(no subject)

[initiates]

Date: December 1st
Location: The Observatory.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports arrive and are shuffled into the Observatory after their initial briefings.
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. 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; they show multiple variations of satellite images, focused on... somewhere snowy. It's difficult to say more than that, but those that record heat readings seem to suggest there are people there, where ever "there" is. It's night outside the great wide windows, and the lunar landscape isn't much to look at right now. But, hey, at least all the lights are on, right? No more creepy red emergency lighting upon arrival — not that you'd know anything about that.

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

[redsea]

It's nice to meet you, too. ... Oz. [ She would say Oz was a weird name, but that's no way to repay a compliment. Upon closer inspection, his features are foreign to her... ] Where are you from?

wow rude

[velveteened]

I'm from a city called Reveil, but you probably haven't heard of it.

( he remembers, a little, her mentioning a place with a name resembling someone he knows; it makes her seem well-traveled, to him. )

IT'S WEIRD OK why can't he have a normal name like julius caesar or titus alexius gosh

[redsea]

Is that in the Reim Empire?

[ Not well-traveled, just well-educated. And he was practically begging for that question, honestly. ]

GOSH

[velveteened]

( oh, that's what it was. )

Not at all! Ah — I guess no one's told you yet, but many of us come from completely different places. For instance, there's no Reim Empire at all where I come from.

[redsea]

[ Oh, that's good. She was afraid she'd get in trouble with befriending the enemy. ]

Wait. By different places, do you mean other worlds? [ She remembers her brother talking about that once. ] What about the Kou Empire? Have you heard of it?

[velveteened]

( he blinks, surprised. maybe he shouldn't have tried to simplify that explanation after all. )

Yes, different worlds — and no, I don't know that empire at all.

[redsea]

I see...

[ So the existence of other worlds—it is true. But her brother also said that a certain world perished because its people were too different and scattered. She wonders if uniting the world is truly the solution to all conflicts.

Well, it's putting her friends in harm's way, so that definitely puts its merit in the negative. ]

Um...! What is it like it your world, then? I assume it isn't on the moon. [ She chuckles. ]

[velveteened]

Not at all!

( the idea makes him laugh. technology is far and away not there yet where he comes from, and — thankfully, there's no force like the ue to make even such a wild idea merit any consideration. )

It's very different from place. The city I live in is the capital of a great kingdom ( whose name is NEVER ONCE SPOKEN thanks canon ) bordered by other countries. Just the city itself is pretty big! It's really a thriving, busy place.

[redsea]

It sounds wonderful!

[ She's been in downtown Balbadd before! That was fun. It isn't everyday that she gets to see a busy city herself. ]

And the people? [ What are they like? ]

[velveteened]

( he's the same, really, can give such glowing reviews in part because he's spent so much of his life secluded from the city proper that every visit is terribly exciting. )

Extremely kind! Of course, not everyone can be same, but that keeps things interesting too.

( #spoken like someone who's never had to worry about city violence )

[redsea]

[ They're so good at this. ]

It sounds like this place. Everyone has been so kind to me so far... Well, it's only my first day, but I've already made a friend. It's nice.

[ yeah. just one friend. ... it's not oz. ]

[velveteened]

( WOW THAT'S COLD. )

Really? That's great! I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends in no time.

( including him??? gosh )

[redsea]

[ LOOK SHE JUST doesn't want to assume, okay. ]

Uh huh. How long have you been here, Oz?

[ She's expecting an answer like, a year or so. ]

[velveteened]

( she's not too far off, really. )

Around ten months.

( exactly ten months, actually, right as of this day. )

[redsea]

[ Her eyes widen, realizing that she would be away from her family and only friend for a long while... She smiles sheepishly at Oz, who has been here for longer. In front of him, she couldn't complain. ]

I see. Well, wars don't end in a day.

[ Although she felt that her war was also important. ]

Um... Don't you miss them? Your friends and family.

[velveteened]

( he doesn't usually forget how alarming this might sound to someone new here, but he did now. maybe he's out of practice, or maybe it's because if she hadn't left she would've been around longer. either way, he's apologetic, raising a hand to the back of his neck awkwardly while trying for a bracing smile. )

Luckily, ( maybe luckily ) a lot of my friends are here with me, so I don't have to worry about that.

( LET'S JUST NOT TALK ABOUT FAMILY )

And, of course, I've made friends here! But you don't have to worry — there are a lot of people who don't stay this long, either.

[redsea]

How!? Ah... I don't mean to be rude, but the circumstances back in my world are just as great. I must return immediately.

[ The world is about to be destroyed by her crazy aunt who is also technically her mother, come on. ]

[velveteened]

— I'm sorry.

( and he looks it, honestly, corners of his lips tugging downwards still apologetically )

It's not under anyone's control. People come and go from here randomly, at the transporter's whims. But at least, your situation at home won't change at all while you're here — that is to say, when you go back, you'll be sent back to the exact moment you left.

[redsea]

Really? [ The news makes her smile brighter than ever. ] That's great!

[ She didn't betray her brother or Alibaba by leaving after all. ]

Thank you, Oz... [ ... Kougyoku, DON'T CRY. ]

[velveteened]

( the response surprises him a little — a lot of people seem to find that only scant comfort or question it, but it's nice she's so happy.

oh no is she crying. )

Really! I've gone back and returned myself, so I can tell you for sure.

[redsea]

[ She recoils in surprise. ]

Huh!? That's possible?

[ As much as she likes the people here, she doesn't want to go back. This isn't her home. ]

Why did you go back? You could have stayed home!

[velveteened]

I couldn't have.

( he shakes his head to make the point, but his tone is fairly firm — certain, more like. )

It wasn't my choice to return, any more than it was to come here the first time.

[redsea]

So no one can ever decide it...

[ She's putting the pieces together here. ]

When people... return to their world, do they often forget this one?

[velveteened]

( she's sharp, he can't help thinking. )

Yes. Sometimes they remember when they return, like I did, but not always.

[redsea]

I see. [ She looks away, unsure of how to faze Oz now. ] Then... the strangers who have been kind to me are not strangers, after all.