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!

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[ This is all really confusing to someone still half-dazed.

Inigo doesn't even follow most of the conversation. Things are slowly clicking into place a bit more in his head, but it's going really slowly. Like he's underwater or something and hearing and seeing this all from there.

But there's one thing he recognizes straight though any daze, nodding immediately-- only to look like he regrets having moved his head a moment later. ]

Yeah, I.. I'm fine. [ Very convincing after that wince just now. ]

[ you read that tag inigo, go comfort yourself. ]

Watch out! We'll be here, so be careful.

[ There isn't anything more than that to say over the comms, so Tidus will let Senku focus on arriving. Looking back up at Inigo, and -- okay, maybe he should be more concerned. An initial desire to put his hands on Inigo emerging, but what good is that going to do? Tidus presses his lips together, thinking. ]

Just- remember what Senku said, yeah? You'll be fine! Hey, did I ever tell you about the Thunder Plains in Spira? They're an entire plain where bolts strike down, day and night...

[ Do you want Story Time, Inigo. ]

[ Senku arrives, out of breath and with sweat beading on his forehead but that's alright. He takes a quick glance at what they were working on, good, the electric current isn't in the way and he drops down to his knees beside Inigo. ]

Hey. [ Pant. Pant. ] Did he lose consciousness? [ That question is for Tidus. ]

Inigo, you know what happened? [ It might seem like a silly question, but he's trying to figure out if he's confused. At the same time he'll put two fingers on the side of his neck to feel for a pulse. ]

[ Inigo will definitely enjoy storytime. Though unfortunately he doesn't seem to be too responsive. He's only just responsive enough to seem like he really is listening to Tidus - looking at him, nodding along a bit, but it doesn't go much beyond that.

By the time Senku arrives, he's managed to recover a little bit, though he still seems pretty dazed as he slowly turns to look at him. ]

Uh.

[ Good question..? ]

I.. think so? I mean.. I'm fine. [ Granted, that's really just Inigo Instinct kicking in. I'm fine. No words are easier to say than those. ] My head feels a bit strange.

...so I dodged 200 lightning bolts! [ And that's the thrilling end of Tidus's tale.

Oh, wait, Senku's here? Tidus starts to stand until Senku comes down to join them, shakes his head at the question. Waits as Inigo gives his own response, concern stitched onto his face.

... ]

Is that bad? [ uh- ] I don't know esuna... should I try a healing spell?

[ He doesn't know, should he leave it to Senku to decide? He's definitely leaving it to Senku to decide. ]

[ Thank you, Tidus and Inigo, for both of you ignoring his questions, when only one of you has an excuse. ]

Uh huh. [ He says a bit absently, keeping his fingers on his throat, he's counting his pulse. ]

Tell me what happened, Inigo. [ That's a more direct request. He already sounds a bit confused, he just needs to see how much. He leans over, staring into his eyes, looking to see if his pupils have changed. ]

Let me make sure what we're dealing with, and how bad it is before you start healing. Once we know it's safe to do that, then you can heal him.

It's.. It's not that bad.

[ Or maybe it is? Inigo doesn't know, has no way of seeing what the damage is when his head still feels kind of foggy. But he knows that he doesn't want Tidus to have to spend even a tiny bit of his energy on him, okay. He'll be fine. He's had worse! ]

I just..

[ He pauses, thinking. At least it's coming back to him now, though a little slowly. ]

I was trying to pull-- pull them out. The wires. But I think I got shocked. [ How? Don't ask him that, he has no idea how anything here works. He hardly even knows how electricity works in the first place! ]

[ He shook his head bro, he answered your question. Is it his fault if you weren't paying attention, Senku!! ]

We forgot to turn the power off-! [ That has to be it, doesn't it? And Tidus is peeved at himself, deciding to move around the pair to check. Wiring half-hanging out where Inigo started to pull. ] I'm sorry Inigo, I should've checked!

[ It's a hiss whispered under his breath. There is a switch here, a small light still on. Why would Inigo think to check it? Unless he's stopped, Tidus will flip it, turning the power off. ]

Your eyes look good. [ He decides and then glances at Tidus. It doesn't bother him that he's shutting the thing off, it's not big in the grand scheme of things at the moment. ]

Yeah, you got electrocuted, but your pulse is good, you don't look like you hit your head. Does anything hurt like you burned it?

[ Now they can focus on the less critical stuff. ]

If you don't want him to heal you, you're going to have to lie here a bit until you start making a little more sense and your mind clears.

[ .. does anything feel like that? Inigo isn't too sure. He sits there for a moment, silently, thinking, but he can't feel anything feeling like it's burning.. he thinks.. ]

I don't.. think so.. [ But as he frowns, still thinking way too much than his mind can handle right now, Inigo continues. Even if it's still a bit hard to think and talk, he wouldn't want Tidus to feel bad, so he quickly continues-- ] It's fine though, Tidus. You.. You haven't done anything wrong. It's fine.

[ A pause. He's still speaking a bit slowly. ]

I'm fine.

[ Another pause, but this time seemingly to switch gears, a slight whiny edge surrounding his next words. ]

Do I really have to lie down though..? [ Please don't make him, it feels so dumb. He's fine. He could probably stand up right now and be fine! (No, he'd fall right over like a moron if he'd try.) ]

[ Off the switch goes! And thankfully, no more dangerous shocks to be had. Which means Tidus can return to the side, make sure he can listen to the both of them. Even though... ]

You know I'm going to heal you anyway, right? [ It's a chide. Tidus isn't pushing forward to get started, since he'd like to hear Inigo concede first. ] You'd want me to do the same if it was Taiki or Senku or anyone else.

[ See?? ] Just relax. Okay?

[ The confusion is a bit worrying, and the fact that Inigo sounds so uncertain makes Senku pause a moment. ]

...Sorry.

[ He starts by taking Inigo's arm gingerly in his hands and turning it over carefully, taking a look. He would repeat the quick examination with the other arm and then his legs.

As long as he doesn't find anything that looks like melted or burned clothing, he'll glance at Tidus. ]

He's mostly confused, you could try healing him, it doesn't seem particularly serious. Just a shock to his system. Even after you get healed Inigo...[ He will look at him now. ] You still have to stay down for ten minutes to make sure.

[ Nothing melted or burned to see here! Although Inigo is rather easy to move. There's just no resistance at all when Senku grabs his arm and starts looking at it like that, almost like Inigo is just some sort of ragdoll Senku is playing with.

Especially since Inigo is still trying to think over here. Probably about what Tidus is saying, since it's mostly him that Inigo is looking over at right now. ]

I don't wanna get healed.

[ It's the weakest protest ever. Usually Inigo would attempt to make excuses, or subtly sneak his way out of it - but with the current state of his brains, this is apparently the best he can do. Just being straightforward about it.

Even though it makes him sound like a whiny toddler. ]

I'll lie down. If I just lie down, it's fine, right? [ He'll lie down! He'll show you!

Except being shocked makes muscle control a little harder, which is why when he tries to lie down, he instead just drops backwards from where he's sitting, his head landing on the ground with a thud after the fall.

.. well.

At least he did lie down. ]

[ Tidus is so ready to protest Inigo's protest. You think you're getting away from a tiny heal? You going to cockblock his healing here, bro??

...

...

And then Inigo does what he does.

Tidus reaches out his hands as if he's about to grab Inigo's head (and what?? rattle it?), but they stop hovering out at the sides. He can feel the ouch of just banging one's head against concrete.

He's not asking this time. He's just going to start calling forth healing magic, a soft white glow appearing with a mixture of wispy colours, all slipping into Inigo's head. A soothing warmth gathering, fixing at that ache. ]

You just stay right there, pal.

[ Thanks buddy. ]

[ Senku lets out a breath, the only sign perhaps that he'd been worried about Inigo and now that he knew he was okay, relatively and was getting healed, it was better.

He summons from his arms band a loaf of bread Inigo might recognize and he pulls out his knife and cuts a decently thick slice. Then he tops it with some sweet mango compote, and also summons a bottle of water.

Sure, he's used it, but that doesn't matter so much in an emergency does it? ]

While you're lying there, or once you sit up, here.

[ He sets both next to Inigo, the bread now on a napkin, and puts everything back, wiping his sticky knife on the grass. ]

Eat something, regain your strength.

[ There's some mumbling even as Tidus is healing him, but it's all intelligible. It's probably just more whiny protests anyway, and who needs to hear those? The important part is that Inigo sure isn't moving, mostly because he just can't. And that means he's right stuck there as he gets healed.

At least that healing is slowly making him regain his full mind. As full of a mind as Inigo usually has, anyway. It takes a few moments, but his eyes are starting to look a bit clearer again the longer the glow lingers.

It's only then that Inigo mutters a half-reluctant: ]

.. thanks, Tidus. Senku. [ For caring for him.

Even though he's a big whiny baby. ]

[ That's their Inigo. ]

Give me another minute, then sit up. [ A light commanding and chide to his voice, but still friendly. ] Doc Senku came all this way for you, so you better listen.

[ And he will eventually take away his hands, but offer one as a 'here, need it?' to help Inigo sit up. Now's the time to behave.

He looks over at Senku. ]

Thanks for this. [ Well, and since the guy is here... ] Don't suppose I can watch you check out the wiring in this place and see if I don't learn a few things before we leave here, do you?

[ You know! Let them have some proper Adult Supervisor from the guy a thousand years older than them (technically). ]

I was going to do that anyway. I wasn't going to let you two go back and touch it!

[ He says, a bit affronted, and then he reached in Tidus' direction to swat his arm , and then one for Inigo too on the shoulder. ]

Don't give me a heart attack like that. [ He's an old man, he can't take it! ]

Come here, let me look at what you're dealing with and I can show you what to do.

[ There's another whiny groan at the idea that he has to keep lying there for even one minute more, but even though he's protesting like a toddler, Inigo does listen. He only moves to sit up when Tidus offers his hand, which he promptly takes, letting the other pull him up into a sitting position.

He'll probably keep sitting for a while. His head feels better, but still a tad faint. Probably better to not risk it too much.

Though the moment Senku swats at him-- ]

Ouch!

[ Of course it doesn't really hurt. He's whining still. ]

I didn't intend to..! [ Give him a heart attack, that is. But no matter how whiny Inigo says as he sounds it, he does shut up after, ready to watch Senku's demonstration rather than be unhelpfully whiny.

(He's rubbing his shoulder now though.) ]

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Not with a Bang Start and Ongoing

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