August Event Log: Part I

[savmods]

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.

Comments

[salarianpathfinder]

[If only Raeka's SAM were functional. She feels like she's running into all of this blind. At the very least, she didn't have to deal with this alone.

Part of her felt selfish for being glad that Vetra was there.

She's quiet for a moment, studying her readings more closly before she answers.]

Very similar. I can't say they're identical for certain, if only because I wasn't able to properly study the Ingress, but I believe we're on the right track.

[She noticeably perks up, shifting to show her readings to her turian buddy. This is the first good news they've had for a while, she can't help but be a little excited.

Just a little.]

This might be it, Vetra. This might be our way out.

[nyx_it]

[Honestly, she can't imagine what Raeka's going through, being cut off from her SAM. Ryder had been at a loss. And, she'd tried to help. As much as possible. But then Ryder was gone -- ]

[Now she's got another chance. Selfish reasons of her own. But still.]

I'll take it. Come on.

[She holds a hand out to the salarian, to hoist her up if need be. Determined as ever.] Let's go track it down.

[salarianpathfinder]

[She didn't want to get either of their hopes up. Even if they found what they were looking for, there was no guarantee that it would even work. The rest of the ship was in absolute ruins, the chances of it's Ingress even functioning were slim at best.

But they had to try. This was their only chance. Raeka nods, securing her pistol and accepting Vetra's help up.]

Thank you. Now, let's see...

[She fiddles with her omni-tool a bit, turning in place a couple times while she tracks the signal.]

It seems to be below us. We need to find a way to the lower decks.

[nyx_it]

[They got the Initiative to work on a hope and a prayer and back up battery generators run by the power of Kesh's krogan rage. This is nothing. There's no kett here, at least.]

[She hauls Raeka to her feet, clasping her hand on one of the Pathfinder's shoulders, briefly.]

Let's get moving, then. Sooner we get there, the sooner we figure out if it's working.

[salarianpathfinder]

[The absence of the kett was a huge plus. The things that had been attacking them outside were nowhere near as bad. The lack of food and water was kind of a pain in the ass, though.

She gives Vetra a smile, the best she can manage to muster in her current state, anyway, and leads the way out into what's left of a corridor. Judging by the size of the ship, it was going to be a long walk before they found anything.]

If we manage to get back, what do you think the likelihood of us being attacked would be? Considering the circumstances, it might be something we should keep in mind, seeing as most of us aren't exactly combat ready at the moment.

[nyx_it]

[It really is a pain in the ass. All of it. They weren't even involved in the shit that got them into this. Why do they have to get their asses kicked?]

[But isn't that the way it always is?]

[One person screws it up for everyone else?]

If we can get this thing working, we'll start asking around. Seeing who's best at standing up in a fight, still. Whoever has it together.

[Vetra, always with a plan B.]

Send them through first to test the water. If it's clear enough, we bring everyone else.

[salarianpathfinder]

[And someone else has to come along and fix everything. Is this what being Ryder feels like?]

It's a risky move, but it's the only option we really have right now.

We'll make it work. We've faced bigger things than this, and came out on top.

[nyx_it]

[That is exactly what being Ryder is like. Except with more awkward jokes. And insanity.]

If nothing else, maybe we can find whatever's powering it. Reroute that power to something functional.

Or, when we find it, we do the Kesh method.

[salarianpathfinder]

"Do the Kesh method."

What's the Kesh method?

[She doesn't know Kesh as well as Vetra does, she just knows that Kesh has this magical ability to make everything work whenever the fuck she wants it to.]

[nyx_it]

Hit it really hard and wait for it to work.

[She is absolutely, one hundred percent serious.]

[salarianpathfinder]

[Raeka chuckles and just. Shakes her head. The magical ability is violence, WHO KNEW?]

I believe it.

Well, considering it's a proven strategy, I say we go for it. Kesh is amazing at what she does, after all.

[nyx_it]

[It's a magical KROGAN ability, it'd be a miracle if it wasn't violence.]

And I'm telling her you said that, if I ever see her again.

[salarianpathfinder]

[Fair point.]

What? I'm sure she's fully aware that the Nexus couldn't run without her.

[nyx_it]

It never hurts to hear a little affection.

[salarianpathfinder]

You're right, that's... that's true. If anyone deserves it, it's her.

[nyx_it]

[Speaking of which... uh. Hm.]

[She sort of awkwardly pats Raeka's arm.]

Bad as it sounds -- glad you're here.

[salarianpathfinder]

No, that doesn't sound bad. I'm glad you're here, too.

I mean, I don't like that we're here, obviously, but... You know. I'm glad you're here.

[Who's awkward what}

[nyx_it]

[It's okay, Raeka. She laughs a little, shaking her head.]

I know what you mean.

Maybe we're stuck here, but hey. There's worse to be stuck with.

[salarianpathfinder]

[Raeka relaxes a bit, giving Vetra a smile before turning back to her omni-tool to check her readings.]

We're lucky, I suppose,in a weird way. I can think of a couple people off the top of my head that I would never want to be stuck on a deserted planet with.

[nyx_it]

Let me guess. Starts with T ends with "ann"?

[That's not even a legit guess, that's just common sense.]

[salarianpathfinder]

[Raeka puts a hand to her mouth and snickers. She wasn't going to name names buuuuuut yeah Tann definitely Tann.]

Just for the record, you said it, not me.

[nyx_it]

[Okay, though, it's good to hear her laugh. Even if it echoes weirdly through the empty ship halls.]

Fair enough.

[salarianpathfinder]

[It sure does make things a lot creepier, doesn't it.

The distraction was nice, but it was time to get back to business. Raeka takes a deep breath and focuses on her omni-tool again.]

There's something up ahead, might be an elevator shaft. Stairs would be preferable, but it's a start.

[nyx_it]

What, you think we can't handle an elevator shaft?

[She's taking a few more steps ahead, to where there's a convenient door blocking their path. Running a hand down it to check for weakness or give.]

... I hate to say it, but this is looking like an elevator.

[salarianpathfinder]

Looks like we have no choice but to take on the elevator shaft. Better than nothing, right?

[but no why couldn't it be stairs??? god

Raeka approaches the door, taking a quick scan of the area with her omni-tool before deactivating it. Yep, that's an elevator, and there's no power, which means that door isn't opening on it's own any time soon.

So, Raeka jabs her fingers into the door crack and somehow, with her dumb salarian noodle arms and the power of pure stubbornness, manages to at least crack it open a few inches so they can see inside. There's a lot of macho grunting involved, naturally. HRRNNGGGG]