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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"That's exactly how these stations are supposed to work." Senku had to use his hip to shove the door open, it had been warped slightly, probably by some kind of robot laser.

"How does your lightning work?" He asked as he moved around to the control panels to take a look for anything that would seem out of place from the last time he was looking at one.

"Did I feel that?"

"I'm betting you did, since I had to borrow some power from you to do it," Koumyou wandered in after him, keeping his hands tucked away in his pocket. He'd not be touching any of the stuff in here, thanks.

"A full-blown strike like that is a spell I can't easily do with only my own chi. It takes a lot more power to arc over such a distance!"

Channeling it through his hands directly into a robot was one thing, but bridging distance with it was a whole other beast. At least, when generating it whole-cloth. Had there been natural lightning happening already, then redirecting it would have been simple enough.

Edited 2020-11-24 23:38 (UTC)

His expression said he was concentrating, looking over the panels and checking buttons, but he was listening.

"That's just...how does chi work?" He was curious as to how he could take, energy or whatever it was from him to make lightning happen.

"I wouldn't think you could use me for anything, I'm not magical."

"Chi is life energy. Everyone has it, even if they can't use it themselves."

Koumyou lingered somewhere between Senku and the door, casually positioned so that he could counter-attack if anything new came calling.

"Basically, I used you as a battery."

"Huh, interesting." He wasn't going to complain about being used as a battery, he hadn't been doing anything except being a passenger who needed his life saved. That was a small price to pay.

"What about the light?" He decided to circle back. "You said it was...creation? I don't know what you mean by that."

Koumyou cleared his throat, and then recited with the cadence of a mantra, "Long ago, Shakyamuni Tathagata spread forth a sutra across the heavens, from which was born existence and void, light and dark. The earth was created thence, where life and death came to be. Shakyamuni tore apart the sutra into five pieces and entrusted its fate into the hands of the people Below."

And he reached up to touch the sutra on his shoulders meaningfully.

"This is the piece that deals with yang, specifically. Light, restoration, creation. Whether one believes the details of the legend of the full sutra or not," which, he did, because he'd heard it straight from the source, "--it's hard to deny the power each piece contains. And if you activate more than one at a time, anywhere near each other? With just two of them, my teeth tasted funny. Reality... wobbled."

Edited 2020-11-27 06:17 (UTC)

"Not exactly the kind of thing I believe in, and I don't think anything like that exists in my world, but I can't deny you used it, so it must have some power to it." Senku answered, at least willing to respect a difference of opinion on that.

"One doesn't have to believe in something for it to be true," Koumyou replies, serene. "The world was round long before us humans ever figured that out. What -- if anything -- forged reality itself where you're from, I couldn't say. But this is a piece of what forged it where I'm from, and I am tasked with protecting it accordingly."

Being a Sanzo is a big deal!

But, he's curious about their current situation, too-- "See anything that hints at why those robots were attacking this place?"

He smirked slightly. "I suppose. I'll concede that you might be right, but I also might be right." He was leaning towards his side of the argument, as to be expected.

"There's some unusual readings here, but I'm thinking the simplest solution would be maybe the best one. I'm going to reboot what I can, and see if whatever is sending that messed up signal stops."

Senku could totally be right, about his own reality. In Koumyou's, the sutras were a matter of simple fact, like water being wet and the sun being bright.

"Good idea. Because there totally could be more angry robots on their way here!" Koumyou, the bearer of great news, "On top of any trouble my sutra may or may not have pinged, of course! But so far this world hasn't been too interested in it, so we may be lucky there."

"It's the first step of pretty much every tech support job ever." Senku said wryly.

"Yep, going as fast as I can." He didn't need the reminder. "Better hope your luck is significantly better than mine.

"Considering the mess I just found you wandering into, I'm going to guess that's a pretty low bar."

He barely knew the guy, and yet Koumyou was getting an idea of just how well his luck ran.

"Basement level." Senku snorted. "Good thing I'm clever if nothing else, but I'd probably be dead if you didn't save me."

At least, he knew that.

"Well, at least you know it."

About his shitty luck? Or Koumyou's timely rescue?

Both, probably.

"But I'm sticking around until we're done here, in case more trouble comes calling. At the very least, it's not boring!"

"At least there's that." Senku chuckled lightly.

The lights started coming back online as he worked and everything was green. Huh. Anti-climactic.

"Ah, that was an easy fix. It should've fixed the problem."

"I'll make sure we're still on our own, out there," Koumyou said, before ducking out the door to take a look. A minute later, he called out, "looks clear! It must be your lucky day, after all!"

Daring luck to flip on them? He would never.

Senku openly snorted, snickering at his own amusement as he followed Koumyou outside.

"Yeah that would be the day. I'm pretty sure I used all of my luck when I hit the jackpot on revival during spring."

"I mean, that does sound pretty lucky. Could have been the dead of winter!"

Koumyou started picking his way across the ruined battlefield, boots crunching on shredded metal that was in itself, doing a pretty good impression of snow. Very sharp, oily snow.

"So were you the only one able to move around and do things, for a while?"

"I was hoping a lot, every year, that I'd break out in spring. If that's the only lucky thing that happens to me, I can live with it." Senku answered.

He was fine to talk and walk back, even though the fix had been so mundane. Tech support usually was.

"Yeah. I was on my own for just over six months. Then it was just me and Taiju for about another six."

Koumyou intended to stick with him until they were at least as far away from the station as Senku had been when he'd found him. After that, he'd most likely split off onto his next little adventure.

"So there were literally no other people except the ones you freed?"

"I didn't really free Taiju, I just made it so he could free himself." Senku nodded a bit. "In the area. We actually traveled pretty far before we ran into the village, but that came later."

"After that, yeah, the population of Japan right now is about a hundred and fifty."

"...I've been in temples with more people than that."

Geeze, Senku, your world's kinda fucky.

"Yeah, well it's about what we can handle. Treasure Island has a population of about forty on its own, they're sort of like a satellite village for the Kingdom of Science so still less than two hundred humans up and about." Senku explained.

"It's not that we can't wake them up, we could, given enough resources, but we don't have the resources to support them. We've only just started agriculture, we have one field of wheat." Senku shrugged a little bit. "It's not as easy to keep everyone alive as one might think."

"I suppose leaving them in stasis until they won't starve, is one way to handle the problem."

Especially for the majority who weren't even aware of the passage of time.

"It's the most reasonable solution until we can get what we need to get things running properly. It's one thing to want to reset civilization, but if you rush it, it could end in a disaster." He didn't want to subject the unsuspecting people to things that were unnecessary.

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its_dad_sanzo - 2020-11-27 22:02 (UTC) - Expand

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