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

Fenris- post The Incident, before the broadcast

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris isn't all that great at fixing things. He knows he has precisely zero skills in getting the Tourist operational again. But what he can do is act as a very effective guard dog. It is, quite literally, what he was shaped to do.

As such, he spends most of this days stalking around the perimeter, fending off any Vieziri foolish enough to come near. It feels good- to be able to do something here, and not feel completely useless. It also gives him the excuse to get rid of some built up tension and anger from Anders' idiotic stunt. At least he's easy to find, as Varric once said, if you want to find Fenris, just follow the trail of corpses.

Good luck getting him back to do things like eat, sleep or rest though. ]

[sylphid]

[Since the ship goes down, Fie hangs around the Tourist, more or less, for lack of anything better to do. A fair share of Vieziri fall at her hand, and she keeps occupied with scavenging for weapons and taking naps who even knows where.

But, during this, she keeps an eye on Fenris, the only one on the ship she's somewhat familiar with, which is why she's aware of his bad self care habits.

So, when she's keeping watch or whatever, he'll be greeted by the wonderful stench of old seafood, followed by Fie's voice from above and behind him.]

Something smells fishy here, doesn't it?

[wolfuncaged]

[To say Fenris had been enjoying his time away from the ship would be an overstatement. He was still pretty miserable, all things considered- but it was at least relatively peaceful. That was until the stink of fish started permeating into his very existence. He lets out a paugh sound, glancing around to try and find her. ]

Fie, I don't know where you got it, but get rid of it. It's disgusting.

[sylphid]

[He can hear the amused 'hmph' noise she makes regarding is own sound effect as she moves closer, sitting on a tree branch high up behind him. How she even got up there is anyone's guess.]

Really? I thought it'd make you hungry. [There's a soft whump noise where she tosses a small container of something edible by his feet, swinging her own in carefree leisure.]

I'd join you, but I already ate.

[wolfuncaged]

[He stares at the container, and then finally catches sight of her, looking up. ]

Fie, if that has fish in there, I swear to the Maker.

[sylphid]

[She blinks at him like she has no idea what he means.]

It doesn't. And don't swear at the person who made that, they probably worked hard at it.

[You let this into your life, Fenris.]

[wolfehawke]

[It's very very late and Adalwolfe can't sleep despite his bone weariness and multiple injuries. He'd thought it was just adrenaline keeping him going and that as soon as they'd made it back to the ship he'd simply keel over and zonk like he'd seen Anders do time and again after overextending his healing magic, but instead Wolfe is awake and hurting and most of all restless. He's never been much of a healer and yet in a moment of sheer panic he'd managed to pull energy from Justice in order to heal Anders. It made him feel terrible. He'd used Justice without permission. He'd used Justice period, which is not something he'd ever wanted to do. In fact he'd have preferred Justice just never interact with him or his friends and loved ones ever again, but at the same time if that hadn't happened then Anders could have...

Is it better or worse than blood magic? More or less forgivable? Perhaps it's just how spirit healing works and he's not educated enough to know, but to have done it so desperately feels wrong.

So he does what every good Thedosian does when he can't rest like he should and doesn't want to deal with the thoughts rattling around in his skull and he butts into Fenris' business instead. In this case, he limps out with a scavenged pipe as a crutch under one arm and plate of scrounged food in the other.]

Supper. Everyone else has eaten but you.

[wolfuncaged]

[It's dark enough that Fenris' eyes are starting to let off that eerie cat-eyed glow that all elves have. Hopefully it will unsettle the people hunting them- they can only hope.

He turns to look at Wolfe with a soft frown. He knows the man must be worried sick- because of Anders, of course- but he knows Wolfe has... issues when it comes to crossing the line with his magic. It's one of the things Fenris admires him for. His control over his craft. Something all mages should aspire for.

And yet, he had a moment of panic and crossed the line he had made for himself. No mage, it seems, is safe from that. He doesn't like Justice, not even a little, but there is a slight tenseness to him as Wolfe approaches. ]

I'm fine. I'm not hungry. [Not exactly true, his frown softens. ] You look exhausted.

[wolfehawke]

You're a terrible liar.

[Thank goodness all of his companions are, makes things easier to sort out. Except for Isabela. And Varric, but Varric lies for a living. Either way, Fenris' tenseness is not lost on Wolfe and it just twists the knife already in him over the whole of what happened.

He sets the plate down on a convenient crate and carefully leans himself against the outer hull of the ship with a grunt, shuffling awkwardly to keep the weight off of his bad leg.]

I am exhausted but I've already slept more than I usually do and I'm going a bit stir crazy, so I decided to impersonate Jarvis. Now eat or I'll tell on you.

[And stop looking at me like I'm going to spontaneously explode into demons.]

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris can't really make a comeback to his first comment. He really isn't a good liar. After a moment of consideration, he does relent and walk over to pick up the plate of food. He exhales a soft half-laugh, mostly to try and relieve some of the tension between them. ]

Tell on mt to whom, exactly?

[He'll eat all the same, because he is hungry. He keeps glancing around them though, poised, ready for another attack. ]

...How is he?

[He's surprised himself, really, that this is the first question that springs to mind- he wants to ask Wolfe how he is too- after everything that happened. He knows none of it can sit well with the man. But the first thought goes to the blighted idiot who nearly got himself killed for Fenris' sake.]

[wolfehawke]

Jarvis, obviously. He made this you know.

[Wolfe looks up, leaning back against the hull with a soft exhale, then looks back to Fenris at the question with both brows raised. He's not going to actually ask as that might cause Fenris to bail on whatever progress this is, but he can't help his expression. It's surprising that even if Anders saved Fenris' life, the elf would actually show anyone he felt kinship to Anders over it.]

You know that healers make the worst patients. But he'll be alright.

[Thanks to whatever it was that made Wolfe able to pull on Justice for help... He doesn't know how to feel about that and that little doubt is more unsettling than anything he's ever felt. How can he even question the lengths he would go to keep Anders safe? But stealing power from a spirit, especially Justice of all spirits...]

[candothat]

[Chekov isn't venturing outside of the ship much since his genius is primarily useful inside and he is not an idiot, but checking on Fenris is worth braving cannibals for.]

If I were to ask you how you are, is there a chance that I would receive an honest answer?

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris gives him a look which suggests he really should be remaining in the ship. He is soft and squishy and could die only too easy. ]

Probably quite slim. It depends on if you wish for an honest answer or not if you actually deign to ask.

[candothat]

[H-hey! He might be bad at unarmed combat, but he has been serving in the space future pseudo-military for five years and he can definitely defend himself if absolutely necessary and if he doesn't actually need to hurt anyone to do so so maybe not.]

Very well. How are you, Fenris? Please answer honestly.

[wolfuncaged]

[NO. IN THE SHIP. ]

Deeply unhappy. We are trapped in this place with dwindling resources, no chance of rescue without any clue how many, if any, our fellow Fleet members survived. [Discounting Justice. Spirits don't count. ] We are attacked on a daily basis- and my worst rival decided to risk his life for mine so now I owe him, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

...

Also Fie found fish somewhere and I'm sure I can still smell it.

[candothat]

[YOU CAN'T TELL HIM WHAT TO DO YOU'RE NOT HIS REAL FATHER]

Ah. [A sage nod, as though he understands the true extent of Fenris's suffering.] All very good reasons to be unhappy, although I would argue that there are worse things than having your life saved.

...And many worse things than being fed.

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ For the most part, Kirk doesn't interfere with Fenris' operations. He is security after all, and he fully trusts Fenris to handle things. Though he does come and check on him at least once during the day, and to encourage him to come sleep at night. With so much to do on the ship, he can't spend much time helping Fenris with the perimeter either.

It's closer to evening on this particular day when he comes out, protein block in his pocket and a sealed cup of coffee. He let out a soft whistle to alert Fenris he was coming up. ]</sub>

Anything interesting today?

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris turns at the sound of the whistle, relaxing at the sight of Kirk. Or...as relaxed as he can be, given their situation. ]

Depends on how you define interesting.

[universal_charm]

In this particular situation? Did anything try to eat you today?

_{[ It is not the first time he has asked that particular sentence, but he never enjoys having to ask it either. He held out the coffee and brought out the protein block. ]}

Figured you could use some refueling either way.

[wolfuncaged]

Not since Anders deiced to be an idiot, and risk his life for mine, no.

[Maybe they've been spooked from the Tourist, for the time being. He sighs and takes the proffered items- knowing this is an argument he absolutely would not win. ]

...Thank you.

[universal_charm]

_{[ He raised a brow. He hadn't been aware of that particular happening, but then, everyone had been busy so it was natural some things would slip through the cracks. ]}

Glad you both made it out of that all right.

_{[ He nodded, satisfied that Fenris had taken sustenance. He wouldn't force him inside to eat, but he wasn't going to let him get away with NOT eating either. ]}

Have you noticed anything different about them? Or figured anything out other than they want to kill us?

[takingkarabusiness]

[ Kara has spent some time making sure everyone is alive, and (secretly) coming to terms with her lack of powers on the planet. The only evidence of her being depowered is a cut on her forehead, though the bleeding has probably stopped ]

Fenris! Hey! Are you supposed to be out here alone?

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris turns to the sound of her voice, smiling a little- for her, he almost always could. ]

It's fine, besides, I'm only watching the perimeter, I can handle that much.

[No, he can't, he could have died. Don't listen to his bullshit, Kara. ]

[takingkarabusiness]

I'll walk it with you.

[wolfuncaged]

[Anyone else, and he would worry for their safety- he's STILL worried, Kara is without her powers here, but he's fairly certain she can look after herself regardless. ]

...I would not say no to the company.

[She's one of the few people in the Fleet who doesn't routinely piss him off after all. She's nice company. ]