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

[coordination]

Lucky you.

[ Even if that sounds dry, there's enough actual sincerity in the words to balance it out. Because the less people who had to deal with what he had to, the better. ]

Either way, it'll be important information for the guys who are working on finding any sort of solution. Differences between those who looked at it with full attention versus someone like you, who was putting a portion of their focus on driving or anything else could be helpful to know.

So we don't have a repeat of what just happened.

[ Thankfully they don't get hassled when they return to the hotel lobby; reception is just busy enough that a very brief glance their way doesn't set off any concern bells to ask them if everything is okay. So getting to the room the doctor is staying in is smooth sailing and Yzak will head inside with him. ]

[curingidiocy]

[ Don't worry. He is much like Yzak in the way he delivers his words, so it doesn't faze him at all. ]

I suspect we will not be sent out again until a solution has been discovered. But that does not preclude the sand worm coming to the city. From its appearance, I would wager that it is more than large enough to compromise the city's infrastructure should it drag itself through the center. Its proximity to the city is enough to warrant an emergency evacuation.

[ A few hours into the desert is nothing for a creature of that size to cover. But without an obvious, imminent threat, it will be difficult to ask the people to displace themselves. They have no proof to present, with the ocular implants malfunctioning. No way to access any photos or videos any of them could have taken of the creature. He frowns. ]

We must be prepared for the chance that we will be forced to fight the creature while our ocular implants are compromised.

[coordination]

Others on the team will probably have more experience than me, there, but I am at least familiar with a method we could try to lessen chances of another wave of brainwashing on that front, if worst comes to worst.

Deliberately trying to distract with as many thoughts as possible has worked with those with similar abilities where I come from. Makes it harder to really take a hold on someone. But this isn't other people that we're dealing with, so it's just as much a hope as anything right now.

Let's just hope a solution manifests before anything else.

[ Once in the room proper, Yzak will get Ratio situated and at least sat down. He himself wants a brief break after that, too, so he heads to grab a couple of waters from the small hotel-fridge and steps back over to press one of them into the other man's hand. ]

Here.

[curingidiocy]

[ Distracting with other thoughts... Perhaps, with Aventurine, he would be able to distract the man with something more enticing, but he doubts he would be able to accomplish the same with other Outsiders whom he is less familiar with. Still, it's a potential solution, and not one he will ignore if they are forced into a dire scenario.

Once seated, he relaxes, allowing the tension to lift from his shoulders. The cold bottle is a slight shock, but a welcome one after enduring the heat of the desert city while walking back to the hotel. He uncaps it without too much trouble and takes a long drink. ]

You have my thanks.

[ With the headache and all, Ratio would like nothing more than to enjoy a bath and then sleep, but that can wait until after he's allowed himself to sit for a while, and adjust to the dull pain pulsing behind his eyes. ]

[coordination]

It's nothing; looking after my team is of utmost importance to me whether it's here or back home. But, you're welcome.

[ Ratio will hear the sound of Yzak opening up the second water bottle he helped himself to, and then sitting down in whatever the closest chair is with a heavy sigh to relax for the time being now that they've finally gotten the chance to recharge.

The high adrenaline of the whole situation will finally get to erode, but in doing so that means other memory-related side effects from it have the chance to more easily affect them. ]

[curingidiocy]

[ It is at this point that the second kind of glitch, one that neither were aware of, comes into play. Both seated and starting to relax, a wave of lethargy sweeps them both as the implant forces a connection between the two of them, a flicker of light in Ratio's sightless vision and a few beeps and a popup appearing in the corner of Yzak's vision before everything changes and they're suddenly not in the hotel room anymore.

Instead, they're in a cozy little office—a teacher's office, to be exact. Ratio is sat behind the desk, with an uncharacteristically downcast expression on his face. The source? A piece of paper on the desk in front of him.

Congratulations on the successful firing of his latest creation: an anti-planetary weapon. A summary of the result, including casualties, and what he's gained by completing this commission from the IPC. A standard corporate letter.

He drags a hand over his face, and suddenly laughs—it's self-deprecating, full of loathing, shame and guilt. ]

Was it worth it, Veritas Ratio? All this, because you could? Just for Nous' gaze?

[ He looks directly at Yzak, eyes focused, clearly not blind, yet there is no recognition in his expression. It's not Yzak that he truly sees, if he sees anything at all. ]

[coordination]

[ When he's not fighting in a mech during wartime, Yzak is fighting on another battlefield altogether during peacetime - specifically to ensure he doesn't have to return to the former. So an office space is familiar to him, who works in his homeland's intelligence department. And knowing all of the unique stresses that can bring, seeing Ratio's expression doesn't come off as something surprising to Yzak, even if he still gets the vibe that something is off and unfitting about the whole scene.

Ever the curious (nosy) person that Yzak is, he does easily step over to the desk to see what it is that Ratio is reading. And ... he frowns, seeing the word anti-planetary weapon. Forces being decimated ... and his eyes widen when he sees that the result of this test was multiple planets' destructions? From a mere test? Yzak got the impression that Ratio's world was so different and so far into the future where space travel was concerned that many things, yet the worst parts of humanity remained the same. Of course if expansion reached out so far ... it made sense that the scope of things like this would only grow as well.

How harrowing. And how depressing, when Yzak already feels due to recent events in his world that things may never get better and their world is only getting worse instead, no matter how much they fight.

When his gaze is met, Yzak holds it for a long moment before he speaks. ]

It doesn't sound like you think it was worth it.

[curingidiocy]

[ In many ways, Ratio's home is much better than Yzak's, and yet, also much worse. Intergalactic travel has been commonplace for hundreds of thousands of years now. The universe is just one giant community for most. And incidents of this nature, where planets have some manner of devastation visited upon them in one way or another are commonplace. It is not entirely due to politics—but rather the machinations of beings so far above humanity that they can hardly be understood. Though it isn't to say humanity doesn't play accomplice to these incidents.

Ratio sighs, slumping in his chair—again, completely out of character for the man, who usually carries himself with impeccable posture. ]

Nothing is worth the lives lost to... my foolishness. [ That's what it is, isn't it. ] I... this isn't what I wanted.

[coordination]

[ He's silent as he lets that confession sink in. Circumstances so different but the result the same of what Yzak carries, too. ]

It never is. Especially when that foolishness clouds the reality that your choices can too easily lead to carrying a burden like that.

[ There's more sympathy than sharpness in his words, for the obvious reasons. ]

And it's now yours to carry and to keep regardless of your intentions. To keep, and most likely, to add to as time goes on, if the weapon is used again.

Is the weapon going to be used again?

[curingidiocy]

As much as I wish for the contrary, it is in the IPC's hands now. It will be used exactly as the contract has stipulated: only for self-defense, and no more. I have installed adjustors that can control the output of the weapon. I can only hope that, motivated by cost savings and potential profits, they will use it wisely and avoid as many casualties as possible.

[ It is a vain hope, but one he holds nonetheless, just as easily as he understands that the blood of future deaths to this weapon will cover his hands.

He rests his arms on his desk and leans forward, letting his hair obscure his face entirely. ]

Hah. To think I could be better than a Genius. What a truly foolish man I am.

[coordination]

I've seen the "self-defense" excuse twisted far too easily, unfortunately, when it comes to having a power like that. Even amongst those who once seemed 'wise'.

Only hope is all one can have, once it's out of their hands.

[ As for casualties ... while Yzak understands the concept of lessening them as much as possible all too well ... recent experience has driven home all the harder that those 'fewer' casualties carry just as much weight as the greater number that was avoided due to them.

He remains quiet on that thought, though, because it's still something that he's feeling crushed under. ]

... the more foolish thing would be to think being deemed some sort of genius would somehow exempt you from ever making a mistake.

[curingidiocy]

[ And the IPC is anything but wise. Greedy is what they are. Which is precisely why he would go on to prepare reports outlining the costs of using the weapon at full power and create technology that is cost-effective and focused solely on defense. All in an effort to minimize that weapon's usage.

He's done his best to undo that blight of a mistake, but the blood still rests on his hands. He has learned to accept it, though it makes him no happier.

He huffs mirthlessly. ]

Of course not. It was a Genius whose mistake I was trying to avoid. Calderon Chadwick created a far more devastating weapon for the IPC and was subsequently vanished after an unauthorized test firing obliterated twenty-four planets, three of which were home to grade zero or higher civilizations. No one knows what happened to him, but I have no doubt the IPC attempted to extract his knowledge for their own use.

[coordination]

[ That number gives Yzak visible alarm, his eyes widening, brows shooting up to disappear under his bangs. ]

Twenty-four?

[ Logically, it makes sense when he knows full well that Ratio comes from a universe where life spans across galaxies, so all numbers are bound to be inflated and sound incredible when compared to what Yzak knows.

Still, it's a whole fucking lot. ]

Avoiding a mistake like that ... whether it's an anti-planetary weapon or a machine like mine, it's pretty impossible to do. Even those who claim neutrality and the wish to not fight or kill still need the same sort of "defense" if they wish to hold that stance.

That's the hypocrisy of it all. People wish to feel safe, but then we come up with weapons like these, and we're all faced with much worse.

[curingidiocy]

[ In the grand scheme of things, when the IPC has connected thousands of galaxies together in an interstellar community, twenty four planets is peanuts. But Ratio agrees—even one planet would be too much for him, so the blood of twenty four planets on his hands is unfathomable. Still, there's a very real chance his own weapon would reach such a casualty count over time, isn't there? ]

It is a perpetual arms race in which we must continue to equip ourselves with stronger and stronger weapons, because the opposing force has no intention to lay down their arms until the the very cosmos has been rendered into nothing. Such is the reality we deal with.

[ And to top it all off, humanity still fights among each other, uncaring of the greater threat that looms over them. Truly... he hates it, and the part he plays in the cycle of violence. ]