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

[ Scott tries to think of a way to explain what's happened to his life coherently. He hasn't managed it yet. Not to Veronica, not to Rey, not to anyone. At first he'd just avoided talking about it because he thought it sounded too fantastical, too weird. Or maybe he was just making excuses, so he didn't have to think about shame. ]

I was field commander. [ He drugs his fingers on the simulator controls for a second, thinking it all through. ] I know where that was going to take me. "The Mutant General". We were fighting for survival, fighting not to be attacked just for existing, but...we were supposed to be fighting for acceptance. Somewhere along the way, I don't know, the person I was supposed to become wasn't...enough, and he lost sight of something. He made a mistake he couldn't see, took a step off the path in the wrong direction, and it all just broke down from there.

[ He catches himself clenching his other hand, nails digging hard into his palm. Scott stares at it, as though he can't quite comprehend how it got that way. ]

I don't really have all the answers for why it happened. But I know that as much as I love my team, as much as I know they love me, they've been covering for me. I make the plans and give the orders and let somebody else do the talking when it has to get done. When I can't get the words out, when I can't explain myself, Jean'll read my mind and mediate. But they can't— we can't keep doing that forever. It's not helping any of us. And the way I am right now, I can see what they're struggling with, where they're falling apart...and it kills me that I can't help them like I want to.

[ He shrugs a little, his lips quirking in a not smile as he looks back at Jason. ]

Just telling you all that was kind of like pulling teeth for me. But what good is having a pile of plans and seeing all the moves if you can't hold everyone together? I think I've spent a lot of time already on just figuring out how to keep everyone alive. It's time to start figuring out everything else.

[You have to go pretty far for something to be truly weird for Jason. When your life story starts with 'I was left in the forest by my mom because a goddess told her to and then I was raised by wolves' nothing really phases you much. He's not sure what he expects to hear from Scott, but after his exercise with Rey he makes an active decision NOT to say anything until he's certain of what Scott means to tell him or wants his opinion or thoughts on.

Which is hard, because listening to Scott's story makes Jason come up with SO many questions. However, when Scott admits that even telling him that much was tough, he realizes that actually asking even half his questions is going to prove difficult.

Where to start then? He's hesitant, he doesn't want to cause Scott to shutdown the same way he'd caused Rey to.]

I understand what some of that is like. At one point I was the praetor of the whole twelfth legion. Being the designated leader is...[he trails off, because 'hard' doesn't quite capture it. Not the burden of expectation, the need to keep so many people unified and acting as one while also remembering that their individuals and (at least in his case) teenagers.] it's not something that most can manage for long periods of time and still do it well. If you can get one aspect of it right, there's usually another part that you can't pull off.

[He falls silent again, thinking over what he's said and wanting to convey the next part carefully (or at least try). Jason felt he was good at relating to people, to establishing trust, but his ability to conform to what others wanted him to do was not something he was good at. From what he gathered from Scott, he was great at planning and tactics but perhaps the people skills required to be a leader that people will automatically listen to without question or dissent was weak. He sighs.]

I can't speak for you of course, but maybe that's another reason we both agreed to join this group. Incentives aside. Maybe this is a way for us to improve on where we're lacking so we can go home to be the people our respective teams need us to be.

You can tell me if I'm wrong, but maybe we can help each other with that.

[ He's not Rey, he doesn't react on gut alone. And to be fair, he knows that his story provokes a lot of questions. Questions Scott's dreading answering, some he doesn't even have answers to yet. He knows his life doesn't really seem to make sense. It doesn't even make sense to him some days.

But in fact, Scott was never really here because of the incentive. Not really. It'd just been about trying to find space to find those answers. Trying to do what Jason said— make up for what's lacking. ]

It's something like that, yeah.

[Jason offers a slight smile. He feels encouraged now that he hasn't messed up with another friend.]

Well...then I guess we need to get to work then.

Guess we do.

[ He suppresses the urge to breathe a sigh of relief, but he can feel something loosen between his shoulders. Jason wouldn't be wrong to keep pressing the conversation, but Scott's not sure how much he's up for elaborating. ]

All right. [ His voice pitches a little louder, used to talking to a program that can talk back now. Something in the room at large. Danger habits die hard. ] We're going to solve a mystery. One that's dependent on convincing people to help, interrogating people to find clues. [ Scott turns back to Jason, raising his eyebrows a little. ] Anything else?

[They'd come here with a purpose in mind and Scott admitted himself that revealing what he already had was a challenge for him. One step at a time, Jason figured he could learn more another time or maybe more would come out on its own.

Jason thinks about their options.]

I think those would be the main things if we're focusing on our specialization. [He recalls the description of the specialization and then shakes his head.] Wait. We aren't always going to be acting as mediators like in Hanabira. Sometimes we're going to have to infiltrate too. The last time I had to do an undercover mission we got busted within the first hour. I'd rather not repeat that...even if the reason we were busted was kind of extenuating circumstances.

[Which is code for someone saw through his disguise and manipulated the situation by using the ghost of his mother. So while that is unlikely to happen again, Jason still feels guilty for the fact that they blew that one.]

That's a good point.

[ Scott struggled just figuring out how to assimilate to Hanabira. He's pulled off infiltrations before, but nothing long-term, and nothing where he didn't already know the culture he'd been trying to mimic. It's one thing to pretend to be a frat boy for an hour or two. ]

We usually rely on Jean to just...make people not see things we don't want them to see, at home. Like the fact that we're there snooping, or that we don't blend in.

Hm. Yeah, we had someone on our team who could do something similar.

[Technically two -- since Piper could convince people of just about anything with enough will power but he wasn't sure if it really compared to some of the tricks Hazel could manage with the Mist.]

But if we don't have those people, it's going to be more vital to rely on our ability to convince people that we belong.

Agreed.

[ And right, now, there's a long list of places and situations where Scott knows he'd fail at blending it. Ones with a heavy reliance on actual social skills, for a start. Not saying the wrong thing, or not struggling to express yourself adequately. ]

So we need a situation where we have to keep a cover story and we have to rely on our ability to talk our way out of trouble instead of fighting it out. And...I think that might good to start?

[ Scott's actually got no idea what the simulation's going to kick out for them. But that's half the fun, right? ]

We win if we solve the mystery without getting caught and we lose if we blow it so badly someone catches on and we get cornered. [ Maybe that's not specific enough? It's hard to know more how to define the parameters of success. ] Partial credit if no one catches on to our cover but we don't solve the mystery.

Sounds good to me.

[Jason feels the anticipation building now. He likes a good challenge and this is definitely going to push him out of his comfort zone. But, he asked for this and he knows it is something he needs to work on. Although given his track record of 'taking his way out of trouble' he isn't too confident about a win. But surely they can avoid losing, right?]

Well, are we ready to get started then?

Ready to rock if you are.

[ Only Scott could say that with genuine enthusiasm and sincerity, completely oblivious (and/or uncaring) of what a giant nerd he seems like in that moment. ]

Okay, uh— Computer, kick us off.

[ And the lights dim, and a virtual fog rolls in as the buildings begin to construct themselves out of sparks and shadows. There's a sensation of color dimmed, taking on a dreary, overcast tinge, like the sun never reaches the streets, and the only true light comes from the streetlamps, sickly and yellow.

Of course there are suddenly suits, and fedoras. It wouldn't be a mystery without some well-dressed fellas in spiffy suits. ]

[At least it wasn't a pun? Given who Jason typically paired with, he had been half expecting one. He is certainly not one to judge the 'coolness' factor of another person though.

Jason doesn't dwell on it long, given the fact that their environment is rapidly changing around him. If he hadn't been told it was a computer program, he would have compared it to what Hazel could do with the Mist. It looked and even felt very real. He couldn't help it and let out a whistle.]

That is impressive. I guess I was still expecting it to seem like some cheap 3D effects or something.

[It's about then that Jason realizes their clothing has also been altered. He raises a hand and pushes back the brim of his fedora. He doesn't quite have the haggard look of a noir detective, but he does pull off the look handsomely all the same. He looks at their surroundings, trying to get a feel where they should be heading to.]

So where should we start do you think? Don't mysteries like this typically start with meeting a client of some kind?

[ Okay, Scott has to admit, it's almost as good as the Danger Room. (In an impulse of loyalty she might not reciprocate, he refuses to elevate anything about Danger, especially something without a brain.) ]

There's got to be something that tells us who we're supposed to be, right?

[ He starts searching in the pockets of his suit, looking for some kind of ID. ]

Maybe we've got an office, and we'll find the client there.

[ Unbuttons his coat, and fishes a wallet and a small notebook out of an inside pocket. He flips it open, squinting through his shades in the faint light. ]

Sam Howlett. [ A beat. ] I thought private eyes had cooler names than that.

[An office. Well, that would make sense. They would need an address then or a business card. Which is what Jason produces from a pocket of his own. He reads aloud.]

Sam Howlett & Morgan Fox
[Insert Street Address]

Howlett and Fox...no that sounds about right. Could have been worse though...at least neither of us ended up with the name Dick.

[Jason looks around for a street sign and sees they're on the corner of one of the streets listed on the card.]

It looks like our office is that way. We might find more information there...or what else is in that notebook?

I definitely don't need any more people in my life calling me "dick".

[ Though usually, they go for jerk or asshole. Sometimes murderer or madman, but Scott doesn't cop to those. That one belongs to another Summers. ]

Uh, it says— [ Flipping through the pages. ] Something about a "Purvis crew" and someone named "Adele" who works at the... [ Squints. ] Starlight Shimmy. That cannot be a real place.

['Dick' has fallen out of popularity as an insult, even where Jason was from. Still, he felt appreciative all the same that neither of those names were in play here, since he was fairly certain that was a common detective name.

Jason leans over to look at the notes, making sure Scott read the name right.]

No...that's what it says. My guess is it's a club of some kind. [Since what else could it be.] The Purvis crew sounds interesting and so does this Adele person. I think our options right now are either to check out our office to see if we have more information on those people there or head down to this Starlight Shimmy place. Though, I guess if you don't have an address, we'll have to find that out as well.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ▸ RETURN TO HQ

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