TRAVEL LOG #5

[synfluxmods]

TRAVEL LOG #5

CONTENT WARNINGS: death, nightmares, gun violence, survival scenario

▶ 001. EYES WIDE OPEN.

"Angels of Lilith, report for duty in the DISPATCH."

The day starts off with alarms blaring and oculars shining bright lights in the Outsiders' heads, waking them up early for an emergency dispatch. Although the current Rift at Mt. Fuji needs to be explored and examined, the Rifts continue to appear in different parts of the world, and this Rift is no different. Captain Yamakawa continues,

"We have received a distress call from EGYPT. Much of the region fell during the first kaiju crisis. Now it is a desolate land that survives with the help of a generator called an ESSENCE which is currently malfunctioning. We assume the cause is Rift energy—according to our radar, there is a heavy amount of Rift energy coming from that area. We will move out immediately. Pack all the things you may need, but each Outsider will be supplied with a care package of their own containing essentials."

Even though it is 4:00 AM Tokyo time, LILITH hopes you all have slept well. It could be the very last good sleep in awhile. While the dataportal to Egypt is operational on Japan's end, because of the malfunctioning generator, Outsiders are unable to come out on the other side. The old method of using the flying cruiser will be used once again.

There will not be assigned seating for this other than by teams. Everlights will sit with Everlights, Brimstones with Brimstones, and so on. The Outsiders will be encouraged to rest on the flight, and a few hours before landing, an in-flight meal will be provided. The meal is surprisingly delicious and consists of chicken or pork katsu cutlet, but with the warning that all Outsiders will know about: it contains high amount of cyber caffeine. This sort of newly innovative caffeine can keep Outsiders awake for several days, but sometimes it may cause restlessness or hyperactivity, causing characters to have a jittery amount of energy but razor sharp focus. Other times, it simply keeps characters awake and they feel no different. The cutlet will be served with KAIJU™ Energy Drink. Any Outsiders that require a different diet will be provided with what they need, and the cyber caffeine will be added to it if they would like.

Yamakawa gives instructions again:

"We have received more information about the kaiju. Civilians have died in their sleep from horrible nightmares, and we are encouraging Outsiders to sleep together in pairs or groups, or disregard sleeping at all until we obtain more information. We are still receiving facts about this monster, but this meal will help with keeping everyone awake as a safety measure."

Those who do not want to have the highly caffeinated meal can have everyone's favorite: a ration bar that isn't spiked with any energy, but it doesn't taste good at all. Outsiders may be more likely to fall asleep and be in danger by choosing this meal. The balance of a dystopian society.

▶ 002. ARRIVAL IN EGYPT.

When they finally arrive, the air is temperate and dry in Alexandria. The Outsiders might have to check their clocks once more to make sure everything is right; everyone is expected to land in the late afternoon and every clock says it should be close to evening, but the city is already growing dark with the sun setting quite early. Because of the ESSENCE disruption, Alexandria is running on back up energy, which makes for spotty lighting and loss of basic power.

LILITH will be greeted by a small group of researchers at the airport and they will help take the Outsiders to their base: the Alexandria Institute which was once the University of Alexandria. They will give the Outsiders a quick run down of the situation and some background.

1. LILITH does not have a strong defense branch in the region any more. Instead, the branch here seems more focused on research, especially on the origin of kaiju and rifts.
2. This region is extremely prone to spontaneous Rifts. Many of them are small and pass quickly but this most recent one is unprecedented.
3. One evening, in the final week of March, the Alexandria Institute received a corrupt file from their fellow researchers in Greece. It shut down much of their research facility (including their warp portal) and all they have been able to recover so far are the words, "Do Not Go To Sleep."
4. The next morning, they awoke to find the sun rising later and setting earlier. It feels like the days are getting significantly shorter.
5. Many locals developed a fear of the dark and going to sleep. They would then die in their sleep within the next few days.
6. The autopsy of these victims have shown no cause of death, puzzling coroners.

Progress has been slow because the corrupt file shut down many of their facilities. They have not been able to track the source of the Rift or identify the kaiju responsible for it. They believe the answers may be within the corrupt file and will be happy to receive any help they can get from the Outsiders.

When they arrive at the Institute, Outsiders will be set up in the old student dormitories. Each room has 2-4 beds depending on the room, with a common shared area on each floor. Given the current threat, there is also a supply of energy drinks and bars boosted with cyber caffeine. Outsiders have two options:

1. OPTION ONE: Stay in Alexandria and help the researchers with the generators, while keeping themselves and teammates awake during the night by playing games.
2. OPTION TWO: Go out into the Egyptian desert on camel-back, spending time getting to know their camel before heading out.

OOC NOTE: While players may write prompts for both options, we ask that you submit for a clue only once per player (not per character, as we have a lot of characters in game now!)

▶ 003. LEARN & EXPLORE. (ALEXANDRIA RESEARCH.)

Times are hard in Alexandria right now with their generators malfunctioning and efforts being split. The researchers are trying to get the generators back up and uncorrupt the data they received from Greece. LILITH will instruct the Outsiders to help with the research but also warn that they cannot afford to just sit around and wait to crack codes. The researchers also agree. Sometimes the best way to get research data is to go out into the field, but they haven't been able to do it due to not having much protection. The desert is vast, and there have been sightings of other small kaiju lurking beneath the sand and in some smaller cities.

Outsiders can decide to stay in the city of Alexandria to help crack the codes, or they can opt to go out into the field. For the latter, they can choose to stay close to home and investigate within Alexandria.

Those who wish to help with the ESSENCE generators and researchers will stay in Alexandria, using any downtime when not investigating to try and stay awake, slumber-party style. Two Truths and a Lie? Maybe Spin The Bottle? Perhaps some games can keep Outsiders enticed so they don't doze off.

▶ 004. FEELING SANDY (DESERT EXPLORATION.)

For those who wish to explore the desert and smaller cities, Alexandria Institute will supply what they need, such as water, food, essential tools for digging, sleeping bags (no sleeping, but maybe for resting!) and anything else. To conserve energy, the researchers supply camels for the Outsiders to use. The camels are mostly tame, but have their own distinct personalities, so they may need a little more handling and can be coaxed to behave with treats like artificial carrots and bananas. Outsiders can spend time getting to know their camel if they are going to explore the desert or cities. A camel can seat two people on its back comfortably, but also carry any essentials that travelers need to bring along.

In the distant small cities and across the desert, Outsiders will come across Sand Crocodiles, one of the smaller kaiju that have been inhabiting the desert. These monsters are basically crocodiles but with a twist: they can spit fire if angered and they can camouflage in the sand. They hide strategically, and one wrong step will cause them to push their jaws out of the ground, harming a person or camel. The stubby quills along their backs or rounds of their horns aren't entirely covered while hiding, so watch carefully. Fortunately, Outsiders will be supplied with a shotgun. Aiming between the eyes or in the mouth will kill it, but also beating it with the back of the shotgun will also do the trick. And yes, they also taste like crocodile too, if anyone is hungry.

After exploring, Outsiders are requested to report their findings back in Alexandria.

▶ 005. AFTERWORD.

Welcome to our fourth travel log!

Welcome to the new and improved Travel Log! Below, you will see the link to the MONSTER DEBRIEF SHEET post that has information about the kaiju below along with RIFT EFFECTS. Fill out the form for RNG Attacks and whether you would like to receive a RIFT EFFECT. This should give characters some ideas for the status of their character in the next log, which will have more action and monsters in it. Outsiders may use the CHAT to report and discuss any findings.

We thank you in advance for your patience as we try out this new format!

All tags on this log are worth 2 points and will count towards April AC.

EVENT BREAKDOWN/RECAP (CLICK TO EXPAND)

1. EYES WIDE OPEN: Outsiders travel to Egypt after receiving reports of their power generator, ESSENCE, being unstable and malfunctioning, leaving citizens in peril. They are instructed to "stay awake." They are supplied cyberpunk caffeine and told to try not to sleep or stay in pairs to be watchful of any danger.

2. ARRIVING IN EGYPT: Arriving in Alexandria, the Outsiders are confirmed that citizens have been dying in their sleep, with coroners unable to determine the cause. The days are mysteriously getting shorter and people are unable to stay awake.

3. LEARN & EXPLORE: Outsiders are given options to stay in Alexandria to help with the generator or find clues to assist the research team. Between researching, they are asked to continue to stay awake by any means possible. Those who will be exploring the desert and smaller cities for clues are given a camel for transportation. Outsiders are encouraged to get to know their camel before traveling.

4. FEELING SANDY: While looking for any clues out in the desert, Outsiders encounter smaller kaiju known as Sand Crocodiles. They hide in the sand and attack at the opportune time, snapping jaws and spitting fire. Shooting them between the eyes or in the mouth will K.O. them.

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Comments

[sanguivorous]

[Now it's Astarion's turn to be confused. He has been here a number of months by now, but he still barely grasps any of the cybernetic things.]

I don't--how would that even be beneficial to a living being?

[An undead man that functions mostly like a normal humanoid being shouldn't be asking such dumb questions.]

[harboredfeelings]

You know as well as I do that half of LILITH's more advanced technology breaks the second Rifts get involved.

[ Like, come on Silco. You're an ass but you're supposed to be smart too, aren't you?

Another beat as Kaga removes a silver flask from inside the sleeve of her clothing. Opens it and proceeds to up end the rest of her energy drink into it, the smell coming from the container is unmistakably alcoholic. ]

As for the issue of both, it comes down to weight. The heavier you make an aircraft the more of its power is devoted to just keeping it in the air, you lose a lot of speed that way.

[harboredfeelings]

Heh. You get used to it.

[ She actually smirks. So hey, he made her smile. Kinda. ]

Or at least... you do as long as you're not a complete weakling.

[soft_shelled]

... You know you're cute when you smile.

[Just going to say that about her kinda smile. Instead of anything else she said.]

[curingidiocy]

[ He had been thinking of testing his own capabilities in the dreamscape and see if he could summon some of the food he stored in his subspace, but seeing as the young Raidou enjoyed the activity, he decided against it in the end.

—And, as it turns out, the danger is self-imposed after all. He should have known that even as a child, Raidou always tried to push his limits and do more than he ought to. ]

They'll be worried. You've vanished from where they expect you to be.

[ He's gentle when he says this, which is a stark contrast to the way he treats Raidou's present, adult self. But it is still an admonishment of sorts. ]

[harboredfeelings]

[ Nani the fuck??? Good job Donnie, now she's blushing.

And bristling. Her ears and tails are standing on end, puffed out like an angry... well, fox. ]

S-shut up...!

[ With a "Hmph" she proceeds to go back on her way, walking past him and aiming to shoulder check him as she goes.

She's perfectly normal. ]

[soft_shelled]

[She did say he needs to put an effort into wooing her, this is him making that effort. Which is to tell her when she's being cute.

So when she walks by and attempts to shoulder check him, he'll try to grab her by the arm to stop her and simply ask one thing;]

Do you need help staying awake?

[He means it perfectly innocently! Like does she need to talk or do stupid things to keep her mind busy.]

1/3

[harboredfeelings]

[ Ah! Bold of him to grab her like that, there's a chance to respect him after all. Kaga of course has some cold comment to mak--

What. ]

[harboredfeelings]

[ "Do you need help staying awake?"
"Help staying awake?"
"Staying awake?"

WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS?! There's being bold enough to be forward and then there's bein a lecherous lout of a reptilian slimeball! Help staying awake indeed! There's only one thing that's on someone's mind when they say that to someone they've openly told they're interested in!

(Kaga's views on these things are very heavily colored by a lifetime of dealing with Akagi, they are very inaccurate.)

He... She should kill him right where he stands! ]

3/3

[harboredfeelings]

[ Kaga's entire face is a brilliant shade of scarlet by now, the fur on her tails so far puffed out that it seems as if they'll never return to normal again. ]

Pervert!

[ Said as she stomps at his foot and yanks her arm away from him. ]

Lout! Miserable little...!

[ And then she slaps him, or tries to, she's so worked up she could easily miss. Regardless of if contact is made or not she starts stomping off again in a full on huff. ]

UGH. Kiko! If he tries to follow me, kill him.

[ Kiko who's spent this ENTIRE encounter politely sitting and waiting for the two to get on with things just, looks at Donnie. Then she looks at her retreating master, who's still stomping away, and back at Donnie. The fox familiar lets out a huff that's the fox equivalent of a long suffering sigh before walking after Kaga.

She's very, very used to getting toothless orders to kill others at this point. ]

Yzak Jule | Gundam SEED | Revelation

[coordination]

#001: Gundams and Camels

[ In Alexandria, Yzak can be found in one of the two following places:

[A]
Sitting in the open cockpit of the Duel Blitz Gundam, now standing at 30ft in height for those who've gotten used to how small it used to be. He's typing away at a keyboard in front of him at a speed that the normal eye might have a hard time keeping up with. On the screens around him are various open windows with text scrolling by, all programming jargon. There are a few wires that have been connected to the machine and hooked up to a couple of generators, though nothing seems to be activated just yet.

Though busy, he seems ... comfortable, as he mutters, ]

This is much better than being in a god damned desert...


[B]
On a cool evening, Yzak is outside at the enclosure where the camels are. Like everybody else, by now he's tired. He has his Coordinator genes to thank for the fact that he held out longer than the average human before exhaustion started to settle in him. But eventually, it caught up to him. He's out here now because he doesn't want to risk even sitting down and drifting off.

He's also out here for the camels. Because space boy looks absolutely awed by these guys. He's never seen one just this close up, but in real life at all! So eyes widened in an almost childlike wonder, he watches the animals mull about.

One wanders toward him when it notes his presence, and the fingers of the hand at his side twitch, like he wants to ... pet. But he knows better! Don't go reaching out to something that could very well bite a finger off! Even if he is used to horses, these are very different, even if they are ridable.

Yzak notes this particular camel, because he knows he has to befriend one before he can take it out for a ride. He goes over to the storage of food for them, grabbing a nice-sized branch from a shrub as an offering. While one hand holds out the snack that the camel leans in and starts to chew on, his other comes up to brush his fingers against the side of its neck. His lips twitch up into a small, fascinated smile. ]

You're actually soft under that coarse top layer...

[ Like someone he knows. Though this camel doesn't opt to put gel in its hair every single day. ]

---

#002: Camels and Gundams

[ In the desert, Yzak can be found doing one of the following:

[A]
When it's his turn to be out exploring with others, he's riding the camel that he took the time to feed and make friends with. He seems to be a natural at this, because it's not too different from horseriding, and he'd boast that he's just that much of a good learner. (the worst part is that his boasting ISN'T bullshit and he actually is a really good learner)

He's paying full attention to his surroundings and the mission at hand, of course. He's Yzak, so that always comes first. But when he thinks nobody is watching, he'll pat his camel on the side of its neck with a tiny grin that holds that same innocent awe that he had when he saw one up close for the first time.

[B]

And then a couple of times when the nuclear-powered mobile suits that are taking turns offering their energy to the generators back in Alexandria swap shifts, Yzak is helping out in his Gundam out there. Which is very useful when they need to take a break, because the 30ft machine is a great source of shade if anybody needs some.

That, and the cockpit itself is cooler because temp regulation, baby. And lucky for whoever's with him, Yzak is a nice guy who wants to help his team out. So he climbs out of the cockpit to offer. ]

If you want to sit in the cockpit for a bit, it's cooler in there.

Just don't touch anything, even if the systems are locked.

And don't get too comfortable that you fall asleep!

---

#003: Wildcard and OOC

Wildcards cool if the above doesn't catch you. Questions/plotting/whatever, hit me at gaignun or urtv on Discord!

[soft_shelled]

[he's more stunned by her words than being stomped on and slapped. What did he do wrong this time? Everyone needs to try to not sleep a lot because of whatever is going on, so he was just...

No really, what the hell? He looks at Kaga as she leaves then at Kiko before the fox also leaves and he just says one thing as he rubs his face where he got slapped.]

I meant like talking or a game... How is that perverted?

[Now if either of them hear him, well. Who knows.]

[curingidiocy]

We've encountered enough situations warranting shift sleep that I should hope that we are quick to adapt.

[ How many times has it been now? It's the third time, he thinks.

Anyway, about ten minutes later, another response comes from Ratio. ]

The AEDs are in working order. I've also located more in the Institute that need to be inspected.

[curingidiocy]

[ He has water, but is reluctant to use it because it's meant to be part of their rations. It isn't meant for cleaning himself because he got spat on by a camel.

Using the clothing he stripped off, he does his best to further wipe himself of the offending substance before vanishing it into nothing. Poof! Like a magic trick, except without the poof and more like a burst of light. ]

You needn't concern yourself with me. You should use your time on more productive matters.

[ Like exploring the desert as she'd planned to do earlier. Just let him sulk in peace. ]

YEAH HOW AWFUL i gotta fill in the blanks a little

[zauneyete]

[ The man Hunter approaches is large. In memory, maybe even larger than in truth. Silco fights too, his hands grasping and scrabbling at large hands wrapped around his neck. He gasps for air, the man pushes him down under the waves — they're quickly becoming choppy from the whipping winds and churning tides. The storm rolls in, the man dunks Silco under the water.

It's probably Silco, but up close, Hunter can probably see, he's so young compared to who he knew. His eye is swollen mostly shut from what looks like a wound, the waters lap against it. Again, up close, it looks oil slick and toxic. The man doesn't even look at Hunter — does he have to? — He weathers it, even while Silco tries to fight, to fight, to ——

He's going limp, under the water. The man who's going to be the most violent, hateful creature — he looks peaceful, under the water. Both eyes closed.

Is that the last time they will be?

He stops fighting.

His fingers drift. They catch...

The man stares down. He still ignores Hunter. As if he has to watch this in particular. Is it sad? Does he feel sadness now? Silco doesn't even remember himself. It's just... all static. The shadow of a man who tried to kill him. ]

[zauneyete]

Then perhaps they should show more effort in improving it.

[ Look. He might be smart, but he's not an inventor. ] If the people I generally employ can figure out technology out of nothing, than surely their workers can as well.

[ "People I employ" he says. He means Jinx. The automatic obfuscation certainly remains, even if her identity is known. ]

Then the heavy things should just be brought separately. Like in Transylvania.

Or they should use those... [ he waved a hand. Trying to think. ] The gloves. The ones you can pull items out of.

[ He means.


He

He means putting gundams in giant hammerspace items.

Now to be fair.

has anyone tried it? ]

[vorous]

_{[ As soon as Laios gets confirmation, he lights up, smiling brightly at Muramasa again. ]}

Oh, that is so great! What a relief!

_{[ Actually, the tension he’s been holding finally relaxes, and somehow, Laios feels like he has made a good connection with this person now, enough to steady his hand on the redhead’s shoulder. ]}

Tell me everything! What kind of swords do you like to make? What about the material.. do you have a preference? I use a sword for combat, and it definitely needs to be sharpened.

_{[ but does he tell this guy that it’s monster? Not yet. ]}

[curingidiocy]

[ Being as sleep deprived as he is, Ratio startles a second after he's addressed and he looks up. He looks seriously fatigued, and stares for a moment. Then, his eyes pinch, he looks back down and summons a towel into his hand to wipe off the spit on him. ]

...yes.

[ He's not being surly on purpose. Ratio would have warned him while they were working on the sleep studies that he gets very irritable when sleep deprived. ]

[curingidiocy]

[ If Ratio had been of sounder mind, he would have resisted Hunter's attempts to help and waved him off, as he often does with other people. But, tired and upset as he is, he does nothing, bearing with the cloth wiping the spit off his face.

At the same time, he has the wherewithal to summon a bottle of water and a towel into his hands because he is absolutely not trudging his way back home with the remnants of that disgusting spit on his face, of all places. Once Hunter is done wiping, he opens the water bottle and immediately douses his face and vigorously scrubs at his face with the towel.

It doesn't get rid of the smell entirely, but it'll have to do. ]

I'm quite fine. Very fine for someone who's just been spat on. Best I've ever been, really.

[ Given his sarcastic intonation and his sentence trailing off into mumbles, he is probably, in fact, not fine. ]

[dontchasetherabbit]

I'm an insomniac. So, I've been managing without the sleep. I'll reach out to you or someone if I think I'm going to fall asleep.

Lots of desert where you're from?

[curingidiocy]

The study is meant to determine which stages of sleep are safe from the unknown threat's attacks. The current hypothesis is that REM sleep is the only stage in which one can be assaulted with a nightmare that may result in death. However, previous studies have not revealed anything substantial. Further research has unveiled a potential cause: light.

[ Again, it sounds like Ratio is reciting this from memory, like he's said this a dozen times before. Most likely, anyone who's volunteered to participate has asked a similar question. ]

[penaltypoints]

[ Despite the delayed responses, Yesod does believe that Ratio is doing what he can to mitigate the impact of this sleep deprivation on himself, too. Even constrained by the circumstances, the scholar's sleep study preparations were meticulous. It would be preferable, if they had the means to monitor neural oscillations, but it seems that a few of the volunteers are less likely to be in danger than the rest, at least, while facilitating prolonged observation.

Once he has Ratio's answer, Yesod sits down nearby to look over the papers more closely. As this is Ratio's research, he intends to take care not to make his assistance a disruption.

Ordinarily, he would work in silence unless otherwise necessary, but that might not be ideal, assuming that Ratio wants to avoid falling asleep. ]

...If you would like to discuss the data or further plans, I am interested in your thoughts.

[sensehispresence]

[ Punching someone might annoy them, but they'd be awake. That doesn't mean that the person wouldn't get punched back. That? He did know. Not that he'd do it, but he also had no intention of falling asleep either. ]

The wolf in Romania did more than screw up a lot of the Outsiders. You've mentioned the worm before, I think. I'm not sure you mentioned what it made people think though. I feel bad for anyone that had to deal with that.

[ A feeling that was, honestly, foreign to him. ]

I'm not eating that crap in front of me. We said we were going to wait, so we wait.

[dontchasetherabbit]

[ Unfortunately, they couldn't help how happy (or unhappy) people were. That didn't mean they shouldn't help the civilians. People needed help and that's what they were there for. ]

Let's tour the outskirts and fight off anything deciding to attack homes. Though, we can stop by the shops on the way to the outskirts and check on some of the people.

[ When the other pulls out a roomba he looks over toward the other. It was definitely different. Though, he remembers that the other was good with spells. Even if he, himself, had never messed with spells of any kind since showing up. He also didn't actively carry a weapon on him, his jaeger was his weapon. Though, he'd have to start carrying a bo staff or something with him. ]

Flying might come in handy, for myself. Not for Gipsy.

[ Even if it would be interesting to see his mech fly, he's not going to risk not having the control he needed for the jaeger. ]

[photosympathies]

( !!!

No. )

Oh right, Raleigh said something about his being bigger once. But it was during the whole Transylvania fiasco and I was kind of being turned into a vampire so I forgot. That's a little strange, right? Surely you'd be better for LILITH with everything intact?

( You and not we, because of the baby bomb. )