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.

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( at least there's understanding. the fact that they can still communicate is a great deal to ana, that they're not completely lost in this strange place.

his response earns ana tipping her head up at him, giving him a look that says more and quicker than any tapping would. she's not happy with that answer, and she'll need convincing to relent.

I'm fine.

'fine'. nothing's happened so far, and there's always the possibility that something could catch her that she can't hear -- come up behind and avoid her warnings. but he won't be fine if he does every watch )

[It’s too dangerous.

Sure, it might be adverse for Jack to go without sleep, but it isn’t anything he hasn’t done before, and he’s extremely loath to leave Ana alone on watch when she can’t hear anything. She says she’s fine, but of course she knows on some level that this is risky. Jack is willing to lose a little sleep if they can avoid that risk.

Something might sneak up on you.

Jack knows that she’s resourceful, and more likely than not will be able to handle herself, but he doesn’t want to take that chance.]

( there's a little shake of her head. she's not denying his points because without her full senses it is dangerous, but she's arguing still. it might be dangerous for her but it's still dangerous for him.

You still need to rest.

because if something happened to him because he was protecting her--

no. it wasn't something that ana could think of, especially not now. it was too soon from her already having lost him, and he was already one hand down.

Go. At least for a few hours.

at the very least he could be a little rested before taking over )

[I will.

Though of course they both know he isn’t so good at sleeping, especially not when they’re in a precarious situation. She’s the same way, which means that the two of them are at an impasse. They’re more than close enough for Jack to reach out with his good hand, gently taking hold of her sleeve, a silent don’t go. His actual message comes a moment later, after some consideration.

You don’t have to do this.]

( there's a small nod, and as much as ana wishes to protect him, to see him safe, it's also a matter of pride for her. she may have lost something, as she'd lost something once before, but she wanted to believe that she was still capable. ana was a soldier. she hadn't let losing one eye, or her age, stop her from fighting. she didn't want to admit defeat now.

I do.

she would rather stay with him, have the two of them silently sat in the other's company, or both asleep, but the situation had gone wrong. it had gone to shit. again. it was just unfortunate that her loss of hearing had occurred too.

I'll get you if I see something.

even before the situation became anything. it was a promise, a concession. at least she had her darts back, though untested as they were. ana holds his gaze for a few seconds longer before pressing a light kiss to his cheek, a final tapped Go on his arm )

[Jack knows more than anyone that once Ana has made up her mind, there's no real arguing with her. It's even more difficult when he has to tap out all his answers in code, instead of outright telling her what's on his mind. Makes it harder to argue, so for now he relents, though the displeasure is obvious on his face.

She's pulling away before he even has the chance to retort, though his hand lingers against the fabric of her sleeve. He can't help but worry--that's what he does, but no matter how many impairments she suffers, Jack knows that Ana is always the best and only choice to watch his back.

He closes his eyes against the kiss and lets her leave. Unable to tap his final reply against her arm, he keeps it to himself. She doesn't need it anyway.

Come back safe.]

( it's barely an hour before ana's by his side, waking him. she isn't panicked, and her expression is one he's seen many times before on missions -- determined, planning. she'd seen one of the animals coming closer in, and though one animal was not much of a threat she didn't know what others were there out of sight, ones that could be heard instead. she'd rather take the precaution she'd promised than meet danger. once jack's awake he'll feel a Quickly on his arm before she sits back, giving him a few seconds before adding-- Animals. )

[Jack never sleeps well, and this is no exception. In fact, maybe he sleeps a little worse knowing that Ana is out there without one of her senses, trying to keep watch for the both of them on a hostile alien planet. He does, however, nod off once or twice, and he manages to be in the throes of sleep when he feels a tapping on his arm.

It wakes him up before he realizes that he should be translating, not that he really needs to convert the urgency of her touch to English. He's (quickly and quietly) springing into action, feeling around for his gun.

How many?]

( with jack moving ana had stepped up with him, feeling the last question as she moved. she'd only seen one, but it felt like there should be more, like a pack or hunt.

though it was dark there was still enough light for him to notice the uncertainty in her face, and pulling her own rifle back up she switches from morse code to hand signs.

One. Many. she didn't know but she wasn't taking any chances )

[He nods, not wanting to waste any more time tapping out messages. They can rely on hand signals from here on out, and Jack adjusts his grip on his gun, activating his visor and scanning for any signs of life.

It isn’t perfect—there are a few things that can escape his environment scanner, but he sees that she’s right. There’s heat and movement not far away. All he can really do is hope that they noticed the creatures before the creatures noticed them.

Jack motions in the direction of the shapes, giving her the option to follow him. The animals are dangerous, but nothing he can’t deal with. He can try to scare them off.]

( he may be able to handle it but she's always got his back. especially now. having felt that loss once already she feels a little reluctant to let him go alone. ana knows that he's capable but sitting and waiting, especially now that she can't hear, is painful.

so she's quick on his heels, watching for his signal before spreading out a little to cover the ground, and circle the animal )

[Jack tries to stay in her field of vision, knowing that he isn’t going to be able to verbally signal or warn her. The shapes in his environment scanner don’t seem to have noticed them, but the more time he spends here, the greater their chances of detection become. They stay low, approaching slowly, but Jack keeps his distance. It’s likely their hearing is much better than his, even with his enhancements.

He hefts his gun, readies it. Maybe they won’t need to kill anything—maybe a well-placed shot will scare them off. Either way, he gives Ana a hand signal to confirm that he’s about to fire.]

Ready?

( ana signals an affirmative back and with jack covering her, just briefly, she checks the situation through her own scope. get a lay of it, and see how close they'd gotten.

hopefully, as jack is thinking, that shot will scare them. though these animals are unlike ones that she's seen before, which means that they could be just as unpredictable )

[As soon as he confirms Ana's acknowledgement, Jack is leveling his rifle and unleashing his helix rockets into the general vicinity of the animals. Better to scare all of them off at once--and he's not going to complain if they take damage, too.

The explosion from his rockets lights up the night, if only momentarily, illuminating the scattering animals in silhouette. Jack stays right where he is, stock still, waiting to see if that will be enough.]

( she watches the rockets fly out, gaze dipping to look back down her scope before lowering the rifle. her steps take her back to jack, hand resting at his elbow, waiting a few more seconds for a response before ana taps out--

Safe.

at least she thinks so, butthe animals haven't moved closer yet, instead scattering further away )

[Jack keeps his eyes peeled, signaling for Ana to get closer to him so he can at least feel her presence. His environment scanner locks on to the scattering shapes, and he watches them disperse. It’s a long moment, however, before she taps against his arm and he allows himself to breathe.]

For now.

[They both know they’ll never be completely safe, but they’re used to this by now. Jack stares out into the dark.]

Let’s go back.

( she watches out for a few seconds longer, making certain that they're not circling back around. but jack hadn't seen it, and she trusted that his visor could cut through the dark better than her eye.

ana lets her hand fall from his elbow, finding his hand and slipping her fingers around it. her gaze turns from the dark, sitting on his face for a few seconds before she moves to go back to their tent, hand lightly pulling on his as she steps away )

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August Event Log: Part I

hitting the road

storm front

wild life

old familiar places

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