∝Transmission 033: The Stars Fall Silent
[there is no chime, no DIVA, when the Sphere Network is tapped into. the hologram shows Commander Menaeus as he watches something from on the bridge of the Uesugi, his mouth hanging open in utter horror. his voice is barely a whisper as he says:]
Christ on a bike, what in the hell is going on...?
[then he reaches up and turns the Sphere around to show everyone what he's seeing:
all around the two ships stars are going out in the blink of an eye, some not leaving behind a single trace of their existence. planets disappear just as quickly, drawn inexorably towards the nearest source of gravity--other planets in the solar systems--but instead of colliding and breaking apart, the planets are merging together then move off to repeat the same thing with the next conjoined planet cluster. over and over until finally that combined mass blinks out of existence. all that in the matter of a minute. then Menaeus tosses the Sphere up in the air and starts barking out orders to the others crew members on the bridge with him. the Sphere's video display spins, the action blurred.]
All right you lot, watch that shit outside. LOOK AT IT! If we're going to avoid becoming the filling of a planetary sandwich and find the damned Gauntlet, then you need to be on your toes! Don't even blink because there just went another goddamned star! Fucking hell, that's not supposed to happen! It just--it can't! Space can't be that unstable, can it?
[the spinning Sphere slows just in time to catch Menaeus and the others all clutch their heads] Oh god, what--[Menaeus winces, digging his nails into his scalp and gritting his teeth]--what's in my--[then he blinks, whatever pain he was just struck with has seemingly passed]--head? [he pauses, silence filling the air for a second, and then he glowers] Who just said we're all going to die?! We're not going to die, you great bloody fool, not if you keep doing your job! [another pause] All right now, who's crying? We're going to get out of this, do you understand?
[the Sphere finally stops spinning, the display falling on the expanse of outer space visible from the bridge--but a familiar ship shimmers into view. it stands out against the stark blankness of space, no stars haloing it, and the last planets visible in front of them waver and wobble--and soon disappear bare nanoseconds after touching each other. but the Gauntlet remains untouched by the phenomenon]
Farix and me, we're not going to let anyone die! We're--there it is! ...Why is it just sitting--no, never mind. [he grabs the Sphere, turning it to face him] Listen up! I need everyone--and I mean everyone--who is able to and not occupied with keeping the fleet safe from imminent destruction to go and get the Gauntlet. I don't care how. Try to board the bloody thing any which way you can, but I'm not letting that ship slip out of my fingers again!
[and just as he says that, the lights dim and flicker again, the transmission cutting off. the sounds of the ships' engines and other systems softening, fading, and then everything whirs back to life again--only the lights don't seem like they want to come back on and struggle to turn on fully. as the lights dip off again, another broken, stilted message bearing Admiral Ganymede's voice can be heard--but not over the Sphere. his voice sounds so much closer, like he's sitting right there speaking it out loud but something is preventing him from speaking clearly.]
Hur--! Yo- nee- -- s-op Xac--b. I don- --ow how mu-- -onger sh- can las- --ainst it. Hol- on a -ittle ---ger, --VA!
DETAILS
Christ on a bike, what in the hell is going on...?
[then he reaches up and turns the Sphere around to show everyone what he's seeing:
all around the two ships stars are going out in the blink of an eye, some not leaving behind a single trace of their existence. planets disappear just as quickly, drawn inexorably towards the nearest source of gravity--other planets in the solar systems--but instead of colliding and breaking apart, the planets are merging together then move off to repeat the same thing with the next conjoined planet cluster. over and over until finally that combined mass blinks out of existence. all that in the matter of a minute. then Menaeus tosses the Sphere up in the air and starts barking out orders to the others crew members on the bridge with him. the Sphere's video display spins, the action blurred.]
All right you lot, watch that shit outside. LOOK AT IT! If we're going to avoid becoming the filling of a planetary sandwich and find the damned Gauntlet, then you need to be on your toes! Don't even blink because there just went another goddamned star! Fucking hell, that's not supposed to happen! It just--it can't! Space can't be that unstable, can it?
[the spinning Sphere slows just in time to catch Menaeus and the others all clutch their heads] Oh god, what--[Menaeus winces, digging his nails into his scalp and gritting his teeth]--what's in my--[then he blinks, whatever pain he was just struck with has seemingly passed]--head? [he pauses, silence filling the air for a second, and then he glowers] Who just said we're all going to die?! We're not going to die, you great bloody fool, not if you keep doing your job! [another pause] All right now, who's crying? We're going to get out of this, do you understand?
[the Sphere finally stops spinning, the display falling on the expanse of outer space visible from the bridge--but a familiar ship shimmers into view. it stands out against the stark blankness of space, no stars haloing it, and the last planets visible in front of them waver and wobble--and soon disappear bare nanoseconds after touching each other. but the Gauntlet remains untouched by the phenomenon]
Farix and me, we're not going to let anyone die! We're--there it is! ...Why is it just sitting--no, never mind. [he grabs the Sphere, turning it to face him] Listen up! I need everyone--and I mean everyone--who is able to and not occupied with keeping the fleet safe from imminent destruction to go and get the Gauntlet. I don't care how. Try to board the bloody thing any which way you can, but I'm not letting that ship slip out of my fingers again!
[and just as he says that, the lights dim and flicker again, the transmission cutting off. the sounds of the ships' engines and other systems softening, fading, and then everything whirs back to life again--only the lights don't seem like they want to come back on and struggle to turn on fully. as the lights dip off again, another broken, stilted message bearing Admiral Ganymede's voice can be heard--but not over the Sphere. his voice sounds so much closer, like he's sitting right there speaking it out loud but something is preventing him from speaking clearly.]
Hur--! Yo- nee- -- s-op Xac--b. I don- --ow how mu-- -onger sh- can las- --ainst it. Hol- on a -ittle ---ger, --VA!
DETAILS
- Finally, we have found the Gauntlet! We've also crossed into the first endgame scenario, so strap your helmets on and buckle up, we're in for one hell of a ride!
- Humans who aren't naturally psychic will hear the thoughts of those they're talking directly to only, and that counts for in person or over the Spheres. Thoughts will always be clear, but how loud or soft they are to your "ears" is up to you.
- Non-humans who aren't naturally psychic might have a bit of trouble controlling how well they can hear the thoughts of those they're talking directly to, again, over the Spheres and in person. Sometimes you'll be able to hear it clear as day, but sometimes it'll be like tuning into a radio program and you're struggling to find the exact channel to listen to. There is one exception which you'll learn about in a moment.
- Humans and non-humans alike who have a latent psychic ability will, for one, have one hell of a headache thanks to that initial psionic blast, and two, will be able to hear the thoughts of people no matter whether you're talking to them directly or not--and they can hear yours as well. You can try to put up mental shields to prevent such an assault, but the anomaly is preventing them from lasting--and will punish you for doing so with a nice little psionic stab.
As Menaeus so kindly showed us, all hell is breaking loose. This portion of space that they're in is bending around itself, and planets and stars are disappearing in an anti-climactic flash (plus the black holes that spontaneously erupted near them in the last post), but why? Well, we'll reveal that in the next entry.
For right now, your mission is to attempt to board the Gauntlet! Many different means and methods have been provided in the past (like those different Alliance mecha sitting in the docking bay--and those, mysteriously, have changed thanks to the anomaly so that only one person is required to pilot the combat machines), but what will succeed? Or will it be a combination of different attempts that will succeed? Try anything and everything you can think of to get on the Gauntlet. Team up with someone/people or go it solo, it's completely up to you!
However, since this is a quick-time event of a sort, you will only have from now until Saturday to accomplish this task. Also, keep in mind that the Gauntlet has some pretty tough shields, so one try won't be enough. We recommend trying several different things and to keep on trying, as we won't be revealing what the correct method(s) is(are) until Saturday night (CST time).
But something else was going on with Menaeus and crew, wasn't there? That pain he and the others felt is something every otherworlder and crew member would have felt as well. Thanks to the bending of space around them, everyone can now hear each others' thoughts. As Menaeus accidentally showed us, he was hearing the thoughts of one of his bridge crew--and the message from Ganymede was also sent psychically.
- 1. A woman crying, sometimes in pain, sometimes out of pure frustration. She won't ever speak, though.
2. A new voice, one no one has ever heard before, can be heard muttering over and over, "The levels are still too low. I need more... Time is running out. I won't let you fail me yet!" The voice can't be determined as belonging to a man or a woman, but it does sound like it's focused on something.
Please be sure to include your character's thoughts when you tag so people will be able to react to them as you continue in your conversations/infiltration of the Gauntlet.
If you have any questions at all, leave them here or through the normal channels!
This is it, guys. Endgame at last! Let's keep going strong until the end! ♥