EVENT LOG: BEYOND THE SEA

[nextnightmods]

EVENT LOG:
BEYOND THE SEA

characters: the key extraction team, the power restoration team, and the resource extraction team.
location: in the helix station under the lake!
date/time: july 8 - 15th.
content: three teams have been organized to explore the helix station, and hopefully come up with a solution for the adolescent world eater.
warnings: injury, water horror, monster horror, body horror, drowning. more details on potential warnings can be found on the event writeup! each thread will be tagged accordingly, please do the same for any threading in the open prompts.

arrival.

At the behest of the warning shared by Cao Pi, Kuai Lang, and Rosinante, some members of the lab team managed to dig through the files on one of the old terminals to recall a few submarines. Three of them arrive quietly in the night, lining up along the docks just as they used to when the Night Market would pull up to the harbor to share their wares. Only change is this time, each submarine is absolutely empty.

The inside of each submarine is limited in size. There's seating for six, though if there are more than that intending to make the journey, they'll have to stand or get pretty cozy. There's a pair of chairs at a console with all sorts of implements, dials, and radars. However, each submarine readout already indicates that the trajectory is planned and they are still functioning on autopilot.

As character settle in, the ride takes about an hour. A cold robotic voice indicates projected arrival time every ten minutes. Well, at least for the first half of the journey. About halfway, the lights in the submarine begin to dim. Safety locks will trigger automatically, trapping a few characters in their seat. Looking over controls and attempting to override the system results in no response.

The robotic voice kicks in to warn, Power at unsafe levels. Emergency protocol in effect. From then on, the ride will be in more or less complete darkness, with an occasional update from the robotic voice that grows more and more distorted the closer characters get. In addition, as the submarines sink farther into the water, some characters might experience seasickness, ear popping, or dizziness as their bodies react to the changes in pressure.

However, about an hour into their dark voyage, the submarines will slow and eventually jolt suddenly. Emergency locks will open, dim red lights will flicker on, and the submarine will slowly begin decompression, allowing characters to exit out the hatch and up a short ladder into the hangar of the Helix Station.

Stepping out into the hangar, the dire reality of the Night Market's emergency becomes clear. The air is stale and thick with the stench of blood. The large room features three moon pools which hold the submarines, as well as a broad platform with wheeled carts and boxes for transporting materials. On one wall, three spare dive suits are hung, and a shelf holds oxygen tanks and other diving equipment, but the tanks look to have been punctured by something with crushing, piercing claws. A streak of blood paints the floor in front of them, and scattered broken remnants of a couple of lanterns have been kicked to the wall. A body, headless and disemboweled, has come to rest by a door labeled Research and Development. A small room adjacent to this one has had its door smashed and broken completely as if forced open by something with immense strength. The room itself is plain, containing a list of schedules and deliveries on the wall intended for June, but stacked labels over a door leading further into the station read Crew Quarters and Power and Maintenance.

The three submarines are at critically low power levels, though it's immediately apparent that there is limited power available at the Helix Station. It will be impossible to charge and make a voyage back until power is restored. There's nothing for it; groups will have to splinter off to explore the Helix Station completely.

downtime.

While there's a lot of the station to explore and plenty of work to be done, it's not possible for characters to shove ahead and search the entire time. Every once and awhile, they will need to pull back and rest up.

The best place for this is back in the submarine hangar. The subs themselves have seating and a few bunks for resting. It might be a good place to rest up, or try to patch each other up from a few wrong turns during explorations.

Lastly, the team above ground has prepared a small parcel of rations. Characters might want to catch up with each other over something to eat, to keep up their strength and their mood.

ooc.

For refreshers on the basic mechanics of this event, please see the event writeup! for infosharing as explore threads wrap up, please see the header here. Voting on resolution of the event will be found here after the threads begin to wrap up.

Some last reminders: try to plan on connecting with your team partners and responding at least once a day. Provide overall input for your characters responses just in case you can't check in. Communicate with the partners in your team to help build explore-like responses!

QUICKNAV
comms	|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

QUESTIONS

[nextnightmods]

today I will cause problems on purpose

[nekrosmanteia]

is there a way I could, uh, investigate the headless dead person by the R&D door? would that go under the group heading (lol) or somewhere else?

[dodgeshot]

if someone were to investigate the broken lanterns and try to see how they were broken/ruined, what would they find? and uh...if someone were to try to gather them to take them back topside? feels important to do that.

Re: QUESTIONS

[worthallthis]

Okay in advance of making suggestions for voting, is there info in the station somewhere on world eater language and previous attempts to communicate? I know Solis was making attempts in every reset and maybe at other times, but what about the Helix folks?

EXPLORE GROUPS.

[nextnightmods]

POWER RESTORATION.

[nextnightmods]

Following Misty's schematics of the station leads the group along a strip of orange paint on the floor to the entrance of the Helix Station's mechanical wing - out of the submarine hangar, though the scheduling room, to a narrow stairway that lies just beside the thick, opaque metal wall and massive door of the portal operations room. That wall, with its heavy, round doorway and ring of gold barely-shining lights, looks grand and important. The stairway beside it does not. But the map is clearly marked, as is the POWER + MAINTENANCE label at the top of the stairs.

The metal steps plunge downward into total blackness but for the occasional small orange bead of LED light on the ceiling. Whichever of them takes the lead will find immediately that the stairs are uneven - dented, in fact. Something heavy must have landed on every third step here, either going up or down with legs long enough to skip the ones in between, and heavy enough to leave a mark. But their surroundings are, for now, utterly silent and the air is still and warm. Klaes knows immediately that this is a symptom of the power outage - there should be fans, should be circulation. Down here, beneath the lake, if oxygen doesn't circulate, they may suffocate eventually.

The map shows a twisting corridor which must have to wind its way around bulky equipment in the portal room above. "Power", their ultimate destination, is itself a series of connected rooms at the farthest reach of the maintenance wing itself, past areas labeled "Filtration", "Ventilation", "Disposal," and "Quarantine".

As they study the map and discuss whether they should head straight to Power or stop at one of the other rooms first, they hear a quiet, keening wail which echoes from some distant area of the corridor ahead.

RESOURCE EXTRACTION.

[nextnightmods]

A green stripe of paint leads the group into the labs of Research and Development. The first room they walk into looks to be some sort of office space. All things considered, things don't look... too terrible in here. There's many desks, cramped and squeezed into not a whole lot of space. The emergency lighting leaves everything bathed in a green light.

The green stripe directs to a door that is reinforced metal. The door is labeled LABS AND TESTING. A keycard reader is positioned next to it. They'll have to find the key itself to get in the next hall, or find some way past the electronic lock. A good place to look would be the many desks and many consoles scattering the room.

In particular, there are three desks of particular note: one covered with cat items, one absolutely drowning in paperwork, and a last that is almost meticulously neat. Each desk has many drawers for looting and a computer for pecking at. There's also a bank of of lockers near to the keycard door. Some of them are labeled with familiar names like Kaz, Catherine, and even Pluto. There are plenty of names that aren't recognizable, though; not everyone in the Night Market had a chance to make it to the surface.

KEY RETRIEVAL.

[nextnightmods]

A blue strip of paint leads away from the utilitarian branches of the station to a section of rooms once meant for habitation and downtime. There's a relatively small set of rooms dedicated to meal prep and service, meant for only a group or two to use at a time while the rest of the crew works on their assignments; and a similarly-sized room meant for recreation. Both rooms were, at one point, well-maintained, well loved areas, if a little dated and aged, but it's clear that something's gone wrong fairly recently.

The group will first come across the kitchen and dining area. Most of the structures look to be intact, but there are dishes and remnants of a past meal strewn across the table and compartment and drawers have been torn open. Broken utensils and silverware litter the floor, and some are even embedded in the furniture or walls.

A few feet from the kitchen and dining area, visible through the door that separates them, is a common area, meant for recreation and winding down before going to sleep. Several couches, chairs, and tables are set up in here, with remnants of a board game scattered across the floor. The room's most notable feature is a large screen meant to show different landscapes, though the device used to project these images is now damaged and hanging from the ceiling by wires, the screen now showing static and the occasional flashing of light.

The projection device swings precariously as the air moves in the room with the entrance of new people - not by much, but it's notable. The light flashes into a corner of the room, where the broken mask of a spirit lays in pieces.

INFO SHARE.

[nextnightmods]

As the groups eventually finish exploring the halls of the Helix Station, they find themselves back at the submarine hangar with a lot to process. Each individual team has a lot to share and a lot that they have seen, and will need to share information accordingly.

What did characters find? Was their group successful? Did they learn something that could assist in dealing with the world eater? And how, exactly, are they going to go about stopping it?

Think of this much like a town hall meeting, only characters are at the bottom of the lake and scared for their lives. ICly, this is a great way for them to discuss their plans and ideas for how to resolve the problem. OOCly, it's a great way to share information that was learned in each explore! Please feel free to toplevel with your character sharing information as well as suggested solutions.

[callada]

After a solid three days spent hallucinating and getting stabbed, the team that ventured into the R&D wing makes their return to the hangar. Rosinante, with a cigarette in one hand and his tablet in the other, waves people to come on over.

"Made it back. Looks like the Night Market folks were researching spirits. There were green-eyes trapped in there at some point which broke out and showed us some of what happened in that wing. The most crucial part is that like Pluto had told us before, they were working on weapons that could kill World Eaters."

At which point, he gestures with the cigarette to Weaver. "This is Weaver. She ended up coming out to help us and can probably answer questions better than any of us can, but she's the one who sent the distress message we got at the radio tower. With her weapons research, we might be able to kill the thing that's down here."

Power Restored!

[worthallthis]

The group who went down into the belly of the station to restore the power are successful! Which everyone will realize well before they make their way back up to the hangar, because the power comes back on all over the station, and the submarines begin to charge.

When they do make it back up, and the other groups return from their own trials, Soldat shares: "Found a plan to turn the portal around. Suck the world eater back where it came from, or to somewhere else maybe. Need to get into the portal chamber to do it, though. Also, power's on." The last is said deadpan, but maybe with a tiny glimmer of humor. Tiny. Because it went surprisingly well, and they're relieved about that. "Didn't turn it on for the labs, but we can if it holds steady for a day or two." A pause, then, "Better just be us who goes. There's a nasty spirit down there. We won them over. Kind of. But not sure if they'll be friendly to anyone they don't know."

[pure_havoc]

Cao Pi pipes up with something extra, that doesn't relate to their actual rescue and investigation. "There is an armory, through the research department. It is quite full of useful weapons. We brought back a few but there are more, if the rest of you would like to arm yourselves with extra."

VOTNG.

[nextnightmods]

Voting on the resolution of the event is OPEN NOW! Any player is able to suggest a resolution. From there, players will be able to +1 any strategy their character supports.

Majority rules in selecting a solution. Whichever has the most votes by July 18th will be the ultimate resolution chosen by PCs. If there is a tie between two differing ideas, the resolution will be a compromise of the two.

If an idea suggested has already been posted, then please simply +1 that idea over posting it again!

KILL IT

[callada]

Or give that a damned good go, anyway. Pretty sure even though the discussions haven't wrapped up yet, this is something Rosinante is not likely to budge on. He figures it's their best opportunity to see if they even can kill one at all, and letting it go so it can go on to get bigger and eat other worlds isn't an idea he's fond of.

He'd suggest that only a few people enter the portal room and see if they can get the drone/bomb combo to work, in addition to possibly a few other weapons if anyone else has ideas they want to add on to this. If it fails, having everyone else outside means fewer people get killed, and then someone can be down in the power console room to eject it out into space as a backup measure.

YEET IT

[pure_havoc]

Cao Pi is not...completely sold on this idea, because Rosinante has some good points, but they've all been through a lot and he'd rather bank on a plan that has fewer risks of the World Eater being able to survive and fight back. So he'll still propose it: they forget trying to attack it or fight it and just use the keys to get Alastair's plan to work and yeet the motherfucker back through the portal where it came from.

Rosinante | OTA

[callada]

Clown car

The submarines pull up to the pier as scheduled, and Rosinante is there to meet them with a shotgun across his back, a cutlass at his hip, and a bag over his shoulder full of supplies, ammunition, and more. This is about to be as dangerous an expedition as any into the forest - and probably even moreso, given what it sounds like they have to deal with.

The first problem presents itself immediately as he steps forward into the cramped space and falls flat on his face, limbs sprawling everywhere. "Shit, sorry-" he says to whoever he's bumped into, then grunts in irritation when he stands and his head smacks the ceiling.

Ultimately he settles for curling up on the floor in between the seats, knees drawn up to his chest. It's going to be one cramped ride.

Arrival

It is an immense relief to climb out into the open space of the hangar. Or it ought to be, but the wave of warm air and the smell of death and decay hits him the moment the hatch opens and he climbs out onto the platform.

"What the hell.." he mutters under his breath as he takes the shotgun in hand and strides toward the dead body by the door. At a distance he had hope they might somehow miraculously be alive, but his hopes are immediately dashed when he takes in the state of the body.

"All right, we don't know how long they've been trying to get our help. How do we want to approach this?"

Splitting up, probably, given there are several directions they can go in. Who's coming with him? Well, Law, obviously - Rosinante glances toward him first, just assuming they'll be together no matter what. And Will, too, who he's not letting out of his sight if he can help it after the last time they went out to explore. He still blames himself even though that's ridiculous.

"And what do we do if we run into the world eater?" he adds, as everyone else in general must be wondering. "Can't really put an alert on the network to let everyone know where it is."

Downtime/wildcard

Once it's clear they'll be down here for a whole week no matter what happens, while the submarines recharge their batteries once the power has been turned back on, Rosinante resigns himself to setting up in a corner of the hangar. The submarines are too small to crawl back into, but a folded dive suit works for a pillow if he or one of his companions needs to rest. Find him here studying whatever they've discovered, or just catching a break to eat and drink something in between poking around the few rooms they might manage to make safe during the upcoming week.

Clown car

[p0isonpink]

Reiju narrowly misses being flattened by the big man's fall -- can't get entirely out of his way with how cramped the quarters are. He jostles her on his way down, his shoulder against her hip, and her discomfort at the prospect of going into the sea starts to amp up.

But she has never had the liberty to show fear, and she swallows it down into a performance of mingled concern and amusement.

"Are you all right? This thing doesn't seem sized for you."

wildcard/arrival

[ultraviolents]

[ by now, those who have made their way down here have more or less figured out which directions they're heading and what groups they've been split into. rosi's not in hers, but they're still down here together for the foreseeable future and she's been meaning to talk to him. recuperating from her death had taken longer than she would have liked, so she hadn't had a chance to before now.

the collar is still pulled over her nose and mouth as she approaches, but she pulls it down to talk to him, grimacing a little when she gets the full assault of the scent of decay in the room again - she's still fairly nauseous from the trip down. ]

Got a minute?

elektra natchios | OTA

[ultraviolents]

ARRIVAL

A )

[ elektra's better off when she has something to focus on, especially after experiencing something traumatic, like death. again. which would have been difficult enough without hallucinating matthew's death periodically in the week post her revival. it's fortunately something they'd dealt with before, and the blindfold had helped her avoid seeing it, but she'd still been able to hear it and it's kept her from being able to get much sleep.

all in all, she's happy to have something to do that will keep her from thinking about what she's been through lately, and she arrives at the dock in her armor and armed to the teeth with her sai and a few other hidden blades, shouldering a pack filled with supplies. the submarine itself is pretty cramped, but she's small enough that finding a seat is fairly and she settles into it, face set into an expression of grim determination. ]

B )

[ having traveled to the extent that she had during her lifetime, elektra's become used to the movement of multiple kinds of travel, including sea travel. the ferry hadn't bothered her at all. so maybe it's the fact that that had been nearly a year ago, or maybe it's due to not getting enough sleep lately, or maybe it's due to the increasing pressure as they sink deeper underwater, but whatever the reason she starts becoming increasingly nauseated, and before too long she finds herself having to bow forward, head in her hands and elbows on her knees as she tries breathing through it. it's probably good that they're locked into their seats at this point, because if she tries moving too much it feels like it's going to end messily. ]

C )

[ the immediate assault of blood and decay on her senses doesn't help the residual seasickness, and elektra finds herself needing to turn away from the body and take a moment to pull herself together and her collar over her nose and mouth before she makes her way further inside. once she's able to take stock of the situation she feels a little better in general - she's well aware of the danger, but having some idea of what they're dealing feels better than not knowing what to expect.

although she knows from experience that she shouldn't expect anything in this place to be predictable. ]

Does anyone have a preference as far as where they want to investigate goes?

DOWNTIME

[ it becomes clear pretty early on that they're not going to be able to get back to beacon any time soon, at least not until the power gets restored. she is, fortunately, on the team investigating that, and during her downtime she can be found perusing what everyone's found and comparing notes with whoever's willing to talk about what they've seen, usually with something to eat or drink that she'll partake from as she reads or talks.

as things get more dire, she's pretty handy when it comes to patching people up, and some people may even find her gallows humor entertaining. ]

WILDCARD

[ if you've got something outside of what i've outlined, feel free to choose your own adventure and i'll roll with whatever you've got in mind, or you can PM me or reach out to me on plurk at vdova! ]

downtime.

[dodgeshot]

[ she's come to sit for a short time in the hangar, examining pieces of metal and glass she's collected. the colors of the lantern and glass at least give an estimation of what belonged to which lantern, but it's impossible to try to put them back together, even if she had any kind of clue on how to fix it.

looking up, she spies Elektra as she returns and gives a slight tip of her hand in greeting. her fingers are careful with the shards of glass. ]

Find anything of use yet?

Bucky/Soldat | OTA

[worthallthis]

I. Submarines Suck

This is. Familiar. In a bad way. The pressure of it, the sound of it, the stale air, it's all too familiar. Soldat stays very still and quiet in the submarine, memories of shipment to mission sites flitting through their head, the feeling of the moment before freezing painfully close, the Asset loud and tense behind their thoughts, muttering to itself and making the arm buzz and shift. Even the distorted alerts and plunge into darkness only makes them close their eyes and hold themselves even more still, barely breathing. The lurch of docking and the airlocks cycling open take a long moment to register, and they push themselves into motion and away from the wall only slowly and with effort.

The smell of blood on the other side of that airlock is actually kind of a relief. This, they know what to do with. This is familiar in a different way. Soldat prowls around the hanger, loosening up, investigating each available door without actually leaving the main space, and crouching beside the dead body a moment. Wondering if that's the one they exchanged messages with.

The Asset is still close under the surface... but that's probably not a bad thing, given the danger here. (Just keep it under control. No. No killing the good guys, asshole. No. Leave it alone, Sarge. It'll be fine.)


II. Downtime

Nothing is making Soldat go back into that submarine until it's time to leave. Really, nothing about this place is making them want to bed down at all. The artificial pressure is constant, the smell is pervasive, and the small sounds of settling metal just sound like the old transport tank. It will just be nothing but nightmares of cryo and HYDRA and killing. So they catch sleep in cat-naps here and there, usually either wedged into an out of the way corner buried under their coat or in an exhausted ball next to of the few people they consider "safe" (and 80% of the time they wind up flailing out of those catnaps with nightmares, anyway), but mostly they just... don't sleep.

Which means every time they're not making a patrol of the safe and reclaimed areas, or working on a particular project, Soldat is mostly eating or feeding people, or some combination of both. Thankfully, they expected that and pretty much everything they brought that wasn't bullets or weapons was food of some kind. They put sandwiches together for everyone else from a basket of bread, lettuce, cheese, and lunchmeat (Rosi and Law get lettuce sandwiches); dish out cold stew from a pre-made pot brought from the Invincible; munch from a very big bag of trail mix and nuts; and chew obsessively on their pendants. They'll shove cups and plates (mostly scavenged from the station rather than brought with) into people's hands with a firm, "Eat."

And they keep watch with the flat Asset expression to keep from betraying anything worse. They're here to fix things and deal with a problem, not to drown in awful memories. When actually doing work, it's fine, they can keep it together... but not even the Winter Soldier can work every minute of every night.

downtime

[callada]

When Rosinante finally stumbles out of the R&D hall, he's clearly in dire need of recuperation, and food is a key part of that. Sleep, right now, is not, given he apparently slept for three days straight, and given the persistent feeling like he might just choke or vomit, he suspects he's not going back to sleep any time soon either.

His clothes are soggy with water and blood, several fine lacerations all over his arms and face have been thankfully bandaged and cleaned, and he doesn't want to move, so it's a relief when Soldat walks over with food in hand. He sticks his cigarette in his mouth so he can take the plate, and damn, that lettuce sandwich looks excellent.

"Thanks," he says, and goes ahead and takes a bite. What? He's hungry. "Guess it's been a few days?" he adds once he's able to swallow.

WEAVER. (NPC)

[nightbunny]

After about 36 hours in the Helix Station, the Resource Extraction Group manages to help one survivor from the Helix Station tragedy out into the Submarine Bay. Weaver is a small bunny that helped to create a weapon intended to help kill World Eaters. She has been hiding in a vent for weeks, it's been rough!

She is clearly a bit jittery, jumping at idle sounds and often looking around with wide eyes. However, she is too on edge to sleep. She's available for characters to talk to and ask questions! They might have to interrupt her as she feverishly works on her laptop, but her ears twist toward whoever approaches. It's clear she is keeping track of anyone approaching, and she'll turn her attention to whoever wants to talk to her.

[worthallthis]

Soldat is the guy who handles feeding people around here, most of the time, so once the power is on and the place is largely cleared of hostiles, they take up residence in the kitchen to handle making use of those remaining supplies which could possibly go bad before they get it back above the water-- anything not in a can, basically. Also, cooking helps keep them calm.

So they approach Weaver, making sure to make plenty of noise with their footsteps so as not to startle. "Dinner?" they offer, currently a sandwich loaded up with greens and cheese, a glass of milk, and a sliced apple. They've also got a thick stew cooking, but they're really not sure if a rabbit-person would eat meat. So sandwich it is, for now.

Cao Pi | open

[pure_havoc]

A. Downtime - R&D party

[the only real downtimes they had were...well, either in the office before using the keycards, or after it's all over and the looting begins. Party members, hit him up to one-on-one discuss theories, observations, or plans for what to do next.]

B. Downtime - everybody else

[after their party finally comes out from where they've been sleeping for a day and a half, and Cao Pi has shared his information, he's available to have chats in the hangar. He didn't bring his magic bottle with him so unfortunately no drinking away the trauma just yet...but someone please point out which of the rations he can eat without cooking. Or poke at his extremely thinly-held veneer of composure and see if you can unravel it. After all of that he's sort of barely holding it together but fiercely so, as if proving to himself that this is why he became emperor - to man up when no one else can.]

[catholicisms]

( i'm just saying, Cao Pi... your infinite bottle would be great right about now.

once Matt recovers from his inexplicable world-eater inspired fatigue, he's back up and running and checking in with others about what they saw on the station. it's especially interesting to the guy that can't see anything! he heads over as the Emperor is shuffling through their limited rations. )

Is there anything edible in there? ( he knows Cao Pi is not one for small talk, but that's a genuine conversation starter. Matt also needs to eat something and he's not much of a cook, either. )

Reiju | OTA will match formatting

[p0isonpink]

On the way down

Submarines are not her idea of a good time, thank you very much, and nearly getting flattened upon boarding doesn't improve her mood much. Reiju spends most of the trip down firmly in her seat, hands folded in her lap, making such a point of remaining absolutely still and externally impassive that it's probably not hard to tell that she'd rather be almost anywhere else.

Still, she's here, and if she's tense and unhappy, she's also stubbornly determined that she's going to accomplish something by her presence. Even if it's only serving as muscle against whatever danger they face.

Downtime

01. Devil Fruits (for Law and Rosinante)

Taking the time and attention to argue about who had the power and weakness of a devil's-fruit user when they were in hostile territory wasn't a great idea, and there'd been no more than a couple sharp comments at the time. But when they're back in the submarine hangar, that deferred conversation is inevitable; Reiju finds a place to settle herself, beating down the distress that's been trying to rise up and choke her ever since the base door opened to a flood of water. She doesn't sit, no matter how much she would like to -- it's been a long day and a half, but there's power in staying on her feet and she intends to hold onto every bit she's got.

She catches Rosinante's eye and tips her head in a clear signal. If you want to have that talk, now's the time.

02. Wakefulness (OTA)

This place is not good for her, not at all. After the discussion with Rosinante and Law, she tries to find a spot to settle herself and hopefully get a little rest. Real rest, not whatever those spirits inflicted. But every time she tries to lie down, whether in an out of the way corner of the hangar or in one of the submarine bunks, nightmares about waking up paralyzed in the water drive her back to her feet.

She's an enhanced human, with far less need for rest than a normal person, but even she can't be healthy if she substitutes sleep with pacing the confines of the hangar to stave off nightmares. As time passes, dark circles begin to grow under her eyes, and she startles easily.

02

[worthallthis]

Oh boy, does this guy understand the wakefulness problem. Soldat tracks her down to hold out a bowl of soup, made from supplies right here on the station. "Eat," they say firmly, but not without sympathy. After all, Soldat, too, looks very much like they could use some sleep but aren't getting it. "It helps. Need less sleep if you eat and drink enough."

Klaes Ashford | OTA

[patriotnow]

Submarine

Ashford's bones and lungs, after a lifetime in space, are not exactly ideal for even minimal extra pressure. So in the submarine he feels as though he is being pressed in the cogs of a great machine that will not relent until he is flattened. Though he tries to remain looking calm and unbothered externally. In fact he tries to appear as though he is asleep, when in actuality one hand rests over his chest to re-assure himself his heart is beating and he occasionally draws in a ragged deep breath through his nostrils, jaw locking against his discomfort.

Downtime Post-Exploration

Ashford has located a crate to sit on and has undone the bandages on his leg to take stock of his injury. Unpleasant but not so bad. It will likely heal cleanly though perhaps with a mark left.

He begins re-bandaging before opening his tool belt and beginning to sort through the tools he scavenged from the station's power room. It's a decent collection, one that should be useful. Though the screwdriver, caked with blood and clumps of old flesh, will need some serious cleaning.

submarine

[ultraviolents]

He's not the only one having a rough time. While Elektra had done a considerable amount of travel in her lifetime, none of it had been underwater and the pressure and movement have her feeling dizzy and sick to her stomach. She's spent most of the past half hour bent forward with her face in her hands, trying to remain as still as possible as they travel deeper underwater.

A sharp intake of breath draws her attention as she comes up for air, unable to focus on the source of the noise at first. When she does a puzzled expression crosses her face, but it doesn't take her long to realize the man isn't really asleep. He might not want to be bothered, either, but she recognizes troubled breathing when she hears it.

"You okay?"

390-H/Hope - OTA

[390h]

[a: arrival]
When the call goes out to travel beneath the lake, Hope volunteers, even though she has the creeping suspicion that it will be far more dangerous than she’s prepared for. But the entire town seems more dangerous than she’s prepared for, and besides, she’s already dead, isn’t she? Mostly, she wants to be useful.

She spends the majority of the submarine ride in a state of quiet nervousness, curling up in her seat to make room if it’s crowded. The lose of power cranks her nerves up a few levels, but she keeps it together even when she’s trapped into the seat by the safety harness.

A little squeak of alarm slips out of her at the sight of the corpse, before she covers her mouth with her hands. She glances at her companions, trying to gauge their reactions before she says anything.

[b: downtime]
After their first exploration, Hope needs a long rest. She's not sleepy per se, but her throat still hurts from the green-eyes attack and her nerves are frayed from their shared nightmare. She finds a spot to sit - as far from the dead body as possible, while still remaining more or less with the group - and ends up slumping against the wall for a while. Her collar had dug into her neck when the spirit choked her; normally, she's fairly used to the feeling of it, but now she feels hyper-aware and slightly bruised. Gently, she touches it, wondering. It represents more than just physical discomfort for her, of course.

At some point, she'll scoot closer to her comrades, and, though she seems shy, will try to pick up a conversation with them.

"Are there a lot of them? Those...green-eyed spirits."

Or maybe,

"How do we stop a world eater?"

Or, even, slightly awkwardly, "Have you been here long? I mean - I mean, in the town."

[c: TEAM ATTACK - closed to the resource bros; during the initial search]

She feels slightly bad that her computer search seems to be going much better than Will's. In fairness, the one she picked didn't need a password, and all...but the grumpy expression on his face told her not to say too much. At least the cat names seemed to help him finally get in.

Okay. They're here to get information. Hope hesitates briefly before clicking on the first folder - the most important thing is to find out what the Night Market was doing down here, right? - and quickly finds a plethora of important-looking details. She fumbles for her tablet to type in some notes.

"Aaravos...Pluto..." the names don't mean anything to her, but maybe her companions know them. She types them down as she glances over at the others searching the room and fussing with keycards.

"I've found a bunch of names. And...the projects they were working on." She scrolls through a couple names for them to see. "Do you know these people?"

c

[callada]

The question draws Rosinante's attention away from the locker he's currently paused to look at. Full of makeup - well, it could be a few people, probably. But there was one more dedicated to the craft than the rest, and he still has some small amount of hope they'll end up finding her hiding out somewhere in the station. Realistically, though, he knows that's not likely.

So instead, he'll take the distraction, and turns to try and peer over Hope's shoulder, though he has to practically bend in half to lean that low. "Yeah. Both of them, actually. Pluto was the one in charge here. Sharp woman. Always looked like she was in complete control, and I mean that in a good way. Would've made a fantastic Marine."

Which from him is definitely a compliment. So what if she was in a wheelchair? Didn't seem to slow her down any.