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Jade Blossom
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“I’m… Yeah, I think I’m alright.” Hell no I’m not, you think. “This just might take a little getting used to.” There is nothing that is okay about this. You can hardly believe that she’s just talking about this like it’s just some ordinary occasion. But what the hell do you do about it? You have no idea where you are and just the slightest idea of what’s going on around you. But you’re not going to panic. You’re going to figure out what’s going on, get a game plan set, and then go from there. No sense panicking just yet.
You catch something, a memory. It’s a painful one. Adam. Yeah, you remember who Adam is. It’s funny, in a macabre way, but Adam’s probably not even his name. But there’s no way you could forget that kid. His blood soaked image haunts you as you recall the time and you hear a voice though you never heard him speak. “Murderer.” Yeah, that’s right. You killed that little boy. And you never forgave yourself for it. You didn’t even know his name and you killed him. Like hell you could just let yourself forget that. “Going to go and kill more people, murderer?” His voice haunts you but you know it’s nothing more than your guilty conscience. You killed him back-
“Mr. Thomas?” Elizabeth inquires again. “Are you quite certain you’re all right? You took the adaptation process rather well. I’ve seen others react quite poorly to it in the past but you seem to be in good physical condition. But are you alright.” She sounds genuinely concerned. You almost wish she were more callous. It’d be easier to think of her as an enemy.
“Yeah, I’ll be alright,” you say again. You breath deep. Focus. Survival first. “I’m gonna try and move now.” You hold back a warning for her to hold on as soon as you remember that she has no arms. That and that thing isn’t really her anyway. You tense your leg up and you step forward. You’re rewarded with the feeling of your ‘other’ legs moving forward as well. The machine moves one steady step forward and lands with a heavy whump. You find it a satisfying sound. It’s a powerful sound. You momentarily worry about your balance and stay still for a moment but everything seems alright. It’s as easy as moving.
Another step. Then another. No, not even another step, now you realize that you can command the ‘other’ legs to move without moving yourself and the machine is all that moves (Good thing, you were running out of room). You settle back in the center of the cockpit and the machine moves forward a little more. All the while your ‘other’ eyes monitor your surroundings. Your ‘other’ head swivels about on a mount and gazes over the land before you. Inside the cockpit data passes over the three screens, operating like a HUD. A cheerfully bright neon green data relay pulses a steady set of data, “MOCS Operating at 100% Capacity.”
And you stop. A few more strides ahead of you is the cliff and beyond that a seemingly endless wasteland. You take a deep breath. There’s something empowering about the MOCS. It feels damn good piloting it. You feel very in control. It’s amazing how easy it is to operate the thing. “You’re good,” Elizabeth remarks.
“Okay,” you say, feeling just a bit calmer. “So, there’s a lot for me to learn, right?” You’ve just got to play along with their game for a bit. “Tell me about the Sanctuary.” Hell, maybe Elizabeth can even give you some information on how to get the hell out of here.
“Certainly, Mr. Thomas. Put simply, this is your sanctuary. Ahah, it would be rather convenient if I had arms right now, wouldn’t it? A sweeping wave over the scenery before you, it’s got a nice feeling to it doesn’t it? What you’re seeing right now is a personal habitat built for the Contestant Identified as G0562. That would be you. This is the safest place you’ll know in your time as a Contestant. Think of it as your new home. You’ll rest here, train here, and perhaps even play here if you have the inkling.” She laughs lightly. Play? “You have free reign over everything that happens inside this place. You’ll create defenses, design your recreational facilities and do whatever if it is that you want to do with your hard earned credits.” Recreation? What the hell is this? “Again, this is the safest place you’ll know for some time. This is your Sanctuary.”
“And I’m going to be fighting here?” You query.
“Ahah, well, yes, that’s the case for now. This is your ‘home turf’ though, so you’ll generally have an advantage over your opponent due to your familiarity with the terrain. Granted, that’s something that you lack right now but…”
“So I’ll be fighting here a lot then.” Elizabeth seems about to protest but you cut her off. “Sanctuary hardly seems an appropriate name then.”
She titters nervously. “Ahah, well, it’s all relative I suppose. Your Sanctuary is an artificial cuboid habitat approximately 2 miles in length and width. It joins the other Sanctuaries and facilities of the Division to form the Division Proper.”
“Wait, hold on a second.” You look out over the Cliffside at the endless wastes. “There’s no way this place is just two miles wide.” This is ridiculous. You’re questioning that and not the idea that some place like this exists at all? The insanity here must be contagious.
“Oh my, really now?” Elizabeth sounds shocked. “You’re not familiar with holographic imagery? Mr. Thomas, I’m shocked. What kind of planet did you come from, I wonder? In any case, the walls of the facility are much easier to note when you’re near them. It’s all for the show, of course. Scattered throughout this Sanctuary and every other are countless micro cameras which record the innumerable battles and dramas that go hand in hand with being a Contestant in Showtime. The scenic backdrop of a great wasteland and an endless clear sky fit quite nicely with the aesthetics of this place, don’t you think?” She waits a moment, expecting a response, but you’re too busy trying to swallow the information being fed to you to even attempt witty banter. “This particular Sanctuary,” she continues, “is divided up in to seven separate areas, each with their own unique properties and such. We’re in the South-Western Quadrant, a place that former contestants have called the Devil’s Teeth. It’s a sizable piece of terrain with a huge underground system that connects to the Honeycombs. The Honeycombs are, again, a large and labyrinthine underground system that connects to the Devil’s Teeth in the South-Western Quadrant, connects to the Greater Wastes in the center of the Sanctuary and goes all the way to the South-Eastern Reception Area. That’s where we properly receive visitors, like formal meetings with Platinum Star representatives and other such occasions. The terrain there is much kinder than elsewhere with sparse vegetation and a few small bodies of water. After that is… My, I’m sorry. I’m really bombarding you with information here, aren’t I?” You’re damn right you are, you think. “As you can imagine, there’s quite a bit to all this, ahah.”
“Now where was I? Right. The Greater Wastes are kind of a midway point betwixt the four quadrants. While it’s generally considered to be the greater part of the South-Eastern Quadrant it still spreads out and connects to portions of the other quadrants. I suppose you could say that the Greater Wastes are the greatest landmark here. It’s very rugged terrain decorated with rocks and boulders and tunnels leading to the Honeycomb. Very dramatic scenery. Let’s see, then there’s the North-Eastern Quadrant, the Smelter. It’s a more industrialized wasteland scene with a giant pit of liquid metal stewing in the center of it all. A bridge crosses the pit and let me tell you, we’ve had more than a few outlandish battles on that bridge. Ah, such fond memories. Finally is the Forest of Spires in the North-Western Quadrant. It’s much like it sounds, a rugged place decorated by huge pillars of rock that stretch 30 or more feet into the air. We really do have such a nice Sanctuary.”
“There are two more areas, that’s the Inner Works, which is pretty much all the machinery and whatnot that keeps the Sanctuary and the Division Proper functioning properly, and a charming little place I like to call Headquarters. You may have seen a glass walkway earlier, there are several of those that lead to there. We have a few monitoring systems of our own as well as some rather Spartan living establishments. Any real official business will be conducted there. In fact, your Splinter Rifle should be arriving there any moment now.” Elizabeth takes a deep breath herself. “Mr. Thomas, I hope you won’t take offense, but as much as I do love my job and all that it entails, I’d highly appreciate it if you didn’t die anytime soon. This sort of thing takes a lot out of me, ahah.”
You do your best to digest all the information you’ve been given. Okay, this is a start at least, you think. You’ve gotten some valuable information here. Now, what do you do with it?
Deepest apologies. I skipped the art on the last entry because I could not, for the life of me, draw the MOCS in a crouching, predatory position to my satisfaction. I’ve been trying for quite some time now and I just said, “Screw it! Let’s get on with this already!” While I would prefer that this stay a traditional image quest, I may, on occasion, post text only updates. Sincerest apologies and thanks for sticking with me.
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