Maximus: Starboard Hangar Bays, in a small hangar
Brian Hoss, hull of the Maximus
Follow the Phoenix.
You get in the Phoenix and fly away. After a brief stop to pick up the Pulse Reactor Seed you make your way to the Starboard Hangar Bays.
The Phoenix scans the surrounding area as it forces the gates of a small bay open and prepares to dock.
: Area looks mostly empty. I'm detecting a few active power sources nearby and... That's strange. :The transmission cuts off for a few seconds. You can hear the sounds of the hill staining under the Phoenix's sustained barrage of energy beams and punching.
: There's a very weird signal, some sort of non-standard power source. There's also a lot of automated signals coming from the Main Security Station. I'm trying to- :Icarus emits a shocked gasp.
: Black Box signals detected. Updating map... :: No. It can't. That's... black box signals... so many... :There's a few more seconds of silence. You can no longer feel vibrations coming from outside.
: I'm sorry. It's OK. I'm OK. I'll stop active scans. The anomalous signal is reacting to them. :The Phoenix enters the bay and starts working on resealing the bay doors.
"What's a black box signal? Why is finding it so bad?"
: It's a signal given off by a black box to help locate it. The black box signals are triggered whenever a system equipped with them is heavily damaged or disconnected from the black box. The black box contains a recording of the system's recent operations to help find out what went wrong with it. And... well, many of the people serving aboard the Maximus had black boxes installed. Almost all security personnel. :The Phoenix settles down in the docking bay, retracting its wings and securing itself in place. The bay door has been sealed but with power offline the pumps are inoperable, leaving the bay flooded with the cold alien liquid.
Despite it, you can get a good look on your surroundings due to the light emitted by the Phoenix, rays of light escaping from the scars and holes across its surface from where the missiles hit it. The bay is little more than a big box with some equipment for securing the ship in place and a small control room.
: I'll need some time to clear this room of liquid and start the repair process on the Phoenix. You can go on ahead and I'll come join you when I'm done or you can wait for me to finish. :There's two doors leading out of the room, one large and one small. The map shows that beyond them there's a small decontamination area, after that there's a security station linking various small hangar bays and beyond that there's a small hub leading to other areas of the hangar section.
The hangar section contains various facilities. Ship maintenance and modification areas, temporary storage, temporary lodging, quarantine, packaging, portmaster's office, fuel and supply storage...
There's only two exits out of the hangar section. One exit is a series of security checkpoints leading to the Main Security and Weapon Storage section. Your map shows a great number of blips in that area. The location of various black boxes. Destroyed autonomous machines or dead people or both, the signal does not distinguished between them. You notice there's a large gap in the concentration of signals in the direction of the Way Station.
The other exit is the various transfer systems linking the hangar to the Way Station. They are primarily meant to transfer cargo but are also capable of transporting people and small vehicles. You are supposed to meet up with the rest of the team on the Way Station, so you could go and wait there. Or you could just stay in the hangar and wait for either Icarus to finish his repairs or John to come in radio range and contact you.
You've also have that wound on your torso, where a piece of debris got embedded. It's not bleeding very much now, not after what Saevus did to it, but it still hurts, you might want to get that looked at once you're somewhere dry. There should be a first aid kit or some other thing you can use around here somewhere.
Maximus: Fore Section Transport Tube
"On one hand, the place looks in top shape, so debri block is unlikely. Whoever made the previous traps though..."
Svajoklis looks over the controls of the cabs.
"Hey console, could we send one of these ahead without a pilot to crash loudly and brightly in any blocade and then follow in another at enough distance to stop if we see the first one crash?"
You approach one of the small vehicles already waiting on the transport hub. You press your one remaining hand against its surface and it lights up, the door slowly sliding open. As you inspect the inside, a calm yet stern male voice informs you of its inoperability.
: Warning. Connection to the transport Network has been lost. The automated operation mode has been disabled for your safety. :The automated controls are fairly simple. The cabs are equipped with a map on which you can select your destination. The cab then automatically takes you to the nearest transport station. However right now the cabs are refusing to operate. All areas except your current one are grayed out. Selecting one brings up a message saying that the transport system is temporarily offline, citing unsafe conditions. With that explored, you turn to the manual controls.
: Warning. Remember: Manual control usage restrictions are in place for the protection of all of us. ALL unauthorized vehicle interactions will be logged and dealt with the utmost degree of force. :The manual controls are hidden behind a protective screen that also contains the instructions for operating them. They are slightly more complicated but also much more low-tech and robust. One stick to rotate around the transport tube, a lever with a dead man's switch for speed and two pedals for controlling height. There's also a few knobs for adjusting orientation and tilt, though the instructions warn you that you will most likely never need to use them and should leave them on Auto. The instructions reiterate several times that this is not for fun, this is dangerous, that the vehicle has several safety features including an ample supply of breathable air and that in most cases it's better to sit tight and wait for rescue than to use manual mode. You guess that doesn't apply to you, since you're supposed to be the rescue.
"I like that plan, man. Let's do it."
Check the cars out and sense their condition. Save the best one for us; send ahead one of the other good ones ahead first.
On the way see if I can enhance the lighting on the one we're using. Don't overtax self given this area's effect on power.
All the vehicles waiting on the transport hub appear to be in pristine condition. One has some scratches on one of the seats but that's pretty much it. Some of them might have never been used before. The ones I'm front of the dispenser are all standing by, their insides quietly humming to your senses, ready to be reactivated at a moment's notice. The ones further in the dispenser are quiet, offline, but to you they look more or less the same as all the others.
You select one of the larger, heavier looking vehicles and use your technokinesis to activate its manual mode and guide it to the tube.
"I christen thee 'Suicidal Canary'."With that, you jam the lever at half speed, sending the vehicle speeding ahead, a ring of illumination traveling down the dark tube. You get inside the vehicle Svajoklis is in and start it up, following the car up ahead. About half a minute of smooth gliding in, you begin to consider whether or not you should had set Suicidal Canary to full speed. The map says you're going at about 50 miles per hour. It will take a few minutes to reach the Way Station.
You occasionally come across a powered down vehicle or drone anchored on the walls but they are out of the way, clearly marked and easy to avoid. Looks like even with the Network offline, the vehicles still make an effort to transmit information to each other and warn you as you approach.
While you cruise on, you attempt to modify the vehicle to make its light more powerful. You reposition all the lights to the front but the resulting beam is too diffuse to matter. With some apprehension, you try to summon some sort of mirror to focus it. And you succeed! It doesn't hurt this time, at least not as much as last time. It's just tiring and takes too long. It feels worse than when you first got this ability. ... Well, at least that means there's no chance you'll accidentally mutilate yourself agai-
You slam the height increase pedal and put the cab on full reverse. A second earlier you watched the Suicidal Canary slam into something, becoming a flickering, tumbling light bouncing off the walls in zero-g. As your car slows to a halt, you fly through a cloud of debris that noisily plink against the windshield. A few hundred meters ahead a sizable chunk of the transport tube has been molten and blown apart. Whatever did this carved a line across this section of the transport tube, deforming it greatly, revealing the tubes and wires that make up its guts. The lead car (which has now managed to grind into a near halt and is slowly drifting away) must have hit the deformed section. That could had been you if you hadn't sent it ahead to test the waters.
You raise the speed lever slightly and let the car drift high above the destroyed section. While your vehicle floats through, occasionally pushing a piece of debris out of the way, you make a note on your map of this location.
You can see more destroyed sections up ahead so you decide to take it slow. The Way Station is only a couple of kilometers away. You should be able to see it in a few minutes.
: Black box signal detected. Updating map... : your interface states and two blips appear on the map it's projecting. They are quite close, inside a nearby transport hub, much smaller than the one you used to obtain your vehicles. It looks like this one was used to access some sort of maintenance area for some of the AI's Network connections.
"Interface, what are Black Boxes?"
: Black Boxes are robust information storage devices. They can be installed to both mechanical and organic systems to record their status for posterity. The Black Box Signal helps locate the Black Box in the event that the system carrying it is either heavily damaged or disconnected from it. You should investigate Black Box signals if possible, as they might contain useful information. :However, by this point you've stopped paying attention, instead focusing on what has been revealed to you. Or rather, what has not been revealed to you. There's no Way Station up ahead. In its place is a debris field of molten metal and ash. Something bad happened here.
Campaign: Balloons
Alan, Incorporeal But Still Tubular
"How's about your turn; what happened since me and Irine and the others left to scout ahead? What happened to you? Um, the gist of it anyway--with emphasis on why I...at least I think- I only can see you?"
"Hey, you know me, I don't remember when that was! But basically I was in the middle of exploring the temple thing with a friend I made and put some magic koolaid into my eyes to unlock a door, and now I'm part of all the water in the world or something. I'm in a lot of places at once! I don't think you guys could've held yourselves together since it'd be pretty easy for anyone else to just become part of everyone else. Fortunately, I'm truly unique as far as everything goes, so I'm handling it alright.
Oh, oh, tell River I say hoobastank, he'll probably know what I mean. I could talk to him too, but I'm talking to Ike at the same time too and spreading myself too thin right now isn't too tubular of a thing to do."
Alan hems and haws for a moment.
"Anyway, basically a River family member is our guy? Shall I call him Stream? Brook? Flood? Ooh, how about Bob, that sounds good. Anything more you know about Bob? I'm gonna look for him in a second, and I figure the easier it is for me the more soul-aid I'll have left over by the end of it."
After talking with Theri and Ike, cut off my conference call to them and use my ocean powers to look for Bob the River Guy. He's a shapeshifter or something, so if I can see what he looks like and where he is it'd probably be helpful for us.
You're a balloon.
You're 99 balloons.
All of you is flying over a graveyard.
A graveyard city, tombstones rising out of the ground like skyscrapers, touching the sky like mountains.
A little girl is there. She's drinking strawberry milkshake while resting atop the greatest grave tower, her legs dangling from the edge.
"You again?" she asks but doesn't look too concerned, more curious.
She gets back to loudly slurping her milkshake, making sure to drink every last drop before carelessly throwing it away.
"What do you want, little balloon?" she asks as she reaches into the cavity of a dead tree, retrieving a vanilla milkshake.
Anti-mission
(Thanks! 
)
Stephano Falcone
Stephano looked toward the window and slowly rose from his seat. His hand reached toward his gun.
Could be enemies approaching us.
Taking a deep breath, Stephano calmed himself and reconsidered.
No. That's unlikely. Iris took several precautions on our way here to make sure we weren't followed, and we haven't been bothered since we arrived. Still, we might not be safe here. I need to make sure this building is secure.
Ready my gun and approach the window as quietly as I can. Cautiously look out the window to check what's going on outside.
If there appears to be nothing wrong, then check the front door. If the door is fine, then lock it if I can. Check all of the building's other entrances and windows. Lock or secure them as much as possible. Afterward, return to my seat and take a nap.
You slowly approach the window while readying your gun. You carefully look outside. For a moment it all looks fine. Then you notice a shadow that wasn't there before, illuminated by the faint light of the sky. Looks like the shape of a car.
This could be nothing. Just some people who got lost. But would someone who was lost stop there and turn off their lights? No, this doesn't feel right. You should do something. But what if it's Iris' friends? If you act rashly you could have a repeat of this morning. Would that be so bad? Can you trust them? And what if they're soldiers looking to drag you back into that hellhole? In that case they would probably have the place surrounded. What choice would you have then? What choice do you make?
You walk through the darkness, using the torch to light the way. You follow the trail of lights to the door, ignoring any branches in the path.
The trip is a bit slow but uneventful. You reach the door, a heavy-looking wooden thing. There's an engraving of a cat on it, curiously poking her head inside a half-open chest. The wall is on a large white marble wall, you can't see where it ends. You turn the knob and try to push it open. It won't budge, doesn't even bend a little. You pull instead. The door opens. That was easy. If this was a test than its purpose is probably 'can this guy walk and make the most basic connections'. Through the door is a tiny room, more like a closet really or maybe a chimney since it has no roof. The only thing in it is a pair of bootprints engraved on the floor. You can barely stand in it.
((I assume you don't want to explore further, so...))
You step inside to get a better look at the walls, trying to judge how high they are. The door immediately slams shut behind you, forcing you the rest of the way in. You've barely pushed yourself off the wall when the floor starts going up. It feels more like the world is going down while you remain stationary, there's no wind, no acceleration, no noise. You can only tell you're moving through the moving patterns in the marble. Maybe it's just the wall displaying a different texture, like in a video game, but you don't feel like putting the theory to test. It's moving too fast, you could lose a finger.
A few seconds later you've risen above the wall, into the darkness beyond. From here you can see everything. You can see the burning building and the little path leading to the door, sure, but you can also see the buildings surrounding the fire and the small forest of dead trees surrounding those, as if lit by some omnidirectional light. Even your dying torch produces no shadows. You can see every bit of the area you were in, even the huge walls enclosing it. Like a dollhouse floating in the void.
You can also see where you're going from here. From below it doesn't look that impressive. Just a stone square with a small protrusion on one side. Soon you reach the square. The platform enters a small hole in one of the edges of the square, quite similar to the one you started in. You are once again in a tiny space with a single door. There's an engraving on it, a kitten playing with a cat, chasing her tail.
You open the door and go into the room beyond. It's fairly small and completely undecorated, just four walls extending upwards into darkness. There's a double door on your right, on the other side of the room. Unsurprisingly, there's another image involving cats on it, this time having a cat sleeping in the same box as a kitten. What breaks the pattern is that there's a quote engraved underneath it.
Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.
Directly opposite to you is an open door where a man has just walked out of. He's dressed in somewhat loose yet expensive-looking black clothes and wears grey mirrored sunglasses and a black baseball cap with a crown emblem stitched on it. A good portion of his face is covered by a short beard.
He stays silent for a moment, you can't read him easily without being able to clearly see his face. Then he starts walking towards you.
"Hi there! Jack Krank, King of Card Games." he introduces himself with a small wave.
He stops before reaching you and smiles.
"You're my 'friend'?"
Blinking in confusion, Napoleon looked around the room momentarily before returning his gaze to the strange man. Given the things he saw earlier, he certainly didn't expect to meet such a person especially one who called himself 'King of Card Games'. If this is truly a test, it would be one that determines how long Napoleon can keep his sanity together from the sheer absurdity of it.
"Ah, were you expecting someone, Monseigneur Jack?" Napoleon asked gingerly. There's no telling whether this pleb has all of his marbles or any at all. Perhaps the Queen put him up to this, sort of like those movies about the dynamic duos who solve problems together. Though it's too early to say whether he should trust him, Napoleon figured that he should use this man, as least until he could uncover a method to this madness. "Regardless, it's nice to meet you. I am Napoleon Lambeau, Doll Prince. So, what do you need?"
Await Jack's answer.
"Ah, were you expecting someone, Monseigneur Jack?""The quote on the door said 'A stranger is a friend you haven't met'. Now we've met, stranger." the man says, still smiling.
"Regardless, it's nice to meet you. I am Napoleon Lambeau, Doll Prince. So, what do you need?""Ah, Prince, of course. Well, all I
need you to do is step through the door with me." he says, pointing at the double door.
"Getting to know you would also be nice, seeing as we're supposed to be working together."
Campaign: The Hills of Midnight
"B-but that wasn't really about them. I mean, I... I did that for me. It made me, well, not exactly happy? Proud, I guess?To do it. I... I like that feeeling. It wasn't about them as people, it really was all about me and my pride. I don't deserve devotion like that for something so selfish. Some grattitude for how my actions helped, sure, but that kind of loyalty... I don't think I've earned that. If they like the actions, the pride, then doesn't it make more sense to try to do the kind of things that give that kind of pride? Wouldn't it be better to be a hero yourself than to devote yourself to protecting one? I want people to grow themselves, to make themselves better. Not to thrust it all on me. I'm not the only person who needs help sometimes."
"Hah. I think you misunderstood. I was merely giving an example of how one might think. People are diverse. You can't just lump all their desires and motivations together. If you wish a simple explanation, then perhaps the best one is this: They do
want to help you, either because they expect you to help them or the ones they care about or to repay you for your past deeds."
"They're just trying to do the best they can. We all are. So we come together or even fight each other to achieve that. Humans- no, nearly every living thing is like that. Is this selfish or selfless? I think it doesn't really matter in the end."
He sighs.
"Maybe it's hard for a creature that's lived most of its life alone and all powerful to understand just why people need this. To come together by desire or by force."
"'All streams do their best to flow to their sea. When many streams join, they become an unstoppable raging current.'"
"If you need a better explanation than that, then you'll have to reach out to each and every one of them and learn their reasons for joining you and each other for yourself. It's better than relying on my guesses.""I am influencing the lantern, but I'm also doing the same thing to the air in between you two sirs. I was hoping that if you could detect me, you could tell me what the side-effects are of areas with similar signatures. You not being able to notice me where there isn't an active flame is a good sign I think, though it is somewhat inconvient. May I have permission to expand my influence to include one of you, the most likely to be able to notice and resist any effects such might have, to see if there are any?"
"Sure, go ahead." the man says and closes his eyes.
You extend yourself, reaching out to embrace the fire within him and strengthen it.
"Are you doing it yet?" he asks.
"I think I feel it. It feels... kinda nice, actually. But also a bit... off."He opens his eyes.
"It's strange, certainly, but I don't think it's harmful. I think I can block it out completely if I focus on it but it makes it feel weirder.""Maybe the more accepting your Fire is the less resistance you'll feel.""Hm. Maybe."As Irine was busy with the other mages, and Theri was by herself, she booped River on the nose as he stood on her shoulders and rested on her head.
"Ok, don't tell me you can't not see Alan too. He's right beside me, probably ethereal?" she said, glancing at the pretty realistic Alan, much like a lucid dream. She then faced him and said,
"How's about your turn; what happened since me and Irine and the others left to scout ahead? What happened to you? Um, the gist of it anyway--with emphasis on why I...at least I think- I only can see you?"
River can certainly sense something, but you're not sure if he can see Alan like you can. He just looks confused and unsure about what to do.
Alan, Incorporeal But Still Tubular[...
"Oh, oh, tell River I say hoobastank, he'll probably know what I mean. I could talk to him too, but I'm talking to Ike at the same time too and spreading myself too thin right now isn't too tubular of a thing to do."
[...]
"Anyway, basically a River family member is our guy? Shall I call him Stream? Brook? Flood? Ooh, how about Bob, that sounds good. Anything more you know about Bob? I'm gonna look for him in a second, and I figure the easier it is for me the more soul-aid I'll have left over by the end of it."
Theri was glad she was used to puzzles. She could understand Alan's words very well.
"Yes our guy is basically someone with similar characteristics to River. Also we have some soul orb that is like a danger counting down the longer we wait and all--hey could you do me a favor before you go? Can you scout the hills ahead? Since people can't see you and it seems you only choose who can, it'll help us a lot to know what's ahead of us! And please tell Ike about the dangers of the Midnight Hills I told you! Ambushes and probabilities and the like. We do really need scouts!"
She petted the confused River and spoke: "Sorry for the one-way conversation buddy. Alan says 'hobostank' or something. Told me you'll probably know what he means. Also he could talk to you but he's talking to Ike at the moment."
Err, give Irine a hug before continuing conversation and all.
If there should be an action--ensure combat readiness in the troops!
River is left even more confused by Alan's sudden departure and cryptic words. Time passes. Alan doesn't return. You're not sure what happened to him, but he never responded to your request to check for ambushes. Maybe he forgot. Alan always forgets things. He's probably fine. But you still have to deal with the potential danger.
...
You and the group of recruits quietly scout ahead. You move from rock to rock, careful to stay low and behind cover, using every shrub and depression to your advantage. The sun is close to setting behind you, its glare hopefully helping to conceal you. A slow wind is blowing from in front of you, helping to conceal your scent.
You and a group of recruits willing to follow you have gone on ahead, splitting up into small teams so you can cover the walls of the pass, looking for ambushes. Your team consists of you, River and Leiel, one of the recruits you've been training in hand to hand combat. (You're not sure if it's good for River to be with you, he still hasn't recovered fully, but he wouldn't let you go on your own. Well, if things get bad you can always pick him up and run.)
Your goal is to scout the area up ahead and find a good hiding place to spend the night. If someone is lying in wait to ambush you, you'll detect them and warn the others so you have time to decide how to deal with them. If someone comes during the night, you'll be able to give the camp early warning.
You've moved a good distance ahead and started searching for good hiding spots. Suddenly River stops and emits a soft growl, focusing at somewhere up ahead. You look at where he's looking but can't see much, just more rocks. Then you focus on your other senses and finally you realize what has River upset. It's the stench of those monster birds.
You make a signal to the other groups to stop while you consider your options. You can't tell exactly where it's coming from but you're certain about what it means. Those monster birds are up ahead somewhere. Maybe they're waiting for nightfall to ambush you, maybe they don't know you're here and are simply resting here. Whatever it is, it's certainly bad news for you and your friends.
You could go on ahead to find out more. Or you could stick with the plan and wait here for their next move. Or maybe do something in coordination with the others.
Speaking of which, you should also send someone back to warn the others. Or maybe you could warn them yourself, you could contact them using your telepathy pendant, but what if the birds sense its magic and attack you?
Campaign: The Wandering Arms
Campaign, Ike!
"Okay, fine. But I'd like those eyeballs and any other tips you can give me."
Get my end of the deal. Also pick up the conference call from Alan!
<I kinda picked this up midway through, but are you asking about who we're here to murder again? 'Cause lemme tell you, our buddy River likes being cryptic as all hell about that. Near as I can tell it's some other guy like him what killed their bonded soulmate or whatever and that's like high crime or whatever.>
<Also shit man, great to hear from you. You sound a bit watery though. Gonna pick up your eyeballs from this Brad guy and then turn the tables on some ambushers or whatever. Good god I fucking hate these Sovereignty guys getting in the way like that, like, what the shit is their problem?>
Monitor the situation outside while Ike is doing his thing. Be the proverbial canary for whenever the assassins/hunters/commandos arrive.
((I started writing this part and then DAF posted and then I reread HB's post and then I got confused. Are you going to fight the Sovereignty's guys or are you going to go through the tunnel escape and run away?))
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Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1147057 times)