EVENT ★ COWBOYS VS. ALIENS

[futurologists]

STATE OF THE PLANET Efforts in convincing the Qorral to stop drilling have been tentatively successful. Longterm solutions have been brought to them and, perhaps most importantly for the immediate, the fracking fields have been destroyed. The entire field has collapsed in on itself, taking mining equipment with it and creating a barren wasteland. In effect, the Qorral can no longer drill for argecite here, which means they will be leaving earlier than expected now that there is no use for the mining colony. It also means that the planet has been saved from being hollowed out completely. On the other hand, attempts at dealing with the Deemers have been a little shaky. By now, it's known that Miz Poppy is host to the Mother, the queen of this Taraxa hive. She remains elusive, slipping through the fingers of any who manage to find or capture her. Meanwhile, the infested Qorral have been dealt with in many ways: some opting for wholesale slaughter, some hoping to extract the Taraxa in the field, and some sending both extracted Taraxa and infested hosts back to Oska to be examined. As varied as the Deemer solutions have been, they have all resulted in the Deemer population being decimated. The numbers have dwindled as their camps are hunted down by ALASTAIR recruits, and attacks on the town of Perdition's Rest halt. But the Mother is still out there and free, and that's a problem . . . THE INVASION (DAY 1) In the morning, the ships come. Visible from the ground are massive spaceships in the upper atmosphere, gently drifting clouds sometimes blocking them from view. The Qorral don't recognize the ships; they're neither from their homeworld nor from any species they know, friendly or otherwise. For a few hours, the ships just hang in space like looming, silent buzzards, waiting. And then -- sparkling, metal objects start falling to the planet. It's difficult to tell what they are, as their scale is minuscule compared to the gigantic warships above, and their descent is strangely beautiful. But as the objects come closer to the surface, the details become clear: individual spacecraft. They're gleaming in gold and white metal, a triangle sigil painted on the sides, and cannons mounted on the bottom. These are Zymandis fighter craft. And they are not here to make nice. The fighter craft swoop down close and send a barrage of lasers down on Perdition's Rest, causing the local Qorral to scatter. But their fear doesn't last long: many immediately take up arms to fire back at the ships when they're low enough, including Sheriff Holladay, who shouts commands to anyone who will listen, Qorral and ALASTAIR alike: take cover, give 'em hell, and for sun's sake, don't be a hero. (Those who have been officially deputized may access the sheriff's armory, which includes all sorts of fun toys of the shooty variety.) But some Qorral have something else in mind. A small pack of locals rides out to the farm of Amos Zephyr -- and if you're suspicious enough to follow, it'll pay off. Beneath Zephyr's farm is a hidden defense platform: earth slowly moves aside as a metal platform raises up, home to mounted anti-aircraft cannons and fighter craft of their own. The Qorral fighter craft are intuitively designed, and the Qorral will also quickly give any curious ALASTAIR recruit a run-down on how to operate them. They're short-handed since so many of their number joined the Deemers, so they're very eager to allow anyone to try their hand at flying the two-man ships, which have their own mounted cannons and, of course, escape parachutes. The fighter craft are not meant for high altitudes, though, so your dreams of space travel will have to wait for another time. Those who do not wish to take flight and aren't comfortable with projectile weapons may find luck searching the desert for prey: namely, Taraxa agents attempting to flee in Zymandis escape pods. It seems as though the fighter craft are a distraction from the real goal of Zymandis helping its agents flee the planet. The Zymandis agents who are not Taraxa are variously humanoid, all equipped with laser weapons (spears, rifles, whips) that they will not hesitate to use against any who interrupt their attempts at escape. For those who aren't battle inclined, there are civilians who need to be ushered to safety, and quick repairs to weapons, equipment, horses, or even the Qorral fighter craft will be needed. This fight is going to be a long one. THE AFTERMATH (DAY 2) It's peaceful now. The Zymandis warships have fled into space with the surviving Taraxa agents in tow, the Mother presumably among them. The combined efforts of team Audentes and the Perdition's Rest colonists have successfully staved off the attack. The destruction wrought by Zymandis (and, perhaps, by overeager recruits themselves) is visible across the planet: deep fissures and scars from the laser cannons, fighter craft wreckage from both sides, burned buildings and trees, perhaps a fire still raging in the scrub grass somewhere. The Qorral aren't quite sure what that was all about, but they're more concerned with ALASTAIR's efforts in helping than in pointing fingers. Q-65 is no longer a suitable home, so the locals begin to pack up in preparation for the arrival of their homeworld's ships in the next few days. An old man puts his chess pieces away; a little girl clutches her robot pony doll, unwilling to put it in her suitcase; the stable owner and the blacksmith stand close together and talk in hushed, affectionate tones. Sheriff Holladay lets her deputies know they've served the colony well. It's bittersweet, but the Qorral always knew this settlement was never permanent. The mission complete, Audentes should expect to arrive back at Oska shortly. Use the time to say goodbye and finish up your business. Or, if you'd like, drink some of the booze that someone just found in the cellar beneath the burned-out saloon. It doesn't keep during interstellar travel, and no one will begrudge you a little celebration. OOC NOTES This log wraps up the Perdition's Rest mission! The log will last two IC days, after which characters will immediately return to Oska via dimensional rift (on 21 December in OOC time). Mission epilogue details will go up at a later date, but for now, Audentes can rest easy knowing that the mission has been a success. We will be posting an OOC post-mission assessment on 14 December so we can discuss how the mission went and talk about the state of the game in general. There is a new bounty on the Oska Bounty Board! Perdition's Rest bounties remain open until 21 December, at which point you will no longer be able to turn them in. You can also request bounty missions at any time. Please direct all questions pertaining to the mission to the dossier page to keep questions and responses in one place for easy player reference. General game questions should be directed to the FAQ. To submit a player plot or future mission idea, please go to the Suggestions post.

Comments

[assent]

Of course. [ Sonia's gaze flickers down, and there's a few things she'd like to say to that but as it is... she barely knows him. ]

So it would seem. Though it would appear that our jobs rest on the decisions of software as well, and that is rarely reliable.

[ Software can turn from being a cute restoration program into a murder game, after all!!! Viruses can happen to the most guarded of machines, you never know what's going on with the timeline. Or at least, now she understands that much she trusts it very little. ]

[steler]

[kaz is quiet for a moment. he hates admitting he doesn't understand things, but he hates not knowing them more than he hates admitting he doesn't.

so after a moment]

The software...that's timeline.exe, right?

[assent]

Yes, I believe so. [ Sonia looks at him quietly, before giving him a tiny smile. ] However, software can become corrupt. I am not entirely sure what all this might mean... but it probably cannot be fully trusted.

[steler]

What does that mean? That it can become corrupt?

[he pauses]

I'm sorry, I...we don't have this kind of technology, where I'm from.

[assent]

Yes, think of it as how the human body is normal, but when you are sick you have something like a virus. Something similar can happen to software as well.

It can be manipulated, poisoned, in that sense.

[steler]

And that could lead to conflicting information?

[assent]

Yes, that is very likely. It is often purposely done, as well. Though I am uncertain as to who would have access to this software either, if ALASTAIR relies on it to give information... that means there must be someone in control further up the line--or at least that is what I think.

[steler]

Why not suspect an outside influence?

[assent]

I would not, simply because by being a trusted member of an organisation... you can cause a lot more damage over a long period of time. Though it is a possibility as well, I suppose.

[steler]

[as someone who regularly breaks into other people's homes, kaz doesn't entirely agree - but he can see her logic, anyway.]

Is there a way someone could test for it? To see if it had been broken into?

[assent]

[ It's a one shot opportunity though, if anything weird is going on here, it's lasting quite a while. ]

Probably, they would need to admit it is a possibility first, I imagine. People are not very good at admitting something has gone wrong.

[steler]

Especially people in power. They wouldn't want to cause unrest.

[assent]

Unrest can cause panic, so that is understandable sometimes.

[steler]

Nevermind that it wouldn't make people very amenable to their leadership, if it was so easily compromised.

[assent]

That as well. [ It's hard to say it all works, honestly. ] I am aware there are people at ALASTAIR that can be contacted, though I do not think there are many.

[steler]

I imagine there are a number on our team who will be looking to contact them, after the things that have come out.

[assent]

Quite likely so, yes. [ A beat, then: ] Will you?

[steler]

That depends.

[you can't put all your cards on the table too soon, sonia.]

[assent]

On?

[ You can't, but she's not letting it drop from that either. ]

[steler]

If other people want to do that leg work and share with everyone, there's no need to harass the ALASTAIR people.

[yet]

[assent]

They may not share the information with everyone, however.

[ for now ]

[steler]

That doesn't sound much like our teammates.

[assent]

Does it not? [ A beat, then: ] You might be surprised.

[steler]

Maybe so.

[hed honestly prefer that, really, it would feel more like home. in any case, he stands.]

I should get going. Thank you, for the conversation.

[more ppl to harass and eavesdrop]

[assent]

Mm. [ She only hums in response, waiting until he's standing up to continue. ] You as well, take care for now.