Agents of the Multiverse

The Steppes Forward Initiative is a program designed by the AotM and supported by Sanctuary that allows individuals who have been banished from Sanctuary a way to work towards rejoining society. It focuses on reparation work and skill building, as well as reintegration into the community of Sanctuary in its later stages. The program is fairly new, and is likely still ironing out bugs, but most agree it's a far better option than forcing those banished to suffer the elements and mutating storms of the Steppes or bolstering Harbor's ranks.
Who is Eligible & How to Apply
Any individuals who have found themselves banished from Sanctuary, or who may consider themselves a danger to themselves and others are welcome to voluntarily apply. They may leave at any time, or they may be asked to leave if they cannot adhere to the program's requirements.

Any interested parties may turn themselves in at any watchtower, one of the gates outside of Sanctuary, or at the gate of the program's site itself.

All applicants are required to sit down for an entry interview and an evaluation with both the program's psych team and its resident telepath. This will place them into one of three entry categories:

Green
Green is the result that most applicants get. This means that your character may have committed crimes, but they were mostly non-violent, and they don't really have any severe or notable emotional or psychiatric problems that may make them a threat to others. They are allowed to come and go freely from the program's home base.
Yellow
Yellow is the next level up. This likely means that your character has committed notable violent crimes, or that they have personality traits that make them a considerable risk to themselves or others. However, their tests indicate that they are not beyond the current skills of the program to assist with extra support, and that they genuinely wish to improve. They may be asked to remain on site until their tests put them in the green, or if they must venture out, to venture out with one of the program's staff.
Red
Red is rare, but The Steppes Forward Program is a potential buffet of suffering to the wrong sorts-- a place to seek victims, sew chaos, or recruit. Or otherwise some individuals who come to the program genuinely wish to change, but may be beyond the scope of the staff to help in this setting. These are characters who are ether extremely dangerous or extremely unwell (like the Joker). They are carefully apprehended, and usually wind up facing the Dreamland Protocol.

If your character would fall under this category and you don't want them stuck (temporarily or otherwise) in a telepathically induced lotus eater fantasy, then it's best not to have them apply to this program. But that can be a fun plot for some people! Just plan carefully and know what you want from it.
Where is it?
The hamlet that has been built to house the participants of the Steppes Forward Program has been built directly into one of the large caverns within the cave systems beneath the mountains that surround Sanctuary. The caves have naturally protective elements against the Crackle Storms outside, and are fairly well shielded from the elements. The biggest downsides are temperature, aggressive animals, and the occasional incursion from Harbor, as many of the cave's tunnels do eventually let out into the Dome.

The hamlet itself is several stone and wood buildings built around a central fire pit where meals are often taken. Unless special circumstances arise, most of the residential dwellings are group housing, with four program participants to a house. There are also two buildings that flank either side of the hamlet that acts as temporary housing for staff and security rotations staying on site. Most staff do not live there permanently.

There is a small forge available in one of the side caverns, as well as other various workshop spaces. Like Sanctuary, most of the area is lit up by glowstones and the occasional fire or traditional lantern. Modern tech is sparse, as while the caves do offer protection from the Crackle Storms, they're still not as good as Hearth Stones, and tech blackouts are even more common here. There is a modest, shared bathhouse for bathing, as well as a single individual bathroom attached to each residential building.

The cavern the hamlet is housed in continues on deeper into the mountains, and eventually reaches the Dome where Harbor is located. It is the only official channel to the Dome that is controlled by Sanctuary. When Harbor was discovered, all known tunnels beneath the city were collapsed to avoid invasion. Harbor has seized all other routes through the mountains. It's often a struggle to keep them from seizing this one too, and part of the work that the Steppes Forward Initiative does is protecting travelers who may wish to risk the journey to the Dome to hunt, fish, or gather fruit.

The Cave Hamlet tunnel comes out somewhere in the unclaimed ruins outside of Harbor-- far enough that skirmishes are at least monthly rather than daily.

Food & Resources
While supplemental food is brought in both from Sanctuary and the AotM's own personal stores, the Cave Hamlet is meant to be largely self sufficient. Program participants are led on hunts both inside and outside of the caves, and very little goes to waste. There is also a series of small gardens outside of the cave mouth where some of the recreational facilities are for use when the weather's nice, and several places for mushroom cultivation within the cave itself.

This does mean that there is a lot of giant spider on the menu, which isn't terrible if you don't think too hard about it. It tastes a bit like shrimp to most people.

The Cave Hamlet gets most of its water supply from a nearby mountain spring.

The Program



-Work-
Big building projects. They design it, build it. Their creation becomes a part of the community. They aren't just the workers, they're the creators.
Cooking large meals for new arrivals in Sanctuary and the SFI itself.
Tunnel Re-enforcement
Pest Control
Hunting & Fishing
Building

-Therapy-

-Security & Fail Safes-
All new applicants to The Steppes Forward initiative are fitted with two devices-- a shield belt and for those with powers that would warrant it, a power inhibitor.

The Shield Belt
The Shield Belt is an interesting piece of technology. It allows kinetic energy out-- so the wearer can swing a hammer, pick up their lunch, etc. It allows limited kinetic energy in however. Slow to medium force can pass through the shield, say, a pat on the back or a handshake, but heavy force is absorbed and redistributed across the shield, making any punches thrown at someone with one of the shield belts like punching a pillow, and it never reaches the wearer.

These are worn for both a practical and security based purpose. Those in the Steppes program are often working in the caves-- sometimes with heavy rocks or machinery, and often with native wildlife that would love to take a bite out of them. The shields act as a full body safety hat in these scenarios. But they also make fist fights between program members rather ineffective and silly looking. Some furniture might get broken, but generally those inside the shields are mostly okay.

In extreme emergencies, the shields are programed to allow the stun weapons that The Steppes Forward program's security personnel use through. They are also programmed to only be unlockable by those with the correct keys, so they cannot be simply removed without significant effort by most individuals, and are also programmed to send out an alert at any signs of tampering.

They're not foolproof, of course. Someone could conceivably slip their hand inside a shield at a normal speed and then try to do some damage, or steal a stun weapon, or use something other than physical force, but the belts make it much easier to control potential injuries and de-escalate fights that might break out among the program's population.

Power Inhibitors
Along with the shield belts, all new applicants who have powers that could conceivably be considered dangerous to the general population are required to wear a power inhibitor along with their belts as long as the inhibitors won't create a medical situation. The power inhibitors are a simple bracelet like device with similar security features as the belts. They simply target and inhibit the nervous system signals that allow the wearer to use those abilities using artificial intelligence.

Unlike the shield belts though, if the wearer proves that they can exhibit restraint and good behavior, the power inhibitor bracelets are allowed to be removed after a few weeks.


-Dangers/Threats-

-OOC - Completing the Program-