themnemosyne | Mini-Event

Entry tags:

🪐 event

Mini-Event

EVENT

It happens in the dead of night - so sudden, so absolute, that for a moment, it feels like the ship itself has ceased to exist. The familiar hum of the Mnemosyne's systems vanishes, replaced by an unnatural, suffocating silence. A heartbeat later, the darkness takes hold. Total blackout.

Then, as if the ship itself is gasping for breath, emergency lights flare to life, flooding the halls in deep red. A shrill hiss follows as every interior door slide open in unison.

The system has gone dark. Terminals are dead. CL-10's have no access. Anything reliant on the ship's core network is unresponsive. Even elevators between decks are frozen in place, leaving only the cold, metal emergency ladders as a means of traversal. Synthesizers refuse to function.

And most critically -

L3TH3 is gone.

Not silent. Not unresponsive. Offline.

Yet, despite the eerie stillness, some things persist. Life support remains operational, oxygen still cycles, temperature remains stable. Airlocks are firmly shut. The engines continue their course, thrumming faintly beneath the floors. Even power still technically exists, but there is no intelligence behind it any more. The Mnemosyne is still moving - but without a pilot, without a shield and without defense.

To some, the fact that the ship's quarantine protocols also remain intact is a reassuring sign of system redundancy. To others, it is an opportunity lost. After all, a coup - or mercy killing - requires more than emergency rations and dim red lights.

Welcome to this month's mini-event! The system being offline will continue for a week, until the 17th. As the mod will also be unavailable at a computer during this time, direct any questions to mnemonsynecrew@gmail.com for a quicker reply.

As noted in the event, CL-10s won't be able to access the system for anything (work, ship data, etc.) during this time, but it can still be used to communicate between crew and used for personal data.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ To be perfectly honest, he doesn't read the entire message from Rin. He sees the message come through and skims over it, and when he doesn't see the words emergency or help or anything like that, he shoves his tablet back into his pocket and keeps running. The backup systems are operational, with no errors showing on any of the readouts, and he even did a pass around the whole damn thing checking visually for any of those glowing fairy cores, just in case there was risk of future shorts.

But the air scrubber and its associated generator are running smoothly, which means his next stop is all the way up on A-deck, and the bridge. Rin will probably hear him coming from half a deck away -- Wolfwood's not a small man, and the thud of his heels against the deck is loud in the unnatural silence. ]

[This right here? Is why Rin wishes everyone else on this fucking crew would get a neural interface. The lack of updates on key systems is noticeable and mildly terrifying. Did Wolfwood get caught in a catastrophic decompression? Are the engines melting down as they speak? For all they know, their message didn't even go through because some part of the ship network is down, too.

They send a couple extra pings as they descend through the levels of the ship, to no avail. By the time they hear Wolfwood's pounding feet they're nearly to the next level down, and they drop the rest of the way, a good two and a half meters, down the ladder to the next ledge, their mechanical legs absorbing most of the shock of impact. Hopefully they didn'tjust fuck up that one ankle joint again.]

Status.

[They call it out before they can even see him properly, staggering their way back up onto their feet.]

[ If he were thinking clearly, then he'd understand that Rin wants to check in with the team as much as he does.

But he's not thinking clearly. He's not thinking about anything other than air and quarantine! Individual members of the crew are much further down on his list of priorities at the moment, sorry. Systems first, then people.

But one of the people puts themselves to the front of the line, landing hard enough on the deck that Wolfwood has a moment's panic that some other system has failed. Did part of the hull just explosively decompress?

Oh. No. It's just Rin. ]

Redundant scrubbers online, [ --he barks back, as soon as Rin comes into view. Wolfwood's not slowing, heading right for the access hatch Rin just came through. Only when it registers that Rin's come from the upper decks does he stop, breathing hard but in no way ready to stop moving yet, with the same sort of focused fear on his face that he'd been wearing during his foray into mutiny and murder. ]

You check the bridge?

[Well, that's... something. Wolfwood still looks freaked out, and Rin's not feeling much better - ship systems don't just power down like this unless something's gone catastrophically wrong somewhere - but hours to days is a better timescale for the emergency than the minutes to hours estimation that sent them out of their quarters in the first place.

They stop to pull out their CL-10, sending another ping and scowling behind the line of their filtration mask, before Wolfwood's question makes their head snap up.]

No I didn't check the bridge when there were no updates on life support.

[Rin grits the words out, defensive and incredulous, then has immediate cause to regret the tone. Their jaw snaps shut so quickly they bite the inside of their cheek, their leash letting out a little warning beep as they go stiff, the grip on their tablet momentarily spasming. When they speak again, it's a careful, neutral tone, much subdued compared to their insistance moments before.]

If we're going to the bridge you should get a suit.

[ Rin sounds like their temper's short right now, but Wolfwood's in the same boat and Rin's tone barely registers. He headed straight for the life support backups too -- in part because they were closer to his location than anything else, but in part because of all the ways he could die in space, suffocating seems particularly awful.

Still, he's got better things to do than stand here while Rin snips at him. He's already got one foot on the ladder before the comment about suiting up comes, and he shakes off Rin's concern with a jerk of his head. ]

No time.

[ That 'we' didn't click yet, sorry. See you later, pal -- Wolfwood's going upstairs, just as fast as he can manage. ]

[It becomes much more obvious when Rin pulls themself metaphorically and literally together to dog Wolfwood's heels - the only thing that seems to be stopping them from reaching out to grab Wolfwood by the closest body part is their own deep aversion to touching or being touched.

There's still some snap to their voice.]

And if quarantine is breached you will die. Slowly.

[They still have that fucking footage of Captain Drake, Wolfwood. Do they need to pull that up again?]

We don't know the status of the Cryopod systems. L3TH3's shutdown may have knocked out any activation protocols.

[ Grab his foot and get kicked in the face, buddy. ]

So you go check the cryopods then!

[ He knows exactly what will happen if he's exposed to the infection. That's not the kind of image that he'll ever get out of his head... but this is too important. ]

If quarantine's breached when L3TH3 comes back online, it'll fry us all.

[ Who the hell put these decks so far apart?! He's climbing as fast as he can, but it feels like moving through mud. ]

I've got to make sure the door's shut.

[Fighting on a ladder is an ineffective and stupid idea with a high likelihood of knocking them both off which is at least 40% of the reason Rin isn't setting out to physically restrain Wolfwood here.

That, and the log file of the mod Hilbert found. Disrespectful response, Punishment level 1, Disobeying orders, Punishment level 2... what level is throwing a punch?

So - right. Solution 2 it is.]

Then I'll check the quarantine.

[ Wolfwood's foot almost slips off the next rung, and the only reason he doesn't stop and turn around to yell at Rin properly is because the stairwell doesn't allow for it. ]

You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?! I didn't ask for your help!

[ Rin's right, of course -- the person with the filtration mask is the one who should go check on the potential pathogen, but Wolfwood's never been much of a team player. ]

[Vash probably has an internal translation for Wolfwood, can register that response as capitulation and diffuse the argument by just being himself. But Rin is Rin, and defensive anger is a language they, like Wolfwood, are much more fluent in. Well fine; fuck you too.

All the while, they're both climbing.]

In the event of a shipwide system failure all crew must report to stations to contain the emergency.

[It's not directly out of the ship protocols - those are down and Rin doesn't have access to their CL-10 screen right now anyway- but it sure has the ring of a safety manual to it.]

[ Vash just extends grace to everyone at the cost of his own well-being. It's not a model Rin should look to duplicate, especially with a bastard like Wolfwood. ]

So get to your goddamn station then!

[ What's the point of him reporting to Operations right now? Nobody needs to be sure that the cargo is secure! Rin reporting to their station and seeing if they can figure out why L3TH3 is offline makes sense -- Wolfwood is needed anywhere but Operations. ]

I don't need a babysitter!

[In Rin's opinion they deserve some form of compensation for putting up with this. Still, they don't stop climbing alongside Wolfwood.]

I'm not babysitting.

[Ugh. Why are they having this argument - how can they stop having this argument when their favorite tactic for ending a conversation isn't available. Are they actually going to have to talk about what they mean? And their motivations? UUUUGH.]

Containing the emergency is the priority. If we coordinate it gets fixed faster.

[ Working together makes things go faster? That sounds like bullshit. He doesn't actually think that Rin is worried he'll try to use this as an opportunity to get in and kill Captain Drake (even if it is his only chance to get onto the bridge and crush the man's skull), but he honestly can't figure out why else the bastard is following him. ]

Do what the fuck you like. Just don't slow me down.

[ Deck B, finally! Just one level to go. ]

[No you.

Still, Rin's apparently run out of their reserve of words, because they make the rest of the climb in silence, still keeping close to Wolfwood, as though he could somehow close a hatch on them and go try to check on the amoeba quarantine itself. It's only when they finally reach the top of the climb to A Level that Rin speaks up again.]

Let me in first. [Just in case Wolfwood forgot in the last five minutes, or something.]

[ In those last few blissfully quiet moments of climbing, Wolfwood could almost let himself forget that there was an asshole sapien on his tail.

The temptation to bang his head -- or Rin's -- against the bulkhead is strong, but they don't have time for performative frustration. Instead, Wolfwood bites back his snarl and gestures grandly down the hallway. ]

Be my fucking guest.

[ He'll be right behind Rin -- see how you like getting tailed, asshole -- but it doesn't really matter who puts eyes on the door to the bridge first. So long as it's shut, they're fine. If it's open, they're all screwed. ]

[The whole point is for Wolfwood not to be exposed if the seal is broken, but if he's determined to put himself in danger, then fine. Rin adjusts the mask to recycled air, rather than the filtration settings, as they approach.

It's not a slow creep forward - maybe they adjust their pace to get some space from Wolfwood, as they approach the room. The door isn't disturbed, so far - which is good news, for a start, as Rin reaches out to open the door to the manual airflow controls, lingering only slightly on the dent still left in the door from the last time they were up here.]

[ All kinds of memories in this alcove, yeah, but there's no time to sit around and feel nostalgic about it. The bridge door looks sealed, but Wolfwood needs more concrete evidence than just his own eyes. While Rin checks the air flow -- which isn't necessary, in Wolfwood's opinion, but they've each got their own ideas of what's important here -- Wolfwood heads straight to the bridge door, to run his hand along the seam there. The slightest crack means death... but better one person finds the problem and fixes it, than the whole crew gets condemned.

Wolfwood doesn't have a mask, but he holds his breath the whole time, lungs tight with anticipation.

It's sealed.

Thank fuck. ]

We're good here.

[ As if Rin couldn't tell, from the way Wolfwood's whole posture relaxes, the fear releasing its grip. That's one thing that's going right today. ]

[They don't slump the way he did, but relief takes out a good half of the tension that had been gripping them. They don't remove the filter mask, but they do close their eyes for a whole second.]

No sign of system failure here.

[One more cause of imminent death sealed away. But speaking of;]

L3TH3's still not responding. We might need to plan a manual reboot.

[ They have oxygen, the engines are running, and the bridge quarantine is secure. If they can just get shields back up before any errant asteroids cross their path, they'll be just fine! ]

Why bother? We don't need it.

[ They don't really have time to rest -- on this ship, there's always work to be done, and today there's more systems he should go check to make sure they're running. There's people, too, that he wants to verify are all right, but everyone's at least reported in on comms, so that's not urgent.

God in heaven he wants a cigarette. ]

Most everyone can be done manually. I say leave the damn thing off.

What about this situation is fine to you?

[Rin snaps it, then stops, lifting a hand to their head, pressing hard against their temple. It takes a second, then two, before they speak again, sounding physically pained.]

... The ship's systems rely on L3TH3. Like it or not, if shit goes wrong, we may not be able to manually respond in time. Maybe with a full crew, but we don't have one.

[ Most of the ship's systems rely on the AI, that's true -- and Wolfwood knows it. He's just not happy with that knowledge. ]

Without the AI we could wake up enough crew to run the place! We're only banned from wakin' up the rest of the shift because of fear of this plague, right? But quarantine's holding, so let's get the rest of the ship checked out then go start wakin' people up.

Confirm plans to awaken crew members with medical staff before attempting.

[They'll gladly throw Wolfwood to the wolves, metaphorically speaking, on that. But the way they look towards him for just a moment probably indicates, silently, that they don't think that's right.]

What next. [Or, what has Wolfwood already checked, in other words - though from the way Rin heads back towards the ladder, they're clearly expecting to accompany Wolfwood on these tasks, too.]

[ No worries there -- by now Wolfwood's used to people on this ship thinking he's nuts. But he was right about the captain, and he's right about L3TH3 now -- it'd be better for them all of the AI never comes back online.

But the only way to be sure of that would be to go onto the bridge and smash the server there, and he's not about to expose himself to Drake's disease. If the systems stay off long enough for the current crew to get the ship stable and running, if they're able to get more crew woken up then he'll revisit the idea of dismantling L3TH3. Until then... ]

What do you mean, what next?

[ The bridge is secure, so he's going to head back down to the lower decks. Rin can do what they like. ]

You need direction? Figure out how to get the ship to run without L3TH3, there's your direction.

[Oh, for -

Fine.]

What are you checking so I don't duplicate your work.

[It's not like there's some secret other way off of A level. No matter where they go, they're both going to have to take the ladders to get around. So Rin and Wolfwood are going to be stuck on the ladder together anyway, if they're continuing to be urgent about this - and Rin seems determined to be thorough about this.

-- Unless.]

Are you going to the cryopods.

[Usually their flat tone is still a question. This time it sounds more like an accusation.]

[ There is only one way off A level -- and really, isn't that unsafe? Shouldn't there be a second route in case of emergencies? -- and this is still an urgent situation, but the edge of panic is gone.

He moves down the ladder quickly, but without the frantic haste of earlier. He doesn't respond to Rin at first, trying to think of a way to say I'm going to go check on my friends without actually saying that, but then Rin keeps going and makes some accusations, saving Wolfwood from the unbearable threat of being seen, even for a moment, as a good person. ]

Sure am.

[ He dreamed somewhat recently that he was part of the devil's army, a monster waiting in the dark for something truly terrible to happen. That felt a little like this does now.

He tries to keep his tone light and joking, but he's not good at dissembling. ]

So how about you confirm if the food synthesizers are up and running. We're gonna have a lot more mouths to feed soon.

Mini-Event

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

OPE_N_Wolfwood to SCI_R_0