[mission: new beginnings] the end is the beginning is the end

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: EVERYONE
WHERE: Station 72
WHEN: DAY :004
SUMMARY: A disturbance in the multiverse. New faces and familiar friends.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. Need a warning added? PM this account please!

STATION 72
DAY :004

A WIND IN THE DOOR
SOMETHING SHIFTS. One minute, everything is exactly as it has been. The next, there's been a fundamental change in reality itself. It's a familiar dread and an equally familiar surge of intimacy, of certainty, of wholeness. The multiverse has all at once become both a more dangerous place and a more complete one.

Somewhere on the Station, Rhan drops the glass she's holding. It's not possible for her face to get much paler than it already is, but the sensation of it is clear in the shape of her mind. "What the hell just happened?" she'll ask whoever happens to be nearby. And then she's off, making a beeline for the Nesting Deck.

Rhan's likely not the only one drawn there and upon arrival, it becomes clear why. A number of previously closed sections of the Nesting Deck's strange walls have opened up into hexagonal chambers, disgorging an assortment of strangers who aren't strangers and a few familiar faces. Comatose Hosts are waking up. For some of them, it's been quite a while.

Not long into the unexpected reunion, Prince's mind reaches out across Station 72. He is crisp and clear and brooks no argument:

( Meet us in the water gardens. There is work to be done. )

The call is like a scratch at the back of every mind. An itch that does not end until they answer it.


MANY WATERS
THE LOTUS POOL AT THE CENTER OF THE LONG ROOM IS AS A MIRROR. While Prince and Ty are there to answer initial questions, Cathaway seems to be somewhere else entirely though she's sat there at the edge of the pool. It's only once all the Hosts on the Station - old hands, newly re-awakened and every kind in between - are present that she lifts her attention. There's a surge of power in the room - electrical and animal, a broad beast in a doorway, eyes like numerous stars blinking here.

"There you are," she says, languidly drawing her bare feet from the cool water of the lotus pool. "We have work to do if you're able and willing."

Prince and Cathaway explain what's happened: in conjunction with the re-awakening of a number of long comatose Hosts here on Station 72, a number of potential new hosts have come into their own. Their minds now call, drawing both the Nest’s attentions as well as the Enemy’s. This seems to have been an unexpected development and though surprised (and, in Cathaway's case, delighted), they're shorthanded when it comes to Agents experienced with extraction.

"Although it is not ideal, we are fortunate," says Prince, "--that so many of you have experience now in the field. And that you have a mentor of some experience to assist you."

Ty clears xyr throat uncomfortably and unfolds a datapad. "Right, sure. So… time for the rundown, then. Rule one: keep your arms, hands, feet, tentacles, cirri, and other appendages inside the vehicle at all times--"

THE RUNDOWN is simple and succinct: get in, try to avoid direct conflict with the Enemy, find the prospective Host, and get out of dodge. You've all done this before, right? Ha ha ha. Luckily a few factors make this easier: your symbiote will be drawn toward a prospective Host which should make tracking them down simple. The Enemy is in a similar boat - they'll be focused on the prospective Host rather than the actual Hosts on the ground, though that means getting close to your target will be the most dangerous point of the rescue mission. Remember, the more numerous the Enemy entities manifested in a universe, the less individually dangerous they are. Avoid single entity manifestation at all costs.

THE BRIEF is just that - short. Beyond Ty's quick and dirty, it seems the details about where the Hosts are going and who they're after are scarce. Cathaway herself doles out what she knows via the mental link; there are sensations and shapes -- the bite of terrible cold, the half spoken name of a fugitive, a terrible darkness, the vibration of a rough road felt through the wheel of a vehicle. You'll have to rely on your gut and your symbiote's instincts (subconscious shared Nest knowledge even?) once you get there.

TEAM UP & GET YOUR GEAR from Prince. He's prepared a few generalized kits for this work, but encourages all Hosts not to be shy about using whatever they can find in the local universe. The priority is to reach the potential Host as quickly as possible - that's the only way to drive the Enemy from that universe and minimize collateral damage. You'll never be back there. If blowing your cover to the local population means getting in and out faster and avoiding needless casualties, fine.

THE DIVE isn't anything like the interdimensional travel you've done before. Extraction teams are asked to stand on the edge of the lotus pond with their backs to the water. "Believe me, it's easier that way. Hold hands too," says Ty. "...Don’t actually hold hands, that won't do anything. But definitely think about touching brains." Xe pushes you backwards into--

SOMEWHERE ELSE. Wherever you end up, it isn't the bottom of the lotus pool. You're not even wet (unless it's raining). A strange, alien (or not so alien) world surrounds you. Sometimes the danger will be obvious and immediate; something the Enemy here will be insidious and creeping. But you know one thing for certain: the direction you need to go.

THE WAY BACK is shockingly simple. The moment you make contact with your Host, something in the universe shifts. You know immediately it's a ticking clock and that at the end of it are three truths: the Enemy will arrive at this location, a portal will open through which you can return to the Station, and the potential Host must be convinced to go with you or die. Do your best.

THE RETURN is soaking wet. You surface gasping out of the lotus pond, hopefully dragging an unconscious potential Host with you. Welcome back. You're right back where you started.

---

((OOC Notes: This is the catch-all log for DAY :004, including the reawakening of comatose Hosts and rescue missions for all potential Hosts. Please see MISSION OVERVIEW post for additional details. This mission is open to all Station 72 players past and present; everyone is able to bring in one character (brand new or a character you previously played here). You may choose whether that character has been comatose on Station 72 or is a brand new potential Host, however for all potential Hosts please make sure to comment to the NEW FACES thread on the Mission Overview.

If you have any mission specific questions, please direct them to the QUESTIONS? thread on the Mission Overview post. For all general game questions, please hit up the FAQ or MOD CONTACT pages!

As a final note, this is officially the very last moderated event log for Station 72. We want to take a moment to thank everyone for your time, your passion, and your enthusiasm over the past two years. Station 72 has been such a rewarding learning experience for us and we're so pleased to have been able to build stories for and with you. Thank you for reading all our walls of text, for creating with us, and for bringing so much to the game's table.

Beyond this point, you'll be welcome to use these comms as an unmoderated sandbox area for your own plotting and play.))

NAVIGATION • GAME CALENDAR • MISSION: HYRYPIA • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[ex_rate800]

"If I could have left? We wouldn't be having this conversation, because I wouldn't have come back." Untruth runs through that like spiderweb cracks, but she tries to keep it from him, not interested in giving so much of an inch of compassion for his fear of abandonment. "I got knocked down, but as the song goes, I got up again. You know how long it's been?" She has the sense of a lot of time having passed, maybe just from residual connection to other parts of the Nest.