EVENT ▸ RESCUERS DOWN UNDER

[futurologists]

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

Comments

[predomination]

[look if I don't say it, someone is gonna be like "wow chris my character would have noticed that shit. why didn't you tell me??"]

The trick is to drink and then pass out immediately afterwards before you make a fool of yourself. [Basically defeating the purpose of drinking, but when he drinks he drinks with Yoruichi and she's a lightweight who doesn't even like alcohol.]

[followhim]

[ he just laughs. damn son. this is not the advice he's used to receiving from urahara. ]

You speaking from a place of experience there? The making a fool of yourself thing, I mean.

[predomination]

Oh, not me. [He's starting to pull back a bit into his "act." No misery business here, thank you.] I act precisely the amount of fool I intend to.

[followhim]

I wish I could measure out how much fool I was gonna be ahead of time.

[ he laughs again, but then goes kind of somber. ]

You know, this is nice. After everything. I feel like this whole mission has been pretty heavy. Or maybe that's just me.

[predomination]

Oh, it definitely has been. [He knew it was going to be heavy from the start, but now it's just so much. They're in so deep now and they still don't have a solution.]

It's not a situation that leads much to pleasant chats, is it?

[followhim]

No, I guess not. This whole situation is a lot like home. It's familiar. But at least at home, we had hope, you know? There were still moments where stuff was good, even in the middle of everything. Moments like that remind you of why you're fighting at all.

[ a beat passes. ]

Do you think they've got anything like that here? They've gotta, right? There were ... you know, we've seen kids playing and stuff.

[predomination]

People to learn to live in situations like this, even if it looks like they shouldn't. This is their reality and we're just outsiders.

[He traces the lip of his glass with a finger.] You can't understand what it's like from their point of view unless you've been there.

[followhim]

[ he said no thanks to the drink, but the further they descend down this rabbit hole, the more he'd actually like one. ]

I don't like all these missions where we go in and tell people how to run things. 'Cause you're right. How do we know what's best? It's all guesswork. I wouldn't like it if some strangers showed up and tried to tell the Resistance how to fix the galaxy back home.

[predomination]

It's either that or it just continues into chaos. It's a complicated matter- the burden of knowledge is a terrible thing.

[He shrugs, a sheepish expression creeping its way across his exhausted face. He knows that burden too well- on a small scale, it's what he's been doing most of his life.] It's all very messy and complicated, but it is what we signed up for.

[followhim]

I don't like it.

[ he says it with the huffiness of a kindergartener, then kind of laughs at himself for ... being a kindergartener. ]

I miss the vulphytes. Did you go on that one?