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.
10billionpercent: (I Sense A Plot)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-01-15 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
"Valid point." Senku chuckled a little bit, shaking his head. "Be more convenient for me, but we'd have a lot more work to do. It's a delicate balance I suppose."

"The amount of times I could've used wings in my life." He snorted. "Least of all the time I got stuck in that hole with Magma."

He waited for Kaiba to go. "Shout up when you're clear, I don't want to fall on your head or something. I'm not that heavy, but the force would definitely be enough to cause injury."
blue_ice: (locked heart)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-16 02:30 am (UTC)(link)
Kaiba snorts and backs up. " I miss my helicopter right about now..."

And he shouts up. "Clear! I see a good spot for camp from here."
10billionpercent: (Satisfied)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-01-16 06:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"Sounds like it's time for lunch then!" Senku called back as he launched himself at the pole without hesitation, sliding down without any fear.

He landed on his feet and stumbled slightly, but caught himself.

"Had your own helicopter?" Senku asked. "Ah, flight would be good. We had a hot air balloon."
blue_ice: (Default)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-17 05:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Mm. Balloons are classic. I had a blimp too..."

Seto looked back to ensure Senku was all right, slowing to walk with him to the spot. No problem. He has simple rations stuffed in his backpack, and pulls out the first one: an odd avocado paste concoction. It doesn't look appetizing, but it'll do.

"...maybe I should focus more on the ration part of prep," he laughed.
10billionpercent: (Slight Smile)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-01-17 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
"You sound like my Captain." Senku chuckled lightly. "He was the kind of guy who's family owned everything, so he had all kinds of things like that."

He looked at it, it was just some kind of paste.

"Okay." Senku snorted. "That's not the best looking lunch." He opened his pack and pulled out a few things. He had a loaf of fresh bread, a jar with what was marrow, but that might just look like some kind of spiced spread, a different kind of bread that had pineapple chunks in it and a jar of mango compote of some kind, as well as some spicy wolf jerky.

"Help yourself." He invited. "The bread might at least help with that paste you have."
blue_ice: (tired)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-17 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
Seto watches in disbelief. Someone really prioritizes food variety, huh? Well...they are usually stranded on these planets for a week, so it makes sense to prepare.

He blinks, again in disbelief, at the offer. After a moment of thought, he hesitantly takes a slice of bread and jerky.

"Thanks...so you're keeping up with a gourmet life even out here?"
10billionpercent: (This Is So Exciting)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-01-17 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
Senku chuckled a little bit. "Gourmet, huh? Depends on what you consider gourmet. The jerky's got a bit of heat to it, be careful. The bread will help if you find it too hot."

"These are my emergency rations, although the marrow." Which was what he was opening. "Is kind of a treat for this mission. The stollen, which is the cross between bread and cake is nutrient dense and keeps forever, as does the jerky. We're used to having to preserve food to keep it, and it travels pretty well."

He spread it on a piece of bread and took a bite. "I have lunch boxes that were given out in my arms band for preservation, on top of the bear innards and meat I got when I helped prep for the last mission."

He hummed. "Probably paranoia, in case we end up somewhere without food, like this place seems to kind of be." He couldn't hunt anything there, after all.
blue_ice: (Default)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-01-21 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
"...I should probably be more paranoid," he admitted as he ate. "I used to be. But I can tell I've gone soft."

He washes the heat down with a little water---he'd packed enough of that for himself, at least.

"I'll repay you when we get back."
10billionpercent: (Let Me Explain Something)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-01-21 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's not a bad thing. I never would've been paranoid before. The modern world is very comfortable in comparison." Senku commented.

"Only now, we live on what we can get our hands on and that fluxuates based on what we get." It was just a reality to him. "So if we end up on a world like this one, where hunting can't happen, it's good to have a back up."

Senku snorted a little bit and shook his head. "Nah, don't have to do that. I keep extra food on me just in case someone needs it. I'll make more before the next mission."