( event )

[hownkai]

Who: The crew of the Moira
When: 9/18 to 9/30
Where: Planet and ship
What: Main event; all info inside
Warnings: Effects from Exuo, heavy and graphic themes

PENUMBRA

"Into the darkness they go..."

As the crew enters its third week aboard the Moira, the majority of supplies have been gathered, and everyone will find themselves with more free time than before. The marketplace has offered numerous diversions, as well as the opportunity to trade for items they need or want. Life on the Moira is relatively peaceful, and there have been no unusual occurrences. Excursions onto the planet have yielded an invaluable resource called Exuo, which has been determined to be a rare mineral that is used for multiple purposes. A general awareness has spread among those aboard the Moira that, while it is used as an additive to food and drink, resulting in a slightly elevated change in demeanor and leaving a person feeling generally better, it is also in the air they breathe. The effects of Exuo will vary from person to person.

Yet...

Things have started to change. The once vibrant sunlight that hasn’t given anyone a moment’s reprieve is now slowly beginning to disappear, and with it, a shadow is being cast across the horizon. The red dust is more noticeable now than ever, blanketing every surface, and the planet’s true grunge surfaces.

☄THE EMPTY MARKET

The hustle and bustle of the marketplace has slowly started to taper off, leaving behind empty stalls and hastily closed up shops. What visitors the crew have encountered are no longer so friendly; they won’t say a word as to where they are going or why. All that’s left are the few things they could not carry with them to their own ships before leaving. But is it worth the peculiar looks the natives are giving as you traverse the now quiet streets to take them? What is this abrupt feeling of unease weighing down on your shoulders?

The only living things that remain, aside from them, are the members of the Moira, but it’s not a comforting notion, especially if you step into the ever-growing shadows.

☄THE NATIVES

With light dwindling quickly, nothing is safe anymore. Those people with the plain masks and hoods worn to hide their faces? They’re not so quiet and not so friendly now. Their behavior drastically deteriorates the darker it becomes, shifting from harmless and complacent to feral and dangerous. They lash out at anyone who gets too close, and they don’t hesitate to drag away those foolish enough to get closer. And those masks and hoods? They, too, have been tossed aside with the slow setting of those distant stars.

● Aside from physical outbursts, some of them may be found trying to damage the transporters to prevent return to the Moira.
● Their mouths appear sunken in, stained red like the Exuo this planet is known for. Or is that something else soaked into their skin? Are you sure all those visitors made it back to their own ships? Their small black eyes never seem to close either.
● They are thin in stature but relatively strong. It will take more than one person to overpower them.
● If approached, they will retaliate with sharp nails and teeth. Their movements are aggressive, meant to disable but not kill.
● Killing the natives comes with no reprimand from the captains.

☄PURLOIN & OBLATION

The suns have eclipsed.

What light there is can only be found through artificial sources, and with the lack of light also comes alterations in the crew’s own mood. Where MIDs had detected a decrease in stress and increase in endorphins, that is no longer the case now. Some may find themselves irritable for no reason, while others are torn between fits of paranoia and excessive anger. The pleasant sweetness of the Exuo in the air has dissipated, leaving a staleness behind, and those that have been exposed longer to the surface of the planet suffer extensively more than those who have not left the safety of the Moira for extended periods of time.

However, most crew members will find themselves desperate to return to the empty marketplace or even the mines. Perhaps they are in search of more Exuo, or maybe they simply want to find those natives to question them or take out that aggression on something not so fragile. During this time, disappearances are more noticeable than ever, and those who go in search of friends and crew may find more than they bargained for.

●the seized: The darkness is unerringly quiet, and the natives that still linger on the planet have faded away with the sun. Maybe you find yourself in the deserted marketplace, or outside the wreckage of a transporter that’s been torn apart. The sounds you hear come from your left and grow steadily louder beside you. The sudden irritability that the crew has been experiencing multiplies and transforms into a paranoia that leaves you wanting to beg for the sun to return. Thin but strong arms wrap around you, long fingers with sharp nails dig into your skin. They don’t speak, or attack with the intent to hurt you, merely pull you away and back into the shadows. Whether you struggle or fight back doesn’t matter, try to get free.
●the subjugated: With your arms and feet bound, you wake up in an unfamiliar place. It may be hard to remember where you were last, or it may be crystal clear. You were taken by a group of the planet’s natives, tied up and thrown into a hollowed out pit in the ground. The dirt smells sickeningly sweet, metallic, and it overpowers your senses. There are others around you, both crew members from the Moira and people you might recognize from the marketplace. You know now that the disappearances weren’t random, or normal, and are the result of the natives capturing explorers and traders for their own unknown reasons. **
●the scarified: They want the the light back. This much is clear now. The natives believe their sun was stolen, and the only way to guarantee its return is through offering worthy sacrifices. With whatever dim lighting there is, you make out the shape of an altar slathered in something wet and dark. You are on your knees beside others that were chosen, waiting in line to be sacrificed. The person ahead of you is lifted and carried to the altar, and with the natives gathered together,chanting growing louder, there are quick movements before everything goes still all at once. Are you next? Or has someone come to save you?

The only reprieve from this nightmare is the familiar sound of the Moira’s transporter ships landing nearby. The crew has banded together and are on their way to free you. **

☄ASCENSION

The planet is no longer safe. Through a series of disturbing events, it has become clear that the crew cannot stay. Supplies has been gathered, hopefully enough to last until they can find another place to dock, and the captains, through the MID devices and in person, are ushering everyone back to the ship. It is imperative that everyone board swiftly so that they can make a hasty retreat. There is nothing left for anyone here.

( ooc; ** These options are for those who signed up for the event. All other characters are encouraged to rescue their crewmates from these situations as quickly as possible! For questions and/or plot, go here. )

Comments

[fight4theusers]

[That earns Force a glare from Tron, not like he can control the glitches, but he doesn't say as much.] Yes. That would be the plan.

[They round another corner in the maze of caves, and suddenly those black shadows are back, hands reaching out, dozens of them, grasping, attempting to overwhelm the two. Tron doesn't have time to calculate an attack or dodge, and without his weapons he's reduced to striking out with hands and feet. He's better with his discs, but he can fight well enough bare-handed... even so, there's too many of the creatures to deal with on his own.]

[forcefulgift]

[He hadn't expected them to be ambushed again, not really, and it was proving a hell of a lot more of a problem than he'd anticipated. Tron was glitching out and apparently not particularly useful without these disks of his.

He knew it was going to have to be a calculated risk here, but he could play clean up when they weren't on the verge of death any more. With a yell he raises his hands, inverting the gravity on the space around them. He focuses on Tron just enough that he keeps the stranger on the floor with him even as the aliens suddenly rise all around them into the sky.

He cocks his head at the strange robot-man, a snarl on his lips.] This is gonna be our secret mate, yeah? 'Cause if this get's out... you'll regret it. [And his hands go from extended to suddenly clenched fists and there's a series of disgusting popping noises as he slowly crushes the aliens around them like cans in their own gravity bubble.]

[fight4theusers]

[The creatures around him are suddenly... gone, lifted into the air by some strange force. Tron straightens, watching with a furrowed brow as his new reluctant ally apparently controls the gravity around them.]

We all have our secrets, apparently. [This is what Force was talking about when he said he didn't need weapons to fight.]

I'd have no reason to tell anyone. [He continues walking past the bodies, apparently unbothered by the crushed forms.] I see you trust no one. But that may become a problem for you eventually.

[forcefulgift]

[He drops down to the floor and can't help but grin. It was exhilarating, using his powers. Especially when he'd kept them bound tight and under lock and key since he got here. He takes a deep breath and there's a sudden gravitas around him, like he was more than he'd been five minutes ago.]

We all do, yeah... and I'm looking to keep it that way. [He shrugs.] Ain't like its hurt me before. Trusting people, mate, that's what gets you hurt.

[fight4theusers]

I used to think that way. [Tron shakes his head, circuits dimming and brightening as he recalls the memory.] I was training another program... Beck. It took me a long time before I was able to trust him, or call him a friend. That nearly got us both derezzed.

[Tron pauses and glances back at Force.] It's good to be cautious, yes. But only relying on yourself, trusting no one? That can harm you as well.

[He ducks into the room that the creatures seem to have been guarding... it seems to be a storeroom of sorts, full of weapons of all kinds. This looks promising.]

[forcefulgift]

]He just frowns himself.] Derezzed? Assuming that means killed. Well mate, the only people I've ever trusted have fucked me over in some way. That's why I ain't even tried. [So he wasn't going to trust anyone any time soon and he was happy with that.]

You'd be surprised. I was trained- [He stops there. Realizing the verb could get him in trouble.] -I mean, I've learned to cope with shit by myself, don't need anybody else to come along and add potential problems in the mix.