EVENT ★ ZETA-12 WEEK 5

[futurologists]

ZETA-12: WEEK 5 As the journey wears on, the land underfoot dries out. Team Audiences has reached the highland desert… and of course, once again the squidges begin to transform. For each choice your character has made, select one squidge evolution. Please note, you must have submitted your choice to the threads in the previous logs in order for your squidge to evolve. For those who encountered the swamp creature: If they stood and fought, their squidge has taken on one of the following features: hardened pangolin-like plates of armor, higher tolerance of loud noises, sharp(er) teeth. If they outsmarted it, their squidge has one of these: slow color-changing to match the environment, catlike eyes with enhanced vision, long ears. Those who made someone else do the work, will have squidges with one of these attributes: small horns, spines along the back, mildly toxic skin. As for dealing with the tornado: Everyone who found shelter will find them with a greater tolerance for enclosed spaces as well as giving off their own very slight heat. For those who powered through, their squidges will no longer be afraid of heights and be able to float several feet off the ground, regardless of whether or not they previously received wings. THE DESERT (WEEK 5) The desert has a little more to look at than the grasslands offered, as the grass begins to yellow and thin. Some stretches are just wide, empty swaths of dust and dirt, with not much more than the occasional rock or low, desperate scrub brush to color the horizon. Here and there are impressive outcroppings of rock, thrust up from the parched ground. Plateaus and mesas make the scenery, and overhead the sky is a wide, clear blue. The sun is merciless. Hopefully you filled your canteens in the swamp and the grassland, because water is going to become a pretty valuable resource out here. There are a few helpful flora to be found, though. Those Beachwoods will be pretty handy if you run out of water, just so long as you keep an eye out for the Red Stellas that tend to grow nearby. The Scarlet Oasis can even send you on your way with a meal, if you play your cards right. Have a care if you’re gathering any bristlegrass, though. While scenic in its way, the view doesn’t offer much clue as to what progress has been made so far. Three days pass in this way. On the fourth day, however, the recruits encounter their first choice. The ground has cracked open in their path. It yawns into a wide and dark cave, wonderfully cool after the scorching sun and heat of the desert. A breeze can be felt in the mouth of the cave, and their maps will indicate that any exploration into it is sending them in the right direction. It provides an alternative route to walking over the surface of the ground, a much cooler route. There might even be hidden streams of groundwater down there, who knows? It could be a refreshing jaunt. Of course, recruits can also choose to play it safe, and continue overhead as they’d been doing so far, where they can trust they won't run into any dead ends or have to backtrack. The going goes well for those who chose the caves. The cave system is apparently pretty extensive, because they manage to walk along in generally the right direction for a good half a day. Around dusk, though, this little dwarf planet hits a run of bad luck. Meteoroids. Those who chose to walk above ground will find the darkening sky suddenly growing brighter again as a meteor shower begins to burn in the atmosphere. Some of them don’t burn up entirely, though — meteorites begin to pelt the desert not far from the procession. Some of them might even be scattering into the procession. Heads up! But while those above ground only have to worry about dodging, those below ground will have much more serious concerns. This planet isn’t quite as sturdy as recruits may be used to, and the impact of the meteorites is enough to trigger a small earthquake. An underground cave is really not where you want to be during an earthquake, because even this small one is enough to cause a cave-in. Players of recruits who choose to take the cave route can opt to be trapped by this cave in, or can have their characters in the right place at the right time, to have their way to the exit unimpeded. Characters trapped may be freed at whatever speed players find realistic, but to find and free everyone will take no less than three days. Hopefully you brought a flashlight. Communication between those trapped and those above may be difficult, as the meteorites will cause interference and make the jewelry flicker in and out. We ask that you indicate the length of time your character is trapped along with your sign up. After the cave in ordeal is passed, though, the recruits aren’t quite in the clear as they finally reach the end of the desert. It seems the impact of the meteorites and the resulting earthquake released a few gases that had been held under the surface of Zeta-12. They’re invisible and odorless, and harmless to the squidge’s caretakers. The squidges, however, may begin to react to them. Squidges exposed to the post cave-in gasses will begin to get aggressive toward their caretakers and other squidges alike. The level of aggression can range from grumpy to murderous and last from 10 minutes to a few hours, depending on the size of the dose. If anyone has been training their squidges to fight, they may regret it. OOC NOTES We decided to split things up a little! This log lasts ICly for one week, and OOCly for 1.5 weeks. Our next log will encompass the last biome and the final event, and will go up on August 11th. Characters may proceed at whatever pace they'd like, but going too quickly or too slowly will mean they travel alone. (And those going too quickly will probably have to contend with screaming squidges, who prefer to travel at the speed of an easy plod.) New characters will find one of the unbonded squidges toddling after the group takes a shine to them. A squidge will imprint on them very quickly, then refuse to leave their side or rejoin their unbonded friends. Direct questions about the Zeta-12 mission here. And don't forget about the bounty board! Please remember to select your choice in the thread below! Late choices will not be accepted. How you choose will determine how your squidge grows. Please choose before August 8th, 11:59 PM GMT!

Comments

[reverseengineer]

[Three days in the heat is a lot, but Pidge is doing all right. She has the advantage of being fresh from Oska and also having armor designed to protect her through the extremes of outer space.

That being said, she's still seriously thirsty. She may not have rationed as well as she should have. She lets out a relieved sigh and tugs her helmet off, shoving sweaty hair out of her eyes.]

So, deserts. Exactly as hot as advertised, I guess.

[expatriates]

Your first? [ Natasha didn't look over at her, pulling out her canteen and crouching next to Bart to feed him some more water now that it could actually stay in his system. Bart's long arms happily held onto it for himself, and once he had a grip, Nat turned to look up at Pidge with a scrutinizing expression. ] First mission too, isn't it? You weren't with us earlier.

[reverseengineer]

Yeah, they didn't give me much turn around time. [She shrugs a shoulder and puts Lovelace on the ground to explore.] If they'd warned me what I was getting into, I probably woulda worn shorts.

[She can't really regret wearing her armor, since it's way more practical, but it's designed for outer space. It is not optimized for cooling.]

[expatriates]

Bad idea. [ Natasha didn't seem scornful so much as didactic. ] You want greater coverage against the elements, but thinner fabric. Shorts are a good way to get heat stroke.

[ She glanced back into the wasteland. ]

We're lucky we were dropped in a tundra first, or more people might have followed your line of thinking.