∝Transmission 013: Scylla and Charybdis

[gauntletmods]

[when the Sphere turns on, it shows Commander Menaeus who...actually looks perfectly fine! never better, really, considering his current jail cell surroundings and what might be dried blood on his collar. he leans in closely, whispering:]

Hello, my beauties. Listen up, 'cause I haven't got much time. I managed to bribe two guards--you don't want those details, trust me--but they're going to teleport some supplies in to help you break out of there. I don't know what they'll be giving you, but you have to get out of there. It's important that you save yourselves and get to the ships. Don't worry about me or Farix. Get yourselves safe before--

[the Sphere's feed crackles loudly and changes--and this time, a very worn face swims into view over the Sphere network, the image crackling a bit like the Sphere has been damaged. on a good day, people might recognise this beat up, severely bruised mug as one belonging to...Commander Menaeus again, but really...this one looks like he's seen better days. his voice is weak, words slurring together as he tries to speak around what very well could be a broken jaw.]

You... You can't listen to them. This isn't...this isn't... [he coughs, spitting up blood]

Please. [pants heavily] Stay there. Don't try to es--escape. We'll--

[the feed is cut off abruptly and is replaced with the smirking visage of DIVA, her ethereal glow still red and menacing, even if her voice is as neutral and emotionless as ever.]

Attention all personnel: You have pleased us, but we are curious to see what you will do now. Who will you listen to? Please show us. Please.

[the transmission ends. as soon as it does, a small closed box appears in every jail cell]


DETAILS

Ahh, now we are faced with quite the dilemma. Who do we listen to? Who do we trust? The answer, unfortunately, isn't clear, but as many of the characters have been faced with some unpleasant truths about themselves and their opinions of their friends and fellow shipmates, these questions aren't too unfamiliar, are they?

As of now, all characters will be relegated to their cells. No more fighting and white rooms, no more card games, questions, or doubles. The First are satisfied with their performances and all data will come in useful later--especially the data gained from those of you who tried to--and nearly succeeded in--escaping. Not that any of the characters know this, of course. To them, the next trial could be just around the corner. Characters still are without their belongings, unfortunately, and the neutralizing effects are still in place.

But! As things stand, characters have two basic choices:


• Do you believe the first Menaeus, who wants you to escape and board the ships? The supplies he said the bribed guards would teleport in were indeed provided.
• Or do you listen to the second Menaeus, who wants you to stay right where you are?

Whether you believe the first or the second one, characters are more than welcome to play with the contents of the box. The small black box, which really is more like a cube, measures about six inches in all dimensions. Do you open it, or don't you? If you choose to, inside will be the following: handful of paper clips, a small roll of duct tape, a pack of chewing gum, a couple ballpoint pens, rubber bands, a couple batteries, a few playing cards, and the broken remains of various devices the mercenaries don't need any longer (or may have broken in a fit of frustration from getting beaten so many damn times by clever card players.) Using these items, the characters can construct something that they think will help them escape from their jail cells. Of course...some characters may have an easier time of this than others, so! Those who are able to cobble something together can help out their fellow crewmembers and break them out, as well. Characters will find that with the more the neutralizing fields are destroyed, the more those with powers will begin to be able to use them again.

Bear in mind, though, that these homemade devices have a limited life thanks to their dodgy construction materials and really can only be used a few times before they need repairing or, ultimately, break altogether. Plus, it's not just otherworlder characters that are being held. The rest of the npc crew on the Uesugi and Hawking are being held separately in the secret base! (Not too far away though. Just down through another corridor and bam, there are the rest of their cells.) So...how many people do you save? Do you keep on reconstructing your device over and over until you've rescued each and every person? Or do you just rescue yourself? Or only a few?

Then again, you can just play with the contents of the box and not use them to create something to break out at all! Or ignore the box entirely and try some other way of escaping. Sadly though, the guards have mysteriously disappeared...

Finally, you can do nothing at all. Sit back and relax in your meager cell--oddly enough, food and drink will still arrive for them during this time--and wait things out. After all, it was a pretty rough week.

The choice is yours!

But...keep in mind that the choices you make will come back to haunt you some time in the future--or they'll reward you. Depends on your actions. Think about who you trust and why. Why would either Menaeus say the things he did?

Oh yes, as for the items belonging to the characters, these will be returned to them in time, but for some reason, they won't be able to find them just yet. Maybe they were moved onto the ships! Or maybe they weren't. (In actuality, they won't be able to recover their belongings until the next plot.) Those who get far enough into the ships will find that the ships won't operate without the proper DNA sequence of the pilot--and, unfortunately, the pilots of both ships are missing...

As for the IACC-Gauntlet... No, best to think about the other two ships first. The Gauntlet does have the advantage of having superior shielding, after all, so they were able to deflect the teleportation attempts of the First. Or is that what really happened? And what really happened to DIVA?

So many questions, but yet only so much time for answers, and yet some answers will come in a week's time from now. Good luck in your endeavors--whichever you choose!

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As of now, all characters listed in the activity check results founds in this mod post have, unfortunately, been removed from the game. If we have removed you, please feel welcome to reapply! We'd love to have you back.

As for everyone else, we are definitely pleased to see everyone coming out and playing! Absolutely fantastic, guys <3 Let's keep that up!

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One final piece of business, though. After a couple weeks consideration, both Ren and I have decided that we'd like to bring in another mod. We're going to do things a bit differently this time, however. Firstly though, our requirements. We'd like our new co-mod to have had extensive experience in the previous game, crucible_rpg. Our sincerest apologies to those of you who weren't with those of us in the previous game. We really don't mean to leave you out, but having an additional person who knows the universe and the story established there will make it all the easier once we get into the real meat of this game. Also, this offer is only open to current players of the game. And lastly, this is a serious commitment. Please don't apply if you don't think you can handle the responsibility for the duration of the game.

We do things as a group. Reviewing applications, discussing whatever problems may arise, and event planning. Plot post writing is more of a checks and balance system. One person writes it up and the others check it, suggest changes, fix typos or adjust things so the posts flow better and make more sense, that sort of thing. Of course, the system isn't perfect (what system is?), and some things are forgotten or left out, so that's why we always turn the floor to our fellow players for questions and suggestions. So, yes. That's basically been our system.

So! If you would like to take part in this, we'll be doing this in stages:


1. Once this is up, we'll be setting up a screened post on the OOC comm where you can comment with your qualifications for this position. We'll leave this open for the week of this plot. (And that post can now be found here!)


2. Once the week is out, we'll put up a poll in the OOC comm open only to the game's members (which means it'll be a locked post, but don't worry, we'll link to it in the next plot post so everyone knows it's up), and once this poll is up, we'll unscreen the comments made in the previous entry so members can read about who they're voting for.

Through majority vote in the poll, you guys will be able to choose who the next mod will be. We're planning on leaving this poll open for about three days, but if we haven't received many votes, then it will stay open longer. Oh yes, for those of you who have multiple characters, we ask that you only vote once. Only fair that way.

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And that should be it! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about anything, please ask them here! You're also more than welcome to use this post to plot with others, or whatever you would like.