VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2021-01-11 05:58 am

Fierce New World- Mission Start!

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day six of the month of Jelly." 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.

Preparation and Arrival

They have a short time to prepare for their mission, enough time to read their briefs, make decisions, meet in their teams and gather anything they may need.

A few hours later there is another announcement. "Shortly arriving on System #2207385. All passengers get ready to disembark. Next stop world #2207385. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train judders as it leaves the void, the colours from the windows turn into the blackness of space but quickly white as the train descends into the entrance of the biosphere.

The doors of the train open and passengers can enter the large white-walled holding bay. Currently, they are the only vehicle inside. There are four large doors around the bay each labelled with where they lead. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

The doors open easily, and their SCA’s show a basic route, though the non-linear nature of the sectors mean that obstacles will need to be navigated. While they are in a closed world, there is a day and night cycle: the panels far up above are designed to make it seem like there is a natural sky, brightening and dimming every ten hours.

Red/Summer

Empty Streets

Wide streets divide sealed-off factories and manufacturing pods that tower up towards the ‘sky’. It is hot here, though the fumes from the factories are vented out, leaving the air breathable if overly warm.

Sometimes the pods are not yet finished, empty shells that can be sheltered in. There are also stations for living, with plumbing and basic amenities scattered through the sector. Places to rest as they move towards the center and the Great-Summer that they seek.

Helpmates

Where factories are still being built they will find Helpmates, operating machinery or moving materials.

They will not pause in their tasks for long but are programmed to answer questions so can be drawn into a conversation. Or, if the Voidtreckers are unfortunate, they will find those that are malfunctioning turning on them as they approach.

They aren’t too difficult to fight, but can do some damage with the machinery if they manage to take a Voidtrecker by surprise. They can be fought with weapons or magic, or for those that think to use the panels they can be shut down outright.

Wild Weather

Though warm, the corridors remain a constant temperature that is not too unpleasant for people. For the most part. Unfortunately, due to the malfunctioning state of things routes may become impassable. Boiling air, freezing blasts, electricity crackling across a pathway.

Their SCA’s do a good job of warning them, allowing them to change direction or shelter in nearby buildings.

Purple/Autumn

Exploring

The Autumn sector is the least complete of the sectors, with shells of habitation pods and not much else. No one is expected to live here until nearing the end of construction, and so the pods are unfurnished, many missing doors, some missing internal walls.

Outside the streets are wide and clearly made to be pleasant to walk on; it is airy, bright and spacious, if a bit eerie due to the quiet.

There are panels on the walls, to call Helpmates to appear. Here they are primarily for helping citizens, giving directions and offering aid.

Malfunctions

Since there are more helpmates there is more risk of them malfunctioning. They attack with or without weapons, using any tools they can pick up to attack. They can be fought with weapons or magic, or for those that think to use the panels they can be shut down.

They won’t chase people into the houses, their privacy programming preventing them from doing so.

Turned Around

The roads seem simple, built in a grid pattern around the houses. However, whatever is going wrong here is affecting the very streets themselves. Sometimes there will be a wall where there wasn’t before or roads go in circles. Sometimes they find themselves at a dead end, trapped until structures shift again.

Their SCA’s do their best to keep up but it can take a while for them to reroute and by the time they do, that path might be blocked too!

Blue/Spring

Patchwork Forest

The Spring sector houses the hydroponics and pastoral sections. It alternates between grazing land and more heavily forested areas with rows of pine-like trees in a checkerboard pattern, with empty plots interspersed. Walkways divide each square, but all squares appear able to move about as required, as though on a conveyor system.

There are clear walkways to avoid stepping on any newly growing plants. In the grazing land live flocks of camelid creatures resembling alpacas with blueish wool, on average a metre and a half tall at the shoulders. Helpmates appear here as if on a timer to feed the animals and tend to plants.

Destruction


If the Helpmates here malfunction they attack anyone nearby, cause havoc to any farming equipment and frightening the animals.

They can be fought with weapons or magic, or for those that think to use the panels they can be shut down. The panels here are less obvious than they are in the more urban sectors, low to the ground, looking almost like energy panels. But once they know what to look for they will be able to use them to shut down the Helpmates.

Stampede

Frightened animals are likely to flee and unfortunately in this case it means rampaging across the grazing land to the newly growing trees.

They will need to be calmed, returned to their grazing lands and the plants restored. Or it might be that the Voidtreckers can stop the Helpmates before the creatures get too spooked.

Orange/Winter

Exploring

The Winter sector’s primary concern is life support. Huge banks of air scrubbers form artificial cliffs, while other sections are tanks filled with water in varying stages of processing or recycling.

The paths here are a lot narrower than they are in other areas, sometimes requiring moving between pipes or scrambling over layers of railing.

There doesn’t seem to be any easy or straightforward path through the sector, their SCA takes them on wild winding routes through the machinery.

Help or Hindrance

The fluctuating temperatures here are causing problems with many of the pipes, several sections are flooded, others are in danger of being so.

There are patch kits in easily opened panels, designed to be used by the helpmates and indeed there are many helpmates out.

But some are less helpful, those that are malfunctioning are more likely to cause more damage than they are there to fix. They will attack any one who tries to interfere with them. They can be fought with weapons or magic, or for those that think to use the panels they can be shut down.

Patch Job

Once the malfunctioning Helpmates are dealt with the pipes still need to be fixed. The patch kits do not have any instructions but are simple enough that anyone with a basic knowledge of how to fix things should be able to figure them out- though the more knowledge and expertise they have the better the fix!

For those that don’t, many of the jobs will need more than one person and so for those that don’t mind taking instructions they will find an extra pair of hands is always welcome.
swansongs: (Let's face it I blew it you waited)

[personal profile] swansongs 2021-01-30 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah? Does space hold all of the answers?" Or hopefully had the answers, anyway. Not that he knew what the questions were to start with, but.
light_of_willpower: (long hair profile talking)

[personal profile] light_of_willpower 2021-01-30 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
"Mom doesn't really need my help, but she always has it anyways if she wants." Trunks responds, moving to corral the Helpmate away from her further. "Think you can find a way to shut these guys off?"
light_of_willpower: (long hair serious straight-on)

[personal profile] light_of_willpower 2021-01-30 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
"Whatever you say." Trunks replied, not buying the bluff at all. "But I'm still hoping that means you're still 'human' in some ways. Hopefully the good ways too."
sciencegirl: (046)

[personal profile] sciencegirl 2021-01-30 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh yeah! Right."

Such is the pain of being easily distractable. She turns back to the panel and disables the helpmates, the one Trunks is wrangling also diminishing as it's deactivated.

"Just because someone doesn't need your help doesn't mean they can't use it. I know some scientists that were pretty sure everyone was an intruder in their lab."

Some scientists=Hordak almost exclusively.

"He didn't know how much help a second pair of eyes or just a safety net could be. If I had a chance I'd tell your mom how much you helped me out here today."
storms_eye: (ugly)

[personal profile] storms_eye 2021-01-30 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
[She realllllly hopes that's figurative and not literal, but considering how different the worlds can be and how they work...]

[Silvia laughed too, but a bit uneasily]

I wouldn't have put it that way, but it would be for the best. [Smiling up at him, pleased that he wasn't going to blow off the suggestion. She wasn't planning on harping on it though.] So.. how many panels do you think are in this corridor anyway? Like... a ton?
storms_eye: (work)

[personal profile] storms_eye 2021-01-30 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Trunks had already made the offer twice, so it was now or never...]

O-kay.

[It came out softly but audibly]

So- what.. you know like a shortcut or something?
gundamofthedesert: (contemplative)

[personal profile] gundamofthedesert 2021-01-30 03:00 am (UTC)(link)
[Yeah, he had almost forgotten about it with that great conversation they had been having]

It's possible. Do you see anywhere it might be?
blue_ice: (what about it)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-30 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
"I meant when we're ready, in a few months..."

But he pushes onward, repairing them as fast as he can. They're a mess, and he hisses as a few of them spark. But he manages to deactivate one, which should thin the field a little.

On to the next. "Starting to worry about my AI projects and their potential for disaster, to be honest."
blue_ice: (Default)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-30 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
Kaiba nodded his agreement. "Right. No giving up."

He jumps down from his perch and charges ahead.

"Do you have everything you need for a week?"
blue_ice: (Default)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-30 03:27 am (UTC)(link)
It's likely...I'd estimate at least twenty, given the amount of bots we've run into.

[ He twirls a wrench and keeps trudging onward. ]

Not much glory in it, but we're getting it one.
blue_ice: (asking questions)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-30 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
We're not solely the tech team. Orange encompasses all noncombatants...which tends to include tech specialists, but not all of us. We're also in charge of exploring and information gathering.
blue_ice: (Default)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-30 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, it's the bond. She feels my emotions when they're particularly strong, and the same in reverse. I thought I'd feel worse about the lack of privacy, but she's saved me once or twice."

He can only nod his agreement and work faster. "And we're wet. That's worse."
lucklessgege: (Default)

[personal profile] lucklessgege 2021-01-30 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Ah yes.." If they delay for too long then the mission will get away from them. Xie Lian definitely doesn't want to fall behind on something he already feels less prepared for.

"Let's go do our best!"
lucklessgege: (Default)

[personal profile] lucklessgege 2021-01-30 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
"Hopefully not all of them are misbehaving but just in case it is good to have a better understanding of this panel and of them now." Every little piece of information is useful and Xie lian will make sure what she told him about the panel will be remembered.

"We should probably move on from this spot and make sure no one else is having any difficulties with them."
magicurls: (weight of the world)

[personal profile] magicurls 2021-01-30 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Not yet! But don't worry, I can heal myself."

Mami swung her ribbon up, climbing to get an aerial view of their surroundings.

"I see a few in every direction. It's a bit tricky...do you think they're all like that?"
magicurls: (Default)

[personal profile] magicurls 2021-01-30 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
"That's perfect!"

Yes. Mami did her best to keep up, summoning rifle after rifle. The line of fire was almost continuous, keeping this sector well guarded.

"Looking any better up there?"
magicurls: (Default)

[personal profile] magicurls 2021-01-30 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
Mami watches with a careful eye, rifle in hand. She sees a threat---and shoots. Even from a distance, she's a decent shot.

"We should be good to cross again now. Then there's a building we can secure and rest."
strawberryprotector: (smile)

Re: Prep

[personal profile] strawberryprotector 2021-01-30 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
With a smile, Ichigo bowed in greeting. "Nice to meet you, I'm Ichigo." He pointed to the white band around his arm before he could forget. "This white armband means that I'm also a medic. If you get hurt, you can use your SCA, the thing on your wrist, to call for aid. I'm not sure if you've met Kumoko-san, she's the big spider, but she can teleport me or someone else with a white band to you if you need medical assistance."
springforth: (027)

[personal profile] springforth 2021-01-30 05:22 am (UTC)(link)
Okay, condescending. She blows a strand of hair out of her eye as he wrangles down another robot. You know what, this is taking forever.

"So where is it?" She lets go of the leak, zipping up and out of the way to watch. She can't actually hear the helpmate, but is there pointing happening? She hovers over the pipe, feet just brushing it, leaning in as if that will help her hear.
strawberryprotector: (laidback)

[personal profile] strawberryprotector 2021-01-30 05:35 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, I'd have been more useful for that if I still only had access to part of my powers. My reiatsu used to be really bright, and I could have used that." Now, though, after embracing his hollow side, Ichigo's reiatsu was much too dark to be useful in that way.
so_dark_a_road: (green army jacket)

[personal profile] so_dark_a_road 2021-01-30 07:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Interesting! And if you have to be bonded to somebody, Della would not be a bad choice. How did she save you?"

Curufin nodded back. "Yes, we're wet. It's unpleasant. We should have had waterproof clothing for this mission."
so_dark_a_road: (flickers of light)

[personal profile] so_dark_a_road 2021-01-30 07:46 am (UTC)(link)
"That does make sense. I would think that if telepathy works at all between you and the train or between you and any other being, you'd be able to detect a difference between machines and biological beings."

He smiles at Nita's wry look.

"Why would Kit be able to give a better answer? And who is Kit? And Dairine's your sister, so it makes sense to me that you two would have similar abilities."

"I wonder if the train has a concept of luck? But in any case, I hope it appreciates you. I know I do."
so_dark_a_road: (Feast of Reuniting -- NOT invited)

[personal profile] so_dark_a_road 2021-01-30 07:51 am (UTC)(link)
"He'll say no? But doesn't he need people to practice with? All right, I'll start by saying I'm an Orange Team lead." He chuckles a little. "If he's strong enough to break the train, it's well that he hasn't tried. Especially not if we were in the Void at the time! And I was going to say that if he's that strong, then he might be interested in sparring with me. Being an Elf of the First Age of Arda, I'm very strong indeed. He might appreciate being able to pit himself against a worthy opponent."
worthallthis: (skeptical)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-30 08:28 am (UTC)(link)
"Diving. Like in the water?" Soldat has done some of that, and the metal arm didn't like it. It can keep water out for a while, but not forever. Hrm.

They shake their head a little. "I suppose there are never two missions the same, either."
sizedoesntmatter: (057)

[personal profile] sizedoesntmatter 2021-01-30 09:04 am (UTC)(link)
Yugi paused for a moment, arms crossed briefly.

That should have been obvious they would move when they did, which begs the question of how does one get closer without them moving.

"Do you think if we offer it food, they will come to us? That worked with the pandas... Though that was a rather slow one."