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!
unfavorableinstigation: Nita Callahan kneeling in the woods, drawing a glowing blue diagram on the ground while reading from a book. (Drawing a Spell Diagram)

[personal profile] unfavorableinstigation 2020-11-25 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Nita does indeed push slowly; they tag-team it, Nita doing her best not to turn her head at Minomon's reaction.

The rest of the pandas are either waiting patiently or also sleeping - but they should be safe here for now, so that's fine.

"There," she says at last, heaving a sigh.

"Think we're covered... or should we give them some protection on the go?"

They couldn't predict the locations of all the robots - or could they?
ourtomorrow: ([kenzuna] blink)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2020-11-26 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
"What did you have in mind?" Ken asks. This particular group of pandas doesn't look in a hurry to get anywhere, and he...is, in some ways. But he also doesn't wish to ignore wildlife in need.

Case in point: he is now absently patting his partner's head.
unfavorableinstigation: Nita Callahan kneeling in the woods, drawing a glowing blue diagram on the ground while reading from a book. (Drawing a Spell Diagram)

[personal profile] unfavorableinstigation 2020-11-26 01:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Best middle ground?"

Nita considers, absently tracing one foot against the ground in a circle.

"Portable shielding, tied to an alarm if any robot tries to seriously get at them. I can power that for a day at a time."

She may be overestimating herself, but that's normal. She can pay for it... later.
ourtomorrow: ([kenzuna] serious)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2020-11-26 02:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Wizards are multi-purpose. Ken considers the offer, then nods.

"If you would. Something's not right in this jungle."

The security robots had attacked them earlier, for one.
unfavorableinstigation: It is dark, but Nita is inside reading a book. (Dark)

[personal profile] unfavorableinstigation 2020-11-26 02:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Wizards as the swiss-army knife of magic users, you heard it here first, kids.

"Give me a little more space here, and I'll set out the diagram."

Though it will require the pandas not to set off again - she can do the whole thing by setting it out in her mind, but it feels better to get it physically drawn.

Unseen, the peridexis snarks about her being old-school. No matter.
ourtomorrow: ([kenzuna] wait)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2020-11-26 06:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah, something that involves prep. Ken backs up, moving towards the pandas (though not in flopping range). "Right."

He'll watch these, to make sure they don't roll where Nita's working. Looks like they'll be...cooperative, though.

That is certainly one word for this behavior.
unfavorableinstigation: Nita Callahan kneeling in the woods, drawing a glowing blue diagram on the ground while reading from a book. (Drawing a Spell Diagram)

[personal profile] unfavorableinstigation 2020-11-26 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
'Natural' is as good a word as any, if you ask Nita.

Her scuffing-the-ground motions are substituted with something a little more substantial; to her aid, she also grabs a stick to measure out her circle.

Once the circle is set, comes the inscribing bit - which takes a little more time; room for error when it comes to these pandas is something she does not have, and she knows it.

It will be... quite a bit of time, honestly, but she'll get through it, the peridexis checking her work every step of the way. Finally she heaves a sigh, pushing herself back to a standing position with the aid of her stick.

"That should do it. Stay out of the circle a little while longer, okay? It won't take long to set this running."
ourtomorrow: ([kenzuna] noble)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2020-11-26 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"Got it."

In Ken's arms, Minomon stirs. He'd had a terrible dream....a dream of teeth...

"Ken-chan?"

He will awaken just in time to see Nita do whatever Nita is about to do.
unfavorableinstigation: Foresty background (Forest)

[personal profile] unfavorableinstigation 2020-11-26 07:07 pm (UTC)(link)
There's not all that much to it - as Nita reads aloud, both Ken and Minomon will feel the power in the words, the universe leaning in to listen to her.

Once the spell takes, there's a distinct blue glow in the air around the pandas, and then... nothing.

But Nita nods, and carefully scuffs out part of the circle, deactivating it safely.

"That'll do them for today, then. Whether they move a few feet or a few miles, they'll be covered, and I'll get a notif in my Manual if anything happens."

'Anything' in this case, meaning 'anything bad.'
ourtomorrow: ([kenzuna] run)

[personal profile] ourtomorrow 2020-11-26 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooh. Minomon draws closer to Ken-chan, mandibles parting. That - tingled, sort of. Like when he touches the computer while Ken-chan's using it. All zappy, but not in a bad or scary way.

"It's appreciated," Ken promises Nita; the pandas can't thank her, but he can on their behalf. "Let's hurry back."

Minomon finds himself contemplating the scene he just witnessed. If he were a wizard, could he cast spells that would protect Ken-chan even if he wasn't there? That would be so cool....

Oh, but there is no point in casting a spell that works when he is not near Ken-chan. Minomon has no intention of ever being away from Ken-chan for an extended period of time, because he will get lonely. Dilemma resolved! It's okay he's not a wizard!
Edited 2020-11-26 23:22 (UTC)