returnjourneylogs | PORT: MEODRIOTOPE

Entry tags:

PORT: MEODRIOTOPE

Feb 11, 2022 – Feb 13, 2022
Welcome to Meodriotope! (Try spelling that without double-checking. I double-dog dare you.) This is our first port. Ports are, as the name implies, a visit to "shore", which can be just about any planet in the Oos Galaxy. This time, the Peregrine is dropping in on a flower-gathering errand, but it's a good opportunity for characters to stretch their legs.

The full OOC write-up for the port is here. If you have any questions about the event, please ask here.

1. Disembarking

For some passengers, this will be the first time they've touched land in almost forty days. Is it unusual, stepping down onto solid ground and breathing cool, fresh air? Is it frightening, to look upon the sea of blue grass and pale sky and realize you have never been so far from home? Is it exciting? Awe-inspiring? Gross, because who likes the outdoors anyway?

Of course, not everyone will disembark. Inmates cannot leave the ship without a warden as escort, and wardens will be responsible for inmates in port — they don't have to be glued to each others' sides, of course, but it's harder to make trouble under a watchful eye.

2. Camp

There'd be a lot of walking without the ATVs, so the Navarch has deployed both vehicles to serve as transport and support for housing. The campsites, once set up, look very much like regular Earth camping — turns out at some point in human development, people pretty much perfected what a rapid set-up/rapid tear-down camp can be, give or take some aesthetic trappings. A sleeping bag is a sleeping bag. A camp stove is a camp stove. It's just cooler when it's made of sleek white metal with designer rounded edges and blue lighting, and all.

There are four tents set up, each sleeping 4-6 people, so even if everyone decided to camp, it won't be too crowded. They are equipped with a solar-air tube that can generate power from sunlight, so they are climate controlled and have built-in lighting. An additional tent serves as a mess tent, though you'll all be eating on little folding chairs. Plastic trunks store rations. Those who want a bit of local fare will have to work for it.

Wardens also have a locked toolbox containing a hatchet, a firestarter, and a pair of utility knives. Should be handy for setting up a campfire at night. Shame no one picked up marshmallows from the commissary; that would have been nice.

3. [Mis]adventuring

There's plenty to see out in the world of Meodriotope:

Burrowing holes — Beware your ankles: the fields are home to colonies of littari, rabbit-like creatures the size of labradors. They leave large holes that are easy to fall into, if you're not watching where you step. This time of year, they usually stay deep in their warrens, but occasionally they pop up to smell the wind and scavenge for edible plants in the thick grasses. They're largely harmless, preferring to flee when possible, but they may go for the calves with their large, blunt teeth when cornered or struck. (They also taste good with mint sauce.)

Lover's Kiss — These little plants can be difficult to find, as they thrive under the grasses' shade, but when you find one, you find a lot of them. Each vine has fifty or more bright, red blooms, pinched at the sides and bowed in the middle like a pair of juicy lips. The Navarch requests that they be harvested; they're used in medicines on a neighboring planet and the Admiralty has asked the Peregrine to pick some up while we're in the area. Be careful, though: if you pluck them too roughly, they'll explode, and the red markings take weeks to wear off skin, even with dutiful scrubbing.

The Fishwives' Village — Five hours west is a small village close to the shore, home to...well, who knows if they're wives, but they have fish heads and bodies with humanoid arms and legs, and they wear little robes. Kind of like reverse mermaids. They are quite small, barely reaching four feet tall, and they speak their own language, leaving communication to little gesticulations and gestures. They live in small stone huts, arranged in concentric circles with a small market in the middle, and barter roast seafood, handicrafts, crabgrass beer, and small tools for off-world goods. Most of their culture seems to revolve around fishing and goods made of woven grasses. The fishwives are fussy about outsiders and carry little fishing spears when they visit, just in case.

The Shoreline — Long, long, long coastlines looking out at the sea, with beaches made up of smooth stones. There are plenty of interesting sea creatures to see in the rocky tide pools, but try not to handle anything indiscriminately (many things bite and some of those things are venomous). You can walk a long way out before the water gets deep, but be careful and make sure you aren't too far out when the tide comes in.

Rock Formations — Weathered in fascinating shapes from centuries of storms and high winds, these formations curl across the southeastern plains. They make swooping sounds when the wind passes through them, like deep and echoing woodwinds. Suneoff, resembling cat-sized mudskippers, dwell in the formations' shadow, while the bat-like knassu nest in the better protected crannies.

4. A Very Wet Last Day

Looks like we didn't manage to miss the rain. The storm clouds on the horizon take their sweet time to arrive, but on the last full day before departure, wardens and inmates will wake to the sound of heavy rain on the roofs of their tents. For some, it may be a struggle to leave the warm, dry confines of the tent to venture into rain. It's the kind that comes down relentlessly, soaking you to the skin within minutes, and cold to boot.

To make matters worse, the rain has transformed the long grasses into a veritable slip-n-slide. Step too quickly and you might find yourself shooting down a sloping hill, or at the very least on your ass. Visibility drops to barely twenty feet ahead.

Packing up in this? Ugh. We have to be back on the ship by nightfall! Anyone who isn't aboard gets left behind.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I plan to go camping, and while we're all out there get to the village at some point. So if you're going to camp that'd be appreciated.

[Alex just raises an eyebrow at her jumpiness. He also registers that weird uncanny feeling. Hmmm--that's twice now. He's going to start watching for it, to gather more information.]

Oh... I was planning on staying closer to the ship, sorry!

[ A little hapless shrug. She DOESN'T explain why she'd need a sleeping bag, if that were the case. ]

So why do you need a sleeping bag then?

[Because it is the next logical question. Sorry Grace. Alex is just gonna stick his hands in his pockets and wait for an answer.]

[ Oops. ]

...Um.

[ Her eyes dart around, making sure nobody's in earshot, before leaning in a tiny bit to whisper: ]

These beds here are terrible. I can't sleep. I think if I had a sleeping bag, it'd be easier. Please don't tell anyone?

[Alex automatically leans closer, briefly lamenting again that his powers are locked away or it'd be easier to hear her still. An eyebrow raises with her admission, along with a small chuckle.]

Nah. I'm saving up my tickets for a better blanket and pillow myself. I'm surprised the wardens don't have it more comfortable though.

Only a little. More room, sure, but it's not like I have a ton of stuff to put in it... I think it's mostly homesickness, anyway.

[ A beat. Then: ]

I shouldn't talk, when you're in the dorms. Is it terrible? Do you feel unsafe?

[Alex tilted his head at the question.]

Not particularly? I mean it's not the most roomy or comfortable--but I'm an inmate.

[Alex didn't like it necessarily, but he'd expected it given his status.]

Have you tried the S.i.R.E yet? It might help with your homesickness. Or might make it worse--I dunno.

Mm.... that thing, I don't know. That 3D-VR stuff always gives me headaches.

[ She gives a non-committal shrug. ]

Maybe it could be useful for some things, but... you might be right about it making things worse. I think maybe we should let somebody else try it first and tell us if it's worth it or not? Not that I'm scared of technology or anything, just... you know. Wary.

[ Grace looks around the loading bay, almost like she's looking for a distraction. ]

So you said you're going to the village? Looking for anything in particular?

I used it recently. It's...

[Alex paused, thinking about how to describe it.]

It's immersive, but a little uncanny. You know it's not real, but it seems like it is. I suggest you try it at least once so you know what you're in for and what it's like--take another warden with you, since I doubt you trust any of us inmates.

[But she'd need all the tools they had, and know how to use them, if she was a warden. It was a practical suggestion.]

Not particularly? Not sure I'd be able to buy anything even if I was. But it's not here, and it's an alien planet and that is fucking cool.

[ She winces a little, at the implication that she wouldn't trust an inmate. Makes her sound like... judgemental, or closed-minded, or something. Or just bad at her job. ]

It's nothing personal! To be honest, I don't trust most of the wardens, either... That'll come with time, I'm sure. Right now, it's... everything's so new. Unfamiliar.

[ But you know what, alien planets ARE cool. ]

I guess I hadn't thought about it that way. That is pretty cool... if the folks back home could see me now! Nobody'd believe it.

[Alex wasn't even trying to get under her skin this time, but he noticed that wince. Filing it away in his mind with what else he knew about Grace--which was still very little. But then, he knew very little about most of the wardens. Except Lucifer, who'd been fairly open so far. Or Claire, at least where medicine was concerned.]

Like I said, it's also not here. This may be a very nice prison, but it's still a prison in many ways.

A prison with field trips, at least?

[ Grace offers an affable shrug, and a little apologetic smile. ]

I'm going to try looking for those creepy flowers. You think if we get enough we'll get a prize?

[ Okay, wishful thinking. But still! Grace would accept payment in Jolly Ranchers at this point. ]

Normal Prisons have 'field trips' too, often to do manual labor. Picking up trash along the side of the road and stuff.

[Sorry Grace, Alex isn't exactly the cheeriest of people.]

I think if we do it'll be more work. I'll probably try and find some myself, see if there's any info on them in the Resource Library later too.

[ Oh. What a buzzkill... She can't blame him, though. Perspectives. ]

Might be a good idea. She said it was for medicine but... there's lots of different kinds of medicine. Admittedly she was a little vague, even for me.

I'm surprised you don't message her and ask then. You get to do that as a warden right?

We're not really supposed to bug her with stuff... I think the idea is to try the owl first, which, admittedly, haven't done that yet. He might just say "classified" or something, though.

[ And if it stops there, then what? ]

Ask him "why?" if he says that. Find out if there's a rabbit hole that needs diving down.

It's worth a try. After all, no reason not to distrust the Navarch, while we're distrusting everyone else on board, right?

[ She tries a smile. It almost, sort-of works. ]

[Alex gives a small chuckle.]

Wouldn't be the first time I've helped unravel a conspiracy, Grace.

[ She shrugs, giving a little hum, and pops back down onto her heels to check another bag of supplies. ]

Statistically, good ol' fashioned incompetence is more likely.

Doesn't mean there isn't one anyways.

[Alex shrugs and moves to look over the rest of the supplies still around.]

I'll keep that in mind!

[He's digging in a few of the supplies himself, before pulling something out.]

Catch!

[Making sure she's looking up before he tosses the rolled up bag her way.]

I'd go put that in your dorm now. Blame me if you get in trouble, and you can owe me one later.

[ Miraculously, she catches it without bobbling it-- it's poofy enough to get a good hold of first try. And, upon looking it over, it's exactly what she was looking for. If her eyes could sparkle like a thrilled anime character's, they would. Don't tell Travis. ]

...You're my new favorite inmate!

[ A smile-- genuine, not nearly as awkward as the ones where she tries. And she's off towards the warden apartments like a shot. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

PORT: MEODRIOTOPE

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject