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

[radiantwingedone]

Like too much... Ah.

[ Duke did form a habit of using his mana to map things, and.. it's never caused any reaction so far. So he pulls it back in, and peers at the young man. ]

You're sensitive to magic, then? [ Duke will at least physically shield him for now. If magic isn't good around him, then.. a coat will probably have to do. ]

[killedwithlove]

Sort of. No? Yes. Not like a mage.

When Dorian charges the air with mana, sometimes it stings a little. Little zaps. This is like that.

[He reaches towards a spark and jumps when it leaps to him.] Like spark spells.

[radiantwingedone]

I will try to remember not to cast around you, whether it is a.. spark spell or not.

[ ... But please stop collecting spark burns. ]

[killedwithlove]

Spell casting doesn't upset me, or hurt me. I work with mages a lot.

I'm a spirit, so I spend a lot of time with magic.

[radiantwingedone]

[ ... And he had understood he was confusing. Too much mana is like little bites, but it was apparently.. like someone specifics lightning spells. ]

... It stings when someone casts lightning magic, and you get caught with it. [ Did he get it right this time? Also wow, what kind of mage doesn't have friend or foe tags?

He blinks once at spirit. ]

... You're not a spirit of an element, though?

[killedwithlove]

Yes. But also, sometimes, when mages are fighting, the air overcharges with mana and it prickles.

[Cole's spent a lot of time in the middle of mage fights.]

No. I'm not an elemental, I'm a spirit. Of Compassion. Or I was. I'm more than that now.

[radiantwingedone]

Ah. [ So don't carge the air around him that much would work as well.

He blinks a little blankly. ]

Of... compassion. [ And more. ]

You are a different sort of spirit than those at home. [ Which is fascinating, but before he gets distracted by that- ]

Shall we move to somewhere less hazardous?

[killedwithlove]

Yes, Compassion. But I can feel other things too, now. I can get angry! Sometimes I want to punch people in the face. I don't, but I feel like I want to.

[Cole is an odd little duckling.]

Okay. Yes. Why is Pathstone spitting sparks at us?

[radiantwingedone]

That usually is tied to anger. [ At least, in Duke's experience, wanting to hit people is usually tied to anger.

Ah, that. Duke indicates down one hall and basically gets ready to pull up his shielding spell. ]

The shaking earlier. The Pathstone couldn't move out of the way of attacks, so it's sparking.

[killedwithlove]

Yes. I couldn't feel anger as a spirit, but now I can.

Oh.

[He goes to the wall, petting it softly and leaning his head in against the wall.] I'm sorry, Pathstone. I don't know how to protect you.

[radiantwingedone]

[ A good and bad thing. Probably.

... He has no idea how to deal with this. ]

We'll land at the station, and perhaps learn how to fix what sparks. [ Or Duke will find out someone else on this ship knows how to do it and will help them out- ]

[killedwithlove]

I hope we do. I don't know how to fix ships. Or people, when there's holes in them. But I can help mages heal people.

[In theory, anyway.]

[radiantwingedone]

Neither do I - with ships, at least. Aside from healing magic, there are a few simple things that I know how to help people with.

[ He blinks at that. ]

... Compassion for the injured aiding healing along.. would not surprise me.

[killedwithlove]

Water, food, warmth.

[The basic things that make people a little happier and more comfortable.]

[radiantwingedone]

[ An agreeing hum. That generally made things better.

Duke tries to remember where he saw the least amount of sparking so far, and.. that might have been the kitchen.

So he'll twist his normal barrier spell into.. a sort of umbrella, put the blue dome over their heads. ]

The kitchen might be safer than here. [ ... At the very least, there was a place to lurk under a table there. ]

[killedwithlove]

[Cole reaches up and touches the sparking dome, smiling ever so faintly.]

Barrier, bars and shields and shelters.

[Cole relaxes once they're away from the sparking bits.]

[radiantwingedone]

[ Duke idly wonders about the pairing of barriers and bars for a moment, as bars seemed to be a little weird compared to the rest.

Maybe it was bars like bars entry, so it was barriers doing all these things.

Oh well, Duke keeps the spell up on the walk to the kitchen. While there is a little bit of sparking, its only in one corner and thus much easier to avoid. ]

[killedwithlove]

[Cole promptly sits up on the table, legs swinging idly and out of kilter with any normal rhythm.]

I haven't met you before. You're a mage. Do you use spirits to do magic?

[radiantwingedone]

[ Duke frowns a little at the idea of using spirits for magic, before shaking his head. ]

The spirits of my world were only recently formed, when I left. The magic I use flowed freely about the world, and through study, mages learn to direct it into spells.

[ A pause, and he might as well be extra polite. ]

My name is Duke.

[killedwithlove]

I'm Cole. I'm not recently formed. Spirits take a long time to become spirits.

... or maybe they don't. Solas says they do.

[radiantwingedone]

The spirits of home were made, which is likely the main difference. But that world is better off for having them.

[ There's... a bit of unease when he says it. It hadn't been his choice of paths, but.. it was likely better. Probably. ]

[killedwithlove]

[Cole hums and hugs himself.]

Not my choice, my way, but maybe a better way, if they can just see the bigger picture...

People aren't bad. Most of them just do their best.

[He reaches out to touch Duke's shoulder lightly]

Even the ones who hurt people are hurting.

[radiantwingedone]

... I would agree with perhaps half-

[ But then Cole adds that last bit, and Duke isn't quite sure how to take it. There are quite a few options, and so he decides to push them aside. He doesn't shrug out of that light touch, but he is a little uncomfortable with it. ]

... Does being a spirit of compassion mean you are aware of the sufferings and misfortunes of others? [ Unless Cole has been talking with people that ... aren't here, Duke can't figure out where that came from. ]

[killedwithlove]

Yes.

I feel the hurt, see the memories and shapes and scars.

[He drops his hand away.]

You did what you thought was right. It wasn't. But you thought it was and that does matter.

[radiantwingedone]

[ He's... not entirely surprised. Spirits are beings beyond anything else, so... Well, he just didn't think hard on it.

There's a bitter hint of a smile. ]

I was also very angry. A great deal of things seem right then, when they wouldn't otherwise.