Esoteric

A R K H E U S

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A R K H E U S

Prelude: Just Another Day

Ambient Music

_⚙⚙Annelle Caldera⚙_⚙

^{6:45pm, Sunday, April Sixth, 187 A.E}

The biting chill of rain assaulted the central sector of Arkheus, the automated weather systems creating a gale force wind to accompany the dark, roiling artificial clouds. Annelle knew it was going to rain, she'd gathered that much from the visual sky display bathed in murky hues of gray, and she still hadn't thought to bring an umbrella. A gust of wind whipped through the small path she trudged along, winding through the mill of bodies pressed shoulder to shoulder and ducking flying debris carried on the wind. She flicked her wristpad back to life from where it slept on her arm, its bright blue display flickering to life—She really needed an upgrade. After a moment, the interface came up, and she synced some music to her headset, drowning out the buzzing drone of hundreds of voices. Despite that, there was still very little comfort to be had on her daily commute to work. An assortment of smells assaulted her senses, from the rank odor of unwashed bodies, to the acrid steam shooting from vents, with just enough warmth and bitterness to sting her eyes. She'd thought about hopping up on the rails, the magnetic splints latched around her shins were plenty capable of hitting good speeds, but at this time of day the rails were likely just as crowded. At least here she was less likely to get crushed, or plummet to her death. She was more likely to get mugged, but she figured she'd take her chances. Overhead, a drone passed by, ever watchful, always looking to report criminal activity.

She diverted down another road, really just moving with the flow of bodies like a fish caught in a current than actual walking. She hardly needed to pay attention to where she was going. She flicked over to the guidance display on her wrist, bringing up an interactive three-dimensional map of the sector. A pulsing blue line showed her current route, and an array of gray off shoots showed alternate routes with estimated travel times. It looked like she'd have to take one of those, less than a mile ahead the Watchmen had a whole block closed off, probably another incident with the Liberata. She changed course, heading for a detour that was a measly two minutes longer, and figured she had enough time to check her messages.

Message from "Dad", sent today at, 4:42pm:

"Annelle? How come you never pick up when I call?" A gruff voice asked, followed by a brief pause, "Listen Annie"—The name caused a snort of displeasure from Annelle—"You need to start thinking like an adult. Come to the force Annie, you can't really be happy making such a shit living doing.. whatever it is that you do. I know you live in the slums Annie, it's dangerous there. Why won't you come back, so we can be a family again? I-"

"Message Erased, Next Message"
"Message from "Dewalt, John", sent today at, 5:37pm:

"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY RENT YOU LITTLE-"

"Message Erased, Next Message"
"Message from "Watts, Elliot", sent today at, 7:02pm:

Anne cursed, looking at the time display on her wrist pad—"Hey gorgeous, you're late. No worries, I've already logged you in, don't tell anyone 'kay?" A man spoke, ending with a raspy chuckle.

"No new messages, to return to the main-"

Ann exited out of the system, ignoring the music that faded back in from the background, and texted a quick response to Elliot—'Thanks, I'm almost there, Spooks closed a block on my usual route'. Before her, in among the backdrop of buildings reaching high up into the veil of the sky, her destination loomed. Just over eighty floors, The 'Sys.Admin' building was a monolith of glass and steel. Anne broke off from the stream of people, heading to their various destinations within the Station district, and took the steps two at a time. On the other side of a pair of glass doors, she flashed her I.D to a pair of waiting guards. Cleared for entrance, Anna took an elevator down to the sub-levels, where the field operators worked.

Sub level six was a labyrinth of pristine white walls that seemed to glisten beneath blinding lights modeled after ancient florescent. It was easy to get lost down here, every hallway and door was but a cookie cutter print. Fortunately, here workstation was fairly close, and before she knew it a metallic door was parting before her. The room on the other side was a stark contrast to the world of perfect walls and cleanliness. It held a long steel worktable, bolted against one wall, and a pair of computer stations at the far end. Each station came standard with an uncomfortable chair, a desk space, and three monitors suspended from the ceiling. The array of wires and fixtures seemed rather organized to the rest of the space. Against the remaining wall were two lockers and a set of hooks for their gear and coats.

"Look who made it, guess you weren't on the terrorist list today, huh?" Elliot asked, his form silhouetted by the glow of his monitor screens.

"No shit, you know they took a bunch of people from the upper floors the other week? World's going crazy El, batshit crazy." Anne said, slinging her backpack over the back of her chair.

"Yea, no kidding. I took a look into that blockade you mentioned, check this out," Elliot said, motioning to one of his monitors with currently muted news coverage of a police raid. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and after offering Annelle one, produced a lighter for them both. He took a heavy drag as he unmuted the live stream.

A woman's voice chimed up on the feed, though her words were hard to make out over the cacophony of gunfire in the background."—Have already begun the assault on yet another terrorist holdout. The rise in recent Liberata activety has lit a fire underneath the Anti-Terrorism campaign, and this is the second raid today."

Behind her, a line of metallic barricades with flashing displays cordoned off the public. A squadron of Watchmen were breaking off from the defensive line formed behind their personnel vans. The building before them, illuminated from the bright spotlights of two interceptors above was probably around forty stories or so, the lower floors featuring an extensive amount of damage. Weapons poked out of windows and holes, returning fire at the police. A smoke canister exploded, shrouding the scene in a dense layer of cover.

"As you can see behind me," the reporter said, shielding her head from debris as a series of explosions rocked the entryway of the building, "The Watchmen have begun their assault, and I am confident in their victory. Sources indicate that large scales operations are being performed all over the sector, and will likely run deep into the night. This is Clara with—" Her voice cut out as Elliot muted the feed once more.

"They are going nuts over the libbies man, I may just sleep here tonight," Elliot stated, a bit exasperated.

Annelle chuckled, "Yea, but more importantly we've got a job to do," She hinted, putting to one of the other monitors on Elliot's station.

"Aw shit, we've been given a ping down in the slums," El complained, running his free hand through his hair, "Why do we even bother fixing shit down there?"

"Probably something that can't be overlooked, I'd say from the codes it's a camera hub, Watchmen love their eyes," Ann speculated through an exhalation of blue-gray smoke.

"You wanna-?"

"Don't worry, I won't let your pasty ass get mugged, you just stay here and figure out whats wrong with it alright?"

"Can do you beautiful creature, thanks," Elliot said with a grin. Somewhat of a scared mouse, he hated field work, and lived in fear of the slums all together. "Hey, bring back some coffee too would'ja?"

"Yes dear," Anne mocked, snatching up her coat and field gear.

A few minutes later and she was pounding down the front steps of Sys.Admin once more, goggles on her head and a filtration mask snugly over her face. She had to walk less than a block through the slightly thinned horde of bodies to reach an access point for the magrails. She knelt down, clicking on the power for her splints and listening to the familiar whir of energy as they waited to receive a connection. There were three kinds of mag-rails. The large, twisting snake of a highway that bored a path to all of the sectors; The smaller version, dubbed the civil rail, which passed through most main thoroughfares and lacked the middle section for trains; and the personal rails, meant for just people and branched off in a hundred different paths.

One of those personal rails was her destination. The on-ramp resembled every other ramp for the larger magways, just condensed to human sized. It resembled an escalator, consisting of flat metal panels that looped up towards the personal rail. Anne followed the short line of people until her was able to step onto her own platform. A moment later she felt the magnetic lock take hold, a tingle of excitement washing through her. The magways were always exciting, there was nothing that compared to the rush you got. She neared the top and crouched, leaning forward just slightly. The panel slipped beneath to circulate back around, and transitioned Anne onto a small, smooth runway, much like ancient merging lanes. With a jarring pull the ramp-way "grabbed" her, accelerating her forward until the air was whipping her clothes and hair into a frenzy. She shot a glance over her shoulder as the magnetic hold on her slacked, the path looked clear for a merge.

The personal rail stretched out before her, a shining metallic roadway with thick barriers topped with rails to either side, and down the middle. She spend along, tucking further and leaning harder into the wind to squeeze out some more speed. Unfortunately personal mag systems didn't really have speed modules, so she was set at a standard speed. Up ahead the roadway swung hard towards the right, literally turning perpendicular to the ground, before leveling out and merging onto the larger civil rails, which really just added four extra wide lanes for vehicles. There were only two lanes for human traffic, but it was enough for Anna to weave through those moving slower. If you stood up straight, the rails lowered your speed, so as not to break your neck.

From there it was only a handful of minutes of weaving through the people before she merged onto the Industrial rail, where a train sped by at a nauseating speed. Here the personal rail became three lanes, whereas vehicular traffic got four, and the two for trains. All separated by dividers. Anne relaxed her body, checking her wristpad. She had a little over an hour before she reached her destination.

...

Anne was partially zoned out, lost in her own thoughts as she stared ahead when her guidance system chimed to life, "Your destination is ahead." She blinked, standing up and feeling her speed slow as she stretched her muscles. Exiting the magrails was a similar process to getting on them; she merged off onto a strip of roadway that slowed her speed drastically, before transitioning her onto the escalating platform that took her to the ground level. She hopped off with a bit of a wobble, and gave herself a moment to adjust as she clicked off her magnetic splints. Around her the slums stretched, dilapidated buildings in dire need of repair, none of which went higher than ten floors on average.

She checked her route guidance as she moved through the lifeless, trash littered streets. To one side a man slept against a storefront, one with shattered windows and a door so bent that it moved an inch, whirred futilely, and moved back an inch in an endless cycle. "The night comes," He rasped, giving Anne's heart a start. She swore he had been asleep. She trekked the mile towards the sought after maintenance door, pulling her goggles down over her eyes. Instantly her vision became better and slightly blue tinted. Blue vision was all the rage, marketed as an advanced form of night vision some twenty years or so ago.

She pressed her A.I.C to a seemingly plain metal panel. It scanned her card and after a moment withdrew back to reveal a key pad. She punched in her access code and the dormant machinery buzzed to life, retracting the thick door. Beyond that were the maintenance tunnels. Spacious enough for a small vehicle, the tunnels were a winding labyrinth that ran below the city streets, giving access to electronic hubs, piping systems, and so forth. She followed the route programmed for her by the Sys.Admin corporation, down snaking twists and turns until she came to the area in question.

"Hey El... you there?" She asked.

A second passed before her headset crackled to life, "What up babe, I'm here."

"I don't think I can fix this," Anne said with wonderment.

"What do you mean?"

Anne activated the holo systems display, producing a large orange screen that could barely hold its form. It was rife with error codes, and it was no wonder why. She knelt down, looking at a feed of cables that ran up into the terminal, many of which had been torn out. Not just torn out, but cut, and whatever had cut them left jagged tears in the metal behind it. But as she observed closer, the situation seemed to get worse. There were smears of blood splattered against the wall and floor. She followed the evidence, before arriving at a puddle of coagulated blood. She knelt down, reaching a shaky hands towards it—

"Anne? Anne?!"

"Shit sorry El, you have to see this," She said, transmitting a live video feed to him. She went back over the damage and the blood, causing Elliot to let out a low whistle.

"I think you'd better get the hell out of there Anne."

"I think you're right, send in a ticket to the guys up top, they're gonna need a whole crew for this.. and maybe some of Guardians too, fuck, I'll see you in a bit with some coffee," She finished, turning off the video link. She dug into her pocket with a shaky hand, pulling out a cigarette and feeling the sweet burn of smoke in her lungs. She stood for a moment longer, staring at the mess of mangled wires and shredded metal as she ran a hand through her hair.

She turned to leave, but hesitated. A cold chill traveled down her spine. Something clinked from the hallway she had come from. She took another drag, before chuckling at herself. That was just the sound of the door closing.. except, she looked at her wrist pad—8:42p.m. That had been a solid fifteen minutes ago. Perhaps that was just the Ark, changing something up above. She chuckled again nervously. Perhaps she'd take a different exit, just in case.

Clink. Clink. Scccrrrtttccccch.

Anne froze, looking around her wildly. That last metallic screech had shattered her nerves, where had it come from? "El, call the police."

"On it, what's happening girl?"

Clink... Clink... Clink.Clink.ClinkClinkClinkClink—

A malovent screech echoed through the tunnel, immediately sending Anne's body into fight or flight. She chose flight. "EL CALL THEM NOW!" She screamed over the sound of her feet pounding against the metal walkways and that awful clinking behind her. Another scream blasted down the corridor, followed by another, and another, until the howls compounded on top of each other and became one massive, hungry roar.

"ANNE? ANNE?!"

She didn't answer, couldn't answer. She sucked in a breath, the stark terror coursing through her body was making it difficult to breath. Behind her the clinking sounding like a tidal wave of sounds, like hundreds of metal legs tapping an unsteady rhythm. 'Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck,' ran on repeat through her mind. The howls had died down somewhat, becoming a dissonance of hungering grunts and growls. Up ahead of her salvation shined with a pale orange light, flickering unsteadily in the dimness. She skidded to a halt, smashing her badge into the wall panel. An eternity passed by before the panel clicked and withdrew, revealing the keypad. She punched in the code and cursed as it played an error sound. Again, another error. Again, another error. The keys turned red, locking her out of the system.

"Anna what's happening? I'm patching myself into your goggles," Elliots worried voice said, followed by a small overlay letting her know she was transmitting. Anne fumbled with her wristpad, managing to click on the flashlight feature. She used that to light her way as she spun the goggles around on her head. She heard Elliot take a sharp breath.

"WHAT ARE THEY EL?" Anne yelled, panicked.

"F-fuck I don't- Shit Anne just run! RUN OKAY?!"

Anne could literally feel the claws of the beasts her imagination created rending her back open, tearing at her flesh, devouring her. She ran harder, ignoring the burning pain in her side. To stop was death, she knew it was death. She felt she was just about at her end, ready to give up and let death take her. Another access point was just around the corner, just a little further. She dug in deep, pulling at the last reserves of her stamina as she flew around the corner.

And had to squint as a wall of light assaulted her. It was just a couple of flashlights, but contrast to the darkness it was enough to make her eyes water. She didn't stop running however, a white gloved hand motioned her through the line of Watchmen, six in total. They must have been nearby, that was usually fast. Elliot probably told them something Liberata something.

"Wait, what the fuck is that?" One of them shouted. Anna stopped, her foot on one rung of a ladder leading up to the city above. Charging the Watchmen from the tunnel, like a tide of floodwater smashing around the corner, was a horde of.. of.. she didn't have the works for them. Their bodies were dressed in tatters of clothing, faceless beings with pulsing teal veings, and a mouth full of rows of pointed teeth. Those in the front of the coming onslaught reached their hands forward, the long spikes anchored on the ends of their pale fingers leveled like an array of lances.

"Those aren't-" Another began, cut off by yet another to the side of him.

"SHOOT TO KILL!" The third yelled, his words cut off immediately after 'shoot'. Their muzzles opened fire, toppling the creatures like dominoes with flashes of orange muzzle fire. This only seemed to anger them, as the creatures charged forward with a blood curtling howl.

"What the fuck.." Elliot breathed. Anne took that as her cue to leave, flying up the rungs of the ladder wearily. Her momentum was spurred halfway up by the screams of the men below her. The ladder shook as she neared the top, shaking wildly as the swarm of beasts smashed into it and began to pursue her up. Pale light from the city street above pierced the veil of darkness in the tunnel. Anna scrambled up through the hatch, throwing herself to the ground.

She was greeted with a small swarm of activity, more responders who had decided not to delve down into the maintenance tunnels.

"Don't move!" A man shouted, pressing the barrel of his gun against the small of Anne's back. She tried to speak, to tell them to close the hatch, to get her out of there, but uttering anything simply caused the Watchman to jam his barrel against her. She reached out for the hatch, and was met with the butt of his weapon. Anne went sprawling in a daze, her vision swimming with double images.

"Where are the-" The Watchman began, walking closer towards her before one the creatures sprung from the tunnel, cannon-balling itself into the officer. He screamed as the things claws punctured his armor, as its teeth tore at his throat. Immediately the other officers began opening fire, but the stream of creatures from the tunnels was too thick. Anne groaned, pulling herself to her knees.

"Holy shit.. Anne, Anne! Get in the cruiser, right there in front of you."

Anne complied, dragging herself towards the APD personel carrier. She heard a click, Elliot must have unlocked it remotely. He was always good with computers like that, doing things he shouldn't. She opened the door and crawled in, managing to glance towards the scene unfolding just a few feet from her. The Watchmen were trying to hold their line, but the bodies were piling up on both sides, and the faceless beasts didn't seem to be slowing down at all. There was nobody else on the normally packed streets, had they cleared them all out already?

"Dammit Anne close the door!" Elliot shouted in her ear. She blinked, trying to shake away the haze, how hard had that officer hit her? She flopped into the driver's seat and pulled the door closed. Immediately the engine spurred to life.

"Dive Anne, DRIVE! ANNE? ANN?!" Elliot shouted, but the haze was back. Anne tried to sit up, but collapsed in between the driver and passenger seats. Unconsciousness washed over her, her body lulled to the darkness by the sounds of gunfire and animalistic shrieking. The world faded, and the world of nightmares waited for her.

A R K H E U S

Arkheus Identification Card

Bureau of Public Citizen Management

Name: Annelle Caldera

Aliases: Ann, Anne, Anna

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Job Title: Systems Engineer

Extended Description

Height: 5'5

Weight 122lbs, 55.3kg

Hair Color: Dark Auburn

Eye Color: Chocolate Brown

Skin Color: Light White

Scars:

• Faded scar on the middle left of her abdomen, where she was stabbed some odd years ago.

Tattoos:

• Dandelion and Birds tattooed on her right shoulder, up towards her neck.
• The Valkyrie Sword , her old squad insignia, is tattooed on her left bicep.

Modifications:

• None

Cybernetics:

• None

Other:

• Annelle is a smoker, and favors a brand that gives off sweet smelling blue-gray smoke.

Appearance

Ann is a bit of a trend setter, favoring stylized jackets stylized with retro, aesthetic cybernetic looking pieces. Beneath that she's usually sporting a tank top, but isn't unknown to wear a shirt with a wonky pattern or design on it. Lower, she usually keeps it simple with jeans or synthetic, skin tight pants. She's not one to be caught dead in a skirt. She's a lover of dark colors, and almost always wears boots, but to contradict that statement, she favors wearing a bright red, kerchief-esque scarf. One of her most prized possessions are her goggles, equipped with visual feeds and blue vision—A form of night vision.

Anne is over average height, and build, though beneath the layers of clothes she has built up a bit of finely tuned muscle from her time as a Watchman, and consistent fieldwork as a systems engineer. Her features are rather soft and girly, and she prefers to keep her hair long, with punk styled bangs. She's also not exactly voluminous when it comes to her womanly assets, keeping with her rather dainty, girlish appearance.

Job Description

Anne used to be a Watchman, part of the esteemed law enforcement officials. She passed the academy with average marks, but quickly grew on her new assigned squad. They became somewhat of a family, and Anne was quickly recruited into getting the squad's insignia tattooed on herself. Her duties were that of what you'd except of a law enforcement officer; She'd respond to crimes both petty and large, and has been in her fair share of stakeouts and firefights. Though the squad as a whole never accomplished any major achievements, her time working as a Watchman has built up her muscle and stamina, a physique which is maintained through the demands of her latest job.

Taken in beneath the Sys.Admin corporation, Anne found herself enjoying the life of a systems engineer. She had an office, and a lovable, slightly eccentric coworker by the name of Elliot Watts, self proclaimed 'Hacker Extraordinaire'. Here she developed an understanding of electronic systems, especially coding. Primarily focused towards infrastructure maintenance, the directors on the upper levels would hand out alternative tasks from time to time. Anne has done everything from installing security hubs, programming timing systems, debugging various assortments of code, and so forth. She's also partnered with DigiCorp and Syndustries engineers in order to program operable vehicle code, and has helped APD debug an error with their drone systems. She's no stranger to the inner workings of machines, which is where the engineering part comes into play.

She's handy machinery, and has traveled all over the Ark to upgrade, maintain, and repair these sorts of systems—Albeit on a temporary work pass. From the foundries and assemblies in sector five, to the water recycling pumps in sector one. In today's world, knowing how to replace a part isn't enough anymore, at times strings of code need to be updated to work in tandem with the new, or upgraded machinery. Thus the duality of her job. She's devoted her life to this job, finding enjoyment in the field work.

Biography

P S Y C H O L O G I C A L I N T E R V I E W

"Please state you name for the record Miss," A pointy nosed man in a crisp white collared shirt asked. He adjusted his glasses and pressed a hand to the table set between him and his client, opening up a computerized interface. A dossier pulled up with information about the auburn haired woman before him, including her training exams.

"Annelle Caldera," Anne replied formally, underlying tones of nervousness in her voice.

"You're the daughter of Lucias, yes? I heard he had high hopes for you," The clerk smiled reassuringly. To Anne however it looked sinister, snake-like. There had been a lot of pressure put onto her because of this fact, her prestigious father. The Head of the Watchmen, a man who escalated himself to the very top. Everybody had expected one of two things from her, to forge her own trail in a blaze of glory, or to ride her father's success. Anne watched the clerk, mustering the strength to keep her face passive as he flipped through her records.

"I see you know work as a Systems Engineer, why did you leave the watchmen?" The clerk asked, fixing his sharp eyes on her. Suddenly the weight of this interview set itself upon her. This man could put her away somewhere dark and isolated if he deemed her too fucked up to be among society, or even if he just wanted to. Who would question him? Who questions the questioners?

"I.." Anne started, picking through her words carefully, "I lost my squad, my friends. After that, I didn't feel like I could adequately perform my duties." Anne took a breath, willing her eyes to stop watering. The memory was still fresh in her mind, their faces, what was left of them.

"Yes, it says here you quit for personal reasons, in the comments you only put 'I can't do this anymore', elaborate," He demanded, leaning forward and folding his hands on the table.

Anne took a breath, balling her fists tightly to try and distract her mind, "We were the Valkyrie Swords.."

It was an average night, punctuated by a light drizzle of rain. It had been dark in the slums, but here it was practically abyssal. Anne crouched inside a rusted building, her hidden form peering through metal blinds that refused to move anymore. Her squad was lined up to either side of her, bodies barely moving as they mimicked the stillness of the night. Anne watched the rain falling, so soft it barely made a sound. Her mind pondered how it all worked, the weather, the day cycles. She always did that, lost herself in thoughts of machines of how they worked. Receiving a stern tongue from her father about how she should be training, something he'd been pushing since she had been young. Even then she only earned average marks. She could practically feel the disappointment in his eyes, but he had never showed it, he just kept pushing.

"Maybe this will be the night you get a name, huh?" The woman next to Anne said. She turned to look at her squad captain, a blonde haired green eyed beauty by the name of Madaline—But everyone just called her Sunshine. You always got a nickname after you earned a story, it related somehow. The man next to Madaline chuckled quietly, Ox, and he was built like one too.

"You think sho ah?" He chuckled again, a quiet rumbling. Anne remembered the first time she'd met Ox, a little over six foot tall he cast a shadow that should could nap beneath. That felt like so long ago, a younger version of her even though it had been a measly two years. It might as well have been a lifetime ago.

"Shut up you oaf," Marcy hissed. Despite the name, Marcy was a man, the titled was derived from the word 'mercy'. Which was something he did not give.

"Both of you quiet, look," Sunshine said, leaning a little closer. The small square lit up for just a moment before going dark again. From the first entrance two flashes signaled, which were returned by the new arrival. Anne never quite understood why a signal that was older than dirt was still used.

Car doors slammed shut and idle engines became quiet as shadowed figures emerged, loaded with duffel bags and armed. A table was quickly set up in the middle, flanked by each faction's soldiers. The two leaders stood to either side, showing their wares and negotiating deals. Anne turned on her visor's interface. She pressed the thumb of her left hand against the palm of her hands, activating the interface nodes in her glove. She moved her hand slowly through the air, manipulating the imagery on her visor, marking the targets.

"Marked," she whispered. A second later three small blips hovered at the edge of her vision, notifying her that she was linked up with her squad. A few seconds passed as Sunshine read the situation. As Anne watched another window popped up, Sunshine was profiling the two at the table. The first was a key negotiator for Sapphique, Malcolm Croyle. The dossier the department had on him popped up, Anne closed it. She had read his report at least twice. Sunshine sucked in a breath as the second window popped up, Anthony Tandon, a civil rights spokesman. He's led peaceful protests and given a number of speeches in an attempt to fight the corrupt power of the government.

"Holy shit, is he Liberata?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Anne focused on her interface, A blazing sun and chariot had appeared just below the blips for her squad. Sunshine must have linked up with the Dawn Riders, another group of watchmen posted up just across the square.

"Eyes on the price boys," Sunshine whispered through the comms, "Case is open, Axel you got eyes on it?"

"Yea I see it," A husky voice murmuered, "Looks like a weapon's deal, look like Mr.Tandon is buying something pretty big."

"Alright ladies, wait for the bang," Sunshine ordered, pulling a sophisticated canister off her waist belt. She carefully nudged the door open, though it still let out a quiet squeak. One of the nearby figures turned towards the sound, elbowing his buddy in the ribs. They took a step towards the hiding place of Anne and her squad just as Sunshine rolled the device out. It let out a shrill whine half a second before exploding into a blinding glare of light. The men screamed, falling to the ground, along with most of the others present in the square.

A door at the opposite end of the clearing flew open, The Dawn Riders simultaneously moving out with weapons ready at the same moment that the Valkyrie Swords filed out of the building. Sunshine fired two quick pops, downing the closest blinded men and the others took that as their cue. A hail of gunfire opened up in the square, ballistics pinged off the walls and orange balls of kinetic energy punctured through metal surfaces, leaving smoldering holes.

It was pure chaos as the seperate criminal forces scrambled for cover, each opening fire on any target that wasn't their own. Tandon yanked a briefcase off the table and high tailed it towards his vehicle, the tall wiry man running with reckless abandon through the torrential walls of gunfire. Anne moved steadily towards him, dropping anything flagged red that crossed her path.

"Tandon's making a break for it!" Another strange voice declared, another Dawn Rider Anne didn't know.

"On it," Anne said, slinging her weapon and turning on her mag gloves. She sprinted towards the car just as the door closed. Its rubber tires shrieked as it accelerated in reverse out of the alleyway. The driver was skilled, throwing the wheel and spinning the car just as it exited the alleyway. Anne dug down, reaching for speed. She'd never been terribly fast, but today she was fast enough. She lunged at the side of the vehicle just as it started gaining momentum, feeling her gloves latch onto its metal surface.

The vehicle began picking up speed. The rear passenger window came down and a body leaned out, pointing a barrel in Anne's face. She tapped the boot of her heel, feeling the energy kick on the magnets in her boot as she swung her leg out. The magnet caught the gun and Anne used the momentum to swing down as hard as she could. The gunner let out a cry as he was ripped from the window and fell beneath the tires. The car rocked as it rolled over the body, the driver locked the tires sending them into a squealing skid sideways up the road. Around them traffic honked in protest, trying to move out of the way.

The vehicle smashed into a transit bus. The force of the impact launched Anne into the vehicle, connecting her head into the rear passenger door with adequate force. She slumped against the side of the car, her magnets holding her upright, if a bit skewed. Tandon stepped out of the car, blood running down his face and his coat tails swaying in the light breeze.

"Foolish girl," He seethed, pulling a pistol on Anne just as she started regaining some semblance of composure. Tandon reached over and switched her gloves off, letting Anne fall to the ground. He pressed a boot firmly against her throat, rage glittering in his eyes.

"Another government dog, following her master's orders. Tell me, do you play dead?" He asked, clicking back the hammer on his gun. Anne grunted, trying to shift his foot off of her.

"Anthony, enough," Someone said. In Anne's distraction another car had pulled up, followed by several others. Anthony seemed to shrug as he stepped back, allowing Anne to suck in ragged breaths of air. The voice was owned by a large man, muscular but not top heavy, he seemed evenly proportioned. He rubbed a grizzled hand against his thick, scruffy beard.

"I could use someone with your kind of determination," He reasoned, crouching next to Anne and placing his hands on his knees. Anne pulled herself up onto her knees, rubbing her throat. The burly man stood, reaching into his pocket and dropping an electronic card next to Anne. She reached out, taking it in her hand. The display flashed to life, showing a server address.

"Who—"

"Freeze!" Sunshine screamed, charging up the sidewalk with her gun drawn. Anne looked back to see her squad coming to her rescue. Sunshine barely paused for a breath before firing a shot. Anne reached her hand up, realizing that her squad hadn't seen the other Liberata vehicles arrive, and how could they, the other vehicles looked like any old civilian car.

"Sunshine wait, he's not—!" Anne struggled to shout, but the words came out in a wheezing rasp. Return fire poured out from all around her squad. Men and women dressed in plain clothes suddenly had weapons and weren't holding back. Muzzles flashed next to Anne's face, creating still images of blinding white light, followed by the sight of her squad...

"I see, surely that would leave to some.. traumatic stress, no?" The clerk asked, adjusting his glasses as he tapped out some notes onto the table.

Anne wiped at her eyes, willing herself to keep it together, "I just.. I," Anne was on the verge of breaking down into fitful sobs. It had only been a few months, hadn't it?

"How about your home life?" The clerk asked, flipping to another screen showing flowing meadows of grass, and rolling hills bathed beneath golden light

"Not much to say there," She replied with a bit of a waver in her voice, "Dad was always at work, but we had a nice home in Sector Two. I remembering baking with my mom on cold winter days, and kicking our feet in the stream during warmer weather. Dad was always at work, but he—"

"What did your father do back then?"

"He was a part of DigiCorp, one of their Gladiators," She answered, a visage of her farther dressed up in DigiCorp armor pulling itself to the forefront of her mind. He had been so much happier back then.

"What happened?"

"Is it relevant?" Anne questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. She was sure some of the effect was lost due to her red eyes, which were still partially watery.

"In a mental evaluation, everything counts, and we have lost time to make up for," The clerk explained, folding his hands and once more fixing his penetrating gaze on Anne.

"Hey, the delays weren't my fault alright—" Anne began, trying to defend herself.

"Yes yes, You were saying about your father?"

"Ah... Right," Anne said, digging back into her memories, "He liked Digicorp, but at the end of the day it was a corporation and I guess he just, wanted to make a difference you know? Especially after my mom died."

"How did she pass?"

Anne sighed, steeling her frayed nerves and letting out a morbid chuckle, "She stepped on somebody's toes. We were walking home from grocery shopping, I was still young, too young to help carry the groceries anyways. I was dancing around her, doing kid stuff. She tried to pull me out of somebody's way, wound up bumping into another person and scuffed his shoes. He looked like the wealthy, hoity-toity type, fancy suit, dark shades, bleached hair you know? Well, he got pretty mad, looking at the scuff mark on his shoes. I still remember the sneer in his face when he shoved my mother back, she fell, right into the road."

"Was he prosecuted?"

"What do you think? They probably slapped his hand and said 'temper temper'."

The clerk nodded, "Such injustice in this world, it's a shame. Your mother was a fine woman."

"How do you?" Anne trailed off as the clerk answered her by tapping his finger on the tapping, as if to say 'I know everything'. Anne leaned back in her chair, letting out a huff of air that flipped her bangs from her face.

"Do you talk to your father?"

"Not since I left the Watchmen, pretty sure I've disappointed him but unfortunately that's overshadowed by all of this unyielding hate."

"Why do you hate him?"

"Why?" Anne responded incredulously, leaning forward, "I don't know, how about for not being there to protect her? How about for shutting down and leaving me alone after my mom died. How about for trying to force me to become his littler soldier ever since that day, always pushing me, dragging me along behind him in this grand vision of Father and Daughter cleaning up the streets? For devoting himself to his work, escalating himself all the way up into the president's lap to be hand fed his fucking biscuits and leaving me alone to lock the door and microwave frozen fucking pizza? For looking at me with disappointment in his eyes every fucking time I'm in his presence, like it's my fault, like I'm this huge fucking failure."

Anne took a shuddering breath, she hadn't realized she had been shouting. She was standing now too, her grip on the edge of the table strong enough to scatter the pixels on the table. The clerk had the same look on his face, blank, all-knowing. She swore if he had smiled just then she would have decked him.

"I see, I believe I've collected enough data for this interview."

The statement come out of nowhere, ripping away all of Anne's steam. She plopped back down in the chair, feeling worry and anxiety eating away her rage. "So, how'd I do?" She asked, her frazzled mind signaled this was an appropriate time to laugh—so she did.

"You harbor a lot of resentment, towards the Watchmen, towards your father."

"God damn Doc, I think you just cured me," Anne remarked, feeling everything drain out of her. She felt empty, purposeless.

"I'm not going to put your away, Anne, I will however recommend your employer to move you to the basement level."

"Yea? Some dungeon to lock me away in?"

"Just the opposite actually. There's a man down there named Elliot Watts, he's one of us."

"One of us?" Anne asked suspiciously, suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable.

"You'll understand, in time. Learn before you decide. You're interview has already been submitted and cleared, you've been a normal, stable citizen for at least a month now."

"What are you talking about?"

"In time Anne, In time," The clerk said. His chair screeched quietly as she stood, closing the table's interface and leaving the room. Anne just sat there, she wasn't sure for how long. Time passed as she stared at the sliver of light peeking through the partially ajar door. Her thoughts running together, smashing into each other in an uncontrolled chaos.

"What the actual fuck?" She asked the empty air.

Inventory

Weapons:

• Defender Mark II: a standard civilian pistol, semi-automatic with an average rate of fire and lower bullet impact. Uses ballistic ammo and holds twelve 9mm rounds.

Armor:

• None

Gadgets:

• Her Goggles which can transmit and record video, and utilize blue vision, a form of better quality night vision.
• An Air Filtration Mask which does a handy job of allowing her to breath when the air is contaminated or otherwise unbreathable.
• A Wrist Pad that Sys.Admin loans out to its employees.
• Magnetic Shin Splints which allow her to travel along the magrails.

Key Items:

Miscellaneous: Blue brand cigarettes, a silver flip lighter, a black backpack

Pysker Dossier

Manifested Phenomena:

• Non-Applicable

Proficiencies:

• Smarts, Ann may not be a brain working down in sector four, but she's been gifted with a set of wits and guile that's helped her succeed in life. She understands how to look ahead and plan according for a situation, and usually sees more than one approach to a given subject. She's a sly, cunning gal.
• Coder, due to her line of work, Anne has a broad understanding of code and how to program a wide array of systems accordingly. This knowledge really centers around bigger machines, like vehicles and infrastructure, but she does have a bit of fine tuned know-how geared towards gadgets and accessories.
• Engineer, also due to her line of work, Anne knows her way around workshop machinery, vehicles, and structural systems. Though she's got more put in towards the latter, she is proficient enough in the other two to fix and reprogram most things, having worked on a multitude of things from civilian and military vehicles, to industrial machines and their components, timing cycles, and so forth.
• Old Habits, heavy lifting and field work aside, Anne has retained most of her physique from her time spent as a Watchman, which wasn't all that long ago. She has an exercise routine, which she does her best to keep up on, despite spoiling it somewhat with crap foods and snacks. Among this fitness she maintains, she's still not a bad shot with a gun. She's no sharpshooter, but she could hold her own.

Limitations:

• Abrasive, while she may have somewhat of a tactical mind, Anne often has a poor choice of words. She calls it as she sees it, and says it as she means it. Though she's not one to purposefully to step on someone's toes, she doesn't make it a habit to sugar coat her words either. She's also a poor liar.
• Critical Thinker, meaning Anne is most comfortable planning in low stress situations. She has a hard time focusing and making rapid decisions in high stress, intense environments, and prefers to calculate her plans thoroughly.
• No Man Left Behind, Annelle hates leaving people behind and will usually do everything in her power to ensure she protects, or at least saves, those she cares about.
• Duct Tape Bandaids, Anne is a very driven person, and likes to accomplish the goals she sets her sights on. At times she'll push herself harder than she should, even when it becomes detrimental to herself.

Likes:

• Smoking, and she's not planning to quit any time soon.
• Fast Food, especially New Modern Chinese Food, and Burgers.
• Dark Colors, no, it's not a phase.
• Flowers, especially bright and pretty ones, probably because they are so rare in The Core.
• Booze, it's liquid bread it's good for you.
• Boys and Girls, and sometimes she's a dirty flirt too.
• Coffee, nothing like a good pick-me-up.
• The smells of lavender, vanilla, and oranges.
• Really likes citrus fruit, especially oranges.

Dislikes:

• Her father, girl's got daddy issues.
• The Watchmen and the government in general, bunch of corrupt scum suckers.
• Dishonesty and Illicit dealings, especially gang members.
• Injustice, especially towards the poor.
• Squandering resources, leading to her dislike of most wealthy individuals.
• Tart, Bitter, and otherwise Sour tastes.
• Coconut, but just the meat. Smells and Coconut sauces are alright.

Important People:

• Lucias Caldera, her disassociated father
• Elliot Watts, her coworker from Sys.Admin

Character Relationships

Dr.Adley Underwood

Anne met Adley during the scientists early years at the institute. Anne had been called in on a temporary work permit to run diagnostic maintenance on essential lab machinery and systems. Anne was braving the frigid winds for a smoke, when Adley joined her. Anne was a fan of Adley's eccentric, straightforward nature and the two quickly hit it off during the few days that Anne spent there. Anne had a rundown of what the lab was trying to accomplish, and was privy to their desires of formulating a cure rather than a weapon. Anne connected them to the Liberata, with Elliot's help, and helped secure a method of secretive funding for their hidden research. Anne works mostly as an informant, and often ran messages to the lab through work calls of specific request, under some guise of Anne having prior knowledge to their largely experimental systems, which was true. What started as two people benefiting their respective causes has grown into a strong friendship between the two women.

A R K H E U S

Character Directory

Annelle Caldera played by Esoteric
Adley Underwood played by Aziraphale
Karen Tobin played by Damiann47
Rachael Morton played by NuttsnBolts
Raen J. Thormund played by Kangaroo
Fred James Copperfield played by R31GN
Amias Darrieux played by Firecracker_
Lilyth Ruskin played by Vosenedich
Marcus Alexander Solidor played by Crimson Raven

Important NPCs and Names

These NPCs, if owned by a player, are safe from death and control from my Co-GMs and I. Additionally, you may not control an NPC you did not create without permission. This rule applies to all listed NPCs. Generally, just do not control unique mobs you did not create.

World NPCs

• Anabelle Harriette CEO and lead developer of "Aero Core", a company purposed to the research and development of aviation and hover technology.
• Arad Lugrath Bluegrass, founder of Lugrath and esteemed man of livestock, face of the Bluegrass brand.
• Aralin Weldon, heiress of the Weldon farming estate, face of the Weldon brand.
• Carter Wiles CEO of Peridot Incorporated, a leader in the automotive industry.
• Johanan Ivoran Bueford, founder of Ivorpoint and renown entrepreneur of Bueford Wine.
• Johnathan Rox, prestigious Arkhean dictator president.
• Mikhael Severt, CEO of Syndustries, A leading corporation of innovative technologies and security systems.
• Tobias Calvin, CEO of Calvin Industries, a leader in top of the line weapons research and development.
• Vance Dewitt Racine CEO of DigiCorp, A pioneer of Digital Technologies.

Player NPCs

• Lucias Caldera, Anne's estranged father, Head of Defense and famous Watchman. — Esoteric
• Dr. Fairfield, lead developer and head researcher concerning bioengineering and Pyskers. — Aziraphale
• May Underwood, Adley's mother. — Aziraphale
• Aldos Underwood Jr, Adley's younger brother. — Aziraphale
• Jack Tobin, Karen's father. — Damiann47
• Julius the Leech, Feckin Leech. — NuttsnBolts
• Hugo Alvezh, Old friend of Jack's, and commander of Bastion's Beta Squad. — Kangaroo
• Isabella Turin, Jack's girlfriend and Alpha Squad teammate. — Kangaroo
• Billy Foal, Fred Senior's right hand man. — R31GN
• Fred Copperfield Jr., Fred's estranged son. — R31GN

A R K H E U S

Approved. Put it in the tab.

🅰🆁🅺🅷🅴🆄🆂

OOC

A R K H E U S

Reserved for fixing the Tardis.

A R K H E U S

⚙ The Core ⚙

⚙ The Core ⚙

^{Towering Slumland}

The Core is the center of the Ark, and holds an astounding amount of people. It's rumored that in archived texts, The Core is where the ancestor's of present day citizens entered the Ark. Once the regime had been established and control implemented over the complex, The Core was left over crowded for 'The Greater Good' of the other sectors. Since then, The Core has faced an ever present trend of rapid expansion. It's a good thing that GPS technology utilizes a form of echo location to map the city, because it enormous. Towering skylines, buildings packed wall to wall, The core resembles a massive metropolis, except poorer. The only rivers here are ones of filth and waste.

Typically the further away from Gray Wall you travel, the worse the conditions become. The crowds become denser, the trash piles up higher, and the smell gets worse the closer one gets to the slums. However, the farther you move away from the Slums, the more security and military forces you'll see, along with infrastructure maintenance crews. High town is relatively alright, as the wealthy there use teams of personally hired crews to clean the roads and private security to patrol the streets; as The Core doesn't have enough manpower to keep proper order. Although, saying wealthy in The Core is only relevant when comparing the richness of dirt, as being wealthy in The Core is a laughable affair for those who've come into large sums or money in the outer sectors.

The most notable beneficiary attempting to keep order in The Core, everywhere except the Slums, is a mega corporation by the title of Syndustries. They quite literally handle nearly everything, and their influence expands far outside The Core. However, teams of private security, cleaning crews, and other base operating work forces are employed in The Core due to this corporation. They also hold shares in many production facilities to the point that rumor and speculation conclude that Syndustries could incite a Dictatorship if they so wished. It's also speculated that the corporation is the foundation that prevents an economic collapse. Everything shown to the public is of good intent, and tailored towards providing a better life for the common man. However, that's not to say some secrets haven't come to light here and there, just that proving them is incredibly hard. Most people who attempt to expose negative effects of Syndustries actions disappear.

Foot traffic is the primary way to navigate the metal labyrinth, followed by tiny vehicles. Due to the sheer number of people, The Core has the feel of an old Chinese market, with tiny cars, lots of motorcycles, and trucks so small they could fit sideways down an alleyway. Fortunately, pathways exist in all forms from weaving alleyways, to rooftop catwalks, and so forth. Despite all these methods of travel, the main streets remain crowded as ever. The only real life goal a person could have inside of The Core, is getting out of The Core. Since you need money to move out to a different sector, a fee which nobody who works in The Core can afford, a person's dreams are heavily reliant on winning 'The Lottery' provided by, of course, Syndustries. It should also be noted that anybody inside The Core, does not work outside of The Core. The second way out of this slumland is to pass the S.T.A.T, The Science and Technology Aptitude Test, which leads down the road to Sector Four and a life of learning and discovery.

Despite The Core's imperssive size, it does not have any specific focus on any one particular industry. Rather is serves the purpose to buffer production margins, meaning The Core has a vast array of different industries. Also of note is the transfer station directly in the center of The Core, which also holds impound lots fo confiscated vehicles and repair workshops for the trains.

⚙Overview

The Poverty Hubs

⚙Gray Wall

An Are of the Core noted for it's concentration of administration related jobs. Gray Wall also holds the Syndustries Tower, and the President's Administration Offices, a massive walled in complex of two towering buildings, with a serious amount of security and connecting sky bridges.

⚙High Town

This district of The Core is where the highest members in slumland society reside, including and not limited to successful businessmen, ruthless gang leaders, and other kingpins. It's also the least croweded, the cleanest, and remains free of the parasitic building practices other areas of The Core employ.

⚙The Exchange

Despite being a mixture of commercial and residential, this district gets its name from the large market that takes up at least a few entire blocks. It's also rumored to hold one of the entrances to The Underground, and many illicit products surface from this area.

⚙Low Town

Technically the middle-class of slumland, Low town isn't much different from the actual slums except people try to retain some shred of civility and culture here. There's also substantially less homeless here, though the area is usually plagued by racketeering outfits.

⚙Neon

The district where one goes to unwind, and generally just forget about their troubles. A long swathe of main road, and several offshoots, are devoted to the purposes of bars, dance clubs, brothels, and any other cheap pleasures of the flesh. It's also the easiest area to obtain drugs in, especially the dangerous and illegal ones. This area gets its name from the blinding amount of neon signs and show lights.

⚙The Slums

Pretty much self explanatory, this is where the less fortunate and poverty stricken live—That is to say, those who have no money and no stable job. Here the unfortunate craft shelter from anything they can get their hands on, and those too weak to do so simply sleep in the filth. Trash is everywhere, and Sector Five can't keep up with the sheer amoun of trash The Core produces, so the Slums aren't even serviced anymore. Violent crimes run rampant here, and the only time a security force enters is likely to bust a high priority criminal.

⚙ Sector One ⚙

⚙ Sector One ⚙

^{The Woodland}

The majority of sector one is covered in artificially cultivated forests, with only a few high mountains and a scattering of sizable lakes. The wealthy typically live in large manors on estates, beautiful mansions, or pricey penthouse suites. Many of the low and middle class workers earn meager livings, and live in housing that varies from cheap and cramped, to moderate suburban homes. The logging industry is the largest in sector one, though it does handle the cultivation of animal game: For sport hunting, or pricey meats and furs. Sector one also has two mining operations, which dig out some common metals, most of which is iron; Sector one also digs up core shards. Additionally, sector one holds the largest system of water recyclers, providing well over half of the usable water throughout Arkheus.

⚙Aetherdale

The City of Clouds

The largest city in Arkheus, Aetherdale is second to none. Sector One is one of the most hospitable zones within the Ark, and citizens flock here given the chance. This population boom throughout the years has grown Aetherdale exponentially, and not all of it is for the good. The edge of the city holds suburbs, for the families that are well off financially, and works its way inwards with cramped living complexes and crowded streets. The center of the city is where its title derives from as a plethora of skyscrapers loom thousands of feet in the air. The city is surrounded by dense forests, and it also noted for its production of leisure items and animal game, specifically the expensive sport of hunting. Its southern districts are within sight of the public railway, and its northern end lets out of the woods and onto the miles large beaches surrounding the lakes.

⚙Amilton

The Rehabilitated Township

Amilton is a sizable town, and quite unique in its purpose. There are only two types of people who reside here; Security Officers, and criminals with such exemplary behavior that they have been given a second chance. Don't let that fool you though, Amilton is still very much a prison, just one with better food and housing. Modeled after pre-world suburbs, most of the houses are a single story and very homely, despite being shared dormitory style. The entire community mostly farms vegetables, and employs those with technical trades to remain self-sufficient as normal, law-abiding citizens are typically restricted to the visitor's center and are not allowed inside any further. Officers patrol the streets, and two story shiny, metal walls with sniper towers, that encircles the community. Just in case.

⚙Belmire

The Home of Rubble and Rock

Belmire is nearly a small city, and is the largest of the two mining operations in sector one. Which is to say, not very big at all. A labyrinth of tunnels runs through the mountain, navigated by foot, ladder, and elevator. Focusing mostly on the deposits of iron, core shards, and other metals within the mountain, the mining operation uses a system of tracks, and small hauling trucks to move ore from within the depths of the mine. The town itself sits against the mountain side, within walking distance to the mine entrance. Kind of shabby and not very homely, Belmire feels like it could have been put together over night and is maintained primarily with scrap and repurposed parts.

⚙Beneque

Loggington

Despite its given name, Beneque is usually just referred to as 'Loggington' or 'Log Town' because of it's focus around the foresting industry. The workers here have two primary jobs, the artificial cultivation of trees, and the process of cutting them down. Thanks to science, and the technological advancements Arkheus has given us, growing trees to full maturity is a process of months, rather than years. Loggginton employs a carefully designed pattern of cutting, to ensure the avoidance of pre-world clear cutting techniques. The town itself is really just a growing mass of mobile trailers and small pre-fabricated homes just stuck together. The roads are hastily cleared tracks of dirt. Log Town is too far from the public rail system, so the town is tasked with maintaining ground roads to Seremere, or Tolstein.

⚙Crest

The Sleepy Hollow

If you happen to live to the ripe old age of retirement, Crest is likely one of the places you'll end up. Primarily a retirement community for those who have fulfilled their duty to the people of Ark, there's not much to say about Crest. The majority of the population is the elderly, and those who take care of them. Most resources come from a train station near the Magrails, and is brought to the community in transport trucks. Full of clean streets, flourishing gardens, and cookie cutter houses with white picket fences out front; The people of Crest live a relatively simple life full of hobby crafts and other personal desires. Security is minimal here, but it does boast an impressive medical staff for obvious reasons.

⚙Hobfell

Tuna Town

Hobfell is less of a town, and more like an enormous processing plant. Once a growing industrial site, Hobfell has been converted into a community through the use of barracks style housing for those who can't manage the travel times from other parts of the sector. Fortunately everyone here gets Saturdays and Sundays off to see their families. Hobfell started as a fishing hub, with access to the public rail system and and being relatively close to the four lakes. Since its growth, it's now picked up some of the processing for ores, lumber, and fabrics. Despite all of this, there is the noticeable smell of fish permeating the air at all hours. Massive spawning pools handle most of the artificial cultivation of sealife, and the only lakes Hobfell has no precidence over are those outside Crest, Aetherdale, and Seremere.

⚙Ivorpoint

The Bueford Estate

What started as one man's dream has quickly grown into a small, prosperous town. Johanan Ivoran Bueford is one of the wealthiest men in Arkheus thanks to an aspiring dream he had in his early years; To bring the fine culture of wine back to the world. Discovering old recipes in buried archives, Johanan began with a grape orchard that quickly turned into a sprawling plantation. Johanan Wine is of the finest quality, and its price is quite high; A drink that is favored by the upper echelon of society. The bad news is that workers toil in the fields performing backbreaking labor for the bare minimum wage as set by the government; The good news is that just about anybody can get a job in the fields. Johanan plans to continue his rapid expansion, and has dreams of utilizing some of the vast space in Sector Two for his grape plantations. Additionally Ivorpoint exports jelly, candy, and raw grapes at more reasonable prices. The roadwork consists of simple dirt tracks, and the homes are cabins typically build by laborers, and are fully connected to the water and power grids, and the people here have quick access to the public magrails.

⚙Lugrath

The Bluegrass Estate

Much like the story of Johanan Bueford, Arad Lugrath Bluegrass began with a small family farm and a license for genetically engineered dairy cows. Holding the only real farming operation in sector one, Arad was able to quickly climb through the economic ranks and now boasts an impressive range of farm stock; Including chickens, cows, pigs, turtles, sheep, and deer. There are also a few orchards, but not enough to be considered industrious, yet Arad has kept the costs for his products fairly low. The farmhands have a ritual of intensive labor, but it pays well. Not enough to rise from middle class, but enough to support a large family, if just barely. Worker housing consists of a range of farmhouses from two, to five bedroom, and include the full functionalities of a modern home. Workers and their families can obtain Bluegrass brand products for a discounted price. While lugrath doesn't have paved road, it does benefit from being next to the public magrails.

⚙Millford

The World's Largest Village

Millford's architecture and community reflect that of their neighboring communites; simple and homely. It comes off as a large district of suburbs, with rarely a house or building exceeding more than two stories. The communities here are family oriented, and consist of a wide variety of family friendly events, especially those that promote youth sports. It's a beautiful town, full of suburban gardens, parks, and playgrounds, only marred by large manufacturing plants and paper mills. Some of their more notable exports are clothing, furniture, in addition to some homemade goods from personal, and community gardens, as each house has a sizable yard. Millford is primarily geared towards the middle class, but does offer a few low cost housing on at the edges of town in the form of cheap, simple trailers with basic amenities.

⚙Seremere

The City of Splendor

Seremere is technically a city, but really caters to the public at the hottest vacation spot, with affordable accommodations that encompass even the lowest social classes, although you get what you pay for. If it's classified as a sport, leisure activity, or a brand of entertainment, Seremere has it. Hunting expeditions, for days to weeks at a time, hiking trips, arcades, boating races—If you could ever dream of doing it someone, somewhere in Seremere can make it happen. One of the hottest trends in Seremere is a "Virtual Reality Vacation", a personalized simulation that can range anything from a medieval adventure, to a sweet summer home by a lake in the mountains. You can also pay extra for a developer's kit to have in the simulated world, and change things as you please. Other activities of note are Seremere's dance clubs, bars, and some more provocative establishments. The industry here doesn't exactly have a strong sense of morals, even prostitution is legal, although heavily regulated. Another item of note is the strong presence of an underground market. The city is full of towering skyscrapers that shine in the light, and don't have much in the way of housing other than worker barracks and outrageously priced apartments.

Hotels exist on virtually every corner, along with core stations, both of which compete with an impressive amount of eateries and restaurants. Also of note is the fact the whereas illegal in other parts of Arkheus, there are some regulated drugs available in Seremere for recreational use. At night the city can be seen shining from miles away, a time in which the partying and fun only intensifies. Seremere also controls the sea life for the lake it sits on, and has precedence over the water recyclers. It's also of note that Seremere handles a lot of the entertainment industry, televisions broadcasts, recording and producing studios, and so forth.

⚙Tolstein

The Encampment

At first glance, Tolstein might come off as an ancient concentration camp. A city of tents in all sizes, surrounded by simple chain link fencing with barbed wire, and well crafted wooden outlook towers. Hunters from all over gather here, usually as starting and ending points for their expeditions. A favored, cost-effective method for some is to simply slither beneath their vehicle and bundle up in a sleeping bag. The location has become such a hot spot for them that the governor of sector one installed some modernized utilities, most notably showers and restrooms. There are also a few fire pits, grilling stations, and gazebos around the area. Though despite all the camp-esque activities, the favored method of passing time here is of course—Drinking, Smoking Habac, and telling wild stories of their ventures in the woods.

⚙ Sector Two ⚙

⚙ Sector Two ⚙

^{The Verdant Plains}

Sector Two is a wide expanse of grassy plaints and rolling hills. The industry here primarily focuses around farming, especially grains and vegetables, orchards, and roving flocks of animals typically tended to by herdsmen. The industry for mining and forestry here is very small, as most of the focus revolves around seeding the plains and ensuring the herds of animals don't go hungry. Many of the homes here have a country or farmhouse feel, and the low income families are usually crammed into apartments, or choose to board with other families and split the bills of a house. Those who are wealthier and prefer to lead homely lives can usually be found in manors scattered throughout the plains. Citizens here can obtain a homestead permit to build their own home out on a designated plot of land in sector two, and start their operation whether it be farming, growing orchards, or herding animals.

⚙Blank

Deadtown

No longer marked on the holomap, the original name for this town has been lost, somehow, throughout the years. Once a marvel of innovation, Blank is now a ghost town and hot spot for youths and believers of the paranormal. If you believe the stories, strange things happen in Blank and nobody knows why. Blank's history has been retold so often, nobody really knows what the true story behind the dead town is. Rumors cover everything from curses and voodoo, to ghosts, aliens, and government conspiracies. Blank is a dusty little town, with paved roads full of holes and rusted metal buildings, some of which remain unfinished. The area is also quite filthy, the victim of constant littering and illegal dumping.

⚙Dubthain

The Weldon Estate

The Weldon Estate was originally founded by Barbatos Dubthain Weldon, and has since then been inherited by his daughter Aralin Weldon. Though she really has nothing to do with the town's day to day routine, Dubthain is really run by a board of directors, who kind of treat Aralin like a toddler they're forced to tolerate. Dubthain is a farming community, which produces a lot of vegetables and textiles at modest prices. There is onsite housing for the workers who'd rather stay during the work week and avoid the expense of constant traveling. The housing facilities onsite get cheaper the more working people you pack into them, and many of workers choose to split the bill of the two-story, country style homes. Also of note, Dubthain is famous for breeding small, domesticated animals like dogs and cats. Dubthain also manages its own small lake, and has boating and fishing activities available for a meager fee.

⚙Glokhallow

The Baking Capital

Glokhallow is a sprawling city famous for it's baked goods. The economy here is primary centered around the large fields of grain outside the city, including wheat, rice, and barley. Additionally Glokhallow produces a great quantity of orchard fruits, giving them all the capabilities to create delectable baked goods. Glokhallow Pies are among the top of their famous products, but everything from Glokhallow is "to die for", and comes at a very affordable price. The city is very urban, following the scheme of most cities on Arkheus. Suburbs lie scattered around the edges and population density increases the more you work towards the center; streets lined with large apartment complexes and towering skyscrapers. Most notable about the infrastructure its Glokhallow's use of avenues, the medians of which are usually planted with flourishing trees that blossom into bright, beautiful colors year round.

⚙Kinehaben

Herdsman's Rest

About as centered as a city could get in the odd shapes of the sectors, Kinehaben's location is ideal for a launch point for herdsman. Built on a small lake, and encompassing three major rivers, it's a favorite for nomads who move their herds across the plains. The city has a rural feel, full of feed stores and businesses focused around the theme of these herders. Way stations dot the edges of the cities, complete with boarding for rent and pens for animals, for those that bring their herds in instead of camping outside of the city. It's not uncommon to see small flocks of animals moving through the crowded city streets, especially if one is heading towards the central market square. Almost anything can be found in Kinehaben in the huge market square directly in the center of the city. A multilevel affraid, the market is actually an enormous mall like structure, but instead of stores citizens can buy licenses to open a stall for a marked period of time. Kinehaben is the largest producer of animal related products, and is the largest supplier of meat and leather. Most people don't visit Kinehaben without leaving with some of their Jerky, or stopping by an eatery for a meat pie.

⚙Nubbikham

The Command Center

Nubbikham dabbles a bit in everything from farming, to herding, to some production and even a little mining. The mines, albeit small, do provide a steady stream of core shards and a trickle of rarer metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and aluminum. However, Nubbikham, while it doesn't focus on any unique exports or famous goods, is the control center for sector two. It manages the forests, and ships out growers and loggers who work in the fields for weeks, to months at a time. They also manage most of the lakes, except for those at Dubthain and Kinehaben, and ensure that the artificial rivers remain clean and functional. They also use a team of "Seeders" who roam the plains, scattering millions of genetically engineered seeds to ensure the plains remain fertile, and bountiful. Nubbikham is more of a legislation and scientific community, holding not only governing establishments but the only real labs in sector two. Due to the extensive work they do however, the community has grown into a small city to support the number of people it needs for operating efficiency.

⚙ Sector Three ⚙

⚙ Sector Three ⚙

^{The Lava Pits}

Sector Three is basically the end of the road for citizens of Arkheus. Rather, the entire sector serves as a prison. Sheer peaks and virulent pits of bubbling lava ensure that escape is nigh impossible without a heat absorption suit. Even then, Sector three holds the highest ratio of officers to personnel than anywhere else on the Ark. Now, whereas the other sectors typically have some sort of jailing facilities, Sector three is where repeat offenders, or those who've committed federal crimes wind up—In nearly all cases, Permanently. Here the guilty and condemned spend the rest of their lives toiling away with intensive labor under conditions of high heat. The most likely causes of death are from Accidents, Heatstroke, Dehydration, or that fact that another convict found reason to murder you.

Regulations in the sector are high, only rivaled by the security measures in place. Typically convicts are chained, or otherwise locked to their assigned areas of working, or mining, and pat down thoroughly before and after their shift. Those that need to walk to and from areas are given a length of chain and put under supervised guard. Criminal records usually determine the level of security a person faces, and what kind of job they will be assigned. All of the work facilities, excluding the mines, are open air, and have catwalks for officers to patrol on and keep a bird's eye view over everyone. In addition to the over-watchers, officers are always present on the ground, ready to respond to anything. In the mines guards patrol in groups of four to eight, and the prisoners remained shackled to the mine walls in true chain-gang fashion. The cells, showering facilities, and common areas aren't much better, as their roofing consists of thick, bulletproof, and completely transparent glass with remote accessed vent holes just large enough to drop painful, nonlethal nerve gas canisters into.

Shipments are handled by law abiding citizens, several blast doors away from the prison itself. Guards move the shipments up the tracks leading to the top of tall towers built on the mountains of Sector Three, where transit staff load the shipments and unload arriving cargo onto flatbed and bucket carts that lead back into the facility—After several security checks and scans. Food and water are provided, in bulk of course. Large crates that contain the day's water and food for each registered prisoner are lowered down into the common room, needless to say the strongest and most ruthless eat the best. Guards don't bother maintaining a ground present in the housing facilities, and instead just patrol the catwalks unless they need to quell a situation.

A few key points of Sector Three:

• Magrails lead to towers jutting from the peaks of mountains, with large platforms for loading and unloading the trains, and has parking areas for arriving vehicles or deliveries.
• A pair of blast doors separate the prison colony from the outside world. The hallway behind those doors is lined with the officer quarters, and the large hangar like area beyond that is the training grounds and defensive emplacements.
• Vektor is the only prison the utilizes the mining tunnels either by walking, or cart, to access the other facilities for maintenance and repair jobs; Only prisoners with low threat assessments exist here.
• Prisoners are locked to their workstations, or designated mining areas. Every tool is counted and logged before and after every shift, and prisoners are thoroughly pat down at the begin and end of their shifts.

⚙Overview

Welcome to the Prison Colonies

⚙Cine

Rock Crushing and Stone Shaping.

⚙Claxt

Ore Smelting and Processing.

⚙Coeha

Soldering, Brazing, and Welding.

⚙Kanur

Metal Forging and Casting.

⚙Rithe

Glass Production.

⚙Sigma

Machining Factories.

⚙Stohm

Mining and Hauling.

⚙Vektor

Facility Maintenance.

⚙ Sector Four ⚙

⚙ Sector Four ⚙

^{The Frozen Waste}

Sector Four is fairly straight forward, you see what you get. The eastern section of the sector is a frozen expanse of ice, sheer winds, and freezing temperatures. To the west the temperature remains the same, deadly low if you're exposed to it, but most of the wind is funneled through huge ice shelves and jagged cliff faces. What better area to isolate yourself and devote your life to science, than somewhere nearly inhospitable. There are four outposts residing within the ice shelves, each depending on supplies that come in from the other sectors. Here the only goal is science, technology, and the advancement of human knowledge. Citizens who show a healthy appreciation and some moderate skill, or talent, for the sciences are given the Scientific Aptitude Test; Should they pass then they are eligible to serve an internship of sorts in their respective field. They both study and learn under their peers and elders in the craft, and are passed only through recommendation. The good news is that pupils are given dormitory style quarters, usually sharing their room with another individual, and a common room that all the rooms use. Additionally these prospective scientists are given an allowance, for whatever they may need or desire.

The only other way into these institutions is through the form of menial labor. The brains devote all their time to their research and their studies, so somebody has to make their beds and cook their meals right. Staff is kept on hand to provide house keeping services, and cooks that provide high quality meals in large cafeterias that never close, as science can run to any point in the night. Additionally, each department has a head, a designated leader, and a budget with gets distributed through needs, wants, and wages. Above the heads is the director of the entire outpost. Pupils attend classes and workshops early in the morning, and spend their afternoons and evenings learning under a mentor. Once they graduate they are given a personal room, as all other scientists have.

The facility has specialized security, only those that pass rigorous mental and physical tests, as they only way to move through the facility is by using access cards. Personal rooms, areas of learning, laboratory, storage areas, loading docks, and so forth are all imprinted onto each person's person I.D card. Also of note is that there is basically a security camera in every hallway, and access to personal rooms is logged through the card scanner. Not many things remain unknown within the institutes. Each institute has a specific focus, despite the fact that many areas of science overlap. Knowledge is shared freely between the outposts, and members are known to travel back and forth and stay in other outposts for varying periods of time; to assist with these overlapping areas of science.

• Arkhean science refers to the study and discovery of the systems, architecture, and infrastructure of Arkheus, as the construct remains relatively mysterious and still holds many secrets.
• The outposts exist primarily underground, with similar structure styles to Sector Five, just shinier, sleeker, and generally "sciency".

⚙Overview

The Institutes of Science

⚙Bishop

Physical Sciences

⚙Rook

Social Sciences and History

⚙Queen

Life Sciences

⚙King

Arkhean Science

⚙ Sector Five ⚙

⚙ Sector Five ⚙

^{The Barren Peaks}

Sector Five is a rocky, mountainous expanse that makes surface life incredibly difficult. All of the settlements are beneath ground, with towers jutting from the sides of the peaks connected to the magrails. Most settlements offer parking garages and train stations, and often don't count these areas as part of the actual facility levels, despite maintaining them. The sector is widely known as an industrious zone that focuses on mass production, with few exceptions. Additionally, beneath the sheer cliffs and jagged edges of the mountains lie a system of transit tunnels, utilizing the magnetic technology of the magrails, that connect to each settlement and are used to traverse much of the mines. Despite each facility being known for a specialization, the presence of some sort of mining operation exists with each, and as with all cities the people there do stray from the path of assumption and dabble in other business ventures. Despite the "Fallout Shelter" feel, Sector Five is a popular area, likely due to the fact that a job exists for just about anybody here.

• The levels of Sector Five are large areas, littered with hallways and open areas. For a rough comparison, the average floor level is the equivalent to of a small town.

⚙Aencrad

Bouldertown

Most noted for its guild of stonemasons, Aencrad primarly handles the processing and utilization of raw stone. As with many other settlements in Sector Five, Aencard delves deep into the earth for its resources, and ships what it doesn't use to other areas. Despite the wide range of products that come from here, such a stone bricks, polished marble, and other crafts involving precious stones, Aencrad is famous for its exquisitely crafted sculptures. Factory workers and craftermen make decent wages, whereas miners are paid much more due to the dangers of the job. Collapsed tunnels and cave-ins are not uncommon here, and a sum negotiated through contract is paid to the families involved in any miners death. The facility is fourteen floors with the middles left open so that an intricate and vast system of pulleys and winches can move platforms of heavy loads up and down the levels. Foot traffic is typically restricted to stairwells and in some cases, ladders. Hover-boards are a popular method of movement among youths and young adults. The very bottom level holds the entrances to the mines, usually secured with chain-link gates during off hours.

⚙Calatrax

Power Town

Despite the title, Calatrax handles more than just power. It holds the largest concentration of utility producing machines, and has task forces that deploy all over Ark charged with maintenance, installation, and repair. Calatrax upholds the operating standards for Power, Water, Sewage, and Garbage. The facility is three large levels, enclosed and traversed by using elevators and stairwells. Beneath those levels, are three additional levels with respective areas of production. The fourth holds mammoth sized generators, running off a collection of large core chunks that output power for months at a time. Level five has an array of water recycling and filtration systems, second only to those beneath Seremere. Also on this level is the master drain, a pipe large enough for small crafts to traverse the sewers and deliver personal to perform onsite repairs. The master drain runs in a large circle around Arkheus, and branches inwards using smaller pipes and junctions. This does not remove the need to enter through drainage access points in other areas of Arkheus, as some areas are just inaccessible from the master drain. Garbage is collected on the final level, number six. Since the Ark is an enclosed space, landfills and incinerators are less than desirable options.

However, among the many secrets of the Ark is "The Chute". Seeming just a hole in the ground, with slanted sides a few feet in length, nobody is quite sure where this chute leads. Attempts at exploring the chute have proved pointless, as nobody as reached the bottom. Additionally, signals are distorted from within its metal walls, ruling out exploration through remotely operated devices. However, one thing is certain about "The Chute". It's never filled up, so it must take the trash somewhere. Besides dumping trash here, personnel also dump the toxins from recycled water, and other hazardous materials. It seems to be a bottomless void, and scientists have stayed up many nights trying to piece together its secrets. Some have even used methods to go down into it, but there's never been a report of anybody returning.

⚙Eincrah

The Biodomes

Unique in it's purpose, Eincrah the agricultural center for Sector Five. Through the use of underground biodomes, linked with transit tunnels, it's able to produce a vast quantity of food through the use of genetic engineering and growth hormones. The quality of food produce this way is ensured to be within regulation, and is definitely not the cause for any abnormalities in child development or birth. However, it's enough to feed the Ark, and some of the domes specialize in the cultivation of exotic plant life. Still, others hold insect farms for their materials, such as silk from spiders and silkworms, and honey from bees, and so forth. The domes can average anywhere in diameter from three-hundred, to a thousand yards. Staff typically live in homes built into the connecting tunnels, all of which have access to the main tower that runs up above the mountain and to the magrail. A system of rails and small trains, or vehicles adapted to ride the rails move products below and above the surface. Eincrah itself is only five levels, and is primarily used as a sort of underground suburbia.

⚙Hypreis

Home of the Textilleries

Following the theme of quick production in Sector Five, Hypreis is the largest supplier of textiles and fabrics. Importing shipments from Sector Two, and leasing a few of their own biodomes, the facility claims to have perfected the mass production method. Sure, the items may be of questionable quality, and the hyperlooms may take a finger here and there, but who can complain when their children have shirts on their backs at affordable prices, right? Hypreis follows the architecture of Aencrad, except the twenty-two floors are shaped to be concentric rings. Some areas of Hypreis specialize in much higher quality, and much more elegant items, with a price that reflects the effort involved—A hell of a lot. Hypreis has also expanded its industry to encompass wood based furniture, with quick and easy upholstery.

⚙Lume

Home of the Arts

Despite Aencrad having a hold on the sculpting aspects of art, Lume is noted for its products. The facility itself has a more homely town like feel, despite being buried deep beneath the earth and having cookie-cutter architecture, being concentric squares just like Aencrad, the people here have taken up the crafts. Most of the exports that leave Lume are handmade. Losing to Aencrad for statues and the like, Lume is famous for its paintings, some of which can cost thousands of credits. Some of which are simply ridiculously priced for their simplicity, but hell, that's art. Thirty-Two levels isn't much to work with, but Lume has managed to facilitate youth sports, family affairs, and even a movie hall. Lume also holds schools for the arts, including acting, where student films and professional movies trickle out.

⚙Miona

The Brewery

What world with human civilization doesn't have alcohol? Specializing in beer, malt liquors, and other spirits, Miona is quite a popular place, especially when drinking their vast variety of products. The facility itself is only six levels, but each one is expansive. The upper two floors are for workers, their families, and other small business and administrations. The bottom four floors are home to the distilling plants, where alcoholic drinks are mass produced. Miona also produces a variety of juices and other, normalized drinks, which follow the theme of Sector Five of being easy to make, exported in vast quantities, and available at a cheap price. Many of the workers in Miona hail from other settlements, and use the magrails, or the transit system to reach work.

⚙Niem

The Smithery

Niem is by far the largest settlement in Sector Five at One-Hundred and Eight levels. It also holds the finest productions of quality tools and equipment, choosing to achieve quality over quantity since competing with Sector Three is near impossible. Thousands of different tools, pieces, parts, and multitudes of other items are created here. Despite not really being famous for anything, Niem still upholds an impressive line of brand names. Most of the workshops, foundries, and smithies are located on the upper levels for easy ventilation of the heat that they produce. The middle section holds docking areas for the loading winches, and a two lane track designed specifically for small cargo trains runs up the concentric rings in Niem's circular architectural layout. Though, that proved not to be enough, Niem is also host to a series of large cargo elevators. Pedestrians have their own series of elevators, each of which only span about twelve floors to minimize wait times, yet sometimes the best option is to do with the stairs. Niem also has deticated vehicle assemblies, and produces the majority of personal vehicles and crafts.

⚙Zumos

Home of the Woodweavers

Zumos is known for its creations using wood, some so intricate the technique is often referred to as wood weaving. Despite that, Zumos mass produces all range of furnitures and accessories. The facility is also noted for supplying amenities for home decor, appliances, and other living and furnishing needs. The settlement is is sixty floors, with a break at down on floor 51. The upper fifty are concentric, as the scheme of things go. Zumos also has leases on a few biodomes for exotic woods, and imports a lot of its raw materials from Sector One. They utilize the pulley and winch system that hangs suspended in the open areas of the upper floors, of which residential homes and commercial businesses are scattered throughout. The 51st floor is solid, and is host to a large market. The lower nine floors continue the concentric pattern, but at the homes of the wealthy who choose to live there. The lower nine live libes of leisure in large homes with vast gardens, beautiful parks, and bubbling canals and streams throughout.

⚙ Sector Six ⚙

⚙ Sector Six ⚙

^{The Golden Sands}

Sector Six is a rolling expanse of golden dunes and warm sands. Because of the nature of sand, and its tendancy to shift often, the cities are built up on high plateaus accessible through the magrails. Additionally there are ground level elevators that lead to garages, usually holding personal Sand-skis, vehicles which have flat blades and an air, or coreshard propulsion system to navigate the dunes—Rubber tires wouldn't make it two feet. The most popular two vehicles are the Sand Sharks, a slim lined vehicle that can seat two, and is modeled after the Jet Ski. Second to that is a transport truck with a canvas back held up by metal rings, with treads modeled after scoops and two flat blades underneath the cab of the truck. The weather in Sector Five is relatively warm, and the forecast is typically always "High Winds and Sandstorms". Fortunately, each of the three settlements are protected by a wall that encircles the plateau, and most people have the common sense to head indoors when a storm manages to blow over the city, albeit it isn't often that a storm reaches the sizes and intensity needed to engulf the plateaus.

⚙Keibara

The Cliff's Edge

Keibara lies on the western edge of Sector Six, and is the largest of the three cities here. A wall runs along the cliff's edge, and comes equipped with elevators leading to garages adjacent to the sand, and small ramps for vehicle wishing to traverse the harsh terrain. Keibara holds one of the largest chemical refining operations on Arkheus, using chemical compounds to produce a range of items from plastic, synthetic resins, and rubber, to cleaning supplies, and so forth. The buildings here utilize a lot of the stone coming from Aencrad, and build their houses in the adobe fashion, stacked together and linked with wooden bridges. Sector Six is quite warm, and the stone does a better job of keeping out the heat than the metal walls hidden inside, and using wooden bridges instead of metal ones ensures the rubber bottoms of your shoes don't melt. The community as a whole is more oriented around their own families, but the most popular form of getting together and having fun usually revolves around alcohol and food.

⚙Rune

Candyland

As it's name implies, Rune's famous for it's delectable treats and assorted sugar candies. Utilizing biodome technology from Sector Five, Rune holds the only underground farms in Sector Six. Due to the small size of the plateau its built upon, the city was forced to begin expanding below ground. Though, it does a good job of maintaining a sizable population, following the building techniques of adobe houses with bridges and leaving their roads unpaved. So far Rune exists eleven levels below the surface, some levels stretch from edge to edge inside the rock. Despite being famous for candy, and producing large quantities of raw, and expensive sugar, Rune also sticks its hand into the movement industry. It's the home of the hoverboard, and picks up some of the manufacturing for magnetic shin splints, and custom ordered motorcycles for a hefty price.

⚙Tiala

Motorcity

The second largest city in Sector Six, and also located on a plateau, Tiala is the home of the motor industry. Existing above ground in the typical, adobe house fashion, Tiala really shines below the loose soil and hard rock of the plateau. Seven levels spanning the entirety of the rock walls, and six of which are devoted to the craft and creation of vehicular transport. This includes cheap, cookie cutter vehicles, luxury cars, and fabrication of trains and their wagons. The lowest level, number seven, is a trainyard which leads directly out to the magrail. Since trains take such a long time to produce, they never really stop production until the yard is full of replacements and spares. In addition to their main production, Taila also utilizes it's above ground facilities in the refinement of crude oil, pumped from deep below the sands, and other oil based products; Such as cooking oil, lotions, skin and mineral oils, and so forth. Also of note, Tiala is famous for it's "Honey Habac", a popular item among smokers and available for a moderate price.

Population Estimates

Approximate Figures:

Sector One: 7.2 Million
Sector Two: 6.5 Million
Sector Three: 4.7 Million
Sector Four: 22,000
Sector Five: 3.1 Million
Sector Six: 4.3 Million
The Core: 105 Billion

Total Estimate: 105,025,822,000

A R K H E U S

Act I

Something Monster Advent Something

A R K H E U S

Changelog

Decrees of the GM's

• The world will use both debit cards, and contactless transactions (IE: Using the Wrist Pad to forward money)
• Invisibility exists, I will be adding it to the Reapers. You must ask to use this.
• No laser melee weapons exist
• The Monetary system is "Credits"
• Religion exists in all shades and colors, including pre-Ark followings.

Registration Forms

Character Sheet

For any section that is irrelevant to your character, leave blank or put N/A

[center][h1][color=steelblue]Arkheus Identification Card[/color][/h1][color=slateblue]Bureau of Public Citizen Management[/color][/center]
[center][img][/img][/center]

[b][color=steelblue]Name:[/color][/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Aliases:[/color][/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Gender:[/color][/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Age:[/color][/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Job Title:[/color][/b] (If Pysker, put Pysker)

[hider=Extended Description]
[b][color=steelblue]Height:[/color][/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Weight[/color][/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Hair Color:[/color][/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Eye Color:[/color][/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Skin Color:[/color] [/b]

[b][color=steelblue]Scars:[/color][/b][list]
[*]
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Tattoos:[/color][/b][list]
[*]
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Modifications:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Cat Ears, Succubus Tail? Put it here. (Refer to Factions > Other > Changers)
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Cybernetics:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Mechanical Arms, Eyes, and other mecha stuff.
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Other:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Missing Limbs, Weird Habits, Disabilities, Tells?
[/list][/hider]
[hider=Appearance]
Tip: Instead of creating specific outfits, despite the apocalyptic nature of this roleplay, normal people change their clothes. I find it's usually better to create a generalized style, and go with that. However, you are welcome to dress your character however you see fit.

You may hotlink an armor image, but it still needs to go into the inventory section.
[/hider]
[hider=Job Description]

[/hider]
[hider=Biography]

[/hider]
[hider=Inventory]
[b][color=steelblue]Weapons:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Some times weapons break or get lost. Remember you are responsible for notifying me of changes.
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Armor:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Some times armor breaks- You know what, see above.
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Gadgets:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Grenades, Wrist pads, Baterangs, etc.
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=slateblue]Key Items:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Basically special quest items you get from me, and I won't always tell you what they do.
[/list]
[color=steelblue]Miscellaneous:[/color] Small non-important fluff items like lighters, watches, photos, etc. If the character owns a vehicle list it here, if you have an image put it in a hider, or a hotlink. Additionally, items like "Cigarettes" will be assumed to be frequently acquired by your character, because as I said, fluff items, and fluff is unexplainable sometimes.
[/hider]
[hider=Pysker Dossier]
[b][color=steelblue]Manifested Phenomena:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Refer to (Factions > Other > Pysker)
[*] 
[/list]
[/hider]
[color=steelblue][b]Proficiencies:[/b][/color][color=lightsalmon][list]
[*]
[*]
[/list]
[color=steelblue][b]Limitations:[/b][/color][list]
[*]
[*]  
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Likes:[/color][/b][list]
[*]
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Dislikes:[/color][/b][list]
[*]
[*]
[/list]
[b][color=steelblue]Important People:[/color][/b][list]
[*] Mom, Dad, Siblings, Best Friends, Co-workers, Girlfriend?
[*] (These people will be safe from outside control, and random death)
[/list]
[hider=Character Relationships]
[hider= Insert Character Name]
If your character has a pre-start relation with another character, put something about it here. The who's and why's.
[/hider][/hider]

Gang Report

Single, or "Everywhere" Locations Form

[*]]<Name>:[list]
[*]Location: (<Sector>) <Districts/Cities>
[*]Influence: <Refer to current listings>
[*]Known For: <Crimes primarily committed>
[*]Colors: 
[*]Insignia: [/list]

Multiple, Specific Locations Form

[*]<Name>:[list]
[*]Locations:[list] 
[*](<Sector>) <Districts/Cities>
[*] (<Second Location>) <Districts/Cities> (Etc.)[/list]
[*]Influence: <Refer to current listings>
[*]Known For: <Crimes primarily committed>
[*]Colors: 
[*]Insignia: [/list]

FAQ

"How does the Rail network fully work?"

Answer

• Entering:For personal body use with shin splints, boots, etc, basically an escaltor of moving metal platforms. At the top you link up to a long magnetic runway akin to present day on ramps, which helps accelerate you before merging you onto the railway. For vehicles there is no escaltor, just the ramp.
• Layout: Outer edged roads are for people, inwards there are roads for vehicles, and then the trains in the middle. Each section is seperate by metal barrier walls (a person could hop those, but it would take a car with some large tires or force to driver over/smash through the metal). Vehicular merging lanes don't come in the sides, but rise up from underneath, because of the extra lanes for people. Personal on ramps and exit ramps do extend off towards the side. The train docks by dipping beneath the railway.
• Aesthetic: Basically the magrail is a misconstrued name, as it is actually a road way made of metal, with little magnetic rails build in (like tram cars that run on the roads in present day). As Fire put, it's basically a suspension bridge, with capabilities of partial rotation. Since travellers are locked to the rails (though you can change lanes easily enough with science of course) the railway can turn flexibility, meaning that the railway could turn almost perpendicular to the ground below to pass between two buildings or whatever.
• Diversity: The Industrial Railway is a combination of train rails, vehicular, and human taffick and is mapped as the snaking red lines on the holomap. The Civilian Railway is smaller, and is like an intercity highway, less lanes, lots of vehicular traffic. The Personal Railway is meant for human bodies only, aka pedestrian paths.

Collab Pads

Pad One	Pad Three
Pad Two	Pad Four