epidemiology | EVENT ★ LABYRINTH

ASTERION PRISON

Following Anakin's successful breakout, there are no new inmates added to the cells in Asterion Prison. There are no stops and, though speed is difficult to track in space, it seems as though the ship is now moving more purposely toward its final destination: the trial, the correctional officers say, is coming soon.

THE ESCAPE

The morning of Audentes’s last day on the prison barge began like any other day aboard so far. Throughout the day there were restless murmurs, though; plans were tentatively talked over and laid out in quiet, conspirator groups. A few more eyes than usual watched the progress of the correctional officers through the hallways. As evening drew in and prisoners prepared to return to their cells to sleep, things quietly began to set in motion.

Ninurrta, Urahara, and Lance compiled what they’d learned today and on days previous of correctional officer schedules, and Nami and Fugo were pulled aside and told where and when to be ready. Seasoned thieves that they are, it was almost no trouble to make the keycards of a few officers disappear. The officers would have much larger problems to deal with before they ever noticed the absence. And those problems started right about… now.

It’s hard to say exactly who started it, but the safe bet is on a staged performance by Asher and Stiles. As prisoners were shuffling into their cells, tempers suddenly flared, voices suddenly raised, and fists began to fly. It was contagious, especially with Undyne and Giorno’s well-timed encouragements and a few hard shoves at the right inmate’s backs. To the officers’ great exasperation and irritation, the third riot since this rowdy new batch of prisoners was added flared to life.

This one didn’t stop at the prisoners, though. Twisted Fate gifted the recreation room with an especially smokey explosion and the fire safety sprinklers reacted instantly, showering down to soak Audentes, fellow prisoners, and correctional officers alike. The officers quickly found it was a little more water than usual -- far too much water than it should be, actually. That was Sai’s subtle assistance, adding transformed water to that already raining down. Those officers not involved in trying to break up the growing confusion pushed into the recreation area to go and put out that new more-than-metaphorical fire, and that was Daenerys and Fiona’s cue to start giving orders. Any Audentes members in the area were rounded up, told to leave now, and no sooner than the last of them was out than Mettaton took center stage. Specifically, the center stage was taken with a searing blast of electricity. It wasn’t quite enough to kill prisoners, but the robotic guards never really stood a chance. They, and all the rest of the robotic crew on their shared circuit, were shorted out and down for the count.

The keycards, not forgotten, were passed on to those subtle enough to make use of them. Noctis, Loki, and Widowmaker in particular were entrusted with opening the cells of what inmates had been locked away, and then unlocking the cellblock doors. Audentes would not be turning in for the night as scheduled, and any other prisoners were welcome to come along for their ride.

That, however, was when things went a little off the rails. Separated and cornered, Emma flared up and managed what even Mettaton’s electricity hadn’t: an enormous power outage. Ship-wide, in fact. Darkness fell. Keycards were rendered instantly useless in the face of stony, inert doors, and artificial gravity went out with it all. But Audentes is nothing if not up to a little challenge.

The doors could still open, it was quickly discovered, with a little brute force. Koltira, Ramir, and Hayame kept up the speed of the now-floating (and no less lively for it) riot, prying open any doors encountered, freeing still-trapped prisoners as they were found. And what was planned as just one team suddenly became two: working on Sieglinde’s careful navigational direction, Peridot, Peter, and Damian were sent toward the locked-down main power grid for a hard reboot of the system, while Prompto, Keith, and Odinson headed toward the navigation room.

The timing was perfect. Gravity slammed back on as light flooded the prison once more, just as the second group reached the navigation room. Odinson stood guard as Prompto broke them into the room, and Keith slid into the pilot’s chair to take control of the entire ship…

...which is when things really got started.

THE LABYRINTH

Audentes gains control over the prison ship quickly and perilously, freeing fellow inmates to help them keep the correctional officers busy. The intent is to pilot the ship and land it somewhere -- but even that vague plan never really comes to fruition. Something goes wrong, and the ship plummets out of the sky, burning through the atmosphere. Alarms blare and the ship shakes and red warning lights blink in every corner. All you can really do is hold on.

The ship crashes into a planet.

It's completely trashed; no longer capable of flight. Pieces have torn off in the descent and even more pieces have melted together in the still-burning fires as the wreckage lies between impossibly tall walls. The holes in the hull reveals where personal items -- including weapons -- were being held, so it's probably a good idea to reclaim what's yours before someone else does.

There are injuries and casualties all around, including correctional officers and inmates; luckily, no fatalities have struck Audentes, and George is still alive as well, though he's broken an arm in the crash.

After scavenging the wreckage for supplies and survivors, the next step is figuring out where the hell this is. A surviving correctional officer has the answer: this is the Asterion Labyrinth, the place where all prisoners must undergo their trial.

It seems it's more of a trial by ordeal than anything else, as further exploration makes it clear that all survivors of the crash -- criminals, ALASTAIR, and correctional officers -- are now prisoners inside a maze.

OOC NOTES

Welcome to Asterion Labyrinth! There is a plotting write-up here, which includes search requests for the first ring of the maze.

If you have any questions about the prison that aren't answered here, please direct them to the Leramzen dossier.

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

DVDs?

[ as in. not even blu-rays.

d-v-fucking-d's.

maybe there's something hidden in the cases. maybe they didn't go through a wormhole and land in 2006. ]

[In her time VHS tapes still exist, okay, Ace Attorney is a very dark game series]

[Bruce keeps all of his limbs, and Maya cradles the DVDs to her chest protectively, smiling.]

My Steel Samurai collection! They're special edition, I'd lose it if they were crushed! You really saved me!

[She seems... cheerful... at least, despite the crash landing and how banged up she is and all. Again, this is her priority]

[ lord.

concussed and clinging to movies or not, bruce extends a hand to her to help her. ]

Come on. We should get out of here quickly. The ship's no longer safe.

[Maya hesitates briefly as he offers a hand -- not because she's suspicious of this stranger, but because it crosses her mind that she might slow him down if he tries to guide her out of here, which concerns her. Ultimately, though, her survival instincts win out and she takes it, still cradling the DVDs with her free arm. he really loves her TV show, apparently]

Okay, but--- which way is out? And.... where are we, anyway?

[She'll follow along dutifully if he starts moving, though, maybe stumbling a little while trying to keep up with him]

Looks like we're exactly where we were heading. [ what are the fucking chances.

the bitter note is extinguished by the time he wraps another hand around her back the better to support her or catch her if need be. he stoops low to avoid split pipes on the ceiling, and points out uneven or potentially dangerous areas on the floor with a — ] Careful.

You okay? [ partly to keep her talking and thus calm, largely evaluating her mental status, ] Can you tell me your name? Where you're from?

The.... trial? We're at a courtroom?

[She's an Ace Attorney character so of course that's her first thought. She lets him lead her without resistance, and would have stepped directly into all potential dangerous areas (because she's focusing on him to answer his questions and not actually looking where she's going) if not for his warnings.]

[Luckily for her she's short enough that she doesn't have to stoop]

I'm-- Maya! Maya Fey! I'm from Kurain Village--- um, but I'm with Audentes. You are too, right?

[She's shaken, but the focus on him distracts her from focusing too hard on their situation or her obvious injuries, for the moment. She's naturally resilient and peppy, but he can probably tell that she is making a concentrated effort to be cheerful and casual about present happenings as if that will make them easier for the both of them.]

[ sure. they're at a courtroom. ]

Yes, I am. My name is Bruce Wayne.

[ obvious impaired judgment aside, she is oriented in place and person; time is tougher to test for when they've been without a proper calendar. she's alert; coherent; nervous but cooperative. assuming she's speaking correctly, long term memory checks out too. short can be determined as they proceed. all in all, not doing as badly, mentally, as she could otherwise be after the trauma experienced, though the question of judgement means she should not be left alone for the next several hours. ]

What happened after the crash? Do you remember?

Wow.... that sounds like the name of an oil tycoon! Or a cartoon character or something. [Yeah, something like that.]

[She also has the tendency to get excited over mundane things, not just limited to TV shows, he'll notice the longer she runs her motormouth] Um... we ended up here, and I had to look for my stuff? If this is really where the trial is supposed to be... I guess we'd better work on a defense.

...And find the actual courtroom.

[Absolutely, a courtroom]

[ there is an optimistic turn. that after the consistent denial of basic rights they should still have the right to a trial by peers. and one to be quashed underneath an unmerciful heel as soon as they can glimpse daylight. ]

It's not a judicial trial.

[ immediately ahead as they exit the wreckage, one of the labyrinth's walls pierces the sky. a monolith, solemn and intimidating, its twin glimpsed as soon as he turns his head. rather than feel any awe at the construction — or fear at the impossibility — bruce looks to the walls in challenge. they'll get through.

first, though. first they take stock of themselves. their numbers. the able-bodied and the injured. the dead. what they can scavenge and what they have on hand. survival won't happen just because he says they will. ]

It isn't?

[She echoes as they pick their way through the wreckage. It's just about then when she gets a glimpse of what's up ahead. No lawyers, judges, prosecutors, courts, parrots or anything --- it's a maze?]

[No wonder the guards kept snickering, no wonder none of the inmates knew anything about it. The plan the entire time was to just dump them here and let them die out in something straight out of a fairy tale.]

Woah. This is oldschool.

[And that's a completely appropriate reaction to all this. Absolutely.]

[ one (1) definitive head injury. check.

bruce escorts her to a relatively clear space of debris. other survivors search around them, either for people or through the wreckage. ]

I need you to stay here. I'm going back in to search for more survivors. Rest. I'll be back to check on you.

[Or maybe she's just naturally like that. Who can say?]

By yourself? I--- Okay.

[Well, she'll stay put as he leaves her. She's cooperative enough for the moment. But listening and remaining put aren't exactly her best qualities, so if he does come back for her, unfortunately, she's not gonna be there]

EVENT ★ LABYRINTH

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

puts pretty finishing bow on thread

so neatly wrapped!!