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arkshipadventures2025-08-14 12:46 pm
Inaugural Test Drive!
- Characters step out of a door they don't remember entering.
- Representatives of the gods greet them and inform them of their purpose here.
- Helpful representatives and literature answer any question they can.
- Food!
NICE TO MEET YOU
You step through a door.
Why? How? Where? The questions have no meaningful answer. Perhaps your last memory is walking through a door, but it certainly didn't lead here. More likely, you remember something else. Lying in bed. Talking to a loved one. Fighting for your life. No matter what it was... you step through a door.
On the other side is a room done in smooth walls and clean, bright white light, as if shadows and solid lines are antithetical. The size of a generous theater, it could hold hundreds of people comfortably, but at the moment it houses perhaps forty, all dressed in the same uniform of flowing white robes and smooth black-metal baldrics that practically hum with some sort of energy.
Not all of them are human. Perhaps half. The rest range from a human-like figure with limbs twice the length that they ought to be, to figures with fur or scales, all the way to a giant spider-like creature and a bird thrice the size of a normal person.
"Welcome, Marked," the figure in the front says, two arms spread wide to greet you and two folded reverently before them. And then the people spread out, each of them approaching to greet someone who emerged from the doors properly, and explain everything to them, with a patience and gentle understanding that shows they have both the training and experience to handle this unusual process. And, should it prove necessary, the personal shields necessary to repel attacks, and the neurodisrupters necessary to render an assailant immobile till they agree to listen politely, if nothing else.
You get a summary. There's more to learn, and if you wish, you can move to the tables and booths nearby, where more of these robed figures wait to pass over the pamphlets, books, and guides that can answer your questions. By now you also recognize that you stick out; the white robes deliberately distinguish your greeters from those who stepped out with you. That's on purpose. You'll need to talk with your fellows, after all.
Between the booths, on tables spread throughout the room, is food. Some you recognize, much you don't, but you know something here will taste good -- and you need it. You're hungry. Deeply hungry, less starving and more scraped empty. If you need someone to eat it to prove it isn't poisoned, one of the white-robed greeters will do so gladly. (Or get another one who can actually eat whatever it is you want. The large bird, for example, is actually an obligate carnivore, so don't make her eat corn and sesame seeds.)
This is your life now. Best prepare for it.
Captain
All Marked, prepare for emergency deployment.
Destination planet: 1322889281-4 (Vistage). Scope of deployment: planetwide.
Mission parameters: Combat, protect, supply.
A recent meteor impact introduced atmokaryotic aerophages into Vistage's biosphere. Atmosphere levels at 92%. Geometric growth predictions indicate total degassification of Vistage within 21 days at current pace. Total destruction of aerophagic threat and protection of 79% of current population will supply sufficient Divinity to resume full maintenance and protection of the biosphere. Failure is not an option. Good luck.
EMERGENCY DEPLOYMENT
An entirely new set of Marked, and Divinity levels so low they're an emergency. Wonder if this is related.
The dropships practically vibrate at the end of their berths, and as you walk down the long piers that stretch over the open deployment bay beneath, the planet called Vistage dominates the view. At this height it looks like nothing more than thick white clouds, with glimpses of pink water and golden land peeking through the occasional gap. But you can't look too long; within moments, you settle into your seat on the dropship, and it disengages noiselessly from its gravitomooring to descend. In front of each seat is a respirator, a personal shield emitter, and a kinetic lance rifle, though you're not obligated to take anything you don't need.
(You are up against creatures literally eating the atmosphere, so please consider the respirator.)
The descent takes approximately fifteen minutes. Just long enough to stretch your nerves, as the dropship plunges into the (rapidly failing) atmosphere, through the clouds, and down to the ground below.
Class 0-1: Defend and Protect the People of Alopolig
A. The city closest to the meteor impact site, Alopolig, is home to approximately 900,000 Vistagi. This saurid people possesses a technology level approximately equal to 22nd-century Earth -- in other words, not so advanced that the gale-force winds roaring through the city can be ignored. The tall skyscrapers are to the last being scraped and sandblasted by debris scooped up by the shifting atmosphere, and already numerous ones on the furthest side of the city have collapsed. Worse, the Vistagi have no idea what the true source of their trouble is. To protect them, the Marked must get them underground.
Marked undertaking this duty receive portable force screen generators sufficient to temporarily block off a street, and stun batons. The Vistagi are not prepared for alien races to show up and begin directing traffic. (Yes, stunning and carrying all of them off is acceptable if you think it's the best course of action. Can you carry them faster than they could walk?)
B. Closest to the impact site, the air swarms with aerophages. Reproducing by fission at a rate visible to the naked eye, these creatures intake immense amounts of air.
Deployed Marked are instructed to thin their ranks by any means possible. The kinetic lance rifles shatter them with a single shot, but they have the advantage of numbers. Maybe you need to think of some better plan, if you want to make a meaningful difference.
Class 2-3: Interception
A. Aerophages that resemble purple dodecahedrons ("A-dodecs") act like scouts or trailblazers, forming the front line of the aerophagic advance. Destroying them appears to slow the spread of the aerophages, as they emit some sort of high-frequency distress call that warns others away from that area.
To protect both high-population areas and strategic gaps in mountain ranges that otherwise block the aerophages' spread, Marked receive personal antigrav flight belts in order to spread out and hunt down the A-dodecs. But be careful: the deployment report appears unaware that the A-dodecs can also emit electromagnetic energy at weaponized frequencies and amplitudes!
B. If the A-dodecs' warning call can be copied, a dropship can broadcast it on a broad-spectrum frequency, potentially keeping aerophages out of entire cities or regions. Though that won't ultimately stop them from draining the atmosphere, it will at least localize the lowest-pressure zones away from the Vistagi. Marked receive permission to adjust the dropship communications hardware and software for that purpose.
Watch out, though: the aerophages communicate more than just danger this way. A mistake might lead to them swarming, or draw hostility from the stronger variants who can fire back! Complicating matters, the Vistagi military is attempting to engage the aerophages with conventional weaponry, and seems likely to decide the Marked are part of the problem. They may need to be handled carefully...
Class 4-5: Contain and Cull
A. Four Radiant Aegis-class dropships deploy around the meteor crater in cardinal directions. Each of them can project a force barrier that, when combined, can completely seal off the meteor and the vast number of spawning aerophages in its vicinity. This is no simple operation, however: the four ships must activate their generators simultaneously. The electrokinetic resonance waves the ships use to project their screens are a siren song to the aerophages, and even the slightest delay will let enough escape to completely drain the atmosphere around the ships while thoroughly irradiating everything nearby.
On top of coordinating the deployment, the Marked also have to deal with the huge numbers of aggressive aerophages drawn by the wavelengths the ships' generators emit at standby, including ones the size of a small house with the electromagnetic power to match. Then, after activation, the Marked will have to fend off the ones outside the containment field, who will race eagerly towards the ships with much the same result.
B. The only hope of saving Vistage is slaughtering the aerophages down to the last. Even one left alive can start this whole calamity over again. Marked are instructed to use any methods at their disposal to locate and destroy aerophages.
Marked undertaking this take will soon find that their enemies come in many sizes and shapes. The ones best able to spread are the largest high-atmosphere "singularity tetrahedrons" that float like upside-down pyramids on the edge of the troposphere, gathering immense levels of electricity from atmospheric interactions that they can deploy like lightning. Numerous other sizes and shapes of aerophage also travel farthest from the swarm; Marked will need to meet this challenge with incredible speed and force to have any hope of success.
Class 6-7: Apocalypse Response
A. No sooner do the first dropships touch ground than the first unusual aerophages appear, as if in response. The longer the Marked fight back against the aerophages, the more variants appear, like an organism's immune system adapting to best fight back against a virus. All too soon, the aerophages send out variants that can breach force fields, ignore kinetic lance shots, focus enough energy to microwave a human in ten seconds, or worse.
The strongest Marked need to oppose these with whatever force and effect they can bring to bear. Even just a few of them are enough to endanger all the Marked as well as the Vistagi, and sufficient numbers will overwhelm even the full forces the Hyperion Star can bring to bear. But the longer the Marked fight, the more likely it is they'll see aerophages come for them that are specifically designed to counter them...
B. Describing the air around the meteor that brought the aerophages here as being absolutely full of the creatures is a mistake. There is no air around the meteor, not any more. Just aerophages, countless numbers of them, constantly spawning and splitting and producing new complicated shapes and sizes to join the more usual members.
Destroy them. Destroy every last one. However you can.
Class X: Terminate Master Control
In the heart of the meteor, in the center of the aerophage swarm, an artificial intelligence hums to itself as it puts the final adjustment onto a new aerophage breed, then transmits the fission-mutation pattern into the swarm at large.
The answer to all the speculation, revealed: the aerophages are indeed a weapon, though who or what initially developed the AI cores that deploy them on the planets they crash into is unknown. Nor does it really matter. So long as this machine exists, it will continue to deploy aerophages, modify them, and perfect them, until the last drops of atmospheric gas drain away and leave the planet as barren and lifeless as a sun-scorched core of rock and iron.
Its weapons: the aerophages, which it can modify and control effortlessly. A near-limitless number stand between the Marked and the Master Control, all of which the latter can and will shape to defend itself and destroy those who dare challenge it. The Class X Marked are the only ones who can hope to resolve this situation, once and for all.
- Characters receive a brief from the Captain, indicating emergency deployment.
- They enter the dropships and descend to the planet.
- Aerophages, creatures that consume atmospheric gas, must be stopped.
- Each Class has its goal. Good luck.
Biological, despite appearances. Consumes atmospheric gas. Replicates via fission. Unknown origin.
Speculated to be a developed weapon.
- En calls for assistance with the Chaos Field.
- Representatives of the gods await the Marked at the Chaos Field.
- They explain Chaos Control as best they can.
- Chaos Control!
AN EVENTFUL HORIZON
A grass field, peaceful and serene. Oddly silent, perhaps; no wind blows, no insects chirp or buzz, and the large black dome in front of you really seems like it should be making some sort of noise. But it doesn't.
In fact, the more you look it, the more it seems... not there. That black dome is not a presence, but an absence -- of light, of sound, of life, of space and time. It's not a very comfortable feeling.
"That is the Chaos Field," says the white-robed representative, the same one that greeted you when you first stepped out of stasis into the Arkship proper. "It is an unfortunate byproduct of the ship's power source. I assure you, however, that the Aberration cannot affect you or the Chaos Field itself, and you are in no danger from it. Rather, this is an area where the mind rules over matter, and your will is your greatest protection."
Having so said, they step back, but do not leave. Though they cannot participate, they hope their presence will be of some reassurance. All that remains, then, is for you to cross the threshold. Will you impose your will upon it, or is your strength not at the peak it needs to summit?
Success
Around you, the blackness coalesces into... whatever you wanted it to. A memory of home, perhaps. A foe for you to fight, the better to work out your frustrations. A different shape for you to inhabit, like a dream of flying.
Failure
The image that coalesces around you is one from your memories. Perhaps a frozen moment, perhaps a scene that plays out in front of you, unstoppable and impossible to hide from anyone who might join you in the field, intentionally or otherwise.
Your fear, laid bare. Fire, perhaps? Heights? A monster you could not slay? A loss you endured, or know you shall endure?
The Grim Reaper itself steps from the shadows, its scythe already swinging to cut you low and add you to its toll for the day. The Chaos Field is not always about embarrassing secrets and psychological torment. Sometimes it's just as subtle as a brick to the face.
Or...
The Chaos Field is complicated, its possibilities limitless. What will you face? What will you create?
You're having one of those days, aren't you?
I would say I understand, but let's not pretend you and I work in the same ways. Heh. Baryons.
Instead, welcome to the collective unconscious. Here you may reach out to anyone else. Or everyone else.
Answer them this: Who are you? What is your name? What is your species? What is your world? And what is your quest? (I understand that last one is considered quite funny. Witness my humor and quake with laughter.)
- It's the network prompt option.
INGREDIENTS OF TEST DRIVE PROMPTS
Ena Shinonome | Project Sekai
[She'd been planning to work on a piece for the circle, after finally getting home from school in A Mood, having not wanted to be there in the first place and then being behind on this making her want to stay even less. That's the last thing Ena remembers, as she steps forward into... whatever this place is, uniform still on, school bag still over her shoulder. She's confused, but perhaps not as confused as she might be - this is perhaps not the first time she's found herself somewhere new, strange, and empty. The four-armed guy is new, though, and probably not another Virtual Singer born from Mafuyu's psyche, so Ena's hackles go up more or less immediately, and she demands an explanation, aggressively but not entirely unreasonably.
Unfortunately, she gets one, and accepts the moderate version - a little more than the summary, but not the full version, she's not Mafuyu that could probably get home on her own. So it's with a bit of a scowl, and a couple pamphlets stuck in her bag and one more open in her hand, that Ena steps away from the welcome wagon and moves into the rest of the room to grab dinner (what time is it, even?) and try to take stock. She'll get back to Niigo... eventually. Her circle will wait for her. Uh, maybe. Amia will, for sure, and K probably will. Yuki might well just be happy for the blissful silence in their Nightcord calls after two years... no. They'll be waiting. So whatever it is she's gotten herself into, she's got to make sure she gets back to them. To her stupid brother too, she supposes, but her circle comes first. She chews on that hope - on that driving goal - as she chews on... what she's pretty sure is some kind of chicken in a savory sauce that tastes remarkably like something she might grab in Shibuya, so maybe this'll work out after all. Of course, right as she thinks that, she picks up what she'd been expecting to be cabbage and finds it to be blue, so. Perhaps it'll be an adjustment after all.
She sets down the plate with a sigh and a shake of her head, looking at whoever happens to be nearby with a slight, helpless smile.]
Just a little bit of a change of pace, huh? I'm not normally the world-saving type, so this'll be new to me, but what about you?
[B | dropshipping]
[As she walks down the catwalk toward the dropships, Ena can almost be forgiven for forgetting she's going to be on a mission in a second. Her eyes open wide as she looks down at the planet they're supposed to be rescuing - a whole other planet! She's going to another planet! - and takes it in, excitement rising. She wishes she could sketch this view, but her sketchbook (the big one, she can justify a little one for field sketches) is in her room, which is off limits until after the mission. Aaaand then she remembers she's got a job to do, shakes herself, and starts walking again.
By the time they're moving and she's started to look at her... equipment loadout... she's having second thoughts. Or maybe they're fourth thoughts. Barrier emitter? Sure, that makes sense on a rescue mission. Respirator? She's never used one, but that makes sense too, if these... aerothings... are eating the air. Stun baton? Um... sure? If she needs it, she needs it. But. Butbutbut! She draws the line at the last item-]
I've never even seen a real gun before, how do you expect me to use this!? I'd be just as likely to shoot one of us as an aerothing. I-I shouldn't take one of these...
[Suiting actions to words, Ena scoops the emitter into her shoulder bag, hesitantly does the same with the stun baton, sets the respirator in her lap expecting to need it, and pointedly doesn't move to grab the rifle. Instead she vibrates as the ship descends toward the planet's surface, visibly fidgeting as time passes. She... might need a distraction.]
[C | a slightly different live show | engagement: Class 0-1]
Please, come this way! We're going to- oi, don't shove! We're going to escort you underground before the rest of the buildings go down! I'm- hey! Who was that!?
[Ena wheels from where she was directing a group, street blocked in the other direction, as someone apparently shoved past her at speed? So she wheels, righteous anger in her eyes, and raises her right hand, Mark glowing-
[-and finds a Vistagi citizen, indifferent and continuing on his way as if the air weren't being sucked out of the sky as they spoke, and Ena simply can't hold back any longer.] Get over here! [She fires a lance of light in front of the citizen, hitting the ground, charring the flagstones, confident enough in her aim not to fry the citizen.] If you're not gonna evacuate, at least don't get in the way, we're trying to help here!
[-and finds a single aerophage flitting past, about to come around for what seems to be a rich environment. Forget the mission, this one is hers, as she roars out a challenge-] You'll burn for that! Fireball-! [The more powerful spell demands more of her attention, and shouting as she casts the unfamiliar effect helps her keep focus. Her aim is... good, but not perfect, and she clips the crystal-looking enemy, taking a chunk out of it that is decidedly not crystalline when it comes off? No matter, if that didn't do the job, she needs to keep going, and she takes a long, deep breath, gathering her focus to attack again, not keeping an eye on the Vistagi or searching for other attackers-]
((Poke me at
Dropshipping?
[It's almost a good thing the person sitting next to him is so tiny.
[It would be a good thing if they weren't deploying to fight something inimical.]
If you're unused to combat, I will keep you safe.
no subject
Unused to is an understatement! I'm... home is mostly a safe place. Getting into a fight is something that happens in stories. [She lets out a breath and tries to center herself, but that's... a ways off.] I don't want to ask if you're more used to it, but... well, I guess that's the right way to put it? Is fighting normal for you?
no subject
I have fought in many battles, little one. This is but one more.
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.......Ena reaches for his hand and grips it, more tightly than she thought she'd be able to manage - not that she has any illusion it'll be more than noticeable to the man. It's grounding, if nothing else; she's not alone. She's got proof of that. And so she feels a little better despite herself, her smile a little more sure.]
I don't know if I want that to be the kind of story I'm in all the time, but... maybe I'll have to see about a mini-series, and we'll see how it goes. You'll be the main character, though, it sounds like. I've got power now, but having power and knowing how to fight aren't the same thing, right?
[The back of her other hand is where her mark is, and Ena glances at it briefly as she mentions having power. Sure, she fired off a couple test shots, but if she's already nervous now, she's going to be in trouble later, isn't she?]
no subject
He offers a smile back at hers, encouraging. ]
That's the spirit.
There is one way one learns how to fight, and that is experience. [He curled his armored hand over hers, gently. ] Consider that it is not fear you are feeling, but anticipation, the chance to prove to yourself what you can really do.
no subject
[Ena's silent for a moment as she thinks on that. She... knows that lesson well, learned from years of failing to draw. She's still in the middle of that cycle, she's pretty sure, and she's been recently reminded of that with painful clarity. So something else to gain experience with-]
It wouldn't be the first time. Maybe for fighting, but I don't think I learn things except by beating my head against the wall until something sticks. [It's... a little blunt, but there's no recrimination in it, just self-understanding.] If I don't at least try, I won't be able to go back with my head held high. And if I do try and it all goes bad, well, I'll know for next time, right?
[...it only sounds a little like she's trying to convince herself along with him, but she seems. A little less nervous? Maybe?]
no subject
Nothing goes perfectly the first time. Do your best--that is all anyone can ever ask of you. [He looked out the window of the dropship.] There are people below who need our aid. I know you will give all that you can to help them.
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Ena turns to meet a (somewhat tall) ten year old in pajamas looking a bit grim. ]
...I suppose I've been on the other side of that equation.
[ She cocks her head. ]
But 'saving the world' or not usually doesn't sound this simple.
no subject
Other side of the world saving? [A beat, and she shakes her head.] You're right that it sounds oddly easy for having to borrow us from across worlds, but maybe we're special or something.
no subject
At least once.
[ Even as a soldier of Zeon, colony drops require a lot of mental gymnastics to defend, and she's been broken of a lot of her conditioning... somehow. ]
Although I am special, I suppose.
no subject
You sound way more confident about that than I was, and for the record I don't have anything special going on that I know of.
no subject
There are many things here that I am unsure of.
[ Like whether they're really not just fodder. ]
But I can say that there are few like me because it's true.
no subject
She'll get there.Something about the girl's tone puts Ena off just a bit, and she pauses, concerned again because now this sounds serious.]
Sheesh. Gotcha. I'll... take it a bit more carefully. What, are you part of some kind of secret order of wizards or something? Or psychic warriors?
[She would have said magical girl just based on age at first, but this girl's demeanor has put her right off that assumption. She's leaning closer to assassin at this particular moment but she can't ask that in polite company. Or to the girl's face, because that's likely to result in a demonstration.]
no subject
[ The way she says that says a lot. ]
That makes it sound... interesting.
[ She huffs. ]
Even if there's precious little romance to it.
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nice (?) to meet you
[They look like a fairly normal fellow, really, though they're tall compared to Ena herself at 6'. But they seem kind as they smile over at her, murmuring pardon as they reach for what looks like a turkey leg.]
It's usually nice and sedate, though I suspect once you get marked, it gets a little more exciting!
no subject
[This isn't entirely a lie, but the kind of crazy she's used to comes from specific people, and if none of them are here she's going to be in blissful peace for a bit.
This last part is a lie.]no subject
[They pause, then, looking thoughtful.] I suppose that depends on what you mean by "crazy"? How you define it. What might be sedate to me might be pretty crazy for you, after all.
[But then they brighten.] So, how do you define crazy? I'm kind of curious, now!
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[Service in exchange for power, power enough to help her stand out and make a name for herself... it might be a fair trade. Then she processes the rest of the statement, and she scowls slightly.]
I mean, I didn't come with a prepared definition. Just... no fighting to survive in the streets, it's not actively the apocalypse, I'm not being told the world's going to end in seven days, Truck-kun didn't find me. Yeah, this is strange, but this is kinda... garden-variety strange. "Help us power our starship by saving the worlds, we'll pay you with divine powers." [She pauses briefly.] Not that I've seen the streets yet, I could be wrong?
Nice to meet you
Hm?
[ Pay no attention to how stuffed her cheeks are. ]
Well... [ She swallows. ] Aah... I guess it's nothing new to me!
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[...that's piled kinda high. Then again, if ever there were a time for stress eating, boy, would it be now. As she thinks that, Ena pops the blue not-cabbage in her mouth and grimaces; it is indeed not cabbage, and while she chokes it down, the bitter taste makes her reach for her drink and take a long pull.]
I'm sure not having a very good time of it.
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[ That's... one way to look at it! Still, Hibiki's saved the world, like... five times now, hasn't she? Of course it's pretty much nothing new to her, but... ]
Well... it's definitely a lot, isn't it! Still, I'm sure we're all here for a reason! So it'll all work out!
[ The positivity... it's blinding... ]
no subject
I'm sure hoping it'll work out, but I don't really have any skills to throw at our problems. I'm gonna have to spend a lot of time practicing my new- [she seems to be testing the next word, tasting it on her tongue-] powers. I'm not used to being special. Which also means I've gotta figure out how to practice... ugh, does that mean I need to start working out too?
[Somehow this deal seems to be sounding worse and worse!]
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[ Hibiki can still remember when she first started using a Symphogear... she's come a long way from when she was mostly just running around and flailing her arms! Still, it's definitely not easy... ]
Ah, if you want, I can help you out! [ There's nothing to really be done about the working out part... it's probably not strictly necessary but it certainly wouldn't not help. ] I'm Hibiki! Tachibana Hibiki!
[ She says, holding her hand out to her. ]
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[Ena looks at the girl more seriously. For being her age, she's... pretty fit. Really fit. This might be a good offer to take-
-then she introduces herself, and Ena smiles back, despite herself, grasping the offered hand and shaking.]
Shinonome Ena. Nice to meet you, Tachibana-san. And yes, I think I'm going to need, uh... all the help I can get, if I could trouble you a little bit. I don't know if there's a whole lot I can do to repay you, but I'd really appreciate it.