The Wanderers Initiative - Team Bravo, log Zero.

Started by Chris the Mage, July 14, 2021, 07:06:34 AM

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Chris the Mage

Project Brief: The Wanderers Initiative is a series of logs I'm writing from a character's perspective in one of my saves. It's a passion project and a way for me to see if I've any skill as a writer, mostly the former though. I'll be writing these once per in game quadrum, or whenever something interesting happens. Given that, these logs will come out every now and then, sporadically, more often when I'm playing rimworld more, less when not.
In terms of mods the significant ones are combat extended, most of vanilla expanded, pawnmorpher and Nandonalts camping supplies.

With that said, let the story begin.
(To the people who saw this before, I've been waiting on a mod to update to make this game work, took longer than expected so I'm reposting to start things off)   
Log Zero:
A moment of static then an energetic but calm and composed male voice begins
"Hi, this is Jacob Geller, my teammate over there is Allison Roxwell, and this is log zero."
A soft yet powerful female voice pipes in "Hey."
"We're one of the Wanderers Initiative's adventuring teams, out here to seek freedom and wonder... At-least, that's why now-a-days, though it wasn't always the case."

"Allison and I came from the planet Reach, it's an advanced mid world with the capacity for interstellar voyages, proof in our situation. There, we were bright sparks rising rapidly through schooling and life, having finished high school just after turning 17 and moving on straight to university. Mind you, we were no prodigies, just smart. Allison was studying to become a combat engineer. After joining the military, she hoped to lead an elite infantry platoon. I was an aspiring bionicist. University was going well, then 'bout a year in we both got this email.

"You are invited to join the Wanderers Initiative. It is a challenge, competition, and training program. It is more difficult than anything you have ever attempted, even for bright sparks like you. If you manage to succeed, we will fund you to leave this planet and go to the rim.

-The Wanderers Initiative"

"I.................. don't know how to fully explain the concoction of feelings I had getting that. At best, I'd say it was about 50% challenged determination, 20% terror, and 30% excitement."
At this point, the female from earlier butts in "I think it was only 10% terror for me. Remembering it, I was mostly intrigued by the thought of a challenge like that." 
Jacob chuckles and gives a brief sigh. "We were staggered, none-the-less. But thor almighty, they had thrown down the gauntlet, and we'd been given an opportunity to be remembered. It was a chance to be really unique and conquer something incredibly difficult, aaand given our egos. Yeah, we were in."

"They gave us an address on the northern sea, told to be there the first day of winter, and that was it, no other advice or information. Journey up there is where me and Allison finally met, roll of fate, we were sharing a train cabin. We got along well, I think, enough in common and similar ways of living life, waking up early, the general no-nonsense, straightforward approach to people, a lot of things matched up. You could definitely tell we'd be good teammates, though we couldn't, we hadn't told each other why we were traveling north. Safety's sake.
The train arrived late at night the day before we were meant to be there. Me and Allison parted and got some rest for the day that was to come."

"A ship arrived, docked, put it's gangplank out, then no one said anything. Not the sailors, not the guards, no-one. People started to get on regardless; they took the chance that this was our ship, it was a brave one. The sense of silence seemed to spread to even us; nobody was talking. You'd think the guards would have stopped someone, eventually, given no-one knew if they were meant to be on the ship, but they didn't; everyone boarded. I eventually found a cabin with my name on it; I was meant to be there, and according to the sign over there, so was Allison Roxwell, [Silence]. We traveled shortly after. Not once in that voyage did anyone say anything, the silence impenetrable, and dense as the sense of foreboding hanging about the ship like a fog."

"The campus looked like someone had combined a boot camp and university. There were the sleek sandstone coloured buildings that you'd expect to find in any ancient university, yet just ten metres away from one, there was a mud-stained army green pavilion. There were pines everywhere as well, and though the ground itself was bear of snow, it seemed to be moments away from permafrost. There were woods nearby, of course, no such base could be respectable without them. To top it all off, this place will be our home and our lazarus pit. We're going to be here for three years, and when it's over, new people will walk in our bodies."

"I won't be able to speak very well about the program itself, nor do I really want to. It was a time of constant stress and mental exhaustion. The amount of work and study was always at a level we could just barely achieve. We were constantly pushed to our very limits. With all that going on, we had no time to organize thoughts and memories. It was brutal."
An audible sigh escapes, "It sucked as-well. Like going to boot camp, and then having to be your own drill sergeant, and while you're at boot camp you're also studying for several PhDs. Most people didn't make it through, me and Allison did. We learned everything we needed to, we became as fit as any athlete, and we're beyond happy that we joined."
His voice now goes deadpan
"But never again."

"Once we got through, we were released, the initiative needed a year to get everything done for our departure, so they let us go."
A desperate exhaustion creeps in as he remembers
"After three years the cameras finally stopped and we could put our shoulders down.
I did try to go back to my family, but I...... couldn't. The initiative had catalyzed me, changed the way I functioned at the most fundamental level. As if they made my molecules and cells work with silicone instead of carbon. Working with ordinary people, with anyone that hadn't gone through the same thing didn't seem possible anymore. So I ended up flating with Allison. We did our best to relax; working together to see each other back to sanity, think we've managed that. Probably still based on silicone, but we're more or less human again."

"Our year came to an end, we went through some physical and mental tests and then, finally, went up to space and entered into our crypto sleep caskets. That was yesterday. But it wasn't, that was twenty years ago, and I've been asleep the entire time.

Anyway, me and Allison are staying in orbit a while longer, mostly to clear ourselves of cryptosleep sickness. We'll do our best to find a suitable landing site and then, adventure awaits, see you in the next log."