( 002 » ENSEMBLE ) gravitational.

[reveriemod]

» WHO? EVERYONE
» WHEN? JUNE 1 onward
» WHERE? ALL OVER THE STATION (literally)
» WHAT? Gravity is always on, until it isn't.
» WARNINGS? zero g, paralysis, the vacuum of space, possible asphyxiation, possible character death

0 0 1 » LOSS OF GRAVITY

The outer rings of Reverie Station rotate around the shaft of the station, using inertial forces to simulate gravity. One moment, this works fine — people are walking along corridors, sleeping in their beds, eating in the mess hall or having a drink at the bar. The next moment? In some parts of the station, a crunching sound can be heard, like metal against metal, and shortly thereafter, the rings cease to spin, causing a jolt to go through all rings.

And then what passed for gravity just stops.

Your food, drink or blanket might have floated off after the jolt. Remember to engage your mag boots, if you're wearing them, lest you follow suit. Good luck getting around in zero g.

( ♪ )

0 0 1 . 1 » UPSIDE DOWN AND FLOATING

The lack of gravity may be disorienting at first for those not used to operating in zero g environments. Fortunately, mag boots mean you can continue walking along corridors — though the boots will engage with what used to be the ceiling of the corridors as much as what used to be the floor. No matter which part of the corridor you're attached to, if any, better make sure to collect anything that may be floating around, lest it becomes a dangerous projectile whenever gravity turns back on.

The mess hall and the gym area in particular are in a significant state of disarray. In the mess hall, some cutlery (of the grey, hard plastic variant) has been left unsecured and is floating harmlessly through the air. The same holds true for a large amount of protein powder. In the gym area, meanwhile, the entirety of the dirty water from the pool is no longer in the pool.

( ☺︎ )

0 0 1 . 2 » PARALYSIS INDOORS

One moment, you’re walking — or maybe you’re floating, mag boots disengaged. Either way, from one moment to the next, you become unable to move. Your arms, your legs, even wiggling a toe becomes a thing of impossibility. There’s a heavy weight on your chest, despite the fact that gravity is still not back on. Taking a breath is an ordeal. You can’t call for help, you can’t signal to anyone, you can only stay still.

( ♪ )

OOC: The length of paralysis is up to players.

0 0 2 » TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

It isn't clear why the rotation of the rings has stopped and gravity ceased, but one thing is certain: life on the station is a lot more difficult without gravity, especially for those not used to living and working in a zero g environment. The sensible thing would be to fix whatever is wrong, but in order to do that, you have to figure out what's wrong first.

One way to get an idea might be to put on a suit (if required) and go out an airlock to have a close look at the upper ring, where the crunching noise could be heard the loudest. The objective is to identify the problem and, if possible, fix it — but unless you have the power of flight and can breathe in the vacuum of space, the walk from the airlock to surveying the ring will be taxing in and of itself.

Better not lose hold of the station or each other and whatever you do, do not disengage those mag boots. Hopefully, no debris will come flying at you. The station may be built to withstand it, but you aren't.

( ♪ )

OOC: There are some 20 vac suits with oxygen packs and small thrusters for (weak) propulsion available in the spaces currently accessible to characters; these can be found in various airlocks.

0 0 2 . 1 » FLOATING AROUND

The station may be built to withstand debris, but you aren't — which makes it all the more unfortunate that some debris does catch you. In the side, in the face or in the legs, it doesn't matter: what matters is that the impact is strong enough to disengage the mag boots, which means you are now floating in space.

Did your suit take damage? Do its thrusters still work, or not? Is your oxygen pack still connected properly? If your connection to the station network is still intact, now would be a good time to call for help and hope that someone's close enough to get to you in time before you float too far from the station to still be reached, before your oxygen runs out, before any possible injuries you may have sustained take their toll.

( ♪ )

OOC: With this prompt, the extent of possible injuries, the time before rescue and factors such as oxygen or damage to the suit are all up to players. Please keep in mind that character death is very much a possibility — but that death means relatively little. Should a character die from their injuries or lack of oxygen, they will awaken again. As per the death mechanism outlined in the FAQ, characters are brought back to life (possibly repeatedly, if rescue takes a while), but they lose something. What they lose is up to players as well (a limb, memories, senses, social skills, ...) and the duration of the loss can range from a few days to permanent loss.

0 0 2 . 2 » PARALYSIS OUTDOORS

One moment, you are walking along the hull of the station. The next, you're frozen. Your arms and legs no longer move and there's pressure on your chest. Even taking a breath becomes an ordeal. You cannot move forward. You cannot move back. You can't even signal or call for help.

What choice do you have but to wait out this paralysis and hope that it loses its hold on you before your oxygen runs out? Better not panic, lest you use up more of it.

( ♪ )

OOC: The length of paralysis is up to players.

0 0 3 » WORK IT

For those who've successfully made the walk across the hull of the station to find the problem, it will soon become obvious what has happened: debris crashed into the station and got lodged between the uppermost ring and the shaft of the station, where it is stuck, preventing the spinning of the ring.

You will need to work together to cut through the debris or dislodge it. It's heavy, and you have little leverage in the absence of gravity.

Keep in mind also that if you successfully dislodge the debris, the outer ring will start moving again. Be prepared, especially if you're still connected to the ring by your mag boots. Inertial forces can be quite strong, so you will need to brace yourself or risk being dislodged yourself.

( ♪ )

Comments

[marineris]

[She nods, tugging her helmet on over her head and sealing it to her suit. She'll just make sure nothing goes wrong for him.]

You'll be better at that than I will. Lead the way.

[donkeyballs]

[He checks over her connections once she's sealed in, and then pulled on his helmet as well, tilting his head so that she can do the same. Once they're geared up, he shuts the airlock door and moved to the controls, magboots clicking and hissing as he walks.]

Alright. All set?

[He waits for an afirmative, and then hits the controls, the hiss of air rushing out filling the space around them. As the air vents, the sound dulls, and soon all he can hear is the thud of his own blood, the rush of his breath and the gentle circulation of O2 being passed through his suit. He taps his communicator to open up an audio connection with Bobbie.]

No leaks here, I'm all good. You?

[marineris]

[She checks over her suit and his, looking for anything out of place, but it all seems fine, so she nods. It just doesn't feel nearly as solid as her power armor. Beggars can't be choosers. ]

Good to go. If they'd been nice enough to kidnap me with my armor I'd be much happier.

[She's going to be perpetually bitter about that, apparently.]

[donkeyballs]

Pretty sure I'd be happier too. [He smiles at her, eyes crinkling in the light cast on his face from inside the suit, then tugs the tether between them to check it. Good. ]

Alright, let's see what we've got out here.

[He walked to the other console, tapping the button, and slowly the airlock doors opened onto the endless expanse of black, speckled with stars. Alex had never done a ton of spacewalks, but it had also been years since he'd been stuck a month on a station. So it felt almost like a relief - if a slightly dizzying one. He looked back to Bobbie, gave her a thumbs up, and then with his Mag boots slowly started to step out onto the hull.]

[marineris]

[Bobbie follows, taking a second to savor it. She's been struggling with that same trapped feeling, and sitting around twiddling her thumbs isn't something she's ever taken well to. Even though this is a crisis, it's something to fix, so she shoots Alex a smile and follows. The rings are massive over on the other side of the station, and locked, just as they'd guessed, so she gestures towards them.]

This'll be fun.

[donkeyballs]

[ He flashes a grin back at her, then bends over to tap on his wrist communicator a couple times, starting the countdown. ]

Alrigh', we've got about two hours. Maybe a little more than, but I don't trust these suits as far as I can throw 'em, so I don't wanna push it. We're only takin' a look, so no need to rush it.

[ Each footfall is heavy, the magboots locking in several inches from the surface and dragging him down to it, before releasing for the next step. He keeps his eyes on the rings, but their course is pretty slow. ]

[marineris]

[As slow as it is, the steady click and release of the mag boots is comforting, familiar. Bobbie stays silent for a moment, just studying the station, trying to get a better idea of what they're dealing with. So far, there doesn't seem to be any markings or information that would be useful. The station seems fine, if abandoned.]

I'm not spotting anything interesting. You?

[donkeyballs]

Not so far. [ He keeps catching himself raising his eyes and almost getting lost in the stars around them, but that's just him, not the station. He forces himself to stare back down at the metal beneath his feet. He catches sight of something and tells Bobbie to hold up as he bends down to take a look.

A black mark - about 30 centimetres long - it etched into the side of the hull.]

Nah, just a micro-meteorite or somethin. Let's keep goin'.

[marineris]

[Bobbie is more disciplined—she keeps her eyes on the prize, focusing on the hull and the rings, occasionally glancing over at Alex. She glances over the scorch mark in the metal, then back up to him before continuing.]

The hull looks intact. At least we might not depressurize the entire station if we manage to get one of those doors open.

[The rings aren't too far now, although she still can't quite make out what the problem might be.

[donkeyballs]

Still probably worth puttin' up seals before we go through, but I'll admit, it's a good sign.

[There's a slight jump, between where they are, and the ring, and he waves in her peripheral to make sure she's looking at him before he speaks next.]

Think you should make the jump first, magnetise, then pull me over. I'll release just before you hit so that I don't tug you back.

[marineris]

[Bobbie nods, turning back around the eye the jump for a second. It's not far, and she doesn't think it'll be an issue for him, even with his injured arm.]

Copy that. Don't float off without me.

[She demagnetizes and pushes off gently, just enough to propel herself over the gap. God, she misses her armor. This would be so much easier. Still, she manages it without much trouble, her boots reengaging.]

[donkeyballs]

Yes'sir. [ The humour is warm in his voice, and he waits until just before her feet touch down, before pushing off.

He grips the tether in his good hand, pulling it as he goes to keep himself on the right trajectory, and then lands (a little too close) next to Bobbie, boots hissing as they reengage. ]

Alright, should be able to see whatever the hell is holdin' it up, from just over that ridge.

[marineris]

[Bobbie reaches out to steady him automatically, only letting go when she's sure he has his balance.]

Let's see what's what.

[Off they go!]

[donkeyballs]

[ They make it up over the ridge, and the view changes dramatically. Instead of just seeing the side of the station roll off into a strange, far-too-short horizon, suddenly they can see clear across the top of the ring, to the other side. Alex can't help but let out a long, low whistle. This place is a lot bigger than he'd thought. Even seeing the picture that Apollo had posted on the network, he hadn't gotten the scale of it until he could see it.

He could also see, now, just how much debris was flying around. ]

Damn. Somethin' happened, hell if I know what.

[He pointed to where a bunch of debris was lodged into the side of the ring below them. ]

Look's like it's jammin' up the spin.

[marineris]

[She lets out a breath, shaking her head. What a mess.]

That's going to be a pain in the ass to clean up. Whoever we get out here is going to have to be careful not to get crushed when they start spinning again.

[But at least it looks fixable.]

I wonder if there's any damage.

[donkeyballs]

Can't imagine there won't be. [ He likes to stay optimistic where possible - but there's also just facing the reality of the situation.]

Alright, we've got some air left, let's climb down and see if we can get a better idea of what we're gonna need to get rid of this stuff.

[marineris]

[It's a good idea, so Bobbie starts her way down. It's even slower going now that they have to watch out for debris. About halfway there, she gets distracted. There's a section of one of the rings that looks almost like crumpled metal, but Bobbie can tell if it's damage or the junk stuck there tricking her. She's so caught up in peering at it that she doesn't notice the baseball sized rock whizzing toward her head.]

[donkeyballs]

Gunny!

[ He barks the word, but he's already moving. Not with his free hand, like someone sensible, but his automatic reaction somehow goes to his broken arm instead, and his arm snaps out, tearing the sling as he did it, grabbing the tether between them and pulling it hard back towards him. ]

[marineris]

[She turns just in time to see the debris coming at her, but before she can react, Alex is yanking her back. Her mag boots are still stubbornly locked to the hull, and rather than staggering back she falls, feet firmly planted. The rock just barely grazes her, but her helmet slams into her head hard enough for her to see stars. She grabs for Alex's arm instinctively to steady herself, suddenly dizzy, pain making her gasp.]

[donkeyballs]

[ His heart is racing, nearly skipping several beats as he sees the thing hit her helmet, and he's swearing, even if he doesn't realise it, curses breaking over the radio. He scrambles to her, and she catches his arm, which made his heart restart again. If she could grab things, she wasn't dead.

He immediately pulled her over, checking her helmet to see if it was leaking air. ]

Gunny! You better still be with me, dust rat --

[marineris]

[Her helmet isn't leaking, but there's blood on her temple, slipping down toward her cheek. Two nicknames in a row must be a record, she thinks dizzily, then grips his arm more tightly, trying to focus.]

I'm okay. I'm fine.

[donkeyballs]

[ Not good. Blood in zero gee, if it keeps bleeding, could get into her eyes and be impossible to wipe away, or worse, cover her mouth. Spacewalk officially over. They needed to get back inside where he'd be able to get at the wound. ]

You're bleedin'. [ He gestures to her forehead. ]

Come on, we're headin' back, right now. Can you walk?

[marineris]

[There's already drops of blood floating in her helmet, splattering against her faceplate. She keeps hold of his arm, trying to orient herself.]

I can walk.

[And then, more softly:]

Thank you.

[donkeyballs]

You can thank me when we're inside. [ The worry has made his voice right, and his sling is floating loosely around his arm, before he tucks it against his chest. It throbs dully. Hopefully he didn't fuck it up.

With a careful grip on her, he starts them back towards the airlock, constantly checking back to make sure that she was alright. ]

[marineris]

[She seems fine, if dazed. Her head is pounding, though, so she just keeps her eyes locked on him to stay oriented. Eventually it registers that his sling is gone, and she frowns.]

Is your arm okay?