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middleofsomewhere2022-09-11 11:12 am
voidtreckermods) wrote in middleofsomewhere2022-09-11 11:12 am
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Fighting Headstrong in our Final Hour: IC Preperation
THE FINAL MISSION: PREP
On day 5 of the month of Tribulation - the day after the performances - the Voidtrecker Express makes its return to the void base. The void scientists meet them as always, with those visiting for the first time are welcomed and given information, and offered a tour if they wish it.
Everyone will be informed of a meeting to take place in a couple of hours. Voidtreckers are welcome to skip it and to do their own thing, but attending is stressed - it's important, to both them and the rest of the void.
Once everyone has had time to rest, a call will come through the base leading everyone to the largest of the meeting rooms. It's filled with more than just the Voidtreckers: The ministry, its scientists and those from system #3721010010 are present, as well as Osigans. Far more familiar faces take the front of the meeting, with Lia-Nine, Ten-Nank and Anan joining the head scientist Till, who takes a step forward to address everyone.
She thanks everyone for joining, and recaps the situation:
A couple of weeks ago, the Voidtrecker Express and those on it discovered a tear in the void within a void storm. This tear, and the resulting shapes seen within it, are the disaster wiping out systems from existence - including system #78961112094711 (Osiga's system) and system #1015, which is the system of the Voidtrecker Express.
Many of those present will not have heard of system #1015 because of the voidcraft's previous crew attempting to revert time after the shapes destroyed their homes, despite the many taboos surrounding this practice. This resulted in a paradox as they met with themselves, which utterly erased all existence of system #1015, and even outside knowledge, which led to the Voidtrecker Express on its course to capturing unwilling souls to serve upon it. It's believed that Halo - a person from the planet Enrara of system #1015 - escaped the same fate as many outside of their system at the time by being caught in the void storm at the time, saving them.
Many of those present will not have heard of system #1015 because of the voidcraft's previous crew attempting to revert time after the shapes destroyed their homes, despite the many taboos surrounding this practice. This resulted in a paradox as they met with themselves, which utterly erased all existence of system #1015, and even outside knowledge, which led to the Voidtrecker Express on its course to capturing unwilling souls to serve upon it. It's believed that Halo - a person from the planet Enrara of system #1015 - escaped the same fate as many outside of their system at the time by being caught in the void storm at the time, saving them.
The attempt to revert time in system #1015 created an anomaly that can't be left alone. While not immediately dire, a plan has been made to address the issue of both the tear in the void, and that of system #1015. It will be dangerous, and everyone is free to give their own thoughts and help solidify the plan before the mission starts.
ONE. Dealing with the shapes. Convince the entity known as Chaos to take in the shapes within its sealed space of illusions.
This entity and the Voidtreckers have a history, with Chaos attempting to take control over worlds after losing their own, and being driven insane through exposure to the void. However, this exposure has also made them an incredibly powerful - and dangerous - force, capable of warping reality to the point where life is inhabitable within their illusions. Just, not with their consent.
The Voidtreckers were able to talk them down in the past, and the Ministry have sealed Chaos within their own illusion. It is believed that Chaos's abilities could, if not destroy the shapes currently in the void, then contain them within himself. However, Chaos would need to be convinced, but he does have a history with them after they destroyed his system.
TWO. Close the rift. Seal the rift letting through the shapes so that no more can travel the void.
In the centre of a void storm lies a tear in the void that is allowing the 'shapes' to slip out and decimate the systems that they spill out near to. An inspector voidcraft will be taken into the storm that will protect everyone on board from the effects of the storm, allowing them to focus on the tear. Charges - devices of the ministry - must be set around the tear, the inspectors have allowed the use of their suits and technology for this. More charges will be set where system #1015 used to be. By having those tethered to the Voidtrecker Express do this and establishing links between the two locations, the energy from the experiment taking place in system #1015 can be used to close the rift.
It is best believed the tethers Voidtreckers have with the Voidtrecker Express, a craft from system #1015, will allow the energy to flow from one point to another. It is unknown what or if there will be any side-effects to this.
THREE. Deal with time. Rescue the survivors of the shape attack on system #1015 and Prepare the site of system #1015 to recieve a surge of energy and redirect it to the tear in the void.
This is perhaps the most audacious part of the plan. The Voidtrecker Express will travel to the site of system #1015 and using experimental technology from our scientist allies who were rescued from system #3721010010, will anchor backwards towards the point in time where the decision to break time was made. Those anchoring will try and convince the previous voidtreckers to instead be pulled into the present with them, breaking the time paradox.
The energy discharge from this shaking of reality will be great, and so charges will be set up in the space that was once system #1015 linked to the charges at the site of the rift, and Voidtreckers in both sites will use their entangled tethers to open a connection and redirect the energy.
This entity and the Voidtreckers have a history, with Chaos attempting to take control over worlds after losing their own, and being driven insane through exposure to the void. However, this exposure has also made them an incredibly powerful - and dangerous - force, capable of warping reality to the point where life is inhabitable within their illusions. Just, not with their consent.
The Voidtreckers were able to talk them down in the past, and the Ministry have sealed Chaos within their own illusion. It is believed that Chaos's abilities could, if not destroy the shapes currently in the void, then contain them within himself. However, Chaos would need to be convinced, but he does have a history with them after they destroyed his system.
TWO. Close the rift. Seal the rift letting through the shapes so that no more can travel the void.
In the centre of a void storm lies a tear in the void that is allowing the 'shapes' to slip out and decimate the systems that they spill out near to. An inspector voidcraft will be taken into the storm that will protect everyone on board from the effects of the storm, allowing them to focus on the tear. Charges - devices of the ministry - must be set around the tear, the inspectors have allowed the use of their suits and technology for this. More charges will be set where system #1015 used to be. By having those tethered to the Voidtrecker Express do this and establishing links between the two locations, the energy from the experiment taking place in system #1015 can be used to close the rift.
It is best believed the tethers Voidtreckers have with the Voidtrecker Express, a craft from system #1015, will allow the energy to flow from one point to another. It is unknown what or if there will be any side-effects to this.
THREE. Deal with time. Rescue the survivors of the shape attack on system #1015 and Prepare the site of system #1015 to recieve a surge of energy and redirect it to the tear in the void.
This is perhaps the most audacious part of the plan. The Voidtrecker Express will travel to the site of system #1015 and using experimental technology from our scientist allies who were rescued from system #3721010010, will anchor backwards towards the point in time where the decision to break time was made. Those anchoring will try and convince the previous voidtreckers to instead be pulled into the present with them, breaking the time paradox.
The energy discharge from this shaking of reality will be great, and so charges will be set up in the space that was once system #1015 linked to the charges at the site of the rift, and Voidtreckers in both sites will use their entangled tethers to open a connection and redirect the energy.
As the plan is explained, their SCA's have lit up with the colours of the void that signals a mission brief.
OOC NOTES
Questions.
To help some people who may be confused about references to certain individuals or terms, we've connected a summary below to help! This will be told and so known ICly.
The previous crew: The Voidtrecker Express's previous crew. Most were killed in the attack on system #1015 by the shapes. The survivors broke all the rules in a desperate attempt to bring their friends and their home back and paid a terrible price. More information can be found here
Enrara, Thistea: Sister planets from system #1015, the system the Voidtrecker Express is from.
Halo: A dying void pilot that some voidtreckers found on a mission. She had been caught in a void storm and when it faded she had discovered not only her system gone but every mention and every memory of her and her home vanished. You can read her final message here.
The Inspectors: The inspection arm of the ministry are the protectors of the ministry. A psionic people who share a low level telepathy and the ability to manipulate emotions, they are a worrying force to face. Here is some more information about them.
Chaos, Diagad: Diagad was in system #401837400141. The people of Diagad specifically were known for having powers. The system was destroyed by the shapes and somehow a person- later known as the entity Chaos, survived. But not with their mind intact.
Chaos' main powers are illusions and there was an arc of plot dealing with the Voidtreckers finding systems in the sway of Chaos' imagination. Eventually they ended up on a world created by Chaos- a 4th wall event where people had been pulled onto into a false superhero world. They managed to get everyone stolen back home and sealed Chaos in the system of their making.
Anchoring: Anchoring is a way of moving through the void 'spiritually'. It anchors a person to their craft whilst allowing their mind to move. This was used on Chaos' world to return the 4th wallers home, it was subsequently used during the 'No Place Like Home' event to return everyone safely back to the train.
Tether: The tether is the voidtreckers connection both to the voidcraft and their home worlds. When they talk about 'looping' a tether it is to connect them to another void craft (or the void hub) as an extra level of protection and to allow them to exist in the void whilst not in proximity of the Voidtrecker Express.
PREP PROMPTS: While the plans may differ in some places, there will be preparation before the mission for the equipment and environments used. Here is a list of exercises that will be gone through, and for which task. Feel free to use them to play with below, or just to know how your character would have prepared for the mission!
To help some people who may be confused about references to certain individuals or terms, we've connected a summary below to help! This will be told and so known ICly.
Click here!
The previous crew: The Voidtrecker Express's previous crew. Most were killed in the attack on system #1015 by the shapes. The survivors broke all the rules in a desperate attempt to bring their friends and their home back and paid a terrible price. More information can be found here
Enrara, Thistea: Sister planets from system #1015, the system the Voidtrecker Express is from.
Halo: A dying void pilot that some voidtreckers found on a mission. She had been caught in a void storm and when it faded she had discovered not only her system gone but every mention and every memory of her and her home vanished. You can read her final message here.
The Inspectors: The inspection arm of the ministry are the protectors of the ministry. A psionic people who share a low level telepathy and the ability to manipulate emotions, they are a worrying force to face. Here is some more information about them.
Chaos, Diagad: Diagad was in system #401837400141. The people of Diagad specifically were known for having powers. The system was destroyed by the shapes and somehow a person- later known as the entity Chaos, survived. But not with their mind intact.
Chaos' main powers are illusions and there was an arc of plot dealing with the Voidtreckers finding systems in the sway of Chaos' imagination. Eventually they ended up on a world created by Chaos- a 4th wall event where people had been pulled onto into a false superhero world. They managed to get everyone stolen back home and sealed Chaos in the system of their making.
Anchoring: Anchoring is a way of moving through the void 'spiritually'. It anchors a person to their craft whilst allowing their mind to move. This was used on Chaos' world to return the 4th wallers home, it was subsequently used during the 'No Place Like Home' event to return everyone safely back to the train.
Tether: The tether is the voidtreckers connection both to the voidcraft and their home worlds. When they talk about 'looping' a tether it is to connect them to another void craft (or the void hub) as an extra level of protection and to allow them to exist in the void whilst not in proximity of the Voidtrecker Express.
PREP PROMPTS: While the plans may differ in some places, there will be preparation before the mission for the equipment and environments used. Here is a list of exercises that will be gone through, and for which task. Feel free to use them to play with below, or just to know how your character would have prepared for the mission!
Click here!
- RED task: The Inspectors have set up training room to practice with the Inspector technology. It is heavy, clunky, almost like an old fashioned diving suite. Everything is muffled but there are speakers that can be turned on, and a microphone to speak out, making their voices sound exactly like the inspectors do.
Those with any ability to read emotions, minds or other telepathic gifts will find them boosted, as if they are inside a conductor. It may be quite overwhelming at first.
The suits are larger than they are but have controls so that they can be controlled. It will take them a little while to learn to move. Once they get the hang of it the inspectors will take them out in a controlled walk outside the void hub.
Being out in the void is trippy, even with the protection of the suites they will get disorientated quickly, colours swirl around them, even if dulled through the visers, singing vibrates through the metal and even a short walk results in a headache. It's going to be tough, to deal with that whilst setting charges.
There is also training in opening a mental link using their tethers. This is advanced tether work but those who excelled in anchoring and reaching out will do well here.
ORANGE task: They will be travelling on the voidtrecker express so there are no new SCAs to get used to, however the burden of opening a link will be on this team, since they will have to initiate it for Red team to accept. They train in this, in seeing the tethers and moving along them, opening a connection. This is very advanced, but very similar in skill set to anchoring and reaching out.
They are also given suits, these are more like space suits that many of them will have worn before, they are given advanced zero gravity training and there is also training in undegoing sensory deprivation. They don't know exactly what time spent in a site of a time paradox will do to them, but the ministry are trying to make sure they are as prepared as they can be.
BLUE task: For those who have not anchored before they are given a lesson on that, how to hold onto a static anchor whilst moving through the void, towards a target. Using the experimental time technology will add a layer to that and there is not much that can be practiced in that regard on the void base, they will just have to hope their anchoring skills are up to it.
There is a group of scientists who will travel with them and serve as the static anchors. They will also be practicing, getting to know those volunteering for this part and trying to make sure their connections are as strong as they can make them.
After all they will be the people keeping their tether connected to both the train and the present. Of course if any voidtreckers wish to act as static anchors they will be welcome to as well.
PURPLE task: There is lots to prepare for those who are deciding to take on this part of the mission. They will be traveling in an Osigan craft 'Voiddream' with Anan and her crew. They will be tethered to that craft through a looped tether and wear a second SCA. The ministry sugest wearing these in advance to get used to them as the effects can be strange. They will feel a little heavy, have moments of double vision. This will allow for a comms link between them no matter the team, as well as their normal Voidtrecker comms.
As well as the additional SCA there is other technology they will need. The life beacon itself is simple to use, it will be getting it safely through Chaos'... chaos, to where it needs to be that will be difficult. The seals are again simple to place once they get to where they need to be, activating them is a little trickier, requiring a steady presence of mind and a very good sense of timing. The ministry have set up some simple practice rooms where they can practice using their tethers to help create a web between sealing points and then tying off, as a team.
There is also training to withstand illusions, some voidtreckers may still have the pendants given to them by the temple on the void nexus and these will surely come in handy.
Leia Organa | Blue doing Purple mission | OTA
For training to withstand illusions, the setup itself was fairly straightforward. This particular test was a maze, and their goal was to make their way through it to the exit on the other side, without the use of teleportation or other such shortcuts. But only some of the maze's walls were real; some were illusions, and only by picking out the illusory sections of wall from their identical real counterparts could they succeed. There were also additional hazards. False floor panels that would remain solid until someone stepped onto them fully, at which point they would vanish, dropping the unfortunate Voidtrecker to the padded floor of the room below. Small drones roamed the maze as well, to either harry the Voidtreckers with stinging low-power energy bolts or potentially even teleport them back to the beginning of the maze.
All in all, a very good test. And completing it within a reasonable timeframe might well be telling for how they'd fair under some of the hazards Chaos might throw at them. "Well?", Leia said to her testing partner as they stood at the entrance, "ready to go?"
Lessons for the non-tech savvy
The equipment they would be asked to use was straightforward in its purpose, and- to Leia at least- in operation. But the same couldn't be said of everyone on their crew. So if anyone seemed to be struggling with it, Leia approached them to lend a hand. "Need some help?", she asked. "We need to make sure everyone's on the same page for this mission, and that- in a pinch- anyone can work the equipment."
Training
no subject
"If it makes you feel better, you're free to do so. But the only part of us that really has the potential to be seriously wounded in this test is our pride. And that only if we aren't careful or don't pay attention. When actually dealing with Chaos, though, shielding will be much appreciated; their illusions very much have teeth, and there are quite a few things in my mind and memories that can bite hard."
no subject
His laughter fell away with the rest of what she said. He grabbed her hand, extending his outermost two shields over them both. "I am well aware that illusion spells can have teeth, Lady," he said softly, voice grim. That seriousness he just claimed he didn't have showing itself.
no subject
The sensation of the shield sliding into place around her was interesting. She'd used personal force field generators before, but this was nothing like that; there was no tingle of static, or nearly inaudible hum. Instead it felt more like slipping on a very form-fitting garment, but one made of energy rather than fabric. She flexed her fingers a bit after he released her hand as one might when trying to get a glove to settle just right.
"I'm not sure if I'd call what Chaos can do 'spells', but our concern is the result, rather than the mechanics of how it's achieved," she said. "And while it won't be an issue with this particular maze, when we face Chaos themselves, there'll be more than one type of threat to watch out for. Because while a shield is all well and good to protect the body, possibly the most dangerous illusions are the ones that go for the heart."
"But we can discuss that more later. Right now, we have training to complete. I imagine you'll want to take up your usual position, since the maze corridors are wide enough to allow it?"
no subject
"We are heading into a dangerous situation, so I will take point and to the left. You can watch our backs, if you'd be so kind." He took a breath then realized he had to say more.
"Don't presume this maze will be safe just because it is training or you were told it was." He took a deep breath and glanced at her, eyes without their twinkle. "A while back, Jaenelle and Marian created what they intended to be an entertainment. A spooky house full of illusion spells meant to startle and give small scares in the name of good fun. Knowing this, an author, by the name of Jarvis Jenkell, who had a grudge against the family created his own spooky house." He took a deep breath to settle himself. "He used a number of Black Widows, and killed all but one of them. That one... She's family. He took advantage of her fragile mental state to have her create harmless illusions for her boys... that he gave teeth to. Surreal and Rainer took the bait. He sent an invitation with that phrase I warned you about. Your presence is requested. He signed it with Jaenelle's name. I don't know if he knew it amounted to an order or not. And I don't care except that Surreal and Rainer should have been smart enough to question the **** thing. They weren't. They were then convinced to take a group of helpless Landen children in with them. They thought this was Jaenelle and Marian's spooky house. They trusted it. They didn't shield."
Come to think of it...
He called in his Eyrian war belt and blade. He settled the long bladed sick onto its holder on the hip. Then he created a tongue of witchfire over each of their heads and locked them there.
"That power of yours to create things. Can it create a large food hamper? I can put temperature spells on it, but this way if we need to call in food and drink it will only be one use of Craft for everything."
Training adjacent.
"Tell me more about it? Seems straightforward enough." A little more illusion than he was used to, but these kinds of obstacle courses were the kind he'd run through back when he was training. Only there had been the occasional live round to contend with.