Player 004

The story begins

Your entire body is in pain. You open your eyes slowly and realize through your
disorientation that you are naked lying on the grassy moss covered floor of a
jungle. You can't remember how you got there or even where there is. It is night
and the sky is lit with an aurora. You find a sliver of solace in gazing upon
the familiar constellations. A column or beam of light is pointed vertically
into the zenith originating about 100 yards away from you. It's colored white
and it does not seem to diffuse in the atmosphere. There are no other remarkable
sights to draw your attention away from this light and what might be originating
it.

(Aside: choices will become more apparently numerous as the game goes on.)

I wander through the jungle in search of Weaponry and clothing. Whats the last
thing I remember happening to me?

You wander and wander, only to find more jungle. You do notice a peculiar detail
about the forest; it is young. At some spots on the ground, the soil is fine and
powdery, sandy even. The biodiversity within the forest is lacking of what you
might see in an old and ancient one. You think back, long and hard of how you
might have ended up here. The past feels like a dream and you can't remember any
events leading up to your current position. You do remember vividly that you
promised someone you would side with the revolters in an ongoing war.

(Aside: you may create your own background as long as it has no long reaching
implications. Ex: you can't be a leader or a worldly important person.)

I search for a couple minutes for the tallest tree I can find. I climb to the
top to get a better view of my surroundings looking for any kind of
civilization.

You reach the highest point the tree will sustain your weight. You see a vast
and endless jungle. There are tree covered hills all around blocking most of
your view of the horizon. Being night, you see no light pollution you would
expect to see of a city looming over the hills. You descend the tree. Out of
complete luck you see footprints on the ground. They are heading in the
direction of the pillar of light.

I follow the foot steps not directly on the path but next to it in the brush so
I do not make tracks of my own. Due to my confusion I am being more cautious of
what is around me.

You follow the footprints as intently as you can. You find this very difficult
for it is the middle of night and these footprints aren't perfectly formed each
time. You follow them until you reach the base of the light pillar.

The column of light is coming from a structure, now in front of you. It is
particularly inviting despite being made of all metal and in the shape of a
pyramid. The forest grew around the building making it seem nestled and
comfortable. A recessed door was left open yet all you can see through it is
blinding light. The warmth of its glow is alluring and hard to resist as you
stand in the wet, cold night of the forest.

I cautiously enter the building shielding my eyes from the light.

Your bare feet touch the cold metal as you step within. As your eyes begin to
adjust, your entire body briefly tingles as if it fell asleep. You find yourself
walking down a narrow and short hallway. All the surfaces inside are white. At
the end is a door; it slides open upon your arrival.
"ah, you've arrived"
A man turns to you. Dressed in a white lab coat and surrounded by technology, he
grabs a handheld device and walks your way. It is obvious that he is benevolent
and expecting you.
"like a wild beast, tracking dirt into my lab" he shakes his head as he types
away on his device.
"alright, you pass biometrics. Debrief is right through that door... As well as
your armor..."
He motions to a door.

"where am I?" I hesitate to move from my position

"you're in my lab" he says with a chuckle. He puts on a serious face now.
"you've went through some rough conditioning. You're going to feel disoriented
for a while. Memories will return slowly. However, anything past your medical
condition and you're asking the wrong guy."
"don't worry" he says reassuringly. "the next room answers all your questions."

You walk through the door. It's automatic and slides apart. You walk into a
circular room with a domed ceiling. In the center is a place clearly meant for
you to stand on.

As soon as you do, the room lights up with a bright luminescent blue. You
realize you cannot move; something is holding you in place. Panels in the floor
next to your feet lift open and mechanical appendages begin to dress you with an
inner suit (garments made to be worn under armor). Without noise, a door appears
on the wall in front of you. A woman walks into the room from that door. She is
a gorgeous tall blonde-haired woman. She walks to you.
"there you are..."
She walks up to you and summons a holographic terminal.
"your operator left already, he's an impatient metal head."
She types away on her terminal.
"... Subject 004. Inducted into the service of the insurrection. It says here
that you've never been on Halcyon before and know little about the political
affairs surrounding this war..."
She glances up with a smirk and continues.
"you seem to have committed to the aid of the revolution or sided with us
openly. You might not remember it but you are here out of your own volition."
She seems to get frustrated as she shuffles through holographic documents.
"Ugh, these forms are incomplete. They don't even have your name!"
She continues scanning through the documents for several more seconds now
looking concerned.
"Or your preferred armor, or your skill sets, or your physical attributes, or
your upbringing, or even your age..."
She looks up from the terminal and stares at you blankly. Breaking her look she
plasters on a smile and says
"Let's start from the beginning..."

(Aside: Remember, this is a roleplaying game. The only rules which apply are
physics and telling a good story. There are no limitations to the possibilities
you can choose here or anywhere else. Thinking about what you want out of your
skills or armor will help you with this next part. This is meant to be general,
hence why I've not given you a better understanding of the universe yet. Ex: I
prefer light, agile armor optimized for melee combat. I'm good at piloting and
I'm excellent at stealth. Just because you did not mention something does not
mean you are not good at it.)

" I have no idea what you're talking ab.... Wait I think I remember my name ....
Zeek .... No Zake ... My name is Zake Haish ... I'm 24. I had special training.
When i was .... Was somewhere they had me do tests to give me my skill set ...
Everything came back average and they couldn't tell where to place me. It
wasn't until they did the mental dexterity test that they decided that I would
join an experimental program. My suit they said would harness my mental brain
waves and create a tangible force with them. It would give me the power to
control items with my mind. ... They told me my brain activity was unique and
they could mold it to fit the restraints of the test suit. They said something
about a downfall or an effect the suit would have but I can't remember what.
That's all I can think of right now."

(aside: this is why I wanted you to play.)

"I was able to find your extended records using the information you gave me."
She said as she makes a decisive key press and a computerized voice sounds
"initializing armor"
A suit of armor descends from the ceiling. The armor reflects your personal
stylization and specifications; mechanical arms begin to lock the armor to your
inner suit. It feels natural and comfortable as if you've worn it many times
before. The entire wall surface of the room opens up to display a gun rack with
every imaginable type of weapon. However, you still can't move.
"alright, any questions before we move on to debriefing?"

"When will my memory fully return?"

"It may take months to return fully." she says looking concerned now.
"throughout that time, you will regain it gradually. I'm a bit hazy on the
details but the combat conditioning produces tons of chemical reactions. During
the process the brain takes a lot of nonpermanent damage. It slowly recovers
from that. Or at least, that's how it was explained to me."

A projected image appears all around the two of you. For now it is blank space
and stars. She recomposes herself. "if that was all I will proceed."

The image now zooms to a binary planet system (aside: both planets are
earth-like, one with much more water.) a low voice begins to speak.
"Long ago, humanity spawned from one of the two bodies known as Gemini. They
quickly dominated their surroundings and turned to the sky. Wars were fought
over the second planet once they got there. That's all speculation now. Over
1000 years ago both planets fell victim to a total technology failure. Caused by
an unknown and catastrophic cosmic event, both planets were left to rebuild from
nothing. No infrastructure, no communications, no tools and no history. They
rebuilt idealistically, knowing already what to plan for in the future. All
nations of both worlds came together to build a monument to their united
success, Halcyon."
The focus of the projection now zooms in on a large space station between the
planets.
"The most massive structure ever built. The space station Halcyon is positioned
at the barycenter of the two planets and acts as the bridge between the two
worlds. It was constructed after the outlawing of artificial intelligence but
still is self governed by the single most advanced and A.I. like system; capable
of constructing itself, producing robotic troops and even taking sides in a
conflict. The conflict at hand is named to exodus wars."
The projection zooms now to another planet. Slightly smaller and less green.
This planet is the next farthest in this system.
"For the past 200 years the close neighbor planet Pandora was being terraformed
by a joint effort. Nearing the end of the terraforming, some nations jumped the
gun in attempting to populate the planet. Mind you, overpopulation is at this
point uncontrollable and the pushing factor in politics today. The war started
when the colony ships (or displacement ships) were shot down while entering
Pandoras atmosphere. Dozens of vessels now lay strewn upon the surface with no
survivors. No nation is claiming responsibility."
The Gemini planets are brought back into focus.
"Still, war broke out between 2 of the nations and all others filed suit shortly
after. Today, almost all nations of Gemini participate in an all out skirmish on
the now ironically named Halcyon. It's the only space port capable of
accommodating a population displacement therefore whoever controls the station
controls Pandora. This war would have been long over had Halcyon chose a side.
By not doing so Halcyon has prolonged the war by not letting anyone win. Also,
it's creators never gave it the option to not choose a side. Much talk is about
Halcyon becoming sentient and the implications of that."

The girl chimes in.
"we are the group Solaris. We are a defecting group who's intentions are to take
Pandora away from the nations of Gemini. To do that we need Halcyon on our side.
That's where you come in. You are an agent of Solaris. As an agent your orders
are to make your way into Halcyons core. Once there it is your mission to
convince Halcyon to side with Solaris. We are far too small to ever conceive
winning this war without the aid of Halcyon. We've spent a large deal of money
conditioning you for war. Even though you may not remember doing it, you've
signed your service to us. They said your memories would come back gradually but
we just don't have the time... Do you have any questions about what's going on?"

"no not at the moment."

"There's a few more things to cover with you. There are many different entry
points to Halcyon's core. You are the fourth agent to be acclimated so you get
your pick of the remaining mission paths. All paths will be taken and are all
necessary for each others success."

"First there is the front door. This entry will need the most firepower, which
you don't have. You'll need to be creative for this path." (aside: this path
will require the player to have a basic understanding of physics and be able to
solve logic problems to which have many solutions. Recommended player: Tobin)

"Second is the maintenance entry. It consists of a zero-G approach. Besides
there not being any simulated gravity within the core itself, the agent will not
be assisted along the way by the centrifugal layers. This path will take a
master of agility." (aside: you will float your way through a mechanized shaft.
Magnetic fields barrage you as you stop at terminals along the way sending power
surges to gate controls. The horror movie path. This path has already been
chosen by Pete.)

"Third is the backdoor. Though not technically a door, the weak section of wall
will be more than adequate to get in. The real trouble is getting the explosives
there. Having skill in the art of deception and speaking will be mandatory."
(aside: this path requires you to infiltrate the ranks of enemies. Recommended
player: Adam)

"Fourth, the remote access. Though this path goes nowhere near the core, it is
still an essential part. The agent on this path will navigate the battle scared
layers of halcyons commodes to reach specific terminals. These terminals will
allow you access to hack into mechanical units and help out your allies remotely
with an expendable body. The operator will directly accompany the agent on this
mission and is already heading to the first terminal" (aside: on this path you
will always be greatly outnumbered and will need to use what you have to it's
maximum effectiveness. This path has already been chosen by Daren.)

"The fifth path is reserved for another agent. it a... Has to do with stuff like
detective work. Don't worry about it." (aside: Just because I'm a dick and want
to make Paul put some effort into this.)

"I apologize, I forget to explain things a lot. I realize this is all new to you
right now so if you have any questions I'll try to answer them before you head
out. If not, you always have a direct communications link with the operator. If
you run into anything in field, he can do more than answer questions." she makes
a cute smile.

"I will infiltrate the enemy ranks. Something tells me my suit would be most
useful there." " though I do not know why I feel almost excited ... Like it's a
long lost hobby." " this is all very strange to me."

"feel free to browse the selection of weapons we have available here."

(aside: the conventions of war do not apply to you. Although all nations are
made to follow strict warfare rules set long ago, you may pick any weapon you
wish to fight with; exotic or non. In the presumably rare occasion you choose a
weapon which is not acceptable in this game universe, I will let you know. You
can fight with a hammer for all I care, just think about your weapons utility in
a role playing sense since that's all it will be used for. Standard issue
weapons are plasma/energy based weapons. That is what you will see the enemy
using. Rehash on this part and tell me what you pick.)

"your coat of arms transponder will be deactivated until you decide on which
faction to operate under. The operator can align your coat of arms to whatever
nation you want him to."
She walks up to you and presses a key combination on a button pad built into
your armor.
"good luck Zake."
She turns and walks out the door from which you came.

"Your name is Zake huh?"
An unnaturally low voice speaks to you through your suits comm device.
"lets get you underway. walk forward through the door. you'll find a vessel
waiting for you outside."
You walk through the door in front of you. The door slides apart and to your
surprise you are standing on a catwalk in a large structure. The catwalk is only
about 20 feet long and at the end of it is a gondola. The gondola is a spherical
enclosure with no apparent engine or controls.

"Agent 004. You may call me operator, my name is not important now. What is
important is making sure you hit the ground running. Enter the vessel in front
of you."
Having no other choice you step into the gondola. The windows make the whole
gondola seem translucent because of their size. You can see all your
surroundings.
"first off you need a better knowledge of the station." the gondola begins to
move upwards and at an angle. "Halcyon is made up of cylindrical floors known as
levels. These levels have different names but they all work the same way. They
are laid out in layers one on top of the other. These layers never touch though.
In between each layer is a frictionless gap of space known as the interval
chasms." the gondola reaches the top of the level you are in. It then passes
through a hole on the ceiling and enters the interval chasm. Looking around you
can see the curvature of the layers and then a sliver of open space in other
directions. "As you can see, each level spins opposite of the levels above and
below it." the gondola passes through a hole in the bottom of the next layer.
"centrifugal force from the spin simulates gravity for each level. This means
that 'up' is always in the direction of the center of the station. We call it
the spine. It is a tube running the entire length of the station. It houses the
magnetic drives which regulate the speed of the levels."
"Your mission takes place on the level closest to the spine. "
Your gondola comes to a rest in a very abandoned part of the level you are on.
"This level is the production level. PROD for short. This is the level where
Halcyon produces it's troops. Many nations try to make it down here but the ones
who actually do don't last long. They all are trying to destroy production
little by little so Halcyon can't fight back. It looks like this area has been
out of service for a while. Your objective is to obtain a power source adequate
enough to destroy a weak section of the spine by causing the source to go
unstable. You'll need an EP4 power source; no more, no less. There is a machine
block known to house this exact power source but it won't be easy to get to it.
Some of the larger tanks carry an EP4 but it's rare to run into them. After you
get one you'll be tasked with figuring out how to transport it to the spine. Are
you understanding all this? I want to make sure you're not caught off guard once
we start. So, if you have any questions, now is going to be the best time."

I believe I understand, what obstacles will I encounter?

( should I of chosen a weapon? If so I choose two kukri knives)

(aside: I recommend taking a side firearm just to have something ranged but
truthfully you should do fine with that suit.)

"well," the operator says. "your path isn't really a 'Planned out' path. I know
for certain that alone you cannot fight off the hordes which are Halcyons
defense. I recommend moving around with the strike teams of other nations which
frequently try their hand up here in PROD. This will give you the best chance to
move around the level. That's why your transponder is blank right now. As it
being, you will be shot on sight by anyone even in neutral areas. Coat of Arms
tampering is a serious offense in all nations. It's unfortunate I can't give you
Halcyons COA. Each defense drone has a transponder but they don't use them and
so deactivate them. The obstacles that I predict you're going to run into are
avoiding conflict, wordplay and moving the EP4... They're a bit heavy."


______________

Pandora example

Narrator-
The mainframe room lay just beyond your reach; taunting you with it's
transparent door. You don't have the means to get in. Hell, knocking would work
if there was anyone in there but this place is all but vacant. If only the few
roaming guards you passed up had security routines in the mainframe room. You
see your objective through the door; The security core. You need to deactivate
it.
"we are almost out of time" the Operator urges you. "you need to think of
something fast or team alpha is dead. 1 minute and 20 seconds until impact"
You start a mad dash back to the hanger in hopes a walking tank could fit
through the halls.
"Merc! Look out! Guards are about to turn the corner!" the operator urgently
warns for action. The narrow hallway you are in leaves little option, for you
are directly in the center of a lengthy section of it. Already having hacked
into the monitoring system you see that one man is of high rank. A high enough
rank to access the mainframe room with his digi-presence key given he is alive.

Player-
"this isn't going to work" I think aloud to myself as I sprint towards to
hanger. It's too far and I know it.

(rehash:"Merc! Look out!" the operator warns.)

This is perfect! I need only drag this man to the door at the end of the hall
behind me. I wall jump my way to the high ceiling and wait in the trusses. The
heavy contrast of the hanging lights concealing my presence. I loop the end of
my utility cable into a simple slipknot and wait to lower it. The useless lackey
walks in front of my target in the practically one man wide hallway. As they
pass under me I lower my fishing line and adeptly drop it around my targets
head. Immediately I jump down from above leaving the cable around the trusses
like a pulley. The target flys up as I drop down in front of the lackey. The
lackey turns behind him to find no one to his amazement. He turns back to me who
already has a gun to his face.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
he screams.
BOOM I plant a shot into his face.
" ... I'm the juggernaut... Bitch"
I kick both the mens dropped weapons down the hallway and retract my cable which
pulls me quickly to the ceiling. I jump through the trusses to undo my loop and
both the target and myself fall to the ground. I plant one good blow to the side
of his head which knocks him out immediately.
"20 SECONDS!" the operator now screams.
I begin running back to the mainframe room while putting slack in the cable.
It's close but my cable just barely makes it back to the mainframe door. I grab
the handle and hold on with all my strength and then... retract the cable. The
amazing force of the cable pulling the man to my right wrist stretches me but I
hold. The guards unconscious body slams head first into the door with a mind
shattering crunch. I quickly release my cable from his neck as I say "there's
something I didn't mention in acclimation... I can throw like a mother fuckin
riot"
The door slides open. As it does I prime my grenade and whip it through the
mainframe room.

__________


This interaction gives a good example of what a player can do. The only reason
this world is ambiguous is for the player to fill it in. At first the player
starts out a little bit before the point the narrator ended. Gave his thought
process during the previous narration. In each narration after the intro, the
player will be presented a new goal with certain hurdles to get by. This goal
can be something as simple as going through a door (mind you, if you do not know
what's on the other side of that door then it's not a good idea to keep going).
The goal can also be complicated with many prerequisite parts to achieve. This
example is one such goal. As the narrator I give the player a setting and
obstacles to surmount. It is assumed this player has already been in the hanger
and therefore can go to that area and come back all within his turn. If he had
done so, the player could have expanded upon that part by adding more obstacles
of his own to make a better story. In this case the player took the challenge of
telling how he neutralizes both enemies without killing one of them. To do this
he took an ambiguous aspect of his surroundings and described it further in his
favor. This change to the environment is very small and would not affect
anything vital. Things like this are acceptable in the game and encouraged in
order to make a good story (since that's the real goal).

Truthfully this is almost a minimalistic entry in respects to description. The
player tells just enough to make it understandable. What the player does do well
however, is manipulate the enemies. This is allowed to a point. The player
defines how the enemies are walking, how they react and what they say. I don't
have any rules about what you can make an enemy say but good rule of thumb is
keep it short and purposeful and only faceless minions. I will almost always
omit something you make a main character say. This example is one of those
exceptions. try not to step on my toes as the story architect and I won't cut
your feet off.

The last thing the player does is assume an event. He ends his turn with his
grenade in the air. This has little more purpose besides being a good story
element. I as a narrator will not make the grenade miss since his comment right
before makes the success so much sweeter.

There isn't any rules on enemy difficulty but it's a good idea to follow some
guidelines when killing an enemy. Enemies should all fall in a few general
categories. You will find infantry, mechs, tanks, and massive enemies. If a
player decides he's going to one shot a tank with a pistol, I'm probably going
to omit the rest of his message after that action, not kill the tank, and give
him a 'stumble'. So, enemies do have an effort rating. This is not to say you
can't kill a tank in one shot but you'd better make a good reason.