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!
theturksway: (152.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-16 11:42 pm (UTC)(link)
He hesitated for a moment but it didn't feel like their conversation was finished and he wasn't getting this tent up any quicker with or without the distraction so he left it to follow her.

"Ha!" The outburst sounded darkly amused, followed by a wry tone for his next words. "You sure about that? Not everyone likes to play hero around here."

He shouldn't have--maybe if he was quick enough he could just steer the conversation back to souvenirs. "So, uh, what kinda souvenirs are your favorite? Troll clubs count as fun souvenirs?" He said with a lame grin, trying to be clever and feeling inadequate at it at the moment.
sos_pilot: by <user name=noimpulsecontrol> (if you could use)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-17 07:06 pm (UTC)(link)
"The train picks us all for a reason, if you ask me." Not that he did, but she always gave her opinion freely. "We all have potential to be something special! That's what heroes are made of."

But the reminder of the troll club made her laugh. "Maybe something a little lighter this time... I'm always on the look out for something that's a hint of an even bigger story."
theturksway: (009.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-17 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah? And what about villains?" He muttered under his breath as he looked away, letting the rest of the bustling landing site be a decent distraction.

"All right. I'll keep that in mind." Would he? Would he have thought enough to grab souvenirs for other people? Only time would tell.
sos_pilot: by <user name=noimpulsecontrol> (i'll be holding you so near)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-18 11:32 am (UTC)(link)
She didn't appear to hear the villain part - or if she did, chose not to comment on it.

"What about you?" She asked. "Are you looking forward to anything on the mission? ... Besides not dying and saving everyone, obviously."
theturksway: (043.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-18 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Reno looked back at her. "Just the action. Tired of being on that train all the time and not having anything to do. I get the waiting game--play it back home sometimes when there ain't much to do in my line of work. But this is so repetitive it hurts, sheesh."
sos_pilot: by <user name=noimpulsecontrol> (Default)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-18 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"I totally get you." Della nodded, thumping a fist to her chest. "I need rest and relaxation as much as anybody else... buuut! You need to be able to choose it! Staying still for too long just isn't my style."
theturksway: (002.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-18 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"Being cramped isn't my style! Who thought a train was a good idea to trap people on anyway? Why not an airship or something with some space? Tch!"

Not that...Reno really wanted to be here at all anyway. An airship wouldn't have been any better in the long run. He'd still be trapped with all these damn people he didn't need to know.

"Or being forced to play good citizen and help out the rest of the universe with its problems. Why can't it just mind its own business?"
sos_pilot: by <user name=cupcake_graphics> (look at the stars)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-19 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Now the last part didn't sound right to her, and she glanced over, eyebrows raised. "What, would you rather be 'bad citizen' and kick people while they're down?" Not cool, dude!
theturksway: (157.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-20 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
"Eh, it happens," he said dismissively as he looked away again. "I'd just rather not be here exactly. Dealing with the aftermath of one planet almost going up in smoke is hard enough. Still dealing with that--"

He cut off because boy did he hate it when newbies arrived and immediately started whining about how they had shit to do back home. Well, so did he! But he wasn't going to whine about it.
sos_pilot: by <user name=cupcake_graphics> (until i'm with you)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-20 05:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Della, however, didn't mind so much. Despite not having visible ears, she always had a sympathetic ear to lend.

"... You wanna talk about it? ...Or at least vent it out?"
theturksway: (153.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-22 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Reno noticeably frowned and didn't meet her gaze. He was clearly avoiding the issue.

"What's to talk about? Meteorfall happened, people are adjusting, and I'm here with a bunch of losers on a train. End of story."
sos_pilot: by <user name=cupcake_graphics> (face each new sun)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-23 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Della cleared her throat, gesturing to herself. "You are aware you technically just called me a loser?"
theturksway: (149.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-24 07:13 am (UTC)(link)
The redhead grinned sheepishly as he shrugged. "...yeah, well. Some exceptions may apply. But I'm not telling you who~"
sos_pilot: by <user name=cupcake_graphics> (a second glance'll prove)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-24 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
She quirked an eyebrow. "Is it just me, or am I sensing a challenge?"
theturksway: (152.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-24 09:30 pm (UTC)(link)
"I dunno what that's all about. Are you feeling challenged right now?" :3
sos_pilot: by <user name=cupcake_graphics> (even as these days pass)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-25 12:50 am (UTC)(link)
"Buddy, I've lived a whole life full of challenges. I can sense it in my bones."
theturksway: (086.)

[personal profile] theturksway 2020-11-26 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Reno laughed. "Well, if you're feeling it.... Can't disappoint. So, let's see..."

Reno's fist tapped the palm of his other hand as he thought for a moment. "I bet you can't beat me to the site purple team is supposed to go." Simple challenge, but was it the first of many or just a way to separate them?
sos_pilot: by <user name=cupcake_graphics> (life is strange and vast)

[personal profile] sos_pilot 2020-11-27 04:11 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yes I can!" And, as totally and completely expected, Della ZOOMS off ahead, determined to get there A.S.A.P.!