E.S. Berkhard---1st Mission. "Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...."

[proxy_explorers]

Each crewmate had woken up in a cabin assigned to them, with their name and role on the door outside. It was a pretty nice little cabin, private and with a private bathroom. Like a basic hotel room honestly, in shades of deep blue and rich brown wood and steel. Clean sheets on the bed, clean linens on the desk waiting for use, and a closet full of uniforms for their use. (Each consisting of dark blue BDU pants and jacket with rank and name, a black undershirt, and black boots. These uniforms are modified for non-humanoid wear as needed.)

A small note was on the desk, on top of the linens. "Welcome Explorer! For your first mission, you are to proceed to the Waystation's VR deck. There is a map accessible on your Omniband, which will also be used to lock and unlock your cabin. Each Omniband is individually designated. It is recommended Omnibands be worn at all times." Indeed, there is a small blue, silver, or grey band that looks like a circular smart-watch on the desk. The 'band' itself will expand to fit over any width, or can be unlocked and flipped to form an 'S' type shape with the screen, to act like a traditional phone.

Explorers can explore their ship if they want. Although they won't be able to undock or leave the Waystation. Heading out further into the Waystation, they're free to explore there as well. They will be prompted by their Omniband though, to gather in the VR Holodeck. The longer one takes to get to the VR Holodeck, the more insistent the prompts will get--starting with a beeping, that will only get worse the longer it takes. There is no way, short of hacking the Omniband, to disable this beeping. This is the first 'mission' after all!

Once there, the sliding doors will open to reveal what almost looks like any good 2010's employee conference room, although the table has been moved to the side and laid out with snacks and drinks. Stepping in will prompt a "My name is ____" badge to appear with the person's chosen name on their clothes in an appropriate place. Also on the table are various ideas for Ice-Breakers! A big banner spans the room and says "Welcome Explorers!"

It appears your first mission is for everyone to get to know each other!

OUT OF CHARACTER
This is for your chars to get to know each other, since you'll all be working as a crew. The MDSOBs have tried to make it welcoming and easy and encouraging. Below there will be a thread for some different Ice Breaker Activities. Please respond there for threads.

Comments

Main VR Holodeck

[proxy_explorers]

OOC Reply here for all threads on the main VR Holodeck. Aka if you're staying in the 'conference' room for mingling.

Ambellina Intro:

[burnedherwings]

["Prose" or [Action] accepted. Reply how you want and I will follow suit]

Waking up and finding the Omniband and note, Ambellina simply moved about the room, finding a uniform and dressing in that instead of her normal tight black suit. She was pleased to see the suit fit well enough over the odd healed up lumps on her back, where her wings had once been. the suit was at least suitable for combat.

Omniband on, she left her quarters and paused, glancing around outside the room. Herr nose wrinkled a moment, but she took off in one direction to explore. At least it's clean here, unlike the last ship he was on. She does a quick scan of the place, going here and there where she was allowed, just to get an idea of their mission stations and all that. She agreed to do this, as much a he didn't want to. She was here though, and that meant she had to know things.

Once done exploring though, she would head to where the Mission Meeting would be. A conference like room with snacks. Oh goody. She ignored all those, and stared a t the little Hello sign on her uniform now. 'My name is Ambellina' is all it said. The blond haired, blue skinned woman rolled her eyes at the name tag, but meandered in further, glancing about the room and who all was here or not.

Nathanial Intro

[hunter_marked_soul]

Nathanial wasn't entirely sure what he expected, on waking. It all looked very strange to him, although recognizable enough--just...strange. All far beyond and likely 'ahead' in time of what he knew. Some of that was to be expected though, from what he'd gathered since he'd be exploring in space. Imagine; it was like something from Jules Verne!

The clothes were recognizable, although the omniband might as well have been pure magic to him. He did figure out that he was supposed to wear it, but how it worked? Well, hopefully one of his new allies would be able to teach him. At least the room, while futuristic to him, was furnished in familiar enough and obvious enough functions. The clothing was easy to put on, though it felt odd to him. Though he supposed it was no odder than some of the Hunter gear he'd found. It was comfortable too.

Making his way through the ship would take some time, and through the waystation even more. Things weren't 'alien', but it was all far more advanced than he was used to and he couldn't help but wonder and stare as he went. Hopefully some of the things and areas that weren't obvious in their function or nature he could get another to point out to him.

Eventually, he found where he was supposed to go--and was still a little wide-eyed. It was easy to deduce this was meant to be some kind of gathering room for business. The name-badge appearing was a bit disconcerting--but it wasn't as if he wasn't used to stranger things happening. Food and drink were obvious, and presumably safe enough.

So far, he had also seen no signs of a Lamp...

Ginko Biloba intro

[tree_of_light]

Ginko stepped through the doors, ears and tail flicking a little as he glanced down at his new wristband again. This seemed to be where he was meant to meet everyone... and there were the snacks. Perfect.

He made an immediate beeline for the table, intent on getting some food before anyone stopped him. He could talk to people while he ate.

The badge that appeared on his broad ships-uniform clad shoulder went mostly ignored. Creation magic was nothing new, though it did seem a bit odd it would be used for something so small.

Goodseed introRe: Main VR Holodeck

[sowgoodseed]

Goodseed was no longer the hatchling he'd once been. He was now quite good at following directions. The device was very odd to him, like a small scroll on his arm that moved at will! And changed! He wanted to find someone to ask them how this was possible, how did it work? Were there tiny dinosaurs inside rolling the paper? How was he supposed to feed them? Thank them? He had so many questions.

Thanks to his cousin, and his time in Waterfall city, he had spoken with Dolphinbacks and their kids and grandkids before. So he thought he had some vague idea of what it might be like, outside the nest. This was nothing like he could have imagined.

The clothing was... a little drab, but he could work with it. Maybe they could all add some red and gold. That would be quite charming. But he was asked if he wanted to come and help in exchange for a wish. The truth was he didn't need the wish. He was Dinotopian through ad through. Someone needed help, so he offered help. Still if he did have a wish at that moment, it would have been that Breathedeep were here too, so he wouldn't be confused alone. This place was so small and cramped in. He was hoping to find a door to the outside soon so he could get some fresh air...

But first he had to report to this area. Whatever it was. And meet the others who had agreed to roll out of their own nests to help. He found a wall, away from the entrance, where he could be as out of the way as possible and settled in to see who wished to approach him. As he waited he began singing softly under his breath. Singing always helped with nervousness, after all.

Wufei Intro

[pilot05]

Wufei arrives at the VR deck and steps inside, his nametag appearing with the name Chang as he crosses the threshold, glances around, and promptly claims a corner of the room where he can see the door, arms folded lightly over his chest.

His expression is neutral, but his gaze lingers for longer than is probably comfortable before it moves on to the next. If he's shocked by the appearance of his shipmates, he manages to keep it off his face.

At one point he even makes his way to the table, pouring himself a cup of hot tea and eyeing the tray of meat as if it might actually leap up and bite him. He even frowns a little, the first real hint of emotion since he arrived.

Re: Main VR Holodeck

[crimsongirl]

When Homura woke, rather than explore the ship, she remained in her room. Half of the time was spent reflecting on what she agreed to, the deal she made to help out her "mother." Chances were whatever was going on in Avalon, she'd have an easier time trying to solve it from the outside. It still hurt though. She found something she never thought she needed. The pain and weakness of it remained, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. The other reason though? Training.

Spending so long away from shinobi magic, her body needed to readjust. It was hard, as she trained so long using the magical gifts bestowed by the other world. She felt they were gone though. No more command over lightning or the like. Back to fire and her natural talents. Though to her surprise, as she readjusted, she was stronger. Well, she did spend months training nonstop. Some gains were bound to be noticed. Just how would this extend into a transformation? Engetsuka, her nodachi on the other hand, remained sheathed. Not like she couldn't draw it. Just something prevented her, as if she was afraid to. Would she still be considered worthy after abandoning Avalon? There were still so many doubts to battle.

And not nearly enough time, as the pinging of the omniband finally got on her nerves. So one would see the 17-year-old shinobi run into the Holodeck, brushing off the welcome and immediately grabbing a plate full of meat before digging in. Well, her appetite and manners remained unchanged at least.

Re: Main VR Holodeck

[callsignhornet]

Waking up on a ship that wasn't the Normandy was strange. In fact, waking up on a ship that wasn't strictly military was even more strange. But Lyn still had her habits and in lieu of immediate orders, she prepared for the day.

That meant early hours, showered, and mostly dressed. She looked at the embroidered ID 'Shepard - Captain' on the chest and took a deep breath before putting it on. Finally, she slipped on the Omniband and was silently grateful for its similarity to the Omnitool from back home as she did a quick circuit of the ship to familiarize herself with the layout. Before her OB became too insistent, Allynbee made for the VR Holodeck.

There, her nametag appeared 'My name is Lyn Shepard'.

Soma Cruz, the late arrival

[notquitedracula]

Waking up someplace other than where he'd last been was not, in the grand scheme of things, a new thing for Soma. Waking up on what looked to be a ship of some kind? That was new.

The memories of why he was here were slow to resurface, but the insistent beeping from the wristband on the desk brought him to more or less full awareness. Right - this was a ship, but not the kind he was thinking of. Apparently he was in space, now - far away from home, from the castle, from those he wanted to keep out of harm's way. This was for the best.

That didn't stop it from hurting, somewhere deep in his chest. He hadn't even left a note; just grabbed what few things he felt he would need and ... and what? He couldn't really remember the next part.

That beeping was slowly getting louder and more insistent; enough so now that it broke him from the trance of memory. He scoops it up, looking for a button, an interface of any kind, to make it stop. No such luck; he sighs and fits it around his left wrist, the traditional place for a watch, and picks up the letter. VR deck? Where - ah, a map. So the watch-thing DID have functions other than that annoying alarm.

Dressing, he foregoes the uniform jacket in favor of his white long coat, swapping the nametag from one to the other. Checking his pockets he finds... not a whole lot. A single sword, some food items, and some potions. No money, no relics... just the things he 'needed'.

It's with slight trepidation that he finally makes his way to the VR deck. Judging by the crowd, he's probably the last to arrive - and very few of them appear to be human. Well... space ship, he should have expected that. Time to get to the introductions!

Duo Intro

[maxwellsdaemon]

"The actual hell...?" Duo didn't look impressed to have a badge on his chest with his name on it. Especially considering the redundant nature of it. His jacket had his name on it too, for some reason. But now he felt like he was five years old. Maybe he should also have a 'if found, call this number' badge too?

Duo might have been a little salty as he entered the Holodeck.

He'd fallen asleep in his bunk and woken up in an entirely different bunk. And he didn't even have the hangover to go with it. There had been a weird dream... some voice had asked him some dumb questions and he'd answered like any dream Duo would have done. Waking up to find the dream was real was kinda weird!

But it was the beeping that had bothered him the most. Just taking a walk had caused the watch on his wrist to eventually go mental. If anyone was brave enough to approach him while he was arguing with the thing, they'd get brownie points for effort!

Eventually though he ended up going to the Holodeck.

And that's where he got his badge.

Duo rolled his eyes, and in doing so he noticed the food. His stomach remembered food existed and growled. Loudly. "Master speaks. I answer." And now he was grinning as he walked on over to find something to satisfy the beast inside.

Ice Breaker! WHODUNIT!

[proxy_explorers]

OOC The Whodunit game. Have each person write down something interesting they've done on a note card (e.g., skydiving, have lived in 10 different states, drank a gallon of milk in five minutes—the sillier the better). Put the note cards into a hat, give it a nice shake, and have each person draw a note card they will then read aloud. The reader must then try to guess "whodunit" and why they came to that conclusion.

Re: Ice Breaker! WHODUNIT!

[sowgoodseed]

"I once plowed a fallow field for three hours to make a child new to our village smile."

The paper his entry is on is huge as each letter he wrote was written by two of his feet, though whoever read it would see it however they read their information to get here.

[hunter_marked_soul]

Nathanial's entry shows reasonably clear, if slightly formal penmanship. "I have dreamed the same dream every night for I've forgotten how long." It fits on a normal card.

[burnedherwings]

She's not into games, but they encourage this, right? So she ponders for a while, frowning at the card paper before her. Everything felt too personal. Too easy to point to her. That or it all felt too... gory for this group. And she doubted anyone wanted to know she knows the feeling of shoving a hand through a persons head and exploding it.

Finally she wrote in short tight print, a simple and point blank fact. 'I've walked upon all 78 planets in the system I call home.'

[pilot05]

"I once ran away to the circus." The words are tight and neat, perfectly legible. The letters are so uniform it almost looks more like a custom font than handwriting.

[tree_of_light]

There are many things he could write here, none of them suitable for this game. After a long moment of pondering he finally writes, "I once got roped into delivering mail all over the continent."

His writing is slanted and written hastily, practically chicken scratch but still legible.

Re: Ice Breaker! WHODUNIT!

[crimsongirl]

"I once clawed my way out of a giant monster. Actually, did that twice!"

Her life was filled with fighting. Hard to think of much else she wanted to share that wasn't just embarrassing or worse.

Re: Ice Breaker! WHODUNIT!

[callsignhornet]

Shepard thought for a moment before supplying her own card.

I once drove an all-terrain vehicle straight up a mountainside.

Re: Ice Breaker! WHODUNIT!

[notquitedracula]

Soma's penmanship is pretty elegant - the product of several centuries of past lives.

I once fought a castle and won.

It fits on a standard index card.

Re: Ice Breaker! WHODUNIT!

[crowneddragon]

[The writing is casual and rounded, with letters that are a bit large, but not overly so. It fits on a simple card, with some of the letters on the upper line mixing in with the letters of the lower line.]

I caught a fish, but it was too big,
so really, the fish caught me.

Ice Breaker! The Marshmallow challenge

[proxy_explorers]

OOC Break your team into groups of two. Give each group 20 sticks of spaghetti, three feet of tape, three feet of string, and one marshmallow. Ask them to build the tallest freestanding structure they can. Sit back and see what happens. The marshmallow challenge makes the perfect icebreaker and team-building hybrid. No Magic or Extraneous abilities may be used to reinforce or aid this structure.

Re: Ice Breaker! The Marshmallow challenge

[sowgoodseed]

"I have to wonder," he said to himself looking over the challenge rules, "How they are defining freestanding..." He expected that meant if they let go it would stay upright but... did the base have to be the floor? If not, did the height get measured from the floor or from the base? It was a head-scratcher, alright.

Ice Breaker! Scavenger Hunt!

[proxy_explorers]

OOC This is your standard scavenger hunt. You're given the challenge to find and photograph/tag items from around the Waystation and Explorer Ship on an A-Z list. Your Omniband is used to photograph and tag a chosen item. The winner will receive a small boon of their choice from the MDSOBs (such as a favorite meal, or extra casual clothes, or shower-steamers+spa items, etc.)

Re: Ice Breaker! Scavenger Hunt!

[sowgoodseed]

He wanted to participate in this one, but... wasn't certain how. "I'm sorry, but can someone explain to me how this game is played?"

Ice Breaker--Maze

[proxy_explorers]

OOC: This option requires everyone to participate, and is best done if broken into pairs. It also works best as a later Ice Breaker than the first option chosen. Crew mates pair up and the VR Holodeck will transform into a floor to ceiling unbreakable maze. In the center are 5 wrapped gift surprise boxes of various sizes for who finishes first, second, etc.

What's in the boxes? Well, be the first to find your way through the maze and find out. No breaking the walls--it's cheating.

Esteban intro/prompts

[crowneddragon]

Waking in a strange world isn't... a shock, really anymore. There's pressure behind his eyes, and something-- something missing. Something missing from him. Confusion lingers, and Esteban shuffles from the bed, glancing about at his surroundings.

A room. Small, but a room, with a closet and everything; even devices he's fairly certain he won't know how to use. The enclosed space is wider than he'd-- somehow, difficultly-- managed to get used to, so the relief is palpable already. But this is not the VoidTrecker, and his thoughts lurch.

Where is he then? And worse, where is everyone else?

The thought sends him hurtling to his feet, but he already knows it's useless, a half-raised hope shot down before he can even complete it. Right. Right. His memories are blurry, and his hoard is missing from him. But he'd known this would happen. As horrible as it is; he'd known it would happen. A shudder wracks through him, but Esteban glances about the room, at the set of clothes and the one journal set on the desk-- and this sends him scuttling the two steps across the room.

Not entirely missing then. The leather journal is a comfort, and he holds it close as he takes a deep slow breath.

He will make the best of this too. He is determined to make the best of this.

I - VR Holodeck
Exploring around has helped him get a grip onto things; the Omni-Band on his wrist has been causing quite a ruckus, but Esteban hadn't been ready, and he'd ignored the annoying mechanical sounds until he'd been able to at least set his confusion aside. There's still too much that clings to him, but he's able to brush it off, to set it apart.

Now he's good. With a determined nod, Esteban steps up to the door that swishes at his arrival, blinking as he notices the few shapes set throughout the room. Oh! Oh it's a meeting point? Maybe he should have gotten here earlier then.

"Heya!~ Am I late?" He asks lightly, though there's not a single trace of remorse in the smile he shares.

II - Swimming pool
It's a relief to sit by the swimming pool, somehow. It lets him linger into a form of comfort, a bit of a toss between missing someone and using that melancholy to ground him a bit. His feet are bare, pant legs pulled up to over his knees as he lingers there, listening to the silence and the soft swirl of water when he moves his feet.

"Oh, hello!" He glances at his new wayward companion, grinning brightly.

"Wanna join me?" Eagerly, he pats the space next to him, an open invitation. "I promise I don't bite~" There's a snicker along with his words, an easy attempt to ease tension from meeting someone for the first time.

III - Hangar
There's a rope dart-- he's found a rope dart! For all how difficult the day has been, the rope dart in the armory is a boon, a brightness that he had not expected. He hasn't practiced with it in moons, so he takes it slow at first, twisting and spinning it around his shoulder in a momentum that ease so much of his mental aches.

The twist and spin of cloth and rope helps him lose some of the tension, echoes of a simpler time, and he loses track of things, mindless to whoever might watch-- he's too used to it anyways. But stay long enough and he'll pop out of his focus, grin and stall the rope with a cheerful "hi! Nice to meetcha! I'm Esteban!"

II. Swimming Pool

[hunter_marked_soul]

Nathanial was trying to familiarize himself with the ship that was to be their new home primarily. It was...far more advanced than any ship he was used to. So he asked for help where he could, but mostly focused on memorizing the layout and any shortcuts he could find. It was a familiar activity, and a pleasure to not have to be hunting while doing so. Dodging beast did make it hard to explore at times.

The concept of an indoor pool was not exactly new. But it was a luxury and sign of extreme wealth where Nathanial was from. So finding one in the ship he marveled a bit, not seeming to realize he wasn't alone. At least until the other spoke up, and Nathanial's head swiveled, body alert briefly before relaxing once more.

"I assure you, I've had worse things bite me than you likely." With a quirk of his mouth in a slight smile as he moved to make his way over. Shedding his boots and socks, and rolling up unfamiliar pant legs, he gasped slightly as he put his feet in the water. It was so warm!