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ximilialog2023-06-01 06:40 pm
- ! event log,
- adventure time: finn mertens,
- adventure time: jake the dog,
- fear street: ziggy berman,
- grishaverse: the darkling,
- gundam seed/destiny: yzak jule,
- lockwood & co: anthony lockwood,
- pacific rim: newton geiszler,
- red vs blue: felix,
- star trek aos: james t. kirk,
- star trek aos: leonard mccoy,
- the old guard: andromache,
- yakuza: zhao tianyou
MISSION: THE AI AND THE COMMANDER
● ● ● M I S S I O N 1 4 . 0
The hum of the teleportation platform is familiar, filling your ears as the bright light dissipates enough to safely open your eyes. You feel something solid beneath your feet, and the lack of scent from the asphalt and dirt in Nuhiri and Deumia marks a departure from anything resembling a planet, the space around you giving you no reason to think anything of it. You're on the Ximilia once again — finally. Another mission successfully accomplished, for whatever other hardships you and the rest of the team have endured. Hot food and hot showers await, and Newt will surely be scurrying off to prepare for the team’s usual post-mission movie night.
You’re back and you can’t wait for Viveca to greet you, and for Degar to take the orb away, back to the North Wing to join the other ones.
Except … the station’s walls appear to be peeling, and some of the equipment looks a little older and unpolished. There’s even a layer of space-dust on one of the control boards. And most importantly: no one is here to greet you. As you turn and look to your fellow crewmates in confusion, even now some of you might start to wonder at the change of routine. Ivy, who had just been handling the orb, will be empty-handed, but surely there’s nothing to worry about. The station is peaceful and still. Nothing feels amiss … yet. And then:
The sound of 0-L1V-14 — or 'Olivia' as many have come to call her — voice springs to life around you. She almost seems to sound confused for a moment, clearly recalibrating her systems for this strange occurrence, before the gentle tenor of her voice regains its composure and she recalls her mission directive. The lights in the teleportation platform seem to glow just a little brighter, as though the arrival of the crew has buoyed the AI's spirits.
Well? You heard the AI. Best to start looking.
1.0 The first thing you might think to do is return to the sleeping quarters, either to clean up and change into another set of clothes; or to take a much-deserved nap; or maybe you just need a moment to yourself to collect your thoughts. The doors to the sleeping quarters seem to stick for a moment, which isn’t worrying in and of itself, but as the doors slide open you realize that you’re looking into a dark and empty carved out space that resembles a place for storage more than anything else. The walls and doors that used to make up your individual rooms are absent, and the floors are stripped bare, with rows of perforated grates allowing the cavernous space to remain relatively well-ventilated. It’s clear that no one has visited this room in quite some time, and perhaps there had once been plans for it, now abandoned to hold a stock of random items in its place.
There are boxes stacked against the wall, and a shelving unit that holds miscellaneous supplies: cans and boxes, batteries and wires, old bound notebooks made of paper. Rolls of rough tarp are haphazardly leaning against the wall to one corner, and thermal blankets are scattered amongst scraps of loose-leaf, a sketch of a cluster of spherical shapes in different colours, and other foreign knick-knacks that seem to have no place on a space station. If you decide to explore this space you’ll have to provide your own source of light as none of the lighting above seem to work though the row of fixtures that you’re used to seem, at least, to have been installed. They’re just not currently online.
Investigating the room a little deeper might draw you to a simple metal box sitting in the middle shelf next to what looks like a half-broken lute, its strings missing. There is no lock on this box, as though it wants to be opened, and lifting the lid will reveal a bright rosy-coloured light. Reaching out towards the small sliver of light in the shape of an elongated teardrop will recall a memory of your childhood so vivid, you’ll think you were back in that time, in that exact moment, to relive it again. Whether it's a good memory or a tragic one is left up to random chance. Only someone entering the room to talk you through your memory will remind you that you aren’t actually a child any longer.
2.0 Perhaps you decide to forgo the sleeping quarters entirely, and want to revisit one of your favourite simulations in the simulation room. Familiar oceans, the futuristic bar, or the room filled with adorable puppies might be your first choice — but every preset you’re used to scrolling through seems to be different now. There are the standard, familiar pre-mission training simulations, and even the Lodgen Mountain Mines mission appears to be here, but everything else has either been deleted … or it was never here to begin with.
You might decide to go ahead with one of the already existing simulations anyway, or you might want to start rewriting the one you’d come here for in the first place. It will depend on your luck, and it will depend on the success of your mission-training, but a small shard of bright, silvery coloured light may suddenly reveal itself to you. It appears like a thin tear-shape that hangs suspended in the air. The faintest whisper beckons you close; it’s familiar. Will you reach out to touch it? Doing so will colour the simulation room around you with a memory so real it might as well be — suddenly you might recall a happy moment in your life, or perhaps your greatest victory or adventure. This can be shared with whoever enters the simulation room with you or after you, and will fade when you manage to locate the right door and leave the room.
3.0 The sunlight room that you may have walked through on countless occasions is missing the familiar bridge, the river that runs beneath it, and trees that surround it. Instead, the vegetation around you appears to be far more deliberate and practical, thick foliage like bushes planted in rows, their large leaves covering most of the ground and soil. Several small metal boxes with wires and buttons can be found planted across the space, each with a thin rotating disc that whirs and spins quietly. Each of these boxes appears to give off readings, each screen displaying a continuous green wavy line scrolling across it and text that displays the quality of the air with a percentile grade, the amount of it being produced, and that particular box’s designation zone: Mess Hall, Storage, Living Quarters, and Teleportation Platform among others. This isn’t just a room that simulates nature, but if you were to approach any of the small bushes and saplings here, it’s clear that the plants here are real and they’re currently working to provide the rest of the station with oxygen.
Further to the back of the sunlight room, a bright sliver of colourful green light seems to glitter and glint between the leaves. It feels familiar in the way that it whispers faintly, and if you concentrate you can make out the sound of your name in a voice like that of someone from your past: a friend, perhaps, or a family member. Maybe a loved one or an enemy. Or perhaps it’s a voice you can’t actually recognize. It might compel you to reach out for the light, but will you listen? Or will you turn away?
If you embrace the light and call out in answer to the voice, you will re-experience the action, the conversation, or the thought that you attribute as being the reason you are who you are today with that most important person being the key piece in your memory.
4.0 Looking for your usual snacks? Feeling peckish for that bowl of instant spicy space-ramen you saved for post-mission? You might head into the kitchen expecting the familiar foodstuffs that you’re used to only to find that the room has been rearranged, with far fewer cupboards and appliances, and more of what looks like typical space-fare: freeze-fried items and nutrition-focused meals sealed into silver foiled bags. What ‘fresh’ ingredients exist are even less, and there are a stack of dirty plates and cutlery in the sink that don’t look like anything you or your crewmates might have used. You may already suspect that this whole station isn’t the one you’re used to, or you might still be in denial. Either way, you may find through your rummaging the call to a little sliver of coppery-coloured light located behind the freezer door.
If you decide to touch the fragment of light here, you’ll feel a ghostly burning as though the glint of the light has cut your skin, almost cold enough to feel sharp — but it’s just your imagination, isn’t it? What you remember now as it comes back to life around you (and the team member or members who may have joined you) is the best meal you’ve ever eaten, whether it is something you made for yourself, something made by your loved one, or the meal that leaves your heart feeling empty and aching.
5.0 You may have become so accustomed to seeing the North Wing doors sealed that it’s your curiosity that draws you forward to the wide expanse beyond the now open wing, your feet testing the threshold as if you’re expecting an invisible wall to keep you out. Nothing happens when you step into the North Wing, though you might immediately notice the large tank that holds all of the team’s successfully captured orbs is very clearly missing. And not only that but the space appears to be well lived in, a small cluster of worn chairs and a table set to one side, and data pads and drawings on white-boards in plain view. They don’t seem to be much more than a couple of crude strategy diagrams (and a couple of silly stick figures in one corner) and as you move towards the crew quarters, some of you might instantly recognize the familiar room with its rows of beds and a scattering of personal effects assigned to each bunk. Photos are pinned to walls of a twenty-person crew, pillows and blankets are left in disarray by unfinished knitting projects, a diary written in a language you can’t quite translate, and a stuffed elephant-shaped plush doll lies at the head of one of the beds in the middle of the room. By the door is a neatly made bed. An analogue paperback novel sits on the nightstand, a bookmark set in the middle to note its progress. On top of it is a well-kept watch stopped a little after the sixth hour and a medal of service in the now recognizable insignia of the Ndiera Complex’s Federation.
By the far wall of these sleeping quarters is a bright golden starlight that seems to illuminate that side of the room as though someone had turned on a torchlight to the highest setting; it’s almost blinding. Moving closer to it, you’ll find that it’s like all the other slivers of light scattered across the station — a broken shard, like a piece of a large puzzle. Touching it may pull you — and whoever might be in the room with you — into a memory from your time with the Ximilia crew, whether it happened over a year ago, or it happened only on the last mission. It might be a happy memory, or it might be something you regret, which is poignant considering your initial raison d’etre for being here at all. It’s a vision that appears from your perspective and while you relive it, you feel outside of yourself.
6.0 The rest of the station still appears to be intact, with the infirmary, the training room, and the armoury in the same locations that you remember. Those of you who have been here for quite some time, you’ll find your way around by muscle memory alone; but even if you’re a newer member of the crew you’ll have wandered the halls enough to know what feels familiar to you … and what doesn’t.
The infirmary looks to be a little out of date, though it looks as if it’s seen its fair share of use. And it’s smaller too, the more recent addition and surgical area missing from the cozy space. The training room and the armoury share similar qualities of seeming a little older, a little more lived in, and with well-used equipment and weapons to boot. The training room is still padded with firm padded flooring and benches for sitting. Some of the racks and hooks (all empty) that had been against the wall have fallen now, and similar to the teleportation room, you’ll find that some of the paneling in this room has since peeled away, revealing some of the bare structure behind them. In the armoury, you won’t find your favourite knife or preferred staff but there are still a few choices in weaponry to arm yourself with.
Wherever you decide to explore, you might once more happen upon a bright bluish light that seems to whisper and call to you in soft, hushed tones. No specific words can be picked out through the murmurs but the feeling is all the same — it draws you forward like a moth to flame, but whether you decide to reach a hand out to touch the sliver of light that hangs suspended in the air is entirely your choice. If you do, you might succumb to a vivid memory of a significant injury you or someone important to you had suffered once, reliving that moment with too sharp clarity. Those feelings of fear or threat or maybe even satisfaction seem to come to you again as though you were there again — only this time you may not be alone as you witness this memory, and someone else has entered the room with you.
● ● ●
Present Day.
The teleportation platform hums quietly in a clean, well-maintained room. No walls or floors appear to be even the least bit dented, and now the Commander of the Ximilia stands behind the control board, staring at the screen as though doing so will bring their crew back by some wild form of magic. Degar knows magic — he’d come from a world so full of it. This, however, is something different.
Beside him, Viveca scans through the data that had sent the crew into the Ndiera Complex, as it should have brought them back the same way, with the orb in tow.
The Commander and the AI both turn their gaze towards the still empty teleportation platform before exchanging worried glances with each other. Degar finally heaves an exhale but the frown in his features deepens.
Viveca nods, her voice sounding complicated when she responds next.
F Y I
• For this mission, we have decided to run the search request mechanic a little differently. Depending on whether your character decides to touch or grasp one or any of the slivers of coloured light that can be found throughout the station, you will have the opportunity to participate in a search request. More on this is explained HERE.
• If you have questions about any of the prompts or the mission in general, please direct them HERE.
• Any in-character questions to 0-L1V-14 can be asked HERE.
• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪
no subject
It was hardly your choice either. [The statement makes him curious though, and since it was offered freely unlike the memory, he doesn't stop himself from asking.]
What are you used to then?
no subject
Seeing the echoes everyone leaves behind. [ which is such a jedi way of saying it, isn't it? cal could almost laugh but the memory of trilla and the betrayal she felt at the hands of the order, of what cere had done, makes it hard to manage that. ] The Order taught me to control it. So it didn't happen the way it's happening here.
[ he can pull up the memories without consent when it's necessary but he's learned not to. even when he lost his most of his ties to the force, he'd been able to control that. ]
no subject
That sounds...exhausting. [He's no fan of invading the minds of others like this, and if he had to be taught to control it, that means there was a time when he couldn't. Wei Wuxian shudders at the thought of it.]
Though useful, I'll admit.
[He goes quiet for another moment, his expression thoughtful. He should stop himself, but he doesn't.] It isn't my business, but I'm going to ask anyway, I hope you'll forgive me.
The woman, she...what happened to her? After. [Trilla.]
no subject
that's rare. at least as far as cal kestis knows.
he'd rather talk about that but then wei wuxian asks and cal should walk away. he should. but-- well, he's here for her and it feels like there's no point to hide everything when the other man's already seen it. ] After that? Trilla chased me around the galaxy looking for the holocron made by the Jedi Order -- It's, uh, basically like a disk with a lot of data on it -- she was hunting me and the holocron for her new Master. It got complicated along the way but... Eventually she got it and lured Cere and me to their base.
That's where they take force sensitive children or Jedi survivors they capture and don't kill to turn them into Inquisitors. [ he shudders, frowning as he glances back toward where the force field was. his hands had hung at his side but now, instinctively, cal reaches to check that his lightsaber still hangs at his side. he grabs the handle again but doesn't pull out the blade. ] There's a torture chamber there and she wanted Cere to see it again.
no subject
I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. [Still, he does have one question that comes to mind.]
Jedi...I...that's what Rey is? And you? [By way of explanation] She was here before, a while ago. Rey I mean. I knew her then. She left and then returned without her memories. I haven't spoken to her since her return. I don't know much about your world.
no subject
[ but the matter of jedi is complicated. cal nods slowly, not because he knows rey is a jedi from speaking to her but because of finn. finn, who's now gone but told cal that the fighting goes on for at least fifty years. ] I was. I mean-- I am.
[ then he offers a sheepish smile. ] It isn't really a good thing anymore back home.
And Rey's from my future. I guess the Order's back when she's from if she's one. [ of everything he'd mentioned, finn didn't explain how rey was a member of the jedi order or if there was one at all. ]
no subject
Is a jedi something you're born to or is it some kind of title? [He'd been under the impression it was the former, but now it sounds more like a group of people who've chosen to call themselves that.]
no subject
Or you could. [ can, he guesses, in rey's future. ] But you had to be born sensitive to the Force to be sent for training.
[ sent or given away, depending on who your parents were and what they thought of the force. what cal remembers of his parents is thinly veiled fear and then, when the jedi came, it was relief. ]
no subject
When Cal is finished explaining, he only nods. He has more questions, but now isn't really the time. His eyes flicker to where the figure of Trilla had been only moments before during Cal's memory and he shakes his head.]
I haven't introduced myself, my name is Wei Wuxian. The world I'm from doesn't have the Force, or at least not by that name, so pleas forgive my curiosity. Sometimes it gets the best of me at inopportune times. [He gives Cal a half smile.]
no subject
instead he follows his gaze to where trilla stood and then glanced back. ] Is there something like it?
[ the others words imply that that’s the case.
and then cal shakes his head, as if to shake away the others worry. ] Mine has a way of getting me in trouble too lately.
[ too often, really. it was better, safer, at least when he was trying to hide and not turn over any stones. before trilla stormed into his life with her anger and quest for revenge, with her desire to stomp out any flames of hope that claimed to have ties to the jedi order. ] And it’s alright. She’s just a memory now.
[ the memory is just that. and trilla? well, she’s a memory he’s keeping close. ]
no subject
Something like it. [He says as he turns to face Cal again.]
Not exactly the same though from what I've seen. [He shoots him a half smile.]
Where I'm from we call it qi. Most people here will call it magic, but qi isn't magic and your Force doesn't sound like it either.
no subject
It's life force that flows through everything, light or dark. [ two sides that make up the whole of everything, flowing side by side in an attempt to attain balance. cal doesn't say that, though, because he's not sure it really matters. ]
no subject
Qi runs through everything living, plant, animal, or being. [It's a different kind of energy that runs through the dead but he isn't going to get into that now.]
But anyone can harness it if they begin training at a young enough age, it isn't restricted beyond that.
no subject
so far, most people don't quite understand it when he's tried. then again, cal's not a teacher. he never made it that far along in his training. but that start difference makes him curious and now it's his turn to ask the questions.
he frowns, furrowing his brows. ] And people want to learn? Want their children to learn?
no subject
Is it the same for Jedi?
no subject
for his part, he shakes his head. ] Not always.
No one paid to send their child to the Order but the Order kept track of Force Sensitive children around the galaxy. I remember two Knights coming to meet with my parents before they took me with them to the Temple on Coruscant. [ away from a life that's barely a memory, to the only place that ever felt like home. ] I don't remember if my parents wanted me to go.
Probably, though.
no subject
For one, people aren't born...sensitive in that way to spiritual energy. Everyone must train so there's nothing for anyone to keep track of. Secondly, being a cultivator is a choice. Unless they're born to the main gentry families, children must apply for membership to the sects and parental permission is necessary. [He pauses.]
Spiritual energy isn't feared. It's a normal part of the world I'm from and it's been around as long as anyone can remember. But the Force...you have governing bodies to keep track of it? [He sounds unsettled.]
no subject
still, he feels the need to defend what he knows as home. ] People didn't fear the Force back then -- there were religions dedicated to it and those who were followers would be glad to send their children.
[ it's just that cal's family weren't. and people definitely fear what the force is now, what the jedi could do and what the inquisitors are capable of. ]
Only the Jedi Council would keep track. There were lists of all Force Sensitive children who were born that had potential kept in the Archives... [ and when he says it like that even cal winces a little. ] No one was registered on lists and tracked like the Empire tries to do now.
no subject
...it sounds like this new empire wants to control those with the power of the Force. [That certainly made the memory make sense.]
That must be...[He shakes his head and sighs, allowing a casual smile t steal over his lips.]
I guess if we all came from worlds that worked perfectly, none of us would be here, hmm?
no subject
so he's thankful that wei wuxian breezes past it, focusing on the here and now.
that's better. cal takes a deep breath and nods. ] Yeah, I guess so.
Nothing to regret if everything's as it's meant to be, huh? [ then again, that's what the order wanted their knights to embody and live.
nope.
no thinking about it. cal glances back over wei wuxian's shoulder, toward the direction that he'd come. the door seems to have reappeared there. ] It looks we're not stuck in here anymore.
no subject
He begins heading to the door assuming Cal will do the same.]
In case you were wondering, I'll keep it to myself. [What he saw in here. It was never his to share to begin with.]
🎀? or on your next one?
it's still not a great thing.
and, in truth, cal doesn't know how he feels about people knowing too much about him still. there's a part of him that wants to get closer to people, yeah, and he misses having friends. another part, partly fueled by ben kenobi's words, is uncertain how safe it is and is happy to fall back into being what prauf called a mystery.
cal offers a soft smile and then turns toward the door. ] Let's get out of here before some other memory shows up? I've got some pretty embarrassing ones.
[ he has a feeling that those won't likely pop up but, well, humor is easier than delving deep. ]