MINI-EVENT: RENDEZVOUS

[returnjourney]

MINI-EVENT: RENDEZVOUS

March 9th, 2022
Tasked with picking up some emergency botanical supplies, the Peregrine stopped in Meodriotope in February and is now making haste towards another ship, for a rendezvous and hand-off of the supplies. In late morning, the view out of the windows on one side of the Peregrine will be blocked almost entirely by another ship — the Feather, also from the Admiralty's fleet. The hand-off will take place here, between two ships.

In the afternoon (local Peregrine time), a mini transport from the other ship docks in the Peregrine's loading bay. Three passengers disembark to assist in the loading, have some brief conversations, and then be on their way.

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

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1. Observing the Feather

The Feather is one of the oldest ships in the Admiralty's fleet, a fact that is perhaps less known than intuited, simply by looking at it. While the Peregrine's sleek helices and centre spire move through space like some deep-sea organism, the Feather is a great drifting whale, its broad and boxy body speckled with simple portholes. The sides are painted with murals — abstract swirls of colour, flowers the size of houses, massive birds flitting between them. There's text that must have taken quite the ladder to paint: "Hope is a thing with feathers!" The murals are patchy and worn, but there's a lot of love there.

But despite how massive it is, it floats weightless in space. It comes so close to the Peregrine's side that it almost seems like they could brush, and the ships' respective force-fields thrum as they "merge", blending into one large bubble. In the distance, one can see quite a number of passengers on an outside deck, gathered at the railings to watch. Too far to shout across, but certainly close enough to see tiny limbs waving hello!

In the observatory, the computer monologues:

"The Feather. Currently on the 18th year of its current mission. Current population consists of 295 wardens, 306 inmates, 5 graduates in-transition and 53 supporting staff. Most passengers are from Earth Variants. The Feather is currently headed by Navarch Margaret "Old Lady" Lloyd, a Navarch with 45 years of experience..."

2. Loading the Materials

Want to lend a hand? The more the merrier. The crates of Lover's Kiss must be brought to the loading bay, checked and then loaded into the waiting transport ship. Caution is a must; we can't have the flowers crushed or damaged when they're sorely needed for medicines at their final destination.

Helping, of course, are the representatives from the Feather: two wardens and an inmate. (They'll have their own top levels below!)

3. Rewards

Passengers identified to the Navarch as having assisted in the gathering efforts will have a delivery bot stop by with a clear plastic container fogged over by steam. The container is warm to the touch, and opening it reveals a lusciously greasy cheeseburger with all the fixings, a mound of thick-cut salted french fries, and the fattest, cheesiest, richest-looking slice of pizza known to mankind. The food is cradled by red food-wrapping sheets with a white PIZZA PLANET logo. Enjoy!

(Or kill someone for a french fry after weeks or months of eating processed food substitutes. You do you.)

4. Oops, Caught Red-Handed!

So there was that thing the Navarch said — the flowers are fragile and must be handled with care, as they are only useful intact. And sure enough, on the surface of Meodriotope, dutiful flower-pickers had discovered that if you plucked them too roughly, they'd explode, leaving red stains that take weeks to wear off skin, even with dutiful scrubbing. It's been weeks and they're just starting to fade, fortunately, but there's a second phase.

Passengers stained red might discover they're having trouble sleeping. The redder they are, the longer their minds refuse to rest. In severe cases, this results full-blown insomnia. In mild cases, the body may shut down while the mind remains completely alert. These effects could last anywhere between a few days to a full week.

Good luck!

Comments

[goty]

Ellie lets her, because-- she tells herself-- she hasn't the strength to fight her off. Asking doesn't occur to her.

"Fuck," Ellie says. "Maybe they can't fix that. I think I just... almost died."

She doesn't remember it, of course, and for that she's grateful. It's more than she deserves.

[oinks]

If it's any consolation, had she been anybody else, Amanda's thumbs would have pressed down heavily into her eye sockets long before now.

"Almost," she echoes. That's unsatisfying. "If you could choose how to die, how would you?"

[goty]

It's not a strange thing to ask. Ellie's thought about it lots of times. She discussed it with Kat and Jesse more than once. Less so with Dina. There's still so much she wants to say to Dina.

This girl's hands aren't like Dina's. There's threadbare quality to them, bony and sinuous.

"In my sleep," Ellie says, her eyes closed. "Duh."

[oinks]

That she closes her eyes is fucking fascinating to Amanda. It's not the first time somebody has mistaken her for being harmless, but the rush is the same. There is a heady kind of power in realising you've been misjudged.

The girl has scars on her face. Amanda touches them with her thumbs, rubbing over them. Her tone is almost conversational.

"And you think you deserve that?"

[goty]

Not quite a laugh collapses out of her mouth. "No. I'm here, aren't I?"

It hasn't yet occurred to Ellie that a person might disagree with the ship's judgements.

[oinks]

"I guess."

She touches the corners of her mouth in contemplation. She wonders if this is anything like the moment that John eased the reverse bear trap's metal plate between her slack lips.

"But you don't deserve this either, do you."

[goty]

"No," Ellie says, calm and drowsy with it. Is this girl even real? It'll be a lot less embarrassing if she isn't. "But I'm here anyway."

She isn't going to let this opportunity pass.

[oinks]

Amanda hums, and strokes her fingers into her limp hair, scratching idly at the back of her head. Later, she thinks she'll ask about the fight that left her so wounded, because she has suffered, but she is alive, and that's something that they have in common.

For now: "What's your name?"

So she knows what to tell the first warden she finds.

[goty]

"Ellie," she says, offering it far more easily than she should. Muted survival instincts tell her she's being stupid, but she's too tired to care. "What's yours?"

[oinks]

"Amanda." It seems like she's drifting off. Bad sign. Amanda smiles with only a hint of cruelness, and slaps Ellie's cheek much harder than is strictly necessary to bring her back around.

"I'm going to go find somebody who can get into the infirmary." Maybe. It's unclear how good her word is, "Wait here."

She rises up out of her crouch, to take her leave.

[goty]

"Ow! Fuck." But she doesn't curse the woman across from her. She gets why she was slapped, and it's strangely refreshing, to be hurt for reasons that don't have to do with her own moral failings.

"Don't exactly have a choice..." But she's smiling.

[oinks]

"You've always got a choice," she calls back, almost loftily, "Just don't choose wrong."

Easy, right?

Bye