STATION LOG.02

[ximilian]

● ● ● S T A T I O N 2.0

GO NORTH, YOUNG MAN • UNDERNEATH THE MISSILE TOAD

// PART I. go north, young man  

A few days following the arrival of the latest batch of the new Orbers, Viveca’s voice filters through the communications devices across the station.

// VIVECA.AI

Hi everyone. I know you’re all assuming this to be another call for a mission, but it’s not. We’re doing some maintenance on the teleportation platform to adjust to the number of people we now have on the team, so you won’t be going anywhere for a couple of weeks, at least. But I’m still asking you to come to the control room as soon as you can. So… see you there.

As soon as you arrive at the round room in the middle of the station, you’ll find that Viveca in her robot body isn’t the only one there to greet you, but Degar is present too, this time wearing a leather tunic and what appear to be cargo pants under his ever-present hooded cloak.

// DEGAR

Great you could make it! Right, so, Viv tells me you guys have been having questions about the North Wing and all that, and we figured we’d show you we’re not hiding, like, bodies or a giant chocolate cake there. So! Consider this your very limited time offer for a tour in the North Wing! We’re keeping it open for about a week, give or take, just so you can come back and see we’re not illusioning it up or anything.

With fingerguns directed at those on the team who can see through illusions, Degar grins and then turns towards the door to the North Wing, waving his hand — and with that, the doors slide open with a hiss.

// DEGAR

Ladies first!

Degar bows to Viveca with a flourish and waits until she’s past the door before he waves his hand again at the team with the universal sign of go, go, go.

And what else is there to do but go?

1.0   The room you step into is long and rectangular, and without any furniture to clutter the space — instead, you’ll find a large sphere, almost crackling with magical energy front and centre and surrounded by open circulation, perhaps for its own protection — the barrier of this object is so powerful that even those without any magical talent can feel the way it feels, almost like static electricity. A (slightly) closer look will wield three different globes of light circling each other in colours of gold, red, and green.

If you choose to take a step closer, you’ll immediately sense it: there’s an awareness, a quiet whisper in your ear, or a chorus of indistinct words, reaching out to you.

// DEGAR

Oh, whoops! Hold on —

Degar, walking back to the room, directs his steps right towards the sphere of energy… and as he walks right up to it, something strange happens — his cloak begins to glow with the same energy as the barrier, allowing him to simply walk into the field of energy… and disappear.

// VIVECA.AI

"Don’t worry, he’s fine. This is what he does most of the time, here… he’s making sure the orbs are contained." Viveca, floating closer, smiles wryly at the team. "Come on, go and have a look at the other rooms. I’m sure you’re dying to know what’s in there… but I have to warn you, it’s not very exciting."

Should you circle back into the room when neither Viveca or Degar is there, you might be overcome with the urge to approach the energy sphere still situated in the middle … but touch it and you’ll be flung across the space like a rag doll. Maybe some of you will stick the landing, but those of you without a 'Poser' finishing move might need some assistance after.

2.0   As you leave the room, it turns out Viveca really wasn’t joking about the lack of excitement. After a sight like the one you’ve just witnessed, this next room appears to have nothing of note except for a set of chairs lined up along the sides of the room, and then one larger one in the middle — a mechanical armchair with several different wires running directly into it.

On both sides of this space you’ll find maintenance rooms directly adjacent: one for the station itself, and one for the AI. Both of these rooms are filled with advanced machinery and screens — and one thing to note is how … clean the one designated for station maintenance seems to be. Not a fleck of dust to be found anywhere. On the other hand, the AI maintenance room feels quieter, looks darker … but as soon as anyone walks in, they’ll find a little cleaning robot beeping at them angrily. Whoops, it seems as though you’ve located the robot’s home, so make sure to not trail in any dirt. (This room is also spotless.)

3.0   Connected to the station maintenance room is the power and life support, a room with a large engine at its back, and closed pods on its sides. Most of them have a blue, glowing stripe on them; only one has a red one. But no matter how you try to open any of them, they don’t budge.

On the other side, connected to AI maintenance, is a room that has clearly been used as sleeping quarters. If anyone were to check, they’d count twenty beds in the room, half of which are divided into bunk beds on either side of the room… and most of them still have some items near them: clothes, a few books written in a language that your translators can’t seem to decipher, a soft elephant toy, and a photograph of eighteen people — a diverse mixture of women and men, older and younger, of different races, and makes; a few droids among them, but all faces unfamiliar to the current team. The group are all posing with smiles across their faces — it’s a commemorative picture, that much is clear. The right upper corner of the photo has been torn away.

Only one of the beds seems to still be in use — everything else in the room smells slightly musty, as if none of it has been touched for a long time.

4.0   The last place to explore within the North Wing is a hexagonally shaped room that matches the ones teleporting food and other essentials onto the station. Indeed, in the middle of this one is an almost identical platform, though what it connects to is a little unclear — in any case, it doesn’t seem to be powered up right now. At the end of the room is circular cut-out and a heavy-duty latch, currently locked into place to seal whatever is beyond it. It’s a door, of course, but it isn’t just any door … for anyone wondering about exits on this station, you’ll realize now where it’d been all along. There’s a control panel on the wall next to it but it requires a passcode … unfortunate for anyone who wanted a scenic tour outside of the station itself.

Perhaps it’s a little less exciting than you were hoping for, or maybe it’s just what you expected — whatever it is, the mystery held above you for the last three missions has finally been revealed and you’ve now seen what the previously enigmatic North Wing has to offer. As most of you exit the wing, you’ll notice that there’s still no visible signs of Degar anywhere (and also no strange whispers in your ear, no awkward feelings of being watched) ... but if some of you decide to return to the orb room and watch for him, you’ll see him leaning against the wall, using magic to create different shapes out of a smoke he seems to have charmed into existence in front of him. Watching the little performance will demonstrate Degar forming a puff of smoke into a ship with many sails, moving through an orbit of several smoke rings. Pretty funny, right? Clearly word travels fast.

Throughout the week, whenever you return to the North Wing, you will find it unchanged.

TOP

// PART II. underneath the missile toad  

5.0   For those of you who often cross through the sunlight room to break paths into other areas of the station, you may notice some changes in the optics around you. Where the trees had once reflected images of a lush foliage of a typical temperate planet during its warmest season, now a series of various conifers (firs, spruce, cedars, hemlocks, pines) in deep greens and soft, spiky, needle-like foliage takes its place, scattered across your field of vision in no particular pattern. Snowflakes glisten and glitter at the tips like miniature crystals, catching the simulated wintery sunlight above from a crisp, cloudless blue sky.

Follow the path into the trees and you’ll find that the room’s detritus is now covered in a fluffy white blanket of snow not yet trodden over: perfect for your footprints. It even feels just a little cooler, brisker — each breath you exhale coming out in a cloud of fog, and yet it never feels uncomfortable enough to require any sort of winter gear.

When you’ve cleared the patch of forest, on the far end of the room is a snow-covered meadow just waiting to be populated with snow angels and maybe a family of snow-people. Grab some twigs for arms and a handful of pebbles for facial features, and you’re set to spend a couple of hours playing in the snow. The rest of the sunlight room has become something of a winter wonderland: the shallow river beneath the bridge has frozen over into ice, shiny and clear, leading into a small pond perfect for sliding across even if you’re lacking skates.

The atmosphere in the room makes for a pleasant in-between to the rest of the station’s rooms, or simply a pleasant space to chill (heh) for a little while.

6.0   During the early days of the festive month, Viveca’s cheerful voice will broadcast across every Orber’s communications device, announcing the appearance of a box to be left near the mess hall. The purpose, she explains, is for any Orber feeling the holiday spirit and wanting to spread a little joy and cheer by way of a surprise gift.

// VIVECA.AI

— we’ll be leaving this up just until the first supply drop arrives, giving us some time to make the arrangements, but we’d like to accommodate as many surprises as possible. No need to be shy about it — it’s nice to do something for your fellow teammates, right?

Anyone is welcome, of course, to put in a gift request for another Orber on the station. The intention is to spread good cheer and encourage team-bonding, and honestly? It’s just a nice thing to do. Once in a while you might come across another fellow Orber on their way to the box, or you might find someone already there, inputting their request onto the box’s screen. Don’t peek (or do, we’re not your mother) or you might ruin the surprise!

7.0   This month’s supply drop arrives like Christmas itself is here, in two parts and with a fairly obvious theme in both. There are a lot of reds, golds, greens, and blues, and the scents are unmistakably festive.

Part one arrives earlier in the month with a smattering of requested holiday goods: decorations in all colours of the rainbow (tinsel, streamers, bells, bulbs, and canes), a tree outfitted with a bright silver star at its top, and a small woven basket filled with sprigs of mistletoe tied in blue ribbon. There are also small bags of baking and cooking ingredients, as well as a modest array of equally quaint glass bottles filled with holiday-specific spices: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, to name a few.

Halfway into the Orbers’ reprieve at the station, a generous stack of completely concealed, gift-wrapped boxes will arrive on the transport, each one with a tag addressed to its recipient in bold black letters. They will have to be moved (some more carefully than others) to the tree that a few Orbers will have set up in the station by now, awaiting Christmas morning to be unwrapped.

8.0   As the month continues, anyone who stops by to visit the infirmary, either to visit patients currently in stasis, to replace some bandages, or grab something for that headache and the like — you might notice that the room seems to have changed enough for it to be noticeable even to the occasional passerby.

It’s bigger, for one thing, and some of the room has been sectioned off to include a pharmacology centre. Equipment to synthesize medications has been installed on one end of the new room, and adjacent to it are a couple of shelves with medical texts from across familiar and unfamiliar galaxies alike. Across from this are overhead cabinets to house a generous amount of first aid supplies, and similarly, stored in cabinets under a long counter space are more equipment: beakers, pipettes, meters, and basins.

Most of this will be foreign (and dare one say uninteresting?) to anyone who isn’t involved in the medical or chemical fields, but for those who are, it might feel like the Christmas spirit has spread to even the most practical ends of the station. Nevertheless, the upgraded infirmary room should prove useful in the future.

TOP

F Y I

• The events in this log take place during the month of December.

• Throughout the month, remember that all the locations in the two wings and the center of the station are available to use, even if they’re not detailed in the prompts in this log. So feel free to make your own wildcard prompts using the training room, the armory, the living quarters, the kitchen, etc.

• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.

• And finally, have a soundtrack for this log! ♪ ♪ ♪

TOP

▶ NAV

Comments

Rosinante | OTA

[callada]

1.3. Sleeping Quarters

Rosinante can't help but find Degar irritating, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to talk to him. However, the man quickly slips away into what must be the orb storage device, leaving Rosinante with no real option but to look around the rest of the area.

The station maintenance room is initially interesting but clearly beyond him, and so he doesn't linger long. It's the sleeping quarters that gives him pause, especially when he finds that old photograph.

He ends up with it in his hands while he sits on one of the empty beds.

"This is what Viveca was talking about, then," he says to anyone who might peer over to look. "She told me this wasn't the first time they'd tried to do this. That we're not the first."

2.5. Sunlight Room

"Huh. Change of scenery?" Rosinante muses aloud as he makes his way through the snow-covered woodland that the sunlight room has become. "Or - oh, I guess it's winter here, like in places with changing seasons?"

Because that's not actually something that happens everywhere in his world, but it occurs to him that it's been half a year, and maybe the AI has decided it should be winter now as a result. Winter looks nice, anyway, and means time for snow sculptures and hot drinks, which are all good things.

"Glad she didn't actually make it cold, I didn't pick up any winter clothes in Braccia." Though the fuzzy red and white poncho he's wearing right now probably would do well enough in a pinch.

2.7. Festive catch-all

With no clue as to what all the tinsel and confectionery is for, Rosinante can only assume this must be another Earth holiday, like that Halloween thing that happened a couple months ago. Fine with him, celebrations help bring some good cheer and all, even if he's a little lost as to what it's all supposed to be about.

But he knows what he's used to doing when he finds himself in a place with winter holidays and not much else to do but enjoy them. Find him in the kitchen stirring a steaming pot of wine and spices (and accidentally sloshing some on the floor), or - well no, he doesn't seem to want anything to do with cookies, actually, but at least once he's got a candy cane and a cigarette in his mouth at the same time, which is definitely normal.

Otherwise, he'll sit back and watch with bemusement as people decorate trees or whatever else ends up going on - it's all very foreign to him.

"This is an Earth thing, right?"

Someone, please help explain.

2.?? wildcard

The sunlight room becomes a favorite haunt, but when he's not there, he's likely practicing his marksmanship at the shooting range, curled up in the lounge with a book, or tripping over the cleaning robot while lurking in the north wing. Even with the festivities, he seems a little subdued, but the last mission did a number on him and more than a few people got to peek into part of his life he didn't care to have revealed. Perhaps you have lingering questions, or maybe you just want to sneakily ask what sort of gift he'd like - or maybe you're tired of him looming behind you in the maintenance room, trying to glean info from people who look more like they know what it's all for.

For this or anything else, tinylongwing is a good place to find me!

(And if you hate prose, brackets are fine, I'll match whatever)

( 2.7 )

[scarcastically]

[ erik gives a low snort. ]

More like a western Earth thing.

[callada]

[Sounds like resentment, if he had to put a name to that reaction. Fits with what he learned in that dream.]

And your homeland, I take it that's not in western Earth, is it?

[scarcastically]

[ erik gives a little bark of a laugh. ]

Half and half. I'm from the USA but also Africa.

1.3

[anthropophagite]

[ kaneki is far too new to understand everything that is going on, so he has been listening and watching (and also trying to check the network when he has the chance, it's good to know what the others have talked about and learned).

When he hears Rosinante, Kaneki's attention turns immediately to him ]

"Others"? Like us? [ a pause ] Does that mean the commander would be part of that group?

[callada]

Yeah, I'm guessing he must have been. I don't know about them being like us, though. I'd bet they were the original crew. Supposed to be here from the start, not brought in the way we were.

[Just a hunch, though, and he could very well be wrong. He holds the picture out so the new guy can have a look.]

[anthropophagite]

[ ah, the very first ones? It could well be. Kaneki does wonder how the orbs came to be, or how the Commander and Viveca know all of this about the Orbs. ]

They seem very proud and happy, though. [ so...could it be back then they didn't know the Orbs could be bad? Kaneki is just theorizing as well, truth to be told, he doesn't know much ] I wonder what happened to everyone.

2.7.

[cheapbastard]

Billy ain't doing anything decorating or caroling or wrapping presents or anything else that might be associated with Christmas. It's not that he doesn't like it, it's just not something he really pays attention to.

"Never gonna be over calling it a fuckin' Earth thing but yeah, it's an Earth thing."

He looks over at the person who's asked the question, shrugging a shoulder.

"What, not a fan of ugly sweaters and a bunch of fuckin' food that people rationalize because it's the birth of some deity or some shit?"

[callada]

"What, is that what it's about?" he asks, looking down at the guy who - hm, he's seen him around, but he's not recalling getting a name. Well, there'll come time for that, surely.

After he's done being totally mystified by the sight of people hanging all sorts of shiny decorations and snowflakes and what's with the red and white hats?

"Someone mentioned it had to do with a religion. It's the birth of a god, really?"

With other worlds being totally alien to him, he can't tell if that's supposed to be literal or not, much like he can't tell if the sweaters are actually ugly. They're sure eccentric.

[cheapbastard]

"I think so. I don't really pay that much attention. Not really my thing and I am definitely not religious."

He's pretty sure any church would burn the fuck down if he set foot in it. Once upon a time, his parents had wanted him to be but that went to shit and he's fine with it.

"I think that's how it started. But it's mostly about eating too much, putting up decorations to try and show you gotta bigger dick than your neighbor and getting presents."

2.5;

[kovach]

Depends on the planet, hemisphere, moving climate — that kind of thing.

[ kovacs doesn't necessarily understand the necessity for the winter season himself either. he's native to harlan's world, a planet with longer days and an entirely different sense of the seasons, namely in that it doesn't shift around in the way that it would on earth. even in knowledge of that is limited, considering the lone week he actually spent there.

but the weather change here doesn't bother him, whether he sees the sense in it or not. it's a touch chillier but nothing that's easy to notice, especially since he's typically caught wearing his own dark trench coat anyway.

not to mention the cigarette he usually has prepared to keep him warm. pulling out his carton, he holds it out to rosinante in offering. ]

Careful for the little gremlins that might pop out at you, though. Some tricksters'll throw snow down your clothes just to be an asshole.

[callada]

[Someone offering him a smoke? Now that's a first here, and he tries not to look too thrilled because that's weird, but he does gladly take one and fish out his lighter to get it lit. What a treat. More warming than anything else, honestly, at least today.]

Thanks. And... I hope that's a figure of speech. Actual snow gremlins aren't part of winter on some planet, right?

[Look he just can't be sure around here.]

[kovach]

[ it speaks to kovacs' time spent here that he's even offering at all. considering the knowledge regarding limited supplies in the station, he might have been a lot stingier about sharing any smokes during his first few weeks. unfortunately (for him), he's developed a bit of a soft spot for his fellow orbers — making them plenty worthy for sacrificing a cigarette or two. ]

You know what? Wouldn't doubt it.

[ who knows what kind of weird shit'll pop up. he's definitely learned about a number of things since he's been around. ]

But, no, some of the other rascals around here are going full "kid". Pulling pranks and all of that. Harmless, but danger's always in indulging 'em.

2.7

[bossily]

Asks the man who was double mouthing a candy cane and cigarette.

[Yeah, she saw him walking around like that earlier. The way her mouth curls upward into an amused little grin says she doesn't really judge him for it.]

The answer is yeah, it's all part of the whole Christmas on Earth thing. Or parts of Earth, anyway. Not everywhere celebrates, but the areas that do? [She makes a gesture with her hands to signify that it's all included in the fun.] The trees, the lights, the ornaments...the disgusting fruitcake are all part of Christmas.

[Hopefully he hasn't been exposed to that particular horror just yet.]

[callada]

[Hey now, nobody told him not to, and he lives his own life. Her accusation makes him smile in response, with a "who, me?" shrug to accompany it.]

Can't say anyone's offered me any sort of cake yet, but the rest of it looks all right. Pretty. It's supposed to be winter, right? I'm getting a light up the darkness kind of feeling from it all.

[bossily]

That's exactly the sort of feeling you're supposed to have.

[Clara's pleased that he's managed to pick that up from their makeshift attempt at Christmas. It's all starting to come together, and she can't wait to share Christmas Eve with him.

For now though, she's just pleased to see him. So she moves right on in to embrace him in a hug. Yes, she's just stepping right into his personal space and going for it.]

Like no matter how dark things may be, there's always a little light to cling hold of for hope.

wildcard

[naloxone]

[ it starts with a crash

or maybe it was a yelp? it's hard to be certain, for sure. all marta knows is one second she's walking down the hall, and the next she's hearing a big commotion past a corner. she rushes over, knowing whatever must have happened, if it had involved any people at all, it surely wasn't going to be pretty.

she's not really expecting to find what she finds... that all that ruckus was made by just a single person.

a single... giant person... but still.

she comes to his crumpled side, tentatively hovering. ]

Hey — are you alright? Did you hit anything?

[callada]

[This holiday is a HAZARD.

Well, and so is he, but normally he can walk down the hallways without slamming his face into whatever green thing was just hanging there at eye level (who does that??), not to mention the strand of shiny whats-the-stuff now wrapped around him after he'd staggered away from the plant.

Anyway he basically looks like someone did a terrible job of decorating a tree while laying there with limbs all askew in the corridor. He lets out a grunt of acceptance at his condition when someone asks, but then decides he should probably at least try to sit up. Easier said than done though when there's tinsel connecting one hand to the opposite leg somehow.]

A few things. Been worse. What the hell kinda booby trap...

[naloxone]

[ marta still hovers, hands out, but she doesn't even know how to start getting him out of the mess he's wound up in. at least he doesn't look injured. annoyed, sure. but definitely no open wounds from what she can tell. ]

I don't think they're meant to be booby traps...

[ delicately, she plucks a strand on tinsel from his hair, holding it out for him to see. ]

They're decorations. See? At least they look like the ones in my world.

2.??

[firstroar]

Hello, Rosinante.

[the greeting comes as the man's minding his own business, moseying on his way to one of those frequent haunts of his. Blue is seated on the sill of one of the large windows in the corridor he's passing through - taking a break from his own trek here and there.]

[callada]

[It's been a decent past couple of hours spent getting some exercise and practice rounds at the range in, and so Rosinante isn't in any sort of real rush to get on to anything else. The slow schedule between missions is something he's growing used to, and it's not so bad. Free time has its uses.

He looks over at the voice as he's about to pass on through, then gives a half smile and a nod of greeting.]

Blue. Doing all right with all this Earth holiday stuff going on?

[firstroar]

[he nods in turn.]

I don't mind it. They are strange, but...good, I think. [his gaze flicks down to one of the hastily put-up trees tucked at the corner of the corridor.] I may not understand the context, but...I understand the feelings.

2.5

[calmness]

The Sunlight Room is one of Xichen's favorite places on the Ximilia in its normal state but the new snow covered forest reminds him of home, of the snow covered mountains and very similar forests there.

He's donned the blue robes he arrived in, though he's glad that it's not so cold that he misses the additional outer layers he wears in winter. It makes him nearly feel like he's home as he walks through the snow.

He spots Rosinante easily, offers a slight bow in greeting because it's a habit he cannot throw even if it's not customary here. "It seems Viveca wanted us to have a change? It looks like this time of year back home so perhaps she wanted those of us with such a winter to feel more comfortable."

And then he offers a wry smile, nodding about the matter of clothing. "I know we receive clothing during the supply drops. There might be something there if you do get cold? Though... some of what I have seen has looked questionable." Not that he's a good judge.

[callada]

"I've never had much luck with those. Viveca tries, but I don't think she finds it easy to pick up things in my size. Most of what I've got, I bought in Braccia," he says with a shrug, then gestures to the poncho as an example.

"You're from Earth, then?" Must be, if this is what home looks like at this time of year for him. Everything seems like it's an Earth thing.

[calmness]

"Then hopefully we visit another world where you are able to find clothes that fit." It is nice that he is able to pick from what Viveca provides, but Xichen does not take it for granted that that is not the case for all of the Orbers. "The clothes from Braccia are well made and should last. I picked up a few things there as well."

Xichen pauses at that question and nods. "Yes. At least I think so. I was not aware we were on a planet before arriving on the Ximilia, so I am not truly sure." A wry smile. "Everyone seems familiar with some aspects of my home even if I do not know theirs. That is not your home then? Earth, that is."