thespaceopera: (red alert)
Voices from Heaven ([personal profile] thespaceopera) wrote in [community profile] driftfleet2015-09-13 10:53 pm

warning! warning!

[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.
heresyandlace: (court is in session)

[personal profile] heresyandlace 2015-09-21 10:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, if that's the only alternative on your mind, you're not using your imagination.

[but hey, he's in a bad mood... so, he'll elaborate beyond one cryptic phrase, for once.]

This was deliberate, and it's not over. I am absolutely not calling this an improvement until I know what they're planning.
lord_wizard: (intense)

[personal profile] lord_wizard 2015-09-23 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
[Thanks Tek, you're the best]

My imagination is just fine.

[He pauses, then continues with a mildly more serious tone] I was only thinking in terms of this particular instance, but you have a point. They could have finished the job at any point, and I struggle to understand why. It also occurs to me to ask why Atroma keeps letting it happen.

[He suspects that their host is more complicit in these events than they are claiming.]
heresyandlace: (sits like a whore)

[personal profile] heresyandlace 2015-09-25 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
They could still, you know. There's nothing preventing them from appearing between those clouds again and swooping in to finish what they've started.

Maybe they're just off calling up some friends.

[...and he's wondering the same thing about Atroma too, but doesn't feel like voicing that bit just yet.]
lord_wizard: (haughty)

[personal profile] lord_wizard 2015-09-28 08:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you for the cheerful thought. I'm not sure what delaying would accomplish, besides making us squirm.

[Though, if so, mission accomplished]
heresyandlace: (trust me)

[personal profile] heresyandlace 2015-09-28 10:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Again, I could comment on your lack of imagination.

There are a great many horribly creative traps that involve waiting as a middle step.
lord_wizard: (serious)

[personal profile] lord_wizard 2015-10-02 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
Your criticism aside...what good does knowing that do us?

heresyandlace: (above you)

[personal profile] heresyandlace 2015-10-02 07:06 pm (UTC)(link)
...Would not knowing help us any better?
lord_wizard: (crossed)

[personal profile] lord_wizard 2015-10-05 07:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Likely not, but I don't know about the condition of your ship, but I can't say we'd even to able to prepare any kind of defense. Unless you have any ideas.
heresyandlace: (smile like a snake)

[personal profile] heresyandlace 2015-10-05 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, not yet I don't... But, I'm not big on sitting still while waiting for something bad to happen.

I would like to at least try to think ahead.