The Mark of the Atlas

[atlasmods]

THE MARK OF THE ATLAS Into the heart of the city you go. Down below the lowest levels of the city, somewhere beyond the twisty maze of passages, several of the paths converge in a huge underground cavern. Here the air is blissfully cool compared to the desert above. A single shaft of light shines down from somewhere on the surface; motes of sand drift lazily as if suspended in the light. Elsewhere, the cave is lit by small clusters of glowing fungus that live off the moisture collected down here. Dim but navigable for most. But perhaps the most striking items in the area are the monoliths. Great fragments of stone over three meters long, too smooth to be natural but too jagged to be whole either. Several of them glow from the pulse of energy running through them. Others, while dark, have recessed notches large enough for a person’s hand. And still another group seems nearly shattered, a larger fragment surrounded by smaller ones. All of them react when the interlopers draw close enough... LIGHT Upon closer inspection, the lit monoliths have a curious pattern worked into the tone. The symbols are rather arcane, but perhaps they make sense if one tilts one’s head and squints. This one has strokes that resemble tongues of flame. That one is covered in cascading, fluid lines. Another … well, that look more like a warning sign than anything else. Interacting with these monoliths results in a warning crackle and the scent of ozone before the monolith opens. Something comes pouring out of it in response. Gushing water is the most common, matching up with the cascade monoliths; others open to flame or greenery or other odd things. And one definitely opens up into a vacuum. Careful with that unless you want to have something sucked out into space. Whatever connection they make is brief and non-traversable, but whatever comes through stays on this side. DARK The unlit monoliths aren’t nearly as flashy as their glowing brethren, but they have their own stories to tell. With the help of a little light (and the suit), the interlopers will find that these monoliths are covered from top to bottom in alien script. Most have at least one solid crack or chunk in them - at the juiciest parts! - but there may be enough left to be intelligible, given a little luck. VISION The last set hum with an ominous energy that belies their dilapidated appearance. Interlopers who approach these monoliths trigger strange images that float in the air. No two visions are alike, though they all share common themes. Silhouettes descending to the surface of the planet and spreading out across it. Exploring and interacting with an alien environment. There’s something deeply familiar about these shadows despite the variety of body types represented by them. The shape of their clothing is reminiscent of your own suit... Other snippets are set in space. Here the silhouettes are a darker patch of black against the darkness of space. The mood in these images is strangely pensive, somewhat tense. These figures are searching very desperately for something. There is one, though, that’s different from all the others. No silhouettes, no searching, no space. Only a shaft of light starting from a point beyond this planet’s moon. At first it’s a too-bright star; then, a solid beam stretching down to the planet itself. The light increases in intensity and breadth exponentially until it impacts physically with the surface of the planet itself. The eruption kicks up huge clouds of dust that race towards the city with all the heat and speed of a pyroclastic explosion. It rises up like a wave...and then crashes down, burying the city. Eventually, each of the images go dark once again. BROKEN Amidst the myriad of strange monoliths and now-flowing water? Is some sort of chassis. The ruined frame of an old robot of some kind, easily as large as a cement mixer's chamber and just as tall. Most of it lies buried beneath the sand, stuck near the far end of one particularly large chamber within the caves' network. It takes a bit of walking to get there, but there's a reward to be had for those who find it: The room is not empty. Standing in the exact middle is a strange, hulking figure. It stands at eight feet at least, a massive frame encased in black. Whether it's carapace or suit is impossible to tell, and whether or not it's alive is another story altogether. It stands perfectly motionless, skull-like face staring ahead at the robot's husk as water pools in through cracks and recesses, giving the ground a glass-like appearance through which tiny grass-like eels can be seen rising from tiny holes in the sand. For all intents and purposes the figure seems nothing more than a statue. Eerie. OOC There will be an 24-hour event encounter which runs from Nov 26th at 8:00am EST to Nov 27th at 8:00am EST. Feel free to let characters toy around & thread in the innermost areas of the city before the main event! Sections will go up in this entry and will be linked here when they are ready.

Comments

[lefthandfree]

Aside from the fact that we obviously aren’t from here. [Dryly.]

Though it’d be nice to know why we were woken up too. But, y’know, no rush or nothin’. Just maybe if you feel like answering that also. [Still dryly.]

[mobilized]

[loudly:]

I want to know what the fuck we're doing here in the first place. I don't know about you, but I didn't sign up for this bullshit.

[sorry Breq u tried. salt wins this round.

If he's following this conversation right, this thing is lining up to be either a captor or an ally (or both). He isn't sure which it is yet, which hits uncomfortably close to home, in addition to being really annoying.]

Hey, Last of the Cyborgs, can't you summarize this shit for us or something? If you're the one who "hid" us, you owe us a decent fuckin' explanation.

[kharans]

[ The smaller a human is, the louder and more demanding they are. This is the correlation The Last has summarized from this meeting, and decides it favours the larger of their species. The little one wants a full explanation and that's far more words than The Last wants to string together at a time.

Luckily there is a way to facilitate this, although it doesn't much care for it.

The Last curls one arm towards itself so that it may tap the end of one finger against the orange symbol on its shoulder. The area pulses and flashes once before the color turns deeper, bleeding a thicker black and red until the Atlas mark each of them bears becomes visible in the small space. This mark glows steadily until a holographic screen flickers into view before The Last's face, and just a sluggishly it reaches to tap the language there too.

"Display Log Record: KH-0745?"

The Last selects "Confirm" and at once the screen flickers to some sort of recording: A strange alien's face fill the frame, black eyes gazing at whoever made the recording. Whether or not it's The Last is unclear, but what is is that this alien also bears the mark of the Atlas on the back of their hand, although they lack the suit.

They have an air of peace around them despite the fact that in the background there is nothing but the remains of a smoking city, bodies littering the ground. A death-like silence hangs over the area, and far in the distance hundreds upon thousands of greyish-blue shapes move like a colony of ants. Approaching. The alien speaks: ]

"Kharas is lost. We no longer have an escape, and soon The Overseers' swarm will be upon us." [ The sky begins to lighten and become bright behind them. ]

"We are The Last. We will stay." [ It's Boney's voice, and in response the alien's small mouth gives the merest fraction of a smile. ]

"We are all the last...there are no more Travellers in our cluster, my friend. This is the end for us. We will not survive."

"The Last will stay." [ Something warms in the alien's expression at these words, one four-fingered hand rising to the camera. ]

"We must protect The First of those who will come after. The Overseers will wipe The Atlas from the face of this universe."

"...The Last understands."

[ The light in the background grows brighter, far brighter than any normal Kharas day. The swarm of grey-blue in the background draws closer and closer, now. ]

"Turn them all off. Every pod. If The Atlas grants any mercy, then perhaps...they will wake, one day."

[ The light grows brighter and brighter, the sand around them starting blow and sizzle until the luminosity is so great that the alien shudders, closes their eyes--and vaporizes into a million separate particles.

The feed continues to watch the place where they once stood for several long moments until white overtakes everything.

The holo-screen fizzles out a moment later and The Last peers down at them without emotion. ]

The Last...stayed. Waited. For The First.