middleofsomewhere | Fierce New World- Mission Start!

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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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Grabbing his hand is just about the only movement she can manage right now. It's just reaching out a little bit, after all. And with him being able to feel her hand into his own, it's pretty obvious how rapidly the cold is making Alice's body temperature drop.

"W-Where?"

Usually she'd try to be a little more helpful, but the cold is making it so hard to even do as much as think. Her teeth chatter.

His hand, at least, was warm and he looked around quickly.

"This way." Natsuno said and gave a tug. "Run with me!"

The faster they got out of the worst of the cold, the better.

Running is easier said than done in her current condition, but to be fair to Alice, at least she's trying. Even though her limbs are starting to feel more and more like they're just blocks of ice with each passing moment, she makes a real effort to move them. It's not quite a run - more like a jog, really - but she does try her best to move along with him.

Not that she doesn't have a bit of breath left to grumble as they're trying to move towards shelter.

"It's as if this place is actively trying to kill us.."

"That really surprising after the last place?" Natsuno quipped with a bit of a snort. The shelter wasn't far.

He pushed the door open and stepped inside and out of the way so she could come in. Then he'd let go of her to shut the door.

"That helps the wind at least. That came on suddenly. It's...probably going to pass...right?"

Alice doesn't have much energy to do anything, really. Not even now she's in the shelter. They may be able to block the cold somewhat this way, but not entirely - and Alice already got pretty cold to begin with. So the moment she's in the shelter, her legs practically give out. She instead just huddles by sitting down in a corner, rubbing her shivering arms in order to get some warmth back into them.

"Who knows."

Alice isn't optimistic enough to assume it will.

"Like you said, it isn't too surprising. Maybe they'll just f.. freeze us to death."

Natsuno was a little worried about her extreme reaction. "I'm not sure that's a way I can die." He commented glibly.

He opened his bag and rooted around a bit to pull out his red sleeping bag and unzipped it to open it up and then threw it overtop of her. "Here, this might help a little bit."

Some of us just don't have meat on our bones. Alice may be as pale as a vampire would be, but she's entirely human. It's just that her body has absolutely never been treated well for years and years now, especially during a crucial period of her childhood and puberty years - which means she's super frail now.

And that's not exactly a great state to be in when it starts getting super cold out of nowhere.

So even though Alice states, "I feel ridiculous," out loud in a grumbly way, she's still more or less going to try and cover herself with the fabric of the sleeping bag to try and keep herself warm. (She's not actually going to climb in it, okay, that'd only be even more ridiculous.)

He didn't have a ton of meat on his bones, and he was definitely cold, but it was alright. He wasn't so cold that he couldn't move at least. He didn't ask, or judge her, but he shrugged at her complaint.

"It's that or body heat which would be...awkward." Natsuno admitted. He wasn't the kind of person to be that close to someone, that easily.

The bridge of Alice's nose wrinkles. Like she's almost pouting at the very thought. Yeah, she doesn't like the idea of physical contact at all either, but if it's necessary..

"It could be worse."

So much worse. Mostly because:

"I mean, it's not that bad if it's you."

Because Natsuno is 100% not interested in her in any creepy way. And she feels comfortable enough around him - especially when she knows he won't make fun of her for it or anything like that.

"I appreciate that." Natsuno commented with a bit of a snort. "I'm not that big on that, but if it means you freezing to death or getting close, I'd pick the latter."

That was high praise, really. He would move and sit down next to her at least, while they rode out the chilly storm.

He hadn't ever said so, but he actually wasn't interested in her in that way, although the way he talked about Tohru, she may have already guessed that.

Don't worry, Natsuno. Alice may not exactly have gaydar, considering she's never encountered same-sex attraction much before this train (but is pretty used to it now, honestly), but she's so used to the way men look at her that she can absolutely tell who is interested and who absolutely isn't.

And Natsuno just absolutely radiates the latter.

Which is why she doesn't move away when he sits next to her like that. It doesn't even feel uncomfortable, having someone this close, although it often does for her. Thank god for Natsuno being so tolerable.

"Thanks for being willing to put yourself over discomfort to keep me from dying."

It's said a little dryly, but she does mean it genuinely. It's just hard to say it in any genuine way - it feels too vulnerable. So it comes out this way instead.

"Could you imagine if I let you die?" Natsuno snorted. "I might have to talk to someone else."

The way he said that made it sound a tad overdramatic, like that would be the end of the world.

He could tell her he didn't want her to die genuinely, but how uncomfortable would that be?

"Come on," Alice says, almost sounding like she's lightly scolding him. It's meant in just a joking way though, since she very well understands the desire to not talk to too many people. Even though some of the people on the train seem fine enough, there's quite a few annoying people on it as well..

"Surely I'm not the only person you talk to."

So maybe she's a little nosy, sue her. But they may as well talk while they're sitting here, trying to warm up and wait for the weather outside to go back to normal.

"Maybe. I talk to Rapunzel a lot." He admitted. "And Trunks is training me, which requires conversation."

Natsuno was perfectly capable of speaking with people, he just didn't necessarily prefer to do so.

"My roommates are not terribly annoying."

There, that was something wasn't it?

Maybe he just has a preference for Disney heroines, judging by what he's saying now.. (Well, and Trunks. But he can be an honorary Disney heroine if he wants.)

"Rapunzel?" Alice seems to have to think for a moment, but then gives him a slightly surprised look. It's pretty muted though - either because of how Alice is in general, or otherwise since she's so cold right now. It's not someone Alice has personal experience talking to, but.. "Isn't that girl much too cheery for you?"

Alice, please, if he knew such a connection he'd be horrified.

"She's incredibly cheery." Natsuno complained. "But it's not like I'm not used to it. Tohru was too." He shrugged. "Mostly we've watched movies together and apparently she likes art."

That was...about what he's got. "I wouldn't say I know her very well."

It's not a surprise to hear that last part. Natsuno doesn't exactly seem like the type to have some heart-to-heart conversation, after all, not even with cheery people. He's maybe more the type who just lets them do as they please as long as they're not being annoying..?

Or so Alice thinks, anyway, letting the thought go.

"Would you say you know me well then?" It's hard to tell if she's joking or seriously asking. Especially with her teeth still clattering slightly from the cold, though she's at least not totally freezing anymore now.

That was kind of exactly what he did. Natsuno didn't mind letting people do as they pleased as long as he didn't have to do something he didn't want to.

"More than I know her." Natsuno responded. "I don't know if I know you very well or not."

He can tell she's still cold and he'll open an arm, an unspoken offer that she could get closer if she wanted to.

"You don't know?" She repeats. Alice wasn't quite sure what kind of answer she expected, but that wasn't it.

It's more surprising than offensive in any way though, as evidenced by the way she does slowly slide herself into the gap left by him holding out that arm. It's weird. Alice may have gotten some hugs (weird, weird hugs) ever since she showed up on the train, but it's still not quite normal for her to be this up close to someone. Even though, as she said, she finds it's more easy with Natsuno.

Just a bit though. Her shoulders seem tense as she leans against him, though it fades a bit when she breathes in and out.

"I didn't know I was that mysterious," Alice says, returning to the topic while she's adjusting.

"I know you better than anyone else on the train, from my side anyway." Natsuno commented. "I think there's more I don't know, but I'm not really one to pry."

It was a little strange, but he rested his arm on her and that would probably be enough hopefully to keep them both warm.

"I don't know about mysterious. Maybe a little."

She slowly releases a breath.

"I don't know, I suppose I'm merely not used to talking about myself that way." Especially now she's thinking about it, realising the cause. "Everyone back home already knew me. I had a reputation. So I never had to talk about it."

Is that why she hasn't brought much of it up herself here on the train, even with people she considers herself relatively close to, like Natsuno?

"I'm not sure I would even know where to start."

"It's fine if you don't want to." Natsuno told her.

"I've probably told you more than I've told anyone though." He sighed. "Even though this past summer completely wrecked everything I knew."

He glanced at her a moment. "But if you want, I'll listen."

Wanting to. It's such a strange concept. No one ever asked her back home if she did or didn't want anything - they just forced her.

But maybe it's exactly because he's giving her a choice that she finds herself actively wanting to. He told her a lot too, after all. It's only fair. Not to mention that what he's saying actually gives her an idea of where to start.

"It was like that for me too, everything suddenly changing. It never felt like things could change like that before it happened, right? To a point where the mundanity of life almost got boring." The same mundanity that often lead to her fleeing into her mental Wonderland.

"But then one day, when I was young, an acquaintance of my father, a doctor.. he snuck into our home, killed my older sister, and then burned down the house to hide his crime. My parents died in the fire, but I managed to barely escape the house thanks to my cat showing me the way. But I was hurt, covered in burns, and badly traumatized by it all. No one wanted to deal with a child like that, so they locked me up in Rutledge Asylum for ten years, just to get me out of the way. Since no one knew the true cause of the fire, people even speculated I had started it and killed my family myself."

"I understand the mundane being boring." He commented softly as she continued.

When she got to the part of people deciding she'd done it, he clicked his tongue in open annoyance. "I hate that, when people just decide things for you."

"It's incredibly unfair." He believed her that she didn't do it without any hesitation. "Did you ever find this doctor?"

"Hmm." She nods, humming lightly.

Something about this feels a lot more weirdly comfortable than she thought it would. Even though she usually hates being close to people, right now, it just feels warm. Both physically and emotionally - the latter since he meets her with an easy understanding that she never found before back home.

"I had blocked out my memories of that night. I didn't remember what started the fire, and I started worrying that maybe everyone was right and I did do it. Even when I managed to get out of the asylum after ten years, I still had to see a psychiatrist for my mental issues with the event. He tried to help me.. forget all of it. He said it would be for the better."

And Alice had blindly believed that back then.

"Of course that psychiatrist turned out to be the person who had burned down the house in the first place. He was trying to make me forget so there would be no evidence left of his crime." Her tone turns a bit harder at that - just at the very memory of that awful, awful man. "Once I found out, I pushed him in front of a train."

Fierce New World- Mission Start!

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