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

[cortexual]

[ Oh Christ, he's nuzzling. Spock! Spock, he is nuzzling! Every part of McCoy is rigid and uncomfortable—Not from Jim's unorthodox affection, but from the fact that it is clearly stemming from some kind of illness or side effect that he knows nothing about. ]

A different me... [ That sounds worrying. Very worrying. McCoy doesn't need to deal with alternate realities any more than he has to. Spock's the one with the double, that realm then should stay over there! ] Jim, I haven't been accused of being cute since I was a kid. And I don't intend to be now. What the hell's gotten into you? Or on you? You said something about plants?

[ His judgmental eyes turn from Spock back to Jim, lips pursed with clear exasperation. ]

Did you touch unknown plant life, Jim?

[zhellan]

More specifically, he claims to have “chased” unknown plant life. [That will, undoubtedly, only serve to make McCoy more irritable, given Kirk's current state, but it does suggest something more involved and deliberate than merely brushing up against some leaves, and is therefore more accurate.

Spock’s attention shifts toward Jim, and he crisply says:] Captain, would you please indicate to us what it was you were referring?

[winscenario]

No? Well, you should. You're definitely really cute. [ Maybe he should start that trend. But before that idea cements in his head or he actually gets to propose it out loud, Bones jumps onto his next question.

He opens his mouth to answer, then closes it again when Spock answers it for him. So he tilts his head towards him in a nod. ] What he said.

[ At the request he starts looking around, finally (and reluctantly) unlatching himself from Bones. For just a little while, anyway. ] There should be one around there. They're buried in the sand and then... oh. This might be one.

[ Before either of them can stop him, Jim takes quick strides towards some leaves poking out of the ground and reaches out to try and touch them. The plant comes to life by jumping off the ground and starting to run away in its tiny root-like legs. ]

[cortexual]

Jim—! [ Stop him! Stop him, don't let him touch unknown plant life again, Jesus H. Christ! Thankfully for all three of them the thing actually gets up and runs away. It's extremely startling and stops McCoy dead in his tracks on his way to stop his CO from making another big mistake. ]

Okay, Rule Number One: Nobody touch anything anymore!

[ This rule is only for Jim, since Spock isn't dumb enough to go playing with things he doesn't understand, but he says it for everyone so his poor Captain doesn't feel picked on. Clearly. ]

[zhellan]

["Indicate", in this case, did not mean to physically engage with the plant life. Spock tenses when the creature moves, ready to step in and defend the captain. It's not necessary, fortunately, as the life form flees instead of confronting the intruder.]

Captain. [He actually clasps a pale hand on Kirk's shoulder to prevent him from giving anymore demonstrations.] How did the creature react when you began pursuing it?

[winscenario]

[ For the record he did not in fact touch the plant so everybody calm the hell down. He just tried to touch the plant. So stop panicking. ]

I didn't touch anything!

[ He sounds almost offended as he says that, honestly Bones. ]

Well, it just kinda ran around at first. And then when I— [ Touched it. When he touched it. He's not going to admit that out loud now, though. ] —got closer to it, it sneezed some kind of... yellow thing on me.