voidtreckermods: (voidtrain)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2020-11-13 04:28 am
Entry tags:

Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day seven of the month of Imagination." The voice echoes through the train as passengers wake up in their beds. Not long afterwards their SCA’s glow with the colour of the void and a holographic image will appear.

Preperation

They have about an hour to prepare, a little less than usual but perhaps expected, given the urgency of the task.

The cupboards in the dressing room are open to reveal rows of tents, in all four team colours as well as some basic camp cooking equipment. They are in bags that should be easy enough to carry.

"Shortly arriving on System #6416. All passengers get ready to disembark. Next stop world 6416. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." The train rocks and lurches, bright colours of the void filling the space and then fading as they fly downwards towards a very green landscape.

Arrival and Initial Task

The train lands in a clearing, curving round in an attempt to fit. Once everyone who wishes to disembark has done it flies back into the air, vanishing from sight.

The air is heavy and humid, though it is not currently raining. The clearing is open to the sky and looking up will reveal a worrying sight. The sky is an angry red colour, colours shifting as if the clouds themselves were on fire. It's an unnerving sight.

Their SCA's show three points, one Orange, One purple and one that is half blue and half red. The three control centres. Each are a few hours treck through the jungle and it certainly feels like there is no time to waste.

Those that don't want to treck through the forest can start setting up camp, though the darkening sky might be a little distracting. As time goes on flecks of fire drift down, though they extinguish before hitting the forest floor.

Orange are to travel to the north, Purple to the south and Blue and Red must travel together to the west. Each route takes them through thick and unrelenting jungle. Flying is difficult here unless you can get up past the canopy layer, which means vision of the ground is severely hampered.

The control stations themselves are half buried in vines and require cutting into. If voidtreckers are unlucky they will meet their first security robots here, firing on the intruders. They might even meet their first giant Armadillos, the creatures are curious and may wish to investigate. They are not helpful or constructive to trying to power up the stations and prevent the destruction of the planet.

The control stations are simple enough to operate, but there's quite a lot that needs to be done in way of repairs and clearing. It will take a team effort to get it in working enough order to activate the shield.

The shield itself, when it is activated, is mostly invisible but there is a loud humming sound. The meteor, which has gotten more visible throughout the five hours, hits the shield and splinters, fire enveloping the whole sky. It is visibly terrifying, but no fire falls to earth, no rocks get through, the planet is safe.

Ongoing

Once the planet is safe the voidtreckers deserve a rest. But once the next morning dawns it is time to start with their next tasks, to make sure that this planet stays safe from future threats.

Red

The robots at the control stations are not the only malfunctioning security robots around. They roam the jungle, or are more often stranded in the jungle, powering up only when faced with a new threat.

Some are benign, terraforming machines whose only crime is using up precious power. These need to be dismantled so that power can be saved for the shield system. Others are security robots that will attack the intruders to the planet.

Though the machines are scattered they are often obvious, emitting warning alarms or flashing lights. Their SCA's will show some areas where there are larger clusters but machines can be found anywhere.

Purple

Their SCA's are filled with hundreds of purple dots, each a solar stations that needs cleared and brought back online. It's not the most glamourous job, the stations are deep in the jungle, the treck is difficult and most of the work needed is weed clearing.

But once the weeds have been cut away they will need to patch up the station, doing basic maintenance to get it back online. In some cases wires need to be patched back together but it shouldn't take any great feats of engineering to get the stations up and running.

They may run into some of the security automatons, needing to fight their way into the stations before they can begin the clean up operations.

Orange

Like the red team their SCA will show areas where there are clusters of the small insectoid automatons that need to be rescued and restored. However they can be found anywhere throughout the jungle, they are not too suited for the terrain outside of the stations and so they have gotten tangled in vines. They can be found powered down, stranded and in dire need of maintenance.

Tools and spare parts can be found in many of the solar stations that purple team have been locating. Actually repairing the robots takes some engineering knowledge but once they are restored they will go about their tasks in the stations. They will need help getting to the further flung stations as well as the main control centres.

They are very basic in design and follow pre programmed instructions rather than being able to hear and listen to orders. But once in the correct place they are very effective at their job.

Blue

Once the shield is up there is a faint humming that can be heard throughout the jungle if they listen closely and find it among the sound of rain and insects. But once they hear it, it is obvious where it is louder and more prominent.

Their SCA will pin point some of the larger control boxes but there are truthfully too many to show on a map. Not all of them have attracted Violet Pandas, but many of them have.

They are curious creatures, both of the power boxes and the voidtreckers. They are protective of each other but not so much of territory and therefore it is not difficult to move them on. Keeping them away is another matter, the power humming is interesting and they will unearth wires and chew through them. It doesn't seem to do them much harm, there is clearly safety stops in the system for such eventualities. It does however cut power off to entire solar stations and require a lot of patch work.

Good luck voidtreckers!
shadowslipping: (heh-?)

[personal profile] shadowslipping 2020-11-17 02:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah! Yes... [It's a bit odd to have someone around when she's using the sword though, she'll admit- and-

Ah-
] EH!? It- It really wasn't that much was it..?

[She is also not used to being complimented on it! At least outside of the pre-teen typically watching her missions via the coms back home.]
marriedanidiot: (Default)

[personal profile] marriedanidiot 2020-11-17 02:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"Not while I have been on board." She shakes her head. "Perhaps before? But before, we have never been anywhere long enough to need them."

A concern, to be sure.

"Well, hopefully it does not mean we will be stuck here for a long period!"
marriedanidiot: (Default)

[personal profile] marriedanidiot 2020-11-17 02:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh yes." She nods, smiling. "In Lord Orome's woods the trees grow tall and close together, and the forest seems to stretch on forever."
shadowslipping: (Oii oi)

[personal profile] shadowslipping 2020-11-17 02:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[Sometimes your soul makes a set of armor, don't worry about it-

Anyway, at least he doesn't have a sword as big as him.
] Hmmm. Not necessarily. Some plants are more resistant to being cut than they are being pulled. ...For that matter, if we damage the machines, [she warns,] we could leave things in a worse state...
marriedanidiot: (Default)

[personal profile] marriedanidiot 2020-11-17 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
She laughs softly.

"Trial and error, I suppose! They are relatively straightforward, once you know which part links to where. I assume they hoped that at least one person would know what to do with them"
shadowslipping: (Small Smile)

eeeevaaaaaaaa

[personal profile] shadowslipping 2020-11-17 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[The minute she sees that clefairy, she's going to melt.

All that aside-
] Hahh...I'm glad to hear that, [Yuume sighs, relief visible through what little can be seen on her face. Even with a mask across the entire lower face, her eyes are plenty expressive when it comes to matters like this after all. To that end she stares, blinking a bit slowly at the fumbled question.]

Ahh.... ...Can I..?
marriedanidiot: (Default)

[personal profile] marriedanidiot 2020-11-17 02:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh!" She blinks back, surprised.

"It has happened to someone else as well? Yes, that is exactly what he said!"
blitzcheer: (fanart time yeaaa)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-11-17 03:04 pm (UTC)(link)
"Wh--" Wait. Wait?? Tidus stares at her, wide-eyed.

"Re...really? Like- just like this? What happened?"
blitzcheer: (oh it's a dweeb)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-11-17 03:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ ...well that just brings up the concerned question of- ]

Did someone bash in one of the machines while cleaning?

[ Look, you can bash in the machines to try and get them WORKING, but otherwise-! ]
onehandsomeslickninja: (i got this)

[personal profile] onehandsomeslickninja 2020-11-17 03:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Wielding a sword that size so masterfully and effectively is indeed impressive. And the wielder is beautiful, so how could it not be beautiful?

[Edge gotta Edge.]
irrationally: (Default)

[personal profile] irrationally 2020-11-17 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Something about Alice still seems tense. Not in the way that she looks like she could attack Sonya any moment - Alice knows better than to do that to anyone on the train at this point. But the other's presence definitely means that she heard Alice sing, and that much embarrassment is just too much to deal with.

Even though Sonya blessedly doesn't address it. Well, that's one good thing about this whole situation, she supposes.

Even though her shoulders still look like they're drawn tight. (With embarrassment, more than anything, but she'd never admit that out loud.) ]


I'm aware.

[ That the robot isn't exactly functional anymore, that is. ]

But I wanted to see what's inside it. These only seem to be full of.. parts I don't understand. [ What happened to good old tiny gremlins piloting these things, huh? ]
irrationally: (Default)

[personal profile] irrationally 2020-11-17 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I can't believe this.

[ She sounds partially frustrated, but mostly just exasperated. Because she's so, so embarrassed right now. The fact that Allen's hand is a claw doesn't even faze her, that's clearly not what's important here.

No, what's important here is the fact that he heard her sing. Ugh. Can she just die right here and now? It'd be kinder than having to deal with this embarrassment. ]


How long have you been listening to me?
irrationally: (Default)

[personal profile] irrationally 2020-11-17 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I have.

[ Ugh. Well, at least they're not talking about the singing, so maybe she can just shove that little tidbit under the carpet for the rest of forever. The girl doesn't seem like the type to go blab to everyone about it, anyway.. Hopefully.

Alice slowly does pull her knife out of the robot now though, but doesn't move. Instead she casts a glance over at the metal heap before looking back at the other girl. ]


I don't think you can really say "killed" though. There doesn't seem to be anything alive inside of them. [ That's what she was checking with her stabbing! ]
irrationally: (i was travelling through the past)

[personal profile] irrationally 2020-11-17 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[ .. after his time?

Huh. And here Alice sometimes felt like the only person who was behind on these things. But Natsuno doesn't really seem Victorian, or anything remotely close to it.. Maybe the times really were different over in Japan.

She stands up, slowly abandoning the robot that's pretty much reduced to a pile of scrap metal by now, and instead walks over towards Natsuno. ]


Punching? With your bare hands? [ She knows he isn't human, but.. ] Aren't you just going to hurt yourself that way? These things are made of metal.
irrationally: (Default)

[personal profile] irrationally 2020-11-17 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
A board with metallic wires..

[ She repeats, as she starts rummaging with her hands through the insides of the robot's chest area. That shouldn't be too hard to find, even though she has zero idea about how these things work, right? She knows what a board is. And what wires are, and--

Ah.

Alice fishes the motherboard out of the robot, holding it up towards the guy so he can see it.

It's completely folded in two. As if someone whacked the robot so hard with something massive that it just folded in on itself. ]


.. Is it supposed to look like that? [ Could've fooled her, really. ]
comefadeaway: (Hmm?)

Yep, that's fine!

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2020-11-17 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"I would appreciate that, thank you." Yoite smiled just slightly as he focused on holding the panda bear in his arms so it could be taken to safety.
comefadeaway: (Default)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2020-11-17 03:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"That might work. What...do you think it eats?" Yoite asked, but then he reached out to nudge the panda. A sneak attack! Would it leave?

No. It rolled over.
flatteries: (Default)

[personal profile] flatteries 2020-11-17 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ At least there's no way he'll step away now. Not with his hand in Nita's like that, not with how Inigo would never be the first to pull away so quickly, so suddenly. It basically means he's rooted to the spot. Staring at her. Taking in those words.

She's right. He knows Nita is right, and yet.. it's so hard to stop his heart from worrying. ]


But what if it's not enough?

[ It's not the sort of thing Inigo would always admit to. Usually he'd try to cover up these worries, the pessimism in his mind, just to make sure no one else deals with it. But it's harder to do that when it's Nita, and when she brings this all up so seriously. ]

Like you said.. We can't know. And I don't want to leave anything up to coincidence. We already let one place die. [ Even though that wasn't their fault, as much as it was the train pulling them back before they even could do anything. ] And I already let a place die out back home too. I can't..

[ His words trail off, and he shakes his head, shutting his eyes, as if he's trying to hide from a mental image. ]

I can't let a third world die on my watch. What would that make me?
flatteries: (so smile right before you fall)

[personal profile] flatteries 2020-11-17 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Definitely not so much different from carrying things. Manual labor - or well, lots of fighting, but same thing in the end - is what made Inigo able to carry these things without breaking a sweat, after all.

Though that first statement.. it should make him a bit worried about the other, since it doesn't sound like they'll be camping out in some normal place. But he figures Adam's got his teammates, right? He should be fine. So Inigo just smiles.

"You're about to have a truly wild introduction to camping, it sounds like."
flatteries: (Default)

[personal profile] flatteries 2020-11-17 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Well..

[ He needs a moment to think about that answer. Moreso about what he should answer rather than what the actual answer is, anyway. This would have been so much easier in the past, when he always would have shoved his own feelings under the rug, always pretended he's okay.

And it's not like he doesn't still do that, but.. he's a bit more aware of it. Tries to avoid doing it just a bit more, because not being honest with people who are so important to him is starting to not feel so great. ]


Later, probably. Once we've stopped all of this. [ But he still doesn't want to turn the fear towards their present situation, still trying to make the possibility that Taiki will worry as small as possible. ] It just.. reminds me a bit too much of back home.
flatteries: (count your blessings)

[personal profile] flatteries 2020-11-17 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Talk about the worst possible people gathering to do this sort of thing, huh.

And it's not even that Rapunzel is incompetent. Inigo knows she isn't! It's just.. they're both not really at the technological level required to solve this.

But the fact that it is just the two of them in this station right now means that Inigo knows they will have to make do somehow. They can't be sure some other, more technologically capable purple team member will arrive in time to take it over, after all.

So he smiles. ]


It is, huh? But.. we've got to sort it out!

[ He pats the spot on the ground next to him, as if inviting her to come sit with him and somehow solve this together. ]

It can't be that hard, right? We just.. All we have to do is sort out these.. multi-coloured ropes? [ Wires, Inigo. ]
comefadeaway: (Default)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2020-11-17 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Yoite looked up a bit when Wei Wuxian approached and when he sat down next to him, he turned his head to look at him.

"My first mission with this group." Yoite confirmed with a nod. "It's fine."

He wasn't sure he was doing a good job of protecting small, soft bears.
flatteries: (but the red on the rest of)

[personal profile] flatteries 2020-11-17 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I saw. He gave me some of it to take along with me on the mission. [ He holds up his hand, which has two rings on it - one of which is definitely recognizable as an Arms Band in one of its smallest possible forms. ] In case I got hungry out there, I guess-- and to hand out.

[ Since it's not like everyone can take food along as easily as people who have these, and Inigo is more preoccupied with sharing than with eating for himself anyway.

But yes, they're walking now! Heading back out. Mission accomplished, no one saw him sneak out. Or, well, no one who would stop him. Thanks, enabler Senku. ]


.. you could make coats though?

[ Inigo seems pretty interested now, judging by his facial expression. ]
flatteries: (the harvest left no food for you to eat)

[personal profile] flatteries 2020-11-17 03:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Inigo doesn't move closer. He just stays at the exact spot he's at, even if that means he's not helping out right away, or seeing what Reno is doing so he can learn from it. Even with that baton down, Inigo can't trust the other in the slightest. Not after everything that happened before, the constant barbs Reno seemed to throw at him for no reason at all.

Call him paranoid, but he just can't let his guard down, not now. Inigo's body is so tight even as he's at a distance, like he's ready to jump into whatever he needs to do in order to save his hide. No matter how careless and much too innocent Inigo seems most of the time, he is a warrior, after all. You don't survive a zombie apocalypse without learning when to stay on your guard, when not to trust.

And Reno is at the very bottom of the trust ladder, even if he seems relatively docile - by Reno standards, anyway - right now. Not even a single explicit insult in what he's saying. A new record.

But that leaves Inigo unsure of what to respond for a few moments. What does he say when he can't just try and sling Reno's mud right back at him?

"I didn't imagine this was work you'd care to do."

It doesn't sound like it's actively trying to be an insult, more just a hard statement of reality. Reno totally seems like the type who'd rather be out there swinging at robots to take them down, and pretend they're innocent people for fun and kicks or something.
flatteries: (you gotta pull it together)

[personal profile] flatteries 2020-11-17 03:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[ You say 'relax' as if Inigo is physically capable of that, Della.

Especially when people he cares about are involved! ]


Even if you think it's small now, do you have any idea how much bigger it can get during the mission? You could get so many problems with it! And I mean, doesn't it.. hurt..?

[ Someone may not entirely realise just yet how prosthetics work. ]