driftfleet | in the shadow of the skyline

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in the shadow of the skyline

[ The Drift Fleet and the Interceptors are an overwhelming force when combined - they may look like a ragtag bunch of ships, but they sure do pack a punch, and the Vieziri are feeling it... Especially the flagship.

It explodes gloriously, nothing but scraps and shambles and metallic debris left in the wake of so much combined fire and heavy artillery. From there, it isn't long until the Vieziri retreat - unorganized. Panicked. Easy to pick off, should anyone choose to not let them get away. Those on the surface find out very quickly what's happened to their warlord, and they flee as well, deep into the jungles and far out of sight. With no leader, they have no plans, and they stand no chance. They won't be a threat anytime soon - or really, for a long while, if ever again.

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The Interceptors land on Lato'li, just outside the largest city their scanners can find, and they set themselves up for a short stay. They can help here, and so they will. They also know that those in the Fleet still have so many questions... and after all they've been through, well, maybe they can figure out how to answer some of them - if they even have the answers at all. No reason not to try, right?

And Zhade? Alive, against all odds - and grateful. To all of you. Stop by and see them before they find their way off this rock. Hell, maybe you can help them convince a certain fleet of crazy ships with crazy guns and crazy people to take on another passenger...~ ]

(( ooc: The battle is over, and the plot has come to an end. ♥ There are some more details for the aftermath at the bottom of the previous info post - if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask us!

You may use this post as an aftermath mingle! All ships are back in orbit (unless you really want to still be stuck and require a tractor-beam tow) and the Vieziri have been driven off! They are still out there in the jungles, lurking, but they will be leaving the Fleet alone. It is safe to visit the planet freely.

There will be top-level comments for The Interceptors - Namely, Angel and Monarch - as well as Zhade, if anyone wishes to speak with any of them in a non-rushed setting, face-to-face. Now is your chance to ask questions, get answers, swap information, anything at all! Dig, dig, dig! There is no time limit - we will continue the threads as necessary. ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Great, thanks.

I guess my first question is, how did you get free of Atroma in the first place? I mean...my first guess would be something to do with the augments? Reverse engineering them maybe?

[ Man, he had to start there... She winces a little, knowing he's not going to like what she has to say, and sighs. ]

Okay, so that's one of the things I can't afford to get incredibly specific about. I'm sorry. Just... It took a lot of time, and a lot of planning. And you're right, we definitely... messed with the augments. Not exactly reverse engineering, but close enough. And it was not easy, and it did not go smoothly at all. We ran into so many problems - and we... definitely paid a huge price for it.

[ She looks more and more tense as she speaks, and then... sad. She sighs again, shakes her head in an attempt to not get so melancholy while they're trying to have a productive conversation. ]

So - long story short, we messed with the augments, waited for cover and interference from a massive nebula, found a way to cut communications, Marsiva safety protocols, and control, and got the hell out of there as fast as we could with everything and everyone we had left.

[That's...considerably worrying. ]

I guess messing with things attached to people's heads that we already know does some bad stuff when you so much as touch them was always going to go badly. I figured there'd be..casualties.

[He feels for her, he does. He offers an encouraging smile/ ]

Well, that explains why you guys shoved us in that Nebula once. Cuts us off completely from them, huh? That's...handy to know. Thanks.

I... I don't suppose you know what happens to the people who vanish? The popular theory is they go back home, but the vibe I'm getting from Atroma is that it's...not that.

Yeah, some from that, some during the actual escape. Our fleet used to be much larger than it is now.

[ She remembers every single person lost, and she's going to make Atroma pay for each and every one of them. At Sokka's smile, she brings her tone back to something more even, at least - especially at the memory of when they knocked them into said nebulas that one time~ ]

No problem. Nebulas are annoying as hell to fly through, but they've got their advantages, that's for sure.

As for people who vanish... We don't have any definitive evidence that they go back home, and I don't think it'd be possible to get any. But from what we've seen, that's gotta be what's happening. They're not just keeping them on the flagship, that would use resources they don't want to waste. And anyway, sending 'em back home means they can just grab 'em later, if they feel like it. That happened to some people in our fleet a few times.

And anyway, Atroma's the only way to get back home. They're the only ones with that power and technology, and they can use it very freely.

[He files that away for the future. Nebulas ARE a pain in the ass, but if it means they absolutely get under Atroma's radar, well...that's useful. Never know when they might need THAT trick. ]

Oh. So...you guys have never found another way to get out of here? I mean, I've been collecting star charts, hoping that maybe someone will recognise something at some point. But I'm guessing it takes much greater tech than the Fleet has access to, to actually travel to people's home galaxies?

[At least he can be glad that it seems they really ARE going home. That's...something. ]

Believe me, if we found another way back home, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you right now. [ No offense, man, 100% nothing personal, just true facts. ] Whatever fancy-pants trans-dimensional tech Atroma's got, that's everyone's ticket back home, end of story.

...Ugh, I was worried you'd say that. So, the question is now, how do we get it from them?

[Because as fun as this flying around space thing is, he has no intention of doing it forever. ]

Edited 2017-11-21 01:25 (UTC)

[ S a m e, pal. Hard same. ]

Well, I'm in favor of storming into whatever place they're keeping it and forcing our way through. But realistically, we should probably have some sort of plan for that. [ Beat. ] And we should figure out exactly where - and what - it is. Kind of important.

[ Details...... ]

Ugh yeah. As fun as it'd be to storm in, we've got to be smarter than them about this. We need to know exactly what we want, know exactly when they're most vulnerable, get in and out.

...Shame we don't have anyone on the inside. That'd help a ton.

Yeah, it would. I have no idea how we'd get someone on the inside, either - they sure as hell wouldn't accept any of us. We're a fleet full of escapees, and you guys are giving them the hard time they completely deserve. So it'd have to be someone they know nothing about. Which... where would we even find somebody like that?

I dunno. How about people in other planets? I mean, nine times out of ten, they have no idea what Drift Fleet even is and-

[W.A.I.T. ]

You know. We did just rescue someone from his world like...just now. Maybe he could be convinced to help out?

[ Oh. ... Oh. ]

Maybe they could... [ Mmm, but... ] On the other hand, Zhade doesn't appear to know anything about Atroma at all, we'd have to bring them up to speed, assuming we don't just drop them off in the next system over.

And even with all that - can we trust them?

Edited 2017-11-25 23:14 (UTC)

Can we trust anyone? Whoever it would be to get on the inside would have to be an unknown to them, but in doing so, they've have to be relatively unknown to us in the process.

It's not easy, just about anyone could sell us out. But it's an option we might not get again.

Hmm, you've got a good point. Guess we'll have to determine if the potential rewards would outweigh the potential risks... I'll pitch the idea and see what happens. I can keep in contact with you guys about it.

[ Who knows how her Commander's going to feel about this idea... ]

Speaking of contact - that line we've got between us... There's still a risk that Atroma's going to worm their greasy little way into it, so I suggest we continue keeping it brief whenever we have to use it. I mean, nothing funny is happening with it on our end, what about yours?

Great, thanks. Hopefully something good can come out of it, even if it only gets the gears turning for a different idea.

[He nods. ]

Naw, man I get that. We need to make sure they don't hack it. I haven't noticed anything. I think Shiro was the last person to use it, so you could ask him if he picked up on anything.

Shiro. Got it. If I run into him, I'll ask, just to be sure. But at least for now, we know it's secure. At least we've got that going for us...

It's not a lot, but you know what, I'll take it. We need all the breaks we can get, tiny or otherwise.

...But hey, thanks for listening. It's...nice to actually have some answers for a change. How long have you been stuck here?

Don't mention it. If I could give you more, I would.

[ Combination of direct orders, and... well, even the Interceptors don't know everything... ]

Well, I just happen to be one of the lucky ones that's been here since our cycle first started. [ She's so thrilled. Not. ] So for me? Let's see - it was right around three years before we got away, then something like four or five years before your cycle started, and you guys have been around, what, three years? So that makes... Oh, at least ten years. Probably longer.

It's appreciated.

Yeah three years for us. I showed up like...a week or so after this cycle started. [It#s a long time for him, he knows people like Allen, who combined their experiences in places like this and were stuck for SO LONG. ]

...Sorry, that's pretty awful. To be so long away from your home and the people you care about. Guess you have to make your own family out here, right?

So you're pretty much part of the old guard for your fleet, like me with mine, huh?

[ She... actually allows herself to look sad about it, as she nods, sighs heavily. ]

Yeah. And we have - made family, I mean. I'd go through hell and back for my crew. Sometimes, it feels like I already have, no thanks to Atroma. [ Ha. Bit of a smirk there~ ]

But... I miss my husband. It's been way too long.

Pretty much. Lucky us, huh?

[The sarcasm is high here.]

Big round of applause for those guys. But so long as we have one another, that's what matters.

[Oh oh, his smile fades. ]

Yeah...I understand that. It's hard, huh? Being away from them for so long.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

in the shadow of the skyline

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