MONTH 2 LOG

[nolandmod]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Vault 66
WHEN: ???? – Day 1, Month 2
WHAT: The second wave of pods open
WARNINGS:Reference to suicide, TBD

AWAKENING

You awake laying on your back in an, admittedly comfortable, pod. You can't move anything but your eyes, can't even feel your body yet. How you got here or why is a blank. You may have been in the middle of your day, asleep, or even- for what you remember- should be dead. Then a screen directly in front of your face flickers to life and in crisp, black and white displays: DON'T PANIC. The following video then plays:

Watch on YouTube

The screen flickers again and reads: CONGRATULATIONS ON PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE! WELCOME TO VAULT LIFE, CITIZEN. WELCOME TO YEAR: [ERROR]. YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS ARE LOCATED IN [FILE CORRUPTED. SEE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR]. ENJOY YOUR STAY AND THANK YOU FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT VAULT-TEC.

The pod then unseals and you are able to, unstably at first, climb out of the pod. Your body may feel foreign for a moment- perhaps entirely foreign if you suddenly find yourself a human, ghoul, or super mutant for the first time. But whatever your form, you have two items on: a bright blue jumpsuit with the number 66 in yellow on the back, and a mechanical device known as a Pip-boy sealed onto your arm. If you click on the buttons it takes you to an instruction screen.

You look around to find yourself in a room of other pods. Some are just opening, other people looking as confused as you climbing out. Others remain closed with the status of 'STASIS' on the screens attached to the pods. The rest of the room is less than impressive. Computer systems that seem out of place compared to the technology level of the pods are scattered across the room, apparently running the chambers. Trying to access them, even for the most talented hacker, will simply result in SEE OVERSEER being displayed. There is large metal door leading to the rest of the vault, a lever on the wall next to it that will cause it to open.

Welcome, dweller, to vault 66.

 

THE VAULT EXPANDED

In the month following the first pods opening, Jiro and Elizabeth DeWitt enlisted the help of the Mr. Handy ‘Louis’ the clear the debris and create a stable passageway to the rest of the testing area. Slightly smaller than the rest of the hallway, there is still plenty of room for people to move in and out of the area without discomfort.



This portion of the vault, if possible, is even dirtier and more decrepit than the rest, having been cut off from even the most basic maintenance for an untold period of time. The emergency lighting has been cut off to this area, leaving the whole zone in the dark besides what little light comes through the newly formed passage.

Those willing to venture into the area will find this isolation has allowed a handful of more intimidating creatures than radroaches to establish a home (though there are still roaches, just fewer than are found in the rest of the vault). Several breaches in the metal walls along the hallways open into small tunnels, which the occasional mole rat will venture out of. Though usually only appearing alone or in pairs, these creatures are even hungrier for fresh meat than the radroaches and will attack with their huge, sharp, pointy teeth. If killed, they could supply a decent (if slightly irradiated) source of meat for a while, along with hide to make more reinforced clothing. But taking one down without proper weapons will likely require some teamwork.

There are several important (and often concerning) areas to find in this zone. First are two firmly sealed doors, one at the upper corner of the new area and one at the lower middle. Each door has a very helpful (currently unlit) sign over it: ENTRANCE and OVERSEER, respectively. Next to each is another of the computer terminals characters have grown used to seeing around the vault.

Next are Testing Areas 1, 2, and 3. Each of these testing areas has an observation room with a smaller containment chamber attached to it. The doors to the observation areas can be pulled open with enough effort, allowing entrance to the small room filled with chemistry glassware, lockers, and tables covered in long since rotten scraps of paper and books. The doors to the containment chambers, for the moment, remain sealed shut with yet more computer terminals next to them. These doors look weaker than the ones sealing off the entrance and overseer area, and can possibly be broken down with time and effort. But characters will want to think long and hard before doing that. Each observation room has a bullet proof, reinforced one-way window that allows characters to look into the containment chamber without whatever is in the chamber being able to see them. And the chambers are occupied.

Testing Chamber 1 (WARNING: SUICIDE) contains the corpse of a super mutant splayed on the ground. The walls around it are dented, and its head caked in long dried blood. Anyone with passing medical knowledge can observe the super mutant apparently killed itself through repeated blunt force trauma, banging its own head against the walls and door until death.

Approaching Testing Chamber 2 causes character’s pip-boys to start crackling a warning of increased radiation. Standing in the observation chamber the levels are low enough that it isn’t healthy, but no one is going to die without prolonged exposure. The source of the radiation is clear, inside the chamber is a corroded barrel of radioactive waste. Along with it, a grotesque creature that is very clearly alive, moving around and around its small, enclosed space.

Testing Chamber 3 also crackles with radiation, though the source of this isn’t a barrel. Rather, a walking, emaciated corpse shambles about the containment chamber. Other than the walking corpse bit, there’s two characteristics which stand out: the corpse is glowing an eerie yellow-green with an inner light that pulses as it walks and it’s wearing the torn remains of what is very clearly the same blue and yellow jumpsuit all characters arrived in.

GENERAL EXPLORING

Whether you venture into the new area of the vault or not, the rest of the vault awaits. This includes the three Mr. Handy’s floating around, as well as more radroaches wandering around the many corpses/blood splatter patterns.

OOC NOTES

To talk to a specific NPC one-on-one, leave a comment on their thread below.

Looking for loot in a specific area? Looking for a specific item/kinds of item in general? Ask here and we’ll let you know.

If you have any OOC questions, please leave a comment here!

Comments

NICK

[nolandmod]

Nick is the repair Mr. Handy. The state of the vault may give you a glimpse into how dedicated Nick has been about his job. While he's more than happy to shoot the shit, when things need to be fixed he always has some reason why it can't be done right now. Need a new part. Or his optical input needs adjusting. There's a thousand reasons. It takes a strong hand to get Nick to do much of anything, much to the annoyance of the other Mr. Handy's in the vault. He can be mostly found in the reactor level, not that it does much good.

[wildguardian]

After hearing from Jiro that the robots were able to answer questions, Yunlan's out looking for one; he waves as soon as he spots mechanical movement in the corner of the air-handling equipment room.

"Hey there! Great to meet you-- what can I call you, friend?"

[nolandmod]

Is it possible for a robot to sigh? Nick makes an attempt at it, at least, hovering a couple inches lower to the ground as (another) new human walks into his space. Still, he turns to focus all his optic sensors on the new man, looking him up and down.

"Nick. Chocolat is doing the cleaning now. Complain to her."

[wildguardian]

"No, no -- no complaints! I just wanted to chat with someone who's been here a while, and the local organics don't seem to go over a few weeks. Nick, huh? I'm Zhao Yunlan."

That definitely wasn't a pre-programmed response. Hard to tell how extensive the AI was with just one line, though. He essayed a careless grin, settling into a hipshot stance to avoid having to lean against any of the frankly disgusting equipment in the room.

"How long have you been around?"

[nolandmod]

"Feels like forever."

It's hard to tell if the questioning is more or less welcome than complaining since Nick doesn't move much besides the slow bob of his hovering.

"How many more of you are there now?"

[wildguardian]

"Oh, I think we're at nine now." He hasn't met everyone yet, but what had Jiro said the others' names were? "Peggy, Sandy, Jiro, Elizabeth, Chocolat -- then me, Princess Azula and Saya.

"Seems like there used to be a lot more people around here, though. What happened to them, anyway?"

[nolandmod]

"Died, looks like."

Nick floats over to a table and picks up a deck of cards with his claw.

"Tell me at least one of you knows how to play? Beating a kid's just sad."

[wildguardian]

"Yeah, thanks, I got that. Think you might be able to enlighten us about why they died? Trade you -- one hint per game. I can play."

[nolandmod]

If Nick were a normal computer, his screen would have frozen for a moment. As it is, he hesitates, then resumes moving, shuffling the cards with his claws.

"Lucky you I'm a fair player. I just work here. No hints to give."

[wildguardian]

"Mmhm. What's your game?"

Yunlan blinked innocently at the robot, then added, "And is that a can't or a won't on the hints?"

[nolandmod]

"You've got as many hints as me, man."

But a game is a game. Nick starts dealing out.

"Poker," which for sanity of mods and players can be handwaved in the background, "for your first game I'll let you owe me when you lose."

[wildguardian]

"Well, that's a shame." Yunlan sweeps up his hand as the robot finishes dealing, glancing down at the cards. "How about, loser owes the winner a favor? And what do you know about this place? You've been here longer than me."

[nolandmod]

Nick mulls it over for a moment, looking at his cards. One optic sensor stays focused on them as the other two look at Yulan.

"Like caps better, but what the hell. No other action around here. And answering that counts as a favor."

How would you like to determine the card game winner? RNG?

[wildguardian]

"Done." Yunlan flashed a grin, plucked two of the cards from his hand, and slid them over to Nick, face down. "Two discards."

[nolandmod]

[[Will do a d6 roller for the first couple rounds. Want odds or evens?]]

"Get ready to for the to do list, my man."

[wildguardian]

[[I'll go for odds!]]

"Big talk!" Yunlan laughed, and swept the new cards into his hands. "You'll see."

[nolandmod]

Nick's optics shutter slightly as he looks at the final hand and realize, despite all his talk, he's lost.

"Bah, let's see you go a few decades without practice and not have to shake off the rust."

He's still too proud to actually admit he owes something now, though, so he'll just shuffle again while he waits for the question.

[wildguardian]

"Ha ha!" It's a crow of victory: he's not quite considerate enough to respect Nick's wounded pride. Yunlan points at him, grinning with just enough teeth showing to make it a challenge. "Right then. One thing you know about this place that you haven't told anyone here before."

you can roll this one! nick will keep odds

[nolandmod]

Nick sighs, even as he deals out the next hand.

"You think I go around chatting with people in this heap? But, here. I stashed the best stims years ago."

2!

[wildguardian]

"Naaaah, I just think I can get anything you've already told someone else from them, so why waste a win on it?" He sweeps the cards in his hand, and lets his eyebrows go up in theatrical pleasure at the deal. "No discards for me this round. You?"

And what was a stim, anyway? Stimulant? What on earth would a robot want with drugs?

discard that one

[nolandmod]

"I'm holding."

And he loses. Again. Can a robot fume? This one is trying. And glancing at the man's face as he starts shuffling again.

Re: discard that one

[wildguardian]

"Where'd you hide them?" He could ask what they were: or he could just go find them and see without wasting a perfectly good question. Yunlan chuckles easily, taking the new hand. "Don't worry, don't worry, your luck's bound to turn around. So is this how you spend a lot of your time, Nick?"

[nolandmod]

"That's a question."

He's snapping his answers, apparently pretty thinned skinned for a robot. But he deals again and, if Yunlan is observant, slips a card under some crud on the table during that last shuffle. He's a cheating robot, but, again, hasn't had anyone to actually cheat against in a long time.

"For where? Somewhere in here."

[wildguardian]

"Just making conversation, my friend!" Yunlan's gaze flicks towards the card disappearing under the table debris, then back to Nick, his smile growing just slightly. He's not calling Nick on the cheating; not this round. He's won two in a row, after all, and that's useful information even if this is a relatively large room full of nooks and crannies.

"Let's see what I've got this time..." Theatrically, he focuses his attention on his cards, arranging them so he can see over them to spot whether Nick's retrieving his ace in the hole.

[nolandmod]

[[Roll it! Nick is taking odds]]

It entirely depends if it looks like he's winning or not. If it's in his favor, that card will stay tucked away. Things looking against him? You bet he's going to dramatically 'accidentally' knock something over than go for that card to cheat his way to victory.