Voices from Heaven (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thespaceopera) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
driftfleet2017-10-18 10:39 pm
thespaceopera) wrote in driftfleet2017-10-18 10:39 pm
Testing, testing...
[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!]
[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!]
no subject
[Which Zhade is seriously doing not through looking at him funny, but by being too cryptic.]
Did you crash on the planet or are you a native? 'Cause I ain't lettin' someone who I don't trust up into space if you're gonna end up being some sorta terrorist.
[He remembers the rock music planet and Lyuku and a thousand other times shady characters messed up history. He doesn't need to be responsible for one now.]
no subject
[Zhade's fingers tap leisurely along the mask.]
I don't like your tone, young man. I don't deal in weapons or explosives, I deal in information.
What your people are facing down there are the Vieziri-- the galaxy's most feared war force. There are no 'natives' or 'foreigners' or anything like that. They assimilate people as they go. The people here become fodder for the machine... if not literally, then by being broken and brainwashed.
That's what keeps them going: each planet means another race to swallow up and destroy. It's never-ending.
no subject
One, I'm not young. I'm 630 years old. Two, I'm not a man. I'm a sword.
[But what he's already said is important. They're a war force and they are either native to this planet or were released upon it. The fact that they assimilate people is also important. They're not there just to be hunted, they're growing their numbers. It could be just their drive, but it could also be in preparation for something.]
Three, I'm going to consult my crew. From there, you may or may not get a transfer.
no subject
Are all of you immortal? I hope you win, then, or else we're doubly screwed.
Talk to your crew. I'll be around.
no subject
[So not all, just most.]
Be seein' you.
Later
[As much as he hates doing this, Jacqli was right. They don't have to trust him to take his information.]
Send us an invoice and any information you have on the location of the anti-aircraft weapons and the Vieziri.
no subject
[Zhade transfers the invoice as well as a dossier of basic Vieziri information: what races make them up, their weak points (head, heart, just like humanoids), their general behavior (pillaging, assimilating), as well as the coordinates of villages close to the various crash sites of Drift Fleet crew. They may be seeking shelter there.]
I'll consider your debt paid, but with one stipulation: you'll need to wait until the tower is clear before I can get everything together. The guns aren't something you can just take with brute force. You'll need people on the planet to disable the safeguards.
Hope this helps in the meantime. Maybe try sending them presents or something.