[S] Jakob: ENTER

\==BEGIN==/

Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 4:16 PM
Gail: Your copy of SBURB.exe opens and fullscreens.  A message, technoBabbler would like you to be their Server!  Accept?  followed by a [Yes]  [No] appears
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 4:21 PM
YES! You hit the heck out of that yes button
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 4:24 PM
Jakob:  Your computer screen blanks, save a You have successfully connected! message and a back button to the main screen.  Guess that's it.

Gail: Your screen opens to a view of a once-immaculate lawn, debris and dust coating it like sprinkles on ice cream.  Tents have been set up, and in the center of those tents is who you presume to be Jakob, looking at his computer.  At the top of your screen is a bar that displays several buttons, and on the right is what seems to be some sort of inventory system.  Three items lie inside, all machines.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 4:25 PM
Alright, good to see that we're at least rolling along. I captchalogue my laptop again and continue dashing to my dad's tent
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 4:26 PM
You plop down the three items outside the tent Jakob is running towards, doing your best to follow him with your camera as you do.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 4:42 PM
Gail: It's a little hard to follow him given his sprint, but you manage to get there a bit afterwards.  All three items are placed, and a fourth comes into your inventory; a capchalogue card with holes punched into it.

Jakob:  Running over to your father's tent, you throw open the flaps and look.  No crazy lady.  One unconscious, still breathing dad.  Good.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 4:42 PM
* Oh thank god *
I turn around to check the surrounding area now that I've made sure Dad is safe
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 4:43 PM
You move the Captchalogue card over to the Totem Lathe and try to put it in the little card holdy thing.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 4:50 PM
Gail:  The cursor is super unwieldy.  Enough so that, even with practice and time to try, you don't think you could.  You definitely hit it against the machine though.

Jakob:  A strange mouse-cursor like object consisting of many small squares and a triangle shaped like a house floats nearby.  Three unfamiliar machines, all kinda ugly to look at, sit in a row next to your dad's tent.  The cursor is holding a capchalogue card and is trying to place it in one of the machines.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 4:51 PM
Right, the entry machines. I waste no time in starting the process, heading over to the cruxtruder and prying it open with a heavy wrench from my toolkit.
HOWEVER, before I begin proper, I send Gail a message
[TB]: Gail, please, keep an eye out for a young, injured woman with paint on her hands. She's a fucking * lunatic * that's liable to hurt people.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 4:52 PM
You drop the card near the machines and look around for anything useful to move close to Jakob. Though you figure that for him anything is useful. You definitely move his bike near the tent if it isn't already.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 4:52 PM
It isn't, and you make it so.
Not much else seems to be of use nearby, at least of stuff that isn't already being used by other people.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 4:53 PM
MP: Okay! I'll do my best!
You zoom out as much as possible and look around the camp for a woman fitting that description. You also keep your cursor near the top of the screen, hoping to try and catch the meteor in case Jakob needs a little more time.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 4:57 PM
Jakob:  Working at the lid, you get it unstuck in record time.  The wheel-turning promptly follows, and dowels of strange crystal fly absolutely everywhere.

Gail: Roll me a Perception check or a Sleight of Hand check, your choice.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 4:58 PM
((1d20+5=6 for slight of hand. Shit.))
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 4:58 PM
Pff
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 4:58 PM
Next thing on the list, then. I grab one of the dowels and immediately throw it into the Totem Lathe, followed by the insertion of the appropriate card and activation of the machine.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 5:06 PM
You grab a dowel and pull it directly into the Totem Lathe.  Reaching for a card, you hear a thump in front of you.  A rock with a strange symbol on it written in red.  Blood.

You barely have time to react before it explodes.

Thrown to the ground, you take (4) damage and are now prone.  A flicker of motion disappears around the tent.

Gail:  You watch in slow motion as a figure you were too slow to catch turns back around the side of the tent and throw an object at Jakob, which blows up in his face.  He is thrown to the ground and the figure leaves back around it.

The current Totem Lathe seems inoperable, though another appeared in your inventory for a price of some strange blue chits.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 5:07 PM
"Shit!" You do your best to follow the person who threw that, grabbing something heavy with your cursor.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 5:09 PM
I let out a shout as I hit the ground before getting up as fast as I'm physically capable of and drawing my handgun and scanning the environment, shouting so everyone around can hear,
"EVERYONE GET DOWN, THERE'S AN ACTIVE THREAT IN THE AREA!"
"THEY'RE USING EXPLOSIVES!"
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 5:20 PM
Jakob:  She's not in sight.  You do see people duck though, trying to get out of any potential line of fire.

Gail:  You quickly search for the person who threw that and get another flash of movement at the edge of your screen, but you lose it after that.  The only people you see are those in white coats, presumably doctors, and patients bound to their various beds via IVs or injuries too restraining to allow them to get up.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 5:22 PM
Hmm...there must be some way you can help Jakob here! This person likes to run and sneak around and stuff, so maybe...are there any trees nearby?
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 5:23 PM
A couple!  They're mostly short, though.  Bigger ones just don't seem to be planted on hospital grounds.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 5:23 PM
Agh, god dammit! That * bitch! * I run back inside Dad's tent to make sure the explosion didn't hurt him in any way
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 5:24 PM
Makes sense. Either way though, you grab the crunchiest looking sticks and leaves and throw them down around Jakob and the tent.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 5:24 PM
He was jostled, but not enough to wake or hurt him.  It hit the opposite side of the tent and there was precious few pieces of shrapnel, so regardless he seems fine.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 5:25 PM
* Oh thank god, again *
I keep my pistol at the ready and send a message Gail's way.
[TB]: Gail, I need you to place down another Lathe
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 5:25 PM
Sticks and such are dragged around your tent.  It looks very crunchy.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 5:26 PM
MP: I don't know if that's a thing I can do, but I'll try!
You try and drop another Lathe. Hopefully Jakob can take apart the old one for scrap or sommat.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 6:18 PM
It costs some sort of light blue chit, but you can indeed.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 6:21 PM
Well you do it then. And this one you guard jealously, ready to brain anyone who comes close to hurting it with the nearest heavy object your cursor can freely lift
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 6:21 PM
The bike it is!
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 6:22 PM
...maybe less brain and more run over. You don't wanna hurt Jakob's fancy cool bike
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 6:25 PM
Again, there isn't much.  You grab a dowel instead.  It doesn't look too heavy but it'll probably do in a pinch.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 6:26 PM
You'll still use Jake's bike. Just to run someone over rather than whack them over the head. Only in an emergency though. And the sticks should help Jakob be ready if someone tries shit.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 6:26 PM
Alright!
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 6:27 PM
I waste no time in repeating the process with another dowel.
This time, keeping my wits about me for any bullshit
With a [1d20+4] = 15 perception roll, if applicable
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 6:35 PM
You grab one and place it in.  She does not seem to be around.

Unfortunately, neither does the capchalogue card with the holes in it.   A quick glance around shows that it is not on the ground near you.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 6:35 PM
[TB]: Gail, I need another card for the Lathe
While I wait for Gail to bring the card, I repeatedly scan the surrounding area to make * ABSOLUTE * sure that bitch doesn't try anything again
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 6:36 PM
Gail:  You look, but there does not seem to be a replacement for the card.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 6:54 PM
((sorry))

Crap, you're gonna need to find her. You start looking around for where the woman could have stolen the card to.
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 11:40 AM
Gail:  Investigation or Perception, your choice!
Jakob:  You see no head or tail of her.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 11:42 AM
((1d20=5. Rolled investigation. Gail is not smart.))
Fyvini FunsmasherToday at 4:07 PM
You still don't see anyone matching that description.  It dawns on you that she probably took a labcoat or scrubs or something like that, unless she's hiding really well.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 4:09 PM
[TB]: Gail, is something the matter?
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Today at 4:40 PM
MP: I'm looking, but I can't find her! I think she has the special card to, so we need to!
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Today at 4:41 PM
[TB]: God damn that bitch! I'll look around the camp, then. She should be wearing a cast or splint of some kind, so keep an eye out for those.
I start running around the camp, looking for the lunatic with a [1d20+4] = 18 perception roll.
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 3:35 PM
Running through the maze of tents you spot her, a familiar face in an unfamiliar white coat similar to that the doctors wear.  One arm hangs cradled in front of her, the other doing... you're not exactly sure what but she sure is doing something.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 3:38 PM
* This can't go on any longer. * I steel my nerves as best I can, quickly and quietly draw my pistol, and fire a shot aimed for center mass.
Stealth, if necessary:
> [1d20+3] =  motherfucking crit
To-hit:
> [1d20+5] = 19
Damage:
> [1d6+3] = 6
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 3:39 PM
Just in case Jakob needs help, you prepare his bike to run over this woman.
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 3:40 PM
You pull it out, sight, and squeeze the trigger.

Blam.

She topples to the ground.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 3:41 PM
Ignoring a certain feeling in my gut, I take aim, this time at her head, and fire again to be sure
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 4:13 PM
Blam.

She's not moving.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 4:15 PM
You stare at the screen quietly, a hand tight over your mouth before carefully moving the bike over to the tent again.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 4:15 PM
No time to waste. I clarify the situation to everyone nearby and search the body for the card
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 4:17 PM
Not there.  There are a couple other rocks with the same symbol, but no card.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 4:18 PM
[TB]: She doesn't have the card
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 4:19 PM
MP: She...she doesn't have the card? So she...hold on, I'll...I'll look
You start looking around for where the card went, doign your best to keep looking away from the body.
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 4:26 PM
It's laying a fair bit away.  Must've been blasted back by the explosion.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 4:27 PM
Oh god, you got it wrong. Is this your fault? You try to shove that idea out of your mind and drag it over to Jakob.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 4:27 PM
I captchalogue the remaining explosives on the body, grab the card, and continue the process
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 4:53 PM
MP: I'm sorry, Jakob, I was sure that she had it. I'm so so sorry.
MP: Oh god, I'm the murder clown. It's me. I'm John Wayne Gacy.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 4:56 PM
[TB]: Don't apologize, she was a threat. She had to be put down before she could hurt anyone else.
[TB]: And I was the one who shot her, not you.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 4:57 PM
MP: Nnnh...okay. Do your best to finish the stuff off. You gotta get inside. Put something in the flashyball first though, I think that's important.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 4:57 PM
[TB]: I know.
After the dowel is carved, I look for the flashyball
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 4:58 PM
It slowly floats out of the cruxtruder, hurting your eyes just as the guide described.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 4:59 PM
I take out a random tool from the hospital kit, say a wrench, and toss it at the ball
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 5:08 PM
The wrench sails into the ball and both are immersed in a white light before they emit a blinding flash.

Floating in front of you, the ball took on a much different shape.  A picture of the wrench is floating inside it and the ball bobs gently up and down.  The thing begins spewing noises, as if some part of the wrench was being worked over and over.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 5:09 PM
Next step. I take the carved dowel to the Alchemiter, place it down, and press the button
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 5:11 PM
As Jakob works, you do what you can to herd some of the other people towards the area near the tent, which you hope will allow them to "enter" as well.
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 5:35 PM
Gail:  Moving people to the tent is a harder task than you initially thought.  Given people's lingering cautiousness due to the gunfight that just happened and the fact that the cursor doesn't seem to be able to just click and move them, you're having to find ways to get people to come of their own volition.

Jakob:  As that happens the dowel disappears and in the center of the alchemiter an object appears; a crystal sphere, cracked in two.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 5:37 PM
Hmm...you pull a piece of metal off of the broken Totem Lathe and use it to write on the asphalt before directing people's attention to what you wrote:
"LOOK UP, THERE'S A METEOR COMING! BE NEAR THE TENT WITH ALL THE STUFF THAT CAME FROM NOWHERE, BECAUSE I'M A FLOATING CURSOR AND IT'S CLEARLY THE END TIMES, SO YOU'VE GOT NOBODY ELSE TO LISTEN TO RIGHT NOW!"
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 5:40 PM
I message Mom and tell her everything is ready and waiting for her to arrive
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 6:16 PM
Gail:  The people are slowly trickling in.  Once they realize what's happening they hurry in and huddle around the tent.

Jakob:  Your mother is driving but she answers you regardless, saying she'll be there in five.  You notice that the timer on the Cruxtruder is also just about five minutes.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 6:18 PM
MP: I'm sorry to make it crowded, Jakob, I just wanted to save as many people as possible!
MP: I think I've done all I can with that though. Anything you want me to do? If not, I'll just keep my cursor as high as possible and try to catch the meteor. I don't think that's a thing you can do, but I wanna try
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 6:22 PM
[TB]: You've done well. I'll take it
 from here.
I ask mom to hurry a bit more, explaining the tome limit, and then examine the cracked orb more closely.
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 6:51 PM
It's a sphere, made of the same material as the dowel.  A jagged crack runs down the center so that it's split down the middle.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Yesterday at 7:25 PM
It's clear what to do, then. I get out a tube of industrial glue and wait for mom to get here.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 7:26 PM
If there's anything that seems like it might slow Momma Princeton's journey, you move it out of the way.
Fyvini FunsmasherLast Tuesday at 9:11 PM
Gail:  Some tents are dragged out of the way.  It's a little hard considering some still hold patients but you do what you can and a pathway, winding but usable, forms.

Jakob:  You spot your mom in the distance, driving forawrd on the same path you took hours ago.

The timer ticks down to exactly two minutes.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Last Tuesday at 9:13 PM
Not much more you can do now. You just prepare to try and catch the rock.
Jakob Princeton [TB] (tzivos)Last Tuesday at 9:29 PM
Instincts from past work experiences begin to kick in as I warn Mom to look out for any last-minute accidents or threats while in the home stretch.
I can't lose her, not after what I've done.
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 6:24 PM
There don't seem to be any.

The timer continues ticking down ominously.  It's not slowing down, and you begin to worry on whether your mom will make it in time.
At about the thirty-second mark, your mother reaches the compound around the hospital.
She begins to dangerously handbrake around corners to save time.  She saw the meteor and knows how little time there is.

Ahead of her lies one of her last obstacles; a tent that wasn't fully moved out of the way.  She guns the accelerator as the timer hits 00:15 and crashes through the tent.

You watch in slow motion as the tent fouls the tires, just for a second, but enough to cause her to spin out.
Gail:  Strength check me.
Gail Rhodnais (MP) (Elacular)Yesterday at 6:33 PM
((1d20+1=15))
Fyvini FunsmasherYesterday at 7:34 PM
You click at just the right moment and feel a sudden weight on your mouse, pushing it off your pad.  Straining against it as you hold the button down, you see that you are indeed grabbing the meteor, but you aren't stopping it; only slowing it.  It might be just enough time for Jakob's mom to get there.

Jakob:  The timer on the Cruxtruder begins to slow, and you see that Gail's cursor is holding the meteor at bay, for now.  Revving, your mom pulls the van back into the right direction and slams on the gas pedal.

5. 4. 3. 2...

She's in.

You slam the two halves of the orb together and they begin to glow white, leaking out into your surroundings, the people around you, and eventually even you yourself.

As suddenly as the glow starts, it stops, and you find yourself in somewhere completely different.

\==END==/