warning! warning!

[thespaceopera]

[The nebulas are beautiful in this region of space, at the very least. They gleam as great distorting clouds of space-stuff that your scanners don't even want to attempt to analyze. They affect the ships' instruments much like other areas of disruption have in the past, but these are actually visible as large swathes of light--like giant flames frozen in their swirling shapes, suspended across impressive stretches of space. For once, there's something like scenery to look at, out here in the black...

And then, the proximity alarms begin to blare.

From a gap between the two nearest clouds comes an assemblage of ships! Familiar to some and new to others--they do not respond to hails or communications of any kind, and they're gunning straight for the Fleet without slowing. Their weapons are locking on and firing as soon as they are in range.

Many passengers have been through this before, and many of the ships are bigger and better than they'd been in the previous skirmish. Today, the Drift Fleet will put up a better fight, even punch a few holes in their attackers.

Your augment knows where you need to go! Do you run to your station? Do you dodge your job? Are you unsure how to help? Are the captains giving orders or panicking, and are their crews paying attention? Everyone's got a chance to fight back before the enemy fleet runs them into the nearest nebula--and things suddenly take a bad turn.

As soon as each Drift Fleet ship hits the nebula, its systems overload and short-circuit before going dead. It stays silent for minutes, no radar, no comms, no network. Stubborn stragglers are ganged up on and forced into the cloud, followed by the poor ships on autopilot being bodily hauled into the nebula with tractor beams. Once the entire Fleet has been set adrift as sitting ducks, before the Marsiva can get too close, the attacking fleet... turns and flees through the cloud, seemingly untouched by the nebula that scrambles your ships.

Eventually, the systems flicker back to life, blinking on one by one. It will be several hours before any other effects of the attack will be noticeable. The network shows up as live again, but Atroma never shows up to explain a thing...]


ooc: the out-of-character event post is over here! respond to this post any way you like; you can have action, comm messages, play during the attack, being stuck in the nebula, checking in after the network comes back online, or whatever else seems fitting.

Comments

during...the blackout!!!

[openhands]

[That could have gone much worse than it had. Cassandra doesn't leave the bridge either, although she is far less broody while she is thinking than Tek is. She breaks the silence first.]

We should be dead.

[killedwithlove]

Shooting, sharp, sheparding, darting in and out, edge closer, but not too close.

[Cole leans back in the pilot's seat, fingers stroking over the darkened panels and controls thoughtfully.]

It was deliberate.

[openhands]

[Cassandra agrees with a small nod.]

So what is the purpose of this?

[killedwithlove]

I don't know. I don't know why, I just know that it was deliberate. I don't work that way.

[openhands]

I didn't... It was a rhetorical question, Cole.

[killedwithlove]

Oh. That's one that isn't meant to be answered, right? Like when people ask what's wrong with me.

[openhands]

Who has been asking that?

[killedwithlove]

No one here. In Skyhold, sometimes people would ask it. I never minded.

[openhands]

[A good thing he never minded it. There are only a few ways in which questions addressed to spirits can go and most of them are relatively unpleasant.]

I'm glad they are treating you well here then.

[Something that's mildly surprising to hear.]

[killedwithlove]

I've met a lot of people here and most of them are really nice. They think I'm strange, but I'm not really that strange, compared to the situation.

[Everything was comparative.]

[openhands]

I'm glad to hear that. [They also have larger concerns right now.] We should see what can be done to get power back.

[killedwithlove]

[Cole hums, head tilted and thinking.]

Pilot Augment doesn't know.

[That would be Cole admitting to not being able to help at all on that front.]

[openhands]

No. I imagine Jove could still use a hand, however.

[heresyandlace]

[hello there, newest friend. Tek doesn't turn from his glaring while he answers.]

"Should" is not the word.

[openhands]

Then what would you use?

[heresyandlace]

"Should" implies that our survival goes against some design-- either the universe's or our enemies. And instead, I think this is exactly what they'd intended.

...It also implies that the danger has passed.

[openhands]

That wasn't what I-- [Cassandra sighs a little exasperated, an unspoken never mind.] I believe as far as immediate danger is concerned, it has.

But if the power should remain out for too long...

[heresyandlace]

[he probably knows perfectly well that wasn't what she was implying, but he's going to pick at it anyway.]

And what makes you believe that? [he glances over his shoulder a little.]

They've obviously done this intentionally, set us up for something... they could be off gathering friends, for all we know.

[openhands]

If they sought to destroy us, here would be their chance. We have no means of defending ourselves.

Whatever they have in mind, it's not simple destruction.

[heresyandlace]

Oh, I entirely agree. And it's clear that they know far more about our fleet and our route than we know about them.

We are blind by comparison.

[openhands]

That is hardly anything new.

[heresyandlace]

Yes, but now we can tell exactly how clueless we are.

...They knew to use the environment against us. That implies that they knew we were going to be passing by-- at least long enough in advance to pull this maneuver together.

[openhands]

And yet all that does is leave is with few options and no power.

[heresyandlace]

[he clicks his tongue in disapproval.]

Use your head. That's not all it leaves us. We have clues now, at the very least.

[openhands]

[Flatly:] Clues.