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open log » ❝ The VR Program ❞

Date & Time: August 5th, mid morning.
Location: Anywhere characters happen to be/the VR.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: From August 5th to August 8th, characters are plunged involuntarily into the VR Program.
Warnings: Potential violence within the threads.

When the chance arises, she's quick to take it. The programming is incomplete, she knows; the simulation isn't ready — but she's not likely to get another shot at it. And so she moves, slipping through security codes to input the command. The machines hum to life with nothing but a flicker of a green light in a dark room, and it takes only seconds to establish connections. The signal is sent out; the weapons respond.

In a single pulse, reality drops away.

There will be darkness at first as the mind realigns itself to the signals being sent it. Slowly, the darkness fades, forms take shape. People take shape. The setting is terribly familiar, plucked from the user's own mind. It might feel like a dream at first, with events playing out as if predestined, the would-be dreamer moving through a familiar and unalterable route in them. But as things begin to feel more and more realistic, as more senses more fully connect to the simulation, awareness will change. This is not a dream. This is more than a memory.

Welcome to the VR.

Only 20 minutes later, in some underground quarters, Doctor Sponde is roused from an undignified sprawl. He's hastily briefed and shuttled toward the command center, looking grim. He knows the problem demands an immediate fix, but… well, this is some complex machinery. It could take some time. It could take days. He gets to work.

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[ She shoots Catsovi.

It's the only thing she can think to do, halfway out of one head and into another and that is Bariyan with a sword headed towards him and the only thing she can think to do is shoot the man holding the sword in the head, a clean bullet.

She hates every moment of this problem.

[ Bariyan had closed his eyes in preparation for the blow, but opens them the moment he hears gunfire. And then he's on the move -- scrambling away as Catsovi's swing halts -- trying to block out the scream. More rage than pain, there.

And suddenly the captain is on the move, too; a broody, blond-haired man, dressed all in black and now striding towards Roslyn. Bariyan watches him go, still in too much shock and confusion to have a full grasp on the situation. ]

Ros? What are you--

[ Catsovi hisses in pain and Bariyan's attention returns to him. So he doesn't see the fires that suddenly sprout up at the captain's feet, only to jet off along the ground straight towards Roslyn. ]

[ Alive, and for that she is at the moment intensely grateful no matter how much this entire thing isn't real. The thought of Bariyan dying leaves a painful tightness to her throat, a feeling she recognizes from before and before and before. ]

Just get out of here.

[ She snaps it, raising her gun again, aiming at the man advancing on her. The phantom itch on her left hip isn't an itch at all, but a feeling of magic in the air. And the flames - well, she can take a guess that that's what's triggering it. ]

It's not real.

[ She pulls the trigger, tries to ignore the flames coming closer. The slight kick of the gun is almost calming in its familiarity. ]

None of it's real.

[ Is she right? But there's Cat, still clutching at his wound while trying to regain a grip on his sword -- looking at Bariyan, past Bariyan to Ros. And that's strange, isn't it? Strange that he can see. Strange that--

Catsovi moves, and Bariyan moves with him, blocking his path to Roslyn.

Of course she's right. Komini, Cat, the captain, all of this -- some trick. ]

I know. [ He knees Catsovi, shoves him away, hopes that'll put him down for a while more. Then he turns to the captain and Ros.

The captain's moved, faster than the eye can see, dodging the bullet. He leaves swathes of dead or scorched grass in his wake and reappears behind Roslyn, another round of flames sighing over the ground towards her.

Bariyan had meant to say more, but upon seeing that he hurtles towards her, past, seeking to interject himself between Ros and the fire. ]

[ She's fought things out of her league before, but generally she had more preparation for it, and the dodge -- magic and nonhuman of some kind, and this is nothing she's ready for. She has a gun, and a certain amount of hand to hand experience, and a deep desire

She spins to face the noise of the captain behind her, hands still steady. ]

No!

[ It's an instinctive reaction to Bariyan trying to get between her and the danger, but she doesn't shoot yet. She wants this guy closer, wants to nail him in the face before he so much as touches Bariyan.

She can feel sweat on her face, can't tell if it's from the approaching fire or from fear. ]

We need to go, now.

[ The fire hits Bariyan's shins, passes harmlessly through his clothes but sears across his skin, disappearing upon contact. He feels none of it. But he doesn't linger long. ]

Yes, we do. [ Unthinkingly, he backs into Ros, reaching for her arm to pull her along as he abruptly heads off to the right. Trying to push Ros ahead of him. ] He can do worse than this.

[ Ahead of them is the wall of oncoming soldiers. There's a slight break in their formation, and Bariyan thinks they can split it wider, escape through that -- if they could just get the damn captain off their heels, too. He hesitates, unsure of what to do.

The captain starts to move again. Slow this time, advancing towards them. ]

[ There's a momentary wince, a shutter drawn on her face when the fire reaches Bariyan because he may not feel anything but nobody should put themselves in danger protecting her, and especially not him definitely not him. She goes with him when he reaches for her arm anyways, moving as fast as she can. ] Fuck --

[ She sees the gap too, bites her lip. Neither side looks like something she wants to try, but she's got a gun. She can widen that break, make it easier for them to both get through. ]

The soldiers don't have magic. Let's go.

[ And this time she tries to pull him after her, raising her gun. If they get far enough away, far enough out, they can rest, or possibly find somewhere new. ]

[ In his moment of uncertainty, Bariyan lets Ros pull him along. Which is what he would have wanted, anyway; he's more concerned about what the captain can do. Better to shield Ros from that. He turns to face the other man, continuing to back up along with Ros as they advance towards the gap.

The soldiers don't seem to know what to make of Roslyn's gun, but charge at her anyway, swords drawn. Easy targets. Bariyan glances back over his shoulder to check on them. When he turns back, the captain's gone.

Quietly, under his breath: ] Shit.

[ Easy targets indeed, and she lets herself fall into a zone. Not faces, just targets, and the gun cracks out again and again and they're going to make it, the faint tremor in her hands from repeated firing not important yet.

They're going to make it, until Bariyan says just that one word and she stiffens, reaching for him with her free hand. ]

Tell me. What just happened?

He's gone. I've lost him. Goddammit, he could be anywhere. [ Bariyan's swung back around to scan through the soldiers, knowing.... ] Let's go. Run.

[ He makes to push Ros forwards. She's done a good job of dispersing the soldiers, at least, and the gap has widened, their formations broken at least temporarily. They just have to get past this press and hope that the captain won't pop up on them before they clear.

But Bariyan knows he will. So he keeps searching. ]

Sounds good. [ Through gritted teeth, because she doesn't want to think about that man vanishing and the places he could show up again, the things he could do. She keeps a firm grip on Bariyan's wrist as she moves as fast as she can.

They'll get clear. They have to get clear, and then if they just keep moving, pressing on, eventually they'll either slip into a new memory or they'll find quiet.

God, she could do with some peace and quiet. ]

[ bariyan makes one attempt to twist himself free of ros' grip, but that proves unsuccessful. perhaps it's better that they remain this way, anyway. better to stay close.

he keeps scanning the field, looking for strange movements, breaks where there shouldn't be, anything that might give the captain's position away, anything at all.

not enough.

they're almost free of the press when the captain shows up, a blur before he solidifies into a man again, blocking their path. he's drawn himself a sword, somewhere along the way, and he thrusts it straight towards ros.

bariyan sees the captain appear and moves just a split second later to slam himself into its way. he doesn't dare look to see if he was even fast enough, if he got there in time -- if the blade went through him or roslyn. ]

[ she sees him almost at the same time bariyan does, tries to pull them both back but more importantly bariyan away from the blade because she can't have that, can't have anyone else throwing themselves in front of something for her. if she has anything to say about it she's not going to let him do that. (later, not caught up in the heat of the moment, she'll remember that he's a lot more resilient than her. right now all that matters is that he's a friend and she doesn't want to watch him throw himself on a blade for her.)

the world narrows, pinches down to just how numb her arm feels raised, to the hollow report of her gun going off. if this son of a bitch is going to be held here for a moment by that sword scraping her bone, she's going to shoot him.

she fires again. ]

[ bariyan hadn't been expecting ros to pull him back and that throws him off-balance, too much; the blade hits ros' outstretched arm, but the impact holds the captain back just long enough for ros to make both of her shots. the captain falls.

bariyan hardly notices. he swears, loud and harsh, angry -- but it's done. they're done. this time he grabs roslyn by the arm and he notices blood right away, causing his grip to slip. he lets go to curl his fingers into her sleeve, instead.

then he pulls her away, moving faster than ever. ]

[ he's gone.

he's gone and -- okay, fuck, that hurts, she winces at bariyan's fingers but moves with him, stumbling once but she lengthens her stride. he's taller than her. she'd noticed before, of course she had, but now is the first time she's really thought about it. half a foot?

he'd sounded a little furious. she doesn't want to think about that. they're almost clear and the captain's gone and sure there's blood running down her arm but she's hardly dead.

none of this is real anyways. ]

[ he doesn't know how long they run, how far. he doesn't stop running until they're out of sight of the enemy and he keeps running for a while after that.

the memory is thinner around the edges. he'd never been familiar with this part of the country and his imagination fills in the blanks with more plains, rolling hills, more of that harsh, bright sky. he stops and lets go of ros, looks at his hand where her blood has dried. ]

Ros. [ he turns, looks at her. wretchedly. ] I'm sorry.

[ she doesn't have any particular problem keeping up with him, though by the end she's started to lag some. when they finally stop she tears off what's left of the sleeve of her shirt, starts working on a makeshift bandage. ]

You don't have to apologize. [ straightforward, calm. she winces a little and then looks up at him with a shrug. ] In future, I'll remember that you take hits better than I do.

[ bariyan stares at her as she begins to patch herself off, clean, precise, calm. as always. and here he is, still guilty and horrified and shocked.

he shudders a little. and tries to get ahold of himself. ]

Right. I'm-- [ all right, so he wasn't doing so well. he tries again. ] Are you all right?

[ it's not her damage, not her past. bariyan's safe now, at least temporarily. any emotions dug up she doesn't want to deal with right now, wants to concentrate on the here and now instead. ]

I'm fine. We just have to find a way out of this mess. [ a glance at him, neutral except for the concern in her eyes she can't quite push down. ] How are you?

Me? Fine. I'm fine. [ the repetition a clear sign that he is not. bariyan was never any good at battle; he had no reason to be, he'd always left that to everyone else.

he looked around, swallowed. yes, they have to get out. and get ros proper care. how is the question. he walks out a little further, scanning the horizon, desperate to find something unfamiliar. ]

If this isn't real, then-- what is this?

[ and while she cares, perhaps more than she meant to, emotions are not roslyn's strong point. she isn't certain how to reassure him at all. ]

Memories, from what I can tell. Memories from quite a few different Transports, cobbled together. If we walk far enough, we'll slip into another one.

[ factual, precise. thinking calmly under pressure has always been a skill of hers. ]

Will they all be like this one? With the... [ he looks back over his shoulder, half-expecting to see men giving chase. ] I wasn't expecting everyone to attack. Those were some of my friends back there.

[ a pause. a correction, a sad one: ] They were my friends at the time.

From what I can tell so far, it doesn't matter who the people in the memory are. They'll attack.

[ she doesn't have the energy or anything else needed to phrase that more gently. ] I'm sorry. I don't know much else about what's going on.

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