EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

[futurologists]

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

Comments

[forcevisions]

[ He takes joy in that, and it turns Rey's stomach. As much as she wants to stop Thrawn, she also takes umbrage with Ben's malice. Better if he were doing it for different reasons than revenge. She's not in a position to lecture him about that right now, however. ]

If we can show they survived the fall of the Empire, we may be able to discourage him from all of this. [ It's a pipe dream and she knows it — his commitment to the cause is too powerful —but she has to at least entertain it. She wants compassion to be the right answer, even when it's not. ] He may have mentioned more to Poe, but ... It's unlikely. He told me that he and Poe hadn't spoken about anything pertaining to politics.

[sololoquy]

Your scenerio in which Thrawn forgives all of this is equally unlikely, I imagine.

[Just saying.]

And I cannot appeal to his sympathies without names.

[Even with names — it wasn’t like he spent much time with the rank and file. He knew some of the older generals, certainly...but those without major achievements in the Empire? No way.

He pauses, and then lets out a shaky exhale.]

It looks as if we are stuck.

[forcevisions]

Not stuck. Just waiting.

[ And she sounds confident in that, at least. They have a direction: testing Thrawn's mental defenses, investigating the specifics of Thrawn's emotional connections within the Empire. That's worth something to her, if not to Ben. ]

Taking time to learn more about him now will help us stop him in a way that matters more than just taking his knowledge of our connection. [ Her voice takes on a quality of gentle reassurance as she punctuates this conclusion with, ] This is good. We have a plan.

[sololoquy]

I do not see the difference.

[Too bad that nothing matters more than that — at least right now. Kylo Ren wasn’t exactly a long term thinker, and its clear that he is not nearly as satisfied by this plan as Rey seems to be.

More importantly, she’s still holding onto his arm, and the extended physical contact is suddenly brought to the forefront of his mind. Rather than reply to the Thrawn situation, he lets his eyes drop downward to her hand.]

[forcevisions]

[ She follows his gaze and feels a surge of heat in the back of her neck and ears. Is this his way of saying she should move it? No. He'd just say that, or pull his arm away. Which means he's just considering it. ]

This way, we're on equal footing. A plan is all he has too.

[ But talking about that seems distant and settled now, so the words hang awkwardly in the air. He's moved onto her hand on his arm.

She slides her hand down, skimming the slope of his arm all the way. While moving, she's not quite decided if she's getting ready to let go or something else. She figures it out when her hand closes in his and she lifts his hand to take a look at his injuries — and if this most recent tantrum exacerbated what would otherwise be mostly healed by now. ]

[sololoquy]

[His hand is tense when she gets to it, slightly resistant to her prying -- not because the trust isn't there, but simply because he's unhappy with the present events. His hands lack their bandages -- not long after returning to Headquarters, he had gone to get his injuries properly seen to. Most of the evidence of the injuries is gone -- just a few light scars where the glass had gone the deepest.

By the end of her observation, the stiffness in his fingers has relaxed some -- but every other piece remains tense.]

Maybe the next mission will play more to our strengths. Instead of diplomacy.

[Leia Organa's son or not, he has no delusions of being particularly skilled in that area.]

[forcevisions]

[ The tension in him does not appear to have any meaningful effect in dissuading her. She brushes her thumb across the scars on his knuckles as he speaks, considering them. He'd done it to himself, yet they still feel like more to the map she has etched into his skin, with new waypoints added all the time. ]

You did alright for yourself. [ Between the festival and the marriage proposal, Ben had at least had the tools to navigate the situation. He may, like her, lack skills in the department of — well, people — but he understands what's going on with them. How the structures work.

Thrawn was supposed to help her with that. She doesn't want to dig into that. He doesn't want to dig into that. But the loss is hitting her properly now where it had felt somewhat distant before. She'd gotten too attached, too quickly — again.

She lets that go, lets the loss move her and then moves past <>it. ]

Those pearls were a good idea. [ She looks up at his face instead of at his hand. Reluctantly, she lets his fingers slip out of hers. ] And with the ambush at the festival.

[sololoquy]

[She's...fiddling with his hands. He doesn't quite understand what she is doing, or why she is doing it. Surely she didn't feel responsible for something he had done himself, even if she was mostly to blame for it. By now, he's drawn the conclusion that she feels guilt rather easily -- but this seems to be a little much.

So -- what? Academic curiosity? No...its not curious exactly. But the Force is a poor translator.

He absorbs what she says to him while he tries to decipher what more they have to discuss, eyebrows pinching in confusion. Not that anything she said was wrong but--]

You're flattering me.

[That's definitely a call out, by the way. Maybe she doesn't realize it.]

[forcevisions]

[ His accusation draws her up short, and something in her flares with an instinct to defend herself. Maybe she should point out some of the stupid things he'd done on the mission too — but he's already keenly aware of his shortcomings in diplomacy, and they're less than her shortcomings in politics, so. She doesn't really see any benefit down that path. At least no benefit that isn't tinged with hypocrisy. ]

I'm pointing out that you weren't entirely useless. [ She huffs it out. Honestly how dare? It's not like she doesn't think he's capable; if she didn't, this entire conversation wouldn't be a Thing. But apparently one of the rules she didn't know about is that she isn't supposed to say so. Directly, at least. Which is stupid. But stars, his ego apparently is doing just fine for itself, so she backs right the fuck outta there.

She'd assumed because he hadn't tried to shoo her out the door, because he had instigated talk of the next mission, that he wanted her to linger like this. But— ]

Do you want me to go? [ Like, she doesn't want to. Asking probably makes it further evident that she doesn't want to. But she'd come here to a purpose and now that purpose was dealt with and now she's socially awkward. ]

[sololoquy]

[Oh. He said something wrong, probably. His expression relaxes some, trending back to awkwardness. It is easy for him to forget that — someone actually has genuinely nice things to say to him, sometimes. Still, it sounded like flattery. He is pretty sure it was flattery.

The bar is positioned somewhere at the center of the earth. When someone corrects you after you have acknowledged your failures: a concept.]

No.

[Was it a rhetorical question? He answers like he isn’t sure whether or not she is looking for a real answer herself.]

If I wanted you gone, I would have told you to leave.

[Duh.]

[forcevisions]

[ That's what she'd thought up until he made offering compliments sound like a criticism of her. (To be fair, now, in retrospect, she recognizes that may have been entirely her perception and none of his tone.)

Still. Hearing him say it out loud, Rey feels her chest simultaneously tighten and loosen. She gets it, Finn. She does. Nauseous excitement and nervousness and all the paradoxical feelings that went along with it. Achievement unlocked: admitting you want to be in each other's company for the sake of it. ]

Alright.

[ Nailed it. Unfortunately that leaves Rey to parse how flattery had gone wrong and what comes after 'yes, I would like to be in your present beyond necessity.' Someone help these idiots. ]

I wasn't being insincere. [ Her defense is less, this time. ] Everything I said was true. You're good enough with customs and politics that you got by even though our approach wasn't how you'd have handled it on your own.

Me, I was just … [ She gives a gesture of disappointment. Perhaps a nosedive. Then, soberly, ] It was humiliating. The whole thing. [ She'd talked to Thrawn about it. She can't talk to him about it now. ] I'd never felt ashamed of what I am until we were in Hanabira.

[ Which is all to say she agrees, of course, that she can't wait for a mission that's better suited to their skills. Just … she thinks his skills are a little different than hers. He has a refinement that she doesn't. They may both be impulsive, but she's rough around the edges. Straight outta Jakku.

Anyway, she figures this is welcome given his open distaste for Hanabira. He might be surprised to hear how visceral her discomfort was as well. ]

[sololoquy]

[He could say something to make her feel better. Remind her that he was raised in the middle of a Republic capitol, that he’d been surrounded by that life for most of his time growing up — but the thought of acknowledging it makes his stomach churn. Really, the fact that he picks up on his desire to fix his mistake at all is uncomfortable beyond words.

But eventually, he settles on a more appropriate response that doesn’t apologize for his own advantages.]

Don’t be upset.

[Nailed it.]

Not everyone responds well to the game. Even those who know how to play.

[She’d have a better time with it if she weren’t so honest — if she didn’t empathize quite so much. But he doesn’t really know how to voice that advice, or if he really wants to. Rey had plenty of strengeths of her own that had nothing to do with politica.

She’d last a lot longer on a desert planet than he would, for example.]

[forcevisions]

[ She had chased Thrawn down for a way to correct herself, to fix some fundamentally failing aspect and prepare herself for an environment that she was never raised for. Most others who she had conveyed her feelings of inadequacy to had also drifted in the same direction — reinforcing her desire to fix it, to mitigate that failing.

Even after it had been these same failings to some degree which had caused her to make such an abysmal error in judgment with Thrawn, to expose them, Ben offers instead 'don't be upset.' Assurance that it doesn't have to be her strength.

She certainly hadn't expected that from him of all people. She doesn't quite know what to do with it, but she knows that she appreciates it, however stilted the delivery. It reminds her of the glimpse he'd given her of Chandrila. In these little ways, even though it doesn't come naturally to him, he — cares for her.

A smile tugs at her mouth as she looks up at him, gentle and grateful and for him.

For a moment after that, her eyes scan him, but whatever it was in consideration of, she wimps out and instead leans back on ambient conversation. ] Still. Like you said, I'll be glad when we play a different game. [ One she's better at. ] They sent out that announcement about the elective mission. Are you going?

[sololoquy]

[He exhales out of his nose thoughtfully, folding his arms in front of him while he more seriously considers his response.]

I hadn't decided.

[There hadn't been much information, except that they were to be helping new recruits with whatever the mission perimeters were. That could be anything -- and anyone.]

Admittedly, it has been a trying week.

[forcevisions]

With the exercises? Yeah.

[ Rey huffs out a breath. Somehow, those felt more laborious to her than climbing around in the guts of a Star Destroyer. ]

I think I will. [ Even without much information, Rey has that 'if I can help, I should help' attitude. And it'd be nice to get a break from trust exercises and team bonding, to get to know some of the new recruits to Guild Ophelia. ] And And hope that it's not more politics.

[sololoquy]

[He doesn't bother to note that he hadn't really participated in those exercises -- definitely not to the level they were likely expected to. Having the freedom to choose whether or not he had to do something that needed to be done is also a new concept for him.]

It might be.

[And judging by his tone, that's probably a big factor as to why he isn't sure whether or not he wants to go. He considers his reply for a moment, and narrows his eyes a touch as a thought occurs to him.]

I suppose it would also depend on who else was choosing to opt in.

[Not just Rey -- but Thrawn. Dameron.]

[forcevisions]

Because you want to observe him or you want to avoid him?

[ She guesses Thrawn, but not Poe. At this point, she makes a small gesture to his table, as if questioning if she can invite herself to sit at it. To actually settle in here instead of linger awkwardly. She wants to settle into his space, his life, and feel at home there. ]

[sololoquy]

[He doesn't quite understand the gesture out of hand, but finds himself nodding anyway before he's figured out what she is wanting out of him. The answer to her verbal question is probably both things, but Kylo isn't about to admit out loud that he is kind of scared of Thrawn, so:]

Observation is the only way we may find potential exploitation points.

[Thrawn had no doubt been doing the same since they met him.]

[forcevisions]

[ She settles into one of the chairs at the small table, leaning one elbow on it so she can face him still, looking up. Somehow she doesn't expect he'll make himself comfortable — she wasn't sure he knew what the word comfortable meant. Hulking awkward crow for life. But she's going to settle in. ]

Be careful.

[ She's afraid for him. Not being able to get to him quickly enough to intervene with what Loki had done had — well, it felt like a piece of her had split open. She never wanted to feel that again. ]

[sololoquy]

He is bound to the same restrictions we are...

[He has something to lose. A great deal more than Rey — maybe not more than him. Hathaway was the easy ticket to victory, but so far it hadn’t been confirmed to be the only ticket. He had needed to calm down to recognize that, but here is some conviction in his voice. He won’t get away with threatening his future.]

Something to consider.

[He turns to face Rey, but predictably does not seat himself.]

[forcevisions]

[ It hadn't occurred to her until he says it, but yes. Thrawn is more subject to the rules of engagement that Hathaway has laid out than they are. His existence, his future, depends upon it. But ... ]

He's slippery.

[ If anyone could find a loophole to exploit, it would be him. Well before them. And they will indeed be looking for loopholes in order to undermine and sabotage him. They have to. ]

He was going to teach me how to do all of this. [ She finally gives that grief a voice. He was going to help her. He was— He had embraced the role she had foisted upon him, as Han was ready to before he was taken from her (it seems so distant now, a separate life, and dissonant with the affection that she looks on Ben with now). ] He tried to tell me he didn't want anything from me. He can make himself look innocent to Hathaway.

[sololoquy]

So can we. We have more direct influence in that regard.

[Now, he approaches her some, because he knows that she isn’t going to like that implication. They had the Force. Thrawn only had pretty words. But Rey was raised in the desert, where everything was a fight.

He can appeal to that. He understands that, from a different perspective.]

If he will not fight cleanly, then neither should we.

[forcevisions]

[ He's right. It's about survival now, and there's little Rey won't do to survive. She tightens her jaw at the implication. If he could, she is sure Ben would solve all his problems with the Force. But she hasn't relied on it properly for long enough to be the same. ]

And risk our place here because we tried to use it on someone whose own power we didn't understand. [ Survival is important. But surviving more often meant being smart than being aggressive. She knew better than to pick fights further up the food chain for no reason. Especially when she'd have to leave Urahara and Keith if she did. ] The Force isn't a shortcut for us to get away with acting without thinking. We need information on if we can bend Thrawn with the Force before we consider doing anything else.

[ This sort of hard line is hard to draw and she recognizes how snappish she sounds drawing it. So she sighs and shakes her head, deflating some then to get back to the point -- the need for caution if Ben plans to confront Thrawn directly -- and say: ] I don't want anything to happen to you. [ When Loki had cut them off from each other, just thinking something had, considering the possibility of losing him-- she doesn't know what she'd do. Kill Thrawn and damn the consequences, probably. There's a reason it was so easy to imagine falling to the Dark if something happened to Finn. ]

[sololoquy]

[He stops a few feet short from her, letting her get out the tired narrative that he's already heard from her -- that the Force wasn't a shortcut, that they shouldn't rely on it when there was nothing to support their absolute success, that it was amoral to use the Force to manipulate the thoughts of others.

She protests too much. And she gives him an opening that he seeks to lead on -- a test of sorts. After all, he was not so used to people being interested in his well being.]

Perhaps Thrawn is not the one we should aim to bend.

[He senses the honesty in what she says. I don't want anything to happen to you. This is where he should reassure her -- but it is an uncomfortable thought, encouraging her investment. So he settles on allowing her to stay in his space, as close as they could possibly come to one another short of engaging in actual physical contact.]

If the administrative eyes are upon Thrawn, he won't be able to act at all.

[forcevisions]

[ That closeness is like a fog in the forefront of her mind. For a moment, she just lets her gaze flick over him, weighing and considering the lack of space there as though deciding what to do about it.

But what he has said, that's what really demands reply. ]

You want to report him? [ She shakes her head, forehead creasing with confusion. ] For what? They must know already of his intentions to interfere with the timeline; he may have even gone to them about some incentive towards it.

Discovering our bond is not a crime, and there is no way to express those concerns without explaining the nature of it to Hathaway's leadership.