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

Holodeck

[sowgoodseed]

"Late?" The saurian asked of the newest arrival. "I was unaware that we were set to any schedule at the present. How we could be in the absence of a sundial, to say nothing of the sun and moon themselves, is a headscratcher, I will admit."

Yes, that is a talking dinosaur, not a really small wingless dragon.

"Still, it is good to meet anothr friend. Breathe deep, seek peace. I am Goodseed, and you, my friend?"

[crowneddragon]

There is a tiny wyvern here. There's a tiny wyvern, and Esteban can already feel his spirit lifting from the familiarity of a creature he has some knowledge over. He still gets startled when it talks to him, not expecting it, but he's glad nonetheless. There is... some comfort in the familiar form.

"Breathe deep, seek peace." Esteban repeats, a little curious, and pretty enthusiastic at the greeting. It's a lovely one, and he's grinning as he watches the strange being in front of him.

"You're very articulate for a hatchling," he adds in his curiosity, not even really conscious of the change in language. He blinks at the large legs that bear the small 'dragon's' weight, as opposed to his wings-limbs. He doesn't seem to be able to develop the muscles necessary for flight. And the talking is a surprise-- he'd never met a talking wyvern before.

"Oh! I'm Esteban!" he adds easily, grinning at his new friend. "It's nice to meet you!~"

[sowgoodseed]

"A... a hatchling?!" He asked, startled and reminding himself not to be insulted. It was easier because the other seemed to mean no offense. "I am no hatchling, Esteban. My name is Goodseed and I assure you I cracked through the shell some time ago." He scratched his side as he considered how to handle all the confusion his presence seems to have caused among the humans. Though admittedly, he'd never seen a human who looked quite like this one. It was mostly the ears.

[crowneddragon]

The half-elf blinks lightly at the small Wyvern's claim-- but it sort of makes sense? Oh-- wait-- are his wings underdeveloped? Is that a thing? Damn-- that's probably a bit--

"Sorry?" he asks lightly. "I was just-- I mean." Hmm. Words, Esteban. Words would be nice right about now. "I was wondering which stage of growth you're at. Hatchling, Hookling, Sproutling?" he prompts-- but it hits him that this is not likely to be a common term. Just because he himself has grown up with the concept wrapped up around his growth does not mean it's a standard across all species.

He really should have known that by now, to be honest. It's just-- it's a baby dragon! How can he not fall into well-trodden paths? He'd been actually glad to meet someone that might know what he means after all, but his enthusiasm seems to have gotten the better of him here.

And yet, he wouldn't be Esteban if he didn't immediately use it to pester the baby dragon with questions.

"Do you have stages like those? What stage are you at?" Wait-- that sounds kind of invasive a bit, doesn't it? "I'm a Soarwing myself."

Uh... maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that either, now that he thinks about it.

[sowgoodseed]

"Certainly we have stages, though not those names, save for hatchling, but I am an adult. We use the same word for this stage as you humans do, though we use the Saurian equivalent of course. It is this odd place that makes my words seem to come across in your tongue. I will admit it is still a bit startling to hear humans speaking Saurian, even knowing that it is artificial. It is a rolled up scroll I look forward to bringing back to Waterfall City with me when I am no longer needed here. As for being a Soarwing, I will admit that I am unclear what the term means. Perhaps this translation is incomplete in some fundamental way. To me it sounds as though you are saying something about... flight...?"

[crowneddragon]

Goodseed's wonder at the languages being directly translated has Esteban beam, throwing his arms wide.

"Isn' it great?" He asks, but he realizes the small wyvern isn't quite done with his thoughts, and he has to slow himself down. The mention of a rolled scroll confuses him for a bit, the Waterfall City makes him wonder for the being before him-- what sort of city it is; how it is built-- and yep. He really shouldn't have mentioned Soarwing stages. He grins anyways, shrugging an easy shoulder.

"Yeah! Well; Soarwing's the dragon's word for an adult. I just thought 't might be familiar t' you?" He brushes the concern aside, far more eager to get any new nugget of information from his companion.

"D'you collect y'r knowledge up in rolled scrolls? Is that what you meant? What's the Waterfall City like? Why's it named that? How's it--" He visibly swallows a dozen more questions, shifting ever so slightly away from the small wyvern because his enthusiasm was getting him quite readily in the tall being's space, bit by bit. Little forwards movements, his arms wavering as he got maybe a little too close.

No don't overwhelm anyone, Esteban! It's not polite!

[sowgoodseed]

He gave a bit of a well natured chuckle. "You sound like a newly rescued Dolphinback, young one." He smiled. "We use the term adult, where I am from. Though I suppose they might use a term such as Soarwing in Canyon city. I do not spend much time around Skybax and their riders, however, so I am uncertain. A rolled up scroll is a turn of phrase, an idiom, I suppose. I have ben told that even with intentional translation, they do not always translate easily. Generally a rolled up scroll is a person who is behaving in a confusing way. I more rightly should have said the situation is a head scratcher, a puzzle, that is. But rolled up scroll seemed more on scale with this place."

"As for what Waterfall City is like," he continued with the ease of someone used to answering rapid fire questions, "It is hard to describe to one who has not seen it. It is like describing the sunset to one born blind. I can do my poor best, but I will never be able to properly capture in words the majesty of such a place. Poets have tried, and my skill was never with words in quite that way, but I shall do my best. Waterfall City is the Jewel of the Polongo, set along the river of the same name. At nearly any time of day one can see rainbows in the mist of the many falls that the City sits atop. It is our center for learning, and where most celebrations are most celebrated. All Dolphinbacks go there as a mater of course to learn our writing system and our ways. And to learn to understand spoken Saurian, even if they cannot make the sounds themselves. Even those of us hatched in Dinotopia, we all spend some time learning in Waterfall City. I think were my calling not elsewhere, I happily could have found ways to make myself useful and remain there. I, as would anyone, would certainly have been made welcome."

[crowneddragon]

"What's a Dolphinback?" He'd never heard this, not even from his aunts, and the term seems just peculiar enough. Something he sort of understands, but not without more context. A bit like Soarwing, he guesses. There's a note about Skybax and riders and a rolled scroll--

"Oh~" There's a moment where Esteban wonders at his own idioms, but he's better off not using them so quickly after his light blunder. Besides, he's more curious as to the little dragon's words. "You-- wanna bring me to the Waterfall city?"

Surprise startles him, before he understands that the little dragon hadn't been talking about a person in this situation, so much as a situation; a bit of a twist in his own idiom. He'd be disappointed, if he didn't also understand-- it's not usual that people invite him over as soon as he meets them. And neither has he ever invited anyone in particular.

He's thankfully quiet as Goodseed describes the Waterfall city, though the mention of celebrations perks him right up. Quiet he may be, but he's practically vibrating with words he is trying hard to hold back until his friend is done with what he can describe of his home. Esteban makes a mental note to try and help him refine his words, the way Melchor would have, but he's not certain where to begin.

The last sentence-- he's not sure if it's directed at him, or just an odd musing. So; Goodseed is a bit older than he first thought. There is... so much to say with what he's just learned, and it's difficult to find a starting point and a second point, then a third. He'll have to be patient, no matter how hard it is for Esteban, as question upon question piles up against his throat.

"What makes it hard t' speak Saurian? C'ld I try to learn it? My voice goes really deep!" he cheers, adding one more to the list before he can stop himself.

"No-- wait-- Dolphinbacks." First. Things. First. You can do it, Esteban! Just give the not-so-young, not-so-wyvern time! Patience is a virtue! One he sucks at, but he will get there!

[sowgoodseed]

"Dinotopia is surrounded by storms and barrier reefs that keep our land safe. It isn't anything anyone has ever done, just nature. But because of it, sadly some humans from outside the nest wind up outside their boats, stranded and drowning. If a human would die and cannot be saved by being pulled back onto their ship, then the dolphins go to help them. If they can't get the human back to their boats, they bring them instead to the island. So since they arrive on dolphin back, they have been called dolphinbacks for as long as I can recall. If I studied the first dolphinbacks, I do not recall."

"As for what makes it difficult to speak Saurian... I am unsure if I can explain with this translation happening automatically. Because I am speaking Saurian right now."

[crowneddragon]

There's something quirky in his words, and it takes Esteban a second to spot it, carefully considering what he's told. A grin lights up his features when he spots it, something he finds quite lovely when he points out "y' call y'r island the nest?"

With the barrier of reefs and storms, somehow, he can see what the small wyvern means. Encircling a land in a protective boundary-- like a nest for the eggs to be kept safe, and warm, and sheltered. The mention of how they help the humans caught into that barrier makes him smile, before his head shifts to the side in his curiosity.

"If the people that get to the nest can't speak Saurian... how d' you communicate with them?" he asks curiously, unsure of how that would be possible. Unless there are... some of Goodseed's kind that can speak other languages?

"An' they can't speak it... 'cause your voice goes too low? Goes too high? Is there a sound they can't make? Or a few?" Esteban knows a few languages himself after all; maybe he can manage!

[sowgoodseed]

"Yes, we often call Dinotopia the nest. I am not sure when that started, but it is in the oldest scrolls I have read. As to how Dolphinbacks can communicate, some Saurians speak a number of human tongues, and there are the other humans as well, of course. And of course there are always other ways to communicate, like art, music, dance... But human throats generally cannot make all the sounds required for Saurian though your ears can come to learn to hear and understand it. So Dinotopian has two primary languages, Saurian and Human English. There are other languages as well. The official written language is the Footprint language, of course."