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the outer gate
"Open up, and let them in."
The Moira is no more.
With the damage done to the ship due to the timeslip, all that remains is a burning wreckage and parts to be taken—if the crew can find anything in the pieces. Recovery and headcounts are the main objective for the first several hours of being planetside, and once things have settled just enough, Captain Ira calls for a meeting and addresses those who are able in person to explain the situation. He draws a rough map of the area and explains where he believes they are - according to the terrain - and where they must go. For anyone who’s listening, he describes things like an “Outer Gate”, an “Inner Gate” and “gate sectors”. Believing this to be the best course of action, all crew are asked to explore and gather what they think they’ll need to make the long journey towards the central point of the Hub. Because the MIDs are no longer working due to the lack of a network, the Captains distribute a newer tech called the TAB. It serves the same functions as the MID but is lighter, slimmer, and has the ability to stick to any surface.
WELCOME TO THE MIDWAY HUB
Now that the smoke from the crash has cleared, and injured crew have been tended to, the Captains get everyone ready for departure by explaining what they know of the Hub. Almost stone-like, the creators built a domed workspace in the largest solid space on the planet they could find. Gates are the only way inside, and anyone who catches a glimpse of the compound will see that parts of the dome are cracked. Yet, everything still appears to be relatively intact. The Midway Hub’s terrain is very rocky and difficult to walk on at times. Below the surface is a honeycomb of intermittently dense and brittle stone that makes travel difficult due to the unpredictable nature of what lies beneath the crew’s feet. Those who can develop the tech from what’s left of the debris might be able to create something to determine which route is the safest. Ships and small crafts can be used to fly, but landing is a problem—rocks jut up in sharp peaks and the clearer spots can't handle their weight. Vegetation is sparse, consisting of twisted dark gray thistles that have sprung up from cracks in the rock and burn when in direct contact with skin, and what could be considered small animals here can be seen scurrying away the closer crew get to them.
☄ WEEK ONE
Crew are asked to hook cryo beds together and to use any appropriate vehicles that can be made or fashioned to fit the terrain to carry injured crew on the journey to the center of the Hub. Supplies are gathered, and the Captains, as well as any crew who want to, give the Moira a proper sendoff, heads bowed as they say goodbye to what’s been their home. Traveling starts out slowly, a line of a hundred-plus crew members making their way slowly forward. Stops are frequent, but camping for rest only occurs at night. Crew are assigned watch shifts, fires are built, injured tended to, and those who are able are asked to explore nearby caves and hunt for food.
Something akin to deer, though striped and only to be found in pairs, can be stumbled across at night. Throngs of dark purple mammels begin to follow the Moirans on their trip as well. They are friendly, curious, and eat the thistle. Meet the intelligent, watchful predators that aren’t easily scared away and follow the crew from a distance as if waiting to pounce. The thistle can be eaten, but only if cooked first, and those who sample the chewy plant raw will experience a burning sensation in their throat that doesn’t go away until the cooked version is consumed. During the first week, water can’t be found.
Anyone who does hunt, gather, or explore should make sure to that their TABS are on and it’s suggested that nobody goes alone.
Nearing the end of the first week, an Ingress can be spotted close by that crew can explore. If anyone dares to go inside, they will find the texture of the ground and surrounding walls to be rather soft. If inspected closely, crew will discover that what they originally thought to be rock is actually a living organism that’s fed off the energy of the Ingress it’s attached itself to. It’s not harmful and squishy to the touch. If pressed hard enough, it secretes a turquoise liquid with the consistency of water that might make a good substitute for that very thing. ☄ WEEK TWO
When crew finally pass through the sector gates, a strange sensation encompasses them, and a depowering of sorts goes into effect. The creators put in security measures meant to put all visitors on equal footing as well as to protect themselves from harm. All crew will essentially have the strength and abilities of the average human. An unforeseen issue, this causes Captain Thán to slip into a coma as he is no longer able to continue to recover at a steady pace, and with the loss of the former Captain’s abilities, crew can no longer be brought back if they die. For the first time, all Moirans are subject to permanent death.
During this week of travel, broken ingress machines and parts will be found scattered among the rocks, and new crew will come through. Unfortunately, these Ingresses aren’t in good shape, and anyone coming through will be in varying states of distress—some physical and some mental. New individuals will either have suffered an age slip, growing older or younger than their original body, some form of body transformation (perhaps that shiny thing they were wearing is now part of them somehow), or an extreme weakness they had never been subjected to before arriving on the Midway Hub. The new people will be offered to join their group, once found, and seasoned crew will be asked to explain to them where they are going and what they know.
The rest of the week will be a mix of greeting the new arrivals and continuing to travel to the center of the Hub. The closer they get, the less frequently they’ll see animals, and more caves will begin to pop up. ☄ WEEK THREE
Entering the third week of travel, settlements and houses begin to crop up and are prime areas for exploration and general supplies. Those who go inside may find items that have been left behind and evidence showing that those of varying species and cultures lived in the homes. Some appeared to have been scientists while others were explorers, but all living quarters are deserted. Crew who are less lucky in their search might come away with no fresh supplies, and others might walk into traps or safeguards left behind by previous tenants; these come in many forms, from mild paralysis to temporary unconsciousness. As there are more residences, there are also more caves. The entrances vary in size, and light sources will be needed to explore. Once inside, crew can find purple underwater streams, which can be consumed, and glowing surfaces. When crew drink the water, it temporarily restores powers, a few minutes tops, and then, extreme lethargy settles in for a couple of hours.
Further into the cave systems, crew will come across these lovely creatures that are attracted to sound and track through scent. They are highly dangerous and attack simply to feed. Killing them, though, is surprisingly simple as they are just as vulnerable and weak as everyone else. They are vicious in demeanor but only as strong as an average human.
The closer to the Inner Gate crew get, the less homes, wildlife, and more caves there will be. ☄ WEEK FOUR
The Captains, aware that the crew is exhausted, stop and make camp for the first few days. Someone mentions that it’s the holidays where they’re from, and the Captains do their best to throw a party. Set up at the base of a cave, tents are built and fires roar. Soft music is played in the form of guitar, thank you Ira, and Cúrre brings out some legumes that taste like cherries when roasted. There isn’t much in the way of decorations, but crew are encouraged to dig through their pac-discs and contribute to the festivities.
After a brief respite, crew learn that the entrances to Gate A and Gate B are inside one of the caves but any signs or markings have long since worn away or been destroyed. Groups are split, TABS are synced, and crew explore carefully until an entrance is found. Crew discover Gate A first, and all crew are contacted to gather there. The Captains will remain at the cave entrance until all crew are accounted for, and then, they’ll enter through the gate together.
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hohnkai) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thisavrou_log2016-12-02 06:54 pm
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Is Venom joking? He has to be. This is ridiculous!]
You don't have to indulge her.
[Seriously, you don't.]
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You can abstain from answering, yes. And of course nothing happened in your room. I would find it odd if Soldier stayed in a place that was comfortable for any long length of time.
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In all honesty, there's something familiar about his companions' exchanges. A less hostile version of a certain duo he's acquainted with, maybe.
Venom is content to observe. ]
Sounds like you two know each other well. [ He keeps it neutral, but breathes a faint (dry) chuckle. ] Comrades?
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Occasionally.
[Though he's fairly sure Venom has already realized this is not strictly a business relationship.]
When it's convenient.
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[It was a good enough excuse for the time being. Even if it was something of an obvious lie.]
How about you? You look as much of an old soldier as us.
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You could say that. [ He breathes softly at 'old'— he likes Ana already. ] Private military force. The label's fancy, but it's more of the same.
[ 'Wetwork, intel', he says with a wave of a hand. ]
Good to know that 76 doesn't always work solo.
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I can cooperate.
[When he has to, is the implication.]
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[And leading, despite the grumbling. Ana is only the backup here.]
Where were you based at, Ahab? Of course, I am assuming you are from a normal Earth environment.
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There's a stretch of silence here, where he just. Watches the both of them with that single eye, before he deems it proper to speak up again. ]
I'll keep that in mind. [ The 'cooperating' bit. He's learning so much.
The question of his base, though— ] ...I had a flexible AO. Primarily the Middle East and Africa, if that means anything to you. [ He's also from like, 1984, so. You know. ]
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[They might be from the 2070s, but Earth's geography is still largely the same. He thinks, anyway. ]
I don't stay in one place too long. Was on my way to Egypt before I got here.
[76 fixes Ana with as pointed a look as he can, giving it through the visor as he is. She'll know what it means--he was on his way to Giza expressly to collect her.]
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[His look says plenty she already knew. After all, they were on the hunt for each other for a bit. Admittedly, it got complicated but it worked out in the end.]
While I spent plenty of time in Egypt, I have covered most of the world in my long years.
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So you two played a lot of hide-and-seek.
[ Note to self: 'both of them are travelers over wide spans, but they kept in touch'. That's significant— Venom can think of a few relationships that have followed that pattern, and none of them have been strictly casual.
Y'all keep confirming what he's already suspicious of, but he's actually kind of enjoying watching these two being not subtle at all, so he's. Just going to try not to rib them too much. ]
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[He'd only just picked up the lead that would take him to her when he was pulled here, but 76 isn't interested in getting into the technicalities. It's clear by now that Venom is having some kind of thoughts about all this--76 knows because he'd be having thoughts about this too. All he can to right now, however, is press onward, because to back away at this point would be that much more suspicious.
For all he knows, it might be fine.]
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[She gives Venom a shrug with a smile. Really, there's nothing she's hiding. Or even playing coy with. Just...half-truths.]
Especially ones who have no army.
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A stretch of agonizing silence follows a mild yeah.
Venom reaches for his RPK-74 (an antiquated model, probably something Ana or 76 would find in a museum instead of a battlefield) and starts doing some idle maintenance to give his hands something to do. ]
...Difficult for a soldier without backing to make a name for themselves as a bounty hunter. [ Is what he comes up with, mostly with respect to Ana. ] Where were you trained?
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But this is about Ana, anyway, so all he can really do is sit back and hope that she doesn’t let on more than than he can afford.]
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[It's a fairly unrevealing answer, though Ana didn't have anything to hide like her partner soldier here.]
While I prefer not to toot my own horn, in my younger days, I was known as one of the world's best snipers. If one can imagine me being younger.
[At this point, for her, it's like looking at a photo of your grandmother as a college graduate with a full life ahead of her and going "Wow this person is cute, who is it?" Or, it's how she imagines it.]
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The best, huh.
[ Please, Ana, everyone here is over 50, let's not have a competition about age. Instead, Venom picks up on the subject of her sniping, because that's a subject that's near and dear to his heart.
He swivels, squints into the distance, and points to his 10 o'clock. ]
Range, about 550 yards. [ A beat, and he rephrases— she's from Egypt, they'd use different measurements. ] ...500 meters. Center of arc is a boulder with two cracks on its face. There's a branch hanging from a tree to the left of the arc.
[ Implied: can you hit it? ]
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[76 can't help but say that, even though it's inadvertently revealing that he's known her for quite a long time. Perhaps he's just that excited at the prospect of trick shots to prove that Ana is Most Definitely the World's Greatest Sniper.
He leans a little to take a look at the target Venom is pointing out, raising an eyebrow in Ana's direction.]
She can hit it.
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She tapped the scope lightly and gave her similarly eye-patched counterpart a grin.]
I have done four times that distance in the past, but with a different rifle. Are you sure you do not wish to add any other conditions?
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(What did we learn today, kids? That even supposed terrorists can take the time to sound fond.)
Thankfully, Venom has enough propriety not to heckle. ]
Don't have a scope. [ Meaning that he can't look 1200 meters ahead to pick out something for Ana to shoot, even if that would have been more exciting. His half-smile lingers around his edges. ] Think you can hit it with your nondominant?
[ Unless she's ambidextrous?? In which case, yes, hats off to her. ]
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Venom might even be able to hear him grin behind his mask.]
Show him.
[Said like she even needs him to tell her.]
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It took some time to learn but...
[She kneeled down and tilted her rifle a little, to use her non-dominant eye, as it was. It would be a position that would cause problems in normally scoped rifles but Ana had spent more than enough time zoning it in to her own needs.
Ana jacking the bolt back and forth, pushing in an empty dart. No sense in wasting anything. A couple moments of lining it up, she pulled the trigger with the sound of a silenced shot and the dart flew out, lodging itself exactly where Venom had pointed out.
Considering that it was a dart and not a bullet, there was a bit more than normal skill involved with that too.]
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It's hard.
Regardless, her dart flies straight and hits the target without so much as a millimeter of error, and Venom is impressed; it shows in how he gets up and cranes forward, how he almost whistles between his teeth. ]
Beautiful shot.
[ Not an ounce of patronization there. It is what it is, and despite the stillness of his tone (he never veers too far off of his placidity), Venom is genuine in his assessment.
(God, he misses his sniper too.) ]
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Not that V ever really gave indication that he doubted any of this, but still.]
I told you.
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