epidemiology | EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

RETURN TO HQ

After a tough mission, it's time to return to Headquarters for a well-earned rest. Hathaway's medics and healers are there to patch up any lingering injuries (as are any teammates with healing abilities!), everyone's room is tidied up for them, and the entirety of Hathaway HQ is ripe for exploring. Take your time -- you earned it.

Also sharing downtime at HQ are Guilds Horatio, Montague, and Watchman, composed of humanoids of various shapes and sizes. Temporary pop-up shops down in the promenade include a spa where one can get a manicure, pedicure, or other beautifying procedures; a yoga studio; and an imported salt cave for meditation.

After a few days of silent relaxation, members of Guild Ophelia will all receive a text message on their magitek from Imogen -- their Guild Master, if they don't remember. Imogen, while not directly involved in any world-saving affairs, has a rather sizable amount of inheritance that she puts towards the Hathaway cause. Specifically, she uses it to finance Ophelia's endeavors. This sort of makes her in charge, or as much in charge of this rag-tag team as any one person can be.

Hello, Ophelia!

Once again, allow me to congratulate you on your successful mission in Hanabira. I hear the wedding went smashingly. Hathaway's analysts should rift down someone to check in on your success in several years, but the mathematicians are confident your solution has brought peace to the region.

One should never rest on their laurels, however. From what I've seen in magitek messages, this guild is sorely lacking in the ability to work together and trust all guildmates, regardless of who they are. I've spotted more than a few barbs exchanged. Hanabira will be only an exception if you continue to behave this way.

We'll be conducting guild bonding exercises today. While they are not mandatory, I assure you I've procured incentive for you all to participate. It isn't cheap to finance your exploits, and I won't spend my resources on a group of ruffians slinging insults at each other.

Meet by the memorial fountain in one hour, and do try to bring a positive attitude.

Your Guild Master,
Imogen

Those who choose to participate will find Imogen, a very prim and graceful elf dressed in elaborately embroidered robes, standing near the fountain. She greets everyone by name -- "nice to see you" and "glad you could make it" -- before directing them to the training rooms on the upper deck.

The training rooms include run-of-the-mill exercise equipment and the training simulation room, both of which are free to use by participants and non-participants alike. A tall, strong-looking man whom some may recognize as their recruiter is making use of the equipment. His name is Khalef, and he is happy to answer questions about the training facilities or anything else about Hathaway.

Between exercises, Imogen is available at the memorial fountain to chat but she's otherwise busy with paperwork.

▸ SECRETS

Two partners sit in a room furnished only with two (very comfy, if it matters) chairs and a table between them. On the table sits -- floats, really -- a colorful orb, softly glowing. It is comfortably warm to the touch.

The instructions automatically flash across the participants' magitek, thanking them for participating and asking them both to answer the following questions with complete honesty to gain the most from this exercise. Then, the first question pops up: What is something you like about your exercise partner?

It seems simple enough. If a participant tells the truth, they will notice the orb's glow brightening, almost as if it is starting to flame. If a participant lies, they will notice the orb's glow dimming. Otherwise, there is no penalty for lying.

The questions slowly get more personal, with the aim of getting the two partners to open up to each other:

If a crystal ball could tell you the future, what would you want to know?

What’s the one thing you would like to change about yourself?

What are you most proud of accomplishing?

What do you think existed before the universe was created?

What do you think is the worst crime a human could commit?

Do you think jealousy has value in driving people to improve themselves, or is it a purely negative emotion?

If you could start your life over, what would you do differently?

If you were given only one week to live, how would you spend it?

Who had the greatest impact on your life? What was it?

What’s the difference between justice and revenge?

Is it possible to live a normal life and not ever tell a lie?

Do the ends justify the means?

Are some people’s lives worth more than others? Why or why not?

Complete this sentence: "I wish I had someone with whom I could share..."

If a loved one died, but someone created a perfect copy, would they be the same person and would you love them just as much?

If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.

( Mod note: the above are just ideas! You can pick and choose, or come up with your own. Whatever is most fun for you! )

If the two partners truthfully answer their questions, the orb will eventually catch fire, although it will curiously still remain only pleasantly warm if anyone attempts to touch it. It will blaze until it burns out, leaving two small marble replicas in its place. When one of the partners grasps it in their hand, they will be able to see through the other partner's eyes for one minute (although they will not be aware of their own surroundings, so you might want to be in a safe area). The other partner will be aware of this and able to sever the link by removing the marble from their person. These items are bound to their owners and cannot be used by others.

If one or both partners lie, the orb will eventually fizzle out entirely, and the magitek will inform them that the exercise was failed due to deceit.

▸ RIFTING

Next, guild members are directed to the rifting pad located on the upper deck. Technicians scurry about in the rifting area, spinning dials and taking readings, as volunteers are directed to stand on the rifting pad and wait. It's just like rifting to a different universe for a mission -- the world goes bright and then, in a flash, you're standing somewhere else -- except the technicians emphatically explain this is not a mission. It's still part of the training exercise, you see!

Participants have been rifted to an unpopulated garden planet, in the middle of a forest clearing. The grass is tall -- nearly 150 cm in height -- and is surrounded on all sides by forest. A notice pops up on your magitek that informs you there is no aggressive local wildlife, but there are aggressive plants: including, unfortunately, your goal for this part of the exercise.

Spread throughout the forest are aggressive willow trees, sentient flora that will lash out with sharp, clawlike branches at anyone who comes too close. The branches have incredible reach, but the trees have no other defense, and are rooted to the spot so they are also unable to maneuver. The goal of the exercise is to gather as many willow seeds as possible, ostensibly without hurting the trees themselves. Willow seeds are around the size of a small marble and have a fluffy attachment that will allow them to blow away on the wind; you can scour the forest in search of them, of course, but the highest concentration is below the willows themselves.

Once participants feel they have gathered enough seeds -- or if they simply want to give up -- they need only speak to the rift technicians via magitek and they will return back to Headquarters immediately.

The participants will each receive a pot of soil and a seed to plant within it. The plant that sprouts from it will be no ordinary plant; it will require no water to sustain itself, but it will require something else: friendship. As the relationship between the two participants strengthens, the plant will grow, its appearance representing how the other participant feels about the plant owner -- pink and red blooms may represent romantic love, whereas bright, multi-colored petals may simply represent a strong friendship or budding blooms may represent... well, a budding friendship. (Of course, there's no "flower guide", so it's up to them to decide how to interpret this.) As the relationship weakens, the plant will wilt and, if the relationship turns sour enough, die. So take care of your relationship and take care of your plant!

▸ COMPOSURE

This exercise completed, participants are free to return to the first deck and go about their business. But on the elevator back down from the rifting pad, the elevator suddenly jerks violently and then stalls. You're stuck! The emergency button doesn't seem to be working, no matter how many times you press it. And for that matter, no messages seem to be going through the magitek, either. You're effectively trapped in here with whomever you stepped aboard -- a friend, an acquaintance, or even a stranger.

But don't panic -- surely Hathaway hired you for your ingenuity and not just your pretty face, right?

The elevator can be broken out of in a number of ways:

If you brute strength the doors open, you'll find that the elevator is stuck halfway between floors. This means that you must either climb up or down to escape the narrow opening, and, if your partner isn't the athletic type, help them out as well.
If you hack the elevator's control panel (prying the panel door off first, obviously), you may be able to guide it up and down the shaft. Depending on your expertise in this sort of thing, the ride may be jerky and uncomfortable, and there's always a risk of the elevator plummeting down to the bottom if you lose control -- although strangely, there's never any impact if this happens, only the elevator springing back up the shaft after the fall. Either way, you should be able to figure out how to get the doors open.
If you open the access hatch at the top of the elevator, you'll be granted access to the elevator shaft. It's a dimly lit tunnel of cables and wires, and unless you're lucky enough to find a service ladder in the midst of all of it, you'll have to use the cables to climb. It's dangerous -- you could lose your footing at any moment and slam back down onto the elevator below -- but you should be able to find a door eventually. And then it's only a matter of figuring out how to get it open.
Or you could try a combination of these, or something entirely different!

No matter what method you choose, once you find your way onto solid ground, your magitek will light up:

Congratulations! You passed the final exercise. Rest assured, you were never in any real danger, I promise!

Your Guild Master,
Imogen

Indeed, if you found yourself falling too far down the shaft, you would have found yourself instantly buffeted by invisible winds to keep your landing soft -- and if you found yourself unable to find a way to escape within two hours, the elevator would automatically start up again.

Those who succeed will receive a flashlight that does not seem to work at first; however, it is capable of taking and storing light from its immediate surroundings, which it can then release into similar light sources or, in the absence of those, floating orbs of light. It is incapable of taking light out of an entire building, for an example, but can darken a room.

▸ OOC NOTES

If you have questions about this log, please direct them to this comment on the plotting post. Questions about the game in general can be directed to the FAQ.

▸ Up now:

Hanabira Bounty Board is still open! Bounties must be turned in by the start of the next mission on 15 April.
Congratulations, Guild Ophelia now has an official uniform! The uniforms may be modified in any way characters like. The FAQ and Headquarters pages have been updated to include the uniform information.

▸ Coming next:

25 March: Mandatory How's My Driving meme. Participation is required to pass March AC.
28 March: April calendar, including news about apps.
01 April: March AC begins, ending on 5 April 23:59 UTC.

▸ Plotting ▸ Hathaway Headquarters ▸ Hanabira Bounty Board ▸ March Calendar

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Rey rolls her eyes. On the bright side she's looking at the wires and not at him, so maybe that goes unnoticed. Cool. He's insulting her now because he's so impatient. ]

Why wouldn't they be?

You keep talking about how you know they're coming, but how do you know that they know anything's wrong?

It's their elevator on their ship. They have sensors for this. [ Two wires connect and the doors slide open the rest of the way. ] Alright, got those. I think some of these might help move us to the next floor so we don't have to climb. [ She doesn't know Poe's experience climbing in ship guts, so she doesn't want to rely on it. ]

[ i mean ... no okay that's pretty valid. he's not a complete stranger but he is very spoiled by having a droid to handle those things 99% of the time. bb-8 keepin it all together.

anyway, he doesn't say anything back. no more bickering. that's ... good? arms still crossed, now with glancing down at the floor. that feeling when you argue your way into getting your way and end up feeling kind of shitty when you win. you know what poe hates? admitting when he's wrong about something. so here we go. ]

[ Luckily he's dealing with someone who has come to understand and have patience for the social stylings of Kylo Ren. Silent surrender as apology is totally a language she speaks. After a few minutes, Rey reaches for her belt and — realizes that she's wearing her Hathaway uniform instead. ]

Do you have anything sharp? [ She looks back over her shoulder. ] I didn't bring my tools with me, and I need to clean some of these wires.

[in times like these it's really clear that leia swapped out her son for essentially the same son. rip.

the good news is that he's wearing the clothes he showed up in. the bad news it it's not like he has a pocket knife on him or something. but...?]

I don't really have anything ... would a belt buckle work? [if not too bad bc that's what he's got.]

Maybe. [ She holds her hand out over her shoulder. ] Take it off. I'll try. [ This is now how Poe imagined someone taking his belt off in a lift going, but here we are. ]

[amazing. how sexual. just kidding he just takes off his belt and hands it over to her.]

Thanks for trying.

[there. he said nice words. he's also trying. trying not to be a dumpster fire.]

[ She spends a moment detaching the buckle after that because she has to do everything herself, then shoves it in the panel and fucks around. ]

It matters to you, so.

[ This she offers cavalierly. Distractedly. ]

I think I've almost got it here, just— [ The lift lurches suddenly, moving too fast and plunging downward. The force throws Rey back and the wires disconnect and it stops again with her knocked into Poe. ]

[since he was against the wall, he doesn't go anywhere and so he catches her reflexively, and now they're ... in a weird kind of hug but not-hug? that knocked his Mood out of him, at least. ]

Are you okay?

[ She shakes off her disorientation, then looks back at him. Trust falls. Very bonding. ]

Yeah. [ She straightens away from him. ] Thanks. Looks like I can move us, but not control the movement. We might be climbing after all.

[he straighten up, too. brushes some imaginary dust off.]

l'm willing to try if you are.

[at least she was up for it after the whole drawn out argument they'd had. he could appreciate that.

his attention shifts upwards to the access hatch on the ceiling.]

How are we gonna ...

[like, to him the answer is obvious and it's "force stuff", but if she wants to climb up on his shoulders, well ... that's a choice and he will support her. emotionally and physically.]

[ She looks up at the hatch, gives it a look over, waffling on it for a moment. She's not pro using the Force when she doesn't have to, generally, because she has the skills to do stuff on her own and the Force isn't a hammer. So she crouches and laces her fingers for him to put his boot in. ]

Hop up, see if you can get it open.

[there's a small ! in his expression like "oh. she will be supporting me emotionally and physically." but he knows she's a badass bitch so he's not going to argue with her. if she wants to lift him up, that's cool. let's do it, fam.]

Sure, all right.

[so he will put his boot in her hands and pending on her lifting him up, he ...

fights with the latch for an inordinate amount of time. like, he gets it, but it was stuck and being a pain in the ass. he really misses bb-8. bb-8 would have done this in like two seconds. he could have held him up baby simba style.]

There! Finally.

[/zelda chest opening noise]

[ Fortunately, all that time spelunking Star Destroyers really paid off. Rey is shredded. Rey has an eight-pack. Like, actually. Anyway, she's 100% lifting him up. It's not easy, she's grunting, but she gets him up there and holds him steady. ]

Great! Now stop celebrating and climb through!

[ Honestly, Poe. She's down here supporting you. ]

Working on it!

[he makes his way up some way. some how. probably with rey lifting him up more and then him using that upper body strength. we're doing it. we did it kids. he made it through and now he's outside the hatch and on top of the elevator.

which means he's going to peer back through, hold his arms out, and ask:]

You need help?

[don't @ him for asking dumb questions; she could force lift herself up IF SHE WANTED TO.]

[ She takes a look around, considers, then runs at the wall of the elevator and springs off of it to get enough lift. She grabs onto his arm and onto the side of the hatch to catch herself.

Can he ... bear her weight ... idk how soft Poe is ok. ]

[IT'S OKAY. HE HAS HER. i rolled for it like a professional. he grabs on and helps her up the rest of the way. look at us, learning valuable lessons about teamwork like imogen wanted us to in the first place.

now that that's taken care of, he will take this moment to examine the terrain.]

Uh ... the climb doesn't look too bad. I don't think.

[ Yeah she'll mostly pull herself up once she has a good grip, but she appreciates the stability from Captain Commander Poe Dameron over here. Good work. He's carrying this Resistance on his back. ]

No, not at all. [ She looks up. Alright, it's like three floors worth by normal person standards, but apparently these are space standards. It's probably like the training room floor or something that they have to go past. High ceilings yanno. Anyway it's shorter than most of what she's done. ] You sure you'll be alright? I can go get someone and come back for you, if you'd rather.

[ She's done this a lot. She's not trying to be patronizing. But like between the two of them the person with the 'climbing around in spaceship guts' experience is ... Rey. ]

[WOW. maybe she wasn't trying to be patronizing but he is still a little bit offended. he is capable of any and everything he puts his mind to!!! he's climbed stuff before. probably. if nothing else, because his dad used to take him out to do rugged nature survival shit on yavin 4. climbing and hiking and idk hunting on a boat with a bear. this got away from me.]

I've got it. I'll be fine.

Alright.

[ She's not going to like ... try and talk him out of it. ]

Follow me.

[ And she gets her hands around some of the support beam, bracing with her feet as leverage against her hands because there's no good horizontal grip, and starts to climb. ]

[ he follows her, and also definitely does sort of ... watch her first. 👀 to make sure he's not gonna heck it up. but once he sees and knows for sure what she's doing, up he goes. it's cool. he's got this. they're on a magical journey. for ... the moment ... ]

You're really good at this!

[she knows???]

I survived on it.

[ Said curtly only because she's focused and okay also because she feels weird being complimented on ... this. ]

Careful. [ She climbs past it but warns him of a sharp surface jutting out with a wave of her hand. ]

[ wow way to tell him just in time for it to get snagged on his jacket. i mean he doesn't fall or anything but it is upsetting because now he'll have to be shitty at sewing things up again.

also, watch him treat this tragic backstory opening with emotional finesse.]

Well, uh ... you're good at it.

[what was that, poe. what.]

[ She hears the tear of fabric and glances down to make sure that the force of it didn't knock him off balance or something. Then she meets his gaze, mr fucking 'you're good at it,' and she turns right back around and finishes climbing up to the nearest floor's doors.

The reiteration feels probing, somehow, and she's not sure it deserves any kind of recognition. It's quite straightforward really. If she hadn't gotten good at it, she'd be dead of starvation. She tries to pull at the doors, but they're locked firmly into place.

Usually, these things have a panel somewhere that's designed to hook up with the lift itself. Trigger some kind of magnetic release. She pulls herself up into the doorway and leans precariously backwards to try and get a look around for where that panel is, but there's nothing. ]

This isn't the same as the star destroyers.

EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

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