EVENT ★ THE MOTHERSHIP

[futurologists]

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.

Comments

Hayame | OTA

[kisha]

０１ ↣ 重大なミス ↣ GRAVE MISTAKES

[Hayame wasn't ready for this. She didn't want to be here, she didn't wish to be involved in this fight between ALASTAIR and Zymandis, and despite her bluffing confidence, she has absolutely no faith in her ability to keep up some sort of shameful... farce. She dressed the part of a field agent, her armor burnished gold and white in the colors of the enemy, and she'd practiced her lines, what she would say to discourage questions-

But here she is, in a back corridor from which not moments ago came the sound of a scuffle and an echoing bang of something striking metal, shaking in barely suppressed panic with the whites of her eyes visible, a Zymandis field agent hugged painfully close to her chest.

His feet dangle limp inches from the floor, and his neck is bent at an odd angle beneath the squeeze of Hayame's powerful arms, the fingers she'd clasped desperately over his face, a stain slowly growing on the crotch of the his uniform. She'd just wanted to quiet him, he'd caught on that something was wrong, her lies had fallen flat, and he had reached for his communicator-

She's made a mistake.]

０２ ↣ 親方様探し ↣ LORD SEARCH

[She'd been standing right beside him before they'd been transported here, and now he is nowhere to be found. Her priority is to return to his side, mission be damned, and so the first thing Hayame sets off to do after her... unfortunate arrival is to find one prince she has chosen to serve. (The tenuous anchor of her sanity.)]

You.

[But the layers of the ship in deep space are wrecking havoc with her sense of space, and though the blinking dot of her lord's location is nearby on ALASTAIR's tracking device, she cannot find him- which leaves her to accost a fellow recruit.]

Have you seen Ninurrta of the Noah clan?

０３ ↣ 黒らか ↣ THE BLACK

[Hayame had hoped never to see this sight again. The sight of the infinite seeming black surrounding the ship, dotted with lights they told her were stars, each an entire world. She had tried her best to put it from her mind, to block out the time they had spent on that prison ship...

But she stands frozen before the window of the mothership that looks out into space, transfixed in horror by the vastness that seems set to swallow her whole.]

０４ ↣ 鬼札を引く ↣ WILDCARD

[Hit me up with a prompt if you want- PM or plurk!]

03

[spacerhyme]

[ ah, if it isn't his star pupil. he walks up beside her, hands clasped in front of him, smiling out at the endless black like someone greeting a funny old friend. ]

Ohhh, look at that view.

Awesome, isn't it?

[ in the real sense. he reaches out with one hand and touches his fingertips to the window, eyes fixed on the void. it's been a very long time indeed since he's been on a proper spaceship. this is what he's been missing. ]

[kisha]

[He might be smiling, but Hayame's expression is one of sheer terror, desiring more than anything to turn away but unable to do so. She can't even understand how he could touch the clear glass that seperates them from the void of death.

Hayame can only swallow, choking slightly on her own fear. Their lessons should have driven home to this doctor the truth of what she had told him about the year in her world- she is from a time that could not even yet fathom this level of technology. A time that left her so concerned with her own survival in a world at war that she had never looked up at the sky and imagined what might lie amongst the stars.

... She had actually meant to say something. To refute what he says, to wax on about the horrifying terror of the blackness.

But nothing came out beyond a shudder that travels down her spine(s).]

[spacerhyme]

[ he's spent more than his fair share of time around peoples who hadn't even begun to grasp the concept of 'space' yet. he knows hayame's among them. he's also personally introduced more of them to the stars than he cares to count.

space is a part of him; a life so far removed from the wider universe than one can't even conceive of worlds beyond the ground under their feet isn't something he could ever really grasp. perhaps it's not irrational to fear it at first, but he never could.

he glances at her, smile fading, but the wonder still shining in his eyes. and then he simply continues talking, with a sort of easy grandeur, gesturing out at far-off pinprick of light. ]

Do you know what the best bit is? From where we stand, the universe looks so very empty, it looks like literally nothing at all... but that's only because there's too much for us to see from where we stand. If you could pull back, you'd see that the universe is brighter and noisier than anything else you could imagine. Full of countless stars, full of life.

And the spaces between aren't really empty, either. [ the corner of his mouth quirks up, ] You wouldn't want to take a walk out there, 'course, but there's always something in the nothing. Solar winds, cosmic dust, radiation. Civilizations start off learning how to sail across oceans when they're young, like a baby learning to walk, until eventually they learn how to sail across space.

And happily, this is a pretty nice ship.

[kisha]

[It is too much.

It is so vast, like something that could suck her in if she wasn't careful, as if locking her knees could prevent her from falling into it. He speaks as if it's something wonderful, something bright and beautiful...

And perhaps it was. From the ground.]

How small we are.

[How inconsequential, how like specks of dust she, her brother, her master, Matsukaze, this man, her lord... how pitiful their lives seemed in comparison to this "space".]

01

[perma_banned]

[With a hum, Ban turned the corner. While not totally oblivious to the noise and the danger associated with approaching something that sounded like a violent altercation, he at least pretended to look the part. He said nothing once he was in sight, simply taking in what he was seeing.

He understood it for what it was the moment he laid eyes on it.

Usually, a joke would hang on him at the worst possible time. Instead, realizing it was an ally that had taken the reigns rather than the enemy--he was somewhat prepared. Ban reached up to his chin and scratched at the thin stubble there, voicing his concerns after a painfully long handful of moments.]

Need a little help with that~? You shouldn't be holding 'em in case anyone else turns that corner.

[kisha]

[This wasn't how it was supposed to happen.

Hayame knew her own strength, and even in the panic of the moment, even in the crude way she had been forced to simply lay hands on the enemy in an attempt to silence him rather than simply cut him down... he shouldn't have died.

But here he is, dead in her arms, and there's someone she barely recognizes as an ALASTAIR "recruit", startling her out of her spiraling panic, squeezing reflexively tighter on the body- that lets out a soft crack.

She'd meant to say something- but all that came out was a choke before a splutter of an excuse.]

[perma_banned]

Uh. [The stricken response Hayame gave him was less than he hoped for and yet, more than enough for Ban to get a hold of the situation. He reached over and held out his hands as if beckoning for Hayame to hand over the dead man. It wasn't as if Ban thought the guy was too heavy for her--rather, the opposite. She clearly had the strength in her to pop bone and vertebrae without even really thinking about it. That, of course, seemed like the problem.

There were definitely times in which he didn't have teasing on his mind and this had been one of them. The odd angle of the corpse's neck couldn't be explained away as a bad time for a nap or liquor. At that point, it was an issue of covering up a murder as efficiently and quickly as possible.]

Breathe deep and hand him over to me. I'll make sure he's out of sight.

[kisha]

[She had to do something. Had to dispose of the corpse. Had to get back to her lord, who had been beside her when she was in Oska, but now was nowhere in sight.

It takes more effort than it should, but she actually manages to release the body- not into his arms, though, it's all she can do to just let go of it, and the once-man slumps to the floor in a heap.

Breathe.

In.

Out.

Hayame does so... and then reaches for the blade at her hip, beginning to draw it from the sheathe.]

01.

[sadgay]

[Having just extracted himself from one thorny situation, Connor slips around the corner and lands in an even thornier predicament. His face turns wan and his stomach churns for the gruesome sight of the agent dangling limp in Hayame's grip. He sees the vacant stare of Sam Keating and the crater made of his skull, the unnatural angles of Emily Sinclair's broken body, the memories clawing to the surface like wild things he cannot tame. Trying not to gag on the surge of guilt and the taste of death, he takes a shuddering breath in and lets it out. This does nothing to calm him as he jabs an accusatory finger at the jinba. His voice is low and sharp, a panicked hiss bubbling up from his twisting gut.]

What part of "keep a low profile" did you not get?

[And he shoves his hands through his hair, as if this will help him think.]

Oh my god, what are we supposed to do now?

[kisha]

[The sound then sight of someone coming round the bend doesn't even register until he speaks, and Hayame starts with a prance of hooves that echoes in the metallic ship, withers bumping up against console panels behind her, the limp limbs of the dead Zymandis agent in her grasp sullenly swinging along with the motion, her every joint white with pressure she hasn't yet figured out how to release, still squeezing.

She doesn't even really register yet who it is, that it is that man she has looked down upon. Hayame had always been ready to kill, raised to kill, to follow orders and bring glory to her lord through killing...

But she hadn't set out to do that. It just-]

I did not mean to-

[The sound chokes out as she looks down at alarm at the body in her arms, wanting nothing more than to fling it from her, whites of her eyes exposed and wild.]

It was going to call for reinforcements-

[And it just... broke.]

[sadgay]

Woah--

[He holds both hands wide in a placating gesture, as if she truly is a wild mare startling before him.]

Well, he isn't gonna call for anyone now. Will you calm the hell down? Who knows what else you'll break.

[His own heart races, leaping up his throat, hammering in his ears. He is reliving his worst nightmare, the one, the one where he is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and everything that happens is all wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The one where he is trapped, and he wants to scream, he wants to run farther and farther until none of this can ensnare him anymore, but he cannot because he is just a puppet on a set of strings.]

We just have to...hide the body somewhere. Then no one will have to know.

[kisha]

[What else she'll break seems to be the humanoid corpse's rib, a soft, wet pop of sound sliding from the body as her arms tighten anxiously instead of release, her gaze shaking between the new arrival she as of yet only identified as "not enemy", the hallway, and anything else but the corpse. Once she has calmed down she will be able to realize that there is something wrong with this- that she knew her own strength, and she shouldn't have used enough to break a human man like this, surely, but this is Zymandis, with just as many nonhumans among their number as ALASTAIR. Sometimes delicate ones.

She was going to vomit. She can still smell the bodies in the shack, can still hear the scream, can still see the wet liver of a man held out to her in offer of sustenance, the twisted foal's smile as he assured her with blood on his lips that it was best fresh.

She can't throw up, she has to-]

The head.

[Her wild eyes come back to Connor, trying to focus on duty, on what she was supposed to do with a fallen enemy. Focus, focus-]

I have to take the head-

[The body he can have.]

03

[secondnature]

[A part of Keith will always feel more at peace with the expanse of space before him. There are a few exceptions to that rule, but "patience yields focus" somehow manages to take hold when his mind is promptly memorizing the glow of the sky beyond him.

Every part of this mission is overwhelming, but he finds himself taking a breather to stand beside Ayame. Unfortunately, he still doesn't have a good read on her "in horror" face. Or a full understanding of the existential difficulty of all of this.]

Did you see something? [That's ... what that face means, right?]

[kisha]

[She does do her best to hide it. But the stillness in her comes not from calm but from terror, knuckles white where she clutches her own crossed arms, pupils dilated when confronted with the infinite seeming black.

How can he stand there in front of the thin-looking barrier separating them from dishonorable death out there and just... be alright?]

The black.

["Space", Hayame.]

[secondnature]

[... What? It's not the first time he's encountered this sentiment with her, and he highly doubts that it would be the last. He glances between her and space. The ... black.

Keith's eyebrows pinch together in confusion.]

Do you mean space? You've looked up before, right?

[kisha]

As if that is comparable?

[Hayama had never been the sort to stare up at the stars romantically, hadn't been creative enough or educated enough to wonder what lived in the stars, to ever imagine living beings ever traversing that space. But of course she has looked up.

With four hooves planted firmly on the ground.]

02

[rosegroomed]

[It was inevitable that he'd end up being asked something he doesn't know the answer to, but he didn't expect it to be immediately. For a moment, he fumbles with his words, trying to ascertain whether or not some kind of code is being used, before deciding that his (true!) innocence is the best way to go.]

I don't know who you're talking about.

[And he really doesn't, but he looks naturally sullen, and it's easy to think otherwise.]

[kisha]

[If Hayame had the energy of intent to socialize with her fellow Audentes members, she would know that this man is too new to perhaps know the answer to her question. As it was, she has seen him before briefly and just assumes he simply has not spoken with her lord, and so she launches into the explanation she always uses in these cases.]

He is a handsome young man of slender stature, with hair like ice and horns sprouting from his crown.

[Surely that will help.]

[rosegroomed]

[He's ready to explain that he doesn't know what anyone looks like to match them to a name or location, but the actual description of this mysery figure is enough to give him pause--not because Saionji's seen him, because he sure as hell would remember it, but because the description sounds...well, distinctly fake.]

You're pulling my leg.

[It's said deadpan as he crosses his arms, frowning.]

"Hair like ice"? There's no such thing. Have you seen ice? It's clear. Are you telling me he's bald?

[kisha]

[That reaction is obviously not what Hayame desires, if the dissatisfied expression on her face is any indication.]

As if I would joke about such a thing.

[This is what happens when you try to praise your lord's beautiful features?]

It is the exact color of ice upon a lake.

[That is... a sort of frosty blue.]

3.

[ofobedience]

[When he first notices her there staring out into the black abyss beyond the window, he doesn't immediately think anything of it, doesn't recognise her state of panic straight away. But the closer he comes, the more it becomes discernible-- the tension in her body, the scent coming off her that he knows so well, has encountered time and time again, has been the cause of on many occasions.

He approaches quietly. Moves to stand beside her. His voice, when it comes, so soft and low.]

Whatever is the matter?

[kisha]

[It is a good thing that Giovanni knows better than to approach a woman who is half horse from behind- because the moment he speaks after coming up so quietly when she is so hyper-focused on what is in front of her, her back hoof lashes out.

Thankfully, she hits only air, and pulls her leg back in tight to her body quickly enough that she hopes he will overlook it, turning her dilated gaze on Giovanni.]

What?

[No, he. Asked first.]

[ofobedience]

[Well. He may know nothing of horses - or horse-women - but he at the very least knows it's best not to approach a tense and frightened individual from behind. It would have been better to announce his presence perhaps, to let her know he was there before he spoke, but old habits die hard, he's far more accustomed to slinking around in silence, and besides all that he isn't quite so sensitive to the needs of others to have identified the correct way to behave.

Whatever the case, he's here now. Keeps his eyes focused on the chilling blackness behind the window, even as he answers her.]

I said, whatever is the matter? Something's bothering you. I wondered what it might be.

[At least he doesn't make any mention of the kicking.]

[kisha]

[He clarifies his question, and yet that doesn't make it any better somehow. After all- how could someone ask that, as if it would be a mystery?]

You mean to say you are not bothered?

[By this mission. By Audentes. By being in space. By every damned bit of it.]