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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Rumors mostly," Leia said. "The general public doesn't seem to have much solid information; the local authorities appear to be trying to keep things quiet to prevent a panic, but it's almost having the opposite effect. The only solid information is that there have been six confirmed deaths thus far, all apparently from animal attacks. What makes them so mysterious- aside from the fact that that animals large enough to be the culprit shouldn't exist on this planet any longer- is that all six deaths occurred inside people's homes, with the doors locked and security systems in place."

"Everything else is just hearsay, but it all falls along the same lines. A man who crashed his hovercar claimed to be attacked by large predatory bird, a woman claiming she saw a huge feline stalking the streets, and other similar stories. The stories fit, but there's no way to know how much of them is fact and how much is just fear playing tricks on people's minds."

"No one ever manages to suppress information enough for that to work." And yet authorities try. Every time. ANd the rumours swirl and the fear rises and it's hard to sort the signal from the noise.

"So people are seeing them out and about, but the only confirmed deaths are in more secure locations." She's not sure what to do with that information. But there might be something to it.

"True," Leia said. "But that doesn't stop them from trying anyway." Controlling the narrative was much more viable than just suppressing it, but given the state of the city and the planet, her opinion of the intelligence of those in charge was very low.

She nodded. "It's probably best to try and investigate the sites of the murders if we can manage it, see what evidence if we can find. Local law enforcement has them cordoned off, but we shouldn't have too much trouble talking our way past them if we play our cards right. They're as frightened as everyone else is."

"The real question will be the best thing to do with the information." THe people deserve to know the truth, but there are a lot of different ways to achieve it.

"If I can't talk my way past a few guards I don't know what I've been doing for the past ten years." Rebellion involves a certain set of skills. And as useful as Kanan's talents are, it's usually better to be subtle.

"Well the most immediate thing will be to put it to use finding the cause of the problems here and putting a stop to them," Leia said. "But after that we'll definitely have to explore our options." What information came to light might affect how much they could reveal to the people here without causing them further problems, so exploring those options would have to wait until they learned more.

She smiled slightly though at Hera's next remark. "For me, it's been a little while since I've had to bring those particular skills to bare-", being considered something of a living legend generally negated the need to talk one's way past guards, after all, "-but I haven't forgotten how." And if all else failed, there was the mind trick.

"Should be easier without anyone knowing who we are here." She knows there are bounties out on her in her time. ANd Leia, well, she's a public figure. Either one complicates dealing with guards and makes it harder to pass oneself off as an employee who should definitely be here and has unfortunately misplaced their identification.

"We can come up with a plan once we have a better idea of what we're up against." Bits of rumours and gossip were a start but not useful for tactics.

Leia nodded. She'd had some quite sizable bounties on her own head after the destruction of the first Death Star, and while being a recognizable public figure had helped in some ways, it rarely did there.

"The scene of the nearest murder shouldn't be too far from here, if what I heard is correct," she said. "Once we're past the guards is when the real work will start; we're not familiar with everything that would and wouldn't be out of place in a home on this tier, so just about anything could potentially provide a clue." Some things would be more reliable sources of such than others, of course, but still...

"And the people who would know haven't made much progress." Or they wouldn't be here. They had to work with what they were "We'll manage somehow. When have we ever had all the information we could use?"

It's not a complaint, it's just the reality of her life. Work to change it, but realize what it is. They're getting closer to the crime scene and the ability to at least see what they're dealing with.

"Not often," Leia admitted. "And even when we have everything we think we need, the unexpected can always crop up." Like, say, an entire major operation turning out to be a trap.

As the approached, they could see that the building was surrounded by glowing caution tape, save for one space left as an entrance near the front door. A guard sat there at a small table, looking at once nervous and bored. Leia was willing to bet that the caution tape or the posts it was attached to had some sort of sensors in them as well, given that one guard at the entrance had been deemed sufficient. Certainly not enough to stop anyone truly determined to get in, but enough to dissuade curious passers by, and likely most who might think to take the opportunity to burglarize the now vacant building as well.

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