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

[veilstrike]

He's seeing if he can find anyone else, just like I am. [ She shrugs, though, rubbing her neck. ] It's just a few scratches and bruises. I'm fine.

[fantachetic]

Have you come across anyone else? I don't know exactly how many others are down here, come to think of it.

[ Which is... not great, honestly. It's hard to keep on top of people when the communications are down. ]

[veilstrike]

The only other person I have seen so far is Justice. [ And he counts as a person, thank you, Thedas. ] I was travelling with him when we were attacked.

[fantachetic]

I wonder how spread out everyone is, and how difficult it will be to get back in the air.

[ Which is a very strange sentence he never thought he'd say. ]

[veilstrike]

Do we have the ability to repair our ships? [ She moves away from Dorian, just for a moment, to inspect the metal around him. ] I only know how to defend them.

[fantachetic]

I don't have those abilities, though I'm flattered that you have that much faith in me. The Captain is our engineer, but he went with Riona to the towers.

[veilstrike]

Then we'll simply wait for them to return. [ She doesn't intend to let Dorian wander off. ] When her ladyship returns we will be ready.

[fantachetic]

Inquisitor, if you need to seek others out, I'll be fine on my own.. Though I'd loathe to let you go back out alone.

[veilstrike]

Me? I'm fine. [ She's fought dragons and Darkspawn and Qunari. No problem. ] I'll be fine.

[fantachetic]

Mmhmm. I am thoroughly convinced. [ He knows that, but he worries! The look on his face at least shows that he's skeptical. ]

[veilstrike]

[ Leilani gives him a look before she flops down to the ground. ]

... I may have allowed Justice to work some spirit magic on me.

[fantachetic]

And what does that entail? [ As long as it's nothing bad, you know. ]

[veilstrike]

It's simply pain relief. [ She just gives him a happy smile. ] So my hand stops being distracting.

[fantachetic]

Oh! That's good, then. I'm grateful that he could do that for you.

[veilstrike]

[ He's taking it better than she imagined, but perhaps that is because he hasn't quite connected her lack of pain to her, perhaps, abusing the power of the Anchor for a while. ]

It makes being here more bearable. I can focus again!

[fantachetic]

How long is it meant to last?

[veilstrike]

Long enough? I didn't think to ask.

[fantachetic]

I suppose that will have to do for now, won't it? So long as there are no negative repercussions from it..

[veilstrike]

There hasn't been anything yet. [ She had to open her mind to Justice, but... ] It just means I can use it without worrying about the pain.

[fantachetic]

We'll worry about the negatives after we're off this damn place.

[veilstrike]

Just like old times. [ There are always more immediate dangers, and it's not the first time she's put the Anchor to one side while she focussed on something else. ] I think I can work with that.

[fantachetic]

Unless you've a magic way to solve all our problems by being clever and witty, then yes.

[ A pause. ] Nothing? I was assuming there would be.

[veilstrike]

Not this time. [ Poor Dorian. ] I'm still learning the witty side of things, actually. Maybe next time there's a cannibalistic planet we can get stuck on?

[fantachetic]

Maker, I hope not. I'm hoping there's a decent planet with an ocean and a tavern. Is it too much to ask for a tavern on the oceanfront?

[veilstrike]

Dorian, when has there ever been a tavern on the oceanfront?