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ximilialog2022-07-06 11:50 am
- ! event log,
- doctor who: jack harkness,
- fear street: ziggy berman,
- fullmetal alchemist: edward elric,
- gundam seed/destiny: yzak jule,
- marvel comics: gwen stacy,
- mcu: peter quill,
- naruto: kakashi hatake,
- one piece: rosinante donquixote,
- pacific rim: newton geiszler,
- star trek aos: james t. kirk,
- star trek aos: leonard mccoy,
- the 100: clarke griffin,
- the old guard: andromache,
- the old guard: booker,
- the witcher: yennefer of vengerberg,
- transformers: drift,
- transformers: megatron,
- transformers: minimus ambus,
- yakuza: zhao tianyou
MISSION: THE FOX AND THE HARE, PART 2
● ● ● M I S S I O N 7 . 2
One month ago...
As the platform slowly begins to empty of Orbers that disappear into the light, Viveca’s floating body hovers close — and she hesitates until only two Orbers are left: Percy and Gwen.
It’s her voice, soft but suddenly urgent, insistent, that stops them in their tracks. The humming of the machine suddenly cuts off, leaving them on the station surrounded by deafening silence. Viveca looks at the two remaining orbers, her expression torn to contrast the perplexion on both Percy and Gwen’s faces. But finally, Viveca takes a breath she doesn’t need, appearing to have made some decision she’d been grappling with.
She hovers closer.
The low hum of the machinery resumes, and Viveca continues to speak, this time over the din of the powered up teleportation platform.
The sound of the platform now running at its full power, nearly drowns out her last remark.
What follows next will be familiar to Gwen and Percy: the pull that transports them across space and time and away from the station drops them several weeks forward to align them with the rest of the team. They’ll find themselves in the midst of the fourth labour camp as Viveca had described, collars around their necks, and surrounded by others similarly outfitted. This camp has been built over the centre of the site of the earthquake all those years ago.
Two days following what the official press has referred to as ‘a terrorist attack that threatens our innocent’, with those involved marked as ‘dangerous criminals’ (and conversely what many on the streets of the Arch have touted as bravery on behalf of actual innocent people), an unfamiliar voice begins his special broadcast across the HOLONET, reaching every available access point at once.
The mayor of the Arch fills the screen, standing tall and visibly vulnerable in a way that appears restrained. Too much and he would appear as weak, but too little and he would be seen as emotionless, and Jacques Reman has always been presented as a strong, unshakeable leader with the people’s best interests at heart. Half of his face is entirely, organically human, demonstrated with the lines that crease around one eye and the corner of his lips; the other half is a reconstruction of what his face might have looked like but it feels too perfect, too crisp, like an artist’s rendition — never aging at the same rate as the rest of his organic body. He has red hair that might strike some of the orbers as familiar, and as he lifts a hand to address the people, one might notice the stiffness in his joints that seem natural enough, but isn't quite right.
Behind him are his guard, and his secretaries, and as he speaks now from the parliamentary hall within Chacier House, he is surrounded by other senators and the press. Flashes of light go off in a flurry as the photographers capture his image for their headlines. Mr Reman takes a breath and begins to speak.
They have managed to get through our very robust systems in order to scare us, to make us believe that we are not safe unless we succumb to their whims. And they do so without ever showing their faces, scaring us into believing that monsters are real and they are not simply hiding under our beds but that they walk among us. And they are right, citizens. If we allow them to continue this way, we give up our right to safety and we make these monsters as real as they want us to believe. We give up our freedom to walk out of our own homes without fear. We will not hand over our lives, our well-being, our power to these criminals.
We are concerned that these fear-mongering tactics will only increase with intensity, causing more needless conflict, and threatening more than just our use of the HOLONET. They have violated countless laws in their attempt to speak with us behind their masks, and this is dishonest. Next week our heads of homeland security and our best voices will be meeting together to devise better and newer ways to curb this movement, and to ensure that we maintain the safety of all the Arch’s citizens with stronger sanctions against terrorist activity.
We deserve our right to feel safe, secure, and free to live our lives and this cannot be extinguished by the acts of these terrorists. We will be stronger, and we will endure and we will not succumb to intimidation. On behalf of the government of the Arch, I thank you for your time.
The feed continues, leading in to press coverage and a question period. Depending on where you are at the time of the mayor’s speech, you may find those around you cheering with renewed hope and support … or you may find some rolling their eyes, or sneering with disbelief that someone could be so bold-faced with their lies.
In the days that follow the mayor’s speech and the growing unrest in the Arch, those who have been called upon by the Fables will finally receive their invitations. There is a date and time, and when you make it to the Den, you’ll find Yvonne accompanied by Dean behind the bar, waiting and watching for the small bar to slowly fill up with people until it appears that everyone who has been invited is here.
Throwing an old dish-rag over her shoulder, she starts forward, leading the group down a small set of steps into the basement. Chairs and tables have been stacked up and kept to one side of the small space alongside crates of manufactured liquor and other stock, all of it suffering from neglect and disrepair. She walks past it all and continues towards a single door to the back that looks as though no one has been past it in decades. With its rusted lever and discoloured surface, she pushes it forward and leads the group towards a hatch. It’s a careful and meticulous path that eventually leads into a series of old, abandoned metro tunnels, the cool, damp air greeting them. It smells stale and very, very old, and it’s quiet — save for the occasional creak of a pipe above, or the drip of some leak overhead.
It’s after weaving and winding through tunnels that Yvonne finally stops, raising a hand up to give the group some forewarning, and coming upon a reinforced steel door that easily opens before her. Inside, you step into an old metro station that has been completely adapted to become a bustling base of operations for the Fables. It’s dry and warm and well-lit, and those already making preparations hardly notice your group when you walk in, assured by the sight of Yvonne that whoever you are, you’re clearly on the right side.
Yvonne lifts a hand in Callan’s direction, and the two exchange a small smile before she approaches to join him on one of the platforms. The rest of the group, including you, will gather before them while he begins to explain the plan. On the first day of the parliamentary meetings, the Fables intend to make their move. It will include four different groups, and the following are their tasks:
There is no time to mingle, or even to rest. In order for this plan to work, everyone must do their part and it must work like clockwork. The preparations are intense, and they are calculated. Any orbers in the meeting will be encouraged to pass their information to others, delegating tasks, and finding ways to get involved — if they’re going to be involved at all. After all, you might recall that the point of this mission is to retrieve the orb, isn’t it? And it still remains at large.
On the morning of the first parliament meeting, Daisy, Clara, Kaidan and Spock join Ya-ting at her work station, a cozy space that had obviously once been a ticket office, the words ‘TICKET’ and ‘INFORMATION’ half-scraped off and fading from the passage of time. Unlike the rest of the Fables, she doesn’t seem to don a mask, nor does she look like she cares either way. Instead, there’s a small sticker of a raccoon adhered to the corner of her green visor, highlighted around its shape with fluorescent ink to add a little flourish.
She gestures to the group with a casual shrug and gestures to the space around her, signaling that they get comfy while she breaks the plan down.
She passes the group their own visors, each with a different colour (bright ones in pink, blue, orange, yellow) and sits back. Once the group puts them on, they’ll find that the system is less what they might be used to — the network feels almost alive, parts of Ya-ting’s brain connecting directly into the complex system that allows them to bypass the HOLONET’s tight surveillance measures. It speaks of limitless space and boundless opportunity, but there is an unmistakable part of Ya-ting in it all.
The Infiltration Team have received their instruction and are situated within the Chacier House at their designated stations. Conveniently covered by their initial guises as political figures within the Arch, Yzak and Xichen attend the meeting directly, while on the outside, Natasha, the Eleventh Doctor, the Darkling and Rosinante will busily be tending to their daily jobs, nothing quite out of place. Bucky will stand guard in the halls under his military role.
Yzak’s collected intel on exit locations and stationed figures is put to good use when Yelena, Clarice, Rey, and Zhao are directed towards one of the lesser used entry points. They are joined by Daisy — and surprisingly Callan himself — sneaking into the Chacier’s main building.
1.0 The assembled parliament have gathered in the large conference hall. Politicians from across all Circles take their seats within the rows, pulling out their tablets, and gathering their interns and secretaries to their side for additional notes and speaking points. There’s a soft murmur of conversation that quickly quiets the moment Jacques Reman steps up to the main podium, the sound of his microphone suddenly going active with a crack of static.
Suddenly the entire hall goes dark, only the emergency exit lights (powered by backup generators) blinking over the entrances of the doors. There are surprised shouts and the shuffling of panicked ambassadors before someone shouts, “Hold on, my HOLONET isn’t working!” and others start to join the throng with increasing panic.
It’s the cue the Infiltration Team needs to begin moving, and it's thanks to Ya-ting’s group. But they must move fast — a door behind the main podium will be their point of exit before the emergency protocols are set into place, locking the crowd in. In the mayhem of confused and frustrated politicians and military personnel, the group will need to maneuver themselves towards the door; stealth will be essential.
2.0 The halls are full of chaos. Screens displaying the parliament’s goings-on within the room have gone offline, sending people hurrying up and down the length of the corridor in search of help to power the systems back up. It is towards the crowd of gathered press and curious parliament workers that Callan disappears into, leaving the group of Orbers to manage the heist on their own — though not before he wishes them "good luck", of course.
Members of the militia can be found dashing forward, either trying to get into the assembly hall itself, or to catch any suspicious figures. Some may try and stop you, question who you are and where you’re going, which will require an expert lie or perhaps more physical means. Just remember that there are security cameras all around the building, so those hoping for a more quiet approach will have to be mindful of being watched or will have to find a way to disarm them entirely. Violence might not be the best option.
3.0 It will take some doing, but the elevators are still in working order, allowing the Infiltration group up towards the penthouse. The doors, however, are locked — and as there is very little time before possible discovery, and the HOLONET is inevitably pulled back online, the group will need to decide whether it’s worth physically breaking the door down, or hacking the security system for access.
Either tactic will eventually reveal a large penthouse space with large floor to ceiling windows that overlook much of the first and second Circles. It’s clean and sterile, almost as though nothing here has been used, not an object out of place. Everything is coloured in monotone, a narrow staircase leading to an upper floor and an interior balcony that overlooks the main foyer of the double-height space.
A dark door has been left ajar, and if the group decide to investigate they will find the mayor’s study, the only room that looks as though it has ever been occupied. A screen has been left on standby, and a locked safe sits right beneath it. Upon closer inspection, there appears to be a security mechanic that, once triggered, will fill the room with a gaseous sleeping agent — enough, of course, to buy the militia time to arrive and apprehend the thief. But with a hacker’s particular skills, this security measure can be bypassed — and when it is, a HOLOdisk will be found within. Once connected to Daisy’s visor, they’ll have the last piece they need to send over to Ya-ting, but will now need to find their way back out without alerting any military or alarms.
Of course, while you’re here, perhaps there’s just a little time to do a little investigating … especially when the room up the stairs looks a little suspicious, a long row of locks with encryption keys protecting something behind it. There is not much time to spare — will you try to get through the door?
4.0 Whether or not you do — soon you hear noises in the hall leading to the penthouse, making it clear that it's time to make an urgent retreat.
Heading back down the staircase and out towards the door, it seems like a quick and simple exit, but the moment the group opens the door —
Not everyone has caught up to the front exit, which might be seen as a blessing in disguise — maybe there's another way out, or someone in the group can help with making a quick escape... because the time has come to leave Chacier House behind.
Undercover within the darkness of the Seventh Circle, the Lookout Team will gather near the towers, spreading out into position at Emry’s command and by his signal. He is a grave soldier, sharp with his commands — but for now they lie in waiting, hoping to hear some good news from Ya-ting and the Infiltration Team, which will be their cue to act.
Finally, in between moments of boredom and the increasing cramps from their crouched positions, they’ll hear their communications devices come to life with the pleasant peal of Ya-ting’s cheerful voice.
Emry’s answering grin is fierce.
His tone doesn’t really allow for protest. Looking over to the side, he adds:
Well — you heard the man. It’s time to get to work.
5.0 Ya-ting’s team manage to keep the doors locked and held — but as Jack attempts to listen in on the guards communications devices utilizing his vortex manipulator, through the interspersed static and voices of other channels overlaid atop the one he wants, he manages to make out Lieutenant General Blair’s voice loud and clear:
It doesn’t take long before the sound of commotion comes through from the towers, people yelling and running, accompanied by the frantic beating of fists banging against the doors that still seem to hold, keeping the military soldiers locked into a prison of their own making.
But it’s hardly a time to get comfortable — determined to break free, the clear sound of glass smashing alerts the party towards the upper levels of one tower, and then another, before the barrels of guns are pointed in the Lookout Team’s direction. Physical bullets and blaster fire start raining down from the towers towards the team, and the doors sound like they won’t hold for long, the metal becoming more and more malleable under the force projected upon it in the shape of hard objects and cybernetic fists.
It won’t be long until they come down entirely.
6.0 It becomes clear pretty quickly that each tower requires the team’s attention. Under blaster fire, it isn’t easy to hold the doors closed and keep the guards trapped within. Eventually one of the doors breaks, and like a dam being broken the others follow and the militia begin to swarm out. Motivated by their fellow soldiers, others escape by any means possible, including jumping through windows and over the parapets, slinging rope over the sides to guide themselves down — down towards you, and towards the camps themselves.
What will you do to stop them from advancing?
7.0 Inside one of the towers, Blue, Finn, Peter, and Zari do their best to hold the guards back — and with all their powers combined, it does appear to be a successful effort, something that has the guards shouting about their ‘malevolent tricks’ and their ‘dark sorcery’. But suddenly Blue begins to sway, looking as though he might collapse on the spot — and then he releases a horrific explosion erupting from where he stands.
It shatters the glass windows of the two adjacent towers, spraying bits of wiring and metallic shrapnel in every direction. The force of the blast’s power digs into structure too, causing the foundations to crumble from every weak spot. The entire tower quickly falls apart, collapsing under its own weight, sheets of grated metal platforms loosening from their hinges, concrete walls breaking apart into chunks. Chaos spreads, and not just for the guards within the tower, but outside of it too. People can only watch in fear as their colleagues are buried and trapped and crushed by the falling building, coughing up dust and blood and debris. It's clear you need to act, fast — if not to save the guards, then at least those on your own side from being crushed by falling debris or bleeding out from glass shrapnel wounds.
In the midst of the chaos, the sound of several engines purring in the sky above signal that reinforcements have arrived in the form of flycycles: vehicles that look like a cross between a motorcycle and a speeder. A figure jumps off of one in mid-air, swooping through the air with her black, metallic wings and landing delicately on her feet. It’s Cassie.
Another flycycle lands next to her — on it is General Eshaq in full military regalia.
In response, Cassie just grins, wide and triumphant.
Yvonne, clad all in black, steps forward. Strapped to her back are two electric batons that form an ‘X’. Behind her are the Camp Reinforcements Team, eager to rescue those who have been wrongfully arrested and those sentenced to a life of imprisonment in the labour camps.
Cinder and Alessia both activate their masks as the Snake and the Wasp respectfully, and search for any of the team willing to follow them.
Finally, remember the orders: we need as few casualties as possible.
With that reminder, Yvonne taps at her temple and a mask — that of a wolf — spreads over head and her face to conceal her features. She turns towards the first camp, and the team begins to split into four: Yvonne will take her group to the plant camp; Cinder and Alessia to the engineering camps, and Ya-ting leaves with the group headed to the water purification camp.
8.0 The Camp Reinforcements Team manages to pass through the outer rim of the camps without triggering any number of alarms, signalling the successful disabling of the initial barrier — all thanks to the Infiltration Team’s efforts.
However, it’s easy enough to spot the hoverbots that circle the sky of the dome, supervising the actions over each camp from above, and transmitting data to those militia housed in the nearby barracks. Anyone without appropriate clearance, or a collar, is immediately marked as an intruder and a silent alarm will be raised. These hoverbots will need to be dealt with, either through expert stealth, or by shooting them out of the sky — with the caveat that doing so may risk your position and lead to you being discovered.
9.0 For all that you intend to be cautious by dodging the deep red glow of the hoverbot’s scan, a second one crossing the path of the first might still manage to find you or your fellow orber. Either way, if an alarm has been raised before the hoverbot can be stopped, it will send an alert out to the guard buildings. Its eye starts to blink and you might hear a series of commands being communicated from beyond the dome's barrier, which is all the time you’ll be allotted before clusters of guards in heavy-duty armour file out in search of intruders, blaster rifles and taser rods in hand.
Lt Gen Blair emerges from the towers near the engineering camps, lifting a hand to signal that his militia move into the camps for what he expects should be a quick, and efficient detainment of the intruders — and with his fully armed men and women, they are more than prepared for a fight. He roars in the direction of the Fables, bullets clattering off of the armour across his chest, the more vulnerable parts of his body modified with cybernetics and weaponized for battle.
At the sound of the alarms blaring across the Seventh Circle, another platoon of the Lieutenant General’s soldiers will have been ordered to find and protect Dr Bahiti Fouad and her team of scientists at all costs. Found at the water purification camp, they’ll have surrounded her with the aim to escort her safely from the camps — but they will not hesitate to fight their way through, stopping any Fable or ally who might get in their way. You might catch sight of them, or be witness to the gunfire and the physical skirmish. Will you let them pass, or will you try and stop them?
10.0 As it becomes clear to the militia what the Fables intend to do within the camps, quickly moving in to wrangle groups of labourers together and working to remove the collars from around their necks, a new order is given to the surrounding soldiers, their last resort: detonate all collars. Better that the prisoners sacrifice their lives rather than see the ranks of the Fables grow. Shrill cries and screams suddenly sound off across the Seventh Circle’s camps as one by one guards with detonator arm-bands begin to set them off. There are shouts of panic, prisoners frantically trying to tug their own collars off before the detonation device goes off on theirs. It smells of fear and blood and burning flesh under the domes.
It will be crucial that Fables and orbers alike work together to remove as many of these collars as possible, either by stealing them from the guards before they have a chance to use them, or passing manufactured copies of the arm-bands around. Any arm-band, hacked or pilfered, can be used to remove these collars. But they will need to act fast.
11.0 Once freed from their collars, some of the labourers will be eager to do their part and join the Fables’ cause, angry and frustrated and wanting their revenge. Others will want nothing more than to be out of this place and to escape into the other Circles, looking for camp entrances. Not all of them will be so ready to move however, injured and weakened by their years-long torture, giving more evidence to the belief that conditions within the labour camps was far from what the government of the Arch have promised. Medical assistance will be required for these people, and any Fable or orber with the medical know-how will be needed to help the weak and injured before they can be escorted out.
Across the domes, tinny speakers begin to emit the sound of voices. Though the lot of them may have been shot down, many of them no longer usable for scans and sounding off any alerts towards the guards towers, the Seventh Circle’s hoverbots still function to broadcast the Fables’ message. In heaps of metal, they lie useless except to communicate the voices of the four Fables leaders across each camp. It seems that Ya-ting and the rest of her Hacking Team have managed to find a way through the hoverbots as well.
A group of prisoners who had been scrambling to get to the exits now pause in their tracks, turning back towards the hoverbot speakers as though some are deliberating their next move.
12.0 Admittedly not all of the prisoners feel the same as they resume their path, determined to leave the sight of these camps behind them for the remainder of their lives. Neither do the guards who still fight back against the Fables despite their lessened numbers, more and more of them knocked unconscious, detained by the Fables, or having fled the premises.
As the water purification camp clears out of prisoners and militia alike, it will be possible to come across an older man with short dark hair, peppered with white at the temples. He is dressed like the rest of the labourers in loose fitting linen and a thick collar settled around his neck. He is Tai Chanming, though Yvonne called him ‘the Lark’, and at the moment he seems calm, collected, and almost appears to be expecting someone to come for him. Seated cross-legged, he has his eyes closed until an Orber arrives to neutralize and remove his collar. He looks up at the closest Orber with dark eyes, straightening to his feet.
Just outside of the camps, a number of van-like speeders and loading vehicles are parked, Fables waiting to direct any escapees into the back where they’ll be taken away from this place — presumably into the Sixth Circle where those who have stayed behind at the Fables headquarters will be able to help with supplies and medicine and food. Some of these vehicles are without drivers, and the Fables might look to you if you know how to drive. They’ll tell you to find Chiayi when you arrive, as she’ll direct you to where you need to go. Of course in order to get to the Sixth Circle, you’ll have to get past the towers at the boundary between the Sixth and Seventh Circles where the remainder of the militia are holding strong — or as strong as they can, using all of their weapons and training at their disposal.
13.0 Amidst freeing prisoners and subduing the militia, those Orbers who have joined the camp reinforcements might remember the reason they’ve been brought here in the first place: to find the orb. Work stations and laboratories will be abandoned, and each of the camps will now have lost surveillance as it is no longer under the government’s control. The Fables themselves will be busy ushering people out towards the headquarters — in other words, it will be the perfect chance to start the search for the orb without distraction. According to Viveca, it will be in one of the camps, and while there are theories about the orb’s specific whereabouts, no one has actually seen, heard, or sensed it. It’s time to investigate.
F Y I
• The voting for how to get the orb is now open! Please head HERE to submit your idea for how the team should proceed to get the orb, or +1 others’ ideas.
• The conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on July 16. We ask that no one starts any threads with Viveca prior to the conclusion going live.
• If you have questions about any of the prompts in the log, please direct them HERE.
• Everyone can participate in parts III and IV, even if they have not signed up for any of the groups HERE. This also includes those in part II, after they have escaped from Chacier House.
• If your character is doing something that you believe may affect the conclusion, but you haven't included it in your group sign-up comment or the orb vote, please let us know HERE.
• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪
3.0
But he was all for getting past such things. Call it second nature of his to be nosy.]
You got that right. I can tell you I'd put more than just money on the other side of the kind of security this place has.
[He took a cursory look around. His usual shaded glasses were packed away in a secure pocket for this mission as he had donned the new goggles he'd bought in the city earlier just shortly after the group had managed to move off into the secluded area. They were pretty nifty but there were a ton of things he was still learning in how to use them.]
Maybe there are clues around here to help? Seems dumb but hey, I always did love a good mystery room and maybe this guy has a poor memory.
no subject
[That last part is meant as a joke, even if it's delivered in a neutral deadpan.
Natasha is a spy. Getting into places she's not supposed to be and finding out things she's not supposed to know is more or less the heart of her job, and she's having a hard time turning off the part of her brain that wants to do just that.
The orb isn't here, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be a clue back there—or something else relevant.]
You try that, and I can try to figure out just what kind of security we're dealing with here?
no subject
Sounds good.
[He nodded and turned back to the room. With a quick glance back over his shoulder at what she started in her goal, he eventually stepped away to look around. He played around with the goggles for a moment as he glanced around the room. Some of the settings were useful but one in particular seemed relevant right now. He watched at the HUD began to highlight various items of interest to him.
It took him another moment, but he managed to filter the data to his liking. This technology was way better than stuff he had back home but a love for electronics and video games made it a little easier on him to figure out how to operate these things.
Then he started shifting through items in the room, searching for anything relevant.]
no subject
But no one puts this level of security here for nothing, and she intends to know what the mayor is hiding.
If he's their enemy, any information they can gather stands to be important.]
Seeing anything important out there?
[Without looking up. All things considered, the less they found out here, the more likely it seemed they'd find something in there.]
no subject
There's not much here unless you're interested in photos and awards. I dunno if this guy is enough of a loser to use his daughter's birthday for a password so probably not any help knowing when she got these awards.
[He began to circle back around towards her but then stopped, leaning back and tilting his head to the side curiously as he read something off his HUD.]
Wait— Could this help figure out what sort of encryption that baby has?
no subject
[Anything that could save them time would be useful at this point. They don't have long to investigate what's back here, otherwise she could take her time with things.]