Calibrations Waiting Room Mingle

[trpmods]

WHO: ALL HE ROWS
WHERE: The Secret Tunnel, which has become the Calibrations Waiting Room (or was it always...?)
WHAT: Mingle log for literally anything you'd like to take place in the waiting room between sleep cycles during the event
WHEN: June 3 - July 10
WARNINGS: Please mark individual threads with warnings

For those that have heeded Ga Re's warning, the door within the secret tunnel - which looks suspiciously like the hatch to one of your shuttles - is wide open, waiting for you. You walk through... and the door behind you disappears. You’re now standing in a cavernous, cold, white waiting room. There are hallways leading off the main corridor with names above each. One of them has your name and will draw you toward it, inevitably.

And on the wall, in pink, running letters is written this single greeting:

‘Welcome to Calibrations’.

The secret tunnel has become a large waiting room with chairs, tables, and the same food dispensers available in the shuttles. There are also communal bathrooms - one for each gender - with several toilet stalls and shower stalls in each, including basic shampoo and soap dispensers, like you might find in a hotel. The water isn’t hot, so hopefully you don’t mind lukewarm showers. Somehow, at least, it never goes cold.

Branching off the main waiting room room are the labeled hallways. At the end of each short hallway is a door, with the same character’s name written on them. Anyone can enter any room, regardless of the name written on it. Everyone has their own room, though of course people can share. Each room has a simple bed (approximately queen-sized) and a set of drawers.

You can opt to spend time in your room or in the larger, common waiting room. (And if you do, you can thread it out here!) But every 16 hours, you'll feel a compulsion: You need to sleep. Right now. You find yourself going into your room (or someone else's, if you really want). But you’re drawn to the bed. You can’t help but lie down. And then, you fall asleep.

Comments

[out_of_order]

It's then that both Cal and BD-1 look up at the man. "That his name? It's nice to meet you, Mini-C," the padawan says when he glances back down at the doll, smiling. "I'm Cal, and this is BeeDee-One."

The droid beeps again at that, wandering closer to Mini while Cal turns his attention to Reeve again. "And you are?"

[plate_builder]

"It's short for Mini-Cait. But yes, that's his name. I'm Reeve Tuesti, architect and city planner."

And he looks to BD-1 with a raised eyebrow.

"Fully autonomous AI system?"

[out_of_order]

"Nice to meet you too, Reeve," Cal replies before he follows the look to BD there on the ground. "Yeah, that's right. They're called droids, back home." Well, home in the general sense.

"I'd ask the same of Mini, but..." He tilts his head. "I'm getting a more organic feeling from him." More than that, he thinks.

[plate_builder]

Organic feel? Reeve pauses and looks at Cal. Interesting.

"I don't suppose you have powers related to the Force, such as Altair has."

After all, Altair had not only been able to tell what Mini was, to sense the doll's life force, but to see how it tied back undeniably to Reeve.

"Mini is a doll at the moment, but absolutely his own person."

The doll flexes, as if to show that he's moving on his own.

"Back home we have drones not unlike BD, but they're programmed responses, not intelligent."

[out_of_order]

Cal blinks at that, but he nods. It makes sense if Reeve's met Altair. "Yeah, that's right," he says.

A slight grin is given towards Mini as the doll demonstrates. The padawan holds out a hand to him.

"I see. Droids vary with the programming given and the functions they've been designed for, but they can develop their own personalities. BeeDee-One here for instance is an exploration droid."

BD-1 borbles proudly at that.

[plate_builder]

Reeve rises from his seat and moves to shake the hand offered.

"Interesting. Very different from the Shinra drone units then. I'm glad. Those were mostly either surveillance or security."

And the only reason the things didn't shoot the employees was because of their ID cards. Fun.

[out_of_order]

"We do have such droids. There were even armies made up of nothing but droids." Who shot at you because you were on the side fighting against them. Yet even with that base programming, they still had the ability to consider, to decide and react. Cal felt like that was was forever ago.

BD-1 steps closer to Mini and gives him a playful nudge before hopping back, wiggling in place. Maybe trying to initiate a game of tag?

[plate_builder]

Armys of droids. Reeve cringes. "Scarlet would like that." Except she'd hate it, given they could make their own decisions. She would not approve.

With his attention on Cal, he doesn't even notice Mini getting the playful overture. The doll considers briefly before nodding. No doubt BD-1 is faster than him, but Mini is definitely determined. He claps and moves after the droid, ready to tag him. But he clearly needs to let BD-1 get moving first.

[out_of_order]

Cal shakes his head. He's not particularly crazy about armies of droids himself. Sure, the prospect of having to bravely face them for the good of the Republic had seemed an idea way to prove yourself as a budding Jedi, but it's gotten a little old, having to fight for his life, and not all your foes were made of metal.

"Who's Scarlet?" he asks.

BD-1 whistles eagerly and then begins to dash off, only a short distance at first, but perhaps he's gauging Mini's movement. After all, what fun would it be if he lost his playmate before they'd even started?

[plate_builder]

"A woman I worked with," Reeve says, and his distaste is obvious in his voice. "She was a very horrid woman."

Once BD-1 starts moving, Mini starts chasing. His movement is a bit clumsy, but it's still not too slow. The issue in the end is he's only good over normal terrain.

[out_of_order]

"I would have to wonder about anyone who might approve of an army of droids," Cal admits. He has no problem with droids, but having them as a disposable army was just wrong, much in the same way as some felt the Clones might be. The war had only left him with more questions than answers.

With Mini starting after him, BD-1 begins to skitter off and around whatever furniture the common room might contain. He peeks around a chair before beeping in surprise at just how close behind Mini actually is, taking off again.

[plate_builder]

Shinra often treated its real army as disposable too, so he definitely didn't like it much.

"Shinra was... a violent company."

His eyes flash toward Mini and BD-1, watching as Mini jumps around the corner of the chair, trying to catch the droid.

[out_of_order]

That certainly sounds ominous. "Shinra? ...what sort of things was it involved in?" Cal hasn't had much experiences with companies, unless one counted guilds, but he was only ever part of one and although the work was hard and the conditions poor, violent isn't a word that comes to mind to describe it.

He looks over as Reeve does, grinning a little at the two.

BD-1 squeals as he hops back from Mini, running past the chair before darting around the padawan's feet.

[plate_builder]

"Attempting to control the world through fear and money," Reeve admits. He can be candid about it, all this time later. "Mini has been having trouble making friends his own... size."

Not making friends. Mini is good at that, even when people don't realize he's sentient.

Mini, meanwhile, tries to chase after BD and accidentally flops down over an uneven part of the floor. It doesn't keep him from getting back up and running after BD, arms waving.

[out_of_order]

Cal frowns, nodding solemnly. "That...sounds familiar, unfortunately. Except it's not just a company, or even a single world."

At least the subject of Mini is a lighter one. "There don't seem to be many, but there are a few. The other droids, and the children." He smiles. "Sansa's baby's still too young, I think, but maybe the Mandalorian's ward."

Seeing Mini fall, BD-1 hurries back, although with the doll getting up again, the droid spins about and is away again, weaving between their human friends' feet.

[plate_builder]

"People like power. I don't understand it. I guess I'm just someone who likes people more than power," Reeve sighs.

"Mandalorian?"

A baby was an absolute wrong choice for Mini actually. Mini who was back on his feet and chasing after BD, his cape flowing behind him.

[out_of_order]

"Yeah..." Cal rather prefers people to power as well. The path of power seems a lonely one, and the Jedi had always impressed upon them that seeking only power would lead to destruction.

"Ah, they're...a sort of warrior people from my galaxy. They have a particular style of armor. One of them is here, although I think he's more of the solitary sort. He seems a bit protective of the child he's with too, although I guess I can't blame him."

With BD-1 weaving figure-eights around his feet to keep from Mini, Cal tries to stay still so he won't accidentally step on anyone.

[plate_builder]

"I cannot say I approve of the Agrii bringing children here," Reeve sighs, fingers coming up to rub at his temples. "Why must they suffer?

Mini sees your figure eights and comes to a stop, tapping a foot and tilting his head as he considers. What is the best way to do this? In the end he decides to jump over Cal's feet rather than running around or through them. Maybe that will work!

[out_of_order]

The padawan can only shrug. "More questions for the Agrii that I wonder if we'd ever get answers to."

He glances down again as Mini tries a different approach, unable to keep from grinning as he sees where this is going.

So does BD-1, although a little too late. He lets out a beep in surprise as Mini jumps in front of him, which has him backpeddling awkwardly, and within complete reach of Mini.

[plate_builder]

Mini reaches out to bap BD's head and then he's running away.

"Answers are likely something we'll never have. But we will have to deal with this. Moving forward, I suppose."

[out_of_order]

The little droid shakes his head out a bit. With Mini already off, BD-1 wastes no time in hurrying after him, his beeping promising that he's gonna get him!

Cal shakes his head at the two, still grinning. He glances at Reeve and has to nod in agreement then. "Some answers, maybe. But I think others will just take extra work. You're right though. Moving forward is the best thing we can do."

[plate_builder]

"Forward. And accepting the friends we find ourselves surrounded by. It seems like those two already get the point."

Mini keeps running, starting to mimic the style of running between Cal's legs that the other had achieved.

[out_of_order]

"Yeah. Sometimes, I guess it doesn't hurt to look at the simpler side of things." Cal laughs, watching as Mini begins to weave about his feet. "Oh come on, guys!"

BD-1 makes a noise akin to a chortle as he sees what Mini's doing, following for a few circuits before he hops away and then waits for Mini to make another pass before hopping in front of him.

[plate_builder]

Well, Mini is having fun, and he doesn't even hate it when he falls over and gets caught.

"I think their fun is wholesome."

[out_of_order]

It's amusing to watch the two at play. Cal nods at Reeve in complete agreement. Proof enough that it's not impossible to find some way to entertain oneself. Even just watching Mini and BD-1 is fun in itself.

The droid taps Mini with a foot, looking about to run off again before he decides otherwise. He comes around the doll to help push him back up with his head.