PORT: MEODRIOTOPE

[returnjourney]

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.

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Questions & Answers

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.

Comments

[lessandmorethanhuman]

"They're creepy little things." Alex commented, relaxing a bit with one hand going to his jacket pocket. "You must be new. I'm Alex."

[grindset]

The movement of that hand draws Viktor's eye—just a glance, automatic. He seems to think little of it.

"Yes, I've seen you on the roster. It's good to, eh... put a person to the face, so to speak."

[lessandmorethanhuman]

"That's a very polite way of putting it." Alex said with a bit of sarcasm. "Please tell me someone gave you a briefing? I get that you all are disorganized, but a few of them have been here as long as I have at this point."

[grindset]

"About you, specifically?" He shakes his head, plain.

You never came up—that's a reflex induced by the sarcasm, less than productive and better kept to himself.

"Why—is there something specific you think I should know?"

[lessandmorethanhuman]

"I meant more in general. I'm one of the quieter ones around here, and so far also pretty well-behaved." There's a hint of smirk, and snark in the tone. "But then, I got shit to do back home, and being here is better than being dead, 'specially if I CAN go back and fix things."

[grindset]

Yes, bare-footed man, Viktor is aware of his basic responsibilities—but then, to be fair, he is out here in the middle of gods-only-know-where sitting on a rock by himself. They needn't circle back around to that.

"Ah. Well, on that we can agree; given the choice, I would much prefer being here to being nowhere." His chin lifts, prompting, "'So far'?"

[lessandmorethanhuman]

"So far." Alex repeated, raising an eyebrow. "While I have been bored, and frustrated, I have better ways of dealing with it than random destruction. I also don't see a point in breaking the rules just to break the rules." One shoulder shrugged. "I operate from a position of enlightened self-interest, if that helps. So far, that means I haven't felt a need to cause trouble."

[grindset]

"So far," he repeats, a little humour in the tilt of his head.

"That is something I've been considering, actually—the boredom. This isn't the first time I've heard it brought up."

Both hands brace on the rock, and he pivots to face Alex, lets his bent leg out to hang with its bare-footed sibling.

"What are they? Your... better ways."

[lessandmorethanhuman]

"Mostly, I read a lot. If I can get in the gym, I'll pound on the tall punching bag." Alex shrugged both shoulders. "I haven't seen a point in getting all destructive, and no one here has pissed me off yet, so don't need to think about whether it's enough to do something about." He was frustrated about the situation, most of all.

[grindset]

After a low hum of acknowledgement, "The usual, then... ehh, I think, for those among us who struggle with self-possession, unconventional tactics might be required."

Says this extremely pale man with the wild hair, sitting on an alien rock while wearing only one shoe, his crutch leaning there looking like a wizard staff.

"Say someone did— piss you off." This phrase sounds incredible coming out of his mouth, for the record. "What might you do?"

[lessandmorethanhuman]

"I don't know. Depends on what they did and who they are." It was the honest answer, and Alex wasn't entirely sure what he would do. His abilities were locked away, and it wasn't like he'd just go consume someone because he was angry. Not here, anyways--and probably not back home. He already heard all the people he killed, screaming, in his head, every time he closed his eyes.

[grindset]

"Alright," good to know, "well, can you think of any examples? Perhaps... something... that annoyed you in the past. If you're comfortable sharing that with a stranger on the beach."

[lessandmorethanhuman]

Alex chuckled. "Not something I'm necessarily comfortable sharing with a stranger on the beach." But he was amused. "Trying to do your job already, huh?"

[grindset]

"Eh, I should probably start at some point."

That is: yes. Accidentally and inconsistently, but yes. He flexes his toes, made pale and pink by the springtime chill of the sea.

"Then again, this sitting-on-a-rock method seems to be working out well so far. It may bear further study."

[lessandmorethanhuman]

"Just letting us come to you, huh?" Alex made a soft noise in amusement. "Pretty sure the wardens outnumber us. Odds are in your favor."

[grindset]

"So you've figured out my strategy," comes with as much of a lilt as his voice ever carries these days. The fresh air has done him well. (He's never seen more unsullied nature than this; it's surreal as a dream.)

But, lest he seem wilfully derelict in his duty: "In all seriousness, I just needed a moment to myself. I'm sure you can relate, given that we're both out here instead of gathering creepy flowers with the others—if I recall correctly, you've been aboard for a while now. It must be nice to finally stretch your legs."

[lessandmorethanhuman]

Alex could indeed relate, and didn't really comment except to nod. He wasn't actually that fond of camping--but the chance to be OFF THE DAMN SHIP? He'd jumped at that, even if it involved camping.

Staring out at the water for a bit before he broke the silence. "It's boring on the ship." Alex just had other ways to deal with that boredom and frustration than by acting out and causing trouble. So far.