. He mostly wonders why they're stuck up here if this time travel stuff is really all on the "up and up." ]

It could be. Maybe it is and we don't know it yet. All of this technology's way beyond anything I know, I feel like we might as well all be stuck in the dark.

[unmasking]

[Peter thinks about that for a moment and shakes his head. There's no reason to be stuck in the dark if they want them to help, so he has every intention of looking into that tech.]

They might explain it to you, if you really need to. I'm gonna ask, anyway. Better than sitting and wondering.

[mallarkey]

Yeah. Probably will. Sorry to-- I shouldn't be bothering you with all this crap, we both just got here.

[ With a sigh. He should give this kid a break. ]

Anyway -- take it easy, Pete, okay?

[unmasking]

Yeah, see you later.

[Taking the hint, he raises a hand to wave before he heads off. There are cookies to be had.]