STATION FINAL

[ximilian]

● ● ● S T A T I O N   F I N A L

INTRO • for nostalgia's sake • final countdown • FYI

// INTRO. one more time  

The halls of the station are strangely quiet. The team has lost members now — there are less of you than there used to be, and here at the end of the line, following the very last mission, the absence of all your missing companions is felt even more acutely. Phantom footsteps haunt the rooms where some of those voices will never be heard again.

All of this brings the return of a melancholy feeling, and it’s as if the station itself feels it too — the sterility of the too-clean walls feels more stark; the mural down the length of the corridor gives way to nostalgia and longing; and the quiet seems to hint at the bittersweet sorrow of many more partings to come. It all sits heavy in the air: waiting, expectant. You are all waiting for something to happen — sooner, or later.

And all through the increasing turmoil and the realization that you are all at the apex of your journey on the Ximilia, the doors to the North Wing remain closed.

Behind them, the orbs wait, too.

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// PART I.for nostalgia's sake  

Despite the strange atmosphere aboard the station, you should take this opportunity to rest and gather your bearings — get some sleep in your own bed, eat your favourite foods, have an actual shower, and maybe wash off all the sand from the Plains still stuck to you. If you ignore the warning bells chiming in the back of your head, steadily ringing louder and louder, this might feel like any regular downtime between missions.

1.0   The first day back passes in an in-between state, a limbo of sorts: waiting, but not quite knowing for what. There are ways to pass that time, of course — the kitchens have been very recently re-stocked, so those inclined to spend a few hours making fresh pasta or letting the mouth-watering scent of lemon muffins fill the room are more than free to do so. Or perhaps you head to the Sunlight room instead, to enjoy the slowly unfurling spring in the oh-so-real scenery; to hear the birds chirping and warbling; to watch the flowers waking up after a long season of frost, tilting their heads towards the simulated sun. It is like a literal breath of fresh air, especially after the endless dunes of Go’ama… and maybe something that can help you feel calmer, and more at home. Or maybe you’re spending the day with your friends and loved ones within the team, holed up in one of your rooms, or gathering all together to watch one final movie or play games — here, now, when you still can.

2.0   But it’s hard to ignore the constant warning that has burrowed itself into your every waking moment now — it’s the anticipation of knowing that something is going to happen, and whether it is what Viveca has warned you about or something else entirely … it feels serious enough for Degar to have withdrawn to guard the orbs, and serious enough to warrant this wait, the hours growing longer and longer without any clear answers when you might have been so sure the orbs would be fully unified the moment you got back to the station. For those who are not content to simply wait it out, figuring out a plan to deal with whatever is coming your way might be the way you choose to be productive: whether it’s through discussing strategies, compiling the spells you’ll need, and making sure you and your teammates are properly armed — though whether you trust yourself enough for that … that is another matter altogether.

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// PART II.final countdown  

It doesn’t happen all at once. It’s a slow, intentional switching on of your fellow teammate beside you; a shift in mood as you pass each other in the corridor; or a strange thing that they say while you’re just trying to enjoy your biscuits and tea. After eighteen missions aboard the Ximilia, and a clearer insight into the crew before yours, you know that the orbs are capable of corruption and manipulation, turning the best person into their own nightmare.

Whether you’re watching this happen to your teammates, or you’re feeling the orb’s effects on you, the feelings of unease amongst the crew builds and intensifies to the point of threat and fear, and then … irregardless if you’re under the orb’s influence or not, you all feel one thing burrowing itself within you like a sharp, cold blade beneath your ribcage: you feel unsafe.

3.0   For those under the orb’s effects: The ease at which you feel something slide around your mind like thick oil, rendering your thoughts sluggish and delayed, allows your subconscious to fill in the gaps with haunting visions and hallucinations, courtesy of your interaction with the orb that had once been Jial Bryn. You’ve met that particular orb before — when a great eye pulled the strings of a small, once idyllic town called Amaryllis Grove. You don’t even fight it; you don’t want to.

Now the power from that orb lingers inside of you, twisting your thoughts and prodding at your aggression and guilt and sorrow, any negative emotion that it can tug at. You might suddenly become uncharacteristically angry, or perhaps your worst nightmares suddenly feel real, visions playing across your eyes, causing you to lash out at your fellow crewmates — maybe with a warning at first, but eventually a verbal lashing isn’t good enough. You can’t help yourself, after all; you just want it all to stop. Your fellow crew are trying to keep you miserable. They want to take the power for themselves, take it before you can, and they will keep torturing you until you crumble. Amidst your misery, the answer becomes very clear: if you can get to the North Wing, where the power is at its greatest and most potent, and free collection of orbs that are trapped behind fortified walls, you will finally get exactly what you want, whether it’s relief from the nightmares haunting you, or your greatest desires realized. But you need to do it fast, and you need to do it alone. You can’t trust anyone.

NOTE: the severity and variation of the effects are dependent on the strength of your character’s will and player discretion. Your character may lose themselves under the orb’s influence, but they might also find opportunities for other characters to help get them through it.

4.0   For those who are not under the orb’s effects: You’re still yourself despite the increasing level of distrust surrounding you, with Viveca’s words still ringing in your ears: Trust no one. You start to see its effect on the team, the way people have isolated themselves from others. Stupid, petty fights are quicker to spark than they ever used to. Butting heads results in squabbles (whether verbal or physical) that you feel the responsibility to step in and mediate.

But you haven’t given up on your team. How could you, after all? After everything you have all been through? You could still get through to them. You first begin to notice it within the familiar glimpse in their stare, their recognition of you in between their raised fists and uncharacteristic aggression. It’s enough to give you hope that you still have time; and no, it isn’t much, but it is something.

Perhaps you will try to remind them of a memory about themselves, a story they told you and only you, a confession that became a bond neither of you have ever shared with anyone else, not even from your home-world. Perhaps physical touch (if you can avoid retaliation) is the key to bringing your teammate back, whether it’s to shake their shoulders, or to grip their hand, or even to pin them down with your own weight. If all else fails, you may have no choice but to fight them. Maybe it will only take one of you, or maybe help requires a small group — whatever it is that you attempt to do, you’ll need to keep them from hurting you and your fellow teammates, and you’ll need to keep them away from the orbs in the North Wing.

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F Y I

• This log takes place during the month of March.

• If you have questions about any of the prompts, please direct them HERE.

• If you want Viveca and Degar to offer their help to stop one of the affected crew members in a thread, please sign up for that HERE. Please note that you need to have a top level or an ongoing thread to link for the signup.

• The submissions regarding the corruption effects are open and can be submitted HERE.

• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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▶ NAV

Comments

[deaddrop]

[The attack comes quickly and silent once his back is turned, Natasha throwing her whole body into it. She's still at a disadvantage, and the control leaves no room to resist.

She has to leverage every advantage she has.]

[endofcompliance]

[ Despite heightened senses, and thinking there was something wrong, Bucky is still, genuinely, confused when Natasha attacks him like that. ]

[ He pushes up against the wall, trying to trap Natasha between it and his back, but otherwise, doesn't aim to harm her, in anyway. ]

Hey, Romanoff! What gives?

[deaddrop]

You just couldn't stop asking questions.

[Natasha hisses, but it's barely her voice. It's not her personality behind it. The orbs speak through her, full of frustration at anyone who'd stand in their way.]

[endofcompliance]

[ No question, no doubt. That's definitely not Natasha. She doesn't mind questions, and hasn't shown Bucky any sort of aggression that he can recall. ]

[ This situation, however, feels oddly familiar, in a detached way. Not that he has time to really think about it, or piece together where the feeling comes from. He tries to move his arm behind him, to pin Natasha to the wall and turn on her. ]

Questions don't typically bother you.

[deaddrop]

[Natasha doesn't even bother answering. Her thighs tighten around his neck, showing no consideration for her own safety, let alone her physical comfort, as she's bruised between the wall and his back.]

[endofcompliance]

[ That's not going to be so easy to turn this. The lack of conversation is even more bothersome. As much as it pains him, Bucky aims to offset the gravity involved, bending over, like he's about to tuck into a roll, to see if that can displace Natasha. ]

[deaddrop]

[It unseats her enough that the pressure eases up around his throat, at least, though she still clings to him tenaciously, seemingly determined to take him down despite the differences in their size and strength.]

[endofcompliance]

[ Her tenacity is noted. Bucky tries to twist from her legs, and at least it's loose enough he can choke out some words. ]

Natasha. This isn't you! [ No excuse for the first name, beyond she didn't react to Romanoff, earlier. ]

[deaddrop]

[Her thighs tighten again, as determined as ever. She might not be enhanced, but she does her best to make up for it with grit.

Or maybe it's not her own grit.

There's something else behind this than Natasha's own determination.]

[endofcompliance]

Natasha!

[ Definitely not all her, whatever is going on. Bucky gets that much. And he doesn't know how to reach her. How he fought Natasha, before, comes back in flashes, but he's not that person anymore. Doesn't want to take the risks that come with fighting that way. ]

[deaddrop]

[He's the only one concerned with not fighting that way. She seems determined to throw everything she has into it, her legs squeezing around him as she tries to stop the flow of blood to his head.]

[endofcompliance]

[ Yeah, Bucky can't afford to pass out. Who knows what will happen. ]

[ He finally fights a bit more in earnest, trying to knock Natasha's head against the wall. Not too hard, but hard enough to get her off of him, he hopes. ]

[deaddrop]

[It's enough to unbalance her, at least, the impact of her head against the wall making her see stars briefly, even if she doesn't lose her tenacity.]

[endofcompliance]

[ Bucky takes that chance to free himself of Natasha's thighs, and reaches for her hands. If he can get them, in time, he plans to clamp them together and see if he can't talk sense to her. ]

[deaddrop]

[He'll be able to catch her, but it doesn't stop the fight. And unfortunately, she doesn't seem inclined to see sense. Instead, she attempts to headbutt him, using the only weapon she has left.]

how much longer do we want this to go?

[endofcompliance]

[ She headbutts him, and Bucky grunts, frustrated. He can't say it doesn't hurt him, but he manages to withstand, not affected by it, either. ]

we can let this go. he sits on her and keeps her from doing damage?

[deaddrop]

[Natasha snarls—or the thing behind her actions does. The thing making her fight him, trying to take control.

It doesn't seem like she'll be easy to reason with.]

i forgot about the sitting part! Let's at least do that

[endofcompliance]

[ She - or the thing controlling her - isn't easy to deal with, but Bucky's still so much, supernaturally, stronger. He finally uses that strength to disarm Natasha the only way he can think of in that moment - he puts his hands on her shoulders to push Natasha's body to the ground. He refuses to be much rougher than that. ]

Sorry for being so slow.

[deaddrop]

[She thrashes, making it difficult to pin her down without hurting her, but in the end his strength wins out, pinning her down.

Her eyes are wide, as though behind them somewhere she knows what's happening but is powerless to stop it.]

[endofcompliance]

[ Bucky finds that while Natasha is strong, and capable, it's still very easy to just sit on her. It's a new tactic, but it's working. ]

[ He looks at her and catches the expression. ]

This isn't fun for me, either. If you could just...get control again, Romanoff, I'll get up.

[deaddrop]

[The struggling stops, but she doesn't say anything. Her breathing is strained as she looks up at him.

At least for the moment, she's stopped fighting.]

[endofcompliance]

[ Bucky's heart sinks. His whole expression droops as he looks down at her and faces the lack of a response. ]

[ Natasha is in there, he can tell, he knows it. But she can't seem able to be in control, either. ]

I know what that's like. Not being able to be you. Someone else pulling the strings.

[deaddrop]

[She hears him. Somewhere deep down, behind the control of the orbs, she does hear him. Maybe she's able to tense a little. Maybe there's a little bit of the real her in the way her lips curl, conflicted.

Eventually, the fight goes out of her.]

[endofcompliance]

[ Even though Bucky's unsure if Natasha will attack him once more, when he feels the shift in her body, he moves. He offers a hand to help her up, hopeful. ]

Feeling any better? Less murdery?

[deaddrop]

[There's a long moment before Natasha responds, tense, then relaxing somewhat under his weight.]

As far as I can tell.

[But she hadn't really felt murdery before. Not really.]

I... I can't really tell. I think I'm driving again.