[ voice | action ]

[tempredmental]

Who: Keith
Broadcast: Voice (shipside)
Action: Huntress (though the event mingle thread is another option for shipboard threads!)
When: During and just after the attack

[action]

They had started their decent, despite Keith's reservations after his visit to the surface with Shiro the other day. Everything about this whole thing felt wrong on so many levels, and Keith had those damn feelings of dread back again that had come with the dreams. Don't land. Run away. Help. And it was making him super agitated. His reluctance to go back to the surface ended up with the Huntress towards the back of the group that was heading down... which ended up being to their advantage when the weapons fire started. He gave a started yell, and immediately pushed the ship to max. The Fleet scattered in an attempt to get cover and/or escape. On the nav sensors, Keith could see other ships going down, but he was focused on getting his own out of the atmosphere first.

It was a bumpy ride. Sorry. But, he was doing his best. The incoming attacks were strong and hard to dodge, each volley stronger than the last. They took some fire, but it wasn't crippling damage, thankfully, and the ship managed to dodge and climb its way back into orbit.

It had been another run for their lives... and Keith leaned heavily on the console for a moment before remembering seeing those other ships going down.

"Quiznak," he growled, hitting the comm to open a channel. It was bad. Really bad. He wasn't even sure if this was going to get through, but he sure as heck was going to try.

=====

[voice]

Hello? Is anyone there? Everyone, check in. What ships are still up? Who's on the sur-? AAUGH!

[He was working hard to keep the panic from his tone, but the screech cut him off mid-broadcast, and then everything went dark, the ship dropping to only emergency functions. He listened hard for a response before finally saying something again.]

Anyone?

=====

[action]

He looked over at the comm to see if there was anything coming through. His own console was completely unresponsive. Did he look worried? Because he was worried.

"I got nothing... we're drifting."

And not in the good 'moving to another planet' way...

Grief like knives

[bythewaves]

Who: Maglor
Broadcast: yes
Action: Huntress
When: Now

One moment, Maglor was kneeling by his brother's side, treating a head injury with his cousin's help. The next moment, there is a hole in the part of his heart that once held his kinsfolk's touch, and Maglor's voice keens, a terrible, inhuman sound, like shards of ice that tear through a soul, grief too deep for words. It echoes through the ship, shaking the walls with his pain before he falls silent.

It is the worst time for it to happen, ships in crisis, folk in disarray. But if anyone finds him, he is unconscious in the corridor with tears on his cheeks. He's also started to look slightly translucent, in the right light.

Testing, testing...

[thespaceopera]

[PLANETSIDE]

[The communications systems have been down for days now. The silence of the fallen ships contrasts sharply with the noise of the forest, for better or worse. But today, in the middle of the night, all personal communicators and ship consoles spit and crackle a mostly-intelligible message. It’s video, even! The figure is difficult to see over the broadcast, but the one thing that stands out is a stark white mask painted with gold.]

Hey! Listen up! I don’t have all day. That means you, travelers. Sorry about the time, it’s the only way I can be sure I won’t be interrupted.

[Though the gender of the speaker is difficult to place, their voice is pleasant to listen to… or it would be, if the broadcast could stop being staticky!]

I know how you can get off this miserable rock before you get eaten. Help me and I’ll help you. We can discuss payment when the situation is a little less dire. [A wry laugh.] I think my demands aren’t too outrageous, considering I can give you everything you need to reverse your fortune.

First things first: you’ll need to be able to talk to the others who got shot down. At the coordinates I’m about to give you, you’ll find the old comms tower. It’s not working at the moment, but you should be able to find something you can use in the ruins around it. Wires, or a battery, or whatever you can salvage, figure it out! Get that thing going and communications should be restored on your end. Right now you can’t get past the jammer, but get a boost and that should be it. Your communicators will handle the rest, even if they’re third class junk.

Here are the coordinates: 5° 10' 3.0089'' north, 24° 3' 98.3199'' east. Repeat: 5° 10' 3.0089'' north, 24° 3' 98.3199'' east. Surely one of you knows how to navigate by the stars, right?

After you get the tower running, I suggest you start scavenging. There’s all sorts of parts laying around and the villagers will help you if they can. The sooner you get your ships fixed, the better. You won’t be able to fly off-- well, I don’t recommend it-- because of the guns. That’s a problem that we’ll tackle later. For now, focus on making a base and defending it.

I’m sure you have questions. I might have answers, depending. Important questions only, now. Don’t waste my time.

And if you absolutely need a name, call me Zhade.



[SHIPSIDE]

[The broadcast is heavily jumbled at first, but that is definitely someone hailing your ship! The video is dark and grainy at best, the exact gender and build difficult to discern underneath all that black cape and armor, but they have a white mask with gold paint. It stands out, considering most of the Vieziri have stainless steel masks and war paint only.]

You! Yes, you. All of you. Your friends on the planet are safe. Probably. Mostly. What’s important is that they’re working to navigate the communication block. That means you’ll be back in touch soon.

I know you want to reunite with them as soon as possible. Here’s the thing-- you can’t do it without me. And I can’t get off this miserable garbage pile of a planet without your help, so let’s cut a deal. Show me some kindness in the form of credits and I’ll be sure to repay it with intel. Clear?

The name’s Zhade, if you feel like writing this down in your diary.

I don’t expect you to trust me without showing my word is good. So out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll let you in on something.

If you want to rescue your friends, you’ll need more than gumption or good pilots. You’ll have to disable the anti aircraft weaponry or risk everything being blown to smithereens. The Vieziri don’t mind if their dinner is minced meat.

That doesn’t mean you can’t send down supplies, though. Actually-- if you drop something that’s smaller than one of your shuttles, they can’t detect it on the scanners.

Once the jammer’s taken care of, you’ll all have to contend with the anti aircraft fire if you want to leave. I have some ideas for that, but you’ll want to make sure you’re in top shape first. So focus on repairing your ships and defending yourselves. You’ll want guns, the bigger the better. You’re gonna need it.

[The figure folds their arms.]

I have a few minutes to answer questions, but I can’t risk it much longer. Make it quick.

[ooc: The NPC will be available to answer questions mostly in the evenings PST and over the weekend. For characters who are exceptionally grateful to Zhade and would like to encourage further cooperation, an invoice can be found on their communicators, which they can pay with credits conveniently docked from their accounts.

Additionally, ships in orbit should now be able to send video broadcasts, though the reception is not perfect and may still cut out, glitch, or go static from time to time. Planetside communications to ships in orbit will be restored when the comms tower is fixed.

Please make sure to indicate if you are grounded or in orbit in your replies, as they are two separate broadcasts and these two groups can't interact yet!

Further questions should be asked here on the plot post. Thank you!]