voidtreckermods: (voidtrain)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2020-11-13 04:28 am
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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!
sunbloom: (I'm not liking this.)

[personal profile] sunbloom 2020-11-18 02:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Itsuki is visibly drained when Madoka finds her, sitting on a fallen log and staring into the distance. She's... calming down, but it's not quite a finished process. The pink hair catches her attention, and she's initially concerned it'll be Tsubomi to tell her off for pushing herself - entirely her own fault, mind - which makes her refocus. It turns out to be Madoka, though, which... may actually be worse. Tsubomi has at least seen desertification and would kinda sorta understand what Itsuki was worried about. Madoka... she'll have to explain.

She's not looking forward to that. But she owes it to her friend to try, even if her voice is quiet and tentative.]


I think I am now, more or less. That meteor... really spooked me.
happyends: (the ancient magic i dreamed of)

[personal profile] happyends 2020-11-18 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)
I..

[ She starts, then suddenly gets less unsure of what she was about to follow it up with. Would it be a rude thing to say? Then again, it's just a fact..

So Madoka does end up saying it, even though it's a bit carefully. ]


I know. I.. I think I felt your panic. [ As odd as that is. But it really didn't feel like Madoka's own feelings - also panicked, but with a different nuance to it. Not the same desperation. ] That's why I wanted to find you.. I was really worried about you. Especially since I didn't know what might be going on with you.
sunbloom: (Are you sure?)

[personal profile] sunbloom 2020-11-19 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
[Itsuki's head snaps up to stare at her fully, her own discomfort totally forgotten. Sure, she's magic, Madoka's from a place with magic so it's half credit, Jema'grethy Island was clearly magic even if she can't prove it, but. What the hell.]

That's... that's really strange, even if it explains some things. I- um. I guess I should apologize for scaring you, then, first. I'm sorry, Madoka-chan. I reacted badly. I'm not as used to all this as I probably made it sound before.

[Does that mean she should be careful when she's feeling emotional, or that she should embrace it? Ugh, feelings are hard.]
happyends: (better than the rest)

[personal profile] happyends 2020-11-19 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She shakes her head. ]

It's okay! You don't have to apologize to me!

[ It's a bit more forceful than Madoka would usually be, but it's just important to get this point across. With how awful the other girl must have felt, the last thing Madoka wants is for Itsuki to feel guilty towards her now.. Especially over something neither of them could do anything about. ]

Everyone reacted badly to this, I think.. I was really scared too. [ She's not afraid to admit that, openly, honestly. ] You didn't get hurt though, did you..? D-did something happen to you?
sunbloom: (I'm not liking this.)

[personal profile] sunbloom 2020-11-22 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
[You say that, Madoka, but she's going to feel guilty anyway. The both of them have enough problems, adding more is. Going the wrong direction. Still, she can try.]

O-okay. I'm so- ah. No, I'm not hurt, I just... [Itsuki pauses, frowning.] I didn't trust the planet's shield to stop the meteor, and I have this power, so... I felt desperate. I've seen something hit a planet before.
happyends: (my feelings are all i can rely on)

[personal profile] happyends 2020-11-22 12:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ .. wait, hold on a second there.

Madoka is slowly trying to connect the dots here, since she feels like something is being implied here, pretty heavily, yet not said out loud. And she's pretty sure she's catching onto said implication, but that only makes her more worried.

Which is mirrored in her voice as she speaks up, saying: ]


Y-You tried to stop it? [ With her powers? But that's so dangerous! ]
sunbloom: (Good.)

[personal profile] sunbloom 2020-11-25 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
I didn't trust the shield to hold. I've been convinced now, but then I was so scared. There are people I care about on this planet. I couldn't just...

[Despite there not being a threat at the moment, Itsuki's anxiety comes back all over again. She pushes it aside quickly enough, but it's written all over her face until then. After a moment, her lips curl into a ghost of a smile as she works to get over herself.]

It'd be the second-biggest thing I've ever fought.
happyends: (of my frightened hands)

[personal profile] happyends 2020-11-26 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
No way..

[ It's hard to say what that tone that Madoka is currently using is, really. Is it awe? Is it worry? Shock? Maybe it's a little bit of everything, and the girl can't help but hold her hands in front of her mouth for a moment as she seems to think. ]

That's so dangerous though.. I-I'm really glad that nothing happened to you, Itsuki-chan. You could've..

[ Died, she wants to say.

But Madoka doesn't even want to say it out loud, despite the implication hanging heavy in the air between them. ]
sunbloom: (I don't know about this.)

[personal profile] sunbloom 2020-11-29 12:32 am (UTC)(link)
[It probably is all those things. She’s used to a tone somewhat like that from another pink-haired girl she knows... And like with that girl, it’s definitely her own fault. But, well, that’s how it goes sometimes. She deflates all over again seeing that response. She knows what could have happened.]

I could’ve. [It’s terribly quiet and small as she says it, though she gains some strength back after a second.] I... accepted that, at the time, even if it was kind of in the back of my mind. It’s like any other time at home, though. And if the shield didn’t hold, it’d have been disaster. I couldn’t risk that.

Still... I’m glad too. Even if I accepted it... [She can’t articulate that she has things to do, people she doesn’t want to leave behind, that she just refuses to die here. But that sentiment probably comes across at least a little, her hands clenched into tight fists.]
happyends: (and bring forth the light)

[personal profile] happyends 2020-11-29 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
But.. [ She starts to protest.

It feels a little hypocritical, considering what Madoka is well aware of. What she will do the moment she gets home. It's practically the same thing Itsuki was trying to do here, huh? It feels unfair to lecture the other girl over it.

And yet.. ]


Y-You shouldn't have to do that by yourself, Itsuki-chan. You shouldn't have to carry a responsibility that big on your own shoulders.. That's too much. You're only one person. [ Madoka's eyes may be starting to water slightly, before she can even stop it. ] There are so many strong people here, maybe you could've done something together that was less risky..!
sunbloom: (I don't know about this.)

[personal profile] sunbloom 2020-12-05 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[Itsuki takes a long breath. This is... still not a happy conversation. But it’s necessary, and in a way, it’s morbid shop talk. Or it will be when (if, she sincerely hopes) Madoka ever returns home. She feels bad about making Madoka cry, though.]

At home, shielding is my job. I’m the shield, Blossom is the frontline, Marine is support, Moonlight is raw power. So I don’t really think anything of it. I haven’t really adapted to having other people I can trust to help. [It’s a hard realization.] I’m sorry. I should know better by now. Sometimes I feel like I’m not a very good magical girl, even after everything.
happyends: (the ancient magic i dreamed of)

[personal profile] happyends 2020-12-06 07:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Itsuki-chan..

[ At first that's all Madoka can say. Only the other's name slips out of her mouth as she stares at the other girl sadly, sympathetically. The struggle of magical girls is something Madoka has quickly grown very familiar with, despite not being one herself - yet.

Suddenly she feels glad that magical girls seem to be something very different at their core in Itsuki's world. If she had a Soul Gem, would it have coloured black by now..? ]


.. that's not true. We may not have known each other for super long, but.. I know you're strong. And brave, and kind. That's exactly the kinds of things a good magical girl should be. You're better than you think.
sunbloom: (That's fine.)

[personal profile] sunbloom 2020-12-20 10:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[Itsuki slowly starts to pull herself out of her cycle of self-doubt. The words help, but being able to feel the sincerity behind them helps perhaps even more. She feels a little lighter as she looks up at Madoka.]

I appreciate that, and you're probably right. I just have to make myself believe it. [There's a pause, as she takes another deep breath and lets it out slowly, trying to center herself a little better.] I have good friends that help me when I get stuck in my head. That helps a lot.
happyends: (so it's now or never more)

[personal profile] happyends 2020-12-21 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Madoka almost looks a little surprised to see how easily the other girl accepts the words. After all, she's used to encountering a whole lot more resistance usually.

Especially when she thinks back on that time she talked to Sayaka, which feels so long ago now. When she also tried really hard to reach out to a friend, but instead-- You should step into my shoes first! Don't talk to me like you understand! ]


I'm glad..

[ So she can't help but say those words, sounding like she genuinely means them. Like she really is that glad that Itsuki is willing to consider her words. ]

I--I know I don't have much right to talk about it, since I'm not a magical girl myself.. But I really do mean what I said about you! So please, if you're ever worried, or fussing about something by yourself.. Feel free to always come to me to talk.