middleofsomewhere | Not with a Bang: Side Missions

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Not with a Bang: Side Missions

On day nine of the month of Imagination voidtreckers may notice a new symbol on the SCA map. Lime green exclamation marks hover above several sections of Nion’s jungle. Tapping these exclamation marks will bring up additional tasks that need to be undertaken.

These appear at different times over the course of day nine and ten and do not seem to be linked to any specific team, anyone who wishes may follow their SCA to the marker and help solve the problems.

Task 1

Shield integrity is below expected levels in sector R-37. Potential for sabotage. Please investigate at the location indicated.

R-37 is a mile-wide area of jungle with a single solar station. and a cursory investigation will show that station to be the cause of the issue. Sirens wail and indicators flash red, both light and sound spilling out into the surrounding jungle.

The structure doesn’t seem to have taken any physical damage, but something is certainly wrong. The shielding in the air above this sector is flickering on and off, and no attempts to stabilise it work.
It will require a hard reset to fix; the map icon will pinpoint two towers on the corner of the station grounds from which this may be done. It will require a mix of people to physically climb the towers and access the controls whilst others reboot the system from inside the solar station building. The SCA will indicate locations and required interactions.

Task 2

Impacts upon the array have caused seismic activity in sector E-10, blocking a major river. Repair damage to the environment caused by the tremors.

It will be obvious when the Voidtreckers arrive in sector E-10, because the area is completely flooded. Trees are submerged and water is in places deep enough for Voidtreckers to have to swim, though for the most part they will be able to wade through the muddy water to find the source of the problem.

A sizable landslide has completely dammed the river running through E-10 at two points, causing the waters to swell and flood its surroundings. Whilst most of the wildlife is able to swim or climb and is therefore unaffected, one resident of the jungle is faring even better - the large plesiosaur-like reptiles that call the river home can now range much further afield in search of prey.

Voidtreckers should clear the river of debris, whilst avoiding dangers both environmental and reptilian.

Task 3

A violet panda pack has been detected in northern sector B-19, moving rapidly westwards. Given the lack of nearby solar stations, this movement is uncharacteristic. Please investigate.

Once Voidtreckers get into sector B-19 they will find the panda pack stampeding through the jungle. Some may wish to help them out and calm them down, but for those investigating the trail they have made through the undergrowth is clear.

Following backwards they will discover a blackened, smoking area of jungle, raggedly felled trees and a small crater where something has impacted heavily against the earth. The surrounding trees are partially ablaze, though the dampness of the foliage mean that none of the fires have grown large enough that they can’t be put out with concerted effort. A small river runs through B-19, within walking distance of the impact site.

Task 4

Solar Station 29 in sector Y-5 is taking fire from unknown assailants. None of its security drones are responding. Defend the station and identify the aggressors.

Their SCA will direct them to the entrance of Station 29. It is under attack by two large terraforming robots, identical to any of those already seen on Nion. There is also a complement of security drones with them, all painted with 29 across their chassis, and all attacking the station.

They are no tougher than any of the other automatons encountered thus far, but their attack is more coordinated compared to the simple self-defense of the stray robots. Even though they are focused on attacking the station, they will turn and fight anyone who tries to stop them.

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Curufin dealt the robot a stunning blow with his sword, and then dodged sideways in case it was still capable of doing some damage to the people it had attacked. But it didn't seem to be responding.

He heard the burst of static and stared at his SCA. "What the hell?" he said. He nodded to Reno's suggestion and walked further away to see what would happen to the signal if the SCA receiver was nearer or further, or in one direction as opposed to another. He circled around slowly, still listening to the static to see if it would clarify. Or if Kaiba could do anything with the problem.

Edited 2020-11-20 05:08 (UTC)

He winces at the ring of static blasting through his headphones, but is able to pull them out of his ears at the last second. The robot is more or less being dealt with by two others, so he retracts somewhat, covering their backs.

"Wait a minute."

But the presence of static is bothering him. And it feels familiar, tugging on an instinct he's not one to ignore. As Roland falls back, he takes out the void radio from his arms band, reappearing in a glimmer of light. On the train, it only gave them short bursts of similar static, the silence more pervasive. But now, out here...He looks around the destroyed canopies overheard, no signs of life no matter where he glances, and doesn't hide the fact that he's lingering, the radio held close to his ear. Whoever is nearby would probably be witness to such a curious movement, and he'd not be one to hide the fact anyway, sharing in whatever discovery he's afraid to find.

There is another burst of static, Kaiba will indeed find that any attempt to call other Voidtreckers doesn't seem to be working. Any chatter on the comms from the rest of the voidtreckers has fallen silent.

There is static coming through the radio that Roland holds as well. Bzzzzzzzzt. "...stress."

A voice. Coming through the radio, it is not clear. Indeed at first it might be mistaken for just a strange bit of static, but a moment later there is another brst.

"... of.... stess... Nion."

And then those still listening through their headphones will pick up the last part. "...hear me."

Kaiba nods and tries to regain the signal as he walks...and feels his stomach drop. He works at it...but there's no response.

"We're cut off. If we go any further, we're on our own," he says, raising his voice enough that the people in other directions can hear.

But where is the signal coming from...and what was that last noise? He falls silent and shifts forward, frowning deeply.

Koumyou hadn't gone wandering off yet, so he walks closer to Roland when he sees the other man doing something different. His hand stays clasped over his own device until that last bit, and then he jerks his hand away and stares down at his SCA. His expression, for once, is actually serious.

But he doesn't say anything, because he certainly doesn't want to talk over whatever is going on here.

Reno had put his headphones back on as he started walking opposite from Curufin's path, mirroring him almost to keep the directions tested spread out evenly. He kept glancing back to see how far he'd gone from the others and keep an eye on them (and what they were doing).

He heard Kaiba's announcement but didn't yell anything back. He was all right with that. As long as they knew. He would keep it in mind at least.

When the last part of the message finally made it intact Reno stopped walking. That was distinctly more clear than anything else so far. And it was definitely of note. So, was this an automated message on repeat or was someone actively trying to get their attention?

Reno glanced towards the others to confirm whether they had all heard that or not. Positioning might not have made a difference after all.

Curufin glanced back at Reno. "What is that? I'm hearing a voice, though it's fragmentary. Is somebody trying to communicate with us?"

He dug into his rucksack and pulled out some headphones from the music carriage, plugged them in, and put them on his head. He frowned, an expression of intense concentration on his face, as he tried to get a clearer fix on the radio voice.

"We hear you," he said aloud, "But we can't understand much of what you are saying. What stress are you talking about? And are you Nion, or is Nion a place?"

Edited 2020-11-20 10:09 (UTC)

More static came from the radio and through their SCA's.

"...Distress call..." More static, though it seemed to be clearing up.

"On the planet of Nion... Identify..."

The voice is female, not exactly calm but is at least in control.

Whoever they were, they were clearly talking to Curufin. Maybe this was their chance to learn more? After a moment, he calls to the group.

"...Do you think they're expecting us? The Express."

He drifts back toward the group, looking grim. Whatever had caused this trail of destruction, they'd better hope it wasn't still there when they arrived.

Koumyou, for his part, said nothing. He opted to just listen in on it all while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Reno watched and listened to Curufin as he walked back to the elf. He stopped next to him.

He looked at Kaiba and shook his head. "Doesn't sound like it." He said it with a shrug though. It was hard to say whether it was someone on Nion trying to get their attention, or someone from elsewhere (the Void Ministry?) trying to figure out who they were and why they were responding to the distress signal without approval. The Voidtrecker Express was a rogue train according to info they'd uncovered so far.

"Sounds like they want us to identify who we are." A beat. "This could be our chance to tell someone we're not even supposed to be here. We're captives."

Remember? Kidnapped and held against their will. Reno, for one, would like to get the hell out of here and far away from the train.

Curufin was looking very curious and a little disturbed. He responded to the voice on the radio: "We're actually on the planet Nion in System #6416, which I suppose is a Void Ministry designation. We arrived here on a Void transport on assignment to save the planet from a meteor cluster. We didn't find any inhabitants nearby, nor were we told that there were any. If you are on this same planet and are in distress, we'd need to know where you are. Can you tell us that?"

He looked around at his companions, Kaiba, Koumyou, Reno, and Roland, and said to them, quietly, "You notice I didn't tell her we were brought here by the Voidtrecker Express. We probably don't want that broadcast right now. But if this is a genuine distress call, shouldn't we respond if we can?"

And he hoped they didn't get into trouble for it!

Edited 2020-11-21 04:01 (UTC)

"But what's making the distress call, and why? Supposedly, there should be no one here." He whispers, trying not to obscure anything else that might be coming out of the radio in his hand. Roland meets Koumyou's gaze by sheer proximity, mirroring his worries. But he makes a silent motion to Curufin too, a tap on his ears to signify that communication through the other end would have to be by the SCA's and not the radio itself. He mouths it with some hand gestures to accompany the message; This is one-way.

Roland grows quiet again, but makes another silent motion to slowly make their way forward. The path of destroyed canopies had to lead somewhere, especially when the five of them were asked to come here for one reason or another too. The only question is why, and who orchestrated the gathering in the first place?

Isolated as they might be now from the rest of the train, a thought he tries not to linger on lest it distract him completely, there really is no other way to go but forward.

Curufin glanced sideways at the others. He nodded to Roland's silent communication and said, very softly, "Okay, I get it. The caller didn't hear what I said. If we're going to communicate with her at all, we'd have to do it via the SCA. But. . . should we? Or should we not?"

He wasn't going to take the initiative and do it without the agreement of the others. And there certainly was a question as to who that caller was, and what her real purpose was.

He turned and followed Roland, who seemed to think they should proceed in the direction of the path of destruction up in the treetops. Curufin, likewise, wanted to know where it was leading them, and the only way to know that was to go there.

There indeed was no indication that their words had been heard but there was another burst of static from all of their SCA's and the radio. The static seemed to clear up and the voice came through again.

"This is a distress call..." The voice sounded tired, desperate even. "My craft has crash landed on the planet of Nion... Identify yourselves." Another burst of static.

"...Stress call. Can anybody hear me? My... Planet of Nion. Calling any void craft..." Her voice sounded even exhausted.

"This is..."

"...We should tell her," Kaiba decides, finally. "We need answers."

That's his vote, anyway. He's continuing to follow the signal strength as best he can, and after a moment, he switches the SCA on.

"Voidcraft crew en route."

Koumyou had, at some point, finally bothered to dig out his head phones from his backpack and put them on. Overhearing the faint, muffled audio from everyone else's assorted listening stuff was harder when there was more for people to talk about amongst themselves. And walking to do, of course. Even in the quiet of a disturbed wilderness.

And this was interesting enough for him to stop being lazy about it. For now. He trailed along behind the other walkers, watching the jungle and listening.

Still didn't actually say anything, just nodding his agreement if anyone glanced at him for an opinion. May as well tell the mysterious voice who they were!

The stuff everyone around him was saying wasn't even a surprise, despite how new to the train he was. People tended to tell him things, and the train being an outlaw that had been boarded by spooky cops at least one prior time numbered among those things already. The rest of the inference was easy.

Edited 2020-11-22 02:27 (UTC)

"This is a..." This time the pause wasn't because of static, but surprise.

"Voidcraft crew?" Her voice hitched slightly, "You void ministry?"

There's more static and she lets out a curse, clearly trying to keep the signal steady on her part.

"Not that it matters..."

He silently curses at his lack of foresight. As the group moves, following the trail of destruction, between answers and calls and static noises from the radio still nestled in his hand, Roland figures this is an important enough affair to return to at a later time. If they could. So he quietly summons his phone, useless by all accounts unless it had to do with capturing photos or recordings. So this is what he does; presses the red button on the screen of the Voice Recorder function and lets it run. It captures barely enough, just the end of the voice before Kaiba speaks and confirms who they are.

But no, it's the nuance isn't it? The person on the other end, where they speak now through the SCA's...She doesn't sound so happy to hear help has come, does she?

He decides to speak up then, catching gazes among the crew walking towards the end of sight. It's best to try and earn her comfort, a semblance of her trust, at least to get answers. Neither confirming or prodding too much, too soon.

"Ma'am, are you injured in any way? Please stay with us on the line."

Reno fell quiet after his last bit. As the conversation fell into the hands of the others and their interests, he lost interest. His free hand was curled into a fist and his other gripped his baton tightly as he twirled it idly. He looked tense though why might have surprised (or annoyed) some.

He turned away from the others again and looked back towards the signs of destruction. Roland had mentioned the tops of the trees had more damage than the clearing itself. Once the conversation revealed the woman had crashlanded here that made perfect sense. He'd been in a few crashed birds himself before...it wasn't fun, but he'd survived. At least she was staying relatively calm.

As the group began moving towards the crashsite again, Reno sauntered along. Eventually, he dashed towards the front, interest still waning from all this conversation, and hoped to scout out the crashsite for a bit more fun.

If it wasn't for the intrigue of the situation, he might have already walked away. But...a Turk couldn't rightfully walk away from this kind of info. As much as he hated the less flashy business, it was still business.

Curufin walked along silently and looked at the tops of the trees, and he too was thinking that the damage Roland had spoken of had happened logically. Funny he hadn't thought of that before. He speaks first to the others. "The ship must have descended in a long, low arc. That's how the tops of the trees were damaged. I guess we weren't thinking in terms of flying vessels until now."

And he clicked on his own SCA and answered the woman's question. "No, we're not the Void Ministry. Hold on, we'll be there soon.

It was hard to say whether they still had miles to go or whether they'd come swiftly to a clearing created by the woman's ship. But they'd be there before too long.

"We were...dragged along for the ride," Kaiba adds after a moment. There's so much they don't know about their situation. And he's not a qualified medic or fighter, even, so he's not sure how he can help...

But he's in too deep. Stray technician on the case.

Koumyou continued to just quietly listen in and follow. Why, this was like some sort of audio drama, wasn't it? How interesting!

"Well that's a relief." She laughed, a burst of noise over the radio, but it sounded pain.

"Names Halo, of the voidcraft Voidflash." Her voice went quiet for a moment, "Former voidcraft. Served me well though."

There's a little bit of static but for the most part the signal seems to have stabilised. "Suffice to say I'm going nowhere."

The trail is still curving, sometimes the canopy looks undamaged, for the trail to resume further on. It seems that there had been a real effort to keep the craft in the air.

"Name's Kaiba. Were you attacked?" he answered after a brief moment. That didn't sound good. And if she had been attacked, by who?

He picked up the pace. Not sure how he could help, unless there was something to fix, but they needed to reach her soon.

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Sorry, tagging one more time to clear up the question of who could hear what.

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