It's shaping up to be another average day on the Transmigration 9. Crew members are going about their business as usual and all is (to most appearances, at least) about as "well" as things ever are on the ship.

Some crew members are going to be stopped out of the blue by impact with a force field.

"Attention Crewmen: You have been chosen to participate in an experiment!" GLaDOS's voice informs. They're not alone, someone else that was nearby is also caught within the same narrow radius. "Participation is mandatory. Please try to relax and enjoy the experience, as this will improve the quality of the test results."

Clearly this is going to be a wonderful day for science.

"You and your new scientific partner are now on a date," GLaDOS goes on. "As it would be detrimental to our study of the date experience if you were to be separated, you must remain close to your partner for the duration of the experiment. This will be enforced with the Transmigration 9 Crewman Containment Field. Prolonged exposure to the Transmigration 9 Crewman Containment Field may have unexpected side-effects. While any side-effects encountered will be documented and your desire to offer yourself to science is commendable, it is not a necessary part of this experiment."

"You will be informed when the test has been completed. We would like to thank you in advance for your full cooperation in the experiment and failure to attempt to foil it in any way."

"The experiment has begun, so you may begin dating."

( OOC Notes Below Cut! )

The list of people that she'd have willingly gone out into this cold for was limited, but her brother was definitely one of them and she really did want to see him. So Alanna bundled herself tightly in as much clothing as she could find, layering her Gift within the fabric to hold onto as much of the ship's warmth as she could, and then headed out into the cold, grumbling under her breath.

At least it wasn't as cold as at the Roof of the World. That was a positive anyway, but not much of a comfort as she paced back and forth near the ship, waiting for Thom.

All she knew is that if he didn't show up soon, they would be having this conversation on the ship whether or not he wanted to even if she had to drag him there. She hated the cold!

The battle had raged for three days with the occasional lull, and there was still no sign of Baron Raleigh and reinforcements. There had been heavy casualties on both sides; King Demetrius's forces had been cut in half, but that still left Nasat outnumbered two to one.

Things were about to change, though.

[OOC: The Spy's Report is now open!]

The previous night, the team had learned the details of the situation. King Demetrius Fenley had once been a fair but strict ruler. Three years ago, he had acquired a new advisor, a beautiful woman named Diana Wynnthrope, who came from a small nation on the other side of the mountains. The changes were subtle at first, with the king becoming more suspicious of others’ intentions and enacting harsher laws.

Baron Archand had noticed these changes, and had spoken up about the new laws. He had always respected his king. What had happened?

Nasat was located near a mine that produced precious gems and metals for the kingdom. King Demetrius had become convinced somehow that the town was not paying its fair share of taxes, and accused the baron of hoarding said gems and metals to fund an army and take the crown. Archand had done everything in his power to refute the false claims, but to no avail. So, with word that the king was sending an army to seize the rebellious town, he had sent for aid from his friend Baron Raleigh in Pertus. Raleigh had readily agreed, also being uncomfortable with the new laws, and was further seeking the help of the bronze dragons (bronze dragons that looked exactly like Crucible) in the nearby mountains he had his own alliance with. Unfortunately, Raleigh’s troops would not reach Nasat before King Demetrius’s.

It was impossible to find a person in Nasat that wasn't helping to prepare for battle in some way. Even the children were busy, packing food and clothing for evacuation and carrying supplies to and from for the adults.

There was an entire section of the town dedicated to the creation of weapons and armor: women making arrows, blacksmiths forging blades and breastplates, and engineers building siege engines. Oil was being gathered, along with firewood, and a fire brigade was sent out to place buckets of water in strategic locations throughout the town. Mages gathered and shared their spell components with each other.

Nasat was clearly a town where everyone was used to helping their neighbors, and happy to do so.

Baron Archand was not adverse to getting a little dirty and helping out himself, either. While making his rounds, he worked the bellows for the master blacksmith for a few minutes, chatted with a group of older ladies while fletching arrows, and dug one of the holes for a wooden spike with a shovel.

Sentries had reported that King Demetrius's forces would arrive the next day, and there was much more work to be done.

[OOC: Backtagging in the previous post is definitely okay and encouraged! The next post will be going up on November 26th.

Feel free to NPC the townspeople in the first subthread! You can be creative with how your characters help with preparations, too, so have fun with it!

All subthreads are open!]

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

( Personnel )

When he'd first read the word 'tavern,' his reaction was... mixed at best. Master Lord Thom of Trebond had never set foot in such a place, and that alone was almost enough to avoid it, or even to cancel the whole meeting before it ever began.

But he found himself curious, powerfully so, about what the Test that he took in the Tower entailed. Perhaps this Counselor Kang wouldn't have much more information than Lord Bight, or perhaps he would. The man at least did not try to overinflate his knowledge of the subject.

His first reaction upon seeing the tavern was probably incredibly comical to anyone watching him. His face took on an expression like he couldn't believe what he was looking at, mouth slightly open, head tilted to the side. Was that supposed to be a dragon? Who in the world thought that looked like a dragon?

Perhaps the artist had partaken of the fare while he constructed it. That would explain quite a bit.

Thom squared his shoulders like he was walking into battle, not into a place some of the crew would consider to be the best on the ship. He entered the front door and took a moment to look around, gathering himself. Where was this Kang he was meant to speak with?

The mural on the wall caught his attention first, and then his eyes found the bartender, and he spent an even more comical moment looking back and forth between the two, his eyebrows knit in a puzzled expression.

He didn't want to approach the bar - too many people sitting there - but the impossibly tall winged creature behind it was who he needed to speak with. He took a seat on a barstool, his shoulders stiff with tension.

The ship itself was full of many curiosities that Sandry couldn’t even begin to describe. Some of them were marvellous things--the technology, for example, was something she never would have dreamed possible, and the plantsuits... Well, she was one of only a few people who didn’t seem to mind the plantsuits at all. In fact, she rather liked them, even if she did wish for a skirt. All things in good time. There were other things that weren’t quite so wonderful. Sandry didn’t want to even think about her first experience with the slop, an embarrassment that she was sure she wouldn't get over for some time.

When Daja had told her about the other magics on the ship, though, Sandry couldn’t wait to see what others could do. But business came before pleasure, and so she put her plans to run amuck throughout the ship on hold, and instead walked with Daja to the Towers where Thom spent his time. His predicament sounded as if it had gone on long enough. The sooner they sorted him out, the better for everyone. It was quite the puzzle besides, and she always did love a good puzzle...

The Towers themselves were huge, to say the least. Several stories tall, with walls surrounding that gave off nothing but the idea of power. Sandry paused just outside the gate, carefully taking in the structures, before turning to Daja. “We’ll not find him if we stand out here gawking all day,” she smiled, the statement directed more toward herself than Daja. With a firm nod to her foster sister, Sandry stepped forward through the gates, taking special care to be nothing but respectful toward the guardian Thom had warned her of. Now they just needed to find him...

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."

It had taken him so long to find it, but then he hadn't really been looking. There were no mountains in the city, no places that rose high above the rest, other than the Garibah Tree. And without mountains, he hadn't expected any Air temples.

But here it was, the place where he'd grown up under Monk Gyatso's gentle guidance.

The Southern Air Temple.

It was set into its own hill, like it'd been at atop the mountain, only no rivers flowed here, no trees grew. What trees that were there were dead, but woven into the structure of the place, as they had been when they still lived. There was no smell of mountain blossoms in hanging gently in the air. It was as dead as when he'd first set foot there with Katara and Sokka, when he'd found Monk Gyatso's body.

But it was home. He felt it in the stones under his feet, in the way his voice echoed in the halls when he called out "Hellooo" ("Hello, hello ello ello lo," went his echo) exactly the same as it once did. This was his home. The exact temple, ripped from the world of the Four Nations. The only difference was that the hall of the Avatars was carved out of it, but he knew that was in the Statuary. Why they would tear the place apart he didn't know, but Aang knew by now not to question the actions of a people that didn't make sense, that he'd long since learned not to fully trust.

He would have to tell Nima. Not that she'd have the fondness of the place as him, but it was still one of the temples, and she might still want to walk the halls of this place.

It was terrible and painful and wonderful and beautiful at the same time. It left all kinds of feelings roiling in Aang's gut as he walked through from section to section of the temples, from meditation room to classroom, with Appa and Momo.

Somehow, even though the place wasn't as high up, even though the weather in the city was usually calm, the breeze was perfect here. It didn't smell right, but it felt like it should have felt.

Comforted by it, Aang sat and meditated in the place where he grew up for the first time in a long time. Momo chirped at him and Aang politely shushed him.

"Meditation time is quiet time, Momo."

For the first time in a while, he found true calm, so much so that he was able to get in touch with a part of himself he'd been struggling to get in touch with.

If anyone happened to explore the many splendored halls of his youth, the mountainside spires, the winding passageways of the temple, they would find a giant furry flying bison laying comfortably on a balcony, with a flying lemur sitting on his head, picking through his fur. Next to them both, there was a bald monk seated with his eyes closed, his tattoos glowing a gentle blue glow, robes buffeted by winds that shouldn't have even existed.

The Tower of High Sorcery still stood with its signs inviting those to come in, the world repeated by a helpful magic mouth. Aibghalien had clearly devoted no time -- or simply had no time -- to undoing that.

The gates stood shut, though. The wizard had not done that.

Somewhere in the depths of the sprawling halls, Aibghalien sat against a wall, one hand pressed to his head, the other to his leg where his robes showed a small bloodstain. He had, thus far, been entirely fortunate to survive so relatively unscathed against a creature which, he was forced to acknowledge, had raw power equal to his own. It did not have access to his magic item collection or his crystals, and its magic seemed slightly archaic -- but these advantages would not last forever. He had to find a way to disperse it, prevent it from restoring itself, before it managed to destroy him.

And of course, he had to do it alone. He'd told others not to come, and (entirely naively) believed they would listen to the half-request, half-command of a potent wizard. He didn't want any other lives risked...

[[OOC: If you'd like to pitch in, please keep it to one thread, but don't worry too much about a posting order!]]

Freedom, what a silly word.

No matter how free she was nothing changed. The constant creeping paranoia, every shadow a potential threat, every blind corner could be hiding an assassin.

But she wouldn't hide. She wouldn't cower! She had been cleaned up, though her hair still hung about her shoulders in untamed tresses of inky black shine.

This ship had to be explored, she had to know as much about it as she could. Knowledge was power and at the moment she felt particularly weak.

After so much time of being locked away, barely moving, not training. Her body had lost it's edge. Her strength and power had waned and she knew it.

Even if she wasn't aware the voices would never let her forget.

And so barefoot and looking lost in more ways then one the pale young girl slipped through the ship quietly watching, learning.

In time her strength would return.

And then the screams of those that had defied her would fill this ship.

Freedom had done wonders for her mood.

((OOC: So since she's just wandering about wherever you'd like to meet her just mention it in your post and we'll roll from there. ^_^ ))

The Tower of High Sorcery didn't look much different these days from a distance, but up close the wizard's efforts showed.

The gates stood permanently open, now, but an obvious sign cautioned all visitors not to enter the cordoned-off areas. A magic mouth repeated those instructions, firmly but politely, to those who might not bother with reading in their haste to explore. Inside, Aibghalien had carefully cordoned every door, archway, or passage where spells would act against nonmagical sorts in any way. Still, that left a large area in the courtyard, the inner halls, and a large audience chamber where people could safely travel.

It was in the latter chamber that the wizard stood, pondering a lunar calendar that depicted the motions of three moons across the sky and their phases in exquisite detail.

Thom was running out of time.

The book the elf had given him was starting to give him ideas, and he was sure Aibghalien's expertise would prove valuable, but the problem was that one simply didn't go around telling people you'd raised a man from the dead. Thom had to think of some kind of cover story that would explain what was happening with his magic as precisely as the truth would.

Or he had to find an alternative. He wasn't sure which one he was looking for, but he made a curious figure in his long black cloak striding through the strange streets of the City. He kept the hood pulled up around his face, to hide his unnatural pallor. Even as much knowledge as he had gathered on the ship hadn't prepared him for the vast expanse of the City. Every few steps was a symbol he thought must be mystical or esoteric, but turned out to be something else entirely.

Thom couldn't rest until he found an answer.

Today would find the Farseer hock-deep in uprooted dirt and grass.  She was humming to herself as she dug, working out a little garden plot for herself in an undisturbed corner of Hydroponics. Her frostsaber lay sprawled out of reach of flung dirt-clods, sleeping peacefully, though every once in a while an eye would open to check on his mistress' progress.

"Aiie, Snowy," she said when he opened an eye again. "I really should have tried to invest in some tools while I was down on that planet."  The 'saber just heaved a great sigh, and nestled his head against his paws.

"You're no help."

At least she was finding enough rocks to edge her garden, so it wouldn't look like some beast had decided to go on some haphazard digging spree...

Since the podpop, Thom had kept to himself. The crew quarters were crowded and noisy, so he spent as little time there as possible, stealing back to his quarters when the ship seemed to be sleeping. So far, no one had either noticed or asked about the Gift-sickness he still bore.

The signs were all still there, of course. Most of the frequented areas on the ship were brightly lit enough that the glow from his skin wasn't visible, but the fever was omnipresent, and in dimly lit corridors it was always a possibility that it might be noticed.

Thom resolved to figure out how to cure the taint in his Gift as quickly as possible, so he could put the problem behind him. To that end, he was holed up in the media library. At his left elbow sat a prodigious stack of tablets he had yet to peruse. At his right elbow were two more piles - one, neat and tidy, were the tablets whose contents looked interesting enough to read in full. The other was a haphazard pile of discarded material.

He skimmed through the current tablet with his face set in a mask of fierce concentration.

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.]