middleofsomewhere | Crashing Down: Start

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Crashing Down: Start

As the Voidtreckers are going through their morning routines on the 24th Quicksand, there comes a train announcement over the comms. When it ends, their SCAs glow and bring up a holographic screen as is common before a mission. There's a few hours to prepare before a new announcement:

Shortly arriving at system #78961112094711. Leaving the void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

The train shakes as it leaves the void. As explained by the mission brief, those who are not wearing their SCA will not be able to physically leave the train.

But for those that do, they will find their SCA lights up with their stopwatch. Counting down from five hous.

CRASHING DOWN: START

QUICKSAND 24 ~ TEAM OBJECTIVES ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ OTHER DETAILS
ASK QUESTIONS ~ SHENANIGANS ~ TEAM PLOTTING ~ MISSION TASKS/REWARDS

HOUR ONE

The Voidtrecker Express lands them within a voidcraft multistorey, the same one as when they came to holiday at the Irue Grotto. As soon as it does, their SCAs vibrate and bring up a message, audio and transcript (including brialle) become available from a Ministry worker: the tethering station is on the first floor, and there will be people and gear waiting for them, depending on what jobs they're taking up.

Evacuation plans have already begun, and everything is going to get hectic, fast. Voidtreckers will have no end of work available.

1. PROCESSING. For the more tech-minded, plenty of help is needed. Containers of SCAs in storage need to be scanned and made sure they're not faulty before they're loaded up and sent off to communities outside the Irue Grotto. It's a simple if tedious process, but necessary. There's also helping to process people, getting visitors to the planet back to their voidcrafts, so they can leave and make room for more voidcrafts to station.

People can help civilians through the health scanners, or help manage the cyro-pods that they'll be placed into, Setting up the pods isn't too difficult, it just requires hands and the ability to follow an instruction manual. The void scientists happily give this task to any voidtreckers availible to help so that they can get on with the tasks that require more know-how. ( ORANGE1 )

2. GATHERING. The Ministry also need help with bringing in people. Hover trams will help take officials - including Voidtreckers - into the Irue Grotto, to pick up people at farther parts of the city, and who can't walk to the tethering station. Directing people is necessary, as well as making sure that people have caught the message of the evacuation in the earliest hours; but also those less keen, not taking the call seriously will need to be persuaded.

People are also needed to begin going to further out communities. There are emergency broadcasts throughout the planet but the ministry and the local governing groups are aware that not everyone is going to have heard them. The ministry scramble to give the voidtreckers official passes, to help give credibility to their announcement of evacuation. ( PURPLE 1, BLUE 1 )

3. JOIN THE QUEUE. Help will be needed to help keep some semblance of order, to create a flow to keep everything running. Out in the streets, or even in the tethering station, people will become more panicked if they think they've missed their ride, if they have to wait for too long. It's not yet violent, but people with presence will be useful for helping keep everyone sensible. ( RED 1 )

HOURS TWO AND THREE

The work continues to bring people from their lives to the tethering stations, now packed by anxious individuals. There's aid needed for people outside the Irue Grotto, a call for drivers and more volunteers to stay back and help with tethering processing to get people onto the liminal stations. Panic rises with the tension, and there's also signs of disbelief for what's apparently going on.

The Ministry are handing out SCAs to be taken to those who can't come to the stations, to help with the tethering process. With quick training, people can tether themselves, and arrive at the liminal stations awaiting them.

1. ALL ABOARD. Even in the most busy of void hubs, the tethering and platform systems are not designed for an entire planet to arrive all at once. Those volunteering can access the void by a device at the tethering station. The ministry workers explain that it won't disrupt their own tethers, and they will be able to freely walk through the barrier back to the ministry building. The platform is larger than any voidtreckers have seen in their time in the void, closer to the transport station. There are rows of train tracks, but also docked air craft, space craft, there's even a port with voidcraft that look like traditional ships that would sail through water, if there were any water in the void.

All those tethered have tickets and so should know where they are going, but volunteers have been given tablets with an ever growing database to match passengers up to their voidcrafts. From there, it's a case of helping direct people, carrying luggage, and hurrying children along.

For those who would rather not be around panicked people, there's plenty of work loading animals, be they pets or animals from the zoo, who have their own dedicated voidcraft. ( ORANGE2 )

2. THE IRUE ZOO. Outside the Irue Grotto the planet is pretty rural. Not far from the city is The Irue Zoo, a clutter of domed conservatories customised to house creatures from across the system's planets: avians, reptiles, creatures that don't match anything Voidtreckers know. The zookeepers have already had collars delivered- devices similar to SCAs but for use on animals. They do however need help getting them on the creatures. For any tiny animals, there are chip guns - but, you'll need good aim.

Using drones, those piloting them can also help to make sure an area has been cleared and no one left behind, without the person piloting even being physically present. ( PURPLE 2, BLUE 3, ORANGE 3 )

2. OSIGA VILLAGES. In the villages, there are families who just don't have easy access to reach the Irue Grotto: not everyone has a vehicle. Some eagerly climb into the Ministry ride that Voidtreckers take to reach their communities, while others will need help to go to them instead. They might have family members who can't make the trip, others are more worried about their pets or farm creatures, for those lucky to have indoor farms. Luckily the SCA packs that voidtreckers were given also contain the animal tethering collars- the ministry had factored that into their evacuation plans.

More of a challenge are those who refuse to leave the lives they made, who've barricaded and are making it difficult to be helped. They might not trust the ministry. They might not believe that the threat is real. Or they might resist the idea that this threat cannot be fought, after all they are Osigan, not a weak people at all. ( ORANGE 3, RED2, PURPLE2, BLUE3 )

HOURS FOUR AND FIVE

As their countdown clocks tick to two hours remaining there is a message from Anan. The main bulk of people have been processed by now, freeing up those helping in the grotto to move out to further flung communities. Almost all efforts are now on the portable tethering kits, voidtreckers encouraged to travel by speeder to get to as many places as possible.

1. OFF WORLD. Anan waits at the main transport hub next to a space ship. It's not particularly large, clearly made for short inter planet journeys rather than long durations in space. She looks understandably worried, Chiff sat like a hat on her head, but she welcomes people on board for half an hour before they leave.

They're headed to a space station, getting there not for the faint hearted as it's situated in an asteroid field. Luckily, Anan can pilot her way through safely. The station is mostly occupied by elderly people and small children, suspicious people, a couple even tangry at Anan for leading strangers to their door. She takes their ire with humility but is quick to get down to business.

Here like on Osiga people have varying reactions to the news. The children are frightened but generally tough souls. Some of them know Anan and Chiff already and that helps with coaxing them. ( RED 2-3, BLUE 3, PURPLE 2-3 )

2. ON PLANET. The easily convinced have been evacuated by now, which leaves those who are, for variety of reasons, more difficult. Some are the furthest away from the Grotto, the travel time longer. Here, there is often unrest. There's been a couple of hours for people to work themselves into a state of panic. Even those ready and prepared to be evacuated are frustrated.

As they travel they might even find bands of people moving towards the grotto, angry and assuming they have been forgotten, abandoned. They can be calmed, especially when they learn that the voidtreckers have tethering kits and are here to help. But it will take some loud voices and calm personalities to break through that fear and anger. ( BLUE 2, PURPLE 3 )

3. THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE. But what of those who are adament they will not leave? The refusers are not one homogeneous group. Some refuse to believe what is happening. World eaters? Whose heard of them? Who are these strange people who are trying to empty their world? They never did trust the ministry, setting up in Irue like that...

Others truly believe that leaving their home to an otherworldly threat is an act of cowardice. Surely they should stay and fight. Stand against this threat and drive it back. They have weapons, surely if everyone just made a stand they could stop what was about to happen.

Others just can't bare to leave their homes. They are old and would rather face their fate in the comfort they know rather than leave to go to the void- they might know of it but that doesn't mean they trust it. Others are very aware of what this means, they survive but their bodies do not.

Some can be convinced, others are more stubborn. It may be best to focus on those who do want to leave, but there is no easy answer. ( RED 2-3, BLUE 3, ORANGE 3, PURPLE 2-3 )

All the time the skies are calm and clear, no sign of the approaching danger present. In some ways, this makes it harder; te only indication they have is their SCA clocks counting down. Hours turning to minutes, counting down to catastrophe.

OOC NOTES

OOC Post ~ Questions ~ Shenanigans ~ Tasks Check-In & Rewards
This event will last for 1 IC day, and OOCly runs from 16th to 22nd, with a conclusion going up on the 23rd.

CHARACTER AID: Lan Jingyi will be offering transport over distance, Lea can create keyblade portals to move people; Thanatos and Tidus will have functioning transgates to allow movement between where they are and back at the tethering station. Elidibus will also eventually be creating portals and force-teleports.

Art Credit: Header

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There's a lot. The people, figuring how to be useful; Tidus doesn't find himself any more knowing or in control of the situation as the citizens of this world themselves. Only he's a guy trying to help than escape, attempting to convince those older than him to listen to his word, his direction.

(So far, his word has been to get them towards the hover buses to get to the stations, so it's not that big of an issue.)

At the stations, he's not sure of being heard, or that it's even necessary that he is as the people swamp in direction, waiting for an opportunity to keep moving. As if they didn't already feel like a swamped pond, more fish than water.

But Taiki is here, not alone, and Tidus goes quiet, listening. Catching Inigo in a glance of his own, answering the redirected question with a pulled brow, mouth too.

He steps closer to Taiki and the child, putting a hand on his shoulder, rubbing the arm.

"Hey, what's your name? We'll ask your parents to come to you."

He's glad to see them. He knew they were around but is glad that it is them he has ran into. Being close to his friends calms him and that calm can only help the child in his arms. A child who already seems to be calming from kirin hugs.

The child blinked. "Flax." Green eyes blinked up at Tidus. "Flax son of Aera."

Taiki looked over at them. "I doubt they've gone far, they are probably looking for him."

.. Flax. Aera.

They're not names Inigo has heard yet, he thinks. But then again, there are so many people they have to evacuate here, it's entirely impossible to pick up on everyone's names, let alone most names in the first place.

It's the reason Inigo frowns as he thinks about all of this. About how to fix it. They have to get this kid back to their parents, surely they're worried about their child as well..

"I think it might be hard for people to hear us here, even if we call out." There's so many people, after all, and so much bustle that it'd be hard for even a particularly loud voice to be audible over all of it.

He glances at the other two, trying to figure this out. "Should we just see if we can spot anyone who looks like they're looking for someone?"

This is so the time Tidus wants a megaphone. Did this place have him? Tidus looks around for somewhere for the pair to go and wait, when he sees--

oh!

"Wait over here!" Tidus waves for Taiki to follow him, already turning and heading in the direction of where rows of seats are drowned out by people already sitting, waiting their turn. He's quick on his feet, weaving around the groups of bodies standing but he's also searching for a spot. One seat, just one...!

The pair (trio) might see him hurriedly speaking to a sitting man, to no apparent success, before moving along until he gets to a young kid and their parent, who puts an arm in front of the child. Tidus's hands are gesturing in explanation, and he looks over to find Taiki and Inigo, motions for him to come over.

And Inigo, probably. Sorry bro, he got one of his ideas!! Which involves a kid scooting over to sit on his mother's knee.

"--We just need this kid's parents to see them- hey! Taiki! Lemme stand with them on the chair! I can hold them up!"

(Like Simba!!)

It would be difficult to be heard over this crowd. Taiki isn't loud enough and he doubts even Tidus is, for all he is probably the loudest out of the three of them. He glanced at Inigo again before following Tidus, keeping his grip tight on Flax.

Flax for his part was quiet and wide eyed, seeming to trust that these adults had things under control.

Taiki watched as Tidus convinced the woman and child to make space and then nodded waiting until Tidus had climbed up first.

"Here Flax, Tidus is going to hold you high, tell us if you see your parents."

Honestly, considering it's Tidus? They probably should have expected a plan this wild. Stuff like this always happens when that guy is around.

But Inigo isn't going to complain this time around. Partially since their time is so limited, but also just because he doesn't have a better plan than this. He's not sure if this one is going to work either, but at least it's better than absolutely nothing, especially when the life and comfort of a kid is involved.

So when he moves over to where Tidus is, he stares as the two of them start dealing with the child to try and get him up there with Tidus.

"Are you sure you can hold him?"

Bro!! BRO, DON'T DROP THE CHILD. Please!

Tidus holds out his hands to take the kid, luckily light enough that Tidus can start to lift him even above his head - even while Inigo is voicing his exact worries.

"Hold onto my head, okay! Sit on my shoulders!" --But Tidus isn't going to Simba this child, thank goodness, the height from his shoulders hopefully plenty to do what he wants. He keeps a hold of the kid with a hand at his side, and then waves at the other two.

"Find his parents! Just shout his name a lot 'til you find someone! We'll be fine!"

Don't worry!! Tidus looks to each of them, giving them a nod, urging them: "Do your best!"

Tidus might have the loudest voice, but they would need to make up for him becoming a child beacon.

Taiki is also worried about Tidus dropping the child but they seem to be fine, with Flax sitting on his shoulders and clinging to his head fiercely. Taiki nodded and glanced at Inigo and then the crowd.

"Aera? Is there an Aera here?"

He's not the loudest but he's trying, moving between groups.

Inigo eyes Tidus for a moment, and then Taiki.. Sure, he gets that Taiki couldn't be the one to stand up there since he'd probably get tired real quick holding that child, but letting a soft-spoken kirin be the one to have to move through the crowd compared to loudmouth Tidus is still..

.. well, it's A Choice, that's for sure. A choice Inigo doesn't have long to judge though, since he's already turning back to hurry up and look for the kid's parents. Maybe not in the most polite way, since he's quickly hitting people up and then moving on when they show no signs of recognition, but.. you know. Not much time for politeness, right here at the literal end of the world.

It seems like he's not having much luck so far though, since he ends up back at Tidus's side before Taiki is even back there, frowning as he looks at the blonde and the kid.

"I'm not sure if they're very near to here. Unless Taiki's found them already."

When the pair leave, Tidus tells the kid to keep an eye out for their parents, call if they want, they need to be as seen as they can. It's not an easy search and find though, by when Inigo returns empty-handed.

"Where else can they be? Do we ask someone if they sent through some Aeras over already?"

If they're on the void platform now, or whatever it is people are showing up on - but Tidus really doesn't want it to be that the parents are tethered already, while they have their kid!

"I can't imagine they'll have gone into the void without him..."

He doesn't sound too certain though. He would like to think that no parent would abandon a child in a time like this, but he knows it is not true. He knows there are parents who might use this chaos to conveniently loose a child.

"But we can ask... Someone with the lists."

Inigo is right about to pipe up with the same thing when he suddenly realises that Taiki came back too, saying that sentence as if he's pulling the statement right from Inigo's own mind. Granted, he knows that not every parent out there is spectacular, but.. in a situation like this, surely anyone would want to make sure that their child properly went along with them, rather than staying behind in a world that's about to die.

"No way, maybe they're just further into the crowd."

.. but then again, it's not like they have forever to search this entire place to see if his parents are here somewhere.. Inigo tries to think really hard, glancing up to where Tidus is still holding the kid.

"Do you know where you saw your parents last?"

He figures he'll probably get an unhelpful answer about how it was somewhere around here, but still, he's got to at least try to do something here.

Tidus feels a little bad, openly discussing about this kid's parents leaving them behind while they go off towards safety. He hopes the little pal on his shoulders isn't thinking about it too hard, and after Inigo's question, he lifts his gaze to the kid he can't really see.

"Yeah, whereabouts did you lose them? Can you tell from here?"

"I don't know." The child had began crying again, clinging to Tidus as he looked around. There are so many people and ma said to hold her hand but then...

Taiki looked around sadly. "Maybe one of the ministry have a way to get a message out..."

Inigo pulls a hand through his hair, thinking.

"Alright. I'll go ask."

It's not like it ought to be hard to find one. If anything, it'll be harder to move through the crowd to get to one.

"You guys wait here together for a moment - just so we won't lose each other as well." And so the poor kid has some company. "If you guys hear an announcement in a few moments, then you'll know it worked."

It's at least worth a try.

"It's okay," Tidus reassures the child above him, on him, eyes looking upward while he rubs their side for comfort. Briefly looking back to Inigo. "--Okay. Thanks."

He tells the kid above, "See? Inigo's on the job. Just keep looking for them! They won't leave without you. Just keep an eye out for them, okay? They need you to look too!"

It's probably pointless, but hopefully it gives the kid a distraction, something to focus on. Ganbatte, Inigo...!!

"Can you remember what they were wearing?" He asked the child after giving Inigo a grateful smile. Hopefully he would get an announcement out soon.

The little boy pressed his face into Tidus' shoulder, thinking. Before finally nodding.

"Clothes..."

"What colour?" Tidus asks reassuringly. Using as light of a tone he can, while still being heard.

"Think about your mum and pop's hair too. Is it like yours? We've got to look out for their heads!"

"Yes. Like mine and um their clothes were blue. Or red. Um Blue. A blue coat. My mum was wearing her blue coat."

He looked around the crowd. "And my dad was wearing a hat. It's his favourite."

"A hat and coat! Okay, that's good! Let's look real hard - and call as much as you can! It's okay, we'll look as long as we need to, 'til we find them!"

This sea of people growing by the sea be damned. He doesn't let impossibility into his voice, only making the task ahead of them sound like the one they need.

And even start to call a few times: "Momma Aera! Aeera! Flax is here! Flax of Aera!"

A blue coat and a man with a hat. Taiki nodded, shooting a glance at Tidus before darting into the crowd once more, looking again for anyone who fit the child's description.

"Aera? Is there anyone called Aera?"

His voice was quiet, not the call of Tidus but he made sure to ask anyone in a blue coat.

Hopefully Inigo's attempts at making an announcement would work soon.

It takes a few moments for Inigo to get to the crowd, let alone find a member of the ministry who isn't too busy trying to help process people that they don't even have a moment to exchange some words - but once he does, it doesn't take too long before there actually be a sudden announcement going out.

How? In what way? Who knows, I'm literally the only person in this thread who doesn't write for the ministry! So just imagine whatever they method they might have in your head. Yes. That's it. That's the method that's being used right now to call out Flax's name and for his parents to come see the nearest ministry member.

Inigo himself still hasn't returned to either of the other two's sides - or maybe it'll be easier for them to make it to him and the ministry worker and meet up there, just in case the parents do turn up that way. Either way, he's definitely not back yet with how hard it can be to get through the crowds here.

But at least the announcement is here. We're getting somewhere!!

Some strange technology that can make the same voice call out loudly across different portions of a building? No idea what one of those are called.

The chaotic noise of the civilians come close to drowning out the sound of the announcement, but Tidus manages to hear it, a small sound of relief escaping him. He's just enough smarts to figure they shouldn't hang around, or be standing on chairs. Let's fix that, maybe.

"Taiki!" Tidus shuffles on the seat, getting closer to the edge and looking at the guy, nodding his head in signal to give him room. Once he does, he'll hop off from the chair, Flax still safely on his shoulders. There's still a sea of bodies around them, but nevertheless-

"Let's go!"

He draws close to them when Tidus calls his name. They will stick together and get Flax back to his parents.

He is small and not very heavy but he does his best to carve a path through the crowd.

Inigo, in turn, is doing his best to keep an eye out for the other two - even if it isn't easy. This is one of those moments where the clear downsides of being slightly on the short side for a guy truly stand out, considering it renders him entirely unable to look out over the masses to see if Taiki, Tidus and the kids are approaching him by now or not.

He figures he just has to do the right thing and wait at the spot the parents would be guided to, and that's where he can see the other two - if not just mostly first Flax, since he is sticking out from the crowd due to the way Tidus has decided to carry the boy - approaching after a few moments.

He raises his hand, waving it and hoping the other two will realise it's him here.

"Taiki, Tidus, over here..! His parents should be here any moment now!" Once the others are close enough to him that he doesn't have to yell over the crowd to be audible, he adds: "The Ministry people said that his parents haven't been processed yet, so they ought to still be around here somewhere."

Rather than accidentally having left the boy behind by himself. That would've been awful.

Crashing Down: Start

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i'm an amazing writer, i know, thanks

writing is our passhun

indeed

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