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.
happyends: (through even darkness)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-01 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
That certainly makes it easier. If he's by her side, then she can't accidentally shoot an arrow right into him.

So, knowing she doesn't have to worry about that anymore, Madoka lets one of her arrows fly, making sure to hit the same Helpmate he was going for - so the two hits in quick succession are enough to make that one fade entirely for the moment.

.. not that it stops a second Helpmate from sneaking up behind them, stretching its holographic arms out towards them. Apparently outside of Madoka's notice, since she's still so focused on watching the one she just hit fade.
comefadeaway: (A Threat)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-02-01 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Yoite obviously didn't hear it coming until it was on top of them and he got whacked with the helpmate's hand.

He spun around and lept backwards, throwing his shuriken into its face, and flicked into place his kunai.

"Don't shoot over here, I'll take this one!"
happyends: (through even darkness)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-02 10:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Madoka does realise what's happening through the sound, considering she can actually hear it - but the problem is that the sound isn't there much until it's already too late. In fact, it's the connecting hit that finally gets through to her, making her turn her head with a worried gaze.

She will at least leave Yoite to deal with it himself, but she's definitely going to ask if he's okay once the battle is over. These Helpmates don't seem as strong as other things they've fought in the past, but that doesn't mean they can't hurt!

So while he's busy handling the one that snuck up behind them, Madoka instead fires her arrow at one that's ahead of them, but still a bit further away. Just to make sure it stays back, so they won't get too overwhelmed with having too many around them all at once.
comefadeaway: (A Threat)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-02-02 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Fortunately, with the room to move around and fend off the helpmate he was doing just fine. He wasn't a bad fighter and now that he was prepared, these little robot things weren't going to stand a chance.

He knocked it away and stabbed it with his kunai.

Yoite trusted Madoka to keep others off of him at least for now.
happyends: (through even darkness)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-03 09:07 am (UTC)(link)
Thankfully things seem to be going well enough for now. It'd be a problem if Madoka had less arrows, but since people made more for her, it's not as much of a problem holding these things off - she can just grab her arrows again later, once they're done dealing with the threat.

The only problem is.. well, it kind of feels like only more and more of them keep appearing. Like they keep taking care of a few, only for more new ones to take their place. It's worrying, and after firing off another arrow, Madoka tries to move so Yoite can actually see her and realise she's talking.

"Yoite-san-- I think we'll have to try getting rid of them with the panel after all..!" It seems to be the only way to permanently get rid of these things.

Even though that didn't go so well last time around.
comefadeaway: (Hmm?)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-02-04 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ah, okay!" Yoite said, slamming into the robot one last time to get it to stop moving.

He ran up to the panel again and tried another button.

More Helpmates turned their eyes on them.

"Not that one, not that one." He murmured and then he pushed another button and they all stopped moving. He took a deep breath.

They reset and started to wander off.
happyends: (of my frightened hands)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-05 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
...

Thank god.

For a moment Madoka was worried there that something dramatic was about to happen. They wouldn't be able to handle even more of those things coming for them, especially with no other members of the blue team nearby to help them out! And although Madoka managed to handle a similar situation before during that mission underground, she now lacks the magical powers that Maru's presence had given her.

So in other words, they would've been screwed. But thankfully not anymore now.

Still, out of sheer relief Madoka can feel her legs buckle underneath her, and she drops to the floor, sitting there.

"Oh.. I really thought that was going to end badly.."
comefadeaway: (Hmm?)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-02-07 07:12 pm (UTC)(link)
He was used to a kind of battle rush and it wasn't enough to make him collapse when the adrenaline left.

Yoite looked concerned though and crouched down to Madoka.

"Did you get hurt? I can...maybe help with that."
happyends: (the ancient magic i dreamed of)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-07 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
She slowly releases a breath, looking over at him.

"I think I'm okay.."

Maybe? Probably? She doesn't feel very hurt, but as she sits there for a moment, she does kind of feel an ache on her leg. Rolling up her pants from the bottom, she spots a visible bruise on her shin.

".. Oh," She says, like its discovery surprises her. "I guess there's that.. B-But that's not so bad."
comefadeaway: (Hopeful)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-02-12 03:02 am (UTC)(link)
"That's good...oh." Yoite looked at her leg with a bit of a frown. "I'm...not sure that's the kind of thing I can heal. I can try if you want, but it might be...a bit strange."

Yoite hadn't had a lot of experience doing things like that on purpose.

"Do you need help getting up?" He offered his hand to her maybe.
happyends: (so it's now or never more)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-12 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
"N-No, it's okay! It'll go away on its own after a while.." And it certainly wouldn't be the first bruise Madoka has ever gotten on the train, so she doesn't mind it too terribly.

But the offer of help to get up? Now that she'll grab onto - literally, since she's grabbing Yoite's hand so he can help her up. Thankfully Madoka is very light, so she's back on her feet in no time.

"It's sweet of you to offer though, Yoite-san. Thank you for looking out for the people around you.."
comefadeaway: (Smile)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-02-14 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Yoite offered a smile, holding her hands as she got up.

"I...you're my friend. I want you to be safe." That was his best excuse for that.
happyends: (i want to see you smile with power)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-14 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Madoka hums, smiling at him despite still feeling kind of sore. She imagines it'll quickly get better though, now she's actually standing.

"Exactly, that's the sweet thing..! Keeping your friends safe is a very admirable quality, you know..!"

You're not escaping this compliments train, Yoite.
comefadeaway: (Hopeful)

[personal profile] comefadeaway 2021-02-19 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
"I...If you're sure..." Yoite blushed a little bit.

"I'll continue to protect you, no problem." He told her, because he meant that, at least as much as he could. It would be much easier if they ever faced an organic foe.