hexarchate_rpg | Move 3 (Chapter 1.3)

Time: 361 (high calendar)
Place: out-rift near Station Moongray

[Edited to add: NOTE: I'm flying back home tomorrow but will be keeping an eye on this move or any questions you might have. I should be able to resume normal GMing activities starting Wednesday. Sorry about that!--YHL]

[GM's note: feel free to continue to wrap up any last business in Move 2.]

Whoever is monitoring the Wasp notes that there are no major issues emerging from the rift into the target place and time. The visuals show strange energies crackling around the moth as it passes back into normal space-time. For days afterward, the energies' patterns haunt your dreams, as though conveying a coded message in a language you knew before your birth.

It doesn't take long for someone to notice your arrival. A transmission arrives from the direction of Station Moongray. The Wasp's mothgrid asks for your attention, and plays it. The message is given first in the high language, then repeated several times in other "low" languages: "Greetings, travelers. This is Station Moongray of the heptarchate, under the command of Administrator Nirai Paerani. Do you require an escort to the station?" It is accompanied by a local starmap giving coordinates to the station and the identifying information of a proposed escort, a non-combat research moth called the Butterfly Lens that has been patrolling the rift. The transmission goes on to offer succor in exchange for information about the other side of the rift.

[Players should feel free to discuss their response then, possibly, open communications with the station. The administrator will repeat the greeting message until someone responds or the Wasp attempts to approach the station.

Yehan will notice that someone has taken the task of translation very seriously--the heptarchate doesn't have the greatest track record in this area, but the low language translations are extremely competent, fairly polite, and convey a sense of eagerness for contact with people who can bring the station information about other times and places.

The Wasp's more advanced scan functions can verify the presence of the Butterfly Lens about a half day away and whoever queries scan will be almost certain that it only has the kind of light armaments that you'd use to defend against local debris.]

Threaded | Flat

As the moth enters normal space, Sasha hastily hits 'record'. The lights are beautiful; she's better with sound editing than visuals, but even a bad copy is worth keeping. She bites her lip, hoping that looks more professional than dancing in her seat. She's in a new star system! In the future! And it's not a secret rebel base, so nobody's going to try to stop her from looking at the constellations.

Sasha doesn't pay much attention to the official contact message; that will be Ashari's problem, or somebody else whose job is talking to humans. (She is a little surprised to hear the Naxorian version, though. She knows her home planet must be conquered eventually-- the heptarchate is evil, after all-- but she thought Naxarat remained free for another century at least? Pity the historian chose a different mission.)

Instead, Sasha monitors computer-to-computer transmissions. Were any viruses attached to that friendly welcome? Is anyone on the Wasp trying to slip a query past her firewall? Can she catch any chatter from the station?

[If the Space Internet is up already, Sasha will check headline news and keep an eye on the feed from her pre-programmed innocuous requests, too.]

Ashari paces back and forth in their office. They called a small meeting as soon as the message was received, and are looking very pensive. They have a plan already. Accept the escort and try to look as confused as possible, but the rest of the team could have other opinions. And stepping on any toes this early on could have a negative effect.

The instant the first person arrives, they turn to them and say, "Any thoughts?"

[Asking specifically for Sasha as the cyber security expert, Kaliyan as the on-board second in command, and Yehan for a look at the language. But they also do genuinely want to know what the rest of the team makes of the situation]

Virmad’s first priority is going to be query the space internet for the exact date and time — so he can be prepared to brief people on upcoming remembrances, etc. as appropriate — as well as probably some general news.

[my goal is to get Virmad that headline about the Rahal magistrate, on the hypothesis that some legal troubles involving Rahal might give him or Sulen a potential in to the station hierarchy. there's probably no reason Sasha would volunteer the headline to the group, so Virmad's going to have to come across it himself.]

Edited 2017-07-20 02:56 (UTC)

[Let's face it. We need to get these straight. Fake names, fake professions, fake interests, when and where the people are from... Plus it's good to have a reference post to look back on later. We haven't really talked about individual cover stories yet, so I think this would be a good place to discuss anything.]

Edited 2017-07-20 20:38 (UTC)

comms! in the FUTURE!

Ashari's plans [paging Sasha, Kaliyan, Yehan, & the Rest of the Team]

temporality [time is fake]

COVER STORIES