etrayalogs | Mission 013 Log

Mission 013 Log

Mission Summary

Genre: Survival / Exploration / Spooky

Premise: Mesa is a wild, lawless land of megafauna, from feathered dinosaurs to redwoods soaring stories high. Etrayans must document what remains of a world on its way out and then get out alive, surviving in the wilderness for two weeks while fighting off a hostile environment. Most importantly of all: beware the dark.

Tone: Dark and philosophical. Is this a world worth saving?

Objectives: Take samples and record for posterity what happened on Mesa. Demonstrate appreciation of what is lost and the capacity to preserve it.

❬ all that men presume ❭

While Mesa is full of life even now, with large creatures roaming the continents and making themselves comfortable, there are traces indicating that at one point this wilderness was constructed. The Citadel, a galaxy-spanning empire, had wanted to collect creatures from the numerous inhabited planets they could reach, and selected Mesa as the location for their conservatory given its lack of sentient residents. Once a carefully maintained vacation destination for Citadel elite, landscapes were meticulously groomed and animal husbandry was rigorously planned to create fascinating creatures across generations.

A good idea, in theory. Perhaps even in practice, given that whilst the rest of this galaxy has collapsed and died, this particular planet is still standing, along with all the creatures that had been transplanted onto it to call it their home.

Now abandoned by the Citadel, Mesa returns slowly to its original state: a deserted planet much like Etraya was before Aurora and Borealis's cities had been developed on it. Which is why Aurora has sent the Etrayans abroad: gather data on those who still live amongst Mesa's population, so that these creatures will not be forgotten as their predecessors have been.

Aurora's portal brings characters to a bare base camp, previously visited by a spare few of her bots in order to outfit it with just enough to allow them to survive. Simply called the Lux, their base camp takes the form of a massive spire with a built-in high-powered lamp at the peak, which bathes the entire outside of the building in light at all times. Some rooms hidden within the facility provide darkened spots to allow Etrayans to rest safely.

Aurora had told them that they must make sure to not be out in the dark -- hopefully the spire's eternal light as well as how carefully the entire outside of the structure is lit up offers them enough of a reminder to listen.

Possible Hooks
• Taking stock of your assigned team that you've just met, sharing supplies, and getting ready to leave on your assignment.
• Building up the base to serve as a safe respite for the time on Mesa.
• Returning to camp between assignments for a breather or because you've spent a little too long out in the dark.

❬ a conservatory left behind ❭

Mesa's ecosystems are dominated by megafauna: creatures of immense size and stature, often with lengthy lifespans and narrow biome niches. Most are locked to their environments, adapted precisely to the area they reside in, with little chance of surviving outside of their specific ecosystem. A swamp titan would not survive the cold tundra that the ice leopards call home, and the ice leopards cannot survive in the ashy, hot environment that let horned beetles thrive. Smaller animals may exist amongst them, but they are significantly less common. Many rely on the larger creatures for survival: feeding off of the parasites that attach themselves to their massive bodies, or nesting within their fur.

Much of the wildlife exhibits ancient evolutionary traits, behaviors and patters long-since established with no signs of further development. They no longer evolve with time and generations but instead have settled into their place on their planet.

The megafauna are not the only living beings on Mesa. Scattered across the planet are traces of civilization: abandoned ranger stations, research laboratories, and observation outposts. While these locations appear as if the technology within them was at one time advanced, it has now become nonfunctional, left to rot without maintenance over the generations.

Yet some of these structures still contain life, the descendants of the humanoid beings that established Mesa long ago. One may consider trying to extend a hand out toward them to offer what assistance they can give - but none of them will be friendly.

Long abandoned by those who had once brought them here, these people have become opportunistic predators, fiercely defending what facilities they were able to keep partially functional. The darkness that plagues the Etrayans also appears to plague them, and without light, the same ill fate would be their demise.

They do not travel far, choosing to maintain their own livestock and supplies to ensure they are never far from the light. After all, they know the greatest threat on Mesa is not the wildlife, but the dark.

Possible Hooks
• Encounter various wildlife while out on assignment, and perhaps run into another team.
• Build an observation blind shelter with your teammates and hole up there for a few days, hoping to document your species of interest.
• Discover and explore an abandoned structure.
• Come under threat from the residents... or try to reach out to them.

❬ hatchlings ❭

The chelonians, one of the species in one of Mesa's warmer climates, has struggled to maintain their numbers over their centuries on the planet due to their inability to change their ways.

Hatchlings are born several kilometers away from the beach shores, burrowed deep into soil to protect them from predators that may seek out their eggs during high tide. These creatures are massive, large shells encasing a significant portion of their bodies with only their heads and limbs visible from under it.

These creatures are rare and difficult to spot on Mesa: they breed slowly, live for centuries, and their offspring very rarely make it passed their first few hours of life. They often hatch in the dark of the night, making them extremely susceptible to predators that lurk in the dark, waiting for prey too small and too fragile to protect themselves. Large winged beasts swoop down from the skies, picking up the newborn chelonians to enjoy a fresh meal.

Without them, their ecosystem begins to collapse: kelp beds and forests fail, and entire food chains unravel.

Etrayans with interest could assign themselves a simple, unofficial mission to find the burrows and protect the younglings as they manage to break through their shells, then help them into the ocean so that their kind may survive to see the sun again. They must set up light sources and wait beside the burrows to make sure these massive creatures not only escape their eggs but do not become lost on their journey to the water. Following them to the water is critical, as their eyesight, even with a light source, is quite poor -- and they have a tendency to lose their way.

No one's asked them to do this -- the whole planet is slated for destruction, so maybe this entire venture is pointless -- but maybe this is something worth doing anyway.

Possible Hooks
• Idealistic types see the chelonian hatchlings struggling to make it to a beach and step in to help. Considering how large they are, this might be a struggle for them, too.
• Cynical types question what the point is.

❬ night falls ❭

Mesa's darkness is not merely the conventional absence of direct light.

The planet itself has no moon, and when darkness comes, it is absolute.

Remaining in the darkness has several consequences, and the effects accumulate over time, progressing along a spectrum rather than in tidy stages. This only seems to effect those from Etraya and the humanoids living within their bases, not the animals brought to reside on planet. Remaining within light sources suppresses the effects, but the moment the planet's rotation angles them away from this galaxy's star, any Etrayans caught outside of the light will find themselves succumbing to the effects.

Characters were warned not to stay out in the dark, but they were not told why they should not.

If any of them prefer not to find out and remain at base during one unfortunate night, they'll find out why anyway: the power cuts. The surrounding terrain, once held at bay by artificial light at the Lux, is swallowed whole. The air feels heavier and the atmosphere itself feels weighted.

Blithe apathy sinks in. The ability to listen to reason slowly leaves those left in the darkness. If they do not find a light source quickly, they will be able to feel the physical effects of the darkness set into their skin, potentially ending with permanent changes.

Those remaining on base may work together in order to bring the power back on, utilizing any personal abilities in addition to fixing the damaged circuits in order to bring everything back online. But they had better react quickly -- the longer the darkness remains, the worse the effects become, and maybe someone who was once trying to help is now trying to hurt...

Possible Hooks
• Help restore power after it cuts at the Lux.
• Underestimate the darkness effects, assume your light source is enough, and slowly fall prey to the pleasant apathy. You'll need rescue.
• Stumble onto another party's camp and need their help to be coaxed back to sanity.

❬ MISSION NOTES ❭

📌 — Please make sure to use the major events comment thread specifically to announce character actions that have a significant impact on the mission outcome or other characters.

📌 — For all questions relating to this mission, please refer to the mission queries comment on the plotting post. Other questions can be directed to the FAQ.

🔵FULL NAVIGATION🔵

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yeah, absolutely.

[The agreement comes immediately, as does his initial prep. Is soup the most practical meal for a campout? Probably not. But if he's not going to be the team's sentinel, then Clark is going to be the best gosh-darned survivalist possible. Besides, they need to keep their calories up to finish this mission, and eating things they like will help with that.]

So, how are you hanging in? Guessing you're more of a glamping girl than a camping girl.

Oh, you know, thrilled about this, loving every minute of spending this lovely vacation in a place where the habitants just got sucked into against their will and then forgotten about and left to rot, now I gotta make an inventory, love that, great feeling, hey, quick question, think if you fly me to space we can try to find these fuckers? I wanna give them a piece of my mind.

(Sorry, Clark... She's in a mood, but she cheers up a little at the fact that he is actually making her very impractical food request. Means she comes to sit a little closer, in her white uniform that is definitely not currently white as she scans the surroundings again, which means very bright eyes.)

Mhm. We got a hunter watching us from a cliff.

Sorry, can't fly you to space right now.

[Even if he kind of wants to. Clark isn't nearly as sarcastic as he friend but he shares the overall sentiment, whether or not it shows on his face.]

Hmm. Do they seem like they're just watching or going to take action?

[He continues prepping the soup, but he's also extending the range of his hearing as they speak.]

Raincheck? Seriously.

(Does she sound like she might be joking? Yeah. Is she? Absolutely not.

Her fingers flutter in a rhythm as she pays attention to what's going on in there mentally.)

Oh. He's just waiting for one of us to leave so he can get us one by one when the one taken disappears. Tasteless, uncreative opportunism. Mhm... What should we do to you?

Ha. That's silly.

[Not that the hunter has any reason to know that. Still. Clark gets the fire going underneath the small pot he'll cook the soup in.]

You want to wait for him to get bored or redirect him? I could grab him and drop him somewhere else pretty easy. Even easier with a mental distraction.

[He's not actually worried, so it's all the same to him.]

Oh, I'm making him forget we are here, turning around to find someone else, and also scrambling a thing or two up in there so he doesn't stumble on us again. If you wanna take up listening, I can go back to cloaking us.

I wanna wait till he gets bored, though, I'm bored. This is like, the closest to television I'm going to get. God, this is so sad, I can't even fuck with him, his life already sucks without my intervention.

Oh, that's a good idea. I'll keep an ear out, but that should do it.

[Does he like the idea of mind control, in general? Not really. He also doesn't like the idea of punching people into submission but he still does that sometimes because certain circumstances call for it. The same applies to hunters looking to pick his teammates off.]

It's rough out here, yeah. Doesn't excuse going after us, but it maybe makes it understandable.

All my ideas are great.

(Doubtful. She would love to poke that one. What makes him think some circumstances call for it, while others don't? Mhm. Interesting.)

I mean. Yeah. I'm mostly deeply entertained that he managed to survive this long. He's still straight up making plans that, if anyone has two brain cells active regarding survival in bullshit situations, well, his plans are super flawed. Ugh, okay, I'm bored as shit now. Off he goes.

(As promised, she does. The scrambling is mostly what she finds a gift — she'll reduce some automatic neural pathways so that he can start opening new ones. Maybe get fucking creative.

Her eyes no longer glow, and she shuts them hard, shakes her head, and okay, she's back.)

[He'll grant her that all her ideas are interesting. Great might be a little farther than he's willing to go. Still, he's glad when she sends the hunter off; he'll keep an ear out, but he's not really worried.

Soup prep continues. The stuff that can be done faster does get done faster for obvious reasons, but he can't cheat on the heating part.]

So what do you make of this whole...collecting memories of a world that allegedly can't be saved, but not doing anything to try and stop it?

I wouldn't want to go on an alien ass-kicking if I thought this was okay.

(So, not doing very well on that part.)

Fucking ridiculous. I fucking hate it. If I could reach Echo, trust me, fucking toast. We're just going to let these people here to perish? And the fauna? Memories, fucking seriously? Let me tell you, as someone whose half her head is memories that aren't even mine, that's nearly not enough. Fucking bullshit.

(She sounds extremely agitated. She could have hidden the reaction, easily, but she finds that she doesn't want to, gesticulating and huffing.)

Edited 2026-02-19 00:03 (UTC)

[It's not that he actually thought Sophie wouldn't care about what they're doing here — or not doing here — beyond the inconvenience of it, but it's nice to hear the emphasis.]

Yeah. Same here, pretty much everything you said.

[Maybe not in those exact words.]

Did Kell ever tell you I came from a planet in kind of the situation? Doomed then, gone now.

... No, we were more focused on — you know, well, I was more focused on trying to teach him... Autonomy beyond his own doomy shit and mission, which is kind of hilarious? Blind leading the blind sorta situation.

But, no. I'm sorry, Clark. Are you okay?

It's not hilarious. I think that's a good thing.

[It really is too bad Kell isn't still here, he thinks.]

But — yes and no? I mean, I'm doing okay. I don't remember anything about Krypton — my parents sent me away to Earth to save my life when I was only a baby. But I keep feeling, I don't know, almost guilty? Like I was the last survivor of my planet, but I can't do anything for the people of this one.

Pfft, no, I was out of the hivemind for like, a few months when I met him. Had no fucking clue what I was talking about, still kinda fucking don't, but I'm great at convincing people I do, so whatever.

(Clone with a mission that removes their self-identity and individuality meets a hiveminded clone without a mission, but by definition suffering from all the same things. Complicated.)

Oh. Clark, honey, you have survivor's guilt? I guess that would make sense, on the grand scheme of things. Let me guess, you're a super-hero because you won't let the planet that took you in be damned.

(Okay, be nice, Sophie, be nice. Don't lash out because you're uncomfortable that you don't know what to say to these things.)

Yeah, well. When we're back? I'm gonna ask where these Empire assholes are, see if we can try to move these people out of here, do fucking something. I assume you'll want to go with me if we actually get a solution that isn't this passive bullshit.

... Or if we do find them, that'd soothe my heart, too.

[Oh. He's heard of that term before, he just — never thought of it as applying to him. He knows he's the last survivor of Krypton, aside from Kara, but it almost feels funny to think of himself that way. He didn't do anything to survive, he just...survived, with no recollection of what he'd lost.]

Well. Something like that, yeah. Not just that, but yeah.

[Hope vitalizes our hearts and that hope is you, Kal-El. He shakes off the memory.]

And yeah, of course. In a heartbeat. I'm pretty bad and sitting around and not acting. There's a reason being here is the first time I've ever had this much time to experiment with cooking.

Not just that? Go on. I'm listening.

(She probably won't relate. Hell, he's an alien, and he can relate to more experiences than she can, but she can listen and try to understand. Who knows, maybe she'll be able to help. Hopefully. She'd like to.)

So am I. I'm — I don't know. I just go. End up dead half the time, but at least I did something.

I'm glad you're not dead right now. For what it's worth.

[He reaches out to squeeze her shoulder briefly before returning to the soup.]

As for why I do what I do...it just always seemed like the right thing. I can do things to help that other people can't, so I should. Especially because I can hear people everywhere, all the time. I screen it out because I have to, but if I don't, I can hear everyone out there who needs help, calling for it. All over the world...all at once.

Ah, then we are the same person, except you're, you know, a hot, super-tall alien man. I'm like that. I just think — if that's what you're doing on itself, it's fine, but if you're doing it to settle a debt over the place that took you in, then you're in for a lot of headache. Just stick to the first one.

[Funny how she can describe him that way and it's still the most platonic thing ever. Clark doesn't even question it.]

It's not out of obligation. My parents are the ones who took me in, not the world, and I couldn't begin to pay them back for everything they gave me. I just want things to be better for everyone.

(It's a fact, like saying they have blue eyes.)

Yeah. Me too. I don't like having my hands tied. When we're back, I'm talking to Aurora. I don't trust anyone whose head I can't break in, but we'll see what I get from it.

Let me know what you find out. Or if you need backup. Or just, like, moral support.

[He's good at that.]

I mean, most you can do is if you hear me do something stupid you think I'll regret, try fighting me on it. Other than that, I think it's fine.

I don't think you'd do anything too stupid. But I'll keep an ear out.

You'd be surprised. Did I not tell you about my attempts at terrorism?

[That gets a slightly startled look.]

Noooo...?

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