middleofsomewhere | Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

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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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Nita gives him a cockeyed look.]

I could say the same, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't worry about me if I did just that, right?

[And she sighs.]

So, trust me when I say that we should at least try to both get a break. For each other, as well as for the team.

Well, I'm used to it!

[ It's a half-hearted protest though. Inigo knows that there are certain people he just can't pull this whole thing off with anymore, and Nita certainly is one of the people on that very list.

So he does give up after uttering that last sentence. Instead his shoulders sag a bit in defeat.

Maybe it's better if he honestly explains himself, huh. ]

.. I'm just.. worried. There are so many stations to take care of. What if we can't get it done in time and one of those meteors slips through? [ Granted, they're more supposed to be for future protection rather than the immediate threat they had to deal with the other day, but.. Inigo still hasn't forgotten the visions everyone was talking about. Maybe it could still happen. ]

[All Nita has for him is an empathetic smile.]

I'm not saying you're not... but you're not the only one who is, at the same time.

[Which just made things more rough, really; letting people step into the fire was never her style.

Just like it never was Inigo's.

Nita offers Inigo a hand; if taken, she'll squeeze his.]

We don't know how long it'll be until something comes this planet's way next; I don't know if we can know that.

But, even if we don't get absolutely everything... we're still buying it time. We already have, even.

[Even if she can't assuage all those doubts he has - even if she can't assuage her own - she still wants to give him this.

Being one of those people who gets visions, she can freely admit they suck - but also that they aren't everything.]

[ 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?

[Nita lets the first question echo; it never feels like enough, she wants to say, some of that thought showing in her eyes - but that may not be the brightest idea she's had, and a quiet notion from the peridexis tells her to slow her roll a little.

As for the second:]

... Someone who's doing what they can, where they can, even with the odds against them. And sometimes-

[She pauses; inhale, exhale.]

Life really needs a kick in the rear. And we're here to give it one as best we can.

['Poke the Lone One in the eye', in other words, though the exact turn of phrase might go over Inigo's head a little.]

You think of me too kindly. [ It's more mumbled than actually spoken aloud, but it's still audible enough that Nita should be able to hear what he's saying, even as Inigo slightly ducks his head while saying it.

Because it's just true - Nita is too kind to him. She's always trying to uplift him like this when he needs it, right? Even though he burdens her with things so often. ]

You're right though-- about that last part. That's exactly why I want to keep going. I.. I want to make a change while I still can. I can always just rest when it's over.

So long as you actually do.

[Nita says, this time before she can stop herself, and for a moment she just opens and closes her mouth in shock. Oh Powers, me and my smart mouth...

Taking a deep breath, she uses her free hand to rub at her forehead.]

Hell, so long as I do, for that matter. What is it with these missions... ?

[ He pauses. For a moment Inigo is quiet, just trying to watch Nita's expression - especially after those last few words slip out.

And maybe it's hypocritical of him to ask, but he can't help it: ]

Hey.. Nita, when was the last time you rested, huh?

[ This town isn't big enough for two overworkers! ]

Rested well, you mean?

[Because a thirty-minute power nap was not resting, as her own father had explained once upon a time...]

On the train...

[But when on the train? That's not as easy a question to answer as Inigo's probably hoping.]

.. the night before we went on the mission?

[ If you can call anything truly 'night' on the train, but what else is he supposed to call the time when most of them sleep, huh?

And yes, he can't help but question this. Because Nita is already putting some nuance in the quality of the rest, so Inigo can't help but make sure there isn't some nuance to the quantity of it either with her. ]

[Nita's not sure what to call it apart from 'night' either; there may not be an official term for it, given, well, the nature of the void.

There's more important things coming up in this discussion, anyway.

Nita nods, though there's still a hesitance to it.]

Just- adjusting to not having a full room of roommates again.

[Most people she knows have been through worse - hell, Inigo's been through worse - but it disrupts something in the back of her brain, making her less restful.]

Far from the worst thing - but maybe everyone sleeping out here in the open will help with that...?

[ Well, that's concerning news. So Nita has been sleeping badly even back on the train already.. and it's not like Inigo can really blame her, considering he knows how badly he takes all these losses on the train as well. Hearing others have problems with it too shouldn't be too weird.

But it still makes him feel bad for her, frowning in concern. ]

Do you sleep better around other people?

[ Because that's the case for him, but he can imagine it may just her being used to having a specific set roommates around. ]

[Nita's lips quirk into a smile at that.]

Maybe now; not so much back home. I liked having my own room, but now...

[And in Nautilus, she'd been rooming by herself more often than not, too.

Perhaps being on the train has changed her more than she'd like to admit.]

Having space is good - being out of touch with those you're close to when you wake up in the middle of the night, though-

[She cuts herself off, shaking her head.]

.. that isn't so good?

[ He finishes the sentence for her - or what he assumes it would have ended like, anyway. It's the way that sentence ends for him. ]

Then feel free to put your tent somewhere near mine! [ .. If Inigo will get back in time by nightfall to actually.. sleep.. that is.. But ssh, he doesn't have to say that part out loud, right? ] Then you'll know people you're close to are never far away and you'll be able to sleep, right?

[Nita can only nod.

Though the offer does make her smile.]

I'll look forward to that, then. But for now - think we can improvise?

Don't think it's dark enough to sleep right now, even with the tents.

[Don't think Nita's forgotten how this conversation began, Inigo...]

[ DARNIT, NITA.

Why can't you just let him distract you so he can sneak out when you forgot why you stopped him in the first place, huh? That was the ideal plan here! ]

C-Can't we just keep it to looking forward to it for now? [ Inigo is aware of how dumb and desperate this sounds, that it's a flimsy excuse, but what else is he supposed to do? ] I think I really have to head out there right now.

[Nita tries to consider the problem a different way-]

Maybe we could camp in the woods? If you let me come with you, it'd get done faster, right?

[This is the part where Nita has to be told she's making a ~~interesting compromise~~ rash decision...]

Well, probably, but..

[ But that means keeping Nita from a few moments of rest until later either. And honestly, Inigo wasn't too sure when he was going to get to resting to begin with..

He scratches the back of his head, trying to think. ]

I mean, I guess having you around would help. You probably know more about all that technology stuff than I do. All I can do is get all the plants out of the way.

I can ask it more directly where the damage is, at least.

[Splitting the labor in this manner IS a good idea regardless.]

You know where the site you wanted to head is on the SCA maps, then?

[They... may just be doing this??]

[ He nods. ]

Yes. I already looked it up.. It's not too far from here. [ Which is why he thought he could just quickly and quietly slip out, but.. alas. It seems that plan has sailed. Though he's at least still getting the chance to head there, apparently!

Though as he looks ahead of them, and then back to Nita, he can't help but wonder-- ]

You know.. Can't you just ask those things to start working again? [ Is that how it works. ]

[Nita pauses again, because that... is worth considering, although:]

It's not gonna be that simple. But-

[Nita starts fiddling with her charm bracelet, gently shuffling the charms back-and-forth around her wrist.]

I can ask them what's wrong, what's stopping them from running properly. If they just have weeds in the way, or if there's rust, or a different kind of problem altogether.

[It's not necessarily that the stations don't want to work, Nita's mind goes on. They're just dealing with a lot more than they could have bargained for upon their creation.]

But whatever's wrong, I'm pretty sure we can fix... especially together.

[Nita smiles then, small but the most brightly she's done so all day.]

[ That sure is something he'll agree to. Although.. ]

That's such a big help though! I don't know a single thing about any of the technology in there, so if it can tell you what's wrong, then we're a lot closer towards knowing what to do about it.

[ Since Inigo definitely needs what to do with electronics spelled out to him. Preferably in the easiest fashion possible. ]

We should be able to clear them out so much quicker. [ So.. maybe a biiit of rest isn't toooo bad then.. he supposes.. if he really has to.. ]

[Nita gives Inigo's hand one last squeeze; finally letting go...]

You lead, then. I'll follow, and we'll see what that station has to say.

[And then - nap for them, hopefully? ~~Even if neither of them really want to.~~]

[ Thankfully Inigo doesn't mind leading the way, especially since he knows where to go to the nearest station thanks to the dots on his SCA display. And honestly, he's pretty curious to see how Nita communicates with the electronics. He's seen her do some pretty incredible and out there stuff before - never forget that time where she was just a whale - but this still feels new and exciting enough.

So he starts making his way through the jungle with her. The station isn't too far away, and before they know it, Inigo is already cutting away at the plants that seem to have grown right over the station's entrance with his sword.

A task easy enough that he has the brain capacity to be able to talk at the same time. ]

By the way, that vision you had before the mission.. Do you think it was just about what would have happened if that initial meteor had hit? [ If they hadn't prevented it. ]

[Nita's not entirely at ease just sitting around, once they get there - so the ones that are less In The Way receive a talking to, as she asks them to please move.

It's actually a very good thing Inigo's cutting down weeds, because she's able to point to them in a 'don't be that weed' sort of way.

Cutting off her latest 'conversation', she answers:]

What, with the screaming? ... I think we made that happen just by ourselves, honestly.

I couldn't tell if there was a second shield-smashing meteor on its way, at any rate.

[She turns to look at him, a frown creasing her brows.]

Why d'you ask, Inigo?

[... Apart from the concern from the future they both have in common, anyway.]

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