driftfleet | Alert! Alert!

[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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She's so annoyed her mouth almost pops open automatically to give him an angry response.

Then she presses her lips together and scowls at him, trying to decide what would be the shortest possible answer.]

...Errands.

[Succinct and covered a wide range of possible elicit acticities.]

[ah, yes. 'errands'. he knows exactly what that means.]

Would you rather be doing that right now?

[She does not look helpless. That slightly lost look that flashes over her face didn't actually happen.

It was his imagination.

She firms her face back into carelessness again, because just because she has no idea how to go about taking care of Errands here - and just because there was no one to run Errands for - didn't mean she couldn't do it for herself!

She is not scared or confused about being here, and you couldn't possibly know otherwise. Hence her defiant, angry chin-thrust.]

[and he, likewise, does not look at all like he's figured something out.

he glances down, though. thinking. she gets a moment without scrutiny before he moves his legs, sits forward in his chair instead of lounging. all of his annoyance is gone, replaced with calm.]

Let me ask you an honest question. Right now, would you rather be home, or here?

[Home! Obviously!

She's on a space ship with no idea how she got here, no understanding of her current situation and no one to tell her what to do! She's stuck without a purpose or a reason for being and absolutely no one who will appreciate her Art.

And on top of that there is no Silent Friend, and no access to candy that she can find!

This is ruining her life! But all does is glare at him.]

Home.

Then I want to make this as painless for you as possible.

[her venom appears lost on him. he just absorbs it into his smile.]

I want us to get along while you're here. And I want you to have something to do, so you don't spend all of your time feeling bored and useless. You know?

[She looks a little more thoughtful, and takes her feet off of the consul.

Leaning forward, she tilts her head just a little bit. Go on, mister captain.

How tempting can you really be, hm?]

[pretty tempting.]

Well, what do you like? Fetching? Espionage? Mercenary work?

[All of the above. She perks up a little bit more with each offer, pulling a stand of her long hair between her fingers thoughtfully.

She knew very well which one she enjoyed the most, though.]

Mercenary.

Well, then, this could be very easy.

[he presses his hand to his chest, indicating himself.]

You aren't a big fan of talking, I'm not a big fan of having to do things for other people. How about you and I make an arrangement where I gather you as many jobs to your liking as I can find in the system, and you get to keep busy for as long as you're interested.

[Jinx's suspicion is too ingrained for her to trust this largess.

What's the catch, Captain? She knows for a fact that there's gotta be more in it for him than he was saying. Exactly what kinds of work was he gonna get for her, anyway?

She narrows her eyes, trying to find the answers to her questions in his face. Something here was too damn easy.]

The catch is that you're going to have to be a part of this crew, and put up with my orders.

Which-- [he leans back again, stretching...] Ask any one of the other people on this ship, and they'll tell you that I'm a big enough pain in the ass for this to be an even trade.

[She mulls that over, twining her hair around and around her fingers while she thinks.

There's little actual downside here. Because, at any given time, she can just... stop again. So until she finds a more suitable Boss, she can wait and be entertained.

The smile she gives him is the most sincere - and with enough time he'll surely learn that means it's her fakest.]

Captain.

Tch'. That'll do...

[it's almost too suddenly cheesy for him to believe. he keeps his suspicions to himself, for the moment.]

And hey, the more you do your job, the less I have to crowd in on your space and obnoxiously check messages over your shoulder.

[Jinx learned rather quickly that she was sweet-faced enough to get away with a great many things when she used it to her advantage. It just wasn't often her preferred form of manipulation.

A small head-bob. Fine, she could do these things. He'd better find her something interesting real quick, though.]

Alert! Alert!

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