Entry tags:

August Event Log: Part I

Who: Everyone
When: August 9 and onward
Where: An unexpected destination
What: The newcomers go on a trip and end up far from where they expected
Warnings: Potential violence. Please label your content!

NOTE: PLEASE READ THIS OOC POST FIRST.

When the time comes for the travelers to go on the off-world trip that will help restore Thisavrou, they are not alone. Others who have settled on the planets longer and come to call them home are also prepared to travel; through the Ingress and do their part. Yet when the newcomers step through, whether they stepped through the Ingress seconds or hours apart, they will find that they have arrived at the same time, and only newcomers are in sight.

What awaits them is not a land of plenty. The land is barren, and dark storms in the sky resemble those held at bay by the Ingress complex—but much, much closer. Those who traveled on the Moira may recognize the landscape; though they have come through at a different point from the crash, they are on the Midway Hub. And there is no portal back. They are trapped.

hitting the road

Though some have been here before, the Midway Hub is not as they remember it. The storms fill the sky, leaving it dark and ominous even when they are not sweeping across the landscape—but they have clearly done so in recent times, and often. While never a lush land, large patches of ground an acre or more wide looking nothing more than utterly dead; the thistle that naturally grows is brittle, black and unable to be consumed even with the usual preparations to make it edible, and here and there animal corpses are found twisted into unnatural poses, but seemingly uninjured. These places are particularly concentrated near the broken Ingresses litter the landscape. While Midway Hub as a whole may seem naturally arid, these dead spots leave no hope that anything can possibly live there again.

The travelers have two options: stay where they are, or move on. While it might seem that they've been tricked into coming here and been left abandoned, those with the technological ability to do so may detect a sign of hope: a familiar energy source, far in the distance. Although none of the Ingresses they pass will ever work again, the faint energy shows that one still-functioning Ingress lies far in the distance, days away.

Although technological scanning or impressive memory of the landscape indicates that they are not separated from their destination by one of the gates that divide the land, they are also far from the shelter of the facility at the center of the Hub. Any attempt to travel in a direction other than that of the energy signal will result in a strange disorientation after several hours, bringing individuals back to their original path as though they've gone in circles. Meanwhile, though travelers will feel the need to slake their hunger and thirst through any natural water sources they discover, wildlife they can hunt for food and any supplies they have on them, if they don't find sustenance, they'll find that they will never pass out or reach the point of starvation. Instead, they'll be left alive and awake but feeling utterly hollow.

storm front

At regular intervals, the energy storms above descend onto the land, bringing not rain but violent clashes of negative energy and thunder so loud that nothing can be heard above it. The passing of the storms leaves some strange effects. The ground is warped and rotted by their touch, even solid stone degrading to a spongy surface. The air is tepid and oddly charged. Prolonged contact with air or ground will not supply energy, however — it drains it from organic and synthetic life alike.

Those who remember their last trip to the Hub, or simply explore in the right direction, may come across the cave complexes with their glowing surfaces and streams. The light is dimmer now, a sickly green, but drinking from the streams will still restore the energy lost, for a time. This time, however, the lethargy that inevitably follows is much more severe, and the drinkers are left with a raw, empty feeling leeching in from the wasteland around.

Those who are exposed to the storms, either by finding themselves in very close proximity or even closely observing them for too long as they approach, may lose their sight, or hearing, even much of the ability to feel touch — whatever sense they used in observation. What lingers in its place is a numbness. A hunger. And as time passes, the time between storms decreases; what seemed like hours between the storms becomes scarcely one, and their intensity grows.

wild life

Sentient beings are not the only ones affected by the storms; these creatures, attracted to sound and able to track by scent, and these panthers, which once looked normal but have been twisted by the storms into more monstrous forms, are numerous enough that travelers must be constantly alert for their presence. Though natural predators, the threat the creatures represent is not itself natural. They are also more aggressive. Some strange instinct drives them, not a need for food. While the panthers themselves can be caught and their meat cooked, it has little taste, offering nutrition but not satisfaction.

old familiar places

Although it's difficult to track the passage of time without day-night cycles, after what seems like more than a week of the travelers' unexpected trip, the storms abruptly come rushing in at the group of travelers, as if they're herding the group to move faster toward their destination and the Ingress energy that awaits them. The true nature of that destination becomes clear when debris appears on the horizon; the energy comes from the wreckage of the Moira, the interstellar ship that crashed here months ago.

Despite the trauma of impact, large sections of the ship remain surprisingly intact, though few of them are properly vertically oriented. If travelers are able to make their way inside the damaged sections of the ship, they'll find familiar territory, if they are one of those who traveled on the Moira, as well as shelter—something that's increasingly necessary as the storms seem to center over the ship, leaving little hope for survival outside. Useful items may be scavenged from the ship if they are willing to explore, but no personal items of any kind remain.

Strangely, the deeper travelers go into the crashed ship, the less familiar their surroundings will seem, regardless of their orientation. The inward-leading paths into the ship become generic metal, and as with the travel on the surface of the planet, they may find themselves back where they started. And no matter how far they go or how hard they try, they will find themselves unable to make it to the Ingress chamber itself...for now.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The cave lights up orange as Nihlus launches his grapple hand into the midst of group. Its claws sink into one of the monster's not-faces, super-heated tether slicing its friends in half before he reels it in. Puts a couple rounds into the caught one's chest before releasing the grip and pulling the line in.

Which left one still snarling and hissing as it tries its level best to murder them, crawling despite its shattered knee. Nihlus dispatches it with a final shot.

Turning his pistol ceiling-wards, he listens for a moment, watching for any other movements. When all stays silent, he finally declares: ]

Clear.

[ Before turning to Raeka and giving her a quick visual assessment. No obvious injuries, but just in case... ]

Are you alright?

[Pointing her own gun at the ground once she's sure the creatures are dead, she turns her attention to Nihlus.]

I'm fine.

["Fine" perhaps wasn't the right word. If she was fine, she wouldn't have put herself in such a dangerous situation. She shakes her head slightly and corrects herself:]

Uninjured. And you?

I'm good.

[ Which is really just another version of 'I'm fine' but then Nihlus has been fortunate enough to avoid the affects of the storm so far.

The hand locks back into his wrist with a click and he flexes it a few times to check the connection.

Then Raeka gets a decidedly concerned look. Nihlus doesn't try pushing the issue for the time being, but he summon his omni-tool and brings up the contact request. ]

We should link up: the TABs aren't that great for relaying emergencies.

[Raeka nods, holstering her sidearm and turning her attention to her omni-tool. The look Nihlus gives her doesn't go unnoticed, but she doesn't bring it up, instead taking a moment to accept Nihlus' contact request and sending one of her own.]

Done. And thank you.

[She takes a deep breath, taking a second to compose herself further.]

This won't happen again.

We can only mitigate what we can control. There is not a lot we can control out here.

[ Which is a polite way of saying 'don't put yourself down, it's not your fault'. ]

Shepard and I have a supply of medi-gel. It's available to you as well.

[ If Raeka wanted/needed to top up on that front anyways.

There's a beat of silence after that, the tick-tick of his pistol's heatsink and the mech arm cooling echoing off of rocky walls. Nihlus' expression softens. ]

You should return to the rest of the group. I'll start setting up some sensors in case any more of these assholes come along.

[Well she can control herself to not wander off like a doofus, but this turned out okay. There's no sense in beating herself up over it.]

I'm fine on medi-gel at the moment, but I'll keep that in mind.

If you're going to be back here for a while, I'd prefer to stay and cover you.

[ The offer for cover earns Raeka a somewhat odd look over one shoulder. Almost amusement, almost puzzlement- but not quite either in the end. Two years in this purgatory made Nihlus a bit more graceful about accepting some backup at least.

But only just. ]

If you're sure.

[ Turning back, he finishes scanning the tooth-face corpses for any residual signs of life. When that returns nothing, he sends a quick message to Shepard alerting her to more potential attacks. Then, rendering up some motion sensors on his omni-tool, the man moves about the cave to plant them. ]

So, Raeka. [ Because you didn't chose to plant yourself in the company of a Spectre agent without getting some sort of nosing. ] If you're up for it, why don't you tell me a little about your experiences with the Initiative? For curiosity's sake.

[Even if he hadn't accepted it, she would have stayed anyway. They've already seen first hand what can happen if someone gets caught alone out here. It's time for the Buddy System.

So, while he's busy doing that, she readies her pistol again just in case.]

At first, nothing went right. All of our golden worlds had been rendered uninhabitable by an unusual energy phenomenon, we were attacked by a hostile species shortly after arrival. We lost a lot of good people. Out of the four original Pathfinders, I'm the only one left.

Sounds properly hellish.

[ Nihlus' remark is dry, activating the sensors with a wave of his omni-tool. As he renders up another sensor, he takes a moment to turn Raeka's words over in his head before continuing. ]

So, a whole new galaxy and a whole new species to fight. How poorly did first contact go down on scale of Rachni to Humans?

[Properly hellish is a pretty accurate description. She takes a moment to sweep the area before answering.]

Closer to Rachni, with the added bonus of being in a completely foreign galaxy. They were not interested in peaceful resolutions, they wanted only to assimilate us, or eradicate those who resisted.

And with half the Initiative MIA or dead, you weren't nearly as prepared for a Rachni level encounter. That's quite a predicament.

[ Stepping back from the planted sensors, he takes a moment to check that they were pinging properly before speaking again. ]

To what end were they trying to assimilate you?

It was. Long story short, we did prevail. Getting to that point wasn't easy.

[She takes another quick look around, and when she's sure nothing hostile is sneaking around, activates her omni-tool.]

Intel is limited, but they seem to simply want to conquer everything in their paths and strengthen their numbers. They're called the kett, their means of reproduction involves genetic manipulation, a process they refer to as "exaltation". They are able to physically transform members of completely different species into their own. There's a certain degree of brainwashing involved as well, individuals who have been exalted are completely obedient to them. I have extensive notes that I'd be happy to share with you, if you'd like.

[Not that the kett were a problem out here, but hell. The way things are going, you never know.]

If you'd be so kind.

[ He's not entirely sure he'll have time for that level of reading between patrols, hunting and organizing supplies- but there's bound to be some sort of down time in the future.

And he wants to know. If nothing else then at least for the xenobiological aspect of it all. ]

Somewhat of a divergence, but- is Macen Barro still part of the Initiative? Last I heard, he'd been put forth as a potential candidate for a position on the expedition. Details were rather vague at the time and, well.

[ He kind of died before any confirmation happened. ]

Of course.

[And beep boop beep, notes sent.

His next question makes her pause. It's just bad news left and right out here. ]

He was chosen to serve as the turian Pathfinder, actually. Unfortunately, we lost him when the ark Natanus reached the Heleus cluster and came into contact with the Scourge, the energy phenomenon I mentioned. He was succeeded by his second, Avitus Rix.

[ Nihlus stops. Not just in the middle of reading through the pings: he just stops. Standing there, expression distant and unreadable.

It lasts a good second, the silence echoing in the caverns.

When he moves again, it's to dismiss the readouts. ]

I see, [ Nihlus says, seemingly unperturbed, as if the moment before hadn't just happened. ] That's unfortunate.

[ Turning back to Raeka, he nods in the direction of the encampment. ]

Let's start heading back. We need to make sure everyone's on alert for more of these critters.

[She doesn't know how close Nihlus and Macen were, so she refrains from commenting on the subject any further aside from nodding in agreement. Yes, it had been unfortunate. It was a hell of an understatement, but still technically accurate.]

Understood.

[And that was that. She had a feeling he was more bothered by the news than he was letting on, but maybe the subject change was for the best at the moment.]

[ That's going to be a mystery for Raeka to follow up on, then! Because Nihlus sure as hell isn't going to expand on his relations without good reason here.

Folding his hands behind his back, the Spectre keeps a an easy pace, something Raeka wouldn't have a hard time keeping up with. As they walk, he continues his questions. ]

Have you made contact with Nyx yet?

[Salarians are all leg. Even if she is exhausted, keeping pace with Nihlus is pretty simple.]

I have, actually. She's been exceptionally helpful since my arrival.

[She also warned Raeka that Nihlus is an asshole buuuuut she's not going to mention that part. He's been pretty civil with Raeka so far, so hey. No complaints.]

[ Ohohoho boy, don't ask Nihlus why he doesn't like Vetra, girl. Don't do it. ]

That's good. [ Not that his tone of voice gives away anything about his feelings on the other Turian. ] Having someone else from your universe helps with integration. Just unfortunate that you happened to be pulled just in time for this mess.

[ Seriously. ]

[Now isn't the time, but maybe later. She's super curious ok]

I won't deny that the transition has been somewhat overwhelming at times, but the fact that I haven't had to face it all on my own has been good for morale, if nothing else.

Hold onto those people. I suspect it's only about to get more complicated from hereon out.

[ They hit the entrance of the chamber that sheltered the main encampment and Nihlus slows as the low murmurs of conversations wash over them. ]

I'm going to go round people up for a proper perimeter patrol. You should go get some rest. The Mako should still have a few free seats if you want somewhere a bit less rocky?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

August Event Log: Part I

hitting the road

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