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The Mnemosyne Crew ([personal profile] mnemosynecrew) wrote in [community profile] thememesyne2025-01-27 07:56 pm
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TDM 04


TDM 04


WAKING UP
WARNING
WARNING

cryo bay malfunction
cryo bed error

loading



emergency override accepted

It's nothing like it was in training, waking up from cryo sleep. The sterile, cold quiet you were conditioned to expect is shattered. Alarms blare violently, ricocheting off the walls of your pod as if they're trying to crawl into your skull. Red lights pulse like a failing heartbeat, and for a moment, your entire body refuses to obey you - can't breathe, can't move, can't think.

...and then, with an almost violent shudder, force rips through your diaphragm. A brutal jolt, like being kicked from the inside out. You cough, heaving for air as the cryo pod's systems drag you unwillingly out of torpor. There is no slow, gentle awakening - this is an emergency wakeup.

When you stumble out of the pod, your muscles heavy with the dull ache of cryo-stasis. It takes more effort than it should to move; even in the low gravity of the massive cryo bay, it's like you're fighting against the weight of your own body. Your hands tremble as you grab the tether, using it to pull yourself forward, toward the revival room. Everything feels too slow. Every movement, every thought, is tangled in webs of lethargy and confusion. Your brain is... wrong. It feels like it's leaking memories - images flickering and fading, like you’re seeing through a sieve full of holes.

...this is not the start of your 5-year shift, is it?

A voice comes through from a speaker, disturbingly calm, cutting through the chaos around you.

hello, [crew member]
there was an issue with your cryo pod
please join your crewmates

L3TH3 sounds unbothered by the alarms that blare around you. The AI has likely been running diagnostics for hours, while your body and mind were frozen in time.

The doors to the revival room slide open with a soft hiss, revealing dim, sterile lighting and the harsh stench of disinfectant. What awaits you are not only crew members as confused and groggy as you are, but also people ready to greet you. Do you ask them what's going on, if they feel the same gnawing wrongness clawing at their brains? Or do you just grab your gear and get ready to go, trusting the training that suddenly feels so irrelevant in the face of whatever's happening here?

One thing is clear - something's definitely off about this wakeup call.

TROUBLE WITH TRI... FLOATY THINGIES
Unbeknownst to the crew, a cluster of those bubble-like creatures from the planet had attached themselves to the shuttle's hull, camouflaging their presence by dimming their inner glow. These creatures were remarkably resilient to environmental changes, which allowed them to survive the sterilization process designed to eliminate any potential contaminants. Once aboard the Mnemosyne, the creatures drift free, spreading throughout the ship's maintenance shafts.

Eventually, they begin appearing throughout the ship, floating gently through corridors, the mess hall, and even restricted areas like the engine room. They are harmless but incredibly curious, drawn to light sources, warmth, and movement. They interact with the crew by chirping, glowing in vibrant patterns, and mimicking sounds they hear, including voices and alarms. However, more importantly, the sounds and their presence have a very calming effect on the crew. Crew members who encounter them notice an immediate sense of tranquility, with tension headaches easing, irritability fading, and sleep quality improving. Some crew members even report vivid, pleasant dreams after prolonged exposure to the creatures. If studied, the calming effect is due to a combination of electromagnetic pulses and bioluminescent patterns that subtly synchronize with human brain waves.

However, this means that effort to contain the little aliens are complicated by their calming influence. Crew members tasked with herding or isolating the creatures may find themselves distracted, content to simply watch them float rather than complete their work. Combined with how fast they seem to be breeding, there's a chance that it will get out of control...

THE CORE OF THE PROBLEM
As nice as the creatures are, their lifespan proves to be tragically short. Within a few days, the original stowaways begin to drift gently to the floor, their translucent forms losing their glow and disintegrating into harmless mist. Their offspring and subsequent generations follow suit, leaving behind the glowing inner cores that once sustained their radiance all over the ship. These small, orbs hum faintly with an unidentifiable energy, warm to the touch and pulsing in a mesmerizing rhythm.

While seemingly harmless, these cores soon cause unexpected disruptions across the Mnemosyne. Their energy fields interfere with the ship's electronics, creating a cascade of malfunctions. Doors randomly lock or refuse to open, trapping crew members in or out of key areas. Communication terminals glitch, projecting garbled transmissions or flickering holograms. Environmental systems fluctuate, causing lighting to dim or brighten unpredictably, and climate controls to oscillate between freezing cold and stifling heat. Even the ship's navigation system experiences momentary lapses, throwing off minor course corrections or issuing false proximity alerts.

To make matters worse, the cores seem to be magnetically drawn to high-energy areas, clustering around critical systems like the engines, the power generator and even personal devices carried by the crew. Their accumulation amplifies the disruptions, making diagnostics and repairs increasingly difficult. Attempts to move or contain the cores prove challenging, as they occasionally emit bursts of energy that short out nearby tools or cause mild static shocks to anyone handling them.

Should the crew throw them out an airlock or try to use them as batteries?

Welcome to our TDM! Please direct any questions about the game to our FAQ and check out our AU WORKSHOP. If you have questions about the prompts, you can ask below.

PLAYLIST

THIS TDM IS A GAME-CANON EVENT, SO CURRENT CREW CAN TOPLEVEL AS WELL.
ANY CHARACTERS THAT DO NOT END UP IN THE GAME HAVE GONE BACK TO CRYO SLEEP.




tarakan: (well SOME OF US chose napalm)

[personal profile] tarakan 2025-02-09 09:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Looooooooong pause....before Hilbert decides that nah. This isn't a fight he wants to have right now. ]

This is my fourth new memory. What do you prefer I do, worry about it? Hyperventilate and fret? Useless. These things are going to continue happening until we figure out how to stop them from happening. I acknowledge them, keep going, and will think about it later.
itdoesntlikeyou: (side eye)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2025-02-10 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
[Okay, that's - fair. Rin balances that against their desire to do something like Talk about Feelings, and their gaze immediately drops away from Hilbert again. He escapes, for now.]

Fine.

Need to find the core attached to the temperature controls, though.
tarakan: (well that's a weird choice)

[personal profile] tarakan 2025-02-10 02:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Where would temperature controls be in first place? [ muses the man who undoubtedly spends most of his time holed up in the medical bay. ] Operations deck, I am assuming?
itdoesntlikeyou: (screens)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2025-02-11 04:50 am (UTC)(link)
Right.

[Wolfwood Territory, ugh.]

Localized thermostats, but the main unit is on D level. If these things haven't gotten into the elevators. [No bets on that.]
tarakan: (jfc i don't know how funzo works)

[personal profile] tarakan 2025-02-11 02:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I will take safety ladders.

[ Hilbert is absolutely betting they've gotten into the elevators. ]

I can go to D level, see if any of those things are in main unit. Might as well pick up my scanner, more medical equipment to try and draw them away from unit.

[ Because based on the lack of anything in Hilbert's hands, he doesn't have anything electronic at the moment. ]
itdoesntlikeyou: (processing)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2025-02-12 04:33 am (UTC)(link)
[He's... probably not wrong. Fuck.]

D-level has redundant equipment in the science labs that will be less annoying to recalibrate if those things - [Don't say fuck it up, Rin, that'll end badly] cause problems.
tarakan: (can't be helped)

[personal profile] tarakan 2025-02-12 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Appreciate heads up.

[ Hilbert sighs, rolling his shoulders and stretching slightly, the sort of 'I'm going to get to work' kind of stretches. ]

Shall go ahead and get started. Unless there is anything more you want me to do here?
itdoesntlikeyou: (this is stupid)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2025-02-13 03:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[Rin hesitates. Buddy system is what got the two of them out of that room in the first place, so on the one hand it makes sense to keep it going. On the other hand, the more places they're cleaning up the cores, the better...

Well. Medium ground.]


Propose regular check-ins on progress, with additional requests for assistance (manual door-opening) if needed.
tarakan: (can't be helped)

[personal profile] tarakan 2025-02-15 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
Smart, [ Hilbert nods. ] Proposal accepted. Hoe does check-in every fifteen minutes sound?
itdoesntlikeyou: (network)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2025-02-16 08:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Confirmed.

[There's no reason to hesitate - and yet. Rin continues to double-check on Hilbert before they finally start making their way towards the hallway, checking on their CL-10 as though it's a compulsion.

Those check-ins will come in every 15 minutes on the dot, though.]
tarakan: (Default)

[personal profile] tarakan 2025-02-16 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Don't worry Rin: Hilbert's check-ins are prompt, quick, and also on the dot. And after a while, Rin gets this text. ]

Creatures removed from main unit on D level. Fro the moment, temperatures should be regulated.
itdoesntlikeyou: (network)

[personal profile] itdoesntlikeyou 2025-02-17 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
I'll check.

[And then a follow up;]

Good news: temperature is back to normal.

Maybe also good news: door is stuck open instead of closed.
tarakan: (jfc i don't know how funzo works)

[personal profile] tarakan 2025-02-18 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
We take what we can get.

[ That's a win??? Maybe??? Fuck if Hilbert knows. ]