the cavalry arrives - and lies in wait

[queenmonarch]

[ The frequency used to communicate with the Interceptors lights up with an incoming transmission - a familiar voice, for those who ran into her at Dreadhorse's ball, or happened to hear her fighting off raiders all those systems ago... ]

Drift Fleet Twelve, come in. This is the Interceptor Fleet. We've just arrived in the system. Holding at our position, just outside of range of your... company there. Looks like we could use an update. Someone care to bring us up to speed?

In the meanwhile, we've got weapons, supplies, materials - anything you need. Just tell me what you need, and where you are. I'll set up a transport to you. Do not come to us for supplies. I repeat: do not come to us. Let's surprise those bastards with sheer numbers when the time is right, whaddya say?


(( ooc: She will be responding! Make your requests, tell her the plan (and/or all about Zhade~), and talk strategy! Catch her up on what happened since the last time she heard from the Fleet! She can send high-speed drones to anywhere planetside or in orbit, so don't be afraid to ask! ))

Comments

voice;

[sylphid]

A chunk of the fleet and ships are stuck on a planet with alien cannibals after they took us by surprise and shot at us. They've been picking off local villages and keeping us on our toes. Plus the food's gross, and it's way too red in this place.

Might wanna check with the engineers down here to see what their ships'll need to be spaceworthy again.

voice

[queenmonarch]

Yeah, I heard about the grounded ships. I'll do my best to establish individual contact with them and get them what they need.

And honestly? I don't think I'd trust any of the food on a planet with cannibals running around.

voice

[sylphid]

Thanks. I think there might be shuttles down here, too. Dunno how it'd work getting those back, but it's worth tell you.

[Can she hear the shrug in Fie's voice?] I've had worse. Just cook it, and it works just fine.

voice

[queenmonarch]

Well, if the damage is irreparable, that ship might be down a shuttle. Unless Atroma decides it's worthwhile to give 'em a replacement. Never had to think about that, but I wouldn't put it past 'em.

Voice;

[heroofcocoon]

Drift Fleet Twelve? The hell?

[In the background, there's the sound of screaming, but pay that no mind. Snow sure isn't.]

Send healing supplies to the Blue Fish then! Our medics gone missing and we're stuck on this freaking planet while our captain tries to repair the damage!

[queenmonarch]

[ Ah, must be new here. ]

Yeah, twelfth cycle. I'll explain later if you still need it.

Blue Fish. Got it. I can't get a lock on my own. Send me your coordinates. I'll put 'em in manually and get you the healing supplies. Won't take long.

[heroofcocoon]

[Right, he'd heard something about that, but they can talk about that later.]

Look, I... [He fumbles around a bit and finally finds an option to send his coordinates to his conversation partner.] There. What's going on out there? All we've got is a bunch of lunatics that want to have us for dinner shooting at us down here.

[queenmonarch]

[ Perfect~ ] Thaaank you-- [ A couple of buttons pushed, and off go the supplies! The drone is much too fast to be seen, but in approximately 10 minutes, it will pass over the Blue Fish and, in a flash of light, beam down a large crate filled with a lot of advanced first-aid kits and extraneous supplies, as well as 10 vials labeled, simply, "Formulated 'Hi Potion' ". There are instructions included, but Snow, of all people, should be able to figure out what one of those can do~ ]

Good question. Last I heard from one of your buddies, you guys got shot down and were dealing with cannibal hunters, and some mysterious informant offering help for money. Right now, I'm seeing a bunch of enemy ships staring down everyone still up here in orbit. It's like some sort of stand off or... I don't know, a game of chicken?

[tempredmental]

Oh, hey... you made it. Good. Glad to hear you're still in one piece.

We have some catching up to do.

But first, we've got seven ships stranded on the planet. I saw you were already looking to contact them individually, so the ships down there are the Bishop, Bloodsport, Blue Fish, Goldstone, Heron, Tourist, and Twin Roses. We still have the Blameless, Caprine, First Breath, Huntress, Iskaulit, Red Fish, Starstruck, Vanquish, and Wonderduck in orbit.

You guys might have more firepower than most of the ships in the Fleet here. I'm not exactly sure who's upgraded recently. [He hadn't finished upgrading the pilot station on the Huntress, yet...] How many ships do you have?

[queenmonarch]

[ He can hear her fiddling with buttons, switches, etc. while he lists off ships and their locations. ] Thanks, Keith. That's a good start. Good to hear from you, too.

Oh, I've definitely got firepower. I've had a lot of time to build all sorts of fun toys. Don't you worry about that. And we're five ships strong now. Used to be six, but... Well, you saw what happened to Angel's ship.

[tempredmental]

Yeah. That was kind of hard to miss. [And hard to watch.]

There is someone on the surface... one of the Vieziri. Someone named Zhade, looking for help to get out of this place and off this planet, and we got some really good information and were able to restore communications between the ships still in orbit and those on the planet because of what they told us. I don't know if that's something you guys can do, but, I'm not sure if there's anything really that we can do.

[queenmonarch]

[ okay, she's starting to get a clearer idea of this Zhade person. .... That name tho. Hfnfhd can't get over that. ]

So, mercenary informant friend Zhade really was one of 'em, huh? Classic. I'm just glad his word ended up being good.

Well, if they want off planet so bad, I'm sure they have the means now, what with the money everyone gave him. They can't go with you, that's for sure. Atroma will just kick them right off.

[ it's toootally not occuring to her that the Interceptors could take Zhade. Maybe later~? ]

[brainiest]

We're spread out on the planet. Do we need to focus on getting back into orbit? [ Hermione is... Tense, understandably so, but she's doing her best to work with villagers and anyone down on the surface. ] Do you need anything else from us?

[queenmonarch]

As long as you're down there, knock out whatever they're using to shield the ships up here. That way we can really hit 'em where it hurts. Otherwise, if you can get up here, all the better for you. If not, we'll get you flying again as soon as possible.

[ She hears the tension in her voice, and completely understands. Her own tone turns a teensy bit softer. ]

Don't worry about what we need from you. Worry about yourself. What do you need? I'm prepared to transport whatever supplies I can.

[brainiest]

I'll do my best. I don't think I can run the risk of getting back into orbit alone, but I'll work on getting rid of their shields.

[ Who expects a lioness to come and attack them, anyway? Probably not too many people. ]

Medical supplies, mostly. People here are hurt and we're going to need them. Weapons, too. Please.

[ She doesn't like asking without giving in return, but she realises that getting them all ready means accepting help without repayment. ]

voice;

[alwayscomeback]

Boy is it good to hear from you guys. Snow already got supplies for us, so thanks for that. The Blue Fish is nearly spaceworthy again, so we'll be able to get to battle stations sooner rather than later.

Did anyone tell you about Zhade yet? [He didn't speak to the guy personally, but he sure watched. ]

[queenmonarch]

Glad it helped. Wouldn't want you to miss the big to-do, after all.

[ ... What kind of a name is that jfdskl She sounds pretty amused. ]

Zhade? Oh my God, don't tell me, is that the mysterious informant mercenary guy that someone mentioned? Because that's all I know - no details. You got any?

[alwayscomeback]

It'd be a tragedy. I got my dance card all set up and everything.

[A PRETTY HIPSTER NAME.]

That's him! He's been helping us out, it's thanks to him we got our communications up and running again - that we could reach out to you at all. He wants off the planet, for helping us. Which, you know, not actually a bad trade, I want off of this rock too, so I can't blame him.

[bi_otic]

It's good to hear from you again. We're gonna need all the help we can get, I think. But...First Breath is more or less ship shape...[Haha...ha...]

We have a few of our crew stuck down on the surface, but as soon as they make a hole in their ground to air defenses we're gonna head down to get them. Or at least, that's the plan...

[queenmonarch]

Well, at least you're not sunk. [ haha. ha. ]

Sounds like a solid plan. Once those aerial guns AA weapons are gone and their shields are down, we should be able to pay 'em back at least a little bit while also getting everyone else back in the air.

[bi_otic]

Well, dealing with the AA guns is up to the people down there, but...I have faith in them. They already restored communications. Most of what we've had to do up here is make sure we're ready to move.

According to our informant, though, the Vieziri are planning some kind of ritual to...wake the planet up? Do you have any idea what that's about?

[Video]

[goldenglasses]

Hey! Great to hear from you! [He wants to ask how the fleet is. What damage they had, if they lost anyone, were they doing alright, but this is not the time or place to discuss on what could be an open channel.]

I hope 'Angel' is alright as well. [She very well might not know the nickname he gave to Kid, but he'll try it out anyway. He was worried about her.]

And I don't suppose those supplies include fresh donuts? [He is not at all serious.] I could really use some of those and decent coffee.

1/2 - voice

[queenmonarch]

[ Yeah no it was...bad. Real bad. Like. Real real. But... That is a convo for later. For now? Well... ]

Sorry, no donuts or coffee. Wasn't expecting to make it in time for breakfast, honestly. [ Amusement is clear in her voice. ] Angel, though... You know, you could ask her yourself.

[ some crackles, background noise as things on their in shift around... ]

2/2 - voice

[lovelylady]

[And here comes Angel's voice roaring over the airwaves, as if nothing ever happened.]

Vash! [She's just as happy to hear from him, too!] Heard ya got yerselves into a right mess. I'm makin' good on a promise, yeah?

[A little softer.]

I'm glad yer safe, mate.

[goldenglasses]

Me? In a mess? [He chuckles.] No way! Not me! I was napping and woke up to a mess! [There's a sudden explosion sounding in the background. Vash continues chattering on like it doesn't matter at all.] I'm just cleaning it up now is all!

Still, pretty disappointed you two can't come down for breakfast. I think you'd be much better company then my current hosts, but I'm working on a way for you to stop by later. Maybe dinner? We could go out for fresh cooked pasta!

[Then in a more serious tone.] I'm glad you're safe too.