Alert! Alert!

[thespaceopera]

[bright and early one Sunday morning, proximity alarms begin to blare. could it be another set of disorienting malfunctions?

no... this one is for real. the Drift Fleet is under attack!

any ship with a scanning array will pick up a small swarm of ships--roughly the same caliber as the ships in your fleet--swooping in fast from distant space. any pilot, engineer, or communications officer who remembers those strange blips in the radar over the last several months can confirm that this is that very same group that's been following them. this time, they're not leaving room for negotiations, and they will not respond to any hailing or threats. they are on a mission.

within minutes, weapons are live, and the fleet is fired upon. suddenly, the casual drifting of the fleet turns into something much more real, and much more dangerous.

do you follow your augment's call and run to your station? do you flee your responsibilities? do you wish you could help and can't? are the captains leading or floundering, and are their crews even listening?

for a few terrifying moments, the fleet will be hammered, and Atroma is silent. you are all on your own, dear passengers. your little ships are not prepared for this, you have not been trained--and your enemies have no such trouble. a few ships are even shot down, forced to make crash-landings on nearby stations.

things look grim as the terribly-outmatched little fleet fights to defend itself... until the attacking fleet suddenly turns and bolts back into the darkness without warning.

maybe the attack was a warning. maybe they were just testing you. maybe something frightened them off.

whatever the reason, you are all left beaten and confused, without explanation at all.]


ooc post → here
this is a little event to kick off April! and it is essentially a glorified themed mingle, so there is no rush to reply to this immediately. the outcomes of the ships have been predetermined, based on the augments of the crews. all of that information and more (including info for people on hiatus and who wish to opt-out) can be found on the ooc post as well.

flourish or buckle under the pressure, help or hinder, and most importantly-- have fun!

Comments

closed to Wonderduck;

[idealistic]

during the attack;

[ the sirens rose some red flags on their own, but the moment Lloyd was thrown off his feet from impact, he knew there was definitely trouble out there. they're under attack, and with no sort of defense besides the shields, they may as well be true sitting ducks.

and with the vital equipment as good as vulnerable... ]

Dammit--! [ without a second thought, he makes a break for the engine room. the shields and life support are there, and if anything were to happen to those... well, that's not something Lloyd should be thinking about. he moves as fast as he can, getting thrown off his feet again (maybe he bumped into your character as that happened or on the way there?) before finally opening the hatch for the engine room.

he could only hope that the shields will hold long enough for them to get out of there... ]

after the attack;

[ and yet somehow, it's over. Lloyd doesn't need any sort of special scanner to tell him that the Wonderduck got hit pretty badly. thankfully none of the life support was hit, which he has Kaneis to thank for, but Lloyd can tell that he has his work cut out for him when they land at the nearest whatever.

fixing the outer damage isn't his main concern right now, though. he stumbles out of the engine room, a bit bruised here and there but otherwise alright. his main concern is the crew: even if the ship didn't get hit as bad as most others, there's still the concern for his crewmates-- if Lloyd ended up as banged up as he did, then who knows how the others fared. ]

Is everyone alright?!

During!

[wilder]

[When the sirens blared, Kaneis went straight to the cockpit. Fortunately, your pilot has actually been practicing a lot with his augment- it was always fun to him. Now it looks like the fun is paying off. He's doing his very best to make evasive maneuvers with the ship. Though considering the ship's not exactly a fighter jet- it's not 100% evasion]

[He slaps on the comm system towards the engine room]

Lloyd! You down there?!

[idealistic]

Whoa--

[ he nearly loses balance again as he makes it to the engine room, but he recovers quickly. a cursory glance at the machinery tells him that everything looks fine, but Lloyd's been working around the machines long enough to know that cursory glances are not enough. delicacy is key, and this is far from delicate.

he hears Kaneis's voice crackle through just as he starts looking through the life supports, and he responds without pause. ]

Just made it! [ so far so good... looks like the life support wasn't hit, but Lloyd will need to doublecheck on that. ] How's it looking out there?!

[wilder]

Oh you know, like someone's trying to kill us!

[Always the optimist, this one. The ship gives another sharp turn again, and there's some shaking as a shot grazes the hull]

Look- I'll cut to the point- is there any way you can give me more mobility to work with? It's real hard to dodge right now with how slow we're moving!

[idealistic]

Gimme a sec--!

[ he's cut off from the shaking, which causes some of the spare parts in the engine room to fall over. he just barely manages to avoid it that time, thank goodness. he stumbles over to the controls, looking over the panels for anything that'll help this ship move faster.

maybe if he added some more juice... ]

I'll try to put in more thrust to the engines, but it's gonna take a bit; just try to keep 'em off us as long as you can! The shields should hold up long enough!

[wilder]

I'll do what I can- but try to hurry!

[But that's all he says as he goes back to flying. Which- kinda flying like a maniac- at least trying to weave around the different ships in the fleet to evade being locked on targeting wise. ]

[idealistic]

On it!

[ Lloyd knows not to worry too much: he's seen Kaneis fly off with the shuttles a couple of times before, so he can place his faith in his piloting abilities. meanwhile, he starts moving, directing the commands in the panels to put more fuel into the engines while keeping an eye on the shields. they're only at basic level, so they're weakening quicker than he'd like...

thankfully after about a minute or so of weaving, the engines are ready and flaring up, brighter than they were before. there should be an indicator light going off by Kaneis, letting him know the engines are ready. ]

There! [ he turns to the comm where Kaneis's voice is coming from. ] Go Kaneis, go!

[wilder]

[Yep that light sure catches his attention and makes him grin as he starts flipping switches to let the ship have that boost of speed]

Aha- Love ya! Now everybody? Hold onto something!

[In the next moment, they can feel the ship start to speed up a good amount as he continues evading the attacks. It sure isn't an easy ride, but there sure is a stop to impacts against the shield and hull.]

[idealistic]

[ the warning gets to Lloyd too late and he falls back, landing hard into more spare parts. it felt like it will bruise, but it's nothing Lloyd can't handle, so he recovers as much as he can to check on the vitals.

so far so good... he's not feeling any more hits, but he has to make sure. ]

How's it looking out there?!

[wilder]

[Whoops sorry lloyd. He tried to say something]

They're still firing- but we're moving fast enough to avoid most of it!

[Sure, the occasional skim here and there- but not nearly the pounding they were getting before]

Other ships aren't doing as well. I don't think they can leave autopilot

You alright down there?

[idealistic]

A little banged up, but I'm fine.

[ it's definitely not the worst thing he felt, especially since it didn't quite top Forcystus's blast to his back. there's a pause before Lloyd clicks his tongue. dammit... he would love to help those ships, but with their shields already so weak and with no guns...

...they still have to do something, though! ]

Damn... Is there any way we can distract them so those ships can get awa--

[ Lloyd doesn't get a chance to finish that sentence before oops, a stray shot manages to hit one of the wing engines dead on. it's damaged, but still able to burn fire. as much as he'd love to, Lloyd doesn't immediately move to asses the damage.

kind of hard to when you're half-buried under scrap metal and spare parts. ]

[wilder]

- Shit!

[The engine being hit causes the ship to start trying to spin out of control from suddenly not having two engines to stabilize it. Excuse Kaneis as he frantically tries to make sure they don't accidentally collide into someone else as he tries to recover]

Shit- those asses!

After

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer had been knocked around a lot during the attack- however, she'd managed to escape relatively unscathed, as she'd made an effort to stay out of everyone's way. Combat was not her area of expertise... cleaning up after the damage was.

She headed to the engine room first, figuring Lloyd would be there, and held out a hand to catch him if he needed it.]

Hey- you hurt?

[idealistic]

[ he had to take a moment to breathe. he's used to constantly moving without so much of a breather, but being in a state of relaxation for several months and then this happens? yeah, he needs it.

especially with how banged up he looks thanks to all those spare parts flying about. probably the biggest concern is that gash on his head. it looks awfully swollen. despite this, Lloyd gives Jennifer a tired but reassuring smile. ]

Heh, kinda... Least it's not the worst I went through.

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer spots the gash, hoping there's not a concussion.]

You've got a pretty big cut on your head, though. I'd like to take care of that before you go anywhere else. Does anything hurt?

[idealistic]

--Huh? I do?

[ he brings a hand to his forehead and, ah-- yep, that sure is a sting. he flinches withdrawing his hand to find blood stained on his fingers.

well. that sure is a thing. ] I just feel kinda sore. I didn't even feel that.

[forsometimenow]

[She nods, leaning in closer to examine it.]

That's the adrenalin rush, most likely- you're going to feel that wound once it wears off. Come on- I'll get you to the medbay.

[idealistic]

Man, does it really look that bad? [ he knows that was quite a bit of blood on his gloves but jeez. ] Alright, just gimme a sec--

[ Lloyd stumbles a little when he moves to stand, a hand going to his head. he's a little woozy and he's certainly feeling it, which could definitely say something about his current condition: if it weren't for his Exsphere, he probably wouldn't even be conscious right now. ]

[forsometimenow]

[Jennifer quickly stepped in and threw an arm around Lloyd to support him.]

It does... if I had my way I'd have you lying down in your bunk, but I'm guessing you might not have that luxury if things are bad. Do we know any details beyond "we were attacked" yet?

[idealistic]

[ he appreciates it! he tries not to lean on her too much to not overwhelm her, but he still throws an arm around her shoulders so that he could use her as support. ]

Um… Kinda. I know one of the engines is busted, but we can still fly. Nothing else got hit too badly. [ he made sure of it, especially with the life support. ]

[forsometimenow]

[And Jennifer's prepared for that, happy to help him toward the infirmary and lean on her as much as he needs to. She inspects the head wound more closely as they approach the infirmary, already mentally running through treatment options.]

So we've still got life support and such- that's a good thing. I hope the other ships are okay... this attack kinda came out of nowhere and disappeared just as fast. Have you seen or heard from anyone else on the ship yet?

[She wants to keep Lloyd talking, hoping he doesn't have a concussion, which is something she unfortunately can't discern right away.]

[idealistic]

Mmn…

[ it actually takes him a bit for him to answer that for reasons unknown to him (hint: concussion), though the other ships are certainly in his thoughts. some of them were luckier than his was, with the sounds of their guns that he was able to hear from the engine room. some, not so much: he's pretty sure some of the ships either lacked a pilot, a security person, or both. no doubt they got hit harder than most.

but he's sure they're fine. they have to be. ]

I was talking to Kaneis during the attack-- we were working together to try to get the ship outta the way. I ran into the other guy-- [ Koujaku ] --while I was headed to the engine room.

I think… the only person I didn't talk to was the Captain. But she's asleep.

[forsometimenow]

[The delay in his answer wasn't a good sign. Jennifer frowned as she helped Lloyd sit down once in the medbay, quickly washing her hands and snapping on some gloves before going through the medical supplies they had, looking for something to clean the wound out.

However, she paused at that last sentence.]

I'm glad to hear the others are okay, but... you said asleep? How could someone sleep during an attack? [She then turns back toward him, dabbing something from a bottle onto a cloth.] This might sting, by the way- I'm going to clean out that cut before I stitch it.

during aka i have no fuckin idea what im doing

[hairkink]

[ talk about a shitty introduction to his new ship. koujaku hasn't even had time to acclimate himself, and he's all but lost when he (literally) runs into lloyd while trying to find somewhere appropriate for him to be.

the ship rocks and koujaku grabs onto some protruding metal bar above his head, reaches for Lloyd with the other when he gets thrown off his feet and props him up again. ]

Whoa! You alright? [ what's going on. where are you going. deets, man, deets. ]

[idealistic]

[ well thank you kind stranger. he didn't anticipate being caught, but he also didn't anticipate being thrown off his feet either, so he very much appreciates it. ]

Thanks! [ he nods in appreciation. wow what a cool-looking dude ] I'm fine, but I gotta get to the engine room now.