Intro Log: The Forgotten City

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS

This time for real!

WAKEY WAKEY.

As the storm finally peters out and characters can once again move above ground it becomes abundantly clear that the landscape has changed. Where vast expanses of sand dunes once laid is now the half-buried remnants of what looks like some sort of...city? Full of structures. It stretches so far it's really hard to tell. But there is one thing characters will notice:

There are more stasis pods.

Revealed by the sandstorm, a whole new flurry of pods can be found scattered on the way to the city (curiously though, not in it. Hurry and wake those guys up!

SPREAD THE LOVE. OR ACID.

With the departure of the storm there's even more new arrivals to be found besides those fellow travelers of yours! The "Seedlings" and "Cactus" are now both available, the former blown in by the storm and the former uncovered.

The Seedlings are generally pretty harmless. They like to burrow into the sand so only their "Leaves" plant-like leaves remain above ground, and they're quite happy to stay that way until surprised. Then they pop up and trip over themselves a little, before slowing down and wandering aimlessly. When they find a patch of sand that looks comfy they begin burrowing back down.

Pull or yank on their leaves though and you'll find yourself with a face full of pollen that makes you want to just tell everyone how super-cool they are. It lasts a while, and then you get a fever and vomit for two hours. Good times.

The Cacti are much less harmless and just...why would you eat them? Everything about this plant is poisonous, and cracking it open causes a corrosive acid-like substance to spill out. It'll eat through everything but...dirt, oddly. Metals and flesh are like hot oil on plastic.

DON'T GET LOST

And last but not least: The Forgotten City. Maybe you want to check out the Hull first for some loot, but maybe that's not such a cool idea anymore? Although it looks like the ship's definitely more powered after draining the suits of whoever went in, now it's started to spread and fill the sinkhole the ship's in. Suits can go from 100% to 0% in just ten minutes--not good!

Lucky for everyone else, it looks like finally there's some sort of civilization up ahead. Go on and check it out!

OR DO. THAT'S OKAY TOO.

Go nuts, have fun, and enjoy! (This is the wildcard option)

OOC

The Flora, Fauna & Resources page has been updated with information on the seedlings, cacti, and crystals! These items are now all available for Discovery, and The Forgotten City will be available indefinitely from now on! Characters can take this time to settle & build up a foundation for themselves, explore the area, and of course, harass those poor little seedlings.

We encourage players to make their own open posts for this setting--you don't need to stick to just this intro log! But make sure to make our newbies feel welcome!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ At this point Jim doesn't even care if the people here look unfriendly. He's stranded on some unknown planet so it's not like he can afford to be picky, and besides he doesn't really expect anyone else here to be in a particularly good mood.

The fact that the woman offers a smile is already more than he could expect, and the easy remark draws a grin and a soft chuckle from him. ]

Must be my lucky day.

[ Except. Pod. Sand. Lost. So no. ]

You just woke up too?

[She briefly ways up the pros and cons of flirting, but decides it'd be better not to throw all her eggs in one basket just yet. If she's too nice, it risks people thinking they can take advantage of her.]

I'm afraid so, which means I know as much as you do.

["As little" might be more accurate, but she can play the optimist when it's necessary.]

I have to say, I'm still not entirely convinced this isn't a dream.

[ It's not like Jim's in any particular mood to flirt right now, either. Getting spat out of a pod in who knows what rock somewhere across the galaxy tends to ruin that for a guy. ]

Yeah... shot in the dark.

[ He sighs and plops down on the ground, running a hand through his slightly damp hair. ]

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't think it's a dream if it really were a dream. [ He wishes, though. ] I know there's people who've been around longer, or just woke up earlier than we did. But even they don't seem to know much.

[Max knows most of her dreams are dreams; Asteria doesn't always bother weaving the illusion that tightly, part of the fun she gets is watching Max know it's a dream and be unable to get out.]

They know more than we do. [For know, at least, until Max can pick the brains of more of the original group.] There's a ship, at least, though I don't think it's functional.

[ This isn't weird enough for a dream. At least for Jim, anyway. It's something that he could reasonably believe that could happen, which really says a lot about what kind of life he leads.

On the other hand, if he examined this a little closer, he might've drawn parallels between this situation and what he went through in Altamid. But then that would mean digging up holes he doesn't really want to dig, so. ]

That's just a matter of fixing it. [ 'Just', as if he had a vast team of engineers and scientists at his disposal here. As if he had a genius like Scotty anywhere within reach. (He'd definitely get that ship running.) ] It's probably where our pods come from, although I couldn't say how we ended up on that ship in the first place. But we likely crashed down on the planet while still inside it.

["Just" sounds as unbelievable to Max as this being a dream. Even if her team were here, the technology is likely so far beyond what any of them understand that it'd take months, if not years, to get an entire spaceship off the ground.]

I'll have to leave the speculation on that to you, space travel like this is far greater than what I'm used to.

[FTL travel is still a pipe dream.]

[ To Jim it's more feasible. Or he's just more prone in believing he and his people can so easily work through impossible situations. They have before, after all. Hell, he died once and now he's standing here. He sure as hell could get that ship running if only he had the people. ]

Ah. See, for me this is... actually this hits a little too close to home. [ He lets out a chuckle. ] Either way, space travel of this scale isn't anything new to me. But I'm more used to having a fully running starship that can at least tell me where the hell in the galaxy we are.

[ If only they can at least get the scanners and communication systems working... that could be a start. ]

Are you human?

[It's probably a bit of a rude question to ask, but for someone to talk so casually about something that's nigh impossible for her, she has to wonder.]

[ Luckily Jim doesn't take it to heart. He nods at the question with a small smile on his face, mostly weakened by the fact he's a castaway on an unfamiliar planet. Hard to find reasons to smile genuinely in a situation like this. ]

Yes. Born and raised in Iowa, from two very human parents. [ A brief pause, ] Actually, that's a lie. I was born in outer space.

[Most of the time, Max is quick on the ball, because it's the only thing that's kept her alive for all these years, and now is no different. She has a feeling there's something going on here that she really isn't going to like.

Though she's also just a little impressed by the idea of being born in outer space.]

What year were you born?

[ Well, at least he's friendly, so that's a start. The same probably can't be said for everyone around here, and Jim for one has had experiences with less than trustworthy people in a situation much similar to this one. Sticking together is their best shot— if they even have a shot at all. ]

2233. It was 2263 for me, when I was brought here. [ Tipping his head at her. ] And you?

[That's exactly the answer she didn't want and yet still the one she expected.]

2015, unfortunately. Either I have been asleep far longer than you have, or there are other forces at play here.

[Look she's not going to outright say "time travel" but she sure as hell is going to think it.]

[ He's about five steps ahead of her there, and if she didn't want to hear that, then she'll want to hear what he's saying next even less. ]

I know. Alternate realities. I met a woman who came from an Earth that burned up after some nuclear bombs went off. That definitely never happened in my universe.

[ So see, it can always be more complicated than just time travel. ]

[Max lets out a slow breath, fighting down the urge to dismiss all this as completely ridiculous. There is, of course, plenty of theories about alternate realities and she's somewhat knowledgeable on the basics, but it's theory.]

Fuck.

[She's hard to rattle, usually, but her usual doesn't include alternate realities and time travel.]

I suppose that makes finding a way home more difficult.

[ He offers her a resigned smile. Far from him to want to traumatize her, but he figured she'd rather have the truth, even if it might take a while for her to cope. ]

Yeah— it's not going to be easy. [ If at all possible. ] I'd say we're all stuck together for now. For better or worse. [ Reaching a hand out towards her, ] I'm Jim, by the way.

[She appreciates the candor, really, she'd just rather it weren't true. But she can shake his hand, at least, even if she's not entirely sure how she feels about having to rely on a bunch of complete strangers.]

Max Briest. [It's second nature to use her full "name", even if it means nothing here.] I imagine the first thing we'd need is a power source, puncturing the walls between universes can't be easy.

[Yeah she's already going to start spitballing ideas because god help her she needs to get home.]

[ Jim isn't a big fan of being away from his crew and his ship either, but between being alone or being with a group of strangers, he'll take the latter to the former any day. Even if he might not be able to trust or work with all of them, he can at least trust that most of them want to get out of this situation as badly as he does. ]

Nice to meet you, Max. Circumstances notwithstanding. [ He can't help a small amused smile at how quickly she jumps to trying to figure a way out of this. ]

I think the first thing we need is the means to survive. Food, water... we're in the middle of a desert, I can't imagine that'll be easy. Then we need to figure out how to get off this rock, or at least a way to properly explore it. I doubt we'll find any kind of energy source powerful enough to open a bridge between universes. So far that ship seems to be our best bet. Even if it can't fly, maybe it has shuttles we can use? And possibly an energy core we can use for a number of things.

[Oh, right, normal people can't force themselves to survive for weeks with minimal food or water.]

There's a city, also.

[She doesn't know if someone else told Jim, but she figures it's best to share information either way. Though he's right, the ship is likely the best bet, since the city isn't inhabited.]

If there is one ship, there must be others out there. I imagine it's typical for them to have long range communications?

[He's the expert, out of the two of them.

And she forgot about the food and water again. Welp.]

Unpopulated, though. Or else we'd probably be surrounded by natives.

[ Either to greet them or to attack them... or some weird mix of both. Jim has seen his fair share of both reactions, so. ]

Usually, yes. In my universe anyway. I can only imagine that's the case with the ship here— and yes, that's another thing we could focus on. Getting in touch with someone else out there who can take us out of here.

[ His lips twist into a slight frown. ] Even if that might come back to bite us in the ass, but... This place doesn't look very hospitable, so it's not like we have a lot of options.

[Max nods at his assumption that the city is unpopulated, confirming it, because Clark told her that it was empty, and she sees no reason for him to have lied.]

I would rather deal with people, than with nature. People can be managed.

[She isn't scared of people, no matter what technology or power they might have.]

If they come to us with unkind intentions, we take their ship.

[It's that simple, clearly.]

You won't hear me argue with that.

[ Not that he dislikes nature by any means, but not like this. He'd rather deal with a whole crew than with being lost in an uninhabited planet, even with both those things being unfamiliar to him.

He raises an eyebrow at Max, looking mildly amused. ]

That's one way of handling it. [ And he can't say he disagrees either. It's not ideal, but they're slim on options. ] Might be complicated if it's a big crew, though. How many people you think there are here?

Based on what I've observed so far, two or three dozen, which can be enough.

[It might be difficult if this hypothetical ship full of dickheads is two hundred strong, if not more, but Max thinks it can be handled. Men are just men, after all, and men are good at dying.]

[ Jim purses his lips and tips his head in a nod. ]

Well, I've done it with less, so.

[ Or he would have, if Khan hadn't had his own plan in mind. Point is, it's always possible to take a ship, and sometimes with fewer people it's even easier.

Not that Jim wants to do it unless he absolutely has to. ]

[The look Max gives Jim is an evaluating one, readjusting her initial impression just slightly based on the new information provided. If he's done something similar before, he'll make a good ally.]

May I ask how?

[ He knits his eyebrows together. ] Long story.

[ Which he's not averse to sharing, or at least give her a general overview. ]

Had one man inside the ship that disabled most of the main systems, then me and another guy flew from my ship to the other. Just the two of us in suits, so they couldn't see us, and we flew in before their systems were back online. Then we made our way through the ship little by little until we made it to the bridge. [ And that's when things went to shit but that's neither here nor there. ] A stealth mission, you could say.

GOOD MORNING NEW ARRIVALS

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*weighs oh my god i swear i can write

LMAO I believe you (also I didnt even notice the typo before...)

my mistake was pointing it out oh no

next time you know!!

i will never admit a mistake again

clearly the lesson to take from this

i mean idk what else to take from it

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