Intro Log: The Forgotten City

[atlasmods]

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!

Comments

[winscenario]

[ Well you never know! And he doesn't want to upset his new ~best friend~. ]

That's just the kind of guy he is. [ Bones is also awesome. Jim makes a mental note to find him and tell him that too. He looks Miles up and down. ] What's wrong with your health?

[dendarii]

[ Well, he's small. More than that he's quite gaunt and frail, with a cluster of hideous scars just visible above the collar of his suit. And two long white lines down either side of his neck that look for all the world like someone used them to deliberately drain his blood. ]

Er. Well - I died.

[winscenario]

Really? [ Jim looks shocked for about half a second. Then he says exactly the kind of thoughtless thing he'll deeply regret saying when the pollen works its way out of his system. ]

Me too. Sorry. [ A nonsensical part of him is kind of happy this makes them closer. It does, right? Right. ] Not a pleasant experience.

[ Vague gesturing. ] How did you... [ He trails off. He notices the scars now, but it still doesn't tell him the specific manner of death. So clearly asking is the way to go. ]

[dendarii]

[ Wait. This man died too? Miles looks up at Jim in surprise, not having expected that particular response. ]

Very unpleasant. I agree completely. [ A pause. ] I was shot in the chest by a needler. Yourself?

[winscenario]

[ Jim nods, managing not to wince at the thought. ]

Radiation poisoning. [ Not going to go into specifics. At least he has enough presence of mind for that. ] Bones was the one who saved me, actually. Well, I guess the accurate way of putting it is he brought me back to life.

[ As an afterthought. ] Sorry. Bones is Dr. McCoy.

[dendarii]

[ Miles nods rather somberly at that. Revived, yes... he can empathize with that as well. Very specifically. ]

A wonder of a doctor then, your McCoy. I have the utmost respect for cryorevival specialists.

[winscenario]

See, he's not even a specialist. He just kind of... winged it, I guess. I was pretty lucky, come to think of it.

[ Not that he often thinks of it. Or ever, really. ]

Anyway, that's enough of that. Tell me more about yourself. You know, cool stuff.

[dendarii]

[ Luck, huh... Well he likes what he's seen of McCoy at least. Enough to believe there's no small amount of skill too. ]

About me? I'm not sure what would qualify. I've done many things with the Dendarii, of course.

[winscenario]

[ Jim knows that, of course— Bones's talent has always been something of a marvel to him. At the back of his mind he thinks that he doesn't tell him that often enough. Something he'll fix the moment he finds him. ]

Who are the Dendarii? That your mercenary fleet?

[dendarii]

Just so. About three thousand people and twenty capital ships, give or take. The last big mission we were on, we rescued a POW camp of over ten thousand people.

[winscenario]

Wow. Talk about impressive. I only captain the one ship, and it's not even mine.

[ Although he has saved hundreds of thousands or even billions of people in one go, himself. Still, somehow it just sounds all the more amazing when coming from Miles. ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles does work in less grandiose terms, typically. Although he has stopped a couple wars... ]

Not even yours? What do you mean?

[winscenario]

[ Look at the both of them, so modest about their impressive accomplishments. ]

Well, I'm a Starfleet Captain, an exploratory branch of the United Federation of Planets. So technically the Enterprise is theirs. They could even take her from me if they wanted to. Not that they will, obviously. [ And not that Jim would just sit back and let them. ]

[dendarii]

Military then? Or more of a scientific survey?

[ Or both, as the case is with Barrayar. ]

[winscenario]

Deep-space exploration, research, diplomacy. Not exactly military, not in the sense some people might be more familiar with.

[ They do work on defense tactics and they're battle-ready but it's not their focus. The Federation has been an upholder of peace for decades now, and Jim, for one, believes in that peace. ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles nods at that. ]

Definitely more like the Betan Survey ... Barrayar is much more warlike.

[winscenario]

We don't really have wars back home anymore. Not like we used to, anyway. Conflicts are always a given, what with the galaxy being as far wide and with so many different species as it is, but that's about it.

[dendarii]

I - er -

Even so. Even the thought of no internal warring is ... alien.

[winscenario]

Yeah? [ He chuckles. ] I think that's the same for most people here. I'm a little... out of place. And out of time.