The Sound of Silence

[breqintopieces]

who: Closed to Breq's exploration team (Steve, Peter, Jim, Beverly, Sigrun).
what: With the team gathered, it's time to venture down into the dead zone.
when: July 17
where: The Abandoned City.
warnings: Potential injuries, ambient creep factor, and some telepathic weirdness.

Mingle Prompts

i. Outside

The team is gathered: After feeling out some contacts through the Perimeter Guard's roster and connection, Breq had put out the call, and this team had answered. Not only that, but helped to arrange it themselves, in some cases. Now they have everything they need, and it's time to go out and investigate. Thanks to Jim's handy offering of a shuttle, getting the entire team out to the crater is a quick trip, just long enough for the shuttle's passengers to get to know each other, fall asleep, or work their way through whatever pre-mission rituals they might care to partake in.

Not much more than an hour or two, from the moment they lifted off to the moment that Breq interrupts her humming to point out the spheroid depression in the earth, surprisingly stark against the ruins of the city that rise up around it.

"There. Careful of the field around it."

Descending the steep walls is a simple matter, again thanks to the shuttle. Whatever caused it-- impact, sinkhole, or some other, stranger source, there's enough space for them to find a stable, relatively even place to set down and step out. Despite the strangeness Breq had observed, the inside is surprisingly lush, filled with a variety of plants that seem to be taking advantage of the natural reservoir the crater forms. Living things are everywhere, hunting and running and flying.

They all hardly seem to make a sound.

In fact, nothing in the depths of the crater seems to make a sound. The members of the team will feel like they've walked into a soundproofed room, or like they're trying to listen through noise-cancelling headphones. It takes effort to hear one another speak, and if they pay attention, they might sense a sort of buzzing, fuzzy feeling, as though some pitch is playing just beyond their hearing.

The strange podlike building stands in front of them, shimmery and nearly untouched. Strange triangular panels both large and small, all colored strangely opaque, seem to be set into the sides in place of doors. It might take a few creative solutions to open them.

ii. The Capsule

Inside of the pod, the not-quite-there buzzing feeling only gets stronger, and the silence feels that much heavier. It's taken on an urgent strength, It's like the feeling of an unexpected hand at the nape of your neck, the ache of something sour in your mouth. The source seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Inside, the capsule is dim and featureless. The corridors are awkwardly rounded at the corners, meaning the footing is never quite solid and flat, but the paths twist with seemingly no reason. Even worse, every time a member of the team turns around and tries to go back, it never quite seems to lead back in the direction they remember, though if they keep walking, it still returns to the places they were trying to go.

iiia. Meet and Greet

They're around corners and through doorways. They're clinging to the ceiling. They're scuttling along in strange, meandering paths when the members of the investigation team come across them. 'They' are strange, triangular robots, ranging in size from roomba to obelisk, with strange, sharp, spinning tools that come off of arms along every point of the triangle. The rest of them is covered with a strange, dull grey metallic carapace that gives no sign of their internal workings.

Even stranger, is the way they react to their discovery. Their reactions seem to mirror the actions of those who find them-- aggression or fear will be met with the same, and be careful-- those tools of theirs are devastatingly sharp.

iiib. Did You Say Something?

It's hard to get a sense of direction inside of this place, but the team members will get a strange sense, as they continue wandering, that their paths are taking them closer to the "center," whatever that might be. Nothing else seems to change, in the branching paths and random doorways.

What does change is that there-but-not buzzing. It grows more powerful with each step, until every member of the team seems to feel their head fill with fuzz. Thinking slowly begins to feel like struggling upstream against the current, and to get a coherent line of thought together, everything feels, mentally, like shouting. A thrumming need seems to fill them, driving them onward wordlessly. It feels like something is beginning to whisper inside their heads, words just beyond the range of hearing, just too far away to make out. Something like another mind touching theirs.

Some of that noise in their heads isn't on the edge of their hearing, though. Some of it is much more audible, though still disjointed-- and it sounds a lot like the person they're standing with-- even though they're very sure they didn't say anything out loud, just now.

Comments

FINALE

[breqintopieces]

The central chamber, when everyone finally reaches it, is almost like a cathedral in the miniature. Unlike the rather dull corridors around the strange building, this place is filled with hundreds of panels on the walls, each lit in hundreds of colors, all glowing and dimming in waves like a pulse.

More than that, though, is the huge structure filling the space. It's difficult to describe-- if a tree could be grown of metal and filaments, this thing almost certainly would fit that concept, if only trees grew in perfect fractal branchings. Each split of a branch separates off into three equal portions, each spreading out and up until they seem to fuse with the colored panels overhead. It would be perfect, if it weren't for the way one of the basemost branches has split nearly entirely from the trunk, pulling down part of the ceiling panels with it and dimming the entire thing. The branch has collapsed over one of the sets of blocky control panels surrounding the strange tree in a circle.

All the while, the team's heads will be filled with two 'voices,' so loud now as to be unmistakable.

Group A: The Pain

[breqintopieces]

One, seeming to emanate from the downed branch, cries out, 'It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. The broken limb is pulsing in pain, and seems to react to anyone who comes close to it.

Group B: The Message

[breqintopieces]

The other, echoing louder and louder from the rest of the tree, is all but wordless. The only feeling that comes through clearly is a sense of utter urgency.

Breq | Mingle prompts

[breqintopieces]

i

[Breq doesn't have a gun out from the moment she steps out of the shuttle, but from the way she carries herself, she's certainly ready to pull one out at any given instant. She'd maintained a politely neutral expression on the way over, had talked casually enough with the team members, but all of that, even the humming, has died off as they step outside.

Then again, it might just be that the field of oppressive quiet is just suppressing the humming that she's still doing.]

Split into teams. Search for a way in.

[She accompanies the deliberated words with gestures, and enunciates clearly as she faces the others. That accomplished, she gestures to the nearest person, a clear 'come with me,' and turns toward one of the larger door-sized triangular openings, on one of the curved sides of the structure. She tilts her head to emphasize, as though to say 'what do you think?' to her new partner-in-crime.]

iiib

[Inside the structure, it's easy to get lost and separated from one's team, and Breq is no exception to this problem. She's on high alert as she travels now, wary of just about anything coming from around the corridors.

Whoever approaches her, knowingly or not, will get a strange, oddly toneless sense of a 'voice' in their head, flat and robotic as it seems to run rapidfire through a series of evaluations and impressions.]

'Potential ambush location-- likelihood 30%--1 meter clearance--Movement! Ally, It's an ally, STAND DOWN.'

[And sure enough, on the other side of the corner, already halfway through lowering her weapon, stands Breq, stony faced.]

i

[thestarling]

[ Peter finds himself falling into step with Breq almost unconsciously, most of his attention taken up with the pod in front of them. The sensations pouring off the thing almost feel like some of the strongest vestigia he's ever come across, only it doesn't fade. Just keeps pouring off in a deeply unsettling way.

Maybe that discomfort is why it takes him a moment to realize that Breq is trying to get his attention. Peter blinks at her, then back at the door she's indicating. ]

I don't suppose there's a doorbell?

[ His voice sounds oddly muted to his own ears, and it makes him frown. ]

[breqintopieces]

[Since Breq is looking at him, it's easier to catch what Peter is saying, without the strange deadness of the air making him incomprehensible. She shrugs, gesturing to the door, though she doesn't yet step closer to it.]

You may have to make one yourself.

[Another look, before she adds,]

There don't seem to be visible security systems.

[thestarling]

[ Peter's frown shifts into something a bit more dubious at that pronouncement -- if he had the kind of firepower it would take to blow through a door to hand, it would make his life significantly easier. ]

I can try.

[ Even that was an attempt to sound more sure about it than he actually was. He raised a hand and then stopped to flick her a quick glance. ]

If you've got any tech on you that you don't want broken, you may want to back up a bit.

[breqintopieces]

[On her, no-- the gun is mechanical, though the bullets are another question, being alien technology as they are. In her is another matter entirely, though, and Breq obligingly nods and takes a step back.]

Do what you can.

[Again, she has to raise her voice to make sure she can be heard, and accompanies it with a gesture for him to continue, watching with interest.]

[thestarling]

[ He waits until she seems far enough back that he won't accidentally fry anything, before Peter turns back towards the door to eye it. The building appears sound, as strange as it looks. Like no architecture he's ever seen, but that's not so surprising in a place with actual aliens.

So. With no baseline point to go off, it means it's time for some experimentation. In the lack of any better ideas, Peter takes a deep breath and lobs and impello at the door, letting the pure force of the spell thud up against the structure of it. If nothing else, he might learn just how sturdy the thing is. ]

[breqintopieces]

[With the sound so strangely muted, Breq can't exactly hear the thudding force of the spell hitting up against the building, though she can see that Peter has clearly done something.

More importantly, the door-sized triangle seems to have done something as well. It's shifted slightly, as though recessed back from the smooth face of the wall a little. Not entirely, not enough to open, but there.]

Try it again? [Breq suggests from behind, her attention on that small gap.]

[thestarling]

[ That shift has caught Peter's attention too, and he eyes it for a moment. It does seem to indicate that the thing is designed to move, at least, which is a step in the right direction.

He throws the spell again, trying to put as much power as he can behind it, which isn't saying much. But the shape shifts again, sliding in further, and Peter lets his arm drop. ]

We might be able to push it the rest of the way?

ota; will match format!

[dancingmd]

meet and greet
With all the things that she’s seen, all the alien worlds and ships she’s been on, Beverly has never seen anything quite like this. Despite the strangeness of the rounded, maze-like corridors and the oppressive silence, she does feel a small surge of an explorer’s excitement mingled with caution. Just as she comes around the next bend, the first of the robots appears. At least, she assumes it’s a robot. It’s mechanical at least and about the size of an exocomp, though its much… spikier.

Curious, she checks her tricorder, which confirms her suspicions: robot. Anything more than that, the tricorder can’t say, other than the basic sort of metals its made of. As she moves cautiously closer, so does the robot. Despite its array of tools, some of which look rather deadly, it doesn’t seem to want to attack her. She hums thoughtfully before turning to her companion, raising her voice to be heard, “I wonder what it does?”

did you say something?
It feels almost like she’s on some sort of sedative, with how foggy her thoughts are right now, how slowly they emerge. The rational part of her brain says she should be alarmed, should turn back and get everyone out of here, but something more instinctual is driving her forward. Whether those are her instincts or someone - and she does feel it is someone with their mind reaching for hers - else’s, it’s hard to say. It reminds her of something…

Jean-Luc... she thinks, unaware that she might be “heard” by those around her. Yes, yes it was… Kesprytt! She stops in her tracks, frowning with concentration as she tries to follow her slow-moving train of thought. The psi-waves...

Meet 'n greet

[breqintopieces]

[Breq is by far the warier of the two of them, as they travel through the halls of the building. Not quite as on guard as she had been during the whole of the kidnapping, and she isn't openly carrying her gun. Still, she's being cautious as she accompanies Beverly through the corridors.

It's the lack of movement on the robot's part that keeps her from doing anything more than stepping back, and it's the way that Beverly scans it with the tricorder first that keeps her from stepping forward to pull her back from it. She does, however, step forward, staring down at the robot. As she does it, the thing's appendages twitch in a wave.]

Can't say I've seen a model like it before.

[She has to raise her voice as well, but she's not willing to turn away from the robot to make her mouth easier to read just yet.]

[dancingmd]

I haven't either.

[She tilts her head thoughtfully.]

I wonder if it's some sort of maintenance bot? I don't recognize all its tools but with how strange this place is that's not surprising.

[breqintopieces]

Maybe it's multipurpose.

[Breq is standing braced, looking warily at the thing as its arms spin, as though it doesn't know which direction to turn or how to move any more than they know what it's for.]

Some of those things can be deadly.

[Even in the dim light, some of those edges glint terrifyingly.]

[dancingmd]

It doesn't seem to want to hurt us.

[Though she doesn't disagree with Breq's assessment: those implements are nothing to fool around with. They'd be wise to proceed with caution.]

[breqintopieces]

[Breq holds back a comment, the thought that just because it seems not to want to doesn't mean it won't, but she shakes her head and gestures.]

In that case it may not be able to steer us through, but maybe we can still use it somehow.

[She stares at the thing, its' arms still whirling slightly aimlessly, and considers it.]

[dancingmd]

[She in turn is considering Breq with a curious tilt of her head.]

What are you thinking?

jim kirk ▹▹ open!

[winscenario]

I ▹▹ OUTSIDE

[ Something clenches inside Jim's chest as they come down the crater. It feels a little like diving into deep waters, feeling pressure all around him, his ears shutting down. The buzzing in his head has him rubbing fingers against his temple, trying to ease a dull and distant ache away, but it's to no avail.

It's even stranger still when he tries to speak to someone. Voices are muffled, muted, and he ends up leaning in closer just to be sure he can hear what the other person is saying.

But he focuses on the mission. He walks around the building, camera in hand as he films the symbols and shapes, running his hand over some of the lines. There has to be a hidden doorway somewhere, and he's intent on finding it. ]

Found anything interesting yet? [ He'll ask to the person nearest to him, turning his head towards them. ]

II ▹▹ CAPSULE

[ He had hoped that once inside the building, that pressure would ease up, but it only seems to get worse. There's an odd sensation in the air, a ghosting feeling of something reaching out to touch him, making his hairs stand on end. More than once he finds himself cupping the back of his neck and turning around abruptly, only to find that there's no one there that might've been touching him.

The disorienting sensation worsens as he explores the building too. He suggested splitting into groups so no one would get lost, and yet he finds himself taking a corner a couple of steps ahead, and suddenly he's completely alone on the corridor. When he goes back, he finds no one. Hurried steps turn to an open run, and eventually he finds himself practically stumbling onto his partner's path again, a little sweaty and breathless, eyes wide. ] Jesus. Thought I'd lost you.

IIIA ▹▹ MEET & GREET

[ Even despite the disorienting nature of this pod, Jim still knows better than to react in a hostile way to pretty much anything in here. Not that he'd be the type to, normally. The first encounter with one of the robots still catches him off-guard, and he startles, but as he sees more and more of them, he can't help be a little more curious instead.

Scanner in hand, he tries to get a closer look at their new 'friends'. What they're made of, how they work, how they're built inside. He still can't quite figure out their purpose, though. ] Think they're just here for protection?

[ So whatever's hiding in this pod, or whatever this pod is, might be pretty important. Important enough to want to keep the wrong people away. ]

ii

[breqintopieces]

[The lack of echoing sound is as dangerous as it is disconcerting, in this place-- Breq is feeling the tingling pins-and-needles of adrenaline as she hurries through the corridor herself, not sure what might be ahead, or where the quarry she's looking for is.

She's trying not to break into a run herself, but the flash of color of Jim's clothing has her stopping and turning, thankfully not raising her gun, though the momentary tension can still be seen before she drops it and turns her focus on him with an almost eerie intensity. I need more eyes, she thinks, nausea winding its way through her gut, for a moment, before she forcibly blocks out the thought and the strange echoing sensation that seems to make it echo beyond her skull.]

Did anything happen?

[winscenario]

[ It is incredibly unsettling, like having a pair of mufflers over his ears, only worse. Jim has the distinct feeling he can't even hear his own breathing or footsteps at times, and to add to that there's this lingering sensation, as though a ghosting presence is leaning just barely against his back.

His breathing is still a little rapid from the run, but he is visibly relieved to see her. He makes his way over and makes the decision not to step any farther away than he has to. He won't take a corner without her, this time around, lest the same will happen to either (or both) of them. ]

No, I'm alright. I just... I got lost. [ He looks over his shoulder at the turn he just took. ] I don't know how.

[breqintopieces]

[She steps closer herself, enough that her elbow actually brushes up against Jim's momentarily before she steps back again, establishing a proper, if narrow, bubble of personal space.]

I don't remember coming past a branch like that.

[It's an eerie admission, but she doesn't seem particularly bothered as she says it, matter of factly. Even as she has to raise her voice to make sure it's heard past the odd muffling.]

Unless it was hidden.

[winscenario]

[ He's never minded having his personal space invaded by people he gets along with and trusts. Though his trust in Breq is still building, he hasn't had reason yet for it to waver. ]

It wasn't there.

[ He sounds sure, but it's one of those things that he'd be less sure of the more often he said it out loud. ]

It's this place— this building. It's doing something to our heads. [ He ponders. ] Might be some sort of radio signal. If we could find the source, we could try to shut it down.

[breqintopieces]

If.

[Breq looks around at the walls, particularly at the corridor that shouldn't be here, but she also nods.]

The source should be deeper inside.

[If they can find their way further in, which, considering the state of things, might seem to be a problem. But from the set of Breq's expression, she doesn't intend to let that stop them.]

I don't know of a signal that can deaden the air. [Hard to express through that same deadness, but since their sticking closer together, maybe that will help.]

[winscenario]

[ Jim nods. ] Then we should try to go deeper.

[ Never mind that the effects seem to get stronger the deeper inside they get. Jim's worried about it, sure, but he's not gonna let it stop him from trying to figure it out. At least Breq's with him now, and he's not planning on putting too much distance between them.

Even if he's still worried about where the others might be— if any of them might have gotten lost just like he did. All the more reason for them to find the source of... whatever's doing this to them. ]

Well, if not a radio signal, then some kind of particle emitter. A drug. Anything— messing with our senses, our perception.

[ He has a hard time imagining that it's the place itself that's changing. Not this fast, anyway. It has to be them. ]