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

[its_dad_sanzo]

Oh shit, bullets! Koumyou was too close to the machine to duck for cover, so he clapped his hands together in front of himself, creating a massive burst of fire that had enough force behind it to interrupt the bullets and send them dropping to the ground.

Then he found something to duck behind. That thing definitely wouldn't need to reload.

"Phew! That was close!" It really wasn't very close, but it always amused him to pretend otherwise. "--Sounds like a plan!"

[zechs_isonfire]

It's a very quick assessment. But whatever Koumyou was doing had range, and was able to do more than perhaps whatever random sword Tidus had given him could do. So at the moment?

Zechs was relatively expendable.

Not to say that he was going out of his way to actually get shot, but the jungle provided a lot of opportunity for him to telegraph his movements, and have the robot shoot where he wasn't. It would mean Zechs would be a mess of leaves and mud afterward, but he'd try to duck and weave through the brush to create quite a commotion to have the sentry gun focus on him.

What he wouldn't give for a range weapon. Did the machine respond to taunts? "Too slow!"

[its_dad_sanzo]

A soon as the robot turned its fire on Zechs, and aimed away from Koumyou, the priest popped out from behind his cover like a whack-a-mole puppet.

"Right! Here I go!" And he charged toward the robot, closing ground fast and leaping up to land on top of the machine.

Which immediately, of course, didn't like that. Koumyou clamped his legs around some part or other as the robot began to try to shake him off. Rodeo time!

But he rubbed his hands together, and then set them against the metal shell as the machine jerked and twisted and yanked him around. The sound of crackling electricity was nearly as loud as the continued gunfire, which was now a lot more scattered than when it was while targeting Zechs a second ago.

[zechs_isonfire]

Scattered gunfire was less predictable. Almost more dangerous, in a way. But there's still a general spray - since it seemed unable to target, if it was outside that cone of fire, he wouldn't be slowed down by an injury. Or, even less convenient, sent back to the train in a death. He didn't relish marching back here all over again.

Zechs approached it then from the side and behind, while it tried to throw off the priest like a mechanical bull. He took his sword and firmly stabbed into the robot, twisting sharply, hoping to destroy enough of it that it'd simply crash down, completely disabled.

[its_dad_sanzo]

He must have found something important, because the robot gave one final lurching, shuddering attempt at murdering them both, and then fell with a resounding thud.

Koumyou simply rode it to the ground, and then cut the power from his hands and hopped off.

"Well, that was fun!"

[zechs_isonfire]

Zechs yanked his blade out of the robot forcefully, and then flicked off some of the oil that'd collected on the sword - or was it hydraulic fluid? - in a decisive swipe.

"A little," Zechs admitted dryly, looking at the other man in a new light. "You've got an exceptional ability in combat."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Well, I'd certainly better," Koumyou shook out his hands, which were deeply bruised from all the robots he'd been punching on this mission. And now tingly, from all that electricity he'd just channeled.

"Maaah... I don't suppose you smoke?"

[zechs_isonfire]

That actually made Zechs chuckle, a little wry, but Koumyou earned a sort of smile anyway. He hadn't realized fully what he meant, of course - just that they're stuck on a train that had them fighting robots with only the weapons they'd scrounged themselves. Being able to take them out with their bare hands, if they could, was just useful.

"Occasionally," Zechs admitted. "I don't have anything on me, however, I'm afraid to say. You've definitely earned a pack and a few drinks, if only I could offer them."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Aww," Koumyou pouted, still shaking his hands out. "They dressed me up but couldn't slip a pack into a pocket? It's just too cruel!"

Why yes, he took all of this as seriously as he took everything else.

And never missed an opportunity to whine.

He looked down at the robot they'd taken out, and wished for a moment that he was the kind of talisman master who could turn defeated enemies into shikigami. Imagine the fun, turning robotic enemies on robotic enemies! Alas.

"...You're on the team that's hunting these down, aren't you?" Koumyou was not, of course, as shown by his blue sweater.

[zechs_isonfire]

"Yes," Zechs confirmed, "which is why I followed you when you approached the target. I hadn't realized your capabilities then, of course."

He gave Koumyou another considering look. "I don't think I have any grounds to be surprised by the passengers I've been fighting alongside from the train any longer."

[its_dad_sanzo]

Koumyou laughed at that, delighted, and finally tucked his bruised hands away in his hoodie pocket. "You planned to rescue me, did you? How very dashing!"

Charging headlong into danger at Koumyou's heels... why, it was almost flattering! But he knew it hadn't been personal, this guy was clearly just like that.

Wouldn't stop the priest from teasing, though.

"Shall I faint into your arms now, or later?"

[zechs_isonfire]

That just got the shadow of a smirk.

"You're clearly no damsel. And just as well, because I make for a very poor knight," Zechs quipped dryly.

Remembering for a moment his sister's admonishments across an icy battlefield. Well. Libra was an even better example.

"That being said, if you did faint - I'd just sling you over my shoulder and dump you back with the camp," Zechs told him bluntly. "Someone from Orange Team, perhaps, can deal with you there, if they're not too busy with the repairs."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"I haven't set foot in base camp, and I don't plan to start now," Koumyou said cheerfully, "so I guess I'd better not faint. What a pity! The drama would almost be worth it."

[zechs_isonfire]

The shadow turned much more into an actual smirk, now.

"Such a shame," Zechs told him. His eyebrows raised. "Any particular reason you're avoiding the camp? If you're a fan of drama, I don't see why you'd avoid a group of people scrambling to set up tents for the first time."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Being crammed into close quarters with the rest of you on the train is bad enough," Koumyou shook his head, "I can't imagine choosing to engage in it while there's so much free space to work with."

He knows he comes across as extremely friendly and outgoing, but... as a Sanzo, Koumyou could have taken over a much bigger temple, if he'd wanted to. But no, he'd chosen quiet, small Kinzan instead, tucked away in the mountains.

[zechs_isonfire]

Zechs snorted softly, but it's with sympathy. "Separating myself from the group when there seem to be a lot who'd need protection - or even encouragement to simply eat - doesn't seem to be a luxury I can afford. Not if I'm intending on being some sort of functioning member of this haphazard crew."

"But I understand the impulse," Zechs agreed with quiet emphasis.

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Well, that's what you get for taking on responsibility for others," Koumyou noted, "I know better than to make that mistake."

Mostly. Usually.

It hadn't been an easy lesson to learn, though.

[zechs_isonfire]

Frowning, Zechs told the Sanzo, "Force of habit. I think if I tried to sit idly by, however, I'd just be driven mad from boredom."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Well, I did tell you to find a hobby," Koumyou noted, "I admit I wasn't thinking of 'babysitting half the train', but..."

Hey, if it worked!

[zechs_isonfire]

A small snort, maybe a laugh, maybe a sigh. Perhaps it was both.

Zechs told him, "It'll just be while we're on this mission. I've experience directing troops in combat, that's all."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"So you might still have to take up knitting, huh?"

Or, let's see, what was a normal hobby...?

"Or gambling!"

Yes, excellent pull, Koumyou.

[zechs_isonfire]

"I'm pretty sure every soldier knows how to play cards," Zechs said in a wry tone, indicating - for him - he's attempting to respond in good humor. "But we don't exactly have money to gamble with. Points seem non-transferable."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"So... knitting, then?"

Look, Zechs. He's trying to help. Probably.

Unless he's not.

[zechs_isonfire]

"... I suppose you keep bringing that up because of my long fingers." Zechs noted ruefully. He's in a fairly good mood because of a successful fight. "And I have the patience for tedious tasks, but I think I'd likely to feel bored all the same."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Well, I admit I don't know of a lot of hobbies," Koumyou laughed, "so 'knitting' is just kind of a default suggestion. It's something regular people do, I'm told!"