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« 001 ⇢ INTERLUDE001.EXE »

Who: Mosley and these unfortunate souls
When: OOC: 6/27, IC: 1/26
Where: CERES Research Tower
What: Mosley takes a few lucky souls on a tour of the CERES offices.
Rating/Warning: PG-13: Some violence, injuries and possible death.

▶ VIDEO.EXE | IC: 1/25

[ The broadcast comes bright and early for those paying attention to their CereVices; the man who appears on the screen is strikingly pale, white-haired and piercingly blue-eyed. He looks young, no more than nineteen or twenty and he's dressed in a crisp black and white suit. He stares into the screen for a long moment, long enough to be, frankly, just a bit uncomfortable.

And then white eyelashes blink and an awkward, unsure smile spreads across his face. He lifts a hand to fix his tie and speaks. ]

This is Mosley.

[ The smile drops, leaving him with a blank expression once again. ]

CERES has decided in a show of good faith to open our doors to you. I have been given the task of, [ He lifts his hands to emphasize with air quotes. ] "being your tour guide." If that is what I must do, so be it. The lazy worm does not get the apple, after all.

[ He looks down at the tablet on his desk, giving it a few taps and suddenly an icon appears on the bottom right hand of the video. ]

That link will bring you to a listing to make an appointment. You will be given a time. Show up promptly or do not, it is no matter to me. The tour will leave ten minutes after your given time and that will be that. Tours will only last a few hours so you needn't worry about the rest of your day. You will certainly return home in time to catch the latest episode of [ Air quotes again. ] "Banana is the New Black." I hear there's going to be a cliffhanger!

[ A pause and he looks oddly thoughtful. ]

I suppose you could also steal it off the internet? [ Blank again. ] Which would be wrong. Our lawyers will contact you if you do that. Do not.

[ And then another of those awkward smiles before quickly turning into something a bit startled and he taps his tablet again, ending the video. Replies to this feed have been disabled, unfortunately. Seems like someone isn't feeling very chatty. It's a miracle. ]

▶ ACTION.EXE | IC: 1/26

[ The next day, that Monday, those who take Mosley up on his offer will find that him standing there right in front of the main CERES office building, waiting. It’s with that same disconcerting smile that he unlocks the door and ushers them in.

Welcome, all of you, to our lovely CERES!

The group will find themselves standing in a lobby. Clean white walls and floors, a bright blue rug leading towards the elevators on the far wall, and a white reception counter. At the counter are two CERES robots answering calls and directing any visitors (though the lobby seems quite empty today) and on the wall behind them is a hologram of the CERES logo for all to see. Mosley stands in the center of the carpet in his usual suit and claps his hands together, putting on a smile. ]

Welcome to CERES.

[ And then the smile drops. Voice flat, he continues. ]

There has been... talk over the past few months that we at CERES have not been working 24/7 to help you, our clientele, return to your homes safely and soundly. There has also been... talk that we do not do anything. That this entire company is a farce, which is honestly quite hurtful to both me and the other hardworking staff at this company. Mr. Vincere had his way of running this place but Ms. Recreare is fond of a more hands on approach. We want to share that approach with you.

[ He spreads his hands to indicate to the building around them. ]

CERES has many fingers in many jars and they've all been sealed tight for a while. We would like to open those jars. So once again, welcome to CERES and please follow me.

[ After that, Mosley turns and begins to lead the group off. ]

▶ RUN.EXE | MOD NOTES

This is the event log for these sign-ups! Your groups have been sorted below; here are a few handy links for you:

Group 01 | OOC plotting
Group 02 | OOC plotting
Group 03 | OOC plotting
Group 04 | OOC plotting
Group 05 | OOC plotting
Group 06 | OOC plotting
Group 07 | OOC plotting
Group 08 | OOC plotting
Group 09 | OOC plotting
Group 10 | OOC plotting
There is no tagging order, so feel free to tag in whatever way works best for you as a group.

The tours will technically last 3 hours icly, but that may change as ic events happen; oocly, the threads will last as long as necessary, though Mosley will come and collect your characters if they are moseying around too long! There will be mod involvement in each of the tours.

If there are any questions, feel free to ask them here. You are welcome to plot with your groupmates by using the ooc top level comments linked above. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Not Rio!! Though if he finds out she's tsun... But Peko paused on his name... THAT MEANS SHE'S STILL FLIRTING. ]

Hmm. Yes. I completely agree with the bespectacled angel here.

[ Smooth, Jaune. ]

Maybe... changing leadership within CERES isn't that easy, considering the way somebody relieved him of his duties in the end.

[ Yang pivots on a foot to walk backwards, keeping an eye on the group and an ear on her surroundings. Someone who works for a different government, and a bunch of interesting teens-- well, she can't complain. ]

CERES could've maybe had another colony before or something like it, that didn't work out? My question is... why here? What's so promising about this place?

I'm wondering if CERES has even been around as long we've been told. Right now, it sounds like this was the first venture. [England moves aside some vines to allow people to walk past] As to why Tellus... We'll probably find out soon enough.

[there was a tired sigh in there, as though he knows that this interactive diary's only just beginning. not only will they find out more secrets, but probably more monsters lurking around, as well]

. . . OLD FILE OVERWRITTEN . . . CHECKPOINT #002.SAV . . .
. . . CONTINUING TOUR.EXE. . .

[ Unfortunately for Yang, it's extremely hard to see anything in a jungle this dense, so as she walks backwards, she's going to trip over some well-hidden stairs -- and probably tumble down them.

Should the rest of the group follow suit, they'll find what appears to be a....home of sorts. It's a hut, truly, though as much as it looks like one, it is surprisingly well-constructed, and blends in well with the forest around them.

There is nobody around, but from above, as ever, comes the confused voice of the intern. ]

That is when we stumbled across something...weird. I don't know. There are people here, though, and they're all a little...strange. One of them spat fire at my face! Though I don't think he meant to, but still.

Mr. Vincere sure looked excited though when he went to talk with them. I would've thought he'd be upset. Wasn't this supposed to be an uninhabited planet?

[ Is she going to tumble with a startled yelp? YES SHE IS, and it's not going to be graceful at all.

Yang will end up in an unhappy groaning heap located by this convenient hut, so feel free to ignore her while the voice-over continues. ]

They could've mentioned invisi-stairs...

[ Fire-breathing natives, though. ]

It's Pekoyama, [she corrects Jaune with a frown, the only input she has to what he's said. Before she can continue, there goes Yang, and Peko's immediately running down the stairs after her. Or, well, running as best she can, considering all the thick jungle undergrowth.]

Yang! Are you hurt?

[She crouches next to the other girl, though she's also looking around the little hut, trying to find anything that looks suspicious, or worth storing as an evidence bullet.]

[ This feels strange for Jaune... usually he's the one falling over things?? Unlike Peko, though, he's aware of how tough Yang is and lets the girls take care of themselves as he scans and pokes around the room with his weapon. ]

K-Keep your guard up...! We might be greeted by one of these fire breathers, too!

Bear in mind, I wouldn't be so quick to assume the natives are unintelligent or have no capacity to communicate, if indeed they are human-like.

[Speaking from experience, though, it is a good idea to assume hostility or mistrust until proven otherwise. (It's not like she's actually been the one in the reverse position or anything...)

Leaving the scouting for anything of interest to the others, Rio extends a hand for Yang, temporarily forgetting that she is very much also an alien right about now.]

[Peko only pauses long enough to make sure Yang's not visibly injured before moving on to investigate the rest of the hut, pushing vegetation and other miscellaneous, unimportant bits out of the way if necessary.]

The narration said that Vincere was able to speak with them, but considering that this is an... "interactive diary," I still would not discount it attacking us just the same as the monster earlier.

[Not that she's all that concerned about it now, considering how easily they were able to take down said monster.]

[ There appears to be nobody in the hut. It is a homey place, though mostly empty; there is some furniture, but otherwise nothing. It is very lived in, however, no dust on the floor or anywhere.

On the floor there is a single piece of paper, which appears to be a deed of sale, signed by Julius Vincere, to land on the planet Tellus.

It has been ripped in two and clearly stomped on, and the edges of the paper appear to be singed.

Either way, stepping into the hut has tripped the next part of the diary. ]I wonder if these people are going to live with Mr. Vincere and the rest of us in the colony? This is around the area Cerealia should be built, so that would probably be the best solution.

[England is actually relieved that there are no fire-breathing natives in the hut. he doesn't know if they'd attack his group.

upon seeing the paper, he moves to pick it up. or, rather, pick up the pieces, if he can, and read over them. he's listening to the voiceover as well]

It appears Vincere's ideas were not welcomed with open arms. [this... kind of hits home. he thinks of the many places he and Spain, and other countries, took by force. the memories this section of the diary brings up leave a bad taste in his mouth]

Considering Vincere's record, this does not surprise me.

[Peko moves in closer to get a look at the paper, then holds out her hand. Apparently, in the same vein as mopping up a bit of Mosley's vomit-oil, she also wants this. It's an evidence bullet, of a sort.]

May I hold onto that? We may need it.

[ With Rio's help and a quick "thanks!", Yang is on her feet again and moving further in to peek at the paper. Bruises, pshaw, she'll walk 'em off. ]

I haven't exactly seen any fire-breathers in the colony, either. That weren't dragons, anyway. But who knows how long ago this was?

[ Jaune is trying to read one of the pieces as well, until he realises it's upside down and he flips it appropriately. ]

I see...

Kinda gives motive to whoever stabbed him in the end, huh?

[he's been holding out the paper so that everyone could read it. ...upside-down, apparently! whoops! but at Peko's question, England turns to look at her. he saw her sample collecting earlier, so perhaps she is a detective? well, he eventually surrenders both pieces to her.

...he wonders if they are able to take those pieces back. they're part of the diary, but also data... so maybe?]

There are probably a lot of people who wanted him dead. If it was one of these people, they didn't accomplish anything. Cerealia just got a new C.E.O. to replace him.

But that begs the question, as Yang has said -- who are "these people", and why haven't we seen or heard anything about them?

[Then again, perhaps they're outside the colony now... Or perhaps they're dead. Or something in-between. Either way, Vincere seems to have done his fair share of sullying his hands, so to speak. And yet, if they truly wanted change, surely they would have planned a bit larger than simply a murder in the name of revenge...?]

Are we perhaps in some sort of native village? If there's one hut here, it's likely there may be more outside.

[She's not, she's just a super high school level nerd, but going through class trials and executions just makes every bit of evidence she can find seem that much more crucial. Even though it probably can't be taken out of this room... if it is a room. Or data. Whatever.]

Thank you. [And she tucks the paper pieces into the opposite pocket from Mosley's vomity tissue.]

If they're alive in the present, I'd imagine they're outside the city's walls... [If they're alive. With her evidence safely secured, she's moving out of the hut itself to look carefully for more huts, thanks to Rio's suggestion.]

A native village downstairs.

... Well, why not? [ Yang's also heading out to have a better look around/watch out for more killer stairs/etc. ] Peko's right, all this jungle, if it's still around, is probably sealed off from the city. The natives might not've wanted to drop in.

[ From the way it looks to Jaune, it could have been just one person or a small group of people who were upset with Vincere, since he did legally buy the land according to the paper… which means there must have been some kind of agreement with another of the planet’s inhabitants, he thinks. But he’ll leave the speculation to the professionals and maybe consult Shiho later… because none of this tells him anything about Pyrrha for the time being. ]

I guess we'll just have to snoop around more huts... as long as nothing attacks us again...!

[ Heading back outside and exploring around a bit will reveal the rest of the village, clearly inhabited, but still completely lacking in people in this simulation. They can wander a little closer, the intern's voice urging them on with -- ]

Their village wasn't that amazing of a place, but I guess it wasn't too bad. They didn't seem to like our technology at all, though. We had to put everything away that even seemed technological.

Still, when we finally met up with their leader, she --

[ And, as soon as they step past an invisible line in that village, everything, for a moment, glitches...

And then they find themselves deposited right back outside in the first hallway they were in, with the doors.

If Peko checks, she will find that she still has the paper that she had taken, despite this having been a "virtual" diary. ]

[oh, they're back. just when they were about to find out about the leader. England makes a noise of aggravation when he sees where they are.

Cerealia is full of glitches. still, it wasn't a total waste]

It's nice to know the glitches are just as prevalent in CERES. [sarcasm of course, accompanied by the rolling of his eyes]

D'aw! I can't stand cliffhangers!

[ He says it in mild disappointment, but he's mostly glad to be back here to be honest. ]

What are we gonna do now? Should we split up and gather more info from those doors before Mr. Mosley returns or stick together? I don't suppose just going home is an option for anyone either... [ Even Jaune realizes this is a rare opportunity for them to learn things on their own. ]

Split up, definitely. Two groups, so no one's going at it alone, just in case. That way we'll have more doors done before that guy comes back.

[ Yeah,Yang's gunning for finding out more. ]

Agreed. There are still three doors, however, and only five of us if you would prefer no one go alone.

[Peko does drop a hand into her pockets to check, and with a brief flash of surprise, pulls out the paper.]

However we decide to split up the areas... please make sure to collect any evidence you can. Even if it does not seem important at the time.

...It may not be a bad idea to take pictures with our Cerevices, as well.

[ Jaune nods and

just caaaasually aligns himself right next to Peko while the others are still weighing their options, as if he already picked his companion. It probably wasn't very casual at all. ]

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▶ CHECKPOINT TWO.SAV

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