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

Nah it's fine. I left something back there too, and there's no sense in both of us going.

[Unlike Inigo, Lea has left something back at the spot where he'd been working, though it was deliberate, since he didn't plan on being gone too long.

And that smile isn't fooling him for a minute.]

[ He pauses for a moment.

Wait, did Lea happen to leave something behind by accident for real, even though Inigo didn't? Like the weirdest coincidence possible? Or could it be that Lea is lying about the very same thing in order to escape resting?

Not knowing the other well enough to guess at all, Inigo feels a little apprehensive. He sure doesn't want his lie to be found out here.. ]

Uh..

[ He scratches his head, trying to make it look really hard like he's thinking about Their Predicament rather than about how to lie his way out of this. ]

You sure are insistent for someone trying to help out. [ Tone-wise it doesn't sound as much like an accusation as it does an observation, at least.. ]

Could say something similar about you about being willing to accept it.

[Lea's tone is similarly observational rather than accusatory. Though his next words drop most of the pretense and are a bit more pointed.]

A guy might think you were adverse to taking a break or something.

[AKA, yes, he's onto you Inigo.]

[ UGH. Lea! It's the pointedness to the words that makes him realise he's been caught, really, and Inigo can't help but frown a little bit as he thinks of what to say here.. It seems like he at least won't be able to avoid telling Lea the truth - if not somewhat. ]

I'm just.. [ His voice trails off as he's still thinking, before Inigo gestures with an arm at the forest. ] Just at work. There's a lot to do, you know? There's only so many purple team people, and so many stations to clear. I can rest after clearing a few more.

[ And then a few more.. and then yet again a few more..

And so he never rests. ]

[Well at least he isn't going the 'play dumb' route. Lea still sighs though.]

Look, I get that you wanna help out as much as you can. Believe me, I'm the same way. But there comes a point of diminishing returns, you know?

If you wanna be able to do as much as you can, as well as you can, taking regular breaks is part of that. You're not gonna be able to help nearly as much if you run yourself into the ground, you know?

I know that.

[ There's nothing biting about it. Lea is just saying the truth, just trying to help, and Inigo knows it. So it's not like he's going to get mad at the other.

And yet he still shakes his head. ]

I'm used to this though. I know how to do this. I can push myself for a week or so, and then just catch up on sleep once we're back on the train. [ It's not as if he hasn't done that pretty much every single mission until now, after all. ] I've gone days without sleep plenty of times.

...You know you're not helping your case, right? I mean, if you're looking to convince me to let you off the hook, telling me you do this all the time is like, the worst possible way to do it.

Plus you're making me look like a sensible, reasonable adult, and that's just sad.

[Because when Lea looks like the sensible one, Inigo, you should be worried.]

[ Excuse you, Lea, Inigo is very much a sensible, reasonable adult, thank you very much! He's making great life choices all the time. ]

Hey, I'm being honest with you! Give me some credit! [ It's said a little more lightly, because it's not like Inigo wants to drag the mood all the way down here.. ]

I just don't think you realise how much experience I have with this. [ It's what years and years of having no rest at all in the middle of a zombie apocalypse will do to you. ] There's no one better suited for this than me, so I might as well work while everyone else rests.

[Sure, they both are. Look at how nice and stable and great at life choices they are.

Lea smiles a bit too.]

So am I. Me looking like the sensible one in the room is generally not a good sign.

[He gets a bit more serious for the next bit.]

But anyway, just because you're used to something doesn't mean that it's good. You can be 'used' to a lot of things that are really terrible for you, and sometimes everyone around you too. Trust me, I know.

.. well, at least this isn't terrible for everyone around me.

[ Mostly since he isn't really in danger of getting hurt. Inigo knows how to handle himself in a battle even when he's by himself, after all. The main problem that he can acknowledge when he thinks about it is the fact that he's just running himself ragged.

But at least he can hide that, even when it gets bad. ]

In fact, it's good for all of us. The purple team has an incredible number of stations to fix before the mission is over. We'll never get done with them at the current pace, so I've got to pick up some slack and go out there.

Alright, then wouldn't it be a better idea to ask everybody to pick it up a bit rather than trying to do all the extra yourself? I mean, no matter how much you push yourself, you can't be in two places at once; if you used the comm to let people who are already at the different places fixing stations know they need to do a bit more, it'd be a lot faster than you walking from one to the next to do it yourself.

[ The bridge of Inigo's nose wrinkles into something that looks a little like a pout as he considers that idea. ]

No way. I'm not going to do that. [ Despite there definitely being a logical side to the argument Lea is presenting here.

But it still doesn't sit right in Inigo's mind. ]

I mean.. Sure. It would be nice if everyone worked hard. But we've got to remember we're all not exactly voluntarily here. [ And while Inigo knows he is the type to easily pick up on a task like this, despite the circumstances, he knows it doesn't count for everyone. ] I don't want to force anyone to work against their will. It'd be wrong.

Yeah, I don't think anybody is really on the train by choice, at least as far as we know. But the mission? Everybody came on the mission willingly. They could've stayed on board, but they didn't.

Everybody knew more or less what they were getting into with this mission, as much as any of us does before one happens, and they came willingly. They came here to do a job that needed doing, and what's not fair is asking one guy to do way more of the work than anyone else. Everybody needs to do their fair share.

How do you know why anyone came?

[ Maybe it's a little too defensive. But then again, Inigo has already started to overwork himself a little, and with how emotional he is, it only gets easier for emotions to slip out once he starts like this. ]

Maybe they just didn't want to be left behind without their friends. Maybe there's other reasons. Either way-- [ He quickly shakes his head. ] It's not fair to force anyone to do anything. You don't see me complaining about doing extra work.

[ There was no hesitation about his attempt to sneak out, after all. ]

I don't know why anybody specifically came, no. But whatever the reasons behind their being here, no one forced anyone to come on the mission. Everybody chose to be here rather than stay on the train for one reason or another.

[Lea sighs.]

Look, I get it. I really do. But no matter how willing you are or how hard you work, you're still just one guy. Even if you really do manage to not stop for anything, you can still only get so much done in a set amount of time. And like you pointed out, there's a ton to do and only so much time to do it in.

It would be nice if we could cut everybody else some slack, but right now? That just won't work. We need to get this job done, and whether either of us likes it on not, the best way to ensure it gets done and gets done in time is to get as many people as possible push a bit more until it's finished.

Normally I'd be one of the first to let everybody do their own thing, but sometimes you just gotta be practical rather than nice, you know?

[Lea is not a logistics expert by any means. But even he knows that spreading the effort out is a lot more likely to accomplish their goal than any one person trying to do it, no matter how willing or hard working.]

Then why don't you go do that? [ Inigo definitely sounds annoyed now, lack of sleep and exhaustion due to overworking himself sneaking into his voice more and more, leaving him unable to regulate his words as much as he'd usually like to. ]

I'm not going to force anyone. I'm just going to do what I was going to do in the first place-- go out there and work. And if other people want to do so as well, then they can go do the same.

[ But he won't tell them. That's not who Inigo is. Maybe it's why he'll never be like his father, never like Lucina - never a true Exalt.

He grits his teeth, stepping away from Lea.

He just can't order around others. What gives him the right?

.. though at least he is slowly realising he may have let himself go there for a moment, so he slowly says: ]

Sorry. [ It's short, but it sounds genuine. ] I'm going though.

[ And unless Lea makes any move to physically stop him from doing so, that's exactly what Inigo does - walking off back into the jungle. ]

[Lea's getting the distinct impression that this must be what it's like for Isa having to deal with him. If so, he's even more impressed that his friend puts up with him. Not that he dislikes Inigo or anything, but he hopes he's not quite this stubbornly reckless anymore.

He briefly debates just letting him go, but... no. He moves to catch up with Inigo, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him.]

Wait a minute. Look, OK, if you're determined to do this, I can't exactly stop you.

But how about we compromise for the moment? You at least sit down long enough to get something to eat and drink before you go back out. No matter how determined you are, your body still needs fuel, and in the middle of the jungle, you definitely want to stay hydrated. Get dehydrated in a hot, sticky place like this, and that'd ruin your day a lot faster than overworking yourself would.

[ If Inigo is annoyed at all with Lea stopping him, then it doesn't show up on his face. He probably isn't, anyway, since he did feel kind of guilty over his reaction a moment ago - which means his expression is mostly netural by now.

But he shakes his head. ]

It's fine. I didn't come unprepared.

[ He easily summons a drink forth from his Arms Band, appearing in his hand with a glow. ]

See? [ As soon as he's sure Lea spotted it, he makes it disappear again. ] I have everything I need out there.

[ Look, even if Inigo may be a stubborn overworker, he's at least got some standards. Apparently. ]

[And now Lea is officially out of objections. Because short of tying Inigo up or something, he can't actually stop him from doing what he wants.

So, with obvious reluctance, he nods. He's got one more thing to say though, before Inigo leaves.]

...Alright. But just so there's no misunderstanding, I didn't mean that you should start barking orders at people or something. It's more...

[He thinks a second, figuring out how best to word it.]

It's more that you're part of a team, you know? And as much as you want your teammates to trust you and count on you to support them? You need to be willing to trust them and count on them just as much. Everybody has different skills and strengths and weaknesses, but that's why we have teams; so we can all support each other. Cause that's how teams work. You know what I mean?

I know.

[ Or more, he understands what Lea is trying to explain to him when he puts it that way. But while it's not like Inigo doesn't think everyone else does nothing, he's just used to taking a little more on his own shoulders. Because he's used to it. Just as he's sure others are going to their own limits, he has to match his own, higher one.

Which is exactly what he's doing now. ]

I know they're all going to get up in the morning and do their best. That's why I'm doing my best now too. I'll do some more and then catch some shuteye later.

[Lea's clearly not happy about it, but he's said everything he feels he can really say to persuade him.]

Alright. Just make sure you do. And don't do the kind of dumb thing I did on the beach mission where I fought until I basically ended up passing out leaning on some sacks of supplies. Trust me, that's not the best place to take a nap.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

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