❪ introlog: #6 ❫ city of secrets

[natha]

You've spent the last few days on Thesa Station, taking in the knowledge that your world is no more. Now, the time to put all your survival training into practice has arrived: El Nysa needs you, and you're here to help the planet thrive. Are you ready? THE DESCENT     All refugees on the station are called to the hangar, where a large-scale teleporter awaits. Simply step onto the space between the arrays and wait; everyone will be sent down to the planet together. Before they depart, all refugees will be given a cold weather survival kit with warm clothing, rations, and bedding. The arrays build into a brilliant wash of light, creating a column that travels all the way from Thesa Station to the surface of El Nysa, teleporting the refugees to the planet on an aurora. Once on the planet's surface, refugees receive one last message from Darma. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet we must ask you to brave further peril. Within Nadril are the secrets to how poor Ysverai's revival was hidden from our sight and how this disaster has come to our star. Find the first refugee from beyond this planet, a man named Magda. He will not speak to us, for much has come between us, but to you… If you prove yourselves, he may be willing to answer your questions. We beseech you, for there is a veil over Nadril that hides all within from us. There may yet be more untold dangers waiting to befall this planet. For the good of all who make this world home, we ask you to lend us your aid. There is yet one more favor we would ask of you. In warding off the Storm's encroachment, the physical aspect of ourselves that you call Thesa Station was damaged. We must remain to continue repairs to El Nysa and to deal with Ysverai, but there should be suitable technology within Nadril that could be used for spare parts. If you have the chance to find it and can return it to us, it would hasten— Darma's message crackles with static, another image overlaying hers — her broadcast is cut off and replaced with another. A more sullen and alien voice takes Darma’s place, overlapping on itself in an ominous reveal. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet you’ve only just arrived here. To say I’m not disappointed in your… generation would be to lie, and I am nothing if not an honest creature. But I suppose these have been unusual circumstances. You must ask yourself this — are you only here as Darma's lapdogs? I can assure you, it's not worth being on the Natha's leash. With time, that will be something you'll have to learn for yourself. If you're so determined to come find Nadril, then follow the path north, and you'll find the border. What awaits you is revelation, if you're up to the challenge. A FROZEN LAND     The refugees land on a literally frozen world, both in temperature and time. Curls of icy wind hold swirls of snow aloft and an uncanny silence is broken only by the crunch of hoarfrost underfoot. Only Darma's protection allows the refugees to move through this frozen world — and movement is very necessary. Bitter cold sneaks through even the thickest clothing and without warning, a snowstorm rises: unnaturally quickly, a wall of white howls directly in the refugee's path. Bizarrely, the way back is perfectly calm; it's obvious that this storm is no product of nature. Magda's challenge becomes clear: the only way to Nadril lies through this storm. Visibility within the storm is near zero, the whiteout hiding any landmarks from view and making navigation near impossible. The only guidance refugees have is a sporadic path of faint, greenish lights, easily lost in the raging storm. Refugees need all the survival skills they practiced on Thesa Station to survive, for getting lost alone is a death sentence. Luckily, those separated from the group can happen upon guiding lights Magda has planted throughout the tundra. These blue-white sparks cause frostbite if handled recklessly, but they also serve as directional anchors, turning into ghostly flames that lead lost souls back to the path to Nadril. The trek through the storm will be no mean feat and will last for the better part of three days. By the time the refugees reach Nadril's gate, most will find themselves exhausted and running on fumes. As the snowstorm dies away and a gap in the glittering forcefield around the city opens to usher the refugees inside, it's clear that Nadril is a different beast. A WARM(?) WELCOME     I. Despite the unforgiving journey, entering Nadril is painless. Once inside, characters will be greeted by their predecessors: the original refugees who made this advanced city. They'll immediately be offered medical attention, as well as warm cider and blankets. But it's obvious that the Nadril citizens prefer higher tech to fend off the weather: they also offer wristlets and ear cuffs that that double as mittens and earmuffs by creating warm bubbles of air. The earrings also feature a few quality of life programs, such as timed alarms and thought-to-speech messaging. However, both programs are in beta stages so it's not unusual for a stray thought to accidentally slip through or an alarm to accidentally ring at an inopportune time. II. Refugees are offered free lodging in a large, crystalline building crafted from ice. Despite the coarse building material, the ice is unmelting and surprisingly well-insulated, and the beds are as warm and cozy. The rooms are, however, small. The sleeping quarters house two people, and are some cross between an igloo and a capsule hotel. Though built for efficiency over comfort, all rooms are also outfitted with the latest Nadril AI, RoboAlfred, or Ralf for short. This helpful program is installed in practically all the furnishings: the closet tells guests to bundle up, the bathroom sink reminds them to brush their teeth, and the mirror offers helpful fashion tips. Ralf's personality matrix still needs polish, though: it may very well insult your clothes and passively-aggressively question your lifestyle choices for the entire stay. III. Though not as advanced as Thesa Station, the colony has technology far beyond the rest of the continent, such as rudimentary AIs and mechanical transportation. Nadril's skyline is a point of pride — refugees can take a (literal) lightrail that gives an aerial view of the colony, which is hewn almost entirely from ice and rock. Despite its tech, Nadril is much more sparsely populated than Olympia and Wyver, and its residents stay near a central hub: a Natha refugee drop ship, Central, which has crashed and long embedded itself into the earth. Central is similar to an older, smaller, grounded model of Thesa Station, in functional order with round-the-clock solar power. Within Central are lounges similar to ones on the Station, though many of the damaged areas have been converted. They include repair stations, different wings dedicated to science, botany, astrology, and mechanics, and a research and history facility, which has a smattering of technology from planets beyond El Nysa — including your own. The staff here don't mind if anything is sampled and studied, but objects cannot be taken from the labs. IV. On the outskirts of the central hub, many will find several curious looking bots with insect-like wings perched about high traffic walkways. Simply passing the bots will cause a dizzying flash before a series of photos print out. Upon closer inspection, people will find that these images reflect stills taken from their home worlds as they remember it. Unfortunately, these photos only last a couple of hours at best. At that time, they will revert back to regular pictures of the refugees. People will be encouraged to share these images of their worlds. The residents of Nadril comprehend the value of remembering one's origins, and will be pleased to see that people still hold memories of old homes close to them. RECREATION IN NADRIL     I. Small, mechanical creatures scampering through the city are a common sight. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that they come from a shop called Paws About Town. They’re very useful, as companions, gophers, and couriers (though the more mischievous will note that they’re just small enough to keep tabs on people without being noticed). Premade robotic pets are available on display inside the shop. They come in all shapes, but small sizes; one may be able to find robots that even look like miniature creatures from their homeworld. These are a part of a new, highly customizable line with programmable personalities. Customers have the chance to take pets for a one-day trial run. Those who don’t know how to program may want to enlist more knowledgeable aid, but the pets come with instructional pamphlets for basic personality traits such as obedience, helpfulness, playfulness, and bloodthirst. For returns, the switch to wipe the robot's personality to a blank slate is on the back of its neck, right between a switch to invert all traits, and a switch to have them learn by observing. Try not to press the wrong switch — you might wind up with a pet with a mind of its own! II. A. The Frosty Tap Cantina is a thriving hub of activity, but one of the major draws is the self-service bar: molecular mixology is wildly popular here. Playing with drink compositions can be a game in and of itself, and newcomers to the cantina will find that the bartender — a cheerful woman with lilac skin and three eyes — is always happy to give them a few tips on how to use the wide array of tools within reach of the barstools. All manner of drinks are possible — from glowing, layered cocktails, to clear drinks with colored, spherical bubbles and vividly-colored shots that give off their own smoke. There's a nightly contest in the cantina for the most creative drink created by a team — this may be as good a time as any to partner up with someone and see what can you come up with. Winner gets all their drinks for the night free! And, hey, even if you don't win, you get to drink whatever you make. The well-lubricated patrons of the bar are eager to challenge anyone nearby to a different sort of drinking game… Just how well can you hold your liquor? B. Holo-screens in the cantina are nearly always broadcasting some match or another of a game that looks very much like hockey, albeit played with sticks that light up and a puck that changes shape from time to time. Colonists here merely refer to the game as "the sport," and one of their favored pastimes is betting. However, they don't use currency — they wager dares. Nadril colonists are a tough, weathered lot, and they prefer to speak with actions over silver. Colonists will urge the refugees to take part as well. Common dares range from the ridiculous (lead a sing-a-long, attempt to make someone with a poker face smile) to the suggestive (kiss the person in the cantina you find most attractive, strip off a piece of clothing), to the outright reckless (venture out into the snow for a certain amount of time, and no one will judge if you find some company to keep warm). The colonists are unfazed by even the most insane or tawdry of dares — but you'll certainly be called a killjoy for refusing too often! Why not grab a friend and give it a whirl, or challenge a rival to a dare yourself? THE MISSION     I. On the outskirts of Nadril is the communications tower of the old refugees. This is where Magda resides, monitoring Nadril's technological protections, the extent of the Natha’s influence, and running his own personal projects for El Nysa’s technological advancement. It is isolated, filled with research labs and relics of the past refugees who have come to El Nysa — a living mausoleum of worlds swallowed up by the Storm whose peoples have refused to forget where they came from. Crew photos line the walls of the tower: pictures of alien families and friends, the refugees who came to Nadril before you. Each group of photos gradually becomes smaller in number, and the most recent of the pictures are from half a century ago. Magda's picture can be found among the first group of refugees, an unusually small cluster of photos dating back centuries in El Nysa's past. I have been on this planet for nearly two centuries. Life has come, evolved, and collided in an ever expanding culture. But Darma fears interference, and made this place a prison, with she our warden, stifling the growth of the creatures native to this world rather than encouraging them to flourish. She sent you here for answers in her stead because she knows I'll spurn her, and after seeing what that fool Raysc has wrought, I'll give you them — not for Darma's sake, but because I trust after all the Natha have done to you, you'll understand my decision. Mistakes were made, and I won't hide them. You've made it here so there's some mettle to you, and unlike the Orbiters, I'm not interested in hiding the secrets of the dangers we face. I gave Raysc what he needed to keep his actions hidden from Darma's eyes — what he needed to advance the primitive magics the Natha had doomed him to. It was old Natha tech, Darma's very own used against her. Hilarious, isn't it? Raysc learned of Nadril, and like you, braved the snow to find his way here. He proved his worth and his determination, and he spoke of a brighter future, El Nysa coming into its own, its people realizing their true potential, unhindered by the shackles that had been put upon them. I believed him. He had vision — or so I thought. In truth, he was a fool. A madman. He wasted the opportunity I gave him on his petty vengeance. But not everyone on this planet is such an idiot. Surely you lot aren't. The Natha are hiding things from us — about the Storm, about everything. And here in Nadril, we're going to find all those secrets. What's it going to be? Will you help us, or are you going to stay obedient dogs on Darma's leash? Magda isn't too talkative yet; after all, the new flock of refugees may just be here as eyes and ears for the Orbiters. But what he has said leaves you with plenty to talk about, and if you can earn his trust by helping out around Nadril, he doubtless has a great deal more to reveal. II. Central isn't the only Natha ship that made its way to El Nysa — another, crashed just outside Nadril's borders, is little more than a junk heap. It's here that you'll find the spare parts Darma asked you to retrieve for Thesa Station. What remains of the ship's hull serves as a windbreak, and snow has built up against it, turning the piles of old Natha tech inside into something of a snowy morass. Holes in the deck offer would-be scavengers passage to the ship's innards, barely illuminated with flickering lights — the tech is old, but hardy enough to withstand a crash landing, the severe weather, and the passage of centuries. Deep in the wreck are the remains of living quarters, research labs, VR arenas, mecha bays, cafeterias, and a host of other rooms, many of which may seem familiar from Thesa Station, albeit with a decidedly older feel to what remains of the smooth curves and sleek surfaces of the Natha architecture. Most of the ship's systems are damaged and the technology is nonfunctional, but that just means there's plenty of spare parts to be found. The wreck isn't in the best shape, its structural integrity damaged, and the drifting snow threatens to block off exit routes. Be careful while exploring and be sure to bring a partner. As it turns out, Darma isn't the only one interested in the wreck — Magda is also eager to get his hands on Natha technology. In his own way of taking some responsibility for Raysc, he's asking scavengers to bring him parts, muttering about seeing what he can do about Ysverai's curse. Bring him anything that looks useful, and he may have a chance to succeed, though whether he'll be more effective than the Natha Orbiters is up for debate... FINAL OOC NOTES     An AC-eligible thread with a new character as a participant for 2 NADRIL REP POINTS may be submitted from this log. SUBMIT THE THREAD HERE BY AUGUST 5TH, 11:59 PM EST. As always, feel free to create your own prompts and explore the Nadril location page! There are a variety of activities made available, including fishing and cave exploration! Please direct questions to the questions thread below! Thank you! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[nineteenfortyfive]

"Here's to not having to start all over from scratch yet again?" Claire offers, raising her glass. It's really getting old at this point, and while she does find a thrill in beginning again, there's a greater part of her that would just like to settle down some roots.

[gravemistake]

Not really, no.

[He was just, perhaps, hoping that she had some insider knowledge about the thing that's currently trying to kill them. Gabriel tracks its movement in his periphery, trying to keep pressing forward even as it becomes apparent they aren't going to be able to outpace it.

That's fine. He's used to being creative in a pinch--the variable here is whether he and Ana have the same synergy that they used to. He's scanning the surrounding area for something in the environment they can use to their advantage just as Ana says they should drop something on it.

His thoughts exactly.]

Climb on. We need some high ground.

[And no offense, but of the two of them, he's going to be the one making twenty-foot vertical leaps.]

[shikomizue]

[Dismissiveness is an endearing look on the brusque man; Takasugi regards it with a smile, his gaze skirting over the man's features. There isn't much to see, in the dark corner of this bar, but he can make out a few scars.

Stories he'd like to hear, sometime, during an idle moment.] You could say that.

[He doesn't mind sounding suspicious.] Are you offering some sort of support? [That thought is laughable, given the man's demeanor.]

[personalwar]

[ It's difficult to know whether or not Gabriel could "handle" it, as it's not something that most people ever have to hear. The fact that Reyes dies isn't the sticking point; neither of them have ever had illusions about living to some ripe old age. No, it's more that he was brought back, seemingly against his will, and now he's decided to take all of his rage and direct it against his old teammates.

Eventually he'll find out, and maybe Jack will regret keeping it from him as long as he did. There's no way that Gabriel knowing about his future is going to go well, so at least part of this is Jack simply wanting to put it off. To let Gabriel stay as he is for a little while, at least, because he won't be the same once he knows.

What if telling him only speeds along the inevitable? Maybe all of this is self-fulfilling, and there's no getting around it. Jack can't say he has any of the answers here.

Gabriel starts to pull away, and Jack can't think of any way to stop that. It might be better this way, he reminds himself.

He gives a small nod, not any more convinced to spill the beans here and now. ] Will do.

so sorry for the delay on this, feel free to drop it!

[personalwar]

Sheppard's stance is one that 76 can understand and relate to, and it's something he might be able to agree with himself, except for this simple fact: the Natha have been screwing with them for way longer than Magda, at this point. That alone makes him inclined to believe that they did the same to Magda, and that his reasons for disliking them and wanting to hide from them are valid.

But when it comes down to it, there's no reason to argue Sheppard's point. 76 only nods in quiet agreement, not wanting to play his own hand too much.

"Your own version of the Natha? What do you mean?"

Maybe it doesn't matter any more, but talking about the places they came from is worth doing from time to time. And 76 is curious about Sheppard and his background.

[personalwar]

[ 76 doesn't take much offense at the implication that he's an idiot. He's always been something of a risk taker, when he could get away with it. He'd had to curb a lot of those impulses as strike commander, but he has nothing to hold him back now.

In any case, he's been called worse. ]

I don't mind taking a risk if it might pay off.

[ It goes without saying that Magda could have information that's useful to them, and if 76 has to take on some dangerous work to get access to that intel, then so be it. ]

[personalwar]

[ Monster isn't a particularly descriptive term, but it gets the point across. Too much exposure to the darkness turns you into some sort of mindless creature. Again, it sounds a little too familiar. ]

The Heartless... which are the things you fight. All of them used to be people, huh?

[ If 76 thinks of them like zombies, similar to all of those over-the-top movies and TV shows, it makes a little more sense to him. ]

[pullsheavendown]

Yeah. Now they're just parts of them. The darkness that's in people's hearts is all that survives after they're consumed by it.

[Except for a 'lucky' few.]

[shikomizue]

[Only idiots can overtake the worst of odds - they're the only ones stupid enough to tackle hopeless situations in the first place. Takasugi's a member of those ranks as much as Soldier. Their alliances may weave, intersecting and splitting, but that quality will remain mutual.]

What sort of payout are you looking for? ['Fuck Cree' is more of an aside than a main goal - and he's never gotten a sense of what Soldier's fighting for.]

[personalwar]

[ It's all pretty disconcerting, but the kid talks about it like it's common knowledge. Maybe it's all accepted as normal where he comes from, but either way, it's probably a moot point. ]

I'm guessing you haven't seen any of these Heartless here on El Nysa.

[personalwar]

[ 'Payout' is an interesting way of phrasing it, since money has never held much interest for 76. He makes sure to earn enough to live, but beyond that it doesn't mean anything to him. He shakes his head at Takasugi, but of course, there are different kinds of payment. ]

Information. I want to know more about what happened between him and the Natha, and what he wants to achieve out here.

[gravemistake]

Absolutely not.

[What does he look like, a therapist? Gabriel already knows that this kid is too smart to start spilling deep dark secrets in a place like this to someone he’s just met, but he can put some puzzle pieces together. It’s a dangerous game they’re both playing as they try to suss each other out, but he’s more than willing to see what he can learn before he has to extract himself.]

So don’t get any ideas.

//endish?

[shikomizue]

[This guy looks like someone who would drag anyone into an alley and murder them. Which can be therapeutic sometimes - the two don't have to be mutually exclusive. And neither do their goals; Takasugi doesn't see as much risk as opportunity in getting to know this man.

And being known by him.

Not that he'll be offering anything too personal this time.] Heh.

I'm curious. Which of us will end up sucked into the other's idiotic ideas.

[Therein lies the game - one of them is sure to take the 'lead', but neither of them wants to give up their position. They'll wear each other down - use each other - until one is ragged.

Provided they keep in contact; Takasugi intends to.

With that he stands, leaving his glass on the table - departing without any haste, fingers dragging along the chilled wood.]

[shikomizue]

[A valid pursuit, but a man with the moniker of 'Soldier' can't possibly be satisfied by knowledge alone. It's a necessary foundation for action, to discern the most advantageous course to take and ensure the resources tip in your favor.

Inaction isn't an option Takasugi is willing to consider.] And your response depends on what you find out, huh?

[How disciplined.]

DW!

[impavid]

It's a valid question. John gives another non-committal tilt of his head as they walk, eyes still skimming their surroundings for any insecure bits of ship that might drop on them.

"See, where I'm from we have a bunch of people we call the Ancients. They're kinda like... a hyper-advanced race the way the Natha are, who went around building fancy things and seeding life on planets. They've got a whole bunch of... rules about... interference and how much they can explain and so on. It's all built around abuse of power, and... you know, favouritism, generally not being an asshole to people who don't even understand half of what you can do. The problem is, beyond the ethical and moral quandaries, it just also means they're super vague and weird all the time."

Which is why the Natha remind him of them, and why he's inclined to trust the Natha at least a little. He kinda understood the Ancients on some level, and the Natha give him a similar vibe.

[nanamari]

[ Ana doesn't hesitate. She bends her knees in the next step and jumps. Compared to a moving omnic, Gabriel is easy, and her weight will be nothing to him. She wraps her legs around him grabs onto his holster to keep her purchase. ]

Go!

[pullsheavendown]

No. Not yet.

[The 'yet' is fairly presumptuous. But he can't help but think it's inevitable.]

There's darkness in every heart, or so I've heard. Which should mean it's only a matter of time.

[gravemistake]

[He tries not to think about how familiar this is, but luckily the creature in pursuit is a great distraction. Ana's weight is negligible, and it takes him no effort at all to find a hand and foothold on the warped metal in front of them so that he can start scaling the wreckage. He stays just barely ahead of the creature, but moving vertically instead of horizontally is going to let it catch up with them sooner rather than later.

Gabriel trusts that Ana will know to keep her arms wrapped around him, because his limbs are currently occupied. He hoists them both up through a gap in a higher floor, scanning the room they've found themselves in for better positioning.

The monster below them rocks what feels like the whole structure.]

[personalwar]

[ That's something that the two of them share in common. 76 can't handle inaction on his own part. It's why he'd joined the fight during the Crisis, it's why he'd accepted the Strike Commander assignment, it's why he's always on the move here.

He knows there's no way that they're ever going home, but he has to feel like he's accomplishing something in this place.

At the question, he grunts under his breath and then shrugs. ] Acting in a situation where you don't have all the information tends to end badly.

[personalwar]

The Ancients. It doesn't mean any more to 76 than "the Natha," but he has to admit that based on Sheppard's description, the two sets of highly-advanced aliens sound pretty similar to each other. If anything, he would think that would make Sheppard that much more distrustful of the Natha, but maybe his experience with the Ancients hadn't been so bad.

"Is there any possibility that they're one and the same? That they just got called something different on your side of the universe?"

It's probably a long shot, but then again, how many advanced god-like alien races can there really be? 76 wants to believe it can't be that many, but he's also pretty ignorant when it comes to anything other than his own planet.

And, now, El Nysa.

[personalwar]

[ Darkness in every heart. Well, that much is true, but 76 doesn't think that confirms that these Heartless will show up here. There are certain things that seem to be contained to specific worlds.

Which is a good thing. They have enough to deal with on this planet already.

He doesn't argue the point, only shrugs. ] What's your name, kid?

[impavid]

"Actually, it's pretty possible. I've heard them called a whole bunch of things. The sticking point is, normally I'd have known as soon as I landed on the station. Long story short, they have a certain design aesthetic that I'm familiar with and the Natha didn't... have that. Which doesn't rule it out entirely, they could still... be related to the ones I know. It mostly just raises more questions -- like why they wouldn't have said anything, or why they're doing things differently."

Why his gene didn't work at first, then did. Why came to Atlantis, which they would have recognised, but didn't explain any relation to the Ancients -- if they are indeed related. His face scrunches unhappily, and all John can think of is their initial meeting with the Asurans. So far this hasn't gone quite as badly as that ended up, though.

[personalwar]

Design aesthetic? It seems like a strange point to get caught up on, but 76 will accept the possibility that the two races are related, if nothing else. He's not sure if that concept makes him feel better or worse. The existence of the Natha is bad enough, does he really want to accept that there are others like them out there somewhere?

"Maybe they got cut off from each other. Or maybe it's a time thing. It could be this is far in the future from what you remember, and things have changed." He shrugs, not sure if that makes the slightest bit of sense, but he's doing his best to work with the new set of rules that this place has thrust upon him.

"How'd you get involved with these Ancients, anyway?" They step into the next room and 76 spots a panel that looks like the one Sheppard had originally been working on. He points it out, figuring it might have some of the parts he's looking for.

[pullsheavendown]

Roxas.

[He shrugs back. Will the Heartless come? He thinks so. And if they do, he'll know how to handle them. Between him and Sora, they'll have it covered. If they don't...that might be the more concerning possibility. What then?]

What's yours?

[personalwar]

[ Weird name, but it's hardly the first one that 76 has heard here, so he doesn't comment on it. It's not like he can talk, either, given that he's still more accustomed to giving out his code name before his given one. ]

76.

[ It's on the back of his jacket, too. ]