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

[lucklessgege]

"Ah really? I'm so glad you like it!" Xie Lian of course things there isn't anything wrong with the meal even though he never actually eats any of it himself. He is just glad the other man seems to enjoy it.

He is content to simply munch on one of the vegetables that had been put into the soup having not much of an appetite. He simply watches Hua Cheng eat happily.

[crimson_rain]

Hua Cheng feels there's nothing wrong with his cooking. Not at all. He appears to enjoy it, but only because gege actually makes it for him.

"Mm, gege made it for me. This soup is tasty. Maybe add more vegetables in it the next time you cook?" The soup in his bowl is all gone and disappears like magic.

"I think we have some pastries and yogurt for dessert too if gege wants some." Those are packaged and wrapped packed along with the food supplies, so those are edible.

[lucklessgege]

He looks around and collects one of the packaged pastries. "Thank you San Lang." He doesn't need to eat much and he will be content with just this. Probably even only eat part of it and save the rest in case he should need it later.

"I hope we are able to help with this mission. There is a lot of very strange things in this place."

[crimson_rain]

He doesn't need food, but as long Xie Lian carries his ring on him, and like every voidtrekers, as long they are tethered to the train, then he has the reason to exist. Hua Cheng appears to have a bottomless pit of a stomach, unaffected by his toxic cooking, so he is fine and he looks into the food pantry for sweets and finds a red apple which he cuts up into neat slices and appears to be eating when he munches.

"I think we help a lot gege, by helping others. From what I learned from my butterflies, the train pulls people from different worlds to live on-board. There's several purposes, but the main reason and mission is to save worlds. Like this one, it seems the world is preparing itself with the help of robots, the Helpmates to be a colony. That might explain why there's a lot of empty houses and animals, but no people."

[lucklessgege]

"The helpmates are dangerous...A few attacked earlier today. It was good that I had people nearby who were willing to help with them." Foreign technology means that he has no idea how to combat it on his own. But now that he has fought a few he feels better prepared to continue to take down the ones that are malfunctioning.

"You should be careful, San Lang. Make sure you watch out for any more that might show up during the mission. They aren't easy to take down."

[crimson_rain]

He isn't worried, considering nothing can destroy him other than the ashes in his ring or when the train decides to sever the tethered and send him back home. For now, he lives for Dianxia. "I'm not familiar with technology, but they're fairly easy to destroy. I found some panels to shut them down, so that's a better way. Whatever they're building here on this world, they seem to prepare for people to live here."

But there is no people other than the helpmates and the wildlife. So, that's how he comes to this conclusion. "Either way, I'm glad we helped to save worlds, right?" But to him, living for Xie Lian is his only purpose.

[lucklessgege]

"It's odd to save a world that already has no life on it. But if it makes it safe so that life can be here, then I will do my best to make it that way. Let's work hard, San Lang."

He will do his best and he knows that Hua Cheng will to. All so they can return to the train safely.

[crimson_rain]

"Mm, this world has life. There are the trees and animals. Just no humans yet. I think that's what they're building the houses for. Imagine that gege, building a world for that purpose."

He realizes he's rambling, so he turns to him, looking into his eyes and smiles softly. "I feel we're lucky that we help together." He gently kisses him on the cheek.

"Gege if you're tired, I already set up the tent where you can sleep."

[lucklessgege]

"It just makes me wonder why they need this place...if something happened to their world to make them move here."

Xie Lian wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, as sad as it might be. But he smiles up at Hua Cheng and then pushes himself to his feet.

"I probably should rest before tomorrow. We don't know what might happen."

[crimson_rain]

"I wonder and could imagine." Hearing his prince is tired, he has the tent and bed ready. He takes his hand to lead him inside. "I prepare this for you, so you can rest. I'll rest with you gege."

He prepares the sleeping bags, opening up. "These sleeping bags are very warm and comfty. But I'll keep you warm too."

[lucklessgege]

He follows him inside the tent and then reaches out to help with the sleeping bags. "They will be much more comfortable then the mat back at the temple."

He laughs softly as he smooths out the fluffy bedding.

[crimson_rain]

"I'm sure they are." He laughs too and pats on the bedding inside the tent and beckons him to join him. He opens his arms and draws him forth, so he could wrap him around in his arms and pull the cover over.

Looking into his eyes, "Comfortable?"

[lucklessgege]

He smiles as he relaxes down onto the bed, wrapping his arms around Hua Cheng. "Very comfortable."

He settles his head against the pillow, "Good night, San Lang."

[crimson_rain]

Not to mention warm as he gives him his spiritual energy through his hugs beneath the tent.

He pressed a kiss between the brow as he drifts off to sleep. "Good night gege. Sweet dreams."