Mission: What their Eyes See

[voidtreckermods]

On the morning of Day 5 of the month of Llama (ooc: 9th May) the train symbol on everyone’s Safety Control Apparatus will shimmer in many colours, almost like the void itself. A moment later a holo-screen will pop up with the following information:

Destination: System #93426194992.

The city of Kamakan is a large population centre in an almost barren world. Constructed in four distinct tiers, the city is one of great wealth and desperate poverty. A series of strange events has been reported and void assistance has been requested.

Orange Team

On the very top level of the city is an information hub. As the information network of the city has reportedly been affected, this is a priority location. Infiltrate the facility and begin mapping the hub.

Purple Team

The second level is home to the elite. There have been a series of killings that have shaken the level, though news has been suppressed. Furthermore there are rumours of creatures stalking the plate: creatures from stories, or those extinct many years ago. Investigate and prevent any further fatalities.

Blue Team

The third level is where the bulk of workers live with cramped houses squeezed between factories. One of the main escapes of the youth in this sector is the Spectaura, a basic VR gaming system that uses goggles.

A few days ago those using the Spectaura began to fall unconscious and seem to be unable to log out. Use the Spectaura to enter the system, and rescue the players. .

Red Team

On the ground level of the city there have been murmurings of strange goings on connected to a fighting ring that operates throughout the plate. Rumours that a new prize has been offered: a prize of a dream come true. There are also more worrying rumours of fighters going berserk or victors going mad. Infiltrate and investigate.

Notes: The dressing carriage will be open for your convenience. The world was once part of a space-faring galaxy but has since lost this capability; it is not void active.

Your SCA will allow you access throughout the city and also hold a small amount of credits for lodging or other necessary purchases. All Voidtreckers should be on their guard and be as discreet as they can..

Additional Information

All the information you will need for writing the mission is below. Remember that the only information characters know about IC before the mission is the blockquote section above, though they may learn the rest through play.

Lay of the Land

Overview

Kamakan is a city in four distinct tiers, large plates built on top of each other with the narrowest at the top. The topmost layer hosts the centre of governance, command and information. The next holds the homes and workplaces of the elite and wealthy; the third is the industrial district, and the ground level is quite literally the underbelly of the city, being made up of slums and uninhabitable factory or power spaces.

The world outside the city is grey and lifeless. The city is covered in a thick smog, making the air hard to breathe and irritating the eyes. The air is hot and humid with thunder rumbling overhead and the occasional flash of lightning.

The city is very large. It would take the better part of a day to walk from one end to another, especially in the lower, wider tiers. The plates are held by large steel columns that double as lift shafts, allowing access between tiers. As explained by the train, their SCA's work to give them access through any checkpoints. They will notice that the citizens of the city wear watch-like devices of their own that seem to work as identity cards.

It is a large population hub and it seems a popular travelling point, with transports arriving into stations around the city from other cities or smaller settlements almost hourly.

The city is extremely noisy, especially on the lower tiers with billboards blaring advertisements and screens playing the latest music at all times of day and night. Nothing is beyond being sold, including canisters of breathable air with breathing masks.

The rarest commodity is food: no one is starving, but the average diet consists of a nutrient paste, a thin bland porridge that contains all the nutrients needed to survive. Or, as advertised on every street corner: Nutri-slime, a brand name version of the same substance that comes in an array of luminous colours and tastes almost sickly sweet. Consequently, a less-than-legal trade of actual food is in operation especially in the ground-level tier. Real food is a good way to buy information, though flaunting too much will attract the wrong kind of attention.

Tier One

This tier is the smallest and is covered completely in a large glass dome, protecting the tier from inclement weather and providing it with filtered air. It is kept at a pleasant temperature and there are even some simple plants around, mostly ornamental shrubs and hedges.

All the buildings here are sturdy metal, simple and practical, clearly all designed by a single architect or with severe planning restrictions in place. It also boasts the largest proportion of security staff.

Tier Two

The next tier down is covered in large houses and office blocks, connected by glass tubes that work as sealed streets - the smog would be unbearable otherwise. Alternatively, hovercars seem popular up here. Inside the houses and indeed some of the workplaces basic holograms are in fashion: a living room next to the ocean, cooking on a mountain top, sleeping in a forest. For the most part these holograms are very basic and don't stand up to much scrutiny, merely fancy decor for the very wealthy.

Tier Three

This layer is hot and crowded; factories make up the majority of this floor with cramped living quarters squashed between them. The air quality is worst in this sector because the fumes from the factory are trapped by the level above; circulation is poor, many of its residents wear gas masks with canisters of Breathe strapped on their backs or cover their faces with cloths.

The people who live here are those with jobs in the factories, and their families. The factories operate all day and night, with constant rotating shifts meaning the streets are always busy. There are a lot of checkpoints and security gates to pass through to move around the sector, though the SCA's will pass muster. The one hospital in the tier is currently overwhelmed by the amount of unconscious gamers; it is something that has shaken the population of the tier, making for a subdued and worried atmosphere. Very few people don't have a friend or family member affected.

Tier Four

This is the ground level, a warren of homes and shady establishments home to those who can or will not work in the factories of the tier above. Here there are barely any checkpoints or law enforcement of any kind.

It is incredibly claustrophobic, with large support columns, exposed wires and large pipes running alongside and over the 'roads'. At a guess this tier was never meant for people to live on, yet it seems to be the most densely populated tier.

Routes

Orange

Though their SCA's show a map of the tier, it does not show the inside of the buildings or give any clue as to what the buildings contain. The only way for them to learn more is to infiltrate.

Their SCA's will get them access but it is up to them how they wish to proceed: pretend to be scientists, full stealth, or another mad plan. Their main aim is to map the place and try to find the server hubs.

This is a difficult task that will be made even more difficult by the fact that sometimes the buildings seem to change. That is, one moment they are in the buildings and the next they are somewhere else. Perhaps their childhood street, their old school, the jungles of Nion or another mission-world. Perhaps they are back on the train.

Voidtreckers who are immune to illusions will not see these strange visions and those who are particularly strong willed will be able to fight them off. Once people know they are illusions they can focus through them to see reality even if it is overlaid with what their minds want to see. However they get more frequent as the mission progresses, it will take a lot of concentration to stay focused and get an accurate map.

Though at first people will see their own things, illusions will start to merge. They might see something from the world of the Voidtrecker next to them, or two scenes might mesh.

Back in reality! There are a lot of rooms and buildings to explore: labs, offices, meeting rooms. Everything is neat and clean, though there are many people out and about at all hours. Enough that people trying to blend in won't find it too difficult - as long as they don't do anything too obvious.

It seems that the Voidtreckers aren't the only people who are seeing the illusions; those working here seem to be affected too, which works in the Voidtreckers' favour as the employees begin avoiding the buildings, rumours springing up about them being haunted.

Purple

This tier is in a state of panic. Six people have been killed in the last week, all from inside their own locked houses, all showing signs of an animal attack.

In a world where anything larger than a housecat went extinct a generation ago, this is beyond unimaginable. The houses where the killings happened have been cordoned off but those guarding the place are as worried as anyone else, distracted and nervous, and so it won't take much to get through.

The first thing to notice is that the holograms in these houses seem… a lot more real. Almost like they really have walked into a forest, onto a beach or up a mountain. Voidtreckers who are immune to illusions will not see these strange visions and those who are particularly strong willed will be able to fight them off, seeing only the basic holograms in the homes.

More worrying are the reports about sightings of animals around the tier. People being chased, hunted. The more the Voidtreckers search the more evidence they will find that this is true. A large cat, a wolf, perhaps a bear. Maybe a creature unique to their world or something they have seen on a previous mission. These creatures prowl and will attack if provoked. Or sometimes even if not.

Because two things become certain pretty quickly: One- these creatures will attack Voidtreckers over citizens. Two- Even to those who can see through the illusions something is there. It's not very visible, a distortion of light. But these illusions are a lot more real than any they have seen before.

Their mission will quickly become one of hunting down these creatures and keeping the tier safe from them.

Blue

Spectaura is a simple googles-based VR game. It's not as advanced as the VR that is on the train, though that might be because it seems to be a cheaper range gaming system. It hosts many games though and is immersive enough to be a good distraction, perfect for young people to escape the drudgery of factory work.

Except around a week ago people using Spectaura began falling unconscious. They are alive, they seem to still be playing. However they can't be awoken. Unfortunately attempts to turn the game off in a couple of early cases led to the player's death and so subsequent cases have been left, transferred to the hospital or kept at home. Their bodies do not seem to be deteriorating despite the lack of food or water.

There are some spare Spectaura devices around, or they can be bought with credits (though any shop assistant will make them sign a waiver to show they understand the danger of entering the game system.)

There are a whole range of games to look through, though the two most popular ones where the majority of players can be found are an open-world farming MMO called AgriTopia VI Ultimate, with bright landscapes and calming diegetic music, and Aegis Force, a tournament team shooter with short battle scenarios and smaller maps.

Whichever game they enter the problem will be obvious, and perhaps familiar, straight away. Red vines, overgrown everywhere, tangling systems and people. Anyone entering the game will lose consciousness in reality, and inside the game will find themselves being attacked by red vines within moments. These are difficult to fight off but possible.

Inside the game world voidtreckers will not have their canon abilities but will gain game-appropriate abilities depending on what game they have entered. AgriTopia? Axes, hoes, and large secateurs can cut back the vines. Aegis Force? Gunfire forces them back to a degree. Additionally, Voidtreckers who entered the system of the Great Seasons in Jelly/January's mission will find they have the powers they were gifted then - most importantly, the ability to soothe the vines.

Those without this ability can still fight to free people, it will just take more brute force and quick thinking. Once the people have been freed from the vines they will need help to make it to the end of the level, game or nearest save point so that they can leave the game safely and wake up.

Red

The first rule of fight club is don't talk about fight club. The second rule is if you make enough of a scene in their territory, the fight club will find you.

Though our use of 'club' may sound singular, it is actually a whole network of fighting tournaments in various bars, basements and other establishments in the lowest tier. Entering is actually pretty simple: they will take anyone who wants to fight. Ranking higher is a bit harder.

The Voidtreckers won't be the only new faces. After all, a prize of dreams come true has enticed many who wouldn't normally be drawn in. There are combatants of all strengths and size, and it soon becomes apparent that winning isn't the aim of the game. What is? Putting on a good show. The flashier the better! The audience wants drama, and those with a flair for the theatrical will do just as well as those who are good in a fight.

The prize of a dream come true is one thing, but there are many more worrying rumours. One of the best fighters reportedly walked out of the city a day ago, no protective gear, no gear at all, out into the smog. They haven't been seen since.

There's also talk of people going berserk or breaking down in fights. As the Voidtreckers progress and move from the small bars to the larger establishments, they will start to see the problem.

Sometimes things… change. That opponent you are facing? They now look like your worst enemy, or perhaps your best friend, your lover. Sometimes you're no longer in the city but in a place of fond memories or your worst nightmares. Fights can very quickly go south when your opponent believes you their greatest foe.

Voidtreckers who are immune to illusions will not see these strange visions and those who are particularly strong willed will be able to fight them off. Once people know they are illusions they can focus through them to see reality even if it is overlaid with what their minds want to see.

For those who are not up for fighting, or don't wish to infiltrate in that way, there is plenty of gossip, petty crime and other ways to get in with those running the fighting ring. Schmoozing or bribery, fast-talking or gambling.

People

The people of the world are a bit of a mix. This world was once space-faring, and it shows in the population, with a variety of sapient species and a blend of genetics that tend towards the mutant. Personal aesthetics and appearances vary wildly, too, and in a poisonous world, coverings are the fashion. The nonhuman Voidtreckers do not need to worry about standing out. There are robotic and droids in the city though fully AI does not seem to exist with most being programmed to do basic tasks.

However, while the world is high technology, magic is non-existent. Obvious use of it will bring attention. Some positive, some negative. Mostly the latter. With subtle or intelligent use, it might prove beneficial in some situations, but flagrant use will quickly cause panic. That said, with all of the flashy billboards and loud music going on, it's easier than you'd think to pass off an effect as pyrotechnics.

Generally, the people of Kamakan are a people concerned with their own matters, who live in an inhospitable city with the faintest chance of elevating themselves to literal greater heights.

Other Information

The dressing carriage will open to provide clothing appropriate to the setting - think cyberpunk. There is food of a sort in the city, if you like nutrient paste, and all SCAs will have an amount of credits sufficient for food and housing for the week.

Though it is a work-in-progress it may be worth looking here for ‘background’ mission preparation. Other initiatives are listed here and here is the list of community supplies that you can assume characters have access to.

This mission will run from the 9th of May. A post will go up on the 9th May (L5) and will cover the Voidtreckers' arrival to Kamakan. An optional ongoing post will happen on the 15th May (L8). A final challenge for all teams on the 19th May (Forward dated to L11). The final this mission will be a little different and more information about that will go up soon.

Rewards.

Taking part in a mission in any way will earn you five team points. You claim those by submitting a link during AC.

Also threads of 10 comments or more where mission goals are being worked towards will also earn you 10 team points. To claim those please fill in the form below and reply to the rewards header.

<b>Characters:</b> <b>Mission goal colour:</b> <b>Link:</b>

Please feel free to use this as a plotting post. Remember there is nothing forcing your character to do the task assigned to their group so if you wish to do a different one, feel free! If your character decides to not do any of the tasks at all, that’s fine too, just let us know! Please reply under the colour you decide to go with once you decide.

Have fun plotting!

Comments

RED

[voidtreckermods]

Re: RED

[xue_yang]

Characters:Xue Yang
Team:red

Xue Yang is definitely doing the fight club. Not only does he have skills but he knows how to put on a show. So he is going to be really really enjoying this part of the mission. He will probably need someone willing to help him if he takes things a little too far and gets injured, or maybe just a 'brains' behind the brawn that can get him into the best fights and act as his manager.

Open to any and all characters, new CR and old.

[stardustofdawn]

Quick question!: Since characters receive credits for food and housing for the week, for lodgings within the city, do you wish for Xue Yang and Xingchen to share a room together? Or have Xue Yang stay on his own?

Re: RED

[4starlowclasshero]

DID SOMEONE SAY FIGHT?!

Goku is going to draw so much attention wanting to get into this fight club. The hard part is is just pulling his punches. These guys would probably go splat if he went all out! Unless someone there is super strong.

[zombiemessiah]

Murphy's going to be a fun sassy bartender and slip some blood to some NPC fighters as well as just talk to people and do some investigating that way.

If someone on red wants to help him investigate and would tolerate the antics of a partially dead person I'd love it.

[irrationally]

oh please i would love these two as an investigation team. it'd be terrible. especially since alice's idea of interrogation people is so wildly aggressive

Than @ RED

[controlsthedie]

Thanatos is still trying to keep this team alive. He will be following along with people to the fight clubs, but he's not going to participate in them unless absolutely necessary. He's going to be on the cusp of various sensory overloads, and he is not liking these small spaces. (Also, I'm not sure how he'd fight a box and shackles... and the other option would probably be illusionary Zag beating up on him, and if that happens, Than wouldn't fight back... ='D Press F to pay respects)

However, he will heal people discretely with his manadrive after/between battles. Please let him help that way because he is too technologically behind to really be effective for the other stuff.

Edit: He might be able to help out with moving around the big city, but given how obviously magical it is, expect shenanigans.

[irrationally]

oh gosh, it'd be so cute if than could help heal alice ;; especially since she's too used to relying on just herself to ask anyone for help, so if he could offer that would be great.

Re: Than @ RED

[light_of_willpower]

Than won't be alone at least with healing supplies. Trunks is going Red this time, and he has healing items on him too.

Re: Than @ RED

[gentle_jim]

Woooould Than be interested in making sure a certain robot doesn't actually kill his opponents? Not that Jack was intending to, but the illusions are going to piss him off real bad.

Re: RED

[worthallthis]

While Soldat will not be traveling with Red team this mission (for the first time since their arrival!) they will providing every Red team member with a care package of quarter of a lembas loaf, eight granola bars, eight fruit bars (think fig newtons), two meat-or-veggie pies depending on preference, and four cookies. Enjoy your snacks!

[bakegarasu]

Otoha is 100% going with red, fight club is what he's best at. He'll have to work to keep things relatively non-lethal especially if he's allowed to use his sword.

... And when the illusions start up, anyone who looks like his best friend is going to have a huge advantage against him, and anyone who looks like his father is probably dead meat.

alice (on red)

[irrationally]

alice is 100% used to seedy underbellies, so she's going with red. she's an experienced Glarer At Shady Guys, trust her. her way of interrogating people and asking around is.. let's say not ideal, so i'm all up for her teaming up with other people in regards to that who can mellow her out a bit. or just make things worse, which would also be hilarious.

but what i'm mostly looking for is some help! alice definitely would be fighting, except that she is very, very susceptible to illusions, and the moment she sees her worst enemy in the ring she will just go absolutely ballistic. so i would love for someone to try and stop her or keep things from escalating too badly if that happens!

[enthunder]

Lightning will act as a manager/point of contact for the people doing fight club: Stepping in if people try to pick fights or start anything, calling enough's enough if any Voidtreckers are losing it in the ring etc. She probably won't actually participate herself.

[cycledsingularity]

Mono here, reporting for stealth/infiltration duty! No one says all the sneaky subterfuge has to be done in the top rings ;>

If anyone wants to try and figure out if there is a connection in the fight clubs themselves to the problems above, Mono might be a good key to getting inside. Where there is grandiose displays or showmanship there are usually screens, and where there are screens, Mono can reach.

Mono's television traveling is pretty proximity based; if he hops in one screen chances are the one that will spit him out next will be the one physically closest by; but if said screen happens to be behind a locked door; guess who can open that for you or nab a key :>

Even if it turns out he can't use his traveling techniques, being a sneaky scavenger is his forte, you just might need to find a good disguise to sneak him in to the 'club' in the first place, since he obviously is not a contender.

That's not to say he won't still have moments where he freezes up or gets stuck but for the most part he can keep himself out of reach of danger. He's gotten (CW:creepy arms?)pretty good at it

Woz

[rejoicer]

Though he's a member of the purple team, I can't pass up the opportunity to have him be dumb and theatrical in the fighting ring. Doing introductory openers is kind of his thing so he would have some fun with it.

Despite the sometimes goofy speeches he also takes his job very seriously, so he won't only be messing around. And when he's being serious he has a high mental fortitude, so he should be able to get around the illusions eventually. If anyone's up for some shenanigans, let me know.

Star Spangled Menace

[prototypal]

Steve's life has been one long series of fights, so he's all in. He can take a beating, being a supersoldier and all, and - thanks to the USO tours - knows how to put on a decent show. He'll also be trying to spare less-powered locals from getting hurt in the arena.

HEALER SURPRISE

[oncedriven]

So Asch will be coming along with Red team, partially because he and Jade are more comfortable with seedy underbellies, partially because Luke's here, and partially in Asch's case because there don't seem to be all that many healers here. If you get yourself hecked up, he's come from Blue to assist!

... And also to sneak around, because he's really good at that. While Asch will get into the fight club if need be, he's mostly going to investigate, and specifically he's going to focus on investigating the previous fighters - the ones who went berserk, got injured, the one who walked out of the city, and any other details he can scrounge up. He'll be checking in with Red's other less-combatant folks to pass on any information he gets there (do you want to be harassed by some guy whose SCA only yells at Blue to let him lean over yours and report? come at me), and also generally trying to keep y'all out of trouble.

[chalicejoker]

Hajime's totally ignoring anything Purple is supposed to be doing in favor of joining Red for fight club because he can't turn down a bit of competitive fighting like this. He's probably down for at least one mid-fight dramatic karate bugman transformation, at least.

Also he is so far trying really hard to pretend like he is a perfectly normal human, and this is probably a good opportunity for him to let slip that he's got ~green monster blood~, dun dun dunnnn.

Kotoha

[writerkick]

Kotoha will not be going with Red team!

The mysterious masked figure, Rewrite, however, will be investigating the fight clubs, with an evident immunity to the illusions. When the fights start to go south due to illusions, she's going to step in and take out both sides if she has to. Which... goes over great at first, but after the first couple times, people become very unhappy with her. She's very strong and has a lot of very nasty tricks, so if you want to brawl with a silent masked hero, now is your chance.

That said, she doesn't intend to start participating in fights unless they are going south. So she won't just go brawling unprovoked, unless anyone wants to try to provoke her.

That said, she's not really sure how to investigate the illusions further, especially as she has resistance to them.

[flurryofbeaus]

Beau is also jumping over from Purple because seedy fight club, hell yeah. She'll be happy to throw down with pretty much anybody in the ring. Please hallucinate her as your mortal enemy.

But lust for violence aside, she's also a pretty decent investigator and will definitely be sticking her nose into places it doesn't belong and scrutinizing other people's matches to evaluate the competition-- err, see if she can spot anything unusual leading up to a berserker fit.

She...may get the bright idea to set out into the smog after that vanished fighter if she can find out what direction they were heading, because that whole 'dream come true' rumor sounds a whole lot like bait to lure people into something horrible. In case anyone wants to join in on something potentially catastrophically stupid.

Re: RED

[gentle_jim]

Handsome Jack's going with red team this time! There's no way in hell he could resist the 'dreams come true' prize. He is plenty dramatic, but he'll need some things to fancy up his appearance and his fighting style. I figure he can buy stuff like that? But if your character has anything that could help with that, I'd appreciate it! Definitely taking the duel disc in he got from Kaiba for some nice special effects.

I'm also up for a tag-team fight partner, assuming that's one of the things allowed!

And uh....well.... If anyone ends up looking like Jack's worst enemies (even some of his friends) ....he's gonna need to be stopped before he actually kills his opponent. ;;

HP Boost for Red Fighters

[controlsthedie]

Thanatos has 9 Centaur Hearts which will boost the HP/vitality/whatever you want to call it of a character who uses it. He will give one to those entering the fights with the purpose of completing the mission. If you just want to F I T E without being concerned with the mission, then you don't get one.

(Wait, didn't Thanatos buy 10? Shut it. You know he's saving one for his not!boyfriend.)

[knifewithnoname]

Little One will fit in quite well here. Even though the actual world with its tech level and level of dystopia and culture are going to be new to her she is used to criminal underworlds even if the one she knew was a lot more fantasy city than this.

Her main problem will be being tough enough to get into the fighting ring whilst not blowing her cover of 'sweet little helpful girl' that she thinks she is doing so well at keeping up...

Since she is undercover she is going to experiment with dropping her dialect. She's been on the train long enough she has mostly figured it out though expect some appalling attempts at Peter's accent...

She is very weak to any form of mind control so the moment she gets hit by an illusion she will unravel pretty quick and probably need help.

Re: RED

[light_of_willpower]

Trunks is going Red this time, as he's good in a fight, can take quite a lot of punishment, and has healing items. His problem is, he's not good at being showy in terms of putting on a show. Anyone wanna help?