As ever Cal preferred monitoring from a distance, but the Pipsquitch's voice over the comm system meant it was time to leave the security room and head out to be the welcome wagon. Hopefully it would be a tolerable experience for all of them.<br/><br/>He arrived just as she was leaving with their unfortunately-slimed newcomer. Cal had half a mind to follow given its reputation was, but he had other business to attend to. He had removed his helmet, leaving it in the security room but keeping the rest of his armored suit on (It had become a habit). Showing his longish blonde hair and clearly human features as he raised a hand in greetings.<br/><br/><span style="color: #b30000">"Welcome to the first step out of Hell."</span>He said<span style="color: #b30000">"I'm the voice on the intercom, pleasure to meet you all."</span>He tried to keep his voice jovial but there was an obvious strain to it.<span style="color: #b30000"> "Follow me right this way to the main hall and you can have a seat and venture out from there, or just take a knee since I imagine about half of you are ready to drop."</span><br/><br/>As he turned to lead them to the main hall, Cal was silently pleased at the presence of several women in the group, including a human even! Even if it was just to get an eyeful he was grateful for the sight of another woman other than Pipsquitch after this long in isolation.<br/><br/>As he lead the brief tour drawing closer to the heart of the base, he pointed out many of the available rooms, as well as utilities like the kitchens. He also casually pointed out how most of them were partially or entirely nonfunctional. Without even backups to go on they'd had to make due with handmade water purifiers that made the water taste like iron, tree sap carefully gathered and diluted could be a decent drink, but the side effects seemed to be almost a complete crap shoot. Any stoves or ovens were replaced with crudely-made gas canisters full of what certainly wasn't gas. Most of the food was either dehydrated (and bereft of flavor), or gathered from outside when the getting was good. Calvin did love his traps.<br/><br/>The halls were dark save for what could be scrounged up or salvaged, and most of it had been traded out for luminescent plants (or fungi, it wasn't entirely clear at times to him ). Though as with everything else on this base he warned to look, not touch. Due to a variety of gathered plants and the diversity even within a species the walls without windows tended to be cast in a multicolored hue. Generally soft blues, greens, and purples. They'd tried red for a while but it could damn near drive a person nuts after a while. Either way, in a lot of places Cal had almost forgotten the colors of the walls.<br/><br/><span style="color: #b30000">"We've got room to spare here but I'd recommend doubling up. Easy to keep everyone accounted for and I wouldn't recommend sneaking around too much, especially after dark. Still not a hundred percent sure what might be lurking in some of the harder to reach places."</span><br/><br/>He turned to face the group outside one of the larger meeting rooms, a fairly nondescript room with the desks pushed aside to leave the chairs scattered around the center of the room along a wall with a large computerized display (entirely nonfunctional, but you could draw on it with chalk). Soft blue glowing ivy-mold had been strung up along the ceiling like holiday decorations, pitching everything a dim bluish light.<span style="color: #b30000">"Now, if none of you have a place you really need to be right now, I was thinking we could take this room here and have a bit of a round table, trade information and make sure we're still on the same page."</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>