cityship: (Default)
cityship ([personal profile] cityship) wrote in [community profile] trans_92011-02-06 01:36 pm

Welcome to Orongo

Once those who decided to go along on the mission were gathered on the Obs Deck and had time to go over the mission briefing, the detachment procedures began.

As with the missions before, the doors to the Obs Deck closed before it detached itself from Stacy, tethered by a massive umbilical cord. Those who had been on missions before would find the experience familiar if still somewhat unpleasant, but for those of whom this was their first mission, the sudden lack of gravity and lurching feeling as they entered the atmosphere would come as a surprise.

Thankfully though, the ride was quickly over as they landed safely on the planet below, the gravitational dampeners of the Obs Deck gently dropping the crew members back on their feet. One of the walls opened up, forming a ramp to the ground below. There was a sudden, slight gust of air as the door opened as the thick air rushed in. Even so, the air felt quite warm and refreshing.

Looking outside, the crew would see the bright yellow sun looming overhead, quite close in comparison to the sun on most planets. A handful of small, silver clouds dotted the blueish purple sky.

Ahead of them stood a rather impressive looking plateau, surrounded by a tall, ornate stone wall which was covered in tribal markings. Directly ahead was a large gate through the wall, with several small stone buildings in front of it. Beyond the gates, a larger settlement could be seen. Surrounding the plateau and covering the surrounding region were numerous strange, blue and purplish trees and plants.

[ooc: hold up until subthreads are set up]

[ooc2: ready! feel free to tag!]
makeherblue: (the eleventh hour vii)

[personal profile] makeherblue 2011-02-07 02:26 am (UTC)(link)
The Doctor taps the boulder. Really, she should have a sniff herself, but...right, yeah. The dead thing. She might not even have a working olfactory system, which is rather unfortunate. "They're alien rocks, Karis. A whole new world, in a whole new dimension!"

As for metals, he's not sure. Possibly? He thinks he detected iron, if iron fell face first into some helium and somehow popped out...whatever's actually in this rock. For once his usually accurate sense of taste and smell aren't helping him identify this rock and he's really only established that it's white, big, heavy and covered in little dimples. Pits, almost. Almost like pumice. The Doctor looks up at Karis, glad to see she's behaving herself with that boot, because he might've accidentally put himself within boot radius when he stopped at the rock.

Whew. The Doctor might be inching over to put the boulder between him and Karis in case that boot changes its mind. He also motions her to take a much closer look, as if they're just on a sightseeing trip.

"I haven't the faintest about what's in it," the Doctor admits. "Difficult to say what's considered useful in this universe, at least just from a few minutes out here."

[identity profile] teethofneedles.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 02:42 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, come on. Karis doesn't lash out at random. Much. Too often. Unless she feels like it. She simply leans against the boulder with one elbow instead, watching the Doctor's progress. He's so upbeat and positive and everything she hates in a person, but... he's so hard to hate at the same time. In fact, he reminds her a bit of a Forsaken or two she knew back home. She shakes her head, lowering her gaze to the boulder again.

"...you know. Gold, silver, iron, copper, saronite, fel iron... anything I can use to make stuff with. Otherwise... it's just a rock. Hell, I could see rocks like this all over the place back home!" She drags a claw across the surface of said rock for emphasis. "There's nothing different about it at all."
makeherblue: (victory of the daleks x)

ha, don't kill him :P

[personal profile] makeherblue 2011-02-07 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
Maybe it's because he's used to having company and maybe it's because he's that interested in the rock, but he forgets about the boot and the halberd and...promptly bats Karis's claw away from the rock.

"Enough of that, thank you! ...Oh -- look what you did."

There's a long scratch in the rock now. The Doctor frowns up at Karis, looks like he's of the mind to shake a finger at her (maybe even two fingers, but he's not that cross) and tries to make the best of the damaged rock. The Doctor reaches into his pocket and dabs lightly at the rock with a plaid handkerchief, collecting the powder along the edges of the scratch. He inspects the residue. Finding something about it satisfactory, he balls up the handkerchief and stuffs it into his pocket.

Right. No more flowers or rocks for Karis here.

The Doctor by then has noticed the crowd around a squat fellow, who seems to be fielding questions. Giving up trying to rub out the scratch on the rock, the Doctor stands on his tiptoes.

"Is that our host?" The squat fellow looks very host-like. Friendly, too.
Edited 2011-02-07 04:20 (UTC)

don't think she's not tempted.

[identity profile] teethofneedles.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
Karis stares at the Doctor for a long moment, incredulous. What is wrong with this man? She finally breaks out her self-imposed stupor to wave a gauntleted hand at him, voice rising for the first time since they've landed. "Are you serious? Are you really...? It's just a Light-forsaken rock! It's nothing special! You can find rocks like these anywhere! Are you really worried about me hurting a rock? Did I damage its precious feelings?"

She trails off, glowering. No, she does not care about their prospective host. She does not care about the mission.
makeherblue: (tardis ii)

[personal profile] makeherblue 2011-02-07 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
"You shouldn't have, provided it's not alive. Hopefully it's not," the Doctor lets the outburst wash over him, unruffled. He's used to reactions like that. Sometimes other lifeforms don't much care for his methods, which is fine: usually it's mutual. They want to point guns at people, he doesn't want them to point guns at people. Things like that.

The Doctor makes sure the handherchief is tucked neatly into his pocket, patting it down as he flicks a sidelong glance at Karis.

"Karis, I just finished saying we're on a brand new planet. Rocks could be alive, flowers could be about a step away from coming up with a cure for the common cold," the Doctor pauses, then corrects himself. "Or whatever they have here instead of the common cold. It's not as common as you think, actually."

[identity profile] teethofneedles.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 04:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Give me a reason to care. Once we're gone, I don't plan on ever coming back to this stupid rock." She turns away and takes another look at the wide open fields around them. It's all in washed out shades of grey and black and white. She hasn't seen in color in years, now, and she's forgotten what that was like. Oh well. She shrugs.

"...I don't get why you're so concerned with life. With... stuff."

She waves a clawed hand. He seemed decent enough for a breather and at least he wasn't trying to burn her out. "Everything ends up dead in the end anyway, so why bother?"
makeherblue: (t)

[personal profile] makeherblue 2011-02-07 04:52 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, so now they're getting to the root of the problem. Or something that's vaguely resembling the root of the problem, because that's an awful lot of bitterness to be a new thing. The Doctor looks down at the scratched boulder. They were lucky this time, it seems.

"And time runs out in the end. The universe just goes up like that," the Doctor snaps his fingers. "No fuss, no blaze of glory; not many people around to even see it. Doesn't mean you can't enjoy what's there."

After all, it's a lovely boulder, Stacy's a lovely, if odd ship, and he does care for all his friends across time and space, even the short-lived ones like the humans. Just because he knows they'll die or he's been to a time period where not only are they dead, but so is the Earth, doesn't mean he'll stop caring. The Doctor tries to figure out what to say to Karis, to show her the world as he sees it. He can give however many speeches he wants, in whatever languages he feels like -- or even musically, like Tir of Antion -- but really, this is one of those things Karis needs to sort out on her own.

The Doctor might dabble in selective non-interference but this? This he'll gladly leave to Karis.
Edited 2011-02-07 04:52 (UTC)

[identity profile] teethofneedles.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Time runs out for everything. Yeah. That's true," she replies slowly, words coming out as she considers, "...doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. What it does mean is that I need to control what is there while I'm here. I have to make sure that I'm on top. That the universe isn't going to play another cosmic joke me."

She laughs, "Shit, already did. Ended up here. Wasn't expecting that."

She settles against the rock, armor scraping over the stone as she folds her arms. "No, I don't know if I'll make it to the end of the universe or not. But I plan on making sure I can damn well control when I go out and what's happening when I do."

Because being yanked around by cosmic fate really rubs her raw.
makeherblue: (a christma carol)

[personal profile] makeherblue 2011-02-07 07:03 pm (UTC)(link)
And she's outlined everything he thinks is wrong with her point of view. Control. It's not about control. Control by itself is just so...well, boring. In his mind, it's perfectly fine to just have a good look around, maybe (incidentally) right some wrongs and then go on your way. Have a bit of fun, maybe, like drop in on Y2k or Y3k, even. Nothing wrong with being a guest instead of taking over the party for yourself.

The Doctor is regarding her with a neutral expression: right now, it's not friendly or hostile. It just is. "I hardly think the universe is interested in one specific individual, Karis," he says. "Despite what you think. Ever think that the more you try to assert control, the harder it gets? Pure control's impossible."

And oh has he seen countless civilizations and lifeforms try, all over the universe, all over time. Lifeforms bigger than the both of them tried and failed, over and over. Found out the hard way. Even he'd dabbled in it, something he's not particularly proud of. So yes, the Doctor thinks he knows a thing or two about trying to get control.

[identity profile] teethofneedles.livejournal.com 2011-02-07 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
To Karis, control helps keep her sane. Controlling what happens to her, controlling events and people around her, whether because they are friendly, because she has them cowed by threats or because she is simply fitting in - that's key. She's lost control of her own life and actions before - quite literally - and she never wants that to happen again.

She swings her rather eerie gaze back toward the Doctor and snorts. She recognizes that expression. Or at least thinks she does. "Yeah, in the grand scheme of things, no one cares about me. No one really gives a shit about the end or beginning of my life. I know that. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit still and not try and get better. That I'm not going to try. I can't control everything, but there are things I can and I'm not going to let those just drift by me without reaching out and taking them."

She shifts a few pebbles with a boot. He's really not bad, for a breather. At least he puts up with her (or maybe she puts up with him). "Besides, I can't control the whole universe. Gotta respect the cosmos, because it's a big place and it'll smack you if you try for too much, too fast."