[MISSION LOG] BRAVE NEW WORLD

[onemind]

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.))

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Comments

for Carata

[snippycup]

[After spending two days living through other people exploring the planet, as well as a few hours on the extranet, Ahsoka is already tired of Concordia and its lack of extraterrestrial contact. Its sometime in the afternoon when there's nobody around inside that she finally sits up and decides to try and do something about it.

The young togruta leaves the cloak draped around her shoulders, but the hood remains down as she wanders out into the hallway with the intention of locating their seniors' quarters. After thinking better of it, she decides to reach out with the mental link for one the voices she had heard just a few days ago -- or just a more unfamiliar mind, the new limb she hasn't figured out how to use yet.

She brushes something -- she believes it to be Carata -- and tries to hide just how restless she is. After all, she had spent two years as a Jedi in a war torn galaxy, and now she was sitting inside staring at the wall for at least seventy percent of her day.]

( Hello? Can we talk? )

[serenae]

[Carata is in.

She has been in frequently, the past couple of days. She feels it is important to be available to the new Hosts should they need her, at least until they settle in. It makes her slightly less effective at her job, surely, but their many eyes could no doubt compensate for her relative inactivity, at least for a few days. So she feels Ahsoka's mind when it begins to reach out, like a hand in the dark, searching for something unknown. Carata's mind doesn't flinch away when she finally finds her, but accepts the connection, open and easy.

She answers the question practically before she has finished asking- not in words, nothing so unclear, but as a river- - an open palm, fingers turned up, ready for her to take, an empty seat beside her, waiting, an open door-]

(Of course.)

[Her mental tone is, if possible, even more chipper than her physical one. She's in her room, sitting barefoot on her bed, back against the wall- the window, so seamless and transparent it looks like nothing but air is propping her up. And now she's expecting her.]

[snippycup]

[Ahsoka pulls back the moment she obtains Carata's permission to join her physically -- after all, she had been spending a lot of time in minds that weren't her's lately, and a piece of her feels like maybe she ought to reign it in just a little. There's something odd about not being in your own body, or sharing your mind with another being.

That's not how the Force works.

She enters the room with one hand on the doorframe, bowing herself respectfully once she comes into full view.]

Carata -- my apologies for interrupting you.

[Her spine only straightens after she has finished speaking, but she hesitantly takes the mental offer she had interpreted and moves to the other woman's side.]

I...must confess that I am feeling a bit...well--

[Useless isn't said, but its certainly thought.]

[serenae]

[If she's injured by the distance Ahsoka puts between them it doesn't show, not on her face, when she enters the room, and not in her mind, still just as open and near as it had been. Unfazed. She's smiling when Ahsoka straightens, head tilted ever so slightly, datapad- one of the local ones, a hologram projecting from a small strip- resting on her lap, in loose hands.]

You're not. I wasn't busy.

[She's pleased- an obvious ringing note- that her invitation has been accepted, and she scoots sideways slightly on her bed as the girl approaches, leaving room for her to join her, if she likes.]

Oh. I am sorry about that. Unfortunately not all missions are convenient for all of us.

[Her tone is genuine- she understands her feelings, but there's something almost flat about it- as if it doesn't concern her. It doesn't concern her.]

[snippycup]

[There's a light frown from Ahsoka then, not because she's offended, but because it doesn't solve any of her problems. Even if it doesn't concern Carata, or she isn't bothered by the fact--]

But I'm here to help, aren't I? There has to be something I can do...easier.

[A note of frustration enters her voice, something she can't really curtail, but something she recognizes as a touch inappropriate. She can already hear and see both Anakin and Obi-Wan frowning down at her for saying as much.]

Its just--I've never been anywhere in a galaxy that hasn't at least heard of intelligent life other than themselves.

[serenae]

Easier?

[Her brow creases slightly. She didn't seem like the kind of person who was accustomed to things being easy. Still, she can't blame her for her frustrations. They weren't shared, but the disappointment of others wouldn't help her find peace.]

It's not so uncommon as you would think. [More or less common than places like the one Ahsoka must be from, she cannot say. She hasn't seen enough to be an accurate judge.]

Still, there are places you can go. I would not suggest starting trouble, but these people will only assume you are some kind of eccentric. You could probably find some admirers, even, in Subspace. [A slight distaste across the link- not for the place, but for the nickname. It was so judgmental-] And there will always be a place for you in the Extranet. There is a place for everyone.

[snippycup]

"Eccentric". Right.

[Ahsoka nods dimly at first -- yes, the Extranet had been a source of escape for a few hours, but coming out of it had made her limbs itch and the urge to run for a mile had come on even stronger. All superficial, of course, coming from the knowledge that she had been essentially sitting around on the internet without any sort of movement.

Carata's thoughts on Subspace mirror Ahsoka's own. It was not if she had never seen such places -- she might have even argued that she blended better there.]

I'm not looking for admirers.

[She actively doesn't want them -- at least consciously. It might be nice is a thought that crosses her mind for a fraction of a second. Jedi are better than that, even if she isn't one of them anymore. After a soft sigh escapes her nostrils, she glances up at the other woman.]

You really think it will be easier there? In Subspace?

[serenae]

[Her marriage to her physical form makes Carata smile. She would not like to live here, it seemed.]

There's no shame in it. But if you just want to hide your face, it will be easier there, too. Many people who don't meet expectations go there, to find belonging. It can be dangerous, but then again, so can you.

[There were so many that the city found unacceptable there, but they were not one unified group. Rather they were hundreds of different groups, many of them at odds. Conflict was always close. And it made an ideal place to hide your intentions from the rest of the city.]

You aren't confined, no matter where you chose to go. And if you think it is better to stay here, then I will keep you company.

[snippycup]

[Ahsoka contemplates what Carata has said, her frown thoughtful. Maybe admirers wouldn't be such a bad thing, though the idea of using people for information never sat well with her. She always preferred honesty and upfrontness, but its impossible to deny the need for subterfuge on this mission.]

I certainly don't wish to scorn the company--but.

[She pulls her legs into a meditative position and grabs her feet reflexively to stretch out her back.]

Maybe I'll try and figure out Subspace. It can't be that bad.

[serenae]

[Carata watches her move and shift, eyes watching the way the tentacle that ran down the back of her head shifted. As inconvenient as her appearance may have been in this time and place, it was still quite lovely. Nostalgic in a way. She doesn't dwell on the feeling. It didn't do to live so much in the past. Perhaps the future would bring her to another world that was less isolated.]

It's quite alright. Not everyone is suited to staying in one place.

[She had been a homebody, before. She still retained echoes of that inclination now, but she knew many members of the Nest were wanderers, at heart. They were lucky. The Nest would provide them with plenty of chances to roam.]

I'm sure you'll do fine. There are many good people who live there.

[She seems more at ease now, with a path laid before her. Good, Carata likes to help, and her pleasure is clear and buoyant. She hopes that every conversation she has with Ahsoka leaves her so calm and centered, even if she knows it might not be possible.]

[snippycup]

I can't remember the last time I stayed in one place.

[She offers it with some humor, but it was the greatest truth she could offer. Ahsoka had rarely ever had a place to call 'home'. Even the nights at the Jedi temple were few and short. The various battlecruisers often felt more familiar as the Clone Wars raged on around her.

She almost misses it -- the normalcy of a nomadic life.]

I don't doubt it.

[There was good everywhere, as far as Ahsoka was concerned. Finding it was harder -- but she's here to do a job, and she's going to try and do it.

There was still that whole idea of "synthesis" that doesn't quite agree with her--]

Do you go out there often? To Subspace?

[serenae]

Are your people nomadic?

[Her interest is clear and genuine. She has never met anyone like Ahsoka, but she's learned in her time how many different ways of life there were. The Nest had opened the eyes of a rather sheltered girl.]

Sometimes. It is not as clean or as safe as other parts of the city, but there are things there you can find nowhere else in the city. [A moment, a thoughtful pause.]

And there are some there who are quite vocally pro-human. I have spent some time speaking to them, hoping to learn something new.

[Investigating thin leads. The disenfranchised made a powerful weapon in the hands of the unscrupulous. She had little doubt that they had been used before. Now, though? The movement was so much more organized.]