Fierce New World- Mission Start!

[voidtreckermods]

"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.

Comments

kaiba | orange

[blue_ice]

climbing

They've barely been here a few hours and already he's feeling sour. Kaiba has the strength for this odd obstacle course of pipe and railing climbing, but the fluctuating temperatures are making this difficult. Currently, the heat is close to sweltering.

He huffs as he pushes his hair out of his face, searching for the next handhold.

"This is already ranking in my bottom two missions. Uh...you good?"

Gotta check on his teammates, after all.

ambushed!

All right, fixing. More that he can do. Kaiba reaches onto his belt for a tool, and as he does so---something rams into his leg hard. He falls on one knee with a yelp, elbow swinging back in an attempt at defense. Drat.

"Back off!"

fixing

After that, Kaiba's a fair bit more paranoid as he works. He's constantly looking over his shoulder, or otherwise...

"Hey, work with me? If we face opposite directions they can't get the jump on us."

ambushed!

[mtsilver_conquor]

Not that whatever is attacking Kaiba gets much of a chance to. This time anyway, as Lele rams into it with the force of ... a porygon2? Either way, it's knocked back and way from Kaiba and that is the main thing.

"Get up higher and observe!" Eva calls, eyes never once leaving her pokemon.

Yeah, she's going to make this into a teaching moment.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba looks long enough to take in the familiar shape, okay---are there more bots coming? He listens as he hauls himself upright, grunting against the pain---not unbearable, but rough.

"Ugh," he says, gritting his teeth. "Gotta dismantle 'em---"

/casually refs things from the applin thread she would have told him.

[mtsilver_conquor]

"There's panels that can deactivate them. But at the same time..."

She laughs a little, even as Lele rams into the bot with what could pass for a happy sound? "Remember when I told you pokemon need battle as it's like exercise?"

She nods towards Lele. "Even porygon2 need it."

[blue_ice]

"Right. Makes sense. Sorry, was a bit busy trying to stop a flood."

He hobbles toward one as soon as he sees it, eyes sweeping for more dangerous bots.

"Glad Lele's feeling better. But I'm going to be terrified when it's Snapper's turn, if I'm honest."

Ambush!

[dreamtamer]

"Card Slash! Aegis!" Takato shouts out quickly as he scans a pair of cards through the device in his hand.

In a shimmer of data a circular white shield appears on Guilmon's arm. He shouts a thanks to Takato and quickly uses it to block the helpmate away from Kaiba.

[blue_ice]

Guilmon's familiar face is...a little alarming in this context. He's just launching into battle?

But for now that means he has an opening. He hisses as he hauls himself up, lunging for the panel that should shut it down. It'll just take him a moment---

"Hold on!"

The helpmate stops and swivels, glitching out---hopefully it'll drop soon enough.

[dreamtamer]

Takato comes running up, a set of cards fanned out in one hand and his D-Arc clutched tightly in the other. He quickly checks over to see if Guilmon needed any help. But between the shield and the strength card he'd swiped earlier, he seemed to have it in hand.

But Takato readies a defense card in his hand, just in case.

[blue_ice]

That buys him just enough time. Kaiba shuts it down, and the helpmates drop to the ground. He still looks exhausted, and a little beaten up---but that's fine. As long as Takato and Guilmon are okay.

"Thanks. You two didn't get hit, did you?" he asks.

Climbing

[adropofsunlight]

"I'm good. Peachy." if she could you would be giving a thumbs up right about now, but she needs to focus. With pascal hidden away and safe she was trying her best to climb.

"How much further is it?"

[blue_ice]

"Mm, agreed."

Kaiba glances down at his SCA to check. "Looks like...another 20 minutes, maybe? But that could be on a balance beam for all I know."

He really hopes it's not on a balance beam. "Still good?"

[adropofsunlight]

"That's not to bad." 20 minutes isn't all that long, right?

Balance beam potential be damned. "I'm still good. I mean, if I wasn't I would make sure to say something."

It was hard but she was trying her best in a new situation once again. if she had her long hair, this could have been easier to.

She didn't know how long it had been since she last spoke, but she could see something at least.

"Oh! I think we';re almost there~"

[blue_ice]

Kaiba appreciates her enthusiasm, at least. It keeps the time moving faster.

"I don't know whether to be relieved or apprehensive. The real work begins now, right..."

He shakes his head. "Feeling up to it?"

climbing

[10billionpercent]

Senku was not terribly agile, nor did he have stamina so having to climb over things was just an unnecessary pain.

He was already breathing pretty hard and struggling to pull himself up.

"Ugh!" He said by way of response.

[blue_ice]

"You all right?"

Kaiba turns and offers his hand, though he of all people will understand if it's not taken.

"Hang on. We'll be getting to the good stuff soon."

[10billionpercent]

The slight hesitation had nothing to do with who was offering and more because he wasn't big on being touched in the first place, but his hands were usually alright, which is why he accepted the offer, grasping his hand to help pull himself up.

"Yeah." He leaned down a bit, trying to catch his breath. "I'm always like this. Totally normal. No I can't fix it." He added, because he was being asked that quite a bit lately.

[blue_ice]

"Guessing hitting the gym is out."

Kaiba's a little concerned. But he gives Senku time to recover, they're not in much of a hurry at the moment.

"It's not much further, by my count. Feeling up to another move?"

It looks like the next stretch is just squeezing through narrow spaces, less climbing.

Fixing

[unfavorableinstigation]

"Already ahead of you."

Nita's pack was all but in a temporospatial claudication this mission; after having to go without in Nautilus for years on end, somehow recreating it hadn't felt worth the effort.

Until now, of course; she felt she needed that range of motion back.

"I'm setting up a shield around the two of us. If this piping would just-"

She broke off in an exaggerated groan.

[blue_ice]

"If it would...what happened?"

Seto's grateful for the protection, he's able to concentrate on the work. But that's not a good sign.

[unfavorableinstigation]

Nita's groan tapered off in a sigh.

"Just stress. Mine, not the pipe's," she clarified.

"Being in the shield should help stabilize, but that's clashing with the area of the pipe outside of it; it's not far enough away."

The pipe had some temperature-flexibility built in; these things were long, after all. But the matter in the pipe was still stubborn, and the recent changes had made it all the more so.

[blue_ice]

"I'll speed it up." And he does so, fingers flying. "Drop the shield if you have to, I'd rather risk a chill and some blows than see you collapse."

Ambushed!

[storms_eye]

[Silvia was off some little distance, puzzling over the tools in her hand. It was kind of embarrassing to be on the smart team, and not really know.. what she was meant to be applying these to. It was kind of an oxymoron, but her knowledge was in other areas. Hearing the exclamation she ran to the source, and either by intention or accident she hurled her wrench at the offending helpmate.

Given the way she cupped her hands over her mouth, it was probably an accident, but luckily it didn't seem to strike Kaiba?]

Guess- I... found a use for it afterall?

[Tentatively congratulating herself with the helpmate didn't lunge immediately for another strike]

[blue_ice]

[The clunk surprised him, and his head shot up warily. Reinforcements...?

Well, for him, anyway. Thankfully not for the helpmate. There was Silvia. ]

Good shot. Ugh...there better not be any more. If you could just---watch my back a minute?

[ He's plugging away at that panel regardless, working through the pain. ]

[storms_eye]

[It surprised them both really, but there was no cry of pain that followed so it was alright. A bit sheepishly she accepted the praise, before she want to recollect her tool]

Sure! I can do that.

[Moving over into position, she briefly looked over her shoulder at him]

Are you sure you're ok?

[Then she stiffened and remembered to look forward. She wouldn't be good as a lookout if she didn't actually stay alert]

[blue_ice]

Fine. Got hit earlier, but it was a scratch.

[ He pulls together a few more wires, pushes a button, and there's an odd hissing sound. A break for now, it seems. ]

You holding up?