April Star System

[spaceshipit]

Gumballs and robot shenanigans aside, the Marsiva has guided everyone well away from the excitement of the last station, and all of the traffic associated with it. It looks like the Host ship is once more heading out into the boonies, drifting through a sector of the galaxy where the only traffic is cargo transports and business freighters flying along the interstellar highways.

It's here, out in the middle of nothing-in-particular, that your loving hosts finally reappear with a cheery update! While passengers become familiar with with the next spot of civilization, the hosts will check in alongside the next Drift Fleet Shuffle, thanking everyone for their cooperation with that whole Maldua business.



CALENDAR:
→ The Fleet will be in this star system from 3/25 to 4/30.
→ We'll put up a second post with some additional event info on 4/10!


A JOB WELL DONE?

Some time ago, passengers were informed that they were all contractually obligated to deliver crates of "gumballs" to the HS Maldua. Payment was promised to crews that completed the job successfully, while fines were threatened to crews that stole, damaged, or tampered with any of the merchandise.

And, it turns out... They weren't kidding.

If a ship's crew honored the entirety of the agreement they were forced into, and delivered the cargo in perfect condition, everyone in the crew will find that a substantial bonus has been added to their digital bank accounts. If the tamper seal was broken on any of the crates (which is caused by anyone without a Lab or Engineering augment messing with it), or if any of the gumballs were found to be missing from the delivery, everyone in that ship's crew will find that their accounts have significantly less money in them than before.

Crews are free to discover and either celebrate or curse their fates at any time. And for those who may be unsure as to exactly how the cargo situation played out on their ship, or really don't want to deal with their character's reward or penalty, it's okay to wing it. The money element of the game is only roleplay fodder, and glitches in the system do happen, so it's plausible that there might be a few discrepancies.


THE SICKLY MOON.

In the wake of her possibly-shady dealings with the Maldua, the Marsiva is taking to the less-traveled roads again. There are a few of the usual disk-shaped waystations scattered along the way--but while they are suitable for restocking and stretching one's legs, they are otherwise boring and have very little variety in goods and services being offered.

Beyond those, the Marsiva's path takes the Fleet out toward a lonely little moon, the sole point of settled life in this system. From far out in space, it looks like a bright, colorful marble. Passengers can see oceans and wilderness as they drift closer, and with the way its strange, thick atmosphere reflects the light, it almost seems to glow.



It's a different picture once you get up-close and personal, though.

While this moon is indeed covered with wooded hills and valleys between clusters of industrious cities, it turns out that it is also critically polluted--that hazy atmosphere isn't just a natural quirk of the moon, and the poison hiding in the earth and water is even worse. Upon docking at the moon's only legal spaceport, the Fleet is greeted by a variety of friendly residents... All of whom are decked out in their finest respirators.

The inhabitants here are very open about the state of their home, and seem quite accustomed to chatting about it to travelers. Like most of the places the Drift Fleet has visited so far, this moon is the result of considerable terraforming efforts. While the project was initially successful enough to kick off a booming, forested ecosystem, something went wrong along the way. Something about the programming of the terraforming device changed, resulting in a sudden overabundance of toxic, oily chemicals forming in large veins and channels under the surface. The surplus of resources initially made the moon a very wealthy one, but the environment was quickly over-saturated with poisonous gunk that got into the water, the wildlife, and the people trying to live there. Everyone here knows the story---ask anyone why they're wearing a gas mask and they will tell you about how the moon "went bad" a couple of centuries ago.

A long period of strife followed this disaster. Cities fell into war for generations, as factions fought over the dwindling resources of a failing world. However, with time, what remained of the old society adapted to their new environment. They learned to use the poisons and chemicals around them as a source of income, and swore in a policy of peace for the sake of their own survival. Nowadays, people still honor this previous period of violence (and often vent their aggression) by participating in a multitude of "war games", ranging from physical contact sports to quiet, prolonged games of strategy.

So, welcome to their home! Hold onto your complimentary gas mask, and seriously--don't drink anything that hasn't been run through several filters.


POINTS OF INTEREST

POLLUTION:

Very soon after a passenger's arrival, they will be given a protective gas mask by the locals attending the docking station. They want all of you to stay safe (and don't want to give anyone reason to sue them), so they will make sure you all know the rules: don't walk around outside without your masks for very long, don't eat anything you find out in the wild, and don't even touch the water.

Thankfully, the pollution is not quite as deadly to passengers of the Drift Fleet as it may be to other travelers passing through. Mortals who don't heed the warnings or wear their masks will find themselves feeling sick within a manner of hours, but it won't progress to something truly dangerous. Nausea and feverish symptoms will set in as the passenger's augment burns the toxins out of their body, leaving them rather miserable but recovering for the next twenty-four hours. It'll be awful to experience, but hopefully they'll learn the lesson--and the locals are more than happy to insist that they not make the same mistake twice.

Immortals, robots, and anyone with canon resistances to these kinds of poisonous conditions will probably be fine, however. This pollution is not magical and the augments aren't messing with anyone to make them sicker than they would be otherwise, so a few lucky passengers may not need to wear a mask at all.

Most of the buildings in the city are safe to breathe in, as the interior air is heavily filtered. Additionally, if a passenger finds themselves feeling sick, there are many medical stations in plain sight of public areas in the city.


EXPLORING:

The City: Despite their living conditions, these people have maintained a fairly advanced way of life. Engineering and mechanical know-how are essential to their survival, and their city reflects this. The buildings are orderly, sleek, and often several stories tall. Most entrances have a front room for a short decontamination process. Since even indoor gardens struggle to survive here, many interiors have been lovingly painted with accent walls and geometric murals to add a little color to the place. There are indoor and outdoor markets to wander, as well as several cafeterias and museums kept sheltered deep within indoor complexes. In lieu of parks, there are a multitude of practice fields, racetracks, obstacle courses, and pavilions set aside for anyone to play War Games in.

The Wilderness: While it's not exactly safe, this moon is a pretty interesting place to go wandering. Much of the surface is still covered in tall, looming forest--even if the trees look kind of faded and scraggly in areas. Anyone who goes on foot will have to navigate the hilly terrain, including the occasional cliff, swamp, and abandoned mineshaft, so watch your step! Impressive oil towers and the shapes of huge, mechanical drill arms can be seen in the distance... unless the smog clouds are too heavy that day, of course.


SHOPPING:

Anyone looking to buy industrial chemicals, medicines, poisons, coolants, or fuel of any kind is in luck! They have a lot of it for sale here, and it goes for cheap. If anyone wants to stock up for using or reselling later, it's not a bad idea!

The other thing in great abundance are respirators and other safety equipment for dealing with the harsh environment. Despite their grim circumstances, these people have come to take a great deal of pride in the crafting and decorating of their masks--so much so that many merchants have turned it into a literal art form! Passengers will find masks of all shapes and sizes, colors, styles, decorations, and price ranges. If you have to wear a mask all the time, you might as well wear a fashionable one!

Some examples: dapper, minimal, functional, glowy, stealth, high-class, diamonds, cords, designer, candy, pink, jackal, bird

Otherwise, this moon is largely dependent on trades and imports, so don't expect to find much in the way of food or drink here. Many merchants are willing to haggle out a trade for materials and supplies, if a passenger finds themselves running low on money.


WAR GAMES:

It seems like these games are a constant part of the culture here. It's not unusual to see a large crowd gathering around a sudden, spontaneously-arranged boxing match, and all sorts of races and competitive events occur every day all over the city. Passengers are encouraged to join in--or may find themselves accidentally participating, if they happen to get swept up in a team of players running a ball away from the opposing team!

Some common games that passengers are welcome to pick up and start playing include: a rough equivalent to paintball (always played in the woods), shuttle racing, various violent ball games, strategy board games, tug-of-war, boxing, wrestling, and hunting.

Interestingly, actual physical violence is technically illegal here. Any passengers caught in a real fight or otherwise trying to harm someone else will be quickly set upon... And ordered to face their opponent in a sportsmanlike event! Everyone on this planet knows how to referee a match in a heartbeat--and the exact event the passenger will be stuck in is up to the players involved. Who doesn't want to settle their differences with foam bats, and (carefully filtered and sterilized) mud pits? First one to three points wins!


TERRAFORMERS:

The terraforming "went wrong" on this moon, but why? What happened? Most of the people here can only guess at what might have happened generations ago, and the local councils have an interest in finding answers. While their culture and livelihood is now closely tied with the poisons of their world, they do dream of being free of the doom that likely lies ahead for them, somewhere down the road.

The terraforming devices are still housed in great bunkers embedded in the earth. The inhabitants don't typically allow visitors access to these bunkers, but if there were people who seemed knowledgeable and trustworthy enough, they might be convinced to let them take a look. As wary as they may be, the thought that the terraformers might be able to be fixed or altered is very tempting. Who knows... maybe they will be able to walk out their front doors without their gas masks someday.

If there are any passengers who might go out of their way to try and help the moon as a whole, let us know in the TERRAFORMING section below!


A PARTY?:

It seems a little like everyone's getting ready for something... And when asked about it, locals will explain that there's a big celebration coming up soon. It's something to do with the tides here, as the moon passes through a certain gravitational field... And also something about outfits? It's a little confusing, but they promise that visitors will get all of the information about it very soon.

---

Game-wise, a post with more information about potential re-terraforming attempts and this mysterious party will go up April 10th! In the meantime, if you have any questions, or want to hear more about any part of this moon, feel free to ask us in the QUESTIONS section.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[spaceshipit]

Got a question about this event? Ask us here!

[mylegacy]

what happens if some asshole just keeps fighting inappropriately in the war games and won't stop does he go to jail like what happens



asking 4 a friend

[theroadwarrior]

my obvious impending questions:

1.) being from a planet like this one where everything is radiated and plants don't grow worth a toot and etc, what effects would it have on max maskless? would he be able to tolerate the harmful toxic stuff like he does so luckily back home, being a full-life with immunities from the icky-pooey world? THINGS I WONDER

and most critically

2.) DO U GOT CARS HERE





... okay and 3, for Takeshi and Koala: toys, are they for sell here? what kinds for this particular culture? I'm assuming war/fighting kid stuff lmfao

Re: QUESTIONS

[fedupwithyourbull]

Is it possible to acquire weapons here, or parts to make a bullshit sci-fi weapon?

[geonomy]

How about the planet said moon is orbiting? What's it like? Clay would probably try to study that as well if he could.

[namethefallen]

are the residents of the planet human/humanoid?

chara'd like to do their usual grumbling of HUMANS ARE SO TERRIBLE WE RUIN EVERYTHING

[bb_wolf]

Bigby technically doesn't need to breathe. Does that mean he could stay outside without getting if he just held his breath?

Re: QUESTIONS

[experiencepoints]

ALSO ONE MORE QUESTION are the poison gasses in the air the flammable sort? Is using fire carelessly going to be a very bad idea here?

[grandstanding]

If someone heads out to look around the wilderness, what kind of wildlife might they find (if any?)

[save_the_souls]

SO ABOUT THE GUMBALLS. If a crew had delivered the gumballs 100% unharmed and accounted for, but may have...idk, kidnapped one of the helper robots from the Maldua and then returned it shortly after by a crewmate against kidnapping (go Beverly!) - would they still have received payment for the gumballs or been penalized?

[mistyday]

So. Misty's resurrection powers. Would she be able to use them to bring plants (and/or animals if there are any) back to full vigor?

TERRAFORMERS

[spaceshipit]

Interested? Let us know so that we can provide more info later!

[geonomy]

Clay would be very interested in studying/seeing if he can help fix the problem with the devices. So count him in!

[mylegacy]

ok so i'm going to rub caesar's face all over all of this but

consider:
things caesar loves to do = fight
things caesar hates to do = stop fighting

he is going to get in Repeated Trouble for making fights Too Real and will be thrilled about it, who wants to fucking go

[theshabbiestofmen]

do you want to fight bro
b/c remus will be at some point in the fights they def should fight

fight me bro

[ragazzina]

I'm going to come back to this in more detail in the morning/tomorrow once I've had the time to mull things over a little more, but at least as a preliminary thing —

Suzie has some Tragic Backstory™ relating to being a part of fights that she really has no place in being a part of (short version: it sucks getting bodyjacked by the monster of the week), so I'm tentatively interested in using the "accidental participation" mechanic of this planet to have her get swept up into a situation that will force her to sort of confront some of that. :|a

(Additionally she's not going to be thrilled about this planet anyway because 1) where are all the flowers what is this pollution shit and 2) it's really hard to be cute in a full-face mask, beautifully-crafted or not, so it's likely to be a somewhat rough month for her all around...)

Regardless, I don't have anything more concrete than that right now, but I figured I'd put an initial heads-up out there from the get-go because that'd probably be relevant to her CR and if there's a way to tie it in to other people's plans in a fun way, I'm happy to discuss that more at length!

[nedstarksbastard]

Jon is going to get caught up in a war game. okay, given his family's luck, he'll end up getting caught in way too many war games probably--were you trying to return the ball? TOO BAD, you're on a team now! this'll prob be a great opportunity to work together with him or, y'know, to start a real fight. lookin' at you, Greyjoy.

other than that, Jon's itinerary is just "wandering around". maybe buying gifts for his family here and there.

[reek]

wanna fight bro

again

[robitussin]

adelina is going to be all over the games!! everyone paintball battle and also play nerdy strategy board games with her. she'll also try to figure out how to help this planet be less poison-y.

natalie is going to hate this planet and basically stay on the pathstone 24/7. someone please save her from her loner ways.

[fuga]

lauralae is going to want to meet her in person asap so maybe this can be arranged c:

[two_jedi_sticks]

Jaina, being a young jedi knight, will want to go meddle in the old terraforming equipment whether the locals want her to or not. She is not great at the diplomatic approach.

BUT ALSO she would greatly enjoy competing in paint ball or playing with foam bats. It's all in good fun.

[tobeajedi]

Oi, these two should definitely have a foambat sparring session and/or be on a paintball team. (And poke into terraforming stuff because clearly teenage Jedi are the best one to deal w these problems.)

[save_the_souls]

Allen will actually kinda like this moon! The whole mask culture is pretty cool when you have weird hair and a scarred face okay. So he'll probably have zero issues hanging out in the gas mask while he gathers medical supplies and occasionally participate in the war games.

Meanwhile this is Sora's first moon and he thinks this is terrible. If you're looking for an idiot to scold because he forgets to wear his mask , look no further! Sora can fulfill that role! Along with the "guy who touches things he shouldn't" and "kid who wants to explore the wilderness alone" roles. As the month goes on, he'll be really into exploring the wildlife and competing in the war games. COMPETITION!!!

[fuga]

LAURALAE is going to be ignoring the warnings about the masks (because who trusts strangers) and venturing out on her own and seeing what she can do and what she can find. She's going to be pretty okay when it comes to it, thanks to having been killed by poison once before and being practically undead, but she might get a little grumpy with the rest of the Fleet, especially strangers. Otherwise, she'll be using what little credits she has to go out of her way to buy poison and herbs of all kinds for her own personal collection. Atroma took hers. Rude.

HERMIONE is going to be making sure everyone is alright, running around and playing healer to all those who need it! She'll be picking stuff up in the station itself, especially if she finds anything she recognises that she can make potions from, and will be more than happy to travel around with anyone who wants a bit of company. She has some credits to throw around too thanks to the gumballs! She'll also want to help out with the moon itself, so if anyone has any ideas that might benefit from a witch then throw them my way c:

SOLAS is going to take his gas mask and then spend most of his time aboard the Pathstone away from all of this nonsense. He'll definitely be checking out the arts and crafts section, though it won't be for his mask! If anyone fancies a date with a sourpuss, hit me up c:

[intelligently]

healers unite

[sonofgold]

Jennifer and Simon are both very displeased with the idea of this planet and will be taking every safety precaution they can just to ensure that they'll be hale and hearty enough to help anyone who needs medical attention. Because they know the Flooters. :| Simon might be interested in strategy games, and they will, of course, stock up on medicine if they can.

Castle is gonna go play him some paintball awww yeah. And probably accidentally get dragged into ball games.

Alphonse has told himself he's going to lay low after his stunt with trying to open a gate home, but he's curious about the terraformer and will be investigating if he can, and he'll be getting himself into some of the war games since he's good at martial arts.

[frigidaire]

ISAAC is going to struggle a little more than normal because they'll be on a moon. Werewolves tend to not like those too much. He's going to be lowlevel irritable and have some heightened sense issues, and his "cycle" will last three days instead of one.

Because of the irritation, he is really going to be interested in the fighting matches and games. He's likely one to stumble into a game or to willingly join, maybe even fight against fellow passengers. He is a teenage werewolf, though, so please call him on cheating. Please.

He will want to go exploring as well, and probably avoid spending money. Unless it's on real food. If anyone wants to see Isaac even moderately happy, then invite him for food on the moon and not on the godforsaken food wasteland that is the Wonderduck.

[intelligently]

Isaac pls be safe
also Lydia can do the food thing as well. or exploring

[intelligently]

Lydia is more likely going to be exploring and possibly looking at the terraforming thing. As a medic she'll be zooming to anyone that is injured/hurt (esp if it triggers any death sense things for her!!)

She'll also probably be browsing/attempting shopping because why not. Especially when you've just been paid

[reek]

Theon, as you have probably been able to tell, enjoys starting fights. Or he's too stubborn to stop fighting once he's got going. So yeah, this is the place for him. He'll probably end up blowing off some steam with the war games, and probably get caught attempting actual physical violence at some point. Foam bats, here he comes.

He's aiming for one of those fashionable masks, btw. If they're gonna be here for a month, may as well. Dad isn't here to tell him no.

[astrobleme]

Shinji will be super mega depressed because he was expecting to go to some cool, tropical planet instead of this polluted hellhole that reminds him of home. He'll be spending a lot of time on the Heron or the Iskaulit (especially in the garden), but he'll venture onto the moon sometimes. He'll be avoiding war games for the most part, but he could be roped into a few things, including board games. He has the potential to be a strategic genius if anyone wants to cultivate that in him.

He'll also do a little shopping, looking for things that will benefit the Iskaulit's garden.

[sandhate]

SORRY SHINJI. HE RAISED THE BAR TOO HIGH

[passingthrough]

KITTY will be exploring all the things—wilderness included. She will need to test out her new claws after all! She'll be slow to participate in war games unless someone invites her (which someone should do for paintball) except for the strategy board games which she might drag you into. Museums, yes. Shopping, not as much. Terraforming, helping out only if someone recruits her to the task. Party, yes. Even without knowing more I'm going to say yes.

I don't think she's going to clock a ton of time on the moon after the initial inspection, so she'll also be on the Windrose and Iskaulit a fair amount.

We should do all the things~