Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

General! (Like SparkNotes for history!)

0 (0%)

Civilian! (Common ways of life in the future and you!)

1 (16.7%)

Military! (Everything protective, destructive, and inbetween!)

1 (16.7%)

Criminal! (Not everythings a bright ray of sunshine!)

1 (16.7%)

Politics! (Glorious, good old factionalism!)

2 (33.3%)

Tech! (Prostetics, cloning, electronic fields oh my!)

1 (16.7%)

Other! (List in a post what you want!)

0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 6

[Tomcost]

-W-We have plenty of information on t-those creatures. C-Can you take us to whoever is in charge of g-getting the report of what we saw?

[Xantalos]

((Sorry I missed stuff - bad memory and laziness do such to me.))

Get down and be silent and alert, mace at the ready.

[Xanmyral]

[Nah, no problem. Game updates slow so I understand missing it at times. Things should pick up in about a week or two, hopefully.

I will say that next Wednesday will be an assured mini-turn only day, or mechanic's corner if mini-turn isn't applicable for some reason.

Turn tomorrow though.]

Marion, exhausted, quickly relays to the Sergeant what she said to the Enforcers before insisting on a ration and getting to sleep.

Thinking briefly and bitterly about her daughter's father, she finishes with the Sergeant, saying "And it's Ms, not Mrs."

The Sergeant listens with rapt attention as you lay down some serious exposition on him, the man's face not betraying his thoughts. When you finished, the lead enforcer is quiet for a moment, his eyes locked onto Marion, unblinking due to the man's lack of eyelids. He straightened in his chair and finally spoke after the uncomfortable silence.

"Noted. I've been informed by Ari of something similar. Damage and possible plague or disease. Symptoms seem to be aggression, according to two sources now, and now a black ash, surviving possibly lethal wounds, and increased activity at night..." The man trailed off, both from who he was speaking to along with his volume until it rolled into muttering.

The Sergeant gave an irritated sigh and shuffled some papers around on the desk, regarding them for a moment before diverting his attention back to Marion.

"You're cleared for one ration and bunk. You, and the rest of the search group, get an allowance of one ration a day, along with rest at night, under the condition that you continue to bear results. However, the door is to remain closed from now on at night; I refuse to put thousands at risk for the lives of a few. No one is to speak of the plague nor those infected by it to any bunker civilian. You have an additional objective, I wish for the recovery of one of those effected by this plague. Alive, dead, I don't care, anything is better than what little information we have on it. You're dismissed."

With that, the Sergeants attention went went upwards, speaking into the air. "Ari, I want those instructions relayed to the others of Gamma." The enforcer went back to staring at the papers in front of him before a familiar monotone voice answered him, the man paying it little regard.

"Affirmative, Sergeant. Relaying now."

Marin noted a new objective was added to her HUD, along with a small text file situated between the map and options choices.

Get down and be silent and alert, mace at the ready.

Get down and be quiet.

The humming song raises in pitch, sways to and fro, to and fro. The voices of many conjoined to one, the volume deafening almost, but slowly it fades, growing dimmer with each passing movement. Boss watched the door warily, while Briefcase looked at everyone confused and disturbed. The holo stayed a good distance away from the walls leading outside.

Soon it was distant, who or whatever humming the hymn now far. A few voices could still be heard outside, but they were disconnected and disjointed, a dull buzz compared to the macabre song from before. Lunk and Chin cautiously walked into the room, their eyes glancing at the barred doors and windows every now and again. Boss was silent for a bit more, until finally the silence was broken by his whispering.

"Somethin' pissed them off. Or got their attention. Or... Something. Hell if I know. Been a long time since they did that. Months ago there used to be some enforcers holed up in their station. They'd conduct raids on the things, trying to clear a block house by house, you could see the fires from them burning the things from clear across the district..."

Boss trailed off, but Chin picked it back up. "They aren't there anymore. Whole building is gone. No one found inside, around, anywhere near it. Nobody." Chin's face fell as he spoke, growing quiet. "Nobody." Lunk patted the man on the shoulder, getting him to sit down as he stared at the door.

Boss looked to the two on the ground and knelt. He gave a glance to his two companions before speaking in a hushed whisper, not wanting Lunk and Chin to overhear. "We went there 'cause we Chin's sister might of been there. She was an enforcer before this mess." He motioned for the duo of his trio to join them, and continued. "Rules seven comes into effect now: no lights, no loud noises. Keep your voice to a whisper, an' keep away from any doors an' windows. I suggest gettin' comfortable, cause we're gonna be here all night."

The holo had held his tongue for the whole scene, but couldn't hold back his question anymore. "Wh-what is going on? Who was humming, why..."

Freddie and Frogdo both noted a new objective showing up on their HUD, along with a new text file nestled between options and the map icon.

-W-We have plenty of information on t-those creatures. C-Can you take us to whoever is in charge of g-getting the report of what we saw?

" Thats good, I'm still keeping the weapons though. If those things out there find a way in here it's going to be a blood bath. "

"What? What things? What creatures?" The helmeted enforcer went for a pistol on his belt, his hand grasping its handle as he watched the giant metal doors.

The other enforcer, however, merely nodded. "Your weapon, not ours. Orders are the same, the Sergeant will debrief. Doors won't break." The last comment was shot as his companion, the enforcer looking at him and nodding, although he still kept his hand noticeably closer to his handgun.

"Should one of us stay here to make sure?"
"If you want."
"Er..." The idea of being alone here didn't seem to appeal to the helmeted enforcer.
"If the man said it won't break, it won't break. The damn things are weird, but they can't break metal. Now come on, let's get moving! I got a bunker to see to!"

The group made their way towards the lift, Wilmer noticeably in the front and walking faster than the rest, and Samuel was up ahead, still with the medic in tow behind him. There was a soft ping and an indication as a new objective was added to the survivor's HUDs, and a new text file as well.

[Harry Baldman]

Freddie nods along with the instructions given.

Check HUD. The text file as well, if possible. Don't do anything too loud.

[Patrick Hunt]

Check the file and go to the quartermaster. Find out if we have any stocks of raw metal.

[Tomcost]

Check new thing in HUD and go see the Sergeant (He is the one in charge, right?)

[notquitethere]

Marion chows down her ration and slides into the narrow bunk, exhausted. Before falling asleep she examines the new text file and objective.

[Xanmyral]

<~ && ~>

Welp, sorry for the longer-than-I-stated wait.
This update brought to you by OFF OST.

Night 3/5

[Commercial District]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Freddie nods along to the instructions and checks out the updates and new files on his HUD. No reason not to after all, might be something important. He made note to be silent, the buzzing hums outside still audible, if thankfully muffled due to the barricades.

The objective icon expanded happily at being noticed, revealing the same old objectives as last time such as finding food, survivors, recon, figuring out what happened, etc. But at the bottom there was an unfamiliar objective that had a flashing 'New' in blue next to it. 'Recovery of an infected individual for study, alive and bound preferred, dead acceptable.'

The text file, labeled 'Rules and Allowances,' was a list, a deal smaller than the objectives list, taking the objective list's previous place as the former's icon reappeared where it was before.
'• One ration a day will be distributed to your team provided results or strives for results are shown. Your old bunks are provided for rest as well, new ones if your old have been taken.
• The bunker doors will be solidly shut and stay shut at night due to security concerns about the infected.
• Conversing of the infected to any bunker civilian is prohibited, the information is considered classified for now.'

Meanwhile, Briefcase was getting insistent, addressing Boss and his group in hushed, even harsh whispers. "I want to know right now what in the ship is going on. Who or what was humming, and--and--"
"Ghostie, I'd be right appreciative if you would shut it. I ain't in the mood fer you."
"This is my store, I have a right to know what's going on and why!"
Boss gave an aggravated grumble, glancing at Freddie, then looked at the ceiling for a moment.
"Chin, you 'splain it to him."
"Boss--"
"Do it."
"Grmgbl... The things out there are chasing some poor bastard or bastards. Probably the bunker, considering. Hope they were entering or else there won't be much left of them. ...Or the bunker, if they didn't shut the door quick enough either. Maybe even then?" The man shrugged.
"The bunker? But that's only suppose to be used in emergencies! And what things?"
"And what in the ship do you think all this is? Some bloody teaparty? Why do you think we're all armed, housing ourselves in a stupid clothing store, and bothering with this?"
"But..." Briefcase seemed uncertain.
Lunk spent the conversation scribbling into a notebook, as he was before.

There came a raspy noise from the back of the store, heads turning to look in its direction. It sounded like a cough at first, before finally tumbling into a steady, hissing hum. It wasn't too dissimilar to the ones outside.

"...Asimov?"

[Bunker]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Marion left the Sergeant's office, having been dismissed. The guards who accompanied her to the Sergeant's office were no where to be found, most likely having gone back to resume their post by the door. The detective made her way to the mess hall, winding through the hallways and rooms of the bunker until she made it.

The mess hall is a very large area, looking as if someone had taken a modest sized building, removed everything entirely from the outside of it, and decided it would be a marvelous place to sell terrible tasting rations that can never-the-less last years on their own. After putting it a good distance under what is commonly considered the 'ground' of the ship, of course. She inputted her civ-code to the console at the front of the line, and a ticket printed out with a number, denoting her place in vast line.

Eventually, the detective was eating her meal at one of the tables in the mess hall. The place was awash with interaction around her, the mess hall being the largest area in the bunker, thus doubling as a sort of common's area for those down here. She couldn't help but notice a few odd looks and hushed whispers from the occasional civilian, but for the most part wasn't bothered by anyone. Even with all the conversations in the air though, everything and everyone felt dull and morbid. No one smiled, no one joked, the volume kept to a low enough level that the ever-present hum of the ship infiltrated conversations, as if no one was willing to remove its position as king.

The trip to her room was uneventful. It was free, although that isn't too much of a surprise considering she's only been gone for about a day. No one's been given the chance to take it over really. It was sparse and small, little more than a bed, closet, and a nightstand. Marion settled herself down and checked the text file and new objective, but they were largely what she expected, more or less what the Sergeant told her. Bring someone infected with the strange ash-spitting plague back to the bunker for study, the doors will be permanently closed at night, one ration a day and bunking, don't spill the beans to any civilian.


Harvey, Randall, and their group of seven people waited patiently on the lift as it ground down to the bunker proper. The ride was mostly boring, the guards offering small talk while the nervous medic tried to tend to Samuel's wounds. As the group progressed further and further down, a faint hum was heard, the familiar background noise of the bunker progressing. The ever-present breathing of the ship. To pass the time, the survivors looked at the new objective and the text file labeled 'Rules and Allowances.'

The text file, true to its name, seems to contain a list of three bullets, new rules and explanation on what they're to be given.
'• One ration a day will be distributed to your team provided results or strives for results are shown. Your old bunks are provided for rest as well, new ones if your old have been taken.
• The bunker doors will be solidly shut and stay shut at night due to security concerns about the infected.
• Conversing of the infected to any bunker civilian is prohibited, the information is considered classified for now.'

Closing the text file, the objectives tab expanded and quickly took its place with its own list. The new rule was easy to notice, it had a faintly flashing 'New' sign by it for convenience it seems. 'Recovery of an infected individual for study, alive and bound preferred, dead acceptable.'

Eventually the lift finally clicked down and locked in place at the bottom, and the seven of them made their way down the hall. They passed the four way that leads further into the bunker, or to the three separate ways outside. The path to the slums is still dark and decrepit, the dark eating any of the dim light that was offered it by the buzzing lights above. Soon they were in the bunker proper, the surroundings becoming familiar to them all from having seen them for months on end.

There the group split into three, each taking different paths. The medic dragged Samuel to the infirmary, citing the need for better facilities to look at his worrying wounds. The nervous man has applied some basic first aid to him already, but its obvious that the sight of the conductor disturbs the man. Harvey headed off, first on his own but then followed by the helmeted guard to see the quarter master. Randall, Wilmer, and the lone remaining enforcer of the group made their way to the Sergeant's office.


Harvey found what he was looking for easy enough, thanks to the occasional prod of his (unasked for) enforcer escort. The quartermaster was housed in the armory, a room connected to the enforcer bunker in case of emergency, easy defense, and security. The quartermaster himself was an overweight balding man with a full beard, currently hunched over a table that has a disassembled handgun laid on it. Beard was grumbling to himself as he looked the parts over.

The survivor asked him if there was a stock of raw metal. The man frowned and looked up from the table, scratching his beard at the question.

"Who're you? Wait-wait-wait... Your with tha scouting team, right? Yeah, yah are. Hmm... Raw metal? Yes and no. We got some, but not a lot and we have plans on using it for our fabricator. Why the need for it anyway, did you find a fab somewhere on the surface? Hm--You must've judging from that gun. Looks new and fancy compared to the crap down here."

Beard sat up straighter, turning his full attention from the disassembled gun on the table and onto Harvey.


Randall made it to the Sergeant's office well enough, following the enforcer who was leading the way. Along the way though, he couldn't help but notice some odd looks sent their way from some of the other civilians in the bunker, but they were largely sent in the direction of Wilmer, who gawked at almost every crack and crevice along the way.

"You know, I thought this place would be less shitty and more shiny topside. Beats being up there though, so I ain't complaining much."

The door to the Sergeant's office was largely nondescript. The door was wood, or what passed for wood on the ship due to the many recycling processes it often goes through, and simply held in on a plaque the words 'Office.'

Inside wasn't much different. The Sergeant sat behind his desk looking enthralled in some paperwork while there were two enforcers stationed in the corners of the room closest to the door. The only remarkable feature in the room was the desk and the Sergeant himself, the room containing little else beyond a few filing cabinets, spare chairs, and another room that shoots off from it. The Enforcer looked up from his paper work, giving Randall a glance before settling his eyes on Wilmer, his brow furrowing. His electronic eyes locked back on Randall after having made Wilmer uncomfortable.

"Mr. Steward. I assume you're here for debrief?"

************

Spoiler: Freddie Firenzo; Harry Baldman (click to show/hide)

Name: Freddie Firenzo
Gender: Male
Attribute: Inspiration (1)
Short Description: a somewhat small man, balding, wears glasses and possesses a pencil mustache. Covers up encroaching baldness with a clearly stolen trilby and hides rather unimposing physique behind a somewhat oversized pastel blue tuxedo.
Short Biography: despite the rather dire nature of the situation, Freddie is quite glad, all in all, that whatever happened happened. He was in the middle of contemplating suicide when the sirens came, trying to decide upon a good method to carry out a deed. However, evacuation put a stop to that kind of thinking, and Freddie rather appreciates the circumstances due to this. Why, he could make off with an entire tuxedo and hat in the chaos, and nobody noticed. For him, this whole apocalypse thing is kind of a definite improvement, really. Certainly an opportunity to reinvent himself, find some sort of track to get his life onto at last.
Inventory: AFU, Comm, HUD, Metal Club, Metal Spike, Cracked Headlight, 7 Dual-Torches, Oil Canister, Lighter, Credit Unions, 2 Rations, Memory Stick

Spoiler: Frogdo Badtirigidon; Xantalos (click to show/hide)

Name: Frogdo Badtirigidon
Gender: Male
Attribute: IRONMAN (0)
Short Description: He's a short dude with curly brown hair, spiky stubble, and heterochromatic eyes - blue and brown.
Short Bio: Maaaaaan, he was a dude who came from the streets, maaaaan, and he was angry and resentful and stuff, maaaaan. He's a survivor because he, like, KNOWS da streetz, maaaaan.
Inventory: AFU, Comm, HUD, Metal Club

Spoiler: Randall Steward; Tomcost (click to show/hide)

Name: Randall Steward
Gender: Male
Attribute: Intimidation (0)
Short Description: a short and filthy dark-haired individual. His back is always slightly bended fowards, which gives him the impression of being a hunchback. Actually, he stays like that to remain unseen.
Short Biography: Randall's parents abandoned him when he was but a a kid. He survived in the streets pretty much as a rat, stealing food and hiding. Treated by everybody as scum, he never found a way to integrate into society and kept living with low standards.
Inventory: AFU, Comm, HUD, 2 Knives, Rubber Glove, 5 Rations, Meat Clever

Spoiler: Marion Dupont; notquitethere (click to show/hide)

Name: Inspector Marion Dupont
Gender: Female
Short Bio/Description: A tall, commanding woman, previously an investigator in Ship Enforcement. After the warning sirens she moved in an orderly fashion to the nearest bunker. Her goals are: A. Find out if her daughter is safe. B. Get to the bottom of what's going on.
Attribute: Hammerer (1)
Inventory: AFU, Comm, HUD, 2 Rations, Lighter, Handcuffs, Family Photo, Sharp Machete, Metal Club, Heavy Work Gloves, Sledge, Duct Tape, Small Prybar, Box of Nails

Spoiler: Harvey; Patrick Hunt (click to show/hide)

Name: Harvey
Gender: Male
Attribute: Hammerer (0)
Description: Fairly tall with a lean but muscled body, long black hair and bright blue eyes.
Background: Winging it.
Inventory: AFU, Comm, HUD, 2 Knives, Recorder, Revolver, 2 Speed Loaders, Rifle Scope, Rifle Mag, 2 Rifle Rounds, Ration, Credit Unions, Car Parts

Spoiler: Samuel Allworthy; Persus13 (click to show/hide)

Name: Samuel Allworthy
Gender: Male
Attribute: Inspiration (0)
Short Description: A tall formally dressed man with a conductor's baton
Short Biography: An orchestra conductor who managed to get to the shelter on the way to a concert.
Inventory: AFU, Comm, HUD, 2 Knives
Wounds: Busted Right Arm

[Xantalos]

Frogdo jerks out of his comatose state.

Asimov? Who the fuq is Asimov?

[Patrick Hunt]

" I did indeed and it can make a fair few different weapons, I need something a bit bigger then this little thing and for that I need raw metal, do you know where I could find any outside the bunker?

I'll bring you back a list of what it can make in case you want anything from it."

Ask.

[Tomcost]

-Y-Yes sir- I managed to find a survivor, well, more precisely a group of survivors, but most of them were just c-cowards. He agreed to provide us some information from the outside in exchange of a s-safe place here.

((As I want my character to sleep and we are likely going to spend a lot of time here, I'm going to put what I want to do in the conversation in actions:))

DO:
-Give him all the information he asks.
-Arrange an air filtration unit and all of the standard equipment to be given to Wilmer. Explain to him that he will have to earn his place here.
-Say that Samuel and Harvey already fought and killed one of those things.

DO NOT:
-Say that we found food there.

And after everything, go eat my ration and then have a nap.

[Harry Baldman]

Freddie becomes quite alarmed upon hearing the noise. He looks at Briefcase.

"That sound worries me. Tell me who Asimov is, please. Tell me exactly who he is."

Stand ready for shit to go down.

[Xanmyral]

Mini-Update time!

Frogdo jerks out of his comatose state.

Asimov? Who the fuq is Asimov?

Freddie becomes quite alarmed upon hearing the noise. He looks at Briefcase.

"That sound worries me. Tell me who Asimov is, please. Tell me exactly who he is."

Stand ready for shit to go down.

"I... Asimov is... He's my coworker. The one I've been talking about, but..."

Briefcase stared aimlessly at something in the back of the store. The humming continued, rising in pitch and lowering accordingly, sounding similar to the ones outside. Then another voice buzzed along with it, a deeper pitch, then another, and another. Soon there was what sounds like five different voices humming in synch together.

Boss was on his feet clutching his pipe, Lunk and Chin followed his lead. "Ghostie. You better spill where this Asimov is now or..."
"He was fine when I left him, he--he--this isn't possible, I mean he's--"

And with that, the humming stopped. There was no slow down, there was no slow progression to a lower volume. Just silence. There was a soft click, and a thin stream of light shone into the main room, a thin line of light lightly illuminating a lower section on the curtain that leads further into the store.

" I did indeed and it can make a fair few different weapons, I need something a bit bigger then this little thing and for that I need raw metal, do you know where I could find any outside the bunker?

I'll bring you back a list of what it can make in case you want anything from it."

Ask.

The man listened intently, nodding and scratching his beard. "Chances are its a standard fab so any old piece of metal won't work unless you fan of broken fabs. We could use the parts I suppose." Beard smirked at his own joke, continuing. "You can find raw fab metal in some stores, mostly those that deal with construction or some such. Anywhere that would have a fabricator really. General store maybe? Hardware most likely."

"I'd be a happy man if I could know what it can make, but I'd rather have it here to look at myself. Our fab down here just makes stuff to repair the bunker, good and all in keeping it repaired, but hell if that won't do anything if our weapons break on us. I could probably load other schematics on it maybe, replace our old fab with a bigger one... The bitch o' the problem is getting it here from there."

The balding man tossed around a few ideas in his head, tapping on the table and sending some of the smaller handgun parts jittering about. "Where's it at?"

-Y-Yes sir- I managed to find a survivor, well, more precisely a group of survivors, but most of them were just c-cowards. He agreed to provide us some information from the outside in exchange of a s-safe place here.

((As I want my character to sleep and we are likely going to spend a lot of time here, I'm going to put what I want to do in the conversation in actions:))

DO:
-Give him all the information he asks.
-Arrange an air filtration unit and all of the standard equipment to be given to Wilmer. Explain to him that he will have to earn his place here.
-Say that Samuel and Harvey already fought and killed one of those things.

DO NOT:
-Say that we found food there.

And after everything, go eat my ration and then have a nap.

The Sergeant listened along, prompting for information about the survivors, the surrounding areas, etc. He would occasionally watch Wilmer closely while Randall spoke, taking his mechanical eyes off of the abrasive man after a few moments.

"Samuel and Harvey killed one of the plagued?" The enforcer searched through his papers for a moment before finding the one he was looking for, glancing through it before nodding. "Yes, Mr. Allworthy and his companion. Should make the new objective I've given you all easy, I expect it to be finished promptly then once your all topside again."

When you got to having Wilmer be put into your group, the man pondered the idea while Wilmer protested.

"What? That isn't what I fucking wanted to do, I wanted to stay here, not head back up and risk my neck! I did enough of that already, for months!"
He didn't seem very happy.
"Consider it done. Saves me the trouble of finding a way to deal with him."
The abrasive man was now markedly less happier than before.
"What?! Man, this is some bullshit."

Wilmer trailed off in grumbling while the Sergeant motioned to one of the enforcers, who nodded and moved into the side room with a click of the door shutting behind him. Soon the helmeted enforcer returned with a Comm unit and mask, handing them off to Wilmer.

[Rest of your actions will be done during the actual turn, but I figured since a good portion of it was mini-turn amount I'd do it piecemeal.]

[Tomcost]

Randall said to Wilmer:

-D-Don't worry, we will come back at n-night, and that m-mask will prevent you from inhaling that b-black ash. As your s-survival here depends on what we can do outside, by helping us you are improving your chances of n-not starving to d-death here. N-Now, you should tell the Sergeant anything I missed.

[Harry Baldman]

"Listen, man," Freddie asks, a bit low on patience. "Is he a hologram, machine or a living being?"

Ask. Ready my mace and stand behind a counter.