middleofsomewhere | Event: Abort! Part One

Until now there has been one mission in every month. The practice in Apple and since then one for each month. So for those that have been on the train for a while they will be extremely surprised when on the twenty fifth day of the month of Egret their SCA’s glow gold and a hologram appears. Another mission.

Strange or not preparations need to be made, the voidtreckers are needed, strange timing or not.

Preperations

As promised the dressing room is open once again and there is a collection of leggings, shirts and tunics. All are in bold, differing shades of team colours and are made of sturdy material. There are a couple of cloaks, like those they wore in the goblin world they look medieval in style but will keep rain off as well as a modern raincoat.

As usual they have about an hour of preparation time, to gather supplies, get changed and help those who need more help disguising themselves to do so.

Arrival

”We are now approaching world#27462947582. Warning: Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four,” Hopefully even those who are new know to hold on or sit down by now. ”Three, two, one.” A jolt and a lurch and the void from outside the windows disappears to show green grass and a blue sky.

The Voidtrecker Express has landed in a small dip between two hills. Tall enough to mostly hide it and once everyone who wishes to disembarks it vanishes.

The voidtreckers, on climbing the hill, will find they are inside the city walls, just. Here it is mostly farmland still but as they move towards the centre there are more houses and things become more crowded and bustling. The city is big enough that an influx of strangers doesn’t turn many heads.

Their SCA has a map, red team’s has a marker for the northern gate, purple’s show the position of guard posts. Orange and Blue’s shows the main gates that lead out into the kingdom beyond.

Red Team

Getting to the northern gate doesn’t take all that much time and they are let out without much fuss, though fair warnings about the monsters out there. It is clear that though this city is nominally guarded and walled, it has been a long time since there has been war here and people can come and go as they wish.

The desert is, much as can be expected. It is more a scrub land rather than rolling dunes of sand but the land is cracked and dry. They have to move at least an hour away from the city before they come across any monsters at all.

When they do they are strange almost-boar looking creatures. They are vicious and will attack on sight, charging with huge tusks and teeth that are far too sharp to belong to a natural creature. They are clearly intelligent, even if they don’t seem to have language. But they never come across more than five at once and there doesn’t seem to be any movement of them towards the city.

Purple Team

The guard posts are only have a few guards there at any one time. Though questioning any of them the voidtreckers will learn that there are other guards in the city, ready to come to the defence of the walls if the alarm is ever sounded. Those on the walls are there to keep watch.

It might take a little bit of persuading but there isn’t a huge problem with purple team being allowed up onto the walls. As long as they don’t seem to be causing or bringing trouble.

The surrounding countryside is clear. To the north is the desert but to the east, west and south there are rolling hills of green. The kingdom that this city is part of.

For them it is a few hours of tedium and anticipation. Watching the landscape, waiting for a threat. The other soldiers are curious enough that they could be coaxed into conversation or a game of dice.

Blue Team and Orange Team

It is very difficult to convince a city full of people who have not known danger in a long time that they have to pack up and leave.

There are difficult shop keepers, confused farmers, worried parents.

Some are able to be ready quickly and so can follow the Blue team out of the southern gates. It might take more than one group, with a few blue team going with each one. The kingdom isn’t particularly dangerous but who knows when that may change. Keeping everyone together and moving will be the challenge here.

For Orange team there are plenty of logistical problems to get stuck into. Animals need moving, people need help packing or wrangling small children. Older people need help finding carts to ride.

Not to mention the very stubborn ones who will take a lot of persuading. Those who were on the goblin world have had practice in this already of course, and hopefully have tips to share.

(OOC: Information about this event is here)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"More like the math has to be exactly right, and I can't do it without actual coordinates," Nita explained, slightly abashed.

"Even extracting them from a visioning can be dubious."

She nodded agreement with that second part, though. The sheep softly 'baaaa'ed.

There is a long, slow blink before Eva cocks her head. "I think your teleport and mine work very differently."

"Not a surprise," Nita said sheepishly - and the sheep chose this moment to catch up with her, headbutting her legs lightly.

"Okay, okay! I'm going, you don't need to herd me."

"Yeah, and your's would be magic. The stuff from my world isn't, but don't ask me to explain." She knows pokemon, not physics. They'd nee Kotone here, and even then, Eva's not sure how long it'd be before the young researcher drove the train mad.

Or someone told her to can the big words and talk normally.

"First though, we need to get the sheep to the flock." She eyes it and grins. "At least these ones can't shock us."

There was more math involved than just calling it 'magic' implied, but it wasn't worth the splitting of hairs at this hour.

Nita snickers in response. "C'mon, little guy. You heard Eva here - this way!"

The flock wasn't that far ahead, thankfully, but this little lamb had wanted to go at its own pace.

Sometimes you had to meet them in the middle.

She's ok with the slow pace, it gives her a chance to bring up a topic anyway, tone careful, soft and only for Nita's ears.

"We need things for the train, right? We should check the houses for any stragglers, after..."

She's thoroughly suggesting they steal things. Yep.

Nita's eyebrows go up, picking up on that subtext.

"Been talking to Garrett?"

There wasn't precisely a 'no' in her answer... So she elaborates a little more.

"Only if we're sure they won't be heading back anytime soon, y'know? If we know things would be going to waste otherwise."

The sheep doesn't seem to care, chasing Nita happily.

"A little of A and a little of B."

Eva grins before she shrugs. "They're headed out as far away from here as they can go and by the time they're back... We'll be gone."

Because that's how it is as VoidTrecker.

Nita snickers, just a little.

"... The good news about surviving whatever's coming, they'll be able to rebuild."

They had to focus on that.

"Still, maybe we shouldn't all jump on that part of things. Can't have the animals deciding to muck things up by running for home when no one's watching!"

"Exactly."

She glances at the sheep, then to the flock. "There's farmers and herders around the greater flocks. We can leave it with them and then go."

She wants her clothes! Well, clothes that aren't Orange.

"What, you've scoped out a place already?"

Nita hadn't been sure how much of a theoretical this really was in Eva's mind - but if she wanted a spotter, well, she didn't sound dismissive.

Eva grins. Nita ha plausible deniability if Eva says nothing.

It'd been considered since last mission, honestly. For all she's A Good Person, Eva is also good at being the rules as needed and it's never for anything trivial.

Though one may argue that wanting not-orange clothes is 'trivial' and not a 'need'.

Plausible deniability is all people need, sometimes. ~~Perhaps that's how the train got past the whole 'but Voidtreckers need training!' thing.~~

It's not too much work to tell the lamb it's okay to go back with its herd now - its curiosity sated, much as it gives Nita a sad 'baaa' goodbye - and then they can be off in the direction of Eva's choosing, to some hopefully suitably-abandoned houses.

Eva waves to the sheep as she heads off - very much towards one of the houses she knows was evacuated.

Once they reach it, she speaks, though not looking at Nita. "I'm going in to make sure we didn't miss anyone. You stay outside, ok?"

Nita takes in the house, looks back to Eva...

And nods. "Yell if you need anything."

"Will do."

And then she's gone, into the house. Maybe five minutes later she's back, rucksack a bit heavier with a stolen outfit and sheets of paper, but Eva gives nothing away as she shakes her head.

"We got everyone in that house. Should we check more and you go in this time?"

Nita greets her with another eyebrow-quirk, but nods.

"Sounds like a plan. ... No rats or anything came to say hello, right?"

Because who knew what was going to be targeted by this supposed attacking force, really?

"Not that I saw," Eva says she starts towards the next place.

The rest of the walk passes in silence - well, almost; there's still the sounds of nature around them, if sparser now that people have been evacuated.

Once they reach the next known-to-be-empty place, Nita signals for Eva to stop.

"If I'm not back in ten minutes, assume something's gone wrong, okay? You can come in and get me."

It should take much less than that for Nita to check, however.

"Alright," eva nods as she settles herself facing the street. It's both to see if she can see anyone else in the areas that might need to be hurried onto the next group, and to keep an eye out.

"Will do."

Nita won't keep Eva waiting too long - there really aren't people inside, though she does check thoroughly, and there isn't much in the way of clothes left behind, either.

She returns with her bag, shrugging at coming back mostly empty-handed, and gestures for them to move on.

Event: Abort! Part One

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Close to wrap?

Yup!