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!]

Comments

PLANETSIDE

[namisan]

[She has no questions, not for now. But she is going to make use of a frequency that works.]

Thank you, Zhade. [Though politeness, hey. She'll look at this suspicious offer of help through a closer lens when she's not in danger of being eaten.]

Bloodsport crew, give me your status if you can hear this. Is everyone okay? [Her own voice is thin and tired, but it's been a shitty couple days. She'll live.] Sam and I are also down here.

We can navigate our way to the comm tower from here easily enough. For anyone who can't follow those coordinates and thinks they can help out there, I can mark the site without drawing too much of the wrong attention. Look for rain.

voice;

[moseyin]

Cloud here. I'm staying with the ship; gonna clear debris and try to get this shit in order for repairs with Zack.

[thespaceopera]

Hmph. At least you thanked me.

[Zhade sounds bored.]

You've got a few minutes to organize this before I pack my things up and move. I hope your people are good. I can't do everything myself out here.

voice

[darksmokerising]

Merlan, checking in. Fantastic to hear your voice. How toast is your shuttle?

[Because if she can get to Nami and get that shuttle operational to some degree, that might help.]

I'm with the ship at the moment. I'll be foraging and doing some recon with Khadgar in a little while as well. I took a bit of a crack to the head going down but I've been hit harder in a bar brawl. I'm good to go.

voice

[iattractmushi]

Ginko here, everyone's alive as far as I know. A few of us got a little banged up on the way down, but it's not too bad all things considered.

[Basically no one died, and that's as good as can be said right now.]

video;

[livesfastdiesung]

[Well, hey! A video! It's definitely Freyja, because there's a glowing heart shaped thing on her head to provide at least a little illumination. Her voice is tired, and she doesn't sound near as energetic as she usually does, but she's there.]

Freyja Wion, reporting for duty! I'm okay so far.

[Not that she'd say if there was something wrong at the moment. It's relieving to actually have communications back.]

voice;

[ahappylie]

[His signal is patchy since he's further out, but when he hears that Nami is heading toward the communication tower, he knows he has to do something to help.]

Will be t--- ---- ---- rain. Bringing wea--- --- can offer protectio---.

[As since it seems he's moving, the signal starts getting clearer.]

---peat. Will be there. Look--- -- rain. Bringing weapons and --- ---- ---tion.

Shipside

[helmsplitter]

[Wo/Man in a mysterious black cape and a face-concealing mask?

Yeah, that pretty much garners instant mistrust.]

Ain't helping you off the "garbage pile of a planet" enough of an exchange? Who are you and how'd you end up down there?

[thespaceopera]

Who I am is important, but I'm not stupid enough to reveal it where someone can find it out and kill me. It's pretty obvious you'd shank me if I so much as looked at you funny... not that you can tell if I'm... anyway. Moving on!

We all know vague business deals never go according to plan. Having money actually affords me opportunity after you do your hero thing and fly off somewhere else. I'm not asking too high a price, here, and there's quite a number of you and not so many of me. Just a little bit to help me eat and clothe myself in the great beyond.

[SHIPSIDE - PRIVATE] photo + text

[expellerhead]

[all aizawa sends is a screenshot of a sum of credits in his account.

the amount is very considerable, and exceeds the invoice by double.

all the money he's earned from odd jobs, from the botched mining operation, from the bodyguard detail and the deposit he'd just received as a 'bonus' for the drama of his death. he'd been saving most everything he could for proper educational facilities, but this may be a better use for it.]

[thespaceopera]

[Zhade receives this and scratches at the edge of their mask.]

You've got my attention.

Shipside

[servantnotserving]

[There's a certain level of distrust for a person who will save others for a price. Currently, though, Lumière doesn't really care. The vast majority of the people he cares about are down there, and he'll do whatever he damn well can to get them back up and safe. He can wrestle with the moral quandary of the entire thing later. ]

Merci, your help would be very much appreciated. You can have as many of my credits as you like, I literally have no use for them.

[He's been squirrelling them away for when his curse breaks - but this is a much higher priority right now.]

...Do you know how they are? Down there? Have you been able to speak to any of them?

[thespaceopera]

Thank you for your generosity! I promise they are going to a good place. I'm the investing type, and. Well. I really do need the money.

[A nod.]

Only briefly, of course, but they seem to be in one piece. I haven't heard anything about casualties, so perhaps it's best to assume there were none.

Your friends are pretty strong.

Shipside

[tallasaking]

[Don't mind him, just writing down your name here...

Right. Okay.]

So your fee is to get off the planet? Done. How do I take down the anti-aircraft weaponry from here? Are there codes, something we can use our computers to break down? Or will we be required to throw large rocks?

[thespaceopera]

[Zhade laughs at that, hearty and light.]

Large rocks, that's a good one. [Okay, serious.] Don't you have ship-mounted weaponry? But before you go all vigilante on me, you're going to need help from the people on the ground. That's the whole point of this tower thing.

Tip your hand too early and you'll get crushed before you have a chance to fortify your positions.

PLANETSIDE; voice to Zhade

[wolfehawke]

[Wolfe was snapped out of a fitful rest by the message, but he's pretty grateful for it instead of annoyed since it's an actual direction to move. Even if this Zhade seems utterly Orlesian and they'll probably get backstabbed down the line. At this point? He'll take any port in the storm, especially with how exhausted and injured he is. He never thought he'd want back in space as badly as he does right now.]

Thanks for the tip.

[His tone reflects his exhaustion, despite trying to sound genial.]

Is there anything else we should know before we approach the tower? If you found it before I presume you attempted to use it to get out of here previously. I'm guessing the natives know about it too.

[thespaceopera]

It's only fair. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.

[Zhade takes a moment to consider.]

Obviously you'll have to watch for Vieziri. They have regular patrols out there.

It used to be part of a more important network, but with all the raiding going on, people turned to closer-knit villages. And since the Vieziri keep visitors away, most of the salvageable stuff is still there. I've spent a lot of time at the tower but fixing it is definitely beyond my capabilities... If I had all the resources your fleet seems to have, I'd have left Lato'li years ago.

Planetside - voice

[bryces_pup]

[Oh well hello there, helpful stranger.

Now, Riona's not stupid. She knows this could be a ruse or trap. She knows this guy could be asking for a very high price. This guy could be one of these Vieziri. There are so many scenarios. But getting hackles raised and acting suspicious almost never goes well. If this is a trick, then the best thing to do is trick him right back.

So. Kindness. Always be kind. It's how she survived the Blight, more or less.]

Thank you very much, Zhade. I imagine you're taking an enormous risk doing this, considering the, uh, occupants. [She has a lot of questions, but she'll stick to the most pressing ones.] Your coordinates are noted. Is the tower defended by the Vieziri? Or should we expect to find it completely abandoned?

[thespaceopera]

[Surprisingly, Zhade responds well to her kindness.]

I'm all for transparency, but I also don't want a horde of bloodthirsty cannibals breathing down my neck in the middle of the night. You'll have to excuse my appearance.

It's not occupied or anything. However, there will be roaming warbands in the area. I suggest you pack as much ammunition as you can carry.

[SHIPSIDE]

[padadin]

[They need all the help they can get but... this has all kinds of bad vibes all over it.]

And how do we know they didn't pay you to send us down there first?

[thespaceopera]

If I could throw coin at them to leave me the hell alone, believe me, I would. They don't care about economics. They only care about the body count at the end of the day, whether they're in their twisted army or underfoot.

[Zhade's arms fold, and one can imagine a mouth forming a straight line.]

There's no honor in anything they do. They're not even people. They can't afford to be.

[SHIPSIDE]

[tempredmental]

You know where the weapons are stationed around the planet? Is there a blind side we can approach from and then trek in on foot maybe?

[Keith was all business right now, and maybe a little gruff. He was jumpy, wary, worried... a lot of things, and it wasn't translating to 'nice' in his tone.]

[thespaceopera]

They're actually very well guarded. Attacking them now will only result in suppressing fire-- basically, the guns being turned on your downed friends.

I have a plan, but it'll take time. And you'll need to be able to communicate with everyone down there, too.

shipside

[interstices]

[One thing's for sure, mysterious stranger-- Asuka's absolutely seething. Not only does this person seem disgustingly nonchalant over this whole matter, they're wanting payment for what little information they're giving out. Even over the grainy feed, her expression is furious.]

You and your credits can stay there for all I care.

[thespaceopera]

[Zhade isn't scared of a little girl. Fingers tap along the mask, almost bored.]

I don't expect you to trust me, you know. But you can work with people without trusting them completely.

shipside

[bi_otic]

[He can be paranoid later. This guys clearly knows something about what's going on. It seems unlikely he'd want the guns disabled if he was luring them down to the planet to pick off, but that's slightly beside the point]

These...Vieziri...are the ones that shot at us? What can you tell us about them?

[thespaceopera]

I am very familiar with the Vieziri, a fact that I regret as much as the other people stuck here... Yes, they shot at you. It's part of their tactics-- lure you in, shoot you down, eat you. When they're not doing that, they're terrorizing people with weapons and ships just like yours.

Call them savages all you like, but any good hunter knows a bullet travels faster than a sword.

shipside - voice

[goldkiss]

I just have one question, do you know how Katsuki Yuri is doing?

[He knows the chances of this random person knowing what a specific person is up to on the planet is slim, he but has to ask.]

[thespaceopera]

[Zhade hmmms for a moment.]

Not specifically, no. But if they're part of the downed ships, then they're all right. I haven't heard of any captures or casualties yet.

planetside! video

[sylphid]

[Oh, look, there's a small silver haired teenager popping up on the feed, looking curious.]

Thanks. But what about you right now? Do you want some help where you're at? [It's as close to an actual offer as she's going to give unless they talk more.]

Also, nice mask. [Thumbs up.]