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.
inquisitor_lavellan: (pic#14488472)

[personal profile] inquisitor_lavellan 2021-01-16 02:40 am (UTC)(link)
Alley curses under her breath, but it's at the fire in the road, not at Natsuno. "Fantastic."

More doubling back, she's thrilled.
magicurls: (with a wink)

[personal profile] magicurls 2021-01-16 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
Mami held it out...and as she did so, a small green and white hedgehog rushed over from the corner of the room. Time to help!

"Oh...sorry, this is Rosetta. My partner. And this is my soul gem. It's the symbol of the wish I made that transformed me into a magical girl."

The gem's glow is noticeably muddier than before, but not for long. The small hedgehog waves its paws and trills softly, and with a soft shine of white light, any impurity is sucked right out.
inquisitor_lavellan: I used to (hiding underneath the smoke in the room)

Re: Helpmates

[personal profile] inquisitor_lavellan 2021-01-16 02:41 am (UTC)(link)
What.

The fuck.

Is going on.

Alleyana actually just sort of pauses where she is, not entirely sure how to process the chaos before her and the... theatrical proclamation behind her.
magicurls: (wrapping up)

[personal profile] magicurls 2021-01-16 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
Mami nods and grabs one with a swing of her ribbon, knocking it into the others so she can do a group blast. That buys them time to run.

"All right, panel...probably further back..."

She looks back the way she came and spots a telltale flat shape. "Okay, looks...a little complex, but hopefully there's something intuitive here."
inquisitor_lavellan: (pic#14480611)

[personal profile] inquisitor_lavellan 2021-01-16 02:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, thanks," Alley takes the offered water and takes a pull of it before offering it back again. That's pretty normal to her.

"This place is too big."

And hot. But also just, big.
inquisitor_lavellan: (pic#14488443)

(we can start a club)

[personal profile] inquisitor_lavellan 2021-01-16 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
Fucking shit. Whoever that is moves like Cole, and Alley's not going to look a gift rogue in the mouth. With the Helpmate distracted, the machinery is easy to sort of... keep contained. She'll stay right here with her shield, and keep the vehicle in place, and let the not-Cole handle the equipment's driver.
subcircuits: (never considered that)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-16 02:55 am (UTC)(link)
"I'd noticed." The unbalanced team numbers are real obvious from even just a glance at the passenger roster.

He grabs a strap and swings the bag up and over his shoulder. "Thanks," he says with a nod. He then sort of starts to turn away, hesitates obviously for a moment, and turns back. "--I probably should have asked this sooner than T-minus-10 on the mission, but-- what are my weaponry options?"

He knows there's some stuff available for general use to the train, but has sort of... anxiously procrastinated on looking into it. Whoops.
nutkrusher: (Gun Drawn)

[personal profile] nutkrusher 2021-01-16 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
"We've got some weapons available from the community inventory," Cassie says. "A couple pistols, some laser rifles, and some melee weapons.

"If you want to check one out, we could rush down to the armory and I could mark you down for it. Just be sure to bring it back in one piece."
subcircuits: (tamed dogs can still bite)

Destruction - guesting on blue!

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-16 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
NOPE. Romeo doesn't have the opportunity to stumble far before big hands catch him and support him until he's got his feet again.

"Behind me," Devero says, his voice gruff as he puts himself between the kid and the advancing construct. This malfunctioning Helpmate has a long staff not unlike a shepherd's crook in its hands, which it starts to swing at the two voidtreckers while saying "Unauthorized access! Force has been authorized!" over and over again.

lucklessgege: (Default)

[personal profile] lucklessgege 2021-01-16 02:59 am (UTC)(link)
"I think we are allowed to stay wherever we want. I don't mind going back to where you have made camp."

It would seem strange sleeping anywhere else. He has gotten used to being in the same place as Hua Cheng every night.
lucklessgege: (shock)

[personal profile] lucklessgege 2021-01-16 03:01 am (UTC)(link)
Xie Yang watches the unique attack, keeping his eyes on the helpmates to see if they seem to be effected at all by it. He hopes that this solves their problem because other then brute force he doesn't have much he can do against these creatures at the moment. Perhaps if Hua Cheng was there to loan him some spiritual energy he would be more useful.
lucklessgege: (Listen)

[personal profile] lucklessgege 2021-01-16 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
The thing struggles like a turtle on it's back. He keeps his eyes on it to make sure it doesn't look like it is going to get back up, keeping Rouye tight.

"Does it look familiar to you?"
subcircuits: (i see you)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-16 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm good for it." She has no reason to take his word on that yet, new as he is-- though by the same token, no reason not to, as well. "Could we? I'm not going out there empty handed."
nutkrusher: (Gum)

[personal profile] nutkrusher 2021-01-16 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
"Sure could," Cassie says.

She reaches into her ARMS band and pulls out a ledger.

"Should I mark you down for a laser rifle?"
subcircuits: (oh you mean this thing here?)

Arrival

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-16 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
Devero's somewhere ahead of Koumyou, and has been listening to this going on for-- a while, now. He slows his own pace until the priest passes him, then cocks an eyebrow at him. "I have no doubts that you can do this all day, but should you?" he asks blandly.
nutkrusher: (Maaaaybe)

Preparation

[personal profile] nutkrusher 2021-01-16 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
Cassie grabs a slice. "If they do, we don't know if it'll be any good."
sciencegirl: (039)

[personal profile] sciencegirl 2021-01-16 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
She was born reckless, but she is kind of listening and that's the important part. She'd throw herself in the midst of danger for a corn chip worth of data. But she's at least eager to take on the challenge of passing on information that's difficult to track.

"Maybe we can find some of the functioning helpmates and tell them! They seem very autopiloted, but maybe we can give them the instructions to pass on so there's less of a chance of it getting lost, and they can write it down if we can't."

She hangs off the pipe next to Senku by her hair, legs crossed in mid air as if she's sitting on an invisible pillow, her hands casually on her knees like it's no strange thing.

"The restrictions are really interesting, though. If the worlds are void active do you think some of them might have information?" Not here, obviously, but somewhere.
its_dad_sanzo: (:>)

Re: Arrival

[personal profile] its_dad_sanzo 2021-01-16 03:17 am (UTC)(link)
"Priests are supposed to inspire!" Koumyou tells him, and he punctuates that last word with another clap!

"You would be amazed at how inspiring some good old-fashioned homicidal rage can be for people!"
subcircuits: (embarrassed)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-16 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
"...I'm actually only trained with pistols." He possibly seems a bit sheepish about that. "I was hoping there'd be something like that tactical capacitative batons I use back home. More comfortable with those."
nutkrusher: (Sticks Out)

[personal profile] nutkrusher 2021-01-16 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
"A pistol, then," Cassie says. "Unless you'd rather have a steel pipe."
sciencegirl: (03)

[personal profile] sciencegirl 2021-01-16 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, I mean the term 'run' loosely. I mean more like an operating system. The Overseers could be the operating system but usually a task this large would have to be arranged by a massive mind, and the Overseers might have just been the people that started it and lost control of it."

Something is messing with these poor little things, though, and speculating when she can't actually test or investigate is getting her nowhere. So still without doing any decent job of introducing herself, she starts cleaning up the mess the insane Helpmate was making.

Take care of this first, then go grab a working Helpmate.

"I guess someone will find them. Getting life-support going is the most important task."
subcircuits: (reproving)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-16 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
"...Are there two?"
nutkrusher: (dafuq)

[personal profile] nutkrusher 2021-01-16 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
"For some fucking reason we have eight."
soldier_blade: (30-study)

[personal profile] soldier_blade 2021-01-16 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
"This is as basic as I could get and it still be useful." The soldering kit wasn't perfect, but it would suffice.

She studied the panel, trying to figure how each switch and wire went with what. "What's your name?"

While this was something she needed to be able to work on in a hurry, she knew that one wrong switch and the holograms might go haywire again. This, of course meant that someone had to stand guard and keep watch.
subcircuits: (that crooked smile)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-16 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
Well, that answers one question Devero hadn't actually asked. He covers his face for a minute and just laughs. "Do you really want to get all that homicidal rage stirred up so early, though? We might need some later!"