The Start of the Storm

[shardofwinter]

The god hosted Yule party left the Nexus in the state of beautiful Winter Wonderland. With the snow falling softly and steadily, and the beautiful festive lights twinkling in the darkness, the Nexus is left with a sense of serene nostalgia hanging in the cold air. This peace and joy clings to the streets for several weeks, buoying everyone’s mood as they look back on the past year and forward to ringing in the new one. 

It starts in the Wilds, and the outskirts. The cold air suddenly feels like it freezes everything it touches in an instant. Light doesn’t quite pierce the gloom. Gentle snowfall becomes thick and falls hard. One or two people looking for shelter from their uninhabitable homes isn’t too noticeable. People can still enjoy their pretty Winter, blissfully unaware. Pipes freeze solid, paths become impassable, power cuts out, simple walks become baffling in the poor visibility. Soon it’s not one or two people, it’s many, it’s families. There are people coming in, bloody, bruised and scared, saying they were chased. Eventually the kindness of friends and strangers becomes strained. Spare rooms are packed to the brim and the storm that stays just shy of the bizarre torches somehow seems to have a slow, but unmistakable march closer towards a point where the Plaza, Industrial sector and Downtown meet. On top of that, people are complaining about PINpoints acting up or portals freezing over. 

Streets are becoming packed full of people with far more problems than solutions. Huddling together and whispering about ghosts and monsters moving about in the shadows. In a place with no government, no organisation, no collaborative emergency services, chaos and confusion reigns supreme. And with chaos, comes panic. With confusion, comes frustration and anger. The Nexus is a powder keg waiting to blow.

That’s certainly how one Durant sees it. As a manager, Isidor is keen on organisation and order. Both things that are lacking in the Nexus at the moment. Groups pop up to help, but struggle to communicate effectively, or work together. Some people get free food twice, some people are still waiting for some at all. It’s madness, and Isidor can’t stand it. Particularly because she, her brother and sister-in-law are stuck here. So, when nobody else takes the mantle, Isidor Durant takes it upon herself to inject some order into this scrum.

In her fur hat and long coat, leather gloves and thick boots, Isidor can be seen directing people this way and that. There’s something about a confident person taking charge that means people instinctively defer to them. She becomes the point of contact quite easily, with people soon taking her direction regardless of whether or not they know her. Under her instruction, people are directed to a building that has tables set up, queues in front of them, and volunteers behind them taking names and telling people where to go. It might still be chaos, but at least now it’s organised chaos.

The question is: Where will your character go?

❅-❅-❅-❅

((Below are comments for each desk. Tag any of them, threadhop, or post with your own character. I suggest putting your character’s name in the subject to help keep things clear. Comments marked with a snowflake ( ❅  ) have been coordinated with the mods and I as official event comments. The OOC Post is here! If you have any questions, feel free to message me or one of the mods!))

Threads of Note
Medicine/Illness | Shelter/Heat | Food | Security/Crime | Lost items/people | Misc resources/Donations | Volunteers | Expeditions | Planning Table/The woman in charge | Drulb's Deelz | A Ship in the Outskirts 

Comments

❅ Expeditions

[staticandstock]

A lot of bustle is going on at one end of the building. Maps and charts (and lists, of course) litter this table and are tacked up on the wall behind it. There are already some red Xs marked on the maps of known largescale portals that have stopped working and their relative locations. Marking anything down in the Nexus can be a tricky thing but that's why there's more than a couple maps laid out. There's also a surprising number of shoulder bags packed with gear, empty satchels, and so so much rope. A box of short-range radios sits next to a similar container of batteries. Captain James T. Kirk (smartass_captain) is decked out in his all weather gear and has a tablet looking device in one hand while he paces back and forth from behind his table.

"We're looking for more experienced folk willing to do supply runs. Are you in or are you here to report another portal failure?"

Harley Quinn -- Experience? We Don't Need No Stinking Experience

[sweetcandygirl]

When the cold first started to set in the Nexus, Harley took action to ensure that her greenhouse was properly insulated. She already had a full house, with the Wayward Boys, so it was important that they were provided with a safe place to stay during whatever happened.

This reminded her a lot of the time Mr. Freeze froze Gotham. And she doesn't like it. She does know how to dress for the weather... gone are the fishnets, and too-short glittery shorts and torn T-shirt. She is dressed warmly, with a very bright pink jacket still keeping her very colorful despite the situation.

She is also decked out with many of her weapons, because in this chaos -- best to have a weapon close at hand. She has her weapon belt, which includes her bat, a new dagger, a slingshot, and several weaponized yo-yos. She has a large sword sheath on her back, which houses her fire sword.

Harley recognizes the good Captain. And she smiles a little.

"Whatcha kind of supply runs?"

[smartass_captain]

Have weapons, will travel.

Frankly, Harley Quinn looks like she's carrying a hell of a lot of stuff around with her already. Jim nearly double takes when he spies her in front of his table before setting the PADD down and moving back in front of the collection of maps he has laid out in front of him. There's a steel to his gaze that isn't usually present in his dealings with the Nexus denizens. He's not here as a friendly face today, he's here as a Starfleet Captain working to protect as many people as he can.

"Anything and everything you'd need in a survival situation. Everything from firewood, to medical supplies, to food. The Nexus always had plenty to go around, but right now getting to anywhere is dangerous. I've seen a few people come in injured already, it's looking like the AV field just can't handle all of this. Right now I'm organizing. You a combat specialist?"

She's certainly geared like one.

[sweetcandygirl]

"Well you are in luck... I am very handy at getting anywhere dangerous." Harley gives him a bright smile. Yes -- she knows this is a serious situation. And yes -- she knows that people need protecting. But she can still do that with a smile.

"I have been in several combat situations. Survival situations. And damn... how the hell did you walk away from that... situations."

"I am also good at going where I am needed and getting the job done."

"So... whatcha job do you want me to do?"

[eumenis]

"Experienced with what?" Furiosa looks a lot different dressed for the cold. She's not used to it and she doesn't actually like it, but she's been quick to figure out a system that works for her: camelhair tunic over her usual clothing, then the Vuvalini shawl over that, with some of her belts buckled over it to hold it on against the wind. She's got tinted goggles for the sand back home, though, and they work pretty well against bright snow, too.

Some special attention seems to have been paid to covering her prosthesis with its own knit armor. It runs on hydraulic tubes, and it'll be dead weight if those freeze, so she's fitted some paper insulation and piecemeal scarves over it in such away as to inhibit motion as little as possible while protecting it from the chill.

"How are you carrying supplies? Vehicles, sleds, or human-power?"

[smartass_captain]

"Cold weather tracking, hauling cargo, security detail. You name it, we need it."

Jim looks up from the PADD and in a way it's the first time they're meeting again. Furiosa is a friend, and an old one, but Jim's never seen her looking like this. Likewise, Jim's almost never on the job around here. He leads her gaze over to the map that's covering up a large portion of the table.

"We're still trying to track down any kind of vehicle that will run in this weather. Right now, I'm planning on manpower and sleds for whatever's too heavy to carry manually. There's not many vehicles in general around the Nexus and the few there are don't go too well in the snow. I've got a scout that's got a pretty unique kind of speeder that hovers above the snow, but it won't carry cargo. Probably won't carry more than two people before it weighs down."

[eumenis]

"No such thing as weather this cold where I come from, but I have more than seven thousand days' experience in the rest." Seven thousand Earth days, that is. In case that detail makes a difference.

The only time she's ever seen Jim so serious is when he manhandled her to protect her from a weird plant. She didn't like it then; thoroughly ruffled her feathers, so to speak, but she gets it in retrospect, and now that she sees the focused look on his face once more, she thinks he's probably as well equipped for a crisis like this as anyone else in the place. That's good to see.

"I've made adaptations for soft sand," she says, leaning over to peer at the map. "You've got the advantage of a lot of flat terrain here, at least. I'll walk a sled for you if that's what has to be done, but if we can jury-rig something to run on snow, we'll all be better off for it."

"I'd bring you something from home, but my portal's not working." She doesn't like that at all. "But there's the junkyard. We might be able to make something happen from the bits and pieces there, if we have any good mechanics around."

Kinner

[outpostcook]

Well, this is the kind of situation Joseph Kinner was made for. He's been on polar expeditions in the past, and even though his expedition ended poorly he still has the skills and training necessary to help out if needed. In fact, he feels like he could help out in a pretty big way. The skinny cook comes forward, clearing his throat.

"If you need anyone on an expedition," he says, jabbing a thumb to his backpack, "I'll do what I can. I have served on an expedition team before, in a support role, and I've spent the past few weeks getting ready for somethin' like this. It is winter, after all. I can help find survivors if you need me to, and I'm a cook, so I can prepare food for them, too. I'll do anything you need me for."

[smartass_captain]

"You've got cold weather tracking experience?"

That gets Captain Kirk's attention in a mighty big hurry. He's setting aside his device so he can approach the table and look Kinner over.

"Think you can show our volunteers the basics of getting around in this kind of terrain and weather?"

[outpostcook]

Kinner smiles as he steps forward. He's quietly pleased to feel useful.

"Yeah, I do. I can do pretty much anything you guys need me for, tracking and teaching volunteers included. I've seen conditions like these before, in Antarctica, and being prepared is important."

He nods in response to Captain Kirk's suggestion. "That sounds exactly like the kind of thing I can do, sir. I'll be proud to help."

Palmer

[readvondaniken]

"Hello, Captain. It's been a while." Palmer comes up to Jim Kirk in polar clothing, dressed for the storm. Since he spent some time in Antarctica, he knows a little bit about how to prepare for weather like this, and he feels like he might just be helpful here.

"I wanted to offer you my services as a mechanic. If you're using vehicles, it'll be a good idea to have somebody on hand who can work and fix 'em. That's where I'd come in. Cars, snowplows, you name it, I can repair it. The person running Volunteering told me to go to you and see if you needed my help."

[smartass_captain]

A mechanic?

Jim's head whips around so quick you'd think he'd suffer whiplash for the movement. He nods Palmer's way and reaches out to shake the man's hand by way of greeting.

"Just what I wanted to hear. We might be looking at a trip to the junkyard sooner rather than later and you would be a huge help. There's a friend of mine by the name of Furiosa around who knows her way around all kinds of vehicles. If you run into her, see what you two can come up with. I'm putting together squads yet, so I'll let you know when I've got a job."

Blaze-37 and Ghost

[rekindledtitan]

Even the armored frame of a Titan is easy to miss in the hustle, her heavy tread lost amid the hubbub and din. Her armor is back to its usual white on black, her rifle at her back, hand cannon at her side, Sunbreaker's mark swinging at her hip. Her swept-back helm is tucked under one arm, for public relations purposes, but in its place Blaze wears a knitted wool hat, the straps knotted under her metal chin. It has covers inexpertly sewed on to accommodate her antennae, and little black panda ears. Ghost trails behind her, gaze flitting over the crowd with quiet concern.

"There are so many people here..."

"I know, Ghost." Blaze raises a hand at Kirk's question, greeting him and hailing his attention in one. "Both, captain. We just brought in a group of refugees from the outer Industrial district. Said their portal had sealed up nearby. Approximate co-ordinates-" and she halts as Ghost darts over to shine a beam of light on one of the maps.

"About there."

Blaze nods. "You need escorts for supply runs, we're in. Combat may be my specialty, but salvage and field repairs are as much a part of our creed as protecting civilians. I can lift anything you need, break open anything you need. And my Ghost can collect and relay back any data you need." This last she prizes as much as her own strength: in any campaign, she knows, intel and co-ordination are precious weapons.

[smartass_captain]

"Refugees? Did you.."

But even a cursory glance says that Blaze and Ghost have indeed sent their charges over toward where they can get food, shelter, and medicine. Whichever it is they need most pressingly. He offers a nod toward the guardians. Good work, you two.

"I'm waiting on a scout to report in, but I'll let you know when we start forming up teams. See if there's anyone around here you can help out in the meantime."

[rekindledtitan]

Blaze gives him a nod of respect. "I'll check in with the security team, but we're heading back out into the field ASAP. In the meantime, I can offer you access to our sensor beacons. Some of them have gone dark but they're scattered across the Nexus and most of them are still transmitting environmental data."

"For now, at least..."

Delia Battista - What's that, you say? A quest for the Star Trek MMO character?

[attackpatternbattista]

Life of a pirate teaches one to be practical and paranoid both, squirreling away a cache of weapons, equipment, and a couple of changes of clothes for different kinds of weather, so getting trapped Nexus side isn't as big a deal to her as it might be to others.

Of course, this likely means her crew's trying to find a way to get her back from their end, when they notice she hasn't reported in for the usual decided-on check in, several hours from now.

With the weather getting worse, Something is clearly going on. Delia arrives, dressed in heavier clothing, scarf, hat, the works, her heavy bag strapped to her back, and a wicked looking Klingon rifle slung over her shoulder via a strap, "In, and reporting portal failure--technically, anyway, my PINpoint's being interfered with, and my tricorder's throwing fits. I think something's happening with the weather that's causing both."

The exclamation point over his head is as blonde as he is, it stands out!

[smartass_captain]

"Yours too? That's no good."

Delia's tech is more reliable than Jim's is, most days. If hers is on the fritz then very little is going to be working reliably pretty soon here. All the more reason they need to get organized and fast.

"There an area of the Nexus you're more familiar with than others? We need supplies, and badly. Food, medicine, materials, fuel. The lot of it."

[attackpatternbattista]

"It is, it's giving me error messages I don't recognize and trying to scan it with the tricorder shows no damage, when that works effectively through the interference." To be fair, most of the time, Klingon tech is... robust and durable, compared to the Federation's more sensitive, more accurate equipment, as it must survive the Klingon warrior lifestyle to be useful. Delia herself, while an Orion in the employ of the Klingons, gets most of her equipment from them these days.

"The problem with this place is that nothing's ever truly consistent, which is annoying and hell to map," Delia replies, frowning as she regards it, shifting the rifle and leather bag so they're draped more comfortably against her back, "But if I were to guess anywhere needs anyone, the lower reaches" Delia taps the map with a leather gloved finger to indicate, "And the industrial areas would probably be where help is needed most critically, the lower's less policed, and the industrial section's going to be hellish to navigate in this weather."

Delia Battista: Captain, General, Intelligence and tactical officer. All for a Reason.

Prometheus would like to join the party.

[liverfree]

It might take Jim a moment to recognize the Titan, bundled up as he is in his own winter gear. Prometheus lowers his hood and pushes his scarf to make that easier. They have met before and Jim knows what he is, which would save them both a lot of time.

"Hello, Jim. I'd like to help with any supply runs. I've already dropped off what supplies I had left. I'm unaware of any frozen portals, but my PINpoint refuses to let me return to my home world. I have heard many others complain of the same phenomenon."

[smartass_captain]

Even bundled up not too many people have the kind of Beard that Prometheus sports. It won't take Jim long to recognize the titan whom he offers a respectful nod of his head once the other has adjusted himself for ease of conversation.

"Yeah, faulty or flat out Dead PINpoints are becoming a real problem, though true to the Nexus they aren't all acting the same under the situation. How uh...how are you with below freezing climes? Any combat experience? I don't want to offend you or anything by asking what might be considered obvious questions. I just need to try and balance teams best I can."

Hermione Granger -- A Good Plan Takes Steps

[mudblood_andproud]

After her conversation with Isidor, and checking in with Lyall at the security table, Hermione searches out Captain Kirk.

"Jim..." She greets him with familiarity. "Isidor Durant recommended I report in with you. I am able to strengthen communication methods with anyone who is going out on supply runs."

"I can cast the Protean Charm on coins, so that one can keep in touch with our allies out on expedition. And by summoning my Patronus, I can send and get messages from those in trouble, without even leaving this room."

[smartass_captain]

"Hermione. It's been a while."

Jim's always glad to see a face he recognizes, especially when they've got the kind of skill the witch in front of him touts. He'll turn around and reach for the box of radios, pull one out, and turn back to hand it over to her.

"Ever seen one of these before? They're a bit antiquated for me but simple enough to operate. Do wizards do radio? This is what we've got with all our teams right now. Any way ti amplify the strength of these or maybe even just weather protect them?" Her ideas also sound good, but since the system's already in place with these he'd like to at least start there.

[magpiemythos]

"I'm in." Not like most would recognize him as he was now, blue-skinned, with sharp red eyes, the white hair, and black-ice like horns. Especially since he'd swapped his usual attention-grabbing green and gold clothing for something subtler and a lot lighter. He didn't look equipped for the weather but at the same time looked perfectly comfortable so it was hard to say.

"I was going to see about investigating out past the safe perimeter anyways, might as well see what I can find to bring back at the same time."

[smartass_captain]

That's...certainly A Look. Jim's paying Loki a lot of attention suddenly rather than splitting it between the god and his maps. But he's offering to help so almost immediately Jim's nodding rather than asking questions.

"We need data more than anything right now. Places that might have caches of supplies or medicine. Food. There's a large emergency bunker being used to house the refugees by and large right now but it won't do any good if everyone therein starves to death or catches sickness."

Marcus Wright- Half Terminator

[anewhero]

"My name is Marcus Wright. I've survived Judgement Day and just about years of Nuclear winter. He's wearing his Resistance jacket which is lined with fur and has a tied red bandage around his arm."

He's carrying a load of basic weapons and some plasma weapons from his world.