SET SAIL: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

[returnjourney]

SET SAIL: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

January 1, 2022 – January 7, 2022
Welcome to the new year and the Return Journey's opening event! We're starting with something light to get everyone acclimated and so no one feels they've missed too much if they app after the holiday season. We'd like to make it easy for any new players to jump in right away.

If you have any questions about the event, please ask here.

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The Helpdesk

1. What? My name is who? My name is—

Salutations! Now that everyone's respective warden and inmate orientations are out of the way, you've been given a helpful, mandatory name tag. It instantly appears on your shirt and can't be taken off, though where it appears on your shirt is a bit more unpredictable; it's an imperfect science, so it's just as likely to pop up on the back of your shirt as the front. If you try to remove your clothes, the tag appears on your skin; they're waterproof, so a quick shower won't get rid of it, either. What can we say — it's mandatory.

While the tags all follow the standard "HELLO my name is" format and have your name or most common alias, they also include some other information. For wardens, it features a space that declares "I LIKE" and one or two of your most choices hobbies. For inmates, it features these hobbies and "I have killed [x] people" (this may be a specific number or something akin to "a lot of" or "no"). Fun icebreaker, right?

2. Twenty Questions

Speaking of icebreakers, a brief announcement summons everyone to the observatory. Again, yes, it's mandatory; wardens must retrieve absent inmates before any more information is revealed. Better hop to it!

Upon arrival, passengers will discover that the Peregrine's resident bot force has reconfigured the observatory with small, portable cubicles, each with a transparent wall that retains a lovely view of the observatory's massive window. Each inmate is assigned their own cubicle and, upon entering, cannot leave without a warden's say so; the door only unlocks with a warden's CommLink.

Wardens are tasked with interviewing at least one inmate, to get a feel for their prospective charges. They can have as much time as they need to formulate what questions they want to ask, but that might leave some inmates waiting. Maybe that's on purpose, though. In any case, the exercise is over once an inmate is asked five questions and a warden receives five answers.

Archimedes will collect name tags after the interviews for incineration. The robotic owl is, notably, the only one who can remove them.

3. Polite Picnic

The greenhouse doesn't always have enough fresh produce to go around (and often what is collected is frozen and preserved), but given the circumstances — a new mission and new passengers — everyone can reap the rewards this month...if they share. A bot stationed in the mess hall mechanically tells anyone who crosses into range (whether they mean to visit the produce table or not) that they aren't to take more than three fruits and/or vegetables. If you choose not to abide by the rules...well, that depends if you're caught and by who.

The produce available are as follows:

Adalfane: Tastes like cocaine, but very nutritious, especially when eaten raw.
Tuadath: Smells awful, but very hearty when cooked, tasting a little like steak.
Tsanyi: Pure, sugary sweetness. Can be made into a refreshing drink, eaten raw, or sprinkled over a desert.

There are notably fewer tsanyi than adalfane or tuadath. But if everyone's nice and cooperates, each person can get exactly one.

Comments

Ezio Auditore | Warden

[hiddenblade]

1. Nametags

Here's one new warden, a fish out of water in a fitted and worn-in leather trousers and a billowy-sleeved white shirt against the machined white walls and under powered lights. As he walks the halls, he occasionally reaches out and trails his fingertips against the wall –– the novelty hasn't worn off, not by far. He could walk the halls for hours, marveling at the perfection of the construction. (He does not have hours, there's shit to do.)

His name tag identifies him as Ezio Auditore da Firenze, which pleases him more than just his name alone would, and his hobbies are exploration and beautiful women. Appropriately revealing, he thinks.

One thing notable to his about this ship, however, is its size and resources compared to the number of people he has seen. As such, he's going to walk right up and introduce himself to whoever he sees.

2. Interviews

When Archimedes directs wardens to round up any errant inmates, Ezio wastes no time heading out: whatever has him on the move is much more appealing than conversation, and it gives him an excuse to explore a little more. He hunts the ship with confidence, combing over rooms with hawk-like precision, expression focused.

Once that's resolved, he settles into the task at hand as easily as he slides into a booth with a waiting inmate. Questions aren't difficult to come up with. He's full of them, always has been.

"Good of you to join us," Ezio says, a touch flippant, as though any inmate is here by choice.

1

[nineteenfortyfive]

She doesn't mean to make a face when she catches sight of this man's hobbies, but she does indeed make a face. Something between a grimace and a roll of the eyes. It's painfully obvious.

Look, some wardens, like this Claire Fraser, have very dull hobbies such as plants and medicine, as so neatly written out on her name tag.

Oh, wait. Was he introducing himself to her? Rude. She tries to recover with a smile.

"Oh. Hello there."

[hiddenblade]

Without even a shred of self-consciousness about what it says on his name tag, Ezio politely bows his head and fixes her with a wry smile. Claire is beautiful, no matter what face she makes.

"Salve, Claire," he says. "Are you settling in well?"

[nineteenfortyfive]

Italian. Not a language Claire knows fluently, but it's nice to have some sort of familiarity with something here.

"I think so, considering I've just agreed to... quite the adventure, apparently. Yourself, Ezio?"

[hiddenblade]

"It is an adventure that will surpass anything most of us will experience at home in an entire lifetime," he remarks. Perhaps not for the types who go spacefaring at home, but certainly for him. It is difficult to say at a glance about her; more modest than most women from the future he's known, but her skirts don't sweep the floor, either. "If you need assistance with anything at all, come see me –– I am at your service."

[nineteenfortyfive]

She could hear Jamie saying the same exact words. It does make Claire smile, at least. No shortage of good men in the... universe, or something.

"That's very kind of you. I'm a surgeon, but I'm hoping my services and assistance won't be necessary here. In that regard, anyway. But if you need something, I'll do my best to help."

[hiddenblade]

There's a smile.

"A surgeon?" Difficult to come by in the form of a man, but even more unusual as a woman. Colour him intrigued. "I have no doubt you will be use to us. It is rare that troublemakers will abstain for the sake of a lady."

Interviews

[lessandmorethanhuman]

Alex had eventually migrated to a booth, and actually was reclined against it. Head against one end, legs bent and feet at the other. As if this wasn't forced on him...

"Yes, because I like to start all my days with a game of 20 questions. Helps wake up the mind, don't you think?" Not bothering to hide his sarcasm either. At least he's not radiating hostility--just intense skepticism and a touch of boredom.

[hiddenblade]

"There are worse ways to wake the mind," Ezio remarks, and he settles into his seat comfortably, elbows on his knees. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth upon looking at Alex's hood, but the rest of him is filed away to ponder later: his pallor, the dark circles under his eyes, the thread of attitude. Ezio offers: "I am Ezio Auditore, a warden here. What would you rather be doing, if not this?"

[lessandmorethanhuman]

At least in the position he's in, Alex's nametag can't easily be read. Hints of words like "Mercer", "nd Scie", "lot o". Taking a moment to think, before responding. "Exploring this place, finding out if it has a library. Preferably getting to work on however I start getting redeemed. Trying to figure out if all of this is for real."

[hiddenblade]

"You'll have plenty of time to explore," Ezio replies. As far as he has seen, inmates won't be kept to their rooms, but security seems moderately tight. Plenty more places he has had to tap his communicator to unlock something. "There is a library, but not one in a form I would recognize. Perhaps you might find it more useful than I."

But that's all set dressing. There's something more pressing:

"You sound eager to get started, just the same."

[lessandmorethanhuman]

"Sooner I get things figured out, sooner I can start to unravel things if needed." Also the sooner he could get back to cleaning up the mess he made. "Not what you were expecting, huh?"

[hiddenblade]

"Most inmates are resistant to the idea at first," he agrees. "Is this a change of heart from arriving here, or are you seeking redemption in your home world?"

2 (drug ref)

[saklas]

The inmate has somehow, despite being here for like less than two hours, already been hit hard enough in the nose to bleed. There's a tissue stuffed up there to keep it from going everywhere.

He blinks blearily at Ezio. He looks kind of shell-shocked. There's no way this guy that just came in is actually dressed like a pirate in real life, so, okay, let's just not bring it up.

Fuck. Fuck. He can't tell where he is. It's either a hospital or a police station. The guy's demeanor says police, to him.

"Did you run out of evidence to snort, or something? Go away. I'm not talking without my attorney present."

[hiddenblade]

Ah, someone bloodied. Odorous, too, and underfed-looking enough that Ezio might have mistaken him for some poor stablehand or street urchin if he wasn't evidently a grown man.

"Who is your attorney? I will summon him for you," Ezio replies, settling into the booth with absolutely no intention of going anywhere, much less summoning anyone. He pauses and gives a flippant hand gesture, and adds: "We will see if that counts as one of the questions."

[saklas]

"Michael San Miguel."

He is twice as powerful as an ordinary Michael, and Volk has heard the name enough times that it no longer registers as funny. He rattles off a telephone number.

"If you hadn't replaced my phone, I'd have called him myself."

He holds up his CommLink like it's a whoopie cushion he found on his chair. "Why? By the way. Why."

Is he doing a good job of pretending he's not seeing the building as a spaceship with cyborgs in it? Yes. Yes he's pretty sure he is. Good job, Volk.

[hiddenblade]

Ezio has only a faint idea of what those numbers mean, but even with more clarity, it would not help him here: Michael San Miguel is countless miles away, and Ezio Auditore has seldom cared for any legal process. He pulls out his own CommLink, and skims through the inboxes.

"No Michael," he confirms, and he drops the communicator on the table. He shrugs, the bit over. "I am afraid that is out of my hands. Wardens here are not given any choice in these things. I am more used to pigeons for communications, myself."

[saklas]

"OhHHHH, you're just in here to fuck with me!" Wow! Cool! We love to see it!

"Really cool. Very mature. You seem like a great guy."

Volk scoots his chair back so he can lean against the wall, stretches his legs out, and shuts his eyes. He can outwait this bullshit, watch him.

[hiddenblade]

"If not a great man, then a great thorn in the sides of many," Ezio replies, unhesitating and without a trace of humility. He knows what he is. "As you will be in my side, it seems, if you would rather sleep than answer some simple questions."

1

[omniavincit]

“Fuck off.”

Is the snapped assessment of the name tag—ever the reader, William's focused on the words before the other man's face even registers. He's wondering how many leering innuendos about the exploration of beautiful women this guy has made when it clicks. He takes a step back, his body tensing, his expression teetering on the edge of collapse.

(Gone is the black, the hat and the meticulously maintained cowboy getup: in its place, a perhaps disappointingly modern suit. Blue, tailored, no tie. His own name tag, for the moment, nowhere to be seen.

He looks older, though one would be hard-pressed to articulate how.)

Finally, he manages: “Is Takeshi here?”

[hiddenblade]

Ezio, who has looked for William's face first and his name tag second, finds himself smiling with bemusement. Fuck off? Is that a way to greet someone familiar on a strange and unusual place? The shift in William's posture tells him otherwise.

He gives William a once-over, brief and curious. The cut of his clothes is different. From somewhere else, but he isn't entirely sure when.

"No," Ezio says, with a spot of controlled disappointment. "We reconnected briefly off of the ship, but we were separated. I had hoped I would find him again here, but..."

A helpless wag of pinched fingers. Alone.

[omniavincit]

Fleetingly he thinks of insisting they look now, they look everywhere—he can't have checked the whole ship. But no, he's always known Ezio to be diligent. Exploration: right there on the fucking name tag.

William makes a small noise at the back of his throat, a high, involuntary sound. Not quite pained. He glances up and down the hall. “What happened?” He lifts his face to Ezio—gaze narrowing into watchfulness.

His words are toneless, bled dry. “Is that why you left?”

[hiddenblade]

"I could not stay," Ezio replies. An admission as much as an answer: the only thing that struck him as more untenable than leaving was to stay. His voice feels taut. "Labouring to guide a man to better the lives of others, to travel through space and time, to meet gods and men from all walks of life... for an Admiral determined to run from his pursuers instead of facing them, even if it meant starving his captives. When Kovacs was sent away, I could not abide by such resignation. To what end would it serve?"

[omniavincit]

For a moment—an unbearably vivid moment, where his skin feels too tight, the very air abrasive—William doesn't react. Then something in him goes slack: his head bows, he buries his face in his hands. He laughs like it's being squeezed out of him. “It made me sick.”

He scrubs his hands over his face, through his hair. He's clear-eyed when he looks up, but his breath trembles through him. “All that—all that bullshit. And it was just another guy who didn't want his boss to be mad at him. Jesus fucking christ.”

A cracked laugh, another breath. His eyes stay locked on Ezio. “Tell me about Takeshi.”

[hiddenblade]

All of that for seemingly nothing. Ezio feels Larry and Kovacs' deaths like cuts into his flesh, worse than his sword arm being too slow or his instincts leading him in the wrong direction or his enemies simply being ruthless enough to take once more. This time there is no excuse, not even the ability to say cruel things happen on whims of unseen forces like pestilence. A man did this, or at least allowed it to happen.

Ezio breathes in deeply.

"He resented that I knew so much about him but seemed to revel in it at the same time," he replies. "He prided himself on having no cause and yet abhorred those who could not set a standard for themselves... I was glad to have someone who expected me to be on my toes."