PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

[synfluxmods]

PRE-FIGHT EVENT #1

CONTENT WARNINGS: natural disaster, PTSD, mind-control, psychological trauma, violence, delirium from heat, temporary blindness, hallucinations, dead bodies.

▶ 001. STORM CHASERS.

After weeks of searching for clues on the kaiju and missing people, the desert landscape begins to blend together. Didn’t you pass that cactus earlier today? That rock formation looks exactly like the one you passed the other day. It’s natural to loop back around when conducting a search but doesn’t it feel like everyone has been going in circles more frequently?

The heat isn’t helping either. Temperatures start to rise and continue to rise to all time highs. The sun is unrelenting and the only reliable shelter they have are their campers. Prolonged exposure outside will result in heat exhaustion, dehydration, and delirium.

Warnings will be sent to the Outsiders via their implants to keep them up to date with the weather as well as providing health tips such as reminders to stay hydrated or seek shelter during the hottest parts of the day. They will also receive warnings for sand storms and tornadoes called dust devils. The storms start of short and relatively weak but gradually begin to last longer and become more powerful. Pretty soon, Outsiders will not be able to see ahead from the dense sand and wind.

Outsiders will be told to chase after the storms and if they progress far enough, they will begin to find traces of people. They will find random belongings, articles of clothing, and occasionally, human remains in varying states of decomposition. Eventually, however, they will start to find survivors suffering from extreme fatigue and dehydration. They speak incoherently to themselves and as soon as they regain their strength, they try to run into storms while calling out to things that people can’t see.

Outsiders can wait for emergency caravans to arrive from Vegas to take survivors back to the city or they can take back the survivors themselves and use the opportunity to restock on supplies.

▶ 002. THE STORM CALLS.

The sandstorms increase and grow stronger until eventually, they last entire days. The sands shift, the grounds shake, and something thunderous can be heard in the dust. It becomes harder to see out in the desert and it’s almost like the storms are trying to hide something. At the edge of a storm, sharp eyed Outsiders may catch sight of a great shadowy serpent in the heart of the storm. Messages to their implants will urge them to get closer and investigate but be careful.

The storm grows stronger as they approach and the camper vans may slow down or get stuck in the shifting sands forcing some of them to proceed on foot to make visuals. Eventually, they will get close enough to finally establish clear visuals on their target: A giant sand worm. It’s size is not immediately clear due to the poor visibility and it being partially underground. However, the worm also sees them and when it does, it glows. The light catches on and reflects against the sand particles and that’s when it hits some of the Outsiders: A sudden splitting headache followed by an inability to look away.

Some outsiders may suddenly find themselves entranced by the worm; hypnotized. They will begin to see mirages and hear voices calling out to them in the storm. Captivated Outsiders will find themselves wanting to run into the storm to chase after the phantoms, some of them images and figures of people from their past and present back home. If anyone attempts to stop them, they will become irrational, violent, and turn on their friends and allies. Some Outsiders may begin to view their allies as enemies and attack, turning on one another in a gruesome frenzy. Some of the hypnotic beams will effect those still in their campers, turning on their friends and other Outsiders.

Outsiders will have to restrain each other to keep them from running into the desert or harming each other. In the chaos, the worm disappears into the storm. The psychic effects of the monster will weaken after the worm disappears and the storm dies down but it may leave some characters feeling overwhelmed and confused in the aftermath. Some will remain in an erratic state for several days, occasionally acting normal. In the insanity of all of this, Outsiders may have picked up another Outsider into their camper van for their protection or camper parties remain shuffled. It's up to the ones unaffected by the psychic attacks to watch over the others while retreating from the desert.

▶ 003. CITY OF DREAMS.

Following the disaster of the first sighting, LILITH will order characters to return to Vegas so they can assess what happened. En route to Vegas, some Outsiders may notice some side effects from the prolonged exposure to the sandstorm. They may experience shortness of breath and coughing as a result of breathing in so much dust. Furthermore, they may experience a splitting headache or pain behind their eyes. Their implants may lag, glitch, or go completely offline which will render them temporarily blind in one or both eyes. It seems that the fine sand and dust combined with whatever psychic damage the worm did may have messed with their implants and crossed some sensors which is all the more reason to return to Vegas for treatment.

Outsiders may become lethargic and experience vivid daydreams while they are awake or regular dreams while sleeping. In these dreams, they may relive memories. Some of these memories may be pleasant but others may be traumatic or things characters would rather keep secret. Unfortunately, being in close proximity to someone suffering from these effects will force a link through a glitch in their implants and drag other characters into the dream.

These links will function similarly to how simulation training works. The dreams they visit appear to be very realistic and characters can experience pain and be hurt within the memory. They will be able to interact with the memories. While in these memories, they can try to wake up the memory holder to bring them back to reality. Who knows, maybe helping each other understand what is real and a dream may even make them more resilient to the worm’s attacks the next time they go into the desert...

▶ 004. REST & RECOVERY

As characters recover from the psychic effects and implant glitches, LILITH will try to assess everyone’s biometrics to understand what happened. Characters who need therapy or counseling after reliving some horrible memories of theirs will be provided sessions via their implants. They now understand that the worm has some sort of psychic mind control power that it can use on victims. It is currently too dangerous to go back into the desert until they can come up with a proper defense against it.

Outsiders will be ordered to stay in Vegas and focus on recovery, given two queen side bed hotel rooms again OR if they would prefer to stay in the camper vans, that is also fine, with their same room mates or new ones. They are confident that they can fix the implants with the right upgrade but they aren’t sure what to do to stop people from following the call of the desert and making them act erratically. What is important is that LILITH sticks together.

In the meantime, those who have recovered, and even those who are experiencing these issues are ordered to remain close to one another; a buddy system of sorts. Each Outsider will be given designated groups to keep tight watch over one another while in Vegas. They will be responsible for physically checking on those in their groups and making sure one another’s whereabouts are properly tracked in order to avoid losing anyone to the desert.

LILITH encourages Outsiders to hang tight and wait for instructions before adventuring back out into the desert.

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

In light of the results of the scheduling poll, here is our first event with a preview of the kaiju. All side effects from either the sandstorms or the worm kaiju can last for as short or as long as players would like.

For the daydreams/memory share, players can decide how they would like characters to experience the memories, whether it plays out in front of them like a movie or if they're reliving it by acting out the scene all over again or a mix of both. We encourage you guys to have fun with it and use whatever format feels most comfortable.

As always, feel free to leave questions under the QUESTIONS thread. All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards June AC.

EVENT BREAKDOWN (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. STORM CHASERS: Outsiders, still in the now expanded Mojave Desert, face problems with heat and sandstorms, resulting in dehydration and delirium. Still, LILITH encourages them to press onward in their camper vans and desert approved attire. Many dead bodies are found, but those that survive, Outsiders can keep an eye on survivors until emergency care can come pick them up.

2. STORM CALLS: A glimpse of the creature causing the problems is seen beneath the sands surface: a giant sandworm. It attacks LILITH recruits with psychological damage, causing Outsiders to hallucinate memories of their past, act erratic and violent and turn on LILITH crew. Outsiders are tasked to wrangle in one another and retreat back to Las Vegas to recover.

3. CITY OF DREAMS: Seeking refuge back in Las Vegas, character's implants go haywire from the psychic attacks, causing a memory share between characters that are close enough to one another.

4. REST & RECOVERY: Outsiders are placed in hotels again, or if they prefer to stay in the camper vans. They are tasked to keep an eye out on one another and sit tight for further instructions while LILITH assesses their data and next move to wrangle in the sandworm. Outsiders are to wait until given instructions.

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Comments

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou nods, though he hesitates to take the canteen back.]

Are you sure? I know you have experience in environments like this, but...

[It's really rough, being out there this long. This skinny little mountain boy hates how much quicker he's getting tired out here than he would elsewhere.]

I'd hate to see us be in line to see the doctor next.

[stonehearts]

I'm sure.

( He's fine not because of the familiar environment -- well, not completely -- but because he has a breadth of experience on surviving the worst possible scenarios. If he needs water to survive, water will find its way to him eventually, whether or not he wants it. )

Oh, Ratio won't mind, even if he seems like he's going to lecture you about your "incredibly foolish and reckless actions". He's used to patching me up, anyway. ( Aventurine offers Raidou an encouraging smile. ) He'll keep all of us in shape.

[the_fourteenth]

I get enough lectures about that as it is. I'll try to make sure he doesn't have to do it, too.

[Aventurine gets a tired smile in return.]

You two have known each other a long time, yes? From back home.

[Raidou's a little jealous of people who have others from home here. Though he wonders if it would add or lessen the stress, considering how dangerous it can get here.]

[stonehearts]

You as well? ( He snorts, running a hand through his hair. ) Seems like some people just can't help themselves sometimes. Ah well, if it makes them feel better.

( As for the question, he nods. Aventurine knows he's lucky to have ended up here with Ratio, especially considering what happened back in their own world, but ending up completely alone would have been... a challenge. One he would have dealt with, of course, but it's always easier to crawl back from the bottom when you have someone genuinely in your court. Someone you don't have to use. )

A few years. Our employer seems to think we work well together. They're right, of course, but it wasn't without its rough spots at the beginning of our partnership.

[the_fourteenth]

[He nods, a little sheepishly.]

I was taught to protect others. It's all I've ever done. So it's hard to stop.

[He's trying, but it's very hard to override a lifetime of training.

He's trying to imagine what in the world their employer might have been back home, and is coming up short.]

What did you two do for work?

[stonehearts]

( 'Protect others', huh? Aventurine can name several things he thinks about that: what about the ones you can't reach, that there's no such thing as true altruism in the world (save that which motivates Ratio most days, perhaps, but it had taken years for Aventurine to believe that about the other man), that eventually you're going to fail and was it worth it, then?

(He remembers trying desperately, with his newfound power as Aventurine, to find and repay the kindness he'd received when he'd been just a child trying to survive, to find whoever was left of his clan and save them -- it had been the first thing he wanted to do, the first request on his lips to the other Stonehearts as a peer.

There were none of them left. Of his clan, of those who had helped him. Just Aventurine and his luck.)

But he's playing it safe here and not wishing to alienate people he might need at some point in time, so he keeps his mouth shut. For now, at least. Though there's a tight line at the corner of his mouth as he lets the subject drop in favor of talking about a safer subject: Ratio. )

He's a professor, but the... sponsor of his research tends to ask him to advise on operations if they think it's required. I work for the organization that funds his sponsor. It's a delicate matter to those who work in the Intelligentsia Guild like Ratio does. ( A wave of his hand, as if he doesn't see why an academic and research organization would hate to be connected and funded by the galaxy's biggest corporation. Ethics? Not when you're dealing with the IPC, but scholars get twitchy about such things. ) I'm a Non-Performing Asset Liquidation Specialist with the Strategic Investment Department of the Interastral Peace Corporation. ( That's a mouthful and he knows it. ) In other words, if there's a particularly difficult situation plaguing my department, I'm the one that has to come up with a solution that maximizes gains, minimizes losses, and never leaves the IPC holding a losing hand.

[the_fourteenth]

[His head does tilt a little when Aventurine rattles off that title, but the explanation covers it. Sort of. Corporate world things are quite far beyond him.]

I see. You're the fixer.

[Right? It sounds a little complicated, but Raidou's sharp enough. "Interastral Peace Corporation" is a name he mulls over for a moment.]

It sounds like an important organization and work, then. For both of you.

[stonehearts]

A very... non-corporate way to put that, but in essence: yes.

( As for the importance, well. )

It is. Someone has to, but don't ever let the good doctor catch you thinking that his work is of equal importance to mine. He'll argue it's far more.