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◣ OPEN ◢ HATCHING LOG 001
WHO: All PCs
WHAT: New characters arrive on Ethyraia, get interrogated, and settle in at the basecamp.
WHEN: May 21 onward
WHERE: Basecamp Leviathan
NOTES/WARNINGS: Potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.
WHAT: New characters arrive on Ethyraia, get interrogated, and settle in at the basecamp.
WHEN: May 21 onward
WHERE: Basecamp Leviathan
NOTES/WARNINGS: Potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.
HATCHING LOG 001 ❀
CONTENT WARNINGS: potential character nudity, violence, trypophobia (images) as well as light mentions of gore, alcohol and drug-use, light aphrodisiac effects (optional), and references to mass death.
Players who participated in our TDM are welcome to keep their CR and the content of those threads. Please make sure to chat this out on the OOC intro & CR meme before making assumptions. Please take your time reading the hatching and basecamp bullets, as some items have been altered or expanded.
Congrats, you've woken up in an egg. I'm sure this is exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday, right? There's no time to get curious and check out the other egg sacs. By the time you've fought your way out of the membranous sac, spilled electric blue goop everywhere, wiped it out of your eyes and sundry other orifices to get your bearings, you have a spear (or a gun) leveled at your face, throat, or other vital organs. Even if you might be inclined to fight, you can barely lift your arms to protest being grabbed and dragged off. Before you can even get a word in edgewise, you've been thrown into a holding cell.
Characters will not have a chance to retrieve their items at the time of the first hatching, and may not even know there is anything left in the remaining eggs.
The holding cell stinks of something sour and acidic, like rotted citrus, but you are not alone. Several other detainees sit in similar squalid confusion, dressed strangely and equally gooey. Time to make nice, ask questions... figure out what the hell is going on, and maybe do something about all that slime?
Over the next few days, a few things become clear. Despite the alien greeting, your captors speak a language that you understand, and the unpleasant circumstances are revealed to be a matter of necessity, not choice. Supplies are low, but they ensure that the new arrivals' time imprisoned is as painless as can be — they offer hot communal showers of less than three minutes, some strange starchy meal-replacement, and medical treatment to those in need. You might strike up a conversation with your new best friend in the shower over a low soap dispenser or when you realize you might need to share towels.
The cost of these luxuries comes in the form of touch-and-go interrogation by the security officers keeping tabs on the cells and supervising the shower time.
A few notes:
You've been here for a week, had a chance to show your mettle. Maybe you've demonstrated a propensity for fixing gadgets (or plumbing!) or you have the command of a natural leader and the ability to wield a gun (or a tire iron!) to great effect. Either way, the Adamant's survivors are eager to put you to work so they can have their first real 'days off' in three years! Survivors have set up their various areas in the hopes of catching your attention and (possibly!) bolster their numbers! Feel free to wander around, talk to other PCs, and get the lay of the land.
ENGINEERING CORPS
Thorkil has welded a sign to a post out front, cheerfully painted by a gaggle of children to say "WELCOME!" The children are crowded around the area, and Thorkil is telling them stories about one of his many tattoos as you approach — he has a magnificent eagle tattooed on his arm, and in a hush he is explaining how it landed on him and tried to bite him like a mosquito, and how he slapped it and it just splattered right there on his arm and he's never been able to wash it off!
The children seem mesmerized by the story (maybe you are too?) and will scatter at the story's conclusion, tugging you over to the various areas, pointing things out excitedly. What is an Ehlers-Chau sublight engine? You're about to find out whether you like it or not! Or maybe you can teach them a thing or two. Those who seem to know their stuff will be eagerly invited on board by Thorkil.
The Engineering division has salvaged its tools and scrap from the Adamant’s wreckage, so it has all of the essentials from metal mills to CNC routers to circuitry tools. A holo projector throws schematics on the wall — a drill, a few potential shelter ideas for long-term settlement, and a new communications tower.
SECURITY DIVISION
Rémi has barely deigned to participate — and seems to have done so only at the request of some of his companions. He's sitting at an unadorned table and he is cleaning a variety of weapons. He will scowl if approached, and seems openly mistrustful of your intentions should you speak to him. Questions about how a conversation with Rémi might go may be posted to the MOD QUESTIONS thread. (Note: We will not be threading Rémi, so these questions will be handwaved!)
Characters who make a positive impression on him will open up the avenue to work for the Security Division later, but he will not be extending any offers now — please allow for a realistic period of development here!
Feel free to lean into another PC's space and comment on how frosty that dude seems! You can also survey the various weapons stored in racks, help out with building spears, the usual suspects.
THEATRE
The theatre doubles as a childcare center, and many of the NPCs bustling about seem very excited and eager for the chance to talk to anyone who ventures in to visit. The theatre is bright and cheerful, paintings have been done on the walls of scenes from children's stories featuring colorful characters.
The thespians will not only try to recruit you (for acting in a play, for teaching, for script writing, for drawing on the walls or caring for children) but they will actively put you to work if they see you standing idle longer than a moment! Your character may find themselves with a paintbrush in hand, or taking part in a recital for a play (you're free to invent one, or put a new spin on an old classic! Romeo and Julio, anyone?) or building a set piece for one of the many local productions.
The Theatre doubles as the protective hub in times of need, so beyond arts education and babysitting, your character may also be tasked with shoring up those defenses, helping to fortify the walls, or other such tasks. And who knows, they may be paired off with someone else rather unexpectedly!
AID STATION
Sunya Hyacinth is the local medical doctor, fueled by coffee and spite. She doesn't have the time to recruit personally — she's flitting about the aid station seeing to the injured.
If you follow her, she will put you to work. Hold this stent, articulate this dislocation, take this blood pressure reading. If anyone appears to have a proficiency for this sort of work, she may inquire after credentials — and anyone who seems to have medical experience is going to immediately be handed the medic's armband, a white band with a blue cross emblazoned on it. This armband will grant any PC an extra amount of respect and trust from the Adamant's survivors — but you'd better be able to live up to it!
Feel free to treat any injured PCs, converse with other 'recruits', help pin that white and blue arm-band on... you know, anything under the sun. Some of the patients in the medical bay seem to be suffering from the adverse effects of some of the local flora — itching hives or burning pustules. One unfortunate soul seems only able to speak in limericks, which the medical staff will admit is one of the odder things they’ve seen.
SANITATION
CONTENT WARNING: DRUG REFERENCES
It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it! There are always latrines to be dug, pipes to be repaired, general maintenance to be done on the various sanitation systems.
A nervous-looking janitor will approach your character almost shyly, and ask if you wouldn't mind giving her a hand. If you are willing to help her (fix a pipe, dig a hole, etc), she will gradually warm up to you and seem more animated and lively and very, very grateful. Won't you please consider working with the Sanitation crew? Sure, it's not as glamorous as some of the other duties, but they're the backbone of the Basecamp and they could really use the help!
She'll even let you in on a little secret if you really butter her up or show an interest — the Sanitation Crew? Totally has a little underground greenhouse where they're growing marijuana. They're totally willing to share...
Feel free to dig latrines alongside your fellow PCs, or maybe even share a joint. It's a way to pass the time, right? PCs serving in sanitation will also have an easier time overhearing the gossip that spreads around the base, since no one looks twice at them.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO MASS DEATH
During their first two weeks in the basecamp, any character who stops by one of the various houses of worship (in addition to a church, a synagogue, and a mosque, there is a temple with small statues to fifteen different unfamiliar deities, many of whom seem to be from different faiths), the gymnasium, or the mess hall will come across a stand that hosts a dozen or so packages.
Wrapped in the black emergency blankets that many bring with them to and from the bunks, these packages are about one cubic foot and contain folded clothes in roughly the same sizes. The styles are all different and highly individualized. Some are luxe, some are basic, and some are clearly the undershirt (but not the proper outerwear) for uniforms of the Adamant’s crew. Warm-faced folks eagerly give out a single package to each new hatchling. Along with the clothing and blanket, hatchlings will receive basic packages containing basic toiletries — bar soap, a toothbrush, a straight razor, etc.
Come by at the wrong time, and you might see a fight break out. A young person, red-faced, shouts at the volunteers working these stands, “Those were our people! Our families! We should be the one to decide what’s done with what they left behind.”
In hushed tones, clearly trying to keep this from becoming a conflict, the lead volunteer insists, “Take it up with Captain Childe.”
A few notes:
Players who participated in our TDM are welcome to keep their CR and the content of those threads. Please make sure to chat this out on the OOC intro & CR meme before making assumptions. Please take your time reading the hatching and basecamp bullets, as some items have been altered or expanded.
❀ HATCHING
Congrats, you've woken up in an egg. I'm sure this is exactly how you wanted to spend your Saturday, right? There's no time to get curious and check out the other egg sacs. By the time you've fought your way out of the membranous sac, spilled electric blue goop everywhere, wiped it out of your eyes and sundry other orifices to get your bearings, you have a spear (or a gun) leveled at your face, throat, or other vital organs. Even if you might be inclined to fight, you can barely lift your arms to protest being grabbed and dragged off. Before you can even get a word in edgewise, you've been thrown into a holding cell.
Characters will not have a chance to retrieve their items at the time of the first hatching, and may not even know there is anything left in the remaining eggs.
The holding cell stinks of something sour and acidic, like rotted citrus, but you are not alone. Several other detainees sit in similar squalid confusion, dressed strangely and equally gooey. Time to make nice, ask questions... figure out what the hell is going on, and maybe do something about all that slime?
Over the next few days, a few things become clear. Despite the alien greeting, your captors speak a language that you understand, and the unpleasant circumstances are revealed to be a matter of necessity, not choice. Supplies are low, but they ensure that the new arrivals' time imprisoned is as painless as can be — they offer hot communal showers of less than three minutes, some strange starchy meal-replacement, and medical treatment to those in need. You might strike up a conversation with your new best friend in the shower over a low soap dispenser or when you realize you might need to share towels.
The cost of these luxuries comes in the form of touch-and-go interrogation by the security officers keeping tabs on the cells and supervising the shower time.
A few notes:
☆ Your character may get pulled away for interrogation at some point. No torture, no drugs; just questioning. If you would like to thread this out, please reply to CAPT CHILDE'S top level comment! A caveat: threads will not go beyond (TEN) NPC replies, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.
☆ Locals will be stopping by outside the freestanding holding cells to ogle or ask questions. Are you really going to be mean to that little kid staring at you with wide eyes?
☆ Characters will be let out for bio breaks. No one has to pee in a bucket, that's just inhumane!
☆ Attempts to escape will probably get you tasered. If your character composes a genius jailbreak, you are welcome to submit it in the MOD QUESTION comment to work out how that might go with the NPCs!
☆ Locals will be stopping by outside the freestanding holding cells to ogle or ask questions. Are you really going to be mean to that little kid staring at you with wide eyes?
☆ Characters will be let out for bio breaks. No one has to pee in a bucket, that's just inhumane!
☆ Attempts to escape will probably get you tasered. If your character composes a genius jailbreak, you are welcome to submit it in the MOD QUESTION comment to work out how that might go with the NPCs!
❀ EXPLORE THE BASECAMP
On the heels of a little benign interrogation, a medical inspection, and a stern talking to by Captain Childe, the survivors at Basecamp Leviathan determine one thing: you don't appear to be an active threat.
Released from the detention center after three days, you are given the run-down by the locals — you're on a planet called Ethyraia, and the people around you are survivors of the catastrophic crash of the UCSS Adamant several years prior. You, in fact, showed up on the third anniversary of the crash. Weird coincidence, huh?
The first order of the day is having a proper meal at the mess hall — some of the Adamant's survivors will be friendlier than others. They've been stranded here for years, remember? Some of them will be so desperate to talk to someone who has news of other places, and some will be giving you the cold shoulder.
You'll be fed the same as the rest of them. A plastic plate of crumbled protein of unidentifiable origin and gravy over rice with a single wilted stalk of broccoli and a cup of the worst coffee you've ever had. Maybe somebody bumps into you and spills said coffee, maybe you make it all the way to one of the long tables set out for communal eating.
Time to strike up a chat with your neighbor — maybe ask them to pass the salt?
(What do you mean, there's no salt!?)
During this time, characters will be able to return to the Central Chrysalis where they hatched. While there are no clues as to how they got there, they might find items — their own, or someone else's. Everyone is strapped for supplies, but try not to snatch up anything that isn't yours. The security officers don't look kindly on people chasing one other down the hall, trying to get back their dirty magazines.
A few notes:
Released from the detention center after three days, you are given the run-down by the locals — you're on a planet called Ethyraia, and the people around you are survivors of the catastrophic crash of the UCSS Adamant several years prior. You, in fact, showed up on the third anniversary of the crash. Weird coincidence, huh?
The first order of the day is having a proper meal at the mess hall — some of the Adamant's survivors will be friendlier than others. They've been stranded here for years, remember? Some of them will be so desperate to talk to someone who has news of other places, and some will be giving you the cold shoulder.
You'll be fed the same as the rest of them. A plastic plate of crumbled protein of unidentifiable origin and gravy over rice with a single wilted stalk of broccoli and a cup of the worst coffee you've ever had. Maybe somebody bumps into you and spills said coffee, maybe you make it all the way to one of the long tables set out for communal eating.
Time to strike up a chat with your neighbor — maybe ask them to pass the salt?
(What do you mean, there's no salt!?)
During this time, characters will be able to return to the Central Chrysalis where they hatched. While there are no clues as to how they got there, they might find items — their own, or someone else's. Everyone is strapped for supplies, but try not to snatch up anything that isn't yours. The security officers don't look kindly on people chasing one other down the hall, trying to get back their dirty magazines.
A few notes:
☆ Feel free to help out anywhere. Every little bit of assistance you offer to the locals will raise their estimation of you. You could easily help clean dishes after the meal, help fix leaky piping or repair hammocks. You could stop by the aid station and assist with the wounded. You'll be watched closely and some of the survivors will be warier than others, but most will appreciate the opportunity to have a 'break'.
☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything that seems human-made will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.
☆ PCs will be warned about the acid rain and inhospitable wildlife that they'll face if they venture beyond the shade of the dragon's wings.
☆ If your character leaves the basecamp and wanders outside the Leviathan, they may begin to notice that what they perhaps took as a giant cave is actually an enormous dragon. Everything that seems human-made will look varying levels of worn down, patched, repaired and patched again. This is not a place of prosperity and happiness. Many people are recently injured, or have new scars or missing limbs.
☆ PCs will be warned about the acid rain and inhospitable wildlife that they'll face if they venture beyond the shade of the dragon's wings.
❀ RECRUITMENT FAIR
You've been here for a week, had a chance to show your mettle. Maybe you've demonstrated a propensity for fixing gadgets (or plumbing!) or you have the command of a natural leader and the ability to wield a gun (or a tire iron!) to great effect. Either way, the Adamant's survivors are eager to put you to work so they can have their first real 'days off' in three years! Survivors have set up their various areas in the hopes of catching your attention and (possibly!) bolster their numbers! Feel free to wander around, talk to other PCs, and get the lay of the land.
ENGINEERING CORPS
Thorkil has welded a sign to a post out front, cheerfully painted by a gaggle of children to say "WELCOME!" The children are crowded around the area, and Thorkil is telling them stories about one of his many tattoos as you approach — he has a magnificent eagle tattooed on his arm, and in a hush he is explaining how it landed on him and tried to bite him like a mosquito, and how he slapped it and it just splattered right there on his arm and he's never been able to wash it off!
The children seem mesmerized by the story (maybe you are too?) and will scatter at the story's conclusion, tugging you over to the various areas, pointing things out excitedly. What is an Ehlers-Chau sublight engine? You're about to find out whether you like it or not! Or maybe you can teach them a thing or two. Those who seem to know their stuff will be eagerly invited on board by Thorkil.
The Engineering division has salvaged its tools and scrap from the Adamant’s wreckage, so it has all of the essentials from metal mills to CNC routers to circuitry tools. A holo projector throws schematics on the wall — a drill, a few potential shelter ideas for long-term settlement, and a new communications tower.
SECURITY DIVISION
Rémi has barely deigned to participate — and seems to have done so only at the request of some of his companions. He's sitting at an unadorned table and he is cleaning a variety of weapons. He will scowl if approached, and seems openly mistrustful of your intentions should you speak to him. Questions about how a conversation with Rémi might go may be posted to the MOD QUESTIONS thread. (Note: We will not be threading Rémi, so these questions will be handwaved!)
Characters who make a positive impression on him will open up the avenue to work for the Security Division later, but he will not be extending any offers now — please allow for a realistic period of development here!
Feel free to lean into another PC's space and comment on how frosty that dude seems! You can also survey the various weapons stored in racks, help out with building spears, the usual suspects.
THEATRE
The theatre doubles as a childcare center, and many of the NPCs bustling about seem very excited and eager for the chance to talk to anyone who ventures in to visit. The theatre is bright and cheerful, paintings have been done on the walls of scenes from children's stories featuring colorful characters.
The thespians will not only try to recruit you (for acting in a play, for teaching, for script writing, for drawing on the walls or caring for children) but they will actively put you to work if they see you standing idle longer than a moment! Your character may find themselves with a paintbrush in hand, or taking part in a recital for a play (you're free to invent one, or put a new spin on an old classic! Romeo and Julio, anyone?) or building a set piece for one of the many local productions.
The Theatre doubles as the protective hub in times of need, so beyond arts education and babysitting, your character may also be tasked with shoring up those defenses, helping to fortify the walls, or other such tasks. And who knows, they may be paired off with someone else rather unexpectedly!
AID STATION
Sunya Hyacinth is the local medical doctor, fueled by coffee and spite. She doesn't have the time to recruit personally — she's flitting about the aid station seeing to the injured.
If you follow her, she will put you to work. Hold this stent, articulate this dislocation, take this blood pressure reading. If anyone appears to have a proficiency for this sort of work, she may inquire after credentials — and anyone who seems to have medical experience is going to immediately be handed the medic's armband, a white band with a blue cross emblazoned on it. This armband will grant any PC an extra amount of respect and trust from the Adamant's survivors — but you'd better be able to live up to it!
Feel free to treat any injured PCs, converse with other 'recruits', help pin that white and blue arm-band on... you know, anything under the sun. Some of the patients in the medical bay seem to be suffering from the adverse effects of some of the local flora — itching hives or burning pustules. One unfortunate soul seems only able to speak in limericks, which the medical staff will admit is one of the odder things they’ve seen.
SANITATION
CONTENT WARNING: DRUG REFERENCES
It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it! There are always latrines to be dug, pipes to be repaired, general maintenance to be done on the various sanitation systems.
A nervous-looking janitor will approach your character almost shyly, and ask if you wouldn't mind giving her a hand. If you are willing to help her (fix a pipe, dig a hole, etc), she will gradually warm up to you and seem more animated and lively and very, very grateful. Won't you please consider working with the Sanitation crew? Sure, it's not as glamorous as some of the other duties, but they're the backbone of the Basecamp and they could really use the help!
She'll even let you in on a little secret if you really butter her up or show an interest — the Sanitation Crew? Totally has a little underground greenhouse where they're growing marijuana. They're totally willing to share...
Feel free to dig latrines alongside your fellow PCs, or maybe even share a joint. It's a way to pass the time, right? PCs serving in sanitation will also have an easier time overhearing the gossip that spreads around the base, since no one looks twice at them.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO MASS DEATH
During their first two weeks in the basecamp, any character who stops by one of the various houses of worship (in addition to a church, a synagogue, and a mosque, there is a temple with small statues to fifteen different unfamiliar deities, many of whom seem to be from different faiths), the gymnasium, or the mess hall will come across a stand that hosts a dozen or so packages.
Wrapped in the black emergency blankets that many bring with them to and from the bunks, these packages are about one cubic foot and contain folded clothes in roughly the same sizes. The styles are all different and highly individualized. Some are luxe, some are basic, and some are clearly the undershirt (but not the proper outerwear) for uniforms of the Adamant’s crew. Warm-faced folks eagerly give out a single package to each new hatchling. Along with the clothing and blanket, hatchlings will receive basic packages containing basic toiletries — bar soap, a toothbrush, a straight razor, etc.
Come by at the wrong time, and you might see a fight break out. A young person, red-faced, shouts at the volunteers working these stands, “Those were our people! Our families! We should be the one to decide what’s done with what they left behind.”
In hushed tones, clearly trying to keep this from becoming a conflict, the lead volunteer insists, “Take it up with Captain Childe.”
A few notes:
☆ Feel free to have your character sign on to help out with any of the listed divisions, with the exception of security.
☆ Characters may collect one (1) care package from the community outreach program. If your character intends to come back for more, please let us know in the Mod Questions thread.
☆ Feel free to ask for light NPC interactions in the MOD QUESTIONS header; we can give you a general idea of how a conversation might go! Like with the Captain Childe threads, none of these threads will be lengthy, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.
☆ Characters may collect one (1) care package from the community outreach program. If your character intends to come back for more, please let us know in the Mod Questions thread.
☆ Feel free to ask for light NPC interactions in the MOD QUESTIONS header; we can give you a general idea of how a conversation might go! Like with the Captain Childe threads, none of these threads will be lengthy, and new tag-ins will not be responded to after MAY 24.
❀ THE DREAMING
You are standing at the edge of an immense, underground lake. Water laps at the shore, echoing in the cavern. There is a sense of peace and warmth and — welcome.
A creature emerges from the lake and approaches you. Its gills flutter, its eyes are a faint bioluminescent glow in the darkness. It reaches out to touch you — one long, elegant finger presses against your chest. It feels as if it might crack your sternum open and ferret beneath your bones as if looking, looking for something. Yet, there is no malice from it, and you feel no fear.
But the creature relents. It backs up. Bows to you once, and then turns and walks back into the water.
You stay for some time at the edge of the lake. Eventually, it seems as if another person is here with you, or perhaps they simply came into focus after being here just as long as you. Should you speak with them?
A few notes:
A creature emerges from the lake and approaches you. Its gills flutter, its eyes are a faint bioluminescent glow in the darkness. It reaches out to touch you — one long, elegant finger presses against your chest. It feels as if it might crack your sternum open and ferret beneath your bones as if looking, looking for something. Yet, there is no malice from it, and you feel no fear.
But the creature relents. It backs up. Bows to you once, and then turns and walks back into the water.
You stay for some time at the edge of the lake. Eventually, it seems as if another person is here with you, or perhaps they simply came into focus after being here just as long as you. Should you speak with them?
A few notes:
☆ PCs may interact with one another in the dreams. They will be in a semi-conscious state, not wholly aware they are dreaming and not wholly under the impression of its normalcy.
☆ Your character will wake up naturally from the Dreaming, they will feel peaceful and refreshed.
The lake, if they choose to swim in it while dreaming, would be perceived as the perfect ambient temperature for them — some characters may prefer it to be warmer or colder!
☆ If they duck below the water, they will see far-off glittering city lights, but no matter how they try to swim towards them they will never get any closer!
☆ If your character tries to drink the water, they might notice that for a few minutes after they wake they can hear little snippets of NPC thoughts. Weird!
☆ Every character will have a small, pale lilac mark where they were touched on the chest. It will fade over the next few days.
☆ Your character will wake up naturally from the Dreaming, they will feel peaceful and refreshed.
The lake, if they choose to swim in it while dreaming, would be perceived as the perfect ambient temperature for them — some characters may prefer it to be warmer or colder!
☆ If they duck below the water, they will see far-off glittering city lights, but no matter how they try to swim towards them they will never get any closer!
☆ If your character tries to drink the water, they might notice that for a few minutes after they wake they can hear little snippets of NPC thoughts. Weird!
☆ Every character will have a small, pale lilac mark where they were touched on the chest. It will fade over the next few days.
❀ FETCH QUEST
CONTENT WARNING: REFERENCES TO LIGHT APHRODISIAC EFFECTS
A small, perky woman corrals you somewhere near the latrines. "Hey!" she says insistently, pushing her hat back and sending a spill of inky curls askew from her forehead. "We need a hand. There's this plant we get for Sunya — the Doc? You met her yet? — it's a painkiller. Go through a shitload of that, which I'm sure is quite surprising," she says all this in a single breath, and her expression is sour despite her cheery tone.
"You any good at botany? We need another round of Starspire root. Can't harvest the ones we've got in camp, they've been a little cranky lately. You'll have to go about four kilometers due west, towards the old Adamant wreck. Just watch them — if they start to sweat, you'll need to get under cover, means the acid rain is coming. I'll upload the specs to your Comm."
Seems like you're being partnered with somebody else for the run — another person looking perhaps about as equally haggard as you, and at least as equally voluntold. Hopefully you won't run into any difficulties — how hard can retrieving one plant be?
A few notes:
A small, perky woman corrals you somewhere near the latrines. "Hey!" she says insistently, pushing her hat back and sending a spill of inky curls askew from her forehead. "We need a hand. There's this plant we get for Sunya — the Doc? You met her yet? — it's a painkiller. Go through a shitload of that, which I'm sure is quite surprising," she says all this in a single breath, and her expression is sour despite her cheery tone.
"You any good at botany? We need another round of Starspire root. Can't harvest the ones we've got in camp, they've been a little cranky lately. You'll have to go about four kilometers due west, towards the old Adamant wreck. Just watch them — if they start to sweat, you'll need to get under cover, means the acid rain is coming. I'll upload the specs to your Comm."
Seems like you're being partnered with somebody else for the run — another person looking perhaps about as equally haggard as you, and at least as equally voluntold. Hopefully you won't run into any difficulties — how hard can retrieving one plant be?
A few notes:
☆ Feel free to have random monster encounters along the way! Don’t forget to wait for approvals on bestiary submissions before incorporating them into threads.
☆ The plants are at a high elevation, so they will exist on rocky outcroppings along a cliff-face. The landscape here is mostly high desert, which means it is full of thin, calf-high grasses, scrub plants, and non arable land polluted by dense, alkaline soil and rocks. Be creative in how you get there!
☆ Somebody gets hurt? Here, chew this root! They said it was a painkiller, right? What's the worst that could happen? (People can get a little ... flirtatious, shall we say.)
☆ Or you could go one step further and try exploring portions of the Adamant! Remember, the ship itself was built to house seventy thousand people — it's the size of a city, and it cannot be adequately explored in an afternoon! If you'd like anything specific to come of this, or if you’d like to know specifics about the Adamant’s layout, please consider submitting a plot request!.
☆ The plants are at a high elevation, so they will exist on rocky outcroppings along a cliff-face. The landscape here is mostly high desert, which means it is full of thin, calf-high grasses, scrub plants, and non arable land polluted by dense, alkaline soil and rocks. Be creative in how you get there!
☆ Somebody gets hurt? Here, chew this root! They said it was a painkiller, right? What's the worst that could happen? (People can get a little ... flirtatious, shall we say.)
☆ Or you could go one step further and try exploring portions of the Adamant! Remember, the ship itself was built to house seventy thousand people — it's the size of a city, and it cannot be adequately explored in an afternoon! If you'd like anything specific to come of this, or if you’d like to know specifics about the Adamant’s layout, please consider submitting a plot request!.
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When the kids come in, the little brother bleeding, Sam's halfway to Nina's side before she even asks for the antiseptic, prepared to jump into a messy job... and quite frankly astonished when it doesn't turn out half as messy as expected.
So Sam assists with quiet efficiency when Nina needs something, and otherwise stands back and lets her work, nearby enough that he can jump in if she requires a second pair of hands. She doesn't, except when she sways. And as she children fuss about each other when all is said and done, Sam steps closer, reaching out to the woman but not touching - merely offering his arm in case she needs to prop herself up, or in case she cannot stay upright on her own and needs catching. ]
So do you, no offense.
[ His lips curls into an easy smile, though. He wonders if she's like Wanda, like Dr. Strange.
Either way, he's happy to tick one of his 'big three' boxes. Between aliens, androids and wizards, she now solidly occupies the latter category. ]
That was impressive. Wanna sit down for a moment?
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Saints, I'd do terrible things for a good sandwich right now. Or to a good sandwich.
[ She flicks her hand subtly in the boy's direction and, satisfied that all is progressing as it should, thinks she will take this opportunity to sit down. She doesn't need help, but her movements are very deliberate as she proceeds to the table where she'd been organizing supplies before the emergency came in. ]
Thank you for your help. I'm Nina Zenik.
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Saints gets a slight quirk of his brows, a question he doesn't bother putting into words right now. He's stopped bothering to assume people are from a world like the one he knows - kinda difficult to hold onto that egocentric notion when you fight aliens alongside people from completely different solar systems anyway. ]
Sam Wilson. Pleasure to meet you. I hear you on the food. Best I can do you is get you some of that delightful protein sludge. The grub here ain't exactly a delight, huh?
[ What he does offer her is a canteen of water, though. ]
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[ She glances from his canteen up to him and then reaches out to take it. She unscrews the cap and takes a deep sip before handing it back to him. She leaves the cap undone to see if he'll complete the other half of the simple sharing and take a sip himself. ] Thanks.
[ Saints, she's tired. That's not how her ability is supposed to be used. ]
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Ain't gonna pretend I understand it, but that took a lot out of you, huh?
[ Magic the way Dr. Strange and his people use it looks easy. Wanda too, though with her he knows there's strain to control the flow of energy. It's all a lot more flashy than this, though. ]
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It's a lot easier for me to break something than it is to fix it. [ She's a soldier. She's never felt bad about that. She's always enjoyed the parts of her work more, though, that deal with the emotions, that enable her to help. Emotions are easy, mending bodies? She's a Heartrender, not a Healer. She sighs a little and moves to begin rolling bandages. ] But I suppose that's true for most things. None of his internal organs were damaged, so it was mostly skin, not that deep. I'll be fine in a little bit. Thank you for the water.
[ A smile with a bit more shine on it now. ]
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[ Sam flicks her a grin, easy and comfortable, because he gets that - not on the magic level. But he can squeeze his finger round a trigger and know just what that bullet shreds inside a human body, but he also knows how much time and effort goes into fixing that sort of damage - if it even can be fixed. The subject matter's dark, but the conversation isn't. ]
Anytime. We gotta look out for each other, too.
[ Can't have the people who're putting others together keel over. ]
So you can heal anything, long as it's not organ deep?
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[ She looks up at him brightly. ]
And you? What's your experience in dealing with the sick and wounded?
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[ Sam reaches to help her. Idle hands and all that - the Aid Station always has something to do, something to keep you busy, even when no one currently needs your immediate attention. ]
Used to be pararescue. That's... hm. [ He thinks briefly on how to phrase it so he doesn't just get a blank look from her. ] Official pitch is: specially trained military units tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian crisis and combat environments. So I ain't the guy you come to with a cold, but when you get shot.
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Her brow furrows as she listens, giving him her attention. ]
It sounds like you're describing a specialized field medic. And you're a soldier as well?
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[ Another easy smile, like they're discussing his job as a sales person with benefits and promotions. He takes the seat, committing to the conversation and the task until something else comes up. ]
Used to serve. More of a freelance agent these days.
[ Vigilante sounds nasty, and superhero sounds pompous when said to someone from a world in which caped superpowered beings might not be all that common. ]
What about you?
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She doesn't feel any threat off of Sam. This is the sort of conversation that needs to happen in order to build something. But it's strange to explain the sort of things that have never needed explanation. ]
I serve in the Second Army. Or - served, I suppose. [ Says the person who probably looks least like a soldier in this entire encampment who is over the age of 14. And the distinction is important, between serve and served, because her general is here and he no longer has the sole command of her loyalty. ] We are not at war here.
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Served, but she said serve at first. So either she's not been out for long, or the out is merely her presence here. Served in an army...
It's a lot easier for me to break something than it is to fix it.
That informs a lot more now. Sam gives her a softer sort of smile, nudges her with his elbow lightly. ]
It's nice to be able to choose how to be of service to people who need it, not be ordered, huh?
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She doesn't hesitate more than a blink, but she does choose:
- Draw back
- Put up a front
- Open the door a cautious crack ]
It's certainly different. [ She tilts her head a little to the side, considering him. Her hands slow in their task. ] How long have you been 'freelancing'?
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Well, I left service 10 years ago... no. Sorry. 15.
[ He frowns, rubs at the back of his neck. Despite the correction, neither number is incorrect - but how do you explain that for you it was 10 years ago, but then you were dead for 5 years, so technically it's 15 years now? ]
I studied to become a counselor for veterans afterwards, worked as that for a couple years, and picked up the fight on a freelance basis 4... shit, 9 years ago now.
[ It's just been 4 years - but again, he lost a couple years there. Feels surreal to think that he's been dead longer than he's been an Avenger, to be honest. That he's been dead longer than Steve has known him, even. ]
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A counselor for veterans - does that mean an advisor for them?
[ It's strange to think about - the only people she knows who have counselors are royalty or high military officials. ]
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[ Sam blinks, holds up a hand and chuckles softly at himself. ]
Yeah, hold on, just occurred to me that might not mean anything to you either. Okay, so... war damages people, right. [ He doesn't phrase it like a question at all. ] Ain't a single person who's seen war and not suffered for it. You bring back baggage, 'cause you see some horrible things. Sometimes you do some horrible things. So maybe you come back, but fireworks sound like explosions, or when you hear certain sounds you think you're back in combat. Maybe every shadow looks like a threat, even long after you've come home from the frontline. Maybe you still have nightmares and can't sleep. Maybe you lost a limb. Maybe you lost people. All that shit affects you, one way or another. It's all trauma, it's all like a wound on your mind and your heart, and wounds gotta get treated so they can heal right, yeah?
[ Sam shrugs a shoulder, glances at Nina to see if she's following what he means. He doesn't know if she has the words for PTSD, for triggers and flash backs, depression and anxiety, but assumes she doesn't. ]
Counseling veterans means trying to help them find ways to cope with all that. To find ways to let those wounds heal best they can, find a way to adjust back to life outside the war.
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What would it be like to suddenly no longer be a soldier? She supposed she was going to find out, but winding up on an alien planet with hostile terrain wasn't exactly acclimating to civilian life.
Her hands have gone still as she listens to him, and now her fingers curl a little around the bandages as she leans in, intent. ]
And how do you do that? Treat those wounds?
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[ It's a vague answer, as Sam sifts through terminology that would mean little to her he suspects, for ways to explain it more easily. ]
Everyone's damage is different. If it's real bad, you might get medication - antidepressants, mood-stabilizers, the works. Those get prescribed by psychiatrists, though. They're meant to assist with depression and anxiety issues, reduce irritability, improve sleep patterns, help ease nightmares, but they're no fix, just... well, they're like painkillers, right. They help, but you gotta do a little more for the healing process.
[ He rolls up another bandage. Having something to do with his hands helps his mind stay on task, too. ]
Talk therapy's most common. I had a lot of groups where I just sat with these vets, and we just... talked. About their experiences, if they were comfortable sharing, or about how things were going in the present. Being understood, being heard, being able to tell these things to other people who just... get it in ways civilians don't, y'know. Work through the things that hold your mind hostage. Learn what sets you off, and how to cope with it, knowing you're not crazy for having those reactions. That goes a long way to help. Reminds people they're not alone. Some people don't like groups though, so you just talk one on one with some. It's about giving people the tools to come to terms with what they went through, turn the pain from a wound into a scar. Guide them through challenging and changing some of the cognitive distortions they experience in their thoughts and beliefs, and improve their emotional regulation as a result. Develop coping strategies, help them re-establish positive social relationships. And then some just need help that seems small for a civilian, like finding a new apartment, finding a new job. Mundane things that can feel monumental if you've done a couple combat tours and barely remember how to be a civilian anymore. So yeah, different for everybody. Mostly, you gotta understand them, find what works for them. Some people just need you to tell them something, some people need you to show them, some people don't know what they need so you figure that out together, too.
[ Sam's eyes go far away for a moment, expression fond. ]
One of my vets... this huge brickhouse of a guy. Honorable discharge due to the injuries he sustained. Drove a truck full of soldiers, just a routine patrol. Thing got blown up. He was the only one who survived. So he gets shipped back home, right, to his wife and his daughter who barely remembers him, 'cause he served almost two full tours - a tour's three years. And he thinks he's fine, right. Except every time he gets in his car he gets real nervous and just... breaks down. Shaking, crying, sometimes for hours. Can't drive his daughter to school. Can't find a job, 'cause he needs to drive himself. Feels useless, 'cause he can't drive him and the wife to the store to buy groceries. Dude was real bad with words, but I mean... wasn't that hard to figure out. He felt guilty, felt responsible. He drove the truck, but he survived. Doesn't feel like it's safe for him to drive, much less with his daughter and wife in the car. So for weeks, I went to his place, every day. Just got him to sit in the car with me, no driving. Just talking. Man to this day I swear I can recount his daughter's every school adventure and what she had for breakfast, and what kinda toy she really wanted. He loved that little girl, and talking about her. So damn proud. And when he didn't get nervous about being in the car and talking anymore, I started driving him places. Every damn day, I drove him and his daughter to school, him and his wife to the store, and him to job interviews - and to his shifts, when he got a job. And I had him tell me interesting things along the way, y'know. Who lives in that house, what's up with that weird looking tree on the corner there. 'Cause if it's just him, he starts thinking... there might be someone hiding there with a grenade launcher, and they're gonna blow up my car. Or he might think, that pothole could hide a landmine, if I drive over it everyone in this car will die, just like my squad died. Irrational, but he couldn't help it. His mind just slid sideways, and there was nothing he could do about it. I taught him other things to focus on. Taught him a couple breathing techniques too, for when he'd start feeling nervous. Mostly, taught him to be able to relax and be comfortable in a car again, and learn to trust himself again. Learn to accept that it wasn't his fault, and how to handle the guilt when it snuck up on him. And then one day, he asked to try and drive the car into the garage. Just that. Can barely be called a drive, I mean it was like a couple of feet. But it was a victory. And then a couple days later, he drove the car down the road before I had to swap in. And it was a little more every day after that. Took us a while until he could drive the car himself with more people than me in it. Took us a longer while until he could drive the car with his wife and daughter, without me there with him. But we got there. And his daughter's growing up now, and he's teaching her how to drive now. He still got bad days, cause... it never goes away fully, y'know. Like a scar that sometimes hurts. But he's doing good. Still calls me sometimes to talk my ear off about his daughter.
[ Sam grins at her. ]
Just like I'm talking your ear off.
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She returns his smile. ]
No, I appreciate the example. We don't have anything like that, in Ravka. But then, our war isn't anywhere close to being over.
[ And... even then, she's not sure they'd have anything like it. Although those are the sort of things she is uniquely qualified to deal with... and it's worth mentioning. ]
We do have some things to help alleviate the pressure... Heartrenders can do more than just dull physical pain, we can ease someone's mind, help them find rest... but you're right, those effects are only temporary. And ultimately the goal would be so that they would no longer need those interventions, yes?