I've been chillin' out on a star with my 5 star view

[lucetimods]

Who: All draftees
What: The space battle commences
When: After 3PM on the 19th to the 23rd
Where: In Space! On the Moon!
Summary: The battle finally begins! First there's asteroids to take down, then we finally arrive!
Rating: SPACE

MORE SPACE

All the details you need are here, so read up on it. This didn't get mentioned before, but you can tag the cultists instead of killing them. Details on this are on a previous draft post. Using the scanners are optional!

There will be a thread for interacting with NPCs, but they may not all go up at once, so keep an eye out for them.

Note: A log for the events in the village will go up on the 21st, in time for the hurricane and droid incursion.

Comments

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert spends the battle through the asteroid belt monitoring the usage of the turrets and generally staying out of the way of combatants and those with more knowledge of the technology; he directs volunteer pilots and gunners to stations when necessary, but otherwise remains hands-off for the fighting on the 19th.

It's when they arrive at the moon base that he has more time to gather his bearings, and when organization becomes more apparent. He finds himself being issued command of other draftees, fortifying barriers and coordinating with the Security Forces. He is kept aware of the fighting outside on the 20th, but does not have any exposure to the battle.

The moon base is breached on the 21st with the arrival of the General, and his command grows as pilots and gunners retreat to take up more defensive positions within the base. He is on the ground more, talking to battalion commanders and using the few skilled mages to set up waves of support boosts for concentrated attacks on the invading forces. Though he takes more risk by being on the ground, he wants to see the General for himself.

The morale of the Third Party seems to boost even further with the General's presence bolstered by the arrival of the Dream Shifters on the field on the 22nd. He hears reports in the first few hours of individuals being ambushed and driven insane--a new tactics by the enemy's standards, further aggravating the draftees' shaky morale. However, there is a significant boost in morale when the General is reported slain by the Commandant, and the fighters ride the momentum for the majority of the day.

The 23rd is when he finally gets more than a few moments' rest for the day, and he busies himself over casualty reports and directing draftees in the repairs of the breached perimeter. After a cup of coffee, he even accompanies a search party to keep his body functioning at the same level as his mind.]

Sometime on the 23rd, maybe after that cup of coffee

[all7seas]

[Jack knocks at Albert's quarters, not bothering to wait to be invited in.]

Message for you, Silverberg.

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert looks up from the reports he had been reading at the knock, watching just in time to see the older man slip inside. He blinks the remaining traces of tiredness from his eyes, setting down the papers.]

Yes? What is it?

[all7seas]

Your presence has been requested at the bedside of Buffy Summers, vampire slayer.

[The invite is delivered in a very cool voice.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[He frowns -- both at the message and the delivery. But he nods, ignoring the look he is receiving. If Buffy was asking for him, she was well enough to see visitors. If Sparrow was here, she was well enough to wheedle a request out of him.]

Very well. I will visit her. Thank you for the message.

[all7seas]

[A brusque nod; there is more that Jack wants to say. There are warnings he wants to give.

Not now, though. Not yet. The pirate turns and stalks out of the other man's quarters. Mission? Fulfilled.]

[herotypical]

[ and with her less-than-better half so dispatched, the slayer does her best to stay awake for as long as possible. she understood that sending jack might not have been the gentlest gesture but her mind isn't ready to process tact. not yet. not when she can barely lift a spoonful of soup to her own lips.

in fact, that's what she'll be struggling with for the majority of the next few hours. small, lukewarm sips that soon became smaller, cold sips. ]

[chikaidestroyer]

[A small part of him--the part of him that still desired as a young man did, that yearned to be carefree and unshackled from his own responsibilities--regrets not being able to drop everything he is doing and make the trek over to the infirmary. It was for the best he did not give Sparrow an approximate date to report back to Buffy; whatever time he gave that did not come across callous would slip through his fingers as more draftees came to see him with their own reports.

It's over two hours after he was delivered the message that he manages to break away to go to the infirmary. He politely asks the volunteers for directions, but they are still harried with taking care of the wounded, so he resorts to looking for her himself.]

[herotypical]

[ although bandaged and cared for, she's still a mess. even back home, she hasn't seen many post-fight sessions that have left her looking so...broken. the worst, perhaps, are the lurid hand-shaped bruises on her neck because they paint a fraction of a picture. a sliver of the larger fight.

these bruises and the marks left by other blows -- some sharp and some blunt -- must have been considerably heavy to still leave so much evidence. but even graver is the look in her eyes when she raises them from the dregs of her soup and sees albert nearing her lonely corner.

her lips twitch and she gathered her wits about her. ]

[chikaidestroyer]

[In the midst of the many injured draftees, Albert almost misses Buffy; it's only as he approaches and gets a better look at that damaged face that he pauses in his stride.

He remains silent until he is by her side, though his eyes do stray from her face to the rest of her injuries.]

Buffy.

[herotypical]

Albert.

[ she makes the very concerted and independent effort to set aside her dish without wincing. ]

21st

[alloys]

[Tony's been keeping a haphazard mental note of who's been on the ground and who hasn't, so he's a little surprised to see Albert down there in the third day. Seems like a bit of risk, considering the newly present danger, and he can't help but ask, can he?]

You want to see him, too, huh? The big guy. The cultist head honcho.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He is momentarily distracted from his scan of the battlefield by the question, but he recovers quickly.]

He's rather in-demand. I confess I have barely seen the man in my time here.

[alloys]

I'd like to see what all the fuss is about myself. [And take a kick or two at him.] He hasn't been present on either of drafts I've been on before. Any theories on why that is?

[chikaidestroyer]

Different priorities. During one of our past drafts, there was talk about the Third Party preparing to lay siege upon an enclosure. Because of the size of the campaign, it was deduced that the General would be more likely to appear there than the battle we were taking part in. He would be needed in places other than simple raids.

Another theory is that he was dead at the time of your other drafts; we are not kept up to date with what victories the Organization make, after all.

[Even from their distance from the front lines, there is a very visible sweep of the draftees as cultists try pushing through them.]

[alloys]

Yes, god forbid they keep us in the know about useful things. They only give us information when they need something from us.

[Like when they need them to fight in space for them. They'd been given ample information about the mission, but Tony doesn't feel particularly grateful for that. They shouldn't be out here at all.]

What's his skillset?

Radio Transmission on the 22nd

[godbent]

Do I have the right frequency for the commander of the units working on the eastmost part of the main city Dome here?

[She calls it Zone 5 with her own people, but this might not work with someone else]

Radio Transmission

[chikaidestroyer]

[The voice that crackles on the line is familiar, but he doesn't have much time to focus on it before he responds.]

You have it. State your business.

Radio Transmission

[godbent]

Some of my people have been going insane. We're running evac, so I figured you'd have a clearer idea: what's doing this?

Radio Transmission

[chikaidestroyer]

[He adjusts his headset by tipping the chin of his helmet, directing one of his subcommanders with a wave of his arm to proceed with reabsorbing the small artillery detachments that had spent their ammunition.]

A brand of soldier we have not seen in previous drafts -- another variety of Shifter that seems to target individuals. Those they don't manage to kill are driven insane.

Radio Transmission

[godbent]

[...Dammit. She bites her lip and then exhales-] Countermeasures?

21st - Let's do this. >D

[lostinmyway]

[At some point during the day on the 21st, Grune will be pausing just long enough to eat a quick orange gel when she spots someone familiar on the battlefield. Isn't that Albert? She should go say hello! ...But my, he looks to be in trouble.

Well, there's only one thing to do about that, and that's begin casting.]

Whoo! \o/

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert grunts and clutches his shield in a death-grip with one hand, doing his best to fend off the soldier's repeated attacks. Each additional blow to his shield made his forearm ache, and earlier attempts to attack had ended with his spacesuit nearly being torn at the elbow.

Damn it. Was he going to have to use magic after all? He wasn't in a good position at all for something like that.]

[lostinmyway]

[If she had a little more time, she would have cast something stronger, but she doesn't want to leave Albert in trouble for a single moment longer than she has to.

If he's left his comm link on, he should very shortly here a calm woman's voice saying:] Bloody Howling.

[The spell is focused on the soldier, but even if Albert is clipped by the sudden, massive, spinning dark orb, he should be perfectly safe thanks to friend-or-foe marking. The soldier won't be so lucky.]

[chikaidestroyer]

[The surge of energy so close to him causes Albert to tense, but he holds his ground when it becomes apparent that he's not the one being attacked. The soldier is knocked down and attempts to move as the magic wanes, but Albert batters the cultists over the head with his shield before quickly backing off.

It's only after he's confident that the enemy won't get up that he glances over at his unexpected savior.

And what an unexpected savior she is.]

Grune?