Is it a conspiracy if it's really happening?

[thespaceopera]

Who: The Interceptor Fleet representatives and any Drift Fleet members who wish to attend
Broadcast: NO. **ALL communicators must be left outside of the meeting place!!**
Action: At the specified meeting point - a clearing in the forest
When: Tonight

[ Before We Begin... ]
[ There's still some time before everything is set to start. The representatives for The Interceptors are already here, of course - you can talk freely to Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, Kid ("Angel"), or Duo Maxwell, if you choose. Answers to any questions you have might get put on hold until during or after the meeting... unless you just want to know more about them and their fleet, personally. That's up to their own discretion~ ]


[ The Game Plan ]
[ Right on time - not even a second after - Dr. Mrs. The Monarch moves to the center to begin. ]

All right. We've got a lot to talk about. So let's get started with what's most important: we've got a way into the Marsiva, and we're gonna take it.

When Duo and I got stuck in there for those damn Calibrations, he set up some explosives to help us get out of there - which wouldn't have worked on its own, but he managed to hit something pretty damn important: the reparative generators. They're still online, but as you probably noticed from the looks of the ship right now, they're not doing so hot. And that's perfect for us. Honestly, if we can locate those and hit 'em again, that'd be all the better for us, wouldn't you think?

The Marsiva's shields... those used to be a huge problem, but apparently our designated Interceptor fleet stowaway got 'em down after you guys helped him get a lock on our location in there - which, thank you for all that, by the way. You guys know who you are. Calibrations could've been... a lot worse otherwise. Anyway, Zhade's pretty damn sure he can do it again. Just needs some time, some backup firepower, and the perfect opening.

That's where you guys are gonna come in. Not sure how long you guys are staying in this system - it's usually about an Earth month or so, right? - but use that time to upgrade your ships, especially the weapons. Probably the shields, too. I don't know, depends on how you wanna run things. Hell, arm yourselves too, 'cause we'll be boarding that thing and taking down who or whatever's in our way. [ A pause. ] Maybe we'll run into your lovely show hosts. Wouldn't that be fun.

I don't know exactly who or what we'll run into in there, but we've got enough intel that we can make an educated guess: it won't be human. Probably won't even be humanoid, unless it sends some kind of worker robots at us. Does it even have those? I don't know. I can't predict what's gonna happen, so be ready for just about anything. Whatever's in there, we've gotta deal with it if we're gonna have any chance of freeing ourselves for good, especially if we wanna get home.

And... As for getting home... I have some ideas. And theories. And honestly, I bet I can get it to work out in everyone's favor if I can just get at whatever makes the whole pulling-people-from-other-worlds thing happen. We've found a lot of hints and some really valuable tools, but I can't make a one hundred percent fully formed plan until I know exactly what I'm working with. So once we get inside, that's what I'm gonna be looking for. And if any of you are weird-alien-technology-magic-inclined, well, I could probably use some extra pairs of hands once we find whatever it is to work with. But trust me, I'll get it to work. ... I've got a husband to get back to. And I know a lot of you feel the same way.

So, that's the overview. In short? Hit the Marsiva to get its attention. Zhade drops the shields. Hit the Marsiva even harder, aiming for the reparative generators. Board it. Find Atroma - whatever they are - and make 'em pay. Get to the bottom of what's brought us and is keeping us here. Figure it out, save the day, everybody wins. Sound good?

[ Feel free to interject at any point with questions, ideas, requests for specifics/clarification, random commentary... anything at all. This is a meeting, not a presentation - they want to hear from you too! ]


[ Q&A Time ]
Okay, I know that was a lot. Anyone got anything to say about it? Need me to go over something again? Or if you guys have any of your own ideas, we'll take 'em. We're gonna need every possible angle and advantage to pull this off, you know.

[ The floor's open. Anything you want to ask? Anything you want to say?

After it's over and the meeting is adjourned, the Interceptors won't want to linger for very long, but they will hang out long enough to talk for a short while. Got something that deserves a more one-on-one conversation? Now's the time to do it. ]


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(( ooc: If you'd like to speak to Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, Duo, or Kid specifically for any reason, please let us know in the subject line or bolded somewhere in your comment - it would help us out a lot! You can also use this post to mingle among yourselves, maybe generate some joint ideas or jointly comment on the proceedings. Anything goes!

If you have OOC questions/concerns, feel free to send a PM to spaceshipit. ))

Comments

[unbearablynaive]

[Once he's determined where the reparative generators are so he knows where to aim when the time comes, the Vision indicates that he has a question.]

I can handle robotic enemies, if they're sent after us once on board, but--what do you actually know about the mechanism that sends people home? Can it actually do that, or is this all only guesswork?

[queenmonarch]

It definitely can do it. They send people home and pull 'em back all the time, so we've got proof of that. The uncertainty comes from the fact that none of us have ever seen it before, so we literally don't know what it is.

But... this planet's making an awful lot of racket about how the Marsiva is a lot like it, so if you ask me? Gotta be related to the whole singing planet thing.

[unbearablynaive]

[That's a fair assessment, and he nods. The lack of any firsthand knowledge about the mechanism is worrying, but not enough to make it not worth trying.]

There was...another singing planet we visited, and it had the wreck of another Host Ship. The Virsua. I'd thought they were two separate entities, but now I wonder.

[He looks distracted, focusing on something far away.]

I wonder.

[And he shakes his head, knowing he needs to think about this more.]

In any case, I will help in whatever way I can.

[queenmonarch]

You mean, whether or not the Virsua was separate from the singing planet it crashed on? Hmm.

[ Yeah, that's... definitely something to think about. There's a lot of potential overlap that they don't have all of the info on yet. ]

Thanks, though. I appreciate the help. I know we can pull this off, it's just a matter of coordination.

[unbearablynaive]

[He nods.]

If this planet was once a Host Ship - or whatever lies at its core - why not the other singing planets? Perhaps it's the final form of that life. And while a few of them have been questionable, most of the singing planets we've visited have been rather nice places.

[he shrugs, because they'll need to figure out more firsthand before any of the specualtion is more than just that.]

Regardless, I am ready to help you when I can. Even paradise is a prison when you cannot leave.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

[Bucky's quiet - thoughtful - taking everything in for a long couple of moments.

But then he speaks up.] I'll help - but I don't wanna go home.

But that doesn't mean the people who want to shouldn't get the chance.

[queenmonarch]

Sound logic.

And hey, if everything goes all right, no one's saying you've gotta go home. Hell, no more Atroma means no one would be forcing these ships to stay in range of the flagship, after all. You could probably do whatever you want.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Yeah, I'd be okay with that. [No more Atroma is definitely appealing, regardless of where anybody ends up.]

Assuming they don't catch on and decide to turn the augment off, I can pilot. And even if they do, I can fight.

[queenmonarch]

I think Atroma's placing too much value in the augments to just turn 'em off - if they can even do that. You'd think if they could, they would've done something about the people in our fleet that still have 'em - or most of one, either way.

[poisontippedcure]

[Rose frowns. She'd certainly been a part of stupider plans before, but she still isn't convinced, either. There's no way she's going to be on board without more information.]

And what's to stop them from destroying us entirely? The Atroma also built the ships that we're outfitting; for all we know, they installed something to prevent them from attacking the Marsiva. They could explode before we do any damage.

[queenmonarch]

Yeah, honestly? If I were Atroma, I'd have something like that. Cover all your bases and account for anything. So you could be right. They might have some kind of backup ace up their sleeve.

[ It's what she would do - any genius, villainous plot should have certain failsafes in place, after all. That's like Evil 101 stuff. Problem is, Atroma seems to be pretty nearly omnipotent in some areas while totally incompetent in others, and it makes dealing with the whole mess a total gamble at every turn. ]

But if they did, then for some reason they haven't activated it yet, even though you guys have definitely shot at 'em before. And so did we - a lot. And then we completely ran off! But even then, no instant detonation. That would've been a good time to do it. Unless, of course, letting us get away would have been great for ratings, or some other crap like that.

[ Though her tone indicates that she does not buy the "reality show" bit whatsoever these days. ]

Personally, I think it's a risk worth taking - as it stands, the odds seem to be in favor of us not getting immediately blown up just for shooting back. And some of you guys started buying ship parts and weapons that weren't made by Atroma at all, right? That's at least some guarantee that there's something they can't just mess with on a whim.

[goldenglasses]

[Vash is pretty happy to spend time with people before the meeting starts. Interceptors and the people from the fleet. There was no way he was missing this chance to meet with their partners as well as hear about a possible way home.

Once the meeting gets started he begins to slowly frown. It's what he had expected to hear, but it still didn't mean he liked hearing it.] Deal with it. I suppose you're suggesting that it needs to be killed? I know we don't really know what to expect going in there, but there must be some way we can stop it without killing it.

[There was something else that he was curious about.] You think you can send us home? What about those who have died? Will they be safe to return to their homes? Or do you think you could send someone to someone else's home?

[queenmonarch]

[ Ah... the no-killing type. She knows all about that line of thinking. And she doesn't agree! Because, hey, supervillain - of course she doesn't! But she doesn't dismiss his concerns. In fact, she listens! Sincerely! And she takes a measured breath before she speaks. ]

Look, let me be perfectly honest with you: I'm of the mind that it needs to be killed. Whatever it is. I think it's too powerful to leave alone. I think there's no guarantee it won't do this again or make things worse if we just knock it out, or tie it up, or teach it good manners and sing happy songs of togetherness, and then leave.

... But that's why I'm not going after it. I'm gonna be busy trying to open the either literal or metaphorical gates to get us out of here. So... well, if you come across whatever it is, and you decide to let it continue to live, that's up to you and whoever's with you. I'm not gonna be there, so I'm not gonna make that decision. You get me?

[ As for the last part... ]

Also, yeah, I'm pretty sure I can send you guys home - whoever wants to go home, of course. And if I can figure out how to send you guys home, I bet I can also figure out how to send you guys somewhere else. Especially if there's nothing for someone back "home". [ Yes, air quotes! ]

People who've died... do you mean the people who've died while they've been stuck here in the fleet, or people who are dead back where they're from but ended up here alive and well?

[goldenglasses]

Have you heard what this planet is saying? I'm not sure if it's the same thing, but I think an entity like them is what brought us here. That the Atroma are possibly using it for their game. Although I don't think they have complete control over it.

[Vash would understand that Dr. Mrs. The Monarch doesn't agree with his view on killing. Most don't, but he appreciates the way she handles that part of his question. Okay, maybe not the "happy songs of togetherness" part.]

Both actually. There's plenty in my crew that either don't have a home to go back to or have died back home. And I know we have one or two in our fleet who have died here. [Did they? Vash had to admit he tended to get the Buckys mixed up now and then.]

[queenmonarch]

Yeah. I think so, too. Atroma's been incredibly interested in the singing planets, after all. Who knows exactly how they got their hands something like it, or how deep that particular connection goes, but I won't be surprised if we go in there and find something along those lines.

[ Yeah she's not the nicest person ever. ]

Our fleet's also got people who are dead back home or don't have a home to go back to. [ She nods. ] So, yeah, I've been thinking through all of that since we first started bouncing this plan around, and... I think anyone who's died here is free to go back home - or wherever else - and be fine. I don't see how that could've messed anything up, we're already separated from our home timelines and whatever else just by being here.

But... As far as I can tell, I think it's very likely that people who are dead back in their own worlds would just go back to being dead if they went back.

[somakemelaugh]

[That sounds like an awful lot of explodey and he only has basic knowledge of how to work a turret on these ships. But now that he has his scythe back, this might get a little easier.]

I'm not overly fond of the idea of outright killing whoever or whatever is running this show, but I do agree that something needs to be done. We can't keep living like this. I'll help you.

[queenmonarch]

[ It is a lot of explodey! Explodey is fun! Most of the time. If you ask her, anyway. ]

Glad to hear it. We'll be causing a lot of trouble, so we'll need to be able to protect ourselves against whatever it might try to fight back. Unfortunately, the Marsiva likes to be one huge, unpredictable pain in the ass, so we'll have to think of just about anything and everything if we want an advantage of any kind.

[somakemelaugh]

[He doesn't mind it, but his hearing is still sensitive, and with his sight more or less newly returned, he hasn't lost his habit of hearing before he sees what's coming his way.]

That, it does. With luck, you won't need me for that, but they've been making their own off this crew too long. We deserve answers.

[gundamofthedesert]

[Quatre really hadn't been here for that long. It was only a few days ago that he had awoken on the ship and been sent to the Huntress, but he's not going to let recent arrival stop him from being informed]

I haven't been here very long, but I'll do what I can.

For Duo
[He does of course approach of three on his own]

Duo.

[divine_braid]

[Sure... Duo had seen the broadcast, and he'd been trying to steel his nerves since, but it was different when his friend was standing right in front of him... his best friend... the one he'd lost in the escape attempt for their cycle.

Was bringing him here again some sort of cruel trick from the Atroma? Especially after having been trapped in calibrations with the others?

Duo wasn't sure. But that didn't matter. This was as real as it was going to get... even if Atroma had reached out through it's little gate thing and yanked Quatre to them purposely.]

H-Hey, Q.

It's uh... It's good to see you again, man.

[Even though he had a pained expression, Duo still managed a smile... because that's just who he was.]

[gundamofthedesert]

[It might have been some sort of a trick. Quatre knew Duo well enough to know the smile was forced. Also the fact that he was in a separate group talking about an escape attempt. It's all so strange. He had only just arrived here and it was jumping into this]

It's good to see you too. Sounds like I have certainly happened into something.

[divine_braid]

Heh. You could say that.

[Duo had known there was always that chance he'd see Quatre here again despite what had happened. He just never really thought about it beyond that... how he'd feel, how it would happen, how he'd deal with it...

But that moment was here staring him in the face. He took a deep breath.]

I'm guessing you don't know much, huh?

[tempredmental]

If the Marsiva is having trouble repairing itself, does that extend to our ships? Or do those have their own systems?

[queenmonarch]

It's separate. Each ship has its own reparative generator, it just doesn't kick in without a command from the Marsiva - which is probably on some sort of auto-routine for the sake of efficiency. So your ships should be repairing themselves just fine. Haven't woken up to a kitchen that's run out of that wonderful space goop yet, right?

[tempredmental]

No. [Keith made a face that said loads on how he felt about their kitchen supplies. Though, with a cook now, they at least had a slight upgrade to what was available on the Huntress.]

But, even if they are independent systems, the fact that they're controlled by the Marsiva could potentially be an issue. Are we going to have to find a way to tell the ships to start repairing if something happens before we find a way to get home?