voidtreckermods: (train)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2021-05-09 06:48 am

What their Eyes See: Start

"Good Morning Voidtreckers, today is day five of the month of Llama." 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.

Preperation and Arrival

As usual they have a couple of hours before arrival to ready themselves for the mission ahead. As promised the dressing carriage is open for them to find suitable clothing. Trench coats, a lot of leather, a lot of black with neon colours thrown in here and there. There is a lot of choice in a variety of sizes so everyone is bound to find something to fit. Hopefully something they like, though some passengers may be more comfortable with the fashion choices than others.

A couple of hours after the announcement of the mission the voice speaks again. "Shortly arriving in system #93426194992. Arriving in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." The train shakes as it leaves the void, colours fading to be replaced to a grey thick smog outside the windows.

The train bumps slightly as it hits rails, snaking its way towards the city before entering a tunnel. A few moments and they come to a stop, the doors open onto a platform. Stepping out into the station the first thing to hit them is noise, it sounds like there are ten different advertisements blaring, someone or something is playing loud music. There's a lot of flashing signs, screens with advertisements, bright lights that change colour for no real apparant reason. Heavy on the senses as they make their way to the gates.

They will find that their SCAs allow them through the barriers and into the wider train station, which is somehow even louder. It is busy as well, people hurrying from place to place. There are signs declaring this to be Tier Three, Home of Manufacturing. as well as signs pointing the way to lifts, to take them to other tiers.

Tier One

Mapping

For those travelling up to tier one the first thing they will notice when they leave the lift is, it is a lot quieter up here. Peaceful even, there are people around, all looking official and busy. None will pay the Voidtreckers any mind unless they are acting particularly suspicious.

The air feels better here, probably because the whole tier is encased with a dome that they will be able to see as they enter, coming from a lift near the edge of the tier. The buildings are all harsh dark metal, almost uniform in design. The streets are clean and there has been an attempt at greenery with some shrubs and simple plants.

The buildings all need to be accessed using their SCA's. Their SCA maps show them where the buildings are but give no information about them, nor do they have maps of inside. Once the voidtreckers enter they will find that their maps fill in as they explore.

There are plenty of different buildings, offices, labs and meeting rooms. There are also a lot of security staff and anyone acting too suspiciously will be approached and questioned. Hopefully they have a plan, blend in or sneak around.

Flickers

Sometimes though that is a little harder, they might enter a room to find themselves on their old street, in a world they have visited before on the train or somewhere else that is decidedly not here. These illusions get more common as time goes on and people will begin seeing the illusions of others or find the two scenes merging together.

Voidtreckers who are immune to illusions will not see these strange visions and those who are particularly strong willed will be able to fight them off. Once people know they are illusions they can focus through them to see reality even if it is overlaid with what their minds want to see. It will take a lot of concentration to stay focused and get an accurate map.

Tier Two

A Mystery

The lift here brings them out into a glass covered corridor. Outside the glass the air is thick with smog but the filtration systems means that the air seems fine inside, especially with their SCA's helping out. Outside the tunnels they will be able to see the lights of hovercars zipping around and the silhouettes of buildings. Office blocks and large houses make up this sector. Large billboards blare out advertisements at all hours, neon lights shining through the smog.

The atmosphere of the sector is one of fear, people hurry about their business, keeping an wary eye on their surroundings. The newcomers won't get too much scrutiny but people are likely to be very wary if approached or questioned.

But they will talk once they guage them to not be a threat. Murders. Six people dead, from inside their own houses. Locked doors, security systems, all for nothing. Is it a serial killer? But the reports suggested an animal attack? From what animals?

Getting access to the houses will take some negotiating or breaking and entering. The bodies themselves have been cleared by law enforcement, caution tape still up to keep out any nosy public.

The rooms the bodies were found in were all rooms that used holograms as decoration and the voidtreckers will realise when they enter them that these holograms seem a lot more realistic than some of the others they might have seen in their stay in the sector so far.

Creatures

As they talk to people, or overhear gossip they will hear more about animal attacks. Someone swears they saw a lion prowling the streets. A hovercar crashed and the driver swore they had been attacked by an eagle. Neither of those creatures live in the city. Neither of those creatures exist on this world anymore.

But the Voidtreckers will quickly learn there is something to these rumours, especially as dark falls, the feeling they are being hunted. A paw tread, a tail disappearing around a corner. As days go on they may get attacked by a bear, a tiger or perhaps a creature from their own world, one that should not exist here at all...

Tier Three

A Crisis

Leaving the station brings them into crowded streets, air thick with smog, Up above them is the floor of the plate above, set with bright lights to offset the lack of natural light getting through. Billboards and screens blare advertisements, traders yell their wares. Life is fast and swirls around them as they step out into the streets.

Here also there is an air of worry. The talk is all of Spectura, kids unconcious after playing video games, hospital overflowing. Spectura's fault, there are calls for accountability, claims of sabotage. No person gives the same story and it becomes clear that most people don't know what has happened but almost everyone knows someone who has been affected. Fear, blame, tensions are high.

But life must go on, the factories never stop, people can't not work and with so many people unconscious people have to pick up the slack. The whole sector feels at breaking point.

If they try and buy Spectura systems they will not be stopped though they will need to sign a waiver, to take on all responsibility for what might happen to them if they go into the system.

Spectura


There are a whole range of games to look through, though the two most popular ones where the majority of players can be found are an open-world farming MMO called AgriTopia VI Ultimate, with bright landscapes and calming diegetic music, and Aegis Force, a tournament team shooter with short battle scenarios and smaller maps.

Those entering the system will fall unconscious in the real world and as they enter the problem will be pretty obvious straight away. Red vines, covering everything, tangling trees, creeping up buildings, coming straight for them to attack.

Anyone who gets overwhelmed by them will be stuck, unable to move or progress. It is possible to fight them off and for those voidtreckers who have faced the vines before they will find their soothing powers will work here as well.

People are tangled throughout many different games and once they are freed will need some help to find the next save point or exit. They need to help plant the final hundred potatoes, or team up to take down the level boss or solve the next puzzle, keep the vines away and free as many people as they can.

Tier Four

A Way In

As they leave the lifts they will find this tier is dark, dim lighting barely penetrating the smog. Homes are makeshift and all on top of each other. The streets are crowded, loud and people don't stop to chat. It is incredibly claustrophobic, with large support columns, exposed wires and large pipes running alongside and over the 'roads'.

Here there are plenty of stores selling anything and everything, certainly not above board. Credits are sometimes accepted but more often store keepers will prefer to trade in barters, food is popular. Anything that isn't nutri slime or the even worse unbranded basic version.

Bars and other seedy establishments are open all hours, neon signs beckoning. It is here that they will find the entry points to the fighting rings.

People don't talk about it openly but you look big enough, mean enough or dramatic enough then it will be slipped into conversation. Have you heard? Winners get a dream come true.

The fights are a mix of one on one and group fights. All terms are negotiated before hand with an overseer and fights are to the yield. The crowd wants a show and so dramatics are encouraged.

What was that?

The rumours about people going berserk are spoken in whispers. No one really knows what has gone on. A few fights have gotten out of control, a couple of fighters broke down after fights, at least one has quit for good. Most spoken about is The Crimson Fist. The best fighter in the ring who two days prior just left. Left the city with no protective gear, no word to anyone. No one knows what happened to them.

As the voidtreckers get further into their fights they will begin to realise something strange is going on. That opponent you are facing? They now look like your worst enemy, or perhaps your best friend, your lover. Sometimes you're no longer in the city but in a place of fond memories or your worst nightmares. Fights can very quickly go south when your opponent believes you their greatest foe.

Advancing the ranks now seems like it might be more difficult than first it appeared.
blitzcheer: (sorrrRRRrrrrYyyyyyy)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-09 12:19 pm (UTC)(link)
That's efficient, far more than Tidus is used to, though he can see the strain in her smile that's, to him, a contradiction. She sounds more ready than he ever does. Or, well, more professional about it.

"Uh, we got most of that, but-" Tidus is twisting as he says it, to the suitcase that shows weaponry. "A blaster's a kinda gun, right? 'Cause these-" he taps the rifle sat upright, then uses the same hand to point downward at the pistol, "--are the only ones we have. And if you need ammo after the first bunch, you'll need to find someone with one of these."

He lifts his wrist, a gold band around his wrist, opposite his SCA.

"Roland's got one, and I've got one too, if you're going with Purple. I can fill you back up. But-" he shakes his head, rather a swift gesture to either suitcase. "Everything else, I can give you."
forceshadowed: (⚜️ 26)

[personal profile] forceshadowed 2021-05-10 09:02 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, a gun. Sorry." She eyes the rifle and the pistol, quietly taking in the fact that ammunition would be limited for those... but she really won't have to use it unless necessary, and backed by the Force she's an efficient shot.

"I'll save it for emergencies," she decides, opting for the pistol. "Thanks."

She bounces on her heels a little as she waits. "So, uh... I had a dream yesterday, and someone told me it's normal before a mission for those who have some... precognitive sense." Not a good dream, clearly, if she's weirdly anxious.
Edited (got myself a little mixed up with the dates) 2021-05-10 09:35 (UTC)
blitzcheer: (hand onnnn HIP!!!!)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-10 09:47 am (UTC)(link)
Taking the pistol first into his hand with the band around his wrist, he makes it disappear from sight, and then reappear, handing it over after that. Then he takes one of the few small bags available to start putting in a selection of the potions into. But Jane speaks, and he looks up, a small vial of green liquid held.

"Oh yeah?" A pause, and he nods. "Yeah, a few people get those. What did you see?" So he asks, but then his brow dips, something unsure in the look even as he guesses: "Somethin' real bad?"

He doesn't sound surprised.
forceshadowed: (⚔️ 05)

[personal profile] forceshadowed 2021-05-23 10:15 am (UTC)(link)
She's not actually surprised that others get them, given how she's sensing so much Force-sensitivity on the train. But the timing is oddly precise. Right before a mission, really? She's reminded of something else by that, though she files the information away in the meantime.

"I was in a dimly lit corridor, and it felt like I was being hunted." She blows out a breath. "I've been in the same situation before." And it was an extremely traumatizing experience, considering how her brother had died and she'd been... well, captured. To put it lightly.
blitzcheer: (and i can barely breathe)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-23 10:28 am (UTC)(link)
With the way she retells it, his slightly-humoured angle softens, his smile more sympathetic, along with the nod that follows.

"It sounds like it sucks--all these dreams that everyone gets." That much he knows, and it can only help some of the way as he assures: "A lot of them though, the ones I've heard anyway - they're worse than the actual missions. We had one, about...two or three missions ago? The planet started exploding, sounds of screaming- not pretty," he cuts in with, rather regretting the graphic description, though that was the point.

"But none of that happened. There were some meteorites coming, but we dealt with them soon as we got there! We were making plans to find spots to take people to high up, preparing extra food--"

There's a small huff, a chuckle. "--Planet was full of animals. That's it!"
forceshadowed: (⚔️ 21)

[personal profile] forceshadowed 2021-05-24 08:03 am (UTC)(link)
She has to laugh at that. In the end, the planet was full of animals. Not a bad ending. "That's good to know. Thanks, Tidus." She checks the pistol one more time before putting it away and giving the locker room another sweeping look, just in case there's something she's forgotten.

"See out there on the field?"
blitzcheer: (no promises there)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-24 11:08 am (UTC)(link)
"Hey hey, not without your healing first." But it's a teasing reminder, Tidus bending down to pick a few of the different vials up. Slim and easy to hold a few in hand, with names and each a colour on their labelling than just the apparent liquid inside.

"Lemme tell you how they work! But if you need a reminder, don't be afraid to ask me, alright? You're not used to...magic potions, right? Look like a liquid, then turn into kinda glowy stuff?"

Very good with words here.
forceshadowed: (⚜️ 11)

[personal profile] forceshadowed 2021-05-24 11:56 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, right, her healing supplies. She laughs and shakes her head. "Sorry. I'm just nervous, I guess. First mission jitters." Aside from the vision having put her a little on the edge than usual, it is her first mission with people who aren't from the Jedi Order or the Republic or people she knows.

She steps closer, squinting at the vials. "I don't just apply the liquid on the injured area?" Because what's with the glowy stuff part?
blitzcheer: (eyyyyy summoner)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-24 01:38 pm (UTC)(link)
He waves a hand at her apology, notabout to judge her. Different supplies, different way of doing things. First mission jitters too.

"You can do it like that," he answers. "It's good to get it near the wound if you have the time. But if you're messed up everywhere, or someone you're with is? You can drink it or just splash it over them. It goes...everywhere!"

...this is always hard to explain. His brow furrows, a small sheepish sound leaving him, and he leans down, poking at the vials until he grabs one of the ones labelled 'x-potion'. "I'll show you," he offers instead with a glance at her, undoing the lid and then moving out his free hand and arm away from himself.

And trying to give a small 'splash', the liquid comes out over him like a liquid would, but already it's glowing, and from there sparkling, moving past the layers of fabric to disappear beyond inside his body when it won't have anything to heal, but at least refresh his senses.

With her Force, she may be able to sense it too. Except I'm not good at Star Wars so you decide that.

"Basically, if you need to heal someone quick? That's a good way to get to someone." Especially in the middle of the fight. "This one-" he lifts the vial "-and the one called elixir's good for the life-threatening wounds, any heavy bleeding."
forceshadowed: (💠 75)

[personal profile] forceshadowed 2021-05-24 04:38 pm (UTC)(link)
"That's really convenient," she comments, a hint of awe in her voice. They have bacta where she's from, usually in the form of disposable patches, salves and, for worst cases, tanks to fully submerged a critically injured person in. But nothing as simple as what he's just shown her. Even when healing herself with the Force, she has to coax her body into recovery cell by cell. These potions are the real deal; the ease of application aside, she's able to sense that he's been rejuvenated some from his demonstration.

She picks up one of the vials, her expression thoughtful. "And you have a way to manufacture these here in the train, replenish your supplies?"
blitzcheer: (what the f is this)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-24 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"Someone's got plants to make a potion kinda like one we have. I mean, it does the same," which is about as far as the similarities go as far as Tidus is concerned, "which is helping you recover after doing too much magic. And there's Spider who can make potions too. Uhhh, hers is this one." He grabs a green vial, nods to her. "This one just stays wet. Spider does a lot on the train already, so all the rest got bought in. Most of 'em are from my world."

It's a bit fuddled of an explanation, the mission looming not helping Tidus to want to be slow about explaining, but hopefully that explains something. Adding, if it's on her mind:

"If there's anything from your world though, anything that's good, let us know? Or any other cool stuff, really. I can help buy!"
forceshadowed: (💠 73)

[personal profile] forceshadowed 2021-05-25 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, we..." Her world. She's been oriented on the concept of alternate dimensions, but it still catches her off-guard sometimes. "We have something called bacta. Really effective. Mostly manufactured in the planet Thyferra, but we can get them elsewhere in the galaxy." A beat. "My galaxy." Still weird.

"So you're saying the train can go anywhere and we can do some shopping if we need to?" But why had someone told her they couldn't go home?
blitzcheer: (trying not to use same keywords)

[personal profile] blitzcheer 2021-05-25 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
Tidus nods, humming to show that he's listening, but when her question comes does he make a bit of a face.

"Oh, it's more... you seen the shop option on the computers? The train brings everything in when we stop on the platform days. Just, we stop and - it's there, in the luggage car." Bam. Like that. He shrugs. "No idea how. Same way it pulls all of us in, I guess. But if it's rare, what you're ordering? It might not even matter - we get bottles of elixir even though I never saw more than two of them back on my world. But if your stuff's manufactured..."

He smiles. "I bet the medical folks will like it too! Let's see how this mission goes. If you think you know a book or reader title that'll have info on it, that'll be good too. I tried getting one for Spira's potions, but it's uh, pretty old-fashioned."