[Lee's face isn't showing a happy one. He has spent a good chuck of this month, enough to make him take on radio silence, working on the ores and projects that has him busy since he got them from Gilgamesh. Now, it's time to break that silence.]

I sincerely apologize for my silence. Even more-so to my team. I shouldn't have locked you out when I should have asked you for help. Please understand that it is nothing personal.

Without further delay, I hope that now we can finally achieve our goals. I have more materials to work with and now the means to take the steps toward a finished product. What say you in completing what we started?

[The lab is finally finished and the gases, ores and other raw materials have finally been collected properly and organized the way it should be. There is a ton to work with now and the cannon he was working on is now a fully functioning working model.]

[For once, Koltira's not at his lake, or even in his cabin. He's somewhere in the city--some dilapidated ruin, it looks like. Probably one of the buildings hit by the UE's recent bombing, abandoned and subsequently forgotten during the reconstruction effort. He doesn't really have any other quiet place to go in the city proper, since he (somewhat foolishly, he's now realizing) gave away his Initiative-assigned room. Oh, well.

He sits cross-legged among the rubble, the tablet propped up beside him. It's difficult to discern his expression: the icy glow of his eyes betrays nothing, and his mouth is a set line. His voice is, as always, a guttural scratch, underscored with a strange, otherworldly reverberation.]

Some of you have spoken before of the dead. Perhaps you knew death before coming here, or perhaps this place brought you back. Either way, you are in a living, breathing body, and so that is not the kind of death I'm asking after.

I ask you, instead, about undeath. Does it exist on your world? Do you fear those touched by it? Do you hate them? Are they merely soulless automatons, or do your revenants retain some measure of self, of intelligence?

[He leans forward, and a lopsided, unhappy smile briefly passes over his expression.]

Inquiring minds need to know.

_{( Remy is seated at one of the taverns in the city, drumming his fingers along the bar counter and regarding the tablet idly. )}

Y'know, I mighta been grateful that they'd gotten us all back an' put ta rights by the end a the holidays if there was a better way ta celebrate out here.

_{( That's about as close as he's getting to mentioning timeline discrepancies on his own, since his general philosophy is "let's not talk about it." )}

I haven't been home for Mardi Gras in years, but it still seems a shame ta let it go by without a second thought. Even if there's no music, no parades, and no king cake. But here's ta you, fellow Transports. We survived another month.

_{( He raises the bottle of beer he's been sipping from, tilts it back and then sets it back on the counter decisively. )}

Guess Valentine's a bit more popular, no? An' it's comin' up right around the corner. Hard thing ta celebrate when you're not with the people y'care about, but maybe we can make do with each other. Would be a shame ta waste another holiday. _{( That's all said in rolling, easy kind of tone--not upset, just thoughtful. He smirks at the camera, once, before the feed cuts. )}

[At first the camera is focused on an empty chair but after a moment a hand made of shifting red and purple energy with black bones and stars encased in it grabs the back of the chair and pulls it out.  Soon Ghost, or as a few have come to know her as "Ciara", settles into the chair.  She doesn't look any different.  Well, aside from the fact that her uniform has a boob window and her expression is more friendly than usual.  In fact, she flashes an easy smile before speaking.]

This is certainly unexpected.  But that seems t'be the way of things here.  I seem to have some vague memories of bein' here befo', younger me.  Probably told y'all to call me Ghost or Ciara.  [She gives a soft laugh and shakes her head.]  Ne'er was so quick to trust back then.

In any case, allow me to properly introduce m'self.  Name's Dalila Galloway or Ghost if you prefer.  [Another smile.]

Anyway, onto the real reason for this.  Despite havin' memories of this place I'm findin' m'self a li'l lost.  Is there someone who would be a dear and show me around?

[video;]

[This kid looks a little familiar if you were around when he had his public temper tantrum. Dressed in plain robes, he's not anything special, though his ears are too big for his head. His eyes are a softer blue-green color than nasty demon fire green. He doesn't seem to be aware of the change.

He's too busy fanboying the tablet.]

Look at this! Look at it! What's it do? Wow, it really responds to touch? I wonder what this does--

[And within seconds he's absorbed in what archives he could find available on the network.

He can worry about where he is later.]

Well, that was interesting. I never believed in the whole Moody Monday plan of Murphy's Law, but somehow I get the feeling he was on to something. It seems there was a little glitch. I'm glad I didn't bank on that actually working out.

A question to you fine folks; what is the one thing that you want most during your stay here? I must admit, closure is pretty high up on my list.

[Lee isn't in a pleasant mood to talk in voice and text helps him to ease his mind. The more he can think about something else, the better.]

[Koltira's at his lake, sitting cross-legged in its center, on a platform of pure, glittering frost. Byfrost, his runeblade, is stuck in the ice beside him, glowing darkly--a black miasma crawls and leaps around the sword throughout this transmission, though it doesn't seem to bother Koltira much. Rather, his attention is fully fixed on the tablet, which he holds up with one gloved hand. He's wearing a black, high-collared shirt with long sleeves; no armor at all is visible. A collection of glass bottles, most of them empty, surrounds him.

It's been about a month since his blood frenzy, and several weeks since he and a few of the others handled Arthas. Aside from his night out with Bariyan for New Year's Eve, Koltira has tried to seclude himself from the population of the island, and definitely tried not to talk about all the terrible things that happened during his frenzy.

He is a creature of guilt and despair even at the best of times, but this most recent go-round on the misery carousel has left him deeper in darkness than ever before. He's decided that he needs to offer some apologies. Some explanations.]

Before I speak to you of the true matter at hand, I wish to thank those of you who assisted in dealing with Arthas and rescuing the Lady Proudmoore. Though he escaped, it will likely be some time before he is strong enough to trouble us again.

[He pauses. His expression, which had been entirely stoic, turns downcast.]

Important as that is, however, it's not why I'm talking to you. I mean to apologize for my actions of some weeks ago, especially to those unfortunate enough to encounter me in the forest. I am so terribly sorry for the harm I caused. I was not in full control of my faculties--that is why I tried to issue a warning.

[He shifts in position slightly, so as to pick up one of the fuller bottles and take a fortifying drink. All right. Pressing on.]

As some of you know, I am a death knight, of a world called Azeroth. I was killed, and then my raising into undeath was ordered by Arthas himself. My body is the product of the worst kind of necromancy, and the curses that bind me together extend beyond the flesh. All of my kind are subject to constant pain; barely tolerable to living senses even at its lowest levels. We were designed, quite literally, to be killing machines in the service of the Lich King--a name that Arthas has taken now, and that he will indeed eventually become.

[Another pause, another drink. This part of the explanation is his least favorite, but he knows he must tell it, in the interest of honor and transparency.]

Our essential curse is this: the longer we--the longer I--go without inflicting suffering on another living creature, the more we suffer in turn. If enough time passes, we fall into madness. We think of nothing but blood. Seeking it. Spilling it. Our pain becomes excruciating. Unbearable, wracking spasms.

I fight against this every day, as do all my brothers and sisters in death. But it is not easy, and I occasionally fail.

[He winces even as he talks. Almost through it.]

Again ... I am sorry for the pain I've caused. In the interests of the city, both yourselves and the general population, I've left the apartments. I shall remain here, and I shall limit my time among you, save as I must come and go in service of your protection against other threats.

It is all I can do.

[He's quiet for a moment, staring down at the ice. That's all, right? That's all he can say, he thinks. He ends the transmission.]

[Koltira's voice is even more guttural than usual, thick with gravel and pain. The strange reverberation is more pronounced, too; it's as though some other spirit hisses in echo of each word he says.]

I ask you--for my sake--for yours--do not come near my lake right now. [he pauses, exhaling raggedly.] Best ... best, in fact, to avoid the area around it in a several mile radius. For several days, at least.

Please.

[another short, gasping breath, and he's done.]

[OOC edit: koltira is now in his blood frenzy. you are free to approach him, action-style, but please keep in mind that the content of such threads may be triggering. death knights are sadists, and their view of violence is inevitably sexualized. OK? OK <3]

➔ INITIATIVE ANNOUNCEMENT

[ Throughout Exsilium, all of the communicators will beep several times before the video feed activates to show a stern woman. A purple Initiative banner hangs behind her. ]

Good evening, Transports. My name is Mera Vestus. I am a member of the Initiative Consulate. Jointly, we head the Initiative. I have elected to speak on behalf of the Consulate today, and hope to address some of your concerns.

I would like to begin by apologizing for our lack of communication with the Transport population. Organizing our endeavours is no simple task, and has occupied the entirety of our attentions. That is no excuse. We have brought you here, and it is our obligation to be as forthcoming as possible with you. From this moment on, we wish to seek out a greater degree of transparency with the Transport population as a whole. No Transport should be afraid to voice his or her concerns, nor should they feel that they are falling upon deaf ears.

I also wish to apologize once more for interrupting your lives by bringing you here. If there were any other option, we would not have resorted to such measures. As it stands, you are the last hope not only for our world, but for many.

As some of you have already been made aware, it is not merely the fate of this universe that is at stake in our ongoing struggle against the United Earth. Many of this world's natural resources have been depleted, with only stockpiles remaining for the United Earth to rely upon. These stockpiles are running low. They have been forced to resort to extreme measures. They have begun to utilize their own version of the transporter technology to drain resources from other worlds in hope of supporting their own regime. One by one, they are leaving other worlds as barren as this one. Each of your homes is a likely target. The United Earth is indiscriminate with their targets, and consumes without temperance or remorse.

We wish that it had not come to this. We wish that we could send those of you home who do not desire anything to do with our ongoing battle. But this is unfortunately beyond our control. We cannot control who the transporter selects, or when it chooses to send individuals back to their own worlds. We will do anything in our power to make your stay here as comfortable as possible in gratitude for your cooperation.

I will now be receiving questions. I will answer to the best of my ability, and look forward to engaging in civil conversation with all of you.

[Nananea is smiling pleasantly down into the tablet’s camera. Or at least she’s trying, but even her pleasant smiles show all her sharp teeth. As she begins to speak, she moves all four of her hands in strange gestures, punctuating every sentence.]

Things have been quieted down lately, don't you think? I am quite relieved about that! I think Exsilium is a perfectly adequate place to be at times like these! A good place, even! I hope any new arrivals have been settling in well! If I have not already greeted you- welcome! If you do not recognize me, new arrival or not, I am Kinna Nananea. I am a doctor, currently I am working at our transport clinic-[She seems to cut herself off, as if just remembering something, then grins even more widely.]

But my main interest, my main area of study, is alien culture and biology. My study of humans has gone well! As my study of trolls as well- but I know that these are not the only two species here! I have met several others since my arrival, but I still know so little.

If you are not a human, if your origin is not on this planet, please, talk to me! Tell me anything you think I would like to know! I have no specific questions at this time- because it would take too long to list them! An interesting fact about your culture, your planet, yourself [A double wink] would be a good start. Or a simple introduction. Anything you would like to share- please do!

[She seems to be done speaking for a good minute, but then a thought occurs to her, and she adds one more thing:] Of course, if you are human,I would still enjoy speaking to you!

[Lee looks at the screen and he's certainly not amused, or it appears that way. There isn't much he can really do at this point. He did have a little interesting run-in at the bank today. Imagine his surprise but he's not saying anything in regards to it for the time being. What an interesting discovery that everything he once had in his accounts before transferred in this hell hole. That's one more nail in the coffin that doesn't set too well for him even if he could use the money.]

Huh, I've had one of the strangest conversations today. I think the poor bank teller had a heart attack, or she suddenly received a severe case of numb tongue. I had a good laugh after she fainted.

[Truth be told, he would have too if he didn't know any better.]

Ah, that's right. I have something to say. Vin, the order you requested? I have all of it. Even the rare ones, and no, I didn't have a problem this time.

[It's going to be a slow build and without his adoptive family getting in the way, he's going to start rebuilding his empire real soon.]

[The voice that speaks is hollow, computerized.  To anyone that doesn't know otherwise they'd think there's a robot on the other end.]

I guess now that things have calmed down and I've had time to dig around on the network so graciously provided to us by our kidnappers, I should introduce myself.  I am Ghost.  No, that's not my real name it's a codename.  No, I will not tell you my real name.  You only need know me as Ghost.

I have noticed a number of undead running around, I do hope none of you will pose a threat.

[There's a pause as she lets that hang in the air a moment.]

I guess that was it.  I'm really not much good with these kinds of things.

[video]

[The room shown on the feed is sparse, bearing a cot and a small dresser. It's early morning or very late evening depending on who you talk to. The only source of light is a small lamp sitting on the desk beside the device, which does much to illuminate the small, skinny figure beside it. Actually, scratch that-- he's got glowing green eyes.]

It's not enough. [His voice is young and bitter with a searing edge of desperation. And his face is pretty much the same.] It's not enough!

[He stares hard at the pile of books and papers on his desk, then reaches over and grabs something. Whatever it is, it's small enough to fit in his hand. His eyes flare brightly, sickly green and hot; he opens his palm, and nothing but dust remains.]

Do you hear me, Initiative?! THIS ISN'T ENOUGH!

[His voice cracks, and that's the last straw for him. He swipes everything off the desk, lamp included, in one swift and violent display of anger. The lamp goes out, and the network feed ends.]

[ooc: Roommates, feel free to barge in if you want. Or... go back to sleep. lol. OTHERWISE OPEN TO ALL. he's been a bit of a hermit since the intro log and um... well, that was a couple weeks ago. |D]

[Roomies, there's a reason the suite is quiet. Lee isn't there punching the stuffing out of his makeshift punching bag made from an old military duffel bag, a chain and sand.

Instead, he's on the network and he's collecting stuff. Lots of stuff. One of them he's managed to drag out and take apart to strip it clean for metals. He's also in what looks like an old garage and he's already starting work on the conversion. Just ask, he'll tell anyone what it's for but good luck getting the location.]

Huh, it seems that I have arrived at the right time. There is nothing like the smell of oil, metal and the sharp acrid odor of pollution in the morning.

Filtered to Margulis and Isaac.

I made coffee this morning. Help yourself, gentlemen. The mugs are above the sink. Spices are best kept away from humidity and are kept in the cabinet above the canned goods. Light tends to degrade cinnamon and I strongly dislike weak cinnamon. I have procured a nice little hidey hole for us to set up shop and possibly a small yet humble base of operation for now just outside our current residence. The generator needs a bit of work.

I'm currently in the process of fulfilling a client order. Worry not, I have every intention to keep the profit gained to secure a better place. Are you in?

[With that, Lee smiles and returns to his normal, slightly goofy self.]

All in all, it's not all that bad.

Whoa, hey uh... Is this thing on?

[Eddie's face fills the screen for a moment before he pulls the device back, giving the viewer a clear shot of the word "SUCCORIA" on his t-shirt, as well as a badge that reads "Ironheade" in bold white letters against a black background, and above it is a sword pointing down into a pattern of rocks similar to Stonehenge. The badge itself is dangling from a lanyard, and is intertwined with a rather large fang dangling from a black cord draped around Eddie's neck.]

Right, cool. So they brought me up to speed on the kinda shit you guys have been dealing with. The good news? I'm throwing my hat in the ring with you guys. Name's Eddie, Eddie Riggs. I'm a roadie. If you're wondering what the bad news is, well, the bad news is they didn't bring the rest of the army with me, but don't you guys worry about that!

Trust me, we'll have this under control in no time, we just need some good music, scrap metal, and some willing hands to help me work on some projects once I got my shit in order over here.

So what do you say, guys? How about we give this rebellion a bit more Rock?

[While he waits for people to chime in, he's going to alternate between reading his tour book, tuning his guitar, and looking over the edges of his battle axe.]

[ it opens up to a video at first. there's Meenah, lounging about in some ruined remains of a building, rubble around her. she's sprawled back and her clothes are ripped and stained with blood. she has some dried blood on her face, like she hadn't been bothered to clean up after the whole attack.

resting atop her head is a strange animal skull, large and grotesque, worn as a crown with her horns sticking out of the eye sockets. long shredded flaps of the flesh drape around her shoulders like a cape. she twirls her trident around her fingers in her hand ]

Kay, that was fun. I was thinkin' this shithole was gonna be borin', even with all that timeline hoppin' or whatebber the fuck you'd call it.

Was gettin' kind of fond of some o' the beasts that were swimmin' around this plaice, but, 'ey, gill's gotta prove who's the balla, right?

Anemoneways, looks like we got a buncha new scrubs nomoby cares aboat, and more imprawntantly, looks like a buncha suckafishes think they can be startin' armies or somefin, eh?

Maybe I should start an army of my own. Then we can just go and wreck some shit. Sounds fun, don't it?

[ she grins her shark teeth which are splattered with drops of blood and disconnects ]

[ A smiling yet slightly blood-smudged face is already filling the frame when Feferi turns on the feed. There's a cut on her cheek running with a bit of her pink-hued blood but it doesn't bother her to warrant more than to wipe it away with the back of her hand. ]

Hello! Hi! I would like to welcome all the new faces, if I didn't already get around to you! I'm glad you could join us, we really need all the help we can get. I'm attaching our totally awesome Newbie's Guide in case you haven't seen it yet, but if you need a printed copy, there's a whole bunch in the bin outside Room 202! Or just come find me.

[ Link Attached: A Newbie's Guide to Exsilium ]

Anyway, just to let everyone know, even if the monsters look like they're weakened and in need of help, uh... some of them are still pretty mean! Guess I should have seen that one coming, right? I would not recommend trying to relocate any of them. Not alone, anyway.

[ She pauses to lean back a little, her trident coming into view, being what she is supporting herself with. ]

Does anyone want to help me?