MISSION #01: SAND AND IRON PREPARATION LOG

[vivalamods]

MISSION #01: SAND AND IRON

With the operation fast approaching, the Crimson Corsairs mobilize to prepare. As is often the case, the Supplier and Infiltration teams take the lead, deploying within Elysium and on the continent of Hesaeth. These preparations will be vital for the success of the operation team, and the Corsairs have devoted significant resources into seeing it through.

The Corsairs have delivered their verdict, and the mining site will be Captured for the benefit of the Crimson Corsairs. We expect this will invite swift reprisal from the Empire, and the Corsairs are expected to prepare assiduously to ensure unnecessary loss of life can be avoided.

The following missions have been registered for completion. For a character to count as having participated, they must have a minimum of 3 comments in the mission thread. Characters may only participate in missions in one of the available regions, but may participate in up to two threads if desired. If more than the minimum number of log participants is available for a given log, it will impact the efficacy of the preparation. As this is the first mission, the numbers have been kept intentionally low, we will assess requirements based on how we see player participation from this event and adjust as necessary.

SUPPLIERS

Gathering Supplies: This will mostly consist of gathering ingredients to make the food and drink to be distributed among the celebrants. It might involve hunting, foraging, farming, or other methods of production or gathering depending on your character’s preference. Failure to properly stock Elysium for the party will make the visiting officers angry and alert, ensuring they can mount a more effective defense of Hesaeth.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read GATHERING SUPPLIES. At least 4 characters will need to participate in this mission among all mission threads to make this a success.
Region: Elysium
Participants: Link, Snufkin, Maomao, Kaine (4/4)

Venue Preparation: This will consist of preparing the venue for the performance and banquet. It involves setting up the area, as well as constructing areas for seating and staging for the performances which will be held in the banquet hall. Failure to properly prepare will make visiting officers bored and restless, ensuring they can mount a more effective defense of Hesaeth.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read VENUE PREPARATION. At least 4 characters will need to participate in this mission among all mission threads to make this a success.
Region: Elysium
Participants: Momo, Musse, Eva, Link (4)

Munitions Development: The assault on Hesaeth will be a sneak attack, but extra firepower is always appreciated. Based on the recent salvage we’ve recovered, we believe we can make either a lethal poison or a sleep gas to be fired at the labor camp barracks. There is considerable argument among the Corsairs over which should be used, the sleeping concoction will potentially allow for the taking of captives. The poison gas will be potentially safer in neutralizing major threats, but there are many among the Corsairs and Imperial citizenry who will find the use of such a weapon abhorrent and this may lower our standing among our allies.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read either MUNITIONS DEVELOPMENT - SLEEPING GAS or MUNITIONS DEVELOPMENT - POISON GAS. At least 2 characters will need to participate in either of these missions to make this a success.
Region: Vault
Gambit: This will make up to two Gambits available - the Sleeping Gas Gambit and the Poison Gas Gambit. Either will be available for a one-time use in a mission log.
Participants (Sleeping Gas): Rezo (1/2)
Participants (Poison Gas): (0/2)

Illicit Substance Development: With the visiting officials, now is an excellent time for Elysium to put some of its finest hedonistic delights on display. To that end, they are developing more powerful alcohol and drugs to ensure the empire cannot mount an effective defense when the time comes. The enhanced alcohol should make the officers more likely to be asleep or impaired, whereas the drugs should ensure the officers are hallucinating and unable to give effective orders. Both should be able to completely incapacitate the officers and keep them from providing any aid to the labor camp.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read either DRUG DEVELOPMENT or ALCOHOL DEVELOPMENT. At least 2 characters will need to participate in either of these missions to make this a success.
Region: Vault or Elysium
Faction: Elysium only
Gambit: This will make up to two Gambits available - the Potent Drugs Gambit and the Potent Alcohol Gambit. Either will be available for a one-time use in a mission log.
Participants (Drug Development): Maomao, Musse (2/2)
Participants (Alcohol Development): (0/2)

INFILTRATORS

Observation and Mapping: Infiltrators will need to get a full layout of the labor camp, including troop movements, locations of armaments, and as many details as possible. This information will be critical in ensuring the team can quickly neutralize the threats on the ground. Failure to properly scout the area will lead to the team encountering unexpected and potentially dangerous threats on the ground.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read either OBSERVATION AND MAPPING. At least 4 characters will need to participate in either of these missions to make this a success.
Region: Hesaeth
Participants: T-800, Id, Itsuzumi, Aerich (4/4)

Prisoner Uprising: Infiltrators will need to steal into the labor camp and prepare the inhabitants for their impending rescue. This includes informing them and arming them so they can assist, if willing.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read OBSERVATION AND MAPPING. At least 4 characters will need to participate in either of these missions to make this a success.
Region: Hesaeth
Gambit: This will make the Prison Revolt Gambit available. It will be available for a one-time use in a mission log, but can only be used on this mission.
Participants: Madeline, Noctis, Harlock (3/4)

Steal Dispatches: Knowledge is power, and the Corsairs can make tremendous use of the maps, dispatches, and orders that flow through prison camps like this. Infiltrators will need to enter officer quarters and sift through refuse to find these missives and bring them back to the Vault for analysis.
Requirements: To participate in this mission, your thread header should read either STEAL DISPATCHES. At least 2 characters will need to participate in either of these missions to make this a success.
Region: Hesaeth
Faction: Vault only
Gambit: This will make the Hamper Reinforcements Gambit available. It will be available for a one-time use in a mission log.
Participants: Donatello, Angelika (2/2)

Players are generally free to play out the mission however they wish in terms of their log. A mission’s success will be judged across all participants in all logs. Players who want to make final group planning may use the top level in this post. Any Gambits will be made immediately available once the log participation requirement is met. The Execution phase will be posted on July 10th, but the cut-off to complete a mission log successfully for the planning phase will be July 15th.

back to navigation
code credit

Comments

[purplexing]

While he's no expert in such matters even he can tell that someone's definitely been slacking around here. Either that or they figure none of the higher-ups (who likely don't even set foot in the place) don't care. Of course that just suggests that nothing much is accurate when it comes to production. Donnie has to wonder how much of those employed here is actually what's recorded, his eyes skimming the numbers to see if there are any variations between the earliest and the latest that's been filed.

He takes the latest of the production reports, servitor records (concerning), payroll lists and the armor maintenance records, folding them up lengthwise before slipping them nto the shaft of his...well they're not really boots when they have an open toe and heel but anyway...

Ah, but this is more like it. He looks through the timetable, frowning as he turns pages. "Wow..." he says under his breath. Well, that's less trouble for them. Making sure things were indeed copied directly, Donnie slips one of them from the sheaf and prepares it to join the rest of the samples he'd gotten.

What else, what else, what else... Reports are all well and good but these are still a bit dated. Donnie looks around for anything that might be records of orders and shipments that have been made. Then he'll listen at the wall to see if the accounting room is still clear to duck back into, because it still feels like the next best place to check would be that noisy officer's room. If he ever leaves...

[fish4science]

See, this is why we have partners. Because Angelika, darling that she is, has demanded that the noisy officer bring her coffee like a good serving boy-and now there's apparently a fight going on where that guy insists he doesn't take orders from Inquisitors to serve as a coffee boy, the priest backs up 'Konrad' and the base commander backs up his man! the door to that meeting room is slightly more ajar, and all four voices spill out into the hall-so better be quick, before either the base commander decides to grab his assistant and steer him back to the office, or Angelika gets so irate about bad coffee she forgets to remain in character.

The base commander's office is the biggest room on that side of the hallway, for sure. Two desks, facing each other, each with it's own inbox and outbox, the smaller one stacked much higher with paperwork than the larger. A huge greatsword on the wall, and a painting of a man decapitating a dragon with it.

[purplexing]

After hearing just a fragment of the yelling going on in that room, Donnie's all too happy to duck into somewhere comparatively quieter. "Hang in there, Angie...." he whispers, still hearing the shouting well enough from the office.

A quick study of the room has him solidify his negative opinion of its usual occupants, not that it's a difficult thing. He moves towards the nearest desk first, glancing at the boxes atop of it. In would be...incoming. Donnie carefully picks these up first to leaf through before he'll have a look at the outgoing. Maybe if one of those went missing it'd help slow things down, depending on how attentive anyone was once they were picked up.

[fish4science]

She's hanging in there, but try to finish up quick, there's only so many shenanigans she can be responsible for! Though, 'Angie' is not on the approved list of nicknames, but you might get in on via appeal.

The documents in here were less well sorted-but also not all for internal consumption-and one document stood out just from the feel of the paper on the fingertips, the whiteness of it's color, and the quality of the printing on it. "Official Military Circular" it read. It seemed to be important, but finding out how important might mean stopping to actually read the thing.

[purplexing]

Nicknames have always been a thing in his family and each of his brothers have at least several. Their father simply calls them by colors most of the time! Just think of all the ways one can get creative with 'Angelika!'

The paper quality is definitely what gets Donnie's attention first. He glosses over it but doesn't linger too long, folding it up to add to his horde of slips.

He sets the stack back into place as close as he remembers it to have looked before poking around the desk itself, glancing in the waste basket for any careless discards before he'll move to the other desk.

[fish4science]

Just don't call like 'Lika', or 'Marsony.' But 'Angel' is on the shortlist of approved nicknames, fyi.

The wastepaper basket is a loss, everything within is too wadded up to smooth out and read quickly, and the little that can be gleaned seems concerned more with beans and bacon than battles. The other desk though, is definitely the base commander's with it's larger size, finer construction, and comfortable armchair instead of the hard wooden thing his subordinate gets.

And here, there's something in the wastepaper basket that is useful. A letter from another commander, reminding this place's military forces need to be ready to move to any *other* base if there is a threat. And listhing, helpfully, several other bases and the response-times that are required to be hit in drills.

[purplexing]

Ange? 'Jelika? Probably not Jeli...

Donnie smoothes out the letter he's picked out of the other receptacle with a thoughtful hum. This is promising. He folds it and stows it in his belt pouch.

Pausing briefly to listen, he quickly goes through any outgoing missives that might complicate things for their future plans... or rather work in their favor if they go missing. That's about all he pushes his luck for as he steps closer to the door again to listen for any problems.

[fish4science]

"We aren't going to let some Junior Inquisitor do all these things. You can interview the workers, but only in their 'off' hours, so don't expect-"

"Then I will report this to my seniors and we will see where things go." Oh, that's icy cold. But it also sounds like Angelika is nearly out of time so Donnie had best move fast before Ange/Jelika/not Jeli under any circumstances comes out through the door. Or he can play it cool-after all, there's two people who need to escort the young Inquisitor away if 'he's leaving, and one who needs to clean up some bad coffee. They might all depart after all, and make it trivially easy to get back, or he might have only one person to dodge around...unless they come right back to the office he's in.

[purplexing]

Weighing his options, Donnie decides he still doesn't want to be stuck in this office given the chances anyone might return there. As much as he hates the trophy room, it seems the least likely to have reason for anyone to go in right then- so he hopes.

He peeks outside, stealing an anxious look towards the office Angelika's in as he darts back towards the door he'd first come from. At least it sounds like she'll have a straight-forward way out?

As much as he doesn't look forward to it, maybe revisiting the vents is his best option.

[fish4science]

Well, revisiting the vents is at least a way you know will get you in and out-and if it doesn't it can at least give you cover until a later time when the guards might not be as vigilant Or if you decipher some of those papers, they might give you a way out.

And as for Angelika, she's probably going to walk out just as easily as she walked in. The whole point of claiming a high-status identity, is that when she's denied one iota of what she demands, she can storm off in a huff, promising that there will be Consequences. And then rendezvous in the desert with Donnie at their meet up point. Though, since she doesn't know if he's finished the mission, she's gonna drag this out as long as possible. No sense in leaving the base's rhythm undisturbed when Donnie might need that disturbance to leave.

[purplexing]

Going over his findings is one of Donnie's thoughts- better done in a place he won't be immediately compromised. He tucks in by the foot of one of the displays once he's back in the trophy room, slipping out the patrol map for a better study of its contents.

Maybe if he went out through one of the office windows he could just circumvent security completely, but he has no idea what that side of things looks like or how smooth the walls would be. The halls don't offer much by way of cover so if anything, he's better off taking the less-direct ways again and figuring out the loopholes in the security postings.

[fish4science]

It won't be impossible to find those gaps-there's plenty of holes a ninja can exploit-blind spots for watchtowers, guard patrols with too-large gaps in between them, or even the extra ventilation shafts in the mine that pull in air to refresh the supply the workers deplete. Of course, the last one means a 50 meter climb up a narrow shaft, and dealing with the grate at the end, but it could be done.

Whatever the path he chooses-whatever road he takes, it's for him to decide, and for him to execute. For Angelika there is only sitting in the shade of a lonely rock, waiting for him to appear, and copying out what she saw onto a notebook while she waits.

[purplexing]

That's a climb he'd rather do when not stuck in a shaft that isn't completely guaranteed to fit him, especially if it's hand-carved and already as tight as the one he'd gotten in through. Which...he decides is the route he'll take back, at least to the main fan hub. As uncomfortable as it is, vent shimmying might at least let him overhear conversations, and maybe he can confirm that Angelika's left while he plans his own exit.

So it's back through the ventilation shaft that he goes, with just some minor frustration in getting the grate closed after him. He's only glad that nothing's crawling around in here with him. Get back to the main shaft, take the third shaft to the right to get back to the ore dumping grounds, watch for the guard swap... he runs through his general plan as he slowly but surely makes his way along. Ugggh he wants to soak in a bath after this.

[fish4science]

Well, he might overhear some conversation on his way out that goes something like...

"An inquisitor? Out here?"
"Just a baby one, I heard. Couldn't have been older than 14."
"They come that young?"
"Apparently? Some kind of wonderkid, kept bragging about how much theology and stuff he knew."
"Well, I would too if I was a baby inquisitor. Can't get any respect if you still have babyfat."
"Is that from experience?"
"Shut it! Anyways, he's gone now, right?"
"Right, but he said he'd be back-wants to question people about if we're not spiritually contaminated by the workers."
"That doesn't sound good..."

Getting back to the fan hub takes some contorting his body, but Donnie manages to half-fall out of the vent before too long. Once he's out of here, he'll have to wait for the guard swap-and then, while they're distracted, get over the wall, and find his way all the way out to the rendezvous. Which means probably, a mad dash after he's over the wall to get out of sight while also avoiding leaving tracks on the sand in clear view. At least there are plentiful sections of rock and pebbles, but leaving a clear trail is the worst option.

[purplexing]

Yep. Sometimes it pays to have a soft-shell. "Hngh... I never want to do that again," he mutters. At least it sounds like Angelika had gotten out just fine.

Donnie takes a moment to just breathe deeply before he gets into a better position to see where the guards might be. Nothing else seems to have changed out here since he'd come in, save for a bit of shadow shifting with the movement of the sun. That might help a bit to start, but once he's over, that cover won't last long. Well, first things first...

Waiting is a pain but at least the Turtlekin is fairly patient enough to do so, plotting out his course so he can be ready to-

Now.

As soon as the guards have turned their back, he makes his move, clambering up higher along the pile of rubble to grab onto the belt as it rounds the end of conveyor. He pulls himself up as tightly as he can until it's carried him over the lip of the wall, and then he dangles as it begins its descent, looking out at the expanse of sand as he tries to plot out his best course away from here.

The sand is definitely going to be a problem. Stupid sand. A jumbo-sized fan would come in handy. ...or how about...

Donnie drops down, squinting across the open space. "...ohhh that's so stupid, but..." He slides a rod from the holster hanging from his belt and strapped to his thigh, flicking one end of it with the depression of a button to extend half of the collapsible staff. Then he concentrates as he looks at the tip, the magenta glow trademark of his strange brand of magic forming at a point before extending in lines as it builds itself up. He knows how fans work, he's helped fix them. Making one out of mystic energy isn't difficult to picture. The last lines connect and the otherwise translucent construct powers up, blowing a gust of air in his face.

"...relishing chuckle."

Dumb but it just might work..! He swings the fan end down behind him, craning a look back before he turns his attention forward. Time's already been ticking, just gotta get out there towards those boulders. He runs, still taking care to take a route that's not as sandy but there's only so much of those patches. Well, hopefully his mystic fan-head will cover the rest. Literally.

[fish4science]

Hey, if it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid! It just has a few issues-like the need to channel magic into it, the need to actually look behind rather than where you're going, and the fact that the fan takes a bit of time to blow sand over your tracks and smooth out the desert. But it's not a terrible solution, and barring a close encounter with a patrol that has some dogs, Donnie shouldn't have any trouble making it to their rendevous.

When he gets there, Angelika's still drawing in her notes, totally oblivious to the world, just herself, her pen, and the paper. And a perfect chance for him to sneak up on her and surprise her with their success.

[purplexing]

There could definitely be some improvement to the method, Donnie's ever-working mind already considering how much more effective he could have made it with a little more time. It might have just drained him faster. He hasn't tried anything like this and sustained it for so long, and getting out of immediate sight of the mining site takes even longer when you're trying so hard to cover your tracks.

There's no sneaking involved by the time he spies Angelika, but his footfalls are soft enough as it is that surprising her may not be intentional. If she were paying attention she'd make out his panting, but either way, he greets her with a breathless, "Hey." And then promptly collapses.

[fish4science]

"EEEK!" She squeaks-screams, as she shoots bolt upright-and then sees the turtlekin collapse in front of her. "Oh no! Are you hurt? Did they get you?"

It takes considerably longer to get back to the Vault with their findings than it had to reach the site in the first place, because she has to drag a Turtlekin back. But drag him back she will-and does. Even if it takes a long, long time.

(Fin?)

[purplexing]

((OOC: LOL yes, that works. Sorry 'jelika.))