THE DRIFT FLEET

[ It's been about one Earth week since the final encounter.

The dark, formless creature - whatever it was - met its end thanks to a group of courageous and quick-thinking Fleeters. Once the amorphous entity fell, its creeping and entangling reach into the very systems and inner-workings of the Marisva immediately released, freeing the ship and opening control to anyone who could manage such a monolith of a vessel.

Anyone like, say, a pair of artificial intelligence programs - ones specifically designed to operate an Atroma-built host-class ship...

Carmen and Chase were spared, freed from their bladed fate by the kind-hearted Fleet. What's more, with the sadistic and world-hungry influence of the creature gone, their code is no longer stifled and corrupted! When they finally awoke a few days ago, and realized just what happened to them... and what could have happened to them... they immediately set about making things right. They tapped into the host ship's systems - properly, this time - and busied themselves with getting everything in working order again. They have a ship to repair, and a Fleet to lead from system to system. It's time for them to be what they were always supposed to be: gracious and enthusiastic hosts, as well as the most charismatic tour guides you could ever hope to show you the stars~

They've even reached out to help Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, who has been busy in the Core Chamber with other science-minded Fleeters... as well as anyone who just wants to spend time with a young, beautiful, happily singing Core. ♥ Marsiva is her name, and this ship is her -- for now. One day, she'll grow strong enough to become a habitable planet, just like her sisters! But the scale of time for planets is so much larger than humans. It's impossible to know just when she'll be ready! So, until then, she'll grow. And she'll tour the known universe, singing songs of exploration, curiosity and wonder, looking for perfect places to maybe one day settle down.

Today, whether you're killing time on the Iskaulit, touring the now open (and hastily being repaired/renovated) Marsiva, or spending your time in your own ships while you wait for any sort of news... Your wait is over. ]

All right, everyone.

[ Dr. Mrs. The Monarch is tired, but proud of herself and everyone who's been helping her, as she video-broadcasts to every channel and every device on the Fleet. ]

We've got Marsiva back in control of her own powers, and we've got the ship's computers set up to help pinpoint things and guide her reach wherever it needs to go. I'll spare you the technobabble, but long story short? We're done here. It's all fixed.

It's... It's time to go home.

[ She smiles. ... Then she clears her throat, waves a hand dismissively to get herself back to business! ]

Sorry, it's just been over ten goddamn years. Anyway! Like I said, it's all ready for use.

So, if you're ready to go back home, just come to the Core Chamber. I can absolutely guarantee you'll go right back to whatever moment in time you got pulled from, and everything will be fine. And if you'd rather go to someone else's world, then I mean, sure, we can do that too. So long as it's in the system - and, trust me, I'm willing to bet good money that it will be, these databases are massive.

The other option is to stay here, keep drifting. Marsiva's journey isn't over, she's gonna keep going - it's just that now, she can go wherever she wants. And hell, if you all want to tag along with her, there's no reason not to. You've got the hosts here to keep everything running smoothly - including those auto-repairs on your own ships. Most of the glitches in all of the systems should be worked out soon, if they're not already.

If you've got any questions, now's the last chance you'll get before you get shipped back off to wherever you came from - or wherever else. So make 'em count.

Otherwise... guess this is goodbye, Drift Fleet. 'Cause personally? I'm going the hell back home. [ There's that smile again. ]

((ooc: info. ♥ Feel free to use this post as a mingle to thread your own goodbyes, decision-making, or any other finale-related happenings. You can of course make your own posts/mingles too! No rules, no limits!)

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. ))

[ A notification goes out over the private network - the one that's sealed away from Atroma's prying eyes. One (1) unread text message, from a familiar frequency - the Interceptor Fleet. ]

Drift Fleet -

We have a plan. Thanks to our wonderful little vacation on the Marsiva and the resulting afterparty, we've got a solid foundation to work with.

The Marsiva is still hurting. We can take advantage of that. Whether you all want revenge, answers, or both, we can get them. Together. Hell, even if you just want to go home - I'm pretty sure we can make it happen if this works.

Rendezvous in the next system for details. No more secrets between us. We'll find a location when we arrive and send coordinates.

Let's give this ridiculous reality show a reunion tour finale and then be DONE with it.

- }|{

[ Looks like they most likely won't be responding to anything directly - but hey, feel free to discuss amongst yourselves~ ]

[As promised, Zhade calls you. He calls on the secret network, and only briefly; he's surrounded by sparks and static as his fingers fly across the keyboard, though none of this is seen. It's an urgent audio message.]

I found them! Whatever you did-- it woke them up enough that I could find them. I'm breaking through as we speak. Once I get a lock on, we have a limited-- [BZZZZTTTTT-crackPOP] -- ignore that-- a limited amount of time. The Marsiva's defenses are about to come down. Distract Atroma, fire at will, and I'll bring them home safe.

You hear me?

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven --

[There's the sound of a transporter firing up, and more furious typing and beeping from the consoles.]

Six! Five! Four! Three, two, ONE!

[And just like that, the invisible shields around the Marsiva fail. There's a frantic pause as Zhade checks to make sure everything's as it should be.]

Interceptors retrieved safely. Now light her up! You have just a few minutes, so go, go, go!

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(( ooc: This post is to serve as a "mingle" of sorts for any damage dealt to the Marsiva, any attempted investigations of the downed security, or any other coordination! Feel free to tag each other, play out any crew interactions related to the attack, or try to come up with your own plans! You ICly only have a few minutes, but OOCly the post will remain open. Hit 'em with your best shot, Fleet!! ))

[ Calibration Rooms ]
( for A-M characters )

Before you post your toplevel comment, please:
1. Check the first letter of your character's name as its written in our tags. A-M names comment here, and N-Z names go to the other post.
2. Make a note in your comment if anything especially triggering or graphic might show up in the Calibration. If you're not sure if something's worth noting or not, we suggest listing it anyway, just to err on the side of caution.
3. Put your character's name (it can be shortened or different from the tag, this time) in the subject of your comment. This will help visitors find you easily, and help us update the list below.
4. Post your comment! It's fine if everyone's Calibrations end up looking and reading very different from one another. As long as you're having fun and following our guidelines, you're good to go. :)
5. If you have any questions or concerns during Calibrations, you are welcome to send them towards the mod team at any time, as always.

ROOMS BY CHARACTER

A - C Akeldama Alisha Diphda Allura Baku Ben Douglass Belthazar Carl Grimes Connor

D - F Escha Malier Eithan Paine Felix Gaeta

G - I Glenn Rhee Grievous Haggar

J - M James T. Kirk (OU) James T. Kirk (AU) Kaname Bucanneer Keith Kitty Pryde Kogarasumaru Kolivan Krolia Lance Leia Organa Leilani Lavellan Libra Loki Lordon Gesh Lup Maggie Rhee Magnus Burnsides Manji Messer Ihlefeld Mikleo Mirage Farina Jenius

(last updated: 1/21/19)

The morning of the final day of the year - called Last Eve - brings with it a soft, gentle chorus of bells. No matter what town or city you've found yourself in, the tradition is the same: a simple scale plays every hour throughout the day - a melodic, slow countdown to all the festivities to come tonight. People - especially children! - run through the streets ringing hand-held bells of their own, all in the name of good luck and best wishes for the upcoming year. Don't want to wait for the night to start the party? Don't worry! There's plenty to do all day long, too!


A ringing melody in the wind

You thought the festivals throughout the month were extravagant? Well, they're nothing compared to the parades today! Marching bands, performers, and dance crews show off routines they've been preparing for months, candy flies through the air for all of the parade-goers to catch and keep... The floats are elaborate and grand, with humongous shapes in bright colors. A lot of heart, soul, and expert craftsmanship went into these, and it shows. Some parades have set themes, others are just a representation of the towns that give them and what they've put together to share with everyone... but all of them are full of love, joy, and good luck wishes for the upcoming year. Maybe you're part of the parade - riding on a float, tossing out candy, singing or playing an instrument... or maybe you're just there to watch! No matter which way, it's going to be a good time.

The waters may be too cold to swim in, but that's why boats exist! Once the sun goes down, the natural glow of the water is even more breathtaking set against the black, starry skies -- and local tradition is to spend Last Eve out on the water in some way! From rowboats, paddle boats, and sailboats to motorized party boats with loudly blasting music and flashing lights, or huge luxury liners with all the fancy trimmings of fine dining and entertainment -- no matter what kind of boat you want, you're going to have a great time ringing in the new year on the water. Get your party boat on! Or, spend a romantic evening with your loved one on a crewed private charter! Or, row out on your own and meet up with other rowers. Bring snacks~ and a life vest - safety first!

The best part, though, isn't Last Eve... it's First Dawn. Once it gets closer and closer to midnight, and the bells begin to chime louder, and faster, and more jubilant... that's when the real light show begins.


Light up the skies!

Almost every inch of the night sky is covered in bright lights and brilliant hues as fireworks soar through the black. The breathtaking display reflects in the glowing waters, which seem to mimic all the colors back like a visual echo. And with the backdrop of the bells' song, this is how the new year comes to Libuscha IV.

So - Happy Last Eve, and Happy First Dawn. Enjoy your holiday, dear Fleet. ♥

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(( This post is a mingle for all of your New Year / Last Eve / First Dawn Celebration needs. Go forth and have fun! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. o7

And on a final note: Happy New Year, Drift Fleet. ♥! Thank you for spending your RP time with us. We're absolutely convinced that you're all the best players out there, and we love you for coming on this journey with us. May the next year be full of fun, happiness, and of course, some shenanigans~ ))