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

[pilot05]

Wufei's eyes narrow, just a little bit as Glass approaches. He resists the urge to be rude -- barely -- and presses his lips into a thin line for a few seconds, as if being polite requires him to exercise a considerable amount of self control.

"No." A beat of silence, before he remembers he's supposed to get along with these people. "Thank you." His teeth aren't clenched and he considers that an achievement.

[burnedherwings]

She blinked, looking down to a being waving hello to her. They introduced themselves as Glass, but she saw it on his name tag as well. A curious name. she stared for a moment, then pointed to her own tag. "Ambellina." She pronounced for him. And t hen after a moment added. "Hello." To try and be polite.

No worries <3

[burnedherwings]

She is considering all this. A nod, yes, it seems like a game. An... ice breaker? Right. She squished the white thing again testing it, maybe a bit amused by it. She could hear Claudio in the back of her mind, telling her not to be so weird. Try it! She's fairly sure he'd just shove it in his dumb fool mouth and eat it.

"The... tape and string. The one seems to be adhesive. The other a slender light rope, basically." She's unsure if he understands the concepts or not. But still, she frowned at them. "The instructions were not detailed. I would like to think that leaves us room to create as best as we can. Are you familiar with building structures and supports? Foundations?"

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'.

[burnedherwings]

Honestly, she was expecting a lot more people who didn't know much about space or anything, so his assumption does not at all surprise her. His own tone was keeping light and there was no smile but there was something about his expression that, well, she didn't feel insulted in the least. People have questions. They are allowed to ask them.

"You would be correct in your assumption. I've lived most my life among the stars." Over seeing those in the keywork and planets, never interfering, until the last ten or so years. "Though I have recently been traveling planets in search of someone. This ship set up, however, is new to me."

But she tried to give a fait smile, just pulling at the corner of her lips, almost not at all there. "I am known as Ambellina, and yes, I do believe we are now crew mates."

Re: Ambellina Intro:

[callsignhornet]

Shepard had been mostly mingling, introducing herself to people as they arrived and it seemed that Ambellina would be no exception. Or at least, after Shepard grabbed a glass off the reception table.

"Welcome," she greeted, eyes flicking over to Ambellina's name and assignment on the jacket. "I hope the band didn't get on your nerves too much."

A quick smile and a conspiratorial lowering of her voice ."I wasn't so lucky."

[callsignhornet]

"Take it easy..." Shepard said, dryly amused at the energetic display of hunger before her. "You might choke before you get to enjoy the food."

[burnedherwings]

She had been curious about who the captain of this ship was going to be, honestly. She'd been keeping her eyes open and eyeing everyone for details. There were definitely a few curious people here, but she wasn't one to talk, blue skinned, bright blond hair and strange sharp lumps on her back. At least this suit hid that more. Her suit, by the way, said she was Security for the crew. Her Hello sticker called her Ambellina.

When the being beside her spoke, her head turned to take them in, memorizing details and--ah. She caught the Captain there. "Welcome abroad as well, Captain. I assume you're as new as the rest of us are?" She asked, but then gave a small raise of her arm, glancing to the Omniband, assuming she meant this. "It was... insistent, after a while, that I make it here, and has thankfully been silent since." So even the Captain has to deal with this. Good to know.

Re: Wufei Intro

[callsignhornet]

Lyn had noticed the young man -gosh, did he look young- and his trepidation, so she approached the refreshments table as well. If that happened to be in such a way that she couldn't sneak up on the young man - well, all the better for him.

"The salami is pretty good," she says as reaches for some of the meat on the platter. "Unless you're vegetarian."

Judging from his reaction, she assumed that he was unused to food period, or specifically this kind of food. At least it was simple to demonstrate that the food was edible at least.

[callsignhornet]

"New to the ship, yes. This," jangling the band for emphasis." feels like the much more annoying version of a device I had back home."

With that, Shepard extended her hand for a handshake.

"Allynbee Shepard. Nice to meet you."

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.

[pilot05]

It's probably for the best. He wouldn't react well to being surprised. As it is, he grunts when she speaks, pausing to glance up at her. "I am... unfamiliar," he replies with a shrug, and reaches for something tucked away at the back of the starches tray.

It's the most familiar thing there, and it looks just like a ration bar. Because that's exactly what it is.

[callsignhornet]

Ah, a spacer or whatever the equivalent was from his home. Probably used to rations or something - she still had a lot of affection for galley food, awful as it was sometimes.

"That's fair. Me, I never quite adjusted to the taste of eggs that weren't powdered first."

He takes the bar from the starchy-looking area of the spread and Shepard gives him a small, slightly sympathetic smile.

"First voyage away from home?"

[burnedherwings]

"Thankfully I have never been tied to a device such s this before. So it's new for me, though I can see the uses in it. I suppose." she said, eyeing her own device a moment. As the hand was offered she stared at it a moment in return. Claudio had done the same. What a human thing to do.

Her blue hand extended to take the others, remembering how this worked, and gave her a hand shake. "Ambellina." She s aid simply. She does not have other names, and her title would make no sense to anyone here, not that she used the Prise title anymore. She had left the sisterhood behind when she burned he wings. "It should be, well, it should be interesting working for you. Or with you. Which ever this ends up being."

[callsignhornet]

"Working with, I hope. This is a civilian outfit, so I'll try to keep the unilateral judgment calls to the really important decisions."

Shepard took a sip of her drink, noting Ambellina's lack of familiarity with handshakes - mostly as a cultural difference.

"I notice you're part of the security detail. Do you prefer operational security or something more direct?"

[burnedherwings]

"Nice to hear. Not that I am against a captain and their ship, but this doesn't seem like it's going to be very... military." Which might be for the better, for her, s she's not used to dealing with those types. Then again with the sisterhood, she was used to order and orders.

And yes, sorry for her. She's spent far too long in the heavens looking down and far too little around normal beings. And those she was around were not the types you shook hands with with out losing hand or catching something. Shake done, she returns her hands to her hips, looking out at others as they spoke.

"Security is the closest to my skills as I could find myself here. I understand the need for operational security, but I also like a direct approach more. Hand me a sword or projectile or plasma weapon and I am much more at home." A pause. Then... "Not that I need a weapon."

[pilot05]

He bites off a corner of his ration bar and considers her question, glancing at her again, as if trying to work out a puzzle of some kind. "No. You can't travel away from something that no longer exists," and he takes another bite, turning his attention back to the meat. There were a lot of different kinds, and he could only identify a few of the items, himself.

[hunter_marked_soul]

She had lived among the stars already? Nathanial had been assuming she was an alien being from his perspective. To have it confirmed was helpful, even if it might not be much help on their ship. "This set-up is entirely new to me. All of it is far more advanced than I expected."

Not to mention the MDSOSOBs themselves. As far as Nathanial was confirmed--they were Great Ones. And yet... While they were sympathetic it seemed to humans, they were possessed of a greater understanding of how humans--or human-like sentient beings that were not kin at least--thought and operated. They did not seem hostile, nor to be the outright threat to humanity that the Great Ones he'd encountered so far were.

He'd accepted this bargain warily, but fully knowledgeable too of what he might be dealing with. At least in the abstract. "The practicalities of how to operate a ship such as this have me quite confused and out of my depth."

[burnedherwings]

She lived for far too long above it all, watching not only humans but all races row and develop. She watched as the Onstantine Priests grew in too much power and corrupted slowly. Watched wars and wanted nothing more then to step in and help. She and her sisters were not allowed though, and thus she spent far too much time in the stars and not around the people. Thus she's... still learning to People, herself.

She looked him over a moment again, taking in his words. Taking in his appearance. How much advanced was this for him? It made her wonder if others were going to have issues with advancements too. Was he from a backwater planet then? "I understand being out of ones depth. It takes time to orient yourself to a new life. My small advice? Take it one step at a time. Learn the things that will protect you or others first. That ay be as simple as figuring out how to use your Omniband, or it may be just knowing where to find first aid. Advance on to other systems once you have the simple ones down."

[hunter_marked_soul]

"It's a ship unlike what I expected to encounter, considering I'm more familiar with those that travel on the water. The clothes are strange too, though nothing so far has been so unfamiliar I can't grasp its use. Although I did not recognize much of the indoor plumbing, though I could grasp that it existed." It was almost said with something like relief, as Nathanial confessed all of that.

[hunter_marked_soul]

"We might have to ask one of our other crew mates." Nathanial read over what limited instructions there were again. "It seems likely we're somehow to use our bracelets--the omniband, as it was called--to photograph said items."

He sighed, crossing his arms, head tilting slightly in thought and a hint of frustration. "I've absolutely no idea how we're to accomplish that though. The device is far more advanced than what I've ever encountered before."

[fourglasswalls]

"Naw, I've made it this far, I'm good." This was nothing compared to eating a third of his body weight in one single meal! "Better get some if you want some!"

[fourglasswalls]

Yeah, lucky his name tag let him get away with the short version he used as a human name. Otherwise it'd be way weird.

"You're not the social sort, huh," Glass said, nodding knowledgeably. "That's okay. We'll work on that as we go!"

[fourglasswalls]

"Ahh, okay, I get it," Glass says, clearly making a great number of further assumptions as he nods. "I'm gonna warn you, then... standing in the corner looking mysterious and distant is like the number one way to attract attention!"

[fourglasswalls]

"Hooooold on." Glass's eyes twitched from right to left as he half-thought, half-remembered. Or tried to remember; he had a heck of a lot of memories to sift through, after all. "You're not... one of the Dragon Kings, are you?"