epidemiology | EVENT ▸ RESCUERS DOWN UNDER

RESCUERS

Tensions are high in the Democratic City-State of Drakstaden. It's been two days since the infiltration of the Broadcasting Station, where a secret recording of the Prime Minister laying out plans to enslave the lower classes was broadcast to the entire city -- leading to a number of bystanders, Ophelia, and Rost to get arrested and thrown in prison.

Of course, no one's useful to the resistance effort behind bars, so Rost makes contact and explains that they've been spending the past two days planning a prison break -- and it's time to put it in action.

▸ VAKDIR PRISON

Rost’s most studious member, Brynja, proposes that the prison break effort be split into two groups: a distraction group and an infiltration group.

The infiltration group will need members familiar with technology who will be able to use -- and if necessary, manipulate -- the Vakdir security tech. Stealth and speed are of the essence, as being caught could blow the entire operation. It’s possible there will be run-ins with stray Vakdir who will need to be dispatched quickly and quietly, then hidden; fighters who specialize in guns, explosives, or other loud weaponry might want to join the other group.

The distraction group will have to busy the Vakdir on guard duty and, in the worst-case scenario, take them out before they can investigate or stop the break-in. Good conversationalists are required, but good fighters are necessary, too. Most importantly, creative minds who can think on their feet and get themselves out of tight spots are ideal for the distraction group.

The main Vakdir security is positioned in the lobby near the entrance and around the perimeter of the building. The minimum number of guards at any given area is two; the Vakdir do guard duty in groups. The most important thing while there are no alarms going off is to keep the guards busy and in place -- you don’t want them heading back and finding a group of infiltrators. Whatever it takes to keep them there! Each guard is a different person and has a different personality, so what works for one may not work for another. If an alarm goes off -- when an alarm goes off, since one does near the end of the operation -- it’s time to pull out all the stops. This is when it likely gets violent, unless you’re particularly persuasive. The security camera footage will be deleted and the released inmates won’t be taking any prisoners themselves, so no one will be left to remember your face; don’t worry about becoming a fugitive.

The infiltration part is a little trickier. Brynja knows the location of an alternate entrance, but it's locked. The only hope is a small, impossibly high window. Looks like you’ll have to do some teamwork! With some standing on each other’s shoulders -- and a good lookout -- someone will be able to drop in through the window (watch your landing!) and unlock the door from the inside. Unluckily, one of the first obstacles they’ll run into is a retina scanner. Luckily, a few of those retinas are nearby... some Vakdir officers have accidentally stumbled upon the team. They’re unprepared, but armed; take them out quickly, before they can alert anyone. Once they’re out, you can hold them up to the retina scanner.

The door to the holding cells is the next obstacle. It appears there’s a password, one that changes daily if the TODAY’S PASSCODE IS... is any indication. For a moment, it looks like they’re out of luck, before a prompt pops up: WOULD YOU LIKE A HINT? If pressed, it will bring up the following hint:

6
16
1611
111621
31161211
THE PASSCODE IS THE NEXT NUMBER IN THE SEQUENCE.

Eventually, someone’s bound to figure it out -- the answer is 132116111221; each number describes the number before it. In this case, one three, two ones, one six, one one, one two, and two ones. Once inside, it’s up to inventors to hack the locks or bruisers to brute force their way in. Either way, free the prisoners! Yes, all of them -- not only are most of them probably locked up for bogus charges, but the more people on your side, the better your chances are for winning not just this battle, but the war.

Once they’re all free, it’s time to lead them all back the way you came so nobody trips an alarm. Except... everyone’s a little bit worked up about being freed and running amok. And it looks like someone just tripped an alarm all on their own.

Well, no one said it would be easy!

▸ DISCUSSION

After the break-in and escape, you'll need to lie low. Go back to the hotel, hide with Rost, spread throughout the city with your newly freed friends -- whatever you like. But wherever you go, you'll notice that Vakdir presence has increased, even in the previously unguarded lowest levels. If you're wanted for crimes, you'll need to be especially careful, unless you want to constantly be running for your life.

With the sudden surge in criminal and treasonous behavior, the entire city has gone on lockdown. There is now a curfew in place: everyone must be in their homes by an hour after sunset, which, given the short daylight hours on this part of the planet, means citizens only have ten hours per day of freedom.

This curfew applies to the rebels of Rost and Ophelia, of course, though with your combined resources, you should be able to find a way to get around it and continue your work throughout the city, whatever that may be.

Still, things are bad. And despite the combined efforts of Rost and Ophelia, things keep getting worse; Rost worries that the Vakdir will increase its efforts to root them out, pulling innocent citizens into the thick of everything and bringing the lower class ever closer to the Prime Minister's planned subjugation.

Purple-haired Rost agent Froken stops by the hotel one day before curfew, surreptitiously letting Ophelia know they're ready to do whatever it takes to finish this once and for all; Rost is prepared to hear any suggestions that Ophelia may come up with, trusting them as experts in this matter (whether or not that's true for the individuals in the guild).

But first, you'll need to discuss what to do.

▸ OOC NOTES

This log takes place over one day, with the next log beginning two weeks later. Get ready to get serious!

Please note: due to a dip in activity, we have shifted some plot points, combining this log and the next. The next planned !plot log on 26 May will be the final log of this mission.

If you have questions about this log or the mission, please direct them to the dossier. Questions about the game in general can be directed to the FAQ.

▸ Up now:

Player Plot: Mayission Impossible (sign-ups closed).

▸ Coming next (Futurology runs on timezone UTC):

19 May: Resolution submissions and voting begins.
23 May: Resolution submissions and voting ends.
26 May: Final log of Mission: Drakstaden.

▸ CR/Welcome Meme ▸ Drakstaden Dossier ▸ Drakstaden Locations ▸ Drakstaden Bounty Board ▸ May Calendar

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ On this point, Rey sort of … nods. On the one hand, she feels a little bad for Hayame to be called out like that. It couldn't have gone well. Hayame was so prideful and reserved, and Loki was such an expert at getting into other people's business.

On the other hand, it … helps her have hope. That although things very obviously aren't alright just now between her and Ben, they could be. The influence of the Dark Side could not be ignored in the role it plays on Ben's paranoia, however. His was not only a product of a lifetime of disappointment. ]

Odinson doesn't seem to mind. [ Maybe Rey will be in trouble for this. ] After I saw the two of you together in Azeria, I mentioned it to him. When we first arrived here. He didn't share much.

[No, it... most certainly had not gone well. But even with the sting of it, the shame... she had never once resented the man for his words like she would normally. After all- she had lost a lover then, but Loki had lost a brother.

And she has... always felt somewhat jealous. That the two of them were here together. If Yubari were back at her side, and then taken away...]

Odinson... knows things I have told few others. He has been... very understandi-

[Wait, what? She actually seems to forget to say the question out loud, but.]

[ Again, it's hard not to fall into the old pattern of clinging to this as justification for the odd and poisonous paranoia that had bled over into her and made her overlook what isolated her. She was a stranger to Odinson, and that was different. What's more, he hadn't tried to downplay his relationship with Hayame. Only approached it with some wariness.

She wonders what Hayame would have done in that situation before she had heard this advice from Loki, but she knows the answer already. Hayame had told her about Odinson at the wedding, all on her own, before ever considering them friends. Through her humiliation, yes, but she hadn't denied it. ]

That's what I've been trying to be. [ Rey says, regretfully. ] Understanding.

[ Compromising. If it were only this thing, maybe, but she could feel the real weight of it now. Paranoia and isolation would lead her down the path of the Dark Side, no matter how adamant Ben was that he wasn't trying to pull her down with him.

Loki had spotted it keenly: Allow him free reign to destroy what you've built, coddle him for it, and call him the victim of the world. She'd failed to recognize that her stance had already been one of moderation; giving him leeway on something like this wouldn't save him, and it wouldn't bring them to a place of balance. ]

["Understanding".

That brings her instinctual hackles right back down, lips pursed. (What Odinson chose to say to others about them was his business, and she would trust in his understanding. She'd decided that. Even if there were a few residual reactions left in her.)

She feels that there is something to say here, that she wants to say correctly. Something that explains better her reservations, and the differences she sees.

Kylo Ren was strong, and she had a certain inherent respect for that. But though she had also seen several traits in the man that reminded her of... herself... they weren't necessarily the parts she found noble.]

... there is a difference between understanding privacy... and secrecy.

[Perhaps that does it.]

[ She nods. She can see the difference too, though she couldn't quite articulate it as Hayame had managed to. Some part of her feels foolish, but she lets it wash over her. What she'd done, she had done for good reason. Her compassion for Ben was not misplaced. Her desire to understand him, not wrong.

But she had let herself become so wrapped up in it as to allow him to warp her view too. Understanding is fine, but she'd chased it a step further to — well, coddling. As Loki had said. She'd compromised her own wellbeing. ]

I'll do better.

[There's still something about that she doesn't like that she can't put a finger on. Did she mean do better... with him, or with herself?

Hayame shifts somewhat uncomfortably, curling her stiff, until recently broken fingers, trying to find the words. She had never... been good at this. (Really, she'd never tried to be.) At advice. At encouragement.

Still... she thinks of Odinson. Of how strong, and yet gentle he was. How understanding, and supportive. More so than she deserved. At times it shamed her, to think how much better she ought to be to be worthy of such a person.]

... You are a good woman, Otaka.

[Rey. (She'll get it eventually, damn it.)]

Just make sure that your efforts are deserved.

[... Maybe she should talk to Loki. The god was far better at words than she was.]

[ In the whole galaxy, only one or two still survived who believed Ben Solo might have a second chance — and two was a generous estimate. Given the boundless nature of Han's hope, to approach him on that base, Rey has to believe that Leia still hopes as well.

And it's not because he deserves it. That word. She realizes that it sticks in her mind because she'd said something along those lines to Ben once, too, about who was deserving of forgiveness. Not exactly right, but it still feels true, somehow. ]

It's not about deserving.

[ At least, Rey doesn't think so. She hopes not, more accurately, because she doesn't believe she deserves anything. What people deserve has never been her life. She never deserved to be abandoned or sold or mistreated or tortured or any of the terrible things that happened to her. The Force didn't care. The galaxy didn't care.

And she certainly doesn't care whether or not Ben deserves her affection. He has it. ]

But thank you. You're a good friend, Hayame. [ And Rey doesn't think she 'deserves' that either, but she's still grateful for it. ]

Edited 2018-05-19 05:46 (UTC)

... very well.

[Hayame cannot debate the merits of the word. Of the difference in the way they think, that Otaka (Rey) can say that with confidence. Perhaps it was because she had more faith in others than Hayame did...

But she isn't sure. In the end... it's too much to guess, and surely too much to put into words to puzzle out the reason. Too much she doesn't know about that man.

Instead, she just mumbles under her breath, shaking her head.]

... you are welcome.

EVENT ▸ RESCUERS DOWN UNDER

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