Who: Everyone
When: July 1 and onward. See this post for info.
Where: Kauto + Chioni + Ingress Complex
Warnings: Potential violence. Please label warn-worthy content in your subject headers.

There's a burst of light in the sky when the Ingress breaks, a final flare followed by a shuddering that only those in the facility can feel. A flurry of panicked activity in the complex follows, ushering new arrivals to where they need to go in a hurry, with little time to give them the needed information, much less answer questions. The lights remain on, but dimmer now, life functions still operating but little else. On Kauto and Chioni below, the sky fades into an early twilight, followed by night, and day does not come again.

nerds save the world

Before the end of the day, all TABs receive an emergency broadcast notification outlining the situation. The speaker, a lead Savriite Ingress technician, does not invite panic but nor does he mince words. The Ingress is broken; their best efforts have failed to restore it. The time has come to turn to anyone who can help: scientists, engineers, those who have worked with advanced technology on any world. Formal qualifications don't matter when it could be the end of everything.

"Help us. Before it is too late."

Those who come will have the run of the complex and full access to the Ingress, as well as whatever tools are available and as much coffee as they can drink. People are encouraged to work in groups and share ideas, and a small number of young and nervous technical assistants will be on hand.

the land below

As Thisavrou is denied light and warmth, the weather becomes brisk and descends into bitter cold. Chioni is evacuated due to the effects on the already-harsh weather cycles there, although a skeleton crew of scientists remain behind. On Kauto, the arboreal Region Three and pastoral Region Two suffer the most from the temperatures and the snow that eventually begins to fall. Many crops are frozen over, and refugee citizens are driven from their homes to the Regions One and Five, where stored energy will keep dwellings warm. Save for those who choose to leave the underwater facilities, Region Four remains largely unchanged, but there are unverified accounts of strange aquatic animal behavior near the surface.

Overcrowding, limited supplies and a pervasive fear presents the opportunity for both heroism and foul deeds. Many come together to share resources, supplies and fellowship in what could be the end of worlds, while others take what they can from the unwilling or exploit the desperate. Sentient evacuees are followed by fauna from Region Three and unsettled lands beyond, in search of warmth or food or merely confused by the change in habitat. Some are unthreatening herbivores, while tanglesnakes and clownbees are more troublesome. Others are poisonous hunters, while still others are small, but dangerous when faced as a pack.

Just when all seems lost, light returns to the sky. The Ingress begins to function once more.

the coming days

As the temperatures rise, many demand answers, but most turn to the rebuilding of their lives first. Damage has been done that isn't so easily fixed, and even in the least-affected areas, remnants of the crisis show in the lack of fresh food, in the increased signs of criminal activity. Those who can help others through their own efforts of by organizing assistance are needed, but those with impure intentions are more likely to go unnoticed.

Eavesdropping on the streets may reveal a desire for vengeance. "Those intruders from last week. They're responsible for this, aren't they? What's being done?" But don't listen too closely, or a suspicious eye may be turned on you. "Aren't you one of the refugees from the Midway Hub? You should return to where you came from! All the trouble began when your people showed up!"

Life goes on. But life does not go on unchanged.

[quick ooc note: the Region 4 search & retrieval mission/RNG fight will be posted in a separate log.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Though she'd spent time on the battlefields in Belgium and had both seen and heard airplanes dropping bombs. The sound of the deadly devices falling had always made her stomach drop with them, and she had hoped to never hear the sound again.

To be fair, a person in a suit of metal armor doesn't sound exactly the same, but it's close enough to make her swivel, ready to defend.

But that is definitely not a bomb, unless bombs are now shaped like humans.

Diana breathes a little sigh of thank Zeus to herself, but her relief turns to intrigue when she hears a woman's voice emanate from the strange suit of armor. She's never seen plate placed quiet like this, all over the face, legs, and arms, but the person inside seems to be able to move well enough. As she turns her attention back to the crowd, she realizes that they seem to be moving back and away. Her brow furrows.

"I am certain we can solve this with words." There's no need for violence if it can at all be avoided.

Natasha cuts the other woman a glance as she speaks, unseen behind the helmet as it is, but if that's the way she wants to play it then that's fine. Natasha can play a very visible deterrent to anyone thinking otherwise.

Though from the stance the woman had dropped into when Natasha landed, she's almost definite that this is someone who can handle just about anything. A little backup never hurts, though.

And the crowd is already starting to disperse slightly at the edges. Hopefully the ignition moment for things to turn into a real mess have passed.

"I don't think they actually needed anything," Natasha says after a moment of just watching them. "Except maybe to try to blow off some steam."

It's true--the only words Diana hears are mutters that are probably peppered with curses she's never heard. There's nothing said about a trade or an actual problem. Why would they take the time to gather and become angry over absolutely nothing?

Confused, she straightens her posture and watches the people mill about for a few more seconds before finally dismissing themselves. The mutters slowly fade, and Diana simply stands there for another moment or two.

"Blow off some steam?" She's unfamiliar with the term, and can't figure how it's applicable to this situation. Boiled water created steam, but at least it was productive afterwards. These people had seemed ready to fight simply for the sake of doing so, and nothing at all had been accomplished.

"Release tension," Natasha says by way of translation as she watches the last of them leave. Once she's relatively sure things have well and truly dissipated, she finally turns to face the other woman properly. "People are stressed and not sure what to do with it. Put too much of that into a crowd and you've got the makings of something nasty." Riot or massive fight, it was going to be ugly either way.

She lets out a soft sigh, the sound slightly distorted through the helmet and shakes her head. "Probably going to be seeing a lot more if it. Unfortunately. Things are...strained, right now."

The Amazon inclines her head slightly with understanding. Of course, that made sense. She does not need an explanation for why people are upset and turning to violence and thievery. The pending cold and what seemed to be refugees pouring into this part of the planet was explanation enough. She had seen the same sort of thing in Europe, and now her heart is breaking all over again for these poor people.

"I have noticed." She hadn't known what kind of world she would find outside the Ingress complex, but it doesn't seem to be much different from her own. "They told me something about the... power being out?" It's phrased as a question because Themyscira certainly didn't have electricity, and she hadn't been in London long enough to really figure out how it worked. "This is causing them to panic, fight, and steal."

Natasha nods once, overemphasizing the gesture slightly to make sure it's readable through the armor. And then she hesitates for just a second, then reaches up to pull the helmet off entirely. She has to blow a strand of hair out of her face as she tucks it under one arm, but she flicks the other woman a slight smile.

"That's the gist of it," she agrees. "I don't know how long you've been here, but essentially the sun shut off. That's enough to make anybody panic." Not to mention the tensions that had already been mounting. This place has been a powder keg for far too long. Natasha's honestly surprised things aren't worse.

"I'm pretty sure it's fixable," she continues, "but I guess it's hard to take someone's word on that."

Once the helmet is removed, Diana takes her time inspecting the face behind the armor. She commits it to memory, in case she should need assistance in the future.

The Amazon's eyes go wide at the analogy, and she snaps her head back to look up into the sky. It is rather dark for the supposed time of day. "Such a thing would surely require the hand of a god," she says, dropping her head back down and immediately scanning the emptying street around them. She doesn't see Ares, and she thinks that now she would be able to sense him.

But gods are fickle creatures.

"I will help in whatever way I can." There's nothing but determination in her voice. She isn't sure how one can "fix" the sun, but she's definitely willing to try.

"Not a god," Natasha says with a faint smile. "Just technology breaking down. It's...complicated, but the facility that was essentially acting as the sun isn't working." The need to give more specifics is there, but Natasha learned a long time ago that most people didn't want to hear the numbers. If they did, they would ask for them.

But she finds herself studying the other woman in turn. There's something so familiar about her, the way she's willing to throw herself into a fight. For the first time since she got here, Natasha feels a pang of genuine homesickness.

That she's just going to ignore for the moment. There's still so much to do. "I think the best thing you can do is to keep breaking up fights," she says, glancing briefly down the street. It looks calm for the moment, but these things can pop back up at any time. "Someone needs to keep people calm, and it seems like you're doing a pretty good job of it."

If she felt as if they had more time, Diana likely would ask for the numbers. She'd need a thorough explanation, of course, and would be more than happy to listen intently. But she can feel the restlessness in the air, and would recognize that now is not the time and here is not the place for such explorations into mankind's technology.

"A false sun..." If the people here are able to create such a thing, she can't even begin to imagine what else they might do. A slow nod is her first response, and she glances around the street. "Your arrival was timely, and of great help." Diana turns her eyes back to the other woman and offers a bright smile, so out-of-place in their current situation. "My name is Diana."

And Natasha can't help but smile back. God, this woman reminds her so much of Steve that it's almost painful. But that's not fair to dump on someone she's just met, so she swallows it down.

"Natasha," she returns with a short nod of her own. "And you're welcome. Feel free to call me if you need more backup, I'll get there as quickly as I can." She'd probably be in the Ingress Complex, but well. The armor could move pretty damn fast when she needed it to.

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nerds save the world

the land below

the coming days

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