( world #2 - the storm. )

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players a storm approaches.This log is for everyone who signed up for The Storm investigation. Feel free to use the here to plot further on how you plan on approaching The Storm, and the issue. The mod questions thread is also open, if you have anything you would like to run by us. the investigation. It takes a day of preparation, and a day of discussion, before you are led further down into the tunnels. It's pitch black, but one of the BGs who you have become familiar enough with turns on a low light and continues further. You walk for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes, and then turn a corner into a large, open cavern. The BG explains that at one time, this had been an underground transportation system - old and unused for centuries, now, but still in working order. They file each of you onto a single car - it seems to be large enough to fit nearly a hundred, possibly more, bodies - so everyone has a space. The BG explains that they have already input the coordinates into the system, and that once they close the door, you will be transported to the last known location. The car will be programmed to wait for 72 hours, and then will return to this location. There is food and water supplied, and already packed, in the car. If you are not back in the car by that time, it will leave you behind. They then give their farewells, thank you for your help and readiness, and step away from the door - letting it close behind them. The car travels down a pitch black tunnel, and while the inside is dimly lit enough for the Circle Members to see each other and move around without hinderance, you can see nothing through the windows. It continues for a few hours at this rate - nothing to see, no idea where you are going. That is, until it seems to break through the surface, the track running through buildings and another, unknown area of the city. The streets and buildings are abandoned, the tech old and outdated, windows broken out and dust filling the street. The sky, like back in the city you knew before, is cloudy and grey. But these clouds are different - these clouds are dark in a way you haven't seen before. You travel for another half hour above ground before the cart comes to a stop, and during this time it happens twice. A low rumble, seeming to come from everywhere at once, and then a few heartbeats after, a disasterous flash of lighting - miles away, yes, but threatening and gigantic, brighter and more violent than you've ever seen lightning before. The crash shakes the ground under you, and the damage is immense. But the buildings are abandoned, the streets empty save for crates, old mechanical bits, dusty remnants of a society long forgotten by the Struxta you came from just a couple of days prior. This is The Storm you've been warned about. the storm. You have been asked to find out information that will help the BG's, and Struxta, to stop The Storm. From what you can gather, it does seem to be a naturally occurring weather phenomenon, as far as weather systems seem to work on this planet. However, rather than scattered thunder and lightning strikes, it seems to almost recharge and strike with epic proportions. It can damage, or destroy, buildings. It shorts out any and all items (and people) who depend on electricity in any form to function (Sorry Daylight and Conner, sorry to anyone who brought along technology) within a three mile radius. The 'darkness' the BGs were talking about does follow this storm, but they seem to have been referring to this electrical shortage that comes from the storm and it's strikes. If this storm does reach any of the still-occupied areas of the city, it will shut down the entire grid, as well as any of the robots, androids, or electrically based figures that exist there - essentially ending the life of every Struxta citizen that is effected. Plot, plan, theorize, and see if you can find a way to stop The Storm. If not, be back on the train car in 72 hours time, to return to the BGs and report what you have found. PROMPT IDEAS 1.) Discussions on the train - do you have any ideas for what to prepare? Any discussions you may want to have? You and your fellow Circle Members are caught here together for a few hours, driving into a situation you know very little about. What do you want to make sure you're prepared to handle? 2.) Scouting missions - the heart of The Storm is very much in the distance, and it is not moving quickly, giving Circle Members plenty of time to set out and check out the surrounding city. What you will find won't be much - this is a robotic ghost town in every turn of the phrase. Buildings have been abandoned for hundreds of years, covered in dust and left entirely undisturbed, except for the breeze that now seems to flit through this entire area. There are stores, warehouses, apartments, and buildings you can't even tell what they were used for, cleared out. Whenever, or whoever, lived in this part of Struxta had evacuated, quickly but efficiently. 3.) The Storm - The Storm is still a distance away from where the cart has dropped you off, enough that when your 72 hours are up, the heart of the storm and the lightning strikes shouldn't reach the car, or the track. This does mean that to do any closer investigation, you will need to go to The Storm itself. But be careful - the electrical output from these lightning strikes are dangerous, and can have all sorts of effects on both natural and mechanical beings. The wind, the closer you get to The Storm, will also pick up - making any kind of flying or air travel impossible. 4.) Planning - the car leaves everyone off at an old train station, which a large room attached. This room can be used as a kind of home base, as well as a meeting location. What do you plan on doing? Simply taking down information, or trying to take the storm head on? How do you plan on doing that? Will your abilities help? This room attached onto the train station is a safe location - no effects of The Storm will make it inside. Use as you would like!

Comments

[teratias]

I. The midnight train going...aw you know the rest
[There is nothing quite like being shoved into a tin can and being sent along a dark passage with no idea what is about to happen. Rather than ponder this fact outloud though, Waver keeps his nose close to the window, watching that darkness go by.

He perks when it looks like there's some other shadow in the darkness, but quickly deflates once it goes. When the city does emerge, all abandoned andd outdated, Waver cannot help but sit up, analyzing everything.]

...Strange that nature hasn't tried to reclaim anything here, so far as I can tell.

II. Not a boy scout
"Ugh," Waver says as his feet step over some bits of broken glass. The soles of his shoes are thick enough, but it isn't the first time he's done this exact action today. It won't be the last either. The place is in ruins, and the glass covering the area is a concern. It means that when the storm hits, the immediate area isn't good for taking cover.

But there is something off to the left that catches his attention - another warehouse, this one with precious few broken windows an a door that hangs open ever so slightly. With a deep breath, Waver nods.

"Right, might as well go in," he announces to no one at all.

III. Wildcard
You know the deal.

II

[spaceforged]

"Might as well." Says the darkness, but it turns out to be Shiro stepping out of the shadows. He's back in sleek white and black armor, but the air about him is different. He seems quieter maybe calmer.

"We're far enough away from the storm I can change shape and get us out of here. But if it gets any closer we'll have to retreat on foot." He moves over the glass and eyes the other warehouse, taking a step towards it.

[teratias]

"Jeez, don't do that," Waver says to Shiro as he steps out of the dark shadows. There's a mildly surprised look on Waver's face, making it clear that yeah, he really does scare that easily. It's a bit sad, really, but Waver's just like that.

The armor doesn't really cause Waver any alarm. If anything, that means Shiro's sturdier and can stand up to any real problems that come along.

"I'll just trust you to turn into something I can hang onto for deal life or whatever." Waver's really good at doing that, after all."

[spaceforged]

He chuckles as he heads straight for the warehouse. "And I'll trust you to keep a sharp eye out." Waver is good for that too. He nears the warehouse and glances warily in the direction of the storm. His right arm tingles but it hasn't given up on him yet.

The inside of the warehouse is dark. Shiro takes a breath and changes shape. The yellow glow of his eyes lights the way ahead of them. He moves slowly, taking care not to knock anything over. 'I keep expecting to find some kind of tech to point us to what caused that storm.'

[teratias]

Waver's feet make no noise as he moves across the warehouse floor. It's hard not to notice Shiro's shapechange (it's nothing he'll ever get used to, and he's a mage for god's sake), but at least the shape change comes with lighting.

As Shiro speaks, Waver's eyes are everywhere at once, trying to see if anything at all is out of place. Really? I don't. It could be coming from further afield, and this is just where it'll strike first, you know?

[spaceforged]

True. And we haven't ruled out if this storm was started by magic.

He pads forward and feels ahead of him with his paws. He doesn't have much sense of touch as the Lion. But he can feel the vibrations beneath his claws. He hasn't noticed anything strange yet.

Shiro pauses to turn his head and give everything ahead of them a once over, letting the light of his eyes sweep slowly over their surroundings. See anything?

[teratias]

Well, is it more magic or likely to be natural? The planet originally had the latter, but not the former. If I had to pick between the two, it'd be natural, based on that fact alone.

Waver is careful with where he steps, expecting broken glass and not being disappointed. With the headlight-eyes (god, what the fuck even?) Waver squints.

Just more broken equipment.

[spaceforged]

He leans down and swipes broken glass out of their path with a sweep of his paw. Mindful of his claws he makes a second sweep. It should have cleared something. He raises his head and resumes his slow walk, paws barely making any noise when he moves. He's had a lot of practice at it.

'I'd say it's probably more likely to be natural or tech based. Sometimes tech used to harness natural energies can go horribly wrong.

He spots the twisted wreck of some shelves ahead and trots forward. He grabs it with his jaws and moves it away, opening a path beyond it. 'If it's tech-based...any number of reasons could be the answer to why it went out of control. But that would mean we're sent in to fix conflicts of all sorts. Not just wars.'

[teratias]

If it's tech based, then that suggests there's something out there causing a much bigger problem. Say, a place like this, but with live wires everywhere. We'd need a safe way to approach that without getting hurt, and I don't know if we can just insulate everyone.

It is also a ridiculous mental image, but neither here nor there. Waver's damn grateful for Shiro's glass sweeping, and he actually moves so he's behind Shiro, following the cleared path.

Mm. Well, that felt true with the coven too, you know? A government hiding stuff from its citizens is a pretty different sort of conflict to be involved with and-- huh. Can you illuminate the corner on your far right? I think I saw an actual bookcase.

i

[purrtagonist]

[the darkness is a little suffocating, if Akira is being honest with himself. but he had never enjoyed the feeling of being completely boxed in, metaphorically and physically, without a means for escape readily available. he knows this is for a good cause (and he keeps reminding himself of this as he, too, watches the darkness pass, an endless trail of blackness as far as the eye can see), but still. . .]

[it's Waver's words that pull him out of his silent contemplation, and he glances up with his chin propped in his palm (and his elbow resting on the train car's wall) to address him]

There isn't a single speck of green in this city.

[huh. . .]

. . . it all must've died out a long, long time ago.

[teratias]

...Okay, but what kind of place doesn't have that happen? There's a possibility that this place was never truly home to green life at all, or else there was some kind of massive event that caused this.

[Grass always will find a way to grow up in sidewalks, after all. Waver sighs, and he shifts a little to try and re-orient himself. This isn't comfortable at all.

At least Akira's not doing something stupid right now.]

[purrtagonist]

[he's not doing anything stupid yet. jury's out on whether that'll happen when they reach the abandoned portion of the city]

Do you remember that announcement Connor-san made through our watches about what he found in the library a few weeks ago?

[teratias]

....Oh, right. [That was a lot of information, and Waver was far too focused on his own work at the time.]

There was organic material here, then plagues happened. [He taps his forehead with the palm of his hand in the universal duh gesture.] Still, usually by now something green should have popped up in the cracks. Evolution and all that.

[purrtagonist]

[it was a lot to process, that's for sure]

You'd think, right?

[hm]

But the only natural thing we've come across during our time here is that lightning storm the BGs warned us about.

[teratias]

[it totally wasn't me forgetting]

It'd only be logical, wouldn't it? Nature tries to grow in any kind of space it can find.

[As for the storm, Waver exhales slowly.]

Mmm. And weather isn't a living life form.

[purrtagonist]

[IT HAPPENS]

It isn't something we can just. . . push back.

[Akira muses out loud, brows furrowed]

I don't really know how investigating it is going to help.

[how the hell do they protect a city full of androids from a huge electrical storm]

[teratias]

No, it isn't.

[Waver shakes his head.]

I don't know what the point is either. We'd be better off wrapping everyone up in rubber to insulate them.

i.

[parttimes]

You think so...?

[This entire thing is unsettling, really, so Kou would rather focus on that than the rest of...this. All of this. This mess.]

I guess you're right, it doesn't really look natural like that. Any ideas as to why?

[teratias]

No idea. Even with the whole major loss of organic matter, you'd think that something would have evolved eventually and started poking it's way through.

[parttimes]

I've been thinking that about this entire place, honestly. Sure, the city's been made that way and everything, but you'd think some weeds or something would pop up eventually.

But nope, nothing. And now nothing here, too.

[teratias]

[Waver nods in agreement. It's nice to know that something that has been gnawing at his own mind isn't just him.]

That suggests that whatever crisis this place went through knocked out even the means for material to come back, truly a mass extinction, or there's a concentrated effort involved with regards to organic matter.

[parttimes]

[That's... uh. Hm.]

Whoa. Whoa, back up.

You said "mass extinction" way too easily there.

[THAT'S...ALARMING. He doesn't want to really consider something like that!!]

[teratias]

...Well, what else would you call it?

[parttimes]

[WELL...]

You're not...wrong.

It's just grim, isn't it? To think of something like that really happening to a place.

[teratias]

Sure, but not acknowledging that doesn't help us either. Better to call something for what it is, I guess.