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]

[He frowns as he thinks of the General saying such things.]

Because death is release. Because they have known this cycle of life and death for their entire lives without relief.

[herotypical]

Their entire lives? You mean...

[ they're not from away? ]

[chikaidestroyer]

[A slight nod.]

Specialist Davis said that most of the Third Party are the children of those who have appeared here over the centuries.

[herotypical]

[ she could practically choke on that fact. in fact, she seems to sputter and cough and it hurts. buffy needs to take a moment to relax and catch her breath. ]

Seriously? Like, like...[ she thinks about the few small children she'd seen back in luceti. the ones born there. the forever wordless. ]

Oh my God.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He lowers his eyes as he hears Buffy's shocked reaction. Though the idea of the Third Party being born from those with home worlds had crossed his mind, he had not strongly considered it because of the physical and apparent cultural differences between the Third Party and those protected by the Malnosso Organization.]

Indeed. It makes senses now -- "There is no sense in claiming one planet or one universe as 'home.'"

[herotypical]

[ she considers never sharing this intel with jack. why tarnish a dream that was never going to be realized in the first place? why put any doubts in his already doubt-filled mind? he doesn't need that.

she probably doesn't need that either, in the end. ]

And maybe that also explains why he's boasting the no-penalty bonus.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He glances up from where he had steepled his fingers.]

What exactly did he say to you about his deaths?

[herotypical]

[ her expression crumples. clearly, remembering even that far back is a less than joyful process. she has to claw her memory back to the other side of the dream shifter. ]

He...embraces them. He said that since he's already given everything to the cause, he's got nothing to lose. I think. Very kamikaze.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He watches Buffy's expression, eyes narrowing faintly at how she reacts. What was that? Surely the fight with the General had not affected her that much.]

I see. A very malleable existence. [It was a rather disturbing thought, to embrace the deaths of this world. He himself had never "properly" died, and he was in no hurry to find out what it was like.]

[herotypical]

Funny. His fist didn't feel very malleable when it tried to exist in the same space as my face.

[ just a little gallows humour. ] He, uhm, said something else. About the other enclosures. Or he might've....[ she stops just to breathe. ]

[chikaidestroyer]

[He frowns wryly at her comment, but focuses on what she was saying before she trailed off.]

About the other enclosures?

[herotypical]

[ she takes a moment. eyes shut -- laughably weak. ]

I asked if they recruit from the other bubbles. And he told me...only the ones who are ready will follow. [ or near enough as made no difference. ] Kinda sounded like they did. Recruit.

[chikaidestroyer]

Only the ones who are ready will follow. [He repeats Buffy's words in a murmur, frowning in the direction of the infirmary entrance -- as if that will somehow carry his thoughts out to wherever the deceased General is.] While the others will be sacrificed.

[herotypical]

And his powers. His abilities.

Albert -- they're most complicated than we ever imagined. The things he did...[ her expression droops. ] I'm telling you because you need to know. Not because I want to tell. You have to warn the others.

[ if she warns them, they'll know...they'll guess...they'll imagine at what she's been put through. ]

[chikaidestroyer]

[He watches her, listens to her stilted speech -- and senses the apprehension that she had attempted to mask.]

Many people fought the General out there once he appeared. What I tell needn't have come from one person.

["They don't have to know."]

[herotypical]

He got his blood...inside me, Albert. And it was like hooking up a bunch of puppet strings. I couldn't even move. Not on my own. It...

[ was awful. ] Shallow cuts. A few shallow cuts were all he needed to get in.

[chikaidestroyer]

...Puppet strings. [Part of him is not surprised--disappointed, really--to learn that the General's power extended as far as that. But he simply nods, his eyes fixed on her.]

Such an ability could be used to turn a person into a perfect hostage. An effective tool.

[But he did not want have her lingering on such thoughts.] We can only hope the General is the only one with such a power.

[herotypical]

[ and yet she lingered. a tool. god, she hates the word and hates the feeling and it had been enough being an instrument of the council -- now, she feels like a literal instrument. it's hard not to hate her own skin today. ]

If the others learn it, we're done for. He very nearly...well -- he got close to taking wings for wings before a convenient shot rang out and distracted him. There was nothing I could do.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He falls silent, eyes shutting as he allows himself a moment to take in what Buffy is saying. His eyes eventually open to focus on her again.]

You're still alive. [He feels he should say something more, but knows it will ultimately be an empty comfort.]

[herotypical]

[ barely. except...well -- she's doing much better now than out on the field. now, the injuries are an inconvenience. ]

I'm sorry. I tried to talk with him but...[ she feels as though she's somehow failed the strategist. ]

[chikaidestroyer]

[He shakes his head, waving off the tentative edge to her voice with a firm motion of one hand.]

You did what you could with an enemy we still do not completely understand. [But since she did try to talk to him...] Did you have it with you? The locket?

[herotypical]

He took it. And then he tossed it back. But not before...

[ a deep breath that rattled her sore ribs. ] It's her. The Commandant.

[chikaidestroyer]

[...Well. He had heard of love-hate relationships before, but that... Hn. And the Commandant had certainly changed over the years.]

I see. [His mind is already churning with next steps, and he speaks slowly as he thinks aloud.] If you are given the opportunity, Buffy ... I would be curious to hear what you can learn from the Commandant. Telling her that the General carried it before you won it from him could loosen her lips.

[herotypical]

...Aye aye. [ she accepts this miniature mission with aplomb and a thread of playfulness. how could she not? to do anything else is simply too depressing. ] I've been meaning to have a chat with her, anyway.

[chikaidestroyer]

[He simply nods at her agreement, allowing silence between them. There was really nothing else that could be done at the moment, and there were still other tasks that had to be done before they were shipped back to Luceti.]

...In the mean time, rest.