Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

[voidtreckermods]

"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!

Comments

[adregem]

[ That answer is the most Inigo he's ever heard thus far, and it draws his lips into a wider smile, his own lunchbox forgotten as it's lowered totally to the side. Roland doesn't often admit it, but he feels the same way; it gets rather strange, even lonely, when you fall asleep with the comfort of someone else's arms to lull you close, then waking up to an empty space.

Not that he's not used to that anyway, from back home. His own bed has always been too big or too small. When Inigo settles by his side though, and it's something they've begun doing more often than not now, Roland isn't a stranger to the fact that he's getting used to the presence. Likes it. Enjoys that contact even if it doesn't come as naturally to him as it does to his adopted.

It's nice. The image of waking up in the morning with a son curled up in his arms, is nice. ]

Whenever we want, huh? [ He sustains that smile as his head tilts in the direction Inigo mounts for a moment, as if the imagining could jump out of his head and into the fire, breathing life into his thoughts. A normal life. With all of them. Nice. ] I'd like that too.

[ Roland could very easily go on about how he thinks the train is using them for battery packs, transferring passengers to designated beds like routine, but underneath Nion's violent skies and after everything he and Inigo have seen so far, it seemed inappropriate. There was a comfort here that he did not expect when he stopped Inigo from going on to work even in the thick of night. Roland would rather not waste the moment, if he can. ]

You know...We're not on the train at the moment.

[ He turns his head towards the boy, almost sheepish; an implication underlying innocently beneath the surface. It may also be his ploy to get Inigo to stay, a tactic he learned from the guy himself, when he sandwiches Roland against the wall of his cot so it would be impossible to move without waking the other.

It's too dark here. It's always too dark when they're alone in places like this, reminding them of homes they have lost. Yes, he had to do this. They must stick together. He playfully chuckles and shakes his head, eyes closed in teasing, arms crossed back against his chest. ]

I mean, I don't think the train can actually do what it does on planets like this. That's all.

[ See that face he's throwing your way from the side, Inigo? He wonders if maybe he should lay it on a bit thicker. ]

[flatteries]

[ There are definitely moments when Inigo is being dumb. When he misses obvious clues, or when he says things without thinking. But the implication in what Roland is saying is so thick here - in just about everything, from his words to his tone to his expression - that even Inigo couldn't miss it.

Especially when the implication is something so near and dear to his heart. Something that's enough for him to momentarily forget about the food he was both trying to eat and trying to feed Roland with. ]

Yeah, it.. it can't.

[ Look, Inigo may be an expert on this from the sheer amount of times he's dragged people into sleeping curled up with him while off the train. Yuki on earlier missions, then Gerome back when the other was around. So he knows for a fact that it doesn't work here the way it does on the train. That you can wake up in the arms of the same person you fell asleep with.

And.. of course he wants that. He always desperately wants it. Even though Inigo is used to being by himself, forced himself to adapt to it back home, it's not as if he prefers it. Not when it's so much harder for his usual anxious thoughts to hit him when he's right next to someone he cares about. ]

.. are you sure though?

[ Maybe it's a tad more vulnerable than it has to be. Shy. It's not as if Roland has ever really denied him anything before. And maybe it'd be good for the other too, considering how this mission started - Roland's initial reaction to the sky, to this planet's situation.

But he just doesn't want to be pushy or too selfish when Roland has been having a harder time than usually too.

(And at least the vulnerability is making any assumption that this is a ploy slip right past him. Inigo isn't even thinking anymore about how Roland dragged him back here to keep him from working by himself at night to begin with..) ]

I mean, I.. I'd love to if you want to..

[adregem]

[ Roland meets that hesitation, that shyness he's come to expect from Inigo, with endearment. He chuckles again, a low vibration in his chest, and the inclination to poke at him is not something he ignores. Not when he's gotten closer to Inigo now, and he knows it's the perfect way to get him to relax a little despite the offer made with his honest heart.

Roland heaves his shoulders up, play-acting, pretending quite clearly with how emphasized he moves. A subtle, slight pout of his lips as his eyes look up at the sky, in contemplation. There's a sigh that doesn't quite make it, too hammy to be anything but a joke.

Inigo can inspire moments like this in him too easily. He's long assessed that fighting the urge is futile. ]

Well, if you'd rather stay here and eat some more...

[ He shrugs again, looking at Inigo from the corner of his eye. ]

I guess I could go...Look for a panda to nap with instead.

[ Roland closes his eyes, nodding as if that was truly the answer. It is though, an answer of the different sort - that of course this was a joke and of course Roland would never go out and hug a panda. It's enough to crack a genuine laugh out of him, lasting only a few seconds before he shows teeth, eyes meeting Inigo again as if to say, Of course I'd love to. He leans to the side, nudging his shoulder against his. ]

It's either a panda or my pup, after all. Heh.

[flatteries]

[ Thankfully even Inigo of all people can catch on to the fact that Roland is joking here. So there's no nerves, no getting upset, no dramatic tears. Nothing of the sort. Even before the other bursts out in laughter like that, Inigo already knows the words that are about to follow. ]

.. Thank you, father.

[ It's quiet, but a quiet, very genuine gratitude. One that's only made stronger by Roland's specific use of the words 'my pup'. It feels so important, so sweet. To think that Roland would feel strongly enough about him to say 'my'.

How could Inigo even think about sneaking out to go work in the face of that? ]

I've already told you before, but.. I really do sleep a lot better when I'm near someone else. So.. thank you. [ Especially since Roland may just be the best possible person to sleep near to. No one makes him feel as safe, as cared for. It comes natural, as if Roland has been his father for his entire life now.

Inigo glances at the lunchboxes. Not empty yet, but then again, he's not sure how much more he can eat right now. ]

.. do you want to go sleep now?

[adregem]

I remember.

[ That's all he offers, but it's all the affirmation either of them need. It's a fact that extends to every mission, every lull in the train; that Roland would indeed be there by his side, watching over him in sleep or in wake.

He nods to him with a hum, his hands already working to close the half-eaten lunchboxes and storing them in his Arms Band with a flourish and a sparkle. Roland stands first, but he offers to help lift Inigo up, even if it's really just an excuse to hold his hand. ]

Come on. I'll wake you up in an hour. Just rest. I'll keep watch. You've been working so hard.

[flatteries]

[ An excuse to hold hands?

Consider Inigo to be there. Anytime, anywhere. And it's somewhat nice to see a tactic that he usually employs being used like this. So of course he grabs that hand, allowing Roland to help him up, and then easily keeping it there - allowing the man to hold his hand as long as he wants, to guide him over towards the tents.

And while this isn't a real protest, per se, Inigo can't help but ask: ]

When are you going to sleep then? [ He gets Roland wanting to watch over him and all, and it's not like he's going to deny the other that.. But you can't blame Inigo for worrying a little when Inigo himself isn't the only overworker present here. ]

[adregem]

[ Roland doesn't miss a beat, walking over to his tent in particular, flap already half-opened when they reach it. ]

...When you do. I'll wait for you to fall asleep first. [ He reassures him with a firmer hand in his, if only for a moment. A small smile, barely there but not lacking in affection despite it. ] I promise.

[ He'll do his best to fall asleep, in any case. ]

[flatteries]

[ Inigo really doesn't want to be suspicious of his father. He doesn't want to doubt his words, but at the same time he can't help but have a small spark of hesitation in his heart. There's no way to lie in such a way here that Roland wouldn't be able to just sneak out while he was sleeping, after all.

.. but then the man continues speaking, and adds those two little words. I promise. Wouldn't it be unfair of Inigo to doubt his own father when he promises him something?

So he finally slightly nods, his head dipping. ]

Okay.

[ He moves ahead of Roland into the tent, scooting off to the side a little so there's still plenty of space for the other man. But at least Inigo doesn't waste any time in already moving to lie down, his head on the pillow, looking as natural as if this is the spot he's been sleeping at all along, despite it not being his own tent.

His eyes aren't closed yet, but.. ]

I.. guess I am a little tired.

[ .. he finally admits. It's just easier to notice your own exhaustion when you're finally lying down, like it all starts to catch up with you so much more quickly. ]

[adregem]

[ He knows what that feeling is like. When you keep going for as long as possible, work until the only reminder you've got left is the rumble that keels in your belly and the breaths you forget to take in the midst of the job. So Roland also knows all too well how quickly the fatigue can take over the moment your back hits the mattress; as soon as your body is reminded of just how much rest it needs to actually function properly.

He lingers by the corner of the cot and plants himself down nearest to Inigo's head, his fingers already brushing away the bangs from his forehead to cool him. He does this for a little while, forgetting that he might want to ask Inigo for some space to actually nap himself. ]

Hm. Close your eyes. Like we said, I'll still be here when you wake. So there's nothing to worry about. Right?

[flatteries]

[ It's unfair. It's too comfortable. Just lying here, having Roland's hand against his head, moving his hair. It's not as if Inigo doesn't always think of the other man as his father, as natural as if they have always been this way, but it's at these sorts of moments that Roland always feels the most like a father.

The moment where Inigo closes his eyes, and the worries suddenly disappear. Where he isn't thinking about the work left to do, the situation in this world, their own circumstances on the train, everything that usually goes through his head. All he can think about is how nice and warm Roland's hand feels against his head. ]

Right..

[ It's mumbled so softly that it almost seems like the boy drifted off to sleep already. But apparently it's not the case, since a moment later he's still mumbling. ]

Father, come lie down too..

[adregem]

All right, son. Incoming.

[ He halts the hand in caress and doesn't hesitate join Inigo in whatever space is granted of him on the cot. It's a snug fit, but that might be perfect for the nap he intends for the boy. This way, with Roland by the edge, Inigo would have to crawl over him if he were to sneak out, and Roland was nothing if not a very light sleeper too. When his own body is at rest, he immediately positions himself so he's turned over to one side, a guardian shielding Inigo from anyone and anything that might barge into his tent. As soon as he finds a more comfortable angle, Roland resumes brushing the hair away from Inigo's face, this time drifting to the sides of his cheek, and everywhere else that might tickle his skin in sleep.

Once upon a time...Oh, what memories this stirs. Once upon a time... ]

Come on. Enough chatting. I'm here now. Rest, pup.

[flatteries]

[ There's a sleepy huff.

It's not a protest about the sleeping. He's going to sleep! It's more a protest about the chatting, like Inigo is trying to actively stall things here, when that's not what he's doing.

.. for once, anyway.

No, instead this is just about making sure his father is comfortable too, even though Inigo - in his sleepy state - forgets to leave more room for the other. Thankfully Roland seems to fit in all the same through a little effort of his own, because Inigo never would have noticed it with his eyes closed like this already.

And the moment he finds that warm body next to his own, there's no more chatter. No more words. There's just Inigo moving even a bit closer to him, cuddling up as close to Roland as possible, like he's instinctively seeking out the safety and comfort of his father's presence.

But considering the amount of times Roland has watched Inigo fall asleep already, he'll be able to tell that's what's going on here too. It only takes a few moments longer for Inigo to completely have drifted off into dreamland - probably for far longer than the initially intended nap time, judging by how soundly he seems to be sleeping. ]