thespaceopera: (echoechoecho)
Voices from Heaven ([personal profile] thespaceopera) wrote in [community profile] 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!]
wolfehawke: (Unsure)

PLANETSIDE; voice to Zhade

[personal profile] wolfehawke 2017-10-19 03:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[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.
wolfehawke: (concern)

[personal profile] wolfehawke 2017-10-23 08:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't blame you. Cannibals are a special kind of nightmare.

[Adalwolfe exhales, trying not to think of the teeth marks a desperate Vieziri had left in his bicep. He can see biting when desperate to make an assailant release, but this was a willingness to take a chunk out of him and it puts him in mind of Darkspawn and more unsavory beasts from the bowels of the world.]

They're a lot more organized than I would have expected. Is there anything about their tactics we should know to better fight them? Magic surprised them but I'm not sure that will keep them at bay out in the field once they figure out we don't all have that ability.