voidtreckermods: (voidtrain)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2022-07-16 06:02 am

Mission: You are Not Alone

After the missive from the ministry, voidtreckers might be expecting a task. On the eighth day of Symphony their SCA's glow with the colours of the void and a message appears. They have a few hours to prepare before they arrive in the system. Now will be the time to plan, with the warning of a catastrophe mission put out. What supplies will they need? Who will go where?

After half an hour, they hear the Voidtrecker Express again.

Shortly arriving in system #3721010010. Exiting voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

The train shakes as it leaves the void, into a wreck of a world.


MISSION 18: YOU ARE NOT ALONE



SYMPHONY 8-11 ~ TEAM OBJECTIVES ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ OTHER DETAILS
ASK QUESTIONS ~ SHENANIGANS ~ TEAM PLOTTING ~ MISSION REWARDS




RED TEAM: THE SOUTHERN CONTINENT (WEIRWICH)
"Red team to doors. Approaching drop point."

From the windows, they will see what was likely once a sprawling metropolis of a city, now reduced to size - but neither abandoned, nor submitting. Smoke and debris wafts up in the air from activity, pockets of action seen as exchanged gunfire even from their distance, especially to the north, and there's a burst of light in the air as some kind of weaponry hits one of the buzzing dots in the air.

It's safe to say that the city under heavy fire. The train descends, covered in its own cloaking technology, bringing Red Team and anyone else looking for a fight down close to a wrecked street to jump down onto. Sounds of gunfire now join what they saw before, and the Voidtreckers will want to move quickly. If they're to figure out how to go beyond the skies, they'll have to deal with ground level first.


1. SEARCH AND DESTROY. The heaviest assault is happening at the north wall, though moving through the city will give them some early indications of what they're up against. Stalking through the streets are the searcher units attempting to gather intel, but to also take out targets from behind.

They might also come across some flight units, trying to get further into the city for sabotage or taking key defensive areas, before the walls are even breached. They attack anyone in their path, and so if it is a fight the red team are looking for, they will find it here.

Once they get to the wall itself they will be facing the larger tank units. The fight is desperate and the human lines are close to breaking. Some fresh fighters might be what is needed to turn the tide.

2. UNDERGROUND BASE. Once things calm (relatively), Red Team will be able to find out more about the world's space presence through conversation (and by confusing the locals, if you aren't good at being discreet). Their ships are underground, the dome shelters around the northern wall actually where they come out from, and their base of operations is underground too.

Going there, you will find a chaotic but organised system. There are spaces that act as infirmaries, sleeping quarters; but not hard to find is where they keep the fighter ships, close by to where battle plans are made. There is a call for everyone who can to come later in the day, to prepare for a search in space for the enemy's ships. They have some coordinates, and they're desperate for any good news on finding those damn things. The more accurate markers on the SCA's might just be that good news they are looking for.

Piloting: Not all those who volunteer to go are experienced, and if Voidtreckers are willing to take the time, they can learn about how the ships work: the controls are surprisingly simple, as long as you're familiar with video games, and even come with automatic flying in a pinch. There's a room with headsets and fake steering, used as a means of training people for flight. There's not much time, but the people would rather let someone spend an hour or two training than crash a space ship.

It's not the most sophisticated, but an army trying to keep standing against a vastly superior army.

3. OUT IN SPACE. The spaceships, it turns out, are simple because they are designed to be programmed in advance, towards a target, for exploration and research. The controls are there for emergancies, moving away from danger. They aren't really designed for the task of searching a relatively large area, but work by their coordinates and travel towards the pins on the voidtreckers SCAs.

There is no artificial gravity, and so everyone needs to be strapped in or they float around freely. The people from the world with the voidtreckers are all trained, at least a little bit, but there is a real sense of fear as their tiny ships drift off into space, towards enemies that they cannot detect.

The cloaking is good at confusing the human ships' sensors. It will take getting close enough to these ships to to use the zooming features on the screens to see, just barely, what gives them away: ripples in space, the darkness acting differently. If they push through this bubble, then they will be able to see the ship.

It's huge, all harsh angles and fucntional metal. Built for carrying troops it sits, a fortress in itself - and a fortress not defenceless. Clever planning will be needed to take down these mammoth ships, and to not lose your own lives.




PURPLE AND BLUE: THE NORTHERN CONTINENT (MEDBOROUGH)
"Blue Team and Purple Team to doors. Approaching checkpoint."

While the sight of Red Team's drop off point had been bad, this new city is a mess. It's hard to find even one building that has not been destroyed, rubble and glass litter the streets, cars smolder and as for people... It is silent.

A silence that is almost sound itself. Their footsteps sound impossibly loud as they tread through the wreckage.


1. AMONG THE RUINS. This was not a walled cit - one of the reasons it has fallen so fast - but they are definitely dropped on the outskirts, where the ruined buildings are less tightly packed together. There's some cover capable amongst the rubble, but it doesn't take them long to be noticed. From the nearby streets searcher units attack, a small scouting group that hit hard, and make enough noise to make it dangerous to stick around for too long. Drawing attention is not a good thing.

2. FIRST CONTACT. It might take the teams a while to figure out where anyone is, and if there is even anyone left in this city to help at all. But then they will spot someone, darting between buildings or creeping through the burned out cars.

If they spot the voitreckers, they will gesture sharply to stay down and lead them towards the nearest tunnel entrance. These are guarded, but human voidtreckers will find no trouble being let in- others might need to talk sharpish or have others to back them up. Once through the guards the tunnels get lower, off the main passage and into smaller service ducts, places they hope the larger enemies won't be able to follow them.

Here in nooks and crannies are the survivors of Medborough and the surrounding areas. Gathered in groups of twenty or so in makeshift camps, children run messages through the tightest passages- which seems to be enough to be keeping them occupied and the panic at bay. The adults fashion weapons, cook meagre rations or sort through salvaged scrap. It's a whole city network down here, as safe from the enemy as they can be but very much besieged.

3. NIGHT TIME. It's hard to even tell when night is, but there is a definite sense of time to rest, as well as they can. As the caverns quiet the sound of the enemy above can be heard, booming footsteps and distant fighting. There are still people out there, and the adults take shifts keeping them away from tunnel entrances.

There's an argument that carries throughout this tunnel, one that has the beats of a well trodden one. Should they try and evacuate? Where would they go? Could they get the children out? Could they run fast enough? Elsewhere a child starts crying in their sleep, and another calls out that they can't sleep at all. In another part of the cavern, someone begins to sing lowly and so the night begins.

And it will lead to a new day of fighting to survive.




ORANGE TEAM: THE EASTERN CONTINENT (STARBURY)
"Orange Team to doors. Approaching checkpoint."

From the map that orange team have been sent the first facility to search is on the outskirts of Starbury and so that is the city they arrive in. Here the fighting is some distance away from the city, the human defences keeping the enemy at bay.

The train has them disembark just inside the perimeter. Far enough away to not be targeted but not close enough to the city to frighten people. They step out into what were once the suburbs of the city. The twisted remains of houses and trees telling the story of the battle here as the human defence pushed the enemy away from the city. It is silent, not even the sound of birds. The ground is charred and churned.


1. ARRIVAL. For those who wish to draw closer to the defences will find blockades of trucks, sandbags, hastily made barricades of furniture. They have weapons, including some large guns pointed at the air. They aren't under heavy attack right now, though some searcher units are keeping the defenders busy. Flight units can be seen at a distance, waiting for a weakened front to take their turn.

2. FACILITY. On the outskirts of the city, the first facility is calm. It is not quite abandoned: there are people in there and a couple of guards, though they are on the look out for enemy combatants rather than fellow humans, making it easy to enter.

Inside is a bit of a mess. There was clearly a fight here recently, and things have been left scattered, but in a way it makes it easier to start looking through. At least they aren't disturbing things. From a surface look at least it seems a normal facility, predominantly researching the oceans and marine biology. There might be void research hidden away in here, but first they must go through a lot of data about plakton.

3. STARBURY. The city is packed with people. As desolate as the other places have been, the streets here are full, and there are clearly more people than homes to place them. People move from building to building, and though there is a strong sense of welcome, they are being turned away at the door. No Room.

It is full of noise and confusion. There isn't any traffic, and it seems any fuel has been taken for the military, and so people walk the roads or sit in the shade of buildings. Children play, as children do even in times of great strife. There is some organisation, if they go looking for it. It becomes clear there are some people very desperately trying to organise all of these people, find places for them to stay and ration food. But it is a momentous task and they are in desperate need of extra hands.


OOC NOTES
NOTES:

~ Transgates will be set up between Weirwich, Starbury, and Medborough by the second day thanks to Thanatos, Seto Kaiba, and Wei Wuxian.

~ Communication will be key on this mission, in finding ways to establish contact between the different continents and how to help them bring their might together.

~ Take note that it will take time for the locals to be willing to let obvious non-humans fly their spaceships, perhaps by the third day if they've been engaged in fighting before that. The sudden show of inhuman powers and non-humans is going to have many people alarmed, even if many will welcome it too.

~ We're interested in any attempts of research, aid, or any other ideas your character has in investigating and helping out on the planet. Are they good with computers? Will they and establish good relations with the people of this planet, gather info and work with them? Do they have any skills you think that could be useful, or aren't too sure and want to know if they can be? Maybe they can help with the trouble they're having in tracking the enemy ships...

~ We always welcome any questions, and will help you get involved if you're feeling unsure. And if your character is going to be trying to put their skills to the test in a noticeable way, leave them over on shenanigans!

Further Prompt Ideas: (Click to expand)
  • Fighting: Every location will have enemy forces coming in to try and infiltrate over the 3 days. While they won't always be large groups, any of the searcher units can be encountered at any point, even outside the cities (most likely the beasts and wasps).
  • Fighing: There are also enemy camps, locations where they have based themselves for their attacks. The big ones near the cities are not going to be easy to attack but there are smaller ones around the place that a small team could hit and thin out the enemy ranks.
  • Fighting/Space: Wasp Units will start being deployed after the first day, and will acting as pests to chase or bring down people searching for their transport ships.
  • Strategy: Pushing the enemies out of the city is one of the goals. Finding ways of setting up defences, planning among one another will help with such large areas. Can the materials around the cities be used?
  • Aid: Not everyone is in a city. There are still pockets of people trying to get there, trying to find shelter elsewhere or mounting ill advised revenge attacks on the enemy. Seek them out, and bring them to safety quick.
  • Aid: Healing and comfort will always be useful, but will every person be accepting of magical talents? The people are more welcoming of humans than obvious non-humans, but there will still be mixed feelings about these strange people now amongst them.
  • Aid: The people of Medborough have lost a lot, including their own culture. Even entertainment is a rarity, and so anything that can be scavenged - entertainment, books, clothing and jewelery - would bring small pleasures to the people.
  • asheaveniswide: (Default)

    [personal profile] asheaveniswide 2022-07-29 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)
    "There's something to be said for the range and efficiency of laser projectiles," the prince sniffs, but he's not picking up a gun again unless he has to. They're incredibly useful! And they could make the most of his peerless vision, but it didn't ... feel right.

    A good solid weapon tended to feel better. And the delicate nature of a katana was to be applied with precision, not like a headsman's axe.

    It's a deliberate choice to turn his back on her; she'd have an opportunity to run him through if she so chose, but with blade in hand he's really intending to put it to the test on the first of these biomechanical creatures he can find. It doesn't take long, either, with the ruckus and noise of the rest of the fighting going on, and he STILL doesn't wield a blade like a cleaver, as lethally precise as any of his incarnations on any star. He's good at finding weaknesses, by the speed one of those spidery creatures is dismembered. But he's not.. quite as brute-strength powerful as those of his name who took up the scythe instead..
    dragoonrouge: (DRG Closed)

    [personal profile] dragoonrouge 2022-07-30 08:17 am (UTC)(link)
    "Just because it's efficient does not mean it is fun or satisfying."

    Chat time is over as another wave of enemies swarms towards Zenos and Q'uila with Q'uila not even giving Zenos a second glance as she launches herself up and over to start dropping down and decimating the back lines like the fuzzy meteor she is. It's only when the numbers die down that she fights her way closer to Zenos again to inspect how the katanga has held up in his grasp.
    asheaveniswide: (pic#15371989)

    [personal profile] asheaveniswide 2022-08-05 11:08 pm (UTC)(link)
    It's holding up so far, but it will truly be a test of the weapon's enchantments if it can keep its edge for much longer. While Zenos is ever mindful of whatever he's wielding at the time, he tends to put more force on magical weapons - after all they should be able to take more punishment than a normal weapon.

    Such as the blades liberated from Doma, safely ensconced back home where he can't get to them.

    There's no surprise in finding out he's leaving a swath of destruction behind him. Maybe a bit more surprising that his opponents are leaving marks in return, his khakis, purple shirt and long hair streaked in blood. It's not slowing him down yet though.
    dragoonrouge: (Q'uila Facepalm)

    [personal profile] dragoonrouge 2022-08-14 12:54 pm (UTC)(link)
    The number of opponents is starting to dwindle from Q'uila's bird's-eye view of the battleground when she launches herself above the fray, Zenos and the Warrior of Light would make a terrifying strike force if the two were ever likely to team-up back on Etherys, but she does clock the lack of battle healers nearby. Moving purely on reflex Q'uila does what she always does when there are no healers about and chucks a Vercure Zenos' way before her brain catches up.

    "SORRY! 'TIS BUT A CURE!" Q'uila hollers at Zenos as the aether zips his way, he probably wasn't going to receive her casting spells at him well all things considered.