Sand-dunes and Sandstorms - A Neopets RP

[jumpingbeans]

((frank4t isn't down either. JB was down, but frank4t woke him back up. But I'm kinda confused too))

[livvy]

((Ech. Just run with it. Alrik's carrying Frank.))

[jumpingbeans]

((Okay, she's carrying frank4t, who magically found himself outside, and unconscious))

[livvy]

((You were following the petpet. Then you fell, so now you're dazed. And HE is carrying you.))

[jumpingbeans]

((No, frank4t had just woken JB and was heading in the dune. JB, meanwhile, is about to enter a pyramid full of treasure?))

[livvy]

((=_= Whatever, JB. Explain clearly what's going on with your pets, or just deal with what Nom and I described as having happened. If you read Nom's post, you'd see what happened.))

[antiaircraft]

((A life RP sounds like a pretty interesting idea - I know at least one person with Neovian RP characters already fleshed out. :yes:

 

By the way, I think that resolving the jet sub-plot quickly was kinda inevitable, given the urgency with which it was introduced. If part of the jet is still exposed though, we should be able to rescue everyone speedily. Raichi, what do you think?))

[jumpingbeans]

((livvy: I did read Nom's posts. It says that frank4t lands at the bottom of the pit, and then the 'Flame' talks to him. That implies that frank4t's in the pit, and unconscious, with the Flame incredibly stupid, or I was conscious))

[Parry]

((Livvy, as far as I see it frank went through the sand-dune but JB refused and wanted to go back. And as for the Life RP, it seems the majority are interested, so I guess I'll go ahead and make it now.))

 

The tunnel seemed to be endless, but it gave the following Neopians a good opportunity to talk to each other. Alesha glanced over her shoulder and addressed Alrik. "Hello, I believe we haven't really met. My name is Alesha, and this Beta." The Uni briefly nodded as a way of recognition. "I think you may have met my older brother Marik - he's the Lutari Palace Guard you may have seen. What do you make of all this?"

[jumpingbeans]

((You know, I just realized. My characters here were almost always in sub-plots. I think I'll like the life RP more. Also, I'm gonna try and tie up a few loose ends now))

 

JB filled his pockets with gold and silver coins, statues, anything he could find. But he turned around. There was a shadow there. He gasped. Then he fell to the floor when he got hit by a statuette.

 

The Geb was running through the Desert as fast as he could. He only slowed down when he reached the sand Dune. He went in and started nudging frank4t.

"What's wrong, little guy?" Frank4t asked ((Frank4t had woken up

The Geb started pointing furiously towards the entrance

"Do you want me to come?" frank4t asked.

The Geb nodded

"Okay, then" frank4t said, heading towards the entrance.

[livvy]

((... so confused. =_=))

 

"What do I make of it?" Alrik repeated speculatively. "At the moment, not much I'm afraid, except that petpet has a remarkable capacity for Eng-" He winced, forgetting momentarily to tread lightly on his hind leg. "English that would normally take beyond my lifetime for a petpet to acquire. I had an Albat once - remarkably intelligent petpet, he was - and it took me nearly two years just to train him to say his own name. Perhaps we have stumbled upon an underground school of sorts... but for what..." At this point Alrik realized he'd been rambling again. "But what do YOU think of all this? You've been following the petpets far longer. Did they appear to be eager to come, or possibly... tranced?"

[jumpingbeans]

JB lay still, quiet. It seemed like he was unconscious, if not . But he wasn't. He faked it. When the man swung the statuette, he ducked, but pretended to get hit, and fell to the ground

The man was searching around the chamber. For what, JB knew not. But he just kept still, immobilized.

 

Frank4t snuck out the door, without anyone noticing him, until the Flame asked.

"Going so soon? I must tell you this, though."

Frank4t thought, and thought, and thought. He didn't know what to do, whether to go out or stay in. Eventually, he decided to look out to where the Geb as going. He saw that the Geb was heading straight towards the pyramid. And-frank4t looked closer- There was a whole in one of the pyramids. Not wasting any more time, he ran out, not even uttering another word.

[Raichi]

"Ha-!" A surprised huff escaped Gwen's mouth when Sapper began to run. She held on tightly because of the speed and closed her eyes. This wasn't really her thing. She didn't show the fact that she was surprised about his name though, which obviously didn't fit him according to her.

 

Meanwhile all that was visible of the jet was the tail sticking out of the sand. The remaining part was diagonally buried under the desert sand due to the crash and sandstorm. The 3 unconscious neopets inside trapped within.

[antiaircraft]

Sapper tore across the distance to the downed jet with alarming speed, pushing his advanced respiratory system as far as it would go. His legs kicked up a small trail of sand into the air as he ran, but fortunately he wasn't particularly concerned with stealth at this point. As he ran, he continued to scan the way ahead, adding new sections to his planned route and making small adjustments as more of the seemingly endless dunes emerged. All the while, he made sure to keep himself running as straight and level as possible, both for the sake of speed and the two other Neopets clinging to his back.

 

After more than an hour of running, the Eyrie's muscles were starting to feel the slow burn of oxygen debt, but that was a sensation he was well acquainted with. Nevertheless, they were nearing the site of the crash, and a sudden stop would be difficult to handle for his riders. He began to slow down gradually, on the lookout for a tell-tale debris trail that might point the way directly to the jet itself.

[livvy]

Sapper, Lili repeated to herself. Well, at least I know something abou- HOLY FYORA! The Eyrie - Sapper - took off with a sudden lunge that caught Lili quite off-guard. She held onto Gwen even tighter to prevent herself from flying off with every bound. She almost thought she preferred flying.

 

After Lili's initial fear had subsided, she began to analyze the two neopets with whom she would be spending her next several hours. With wry amusement, she reflected that Gwen probably hadn't been so close to a "commoner" who wasn't one of Fiwawou's screaming fan-girls in quite a while. She was spoiled, no doubt about it, but... Lili flashed back to the concern in the Wocky's voice when she spoke of her colleagues. That had been genuine.

 

Sapper continued to run at a velocity which Lili's limited knowledge of biology told her should not be possible for an Eyrie. Eyrie muscles were primarily focused on operating their large wings. Still, if one couldn't use one's wings, it would make sense that the muscles would compensate... Whatever had happened to Sapper's wing, Lili concluded, it had happened a long time ago.

 

Presently, Lili gathered the courage to open her eyes. She didn't expect to see much; in this part of the desert, there was little but dunes. But she was wrong. There, in the rapidly decreasing distance, was the distinct outline of the tail of a jet.

[antiaircraft]

It's not debris, but... that'll do. Sapper thought to himself as a faint outline resolved itself into the unmistakable tail section of a Shoyrux Industrial C-Series jet. The angle at which the section was resting showed that it clearly wasn't detached from the rest of the plane - the fuselage had to be buried in the sand. As they approached, Sapper slowed further, sizing up what he could see with the experienced eyes of a combat engineer. The aircraft's tail had been almost seamlessly moulded together as a single-piece structure, in a design typical of Shoyrux Industrial's aerospace division. The shell itself would almost certainly be formed out of an aluminium-titanium alloy, supported internally by a layered composite structure. The only built-in access points led directly to the tail's internal mechanisms - useful for maintenance engineers, but not for a rescue team. Seeing as it would be nearly impossible to dig out the rest of the jet in any timely fashion, it seemed that they would have to make their own entrance.

 

The Eyrie finally came to a halt, several metres from the jet's exposed tail. He bent down to allow his riders to dismount.

 

"We're here."

[Parry]

"I believe they came here through their own will," Alesha answered Alrik. "I am curious as to what could possibly draw them here, and whether we can get out again." She observed Alrik's way of walking for some time, before adding, "I wonder, do struggle to walk on your hind legs? Forgive me if I am being impertinent, only I notice that you seem to be in slight agony."

[livvy]

((Alrik walks on all fours. Just so ya know.))

 

Alrik smiled wryly at the Aisha's question. "I'm not so young as I used to be," he admitted. "That fall down the shaft ended in a pretty ugly landing. My back leg got the worst of... oh... my..." Alrik's eyes widened as they entered a large room and the Fireball stopped in front of them. "What is this place?

 

-~-

Lili slid gratefully off Sapper's back. It felt good to be on solid ground again. Cautiously she approached the tail of the jet and walked around it a few times, studying it as she would an archaeological dig site. She had excavated a shallow burial tomb with Professor Alrik before, and even that had taken several weeks to complete. Factor out the required care to avoid any potential artifacts or damage to the tomb, and it would still be nigh on impossible to uncover the jet in less than several days. It didn't help that the wind was beginning to pick up. If the pets inside the plane were still alive, they couldn't wait that long.

 

Lili trotted back to Sapper and Gwen. "It's fairly well buried," she reported. "Digging doesn't seem to be a viable option." She turned to the Eyrie. "Mr. Sapper, what do you propose we do?"

[jumpingbeans]

JB lied still. He knew nothing except that he should be still. Just be still.

 

Frank4t was running, running towards the pyramid. He kept on running, until he finally got to the cracked wall. Then he saw JB on the ground, and the masked stranger going around, grabbing all the gold he could get. With a shocking resemblance to someone frank4t knew, frank4t charged at the man. The stranger fell down in a clump.

[antiaircraft]

Sapper stood and unloaded the items he was carrying as soon as Gwen and Lili were safely on the ground. He proceeded to quickly erect the tent he had brought, making sure the mesh vents on its sides were well covered.

 

"It's fairly well buried," Lili reported. "Digging doesn't seem to be a viable option. Mr. Sapper, what do you propose we do?"

 

The Eyrie didn't answer immediately. Instead, he picked up his staff and walked over to the jet, circling it in much the same way as Lili had. Finding a promising point for inspection, he lowered his head and tapped it with his beak a few times. Taking a step back, he aimed his staff carefully and thrust it forward. It bounced off the surface with what would have been a muffled 'thud' to most ears - to Sapper's, the echo bore crucial information on the consistency of the jet's interior at that point. After repeating the exercise with a few different points, he returned to where Lili was standing.

 

"Well first, you need to get a drink." he began. "Then we should clear away some of the sand covering the forward point where the right tail fin joins the fuselage. If I can penetrate the hull there, I should be able to gain access to the cargo bay and establish an extraction route."

[Parry]

"Woah," uttered Alesha as she saw where Flame had led them. Even Beta stopped, momentarily startled.

 

Who could have thought that such a magnificant place could be hidden in a fake sand-dune? The group were now stood in a round hall, with eight white marble pillars placed around the walls. They reached for the ceiling, yet it was so far away that even the tips of the pillars were lost in complete darkness. Now and then, several grains of harmless sand fell down from above. Between each pillar was yet another entrance, and above each one, odd symbols had been carved, presumably to tell the Petpets where each place lead to. Lights hung suspended in mid-air, and there were enough to lighten the entire place. However, the mass number of Petpets living here became evident; Anubises, Gebs, Spyders, Walking Carpets, the occasional Warf, and so many more crossed between each entrance with speed, and very few actually paused to look at the Neopets before moving on. In short, there was a heavy community feel.

 

"Welcome to Petpetopia," smiled Flame, clearly amused at how bemused they were. "This is the ancient home of our ancestors, and the greatest secret underground community that ever existed. We have been established here for thousands of years, long before the first Neopian arrived, and even longer than when Brucy B. discovered us. Here, our culture is maintained, and although the language of the Petpets has long fallen out of use, there are those who can still speak it."

 

"I pressume those symbols above the entrances are your language?" asked Alesha.

 

"Yes, fair lady, we can read but to speak is an arduous task, and only our leader and his most immediate council can speak it. Oh, and the odd scholar, but if you have no intent of joining the council, then you are not permitted to learn it. Come, I must take you to our leader now, for a very serious problem resides." Without saying much more, Flame continued ahead and went through the entrance opposite to the one they came in.

 

"Amazing," said Beta as she followed the Petpet. "Who would have expected this?"

[Raichi]

((sorry for my recent absence. ))

 

It felt weird for Gwen to get back onto the "ground" again, thus she walked a bit to get used to the feeling again. She wasn't one to get frightened quickly; a tough momma as some could call her. Speed, adventure, nothing she wasn't used to. Nonetheless she preffered the comfort of walking over sharing an eyrie ride with another neopet. She was happy to see the tail was still sticking out of the sand, but she was still worried about her colleagues. She tried to suppress her nervousness by remaining silent, listening to Sapper and Lili's conversation until they had decided on what to do.

 

She moved over to the tail fin and got on her knees. "Do you want me to start digging?" she asked looking up at Sapper, her hands in the sand ready to move it away.

[livvy]

On Sapper's advice, Lili removed the bottle of water from her bag and took a drink of it. He was right; she had been rather thirsty. After a sip or two, she placed the water back into her bag and walked to the tent, where Sapper had unloaded the equipment. Among the equipment was four shovels. She picked one up, and was about to leave her bag where the shovel had been when she heard Gwen's voice. Lili turned and saw the Wocky on the ground with her paws in the sand, ready to dig. So she really does care.

 

It struck Lili that Gwen hadn't brought anything along with her. She swung the satchel back over her shoulder, picked up an extra shovel, and returned to the plane "Shovels are much more efficient than hands," she said, tossing one of the shovels down at the Wocky's feet. "And here." She held out her bottle of water. "You need some of this too."

 

-~-

Alrik stared in amazement at the enormous underground petpet community. It was astounding that archaeologists such as himself had never found it. Some of the symbols written in the petpet language looked strangely familar. Was it possible that he HAD at some point stumbled upon an abandoned part of this city? Alrik's mind was so filled with the possibilities - what knowledge might these petpets hold that had long been lost to Neopian society? What ancient records might they have kept? - that he hardly noticed where the Fireball was leading them.

 

 

((I apologize for the lack of pretty detail in these last posts.))

[antiaircraft]

Sapper quickly joined the others as they began to work on clearing away the deep drift of sand blocking their way into the jet, rearing up and raking his front claws through the sand to break up any compacted clumps on the surface. However, a more pressing sensation soon began to burn its way into his lungs and throat, and he reluctantly stepped back and turned towards the tent.

 

"Excuse me," he said apologetically, plodding away and back into the shade. He stretched himself out carefully and took several deep breaths, shivering slightly as he felt his respiratory cramps gradually subside. A brief sip of water banished any remnants of the pain. Sapper growled softly, but in a way that was more resigned than frustrated. He wasn't as young as he used to be.

 

Before heading back to the dig, he made a brief stop by his equipment bag and removed the radio beacon he had brought with him. He switched it on and held down the TEST button firmly until a small red light began to flash. Then he quickly turned a dial on the beacon's side to frequency 151 (medical assistance) and set it to BROADCAST, setting it down gently in the centre of the tent.

 

Grabbing the remaining shovels, he strode quickly back to Gwen and Lili. "I've sent out a call for a medical assistance. There should be a medevac team here by the time we manage to get the survivors out. As long as they're still alive then, they'll have an excellent chance of survival."

 

((

 

Here's my app for my second character. I'm hoping she can speed things up a bit by coming in with a medical team to airlift the survivors (and Gwen I suppose) to wherever Fiwawou's medical facilities are, then join the rest of the group to merge with the main plot.

 

Username: Random Invisible Guy

Name: Miranda (goes by this or nickname "Doc"; old call sign is "Scratch", but Sapper is the only person she'll tolerate using this; often finds herself answering to the panicked cry of "Medic!")

Gender: Female

Colour and species: White Mynci

Petpet: Buzzer

Petpetpet: None

Home: Moves between different medical facilities, usually field hospitals

 

Personality:

Fiery and fearless, Miranda has a short temper and an unquestionable sense of justice, leading her to challenge any and all authority whenever she believes that something is wrong. She does this without hesitation, attacking head on with a furious intensity that rivals that of Neopians tackling a plot war, and never backing down until her objections are somehow resolved (or she is forcefully and completely removed from the situation). She applies the same approach to most of her pursuits in life, upholding a pessimist-realist-idealist-confrontationist-never say die attitude that has gotten her into trouble with her superiors numerous times. But quite frankly, she couldn't care less what trouble she gets into, as long as the right thing is done and done *now*.

 

Despite her ferocity, Miranda is still a doctor at heart, and nothing matters more to her than the health and safety of other Neopians. She's come to hate the publicity-oriented way the Defenders of Neopia operate, and absolutely loathes SIGMA's whatever-means-necessary paradigm. She never gives up on a patient, whatever the situation - nothing disgusts her more than the military triage system.

 

Other:

Background

Miranda was born in a small village in northern Meridell, and was twelve years old when the first Darigan-Meridell war broke out. Many of the villagers were conscripted to fight in the war, and the limited medical resources available were all committed to the front lines. As a result, when a plague of an unknown nature struck the region, there was little that could be done to stop it - with no doctors available to even make an attempt at curing the disease, all the villages in the area were almost completely wiped out. Miranda herself lost her entire family. It was only the last-minute arrival of an army medic (a Pteri named Brend) from the front lines that brought the critical supplies and expertise needed to give the surviving villagers a chance.

 

Overworked and far out of her depth, Brend quickly secured Miranda's help as an assistant. The Mynci proved to be a fast learner and an even faster worker, quick with her hands and reliable in a pinch. Together, the two Neopets managed to identify the plague as a modern strain of a fairly minor illness long thought to be nothing more than a faerie-tale. The traditional remedy recorded in many ancient books proved to be an effective cure, and the villages were soon safe from the infection.

 

Only a few days later, a group of Meridellian soldiers marched into the village and placed Brend under arrest. It was revealed that upon hearing of the plague (and being ordered not to assist in any way), she had stolen a large quantity of medical supplies and deserted from the front lines to get the aid to the villages. The officer in charge promptly sentenced Brend to death for treason, but the execution was interrupted by Miranda, who stood by the Pteri and refused to get out of the way. Before the situation could escalate further, a large force from the Darigan Citadel besieged the village, forcing the outnumbered Meridellian soldiers to mount a hasty defence. Brend and Miranda were the only doctors present, but they performed their duties excellently and were able to save the lives of many badly wounded soldiers.

 

Meridellian reinforcements eventually arrived, led by Captain Kylar Munroe (later known as "Sapper"), and were able to drive Darigan's forces back. Brend was pardoned in light of her considerable service to Meridell, both in the war and stopping the plague. Kylar managed to secure her a commendation for initiative and bravery, and Brend immediately recommended Miranda as a potential combat medic. With no family left in her village, Miranda joined the medical corps. without hesitation.

 

The Mynci served with distinction in the Meridellian army, and was later (along with most of Meridell's forces) folded into the United Neopian Army. She developed a fast friendship with Sapper over the years, regarding him as one of the few officers sensible enough to be worth yelling at. She wound up serving in his special forces team as the lead medic and unofficial second-in-command. Her direct, untempered personality turned out to be a good complement for Sapper's calmer, more forward-thinking approach.

 

When Sapper transferred to SIGMA, Miranda moved with him (although she harboured some reservations about the new force). She found that she could not tolerate the wanton attitude which SIGMA officers had towards the safety of innocents in the line of fire, and left the force only a couple of weeks later (official records show that she was fired for insubordination, but technically speaking she quit before they had a chance to fire her). She then signed up for the Defenders of Neopia volunteer service, and has been serving there since. In fact, when Sapper was discharged from SIGMA, it was Miranda who roped him into the DoN.

 

Present

Miranda is one of the DoN's best doctors, leading an international team of medical experts around Neopia to deliver aid wherever it is needed.

 

Other other stuff

While she's not much of a precision surgeon, Miranda is an excellent field medic, able to rapidly analyse critical injuries and improvise solutions where conventional medical techniques fail (of course, she's also extremely well versed in the aforementioned conventional techniques). She's also a highly competent helicopter pilot, a skill which she picked up while working on short-staffed search and rescue teams.

 

Despite lacking the fitness and skill of the commandos she used to serve with, Miranda is still a trained soldier, and remains completely undaunted by most challenges. She's developed a reputation for charging headlong into situations insane enough to send most elite soldiers curling into foetal positions. This reputation is not entirely undeserved.

 

Note: SIGMA is a creation of mine for TURBULENCE. As with anything else in the TURBULENCE universe, I'd appreciate it if you checked with me if you decide you want to use it.

 

:)

 

))

[Raichi]

She waited for Sapper to respond, but instead Lili responded, throwing a shover before her and offered some water. Gwen smiled kindly and accepted the drink, after all she had gotten thirsty having rid on Sapper for such a long time. She made sure not to drink too much, it was Lili's water, not hers. She wasn't a big fan of drinking water anyway. "Thanks" she said and returned the bottle.

 

Then she picked up the shovel and started digging. Heavy labor wasn't really her thing, but it was far less time consuming then dealing with the media. Chuukou and Fiwaou must of enjoyed a nice warm bath and a delicious meal by now while I'm saving their butts! She thought. Sure she was truthfully saving her colleagues, but with that avoiding the media and thus saving her own butt as well.

 

When Sapper joined in with a shovel as well he spoke some reassuring words, that help is on the way and that her colleagues are probably still alive.