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

[fourglasswalls]

"Right, that's the way!" Glass said, as if the other guy had actually done anything. "Nathanial, huh? So whaddya go by? Nathan or Nate or Nat or Na? Or Big Na-Na The Niel? Nay-to-the-than-to-the-thiel-thiel-thiel? If you haven't thought of any of these and you like them, you can steal them, by the way. I'm the last person to get in the way of a guy and his hip-hop-slash-DJ name of choice."

[hunter_marked_soul]

"I'm sorry--are you by any chance mad, sir?" Nathanial's tone as he asked this question was quite serious. Both gentle and sympathetic if the other was, without any negative judgment. It was also quite ironic, coming from him.

Still, if he was dealing with a madman, he'd rather know so he could adjust accordingly.

[fourglasswalls]

"No way! I'm in a very good mood." Man, did this guy sense his Rage? That could be a problem in the future!

[hunter_marked_soul]

Perhaps he'd phrased his question wrong. "I mean, are you touched in the head slightly? I recognize you're speaking words, and they almost make sense. Yet some of them could be so much gibberish for the understanding of them to me."

[fourglasswalls]

"Oh! No, it's cool." Glass flashed the dude a thumbs-up. "We're from really different places, obviously, so it's just culture. We'll find an understanding eventually! Like, where I'm from, no one would say, 'for the understanding of them to me', but I got what you meant."

[hunter_marked_soul]

Nathanial blinked, head tilted slightly. "I suppose that's true. And I go by Nathanial, if I'm understanding your previous question correctly without all the excess words."

[fourglasswalls]

"Really, not shortened at all? That seems so formal. Plus bad in a crisis. Imagine if everything's on fire and the walls are collapsing and we have to alert you. By the time we got done with your name -- fwoosh!" Glass flicked his fingers to indicate Nathanial bursting into flames.

[hunter_marked_soul]

Formal? Perhaps it was, given how the other was speaking. Could it again be that it was culture related?

"I do not think it overly formal or overly casual, for what it is worth." Nathanial replied. "And I suspect in a crisis, unless I'm unconscious I'm already likely to be alerted."

[fourglasswalls]

"I dunno, what if the crisis is a really big wasp on your back? Like, really big, man, and we gotta warn you, but any sudden movement will make it sting. If we say your whole name, bam! Sting time! It's that long!"

If nothing else, Glass had a... very, very active imagination.

[hunter_marked_soul]

"I suspect we'll deal with that if it happens." Nathanial replied, dryly amused at the lengths this guy was trying to go to. "If it bothers you that much, you could shorten it. I just have never done so."

[fourglasswalls]

"Cool! Nice to meet you, Nat!" Shortening offered, shortening accepted. "There's not a wasp on you, by the way. I would have actually said something. That was just a hypothetical. Which, by the way, has nothing to do with hippopotamuses. Not gonna make THAT mistake twice."