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!
fun_thementalist: (manga - are you kidding)

[personal profile] fun_thementalist 2020-11-24 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Fighting robots is ten billion percent not in my game plans," Gen agreed, his expression wry. "I don't think they're really fond of card tricks, and they won't be impressed by science."

He looked at Tidus. "If our camp gets raided in the night, can you help make sure we don't get completely squashed by a bunch of robots?"
blitzcheer: (whatcha gonna do about iiitt)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-11-24 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
He laughs. "Want me to put my tent nearby? Eh," he shrugs a shoulder, "I wouldn't worry about it. Plenty of us who know how to fight. And Lightning from Red Team? She'll zap anything that comes bugging us, 'specially if they're machines. Plus, there's way more paranoid people than me who'll wake up at a weird sound."

And sleeping is so good...!
10billionpercent: (I Sense A Plot)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2020-11-24 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
"You say not to worry about it, but how can I not?" Senku chuckled lightly.

"I'm not that worried about that. It will probably be fine. Like he said, everyone's here." He said, for Gen's benefit.
fun_thementalist: (manga - x to doubt)

[personal profile] fun_thementalist 2020-11-24 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Gen had to laugh sheepishly too. "Yes, yes, I know I'm just a little nervous about getting shot up by robots. I haven't gotten us bullet-proof vests yet."

A pause, and Gen blinked. "I wonder how expensive Kevlar armor would be in the train's store."
blitzcheer: (trying not to use same keywords)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-11-25 03:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"I got some shields for 45." Whatever that compares to the armour they're talking about, but... "What's a Kevlar? This some full-suit job you're talking about?"

It could have just been a joke, but Tidus is curious. Tell him the reference!!
10billionpercent: (Avoiding Emotions)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2020-11-25 06:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"Typically, people just wear a vest to cover their vital organs and usually it's meant to stop bullets, or projectiles, through the way it's weaved together." Senku explained, because of course he did.

"I'm not sure how helpful it would be in a fight with robots, I don't think it was designed with that in mind." His tone dropped into a bit more of a dry one. That was a bit of a joke again, even though his jokes were sometimes misunderstood.
fun_thementalist: (manga - orly)

[personal profile] fun_thementalist 2020-11-25 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Gen had to snicker at Senku’s quip, very amused. “My dearest, I don’t believe anyone from our world was seriously worried yet about a robot uprising. They can be forgiven if they weren’t prepared for it.”

He looked at Tidus, “Obviously, just a vest wouldn’t protect against every attack, but it’d be better than running around with no armor at all. My little noodle arms can’t carry a shield forever.”
blitzcheer: (whatcha gonna do about iiitt)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-11-26 02:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"How about I get your noodle arms bashing some more almonds for me?" he offers with a grin to Gen, then regarding Senku.

"Actually, you should both talk to Spider - I asked her about this too. She can make clothing stronger with her magic, and I asked Nita if she'd see about reinforcing, since all of Webs's magic is weak to fire. You know, since you like usin' what we've got."

And that includes a Spider Seamstress, right.

"But I think I can help you be a good Orange this mission. I got some of the bots that need fixing up and brought them with the equipment from different stations. You wanna have them, fix some up here?"
10billionpercent: (Ha Ha)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2020-11-26 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Senku snickered at that, he wasn't going to rescue Gen from potential combat-like things, he was pretty sure he could do that himself.

"Hmmm, there's a thought. I wonder if she can just reinforce the clothing we have." He said, glancing at Gen. "We ordered some last time from the train so we have a decent selection." It might be worth doing.

"Yeah, sure, why not. Saves us the time walking in that direction." He liked tinkering, it wasn't going to be an imposition on his rest time.
fun_thementalist: (dragged in)

[personal profile] fun_thementalist 2020-11-26 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ah, well, when we're on the train, maybe," Gen pretended to hedge at the offer. But, honestly, if Tidus needed the help, he was willing to give it. He just had to put on the performance of complaining first.

He hummed a little. "We can always ask. Worst case is she says no. The lady spider is a girl after my own heart - we've got a lot of candy we can pay her with if she'd like."

Gen beamed at Tidus. "Any robots or even robot parts you could find would be great, my friend. I can't image Senku turning up his nose at even some functional resisters and fuses and bits."
blitzcheer: (all for you)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-11-28 10:57 am (UTC)(link)
"Actually, I asked about that - reinforcing clothes. She showed it's better when she makes them," he explains. ...by nearly setting herself on fire. "Since she's weaving in the magic into the threads."

He looks at Gen, smiling. "But I can get her some new games for the work. She's got a lot of sweets, and drinks. Oh, but she likes comics too - and I bet she wouldn't say no to more people playing the games she got!"

See? Don't even have to buy her anything then! But he'll definitely look into getting her a game if he can. She's always working hard!

Still as Tidus spoke on, towards the end there he made a bag appear from the nowhere of the arms band, weaved up by Spider, simple and...very bulky. Like a lot was stuffed in there. And as a guy who would indiscriminately stuff tiny bots and whatever else was laying around, Tidus attempts to just turn the bag over and let everything dump out.

"If we just needed to switch the batteries, that'd be easy even for me to fix!"
10billionpercent: (This...is exhilarating)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2020-11-28 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
That was an interesting tidbit about Spider's clothes and Senku hummed, nodding his agreement. "That's good to know."

Maybe reinforcement wasn't the way to go, unless he came up with something. He'd have to think on it.

His eyes lit up at the treasure trove of parts and robot pieces that were doing their best to escape Tidus' bag of wonders.

"Good work." He praised because, he definitely wanted those parts. "That's true, but from what I've seen the batteries are probably solar rechargable."
fun_thementalist: (allow me to explain!)

[personal profile] fun_thementalist 2020-11-28 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"She can make us armor?" Gen was surprised, and grin. "Or rather, magic our clothes into armor? That'd be great if she can!"

Just think of the possibilities. And Gen rubbed his hands together. "Snacks, and drinks, and games ... I'll need to ask her if she'd help organizing a party at some point, then. Maybe after the mission! We could probably want a bit of a chance to relax."

Gen tilted his head at Senku. "So, they wouldn't last long on the train, then. Unless you can build some kind of lamp that would have the right energy that'd recharge them anyhow? Might be just easier to try to engineer them to accept a different power source ..."
blitzcheer: (hand onnnn HIP!!!!)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-11-29 02:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"You trying to get her snacks, or throwing her a party?" There's a bit of a grin at that, but- "She's pretty shy. But I won't say no giving people reasons to hang out after a mission. Build on that community spirit, yeah?"

Like they talked about in their meeting with Roland. Plus, those things are just fun!

"Webs can make you some bags if you need any." He waves a quick hand. "Just ask! Or maybe I will- see if she can make some of us who need to chill with the heat some scarves again. She's quick at that."

Webs is pretty cool with this magic. Also, Tidus was definitely going to need the extra bags himself, collecting for Senku.
10billionpercent: (Default)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2020-11-29 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's good to know how skilled she is." Senku agreed. "I haven't spent much time talking to her."

He spoke to her once, and didn't even give her his name.

"We should figure out if she wants something else. We can probably get her something." He glanced at Gen, after all, plying potential allies was his best move.
fun_thementalist: (go to hell together)

[personal profile] fun_thementalist 2020-12-01 05:18 am (UTC)(link)
"I would be a cruel person to steal someone's candy!" Gen laughed a little. "But I thought with all those games, she might want someone to play with. Shy, though, hmmm ..."

He looked at Senku, thinking of ideas. "Perhaps something low-key for her, at some point. It's a shame that we can't really make video games from scratch, like everything else, can we? We'd get her something single-player."

Gen was honest. He really didn't think they could just build a video game system. "Perhaps making her cookies that look like little game controllers, as a thank-you ... if she's used to getting paid in snacks from the train's store, she probably never gets something that feels personal."
blitzcheer: (have a good tiiime)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2020-12-01 03:30 pm (UTC)(link)
"I can tell you what the console is she plays on," he offers, even if it's not making by hand. "But cookies would be great. She took paella from me- she loves food. Keeps it all stuck away her own magic place."

There's a pause before he nods. "She deserves it. I'll help out even - she gave me a lot of material to sell on the other mission. A lot of people stayed warm because of her. A lot of what I got back then's thanks to her."
10billionpercent: (Sentimental)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2020-12-02 01:59 am (UTC)(link)
"That sounds like a fairly good idea. Cookies aren't a bad thing at all, very doable." Senku agreed. They could make something relatively simple, maybe...

"I wonder if we could pull off a ginger cookie or something to that effect. I think we still have some allspice if nothing else, I know there's ginger and honey...yeah I bet we could come up with something."
fun_thementalist: (happy song)

[personal profile] fun_thementalist 2020-12-02 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Paella is pretty good, admittedly! It sounds like she has good taste," Gen told Tidus cheerfully.

He stuck his hands in his sleeves and hummed a little, his smile now a warm one, aimed at Senku's direction. "You're a genius, Senku-chan. That sounds delicious. I'm sure she'd really enjoy them."