sooner or later, god'll cut you down.

[thespaceopera]

Who: Everyone
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Lato'li's orbit and also planetside.
When: Forward dated to 11/15.

[The Interceptor Fleet moves into position, waiting for the last few shield generators to fall. And in the early hours of the 15th, they do. The shield dissolves with a blip as if it was never there, leaving the man-eaters as prone as their prey. The Interceptors send out a transmission-- an unholy mix of Cockney and Australian that graces every available communicator-- if they answer it.]

We’re firin’! Do yer worst, Vieziri! We’re gonna kick yer sorry arses so hard you’ll kiss the moons!

[Five Interceptor ships swoop out of the dark and unload their various weaponry onto the Vieziri warships. At the same time, people stranded on the planet below ready the anti-aircraft guns onto their makers. And of course there is the Fleet itself, battered and yet beautiful across the velvet sky, as they fire everything they have.

Now the Vieziri start moving. Though the big red ship can’t do much maneuvering, the rest of the Vieziri warships certainly can. They fire back at the Interceptors and whoever else fires at them, willing to defend their leader and lose their lives in the process.

Luckily, the Interceptors have their own daring ships, which may look familiar to those who were here for the raider attack. One is emblazoned with racing stripes and flames all along the hull, and it moves so fast it nearly enters hyperspace. It’s there and gone in a flash, weaving past the enemy in crazy thrillseeking loops. Still another Interceptor ship is painted red and orange with a gold plate near the front, which reads BAMF with no explanation. This one has guns aplenty and easily weathers any duel it gets into. The third Interceptor ship is beautiful gold and black, sleek as hell and engineered with sense; this one packs the most gadgets and formidable guns of all calibers, and appears to do the most damage. Trailing behind is a much smaller ship, so nondescript it almost doesn’t stand out at all-- that is, until it forms a barrier to absorb some oncoming fire and reflect it back at the Vieziri.

There’s one ship that’s missing, though-- the one that was blown up several months ago after the heist. In its place is a small black ship that runs invisible to radar, sweeping past with silent speed as it lets loose a barrage of photon missiles onto the Vieziri flagship.

Down below, the Vieziri come out in full force-- one last stand before the warlord falls, trying to finish their fell rituals. Some of them rush the encampments, some go for the cities. Near the restored comms tower, a cloaked figure with a plain white mask fights their way through the onslaught using a plasma blade and a laser rifle.

After an hours-long siege, the big warship finally takes too much fire and breaks apart, lighting up the sky with falling shards like stars. The biggest debris burns up in orbit, but little pieces still rain down. It signals the end as the Vieziri begin to retreat both on ground and in the air. The loss of their leadership leaves them scattered and panicked.

The Fleet has won the day, but as the sun rises again over the wreckage, there is still plenty of work to be done.]

[ooc: Feel free to assume the Interceptors are helping your ships! The gold and black ship can be hailed and will give responses, as she’s been the main point of contact during this plot. You can also run into Zhade, though tags will be slow for both accounting for RL things. Please mark Zhade or Interceptors in the header of your toplevel if you’d like NPC interaction.

Any questions should be asked on the plot post for phase two.]

Comments

C

[asphodels]

[ Zack and Cloud might have wanted her to avoid the main conflict, but Aerith has never quite been able to run away from a fight. It means she was there to help, casting Ice magic and standing to the side, careful and sure of herself; her main task is a healer and she knows it, recognising where her strengths lie, and that's what she wants to do. When the battle is coming to an end and people stop to take care of themselves, she wanders around to check in on people - and that's when she spots Riona.

Walking over, she gasps quietly, bending down and taking the woman's arm. ]

Oh, just - don't move.

[ The Cure materia isn't the strongest magic she's used, but she focusses all the same. The injury is painful, and she can help it seal up, but it'll be sore for a long while. The body can only heal so much with magic; the rest has to be done by itself. After she's done, Aerith takes the fabric and wraps Riona's arm gently, lifting her head to smile. ]

There. Much better!

[bryces_pup]

[Thank the Maker, an actual healer. Bless your heart for helping her, Aerith. Because wrapping a gunshot wound with a dirty cloth is up there on the list of really stupid ideas.]

Yes ma'am.

[Riona keeps still, watching quietly as Aerith's magic - which is somehow connected to the small little ball she has there ?? - patches up her wound. Already the pain begins to ease, allowing Riona's muscles to relax from the wound state they were in. When Aerith finishes bandaging it, Riona smiles.]

Thank you very much. I didn't know you were a healer.

[asphodels]

[ Aerith just smiles, her expression soft and gentle. ]

It's no trouble. I like to be able to help.

[ After years of running and hiding from the Turks she's glad she can actually make herself useful. It's not the same as the strength she worked up to at home, but it's enough to help Riona, and that makes her feel better. It mean that Zack and Cloud believe in her as well, and that fills her with a kind of happiness she can't express. ]

It's because of the materia that Zack gave me. [ She motions to the small green orb. ] The spell is called 'Cure' and it's healing magic. Anyone who has the orb can use the magic, but I've always been better at using magic than other people.

[bryces_pup]

Is that what that little thing is? [Riona peers at it curiously. Mages back home channel their magic through the Fade. Granted, she's been here long enough to know that's not always the case for everyone everywhere else, but this is the first she's seen someone channel magic through an actual object.] A materia. And you say anyone who has one can use magic through it?

[asphodels]

Yes. [ It's no issue for her to move and show it to Riona, to offer a smile and a nod of her head. It's magic that anyone can use so she knows it's surprising for some people - she's been learning that magic isn't so easily gained in other worlds. ] The more you use it the stronger it gets, too. It trains and grows with you, so it's a good idea to keep them with you even if you don't think you'll need it.

[bryces_pup]

It grows stronger with you? How odd. But I suppose rather useful. [If also not a bit potentially dangerous. Get enough powerful materia gathered, and a person could be almost nigh unstoppable, or so how she sees it, anyway.] What other kinds of materia are there? Do you have ones that cast flames and ice and the like?

[asphodels]

It's magic. I don't think it's meant to be normal, is it? [ Materia had been a rare and wonderful thing in the slums and seeing SOLDIERs with it had been... Scary, she supposes, especially when she didn't know any of them. Tilting her head, she grins, nodding. ] Yes! I have an Ice one here, and there was Fire and Thunder at home, as well as rarer spells.

[bryces_pup]

Generally speaking, no, but comparatively speaking I'd argue yes. But honestly, anything that differs between worlds is going to be considered strange.

[As the unknown and different so often is.]

Sounds a bit similar to Thedas's magic. How does one come to acquire a materia in your world? Are they very common?

[asphodels]

You're right. Magic is normal for me, but not people having it. I'm still learning so much.

[ And she's clearly glad at the chance to learn it, even if Riona's question has her pausing to hum, thoughtful. ]

It's common for some people, not for others. People in SOLDIER have it more, but you can buy it if you have the money.

[bryces_pup]

And some people don't have it in their worlds at all. Now isn't that bizarre?

[Again, comparatively speaking, but it's so hard for Riona to imagine an entire world that exists without some kind of magic in it.]

So it's something that can be purchased. I imagine rather expensive.

[asphodels]

It seems strange when you're so used to it.

[ Magic is just a part of the world, and her own power of healing is natural to her as well. She can imagine a world without Materia, but their journey would have been harder. ]

It depends on the magic. Fire, Thunder and Ice are cheaper than some of the others because they're rarer.

[bryces_pup]

[Would Thedas be better off without magic? It's hard to say. The mages wouldn't suffer as they do, but magic has many benefits as well. She'd likely be dead if it weren't for magic. The large scar on her chest remains as testament to that.]

Makes sense. [Just the same as anything else.] So where does this materia come from? Is it somehow made?

[asphodels]

[ Materia is often only as dangerous as the hands that use it. Aerith carries the Ice materia Zack and Cloud gave her, but she'd never use it to harm someone unless she had to. Perhaps it's the same for other people, in other worlds. ]

It's made from Mako, which is a part of the planet's Lifestream, or spirit energy. It flows around the world and when it becomes a crystal it becomes Materia.

[bryces_pup]

Your planet has a soul?

[That's what she's getting from "spirit energy". Unless it has something to do with actual spirits? Is it like the Fade, she wonders, but rather than a place it's like a... river, she supposes, based on Aerith saying it "flows".

...so many questions.]

[asphodels]

Hm... It's not really a soul, I don't think. It's the essence of the planet, it's heart, and it carries the emotions and memories of everyone that's lived on it.

[ But that's making her question, and she taps her chin, thoughtful. ]

It's part of the planet. Maybe... It's more like it's heart? The planet loves everyone, and when people die they return to Lifestream.

[bryces_pup]

So not a soul in itself, but it carries the souls of people.

[Fascinating. And at least it means you know how you wind up when you die, unlike in her world.]

And yet it's an actual physical thing that can crystallize and you can make Materia that has magic in it from those crystals. Huh.

[asphodels]

It's like a river, and the planet gives us its power. We're supposed to take care of it in return, but people had forgotten that.

[ She frowns, shaking her head. ]

They can't hear the Planet. They don't understand.

[bryces_pup]

You can hear the planet speaking? [How does a planet talk??] Or... is it the souls of the people in that river that you hear?

[asphodels]

I hear the Planet. It speaks to me - just like the last two planets did when they sang. [ She breathes out softly. ] But when I was in the Lifestream I could hear a lot more.

[bryces_pup]

[Well that's all very strange and she considers asking her to clarify, until she mentions being in the Lifestream. Given what she was just told, it doesn't take Riona long to put the pieces together.]

You're... [O h] I'm so sorry, Aerith.

[asphodels]

[ It doesn't surprise her that someone put the pieces together, and all she does is smile, shaking her head. ]

It's okay. I'm not alone, and I can watch Cloud and make sure all my friends are safe.

[bryces_pup]

[That doesn't seem like a particularly okay thing to her, but it seems Aerith has made peace with it, so she won't push the subject.]

Well, at least you have both your boys here and have a chance to spend more time with them. Did they make it through everything okay?

[asphodels]

Mhm. Cloud helped save the Planet, with our friends.

[ It's better not to talk about Zack, she thinks. She had years to get used to that pain, that loss, but it's still a little sore. Being with him in the Lifestream was fine, and being here with him was lovely too, but some things never heal properly. ]

[bryces_pup]

[She had actually meant how they fared with the cannibal world, but she hadn't specified and that's on her. So she'll roll with it.]

Good. You had mentioned people weren't taking care of it. Did it have something to do with that?

[asphodels]

[ Aerith is a little bit too nostalgic to notice and just nods her head. ]

There were people turning the Lifestream into energy to power the Planet, but they were killing it at the same time. Another man... He thought that he was an Ancient and had to protect the Planet from a calamity, but... He called it down instead. Cloud stopped them both, in the end.