returnjourneylogs | MINI-EVENT: RENDEZVOUS

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.

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Of course, if we're talking soulmates and what love drives you to do for them. Unless my disappointed face is not as good as I thought it was.

[Jamie's gotten a lot of it over the years--and vice versa.]

[ Lucifer snorts. ]

It's clear you've perfected the disappointed face. Maybe it depends on the questionable action.

[ He gets a faraway look of his own, then. ]

And some partners can definitely be a bad influence.

Oh?

[Do tell. She turns back around to look at him.]

Oh, Eve. You don't have any exes who were bad for you? Eve is great, mind you - not a bad bone in her body. But she tended to bring out the worst in me. Well - we brought out the worst in each other, I guess.

[ So don't think Eve is an evil bitch or anything!! ]

Ah. [Oh. Of course. Eve. Claire looks ready to just gloss over that, but presses her lips together in consideration. We brought out the worst in each other, I guess.]

I have a previous husband. We were... not our best selves around one another, in the end. We made it work for our daughter [because he was a wonderful father to Bree, regardless of their issues] but we shouldn't have stayed together for as long as we did.

I've heard that a lot. Sounds a bit like Chloe and her ex. They seemed much better as friends, and I'm not just saying that because I ended up with her.

[ He grimaces slightly. ]

Eve showed up and we got back together when I was in a really weird place, anyway. On the rebound, I guess.

[She opens her mouth, able to relate--she'd slept with Frank, trying to imagine he was Jamie, and that was about as much of a rebound as she got when Frank realized what she was doing--but decides it's too much to explain. Too much to explain that her first husband was a good man that raised another's child when most wouldn't have done so. Not with so much genuine love and care.]

Eve and Chloe. As old as you are, they were the only ones of note?

...Depends on what you mean by of note.

[ He quirks an eyebrow at her, and smiles faintly. ]

Just them. I didn't even think it was possible for me to have an emotional connection like that until I met Chloe.

[He knows what she means.]

And I bet she never imagined a life with someone like you.

Ooh, shade.

[ He clutches his chest dramatically. ]

But I get what you mean. It's a lot, and she's handled it like a champ.

Just like I bet your husband never imagined a time-traveler for a wife. Hm?

No. The man had to ask me, point blank, if I were actually a witch.

[In retrospect, it's a little funny. Had she been a witch, she thinks Jamie would have loved her and cared for her anyway, but he had been relieved when she confirmed that she was not. Just something else entirely.]

He believed everything I told him, luckily. You, at least, have some... ways of proving yourself.

[Those wings that scared the shit out of her.]

It's good. That he took you at your word.

[ Lucifer is thoughtful for a moment. ]

Chloe didn't believe me for... about three years. We worked together, we were friends, partners... almost lovers but not quite, for three years, and the whole time, I told her I was actually the Devil and she didn't believe me, and I was too cowardly to prove it to her.

Three years? Bloody hell.

[She really couldn't help all that surprise from tumbling out, but too late to reel it back in.]

I can't imagine you being shy.

I didn't have my wings when we first met. Proving it to her would've meant showing her my really scary side.

By the time I realized that, well. I would rather have swallowed glass shards than see the look on her face when she saw my worse self.

[ Does anybody want the people they love to see the bad, messy parts of themselves? ]

[As much as that tugs on her heartstrings, curiosity wins.]

What's your really scary side?

My Devil face. When I rebelled - you know, against my Dad, and then my rebellion failed, well. I didn't just feel like a failure. I felt like a monster. I subconsciously made a monstrous alter ego to reflect that. It's a whole... thing. Self-actualizing.

[ Lucifer waves a hand at himself, vaguely. Powers, man. They're weird. ]

Devil face. I suppose I sort of assumed all this [she motions at... all of him, vaguely] was some sort of... guise. The other way around, then?

Mm, nope, this is all me. Add in the wings, and this is how Mum and Dad made me. What's the saying? He made humans in His image? I suppose you could argue me and my siblings were the prototypes.

[ He shrugs. ] Everything else, I did to myself.

[Claire looks about ready to laugh, but reels it in.]

I mean... I was curious about the accent.

[ Lucifer looks totally innocent. ]

What about it?

Don't look at me like that.

[Trying to be cute at her, Mister Satan.]

Why the British accent? Like to give the impression that you're posh? Some people around here can't stand it.

I've had a lot of accents over the years - I just like this one best.

[ He grins a little. ]

What accent do the naysayers think I should have, I wonder?

At this point, I'd say it suits you. If I think of the devil's voice in my head, he will now only sound very British.

[Not that she spends much time reading religious texts or thinking about the devil.]

Why, thank you. I do try to be memorable.

[ Look. L O O K. This is just how he is. ]

MINI-EVENT: RENDEZVOUS

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