Event #14: THE GIFT OF BLESSED SILENCE

[vivalamods]

Event #14: THE GIFT OF BLESSED SILENCE

Though the vote was contentious, the Corsairs have decided to capture the facility. This will require an enormous mobilization of forces, but it is fortunate that the Corsairs are on they fight, unbeknownst to the Empire, on their own domain. In a real sense, the Vault has been preparing for this moment for decades.

The forges burn bright as rail and cannon are brought to bear. This ambitious plan will see Skysplitters placed across the continent as a crack strike force tears through the facility and kills or captures its personnel without putting the site itself to the sword. An operation both forceful and delicate, difficult, but hardly impossible for the Corsairs’ finest.

Missions:

Build the Rail, Ignite the Powder: The Corsairs, working under the cover of night, will need to establish a perimeter around the research facility.
Description: The continent of Bavrecht is usually where the Adamant Curtain, a major airship Legion, makes its base, testing munitions on the continent with constant carpet bombings. Their schedule is a bit irregular, but there are times where their bombing isn’t active. The Corsairs will need to take this opportunity to encircle the research facility and quickly erect temporary rail lines and set up Skysplitters to keep the airspace clear.

Rip Down the Curtain: The Corsairs will need to drive away the Adamant Curtain when it returns.
Description: The Adamant Curtain airship legion is a minor legion primarily concerned with munition testing. Their airships shuttle back and forth to gather new test munitions from the mainland and rest before returning to bombard the continent, and even then often in staggered groups. The Corsairs seek to employ one of these gaps to set up their perimeter, but once they return they will need to then destroy the legion so they can’t provide aid to the research facility or, in desperation, destroy it.

Laboratory Conquest: The Corsairs will need to enter the research facility and sweep it of hostiles, one way or another.
Description: Log Leader required. The Corsairs will be pitted against the 13th Legion Legatus Dr. Emric Folken and his legion of scientists. While not frontline combatants, they have any number of horrific abominations and weaponry available to bring to bear against the Corsair forces. Defeating them in their home turf will be a herculean effort indeed.

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[theriflespiral]

Well, if you need munitions to either explode or be secured to load the Skysplitters, there's nothing quite like satchel charges and infiltration.

Now, mind you, in this case, "Infiltration" meant "do things while everyone else is busy pinning the opponent down with aerial fusillade", but she'd take what she could get.

In position.

Two satchel charges, magic weapons, and a lot of hope.

At least the crew will be happy. The technologies in here must be something.

[straykitty]

Scythe held firmly in her gloved hand, a faint smile plays on Renne's lips. She says nothing, but simply waits patiently for the signal to begin.

[singlemilletgrain]

Being a minor deity of sorts must afford her some aesthetical magical powers, too, for Shu's impossibly long hair begins to billow dramatically in the wind in almost the same moment that the crackle of the radio sounds.

It's time.

She tries to find the eyes of her teammates, briefly, for a reassuring smile before chaos breaks out.

The wall of the prison sector that she and Donnie had scaled not too long ago erupts in a burst of flame and debris, leaving a sizable gap. Far away, there are the distant echoes of other explosions as the other teams launch their multi-pronged assault.

And the Corsairs pour in.

First order of business: aerial fire from the walls and guard towers as the facility defenses spring to life. Second: an ether shield springs up. Ah, so they did indeed have a second line of defense in addition to the somewhat underwhelming concrete walls.

[purplexing]

Shu is a stone in the midst of a flowing river, that smile offering what reassurance Donnie needs as things go off. He sucks in a breath as he watches the shield go up- should've accounted for that.

Forcibly shoving those thoughts down, he hits his ENC controls, sending the override signal to pop open all the locks in the facilities.

"Give me a few seconds," he says, more for the benefit of the prisoners within as he hopes they're making their move now, but he taps at his ENC, adjusting frequency levels as he focuses. "I can try shorting out the shield but it'll only give us time to get in before the backup kicks in. We'd have to find the generators or controls on the inside to take it out completely," he explains, waiting for the go-ahead before he'll activate it.

[theriflespiral]

"We're all familiar with the layout?" Natalia readied for a sprint and, after a moment, produced a small packet of Ether Stone dust, which hopefully will allow her in through simple dint of raw interference. Is this why she wears such voluminous things despite being a stealthy sort?

[singlemilletgrain]

"Donnie and I have been here before." Shu confirms for the both of them. "The prisoners inside should be fighting now. We were to clear the yard and rendezvous with them as quickly as possible." After all, despite the chaos of the assault, they were still unarmed prisoners against guards. "I am anxious to bypass this defense as soon as possible lest we waste valuable time."

Shu, of course, has the ability to say that with perfect calm.

Around them, the Corsairs return fire, aiming at the guard towers and any individuals on the walls, but it is still hardly a time for casual conversation. Shu's shield raises as she steps forward, some combination of her own powers and the Ether she was practicing forming a defensive barrier.

"However you can get us inside, Donnie. We can take better control of the situation from there."

There is a rapid relay of information from one Corsair to another as Donnie's suggestion is spread. Each of the combatants is told to be ready to rush the walls as soon as the shield goes down.

[purplexing]

Focused on his ENC, Donnie lets Shu handle the explanations as he turns up the frequency levels. Perhaps it's fortunate no one can probably hear the explosion he triggers, given everything else going on. Overloading the disruptor seems to be his solution to disabling the shields. Perhaps if they're lucky, all the controls for such are at the security station, but he wouldn't doubt the likelihood of backups in a place like this. At the very least no one will be locking down doors any time soon.

There is however a suspicious plume of smoke, better visible once the Ether shield flickers out and vanishes completely.

Donnie allows himself a small cackle.

[theriflespiral]

Natalia begins her run in, and stands in the slightly blasted point where the shield stood to pour the ether stone dust packet into the likely restart of the projection shield.

Now to get to the munitions dump. She draws her rifle.

And begins to slay, both in terms of being a vast, seemingly untouchable stage presence, and also in the sense that she's shooting at a lot of imperials. "Beginning suppression of Imperial contingent at munitions dump."

She takes cover at a crenellation, then listens to the staccato sound. "... Gas rifles!?"

She almost sounds joyful.

Almost.

[singlemilletgrain]

"...No cackling until the mission is a success," Shu murmurs softly as she brushes by Donnie on her way to penetrating through the downed barrier. The battalion of Corsairs stampedes through in shockingly orderly fashion despite that the command had only been received a minute or two before the culmination of action. With the downed shield and Natalia... -- well, Shu wasn't entirely sure what Natali was doing, but she presumed it had something to do with preventing the barrier from going back up, they have secured their entrance.

Above, many of the guards continue to shoot, though an equal number begin to fan out along the walls and fall back, seeking cover further inside. The prison yard has a number of combatants waiting for them, of course.

"What is a gas rifle?" Shu asks, with modest worry at Natalia's pronouncement. Shield still raised, she settles herself beside the slaying warrior.

Now, Natalia may be an expert marksman, but it isn't long before Shu - and many of the other Corsairs - notice something... off. The first row of guards in the prison yard fall quickly enough. ...But. They also... arise, just as quickly.

"Hostiles aren't staying down."

A Corsair beside them grunts in irritation and no small confusion.

"Thought I got one in the head, even. Koutolika, you got heavier arms?"

[purplexing]

"Yes ma'am." Donnie clears his throat at the reprimand, trailing after Shu as they make way towards and then through the wall. He's got his staff unholstered and extended, but he's not about to go rushing into things with the risk of friendly fire.

So lowers his goggles and props the end of his staff against his shoulder like one would a rifle, conjuring up the rest of the form to fit the image by use of his ether magic, an outline of a sniper rifle in glowing neon purple.

"Not staying down? Huh?" He sights and squeezes off a thin, blazing shot.

[theriflespiral]

"For gas-powered single action rifles?" Natalia replies, letting both her hammers drop. Oh god, she brought the damned things. While she still holds the rifle, both of them rocket out. She steps, one, two, three--

And the areas around the hammers are suddenly covered in thick ice as she retracts them with a tug of her fingers. "I will gladly bring everything to the table. That said, aerial support will take time, and if the shield goes up..."

cw some gore

[singlemilletgrain]

"...Something is wrong."

Shu -- should not do so, but stands up abruptly, eyes narrowed.

"Those are not guards."

Indeed. They wore... something like uniforms, but drab and dull, lacking any notable description. And of course, they wore combat helmets, but.,. Natalia's freezing blasts stop a few of them in their tracks - but much more concerningly, those who had only had a limb or part of their bodies frozen simply cast off the frozen limbs, wrenching them such that they shatter and break, continuing to move forward nonetheless.

"Those are..."

And Donnie's shot strikes one of them in the helmet, sending it rolling and revealing the dreadfully diseased face of the creature underneath.

"Experiments."

The putrid flesh underneath screeches and as if that were a signal, the unit waiting in the prison yard fans out with inhuman speed, scrambling forward, heedless of any injury or damage to their bodies. They go ceaselessly until they are torn to pieces by munitions - they carry no guns nor weaponry, but simply reach out to tear apart the Corsairs. The scream of one unfortunate soul is cut short as the creature simply snaps her neck with one twist of its malformed limbs.

Shu scatters her seeds in front of her group immediately and clasps her hands together, mouthing words quickly as her control takes hold. The horde of ghouls setting upon them find themselves unable to advance, brought back 15 feet each time they are almost to their prey. One long-clawed hand rakes the air inches from Shu's face before it is warped back in the unrelenting cycle of Samsara.

"Abominations...! Dispatch them however you can! I cannot hold this for long."

Their fellows around them are less lucky and soon the battlefield is awash in carnage.

((happy halloween :) ))

OHBOY

[purplexing]

Donnie physically recoils as he shoves his goggles back up, having been treated to a disturbing close-up of the thing he'd shot at.

The screams of...are they communicating? They're terrifying, and even more so when the cries of the living join them before being abruptly cut off.

His rifle's already vanished with his concentration, and he's barely scrambling to his feet when the dead things are nearly upon them, fumbling with his staff. They suddenly vanish, pulled away through ground and vine, but it's only a slight reprieve. Shu's shout has him try to regain his composure as best he can.

These are different than the mindless, bloodthirsty things that they'd come across at the labs raided earlier in the year. They're no less horrible, and their wild lack of tactics and speed make it difficult for Donnie to decide on the best way to handle them. In the end, he falls back on basics, steeling himself as he pops the thin blade at the end of his staff, engulfing it with neon purple light as he conjures up an ether one around it.

He lets out a breath, leaping forward to swing the makeshift glaive as one of the abominations tries throwing themselves forward again, slashing broadly across them. Desperately he tries not to think too hard about it, moving to deflect and counter, to disarm, to bring them down as efficiently as he can.

Sorry I've been quiet! Been at a con!

[straykitty]

Renne had, to this point, been mostly lurking in the shadows. With this new wrinkle, however, she felt as if intervention would be necessary. Taking a moment, she focuses a large amount of ether into her glove.

"Divine Phoenix!"

A roar of crackling flame bursts from her glove and forms into a phoenix as it rushes toward the horde, passing through ally without harm but far less harmful to those who stand against her.

Re: Sorry I've been quiet! Been at a con!

[theriflespiral]

The ice turns into explosive steam mines, and sends several of the soldiers flying in pieces in the aftermath of Divine Phoenix.

But... Despite everything, despite her marksmanship, her skill with ice-dancing, her unfurling power with the hammers...

Well. Honestly?

There is still nothing that matches the fury of her fully unfurled Inner Lotus. She breathes out. Steps. flickers.

The cuts with the stolen sabers are sharp, forceful, and each one calculated to sever heads and spines, one thoughtless stroke to the next. As to her own possible infection, she holds little fear of it-- between helping the godlings on their journey (and their attendant protection), and the labs having the ability to refine vaccines within a matter of months, and her own ki control, it'll suck, but these things are hardly the weapon that will kill her.

And of course, when one can launch oneself with the force of a naval shell, ripping even the concrete as you step, it's simple to outflank opponents.

If she can just get that bit farther...

If she can gain the door, the armory can deal with these.

Of course, it's just as she thinks this, that the swords can take no more of this abuse. One warps, irreparably. The other snaps near the hilt.

She sighs, and throws them at two last. "a miracle it survived one strike, never mind as many as it did..."

no worries!

[singlemilletgrain]

Shu... does nothing.

It takes up enough of her strength to repeatedly cycle dozens of humanoid grotesqueries through the same fifteen feet of concrete, their fevered drive to rip apart their prey never diminishing no matter how long this lasts. They are not purely mindless - but neither do they seem to have the intelligence for tactics, either, for they have no ability to break free or rethink their approach.

Not that Shu would allow them to break free, anyway.

The phoenix crackles through and nicely chars the flesh, wafting the unappealing sight of rotisserie ghoul in their direction as their opponents burn and melt. This is effective, to a degree - at such temperatures, the muscle proteins surely must degrade, and their movements become clumsier, less precise. Donnie's glaive takes a bit more effort - yet one severing stroke after another must fell an enemy eventually, still, even if it makes the bile rise.

"I have 30 more seconds. Be ready."

Natalia, war machine that she is, steps into the fray - Shu takes a moment to adjust so she does not suffer the same effects of her magic - and slices cleanly straight through the spinal cord on several occasions. The, ah, top halves continue to crawl if possible, but the bottom portions fall cleanly away, and this, perhaps, is the key to stopping these creatures. ...Not that most people could manage such a strike.

As soon as her blades snap, though, two creatures beset her at once.

Around them, the chaos intensifies. The Corsairs, taken aback initially and losing some numbers, rally and regroup, adjusting and adapting on the fly as their lives depend on this. The guardsmen above have stopped shooting entirely, retreating into the facility to prepare for whatever else they have planned, leaving the all-out fracas to unfold. A quick glance around and Shu judges that they are holding their ground, somehow - probably simply by sheer force of numbers.

"They will break through. Now."

And the effects of Samsara fade. It will take her 2 minutes before she can maintain such an effect again - not long in theory, perhaps, but far too long in a real battle. This will be over in 2 minutes. With Natalia's explosive strikes, thankfully, they have only about four left to face. Two, as mentioned, grappled Natalia; while another launches itself at Shu and the final towards Donnie. Renne, further back in the shadows, is spared direct assault.

[purplexing]

His hands shaking, Donnie sweeps his blade desperately as it never seems like enough strikes can be dealt, whittling away at the things until they simply have no ability to move. He tries valiantly to suppress the content of his stomach from rebelling, but eventually succumbs to the sensation, turning aside to throw up.

Shu still sounds much too calm for everything that's happening, but all the same, the turtlekin tries to shake off his bout of nausea. He's still unprepared for how fast the dead thing moves, barely pulling up his staff in time, but he's knocked to the ground all the same.

He winces as claws rake across his shoulder, bracing himself as he jerks his knee up into the experiment's stomach, simultaneously shoving his staff into its face as he tries to flip it over and off of him.

[theriflespiral]

Natalia reaches for her bayonet a little too late to defend herself and draw it, now in grep with two. "knew I should have kept that giant's knife..."

With her arms caught like this, her legs can, at best, only deal with one at a time. She'd have to trust her armor for the rest. But as she feels the teeth sink in to padded tactical gear, blunt on her arms, she's glad she never gave up on this stuff.

Her knife-hand is free. A single, precise stab does the rest.

Still, can't trust her armor forever, especially if the soldiers on the walls get any ideas. She affixes her bayonet. "I have this last one. Protect Shu."

And truth be told, she does, and will... if the bayonet holds out longer than the swords.

[singlemilletgrain]

"Donnie -- "

Shu half-turns at the sound of retching, which is probably one of the more unwise things she's done in recent memory, given her close proximity to the monstrosities about to descend upon them. So it is that despite her own warnings to the group, she is caught -- not entirely off-guard, but at least, not wholly prepared when the ghoul besets her with wicked speed. Her shield is knocked away and the weight of the creature sends her reeling back.

But then, ghouls are not the only ones with inhuman strength, and so despite being bowled over, she secures an iron grip on the creature's arm and neck, holding it out away from her.

The one attacking Donnie claws viciously, trying to tear at his face, but the length of the staff is enough to keep it at bay. For now. But then, a faint glimmer of intelligence as the creature snatches at the end of the staff and engages in a game of tug of war with Donnie.

"Do not fear, Natalia."

Shu spits out through gritted teeth, the closest she's come to sounding out of sorts, still arm wrestling her ghoul. "I shall be... unencumbered shortly. Please... assist Donnie."

It's not clear how she intends to accomplish this.

The two on Natalia bite and thrash, and as she stabs with her knife and bayonet, she will find success again if she can somehow manage to sever the spines with much duller weaponry

[purplexing]

That's not supposed to happen! Donnie scrambles to try getting his feet under him so he can at least be upright as he hangs onto his staff. From this position he can't engage his grappling mechanism, and the blade-end is ineffectually on the end he's hanging onto.

He tries to dig his feet into the ground, leaning back with his weight against the creature on the other end, tightening his grip as best he can, because he releases one hand so he can fumble for the gun holstered under his slightly shredded jacket.

It's not something he's used very often, but he's carried it for such just-in-case scenarios, and as he squeezes off the trigger he feels the internal pull of his own energy as it siphons Ether from him to shape each shot. Maybe firing several times in a row isn't the best idea for such a weapon, but panic has made him hasty, and the sensation starts to make him feel light-headed.

[theriflespiral]

'Blunt' is a relative term. One does not have to slice if the blade is wide enough to sever the spine from a single piercing strike, placed perfectly near where the jaw meets the skull; such a blow, made with precision, along with a single shot, is more than enough to shatter bone and attendant nerves.

One.

Two.

The bolt-action shudders with the force of her cycling the chamber, rattling dangerously, and she cusses, but she's free. "Help on the way--"

Of course, she can't get away with that when her allies are the backstop.

[straykitty]

Those with sharp ears, especially in the din of combat, might have heard silent, layered incanting from Renne's direction. Though it took her a bit, her new glove allowed her to beautifully layer spellcraft in a manner she was never able to before, and the timing could not be better.

"Aegis Shield. La Forte. Chrono Drive. Crescent Eye."

A burst of myriad colors explodes around the Corsairs as they begin to feel invigorated. A shield descends, creating a barrier to absorb incoming damage as if it never occurred. A flame kindled in the heart, boosting offensive power. Time acceleration to speed movement. And a sudden sixth sight to alert to incoming danger, even outside of mortal vision.

[singlemilletgrain]

Natalia's ghouls gnash their jaws for a few moments after being dismembered before falling silent. Thus is she free to aid whom she pleases. As Renne casts her spells, Shu feels a surge of strength within her - already boasting the strength of a minor god (even if somewhat lessened by her presence in this world), Shu finds herself capable of overpowering her adversary and forcing it away. She does not go in for fistfights, as a general rule, but she finds herself forced to snatch at her iron shield and swing it as hard as she can.

This does not destroy the enemy, but it does at least momentarily stagger it, forcing it to the ground. Shu follows by laying the shield flat on her enemy's head and then stomping it repeatedly with such force that the metal of the shield dents.

She really should have paid more attention to Da ge's endless martial arts lectures.

Donnie's Ether pistol blasts several holes in the torso of his enemy, but as before, it refuses to go down. It does, however, relinquish its hold on his staff from the sheer kinetic force of the energy blasting bits of its body away. If he can manage to get the blade end facing the correct side, perhaps he can chop away some limbs, sever the spine, or otherwise nullify it.

Around them, the Corsairs, with the burst of power they've received from Renne, are similarly mopping up the last of the frontal assault. ...Or perhaps, the first assault.

"Is everyone well?"

Shu calls out in concern, still stomping. She is not sure when she needs to stop. She also really doesn't want to see what's underneath her shield right now. This is the least dignified kill she's ever made.

[purplexing]

It's like he's hit with a massive caffeine rush, his senses sharpened as he feels recharged. Donnie yanks away his staff as he spins away, holstering his pistol so he can have both hands free to wield his choice weapon, spinning it as he reforms the Ether-echo of his glaive's head, several times larger than the first.

He sidesteps before the undying thing can swipe at him again, pivoting to swing his weapon clear across what remains of its torso to sever it in two. His hands pass the staff's length hand over hand to keep it in motion even after he's completed the horizontal arc, bringing it up and around to hack off the offending creature's limbs to prevent it from keeping up its attacks before he swings it down and through the thing's head itself.

His breaths are short and quick as he still feels the energy buzzing through him, but there's nothing more to strike at right this moment, and he doesn't quite trust saying anything without tempting his gag reflex, so at best he flashes a shaky thumbs-up in Shu's direction.

[straykitty]

"Aura Breath. Refreshing Veil."

Still weaving supportive magic, this time Renne covered the Corsairs in gentle healing winds to close their wounds and purge any impurities from their system, as well as bolstering them against any further ailments.