March Star System

[spaceshipit]

As the fleet drops out of drift and arrives in this new system, a fairly average, earth-like planet appears. A single planet orbiting a single sun at a respectable distance, it seems for all intents and purposes like there isn't anything remotely special about this place! However, that changes when attempts to hail any life on the planet are met with absolute radio silence...


CALENDAR:
→ The fleet will be in this star system from 3/10 to 4/14. No mingles will be posted by the mods, so feel free to make your own.
→ If enough people go digging for information... we will post another information dump~ Timing will depend on when the players' investigations occur, as well as how successful they are. See the post for details!



The Lone Breaker System


A whole wide world, and yet...

All attempts to establish communication with the planet below are met with nothing. No channels give any response. No standard or special hailing protocols seem to work. Nothing changes, no matter what communications augmented passengers may try. Just when it seems like there isn't anything on the planet remotely suggesting the possibility of intelligent life, the Marsiva performs a scan of its own... And there, just on the edge of a massive desert before it gives way to a wide stretch of rolling plains, lies a single city. ... Well, it's closer to a large, suburban town. ... Well, maybe it should be called a ghost town. Ghost suburbia? Either is a pretty apt description... Regardless, welcome to the Lone Breaker System.

Dusty on the Outside...
There isn't anywhere proper to land a ship, so ships or shuttles will have to make do with parking in the desert. Temperature and environment readings around the city will show warm temperatures (think 80-85 degrees F / 27-30 degrees C) during the daytime, and very low humidity. At least the only air traffic comes from the Fleet itself, or the occasional stray bird or flock.You're free to come and go as you please, there is literally nothing or no one to stop you. But why? Good question, and the answer doesn't seem to be immediately obvious, either.


A residential area - albeit with no residents around

Entering the city limits, you see a sign that says, "Welcome to Nariba Relia - Center of the Universe". There are buildings both tall and small - smaller and more residential toward the outskirts, larger and far more city-center-hub-style in the middle. Further exploration reveals that the roads all make logical sense, and are even perfectly grid-like in the city center. Whoever settled Nariba Relia clearly had a layout in mind - this is a very carefully and expertly planned city! Too bad there's no one actually here...



The city center - more city, but still no citizens

This place must have been abandoned a while ago. Dust and sand cover most outside surfaces, billboards are torn and faded, any patches of greenery that anyone must have once attempted to garden are now thirsty and nutrient-starved, or possibly being invaded by more succulent, desert-friendly plant species. Look high and low, inside and out, anywhere that you'd like, but the result is the same: there is absolutely no one living here whatsoever. How curious!

...Clean on the Inside
Even curiouser would be what you can find on the inside... For starters, most buildings are completely unlocked, with no need for breaking and entering. All utilities are up and running - electricity, indoor plumbing, natural gas. There doesn't appear to be any accumulated trash either. Feel free to explore the inside of any building you want, for any reason. In fact, you'll be pretty surprised at what you'll find... Everything is exactly in place, neatly kept, clean, and... fresh. ... Wait. What?!

That's right - interiors of buildings have completely withstood the passage of time and the lack of people to keep them running. All buildings are in perfect working condition, perfect repair, all systems functional. Shops have full inventories of whatever they might be selling - clothes, tools, books, entertainment, food... Yes, food. Massive grocery stores are stocked full of all kinds of foodstuffs. This includes perishables. And yes, those perishables look nice and fresh, as if they were picked, delivered, prepared, baked, or otherwise made available to any consumers just this morning. There are hot items in proper hot-food display cases, cold foods in freezers or refrigerated sections, and fresh baked items and pastries at whatever proper, expected storage conditions are needed. Hmmm...



Well that's quite a contrast, isn't it?

So, with no one around, what's to keep Fleeters from simply taking what they want from stores? Well... nothing! And that's okay. Anyone is welcome to take whatever they'd like from any store, free of charge! That's right, no credits whatsoever. Grab what you want, and grab what you can! When's the last time you had a real opportunity like this?! Oh, and don't worry about running the town dry (har har)... it appears that all items are restocked the very next day, regardless of what was taken, when, or how much. Along the same lines. any damage to buildings, equipment, etc. will be repaired overnight. So even if you do happen to find a locked building, well, you can break the lock and/or window and enter anyway, if you really feel like it. It's like magic!

Magic... or science?!
Whatever makes Nariba Relia special is a bit of a mystery! It’s certainly not the people… Magic-gifted folk won’t be able to sense anything terribly out of place or amiss besides the obvious.

There is one key thing that still gives this town life, however, and that is the robots. Roomba-like machines resembling the Maintenance augment’s cleaning droids can be found performing a myriad of tasks (to varying success). Routine maintenance (including plumbing), mopping and vacuuming the insides of buildings, and deterring furry vermin are all part of the resume. These robots may be scrapped for parts, but attempting to kidnap one for your own ship will result in a HORRIBLE SCREECHING SIREN/HONK NOISE that would give a car alarm nightmares. And nothing you do will ever make it stop. It’s kind of like the Iskaulit roombas in that way!

Okay no seriously, what are the consequences here?
None. Seriously.

There are some things to note, though:

All food items have a very vague, faint taste of citrus. It isn't pervasive - in fact, it probably won't be noticeable to the average Fleeter, but anyone with keen senses (or a real foodie with a sensitive palate) will pick up on it.

Any damage within city limits will be repaired overnight. Any damage done in the outskirts will not. Any attempts to "repair" or "heal" plants, graffiti on walls, trash cans that have already fallen over through no fault of the Fleeters, etc. will not stick and will revert the next morning.

Anything taken from the surrounding desert will not "restock" or "repair". So if you really want a live cactus, or if you just have to have that super shiny rock, or if you really just want to collect some sand (why), it won't "respawn".

Anyone silly and/or curious enough to stay awake for a full day cycle to try and see when this rolls over will notice that it happens nearly instantly, at approximately 1.5 hrs before sunrise, without fail.

Any doors that were locked before will be locked again the next day. Any lockpicking or breaking and entering will have to be done all over again.

You can absolutely stay in the houses/hotels/etc. here, nothing is stopping you! Residential buildings (houses, apartments, etc.) are devoid of food, but you're welcome to grab some from stores and bring it back with you. All appliances are fully operational, and plumbing is completely functional. If you break it, it will be fixed by morning.

Go forth and enjoy having literally anything and everything you want for free! There's nothing to worry about at all, clearly!

What's really going on here?!
Another good question! We applaud your curiosity! Really, we do! ... Oh, you actually want to go looking for an answer? Well, of course you can! You're free to investigate anything you'd like! Ask us questions in the comments, and we'll respond! Ask enough questions - the right questions - and we'll eventually roll out some extra information that characters will uncover if they investigate with such dedication!

... Oh, you want a hint? Well, okay! Perhaps after characters notice exactly when everything resets, they'll also notice a slight power fluctuation a few moments before. It looks pretty uniform - perhaps it has an epicenter. Want a hint about the lack of people? Well, while there are no dates on anything anywhere, and no actual newspapers to read, there is still a news media building, as well as a library. It's a city, after all.

Points of Interest
The Movie Theater
The show must go on, as they say, and the movie theater is no exception. Fresh popcorn is made throughout the day-- though you’ll have to add extra butter yourself. Snacks are free, too, of course! There are four screens that each show a different movie throughout the day, regular as clockwork, with zero mishaps or glitches.

What’s playing? Well…

One movie is an absurd melodrama with more cliche twists than a soap opera, another is a generic action movie with lots of slow motion running in front of explosions, the third is a kids movie with gentle moral lessons and a little bit of learning, and the last is a pretty good horror flick (if you like horror, anyway). The characters and actors resemble races both familiar and unfamiliar, running the gamut from typical Earth humans to the orange-skinned ones, the potoo-looking Co’kal, the sirenesque Dasioe, and something else with four eyes that hasn’t been encountered yet. The kids movie has cartoony anthropomorphic alien animals to be universally appealing.

The Abandoned Theme Park


Do do do do do, do do do do do…

The “Center of the Universe” isn’t what it used to be. Rollercoasters, Tilt-A-Whirls, and gondola wheels sit frozen and faded, while the game-packed bazaar has been ravaged by time. Dirty and ruined stuffed animals sit abandoned in the dirt, broken bottles once used for ring toss, and scraps of balloons litter the paths around the park. It looks so dreary and desolate from outside the fence, but should anyone pass through the entrance...

Suddenly, there's the crackling of electricity! The shock of lights, snapping on in quick succession! Generic, energetic pop music begins pouring from the speakers littered all around the park! Cars move, rides shudder and creak their way into operation, and the midway games all come to life! Welcome to Queen’s Kingdom Theme Park!

Once the first people enter the park and trigger the system start-up, the park will be open all day and all night, never closing. All rides in the Queen's Kingdom are operational - and automated! Come enjoy riding all of the amusement park rides you want, whenever you want, as much as you want. Also, no lines! Isn't it great when your favorite ride has no lines? As for what rides are available, take your pick! There are several rollercoasters, both wooden and metal; kaleidoscope-esque rides, flying swings, upside-down gondolas, tower-drops, and much, much more! There's even a low-intensity open-air mini-train that travels all around the park, that doubles as a way to get around if you don't feel like walking!

Unfortunately, it is possible that, occasionally, a ride can get stuck. It happens, of course. What happens if you get stuck on a rollercoaster at the top of the hill, or stuck strapped into a chair at the top of the tallest tower-drop thrill ride? Well, you'll just... have to wait it out. With luck, the automated maintenance systems will resolve the problem quickly, and you won't be up there any longer than ten minutes or so! Maybe a little longer, if it's a more severe problem - say an hour or two - but don't worry! You're perfectly safe! ... Of course, if it's not a quick and easy fix, you might be stuck there a while. ... A very long while. ... Well, at least you can rest assured that when the town resets before the next day, the ride will be reset as well! Anyone stuck in the middle of the ride until the daily reset will witness the ride suddenly jolt back to life as if nothing had been wrong in the first place. You'll finish the ride, and then you'll be free! Whew.

The midway is home to many games, and those games have fabulous prizes! Want a stuffed animal? Play some ring toss! Want an even bigger stuffed animal? Win five smaller stuffed animals and trade them in! There are convenient exchange stations to help you do so! ... Want to steal the stuffed animals instead of winning them? Well, where's the fun in that?! But, to be fair, no one's stopping you, so go ahead, if you really want to. Spoilsport.

And what's an amusement park without food? There is plenty of fair food to be found all throughout the park! Hot dogs, pretzels, corn dogs, corn nuggets, popcorn, potato skins, chips, pizza slices... And of course, all of the candy and soda you could dream of! And it's all for free!! And yes, that includes funnel cake. Free, unlimited funnel cake. You read that correctly, dear Fleet. You may take a moment and let that sink in.

The Suburbs
Recreation Center. Despite the name, it’s mostly just an olympic-sized pool with a dilapidated playground next to it. There are innertubes and various other pool props scattered around, including more than one inflatable flamingo chair.
Video rental. You read that right. A very run-down shop is filled with rows and rows of extremely ancient DVDs. Some of them can be recognized as from Earth, but none of them date past 1976; the majority are black and white.
Kwiqq Stoppe. An extremely run-down convenience store, it looks like it was possibly on its way out before everyone left. Despite that, it’s stocked with refilling food and goods just like the rest of the town. A window near the back is broken and it will stay broken even after a ‘reset’. Also, the slushie machine only has red flavor. The blue appears to not be working.
The Diner. Soft yellow lighting and a cozy atmosphere await anyone who enters this restaurant. And yet, the plasticky seats feel unpleasant to most, while the food is mediocre at best. Someone left their Super Stacker pile of flapjacks on one of the tables. It’s literally fifty pancakes high. Are you Super Enough?

The Surrounding Desert, and beyond
At first glance, the world seems about what you’d expect. There are dry shrubs and small lizards in the desert, unremarkable fish in the ocean, that sort of thing. Towards the north and south poles it gets icy, and there’s the same spread of cold-adapted birds, creatures, and marine life.

However, the really unlucky people (or people who are just nosy) might run into something a little… strange. Maybe even terrifying. Feel free to peruse the following for your unenjoyment, mostly located in the desert surrounding town.

Horny Antelope. It looks like an antelope, but there’s five of them and they’re all smushed together in a confused, fuzzy and glorpy abomination with-- you guessed it-- a lot of horns. It eats plants, but you wouldn’t know that with one of them blurbling at you in the dark.

Six-legged furry mammals with the vague appearance of rabbits. They can hop really well. And also scamper! They have been known to eat anything smaller than a cat, meat or otherwise.

Funky reptilians with legs. They look like an accident-- as if snakes suddenly got legs again, except they’re backwards. They just move wrong.

Two-headed bovids. Looking like some ugly cross between a sheep and a goat, these creatures argue with themselves about which branch to nibble from, but otherwise they seem fine…?

Vultures. These carrion-eating birds have incredible wingspans of up to ten feet long. Their feathers are a crimson red, which is the only notable thing separating them from their Earth counterparts. Nothing special to add here-- vultures are weird enough on their own.

(Please note that Atroma does not condone the eating of alien wildlife. Nothing is as wild as the new color in Floot Loops-- purple! Coming to a waystation near you!)

Shopping
It's difficult to call it shopping when everything is free... but for the sake of argument, yes, there are plenty of goods to claim around here! Like any decent suburbia, there are plenty of stores scattered everywhere, with a wide variety of items available. From general stores to specialty shops - if you can think of it, you can probably find it somewhere around here!

The forefront, most prevalent fashion trend here tends toward mostly whites, creams, neutrals, and pastels, though pretty much all other colors can still be found. Fabrics are lightweight, airy, and breathable, made to be worn in the dry climate with little to no discomfort. You won't find much here to keep you warm in the cold of space and the Fleet ships, but while you're on the planet, you very likely won't want anything thicker than a single layer anyway!

There are no weapons available. The closest thing to weapons would be tools or power tools from a hardware store, but that would still be rather makeshift in nature.

Jobs
Without a real economy, there’s… no jobs. Or maybe it’s the other way around? No one’s stopping you from dressing up or pretending to be someone who works there, though. Maybe you can con someone out of five credits (or more, if you’re standing behind the movie theatre snack corner).

Hunting
Hunting is plentiful here. It is a full-sized planet, with a full range of ecosystems and environments! There's big game, small game, fowl, fish... if it's hunt-able, it's here. All wildlife encountered will look slightly off from what someone would expect - just a matter of evolutionary differences, honestly.

If you're hunting for food instead of just for sport, do keep an eye out for any of those particularly, um, strange-looking creatures. As mentioned in a previous section, there are plenty of animals that probably shouldn't exist oh god the horror be hunted, especially not for food. No one really wants to eat a bunch of antelope smooshed together into one horrible, hooved and antlered abomination, do they?



Have a question? Feel free to reach out to us in the comment thread below!

Comments

QUESTIONS

[spaceshipit]

We like to party. We like, we like to party. Ask away!

[axi]

Is there any way some of the old, probably cheesy, movies could be added to the fleet's media library somehow? There's a distinct lack of anything entitled "Attack of the ____ People"

ETA: Oh yeah, what are the temperatures like at night?

ETA2: Houses don't have food. What about clothes in closets or tooth brushes and toilet paper... Stuff like that?

[dandyofawolf]

So based on my understanding is it a pretty normal almost Earth-like day/night cycle?

#werewolflyfe

[goldenglasses]

Easy questions first!

In the middle of town is there a monument with the name Knives written in blood? No, but this will seriously remind Vash of when his brother would mind control everyone out of town to slaughter them all in an attempt to get Vash's attention so he's going to freak and try to figure out if there are any Plants in the area. I'm assuming the answer will be no, but he will be looking for any signs be it physical (ex: some sort of machinery that looks similar to a Plant's life support system in his world) or part of his mental connection with them.

Vash will be entering a bunch of the houses and looking for clues as to where the people have gone to. Any note someone might have left. Anything out of place for a house where it looks like the people got up and left. And I mean he will be going into a lot.

After the houses he'll also check on that media building. What kind of stuff was happening in town before it became empty? Or is there any information on the technology that allows this place to reset?

Is there anything for him to find out in the desert? As he will be curious by those monstrous looking animals.

That will at least be his start. This place really reminds him too much of his brother's attempts to break his mind back home so he will be a busy little unhappy bee.

[hollystrike]

Okay two questions:

1) Is there any hint at all of glamour in the air? Glamour being the sign of magic at work (which if this is all absolutely mechanically run, nada) or just the sign that people have lived there at any point in the recent (like a year) past, at which point there would probably be faintest traces and daydreams just flickering out of existence in corners or something weird like that.

2) More normal question: is the weather eternally unchanging, or will it occasionally rain/get overcast/windy etc?

[postocular]

What might someone find snooping around the houses? Any sign that they were once lived in?

[veilstrike]

HELLO MODLIES

1) Will any attempts to stop magic/track things with magic be successful, especially re: trying to track the power source?

2) Are there any scents of peoples/things around that a lioness might be able to pick up?

3) TRADITIONAL AERITH QUESTION does the Planet say anything? :D

[dreamvour]

are there ghosts or spirits? or any hint of dead hanging around?

look it's a ghost town you never know

Re: QUESTIONS

[youdontneedapictureofme]

1) Perishables. Because they restock on the planet - does that mean they aren't safe to take off planet? Because things don't repair outside the town it stands to reason whatever is sustaining the food inside of it is void.

1a) Going to add this to my question - what happens if they take stuff from the houses off the planet? Like non food items to barter or keep on the next planet.

2) What ill side effects of eating the food will there be? If any. It seems a little too good to be true that an entire planet might be that generous.

3) The park rides can glitch or get stuck - does that mean other parts like the food stores or electricity in the houses or whatever can glitch?

4) Can you win silly stuff like goldfish at the amusement park and if so how do they stay alive? (I saw stuffed animals mentioned)

5) Is any of this even real????

[supertardiness]

If Barry were to try running like ... as far as he could to see if there were any other signs of life, how far can he go before he would run into trouble/find something/hit a barrier/run into another mod style blockade to keep him from ruining the mystery?

(I'm totally cool with him not ruining things so put whatever limits on it you need to, but it is something he would try.)

Re: QUESTIONS

[brothersboots]

No, seriously, for spiritual creatures like the seraph, they won't be able to sense anything?

Re: QUESTIONS

[padadin]

So let me see if I get this right: this is the ONLY city in the whole planet? So if pilots decide to explore outside the city and check the planet around, maybe beaming themselves in random locations, will they find any clues? Or just deserts, forests, jungles, etc?

What happens if an engineer (or communications?) puts a tracker on the cleaning droids?

Also yeeeeah dump what will be found on the library and news station. GOTTA DO ALL THE RECONNING.

eta: so super sniffing only gets you the citrus smell?

[rebuildyourruins]

Are there any noticeable power lines in the city? Or a power plant?

Re: QUESTIONS

[whatisright]

Justice can read thoughts and memories left behind by people who handled objects. What will he get from things lying around the town? The houses? The library books? The robots?

[cajunspice]

Is there any form of vehicle the Fleeters have access to while on the ground? Cars, motorbikes, skateboards, etc? And if so, access to fuel to fuel said vehicles up?

Underground

[passingthrough]

So, because her CRAU had her in a shared virtual reality prison where their bodies were "underground" and this place will remind her of that place with the replinishing supplies of things and the robots running around she'll want to phase into the ground to see if she can find anything other than dirt. So, just dirt? Are there any sewer or transportation systems or caves under there? Anything nefarious or weird? A giant room full of people in stasis chambers maybe?

[collegedropout]

I.) Sam's gonna be putting his communications augment to work! What might he be able to dig up, if anything at all, if he scans the area using his Communications I B rank on the Bloodsport? (As a note, it was listed as an upgrade here but isn't on the Bloodsport's info section, I only just noticed, my apologies!!!).

II.) He'll also probably hit up the news media building and the library after — because look at that research nerd — if that brings about anything substantial or useful! He'll also look hard for anything supernatural/magic-related, shout-out to Nightingale. Anything worth eyeballing there?

Re: QUESTIONS

[tempredmental]

So, if Keith were to borrow some books from the library, what would happen? Could he hang on to them and bring them back to the Fleet? If he rips out a page, would it stay with him or would it disappear at reset?

Is any of the footage in the media center on portable media to bring back to the Fleet?

Is there anything around town that's worth taking and keeping to sell later? (Just for general information on this one. Keith probably won't.)

Judging by the other answers about magical/mystical energy things, I'm going to assume that quintessence as an energy source is definitely not in play here.

Is there any sort of energy plant nearby? Like solar panels, or a hyro plant, or windmills, or generators, or nuclear, or geothermal something? Or is all the energy supply completely and totally hidden? (Sorry if this was answered, but I wanted to be sure.)

Also... can Keith keep a scooter? >.>

Literally the worst detective

[tough_love]

Assuming word starts getting out about the "reset" and accompanying power surge, is there a limit to the extent the town can get repaired? And would anything... different happen on that next reset/surge if that threshold were to be crossed before it happened?

Either through a smaller, more hands-on approach of just demolishing stuff building by building or, if/when that doesn't work...I don't know, aerial bombardment from Fleet ships? Seriously who though it was a good idea for Looma's security augment request to be granted, honestly

Asking because someone would decide to give it a shot once she caught wind of things at the outskirts not fixing themselves. To her that sort of suggests either a limited power supply or an infrastructure issue, and she figures wrecking all of the everything that DOES get repaired would tell her which (if either) was accurate.

(EDIT FOR CLARITY: if she escalates to ship-level wrecking of things, she WILL be talking to the fleet to try and figure out when to coordinate anything. She's got no interest in going down as "that one crazy captain who blasted like a third of the fleet for no reason")

[lord_wizard]

I see some people are asking about the library already so I'll wait on that info, though this is partly a note to say that Felix will definitely be combing through that, starting of course with the science texts (and given his engineering augment, he may actually understand some of it). With that said, I have supplementary questions:

1) Is there a catalog in the library and what form does it take (old school index card style or computer terminal, etc.)?

2) So the library is large, but how large? Would it be feasible to transfer the contents over time to the Iskaulit? Or would it just be choice sections?

[paraclete]

is it viable for kaworu to bully roombas via technokinesis, and, if so, to what degree? is he able to shut them down or redirect their programming at all as he would with any other machine or electronic device?

[astrobleme]

Are there any visible cemeteries? Shinji isn't going to dig up any graves, but...

Re: QUESTIONS

[wallcrawler]

Is it safe to assume there's also a more tech-centric store, like a Space Best Buy or something? Pete's got his camera from home but nothing to actually charge it with, and nowhere to upload any photos he takes (because he's not an engineer and is reluctant to try improvising anything when he'd only get one shot).

If he could get away with a laptop and various cables, or even a new digital camera, he totally would!

[tallasaking]

Now here is a question - are there library books that people have taken out in town that can be found in the houses?

- because of course Tyrion is going to the media center and the library but he's going to be scouting for books in the houses as well.

- ps he's totally loading up on tools, food - canned and otherwise, and shoving it all into his shuttle for the First Breath. Because. Come on.

[spaceshipit]

There are no library books in any of the houses! All library books are considered property of the city and are automatically returned after 72 hours from the time they leave the premises.