∞ 03 24 ∞
[heavy breathing, filtered through a helmet. the captain is running down a hallway, his Sphere racing along behind him. he's stumbling, wavering back and forth. he's tired. exhausted, even.
but he's yelling, gasping for breath between every shout]
You never understood! It was my responsibility, my duty! Not yours! Mine! You were going to take it all away!
[as he staggers around a corner, his location becomes more distinct. the blast-marked corridors and scattered debris should be familiar.
on a nearby wall, there is a message. the captain heads straight for it, stopping directly in front of the message.
he pauses only long enough to tear the helmet off his head before screaming over his shoulder again] I won't let you have it! Never!
[his fingers appear to press thin air, millimeters above the wall's surface, but a panel made all of bright white light appears a second later, responding to his touch. then the wall seems to fall back, then slide to the side.
there is darkness beyond, a circle of strange, rippling darkness, strung with stars. the captain rushes into the room, and out of sight.
Orion is seconds behind him]
Details
but he's yelling, gasping for breath between every shout]
You never understood! It was my responsibility, my duty! Not yours! Mine! You were going to take it all away!
[as he staggers around a corner, his location becomes more distinct. the blast-marked corridors and scattered debris should be familiar.
on a nearby wall, there is a message. the captain heads straight for it, stopping directly in front of the message.
he pauses only long enough to tear the helmet off his head before screaming over his shoulder again] I won't let you have it! Never!
[his fingers appear to press thin air, millimeters above the wall's surface, but a panel made all of bright white light appears a second later, responding to his touch. then the wall seems to fall back, then slide to the side.
there is darkness beyond, a circle of strange, rippling darkness, strung with stars. the captain rushes into the room, and out of sight.
Orion is seconds behind him]
Details
- What does Orion do?
Go here to find out. Though I ask that you read all the directions below before you respond to Orion's entry.
Simply put, this is the crucial moment for the captain, the commander, the passengers, and the ship. Passengers have only enough time to speak to Orion once. One comment, of whatever length you, the player, chooses. You decide what they say. And what they say decides the end of the game. Your actions throughout the course of the roleplay have narrowed the possible endings for the game down to two. Depending on the contents of your comments, this event could draw the ending in either direction. I can't tell you what sort of endings they are, but I will say that when trying to reach Orion, use what your characters have learned throughout the game about what has happened, what could happen, and who these two men are. What will it take to change events and prevent the inevitable from happening?
You decide.
As of this announcement, I am pausing the game clock on this date; time will not progress, so that all passengers will effectively be calling out to Orion at the same time. You have until midnight CST on Sunday (9/20/09) to respond. At midnight I will post the events that transpire based on what the passengers have said to Orion. Whether or not there will be any events afterward depends on which ending the game receives. The ship remains in the same state as before, complicating things, but even without such complications, access to Levels 3 and 4 is still prohibited, so the Sphere network is the only way to reach the commander and the captain.
That is all, so I wish all of you the best of luck. If you have any questions, please ask them here.
EDIT: I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO MENTION that the entry can also be commented to by characters that you have previously played but later dropped. Not only you, but any previous player as well. The entry is public, so any former journals and players are allowed to reply! Now, those replies from current players will hold more weight and I do ask that everyone approach this seriously, but this is a chance to revisit old ground, one last time. :3 Players can thread amongst themselves, even approach each other physically, within Orion's entry, although they are still limited to just one comment to Orion himself. I'm limiting all old/current character interactions to the entry so that these events can be recorded for posterity; character journals do tend to be deleted and reused, but this way, we'll always have something to come back to and read later on.
How much previous characters coming back are allowed to know is up to you! Are they totally briefed on the situation, or ignorant of what's going on? The choice is yours.
What is the in-game explanation for these appearances? There is none. The ship is in flux and, for however brief a time, old inhabitants return again and then are gone once more. If you would like to take advantage of this, feel free, and spread the word if you wish!