[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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( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

drag strip I!

[frakkincylons]

[ There's a few of them around that'd come to explore subspace, though they don't particularly stay close. Near enough to hear each other with a mental shout, but otherwise independent. Sam had been trying to at least be on the same end of the area as Ilde, as he'd felt her tense up around the modified people here, and understands it, given the life she'd come from. Frankly, they're a little creepy looking to Sam too, despite what he is.

He'd been poking around in a tech shop, not really sure what he'd been looking for, more just eavesdropping on customers, when Ilde's message comes in, and his head snaps up, as if he could see her from where he is. ]

( What people? Locals? Why are they taking you? )

[ Ilde doesn't exactly go out of her way to talk to people much, and the fact she'd been tense earlier makes Sam worry, so he's moving out into the streets again, glancing around for her, and following the pull from his brood. Soon enough, he's seeing signs for a drag strip, and starts to jog that direction. ]

( I'm coming. Are you okay? )

[erbier]

[ Much about Concordia makes her tense. It is far too loud and busy and bright. Even Avera had been more comfortable to her with its casual grey misery and scumbag citizenry. The people of Concordia are flip and inattentive, casually cruel and mindlessly complacent with no gratitude for their prosperity. While the modified youths who had 'picked her up' were uncomfortable for her to look at, their attitudes were at least more to her liking. They were scrappy and wary for all their nonchalant charm and the behavior within the subspace was much more familiar to her.

It is bizarre to her, to be in a group of her peers, all the boys and girls are of a similar age to her, mostly just insatiably curious about her. Unfortunately she cannot give them any real answers and spends the time with them avoiding their queries, which only makes them hungrier. She thinks that claiming to be some kind of celebrity was a poor move, it's really only attached them all the further to her. ]

( They want me to sing at this race? )

[ and it has assuredly put her in a rather uncomfortable position. It's not that she can't sing, but never in front of a crowd. Where would she have found a crowd to sing in front of. Plants didn't count. ]

[frakkincylons]

( Uhh. )

[ uuuhhh????? not what he was expecting to hear. not sure he understands how she got to that point, at least, until he recalls what her alias had been - idol singer.

well frak.

even if she can sing, idol singer seems about the farthest from Ilde's personality as she could get, at least if we're thinking typical, bubbly, crowd loving idol singer. this doesn't seem like a thing that would end well, and Sam's picking up his pace. ]

( Will you be able to do that? Or do you need a distraction to get away? ) [ Not asking if she can, because she's sung to her plants before, it seems, and he's hoping she wouldn't have gone for that alias if she couldn't actually sing, but having the ability and performing the ability in front of loads of people are two very different things. There's also the underlying current of do you want to? in the question. He doesn't have an issue making a scene to distract the kids dragging her around just to ease her comfort. It's not much cost to him to be obnoxious at strangers. ]

[erbier]

( I can do it... )

[ There's a vague desire to do it, as if shying from the challenge would annoy her. Also, these other children seem to like her, they have already been chattering amiably to her about many things within the city. She sees some value in keeping their interest right now. ]

( But please come. )

[ She is already a bit overwhelmed by the small group she's with now, if an entire crowd were to decide to fawn over her false célébrité she's not sure she can keep her cool through that. ]

[frakkincylons]

( On my way. Hang tight. )

[ Not sure if she'll get the phrase, but the idea of it is there anything. perks of being brood. he is a bit too tall to gracefully speed through the crowd, but he spends most of the time readying himself for what he's hoping with get her swept out of here quickly. tugging a pair of sunglasses he'd bought just for the sake of shade, he pops them on his face, messes his hair up a bit as he runs, so it looks more along the lines of hipster disarray, and arranges his clothes to look a bit more styled. popping a pieces of gum into his mouth, he's already looking the part of overbearing, shallowly trendy, talent manager, voice a loud nag as he speed walks up to these kids, moving straight to Ilde. ]

Heyheyhey, whoa, Ms. Saffron, we've been looking all over for you. [ Said as his hands go to her cheeks, like she must be some kind of traumatized from being lost. he actually plays the part fairly well, considering he's been dragged around by people like this before. even sports star get micro managed. ] You have to get ready for your photoshoot-- I'm sorry, who're you?

[ he's shooting them a questioning glance with brows raised, looking at them from over the rims of his sunglasses. the now flustered (and still half excited looking) kids all start yammering at once about how they'd wanted her to sing in front of the stadium, and Sam cuts into the middle of it, waving his hands in enthusiastic rejection of the proposal, head shaking, as he puts a hand on Ilde's shoulder. ]

No. Nono, Safforn doesn't preform for anything less than 200 grand. Unless... [ Sam's brows lift, looking back to her, and there's a mental nudge of 'do you want to try it?' he'll be here, to sweep her away right after, if she likes. but this could be fun for her. if she'd like. ]

[erbier]

[ She looks and feels ridiculous with Sam's hands on her face, him babbling away at her like he's someone else, like she's someone else. He's much better at all this than she is, but in a way she supposes it's the... right thing to do? The street kids are intrigued with the whole farce, the fantasy of sweeping an idol from downtown to come hang out with them. Maybe their pleasure with the fantasy of it all helps disguise how unconvincing Ilde would be if she spoke too much. Instead, her shyness just comes across as enigmatic.

Sam is much more convincing, but the absurdity of it all almost makes her laugh, almost startling its way right out of her. Her mouth twists as she keeps it contained and has regained herself by the time Sam takes his hands off her face to return his attention to her temporary 'friends'. ]

It will be alright... just the one.

[ Sam's noisy protestation that she perform and her own quiet assent to do so is an excellent game of good cop, bad cop, eliciting excitement in the face of what had seemed like rejection. The squalling crowd of race fans hurries to take advantage before the 'talent agent' or 'idol' can think twice about it. Announcement made, cars revved, the boys with the speaker vent modifications are all too pleased to help, creating a simple and messy rhythm for her cobbled out of fragments stored in their external memory.

She hesitates remarkably little. It's a short song that she knows well, and whether or not the crowd enjoys it is not terribly important to her. It's a test for herself, to push her limits and comfort, to control her anxiety even when in front of a crowd pretending to be someone she isn't. The airiness of the tune at least fits with her strange image, her willingness to perform it even if not quite right for an opening song to the day's illegal drag racing gives some veracity to her claims of aspiring songstress.

There's even some clapping. She might even enjoy it, a little. It's certainly novel, if nothing else.

To her surprise, the boys who had first brought her to the event help take her back to Sam without letting anyone else pester her. Possessive that they were the ones who found her and pleased to keep such acquaintance exclusive. They congratulate themselves on their contributions. ]

that song is so pretty jkldsga

[frakkincylons]

[ She has a beautiful voice, and the song, while it has a haunting quality to it, seems sort of ethereal and soothing in it's own way. Sam brings himself to a railing, near the gate she'd gone through, out to the stage, folding his arms over the bar and resting his chin there, smiling.

He's proud of her. Genuinely, truly. Ilde'd come from such a violent, cruel place, and has a survival instinct to be guarded and distant. And here she is, singing to a crowd of strangers, like she was born for it. When the song comes to an end, he's probably the loudest person in the crowd clapping for her, shooting out a mental message as she's marched back towards him. ] ( You were perfect. Sure you don't want the pop idol life? )

[ Which is a joke. Obviously, they can't stay, and obviously she's still not super comfortable with the attention, but she'd done wonderfully. Sam takes up his act again, when she gets back, fretting and yammering about schedules to keep, and waving everyone off as he shuffles her out of the area, but once they're far enough away that they won't be noticed, he's pulling the sunglasses off, and leaning to bump her shoulder, with a wide grin. ]

That was badass. It takes guts to do something like that, you know?

[erbier]

[ As her broodmate, his approval and excitement is especially potent, it fizzles in her mind like a drug, filling her flush with an unexpected pleasure. Confused by the sensation, she looks away in a flutter, smoothing out her hair. ]

It was an interesting opportunity to push myself.

[ A completely novel experience to try with little chance of negative recourse, especially with Sam there to keep an eye on things. An interesting realization, that she had trusted him to protect her. When has she... ever done that in her life. She knows she had agreed to reach out to her broodmates when they had discussed it aboard the Station, but she had agreed to it because what other choice was there? She had not entirely expected to enact it. Yet here they are. ]

It helped, that you were there.

[ Because she was not afraid of being embarrassed or booed, she was afraid of being attacked. Irrational, something that the vast majority in this pretty world wouldn't understand. They had a world with social contracts, with order. Even here in the subspace. ]

[frakkincylons]

[ he knows ilde well enough by now, has settled into the connection between their minds, that he realizes these kind of strong emotions tend to make her feel all out of sorts, and sam reins it in some, stuffing hands into his pockets as they walk, but still with a small grin on his lips. ]

It was, and you did. Challenge beaten, you should be proud.

[ no easy thing, and no easy thing for her, when she's come so far from a place so scary, to stand in front of all those people and open herself up to the possibility of things going sideways. as well as for her to explore one of her talents that didn't have to do with just keeping herself alive. sam knows there's a lot of opportunity for a life she has now, with the nest, that weren't there for her at home, and he's happy to see her reaching out for them. ]

I'm glad I could help.