epidemiology | EVENT ★ COWBOYS VS. ALIENS

EVENT ★ COWBOYS VS. ALIENS

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She's also princess of a country that teaches elementary kids warfare... so don't worry that much Oliver. ]

Do not worry, my family has defended our country for centuries! I am ready to rock 'n' roll! [ That isn't it, Sonia...

Though she does start to walk back down along the street, slowly starting to raise her weapon after indicating he should follow. ] Do you have good reflexes?

People who are ready to rock 'n' roll usually aren't that ready.

[Source: he'd probably say that out of nervousness.]

They're okay. Why?

T-They are not? [ She looks surprised. ] I thought that was what the saying meant?

[ She's just copying what she's heard, homie. Life is hard when you normally speak a different language yet try and copy English phrases. ]

Then you will be prepare when I tell you we must duck.

No, it is. That is what it means. I just... I don't usually hear people actually saying it.

[Also I screwed up that sentence a little, whoops.]

You think we'll need to duck?

[ No you didn't! She just takes everything literally... which is why she frowns now and murmurs: ] Perhaps it is only on the television after all?

[ Thankfully, it's him saying that which makes her pay attention again. ]

It may be possible, after all we are being targeted. Let us try this way. [ She waves for him to follow her as she darts across, taking shelter behind one of the ruined buildings. ]

[Oliver hesitates, but catches her up fairly quickly behind the building. He can't quite believe they're both still in one piece, but he can admit that's probably at least in part down to her.]

[ She presses her back against the wall, holding her gun up against herself with one hand, while the other moves to make a sort of stop sign, getting him to wait. ]

On my signal... [ Though it's probably going to be very unlike something he's experienced before. ] ...run to the right around the corner and duck into the opposite building, okay?

What are you going to do?

[Because running off and potentially leaving behind a teenage girl doesn't sound like a great option.]

Edited 2017-01-05 23:37 (UTC)

Fight.

[ There's a click as she readies up her machine gun, face mostly expressionless save for the slight furrow of her brow as she concentrates. ]

You need not worry, I will follow you shortly after, but if I don't provide cover neither of us will make it.

Now, on 3... 2... 1! [ Even if he wants to protest he won't have the time to with how quickly she says that out loud. Not running will only put her in more danger too, but he is able to notice that none of her shots miss. She aims for limbs so they may not die, but are incapacitated. They can't keep firing back, nor can they chase them as they run in the opposite direction.

Sorry for the brutal awakening though. ]

[He'd like to argue, it's too late for that. He falters long enough she's already firing by the time he can make sense of what's happening. Long enough it's lucky he hasn't actually made things worse.

It ends up being more like him following after her as she runs, but neither of them have been hit despite the danger they were both in.]

Where did you learn to shoot like that?

[Does he sound like he's going to cry? It's probable.]

[ Thankfully he hasn't, she has enough bullets to have a few spare for when he takes longer than she'd like, and rather than straight out run after him, she backs into the building while still shooting until those nearby are either dead, or just unable to fire back.

She breathes out, eyes glazing over as well for a moment as she tries to breath. At least his question gives her something else to focus on. ]

In my country-- [ She peeks around, checking that they're safe for the moment. ] --elementary students are taught a course on warfare... though I should probably say that as a member of the royal family it will be one day my duty to protect us should it come to it.

[For his part Oliver leans against the wall, panting heavily. Part of it's the exertion, but he's not unfit. It's mostly panic. The things she's telling him aren't exactly helping.]

Oh my god. Are you serious?

[ Her own breath has evened out, though thankfully he won't be aware that her own slight elevation of her pulse was due to ptsd and not... just because of panic. She reaches for his shoulder, looking at him in concern. ]

Are you... alright? [ She's so worried now. ] Please take slower breaths. Follow my example-- in [ She takes a deep breath. ] Then out. [ And releases. ]

[ It probably answers his question without truly saying "yes" anyway. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine.

[He's not fine, but he can't say otherwise. Not now. He does start to breathe more slowly. His pulse is still racing, but it helps. A little.]

Who are you?

[Look. He nearly died and he still might. He still can't quite believe this is who's getting him out of it. He's forgotten his manners a little.]

[ Her hand drops away when he starts to slow his breathing, her hand moving to press over her heart instead. ]

Sonia Nevermind, princess of the Kingdom of Novoselic.

[ She doesn't mind, it probably is quite a drastic change of events. She's already had her times for panicking so. ]

Oh.

[He's never heard of that country, and the last name strikes him as odd, but fortunately he's still too stunned to comment on it.]

I'm Oliver Hampton. I work in IT.

[He probably didn't need to say that last part.]

[ Thankfully, though some others already have. You don't need to worry about that, Oliver. ]

Oliver it is, then. It is a pleasure to meet you! [ So chirpy after everything that just happened, but hopefully it will help calm him a little if they take a break here to chat. ]

I have a friend that is a mechanic, but I am afraid that is the closest to IT that I know. [ Her head tilts. ] How long have you worked with computers?

They've been my entire career.

[Looking at her, he thinks he might have started learning beyond the basics before she was even born. Which is an unhappy thought, but at least better than worrying about dying.]

Should we really be talking about this stuff now?

[ Why do you think she's rolling with this? ]

They will not be following us for the time being, do not worry. I wonder if you would be able to build something here that you could use...?

I don't think so. The technology's all so different... I'm going to need to learn it all over again.

It is rather strange... Even my world it is strange to see people here with magic that I have not even dreamt of. [ Though her concept of magic is Weird. ]

But I think over time you will learn.

It'll take a long time, but I'd like to understand it.

A long time? [ Her head tilts. ] It may take less time than you think. Outside of this... [ Gunfire... fighting... ] There is little else to do.

It's very different. It seems like I need to learn a lot of it from the ground up.

It'll take a while.

If you need help finding materials, I will do my best to support you too. Though I am afraid computing is not something I am all too familiar with outside the basics.

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