∝Transmission 028: When Winter Comes
[A familiar three-note chime sounds over the Spheres and Farix comes into view. A big grin is plastered on his face as he waves.]
Hello, to my lovely Hawking crew and Menaeus' lot here on the Uesugi. We have some great news! We just got a lead on the Gauntlet's location. We've set course in its location, so we should be able to reach it and surprise them in no time. Until then, go on and celebrate a little. You all deserve it. Commander Farix, out.
[He reaches over to shut off his Sphere, but he seems to have hit the button that allows the camera to get a panoramic view of the room. Menaeus can be seen already sitting in the little room, one of the private ones in Semele's Tit. Farix sits opposite him and picks up his glass, raising it to Menaeus.]
To our recent good fortune.
[Menaeus smirks and raises his own, clinking it against Farix's glass.] I think "good" is an understatement. And never mind it was me that found that lead in the first place! [he takes a long drink of his egginogi and begins to laugh. just as he does, an alarm begins to sound, but neither he nor Farix pay it any mind.] Ah well. What matters is we'll be able to catch it and then we'll be able to put an end to this entire mess once and for all! [he drinks again, finishing off his glass.] I think this calls for another.
Lucky we've got a whole pitcher to ourselves then. [he scoops it off the table beside him and offers to refill Menaeus' glass before topping off his own half a glass. as he goes to drink up some of his egginogi, it starts to snow in the room, but as with the persistent alarm, it goes unnoticed as well] Isn't it great knowing that after everything we've all been through, we're finally being cut a break?
[He tosses back another nice draught of the egginogi, stifling any derisive laugh he might have made] It's been a long time in coming, that's for damn certain. We should get fucking medals when we get back. [Menaeus stands suddenly as Farix cheers, wobbles ever so slightly as a bit of alcohol sloshes out of his glass, but he remains on his feet] No! I've got a better idea. Medals for everyone! And when we get them, I'm going to shove mine right up that Supreme Admiral's--[he cuts off before he can finish his thought and blinks at Farix's Sphere] ...Jaden, I thought you turned this off. [a slight pause while he processes that and then he lets out a hearty laugh again, his breath curling in a white cloud as it leaves his mouth, and raises his glass up at the Sphere.] Happy whatever to you all! This next round's on me--and the rest can be on your other Commander here.
I'll only buy the rest if I can use your wallet, Leon. [laughing along with Menaeus, he downs the rest of his glass and pours out some more before addressing his Sphere again.] You heard the man, go on and have a bit of fun. Have a drink on him and be merry! [Farix fumbles a little with his Sphere to shut it off again, but before he hits the right switch the alarm is cut off with a dreadful screeching sound as it's quickly frozen over by ice and no mention of it or the increasing flurries of snow as made as the transmission ends]
DETAILS
Hello, to my lovely Hawking crew and Menaeus' lot here on the Uesugi. We have some great news! We just got a lead on the Gauntlet's location. We've set course in its location, so we should be able to reach it and surprise them in no time. Until then, go on and celebrate a little. You all deserve it. Commander Farix, out.
[He reaches over to shut off his Sphere, but he seems to have hit the button that allows the camera to get a panoramic view of the room. Menaeus can be seen already sitting in the little room, one of the private ones in Semele's Tit. Farix sits opposite him and picks up his glass, raising it to Menaeus.]
To our recent good fortune.
[Menaeus smirks and raises his own, clinking it against Farix's glass.] I think "good" is an understatement. And never mind it was me that found that lead in the first place! [he takes a long drink of his egginogi and begins to laugh. just as he does, an alarm begins to sound, but neither he nor Farix pay it any mind.] Ah well. What matters is we'll be able to catch it and then we'll be able to put an end to this entire mess once and for all! [he drinks again, finishing off his glass.] I think this calls for another.
Lucky we've got a whole pitcher to ourselves then. [he scoops it off the table beside him and offers to refill Menaeus' glass before topping off his own half a glass. as he goes to drink up some of his egginogi, it starts to snow in the room, but as with the persistent alarm, it goes unnoticed as well] Isn't it great knowing that after everything we've all been through, we're finally being cut a break?
[He tosses back another nice draught of the egginogi, stifling any derisive laugh he might have made] It's been a long time in coming, that's for damn certain. We should get fucking medals when we get back. [Menaeus stands suddenly as Farix cheers, wobbles ever so slightly as a bit of alcohol sloshes out of his glass, but he remains on his feet] No! I've got a better idea. Medals for everyone! And when we get them, I'm going to shove mine right up that Supreme Admiral's--[he cuts off before he can finish his thought and blinks at Farix's Sphere] ...Jaden, I thought you turned this off. [a slight pause while he processes that and then he lets out a hearty laugh again, his breath curling in a white cloud as it leaves his mouth, and raises his glass up at the Sphere.] Happy whatever to you all! This next round's on me--and the rest can be on your other Commander here.
I'll only buy the rest if I can use your wallet, Leon. [laughing along with Menaeus, he downs the rest of his glass and pours out some more before addressing his Sphere again.] You heard the man, go on and have a bit of fun. Have a drink on him and be merry! [Farix fumbles a little with his Sphere to shut it off again, but before he hits the right switch the alarm is cut off with a dreadful screeching sound as it's quickly frozen over by ice and no mention of it or the increasing flurries of snow as made as the transmission ends]
DETAILS
- While Commanders Menaeus and Farix are hitting the eggnog (or rather "egginogi" as it's come to be known), it seems they've overlooked a vital warning about the sudden change in temperature. As residents in both ships will notice, it has begun to snow within every single inch space. Snow has gotten everywhere, with no space left clear. However! The snow won't be cold in crew quarters, bathrooms, or even in the mess halls and biosphere; it won't be cold or warm, just room temperature. And the snow will mysteriously never get any deeper than two feet in height--although, mercifully, there is no snow on any stairs or the transportation pads (just ice~).
But that isn't to say that you can't freeze your fingers off at all. The hallways are pretty frosty, but once you get to other sectors, they're positively frigid, with temperatures ranging from 20F/-6C to -30F/-34C with little predictability about when they'll plummet.
Despite the wintery disposition of the ships, this actually isn't a problem for anyone. Not the Commanders, not DIVA (who has been silent despite the one, lone alarm signaling the dramatic change in the ships' interior), not a single soul. Actually, the poor bastard who just slipped down the stairs and hurt his tailbone? He doesn't even seem to notice the pain! Never mind, he'll be able to sit nicely again if he seeks medical help. And anyone who saw him tumble is in too good a mood to care that he might be truly be hurt. In fact, they're applauding him and patting him on the back before going about their business. (It's a bit like this scene from Robin Hood: Men in Tights, actually.)
Not everything has to result in pain or involve bad news said in a good way, though. The name of the game here is happy accidents and serendipity. After all, the Commanders finally got a viable lead and the ships are currently in pursuit of the Gauntlet, so it's only fitting the Gate has seen it fit to set an anomaly loose that evokes that stroke of luck. So that person you've been meaning to talk to for ages but can never find? Well, he/she is rounding the corner right now heading straight in your direction. That crossword puzzle you can never seem to solve because there's always that one word that eludes you? Well, said word will appear in some fashion, be it in conversation with another person, a video you're watching, what have you.
As time goes on, however, things will get a more dangerous as those serendipitous events seem to happen more regularly--but aren't really happening in actuality. A crew member might stumble upon a random piece of cake in the hallway--but it might turn out to be a random loose bolt left lying around and now the crew member's broken his teeth. Or perhaps a loved one you haven't seen in years has appeared on the ship, and they're trying to lure you to an airlock... We'll leave a message a week from now in the ooc comm for when the dangerous hallucinations will start.
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As a note, we owe you guys a huge apology. The holidays got away with us and, unfortunately, we've let the game stagnate over the past month. It's not fair to you guys who have stuck with us. So, with the new year, it is our resolution to you to give you the best stretch of the game that we can give you. We're going to ease back into things with this two-week plot, and from there, we're going to head back into weekly ones.
And the surprises we have in store for you! Ohh...if you think the revelations about the Gate were big, you haven't seen anything yet.
So, we thank you so, so very much for putting up with us and our fail, and hope that you'll give us this chance to make it up to you all. Next week, we'll be doing an HMD in the OOC comm, and how would you guys feel about another 4th wall event?
Let us know! As always, we'll take questions/answers/whatever. Give 'em if you've got 'em!
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EDIT (1/12/11): Plot update! Hallucinations are now in effect!
EDIT (1/13/11): A plot supplementary since we realized that without a way to break out of the effects, people could easily die. Our apologies! The changes are as follows:
The dangerous (or otherwise) hallucinations will still hit. All crew and otherworlders are still barred from the armory and the objects in the docking bays. But now, whenever another person witnesses a friend/acquaintance in the midst of an hallucination, it will trigger a sort of awakening from the effects of the anomaly--how fast or slow you want it to happen is up to you--so people can intervene in the hallucinations. People stuck in the hallucinations will take some convincing that it's not real, but with help, they can break out of it.
Once you are broken out of the hallucination, you can't get sucked into one again. However, if you haven't had one yet, you still can hallucinate even if you do wake up to help someone else. The anomaly isn't going to let people out of things that easily.
But once you are free from the hallucination, you can be your normal self again! Unfortunately, the snow is sticking around still...