driftfleet | it's gonna rain - and it never ends

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it's gonna rain - and it never ends

[ 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...~ ♪ ))

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[Kaname continues, song in time with Freyja's, growing more and more into one highly polished sound the closer they get to one another.]

Kill me now, if I'm, if I'm to fall anyway. Or live, live and see the end of destruction--

[And on that literal note, Kaname nods her thanks to Katie and, emergency supplies in hand, launches from the back of the shuttle. Now just visible to Freyja, and possiby Cloud, she keeps singing to draw them to each other, not wanting to risk losing what they've started.]

Call on a miracle, draw its light to the closed skies!

[Only when she finishes the verse does she pull the cord to her parachute, albeit much lower than might be considered safe.]

Freyja!

[Oh come on, it's totally safe. Probably. If you have the skills for it, which Kaname does, thankfully. Freyja's much happier knowing that her abilities actually worked the way they should though, this time, considering they didn't do that last time she needed them to work properly.]

Kaname-san! You made it!

[What the f u c k just happened

That was definitely a couple girls...singing to each other?? And then Kaname jumped out of a shuttle and Freesia ran over to her and what the hell, okay, you know what he's dealt with weirder. At least now they're found and accounted for.

-you know what though, while Kaname is still in the sky,] Hey, Kaname! [Cloud cups his hands around his mouth and shouts up to her.] Can you see the crash site?

Of course I did! Don't sound so surprised.

[And she hears Cloud, simply flashing him what appears to be a gang sign in an affirmative response. Bro, she's got this. Just before she enters the trees, she yanks one side of the parachute down to quicken her descent so she won't get stuck in the branches. Woop, there she vanishes into the canopies.

Freyja will reach her first. Kaname's already standing with the bags of supplies and parachute moved to one side. She looks to be drawing in the dirt with a stick.

Cloud's likely to arrive anywhere in this reunion after she's greeted Freyja.]

Ehhh, I'm not that surprised.

[When they met up again, both of them on the ground, you can bet that Freyja threw her arms around Kaname in a tight hug before letting go.

But then she's just gonna be hanging out and watching what Kaname's drawing in the dirt. This is why she's lucky to have Kaname with her, honestly.]

[Yeah Cloud just jogs up as she's scribbling in the dirt, hopefully a map, but he does take a moment to turn to Loud Friend™ and give her the stink eye.] I was digging through debris looking for your body you know. Next time, give somebody a heads up before you wander off from a shipwreck.

Edited 2017-10-23 06:45 (UTC)

[She pauses her scribblings to hug Freyja back with a small smile.] Good.

[When Cloud arrives, she's finishing up her work, and yes, it is a map. His words cause Kaname to look over at Freyja, clear disapproval in her expression.]

You're lucky you weren't hurt or worse. Once everyone's safe and back together, I think you need to apologize to them. [Sighing, she steps back.] And to Cloud, once we go over what I've got here.

Now, here [The stick points to a small X on the left side of the map.] is about where we are. The shipwreck, to my best approximation is here. [A small O on the right side.] Going straight towards it doesn't seem plausible. From what I saw, the terrain is pretty varied, and there might be a group of Vieziri around there. I think the safest option is to go north. [A cone shaped set of lines is drawn, forming what looks like a tent above both marks.

Now, Kaname moves the stick aside for the other two to take a look. While they do that, she holds out her pointer and middle fingers, a screen popping up above them. She holds her hand out to circle around them.]

We're in the clear for now at least.

[Her rune dims and lowers, fading to a light blue color once she's been scolded. Freyja knows she's messed up, despite whatever her intentions were. Her face falls too, as she realizes what she did.]

I'm sorry...

[But Cloud isn't everyone else too, so she knows there's more for her to do later and she will peer attentively at what Kaname is doing.]

We should get goin' then, shouldn't we?

Hold on, [Cloud interrupts. He points down to the map.] If it's just because you're worried about the danger, I can take these Vieziri assholes no problem. We shouldn't detour anywhere in a jungle, it's too easy to get lost. Straight paths are the best way to go.

[Kaname looks up at him, brows furrowing a little.]

Freyja and I aren't fighters, not in the way we need right now. If we come across too many of them, it's not going to end well for us. Fighting them off is one thing, but keeping us safe at the same time is a different story.

[She unfortunately knows this well.] I think there's a valley there, too. From above, I saw the trees dipped lower in the area, and we'd want the high ground, right?

[The tip of the stick goes back to the dirt map, turning the previous cone shape into a half circle.] What about skirting the edge of it so it acts as a guide? We still know where we're head, and there's no diving in blind. Is that a good compromise for you?

[Her gaze is on him now, calmly awaiting his answer. She wants to take everyone's opinions into account here.]

[Mm, she's listening, but she doesn't really have much to say to where they go, as long as it's relatively safe. Or as safe as they can get, at least. Though there is a thought that's in the back of her head, and it was one that made her think she'd be relatively okay. That's why she was doing the whole nonstop singing thing after all, and after all this time, she's still been relatively okay.]

Our way of fightin' might be one of the things we need, though. Nothin' happened to me out here, and I've been singin' the whole time. I dunno if I was just lucky, though, or if it... well, when the bandits happened, I kinda pacified them. Not a lot, 'cause our powers weren't all that strong then, but it worked. I wonder if that's workin' here, though. The way it should be.

[She's right about higher ground, and about it being difficult to protect two people at once, though judging by the way she just threw herself out of that shuttle Cloud's inclined to believe they can take care of themselves just fine. Or at least Kaname can

Still, even if he's sturdy enough to survive confrontation and is confident in his ability to keep them safe, he can die of thirst as easily as either of them. He really doesn't want to risk getting lost. Circling the valley is a good compromise.] Dunno what your singing does, but I agree with following the edge of the valley. Either way, the less time we spend out here, the better.

[Looking down at Freesia, she nods.] It's an idea, but not one I want to figure out here. Keep it in mind, though.

[Kaname gently tosses the stick to the side and begins to brush the traces of her map from the dirt with her foot. Once that's cleared, she takes the larger bag of supplies and holds out the smaller one to her friend. Cloud should be freer to move just in case.]

Agreed. Are you all right with watching our back? I can monitor the front for signs of the Vieziri.

I can keep track of things, too! [Look, she's flicking her own technails on, though the screen doesn't show anything of importance for the time being.]

If we're all agreed, let's get going. I dunno if stayin' in one place is gonna help us.

Don't gotta tell me twice. [He won't argue either of them taking the supplies, a hand already on the hilt of his sword as they start the trek. He wants to be ready. Some of the shit the townsfolk were saying about these people...it's horrific, honestly.

...okay but those whatever things they're using to project those screens are awesome. Cloud keeps sneaking glances, intrigued, but ultimately decides to save the questions for when they're definitely safe.]

How far are we from the crash site? If you had to guess.

[She doesn't look back to answer, keeping her eyes peeled on the forest around them.]

I didn't get a long look, but a rough estimate might be four miles in a straight shot, not taking into account terrain. Once we hit the edge of the valley, we should be able to get a better idea of the distance.

[After another moment, she lets the screen vanish and her hand drop.] We're clear for now.

Freyja, there's a water bottle in that pack. Go ahead and use it. [Continuing to walk, she opens her bag and takes out another.] Here, Cloud.

[And she holds it out for him.] Thanks for coming after Freyja. We both appreciate it.

[You don't gotta tell her twice, she's already gulping down some of the water. And it actually does feel nice on her throat, after all of that singing. And I mean, she was thirsty. She doesn't hesitate to follow after Kaname, too, eager to get a move on.]

I do appreciate it. A lot. Thank you.

[He'll take that water gratefully, and down like a third of it after realizing he hasn't had anything to drink since before the ship crashed.]

Jeez...enough. Nami asked me to go look for you. [After he volunteered to.] Let's just get back to the others in one piece, alright?

You still didn't have to, but all right. [Does it sound like she's amused? Because she totally is. What a dork.] If either of you need something to eat, let me know. I've got some food here as well.

[And with that, she falls silent, bringing out the screen once more to keep track of any potential Vieziri threats.

So, a peaceful walk to the edge of the valley?]

[Freyja's stomach probably answers the question on whether she's hungry or not, but she's not going to say anything this time because they need to get moving. She has her own screen up, too, with no sign of any threat just yet.

But a peaceful walk tot he valley sure is a go, even if the cracking of a branch has Freyja's head darting to look in the direction it came from, or the sound of a nearby animal makes her head dart in the other direction. Now that she's not singing, she can't help but really notice how wrong it feels, though.]

... Does anyone else feel like there's somethin' off?

Yup. [It's that pre-hair-raising feeling, and it's what's kept Cloud's hand on the hilt of his sword over his shoulder even as he sips his water. He can't see or hear anything, but the light's all fucked up and it's a damn jungle, so that doesn't necessarily mean a thing.] Think we're being stalked.

If they're here, somehow it's just outside the range of our scanners.

[Kaname keeps her voice low and eyes peeled.] Don't slow down or speed up, keep moving like we've been. I think we're close to the edge of the valley. Once we're there, we can reassess our plans if we need to.

[Cloud might notice how readily she lays out plans, like it's second nature to her. There's also room for him to add in ideas if he has any. She's not about to shoot anything down when it might help.

With her free hand, she reaches back to squeeze Freyja's.] Just like Voldor, okay? Quiet and efficient. We've got this.

[She squeezes Kaname's hand back, but she keeps moving. Just like Voldor, that's doable. Kaname's so sure that everything will be okay, so how can Freyja argue? And anyway, she's Walkure's leader. She puts on her confident face, because everything will totally be okay. She's sure of it.]

Mmhm! There's no way that we don't have this.

They could have something that screws with your sensors, too. [But yeah, fighting in an open area is preferable to all these trees around. He can't swing properly with all the trunks in the way, even if he could cut through them.] That thing about your singing while you fight- what's it do?

I doubt that. There were accurate readings when I was coming down.

[Of course she needs to be sure-- Acting otherwise wouldn't help anything at all. Sparing a glance back, Kaname looks from Cloud to Freyja.]

Back home it prevents people from falling under the control of the Var, pacify those afflicted, and it can boost the fighting potential of the pilots we work with. Unless Freyja's referring to something that happened here before?

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