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ximilialog2021-10-02 08:53 pm
- ! event log,
- ! open,
- altered carbon: takeshi kovacs,
- cotar: rhysand,
- doctor who: clara oswald,
- doctor who: the doctor (11),
- doctor who: the doctor (12),
- grishaverse: alina starkov,
- grishaverse: the darkling,
- gundam seed/destiny: yzak jule,
- mass effect: kaidan alenko,
- mcu: daisy johnson,
- mcu: peter quill,
- pacific rim: newton geiszler,
- star trek aos: james t. kirk,
- yakuza: zhao tianyou
MISSION: BRASS DEVIL, PART 2
● ● ● M I S S I O N 2 . 2
Having spent some time to gather information about each of the families, learn about the history of Braccia, and agree upon the secret location of the Orb in this city, now has come the time for the Orbers to put their strategies into action. Through some fairly impressive in cognito antics while maintaining their respective covers, the Orbers will have split into different factions to help with the ultimate goal: retrieve the orb.
Orbers from Lionetta have decided to organize a distraction and gather as many of their fellow Lionetta members away from the headquarters as possible. Orbers from Featherstone, led by Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes, and River Song, have slowly been pilfering and assembling some of the weaponry and helpful tech. And Orbers from the Ti’shaaz have slowly been adding fuel to the family drama, stoking the flames between the Ti’shaaz and Lionetta families in hopes of invoking a battle on the same night as the planned heist.
Everyone has a good feeling about the work that they’ve done, the collaborative efforts that have brought them to the climax of their time on Braccia. But the night is still young, and there are many things that could go wrong if there is one misstep, one cog out of place in this seemingly well-oiled machine. It is imperative that every Orber pulls their weight in order for the retrieval to go successfully. But that shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Eventually, the time for preparations is over — the team has to make their move. The orb is waiting for them on the highest floor of the Lionetta main headquarters… all they have to do is get in.
1.0 Several different smaller teams decide to head into the old mines that lie beneath the surface of Braccia’s hustle and bustle. Those who decide to utilise the entrances further away from the Lionetta HQ, in the hopes of using paths less traveled and making it there unnoticed, will find that their journey leads them into complete darkness. Be sure to watch your steps — as the tunnels you take along here are ones that have been long since abandoned; there are pitfalls where the rock has crumbled away, leaving nothing but a chasm behind. There are also crumbling walkways and rotten wood that sag and give out from underneath your feet when you least expect it.
Aside from that though, there are no purposeful traps laid out — nothing visible to your eyes to stop you from advancing.
For those who decide to use the lit pathway leading straight from the headquarters to the fountain and the back alley behind Cherry on Top — well, at least you’ll be able to see where you’re going! However, the first thing you’ll notice are the blinking red lights of security cameras deliberately planted along the pathway … and for those who are not Lionetta, it may get uncomfortable, real fast. There are traps set along the way that only activate if the person trying to walk past is not a Lionetta member. Sharp blades might suddenly drop down on you from above. Spikes may burst out of from the ground like killer daisies. And a part of the pathway that you’re on could break into neat square pieces beneath your feet, crumbling away until you’re falling into nothingness.
Irregardless of which perilous road the Orbers choose to take, you will all eventually be led towards the same location: a golden door stands before them, the words For a better future carved into its surface. And if any of you happen to have a key (or a copy of it) like the one that Jim and Finn found, it’s to your benefit that it fits the lock perfectly. There’s nothing left but to go through, right?
2.0 The mines are not the only way in, of course: anyone with an official badge like the one that Kovacs managed to snag on a night out will have access to the elevator and will be able to call it to ground level, as well as take it up to the walkway. Or go straight to the walkway itself, and you’ll be able to boldly enter through the front doors as anyone with a badge has very little reason to be questioned … for now, anyway.
3.0 Meanwhile, An’alya has been mobilising members of the Ti’shaaz family against the Lionetta and are currently hard at work targeting the magical barrier that surrounds the Lionetta HQ. Eventually, those working at the barriers will begin to feel the magic within them weaken and crumble away in a slow but satisfying moment of victory. This weakened security allows Orbers with teleportation abilities to simply zip themselves inside — and perhaps with a few passengers in tow! Rhysand will have one lizard-shaped passenger alongside him already — An’alya herself has taken the first opportunity she could, leading the charge as she scuttles forward immediately upon entry, leaving the others to follow in her wake.
But while those teleporting in may have it easy, it’s hard to know where to teleport — you’d better hope that it isn’t in the middle of a guard shift change, or the guards’ break room, or a room locked from the outside ...
A couple of days before the party, a word-of-mouth invitation begins to travel through the members of the Lionetta family about a speakeasy party with food, drink, and most of all: music. The evening is meant to boost morale and bring the family together, pulling both HQs (lower and main) into an event that has little to do with their daily lives and their grueling jobs. Here they can regale each other with their loyalty and bond to their family; to remember the good times as it were. The party venue occupies the entire ground floor of a building nestled among other bars and clubs of what has fondly been referred to as the ‘entertainment district’. No other signage on the exterior of the building indicates that anything special is happening as the event is very much exclusive.
4.0 When you enter the hall, it’s to the sound of brass and percussion and a male’s singing voice to the tune of something you might have heard before. The makeshift stage is set with speakers and lights and a place for a band to really show the room what they’re made of. There are drinks and bits of food and a small crowd of people have already gathered to enjoy the festivities with a greater crowd expected to fill the room for a good time. It might not be anything to the level of Cheri’s birthday gala, particularly when the theme of the party is to celebrate Lionetta, but it’s an impressive feat all the same and the people here have been promised a good time.
Newly recruited member, Newt, is on stage behind a piano with a couple of other locals not associated with any family in particular who have all had to quickly (but enthusiastically) learn a new set of songs for the evening, music from ‘far away cities’. Joined on stage by another new recruit is The Doctor (11) who has a microphone in one hand and appears to be crooning a rather unrecognizable (by this world’s standards) tune. If you spent any time on Earth during the 1980s, you might recognize it though. It’s very catchy.
5.0 The evening seems to go without a hitch, attracting a large part of the Lionetta family to join the festivities through word of mouth. Everyone is just here to have a good time! As the crowd grows, Majima can be found on the floor keeping the party going by refilling the glasses of family members, while making sure no one gets just a little too out of hand. The music continues, the chatter grows louder, and the laughs and sloppy dancing increases with the hours. Sometime after midnight, when the hours feel a little late, you might find some of the Lionetta members trying to tap into their communications devices with the slow and sloppy realization that they haven’t been operating for … how long has it even been? A while now, right? Some of the members can be found shuffling out of the party in confusion, while others shrug a shoulder and go back to the festivities. Suddenly, someone comes back into the room and yells:
There is a flurry of panicked confusion and Lionetta members pausing in their drinking and dancing to check whether what’s been shouted is true. It looks like the ruse might be up. Will you pretend to be like the rest of the family and act accordingly? Confused and unaware of the plot you’ve cooked up? Or will you come clean and try to find an escape route — perhaps helped by those who, on the outside, have been hard at work making sure the cars aren't in driveable condition.
6.0 As if things hadn’t been chaotic enough, all members of the Lionetta family, including any Lionetta Orbers, will hear a sharp, piercing static crackle through your communications devices as Lionetta members seem to have finally found a way to hack their way through the comms-blocking tech that had been keeping them out. Olexa’s voice cuts in and out and it’s clear she’s been trying to reach her family for a few minutes now. Harsh and commanding, there’s a moment of steady audio that comes through every device in the room as Olexa speaks:
If you haven’t made a decision to stay or leave just yet, you’ll find yourself trapped with the other Lionetta as the doors crash open and colourful blasts of magic are aimed at the partygoers and ricochet off of the venue space. Robed members of the Ti’shaaz family crowd the entrance and start to filter in, officially crashing the party and ending the festivities with violence. The Lionetta, however, won’t be cowed to submission and they quickly gather their wits about them to fight back, throwing punches and swinging kicks to try and disarm the other family, dodging their magical strikes.
Here you have a few options: whether you’re Lionetta or Ti’shaaz, you can stay and fight and keep members of both families occupied, or you can find a way out to join your fellow Orbers at Lionetta’s main HQ for the heist.
7.0 The smaller team that make it inside first will be the one to hit the control room, revealed in the blueprints to be located on the 20th floor — and whether by teleportation or entry by badge, they are let in through the door… but the room is far from empty. There’s an awkward split second as you exchange glances with the guards inside, and then they come charging for you. When the guards have been incapacitated in whatever manner the team deems fit (depending on their level of thirst for blood), they’ll quickly have the opportunity to get the rest of the team in position for the remainder of the heist. Those with a talent for hacking will be able to access the security system without too much difficulty, shutting the cameras off, or programming them on a loop that should hopefully fool anyone looking at the footage elsewhere.
8.0 However, as the other Orbers slowly begin to infiltrate the headquarters, now unseen by any cameras, an alarm blares out, loud and insistent. It seems that the use of the stolen badge has finally been registered and the family have been alerted. Evgen, the officer who the badge belonged to, had immediately reported the missing identification … and unfortunately its use has instantly triggered the alarm system. Oops.
Lionetta officers begin to swarm the hallways and the elevator will immediately shut down (hopefully you’re not inside it as it stops between Level 13 and 14!), so the only way to move forward now is by foot.
Those on the lower floors will find that while there are no traps set in the hallways, the space is now filled with Lionetta guards and officers, all armed with a myriad of weapons: standard issue guns, certainly, but also stun guns, revolvers with bullets that have been enchanted to follow their target, and staves and knives with energy blades that crackle and glow with white light. A number of the officers here are also highly competent in hand-to-hand combat — and though some, like Petra and Mikaela, might be dressed in attire more suited for a party than a battle, they shouldn’t be underestimated. Without effort, they can (and will) make a hair pin, a brooch, or a stiletto heel a deadly weapon. Officers who have familiarity with any of the Lionetta Orbers will advance with an especially personal viciousness — traitors, after all, are not kindly looked upon and deserve the worst punishments.
9.0 In contrast to the lower levels, Orbers on the 20th floor and upwards seem to be herded into a narrow hallway with only one direction: forward. At the end of the path is a set of stairs leading to the next level up and onward, each ascension designed to be slow and deliberate with the flight of steps on alternating sides of the building. The only way to get there is to cross the length of the floor’s footprint.
From Level 20-23, guards and officers meet you in a battle round.
On Level 24 the floor is suspiciously devoid of anyone. Before you can think to turn back, every entrance is sealed with heavy, reinforced steel walls, and a roar that reminds you of the ocean sends a prickle up the length of your spine as the entire floor begins to flood with water. Slowly but surely, it rushes in from all sides to fill the space and unless you have the ability to grow gills … how will you escape? Maybe the how doesn’t matter — only that you do.
On the 25th floor, it becomes apparent to you that the air has a slightly luminous, greenish tint to it … but by the time you open your mouth to warn the others, it’s already in your lungs. It won’t take long before you begin to imagine enemies all around you: sudden attacks are coming out of nowhere, guards aiming their guns at you, alien creatures from the fighting ring snapping their jaws and throwing kicks and punches, clawed fingers trying to grasp at your face. You lash out at them in desperation — and, unfortunately, whoever is in their place in reality.
If you happen to make it past Level 25 unscathed, perhaps breathing in the gaseous substance on Level 26 will be what affects you: pouring out from pin-pricked holes in the walls like pores and colouring the air purple, its potency is much greater than the green mist from the previous floor. Instead of enemies, you are surrounded by the people you miss from home, those who might have been passed in your timeline. They ask you to stay with them, plead with you that they’re worried what might happen if you keep going — they murmur, please, just stay with me here and I’ve missed you so much. From an outside perspective, the sight won’t be so heartwarming: anyone observing you with a clear mind will notice a light purplish frost has started to cover your skin as though slowly encasing you in its substance …
With the aid of magic, air bubbles, or the antidote carefully nicked from the Featherstones, you somehow manage past the deadly, magical traps … only the dangers are hardly over. On Levels 27 and 28 sharp, red laser lines that criss-cross the hallways fill the remainder of the room — only those truly confident in their skill and agility can make it across unassisted. For the less coordinated, however, there is still hope: maybe you are one of the Featherstones and were equipped with the reflection tech made specifically for a situation like this one … or, if you can quickly gain contact (use that network!) with the others in the control room, they can do something about these lasers — if they aren’t still occupied with the Lionetta officers currently trying to take their control room back, anyway.
Finally, making it to the second-to-highest level, you will come face to face with two giant dog-like creatures… with glittering collars around their necks, each with a small tag to identify them. They are Ursa and Altair, respectively. Surely you were prepared for this, right? If you’re a Lionetta, you may be familiar with the alien-dogs and have a better chance of getting past them. If you dare to approach, however, you’ll notice that the ground surrounding them is a crimson mess of fresh blood. They’ve clearly had their dinner already… and the eager looks in their eyes can only be read as such: are you going to be their dessert?
Past the dogs and their matted fur and sharp teeth, there lies the entrance to the top floor — an entrance that only opens through facial recognition … strange, however is the scaly frost that has spread all over the scanner, leaving it non-functional — and the door… wide open.
As the two Orbers who have managed to make it before the others sneak towards the door and the stairs that lead up, they will hear two voices: female, both of them, one strained and quiet, like speaking is a struggle; the other, lilting and sugar-sweet.
The two Orbers continue to creep towards the open door, careful not to be heard or detected. It’ll be a strange scene that opens towards them: a dark office, wooden floors looking far older than the building itself must be — expensive furniture, and all of it is lit with a red glow.
In the middle of it all —
An’alya lies on the floor, eyes blood-shot, a trickle of blood staining the side of her mouth. She’s trembling, breathing heavily, like behind every breath is unimaginable pain.
Next to An’alya, her red eyes glowing just as bright as the round object that orbits her head in a slow circle, is Cheri...
… or perhaps that should be rephrased. Next to the fallen gang leader stands not the sweet, cheerful club owner, but Ruvia Alonetti: the owner of the Braccia orb, and the founder of the Lionetta family.
Whatever you do next… it's best to be careful. It will crucial to have a plan — because somehow that orb needs to leave this room with you.
F Y I
• The ultimate conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on October 16.
• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.
• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪
no subject
Well. [ He sits back on his heels. ] While it might seem like 'that's all there is to it', it's still quite extraordinary. I've never met any other human with natural immortality before and I've met many, many humans over centuries.
Are you the only one?
no subject
[ hm. it's one thing to talk about herself, but it's another to bring up her family. she misses them dearly, even though she's been apart from them longer than her time on ximilia - but at least she knew they were around on earth. she could easily get back to them. ]
No. There's been a handful of us.
no subject
[ The Doctor still has a whole lot of complicated feelings about that, puts some of the blame on himself even though he hadn't directly had any hand in what happened to Jack Harkness. But he'd been traveling with Rose then, and what had happened to her ... with Bad Wolf ...
Anyway. ]
Ah, good. So you're not so lonely, then.
[ Spoken like someone who may have ... personal experience with such matters, of course, not that he'd be so quick to admit it. ]
no subject
[ that's an odd statement, because andy is both lonely and not. she has joe and nicky and booker, probably even nile, but in the same breath, she still has centuries on them. and they try. they offer her love and and family and she gives it in return - she's had a thousand years with joe and nicky alone, but it doesn't stop her from feeling incredibly isolated from time to time. ]
You sound like you know a thing or two about that. [ catch her avoiding a real response. ]
no subject
Gallifrey has always had a complicated and violent history, and by the end of the Time War, the Doctor had run off ... become a renegade of sorts; just him and the blue police box he travels with. ] And humans, well — they only live so long, as you know.
[ The Doctor offers her a mild shrug. It's clear that revealing his own history isn't something he's particularly comfortable with. ]
Space is very big and there's no shortage of planets to visit, things to see, and sometimes I'd find myself traveling on my own. It's not so bad, I still have my TARDIS, but.
[ Anyway.
He smiles now. ]
These others? Are they as old as you are?
no subject
[ his talk of space and traveling and the underlying loneliness she recognizes. ]
We're pretty varied. [ she doesn't want to admit how long she was alone, because she doesn't want to talk about how it changed and she doesn't want to talk about quynh. she doesn't want to say joe and nicky are 1000 years because it implies she is older and she can't decide if she's ready for that conversation. she might not have a choice. ] What makes you think I'm old?
no subject
[ And even then, that isn't quite right. Somehow, somehow, he'll be given another one at least, one more than he thought was possible, one more that he hopes might find a way to find one more after that. He thinks of the old man, here on this planet now, probably yelling at someone on the upper floors, and wonders just what had happened to allow him to exist. What has to happen to him to make it happen. ]
Hm. [ The Doctor flaps at his trench coat idly, mouth twisted into a thoughtful smile so different now to the sadness that had haunted it just mere seconds ago. ] I suppose I don't think so, but I can recognize something in you that I don't see in most humans I meet. Something's been dimming in you for some time, and it doesn't dim from humans, not with their brightness and their passion and their knowledge that life is so fleeting.
no subject
[ the only reason she isn't surprised he picks up on her own haunting is she's starting to see it in him too. she has dimmed. she's probably been dim for a long time, tired and lonely and aching for a humanity she feels like she's lost touch with. ]
Life isn't fleeting. Not mine.
no subject
[ He pauses long enough for his expression to go from pensive to downright perplexed when he adds: ] Don't really even know when it is anymore. But that's never stopped me from having cake whenever I wanted to, eh.
[ His mouth curves into a faint smile, his attempt to lighten the mood with a little joke even when his eyes retain that same depth and seriousness that betrays the childlike demeanor he otherwise presents himself with. ]
But no, no, your life isn't fleeting. Suppose that makes looking forward to another day a bit complicated, eh? On the one hand, people around you might seem so desperate to see the next morning, and you think: you should be like that, you should feel that longing too, but you don't, not really, or you want to but you don't, but it's why I love humanity so much. They remind me that the next morning is always so important.
no subject
[ andy hums. ] Whatever my birthday was, the calendar day doesn't exist anymore. [ she's not even sure the concept existed, not in the way it does now. ] It stopped mattering a long time ago anyway.
[ she doesn't feel the same curiosity or hope in human beings. she doesn't have much to look forward to. her family brings her joy and love and she would be lost without them, but in a lot of ways, andy is already lost. ] People don't do much to remind me of their goodness lately.
no subject
Ah, but does the whole lot of humans we've teamed up with not remind you that there's some goodness in them somewhere? That across each world and different universe, someone, somewhere's got a regret they want to undo, something they want to make right, something they want to change to make their world a better place in the end?
[ The Doctor, of course, isn't naive to think every one of them has the purest, best intentions at heart, some regrets likely erring on some personal gain or self-interest, but it's still something to see people desperate enough to want to do something about it.
And as his own regret — well, he needs to save two very good, very deserving humans from their unjustified end because they'd been taken from the world too soon. (And it'd been his fault, his doing — the non-human; the arrogant alien from a far, far off planet.) ]
And the fact that you're here too, that's telling of something isn't it? You might have lived for as long as you have, but you're still human too.
no subject
[ she doesn't think that makes her human. it makes her selfish. but then again, she finds humans incredibly selfish, so maybe she hasn't lost all her humanity just yet. ]
I'm not here out of the goodness of my heart, Doctor.
no subject
If the station had come to him all those years ago, fresh from the Time War, would his regret have been different? Would he have cared to make the universe a better place when all he'd really wanted then was just to eradicate an entire alien race instead? ]
So what is it that you've come here for, then?
no subject
I'm here for me. [ which is vague and not particularly helpful. it's probably not entirely true either, but she doesn't want to talk or think about quynh right now. ]
I might still be human, but it's one of the worst things about me. I've been human for too long. I can't die. Humanity isn't meant to live for thousands of years.
no subject
The thing about humanity, the thing about humans is that their lives are so short, so fleeting, and it makes every moment they spend alive precious. They value it more, knowing that one day they'll meet their end, and every minute that they spend must be used wisely.
That's the ideality of it all, anyway. ] No, it isn't. Sometimes I don't think any of us should live for as long as we do. I've changed faces twelve times, you know.
no subject
[ especially over the last century, where technology and surveillance has made it much harder to hide under the radar. where the violence echoes more strongly across screens and she doesn't want to argue with joe and nicky about their desire to help versus her own to leave. ]
I thought it was a blessing once, to heal like this, to live so long. Now I'm just not so sure.
no subject
[ He lifts a hand, points a finger to gesticulate a certain point he's trying to make, reminded of a conversation he'd had a while ago with one of his best friends. A human best friend, for that matter. Someone who's life was too short, taken too soon. ]
I look for new perspectives. After a while, you can't see it. I don't see it. I see a star and it's a big ball of gas, and I know how it starts and I know how it ends, and I was probably there both times. It all just becomes — stuff. But when I've found someone who can see it, I see it.
no subject
Hard to look for new perspectives when we don't want anyone to know. [ it definitely makes it harder to connect with regular old humans. even now, with nile, she's not sure how to approach it. ]
Nicky always says everything happens for a reason, but I've been alive over 6000 years, and at this point, I just can't see it. I don't know what those reasons are anymore. Doesn't stop him from trying to convince me though.
[ she wonders what nicky would make of this two-hearted alien doctor. they'd probably get along. ]
no subject
[ Whoever this Nicky is, the Doctor already feels a strange sort of distant fondness to, despite having never met him.
Everything happens for a reason ... even for an immortal human, that sort of optimism feels so simple, so matter-of-fact; it's almost magical. It isn't always true, of course, and the Doctor isn't sure he quite believes it either, not when he can go backwards and forwards in time and change things in most situations. And the circumstances for things happening with no discernible explanation, those mysteries he can't quite unravel ... he isn't sure there is always a reason. But it's nice to think to try. ]
no subject
I don't know. It's not really that much of an exaggeration to say I've seen it all already.
[ and therein lies the problem. she has seen so much, too much, and she can't see how anything she's done has made much of a difference. without nicky and joe, she probably would have given him a long time ago. ]
But it's not your responsibility to fix that.
no subject
[ Strange to think that he could know someone much, much older than he is, but this isn't new for him either. He's met gods and immortals who have so many more years on him; the Face of Boe was once one of his dear friends when they'd known each other, and he was ... well, pushing around 5 billion years old. ]
I suppose the difference is that I can run away whenever I want.
[ It's said knowing how lucky he is to have stolen his TARDIS while Andy's limited to the one Earth, the one space to live that long, long life. The Doctor's tried it once and he couldn't take it, not even when he was with the people he loved with everything he had in his hearts. This whole task with the orbs is already more time he's spent going forward in a linear fashion than he has since he was a boy. It isn't easy; he does get that. ]
no subject
No, I don't have anywhere to run. [ because it's always there, even when she takes her breaks, even when she tries to disconnect from the reality of her immortality, it's always there. she's always on earth. and maybe she can never truly leave, because she doesn't know if she could actually leave her family permanently. ]
And I don't know if I have it in me to change anymore. [ how many times can one person adapt and grow and learn? she draws in a breath, looking out over the emptied room. ]
But right now we should probably get back to the task at hand.
fin.
[ Or not, it's completely up to her. He's been allowed a small insight into her thoughts and her feelings on being what she is, on living a life as long as she has and for now that's enough.
He can't help but feel relieved that she did survive this, but he can understand a life lived for so long, too long sometimes. It's hard to find that perspective again; sometimes it feels like there isn't really any point.
But the Doctor will maintain his optimism for as long as he can, in this regeneration and into the next and he hopes that maybe ... maybe he might be able to ignite a small spark of that in Andy again one day. ]
Let's go join the others then, eh? [ His mouth quirks. ] Can't let them have all the excitement.