You are Not Alone: Ongoing/Finale

[voidtreckermods]

The tide of battle has certainly been turned with the voidtreckers' help. Their attempts at finding the spaceships have been successful, and plans to continue the assault from space are being made. Elsewhere, transgates have been set between cities, meaning that the movement of goods and people has gotten easier.

But even so, the fighting has gotten more intense. The enemy were not expecting resistance still this far in, never mind the extra back-up that the planet seems to have had. They've called in for more reinforcements in response, and they've certainly risen the stakes...

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MISSION 18: YOU ARE NOT ALONE (ONGOING)

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SYMPHONY 12-13 ~ TEAM OBJECTIVES ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ OTHER DETAILS
ASK QUESTIONS ~ SHENANIGANS ~ TEAM PLOTTING ~ MISSION REWARDS

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A NEW THREAT

From around the morning of the 12th of Symphony there comes reports of larger enemies - more than even the tank units from before. There's been no credible sightings of this foe, however, and no one can say where exactly they were seen. Rather, they're a rumour, something whispered about on the streets, in the tunnels, even among those travelling into space.

It doesn't lend itself to good morale, as rumours fly and people become more and more on edge.

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1. THE TOWERING FOE. It turns out the aforementioned foe is more than just rumours. Still they come as a surprise, seemingly out of nowhere, these huge hulking creatures that tower at the heights of the cities they've arrived outside. One stomps towards Weirwich while the other heads for Medborough. Almost as large as a building, the earth shakes when they move.

People scramble to launch a counter-attack. There are further rumours of a larger army heading towards Starbury, but for Werwich and Medborough, the aim of the creatures doesn't seem to be to destroy the city, but rather, to keep people trapped. In Weirwich the creature finds the transgate, smashing it beneath a foot. It seems the creature at Medborough is aiming to do similar, attempting to further besiege the city and prevent people from going to Starbury's aid.

2. APPROACHING ARMY. Starbury is going to need all the help it can get. The city quickly finds itself facing down the largest amassed force of enemies so far. There is not one but four of the new, huge creatures, baring down on the gate.

The people of Stabury and the remaining military of the world are holding many of the gates, but the five large creatures are at the main gate, trying to take down the entire wall. This is where the main fight will be fought.

PROBLEM SOLVING

The new assault by the enemy forces threatens to slow the plans being made into a standstill, but many voices are refusing to stop - they have to take out the ships of the invaders to stop this war once and for all. With no ships, there's no way for this fight to continue as easily for the enemy as it has.

There's also the scientists to consider, out there, and finally some results in the voidtreckers' search being made. They could go back and fight - or they could see what these scientists have to aid them, and to make sure they haven't been found first by the enemy...

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1. SPACE LOCK-ON. Up in space, their efforts have been successful in finding most of the enemy ships - destroying them will be another task. Taking out the larger transport from the outside is basically impossible considering the technology available in the world, and the defences of the fortresses in comparison. Instead, it seems the only way to take them down will be to destroy them from the inside, and so those who volunteer will be given space suits to travel over from the human ships to the enemy ships, and to sneak in to lay explosives.

It's dangerous, and once the weapons are in place there won't be that much time to get out. The human forces will let anyone who wishes to try to do so, but they won't be forcing anyone. After all, they know the chances of survival are low. But if these ships aren't taken down, then the fate of the planet will be grim indeed.

2. THE SEARCH. The search of the facilities has been long and tedious, but through piecing together information and following clues it seems there is a final facility up in the north, where these scientists have sought refuge. However, it appears the enemy have gotten wind of them as well, hearing rumours of these rescuers from beyond their universe that's seeking the technology of the void for themselves.

Rescuing the scientists and safeguarding the information they have has become vital, and even as the voidtreckers arrive to the location, they will see signs of the enemy making their attack. Defend the scientists, and make sure the facility doesn't suffer heavy damage.

OOC NOTES

NOTES: There will be a mod-led Boss Battle for the fight at the gates of Starbury. For the fights in the other cities or in other parts of Starbury, you can write your own enemies and fight. The very large enemies will take a lot of force to take down, so people will need to work in teams.

For those heading out into space: They will sent in with three or four places to plant their explosives in pairs or small teams so that they can ensure the task is successful. This won't be mod led, but it can be assumed that there are plenty of searchers on board the ships and a few tank units - though the majority are on the planet already. Space suits are bulky, but they will keep them safe for moving between ships. Once on the enemy ship there is breathable air and low gravity, so jumping large distances is easier, but they can still walk around.

For those going to find the scientists: This will be a mod-led thread as they make their way through the final facility towards the scientists and their research.

Comments

Boss Battle: Starbury

[voidtreckermods]

The main gate of the city makes a good choke hold to meet the enemy in battle. All civilians have been moved far away from the outer walls and though it is inevitable that the fight will have to spread beyond the city eventually, keeping some control. It also allows the humans to use buildings and other structures to their advantage, giving them the opportunity to use range weapons.

The five large creatures are accompanied by many more of the tanks, searchers and fliers, who are providing back up as well as trying to break through the human lines into the city itself.

(OOC: For this part please all reply in one single thread. Each round will be marked by an NPC tag and then each character may tag once before the next round begins. If you are late joining or miss a round don’t worry! Just tag into the most recent round and either assume your character was always there or got caught up with the many enemies that there are to fight)

Re: Boss Battle: Starbury

[gathersnomoss]

That... was certainly not what he'd expected. At least the bare comfort of knowing that his voidself was bound to the train and the worst that would happen would be that he'd wake up in the luggage car again helped. "Let's see if we can get one or more of these things to trip."

He had a few earth spells that would do that, but he'd have to get closer and hope a single person wasn't considered important. He quickly cast his flight spell; Rah Tilt's wind barrier and flying along the ground would hopefully keep him out of any major problems.

[cureofmanyworlds]

“So many of them!”

Nozomi couldn’t believe just how many were attacking! They were serious now!

Nozomi raced forward, punching the ground immediately in front of her, intending on tripping up any of the attackers in front.

[nutkrusher]

Cassie takes flight alongside Zelgadis, her rifle in hand and grenade launcher loaded.

"Yeah. They can't stomp without legs."

[controlsthedie]

Thanatos busies himself with the numerous smaller ones: the tanks, searchers, and fliers. If the big ones can have backup, then those fighting the large ones can have backup as well. His power will work better for the numbers to let others can tackle the bigger ones with less trouble and with less worry for protecting the locals.

He focuses, pulls, and cuts their threads. They fall where they stand and move no more.

Finding the Scientists

[voidtreckermods]

This facility is in a very isolated space, indeed it takes a decent amount of trudging and travelling to get there and when they do it seems silent. Indeed it seems as abandoned as the rest.

For the moment there are no sign of enemies either, but that is likely to change. The main door is barred shut.

(OOC: For this part please all reply in one single thread. Each round will be marked by an NPC tag and then each character may tag once before the next round begins. If you are late joining or miss a round don’t worry! Just tag into the most recent round and either assume your character was always there! If you want to break off for character discussions etc please do so in a separate thread so this one can keep moving.)

[blue_ice]

Kaiba's decided to follow this quest through to the end. He picks his way through to the place, eyes searching...and of course they hit a dead end.

"Hm. We could try knocking...if there's a camera lens anywhere, maybe they're watching us from inside. If we get too loud about knocking down the door they'll think we're the enemy and open fire, though."

Right? He folds his arms and scowls up at the door, eyes still searching.

[longforgottenpromise]

"Yes... We should try to do it non violently if we can..."

Taiki really didn't want any more violence. This place was soaked in it. Really he should maybe be somewhere else, but it's not like there was anywhere on this planet that did not smell of blood.

He doesn't want to evacuate and leave his friends to face this threat alone. Finding scientists sounded like something he could help with.

[redprayer]

"If there's a mechanical lock, I can take care of it," Rezo says- naturally, he has a spell for that- "How does the door look?"

He can tell it's barred, but not much else without examining it closer, and he doesn't want to touch it just yet. If the scientists are really paranoid, the door may be trapped, after all!

[thepriceforalife]

"Too advanced for me to tell much, I'm afraid," Thomas said. While he might have better luck than Rezo at magically opening the door if it was electronic, he was still working with a large technology gap. And assuming the scientists weren't idiots, just shorting out the electricity to the door would keep it closed.

Usagi Tsukino | Purple Team | OTA

[another_moon]

Usagi gawks in surprise at the giant machine. She always thought such things would exist only in cartoons and video games! That certainly wasn’t the case here!

She’s more that certain that she knows its weakness - the knees. Knock out the knees and easily drop it. She draws on Pluto’s power, intending on using a Dead Scream to destroy it…

Only for a Crawler to blast her in the back. As she staggered backwards, another struck her in the front and another to the side. Each blast was precise - they realized the potential she had and her weaknesses. Each shot weakened her armor, drained her magic.

Was she gonna fall here?

[redmeguca]

[Twin dragons shaped from flames strike down on the machines surrounding Usagi. Kyoko/Ophelia strides forward, a deep fog flowing out from her robes. Flames rise behind her as her voice strains with her fury.]

Get the hell away from my Princess!

[another_moon]

[Usagi groans as she looks up, seeing the angry Kyoko before her.]

Ky…Kyoko…?

[redmeguca]

Huh? Oh yeah, that is my name, isn't it?

[The fog billowing out from her robes pulses with that question, thinning just a bit.]

Well whatever, all I need to remember right now is how to protect you. The rest can come later.

[The fire spreads to the other machines, going from red, to blue, and then to white. Chains burst from within the flames, dragging any of her enemies that may have escaped into the pyre.]

[another_moon]

[That’s… that’s not good. Has Kyoko losing herself or is she playing? No, go with the idea that she’s losing herself.

Usagi starts to stand, shedding the damaged armor pieces as she does, leaving her once more in the usual leotard.]

I won’t let them… do that again..

Ruby Rose | Purple Team | OTA

[silver_eyes_rose]

Against the Army

A battlecry echoed out through the ruins of Medborough as she attempts to fight off the various soldiers protecting the giant machine. Ruby's scythe is quick to slice down many of the Seekers attempting to attack her, but there's only so much she can do. So, she keeps on the move, trying to spread out her attackers. At the first opportunity, her silver eyes flash and she unleashes its power to shunt them back.

"There's just so many..." she groaned.

Overpowered

Despite Ruby's moves, she's not infallible. She makes a slip up trying to dodge a Tank, only to watch in horror as she's hit square in the ribs from a punch, launching her into a fallen pillar.

"Gotta... get..." she grunted as she tried to pull herself up, only for another punch to slam into her, shattering her Aura. The tank grabbed her and slammed her into the ground back first, ripping off most of her hoodie in the process. One last stomp to her face and Ruby was barely aware as the Tank hung her on her fallen scythe by her cape as a symbol of victory.

"...help...me..."

Overpowered

[healerscorned]

Ruby!

[Nia had been fighting with Dromarch's rings until now. Seeing Ruby so hurt, she still hesitates. But only for a second. Her whole body glows as she shifts into her Blade form, her ether seeking Ruby out and healing her wounds in moments.]

Damn it, everyone probably saw that... Here!

[The Catalyst Scimitar is still forming as Nia tosses it, reaching completion in the air between her and Ruby.]

Re: Overpowered

[silver_eyes_rose]

[Ruby gasps as she’s suddenly healed, her connection to Nia snapping her back to reality and letting her catch the weapon.

She hated to do this, but she cut off her cape, causing her to drop awkwardly on the ground.]

Nia… th-thanks…

[healerscorned]

Don't worry about it, it's what any good Blade would do for their Driver.

[She picks Dromarch's rings back up, ready to keep fighting.]

Cat's out of the bag on that, by the way. Plenty of people probably saw me shift.

[silver_eyes_rose]

Don’t worry about it - we got a blue hedgehog thing running around - nothing that bad, right?

[But right now, she’s gunning for the Tank that humiliated her, running up and slashing at it.]

Wash | Purple Team | Ground Troops and SPACE

[unrecovered]

1. A very specific set of skills (Symphony 11, slightly backdated)

In his armor and fully armed, Wash fights like a man possessed. Is he happy to be back fighting someone else's war for the third time in two years, trying to prevent yet another genocide? No, of course not, but these things aren't as nasty as the Covenant and not as soulless as Charon Industries, and goddammit, he's in his element. War is hell, but he can't deny that knowing what he's doing feels good.

Maybe you're in the thick of it with him, back to back or shoulder to shoulder, tearing into scouts with a little too much enthusiasm. Maybe you're not a fighter, caught out where you shouldn't be, and he's making his way to you as fast as he can, borrowed laser rifle already drawn- "Get down!"

Or maybe that last enemy you were fighting abruptly goes down, taken out by a perfectly sighted shot straight up its currently empty laser. Track the angle of the shot, and you'll see Wash situated in whatever nearby high ground is available, sweeping the area for anything nasty that might be evading his motion trackers; what's more likely is you'll see the large grey cat bounding towards you at top speed, hollering. It's not safe here! Get moving!

2. The only place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism (Symphony 12)

When Wash had heard that they'd finally figured out where the cloaked enemy ships were and what the plan was to deal with them...well, there are very few people here more experienced in this sort of guerilla warfare bullshit than he is, and he's got his armor back. He knows where he needs to be.

Maybe you've heard his announcement and came to meet him at the spaceport. He sees you and nods at you. "You ready?"

Or maybe you've already made it into space, on one of the enemy ships, working on planting bombs. "We don't have much time. It doesn't need to be perfect - it just needs to stay put and be armed."

Or maybe you both look up in time to see the Searcher that's just caught sight of you. "Shit - don't let it sound the alarm!"

3. Wildcard

[You know what to do!]

2. Who Brought Fantasy To My Gritty Sci-Fi!

[wewillwewill]

Wash, have you ever seen a lightly armored man with a massive axe cleave bio-metal creatures? Well if you haven't somewhere else during this mission, today is your lucky day. Of course it's enhanced by the manipulation of aether... or magic or whatever you want to call it.

The Wasp has little time to make its retreat to find its pack. Blasts of laserfire are deflected by some form of defensive shielding inches out from the Ascian's body and the axe itself cuts directly into the red core of the 'mouth'. While it might not fall in one blow, it's enough to down it and finish it with another.

Elidibus had come along with this bomb planting team to act as a teleporter in an emergency but apparently he's also an effective frontliner.

"Did you finish setting the charge?" he asks. Though his gaze is still scanning the environs to keep an eye out for anyone that might have heard the brief commotion.

Axework is not exactly silent.

[unrecovered]

To be fair, he has seen a heavily armored man cleave through people with a brute shot, so, same difference? If nothing else, he's grateful for Elidibus's willingness to come along and his ability to wreck shop when needed. The wasp goes down in two hits, and Wash, called out, double-checks his bomb. "It's good. Let's go before anything catches up to us."

[wewillwewill]

In the sort of vice versa way? Fair enough. After ascertaining the enemy's demise, Elidibus returns the axe to a position ready for action but resting against a shoulder. It frees one of his hands to send a spell toward the device. Something that looks like lettering briefly shimmers before fading from visual sight.

"It will add to the strength of the blast," he'd explained before. Though there would be assurance that it was well within their ability to escape and if something went wrong and delayed them, he could simply dispel the magic.

But the vessel has many more points to cut through and there's ever the sound of the aliens on their patrols. The Ascian seems to be looking for signs of them, reading the flow of aether amidst the ship- whether the crackling surges of lightning-aspected 'electricity' or perhaps a more balanced flow of organic 'life'. Whatever these aliens are made of, he no doubt has a general read on them, with only the potential of ambient interference marring his senses.

"Lead on then." Presumably Wash has whatever mapping was previously done when planning the charges out.

2

[pleple]

"Well that seems easy enough." Setting bombs, that is. Definitely 'easy'. Or at least, simple, in the sense that it just needs to stay in place. Actually getting there, quickly and quietly, is another story, but Ple Two is one of the best suited to evading notice.