It's a beautiful day for soaring in the sky. At least....it's a beautiful simulated day, Cedric corrects himself. He stands in the center of a grassy field, hoops standing tall on either side. Racing brooms that will soon take to the sky with their riders are laid out in neat rows on either side of him, and a case containing the many balls of Quidditch rests at his feet.

He's exchanged the loose-fitted clothing he'd taken up after his injuries for loose-fitting yellow and black robes, and even that small change brightens his mood. Cedric Diggory is in his element. His cheerful, dangerous whirlwind of an element, the finest sport the wizarding world has to offer.

This should be a fun one to watch!

((And go! Use the subthreads, or start your own threads to chat and trash-talk and have a good time! Threadjacking is totally encouraged.))

Ildraniath had found a small park that was out of the way of most of the main streets. It was quiet, shaded. Perfect for a little get together. If people had read her message on the comms, they ought to show up. And if they didn't, she would figure out another way to proceed. Even if she had only a handful of people she could rely on, she would press on. Better than inactivity and waiting for results that never came. She knew patience, but this? Was simply waiting for the sake of waiting.

She folded her hands into the sleeves of her robes and waited, stone still. Once they arrived, she'd have a few words to say to everyone. And then they could begin bandying ideas and organizing.

Who: Atom, Dhianelia, and Fuu
Where: Agrestic
Summary: Fuu and Atom ask Dhianelia about her encounter with the Ohm.
Warnings: None!

(  Time to talk space sparkle )

( The ship stops on the planet Agrestic, a Jupiter-sized behemoth in the galaxy. )

As Stacy's shuttles bring the crew down, they're treated to the sights of massive mountains to dwarf even the mightiest Earth mountain range and golden, green and purple grain fields that take up more space than some entire civilizations have managed to colonize. The shuttles finally settle at the primary port city, Rura, which is ideally situated near and equidistant to a sprawling ocean, the base of a mountain range and a swath of farmland.

The people of Agrestic, including humans, Helians, Kanil, and plenty of other races, are for the most part hard at work and rushing from place to place. Very few pay much attention to Stacy's shuttles, as travelers stopping at this city and incredibly commonplace. Those that aren't working are relaxing, unencumbered by technological gadgets - while the technology here is very advanced, it seems primarily used to aid workers in their duties, and not for leisure. Fresh produce brought into the market is scanned by tiny mechanical beetles that inspect each piece for defects, but the children are more likely to be playing with sticks and rocks than anything else.

The crew exits the shuttles to find themselves at a large air-port like building, which opens up to a farmer's market and a strip of restaurants. As they exit the shuttles, some of the human port workers apologize for any inconvenience.

"We're sorry you couldn't bring the whole ship down, but the Truce specifically forbids Daligig to enter our airspace. You're lucky we managed to get clearance for shuttles of Daligig make to come in!" they say, before rushing off to help the next arrivals.

To return to the ship, a crew member may enter a shuttle and the autopilot will zip them back up to Stacy's underbelly. The crew may make as many trips back and forth as they like.

[OOC: This post itself will be for interactions with NPCs. Please do not set up subthreads in this post unless you are an NPCer. If you would like to create a new location on Agrestic, or do an open/closed log on the shore leave, please set up your own log. This will make it easier for our NPCers to know where they're needed.]

The two women had waited until a good number of people had gathered in the sensorium next to where the Tapestry was kept. Sakura glanced toward Howard, wanting a visual reassurance that he was there with a recording device. He was someone she could count on for the paranoid sensibilities that she sometimes put aside in favor of other practicalities. With everyone gathered, they turned toward each other, and the sensorium came alive.
( Such a sight as we have seen... )... leaving everyone standing in the sensorium's blank interface as the mental replay shut down.

[ ooc: Feel free to make your own threads and discuss as your characters are want to do! You are absolutely not required to respond to either Barbara or Sakura's question threads. That is optional! ]

Who: Ronnae, Billy, and various wedding guests!
Where: In Light's Hope Chapel, with party to follow at the Drunken Dragon Tavern.
What: Two are getting married. Will someone faint from shock? Will anything break? Will it be a happy night? Stay tuned!
( One cloudy morning... )

Who: Karkat and YOU.
Where: Right outside the Mess Hall
Summary: Romance troubles? Shhhhshoooshhshhshooosh Karkat is here.
Warnings: Language.

( I WANT YOU TO SHOW MEEEE )

One of the Sensoriums is active. Inside it's been made to look like a spacious office. A whole wall of windows opens up on a bright but indistinct cityscape. The decor is sleek and modern, though the predominant black and white with no color is perhaps a bit too stark. Some absolutely untouched-looking books sit on a shelf and a plant that is far too green to be real sits in the window collecting dust. There are barely audible stirrings of bad office muzak that are not entirely blocked out by the walls. It's all very sterile and feels off, like it's been put together by someone with a precise list of things that an office is but no understanding of what it's like to be in one.

Suspended over the desk is a gigantic robot.

It glares balefully at anyone who looks in. Or at least it seems to, thanks to that yellow "eye" in its "face".

"Oh. Hello. Come in. Make yourself at home," GLaDOS says. Under her attempt at a flat tone is the faintest hint of resentment.

She does not want to be here. At all.

Marco was gone.

He'd found that out when he'd returned from the rather stressful (if successful) mission on Deepstar 7. No sign of him on the comms and he hadn't shown up at Cassie's house for a while. It was as if he'd just vanished. Or been repodded. Jake figured that was the more likely event, but it was still a bit disturbing to think about the other possibilities.

His best friend was gone, just like that. Even after the war, Marco had never been all that far away. Just a phone call and a drive. Even if Jake had never really talked about what bothered him. And here it was just as disturbing. If he couldn't stop the ship from taking people away, how could he lead? How could he protect people?

Jake sighed and tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. His fingers found a smooth pebble and after a moment of turning it over and over in his fingers, he sent it skipping across the surface of the river.

He really needed to find something to do.

So yeah, enough goofing around! After these past attacks? And now knowing that there might be times that he won't be able to use his powers? Rin was in full LET'S KICK SOME ASS mode! He was ready to, wait for it, LEARN?!

Today he even woke up early! The sky is falling isn't it? Leaving a note on Yukio's desk, he set off to the sensoriums to wait for his brother, who he knew wouldn't be far behind. He started off with warm ups, laps, cardio, whatever. He knew Yukio would start, and continue strong training, so he wanted to be at his best!

After all, the future Paladin can't be a weakling right?!




[[OOC note: Yukio will arrive first, after that, anyone can come in and interact with either, or both, just state in the subject line who you're talking to :Db]]

The Vatican was empty now of the sounds of fighting, but one didn't have to look hard to spot reminders of SHODAN's attack on the ship. Laser burns here, a crumbled section of wall there, a bloodstain...

Atom wandered over the grounds, collecting pieces of the ruined droidekas and other robots that had attacked the crew, carefully piling the larger shells up in one corner and placing the smaller pieces into a large bag he'd found. It was all he had, really, to store them in. He faltered briefly when his fingers found a shattered eyepiece or the blasted remains of a CPU, but he continued onward anyway. It was like sifting through the bodies of the fallen, which was something he tried not to dwell on too long. Someone had to clean this place up, and with all the damage, likely people would want to reuse the old robot parts. And another crew member... well, they wouldn't be anywhere near as delicate with the broken robots as he was.

But he still felt like a vulture. Or a grave robber, maybe, scouring the battlefield for body parts that were still fairly intact, still had use. Still had value.

And in the end, wasn't that all the people around him cared about? He'd seen the way the crew had reacted when the robots had first appeared: shattering their frames with abandon, killing them without a thought. To them, no doubt, robots were just soulless, malfunctioning machines -- maybe even monsters. Certainly nothing to be mourned, nothing worthy of sympathy.

He found a small, slender piece of metal and plastic on the ground and recognized it instantly for what it was. A memory chip, simplistic in design, no doubt from one of the fallen droids. For a moment, Atom held it in his small hand, curling his fingers over it, feeling the grooves along its otherwise smooth surface. Then he unzipped his hoodie slightly, revealing a small indentation near the center of his chest. He inserted the chip carefully into the reader there, closing his eyes and holding one hand over his chest as he did so, as if feeling the beating of his own heart.

The droids were simple robots, built for battle. They'd been designed and programmed to kill people designated as enemies, to hurt them, so it hadn't been hard for SHODAN to simply designate all humans as targets. Atom could only struggle to understand why this had been allowed to happen. In his world, robots helped humans -- they were construction workers, designers, policemen, travel agents, teachers. They were people. Programming them to kill was a crime. And why? Why create something whose only purpose was to kill?

But that was the crux of it, wasn't it? Robots were limited by their programming; if someone programmed them to kill, they had no choice but to do so, regardless of what they might actually want. Only advanced robots could, perhaps, be said to be capable of overriding that programming. And the most advanced robots of all, the ones closest to being human...

||Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention. All personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Attention, Attention, all personnel...||

Stacy's voiced called the entire crew, until all of them were gathered at the Obs Deck. Then, a dossier appeared on the screens, along with the image of a rotating planet.

Planet Designation: Pelau
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Moderate flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: Yes
Water: 75% of the planet's surface.

Climate: Climate varies by region.
Landscape: Landscape at the North Pole varies. Within the biodomes, significant development. Outside the domes remains mostly pristine.
Air: Normoxic concentration: 29% oxygen, 60% nitrogen, 3% xenon, 6% trace gases, such as hydrogen, krypton, and argon.

Air Pressure: 14.352 pounds per square inch.
Sky: Blue/violet with white clouds.
Sun: A class D4K, yellow star.

Warnings: Be careful of frostbite outside the biodomes.

Mission: None. Shore leave is now initiated.

[Here's a handy map of the North Biodome where the crew is being dropped]


( Read more... )

Uva hadn't strayed far from the Observation Deck, intent on finding somewhere that wasn't full of people (and more importantly, other Greeed) as fast as possible to attend to his situation; mainly that he was full of foreign core medals and he wanted them out.

He succeeded in getting hopelessly lost. Disgusted, Uva settles for whatever far flung hall (capillary?) he's ended up in as being alone enough - and drops his human illusion. Cuz, c'mon. He'd pretty much warned off Cazali and Ankh earlier, and who else would have followed him?

A green drape lies spread across the floor for lack of something to hang off of.

The rest of the crew assembled on the Observation Deck to meet the latest editions to their numbers. After the battle with SHODAN the place looks a little worst for wear, but the crew and even Stacy are trying to be in good spirits. After the revelation that their worlds are gone, and the little stunt in trying to kill off the people in the pods, many 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), a large afro attached to a smaller girl, and talking ponies 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. But thankfully this time, there's a system that was set up to aid the new crew members with a few more experienced ones.

[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. Big brother/sister, there will be a thread for you as well!]

The term ironic didn't even begin to describe the situation Azula found herself in.

She stood gazing out over the city from one of the higher balconies of the Southern Air Temple with a blade in each hand watching the mechanical minions of that insipid voice crawling through the city destroying anything worth their attention.

Any time now they would turn their attention to one of the last bits of airbender culture, and she was loath to admit she would have to defend it.

Any other day she'd have let it burn, possibly even set fire to it herself, but now the stakes were higher and the situation had adjusted.

For one, she was living there. What few items she owned were stored in a small safe room deep within the temple. A room that she had felt safe in. Her time spent sharing a body with Nima had taught her one invaluable fact. As much as she looked down on her, Nima was trustworthy.

And so to protect the one place on the ship where she felt slightly less like she was going to be murdered in her sleep she had abandoned Kaya and Zouichi in Hydroponics and had escaped to make her stand here.

A snort and low whine reminded her she was not alone.

She sighed and turned to face one of Nima's Glow Sloths. It had been separated from the pack and Azula had found it in Hydroponics. Against her better judgement she brought it with her. If nothing else she could always eat it she supposed.

At least that was how she justified it to herself. She certainly didn't care about it. Either way she shooed it back into the temple where it was less exposed and turned her eyes back to the city.

Once Atom had read the initial comm post, he headed over to the closest place where he thought people would be -- the Vatican, once converted into a fortress against outside attack. It had since been mostly restored to its original state, but some fortifications still remained -- hopefully, some food and supplies, too. He'd heard people had used it as a safe area before, so maybe some of them would head there now. As he touched down within its limits, his rocket boosters kicked off. His footsteps seemed to echo through the tall construction as he walked along the paved stone... but for now, he seemed to be alone, in the midst of dead silence.

Or was he?

"Hello?" he called. "Is anyone there? Does anyone need help?"

[Robutts will be forthcoming 83. I'll bring some Terminators, but if anyone else could NPC some other robots, that'd be great!

P.S. I will be waiting for more people to tag in before I add robots.]

It was very difficult to get things done when your best friend (or boyfriend or mate or whatever the appropriate title actually was) was living in your head. Goliath did his best to allow Elisa to remain in control of her own body, but it wasn’t easy. For either of them.

After all, as well as sharing a body, they shared thoughts and feelings. For Elisa, who was far from forthcoming when it came to her emotions, it was proving to be a constant battle. In many ways, it would have been easier to share with a stranger. They’d reached a comfortable balance in their relationship since she’d woken up from the pods and she didn’t want to disturb that. Not when things were going so well.

If the way that Goliath kept trying to focus on his favourite plays and novels was any indication, the gargoyle was finding it just as hard to keep things that he wouldn’t ordinarily share concealed. And spending a long time as a human was definitely something it would take him a long time to get used it. Elisa sincerely hoped that he wouldn’t have to get used to it. They knew who was responsible for the chaos now. (The goddess, if that was what she really was, hadn’t been particularly secretive.) What they didn’t know was how to persuade her to change them back.

They’d find out.

OOC: Open to anyone who would like to bother Goliath and / or Elisa while they're stuck together during the soulcatcher plot.

How did Applejack stand working so hard around the farm? Her secret was simple: combining work and play. She'd brought the same styl to Hydroponics, where she'd sectioned off a small patch of the ground to be a place for some of the animals to play. The grass was dug up and seeds were planted elsewhere, water was poured, and Applejack herself was pounding her legs into the dirt. Making mud! Her bright orange coat was now coated in brown, and the longer she worked, the further she sank.

But this wasn't very fun. Back home, she'd done---yeah, that was what was missing! She hopped out of her little mud pit, tracked dirt across the grass, and set off at a fast trot. "Yee-haw!"

If anypony happened to be hanging about, they'd be splattered when the large pony came crashing down, rolling in her little pit of dirt. Her hat sat some distance to the side, miraculously untouched by the splattering of mud. Surely most would know to stay away from such a display.

Allenby hated the Sensoriums, a fact she was willing to make known to all and sundry whenever the topic came up. They gave her the absolute creeps... one of the benefits of being ejected from Starfighter Command was that she didn't have to show up for PT in the hated chambers every morning. If she had to go in there for any reason, she could yell at Stacy for as long as she wanted before getting on with it.

Besides, why did anyone need Sensoriums for training on foot when there were so many great places in the City for it? Hell, there was everything from the Great Wall of China to a whole amusement park! And it was easy to get around the little helmeted robots that ran the place to shut down the rides. The roller coaster, for instance, made a great running track, and was damn fun to ride when she wanted a break.

So for much of the 'day' Allenby could be found either running along the rollercoaster track and doing various martial arts moves in mid-air, actually riding a ride, or sitting on one of the benches glowering (because she always made sure to spend at least half an hour a day thinking hostile thoughts at Stacy).

Sprawled out on her front, right in the middle of the spacewalk, is one Vala Mal Doran. She's booked out a mini-player video thingy from the Media Library and is watching re-runs of 'Dallas' of all things, idly kicking her legs around in the air behind her. Maybe the recent shore leave gave her the taste for cowboy hats as she's still sporting the one that she got on Geartopia, and maybe she thinks it gives her that Pam Ewing look when she's at the ranch.

Vala looks like she was simply lying on any floor. Except because it's the spacewalk, it looks like there's a woman in a cowboy hat and pigtails floating in space. Not your everyday scene, but she's as relaxed as if it were. She's decided she quite likes it here, if she can see the stars then she can imagine being back home and maybe she can fool herself into thinking she's back on the Odyssey on her way to Atlantis. There's also not too many people around - and in particular, no Daniel.

She's been avoiding him ever since the great big shiner popped up on her cheekbone. Somehow she didn't think he'd be particularly impressed if he knew she'd been in a bar fight. So if he saw it then she'd have to make up all these lies about how she got it and maybe it was just best to give him a wide berth instead. That way she didn't have to lie.