[Event] Introduction to the Nexus / MoI crash

[rp_help]

I.
    Within the fabric of the multiverse the differing possibilities of each branch are woven, overlapping but separate, converging and looping at times, but often wriggling apart by ever-increasing degrees until the substance of it is thick with possibilities. This fabric is five-dimensional, not recognizable in its true form to the beings that are forced to live within the constraints of linear time and three-dimensional space. Unknown to those who live out the events contained within it, the sense of it is only kept by the special properties of the interactions between universes—it would seem that each universe is independent, but the nature of this fabric is such that certain events—convergence events—tie each universe together in an indelible way.

This is not to say that these convergence events all take place in the same way in each universe. But there are key threads that cannot be unraveled from their neighbors, and though the players in a scene may not all be the same in each universe, the moments contained in these convergence points are so tightly woven that in some ways they may be indistinguishable from their neighbors.

II.
    An indelible part of those universes where Project Freelancer came to be is the fact that the Project could not succeed. It was based on flawed theories, illegal activities, biased science, no matter which lifetime this particular founder of the Project was living out. And so its failure, or more specifically that moment where its impending failure came to a head, became a convergence event. Like a network of strong magnets, the turning point brought the multiverse together in an intimately linked way. For this reason, when in one universe the ship Mother of Invention fired upon itself and began its descent into the atmosphere of the nearby planet, it sent shockwaves of destiny through the multiverse, bringing each doom destined for Project Freelancer into clear focus.

Much of the technology in the Project's facilities, both on the ship and the planet itself, were experimental. Dimension-hopping was one of the unsanctioned activities taking place under the Project's purview, though it was intended for fast travel through space within the same universe rather than through the multiverse itself. This didn't change the fact that once again, the Project was messing around with things that weren't entirely understood. The emotional states of the users of the dimensional portals had a huge effect on them—and the person effecting the portal didn't necessarily have to be actively using it, either. This wasn't known or considered when the Project moved one of its portals from its planet-side facility to the labs on the ship.

III.
    And so it was that the combined anger, fear, and desperation of the occupants of the ship at the time it crashed reprogrammed the portal in the ship's belly, and in turn created havoc in the transporter nexus that resided on the planet. Like an arc of electricity sparking from a Tesla coil, the wave of reprogramming touched every portal in the nexus. Every portal would now lead to the Mother of Invention in the aftermath of the crash. Worse than this, it caused the portals in the nexus to draw in users from other parts of the multiverse. They would enter the nexus unknowingly, simply hearing a ringing like crystal and finding themselves within it. Attempting to leave would simply send them to the Mother of Invention at a most dangerous time.

IV.

Timeline of events:
    

• Day 1: Residents of other times and places will find themselves on the planet containing Freelancer facilities in the teleporter nexus. Everyone who comes to the nexus will find that their cell phone, 2-way radio, comm device, or helmet radio can be used to communicate with anyone else who has arrived in the nexus at any point. Attempting to leave the nexus via any portal will lead to the crash site of the Mother of Invention. Recovery agents and guards will be evident all around the grounds, but things are chaotic. It will be impossible to locate the end portal the character arrived through to return to the nexus.
    

• Days 2-5: Things are calming down at the site, but time itself will seem to be undergoing an echo effect—recovery agents and guards will still be on patrol, but as time goes by they will seem to be in several places at once and though they may spot characters who arrive, they will be unable to apprehend them. The end portals that lead back to the nexus will be intermittently visible, but in a shivery way that will make it difficult to use them to return. When one manages to return to the nexus, they will find that they're unable to reprogram the teleporters. Teleporters now lead to various locations, however, rather than just the ship crash site—they also lead to various bases inhabited by simulation troops. Like the guards and recovery agents at the crash site, however, the simulation troops will not be quite able to interact with the characters who have arrived.
    

• Days 6-10: The shivers that are going through time and space now seem to be settling down, and the teleporters are increasingly responsive to attempts to reprogram them. By the time the ten days are up it's easy to cycle them between other Freelancer and UNSC facilities, and many technologically-savvy characters will be able to deduce the fact that there is a resonant frequency inherent to their own universe that can be programmed into a teleporter via their radio or comm device.

Comments

[justichthys]

And bring the ceiling down on our heads? Or maybe some guards? Smart. [ For a moment, she just stares down at Puma's bruised, bleeding knuckles. ]

[ Then she gives him a quick tug, dragging him away from the wall. Just in case. ]

Hey. I'm still here. Stop acting like that isn't important.

[purrtylittlewires]

I'd love some guards, honestly. [Violence is good for the soul.]

And it IS, it's just....rrrgh.

[justichthys]

[ She huffs, unimpressed. ]

I'm sure you would. And if they had guns and armor, and your pendant didn't work, I'd be the one who gets to fight them. [ SHE SOUNDS. SO ENTHUSED. SO VERY ENTHUSED. ]

It's just what?

[purrtylittlewires]

....

[He lifts up his hand.]

[And bleeding knuckles are healing.]

Well, that's working.

Another reason to hate him.

[justichthys]

… [ Well, at least that's something. He'll be able to defend himself if they run into any trouble. ]

He was an asshole. [ She reaches down, quietly unclips her secondary pistol from its mag holster, and offers it to him. Look at her, bro, observing all of the proper gun safety procedures like it's as natural to her as breathing. ] In the end, he lost everything he'd ever had and everything he'd ever dreamed of.

[ Despite everything, she'd pitied him in the end. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

[Yyyyyay? I think. But he can't complain about GUN.]

[Will take it.]

... [He huffs.] That was the impression I got.

[Because part of him pities the man as much as he hates him.]

[justichthys]

[ Wash may have given Cali a lot of bad habits, but at least he helped her be responsible in the field! … Still, she finds herself grateful when he declines to comment on her passing him a weapon. She remembers her old distaste for weapons — honestly, she still feels her old distaste for weapons. ]

So … [ She shrugs, smiling crookedly. ] That’s that, for the most part. [ … Pauses, briefly, casting him a glance out of the corner of her eye. ] Freelancer is finished, but — more of it survived. Connie, York, and Delta are still alive. If any of the other lower ranked agents made it out, they kept their heads down well enough that I haven’t heard anything.

[purrtylittlewires]

[You're in armor, which is basically a weapon. It...helps.]

[Pause.] So York was dead. [He suspected, but he never saw....]

[He sighs, rubbing at his face.]

You did good.

[justichthys]

[ … He hadn’t known about York? Oops. ]

Yeah. He was. [ Rubs the back of her head. ] “Good” would have been shutting things down before the MoI crashed. Or, hell, if I’d gotten out in time to save North … I’d have called that a win.

[ But she hadn't. She hadn't even been able to save Wash from the infirmary, leaving him to think he was alone for years. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

[He got Delta, but he doesn't know if York was dead for sure.]

People are alive who weren't before.

That's good.

[justichthys]

… [ Huffs, running a hand back through her messy mop of hair. ]

It’s hard not to wanna kick yourself when I knew the whole time what was coming, and still couldn’t stop it.

[purrtylittlewires]

I know. But still.

More people are alive than there were before.

A positive difference is still positive.

[justichthys]

If you say so.

[ She’s not sure she believes it. TOO MANY DEAD FRIENDS. ]

Anyway. [ Runs her hand through her hair again, eyeing him. ] About … that hug …

[purrtylittlewires]

I do. I know it's hard, but it's better to do a little than nothing.

[He has to remind himself a lot.]

...you wanna try?

[justichthys]

[ Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. As much as the childish, avoidant, flustered side of her wants to stay away, the sensible side is yelling that she may never get another chance. ]

[ HUG YOUR DAMN BROTHER, CALI, IT'S BEEN YEARS. ]

[ For a moment it looks like she won't. For a moment she looks so torn . But the next sees her dropping her helmet and stepping forward, yanking him into a tight hug. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

[Just watch the tightness, he has no armor.]

[He's gonna hug back though.]

[justichthys]

[ Must be pretty pretty trippy for you, huh, Puma. Little sis is all solid armor, and even the exposed undersuit speaks of how much she's changed: tiny matchstick Aoko is no more. (Though there's still less to her than one might expect from a super soldier.)

Fortunately for his spine, she's very careful -- it won't even bruise him. ]

I missed you.

[purrtylittlewires]

I know. Sorry you had to go through all that.

At least I hope Wash stopped being less of a dick after that episode?

[justichthys]

[ … H. Hah. Snorts. ]

We both have our moments. [ Another beat, another second to indulge in IT’S MY BROTHER THO, before she pulls back. ] But, no. Never anything like that again.

[purrtylittlewires]

[Started being less of a dick, derp]

Good.

Because I will find a way to introduce him to a shovel if I have too.

[Just gonna think of him as another person, yep, and another person would get the shovel]

[justichthys]

[ Pinches the bridge of her nose on the way down to retrieve her helmet. ]

Don’t have a shovel talk with Wash, Puma. Geez. I’m perfectly capable of giving them out myself. [ Never mind the fact that she hadn’t done a whole lot to defend herself when Wash had ripped out her heart and stomped on it. ]

And I can kick his ass in general. Yours too, might I add.

[purrtylittlewires]

Doesn't matter. Big brother duties.

And I'll catch up sooner or later. I've gotten back some of those skills. Finally.

[justichthys]

If he can’t beat me when I’m actually trying — [ because she hadn’t been back then, she really hadn’t ] — what makes you think that you can?

[ Tosses her helmet at him. Lightly. ]

[purrtylittlewires]

[He catches the helmet.]

Because I'm used to fighting with the completely unexpected. [Shrugs.] For all the bullshit, it all followed certain rules. Kyriakos doesn't.

[justichthys]

[ War Master helmet sure is all weird angles and Cat-cream visor, worlds apart from the model that the Reds and Blues all wear. ]

Kyriakos doesn’t. [ She straightens, settling a hand on her hip. Easier to keep herself from fidgeting that way. ] Apparently I don’t, either. Do you remember anything about that?