He imagined that he was supposed to feel something … anything given the situation.
Try as he might, Karl Jak struggled to will himself out of the numbness he felt as he poked at what was once a complicated array of switches, controls, and LED screens. In the aftermath of what had transpired, the control consoles had been shredded, and while a cursory glance may have led someone to believe that they had simply been damaged amid all the jostling, Karl always prided himself on seeing the little details.
Like the fact that parts of the paneling had been shredded with some type of metal implement. Whether it was a handheld weapon or someone with concealed blades tucked in their forearms, Karl couldn’t ascertain. Truth be told, he’d absorbed a few too many shots to the skull in recent history, and his once masterful recollection of memories was not as prescient as it once was. When paired with the reality that whatever had made many of the survivors (himself included) of the ship ‘unique’ was as dead as the last place, the unfolding nature of the situation was nearly too much for even Karl to handle.
“Mister Jak?” The voice was a soft, and for a moment, Karl imagined that he was simply hearing things. He ignored the question as he traced a thumb along the jagged metal. The deliberate damage had been done low enough to be concealed by the more natural wreckage, but whoever had done this, they had taken out a substantial amount of the wiring and underlying structure. “Mister Jak? Can you hear me?”
Realizing that the voice wasn’t in his head, Karl craned his neck away from the damaged back of the console and found himself staring at a grim- and blood-stained young man with unkempt red hair and a clipboard.
“Can I help you, …” Karl’s words fell away as he stared at the face of the youth, who tweaked with his twisted silver spectacles until the information finally coalesced in the brain of his supervisor. “Kevin. Kevin from Human Resources.”
“The one and only,” the pallid youth muttered before taking a moment to push some of his red hair back off his shoulders. “I…”
Karl had hoisted a finger—his eyes suddenly narrowing as his pupils began to slowly sweep the room around them.
When the executive’s finger dropped, Kevin waited a few more moments before speaking once more. “Are you quite all right, Mr. Jak? I’ve prepared some reports for you, if you’d like,” he said as he lifted the clipboard.
“I don’t think any of us are all right, Kevin,” Karl spoke softly as he took the clipboard and skimmed the handful of pages worth of information that the young man had collected. The sheets of legal pad included a list of all the survivors, their origins, and also a list of those who had died aboard the ship. After that, Kevin had compiled ‘reports’ from a variety of technicians working on different areas of the ark as they attempted to salvage the crippled vessel.
“Solid work, Kevin,” Karl muttered as he handed the clipboard back to its owner. “You did that all in…”
“About an hour or so, Mr. Jak.”
Karl nodded his head. “Well, congratulations, Kevin.”
“On what?”
“Well, if your information is correct, you’re now the head of your department.”
Kevin’s shoulders sank a little, but the ginger youth nevertheless nodded his head. “They were having a party in the office when the… when the thing happened. It was so sudden, Mr. Jak. It was almost like someone just nuked the whole place from orbit! We were enjoying the martinis one moment, and the next, there was just this terrible flash and people were screaming. Then everything started to shake and fall to pieces.”
“But you got out alive?”
The young man once again nodded his head. “Not everyone died in the initial blast. About nine others, myself included, survived to make the trek to the evacuation point. Three of us made it in time to escape aboard this vessel.”
“The other two?” Karl asked.
“One of them had been hurt badly,” Kevin muttered. “The other…”
Karl waved a hand. He was many things, but he already knew where this story was headed. “I understand.”
There was a faint moment of silence before the ground beneath them jostled, throwing Kevin to the ground and nearly toppling Karl over a nearby console. Within the bridge and across the entire ark, the wail of klaxons once more resonated throughout the vessel.
“What’s going on, Mr. Jak?” Kevin groaned as he clasped his hands around what seemed to be a fresh scrape on his ankle.
With none of the terminals in the bridge responsive, Karl already knew the answer, but he didn’t want to just instill more panic in the young man. “We may have struck something… debris, maybe.”
Just like that, the emergency lights went out across the ship.
***
Try as he might, Karl Jak struggled to will himself out of the numbness he felt as he poked at what was once a complicated array of switches, controls, and LED screens. In the aftermath of what had transpired, the control consoles had been shredded, and while a cursory glance may have led someone to believe that they had simply been damaged amid all the jostling, Karl always prided himself on seeing the little details.
Like the fact that parts of the paneling had been shredded with some type of metal implement. Whether it was a handheld weapon or someone with concealed blades tucked in their forearms, Karl couldn’t ascertain. Truth be told, he’d absorbed a few too many shots to the skull in recent history, and his once masterful recollection of memories was not as prescient as it once was. When paired with the reality that whatever had made many of the survivors (himself included) of the ship ‘unique’ was as dead as the last place, the unfolding nature of the situation was nearly too much for even Karl to handle.
“Mister Jak?” The voice was a soft, and for a moment, Karl imagined that he was simply hearing things. He ignored the question as he traced a thumb along the jagged metal. The deliberate damage had been done low enough to be concealed by the more natural wreckage, but whoever had done this, they had taken out a substantial amount of the wiring and underlying structure. “Mister Jak? Can you hear me?”
Realizing that the voice wasn’t in his head, Karl craned his neck away from the damaged back of the console and found himself staring at a grim- and blood-stained young man with unkempt red hair and a clipboard.
“Can I help you, …” Karl’s words fell away as he stared at the face of the youth, who tweaked with his twisted silver spectacles until the information finally coalesced in the brain of his supervisor. “Kevin. Kevin from Human Resources.”
“The one and only,” the pallid youth muttered before taking a moment to push some of his red hair back off his shoulders. “I…”
Karl had hoisted a finger—his eyes suddenly narrowing as his pupils began to slowly sweep the room around them.
When the executive’s finger dropped, Kevin waited a few more moments before speaking once more. “Are you quite all right, Mr. Jak? I’ve prepared some reports for you, if you’d like,” he said as he lifted the clipboard.
“I don’t think any of us are all right, Kevin,” Karl spoke softly as he took the clipboard and skimmed the handful of pages worth of information that the young man had collected. The sheets of legal pad included a list of all the survivors, their origins, and also a list of those who had died aboard the ship. After that, Kevin had compiled ‘reports’ from a variety of technicians working on different areas of the ark as they attempted to salvage the crippled vessel.
“Solid work, Kevin,” Karl muttered as he handed the clipboard back to its owner. “You did that all in…”
“About an hour or so, Mr. Jak.”
Karl nodded his head. “Well, congratulations, Kevin.”
“On what?”
“Well, if your information is correct, you’re now the head of your department.”
Kevin’s shoulders sank a little, but the ginger youth nevertheless nodded his head. “They were having a party in the office when the… when the thing happened. It was so sudden, Mr. Jak. It was almost like someone just nuked the whole place from orbit! We were enjoying the martinis one moment, and the next, there was just this terrible flash and people were screaming. Then everything started to shake and fall to pieces.”
“But you got out alive?”
The young man once again nodded his head. “Not everyone died in the initial blast. About nine others, myself included, survived to make the trek to the evacuation point. Three of us made it in time to escape aboard this vessel.”
“The other two?” Karl asked.
“One of them had been hurt badly,” Kevin muttered. “The other…”
Karl waved a hand. He was many things, but he already knew where this story was headed. “I understand.”
There was a faint moment of silence before the ground beneath them jostled, throwing Kevin to the ground and nearly toppling Karl over a nearby console. Within the bridge and across the entire ark, the wail of klaxons once more resonated throughout the vessel.
“What’s going on, Mr. Jak?” Kevin groaned as he clasped his hands around what seemed to be a fresh scrape on his ankle.
With none of the terminals in the bridge responsive, Karl already knew the answer, but he didn’t want to just instill more panic in the young man. “We may have struck something… debris, maybe.”
Just like that, the emergency lights went out across the ship.
***
Bulletins
*This begins the ‘first round’, which will run for five days (to February 17th)
*The ark is now pitch black, although you’ll be able to scrounge for various means to light your way (flashlights, lanterns, …fucking oil and a t-shirt, you can be creative).
*Internal ship comms are down. Life support works still. Gravity mostly works, although you can have it flicker if you feel like it.
*As you traverse the ship, you might start to hear strange noises that don’t necessarily sound like normal creaks and groans. People who may have been acting normal a few hours ago might seem to be... stranger (even given the situation).
*I’ll keep the exact number of survivors a little vague, but it’s likely north of 100; they are varied and most will be harmless Syntech employees but some of the non-Syntech people may be getting hardcore cabin fever
Round Objective – You have a variety of objectives you can do for this Round. I don't care what option you take nor am I dictating that you all have to go somewhere together.
1. Head to electrical to see what’s up (it would help if you had someone who is equipment savvy)
2. Help scrounge up panicked survivors.
3. Fuck those people, I’m going to bunker down with my supplies!
*This begins the ‘first round’, which will run for five days (to February 17th)
*The ark is now pitch black, although you’ll be able to scrounge for various means to light your way (flashlights, lanterns, …fucking oil and a t-shirt, you can be creative).
*Internal ship comms are down. Life support works still. Gravity mostly works, although you can have it flicker if you feel like it.
*As you traverse the ship, you might start to hear strange noises that don’t necessarily sound like normal creaks and groans. People who may have been acting normal a few hours ago might seem to be... stranger (even given the situation).
*I’ll keep the exact number of survivors a little vague, but it’s likely north of 100; they are varied and most will be harmless Syntech employees but some of the non-Syntech people may be getting hardcore cabin fever
Round Objective – You have a variety of objectives you can do for this Round. I don't care what option you take nor am I dictating that you all have to go somewhere together.
1. Head to electrical to see what’s up (it would help if you had someone who is equipment savvy)
2. Help scrounge up panicked survivors.
3. Fuck those people, I’m going to bunker down with my supplies!