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

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin chuckled. "Void Plumbers instead of Void Warriors! Say, I ought to make a song of that. Didn't bring my harp, though."

He glanced over at Trunks and nodded. "I certainly appreciate the help."

[light_of_willpower]

"I mean, I'm not unskilled in helping patch things and basic tech maintenance. Mom's lab was my first playground of sorts, after all." Trunks grinned. "I'm mostly here as back up, and to add another fighter to the group, since Purple has an overabundance."

[so_dark_a_road]

"I agree, you're obviously skilled in this sort of work. I think you've mentioned before that your mom had a lab. Nice to grow up learning useful skills! My mom's lab was a sculptor's studio and my dad's lab was a forge shack. But even in that old Elvish world, I learned a few things that are useful in these modern worlds."

He smiled back. "Purple team does have a lot of warriors, and I'm glad you've come to help Orange Team. We have a few, including me, but we're mostly skilled in some sort of technology or have other skills. And you never know what you'll encounter on these missions, so it's good to have backup. Thanks!"

[light_of_willpower]

"I mean, it's at least slightly selfish--Mom's team orange. I definitely wanted to keep an eye on her, even though she can somewhat take care of herself. She's not a fighter the way Father or I are, but well...if you meet her, you'll understand. She's probably the most stubborn woman on our planet at home."

[so_dark_a_road]

"I can certainly understand that -- your wanting to keep an eye on your mom. You care about her and want her to stay safe, and you have the fighting skills to make that happen." Curufin smiles. "I may already have met her. What's her name? Also, being stubborn is a great survival skill. Good for her!"

[light_of_willpower]

"I think if you've met her, you'd know it, but her name is Bulma Briefs." Trunks said with a grin while they work. "She out-stubborned my Father, which is pretty impressive all on its own." A beat. "You'll understand when you meet him. He's on red team."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin grinned back. "I guess I haven't talked to her. Shame on me, since she's Orange Team! I'll make a point of meeting her in the near future, though."

He grabbed a wrench and started to work with it.

"I admire a stubborn person, as I was saying. Many people think that's a negative trait, but I think it's a positive one. What's your dad's name?"

[light_of_willpower]

"You'll likely know him if you meet him too." Trunks's tone was relatively sarcasm free. "His name's Vegeta. Look for the grumpy and stand-offish, arrogant man with black spikey hair and widow's peak."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin chuckled. "All right, I'll look for a man called Vegeta, grumpy, stand-offish, arrogant, with black spikey hair and a widow's peak. What did he do for a living in your world? What kinds of things did he care about?"

[light_of_willpower]

"He's definitely not personable, so if you do approach him, try to have a purpose and good reason, I guess." Trunks encouraged. "He trained a lot mostly. Kind of all the time, when he wasn't eating or sleeping. I'm told, and have seen some evidence myself, that he's mellowed a bit. So I'd say he cares about Mom, and his family now, but not much else. He still trains a lot, when he's not eating or sleeping."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin nodded. "I'll take your advice on that. I'll think of some train business reason."

"Training for combat? I guess he's sensible in that. We Void Warriors never know where we might be sent or what might happen when we get there. It's a very good idea to stay in shape and keep our skills honed, and learn even more if possible. But that's good, if your dad cares about you and your mother and has mellowed enough to make that a priority."

[light_of_willpower]

"You, uh...don't quite understand." Trunks said mildly. "He's always been a warrior. Last Prince of the Saiyans, which were a warrior race. I don't think he knows what to do if he's not training."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin nodded. "Oh, I see! Your father is a born warrior. That makes sense to me, since I am one as well. Fighting must have been an enormous part of his life, and he wouldn't feel right if he wasn't either fighting or practicing for the next fight. I'll ask him if he wants to practice with me in the gym. That ought to count as a purpose and a good reason to approach him."

[light_of_willpower]

"He'll probably say no. You'd do better by just introducing yourself as one of the Orange team leads, as Bulma--my mother, is on orange team." Trunks replied, still trying to help. "Father is...well, if anyone could break the train through sheer strength, he probably could. We'd all likely be dead from his attempts though."

[so_dark_a_road]

"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."

[light_of_willpower]

"I can't say whether or not he'll consider you worthy, which is why he might say no, Curufin." Trunks sighed, and hung his head. "Again, pride issues--and a need to be the strongest, along with the arrogance to back that up most of the time."

There was a moment's pause, before Trunks looked up again. "I'd definitely be interested in sparring with you sometime though. I've seen Glorfindel in combat, so I'd love to see what you can do."

Want to wrap this thread and catch up somewhere in the future?

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin smiled. "The only way your father could really tell whether I'm worthy is to try me. But if he has such a great need to be the strongest, then maybe he'd just dismiss me as an opponent before he's even fought me. All right, if that's how he reacts, then I won't press the issue. Whom he fights is up to him."

His face lit up. "I'll take you up on that offer. If you've seen Glorfindel in battle, then you have an idea of how Elves fight. Of course he and I have somewhat different styles, but you'll have some valuable information to go on. I've love to see what you can do, as well. Shall we meet in the gym on the day we get back from the mission?"

Sure

[light_of_willpower]

"Maybe not right on the day. I'll be wanting to catch up with someone." Trunks ducked his head slightly shyly again. "But I'd definitely enjoy a spar. If you really wanna see what I can do though, it'd have to be a place where we could cut loose without endangering the people on the train though." For all that he was looking shy a moment ago, there is definitely a spark in Trunks' eyes of excitement.

And it's a wrap!

[so_dark_a_road]

Oh, right. Trunks was in a relationship, and he'd want to see that person first off.

"All right, we could meet in the gym on some other day. I'm usually there for an hour or so in the mornings, so if that time suits you, then I'll see you there. But if we take another vacation this coming month, we could arrange to spar on the vacation world, and then we'd have plenty of space and wouldn't endanger any spectators or other passengers." He looks excited about the idea, too.