EVENT: BAD VIBRATIONS PART ONE

[crux_npcs]

Who: Wadjit, the Fleet, Plot Participants
Where: Space, The Teuberg
When: Evening, Aprilo 1st
Warnings: None

The peaceful day is shattered by warnings and sirens sounding all through the Fleet, including the city. There's no surface safe, even the personal communicators are letting out alerts. Finally, after a good five seconds, an alarmed voice shouts out. "HEAT SIGNATURES DETECTED! Counting at least seven destroyers, three frigates, and five War Serpents, possibly more, angling for attack vectors! Estimating fifteen minutes until combat range!"

There's a thirty-second wait, and then the communicators of the new arrivals start receiving messages. Civilians are directed to go to shelters, the military recruits are ordered to ship-board battle stations and repair areas, medical volunteers are directed to clinics and hospitals, and the militia has orders to take up defensive positions both in space and aboard the Teuberg, just in case.

The Wadjit fleet incoming is a boiling mass of capital ships, from frigate sized up to cruisers, all of them massive, ovoid, and covered in painted faces, huge fanged maws that actually curl back to launch fighters, mobile suits, and probes as they bore in towards the Fleet. There are at least 17 ships dancing in the void, with hundreds of assorted secondary assault units shedding from them like sporing fungus. The longest of them, armored with serpentine scales, are obviously the War Serpents. Their hideous maws actually open up while a cylindrical core slides out, spewing fighters and mobile armors out in a brilliant cloud of light. Those who have studied the enemy's vessels might recall that the 'cores' act as repair and resupply vessels in the battle, protected by their still-active 'skins' until it's time to retreat.

New stars flare in the darkness, in great circular blasts as the initial wave of defensive and offensive missiles slam into one another, and into energy shields, creating a huge tableau of warfare in its most silent and beautiful. The Fleet's responders are quick, spewing out hundreds of fighters and mobile armors like a dandelion spreading its seeds. They maneuver into positions, filling in three-dimensional formations and walls to defend against the oncoming wave of attackers.

After the initial spherical blasts, the Wadjit fighters, like great spiked claws, and the mobile suits, resembling hunched raptors, hurtle towards the fleet in an expanding mass of death promises. The only question now is how the stalwart defenders react.

[This is the Space Combat portion. Later, we will have the Virus drop in, and that will be a separate thread within this post tomorrow. This event will last for ONE WEEK, after which it will continue with backtags. Of course, once the virus drops, the effects will not be limited to this post.]

Comments

[open]

[abtakha]

Cassie hates being sidelined, sent to guard a choke point in case any of those Waj get through, watching from on top of a building while the real battle's being fought outside. Sure, she understands why: infantry aren't much use in a space battle except as marines, and the militia aren't considered reliable by the higher ups; better to keep them defending their homes, where they won't break and run at the first casualties. This is very old, well established strategy.

Doesn't mean she likes it. In fact she finds herself hoping some of them will slip through just so she can have some fun. Preferably one of their mechs. She's been wanting to drop one of those for a while.

[open]

[weeabhoo]

"Basroil disengaging clamps...We are go!"

And with that, the 240 meter long destroyer begins to accelerate towards the front. They'll be needing help though. Due to technical problems, the ship can't both fire its weapons and move at the same time. That means they have a total crew of less than ten, less than half of the Abh Star Forces' normally small crews.

[OOC: Feel free to be sortieing with them, either inside or near the vessel. Maybe your mecha's deploying from Basroil's shuttle bay. Maybe you're on board to protect from boarders. I'd find it particularly hilarious if one of the cybertronians aimed it like a giant gun.]

ohaithar

[driftlock]

Deadlock has discovered complaining, since he got here, and is swiftly working to raise it to an art form. But one thing he can't really complain about, though he does have a few choice words for the Teuberg's 'security' forces, is the chance to go kick some aft.

It didn't even take him a minute to grab his weapons (except for his Special Grenade which he left in his quarters because he has a plan for that), and hustle to the first ship to depart. Yeah, screw all these manifests and loading and stuff. No one has the gears to tell the large, surly robot to get off.

"What's taking so long?" It's probably not that long, but Deadlock is not a patient mech. His guns are getting bored.

OOC

[weeabhoo]

Replied downthread

[weeabhoo]

[OOC: Actually the thread below's starting to get crowded so let's stay with this thread after all]

"Sorry about that, Mister Deadlock. We'll need you to give us close support, since we can't move Basroil and fire her at the same time..."

Jinto desperately hopes that he remembers this means 'stay close and protect us from fighters and mobile suits' not 'fly towards the nearest knot of the enemy and begin punching it'. The antiproton cannon that runs the length Basroil's body is quite powerful but their current controls leave them no way to maneuver the ship and fire it at the same time.

Re: [open]

[ungrounded]

Lafiel might have complained on the way to the station about the length of time to refit the ship, and the crew on hand, but once she was in the chair and ready to fly, she was all business. It was too late to worry about the fact this was the first time she'd be flying an unarmed ship into combat in years, and that a warship (even a small one) was an obvious target.

She was focusing more on getting a sense of where everything is in space and getting clear of the larger ships so they can at least launch the smaller craft and serve as a giant shielded decoy, or switch to 'weapons platform' mode.

"Taking us out. Smaller craft stand by for my all-clear."

[crux_npcs]

The battlefield spreads out before Lafiel like a tree covered in bright orange fruit, as spherical explosions spread throughout the starfield as fighters, Model T mobile armors, and missiles engage the incoming Wadjit forces, both sides inflicting brutal tolls on one another in the first exchange of fire. The comms are full of communication bursts, both information packets from telemetry systems and the dying words of both friend and foe, presenting what might be a somewhat confusing stream of information.

[open]

[constableodo]

Odo has been affected to directing the evacuations and making sure all civilians go to their assigned areas. Of course, there will be some who will oppose being evacuated, either because they think they can handle the threat (ha), or because they want to take or protect their possessions, where there are much more competent people who will do it. Including him.

He scoffs. He would only hope Quark would be more cooperative, but he has no illusions about it.

[OOC: Feel free to oppose being evacuated, for any of the reasons above, or any other! Odo is basically your chewtoy here.]

[pinkspaceprincess]

Tsumugi required no suiting up to venture out into space, so preparation for her was fairly simple. She simply exited one of the hangars and floated into position, taking care not to run into any of the Fleet's craft.

She carried a long-barreled bio-organic weapon over one shoulder, secured by a muscular tail-like appendage. Now, her hands ended in armored claws, like the spiked gauntlets of a knight.

Once the enemy was in range, she opened fire with the oversized Higgs Particle cannon, which cut long swaths of destruction in its wake.

[crux_npcs]

The Wadjit bombers in the first wave don't quite evade in time, and are reduced to flashes of white light as the Particle cannon terminates them, but several shard-like fighters bore in towards Tsumugi, returning fire with cannon that fire ionized particles at her with crackling, lightning-like energy flaring around them as they try to pelt her to death with their ship to ship weapons.

[pinkspaceprincess]

Tsumugi evaded their fire with practiced ease, flitting about like a swallow on the wing. She was fast -- faster, in fact, than the Garde units on the Cydonia, and she did not need to contend with the inelegance of a control system.

If her enemy came after her with ranged weapons, she would simply bring the fight to them. She shot forward and tore through several of the ships with her claws, shredding each in half an instant before she pounced on her next target.

[zouichi]

Zouichi had been directed to hold position as part of the militia's defense line, which was what he was doing as the attack began. He was, however, none too happy about it. He'd been designed to neutralize threats¹, not sit around waiting for them to come to him.

He was piloting the Lucifer, a Variable Fighter that currently took the form of a sleek fighter jet. Its neural interface didn't require manual input from its pilot, so he put a hand to the front of his uniform as he waited, feeling the cool shape of the pendant he wore against his skin.

He didn't show it to anyone. Not because it was a secret, exactly, but because it was safe there, protected by layers of black armor -- a shining, deep scarlet stone, like a second heart.

¹ For definitions of 'neutralize' that occasionally meant 'maybe shoot those soldiers in the face because you're in a hurry and they might let you through their security barricade without incident -- but let's face it, either way it's just going to take up a lot of time you don't have'.

[crux_npcs]

The initial waves of the Wadjit don't even manage to penetrate the first Model T wave, getting shattered by a volley of missiles followed up by cannon fire, but as the battle develops, and the crunching, brutal melee of mobile armors engaging other mobile armors in close range firefights or even blade to blade begins, some of the fighters and surviving Wadjit robots begin to slip from the swirling mass and blaze towards the Teuberg, thrusters trailing out lines of charged particles behind them.

Several of the fighters break off from an attack run on the Teuberg and start swarming towards the Lucifer.

[open]

[act_of_god]

[While Kelly was still largely uncertain about her situation here, she's back in armor and the systems have all checked out as far as she can tell. She's by no means dispelling the paranoia that - since her armor was briefly in the care of someone unfamiliar - it hasn't been tampered with, but better to have it on her in a case like she finds herself now.]

[Hearing the sirens and the orders and seeing the enemy ships shimmer into focus, she's suddenly very much at home. A lot of the tension she held during the briefing mission has quickly ebbed away into an easy alert; she lopes over to the militia's defense, trying to asses the weapons, layout, strengths and weaknesses at a glance, looking for either someone in charge to report to or, failing that, a position to set herself up in for best defense.

[abtakha]

Cassie is the ranking infantry officer in this section, god help them. She looks up...way up (she is, herself, quite small)...at what looks like a Clan elemental. But this is different armor from what the massive, genetically engineered warriors wear. So either this one's adapted quickly or they're not a clanner at all. She's hoping for the latter.

"We're being held in reserve. Which means cover the choke points."

The puny turrets they're using won't be much good against any Wadjit mechs that break through, and she knows it. Still, she has a backup plan.

"You ever fought mechs before? Mobile suits?"

[open]

[plotblackhole]

[Shu was actually fairly quick to launch. He didn't need to wait in long lines to get out of the hangar but he did so anyway.

But despite how quickly he got out in his Granzon, he didn't immediately join the fight. Sure, his machine had unlimited power and could afford to waste energy on a few misses but Shu wasn't going to do that. Instead, he was watching and waiting for the perfect moment to get the maximum amount of foes in one overwhelming attack. Even if said foes didn't mind harassing his machine.

He kept an eye on the battle and another eye on his targeting computer, listening in on the radio and absorbing what information he could from these foes.]

[crux_npcs]

[ Shu gets a wonderful view of a massed mecha and fighter battle, as they seemingly ignore him as they engage with missiles, charged particle blasters, chem-fired hard cannons and other more esoteric weapons like beam sabers, lighting up the stars with miniature stars as various machines are destroyed, reactors going critical. The Wadjit appear to be incredibly driven, and disciplined, but the Fleet reacts to them and has a clear and significant advantage in both offensive and defensive weaponry, even as they both take what might well be termed significant casualties. The Fleet is getting pounded, but the Wadjit are taking huge losses in the first waves. Eventually, some of the bombers start picking out the unusual signal of the Granzon and begin making runs towards it, sending out active sensor pings as they attempt to lock onto the Granzon with some kind of missile system. ]

[open]

[gimmicky]

[Two words, Wadjit invaders. Forcefields and Magnawheels. At least, that's what Trailcutter's using. When called into action (which didn't take long, really), he headed out to join the fight. Judging from his current disposal of weapons it would make sense to position himself near a door, making sure that nothing gets in without his consent.

And he's not going to give any. Cementing his magnawheels on the hull, he holds his hands up, projecting his forcefield to hopefully block and deflect any fire that might be coming onto the ship. He knew he couldn't keep it up as long as he'd like but damn if he wouldn't try his hardest to hold out on that.

Blaster fire isn't the problem, it's if anything decides to bombard it with itself.

His gunlegs remain idle for now. Half because you need close range for that, and half because he has no idea how they work. Thanks Brainstorm.]

Re: [open]

[crux_npcs]

[ Several plasma torpedos fired by some of the Wadjit bombers slam into the forcefield, briefly turning it orange then causing it to dissipate heat in a rainbow of energy across it, rippling like oil over water. Looks like those things pack a punch. ]

[arnhaid]

Holdin' up okay, kid?

[Trailcutter wasn't the only one called into action. If there was a fight to be had, Ironhide was there. He'd picked up a gun from that last unfortunate adventure, and stood right out in the thick of it, the weapon trained on any incoming hostiles.]

[He had to admit, that forcefield thing was neat.]

[Just like he'd said before.]

1/2

[maddeninghatter]

[ "How hard could it be?" he'd remarked to Kevin. He'd been joking (mostly), but as it turned out - it wasn't.

The little spacecraft Kevin rented was equipped with a sophisticated autopilot, offering the user enough control to steer and spin, giggling his way through space; but not so much that a tyro could crash it into an asteroid belt or a planet. Break's artificial eye had proven to be a handy component of the navigational system: he could interface it with the ship, and perceive the stars as if he were floating unprotected in space.

Thus they had spent an entertaining, pleasant and thoroughly productive day in orbit around a binary star system, fueling up Kevin's (or, rather, Uriel's) peculiar divinity. Now they are headed back to the Fleet. Break is reclining in the pilot's chair, his eyelids shut, though his eye can still see everything, because he has removed it and stuffed it into the space periscope. He is basking in a familiar warmth, one he hasn't sensed for weeks. ]

Well well! My photosynthesizing friend, my lovely little house plant. That wasn't so bad, was it?

[ With a vague wave at the controls, he executes a tight spin, because he can. ]

Round and round the stars and back in time for tea, so —

[maddeninghatter]

[ ... ]

Ah.

[ I spy with my little eye, something beginning with "w." ]

VIRUS DROP

[crux_npcs]

The Fleet can't stop every last foe from reaching the Teuberg.

Somehow, one of their starfighters has managed to get into a service entrance left open for a civilian vessel that had been caught outside in the fighting. Alarms blare throughout the ship as it crashes through the 'ceiling' of the city, causing the false sky nearby to flicker violently. It's a fat ship, with eight engines and a short, squat fuselage, but it's fast. It evades the hurried anti-aircraft fire with ease before hovering over the Sky Park. It turns ninety degrees and the fuselage rotates, two engines folding up and around while the other six form a rough circle, each one separating out. The nose of the bomber pulls up and spreads open, revealing a metallic mask resembling a dragon.

Finally, it lands on the Sky Park, a fifty-foot mechanical beast. it raises the engines that had folded and twisted around, turning into arms, and spews heat towards the anti-air emplacements. The burst of flame from what are now arm-cannons instantly ignites the ammunition and causes each emplacement to go up in a gout of flame. Its legs splutter again and it leaps into the air, armored plates on its shoulders jettisoning away to reveal speakers. The resulting sound can almost be seen, it's practically that loud, a bone-shaking hum. The ship lands, and then jumps again to repeat it, this time with a much deeper pitch.

That was all it took. The virus carried on the sound waves spreads through the city, echoing off of every surface. It might take instant effect, it might not. But either way, the mech spreads its arms to open up with more plasma fire, targeting everything the pilot seems to think might have civilians.

This was why the militia existed. Time to act.

[abtakha]

As expected, the emplacements lasted about the time it took to hock a big loogie. But they had served their purpose, which was to distract the Waj' while the more mobile elements got into position.

"Now! Muevete!" Cassie called to Kelly, telling her to break from cover and get that mobile suit looking at her and away from Cassie herself. She hefted the shaped charges, ready to sprint...

Re: VIRUS DROP

[shitflashpointsays]

She'd been anxiously making security rounds on the Teuberg, grousing about having to stand guard with the milita while the military got to go out there and have fun. She needs to get herself a jet pack for space sorties, plain and simple.

So when all hell breaks loose in the city, Flashpoint can't hide her excitement. There's only one infiltrator--looking freakishly like something Soundwave might have cooked up--but one is still enough to do sizable damage to a civilian population center. She's hot on its tail, tires tearing through the park on approach, dodging plasma blasts as she goes. Her goal is the ship itself, but she's keeping an optic out for civilians caught in the crossfire.

"Clear out! Get to the shelters!" She shouts, pushing out of alt with a forward roll and drawing her weapons.