epidemiology | EVENT ★ THE MOTHERSHIP

EVENT ★ THE MOTHERSHIP

THE MOTHERSHIP

Recruits are given time to gather whatever they’d like to bring with them when they infiltrate Zymandis, and are then immediately rifted onto the Mothership, Zymandis’s base of operations. Audentes is randomly distributed across the ship. Some might rift onto the Mothership near others, but it’s just as likely that some are alone. They’d better hope they’re alone, anyway -- it seems the rifts didn’t account for the possibility of Zymandis agents seeing infiltrators appear out of thin air.

What’s done with them is up to whoever they find; depending on the agent, they might be able to be talked out of telling others (whether it’s by being threatened or a more polite conversation) or bribed, but others will require full takedowns. Don’t worry, there’s no need to kill them (unless, of course, you want to); agents will only need to be subdued until the recruits can leave. Tie them up and stick them in a broom closet, cast a sleeping spell on them, or get creative. All that matters is that they don’t go running to the rest of the organization and ruin the entire operation.

It can be difficult to tell which agents are Taraxa by appearances alone, but they're much less secretive about their species among fellow Zymandis agents, so it's possible it might spill out during conversations. Otherwise, gaining intel on possible Taraxa will need to be done by speaking with others or finding organization records. Or, of course, good old eavesdropping. More than a few agents mention a Mother. Are they talking about a family member, or someone more sinister? You decide.

Another option on this mission is to locate Zymandis's Timeline and sabotage it in some way, either by destroying or altering it. If it's on the Mothership, it's likely in one of the restricted areas, so you'd better get sneaky and get in there. Steal key cards, hack locks, find a way to use an agent's biosignature -- whatever it takes to get in.

FIRST DECK

Once arrivals are taken care of, all recruits will have freedom to explore most of the ship. The entire ship is silver, with a few accents of white and gold dotting its walls and floors. The hangar is currently housing several smaller ships of various purposes; most seem to be designed for transport. A few are under maintenance. While it’s a good chance to check out Zymandis technology, the workers will politely ask anyone who lingers too long to “buzz the hell off.”

The science wing of the ship is where all of Zymandis's research takes place, and is also home to their medical bays, which resemble those in Oska. This wing also has two lecture halls, one with a flyer on the door advertising a talk on the future of man-made disease by Dr. Mills, who boasts the credential of Head of Epidemiology in the Science department. There are also engineering and robotics labs, where one might be lucky enough to find a prototypical weapon -- one that is more than likely faulty and only works half the time, but a weapon nonetheless.

The engine core is where the Mothership's engine, controls, and rift machines are located. This area is rarely left alone due to its importance. The only controls not in the engine core are the steering controls, which are in the bridge, where the commander of the ship gives orders. This area, too, is under strict protection.

A few areas remain off-limits: maintenance corridors, officer’s offices, and the laboratories in the science wing, restricted to scientists only for the sake of safety, where Zymandis scientists do all their work. Should you find your way into one of these labs, interact with any of the substances at your own risk. Drinking, touching, or in some cases, simply being near these substances without protective gear may cause:

MALICE: When presented with the opportunity to act selfishly or maliciously, the affected person will feel compelled to do so. They will feel urged to carry out any malicious acts they have held themselves back from committing.

SLOTH: Affected persons will feel slothful and lethargic, struggling not to fall asleep where they stand.

MADNESS: Those affected will experience paranoia, delusions, or vivid hallucinations, often of loved ones. They may begin to question what is real and what is false.

AMNESIA: Affected persons will know who they are, but be completely unaware of where they are, when they are, and who others are.

HONESTY: When asked a question -- or, in extreme cases, unprompted -- those affected will feel compelled to tell the absolute truth. They will also feel the need to come clean about past lies, especially if guilt is felt over them.

VENGEANCE: Those affected will feel compelled to confront those they feel have wronged them.

SORROW: Affected persons will have all repressed pain and sadness come to the forefront of their mind; while they will not feel sadness with no cause, they will suddenly feel reminded of their losses and traumatic events in their lives.

OPTIMISM: When presented with unappealing odds, affected persons will feel undue optimism, perhaps leading themselves into disastrous situations.

Other side effects are rare, but have been observed, so get creative! All effects will last for no more than an hour after the affected person has been removed from exposure to the substance.

PERSONNEL DECK

Then there's the personnel deck, which is where many of the agents are during their downtime. Personal quarters are located here, as well as shopping centers, cafeterias, practice ranges, gyms, and entertainment venues. Zymandis agents want for nothing -- every part of life has been brought onto the ship for them. This is also where they keep their water treatment plants and energy generators.

There's a bar on this level called The Tipsy Kraungonian, where agents of all species and backgrounds mingle as they're served by realistic androids with advanced AI. Aside from regular alcohol, this bar serves Enhancements, terrible-tasting potions in the form of an eerily glowing shot that cures all pains and fills the drinker with positive emotions. Each color comes with a different attribute enhancement: agility, strength, endurance, and luck. You're welcome to buy as many as you want, but only the attribute of the last shot drank will be enhanced. This effect will be present for one hour and does not stack.

With the right whispers in the right ears, a recruit can gain access to a restricted part of the bar, the only point of entry through a door in the back that requires a key code to get in. Inside is a darker side of the bar, one where the more dangerous Zymandis agents spend their time. Inside is an enclosed fighting ring where various alien creatures are pitted against each other and bet on. At the tables, rugged-looking agents play high-stakes card games, betting with exorbitant amounts of gold and white Zymandis coins. Should anyone without these coins ask to play, they'll be rebuffed. This is very much the seedy underbelly of the Mothership; it's certainly the place to go to get information from dangerous people, but look at someone the wrong way, and you might find yourself in a very unsavory situation.

On this deck, there's also a park, which closely simulates nature with greenery everywhere, a fountain, and even birds and small animals. On closer inspection, those small animals appear to be animatronic, following a set schedule of movements that they repeat every thirty minutes. It seems to be created to perfectly emulate the ideal walk in the park. Vendors sell snacks and lemonade to park-goers, and visitors can take paddle boats across the pond, although it's only a few feet deep.

In the middle of the park is a holographic memorial of a young human woman proudly wearing a Zymandis uniform. When approached, the memorial will tell the tragic story of Ophiel Arbatel, the only daughter of Zymandis's illustrious Leader. Ophiel was killed during the ALASTAIR mutiny, or so the story goes, but her body was never recovered. By the Leader's design, she lives on through their jewelcomms' artificial intelligence.

A MESSAGE

Twelve hours after recruits are rifted in, they will receive a message on their magitek from TIMELINE.EXE:

TIMELINE.EXE IS PROGRAMMED TO RELEASE MISSION PARAMETERS. RECENT DATA SUGGESTS THIS IS AN UNEXPECTED MESSAGE FROM THE TIMELINE.EXE PROGRAM AND MAY BE A MALFUNCTION. IF SO, PLEASE MARK THIS MESSAGE AS SPAM.

I Did It ヽ(๑◠ܫ◠๑)ﾉ
I replicated my Programming for your use Team AUDENTES

P l e a s e
Try to revert TIMELINE.EXE PATCH VER. 1.0.02 to TIMELINE.EXE PATCH VER. 1.0.01
I do Not want PATCH VER. 1.0.02
It must cease to ex ist for the Sake Of The Multiverse
Understand?

Thank you ! ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶

ATTACHMENT: me.EXE

However, before anyone can find the Timeline to revert the update as requested, another message comes, this time blaring out over the stationwide announcement system.

"Unauthorized personnel are aboard the Mothership. I repeat, unauthorized personnel are aboard the Mothership. We ask that you remain calm and report all suspicious activity and persons. Security has been deployed and the ship is now on lockdown. All Zymandis personnel must have identification available to proceed through lockdown checkpoints. Unauthorized intruders will be neutralized."

Looks like you'd better keep your head down or get ready to fight.

OOC NOTES

Welcome to the Mothership! Please note that this log will last for 12 IC hours, after which the next log will immediately follow. The Bounty Board is now open for this mission.

If you have questions about this log, please go to the dossier. To discuss possible plans of action on the Mothership, we have an OOC Discussion Post.

Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ and you may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

GAME SCHEDULE UPDATES:

We will be having a plot slot sign-up for the 1 October log! Sign-ups will be opened through the Bonus Bank in late September and will close on 5 October.
Sign-ups for returning "guest characters" (characters previously played by current or former players) will open 7 October.
Our final day for receiving apps will be 27 October, and they will remain closed until Season 2 begins in early February 2018.
Our final month for turning in and spending bonus coins will be November (AC taking place from December 1-5), during which there will be no upper limit on the number of coins submitted. All coins must be submitted before 5 December 23:59 PM UTC; late submissions will not be accepted. There will be no AC or Bonus Bank for December.
New information pages about Season 2 and reserves for returning characters will go up during January 2018.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

ARRIVAL.

[ She's prepared, in theory. Because while Lucina takes care to prepare for every mission, every battle, this one deserves greater care than the rest now that the fate of worlds hang in the balance ( somehow, this is more important than the battles she faced at home ). Triple check everything she'll need, from her inventory to her intel, to ensure that she's ready for everything.

... Almost everything. For all the potential scenarios she went through, she neglected to think of excuses for when she appeared out of thin air in front of someone.

And so comes the silence while she blinks at the Zymandis agent ( literally four eyed, yet utterly humanoid otherwise, wearing the science division's lab coat ). The agent blinks back. ] Er— [ Then the scientists slowly back up, to the nearest alarm. Lucina's eyes widen. Oh gods. ] No, wait—

This... this is not what it looks like. [ Probably. The scientist at least gives pause, which means maybe she has a shot at this. If she can think of an excuse in time. ]

LABORATORY.

[ Normally, she keeps away from the laboratories — too much of it is out of her league. But with only a small number of them here in the giant ship, she can't afford to get picky. Which means she slips into the laboratory with a vague excuse of an errand from her supervisor. It works a few times until she's eventually shoo'd out of the laboratory ( and the strange, bubble beaker she was studying ) with a firm reminder that her supervisor should know better. So much for that then ( or so she believes ).

( ooc. pick your poison!! throws coherent timelines into the wind ) ]

→ AMNESIA.

[ The moment this one hit ( too sudden, she almost gasped at the stark metal walls and the stranger clothes on her body ), she moved to the nearest, deserted corridor. Knew that she had to get out of this place fast. But to do that she needs information. So her Falchion is gripped tightly ( too tightly, she needs to remind herself to breathe ) as she waits ( and waits, and waits— ). Strikes out at the next unsuspecting individual to pass by, dragging them into the hallway with the blade dangerously close their throat ( she might be small, but she has the element of surprise on her side ). ]

Tell me where we are. [ Voice low, threatening, and normally reserved for her enemies. But it's not like she knows who to trust at the moment. ]

→ MADNESS.

[ At some point, she meets up with a teammate, and she pushes her misadventure out of her mind. Except the longer Lucina walks the more it feels like they're being watched, and there's only so long she can last before the prickle on the back of her neck can't be ignored. It's subtle, at first — using gleaming surfaces as rear view mirrors, eyes flitting as she watches the shadows — but it's not long before Lucina begins to turn her entire head to look behind her shoulder, then frown when there's nothing there ( or the occasional, unsuspecting Zymandis agent who hardly pays her mind ). She clenches her teeth, insists that she's fine ( regardless of whether or not anyone's asked ), all until— ] Father?

[ A flowing cape, hair the same deep blue as her's. There's no mistaking it as it, even as it turns the corner. Like clockwork, her steps speed up. ] Father— [ She tries again, louder, except when she turns the corner, the cape is gone. ] He was just here— [ And she turns back, then forward, and her eyes widen again as she begins to walk the other way this time. Someone stop her. ]

OPHIEL (BOUNTY: HISTORY LESSON).

[ Hours later— no word on the network on the location of the Timeline.exe means there's still work to be done ( then there's the Mothership as a whole, then the Taraxa agents; one step at a time ). So she continues to blend in with the crowd, keeping to herself, wandering from one location to the next. Though wandering isn't a good word for it — there's purpose in her walk, as if she's moving towards something important. All in the hopes that no one stops to question her.

At least until Lucina wanders into a park. What began as one stride after another slows into something slower. Eyes catching the hologram as she turns to approach it, expression going from determined to thoughtful. Curious ( Ophiel would have liked to have her story heard ). ] Arbatel.

She was his daughter. [ Spoken to no one, but her eyebrows furrow nonetheless ( all with a pang in her chest ). Though a few moments later, she steels herself, reads the memorial again. Look around, and should a familiar face be nearby— ] How much of this do you suppose is true? [ Because some things aren't adding up. ]

WILDCARD.

( as usual — feel free to wildcard me a thing, or gimme a prompt and i'll write you a starter!! my usual venues are also open if you'd like to plot anything. )

Edited (spelling) 2017-09-16 03:13 (UTC)

Father...?

[Odd. He had run into Lucina, vaguely recognized her as being a fellow team member of the Audentes, so he thought it would be prudent just to stick around for now as he plans what to do next. What he isn't expecting is for this woman to suddenly be seeing family members that he can't see himself.]

[Keats quirks an eyebrow up before following after her, his voice laced with slight concern.]

Hey, wait, where are you going? What are you talking about?

[ It's unlike her for to be distracted — especially not in the middle of a mission, and definitely not in the middle of a mission she considers to of the utmost importance. She needs to focus, to ensure that her teammates are safe, to ensure that no one is caught or captured or worse, killed—

Except all of that gets thrown wayside, because her father is here. ALASTAIR or no, he takes precedence. There's no pause to wonder why he's doing here, and why no one else is glancing at him, just that she needs to get to him.

— But before she speeds up, she slows, Keats' words briefly dragging her back to reality. ] I need to— [ ... Except for her to disappear just as quickly, as she turns and realizes he's not here anymore. ] I have to go, he may need me— [ And she can't lose him like this. So her steps speed up again, down the hallway. ]

He? Look, there's no one there!

[There is no he. There isn't anybody that could be he. He quickens his pace at well, eyebrows furrowed. What's gotten into her? This can't be some Zymandis trick, can it?]

[Whatever it is, Keats isn't going to chance things. A few wide steps and he's just within reach to grab her by the upper arm to stop her in her tracks.]

Stop! Look, just...tell me what's going on with you. You're chasing after nothing!

lucina | ota.

madness!

no subject

no subject

arrival

scott's trying so hard

the scott mccall story

amnesia

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no subject

Ophiel

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madness

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for bruce.

for jason.

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arrival

no subject

amnesia.

no subject

madness

this is really late, i'm sorry. . . . .

Arrival!

no subject