Event #06: ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE MISSION LOG

[vivalamods]

EVENT #06: ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE MISSION LOG

With wind at their backs, the Corsairs fully expect the Imperial resistance. Knowing that they’ve made even the Emperor himself take notice has been heartening, they are well-prepared to go to war. And war finds them soon, with Imperial Strike Forces dispatched to scatter their resistance. With Flotsam under heavy attack, the great fleet has split, hiding in coves around the Eternal Ocean.

As the Corsairs fend off the Imperial Attack, they also look forward to the future. Keeping up their information warfare against the Empire is, of course, vital, as is finding new space to settle refugees and new recruits for the cause. February may prove to be a deadly month for the Corsairs, but if they play their hand well it can be a month of great strides.

These missions are occurring over the course of the month, there are no limitations on the characters who can take part, the size of the logs, or how many logs a character participates in.

MISSIONS

Imperial Warfare: Flights of airships and armors have been dispatched to sink as many Corsair ships as possible. The Corsairs have already split their fleet, but are hoping to catch these roving attack squadrons and quickly overwhelm them, protecting their fleet and, if possible, capturing airships and armors for their own forces.
Conflict: Strike forces will typically consist of two airships holding 4 armors each. These ships can be boarded and disabled, or fought directly depending on the preference of the combatant.
Role: Combatant
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read IMPERIAL WARFARE
Extra: You may specify the type of combat as well, such as BOARDING for more on-foot or ARMOR or SHIP for battles in mechs or from the decks of ships.

Investigate Targets: The Larendt labor camps have a lot of low-class and servant labor. With their presence in the Eternal Ocean and their involvement in some of the more menial but sometimes necessary manufacturing, gaining a foothold in these camps could be a huge boon for the Corsairs.
Conflict: These camps are heavily guarded, and while the inhabitants are extremely oppressed, inspiring them to revolt en masse will be a tough sell. Infiltrators will need to sneak in with either stealth or guile and determine who in the camps can be trusted and start into a major subversion effort to bring them to the Corsair side.
Role: Infiltrator, Supplier or Negotiator optional
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read INVESTIGATE TARGETS
Extra: You may specify the approach for your infiltration, such as STEALTH or DISGUISE

INFORMATION WARFARE: The Corsairs must keep up the pressure by creating a counternarrative to fight the Emperor’s messaging. This can be done a number of ways, such as hacking radio networks to broadcast messages, distributing subversive literature, or giving flash speeches.
Conflict: Guards are on high alert and will heavily crack down on people seen pushing banned messages or materials. Chances are high they will try to arrest or even kill on sight.
Role: Negotiator, Infiltrator or Combatant optional
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read INFORMATION WARFARE
Extra: You may specify the approach for your infiltration, such as HACKING or PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTION

Scout Settlements: The Corsairs need to establish a new settlement in order to house the growing number of refugees. An old ruined city has been identified as a potential site, an underground dwelling with some concealed farmland could easily be built in the area which has remained relatively untouched since the continent fell. Suppliers need to go in and set up a basecamp to begin construction.
Conflict: The ruins themselves will require a great dea of effort to get in order, with repairs to the infrastructure concealed within the ruins. The aqueducts still appear to be mostly capable of function and could be a great boon to the Corsairs if they can find a way to make them work. The ruins themselves have become quite dangerous in the intervening time, there are subterranean monsters such as bullettes and ankhegs that have taken up residence and can be quite dangerous when confronted. Additionally, it seems some Imperial deserters and n’er do wells have taken to using the place as a getaway after making it to Elysium, they will need to be dealt with, or perhaps even recruited if that can be managed.
Role: Supplier, Combatant or Negotiator optional
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read SCOUT SETTLEMENT
Extra: You may specify the approach for your infiltration, such as REBUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE or CONVINCING DESERTERS

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Comments

QUESTIONS

[vivalamods]

FINAL GROUP PLANNING

[vivalamods]

Investigation!

[thirdtenkaistar]

Thomas will be playing more support, try to pull some bureaucratic strings to sneak people in - can go disguise (pretend to be bureaucrats) or sneak (Shipment time!)

Warfare

[freearcadia]

Harlock prefers to help with fights, he's definitely more comfortable with boarding, but will help with Ships or Armor, though the latter is his weak link

[purplexing]

I'm going to say that Donnie hasn't yet gotten his Armor fully repaired for action just yet, but he'll join a boarding party!

SCOUT SETTLEMENT

[singlemilletgrain]

The flickering torchlight illuminates the way through the subterranean paths as Shu quietly walks at the head of the reconnaissance group. The general atmosphere is... bleak. To ease unrest, she had liaised with the miners and other new refugees, promising they would secure a new permanent settlement for their families, but everything they had uncovered so far was wholly undesirable.

"Careful. More unstable footing."

She edges around the shell of what had formerly been a winding staircase down the side of a building, loose rock and rubble sliding underfoot.

"...And more excreta. There are creatures living here. Should we clear them out or keep moving?"

The more unpleasant things got, the calmer her voice seemed to become. It was clearly an attempt at projecting stability and serenity, but she did so effortlessly.

[supersmashbrother]

Still gathering his bearings from his arrival and everything else that came with it, Raphael currently chooses to stay underground for the time being. Why? Well, he's strong. His ninja skills means he can sneak around without being noticed. And he's practically acclimated to whatever environment he finds himself in. All of these things come in one neat and giant turtle package. Surely it'll be in handy for the recon mission at hand.

Plus the lady with the tail and horns ahead of their group seems nice. How can he not trust her?

He's been weaving around within the group, sometimes near the back, sometimes in the middle, pausing whenever the ground shifts underfoot. When Shu asks the question, Raph steps up to the front, frowning as his brow forms a deeper furrow. "I'm all for tryin' to clear them out. Shouldn't be a problem."

He means what he means. His words, however, are still very broken-sounding before he switches back to English, his hushed tones gruff as he talks mostly to himself. "Guh! What gives? Raph's tongue don't work that way..."

[singlemilletgrain]

Whether or not he has been observant enough to notice, Shu has been eyeing the turtlekin with some degree of wariness ever since they set off on their expedition. For one thing, he was new, which perhaps warranted a closer eye on his skills and technique in and of itself to assess his reliability.

For another, he sure did have the same name (and nickname) as one of Donnie's lost brothers.

'He's like, a full head taller than me and really strong.'

But surely he would have said something if he were looking for Donatello. (And vice-versa? Donnie was mad at her, but she still assumed he would ask her to accompany him home.) It wasn't as if their ranks were bursting with turtlekin, anyway. ...She would have to pursue this mystery when she had a chance.

"...I do speak Victorian, if that helps."

From context -- and the fact that she was responding in modern English -- he can probably deduce that this is her name for the English language. The language of Esthere was simply an older version of what she dubbed Victorian. Fortunately, given that she been alive at the time of its common usage, she still remembered it.

"The building ahead seems very unstable. Be careful when you fight not to disturb anything unnecessarily. I'll try to secure everything as much as possible."

Investigate Targets

[thirdtenkaistar]

[Those who choose to try to infiltrate Larendt Labor camps will receive a message]

I am unable to attend in person, but even with the increased scrutiny I believe I have found two methods of getting into the camps:

The easier is that there will be a shipment of sundries - mainly dry goods, I can point out their rest points to either ambush or sneak into the shipment. Downside is you may have a harder time investigating without notice.

The other way is to that the Church of the Divine sometimes put out surprise inspections by Inquisitors, it is a method we used before, and once in you will be left alone, but you have to be quite convincing to get through the barrier.

Either way, I can support you.

[heaven_rooted]

No way I'm playing an Inquisitor. Pretending to be a sack of grain is considerably preferable. I can handled a bit of sneaking around once inside.

[thirdtenkaistar]

[He actually chuckled a little at the response.]

Fair enough.

I will be sending the map with the stopovers marked. Where and how you'll get yourself added to the cargo will be at your discretion.

Try not to get stabbed when they're inspecting the goods.

SCOUT SETTLEMENTS

[newmemorywhodis]

i. Exploring with Ascend
The ruin makes for a maze of tunnels and structures, all built upon and collapsed on top of each other. It makes mapping the area a challenge, and there's not always a clear way to move from one area to another.

Link's found a rather handy workaround, however. Because he finds himself looking up at a cavern ceiling one day, thinking about when it was so easy to just...swim straight up. And as he thinks that, there's a familiar sensation in his right hand; a sense of remembered power.

So he raises his hand up, as two swirling streaks of green light carry him up into the ceiling - and to the space above.

Which might be a bit of an unexpected shock for anyone who happens to be in the space up top.

ii. Monster clearing
As promising as the ruins were, there was one big problem: the monsters. In particular, the massive insectoid ankhegs. They'd gotten reports of them from some of the other Corsairs in the area, and from the sounds of things the creatures were vicious. And very, very territorial.

As long as they were around, no settlement here would be safe. Somewhere around here was a nest, and they needed to find it.

But so far, there weren't many signs. At least, not until they move into the collapsed remains of what had once been a grand building. Is that something there on the stone floor? Something that might be a trace of an ankheg's acid?

i

[singlemilletgrain]

"Ah..."

Finally. Time for a little alone time after a few hours' hard work with an expedition group. Though she is not shy about using her abilities, it still wouldn't be too appropriate for her to start transforming the ruins into some sort of subterranean Garden of Eden. For one thing, it was gauche. For another, she had never wanted people wholly dependent on her to provide for their sustenance. It wouldn't do, after all, if one day she... ceased.

But if she is alone, she will indulge herself in making a little flower sprout in the corner. A nice pale blue periwinkle shade, which she feeds with a little water and a little clean soil.

"There, there, little one. You'll have friends soon en -- "

Something blonde and horrific erupts from the ground in the middle of her sentence. ... And if Link didn't wear a helmet after he received a fortune directing him to do so, it is his own fault if Shu's boot smashes him straight in the cranium as he Ascends.

"Mole monster!"

[newmemorywhodis]

As it turns out, Link isn't wearing a helmet. But he is wearing his Hylian hood, which has been enchanted several times by the Great Fairy to be extra protective. So when he gets kicked in the head while still half in the rock, he just raises one hand to gingerly touch the spot and give Shu a mournful look. Sure, he's fine, but...did she really have to do that?

Then he wriggles the rest of the way out of the rock, and hops up. Despite the fact that he'd been swimming through it a moment before, the rock seems absolutely solid as Link stands on it now.

ii. Monster clearing

[spacetogrow]

Ilphyl hasn't seen an ankheg up close, or this would be easier. They have spells that let them find the nearest creature, if they can get a good enough mental picture. So the task is to find one ankheg and hope it isn't too much to deal with, and then locate any others in the area.

They at least know the signs. They are studying the same bit of stone Link noticed. "That's not decorative, is it?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link hasn't seen one either, so right now they're both in the dark. All the others were able to say were things like 'big' and 'insect-like' and 'really really terrifying mandibles'.

Maybe they were really big beetles? Link was hoping for big beetles.

Right now though, he shakes his head in response to Ilphyl - no, it wasn't decorative. And just to make sure, he reaches out to lightly touch the stain with the tip of his pinky.

And then hisses, as it begins to sting.

Yup. Definitely acid.

ii. Monster clearing

[chosenkingoflucis]

As the duo head into the building, Noctis takes to exploring the corners and outer walls figuring that maybe there would be some kind of trace of a nest, kind of like any other insect nest.

He's never actually seen an ankheg though he'd probably be able to liken them to some kind of monster from his world.

"So, I could set the nest on fire?" He suggests. "Maybe they'll all be asleep in the there?"

IMPERIAL WARFARE - BOARDING

[purplexing]

"We're just about over them."

The turtlekin perches at the edge of the ship, goggles lowered as he adjusts the lenses to zoom in on the passing Imperial vessels, of what can be seen past the screen of clouds. His jacket's fastened snugly to insulate him from the crisp air up here, although here he doesn't mind the chill so much, not when he's sparked by adrenaline, ready to go.

He sets his goggles back to their default settings as he shoves them back up. "They'll take us in fast, get close enough for us to secure lines to cross over, and then break off to keep them busy while we either take command of the ship or disable it to help bring it down. First option's more preferable, but if things get too heated, we'll just have to make sure the Empire has one less ship to use against us."

Donnie's pretty sure boarding routines are old hat for most by now but he likes knowing everyone's at least relatively on the same page. It also helps prepare himself mentally. It's hardly the first time he's done this, but the sensation hasn't dimmed any that it may as well be.

He glances at his ENC bracer as the buzz of chatter from the bridge comes up. "Heading in!" he calls out, even as he can feel the ship begin to angle itself for its descent, and he can feel the subtle thump of the gunports opening somewhere below in preparation.

[freearcadia]

Harlock's foot rested on the ship, leaning as Donnie gets a better look at their target, the cloak catching some of the wind. The pirate listens as the turtlekin started speaking, his eye flicking before giving a nod.

While the methods differ, boarding was indeed old hat for him, and he's pleased to hear that he got the gist of it down. As the ship tilt under his feet, he leans in counter balance, as those gunners who weren't already at position scrambled to go below decks, and deck cannons were loaded with hooks and harpoons to spear the enemy hull and grab onto the deck railing - shots for people to watch their feet, and to make damn sure the cables are secured.

It's still a different sensation from boarding in space, but the anticipation is there, and the knowledge that there will be a struggle. "We should be in firing range of the guns in five... four... three... two..."

INVESTIGATE TARGETS - STEALTH

[heaven_rooted]

Somehow they've made it to a camp without any sort of complications, even if by finding out that the Empire doesn't particularly take the best care with its shipments.

Tau's in a bit of a mood once he's extracted himself from the load of dry goods, but he doesn't waste time in finding suitable cover. His nose wrinkles in distaste of the acrid scent that hangs in the air, but he doesn't say anything as his eyes skim the area of their general vicinity.

"Sure hope you're a people person," he says, the first thing he's said in a while now. He seems...distracted somehow, even though he looks to be on the alert as they observe where the workers gather and move. His gaze trails off towards somewhere distant beyond the edges of the camp, never lingering long as they move between cover.

Re: INVESTIGATE TARGETS - STEALTH

[theriflespiral]

Having a delivery company means that she can blend in on both sides of the 'border'; though she takes the time to pull out a brush and gently pull away the evidence that they did, in fact, come in with the feed.

Besides that, she gives Tau a wordless stare for a moment, and then-- she's in character. The exhaustion, the schooling of her look, the careful regard-- these are all things that she had practiced for months before ever joining the Corsairs, and now it was coming into full effect.

INFORMATION WARFARE - HACKING

[harlequinchimera]

Well then. Since she had plans to retrieve her weapons and tools of war, she now turned her mind to this, the question of hacking into the Empire's communications.

This time, she was not surrounded by books, but working at a bench with a number of very fine pieces of equipment. "Now, let's see. The real trick is to use their own very great signal strength to our advantage while their own communications are redirected to other uses."

She was aligning a very particular set of crystals, looking at very specific angles. "Using them as a carrier wave, while scrubbing out their own broadcast, second by second. Very tricky, but the closer the redirect was, the cleaner the swap would be, just as before."

She looked also over a map of the area in question. "The smartest way is to set up some nice repeater and redirect stations, so that if they do try tracing it, it leads to the local pigwallow or dead-ends in a bakery. Coverage must be wide, and our voice must be heard..."

The chimera was more or less thinking out loud, at least for the moment.

[upupatomway]

Atom had been out distributing pamphlets and just returned. He pokes his head into the broadcast room, curious to see the state of their operation.

"Any way I can give you a hand?" he asks Oki.

INFORMATION WARFARE - PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTION

[upupatomway]

Atom had done a few air drops of flyers over hard to reach locations that were either further out or swarming with enough soldiers to demand a very swift exit. They went wild printing enough pamphlets to cover multiple villages in too many papers for the Imperials to snatch every last one from curious hands.

Now they were working on ground distribution and pop up speeches. He keeps his eyes alight with his scanners engaged and hearing turned up to help him spot where people are present and hopefully catch signs of approaching soldiers.

A.

One of the best ways to keep soldiers busy cleaning up and spread the word was to make sure the pamphlets were left in nooks and crannies, in alleyways and on chairs in public spaces. While the soldiers complained about picking up papers from the pavement of busy streets, the Corsairs had fanned out to cover the quieter corners.

Atom nails another flyer to a wooden beam on the side of a building. He steps back from his work, to look at the height. "Is it better that it isn't at eye level for most soldiers? The citizens might miss it." He's only about four feet all.

B.

"Please, tell your family and friends," Atom says as he hands another pamphlet to citizen who had stopped to see what the commotion on a random street corner was for. They were drawing a crowd, and after several days of handing out pamphlets word had clearly started to get around the area about the Corsairs; some citizens recognized who they represented as soon as they laid eyes on the pamphlets.

"I think enough people are gathered. We should start the speech," Atom suggests to the other Corsair on the streetcorner with him.

A

[thirdtenkaistar]

People were passing by, business as usual for the most of them - a few discover flyers and posters, either leaving them where they lie or taking them to give a curious look-through, hastily stuffing them into pockets and bags if they see a guard.

Among the people is a nobleman and his secretary. Lord Lowma picked up a pamphlet disdainfully by the corner, as if it's been soaking in an outhouse before waving it in front of Thomas' face.

"See this nonsense?" The man started. "This is what happens when you let the unready think they have a right to spread lies and delusions."

"D-d-delusions?" Thomas' breath hitched, before noticing Atom's presence briefly, before focusing his attention. "I know they are lies, but delusional?" He questioned hoping to keep the man distracted from the pamphlet hangers.

"Life is hard, Thomas - there is no denying that But it is by the grace of the Emperor and the Church that we are prospering as we are - not sinking down to selfish barbarism and anarchy, setting people up for pain and disappointment."