MISSION AVERA 9 - PART II

[onemind]

AVERA 9 - PART II

     OVERVIEW

Avera 9, Part II covers days :161 - :163, including the arrival log for newly hatched hosts. This post will give you a general guide to status updates on the planet as a result of host decision making and actions taken, in addition to providing information for new areas and providing space to plot and plan for the back end of the host's time on the planet. The guide will do it's best to cover all planned narrative events, however there's still ample room for things to go sideways due to player character interaction; any updates to that end will be noted here!

For a general guide to Avera 9, please see the earlier mission information post HERE.

WHO WAS CHANGED AND WHO WAS DEAD

     DAY :161 - :163
When the hosts originally touched down on Avera 9, they were just one of many groups populating Avera 9 during it's last days. But it's not actually a big world - or at least, this corner of it isn't - and by now the hosts have made a name for themselves (recognition can be kind of hard to dodge when you all travel in packs or wear similar articles of clothing; whoops). Unfortunately: it's not a great name.
On day :160, Prince and Cathaway, along with the ship that brought everyone here, leave the planet to go tend to some unexpected new arrivals. Meanwhile, thanks to the killing of a trader in Minte Spaceport and a big hullabaloo in Tari Town involving a prominent trader, public opinion of the hosts has cooled significantly. In fact, hosts are no longer welcome in Tari Town. While there's no unified security force here to keep them out officially, most Tari residents will refuse to trade with anyone they think might be a part of the host's party. Further, any host who chose to board in Tari for the duration of their stay on Avera 9 will be revoked the rights to their lodging. They will not be refunded any of their credits.

In general, nailing down goods and services has become significantly harder even in Minte. While there's a certain swath of the population twitchy enough to be willing to trade with the hosts, most simply give them a wide berth. On the other hand, a certain subset of Minte's back alley fighting circles - a prize fighting ring run by a Bari by the name of Rhgl Lolk - would now love to have any hosts come participate in some fights. They'll have a message left for anyone they can have tracked down and an offer for a not insubstantial number of credits to come beat up a few locals for fun and profit (if you've noticed an unspoken chilling implication that someone with a vendetta could track down hosts if they wanted to-- well, it's not an accident; luckily none of you have anything to worry about on that end, right?).

When the new hosts arrive on :161, they'll be dropping down onto a planet that isn't exactly actively hostile, but definitely is no longer neutral. Suspicion surrounds every trade, there are eyes on the hosts whenever they're in a populated area, and most locals give everyone some distance -- except for the ones that are trailing like vultures, waiting to see if they can make a profit over whatever body the hosts leave behind next.

But hey it's not all bad! The hosts' salvaging and investigative skills have unearthed a few possible points of interest:

THE CONSTANT

The Constant is a mid-sized Mustafe-class bulk-freighter and has all the hallmarks of the typical Mustafe-class ship, including it's elongated 'flying brick' design. Having tripped over the fact that the ship had recently offloaded all of its registered cargo, a small group of hosts attempted to sneak onto the ship to investigate further while its meager crew of three was away. While the means were invariably mixed, what Angel, Steve and Nathaniel were able to parse was that That Constant's cargo deck had been fitted with rows of cabling and a complex array of hammocks clearly designed to hold up to fifty lifeforms. The result is something like bodies stacked like cordwood from the top to bottom of the cargo deck, with very little maneuverability between rows, but one thing is clear: The Constant is planning to leave Avera 9 with more people than it arrived with.

And though the ship's computer terminals are clearly closed to the broader Minte Spaceport network, it's possible that the hosts who managed to sneak on board could copy some heavily encrypted files from the ship's security terminals to their databanks. It'll take time and effort to crack, but the result are indentured servitude contracts effective immediately once the ship lifts off from Avera 9 and a list of names with accompanying figures:

Harnkg Jalba - 957,346 Lknr Nindo - 1,693,608 Alian Bright - 967,890 Lorna Bright - 394,543 Meri Kenten - 3,439,068 Kaet Kenten - 5,834,086 Liaarm Chin - 532,985 Tterrr Foth - 3,763,976 Trtkh Rool - 8,756,534 Arhdgk Vuusen - 834,906 Srkk Vuusen - 3,959,058 Alark Vuusen - 4,684,908 Gkgh Vuusen - 4,643,965

Tlenr'ra'an Sid'as Bralgw'in - 1,676,950 Arnr Arnjak - 3,832,058 Lien Ordol - 239,085 Tlar Ordol - 9,428,957 Oenes Ordol - 9,583,408 Acgk Harlnor - 2,054,957 Rty Rty - 29,048 Onan Tan- 2,190,324 Leor'n Kid'or - 239,058 Wantr Prin - 3,058,395 Iean Prin - 121,424 Orr'Holna'rn - 53,469,430 Tiytuy Eris - 2,832,039

Markeatesch Crev - 905,092 Lpetth Kantr - 13,245 Aleoen sa Clynar - 546,864 Awwn so Bele - 4,785,478 Lyrteth Kaleko - 548,960 Peann Kaleko - 1,854,068 Laorn Kaleko - 4,568,904 Eosr Kaleko - 406,979 Roarn Kaleko - 409,606 L'ar'arn sa Mer'i'see - 907,641 Poai Yerkys - 1,959,709 Irnl Yerkys - 3,496,659 Tt''r'a Jet'r'ber - 54,670,697

ALKON FACILITY

Having found and decrypted a series of scrambled files from datacards recovered from the Iron Outposts, the location of an old secret facility lurking somewhere below the Hot Line has been discovered. According to the decoded reports, Alkon Facility was built as a secret weapons testing facility sometime during the bygone war. It's unclear what become of it, but there are three possible entrances to reach the facility: two direct entrances near the Hot Line and one emergency back route that opens somewhere in the Nelonian Plain (spoilers: one of you may have already found that one).

Investigating the Alkon facility will require some real manpower. If attempting to access the facility by the forward entrances along the Hot Line, hosts will hav to extensively reference outdated mapping information and cratered terrain. While putting the time and effort into exploration will eventually cede results because they more or less know what they're looking for, it will significantly cut down on the time they have to actually explore the facility itself as the lift systems once used to access Alkon have been irreparably destroyed by the planet's changing terrain. Anyone choosing to attempt access to the facility from the Hot Line will have a long, long descent down what is equivalently a dark, half collapsed elevator shaft.

Should hosts locate and unseal the secret back entrance on the Nelonian Plane, they'll find themselves faced with a series of closed blast doors leading all the way to the facility proper. While each set of doors will have to be pried, cut or detonated open, the passage itself is relatively clear and still more or less serviceable. It's also plenty wide enough to take a hoverbike down. As they get closer to the base, hosts will find each set of blast doors is less and less intact though the psuedocrete tunnel itself has held up relatively well despite that fact.

Upon arrival at Alkon proper, it becomes immediately evident that some kind of catastrophic accident must have once occurred there. If arriving from the Hot Line, hosts will find bone quiet barracks, mess halls and general living quarters. While there are no bodies present, there are plenty of signs of life abruptly interrupted. Personal items have been left behind; dusty dishes have been abandoned where once people must have been taking part in a meal; equipment has been dropped; a fire has burned out the entirety of the mess hall kitchen. Every science and research lab is quiet, half finished experiments left on their tables; construction projects have been abandoned. If arriving via the emergency escape hatch, hosts will find a lower research level burned out. There are multiple ground vehicles turned to char and slag here and the stairwells and lift tunnels from the lower level are either falling apart or dangerously inoperable. However, with some ingenuity and climbing skill it's possible to reach the lab proper from the lower burned out freight level by climbing up through the massive hole melted in from the top of the lower levels. This hole leads into some kind of plasma reactor chamber attached to the facility's central labs (also accessible from the top down, though the doors leading to it have been melted shut and will require serious work to get through).

While there are no obvious lingering physical effects, it's clear that at the time of the accident the plasma reactor must have somehow skipped out of its magnetized housing and arced through this level of the facility - slashing and melting through support structures and equipment and killing everyone on this level. Luckily, most of the bodies have been reduced to ash at this point, but at the time it must've been grizzly.

Despite the accessibility difficulties, Alkon Facility has been practically untouched by time and most of its equipment and raw materials are perfectly fit to be salvaged unless otherwise damaged by the accident that ultimately caused the facility to be shut down.

MISC. NOTES

A log will be posted for the hatch and arrival of new hosts; for all other exploration/salvage attempts/day to day interaction etc, players are more than welcome to create their own logs! As of :163, everyone will be clambering back onto the shuttle and going home before Avera 9 can be pummeled on its way through the asteroid belt. Happy salvaging and don't miss your bus out of here!

If you have any questions, please direction them to the questions thread below.

NAVIGATION • PREMISE • FAQ • RULES • GLOSSARY • RESERVES • SYMBIOTIC SKILLS • ABILITY POINTS

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[erbier]

OKAY. So we chatted about what we'd be in to getting out of this adventure... And the name of that adventure is survival horror...

I always love emulating my favorite game genre, so I'd be really in to it if maaaybe would could get a smattering of audio logs, notes, possibly graffiti or something to bounce off of?! Investigating the mystery of what happened down there was appealing for us, and while the girls don't need to know all the details, it would be impactful to them to have an idea.

They have an idea of what equipment they're looking for, and a vague grasp of what the testing site was used for! Could they find one of the 'standard gear' sets mentioned in the scramble? More importantly, if they made the worst tech support call of their lives to Angel to direct their non tech savvy selves, could they download any of the weapons research data (fragmented or otherwise, whatev.)

Is like literally everyone ash? Or is there that one guy from Twilight Zone who locked himself in the safe by accident and then starved to death alone?

Can the sensitivities of the symbiote pick up on the imprints of the dead? I ask that because that's literally a mechanic from System Shock, they're not literally ghosts they're just energy loops that replay scenes of horrifying death.......... One or two particularly horrifying ones would do the trick...

I THINK THAT'S. ALL MY QUESTIONS.

[onemind]

Hey, thanks for putting so much thought into this! It's really awesome. :,)

First: Yes, it is absolutely possible to find some audio logs and generalized research on some mini datacards. Ilde and Lexa will have to locate a small player for them, but luckily that shouldn't be impossible given that most researchers in the facility kept at least one on their person. It's possible to find one among the abandoned personal belongings. The audio logs are largely used as additional experiment records in addition to what was likely logged notes and much of it will be goobledegook to anyone not intimately involved in the production of the equipment on site, however they might be useful to someone out there in the great big galaxy - weapons testing and experimentation usually is - so it might be worth something for trade if they can find an interested buyer. That said, a few of the dormitories do have some personal log files that would be playable using the same device. While most are too corroded to play properly, three will play just fine. The first may be found in a room near the destroyed lift shaft; the last two are found in a small room kept in what clearly was once precise neatness:

LOG #1 - RM. 004 [A voice with a strange sub-harmonic quality; it's impossible to tell from the recording whether the speaker is male or female]
I can't find my key again. Captain is going to hang me out to dry if I have to get it replaced one more time. I can't believe I'm such an idiot. I had it in my pocket when I took my nap, I'm sure I did. I'll ask Barnghat for theirs once they come off rotation and borrow it until I can find mine. How annoying.

LOG #2 - RM. 021 [A different voice, though a similar set of sub-harmonics]
Marnl seemed shaken today during afternoon labs. I'm not sure what that means. We were doing nothing different from what we've done for the past ninety cycles. I wonder if he is simply tired of being on this planet. Perhaps he is missing his family. This is a strange assignment. I'm glad there is no one at home for me to miss because it would be hard - not speaking to them and knowing that they have no idea I'm here. This isn't like the work we did on the platform where people had letter packets and messages every three weeks. It's strange to be so isolated from control for so long. I'm relieved that these people are my family and my closest friends. It must be so difficult otherwise. But here I wake up and I take my breakfast alongside my brothers and my sisters and I have never felt like I belonged more. Even if Marnl is missing his loved ones, I hope he is reassured by the work we've done here. Yes, today control would have this technology to stop a war, but I believe in the future off its applications afterward. It's saccharine to say I look forward to the end of fighting because who doesn't think that? But I find myself fascinated not by the idea of children growing up without learning to hold a weapon, but rather the direction in which these sciences will take us when there is no more fighting left to be done. What a strange thought! What a lovely version of the universe that will be.

LOG #3 - RM. 021 [the same voice as log #2, a hushed excitable whisper]
Marnl was taken from lab today by the security team. I knew he would be. He will be transported off site in the coming weeks, I'm sure. Regulations say he'll be taken to control for his court martial. I'm sure they will try him as a war criminal. Oh poor Marnl! But I don't regret anything I did. I knew when I found him alone in the reactor chamber that I was honor bound to report him to the commander. No one is allowed there without their partner. What could he have wanted to do without me? I wish he'd had as much faith in control as he is a brilliant scientist, but sadly sometimes there is no correlation between the two. I will have to remember to write his family after the war. I will tell his children he was misguided but loved them very much. Maybe they can learn something from it.

The missing keycard can be found by pulling the bunk away from the wall. Apparently it slipped out of poor 004's pocket while they slept and fell down into the crack there. Sucks for them; handy for you!

The keycard will grant Ilde and Lexa access to some sealed rooms; they're largely equipment storage areas and what looks to be a small local armory. 004 was likely some kind of security officer on the base. In one equipment room, they may find a series of some kind of drills and drill bits in addition to some basic excavation equipment likely one used in the construction of the facility. It's possible these are pieces of the equipment listed in the scrambled report. Unfortunately, the key will not grant them access to the facility's main databanks. Most of the terminals have been scrambled by the energy output from whatever destroyed the facility in the first place and the other terminals are heavily encrypted. It's possible to transfer the data, but it's not possible to crack into it without irreparably scrambling it.

The key will also grant Ilde and Lexa access to a security wing otherwise sealed off. It's clear this area of the facility operated as some kind of communications center. Most of the rooms are filled with defunct equipment that is no longer operational. A room at the end of the hall contains the remains of an individual curled in the corner. Time has desiccated the corpse, but the lack of atmospheric changes deep underground have largely kept it from completely decomposing. On the inside of the door to the room is scratched a series of symbols; if scanned with the Station databank pad, the translators will be able to spell out 'CONTROL IS CORRUPTED I REGRET NOTHING'. It looks like poor Doctor Marnl never got to his court martial; on the other hand, it doesn't exactly seem like he was going to pass sentencing with flying colors either.

The symbiotes cannot pick up any imprints of the the dead or any energy loops. That said, feel free to add whatever color you feel would best help y'all reach your goals for the thread. If you want to find a few extra corpses or signs of some spooky experiments, feel free.