INTRO LOG - JUNE 2014

[rekindlemods]

Who: Everyone
Where: The Welcome Center
When: 18th June, late afternoon
Summary: The new arrivals, freshly pulled from their worlds or others, awaken in a strange place...
Warnings: Inbox death may occur. System overload at own risk. NPC responses may be slow.

It's a shuddering breath, a sensation of being pulled to elsewhere and finding oneself pressed against something on the soft and some place cozy. However, before one can fully stir, there is and odd, warm stirring sensation that lifts you up from wherever you've been dropped, when you begin to drift off once more.

Yet the feeling passes quickly, and when you awaken, you begin to realize your surroundings. It's a small room with what some might recognize as a Far Eastern theme when it comes to decor, from the walls to the sofa (or bed) you find yourself on. Illumination is provided by carefully crafted lamps, and even a candle flickering on a nearby desk. The doors are made from paper and wood, with a thin frame; through them it's easy to hear other people stirring, talking, or coming to.

You are not alone...

Close at hand there's a note that reads:

WELCOME CENTER
Newcomers: Please come downstairs to the lobby for refreshments and your welcome packets!

Odd... This wasn't written in your own language, and yet you find it easily understandable. Soon enough, if you don't enter on your own, there's a gentle knocking on the door as someone comes from downstairs to usher you along.

"Welcome to Saeng Seong! I know you must be confused as to where you are and what's going on, but we promise to explain this to you once you've had a chance to stretch your legs!"

Whether you go downstairs immediately or linger a little longer, eventually you must come down and get out of the small space, and sooner rather than later would probably be better. You'll find yourself in a well-lit lobby, filled with comfortable-looking couches and chairs. Along one wall are refreshment tables, loaded with all sorts of cool and relieving food and drink, including some you probably aren't familiar with. It's just as well they're in good supply, as the windows outside show a city well heated from a summer sun.

On the wall opposite are a pair of desks, each with a sign, and one person at her station-

Rhea, General Assistance
Andi, Technological Assistance

The plaques have a shiny new look to them, as do the desks. The one with 'Andi' listed appears to be empty, though. Gathered around both desks and several tables are boxes as well, and...Empty jars? The woman minding her desk doesn't appear to give them a second thought.

However, before you can go over and give at least one of them a piece of your mind and ask questions, the same person who ushered you downstairs hands you a manilla envelope that contains your welcome packet, urging you to read this before asking the two figures questions that the packet likely answers.

Inside it, you will find: a ring with a key and apartment number on it, some kind of cash card, a map and informational guide to the city, and a letter folded neatly on the top -

Welcome to Saeng Seong!

You are among a new group of arrivals to our city, from many far-apart worlds.
We have gathered you here because our city is in a crisis, and we are at our last resorts. The energy of the city is in a slow downward spiral, and is dangerously close to expiring altogether.

That's where you come in - you and everyone else we've brought to the city. Unlike those of us here, you have the potential to generate the energy the city needs, but you'll need to work together to do it.

Why? Because the energy can only be generated when two people touch each other. Any touch will do, but it must be between two of you who are new to the city. If you don't keep in contact with someone, eventually your energy will begin to drain as well, making you dangerously ill.

A few other things:

The closed-off sections of the city are closed off for a reason; approaching them will cause your energy to drain very rapidly. We're working to open the rest of the city to you as soon as we can, but for now, please remain within the first five districts of the city.

You have been given a key to a one-bedroom apartment in a complex set aside for you and the other new arrivals, near the riverside in the 1st district. You're free to change your living quarters whenever you like, and we encourage you to move in with someone in one of the larger apartments. When you want to change, just come back to this building to exchange your key.

We've also included a cash card with a living stipend; if you're unfamiliar with this system, or the network established for new arrivals, you can talk to Devin in the lobby for help. It's what he's here for. If you need medical assistance, contact Mai, one of our nurses.

Again, welcome, and thank you for all your help.

Irene Rhea
Arrival Liaison

Outside, and through the translucent glass you can see a banner hanging from the tiled roof of the building across the street. The cheerful colors on it match well against a bright blue sky:

WELCOME TO SAENG SEONG
(ENJOY YOUR STAY!)

Comments

[dadcepticon]

"Several months," Krok clarifies. "And yes. And mostly, I've just kept my head down and minded my business. The Autobots are too busy with their own problems to care about me as long as I'm not out there causing a commotion." And really, he's quite fine with not causing a commotion. Krok is a bit of a fuddy-duddy that way.

He frowns slightly and lowers his voice, leaning in to speak more privately with Fulcrum since there is at least one more Autobot wandering around in this latest crop of arrivals.

"One of those problems," he says, "seems to be one of their own. Chromedome. He's playing at being a loose cannon and as far as I can tell, his friends don't approve in the slightest. You'll need to keep an eye out for him. He likes beating up Decepticons even more than Ultra Magnus likes arresting us."

[forcowardice]

"So... there's some kind of time displacement at work. That explains your repairs, anyway." And why exactly Krok had been so happy to see him. That really puts things into perspective, actually. Krok and everyone else? They were always kind of touchier than he's used to from other crews he's worked with, but he's never minded the more friendly approach. The hug had been weird at the time, but now he can't help but wonder how rough it may have been for Krok. Krok, who frets over his unit. "Well, I guess I'll just have to suppress all of my sadistic urges and keep my head down," Fulcrum remarks flatly. "I'll manage."

The K-Con hesitates as Krok comes in a little closer to speak softly. Fulcrum leans in, carefully listening.

"If they don't approve, then why haven't they done anything about it? ...Silly question, I guess. Decepticon well-being probably isn't really high up on their priority list." He pauses, then narrows his optics. "He likes beating Decepticons. But this place has been full of Autobots other than yourself?"

You see where his worry is going with this, don't you?

[dadcepticon]

Krok has many an opinion on Autobot internal policing or lack of visibility thereof, none of which he needs to go into right this moment. He sticks with answering Fulcrum, shaking his head slightly in the negative.

"I had it largely to myself until last month, really," he says with a wry twist in his voice. "Two of the humans mentioned there have been a couple of Cybertronians here before – one named Wing and the other… well, that was Deadlock." He's more than a little surprised there was a city left if that particular Decepticon spent much time here. "Ultra Magnus seems to consider me a non-threat. He's willing to leave me alone in the meantime and I'm quite content to keep it that way," he goes on. "And they have a medic. Ratchet, I think." There are others – he probably ought to try explaining Drift – but he also doesn't want to pull a Misfire and relentlessly info dump at poor Fulcrum.

[forcowardice]

"Wow." Fulcrum sighs and his shoulders slump a little. He's never heard of Wing before, but he remembers of course Deadlock. Unfortunately, due to his little, ah, coma after his K-Class leap, Fulcrum is currently unaware of Deadlock's turncoat. "Not that I'm one to cause trouble, but I'll keep my head down as much as I can. But Ratchet's here? Terrifying medic Ratchet?"

Figures. Why not have all of the scary Autbots here?

"Were any of them a bother to you?"

[dadcepticon]

Awkward pause.

"Not really," Krok lies, because it isn't his crew's job to worry about him. And Chromedome wasn't so much a bother as – needles, he recalls the needles, and his eye twitches – a vulture. Krok probably would have been fine if he'd not been so sick that day.

Probably.

"Most of those I've met are aware of the war ending," Krok says helpfully, "so they haven't really bothered with me."

[forcowardice]

"Krok." He gets the feeling that Krok isn't being entirely forthcoming with the truth, but he won't try to twist it out from him. The physical reaction is subtle, but he catches it. Quietly, Fulcrum settles his hand onto Krok's wrist. "Okay."

If he says so. For now.

"Well, that's good. So maybe things will be easygoing for us while we're stuck here. It'll be nice to be somewhere where we don't have scrape by, right?"

[dadcepticon]

Krok chooses to pretend Fulcrum noticed nothing so he needn't acknowledge it, though he doesn't shrug off the K-con's hand. He simply leaves the subject lie in favour of gladder tidings.

"Speaking of not scraping by, we needn't worry about fuel. We can't just run out and find it, but they supply us with more than enough on a weekly basis." More than enough, here, to mean that the Scavengers had to learn to get by on starvation rations. Enough to eat fully every day is almost extravagant.

[forcowardice]

"No, that sounds pretty great! It'll be nice to have full rations for a change. Short of dealing with the Autobots, this kind of almost sounds like a vacation. You know, as far as kidnappings go, I guess." Fulcrum cracks a smile and lowers his hand to briefly hold onto Krok's.

"It'll be okay." He says it, mostly to assure Krok, who tends to worry. "Maybe the others are waking up here as we speak. We should keep an eye out."

[dadcepticon]

For a moment, Krok just stares at Fulcrum's hand on his own. Comfort is not something he hears often from other Decepticons, even those in his crew. It's a little humbling.

"So let's get you something to tide you over," he says abruptly, and uses Fulcrum's hold on him to lead the K-con toward the refreshment tables. "If they're here, they're bound to show up for food as soon as they realise there's food to be had."

[forcowardice]

The behavior is noted, but Fulcrum doesn't call him out on it. Instead, he just grins and lets Krok lead him over to the refreshment table. Gently, he squeezes Krok's hand as a friendly gesture. No, Fulcrum isn't big or tough or even all that brave, but he plans to be here if he's needed.

"Yeah, if there's one thing you can count on, it's that everyone will be focused on the free food. I think the last time I had a full tank was before my drop." He takes a glass into his hand and glances down at the contents. It looks like the real thing to him. Hopefully it'll taste close to it.

[dadcepticon]

Krok's expression twists with irony and something wordless at the idea that the K-cons were fuelled up before leaping to their deaths. It certainly would have made for far more effective explosions.

"Getting their energon's worth, I suppose," he murmurs darkly. Not wrong from a tactical standpoint at the very least. Less morose, he adds when he sees Fulcrum looking the drink over, "As far as I can tell from my stay, it's the real thing. The imitation stuff always has that cloying ethanol aftertaste, but no such trouble here. I've thought about looking into how they get it," since most organic worlds can't be bothered to stock engex, let alone actual, volatile energon, "but administration seems somewhat dense." He certainly hasn't had the impression that they'll answer just any queries.

[forcowardice]

"You could say that."

It's not the happiest topic for him. He has a lot of thoughts and feelings in regards to the K-Class and what came before and after. Now is not the time to share any of that, and the way Fulcrum looks at it, maybe there will never be a time for it. In any case, he leaves it alone. Hopefully it'll be forgotten about.

Onto more positive things.

"More and more to the mystery, yet they don't seem to desire us in much discomfort. That's plenty odd."

[dadcepticon]

"The city?" Krok nods and looks around. "They seem to consider outsiders like us and the organics who've arrived the same way as valuable assets. Seems it's only contact among us that solves their power concerns, nothing they themselves do." And it's a peculiar enough crisis. Power loss solved only by contact between persons? Maybe it's a question of friction. But they wear no collectors.

Strange.