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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: ♪ ♪ ♪
no subject
〈 she slaps another away from her. the tail carves a curved line into her arm. her palms scrape along the spiny sides of broad leaf's petiole. she rips the leaf free in time to swing it like a bat into two more. dropping the leaf, she cups her hands together. not bothering to give the web form, she throws the sticky mass—weakly. god, she's weak. even so, it takes down several, the ke'kro entangling themselves further in the threads.
moving in the direction of steve's voice she trips over a tree root and falls. no strength, no warning, no sense of balance anymore, either. a growl spills from her. bleeding and unsteady, she gets to her feet again. finally spotting him, alive and unharmed, she exhales sharply in relief, only to then throw out a warning hand. 〉
Stay there! I need to go back!
no subject
But also, she's made it this far, so she must know her limits, right? Steve, on the other hand, doesn't know what they're dealing with, and it could very well get him killed if he's not careful. It had been sheer luck that he hadn't died from those demobats (that, and the assistance of his friends, none of whom are here to rescue him if things go awry again), so he swallows those instincts down and stays put. ]
Shit, shit, shit. [ Mostly muttered to himself, though loud enough that Gwen might be able to hear. He leans his back against the tree and closes his eyes shut tightly, his hand gripping the bat tightly as he tries to focus on his breathing. ] Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay.
[ It should probably come as no surprise, then, when those instincts eventually do win out in the end. Holding his bat up just in case he needs to charge at something, he slowly peeks out from behind the tree, ignoring the way his heart is hammering in his chest as he begins a careful approach towards Gwen. ]
no subject
gwen plunges into it and venom wraps tightly around her like a cocoon. skinny black ribbons like vines, or maybe tentacles, suddenly surge from the cocoon, each one perfectly spearing a ke'kro. abrupt is the silence. letting the bodies fall where they will the tentacles return to the cocoon, now given way to gwen, hooded and suited once more. for a second, her suit is black and red. blink and she dons a softer white and pink. she breathes a sigh of relief.
only then do her senses finally inform her she has a witness. 〉 Oh. 〈 shit. 〉
no subject
that's not right, she isn't in danger, she willingly stepped into that thing. what the fuck? ]
What the fuck?
[ he feels his chest grow tight as his brain unhelpfully supplies him with images of being tangled up in tentacles, restrained against the wall of an old abandoned house in the upside down. he takes a step back, followed by another, and eventually trips over a root of a tree until he's falling backwards onto his ass. ]
What is that thing? Gwen...? [ his voice betrays him by wavering, sounding pathetically high-pitched. he tries to ignore the way his breathing is growing more erratic by the second, and, shit, he really thought he would be able to make it the rest of the mission without having one of these damn panic attacks. he knows they're getting worse, but that's just going to have to be a problem that he'll have to deal with once they get back on the station. ]
no subject
Steve? Steve, breathe. Just breathe through it. I'll explain when it passes, okay? Breathe in. 〈 she models an inhale, then an exhale. 〉 Breathe out. In…out.
〈 but for the regular rise and fall of her chest, she does not move so as to avoid starling him further. when she sees him beginning to imitate her, she adds to the instructions, her voice calm. 〉
Try to count. In. One, two, three, four, five. Out. One, two, three, four, five… That's it. Keep counting. It'll pass.
no subject
he tries to mirror her breaths, a deep breath in, hold it, and then out. and when he starts to count, it gives him something to focus on, grounding him so that all the erratic thoughts that had been eating away at his mind slowly slip away.
he closes his eyes briefly, just to continue clearing his mind, and to turn inward, but when his eyes open, there are tears stinging his eyes.
be a man he can hear his father chastising him, men don't cry. and how pathetic that even though he's lightyears away from the old man, he still manages to get deep into his head. he grimaces as he tries to focus on gwen instead, flashing her a weak smile to show that he was feeling at least slightly better. ]
S-sorry. You shouldn't have had to witness that. [ he waits until his breathing has returned mostly to normal to speak again, though his voice sounds strained. ]
no subject
I get them sometimes. Panic attacks. Flashbacks too. 〈 she tips her head to the side wryly. 〉 Those more often. I've lost whole days in them.
〈 she holds out her hand, palm up: an invitation. 〉
I'm sorry for scaring you. 〈 a little pause, and, 〉 We won't hurt you. I promise.
no subject
You do? [ he manages a half-smile as he looks at her outstretched hand and after a moment's hesitation, takes it, takes her up on this invitation. ]
It's not you. Not...all of it anyway. [ he blinks at the use of we. ] That black stuff...that's a...? [ it's like something out of one of those science fiction movies that dustin henderson used to try and get him to watch.
he remembers the one about the alien beast that can mimic people and creatures it's killed, but this isn't like that at all. ]
It's not like...it doesn't hurt you, right? [ he feels like he has to ask, because he remembers the mind flayer, how it latched onto will byers like a parasite until he couldn't remember his own friends. ]
no subject
This is Venom, 〈 she explains, studying his face so as to kill the demonstration as soon as he registers any discomfort. 〉
It's a symbiont. Short of it means it cannot survive in an atmosphere like this one—or Earth's—without a host. Host, in this case, being me.
〈 when she passes a hand over her arm, the threads wind affectionately around her fingers. 〉
We've been partners three years now.
no subject
Three years. [ he whistles, watching the little demonstration with a look of fascination. ] That's as long as I've been fighting monsters.
[ and consequently, as long as he's been having nightmares about the monsters. ]
So, like, you help it by giving it a host, and it, what...gives you powers? [ sounds a little like those comic books the nerds (affectionately) he looks after would read and excitedly discuss while steve stood around and kept an eye on them. ]
no subject
〈 long of it: venom was created to destroy her. not physically, no. few hosts can survive its radioactivity: the radioactivity her blood naturally emits since being bitten by that spider. no, venom was meant to make her pliable. easier to mold into the monster matt murdock he wanted. he never planned for her to strike a balance with the symbiote. 〉
Going on six years super-heroing…three with help.
no subject
This is still gonna take a little getting used to, but. I don't know, I'm kind of glad I know now, you know? [ even if a formal introduction not under duress would have been preferable, at least they got it out of the way pretty early on, right? ]
So, uh. Guess we should get a move on, yeah? In case more of those things are coming for us?
no subject
her suit shifts back to the clothes she was wearing before. blood drips from her arm and her leg where the ke'kro cut her. 〉
Yeah. Gimme a sec.
〈 from her too small bag she removes a decent-sized first aid kit. gwen quickly cleans the blood and covers the injuries with gauze. give it an hour and the cuts will have practically disappeared. in the meantime, no comments about blood and, more importantly, less exposure to the radioactive isotopes in it. the soiled swabs go inside a plastic biohazard bag and stored to dispose safely.
on her feet, she nods at steve. 〉
Let's go.
no subject
he's just going to have to come to terms with the fact that his usefulness will come and go in waves. and maybe after this mission he can find other ways to feel like he's contributing that don't put himself and others in danger. ]
You and the, uh, other guy are gonna be okay then? [ He doesn't know if there's any adverse effects to being separated, or maybe the ke'kro has its own nasty side effects that come from puncturing the skin. which is all the more reason for them to make a move on, in case they end up needing help. steve might know basic first aid, but that won't do a whole lot of good when it comes to weird alien creature venom. ]
no subject
We're good. Give me an hour; I won't even have a scar.
〈 a tiny exaggeration. healing generally takes a while, but she is not lying about the effects. she lost the tip of her finger in an explosion in e-23b. yet both hands have all five fingers and nails, and no sign that there was ever violence. 〉
no subject
Holy shit, really? [ his hand automatically goes to his neck, which while certainly looking better than it had when he first arrived, still shows a pretty nasty ring around it. ] This is gonna sound super vain of me, but damn that could've come in handy more than once.
[ and the neck is the only scar that's so visible. he still has the scars on his abdomen from the demobat bites, as well as some subtler ones on his face from his time imprisoned in a russian bunker underneath the mall, and his fights with jonathan and billy. ]
no subject
With great power come great benefits. 〈 a joke—and a stab at changing the subject.
weirdly, the thought of her lack of scars comes as something of a pang. she does not have a hankering for them—a little bit of vanity like steve said. but scars tell stories. where someone has been, what they faced, how they survived. she has no physical proof of any of it. to look at her, no one would think she was on the frontlines of a multiversal war, taking on superpowered villains before she graduated high school, been shot at, caught in explosions, stabbed, cut, beaten, punched.
every scar she carries, instead, is mental. only she can see them, and it proves a blessing and a curse.
she waves him on. 〉
Now, hop to it. There's a hammock with my name on it.
no subject
right now he's exhausted and really wants to put all of this behind him. the less he thinks about how broken he may or may not be, the better. ]
Yeah, yeah, I see how it is.
[ he's back to that teasing lilt in his voice in no time. he's always been good at switching back into that mentality, which just might be an indication as to just how many times he's had to deal with anything potentially traumatic. something to think about later, when they're finally done with this place. ]
I would say, race you to it, but...
[ but he's a perfectly normal guy who happens to be good at sports, but not superhumanly so. just means he's going to be hitting the gym something fierce when they're back on station. ]