Who: Elle (Courier Six) and YOU
Where: Anywhere you want, though these are specific locations that'll be popping up: Hydroponics, the Garibah Tree, the Public Bathroom in the City, and a wall near the Level 5 Sleeping Halls teleporter. And, for the sake of narration, the Lucky 38. The Drunken Dragon Tavern will be added later!
When: Any time ranging from shortly after the podpops to the past week or so.
Summary: Elle has been occupying herself by exploring the ship, especially the City. I'm going to set this post up in a bit of a weird way, with the OP being a general exploring post, and then threads for specific locations, just to make things clean and easily organized. Feel free to tag into any of the threads unless it's marked as [CLOSED], and you can start your own thread with Elle set in another location of your choosing if you'd like! These settings are just starting points, in a way.
Warnings: None?

( like a straying baby lamb, with no mammy and no pappy )

||Attention, Attention. The following personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. The following personnel please report to the Observation Deck.

Goliath
Farseer Alastirra
N'tho 'Sraom
Kang
Rainbow Dash
Crematia||

When the summoned gathered, mission information was displayed on the Obs Deck for them to see:


Planet Designation: Hendersus Villae
Status: Terrestrial, H-class
Non-sentient life: Minimal flora, aggressive nonsentient fauna.
Semi-sentient life: No
Sentient life: Yes
Water: 25% of planet's surface
Climate: Primarily volcanic with frequent ash and lightning storms, dry and hot at volcanically active equator, temperate seas to the north and south poles.
Landscape: Variable. Much of the planet's landmasses are constantly being reworked by lava flows.
Air: Normoxic concentration: 31% oxygen, 60% nitrogen, 2% xenon, 4% trace gases, such as hydrogen, krypton, and argon.
Air Pressure: 93.8 kPa (kilopascals) = 13.6 psi (pounds per square inch)
Sky: Pale red, when visible.
Sun: Class G yellow star, distant orbit and dim light.
Warnings: Not suitable for crew incapable of flight, or without superhuman endurance.
Mission: Search and rescue Zarom Ghartha, missing GIA wizard, last seen en-route to investigate severe magical disturbance detected in the area of the planet. Crew is advised that native fauna is likely to be antagonistic, native sentients unfit to assist beyond the offering of information.

||Attention, Attention. The following personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. The following personnel please report to the Observation Deck.
( A sweet little trip to Gummiring begins )
It was a nice, fluffy planet with a nice, fluffy name. Bound to be as nice as Happy Happy Fun World, right?

Nehaalista had enjoyed herself on the latest leave, but once back on the ship, she returned to reading documents and trying to figure out just what it was They-the-Council needed to focus on. But, eventually, even she was tired of statecraft (such as it could be called, anyway) and retreated to Hydroponics. She sat herself down heavily under a tree with brilliantly orange leaves and let the line of tension in her shoulders ease out.

With a little, noiseless sigh, Nehaalista reached out to the Light until it coiled around her like an old friend. At first tiny, then thickening lines of gold spread out along the ground around her, slowly pulsing and forming a ring of complex symbols. Her expression settled into a drowsy, peaceful one, and she did not mouth or sign her prayers.

She let the Light speak through her, until the very air around her was palpable with a feeling of rightness. Holding it for several minutes, she finally released her hold on the Light until it ebbed back into a gentle hum in the back of her mind. She took off her translating necklace and tugged idly at a long, blue curl in thought, one hoof bouncing in the air. Hiding out like this felt a little bit like playing truant from her training decades and centuries ago.

Artificial night fell on the City, and Goliath and Bronx both awoke with their usual roars. The gargoyles bursting out of their stone skin were a familiar sound at sunset, and their roars carried over the darkening City.

Goliath dropped from his turret and glided towards the wall that surrounded the castle, landing before the gate that would open it to the rest of the crew. Elisa must have still been asleep or otherwise occupying herself in the castle, because the gate was closed. Goliath considered the gates, and the high, newly repaired wall that kept most visitors out of the castle. His instincts to keep the castle fortified against entry during his sleep were still strong, but he considered them as objectively as possible while examining the gate.

In times of conflict, this castle COULD still be used as a fortress. But if he was to open it to the crew formally, perhaps it was time to leave them open, and trust to the crew that he sought to protect.

Or perhaps that was still a step that could wait until he had met more of the crew, and trusted them a little better.

[ooc: a few players have expressed an interest in having their characters sneak into the castle to explore while Goliath is asleep during the day. If you have a character who would snoop around an old castle uninvited, feel free to tag in!]

When Howard was younger, before the FAYZ, he and Orc would occasionally hang out at the edge of the cliffs, throwing things off the edge. It was typical teenage destructivity, layered on top of the thrill of doing something their parents had warned them against. "Those cliffs are unstable! The edge could crumble off right under your feet!" And of course, all the teenagers knew that the edge of the cliffs were fine, and that the rumors of rockslides were horror stories based less in fact than in scare tactics.

Howard sits on the edge of one of the cliffs, dangling his feet over the edge, flicking his pocketknife open and closed. It's weird that here on Stacy, the cliffs overlook the City, rather than the ocean. It makes everything look wrong.

He gathered an armful of small stones before taking a seat here. They sit next to him now, and between clicks of the knife, he occasionally tosses one over the edge. It's far enough down that he can see, but not hear, the impact when each rock hits the bottom.

He's not alone from the FAYZ anymore. That should make him glad, that there are other refugees besides him and Albert. And that's what they are, really. Not Stacy's abducted crew, but practically unintentional stowaways, freeloaders running away from the nightmare of their home. But he can't find it in himself to be happy about it. Instead he just feels frustrated and tired, like there's a cloud between his brain and his face, holding him back from really experiencing anything.

He just misses Orc, he tells himself, before flinging another rock in the City's general direction. It falls short, just like all the others.

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. They are also told they must read information about their current situation and a survival guide with their new omnicom. New crew-mates might see a tall dragonish guy with wings (but don't call him that) and purple girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

Despite not requiring much in the way of food, Zouichi did know how to cook. But with friends and acquaintances from wildly different backgrounds, he figured he could stand to expand his repertoire. So today he was trying out desserts. The inside of one of the Sensoriums had been transformed into a brightly-lit kitchen, its counters covered with baking pans, bowls, fruit, flour, and a multitude of other ingredients.

Zouichi, wearing a dark blue apron, was just taking a batch of chilled dough out of the refrigerator, rolling it carefully out between waxed paper sheets. It was looking pretty good, or so he thought. Nothing had even exploded yet!

From somewhere within the kitchen, the smell of cake wafted up into the air. Caaake.

It started with a faint tremor.

In the depths of the Ben 10,000 headquarters, there was a faint crack as a containment field, long since degraded over the course of many years finally gave way, and reality split in two. From it, three hulking forms spilled from it, and there was a faint rumble of satisfaction from the first one.

"Free at last," rumbled the first, a gargantuan behemoth in a powerful looking exosuit.

"Yes," remarked the second, a massive albino gorilla with what appeared to be a tiny head on the shoulders. "We made it through the barrier separating us from the rest of reality."

The third grunted, folding his powerful looking arms as he sneered down at his companions. "So then, we all know what to do."

"Of course," chuckled the first, clenching his fist. "From here, our paths cross no longer. It's them or us."

The others nodded and quietly they moved as the first sneered, accessing a scanner on his wrist. Scanning the area, he smirked to himself. "Jackpot."

And quickly, he began moving towards the Armory, eager to get his hands on whatever was laying around.

The light of the yellow sun that warmed Balisair shone brightly into Obs Deck. It was almost cheerful, like they weren't on a creepy ship made of meat, like they were somewhere that could have had wheat fields under a bright Kansas sky.

It felt like morning.

For a moment, Kon's hand pressed against the surface of the funeral pod, and those that had viewed the Tapestry would suddenly see what they'd seen once before--a hand on a funeral pod, a portent of a death of one of their own, now come to pass.

Inside the pod, barely visible through the clear membrane, Superman's cape covered his body. Superboy had found that he just couldn't keep the original, sewn by Ma Kent herself. No, it belonged with him. Kon planned to have another made out of the cloak given to him by Rory.

It was time to send the Councilor off into the bright light of that sun, to his final rest.

Jade was pretty sure that hydroponics was her favorite spot on the ship. There were weird animals, but... in a way, it reminded her of her island! Kinda, at least. She loved all of the plants she saw. At the moment, she was taking a break from wandering through the area and sitting on the grass, taking in the sights and sounds of the animals around her. It seemed like it might be a good place to sleep, too-- the grass was comfortable, just like the grass back home had been, and she was more than happy to relax on the grass. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine that she was back on the island and that she'd have a chance to talk to her friends through pesterchum like always.

She was pretty tired-- she had spent a lot of time searching the ship in an attempt to find Dave or the trolls in case they hadn't seen her message, but... no luck. It made her a little sad! And that's why she had gone to hydroponics. It gave her a chance to relax for a little while, and because of how tired she was, she fell asleep pretty quickly.

She hadn't meant to - there was still a lot to explore - but she couldn't help it. And when she had fallen asleep, she hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep on what was a commonly walked path through the area.

Before Nanaki finally visited Hydroponics, he wanted to check out the rest of the ship - mainly to make sure if he could find any other places that sounded as nice. The city hadn't been too bad; if anything, the park was peaceful enough. But just as he expected, nothing came close to the earthy, planety feeling that he sensed immediately upon entering Hydroponics. To him, everywhere else on Stacy, while tolerable, still felt like he was living inside the belly of an animal (which wasn't too far from his actual situation), which irritated and dried out his nose. He had to get used to this, he figured, but for now he wanted to sit and think, resting somewhere comfortably.

Before he did that, he took it upon himself to take a look around, moving, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, through the vast area. He spotted some of the wildlife, took note of the different sorts of trees and plants that lived there - some of them he'd never seen before, so every once in a while he would pause, taking a closer look at something.

He finally took refuge underneath a tree, stretching out and lying against the base. Silently, Nanaki watched the others passing through, wondering how those he'd met so far were faring on their new "home."

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, many of them are even more eager to see people they knew from home.

Several people are set up near the doors to provide the new people with omnicoms and comm rings. New crew-mates might see a tall man in green armor and snake girl among their number. There are also several authoritative-looking figures ready to introduce themselves.

There's a lot to tell the new people. It's going to be a lot to take in.

[ooc: Only new characters and Command Staff can start new threads for introductions, to limit the number of threads. Everyone else, just tag in and have your guys greet the newbies.]

There were not many places on the ship for a seven foot tall purple person to hide, but at the moment, Alastirra was earnestly trying.

She fervently hoped that the corner of Hydroponics she had found was far enough from her garden so that people would miss her. Thankfully, she was not entirely alone--her mistsaber had practically pushed her down and lay atop her.

For the moment, she let him, her only protest being a weak "Snowspot, you're too big to sit in my lap any more."

Not that it deterred the cat one bit.

At least it hid the streaks and the purple-blue blotches on her face that showed she'd been crying.

With Celena and Aibghalien's help, Thom looked better than he had since he'd arrived on the ship. The dark circles under his eyes weren't as pronounced, and his fever had cooled slightly.

But there was still a long way to go before he had his Gift under control again, and Roger's magic still raved at the back of his mind, pressing on his temper. He had taken to the less used parts of the ship, trying to keep himself away from any people who might try his patience.

Hydroponics remained his favorite spot for meditation, near Alastirra's garden. He and the draenei had formed a cautious friendship of sorts - the kind where they mostly left each other alone, with the occasional conversation about magical theories between their disciplines. More often than not, Thom spent his time in deep meditation, dropped into his center of magic and slowly pulling his and Roger's magic away from each other.

Sweat dripped down his forehead as he worked, and suddenly he jumped up from his customary seat on a stump and whirled around, throwing out his hand. A ball of orange flame leapt from his fingertips and scorched a blackened groove in the wood.

"Damn."

Today in the Sensoriums, the backdrop of battlegrounds or scenes from home that Zouichi usually chooses to conjure up has been replaced by a grassy hill overlooking a large, clear lake. There's a small island in the middle of the water, upon which an immense old tree -- rather similar to an Earth Zelkova -- stands tall, its branches expanding outward, as if reaching into the ages.

It's twilight, and the air is slowly darkening from red-gold into the deeper blues and violets of evening. As it does so, the great river of stars that stretch across the sky, no longer obscured by daytime's brightness, slowly come into view. The water of the lake mirrors this scene onto itself, until it seems that two bands of starlight have convened, for a single moment, at one spot -- here, at the center of the world.

Zouichi stands on the hill overlooking the lake, waiting.

It had come to her just a few days after returning to normal. Why not have a beach party? ...Well alright, her first thought had been 'why not have a war party' but then she wisely realized that not everyone would enjoy something like that. But everyone had enjoyed the time they had spent on the beach a year ago! ...At least until the Ohm came and ruined everything, but it still had been fun!

But her? Organizing a party? On a beach of all places? It would take research. Books. A lots and lots of books. A few days in between all her other usual routines and activities, the wunderkind was unusually quiet, her head stuck in between pages and taking down notes. After reading and thinking herself good enough (of course she was! She was the wunderkind, right?), Lash had finally gone into the Sensoriums and prepared.

The beach itself came from a mishmash of ones she had read up on along with her single experience a year and a half ago. The sand was warm, free of any debris a normal beach might have had and colored pearly white. Seashells dotted the shore, in intervals so that it wouldn't be too annoying to go into the water, some comically large but how could you argue with someone who didn't know about this? The water was clear, slowly fading from view as it got more and more blue reflecting the cloudless sky. A few schools of colorful fish could be easily seen, moving away whenever someone got too close to them.

The sun was warm, but not overly so. Humidity was at a comfortable level. Dreamlike perfect weather. If you looked really closely, you might notice that the sun itself changed from orange to yellow to red once in a while, giving the beach a subtle tint.

Parasols of all shapes and colors dotted the sandy landscape, nestled between palm trees of various sizes and large tropical flowers and a single human-sized large Venus Flytrap. A few hammocks were also strewn between two tree trunks, for those that desired a prolonged rest. There was also a volleyball court in the shade.

Lash had taken a few trips to get as much food slop as she could carry, and had turned it all into typical beach food (at least what the books had explained to her anyway). Hot dogs, hamburgers, tropical fruits, seafoods of all kinds and, curiously, large bowls of chocolate pudding were presented on...well, bare-bones picnic tables with no decoration whatsoever. She wasn't one to make things pretty. Another note stuck nearby told visitors to create more food if they didn't find anything they liked. Next to all of that, a large wheelbarrow filled to the brim with a sweets of all kinds for no real reason (watch out not to eat too many of the poprocks!)

The next few tables held all the alcohol and juice bottles. Lash, again, had been getting reference from the library's liquor books, trying to pamper to everyone's personal likes. However if you looked closely some of the bottles had unusual names on them; "I guess this is supposed to be vodka? What's vodka?" and "Green stuff! I don't know what it's supposed to be but, it looked cool, tee hee." Empty coconuts shells with rows upon rows of miniature umbrellas acted as drink holders. However if you wanted to use a cocktail shaker or other specialty tools to get all fancy, you'd need to create one yourself, Lash didn't know about them and therefore hadn't herself. Large buckets of ice stood nestled in larger blocks of frozen liquid nitrogen (hey...it was Lash, after all).

A robot band played close by to the food, each sporting a small name tag 'HI MY NAME IS ___', filled out with ones she had found in various music media (Bill, Ted, David, Nigel and Derek) sporting a fine selection of wigs that might remind people of the original musicians themselves. It was possible request a song, if you were able to think of it. Currently, they were playing something that sounded good to Lash's ears. But then when no one was asking anything, they'd play something with a little bit of more of party time.

This almost looked like a typical beach!

...until you noticed the two giant pirate ships in the middle of the ocean, and the giant sand castle farther away from the main beach area. Oh.Of course. Both had everything true pirates could ask for, even working cannons, treasures, hats and weapons. Yeap, that sounded a lot more like Lash's style. Look, she just really needed excitement in everything.

When everything was done, she put on her best swimsuit (and shades) before sending out a message to everyone (well the girls in particular) but didn't bother locking it to just them. After all, what was the fun if the boys didn't show up? Either way, it was going to be fun.

[[OOC - Feel free to jump into each other's conversations if you like or start new threads with an activity like 'so and so serves drinks', 'pirate ship battle' or 'this guy marches into the sensoriums with his speedo' etc. Have fun!]]

The old cherry trees in the courtyard had decided to bloom with impeccable timing, transforming the entrance of the Susono Inn into an explosion of color. Pink petals collected between the stones of the courtyard's walkway, on the overhang of the foyer... oh, and if you got anywhere in a fifty foot radius of the place, you probably got a few on you, too.

( Read more... )

The weather was cool and the air slightly crisp beneath the shade of the old trees. There were some wines and sake available for the older guests, and juice for the younger ones (both rescued from the Inn's storehouse). And of course, there was cake.

Mmm, cake.

[Subthreads are A-OK, feel free to threadjack. If you want a super-pathetically detailed map of the Inn for some reason, check here. The invitation post is here. Again, if you've threaded with Allenby/Zouichi a couple of times/are on good terms with them, consider yourself invited! Just ask if unsure]

(Plot Post!)

The sun was starting to sink towards the horizon as the emergency pod landed down on the surface of Orya, deep in the thicket of a jungle a few miles north of the village.

It was all unknown and uncharted territory... but if Stacy's crew ever wanted to see a good half of their doctors and scientists again, there was no other choice but to stage a rescue mission.


(ooc: SUBTHREADS ARE FIIIINE. Have at!)