station72 | [MISSION LOG] BRAVE NEW WORLD

[MISSION LOG] BRAVE NEW WORLD

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: The Station + Concordia
WHEN: Day :000 - ???
SUMMARY: Leaving the Station; the arrival and first days on Concordia. Concordia pt.1.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary.

IT'S EARLY IN THE DAY and something feels strange. It’s not unlike when a new Host - not one of your brood, but close enough to feel the tug - comes awake on the Nesting Deck. But it’s just the initial tug. There’s no noise, no hum of confusion or volume. Today, it’s just there: a sensation of presence that a moment ago wasn’t. Soon after follows a prickling awareness of urgency. A small electric bolt through the mind. Cathaway doesn’t use words in the mind, but her meaning is nonetheless easily understood: come to her on the hangar; your presence is required.

On the hangar there is a sleek, low profile transport ship. Before it stand Cathaway and Prince and in their company is a stranger: a short woman with warm skin and dark hair, wearing unfamiliar colorful clothes and a quick, pleasant smile. You’ve never seen her before, but you know she’s a Host.

“This is them?” Her voice is light and sweet. Prince, occupied by a databank, glances up at her then nods once. There’s a tension in his shoulder and through his jaw - a distinct contrast to Cathaway and the stranger who lack both.

“Lovely.” Her tone is breezy and easy, delighted. “Hello, it is so nice to meet you all! My name is Carata. My partner and I have been away on duty for a few months, but it’s become clear that we need backup on our assignment. We are hoping you can help.” Carata motions to the mission equipment in neat kits at her feet. There is one for each young Host.

Prince folds his pad down into its smallest form. His expression is set and serious.

“You will be joining Carata and Nirad on the planet below to assist them with their mission. Your datapbank will provide you with information about the planet and the city where you will be stationed. This mission is covert and the planet itself has no contact with other planetary races, so you will need to do your utmost to blend in.”

Cathaway sharpens slowly beside them: a dull pencil being sharpened to a point as her attention curves back to this place, this instance. She unfolds her hands. “You’ll be provided with an earpiece that should allow you to interface with the local technology and a fake identity for your cover on world. Please mind both carefully and be sure to keep your databanks offline. It would be inconvenient if they were networked while on planet.” From the way she says it, it sounds like ‘inconvenient’ might be an understatement. “This mission shouldn’t be inherently life threatening. Your primary goal is to investigate the anti-android movement. Carata and Nirad will be able to tell you what your databanks do not.”

“You should listen to them,” Prince adds. “Rely on their experience and knowledge to help you succeed in your task. Be mindful, and treat them with the respect they have earned.”

At this Carata laughs. It’s a bright, joyful sound, her hands coming up to clasp in front of her chest, “Please, teacher, you are too serious. I am sure they will do very well. Come along then! Gather your things; we must leave as soon as possible. I do hate to leave Nirad alone for too long.”

Turning her back to the Hosts, Carata takes Cathaway’s hand for a moment Nothing is said, but there’s the distinct impression of something passing between them. They release their grip, then Carata turns to Prince. She places her hands on his shoulders and goes up to her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. He doesn’t return the gesture, but those with sharp eyes will note he does lean down slightly to make her job easier.

Gather your gear, get anything from your rooms you might not want to leave behind. In two hours, everyone attending the mission will be buckled or strapped into the transport as Carata readies the ship for takeoff. She explains, neatly and concisely, what they believe the enemy to be doing in Concordia. Then, with a turning of the deck, the ship is freed from the embrace of Station 72.

It will be a long time before you see this place again.

     I. THE WHEELS ON THE BUS
The flight to Concordia is surprisingly short. By the time Carata's finished her explanation, you've passed into a new universe. It comes with a strange wave of something akin to nausea. Outside the transport's starboard viewports lays Opia in all it's glory: a beautiful blue marble speckled with sixteen landmasses and swathed in thing clouds like spun sugar. From this distance, clusters of light burn from specific points on the continents like a map of grounded constellations. As one of the great megacities of Opia comes curling from around the edge of the planet, the transport ship begins to descend.

Atmospheric entry is smooth. The transport drops at the outskirts of Concordia on what is, hilariously, some kind of large parking garage. It has engaged the most sophisticated of its cloaking technology to do this and Carata urged everyone to disembark quickly so the ship can return to orbiting the planet before it's detected.

"It will be back," she says flippantly. "When we've finished our job."

The ship departs. It's quiet and still for a handful of minutes; Carata seems unconcerned and gives little in the way of direction or instruction. The city flashes around them - bright lights and neon masking the fading of natural light - and nearby, a roadway hums. Eventually the sound of a car pitches louder. A set of headlamps shear from the long line of cars and in moments a long, squarish transport van pulls up and parks at the top of the garage. The side door slides open to admit everyone. In the driver's seat is an android - shining metal and cheerful as it greets every host by name. Beside the android in the van's passenger seat sits a tall, dark skinned man who - much like Carata - is obviously a host.

Welcome to Concordia.

     II. HOME SWEET HOME
It's a long drive into the city. The buildings get taller, the lights get brighter, the streets get busier. There are throngs of people on the street, dogged by endless rows of neon bright advertisements. Traffic is either miserable or flowing depending on the neighborhood and trams run on tracks fifty feet or more above the roadways. Streams of people files from the pavement to the subways, countless numbers of escalators leading down.

When the bus finally stops, it's in front of a building as tall as any others. The signs here mark this section of the city as BETA BLOCK and when you get out and into the building lobby you find that the door opens for you automatically. A chime rings through the interfacing ear piece and when you enter the elevators, the only floor accessible to you is NUMBER EIGHTEEN. When you disembark, a kind voice welcomes you by home in your ear. There are a large number of rooms here in Bearing - stake your claim, everyone! Nirad and Carata already have a couple of rooms in the Southwest corner of the building, but the rest are open. Time to settle in!

     III. FEET ON THE GROUND
You're given the rest of the night to sleep (or...whatever), but by 9AM the next morning everyone is awoken by Carata's voice in their head. She's clearly not shy of using her symbiotic connection.

( Good morning! I know this is quite a lot to get used to. I believe this is your first true assignment? But I have always believed that the best way to learn something new is to jump right in. ) The words are accompanied by the sensation of someone clapping their hands together, a cheerful kind of practicality. ( You’ve been given a credit card. I encourage you to go out today and learn what you can about this place. Talk to people. Listen to the news. Be sure to remember your cover identity, and don’t hesitate to call if you find yourself in trouble. )

There is nothing pressing to the suggestion, just the sensation- light. Airy. Fun. She switches track after a moment, a thoughtful addition: ( There is also a rally in town today. It’s being run by The True Children of Opia, some minor little hate group-- ) She seems to wave off the unsavory aspects as she forges ahead, ( They aren’t affiliated with Humans + Humans 1st, but they do have very similar ideologies and it is quite probable that there is overlap in their membership. If you would rather, it is also quite likely that there will be protestors there as well, both members of Mind Life and those who are adamant about pursuing digital resurrection. Please do be careful, though, sometimes those rallies can be a little... ) An image of an oily substance catching flame, quickly and hotly.

( Whatever you chose, simply do your best to get your bearings. ) She seems to realize the unintended joke there, given the name of their current residence, and a bright happy flash of color accompanies it. What a delightful surprise. ( Prepare yourself for what is to come. Nirad and I will continue our investigation in the meantime. )

((OOC Notes: This is the catchall log for the first stages of the Concordia mission. You'll notice there's no set ending date, so use this log however you like - alternatively, feel free to start your own logs in the setting! Don't worry; we'll be keeping a close eye on things, so if something big starts to happen that necessitates a new long, we'll make sure to keep our bases covered and all of y'all updated. Just be aware that dating forward farther than :010 may get a little dicey.

If you have any mission specific questions, direct them to the OOC post here.))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

OUT & ABOUT

. i shopping chanel
[ She avoids the rally because she wears her cybernetics too obviously. More, she knows she's small, doesn't present a threat, and if she were to use her abilities otherwise it would give up their cover too quickly. Rather she's got better things to do -- tech, maybe not the same but she knows with enough time she ought to be able to adapt it but even so, who cares when there was so much of it. She makes like a kid in a candy store with it. An eclectic to see everything, touch everything, barter back and forth with shop owners about price and soon enough she's collected plenty for herself.

Which she's sorry fellow hive member, she doesn't have enough arms for this, so when she runs into someone she knows, she's very carefully pushing the items at them so she can free up her own hands because she's seen something else -- ] Here, can you hold these for second?

[ No? Too bad, she's already darting towards another store with an eager wave to follow. ] Come on, I think I saw whatever their equivalent for hydrophobic polygrease is. I don't fancy rusting just yet.

. ii sea of voices
[ Eventually though, she does get to work. But almost immediately it's nothing like Avera, that had been simplistic in its difference, this was complicated in a different way. Yes, used to ridiculous things, and they'd reached a singularity of a different kind. Wilhelm is the closest thing she could think of, even if he'd gone the other way, human to robot. AI had certain rights, in part why Jack fought so hard to suppress the Loader Bots made from Felicity. Doesn't surprise her, had to happen eventually. All technology had been shaped by the vaults, and she, in turn, was made as part of them -- natural for her to control technology of her own home with a simple ease.

This is different again, developed another way and after her first brush against it, that she does physically this time, hood pulled up, sleeves yanked down and a fingerless glove on her off hand to hide the glow of her body and eyes. Though it trails down her fingers as she uses the physical point by way of tapping at screens to get her the truer access she needs. Does her best not to be too obvious, keeps her breathing even if it's shallow with the effort, burrowing herself deeper and -- gets a little red warning for her interaction. Flagged. ] That's new. [ and not what she wants at all. Makes sense, granted but she frowns and tries again, to get another warning. Not... right. She kilters back. No, she will need to work to find out anything this way, and once she realises, she settles to do so. Finds public terminals, and slips herself against one, then another, then another. Once she's done that, removes herself. The great novelty of being a siren, she doesn't need to actually stand at them once she has her connection. Instead she behaves in a pointed she takes some of her new purchases -- e-books or the equivalent. Granted it takes her seconds to absorb the book, she takes the time to settle like she's busy reading. Like she's waiting for someone and just passing the time, or just studying. Either way, less like she's doing anything as she busy her mind elsewhere in the process of integration, learning this new system to utilitize it without getting busted for it.

Takes it toll even if she's not doing anything openly. After while, she reaches out with to anyone nearby. Just like Avera, her mind is a cacophony of voices clambering speaking over each other and talking around her, that rushed, speed of the world inside machines. Like she's calling from a throng of people rather, has to speak more clearly to make sure she's distinct over it's rattle and hum. ]

( Hey, can you bring me something to eat? Whatever is close by is fine. )

[ She will do this almost every day, but from a new spot to stop her being traced too easily or often. Learning a new system with this much information being flung around to find anything useful takes time. ]

. iii grey matter - later in the week
[ At one point, she's got to try, even if it's not quite right -- she is what she is, and sirens were too destructive by some unwritten rule, and it just seems like being able to brain wash an android will be useful at some point. Got to see what's inside their head.

So she finds one -- a public worker, by the look of him. Comes up with an arbitrary excuse to lead him off to help her. Something safe but urgent to not alarm him. Turns a corner and acts -- quickly. She doesn't want him raising the alarm on her, either. Breathes faintly into the quiet of the alley to him with a soft soothing murmur of her voice: ] I'm so sorry, I just want to see how you work.

[ And she's reaching up with her left hand, setting two fingers against his temple, her eyes flaring brightly again as she sinks her mind against his through the cacophony of his evolving program of a mind and settles herself in for one whole second.

And then he overloads, the sink of her thoughts to his short circuit something. They drag with her, and get scrambled. Turns him into a garble of basic coding that she understands, the rest that turns to nonsense.

She yanks back from him as the Android stands there, all but brain dead from what she's done and -- ] ( Shit-- Shoot, I mean shoot. No, no, come on. Come on -- ) [ Panicking, she reaches up to the android, fingers searching lightly for a response, and then more urgently giving him a shake, like she's trying to revive him, but nothing happens -- or rather she gets an automated message about factory settings and her panicking piques. Never had to clean up her own messes, and terrified that this one might cost them too much. ] ( Fuck, fuck, fuck -- Help? Someone? I think I've... )

[ Made a mess. Lobotomized a robot. Which is completely the opposite of what she wanted, or what their goal even was. ]

HOME BASE

. i lemme upgrade u - earlier in the week
[ After her shopping trip, she's got a dozen things she wants to try out, but starts with the important ones first. Rather she sits herself down in front of a mirror in the common area, with a table next to her, and a tool kit that she picked up for just this purpose.

... And appears to have cracked open her own skull. Or at least, her skull plates. Hooks her thumbnail under the edge of the plate to snap it open. Then takes up a screwdriver, a little one and turns her head to face the mirror, putting herself the angle so that she can see what appears to be a series of wires that run into her brain. Normal for her, but the first time she's had to do this herself. Gently undoes one tiny screw and picks up a set of tweezers to lift out the screw and set down on a cloth on her small work table so she wouldn't lose it. Below that is a card of some kind, a tiny chip that seems important, given it apparently connects to her brain.

Going just fine with her apparent brain surgery, until she realises she doesn't have enough hands for this. Calls to whoever the lucky person is in the room with her as politely as possible. ]

Hey, can I borrow you for a minute?

[ granted, she would like the company for her odd bit of maintaince. She treats it the same way as brushing her hair or doing washing. Just a chore. Granted this world is all shockingly normal to her, for it's difference, but she's happy to listen and to talk like this. ]

. ii r & r
[ Outside of that, she can be found in the common areas, doing what she normally does -- over buying on strange foods that she happily pushes towards anyone that looks interested, reading over reports of information relevant to their mission and occasionally just in a pile on the couch where she's forgotten to sleep regularly or limit her abilities use and has utilized the closest person as a pillow yet again. ]

WILDCARD

[ Got an idea? Go for it. Feel free to PM me or toss me a message on my plurk @themajesty. ]

Angel? Is that you?

[ Of course it's her. He knows the moment she brushes his mind. But it's been a while, and Aoba's head is clouded with a haze of pain. He's trying to be better about rationing the medication Cathaway gave him for this mission, from the beginning. And he's only just started today, brought planetside late since waking up.

He can tell she's close, feels like she's above him somewhere, but the headache is making it difficult to pinpoint her. He reaches out a tiny bit more, wincing with the effort. When his voice comes in, it's as calml and cheerful as ever, a forced effort he's used to. ]

Sure I can get you something, but could you send me an image of where you are? I'm having a little trouble...

[ He's not sure how much pain he's broadcasting through the noise. Hopefully not a lot. Hopefully she can't tell. ]

[ The second he speaks something bursts sharp out of her chest. She's missed him, especially with Parker, then Romy, gone. Left her fretful and worried especially with trying to watch after Petre as well now.

So when he answers her, everything is immediately discarded. Much as he might be trying to keep it back, she definitely feels the wave of pain -- brood after all. But for a second she cares about one thing -- ]

( Aoba! You're awake! )

[ The wrapped around feeling, all warm, like she'd hugged him tightly herself. Shoves the chatter of data streams away further to let him in closer. ]

( Oh -- right, I'm here. )

[ and she gives the image of where she is, pointedly clear to the rest of the noise. ]

[ Mind hugs, that's a new one. At first he's adverse to it, but when it doesn't make the headache worse, his connection relaxes. It's warm, welcoming, and though he's in a completely alien place, it's almost similar to the feeling of coming home. ]

Heh, yeah, I was a little confused when I woke up alone after so long. Guess I'm lucky...

[ He doesn't need to explain why with words. She's likely already aware by the empty feeling that tries to creep between them. Romy is still back there, asleep. Aoba pushes at the presence of the second hole now gaping in his mind, or tries his best to not let it distract him. It presses on his already aching head, and he knows Angel can feel it too. ]

Prince and Cathaway explained the mission and sent me off. I've been looking for you and Ares and... the other boy. Um, anyway, sorry if I interrupted something. I'll come find you.

[ She's on a higher level of the shopping center than he is, which is good because a sign near the elevators tells him the food level is somewhere in between. He can pick dinner up on the way. He's about to narrow their connection when he pokes back at it abruptly, thinking to ask- ]

Are you in the mood for anything particular?

[ She softens, she had wanted to be near him, when he woke up. So he wouldn't be alone. Because it was a misery she couldn't tell the others of? How could they understand what it was to be hollow like this? Reaching for a shape of a person that turned out just to be empty porcelain. A shattered doll smashed open on the concrete to expose nothing inside. ]

( I'm sorry, I hoped I could have been with you when you woke up. But I am glad that you are doing alright now. )

[ A pause of an unasked question, when Parker had... Aoba had felt strange, him but not at all. Granted she hadn't been in a better place, too busy trying to stop her own emotional reaction that exploded her datapad in her hands and whatever else she had been attached too. ]

( Not particularly. Less than last time? I dont know what anything tastes like here either, so whatever you think we'll like. )

[ Which after the odd intimacy of binge eating together... she pretty comfortable just letting him pick for her. ]

Angel | OTA

ii. sea of voices

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home base i.

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o&a iii

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home base i. wtfwtfwtf

steve plz

shfsjfs

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home base ii, because it's cute and i can, fight me

large dog looks after useless kitten

hfdkljsa that is exactly what this is lmfao

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( r&r kind of; I do what I want )

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iii. grey matter