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.
reluctantjinrou: (Sleepy)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-18 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
"I'd qualify it more as floating." Natsuno commented and demonstrated, hovering off the ground about two feet up.

"I can't go high up in the sky or anything. I can jump really high, I can hover, that kind of thing." He landed back on his feet with a gentle thud.
worthallthis: (look up)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-18 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
"Still pretty cool," Soldat says, watching with interest. They're at the corner of the building now, able to turn and put the electric field behind them, out of sight, and they are clearly relaxing for it. "I can jump further or higher than a standard human could, but I definitely can't float."
reluctantjinrou: (Glancing Around Corners)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-19 10:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"Me too. So maybe if we get stuck somewhere, we can get out of it, at least." That was sort of a comforting thought.

"I don't know why this place is so broken...and I have no idea how to fix this kind of thing, I hope that's not what we're meant to be doing."
worthallthis: (Default)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-20 11:14 pm (UTC)(link)
That's one nice thing about having a floating vampire person around. Well, one of probably many things, to be honest. He certainly hasn't been anything but friendly and helpful, so far.

"It's probably a programming thing," Soldat guesses. "Or maybe some mechanical damage somewhere deeper in. I can maybe do something about mechanical damage. Don't know a damn thing about programming."
reluctantjinrou: (Default)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-21 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
"Neither do I. That's more of a...computer thing?" Natsuno said, although he sounded uncertain.

"After my time, I think. It was only 1993 when I died."
worthallthis: (thinking)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-21 09:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Soldat has no idea what they were doing in 1993. The purchase to Pierce in the American branch might have actually been complete by then. Ugh. "About ten years later, for me. But I never got. Training in that sort of thing."

They have to pause, because hey, they almost said "programming" when... one, they know now what they went through is not technically programming and they're trying not to use the word, and two, they just said they don't know a damn thing about programming. (Yes. I know, Asset, different kind. But still sounds funny.)
reluctantjinrou: (Sleepy)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-23 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ten years..." Natsuno considered that for a moment. What would he have been doing ten years later?

"I'd have been done university by then, and hopefully working in law." He commented. "If things turned out the way I expected anyway, but they didn't."

He glanced away and regrouped a bit. No sense dwelling on things more than he already did.
worthallthis: (confused)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-24 07:29 am (UTC)(link)
"Why couldn't you still do that?" Soldat asks, head tilted a little with a tiny frown. "You're still. I mean, you're you. You still move around and do things and pass for alive."
reluctantjinrou: (Glancing Around Corners)

cw: suicide

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-25 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's true, but I'm not alive in my world." Natsuno explained, shaking his head.

"Blew myself up with dynamite. Killed Tatsumi with me."
worthallthis: (but i did it)

cw: another suicide mention

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-25 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh." Soldat tilts their head a little more. They did that once, though it was a grenade for them. Very messy, but so fast they really didn't feel anything. "So you came here from your death, in your world."

They sound sympathetic, maybe. Tone is hard to manage for them sometimes, but they're aiming for sympathetic. "So did I. Everyone in my last place was dead."
reluctantjinrou: (Default)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-26 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
"Second death, yes. It was relatively painless and what I wanted to do. I'm not exactly thrilled to be here." He sighed. "If it bothers you talking to someone who's intending to die at the earliest opportunity, I understand."

It was what Koumyou didn't like about him, after all.

"Sounds dreadful to be honest with you, if you're anything like me and you just want peace."
worthallthis: (thinkingsad)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-26 03:18 am (UTC)(link)
Soldat has mixed feelings about death, theirs or other people's. But they can say they at least kind of understand why someone would want to. "It doesn't bother me," they promise. "I've actively tried. Twice I think." Both were "I'm taking the enemy with me" instances, but still. They knew perfectly well death was the likely outcome, and had accepted it. "I was okay with not existing anymore when we brought the dead world back to life, if that's what happened. But I'm not upset to still be here, either."
reluctantjinrou: (Sleepy)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-26 03:22 am (UTC)(link)
"The first death was very painful." Natsuno murmured and then shook his head a little bit.

"I consider myself to have died then and I have no desire to be a monster like I am."
worthallthis: (thinking)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-26 04:51 am (UTC)(link)
"Why do you think you're a monster?" Soldat asks with a little frown, though their eyes are on the path ahead, reaching the point where they can turn and travel parallel to their previous path.
reluctantjinrou: (Default)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-26 08:59 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm quite literally a monster. A supernatural being." Natsuno deadpanned. "That's enough."

They made the turn easily and look, no electricity. That was something. It just had to hold out for a bit.
worthallthis: (confused)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-26 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Soldat looks... a little baffled by the sentiment, to be honest. "Being supernatural doesn't make someone a monster. My last place had a dragon. A bird-woman. A couple vampires and witches. None of them were monsters." They were all pretty okay people, actually. The bird-woman in particular had been a friend, and the dragon a grouchy old man.
reluctantjinrou: (Sleepy)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-27 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
"The vampires I encountered were all monstrous and I don't..want to be like them." Natsuno said with a sigh. "I'm sure there's people who aren't horrible but that hasn't really been my experience." He had a distaste for vampires, and considering how they killed just about everyone he knew, it was hard to distance himself.
worthallthis: (Default)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-27 06:37 am (UTC)(link)
Well. They suppose they can't really blame Natsuno for his own experience. "I'm sure you don't have to be like them, if you don't want to be," is what they say, with faith. It's the sort of thing Misty would have said to them, or Sora, people who knew what they were talking about when it came to feelings and self-determination.
reluctantjinrou: (Default)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-27 06:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't intend to be, but I don't want to find out what happens if I lose control." He was worried about that. It had never happened, and yet he still worried.
worthallthis: (cautious)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-27 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Soldat... can sympathize, actually. They nod once. "Losing control is. Terrifying. Yes. Fear of hurting other people." They chew the inside of their cheek a little, thinking, then wishing fervently that they'd finished their chain of chewing pendants before the mission. (Snack? Gotta save 'em, Pit. You have paper. For folding, Pit, not eating. After you fold them. Shut up, Pit.)

Getting off track. With that reminder of their own strange brain, Soldat decides to go ahead and say, "I was owned. For a long time. There are. Words." They don't know for sure what the Words do, but... but they have a few guesses.
reluctantjinrou: (Sleepy)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-27 10:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"I can't imagine that." Natsuno said, because that was truly his reaction. He couldn't conceive of something so heinous as to own someone else.

"I don't want to hurt anyone." They could agree on that. He looked at them and sighed a little bit. "So far, it's fine though. I wouldn't want to make you worry."
worthallthis: (smilesad)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-28 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Not worried," they promise. And they're not: they're used to being one of the strongest around, and the best-trained around, and being pretty much able to take care of themselves. And even if they couldn't, apparently they just come back here with no effort at all. "Just understand how you feel."
reluctantjinrou: (Default)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-28 09:19 pm (UTC)(link)
He sagged a bit in relief. "I appreciate that." Natsuno murmured.

"I'm glad someone does, I just don't want that to happen and I'm worried that's not enough." If pressed, Natsuno would have to admit he was still very young comparitively and that worry may come from that place.
worthallthis: (thinkingsad)

[personal profile] worthallthis 2021-01-29 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
Soldat is silent for a moment. They're not in the habit of prying, really, but: "If I promise to stop you if you lose control, will you promise to stop me if I do? There are the Words. I've had flashbacks where I forgot where I was. And I have-- my mind isn't really. All mine. So there's ways it could happen."

(Hey. I know you wouldn't cause any trouble. Yes. And I know you could. Yes. And nobody knows what the Bottomless Pit would do if it ever got out. Eat. Besides that.)
reluctantjinrou: (Who's Following Me?)

[personal profile] reluctantjinrou 2021-01-29 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
That was potentially a bit of a tall order and Natsuno didn't answer right away. He considered it for a moment, if he could potentially control an out of control person.

He thought he maybe could. It might take effort with someone like them, but he wasn't gifted supernatural strength for nothing. "Alright. I promise, if you lose control...I'll do that."

(no subject)

[personal profile] worthallthis - 2021-01-29 20:50 (UTC) - Expand