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 Paisley;

[dadlife]

[DURING THE ATTACK]

Tay! Lioriley!

[Yeah, angry!dad is running through the ship that keeps shaking with damage every few seconds. He expects Tay to be dodging them, so he's going to the bridge first to check where she is. As long as she is where she needs to be, he's running to the medbay to find Lior.]

[invigorates]

[ the blaring sirens seem to be troubling the elf far worse than the incoming attacks. each loud ring in her ears makes her wince, but she powers through it long enough to find her way out of the medbay and into the corridors of the ship to search for her crewmates.

it's there that she runs into joel - probably more literally than figuratively. ]

Joel! [ she chirps out quickly, pressing her palm to the wall when another shot rattles the ship. ] Have you seen the others? Is everyone alright?

[dadlife]

[he crashes into her and pretty much immediately grabs her shoulders to steady her, a look of grave seriousness on his face.]

Everybody else should be in the bridge. You gotta get somewhere safe, you can't treat anybody if you get hurt, too.

[which means he's taking her arm and dragging her off to his room where he can basically make a padded cover for her with the chairs.]

[invigorates]

[ does he expect her to just sit there, waiting and cowering until this assault is done with? ]

I am not the one you need concern yourself with! [ if she gets hurt she should just be able to heal herself. so far as she's aware no one else on this ship has that ability - especially not joel. ] You do not intend to leave me here, do you? Joel!

[dadlife]

What're you gonna do while they're workin'? There's nothin' for us to do but wait this out.

[he's not... leaving her, at least. he doesn't have any idea how to work the fucking guns on this ship either and tay's gonna be doing some evasive maneuvering.]

[invigorates]

[ she... has no argument for that. what would she do while they're working? stand there and worry? she is all but useless in this moment.

she bites her lip, frowning heavily. ]

...Very well.

[dadlife]

I'm stayin' here, too. Just keep your head by the cushions in case Tay does some kinda loop, if you get knocked out we're even more fucked.

[invigorates]

[ she seems pleased to hear that joel is at least staying with her. she would have worried if everyone was out there running around like idiots. ]

I would suggest taking your own advice, as well.

[dadlife]

... I'm fine.

[and then he. has to catch himself on something because evasive maneuvers.]

[invigorates]

[ way to go, idiot.

not that lioriley is any better - she all but falls flat on her ass when the ship jerks. but her attention seems to be more focused on him, ]

Are you certain of that? [ that would have been sassy as hell if this were literally anyone else. ]

[dadlife]

Alright, that's it.

[c'mere lior we're gonna make a fort out of this furniture in the corner so we have somewhere to crash into.]

[invigorates]

[ she can get down with that. not like she has any other options at the moment - aside from trying to escape to go and help but... there's nothing much she can really do still. this sucks.

now what... ]

[dadlife]

[now we sit here and ride out tay and koltira's teamwork. alex is probably... doing something to help idefk]

You're not already hurt, right?

[invigorates]

[ yeaaaah teamwork.

lioriley shakes her head. ] I will be fine. [ the worst thing so far has been the initial sound of the alarms. her ears are still ringing. ] What of you?

[dadlife]

Bruise, maybe two. Nothin' to worry about.

[he is less tense being this close to her right now than he was just getting healed. he's almost more comfortable being in a high-risk situation.]

[invigorates]

[ easier said than done. lioriley worries enough for the entire universe.

suddenly, another shot is fired from the enemy fleet and shakes the entire ship shakes. lioriley instinctively grabs a hold of joel - either to steady him should he fall (that's hilarious, considering their massive weight differences here), or herself. kind of debatable. ]

Have we any idea the reason behind this attack? [ she asks, if given the chance. ]

[whereivebeen]

[ Tay was asleep, so you've got a lanky half-dressed angel speeding into the cockpit shortly after the first shudder. Man, get some adrenaline going, right? ]

BATTLE STATIONS, PEOPLE! [ shouted at the top of her lungs as she skids through the door and flings herself into the pilot's seat, taking the ship out of autopilot and employing evasive maneuvers. ]

[dadlife]

[thank fucking god]

I'm gettin' Lioriley somewhere safe; we won't be much use in a battle like this!

[he's yelling so he doesn't have to take her attention away.]

[whereivebeen]

Hold on to something and don't get hurt!

[ Thank god she's got at least one person on this ship she knows can handle a crisis. ]

[dadlife]

Ain't gotta tell me twice.

[aaaand he's off!! he'll come check on her when the damage is done.]

[respired]

[Rolling his eyes as he follows after her.]

You and I are the only ones with a 'battle station'.

[He takes his position at the guns. Ordinarily, he'd question how the controls feel so familiar, how he seems to know, innately, what to do -- but he's not going to think about the thing in his neck now. More important matters at hand.]

Let's go.

[whereivebeen]

Fucking hell, we need to run drills for the rest of 'em.

[ She flips switches and eyes the radar and doesn't even bother being weirded out by how instinctive this all is - this is an emergency, if she's gonna be freaked, she can do it on her own time. ]

We don't have shields, so I've gotta keep us dodging, think you can handle that?

[respired]

I have no issue.

[The knowledge is there, so he just lets it wash over him. It's a good distraction from his mounting agitation; from the prickles of pain constantly running along his nerves. He lets his fingers work as they will, and uses his own skill as a tracker, as a strategist, to guide the guns. It works well.]

[respired]

[Koltira races by Joel, going in the opposite direction -- towards the gunnery. He barely stops to talk, but he does growl aloud.]

This augment can finally be of use.

[dadlife]

Make it count.

[he sounds serious and gruff when he responds, and he's rushing off to find lioriley.]