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ximilialog2022-11-08 03:24 pm
MISSION: THE DARKEST WILD
● ● ● M I S S I O N 1 0 . 0
It’s the middle of the day when the ping! of a new mission file is broadcast across every crewmember’s communications device. Whether you were in the middle of your meal, or occupied in one of the other rooms, you might want to pause for a moment to check on the file and hear what Viveca has to say.
You’ll have the rest of the afternoon to figure out what to pack with you, and it might not be a bad idea to seek some advice from those more experienced with the great outdoors; and when the morning comes, it is time to head to the teleportation platform once again.
It’ll be up and running when you arrive, its’ hum now a familiar sound — and beside the platform, Viveca awaits the entire team to shuffle in. Once everyone has gathered there, she takes a quick headcount and then smiles.
With that, the machine’s hum grows louder and louder, its lights blinding —
And then all of a sudden the lights shut down, the hum of the engine cutting off as if by a knife’s edge. Perhaps you are part of those who are left standing on the now-quiet platform, Viveca’s quiet curses in the dark the only other sound … until sudden laughter is carried into your comms, a woman’s voice echoing in your ears.
Or it may just be that you are one of those that the machine takes with it, suspended in the middle of nothingness with the multiverse surrounding you, waiting to be pulled towards the right direction — in your ears, there is the whisper of many voices, telling you what you must do in order to receive their help.
And then, just before you can open your mouth to shout for help, you find sand beneath your feet.
Somehow, some way, you’ve arrived on Noth 11X8.
The pale yellow skies of Noth 11X8 are dark and storm-filled when you arrive. Rolling thunder booms in the distance, and fat raindrops fall around you, leaving you drenched in seconds. At your feet are the pale sands of the island’s shoreline, and stretching out beyond that are the wild, torrential waves you’re meant to cross.
You might take a moment to gather your wits about you, but it won’t take long to realize there are fewer of your number than you last remember. If you try to reach out to the missing crew, you’ll only find static through your earpiece… similar to the way it sounds whenever you try to reach Viveca or Degar during a mission.
Wherever the rest of the team are, whatever happened to them — those are answers you won’t find in the wilds that stretch out around you. What you do know is this: there is an orb waiting for you on the next island over, and the faster you get to it, the faster you can hope to find your missing people and finally get the sand out from between your toes. (You know, if you’ve got them.)
1.0 Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as if the storm will let up any time soon. (In fact, it won’t until seven hours later.) Those of you who are perhaps feeling antsier than the others might genuinely consider attempting the trip even with the waters raging as they are. Who knows, maybe you’ve got skills and abilities of your own that would make the journey from island to island mere child’s play.
2.0 Maybe you notice the giant turtle dragon peacefully slumbering along the shoreline, whose entire length, as far as you can see, stretches the distance between the two islands. With its tough, armored skin and the rock-like formations along its shell, the turtle dragon almost appears… hikable. It’s definitely a risk, but is it any riskier than braving the churning waters yourself? It doesn’t even seem to notice the commotion happening all around it, so what are the chances it’ll notice a little ant like you crawling along its body?
Of course, you can always choose to wait the weather out. By the following morning, the skies will have cleared, and you can now see the main island in the distance. There, rising right out of its center, is the volcano that houses the orb. Thanks to the mission file you know it is active, but right now it sits dormant, save for a faint cloud of crackling energy floating over its peak. The more you look at it, the more unsettling it becomes, until eventually you find yourself forced to look away.
You refocus. One quick look around you will make clear that the turtle dragon has disappeared, likely sinking back under the cooler waters to avoid the rising heat from the planet’s trinity of suns. The air is thick and humid now, tasting of the previous night’s rains, but the ocean is calm and welcoming. What better time to venture out than now?
3.0 Daylight reveals the smaller island to be rife with natural resources that can easily make a handy raft, should you have the skill to fashion one. The trees alone would suffice: tough wood, sturdy and flexible leaves, vines for rope, and sap so sticky and waterproof it would give any artificial glue a run for its money. (Careful not to get it on your hands! The only way to remove the sap from any surface is to use the juice of the tree’s fruits ... a fine idea of course, except for the rank smell that lingers for at least two days.)
4.0 Further investigation will reveal the planet’s fauna to be just as helpful as its flora. Basking along the shoreline are a herd of irkals. While the males are only about 2 meters long, the females average around 3 meters from the tips of their snout to the tips of their tails. They are friendly and playful when approached, to the point where it doesn’t take much cajoling for the irkals to wade into the waters with you. By that point, why not test your luck? This time around, fortune favors the friendly — any who attempt to get a ride off of one of the irkals will find them agreeable. In fact, they might even make a race of it…
5.0 Should you choose a more direct route, you’ll find the waters during the daytime a tepid temperature, just a degree or two shy of feeling uncomfortable. Swimming the distance will clock you in somewhere under three hours, and the trip will be (miraculously) relatively uneventful. Save for the group of irkals, the waters are quiet. As you get closer to the main island, you may happen across a lone gevvin hanging around just outside of the shoreline. Though it will find you curious and swim closer for examination, it won’t prove aggressive unless provoked first.
Regardless of how you get there, the moment you step onto the main island’s sands, you can feel the difference. The air here is thicker, almost tangible and electric. In fact, the closer you get to the island’s center, the denser the atmosphere around you will feel, as if something invisible is physically trying to prevent you from approaching.
But that’s a problem for future-you. Right now, you’ve still got the rest of the island to get through. Those of you with teleporting abilities or enhanced speed will find they no longer work accurately, and the more you try, the more disastrous every outcome gets. Hopefully you’ve packed some water to keep hydrated, because it looks like you’re stuck doing it the old-fashioned way.
At least the view is nice. Like the island you first landed on, the main island is overrun with nature, with plenty of vegetation and fruit to provide sustenance. Flora of various kinds thrive in vivid, brilliant colors, providing a lush backdrop to your otherwise tenuous trek.
6.0 But as the day wears on, the planet’s suns prove to be an obstacle all on their own. In the middle of the day when the suns are at their highest in the sky, the heat will be so unbearable that only a handful of seconds under direct light will result in second degree burns. It may be in your best interest to find shade and shelter with your fellow teammates until the worst of the mid-afternoon sunlight has passed.
7.0 Nevertheless, the majority of your traveling will probably be best done during the daytime. At night, Noth 11X8’s only moon plunges the planet into a bone-piercing chill. Even if you can withstand the freezing cold, what little moonlight that manages to make it through the tree’s canopies makes for overall poor visibility, hindering any productive travel.
8.0 And be careful not to get too distracted by the scenery either. Many dangers await you on a planet deemed ungovernable by its own neighbors. Apart from the creatures of interest listed on the mission file, the island is teeming with wildlife who may not take too kindly over being disturbed. They may be encountered during the day as you're trekking through the island, or at night when you're trying to rest, so make sure to familiarise yourself with them beforehand so you know what to look out for.
• Dregzeok: Nocturnal. They hunt in pairs using their razor-sharp horns/antlers and the glowing orbs along their body, which gathers energy from the planet’s moon to create concussive energy blasts.
• Bladed Iris: Named for their coloring that matches many of the island’s wild flora, these solitary reptiles main weapon are the numerous spikes along their tail and frill. If that doesn’t work, they can also spit out a corrosive acid the same orange color as their markings.
• Thrilqoils: A symbiotic species, each thrilqoil is host to at least a dozen qoils (miniscule, gnat-like insects). While relatively peaceful, they can be very territorial of their nests found along low-hanging branches of trees. Just one sting can cause the flesh to swell up to the size of a small melon.
• Swamp Boars: Found only in swamps, their tough plating make for good armor. Though these herbivores keep mostly to themselves, they have been known to maul and gore any would-be threats.
• Khulgruns: These giants can be easily confused with the trees found scattered near rivers, but the khulgruns themselves are not actually the wood, but rather the glowing bulbs encased within them. Once fully matured, a khulgrun will burrow itself into a tree, uproot it, and use it as a vessel for its body.
• Oltir: While a useful plant during the evening, ingesting the bulbs of an oltir will cause the eater to feel incredibly intoxicated for the next three hours as it digests.
Despite it all, you reach your destination. By now, the orb’s power is downright palpable in the air surrounding the volcano. Gravity feels stronger, making each step heavier than the last. At its peak, pink-purple clouds swirl overhead like a brewing storm. Maybe you feel a sense of unease at the sight of the omen, but you also know how close you are now. There, nestled into the volcano’s caldera, sits your ticket out of this hellscape — the orb.
Then it happens — a daunting rumble.
9.0 Like a tidal wave, the rumbling ripples through the volcano, making the ground beneath your feet shudder and groan. Without any further warning, scorching lava spews out from the opening, erupting into the air and running down its craggy sides. Riding the fiery currents are magma crabs, looking for an easy meal by snatching up any scorched creature the lava leaves behind. You’ll probably want to get out of the way.
And yet, you know you have to find a way to brave the lava and the fumes of the active volcano, because leaving the orb there is not an option — so it's in your best interest to put your thinking caps on, plan with others, and figure out a way to get to your goal.
F Y I
• If you have questions about any of the prompts or the mission in general, please direct them HERE.
• To submit a suggestion for the orb retrieval, please do so HERE.
• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪
8.0
[ he notices the deer getting in closer and that's where his attention shifts, eyes narrowing. he preemptively pulls out his blaster, which he decides was an excellent choice when the deer seems to fire a laser at the rafting man's campfire. it startles rosi backwards, but when the second deer starts charging at him, he's already ready; cassian fires a shot directly at the creature's head, with a second one in quick succession at the neck. you never know where the weak spots are on strange new aliens! ]
no subject
The sound of the laser and the cry from the creature the makes the other one startle. It takes off to the right, leaving the two humans between the two antlered aliens. It fires a series of smaller blasts as it runs, which is enough to keep Rosinante from getting to his feet despite his efforts. Still, he's quick to pull his own pistol and takes aim between concussive moonlit bolts, finally pulling the trigger when he has a moment to breathe. The shot lands in the creature's flank - and it snarls, but certainly isn't about to drop.
But it stops shooting at him long enough for him to get up, and he'll take that opportunity immediately.]
These things are tough. Let's focus one down.
no subject
[ he trails it with his blaster and ready to fire, not moving the aim away from it as it circles around them - but he does take note of rosi, who pulls out his own weapon which cassian is grateful for. it wouldn't be an impossible takedown solo, but it's always better with backup. ]
[ he dodges another laser shot aimed at himself, then fires two more again into the neck - bordering his previous shot and opening the wound further. ]
Assuming the second gives us the time for that focus.
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[Which is not always his strength, but until his poor balance inevitably catches up to him, he can be surprisingly agile on those long legs. Rosinante's pistol doesn't fire as quickly as that blaster does, but it packs a punch, and he times his shot to land just after those lasers in a one-two and then three, punching a neat hole right near the others. The thing gives a gurgled whine as it bends and falls to its knees on its two forward legs, head lolling sideways.
These must be no simple animals, for the other, which he's had to turn its back to, actually seems to take note of its partner's state. It continues firing, and Rosinante runs and swerves to escape the shots as they fall right behind his feet, but it pulls farther away from them, either to reassess or perhaps to plot its escape. Smart, or frightened, whichever it is, it clearly wants to survive, and with only one shot buried in its flank it probably has good odds.]
no subject
[ he sides steps another laser and cassian feels like he's in a firefight, only this moment he's not shooting back. they get more distance the firefight turns into a bit of a staredown. ]
Leave it for a moment. See if it flees.
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He's quick to leap back from a stray blast, as they get less accurate as the thing continues its retreat down the beach, and therefore little harder to predict. But he keeps glancing over his shoulder at the one that's downed, and then grabs a smoldering stick from the fire to go and prod it with just to be absolutely certain it's not about to get up right behind them. Thankfully, it doesn't so much as blink when the warm charcoal end of the stick touches its hide.]
We all might be in for a long night if more of those come looking around. Wonder if they can talk to each other.
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[ cassian watches the fleeing deer, even as rosi moves to check on the dead one, but he does not lower his weapon as long as the other remains in sight. it disappears into the woods and cassian still keeps the blaster out, but he does finally deign to point it downward instead. ]
If they can communicate, perhaps it will tell its friends to steer clear of our area for the night. The corpse could prove itself a warning, but it could also lure in other things.
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[He likewise thinks it's a shame to waste it if it's food, but there's a reason he brought plenty of his own. Until he starts running low or someone discovers that the creatures here are edible, he's not about to take dumb risks. Anything in this world could be toxic to them - there are no locals here to help show them what's good to eat and what isn't.]
Could sink it. Push it out to sea and tie it to some rocks.
[It'll decay and float itself free of those tethers eventually, but likely well after they've moved on up the mountain.]
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[ technically cassian could try - in theory it doesn't seem much different from toasting up other animals, but they again don't know how edible it is. he doesn't want to be the tester! ]
But it would have to be quickly, before the smell lures in something else, and it still stands the chance of being incompatible with us. Otherwise pushing it to the sea seems a good choice.
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[Rosinante checks first to make sure his pistol is loaded, then heads toward the trees. He's pretty sure there were folks camped out under those big sheltering leaves somewhere, or maybe he'll get lucky and stumble across someone else who's up late exploring. He's not going to start yelling, that just attracts too much attention, but he does get his flashlight out to make himself more visible to other orbers.
And before too long he actually spots someone, thankfully, and waves.]
Hey. We've got one of these alien creatures dead out here. Do you happen to know if anyone's tried eating one yet? Seems like it'd be a waste to leave it.
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Don’t think anybody’s tried it yet, but hell, why not? I’ll try anything once.
[Plus he’s a lot more durable than the average human, so he rests Nevan onto his back and jogs up to see what’s up.]
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[ when it's dante who volunteers, cassian can't say he is surprised but he will restrain from commenting. he can be polite. he's still hovering near the carcass as dante jogs over to them. ]
I would try to avoid the space where it fires those energy shots, as a precaution. [ in both cooking and eating. ]
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[He hasn't gotten to meet Dante properly yet, though he's certainly a face who's familiar from generally being seen around the station by now. He'll assume the guy knows what he's doing since he was so quick to take the opportunity, but it's probably for the best that he and Cassian are here in case something does go wrong - well. Not that he has anything beyond basic first aid when it comes to medicine, but still. Better than nothing, right?]
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[He just won’t mention he usually hunts down demons, and not for eating either. He eyes the corpse critically, noting the strange stalks where it must’ve shot out energy of some kind. But otherwise…]
This is a really messed-up deer. [So said, he pulls a skull hilt from his belt. It might’ve been a sword once, but now all that’s left of the blade is a jagged, shattered remnant. It’s still sharp enough for Dante to use it as an improvised knife, which he does when he kneels down to start cutting up the corpse.
Whoa, that’s a lot of blood spatter.]
Are we going to bring this whole corpse in parts back to camp or are we going to have a little taste-test right here? I’m fine either way. [Because he’s just going to take the skin off leg and slice it off either way.]
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Perhaps a taste test here. We can start a fire if you wish to cook a piece of it. There is no point in dragging the entire thing back if it proves worthless.
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[Which he can easily go get and retrieve if Dante seems agreeable. Hell, he's not opposed to cooking some anyway since if it does turn out to be good, it should keep a little while. Could even dry strips over the coals. Why waste food?]
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[He does actually have a lighter on him. Sure, Balrog can be set on fire, but it's something of a trek back to camp and anyway it takes way too long to actually ignite that Devil Arm.]
So hey, [addressing Cassian while Rosi's getting wood and Dante himself is carving up the carcass with what remains of his sword Rebellion,] if something gets hit with those energy shots, what's that do to them? Does it just knock them out or does it turn them into little piles of ash like in a bad sci-fi movie?
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[ his gaze flickers up when dante speaks at him. he hasn't seen any other peopel with a preference for blasters, so he can't say he's surprised by the question, but he finds he doesn't mind answering either. ]
It depends on where you hit the target. It functions like a burn. You can survive a hit and remain scarred, or you can be shot in the vitals and die on the spot. [ a beat. ] Assuming that is what you mean, as I have no answers about this creature's laser capacity.
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He's back in a few minutes, the duffel bag with tools used for building rafts now extra-full as he's stuffed it with enough wood and kindling to get a small fire going. He then sets that down beside the body of the beast, then starts organizing the sticks and a few larger limbs in a ready-to-burn cone of dry fuel.
There. Should be suitable enough. He doesn't say anything, as he's now listening in on the chatter about that cool space gun.]
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Yeah. Totally. [A pause.] I used to have a gun that worked kind of the same way, but I had debts to pay, so. Hopefully whoever's got it hasn't burned down their house, but in the meantime, we oughta swap weapons some time. [He shows Cassian his own twin handguns, Ebony and Ivory, hanging from his hip.] Just to get used to it, just in case.
[Also, because it would be pretty cool.
Once the kindle's been assembled, Dante passes over one leg for Rosi to start roasting, then tears off a strip of raw meat.] If I drop to the floor, don't worry too much about me, I'll be conscious in an hour or so. [So saying, he pops the strip into his mouth. Chews thoughtfully.]
...tastes kinda gamey.
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I will keep mine, but perhaps that printing machine on the station will help our education. [ he definitely plans to make way more use of it, eventually. ]
[ cassian has questions about that comment, but he's not about to interrupt when dante tries it, staying silent like rosi on the rest of the conversation and simply waiting to see what happens. ]
Considering it looks like a deer, is the taste really a surprise?
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[Or... whatever deer eat. He's just guessing. They're not common animals where he's from. Not enough open plains and woodland in all that sea.
But he glances at Dante, after another thing he'd said just now.]
"Conscious in an hour or so" - you just happen to know that for a fact?
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[Guess who’s never even seen a 3-D printer in his life.]
Hm? Oh, yeah. [He doesn’t like the raw taste of the meat, so he puts the leg over the fire to cook.] I’ve had much worse than alien meat in my mouth. [Like demonic meat, the one time he’d been stuck in hell, and back when he was much younger and on the run he’d used to fish food out of dumpsters.] I’ve found that if it’s really bad, I end up passing out for a bit.
This isn’t that bad, I think, but, y’know. Think this might be more of an acquired taste.
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[ everything is alien when you're from outer space. aliens meats?? it's just meat. ]
Good thing it does not have to be a permanent piece your diet. Do you think it will work as supplementary protein while we are here?
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He gestures to the dead and now partially butchered creature.]
You're welcome to take all you like for yourself, since you were willing to try it.
[Rosinante isn't picky though, food is food as long as it's edible, and he'll take fresh meat over the rations he'd brought in case they don't find anything.]
We can pack up the organs that produced those blasts, maybe. The folks who hang out in the lab might learn something useful from them.