The hero's boon received

[srwu_npc]

[Route split explanation]
The characters are now split into two groups that cannot interact with each other. Characters are on route A by default. However people who participated in the mission "the Boon" are now on route B. Characters who did not participate in the mission, but their players decide that they were somewhere around the Discovery when the mission happened (just offscreen) can also be on route B.

[1 - route A, mingle/reaction prompt]
The Discovery has launched into space.

The ancient stone building raised from the earth, freed from the cave that sheltered it for thousands of years. It's no building - but a giant cathedral-like starship. A starship that quickly rose through the atmosphere and before anyone could stop it, took its place on Earth's orbit.

Now it's floating in space, slowly circling the planet and not responding to any signals, seemingly lifeless. Something has obviously happened inside, something possibly not good at all - but there's just only one little problem preventing anyone from getting in close to investigate what has happened.

The Seekers, the Guardians (of Past, Present and Future) - even one of those was a very formidable foe. Now there are many, floating around the Discovery and, as an observation probe found out, attacking everything that comes close.

How much worse are things going to get?


"I'm assuming command of Unity Group."

Here's a message from Lee Linjun.

"Your little game, where the organisation continued to exist and pretend nothing's wrong despite not even having an acting officer, moved on for long enough. As long as it only affects internal affairs I couldn't care less, but now the stakes are simply too high."

"You know well what happened. The alien known as the Lady has made her move. She has the power to affect reality itself and wants nothing less than to subjugate humanity, it's not too late to stop her but we need to act, and we need to act RIGHT NOW. Her vessel, what we all used to know as Discovery, is now in Earth orbit - but not for long. Using the Shirogane's Tronium Cannon, I'm going to take it out."

"The only problem is the Lady's grunts on the way. That's where you come in. I've sent a similar message to UN Spacy, the ESUN military, anyone who still has a space force. We're gathering a fleet, and then we strike."

"I hope to see you there too, Unity Group. Not even for your own sake. This is a crisis where individual lives and organisations no longer matter. This is for the sake of humankind itself. Lee Linjun, out."

[2 - also route A]

"You're better not thinking about ceding leadership to that pompous buffoon."


"Not in a million years. A state of emergency or not, his actions have no legal authority to them. Unity Group remains independent and we can do whatever we decide. But..."


"But what do we decide to do, indeed, hmm? Ladies, gentlemen..."

Commander Huffman turns to anyone present - and this time the UG leaders do not even meet behind a door. This is in an open area, with UG members' input requested, and welcome.

"What do you believe we should do?"

[3 - route B, talking with NPCs and/or mingle prompt]
"Hey."


"Are you alive?"

Woken up by SSR's Viletta Vadim, you come by inside your machines' cockpit. The surroundings are the Discovery - dark but normal looking, without crazy time-space twisting shenanigans. The Lady or her minions are not here, nor is Loni or his friends. Neither is the Grunbein...

It almost feels like a dream. But it was no dream. Your unit's damage is proof of that.


"Something's different. A lot of the Discovery's systems lied dormant, and now they've activated for some reason. If only I knew how to actually operate them... but there's a reason getting Professor Dupond out to safety was a priority."

Suddenly you have more company as two more familiar SSR units approach. One is the Gunleon you saw fight the Seeker, while the other...


"Bad news guys, there's some kind of barrier blocking the exit. Even Gunleon can't break it and believe me, I tried."


"Even radio doesn't work... Does it mean we're trapped here?"


"..."


"At least the immediate area seems safe. But it looks like we will all have to work together if we're to break out of here."

Comments

[actuallyselfish]

"Start digging?" Dido suggests, head bandaged from all the throwing around earlier.

"Or maybe look for one of the depots left by the science teams. Maybe there's a way we could take control of the Discovery's systems..."

[srwu_npc3]

"If there was a way out of this by force, Travis would've done it by now."


"No pressure, right? It sucks to admit it, but maybe Gunleon's power isn't enough here."


"Anyway we can't give up. Onodera's right. If the Lady got what she wanted, I'm sure there'd be more fanfare rather than what we have now. The Discovery's ancient, but its designs are not that alien. That means there must be something in here we can figure out how to work."

[majestic_keiki]

[A voice who hadn't been with everyone else during the mission cuts in.]

Maybe, but it might be somewhere we can't reach without breaking through some walls. Are the internal walls breakable? I can try see if the various sensors of Purple-2 can find anything, but with the jamming we'll probably have to rely on physically searching the place.

[srwu_npc]

"I'm about to find out."


"That's the spirit! Don't give up Darling!"


"Ah, please wait...!"

But Rand listens not, and the Gunleon slams its wrench into a nearest wall.


"There we go. Did I overdo it?"

The whole wall collapses, revealing another section of the Discovery.

[herodrawing]

Guys, you gotta see this! A wall just came down!

[Red Five peeks in from the other side.]

Oh.

[majestic_keiki]

...You're here as well, Izuru? I know I went in to try to maintain communication between the inside and the outside, but where did you come from?

[herodrawing]

I heard Ange and some other SSR guys had trouble, so I came to help...

[majestic_keiki]

Ah...And now we're all stuck here. But at least we're together.

Let's see if there are others here and what we can find to get out.

[actuallyselfish]

"As long as you're here, Izuru...did you see any strange rooms or weird phenomena on the way inside the Discovery?"

[majestic_keiki]

Is there anything here that isn't weird or strange in some way? At least enough to not be clear whether it'll help us get out.

[empress_without_a_throne]

Maybe... but Viletta was just saying that the designs aren't "that" alien. And if there's something in this section of the ship you didn't see anything like in yours, or vice-versa... that could be our next lead.

[herodrawing]

There was mostly stone where I was but, do you remember that large hall? With the clones and the TSEN like teleporter. It had machinery, right? Maybe it's active now.

[majestic_keiki]

We don't have a lot of time and I'm not sure any of us can easily tell what an unfamiliar machine does without taking it apart and studying it more closely. Or trying to use it, but I'm not sure hitting random buttons is going to be a safe move.

But that corridor might be it, seems like something familiar enough that we know its similar to something we know.

[not_a_prize]

Worse comes to worse we just hit something until it works. Maybe it won't be safe like you said Kei... but we don't have much time either.

[Something you also said. Meaning that some risks are probably best taken...]

I dunno if its going to stay this quiet for long... something weird's happening. Just get that feeling ever since after the fight.

[cloningblues]

Of course something weird is happening. Strange reality warps and the Lady summoning lots of strong enemies out of nowhere should've been a clue.

[Blue One appears in sight.]

The good news is, none of these enemies are present anymore, at least in the nearby areas. I hope it stays this way.

[majestic_keiki]

Yeah. Makes it safer to search for a way out. Seems like the TSEN are our best bet, even if I'd prefer a door.