epidemiology | EVENT ★ THE BATTLE FOR OSKA

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EVENT ★ THE BATTLE FOR OSKA

THE BATTLE FOR OSKA

A message is sent to teams Audentes, Unicorn, and Ambrosia via magitek early in the morning, alerting all users to expect to be rifted back to Oska in three hours. Shortly after that comes a message from the Queen of Terra Felis, requesting that recruits stop by the palace briefly to receive her blessing. Any recruits who oblige her will find that her blessing is actually a very physical gift: a feeling of peace that washes over each person as soon as they step into the palace. This feeling will persist for the next 12 hours, and comes with a boost to either strength or speed for the duration of it. It's the Queen's way of wishing her departing guests good luck.

Then comes the rift, and finally, Oska.

ARRIVAL

Oska isn't doing well. The devastation is immediately apparent in the blistered and blackened stone of the castle, completely blasted apart in some areas. Plantlife about the castle has been completely shredded, entire trees reduced to splintered stumps. The area recruits are rifted into is temporarily safe, guarded by team Mariposa, all of them of a large, fiercely warlike species, each heavily armed. There are only five of them, but that's enough to defend the little corner of Oska set up to receive the incoming teams.

The largest, most battle-scarred member of Mariposa issues no orders, but fills arrivals in on the situation: there are several models of robots focusing on the destruction of the castle. Hear that distant, repetitive thud? The largest robots, the 15-foot (457cm) models, area busy hammering at an interior wall, trying to break into the Mechanical Room. They're the main priority -- but don't lose track of the flanking and defensive models, they're there to cause whatever carnage they can while the largest ones tear down the castle itself. Basically, take out every robot you see, as fast as you can.

Those who can't fight have another, even more important job. There are defense nodes scattered throughout Oska, some inside the castle, some outside, even some in the village. These are small panels that blend in with the scenery. They each need to be opened up and rebooted with an access code put in via number pad. When every single node has been rebooted, the cloaking device will fully activate throughout this entire dimension, getting it permanently off of Zymandis's radar once more. Any recruit who volunteers for this job will have a map of each node location sent to their magitek. The robots don't seem to realize the importance of these nodes and usually ignore them, but will attack anyone they see working at one.

OPPONENTS

The biggest models are the PW15s; with sledgehammers at the end of their arms, they're programmed just to break down and tear apart foundation. They're currently working on busting their way into the Mechanical Room, where the TIMELINE.exe is kept. They must be stopped. Without the TIMELINE.exe, ALASTAIR is left aimless and adrift. These machines work ceaselessly at their task, and can only be distracted by focusing temporarily on a target right in front of them. Otherwise, they will ignore any attacks on them and keep working on the wall in front of them until they are torn apart themselves.

PW15s are guarded by the Shielders. These are the basic eight-foot (245cm) models, but each comes with a large light shield it will use to defend itself and the PW15s. They stay behind these impenetrable shields and fire lasers from safety, but don't have very advanced programming. They will swivel around to face their target, leaving themselves open to attacks from behind. Tag teaming these robots is very effective.

Airbombers can be tricky to navigate, as these robots fly. They're light and fast, but shots from their canons don't do much more than issue small but severe burns. The real danger is in letting one get directly overhead, as once it has done so it will release two to six bombs, which do great damage to people and property upon impact.

The last model to look out for is the T15, which is small but tenacious. These are no bigger than a large dog, and will scuttle quickly forward until they've spotted a target. At that point they plant themselves and begin to fire a concentrated beam of laser at whatever they've spotted until it has stopped moving. These models have very simple programming and few defenses, but are impossible to dissuade from firing while their target is still in sight. They have no sense of object permanence, though, and even ducking behind scenery will confuse one into thinking it's eliminated its target.

THE FIGHT

The arrival of the three teams from Terra Felis do a lot to tip the scales in Oska's favor, but the fight still rages for a full day after their arrival. Team Kittypaw can be seen engaging throughout the grounds -- Uruz and Dagny fiercely defend the stables and the squidge garden, and are tired but nowhere near ready to give up. Cassie leads attacks into robot-heavy areas with gun-blazing gusto and seems to be having the time of her life, but even her energy isn't unlimited. Cherenkov and Crowley are on defense node duty, and can be spotted as a black or white streak on their way to activate the next node, avoiding the bulk of the fighting.

Anyone who needs a break will be instructed to visit the library. Not even the robots are a match for the librarians, who have made it their utmost priority to ensure that nothing unauthorized sets foot among the books. Food and pillows have been brought in, and the area can be used as a base for resting and refueling between fights. Between fending off robots, the librarians will still warily scrutinize anyone eating or drinking too close to a book. They've allowed it, but don't push your luck and get messy.

The fight drags on for almost a full, exhausting 24 hours, but just as dawn begins to come to the little scrap of Oska's dimension, a shimmering races briefly through the sky as the last defense node is rebooted and the shield is reactivated. Any remaining robots jolt and then go still, permanently offline. (Friendly robots might also feel a jolt, but are spared any damage thanks to careful programming.) The collective teams of ALASTAIR finally have a moment to breathe and relax. The fight is over.

AFTERMATH

There is a lot to rebuild and, unfortunately, some mourning to do. Services for those fallen in the fight will be held the following day. They are quick but heartfelt affairs, with friends of the downed recruits speaking a few words about what will be most remembered and missed about their comrades.

Overall, though, the mood is grimly triumphant -- they've just managed to fend off Zymandis, after all. Or at least, a fraction of Zymandis. There are quite a few murmurs of gratitude for the shields being restored in time to stop anything bigger from finding them.

The castle begins to slowly rebuild itself, rocks teetering their way back into place and tapestries slowly restitching themselves. Left to its own devices, it would probably take several years of this for the castle to fully restore itself. It very obviously appreciates recruits lending a hand to rebuilding, though. Suits of armor will bring workers little trinkets of gratitude, or food from the kitchen, which produces it in generous heaps. The castle's rebuilding efforts will even focus a little more strongly on the rooms of anyone helping out, down to any personal effects that were damaged in the fight or otherwise.

Welcome home, Audentes. Rebuilding will last for the full three weeks given until their next mission, and still won't be complete by the time they ship out. But still, try to relax before your next trip out.

OOC NOTES

This log will last ICly and OOCly for three weeks (with the initial battle lasting one day), with the next mission beginning on 21 May. Please use this post to plot amongst yourselves!

The other ALASTAIR teams in Oska at the moment are Unicorn and Ambrosia, who were with Audentes in Terra Felis, Kittypaw, Mariposa, who greeted the new arrivals, and Kraken, a 10-recruit team made of various aquatic and amphibious species who use the lake as their home base during the fight. More teams will be rifting in to help with reconstruction, after the battle is over.

Questions about this log can be directed here. Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ. You may also submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( perhaps it should be troubling, to run into not one, but two wolves, in the quiet woods of Oska. the white runs first, eyes and ears and entire body a sharp and serious line. notably severe, for anyone that knew Brother; he was most often quite easy-going, as far as wolves went. there had to be something quite important happening, to have him on such edge.

not that the company they run into would be able to know. Giorno has not met Brother, and it's unlikely he recognizes the huntsman either in the tawny wolf with a grey patch over his heart. while the white wolf hangs back, hackles raised and uneasiness in his posture, the darker one trots forward carefully. it's exhausting practice, to hold onto a form that has so shortly been his...

yet that doesn't mean it doesn't feel particularly right. shockingly, it seems to; being a wolf is not easy, yet it feels easy. easier than being a human, on occasion. the brown wolf sits at the boy's feet, watching him carefully. )

[It's not every day that you run across a pair of wolves in the middle of the woods, especially not after days (weeks now) of hard, monotonous, frustrating work. Giorno isn't frightened. Not because he doesn't have a healthy respect for wildlife, but because it's simply so bizarre to see wolves out here.]

[For a backwards moment, he thinks of Romulus and Remus--but no, those were people. And anyway, fuck Rome. Napoli's better. By the time this series of thoughts has been completed, the second wolf--the darker, calmer one--has trotted up and is sitting at his feet.]

[That's not normal. Giorno tilts his head, brow furrowed.]

Is this a Disney movie? I'm fairly sure I'm not your protagonist.

( cute. he can't actually talk in wolf form, and that's probably for the best — he already has a princess, Giorno, hate to break it to you. Brother comes to shadow not too far away, close enough that he can intervene if necessary and far enough that Giorno probably couldn't touch him easily.

the brown wolf, however, lifts his ears expectantly and continues to wait his companion out.

the hardest learning curve of this particular ability is holding onto the form long enough to be useful. when he'd first gotten it, he could barely maintain minutes; every time he turned his capacity improved, though admittedly by small margins. he's not sure what will happen to his concentration if he were to be touched; Giorno is a bit of a guinea pig. )

. . . You're not a normal wolf, are you.

[Giorno says this softly, after watching this tableau for another few moments. He's careful not to look either of the wolves directly in the eye, but he's starting to get the feeling that, at least for the brown wolf, it wouldn't be such a big deal.]

I feel as though you're asking me to pet you. But I'd prefer to keep my hand, thank you. Here, we'll try it like this--

[He holds his hand out just a bit in front of him, not in front of the brown wolf's face, but not out of reach, either.]

Meet me halfway, all right?

( as a wolf, he doesn't have words, yet that didn't mean he couldn't communicate at all. he makes a sigh at the assertion he wasn't normal, which is as close to an agreement as he can give without the ability to speak. no, he wasn't a normal wolf, and looking him in the eye wouldn't do Giorno any trouble.

the hand offered is cautious, and that he can appreciate. especially when the Brother behind him was still practically static with his uncertainty — usually he was a far shade more friendly, the white wolf, yet having his pack in a new and uncertain form seemed to harken back many of his ignored instincts.

once he can feel the white wolf behind him relax, the brown one leans forward to grant the stranger a sniff, before daintily touching the tip of a rather cold nose to a knuckle. it was unbelievably odd, to touch someone else in a form he was still getting used to... yet if one could dissect the look on the wolf's face, it would almost seem pleased. )

Oh!

[Well. This is something else, isn't it. It's not that Giorno isn't pleased to have his theory proven right, but at the same time--very surprising. He's done so much research on animals in the past, in the days when his time before and after school was interminably depressing, has gotten caught up with such fascination in the nature of animal behavior, that he knows wild animals do not behave this way.]

[Carefully, he lets the brown wolf smell his hand. Then he reaches up to pet the back of the wolf's head, down to the top part of his neck, avoiding touching his ears.]

Thank you. Is this all right? I hope I'm not scaring your friend.

( no, it's not how a wolf would act in the wild at all. Graham would be an expert on that, considering he's lived among wolves and knows their mannerisms better than he does human ones. if the huntsman wanted to be a convincing wolf, surely he could; it's not his aim at the moment, though, as he tests the limits of a new ability.

it's odd, feeling fingers through fur, his own fur. Graham has been touched before yet being pet in a different form is something else entirely. it's more comforting than he finds touch as a human, which is a strange concept to be sure. he turns his ears up and outward, showing calm and acceptance, a yes without any words.

at the mention of his brother, he does glance back. the white wolf refuses to silence his agitation, though he makes no move to interrupt. there's no reassuring him until they're together again, and more than likely back to the way they're meant to be. the brown wolf sighs, turning back to his human companion. his experiment will have to be cut short, more than likely, for his brother's sake. )

[There was a moment when Giorno thought this wolf was acting like a dog. It's not true at all, though; that was a very foolish thought. This wolf is acting like a person, is what it is, responding deliberately to Giorno's questions and moving in a way that is likely to prompt Giorno's understanding.]

[How clever. He's really surprised and pleased to have figured it out, even if he's annoyed it's taken him this long.]

Do you think it would make your friend more comfortable, [he muses while running his fingers through the thick hair along the brown wolf's neck,] if I weren't so tall? I could sit.

( communicating, as he is now, is harder than he expected. he's always had a keen understanding of how an animal had a way of speaking humans often couldn't comprehend, yet even with the most alert and considerate of humans — finer details were impossible. how could a sigh, or a look, or a particularly expressive quirk of his ears, express why his brother was distressed?

they couldn't.

it was kind of the stranger to spot the uneasiness in the white wolf and do what he could to limit it. Graham had come to not expect such things of humanity, even ones that were generally kind. he glanced back at the white wolf, hackles still raised and uneasiness evident.

he wasn't sure anything but getting away from the human would help calm his brother, but there was a chance seeming less intimidating could help. the brown wolf laid down, slowly, nosing the ground next to him in a silent hint. not just for the human, but the wolf behind him, too.

his brother's anxiety couldn't be left unattended, if this form was going to be a frequent one. )

[Giorno nods. He's beginning to recognize that, while speaking aloud is helpful with some things, it isn't always helpful in this situation. He's sure that the brown wolf understands exactly what he's saying, especially if his theory is correct, but at the same time there's nothing wrong with silence. It's what the brown wolf is having to make do with.]

[Slowly, and with smooth movements, he moves into a crouch, then into a sitting position. His hands come to rest, one over the other, in his lap. He's still taller than the brown wolf as he is--lying down--but if the brown wolf were to sit up, their heads would just about be on the same level. His head is on the same level with the white wolf's too.]

[After a moment, and with the same amount of caution as before, he reaches out to the brown wolf, palm up.]

( it's actually quite strange, to see his brother so on edge around humans. if Graham were in human form, Brother would have shown none of his current reluctance. much of Audentes seemed to see him as more of a dog than a wolf, and his behavior did little to dispute that.

having his human in a different form clearly put the wolf on edge, left him openly skittish and nervous in a way Graham rarely saw him. it was hard to see him that anxious, though a part of him did understand. having an animal accept magic was a difficult task to begin with, and the wolf realized as well as he did that their pack had whittled down to nothing. Graham knew his brother was lonely, yet the evident worry he wore now made it ever clear that those losses had affected him even more than the Huntsman had realized.

he spreads brown ears and mutters a low whine in the back of his throat. not to Giorno, but to the wolf behind them. he then pairs wet and hopeful eyes on his company, silently bidding Giorno to be worth the trust he's placing in him, as the mutter was an attempt to draw his brother closer.

and it takes a long minute, conflict clear in his expression, before Brother pads closer, head low but haunches tight. )

[Actually, Giorno's surprised. He wasn't expecting to be this--okay, easy isn't the right word. Quick isn't, either, so let's go with: he expected it to take longer.]

[He doesn't let his surprise show in his posture, though; the furthest it gets is a darting up of his eyebrows, and then he lowers his gaze again. Maybe he smiles a little. But it's at the ground, not at the white wolf. Otherwise he doesn't move, just stays still and quiet and neutral.]

Your friend is very brave, [he murmurs, solemn and appreciative--for the brown wolf's ears, of course. He understands the value of trust from a frightened creature.]

( if he had words to explain, he'd simply say that his brother is unpredictable. there's much wild in him, and much softened by all the years he's spent at the side of a human. he is almost harder to predict than a wolf with all the wild in its blood, because there was no telling which side Brother would favor in a situation until he decided himself.

the white wolf with a reddened eye never draws near enough for Giorno to reach out and touch him, though Brother does get close enough that perhaps it could have been intimidating. the brown wolf offers the white one a lick as a quiet reward, and Brother lingers one moment longer, reaching his snout close to just barely sniff the air around the stranger.

and then he pulled back, trotting off into the trees. gone from sight, but not mind. the brown wolf pulls to his feet too, blinking brown eyes at Giorno in a spot of gratitude that might be hard to decipher. still, he won't leave the white wolf to walk alone, and he trots off after him slowly after. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ THE BATTLE FOR OSKA

➳ giogio

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omg i nearly spelled his name digorno im so sorry

thats his REAL name

his true name omg

don't speak it aloud.......

is it like saying beetlejuice...

it is exactly like that

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