it's gonna rain - and it never ends

[thespaceopera]

[ It's midday, or close enough to it that the sun is blazing red hot above the planet. Everything seems ordinary - for disturbing, red-tinted values of ordinary, anyway. But the normalcy doesn't last for long.

Without warning, an explosive sound shocks through the jungle. It doesn't come from any one central point, but rather several points, scattered throughout, strategically placed to the advantage of someone. And from those massive shocks rises a wave of missiles - large, fast, and apparently, freely flying. They're guided, and they've locked onto their target: any foreign ship that is currently within Lato'li's atmosphere.

There's no way to mistake it. They're headed right for the Fleet.

The first wave feels a bit sporadic - timings might be off, but the missiles are still deadly, and if they hit, they hit hard. Shields might withstand this wave, but ships without shields will take direct hits. The ability to stay airborn is very, very quickly lost.

The second wave is much more precise, expertly timed and executed by whomever is firing from below. Even smaller shuttles get caught in the crosshairs, and those ships that lasted through the first volley will take a few more shots. If shields saved you before, they will fail here, giving out under the strain.

And the third wave comes, a little bit longer after, to finish the job. There are more of them, and they are far more advanced - they make the previous two volleys look like warning shots. This time, it's all missiles launched, all targets acquired.

Seven Fleet ships - and many, many shuttles - fall out of the sky, headed straight for the surface at alarming speed. Only four ships manage to escape the assault and exit the planet's atmosphere, retreating to orbit as fast as possible. Those lucky enough to have been in orbit can only watch as all of this happens.

But the missiles aren't the only thing up their sleeve. Just when the dust settles, while the network is surely lighting up with activity, attempts to contact one another and check on the status of fellow ships and crew, A loud, quick, terrible screeching noise shocks the network. It drowns out all communications on any connected devices - ship or personal. Ships in orbit will see all on-board systems flicker, then fizzle out, all non-emergency systems have gone completely down.

And with that.. there's silence. Perhaps too much silence. No matter what you do, no matter which buttons you press, which channels you try, there is no connection. Those who have dropped to the surface are entirely radio silent, and those in orbit have been reduced to the barest of abilities and life-support, with the bare minimum of contact.

So... What can you do now? ]


(( ooc: Feel free to use this post as a mingle for all your crashy or missile-dodgy needs!

• The following ships have been shot down: Bishop, Bloodsport, Blue Fish, Goldstone, Heron, Tourist, Twin Roses.
• The following ships are now in orbit: Blameless, Caprine, First Breath, Huntress, Iskaulit, Red Fish, Starstruck, Vanquish, Wonderduck

Good luck, Dear Fleet...~ ♪ ))

Comments

[alwayscomeback]

[It's how Sokka rolls, he'll get used to it. ]

Truuuue but this way you get to say you were a member of the Best Ship's crew for a little while. Like a badge of honour.

[samahl]

Then I'm glad to be accepted here and I'll wear the imaginary badge with pride.

[alwayscomeback]

You should, you should.

[Right, but now, stuff to do. ]

I'm gonna try and get our shields back online, I'm hoping we can at least get THOSE functioning.

[samahl]

Is there anything I can do to help? We need to make sure we're secure against a possible attack.

[alwayscomeback]

Sure! What's your augment? Or, you know, any special skills you've got? I won't turn down any help.

[samahl]

All of the skills the augment gave me are piloting related and... well... we saw how much that helped.

I'm a Artificer by skill, though, but my knowledge of technology is so far behind this ship that I don't know how much help I'll be there. I could... well, I can follow directions.

[alwayscomeback]

True, but that could be handy when we manage to get her back in the sky again.

[When, not if. This ship is his baby and he's not leaving her behind.]

Hey every little helps- you're still pretty new to this whole space thing, right? It takes time to get used to it.

[samahl]

I am.

I do have some skills as a scout and hunter. I could see about laying traps outside and checking out our area? In case our attackers come to finish us off.

[It's been a while since he was with his Clan, but those skills have been trained since youth and he's kept up with and improved his stealth and trap making.]

[alwayscomeback]

Oh wow, that'd be great actually! At least then we'd have an early warning system, if they try to attack us.

[He has a feeling they will need all the help they can get. ]

[samahl]

[He likes that idea too. It helps him feel useful.]

I think I'll start building some traps then, and then see about placing them.

[alwayscomeback]

[Good, he should feel useful. Because it absolutely is, in Sokka's eyes. ]

Cool, just let the rest of us know where we are, because I guarantee I will probably fall on one at some point.

[samahl]

Yes, and I would not want to have that! I'll make a map.

[alwayscomeback]

Great! See? I'm really glad you're with us already.

[YOU'RE USEFUL, CYRIL!! ]

[samahl]

[Cyril makes a soft, amused sound.] I'll let you get back to work and start on my work. If I need a second hand, though, I might enlist your help again. [He's pretty self-sufficient, but some things are just better done with more than one hand.]

[alwayscomeback]

That's cool, just give me a shout and I'll come help you in a flash.