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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And once Koumyou sees Ken's found something to hang onto, he...

Doesn't do anything.

But the water around him sure does something! A thin stream rises into the air, coiling around the priest and coalescing into his favorite spell; a long, Eastern dragon.

The priest lifts a hand and points it at the target, and the dragon charges down at it with enough force to shatter the rock into dust!

Which is great!

Except that was a lot of power, and a lot more than the rock breaks -- and suddenly all this water has an easy exit!

Oh, a magic priest. Minomon supposes he can't be too surprised by that, since he has met a magic professor and magic trading cards and magic g-gho..other things..and even a magic little boy. In fact, Koumyou is really cool, and Minomon watches with big, wide eyes as the dragon obliterates the rock with one hit! Amazing!

Except then - then -

Even though he'd tried to take cover, it wasn't enough, and suddenly being knocked backwards and downstream - - -

"KEN-CHAAAN!"

Panicking, Minomon darts forward, forgetting which form he's in and that he presently lacks legs. Down he flops on his cute widdle face. And squeaks. A terrified squeak. As Ken is washed down the river.

"KEN-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!"

Koumyou didn't fare much better for a hot second. He was immediately swept off his feet and then dunked below the surface as all that water came rushing forward, trying to go either around him or through him to escape the dam.

And then there was a flash of light from below the water, and Koumyou reappeared in the middle of the current, something green and white wrapped around an arm and vanishing deep under the water to anchor into the ground below it all. Deep, where the mud gave way to stone, now pierced through with a single scroll of indestructible paper.

Another tendril of the sutra shot out downstream as Ken was whooshed well out of hand-grabbing range, grabbed him around the waist, and it immediately started hauling him back up to the surface and upstream. The sutra felt just like regular paper against skin, except regular paper didn't do this. And it was too strong, with absolutely no give to it, like it was the hardest possible alloy in the whole universe only masquerading as paper.

Or maybe something else entirely unknown.

"Are you alright?!" Koumyou called, once Ken had been dragged back up to the surface. Hopefully he hadn't bashed his head or anything else unfortunate.

Koumyou-san......

Ken's holding onto the sutra, more for a sense of contributing to this than anything else - it's got him fast. His hair is slicked down to his forehead, and he looks a little scratched, but fortunately for all parties involved (especially Minomon) there is no egregious blood.

There is, however, some coughing; he'd swallowed a little before managing to hold his breath.

"I'm fine," he gasps, once his windpipe is clear. "Got careless......Thank you."

Minomon is not helping the flood problem. He is weeping. Ken-chan! Thank WHATEVER GOD KOUMYOU SERVES!

Koumyou shook his head at Ken's knee-jerk inclination to take blame. "I broke way too much of it all at once! I've never been very good at holding back."

Not even before he'd become a Sanzo, much to the dismay of the classmates he'd been pitted against.

Another tendril of the sutra shot out and buried itself deep into the shoreline, not far from Minomon. Only once Koumyou was sure it had found and impaled bedrock, he started to reel both of them in. The sutra was more than strong enough to just yank them both out in one fell swoop, but the risk of smacking into debris was too great that way.

So it took a few minutes, but eventually they were both dragged back out of the water. The sutra retreated into Koumyou's waiting hand, once again doing a fine impression of a simple, tightly-wound scroll of green and white paper.

He'd let the other two reunite in peace, sitting down heavily in the mud and watching the water go roaring by.

Ken stumbles a few paces once he's free of his harness, coming to a stop in front of Minomon and kneeling with no regard for his current lack of clothing. Minomon hops up into his arms, still sniffling.

"K-Ken-chan....that was scary!"

Ken cannot argue with this statement. "Mm." He pats his Digimon on the head, then embraces Minomon. "I made you worry."

"I-it's okay." Gulp. "Wait for me before doing more brave things, okay?"

"I will."

Reassured, Minomon cries a few more sloppy tears. Then he turns to Koumyou and hops on over. To bow.

"You saved Ken-chan. Thank you."

Aw, what a cute bug-kid. Koumyou reached over to pat him on the head with his free hand, smiling. "Don't worry about it."

He'd also endangered the guy, but he legitimately wasn't going to angst over that or anything. Koumyou had clarified that he'd broken too much of the dam, and that was that as far as he was concerned.

"It looks like whatever was upstream is also breaking loose," he noted to them both, nodding at the rushing water. A whole-ass tree was floating by, now. More and more of the dam they'd worked to undo was crumbling by the second, as the water widened every gap and hole they'd put in it, big and small.

The tree could either get stuck, or smash its way through. Koumyou was interested to see which it would be.

"Kyahee."

This is a laugh, probably, since it comes out of Minomon when he's patted. It fades as the river starts flowing faster, spreading out now not due to having nowhere to go but to all the pent-up water arriving at once....

The tree smashes through, sending wood chips scattering into the flow, and Ken picks Minomon up, clothes in his other hand. "It's going to get worse before it settles. Let's back up."

Or....He doesn't want it to flatten the forest, either....

How many large rocks do they have at their disposal, anyway?

"Good idea," Koumyou climbs back to his feet, and actually wades back out into the water just enough to try to rinse off some of the thicker mud on him. It's not like he's worried about the current!

Muddy rivers always remind him of the day he'd found his infant son, thirteen years ago. He'd plucked the terrified, half-drowned baby from the water, pushed the water from his lungs, and taken him home to the temple. The monks had been beyond scandalized, but he hadn't cared for even a second.

It's a bittersweet memory, as all things are now. It puts him in a quiet, pensive mood.

Once he's as rinsed off as he's getting, the priest trots out and uphill to where he'd left his things. Just gonna casually change into dry underwear and then start pulling on his discarded clothes, don't mind him! Shame is for other people.

Fully dressed, Koumyou drapes the sutra back over his shoulders where it belongs, and starts wringing out his long braid as he surveys the ongoing chaos before them. How bad will it get, before it gets better?

Isn't that always the question?

This area seems to be dealing with rising water but not much else, after that initial burst - everything available to be swept aside in the water's path has, now.

Which means....

Ken tugs on his clothes as quickly as he can; he was going to get soaked at some point sooner or later. Still fixing one shoe, he starts following the path of the water from a higher vantage point, first at a brisk walk and then at a run, Minomon tucked in one arm.

Minomon waves. "Let's check downstream!"

Koumyou damn near leaves them to it, for a split second, before he pulls on his backpack and chases after them at a jog. Why not, right? It has to be more entertaining than staying where he is.

"Has to be another dam, huh?" With the way the water is behaving... maybe just breaking the last one into big chunks hadn't been efficient enough. Might be time to fix that.

"Right." If so, Ken's going to have to leave clearing it to Koumyou. Except it's going to be a neverending cycle if the river keeps picking up debris...

He gestures to the detritus in the water. "Can anything you do remove what's causing the blocks?"

"Hmm," Koumyou glances over at the water as they move along, noticing that the flow is indeed starting to slow. "You mean like I did to the rock? Just turn it all into dust?"

Certainly, that has to be better for the local ecosystem than what's currently happening. The dust would settle to the bottom eventually, or end up on the shore. Flowing water did, after all, eventually break everything down on its own -- he'd just be giving it a hell of a head start.

Edited 2020-11-25 12:49 (UTC)

Ken nods. "Floods are dangerous not only for the water, but for the objects they dislodge. If we remove those objects, the river might settle back to normal more quickly."

What a good plan. Minomon, safe in his carry, looks adoringly up at his boy. "Ken-chan, you're so smart!"

And there it is, an even bigger block than before, added to by all the debris from the one upriver. Downstream from this block, things seem to be flowing just fine, if smaller than ideal since there's less water feeding into the rest of the river.

But hey, that means this should be the last block as long as they don't create any new ones.

Koumyou ponders it for a moment, rubbing his chin. The sutra would murder all of this easily, but it's a bit dangerous to fire without good reason -- it can really attract all kinds of danger all on its own. No, better to stick to regular chi manipulation for this.

"--Right!" Koumyou claps his hands together once, decisively. "I think I've got it. But I'm going to need to use some of your energy too, if that's alright."

And he holds out a hand accordingly.

Look, he could probably fuel this sort of spell by himself, but then he might end up face down in the mud, and surely no one here wants that.

Ken doesn't hesitate or ask for clarification: none of that matters. Immediately, he takes that hand. "If you would."

"Take good care of Ken-chan," Minomon reminds Koumyou, but he trusts the nice and strong priest. Plus, he knows anything fueled by Ken-chan will be super powerful! Ken-chan's energy and feelings are what help him evolve, after all.

"I won't take too much," Koumyou assures Minomon, "I could possibly do this on my own, but just barely -- I'd probably pass out!" Experience has taught him his limits! And Koumyou is a lot of things, but genuinely stupid isn't one of them. He's used an awful lot of chi today.

One hand taken, Koumyou starts the other off down near his thigh, two fingers extended and the rest curled. He sweeps it up and across in a slow arc from his elbow, up toward his opposite side.

The surface of the water visibly trembles, and Ken can surely feel the pull of power starting.

"Right, here goes!" Continuing the arc up past his other shoulder, and then his fingers are pointing straight up in front of his own face. In response, nearly a hundred spears of ice form, stabbing straight up out of the water. They float upwards a few feet, and then...

Koumyou flicks his wrist out, those two fingers pointed at the dam.

The spears attack in waves, a dozen at a time, each one shattering on impact but also shattering what it strikes. Wood, stone, other debris, one layer at a time until it's all just dust roaring downriver on the freed current.

Once the spears have all been used up, Koumyou breaks contact with Ken's hand, and stumbles backward a step. "Phew! Look at it go!"

Edited 2020-11-26 09:27 (UTC)

This is - more intense than granting Wormmon the power to evolve. Ken can feel his vitality flowing down through his hand, into Koumyou; he doesn't let up or falter, however, willing more of it for the priest. If this is what he can do -!

He's out of breath himself, but in an accomplished way, by the time Koumyou's done changing the river from "full of dangerous detritus" to "really rather muddy". When Koumyou stumbles, he reaches to catch him on instinct, but he's also rather tired, so while a hand gets behind the priest they also bump shoulders.

Ken's exhausted, but he can't help it. This makes him laugh in surprise and relief.

The flood's been controlled....!

The attempt to catch him surprises a little laugh out of the priest, too, but he's far from offended at the resulting shoulder bump. "I suggest you two head back for camp, you're going to sleep soundly tonight."

For his part, Koumyou will probably be setting up his own little camp somewhere nearby. Close enough to make good use of the river once the mud clears up, but not so close as to get flooded out if something else goes wrong. Yes, that sounds ideal.

"Right." Ken catches his breath, gets himself steady now. (Minomon helps, by resting a tiny nub on Ken-chan's side. This is extremely effective assistance.) "Thank you again. I don't know how this would have happened without you."

"You'd have found a way, Ken-chan."

.....Ken decides the thought, more than its accuracy, counts. "We'll be off."

"Don't sell yourself short," Koumyou agrees with the bug, "determination is key!"

And then he gives his usual finger-waggling wave, and wanders off into the jungle. Time to set up a spot for a well-deserved nap.

Priests are wise. Minomon feels more certain of this every time they interact with Koumyou.

He will continue to "support" Ken-chan all the way back to camp, at which point he will stand guard while Ken-chan changes clothes and rests. Everyone has contributed something today.

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Not with a Bang: Side Missions

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