returnjourneylogs | SET SAIL: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

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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.

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What?

[Volk follows Rhys's gaze and immediately tries to take the tag off. He gapes when the effort pulls at the leather of his jacket.]

Oh they did NOT glue this directly to real leather.

[Someone should be entombed for this.]

... I wouldn't say i like complaining.

[Too bad, because it is true.]

Sure. Yeah. Josh Volkhov, people call me Volk. I'm a filmmaker. I was literally just minding my own business.

[Volk's looking over to see if Rhys has a tag, too, just out of curiosity.]

Edited 2022-01-08 15:59 (UTC)

Pfft. Believe me, if we could take these things off I would have. You're not the only one with a ruined jacket.

[ Rhys's nametag is on the left side of his chest, right beside one of his crisp lapels. It reads: It reads: Rhys Strongfork | Likes programming, has killed 10,000 people give or take.

He notices Volk checking it out and quickly amends: ]

It's inaccurate. That's uh, that's why I was asking about yours. To see if anyone else go screwed over by some kind of calculation error.

[ Definitely nothing to do with curiosity surrounding the fact that this is the first person he's seen without a listed body count on this ship that seemed to be in the inmate category. ]

[Volk believes him immediately, and snorts as he looks back away from the tag. It's not that people don't kill other people, that's just a RIDICULOUS NUMBER?]

Yeah, I mean how would... how would you even kill that many people? Short of a nuke.

[Wait, no, now he's thinking about it.]

Okay, carcinogens in a common household products, I guess. Or, like, an ethnic cleansing, but that's usually lots of individual murders. I mean you'd have to... flood a town, maybe. Like, if you collapsed a dam.

[This is all imaginary for him, and it's easy to tell. His tone is pretty light and thoughtful, it's just a plot point to solve. There's literally no way Rhys killed ten thousand people, that shit would be on the international news.]

Edited 2022-01-11 00:38 (UTC)

A couple carefully coordinated moonshots could probably do the job.

[ Oh my god don't implicate yourself, Rhys! ]

--That's uh, that's something someone I used to know would do. Just...kill lots of people. Actually that's probably why my tag is all messed up, he kinda- well a version of him rode shotgun in my cybernetics for a while, so I probably inherited his kill count.

[ He's rambling, but the lie is so good and comes so easily that Rhys could see even himself believing it. ]

The arm is real?

[That thing must have cost a fortune. Where the hell does he keep the battery?

Hang on, wait. If it's real, it's a genuine assistive device, not just to look cool. Gretchen, you can't just ask someone why they have one arm.]

I mean, sorry. Whatever. The finger movement is really good, that's all. I thought it was a costume -

[The double-take crosses Volk's expression here, fast blinking as he tries to process the rest of this.]

hang on, back up.

[He holds up his own hands. It just clicked for Volk why it works well and doesn't need a power source the size of a backpack.]

Is there an angel in there?

[Indicating the arm.]

Real as opposed to what?

[ A fake false arm???-- A costume?! Rhys doesn't know if that's meant to be a compliment or an insult so he's gonna take it as the latter even as he squints and also tries to process whatever this guy is saying. ]

Yeah, it is really g- ...A what?

[Okay, well, the offense is maybe warranted, angels are dangerous-]

How did someone you know hitch a ride in your arm?

I...accidently installed him.

[ Okay but like, how was he supposed to know there'd be malevolent software of his dead boss on that drive? All he'd wanted to do was bypass some security measures, find the missing money and get the hell home. ]

I thought I was just gaining access to login keys from higher up the chain, but ended up with the probably the worst virus imaginable.

You - fucking - ?

[Volk holds up his hand in a "one second" gesture.

Okay, so this is some kind of, malevolent, Artificial Intelligence, or backdoor malware situation? This is a lot to unpack, and none of it is matching up with how technology works in the year of our fucking Lord Interregnum 95.]

Alright. That's, a lot. We'll be here all day if I unpack that. It's a lot. Let's table it, and circle back. Do you remember how you got here?

[ Rhys is already interrupting with defensive statements and talking over Volk at his incredulous response. ]

I was under pressure! I-

[ He stops when the hand goes up though. yeah, it's a lot but it's not-!! It's not something he needs to unpack with this guy anyways? Or anyone.

Rhys crosses his arms, looking put out but he does answer. ]

Yeah. I went to bed in my room- I had a room on the other ship by the way. To myself. And then woke up in a transport vehicle that brought me here.

...Like a van?

[Who the hell says transport vehicle? What is going on here? Why is everyone insane, he still REALLY wants to know why there's a talking owl? This guy has very advanced prosthetics, and some kind of AI problem?

The real Occam's Razor of this situation is that everybody is fucking with him or lying, but then we actually do circle back to why the FUCK can the owl talk?]

Like a, I don't know. It was probably a compact space shuttle? I was really out of it the first day here.

[ A van. Does this guy still not get the whole space thing or what? ]

How did you get here?

[ He's not a transfer, which makes Rhys curious. Was the process much different? At least this place told you where you were before you made some stupid public post asking questions with varying answers. ]

I fucking woke up on the ground!

[POINTING ACCUSATIVELY TO THE GROUND OVER THERE.]

It wasn't a compact space shuttle. I promise. Honey, I swear on my life, okay. We are not in space. If there was something in space this big, it would not be a secret?

Oh my god, you're another planetside caveman aren't you?

[ That would explain the arm reaction. ]

It's alright, I'll make the big words small for you okay? We are definitely in space, this ship is probably only half the average space stations size, and you can definitely keep things out here a secret, the galaxies are huge.

Edited 2022-01-16 19:28 (UTC)

[Volk squints at him as if Rhys is producing a bright light, a terrible smell, or both.

So, maybe it's not that Volk isn't having an episode, maybe they both are having one. Fully delusional is way beyond his caliber to deal with.]

Oooh. Yeah. Hard pass on this interaction. Why don't you go tell that guy all about it?

[He indicates a random passerby.]

Okay, first of all: rude.

[ Though Rhys does subtly tip his nose down towards his shoulder to get a quick sniff of himself. He smells fine, great even! So what's this guys damage? ]

Second: If you haven't noticed, you're the one having a big loud breakdown in the hallway here and I, being a nice and caring passenger on this stupid ship stopped to help you out. You at least owe me a thank you before you tell me to screw off.

We are not the same. [Volk snaps.

He's coherent. He's functional. He knows what's real and what's not and he is going to hold onto that with every bloody scrap of tooth and nail until none are left.]

The owl scared the shit out of me. I recovered. I'm fine now, obviously.

[He's been going through his pockets a second time and suddenly bursts out - ]

Did they steal my fucking Juul?? Oh, rot in hell.

[He is So Mad.]

Edited 2022-01-18 05:48 (UTC)

[He rubs his eyes under his glasses, and when he drops his hand he's got a hold on his temper - or at least he's forcing a neutral expression and tone through a clenched jaw. He's got this. He's fine. He's not going to cause a flare here, it's the last fucking thing he needs.]

Look. Thanks. I'm fine now, we're all fine, we just have to get out of here.

[ Rhys's expression only sours further at Volk's tone. ]

Yeah, no kidding. I mean, look at you then look at me. We're on entirely different levels, I don't need to be helping you.

[ The expression only holds as long as Volk's does (okay, maybe a second longer for posterity's sake) before softening slightly, back to the usual amount of disdain for the situation they're in. ]

And go where? Even if we got access to...I don't know what they have here. Escape pods? We're probably hundreds of miles away from any planet, and who knows if it'll have a fast travel uplink or space port or even be habitable so. We're stuck. We kinda just have to deal till there's a good opportunity.

Edited 2022-01-19 02:37 (UTC)

[Volk just squints at him and tilts his hand - Bitch? Why? Why are you being rude.

That said, he gets worse from his friends on a daily basis,so it doesn't make him more mad.]

If we got in, we can get out. I'm not going to accept another answer. I just have to find out who can do it. You're welcome to come along or not.

[ Volk gets an eyeroll for his trouble before Rhys extends a hand to help the guy off the floor. He's not getting it. ]

Look, I'm all for planning a prison break okay? But it's not happening while we're travelling through deep space. We're gonna have to wait till we're at least close to somewhere that's populated, a planet or a port or something.

[Volk waves it off, stands on his own.]

Sure. Of course. I'll... wear a spacesuit.

[Just indulge this, it's easier.]

[ Wow!! Rhys retracts his hand, plays it off like he never even extended it, instead shoving it into the crook of his elbow as he crosses his arms. He will never offer help to this man again.

He can tell when he's being humored and patronized, developed a sixth sense for it after living on Helios for so long. ]

Look, I'll show you okay? There's an observatory here with a big window of the view. You'll see.

[This is a good idea. His ego won't let him accept it anyway.]

I've seen the window. I know about eleven ways to fake that window.

[He sucks on his teeth, thinking.]

Thirteen if you're willing to bend union rules about how long the effects guys are allowed to pull shifts.

[ Rhys just gives him...the most incredulous look. He's saying words Rhys understands but that don't make any sense together. ]

What??? What are you even talking about?? You think- wait, are you a Bunkers and Baddasses fan?

[ The faintest hint of excitement. ]

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