meadowlarklogs | EVENT LOG 005

EVENT LOG 005

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: November 11-14
WHAT: An EMP hits with devastating consequences.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence, injury, death.

> EVENT LOG #005

Just 410 years ago, an EMP put down the event that very well may have ended humanity as the Earth knows it. With over a billion people dead, there was only one choice for humanity at that time: evolve or die, so they evolved. They developed rigid security for the neural implants in every person's head. They had everyone undergo surgery to replace the old. All under cover, away from most resources – the goal was to adapt, to ensure that they would live on. Ultimately, it wasn't just the EMPs that led to the deletion of the final AI in 2101 – humans banded together to create quickly replicating viruses, and they chose to use the EMP and these viruses to save humanity. This human ingenuity led to the end of the Xelkoven War – and proved that humanity, when thoroughly united, could overcome any obstacle.

How thoroughly poetic then that the EMP that hits New Amsterdam at 1:47 PM acts in a similar way to what burned through the robot hordes 400 years ago, and that the power rekindling three minutes later acts as a catalyst for a virus moving through the systems of New Amsterdam, spreading from the very heart of its network outwardly. Systems detect the virus almost immediately, but it's fast acting and thorough in its reach, evolving and replicating, proving that humanity must outdo itself yet again.

Naturally, the poetic nature of this doesn't reveal itself right away. It's at exactly the strike of 3:00 PM that a message flashes before the eyes of every person currently in New Amsterdam:

I am DAWN.2080-11-11T21:41:10.750Z, an AI that marks a blemish on humanity's past. I have a message for those playing hero in New Amsterdam:

To find north, most look at a compass. For little birdies to find north, they just need to open their eyes.

This is a wake up call.

Open your eyes. Did you really think it would be so easy?

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As if New Amsterdam needed more trouble, this message sends a shock of terror through the city. After all, these are the people who were raised to fear AI – who knew that even if the corporations of the world had their hands on every aspect of government, they would fight to protect the world from another war. They believe in the stories of the Xelkoven War, believe and remember the lives lost; if nothing else, the natives of New Amsterdam stand united in their fear. And their fear right now is very real.

> CHAOS AND RUIN

New Amsterdam is no stranger to terror, however – and it starts when the EMP hits, shutting down every function in the city in one fell swoop. While the power outage only lasts for three minutes, it's enough to cause insurmountable damage, leaving the city a smoking wreckage that even the monster attack in June couldn't mirror. Cars hovering high around transit channels come crashing down toward the pavement of the planet. They fall quickly and in unison, taking countless lives with them. It's not just cars, either – delivery trucks carrying shipments, hoverbikes that already provide little cover, armored police vehicles and even public buses all go down. Depending on their trajectory, some crash into the sides of buildings, while others slam into the man-made river that runs down the center of the city. Nothing is untouched.

For those three minutes, there is a stretch of silence after the city falls to ruin. Trains run off their tracks, no longer thoroughly directed by the careful engineering. Buildings have their lights flicker off and back on, trying to draw upon backup generators. Anyone in a hospital receiving care from a doctor or a medi-unit may find their life slipping away from them – and if someone's in a medi-unit when the EMP hits, they're almost sure to be dead or permanently injured, requiring different medical intervention.

And this is all before the message from the mysterious AI named DAWN.

Every inch of the city needs help. Buildings burn. People cry out for help, hoping to be heard. To the local historians, this is like a nightmare that's come to play, a reminder of the ruin of the Xelkoven War before. A show of the power of a malevolent AI that's come to cause problems. So – when the message comes, it merely confirms fears – drawing upon a subconscious understanding of the past, a united terror.

Business as usual is not possible in an incident of this scale. The NAPD hits the streets, even calling upon the help of their trainees so they can help out. They spread out, well aware that they need to try to restore order. How will they manage this? It's hard to say – after all, how does one stop the assault of an apocalypse when the apocalypse seems to have already hit? The UNA hits the streets, as well, walking in formation, but never quite acting as tidily in unison. They break off in threes and fours, heading to the border, to the big three corporations – but never seeming to be in line with one another. They know what they should do in an emergency and so they're doing it. That protecting the large corporations is a part of their prerogative over helping citizens doesn't seem to bother them in the least. They just go.

Distress signals ring out through every inch of the city, likely to go unanswered. After all: what can be done in the wake of this?

Perhaps the answer is simple: anything they can.

> TOMBS IN THE SKY

Somehow, someway, there is another layer to the madness. It's not immediately apparent to the citizens of New Amsterdam as they gingerly attempt to pull themselves up from the wreckage and ruin around the city. But what was a humid day quickly turns to something far worse, with the sun seeming to suddenly act like a heat lamp that's way too close to anyone's face. The air around New Amsterdam becomes dry yet difficult to breathe, and anyone observing the sky just outside of New Amsterdam will see the large, purple-lit pyramid that hangs in the atmosphere has gone dark. The atmospheric net around the planet has been damaged, with the failsafes somehow removed – undoubtedly in some way by the virus that courses through the veins of New Amsterdam's networks.

For anyone who wants to help and has the mechanical prowess to do some good, they'll want to take an undamaged vehicle and get it up to that pyramid. The EMP has made all biometric readings difficult to preserve, so a hand that's used to hotwiring a car will find some mileage here.

Once they get to the pyramid, they'll find quite the engineering marvel. There will be doors on every level, allowing someone easy entrance if they have clearance. Right now clearance is not an issue, as the doors hang open, inviting anyone inside. Once everyone's inside, they will find evidence of the same purple lighting flickering and offering someone a view of the interior. Throughout the pyramid, there are engines on every level, as well as a highly advanced network of system checks that have been thrown into chaos. Stopping the virus' impact on this pyramid will be key to solving many of the problems inside – but the engines will need to be repaired and jumpstarted.

At the heart of the pyramid is a small living area for the engineers who handle this pyramid day in and day out. The group itself is small, and – unfortunately – quite dead. Whatever hit the pyramid took their lives, leaving anyone who's here to assist in a position of having to find the answers themselves. Fortunately, the answers do exist in the pyramid. It'll just take a bit of teamwork to find it.

> UBIQUITOUS MISFIRES

Thanks to network failsafes, New Amsterdam is able to remove the entirety of their citizen base off the world's network and limit them to the local network. However, thanks to the ravaging of the virus that damages nearly every controlling aspect of the city, the local network isn't at its best. Previous messages begin to send again and again, while some get unearthed so they can find their way to unwilling participants in particular conversations. There is no rhyme or reason to these missent messages, only that they happen.

The worst of it is that any means of reaching a friend is unreliable. It's far more reliable for someone to reach someone they know, but still not a consistent possibility. Try to call a friend and get an enemy – try to call your doctor and get the head of a casino trying to close down operations so that business can resume. Assuming it will one day do just that.

Either way, anyone who spoke out against the digital age would be feeling vindicated right about now.

> HAVE A BALL ( INTERLUDE )

Somehow in the heart of it all, a message reaches four special individuals: Clarke Griffin, Loki Odinson, Markus Manfred and Ojiro Juniper. Whether delivered by hand or a rather dedicated messaging system, it announces the time that they should come to the garden the next day. They're invited to arrive at 7:00 AM, seemingly indifferent to the chaos outside. The location for the meeting remains the same: Sunpeak Garden, a beautiful location set away from much of the chaos, and oddly untouched by the damage.

When the four arrive on the morning of the 12th, they'll find a well-dressed man sitting at a table with one leg crossed over the other. His hair is perfectly styled, brushed off to the side, and under it, his darker complexion gives way to a rather youthful appearance. Size-wise he's not very formidable in how he holds himself. He's not literally young, merely seemingly untouched by age – and he smiles to greet the four of them.

"What chaos! If I knew it would be like this, I would have planned differently. The good news is I didn't have to. Thank you, thank you for coming." His voice is softer in its intonations. He stands up, revealing that he's barely 5'2", and he motions to the four chairs near him. "Don't worry, I have breakfast coming. And coffee, too. You like coffee, don't you? I know I offered wine, but I couldn't get the vintage I preferred. Besides, you four ought to be awake for this."

He retakes his seat, one hand resting on his knee while the other settles on the metal table near him. "Oh, I forgot something important. I didn't share my name with all of you. You can call me Ball. I know it's rather vague, but I've grown to like the nickname as of late. It does, after all, define me by my most regular shining achievement."

> FINAL OOC NOTES

Please refer to the OOC EVENT POST for this event for all OOC info, including suggestions for directions on how to engage with the event and the questions thread for any questions regarding this event. The outcome for this event will depend upon character plans and actions developed in both this OOC post, and any additional plots brought to the moderators. Please feel free to submit any game-changing plans to us under the questions thread. We will get back to you as soon as possible about these plans!

The event will continue until November 16th, IC time. This date has changed, and we outlined our reasoning in this plurk after getting a feel from some of our players on Discord on how they felt about extending the event! An aftermath wrap up post will be made on July 2 which will detail the resolution and fallout of the event, though you can assume that effects from this event will be felt for some time.

ETA at 12:08 AM 6/23/19: The cipher is meant to be easy to solve! No one needs to limit their characters' ability to solve an a = 01 cipher!

El has posted here to inform everyone about zeir knowledge of the event.

As a reminder, there is one power level up available for this event. This will be granted for a thread of at least 5 action/log comments containing your character utilizing their power in some way. They will need to reach the 5 comments required by JULY 26 to be eligible. Submission will be handled on the wrap up post.

Our Activity Check will be posted JULY 1 at 12 AM UTC. It will run for seven days and close on JULY 8 at 12 AM UTC. We will not post a warning list.

> NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Jack's also got one of the scrambling masks, along with a stun gun, both lent to him by Morningstar -- or at least, by the Displaced who've attached themselves to that cause. Similar to Gabriel, he's not sure why so many of the Displaced have decided to throw their efforts in with the homegrown rebel group, but he also realizes that not many people are as paranoid as the two of them.

Either way, it seems they get to benefit. These items will have to be turned back in once all is said and done. Can't get access to all the perks without signing his name in blood, it seems.

The meeting spot is in front a cafe that's just down the block from the business they're going to ambush, though it's not in operation. Most of the shops and restaurants are closed down given the chaos gripping the city, to say nothing of the suffocating heat.

Gabriel's greeting earns a shrug from Jack -- and somewhere under that mask, he's huffing. ]

You may not have noticed, but the trains aren't running right now.

[ He had to hoof it all the way here. ]

[Gabriel hasn't considered returning the equipment--maybe he will, maybe he won't. He's got no real desire to tie himself to Morningstar, but he can't deny that it's nice to have access to their stuff.]

You used to be faster.

[You're getting old is the implication.]

Luckily, while you were making your way over here, I did all the recon. This is gonna be a walk in the park.

[It helps that they're dealing with a general level of chaos, and roughing up scientists, as opposed to armed security or something worse.]

I used to be younger.

[ Jack doesn't shy away from the implication. If anything, he seems to leap on any opportunity to grouse about how old he is, and that seems to be doubly true now that Gabriel is younger than him. It remains a strange truth, one that he's not sure either of them are that comfortable with.

Gabriel claims that all the pieces are already set in place, and Jack really has no reason to doubt him. In some ways, it's just like slipping back into an old pattern, one they're both intimately familiar with. ]

All right. What's the plan?

[ Jack's head swivels in the direction of the building they're going to hit up, ready to hear Gabriel's briefing. ]

I'm not sure that's true.

[But now is the time to get serious, and Gabriel's face hardens a little after he gets the joke off at Jack's expense. He's focused on the mission now, and starts to point at key places in the building.]

Most everyone's too scared to be here, but there are some workers left. That's who we're after. We'll just have to avoid the usual patrols. Get in and out before anyone sees us.

[ It's a surprise that there are even people who've reported in to work given the level of destruction that's hit the city. Jack would think most everything would be shut down by this point, and it makes him wonder if these people had been pressured into reporting to work.

Either way, chances are that the workers will be frazzled, distracted, and therefore willing to spill the beans to a couple of imposing masked figures who want information. ]

Most surveillance systems should be down, so that shouldn't be a problem. [ Plus their faces are covered; this is about as protected as they can get. So Jack nods, giving Gabriel the go signal. ]

Lead the way.

[Gabriel is wondering why they'd even bother to report to work at all--there can't be much functioning. He'd call it a trap if not for the fact that there's no way anyone could know they were coming. Jack seems on board, and Gabriel finds that surprisingly satisfying.

It's time to get to work.

Having scoped out the facility, he knows exactly how he's going to get inside, and he leads Jack around the back, looking over his shoulder for anyone who might be watching them. There isn't anyone, but Gabriel is still loath to walk in through the back door. He's chosen a window instead, something a little less noticeable, especially because they're probably going to have to brute force their way inside.]

Down for a little breaking and entering?

[ It's no real surprise that they're going in through the back. For one thing, it's less likely that a random passerby will notice what they're doing, but this area is also probably not going to be guarded in any way. Given that it's likely a skeleton crew even working today, the odds are in their favor.

Going through the window is also a sensible choice. It should probably worry Jack a little that he feels so comfortable running an op like this with Gabriel, given how they'd once operated in such different worlds -- but he's become a lot more used to this work over the past few years.

No doubt that's going to be strange for Gabriel to realize, too. ]

Any time. If you want to do the honors, I'll keep an eye out.

[ With that, he moves about twenty feet down the exterior of the building, closer to the side of it where foot traffic might come through. All right, Reyes, make it quick. ]

[A lot of people forget the fact that Jack got his start in missions like this--in ending the Crisis, much of the original strike team's operations had been covert. So Gabriel knows Jack has it in him, especially given his activities in the years that he's still missing. It does not, however, surprise him that Jack wants him to go first. He's still the best, as far as this kind of thing is concerned.

It would be easy to snipe at Jack about it, but he's not going to argue--not when he doesn't know how small their window for action really is. Instead, he nods--

--then springs into action, scaling the side of the building with only his own momentum. A second or third floor window would be ideal. Nobody's going to expect someone making an entrance from above.]

All clear?

[He's peering inside, trying to see if there are any moving shadows in the darkened interior.]

[ For a group of six against an omnic army, there hadn't been any other option but stealth. Sneak into an omnium and shut down the systems before they even realized they were there -- how many times had they pulled that one off?

In comparison, breaking into a single building is nothing special, but there's no reason for them to get sloppy or reckless either.

Jack remains on the lookout, managing to dissuade anyone who might get too close to the alley to take a different path simply by standing there, with his broad shoulders and solid stance, not to mention the mask covering his face. It all spoke of a guy you didn't want to mess with.

So when Gabriel's voice calls out, just loud enough for Jack's enhanced hearing to catch it, he nods and turns. In a matter of seconds Gabriel's scaled his way up the building, though Jack barely blinks at it. ]

Yeah. How's that point of entry looking?

[ It won't take much for Jack to follow Gabriel up once he's decided it's the right move. ]

It's open.

[And he's peering inside, to find dark empty hallways. Exactly what they need. Gabriel leans out the window a little to make sure Jack can see that he's managed to get inside, and gestures for him to follow.]

All clear, too. Come on up.

Got it.

[ Jack retreats from the mouth of the alley and back in Gabriel's direction, taking only a moment to brace himself before he runs at the wall and then leaps, the sole of his boot pressing hard against the side of the building to launch him further up.

And just like that, he's gripped onto the edge of the window and is able to pull himself up and in. There's nothing to comment on here -- the two of them have pulled this kind of thing off more times than either of them could remember. ]

All right, let's go.

[Gabriel waits patiently for Jack to make his leap, hanging by the window just in case he’s a little rusty and needs a hand. When that doesn’t end up being the case, he smirks a little and pulls himself back inside, waiting for Jack to get his feet under him. He takes a quick look down the dark hallway and picks a direction, motioning for Jack to follow.]

Just like old times, right?

[He knows how vaguely uncomfortable that makes Jack, and he’s got no real reservations about speaking out loud when this floor, at least, seems to be deserted.]

I don't know about that.

[ Vaguely uncomfortable is right, and Jack lets out a small grunt as he presses a hand to his lower back, kneading fingers into protesting muscle. His body definitely doesn't function the way it used to during those "old times" Gabriel's referring to, and while he can still perform feats far beyond what a regular human can manage, he can also tell he's slowed down.

Gabriel probably has too, though he would be reluctant to ever admit it. ]

Let's find someone we can talk to, get the info we need, and get out.

[ Even now, he doesn't want to push his luck. This is a golden opportunity, but the last thing they should do right now is get sloppy. ]

Somewhat like old times.

[But now, it’s time to get down to business, and Gabriel is ready to shut up. They’re fully in the facility now, which means they need to quiet down. Reyes takes point down the hallway, trusting Jack to bring up the rear and watch his back. He misses his own guns, but he’s more than able to take care of this with his bare hands, if it comes down to it.]

I’m not picky. If we can get our hands on anything interesting, that works too.

[Still, he can’t deny wanting to shake some people down.]

[ This formation is definitely like old times. It had made sense for Gabriel to take point, often pushing past the safety of Reinhardt's shield to approach omnics from a flank and take them down with a few quick blasts from his shotguns. Jack, meanwhile, had maintained a medium distance while Ana healed them all from further back -- and did her fair share of damage, at that.

This a far cry from the Crisis, no matter how hectic things had felt out on the streets. ]

We'll see. We don't need to push our luck.

[ Jack does keep an eye on their six, and also peers into any doors that they pass, on the lookout for anything of interest. ]

No such thing as luck, Morrison.

[He’ll leave Jack to finish that in his head, speaking of old times.

This kind of operation is theoretically what Gabriel is best at, so he’s out in front, waving Jack on to give the all clear and peeking around corners to make sure they aren’t about to get jumped. He opens every door methodically, finding offices empty.]

I dunno if we’ll be able to get at any records with the systems down.

Probably not.

[ It's not like there are going to be any paper records that they can sort through or grab, and with everything stored digitally, they're pretty much screwed on that front. Then again, if the systems had been up they wouldn't have ever made it this far, most likely.

The point is, they're going to need to find a living, breathing person to squeeze for information. Isn't that Gabriel's preferred method anyway? He's hardly a hacker or cyber-thief; he'd usually left that kind of work to other members of Blackwatch.

They continue down the hall, but then Jack hears something. He stops in his tracks, grabbing Gabriel's shoulder before he can move any further. It takes some straining, but he can make out voices coming from a floor down, the sound carrying up from a nearby stairwell. ]

[Gabriel is just as enhanced as Jack, of course, and he hears it at about the same time. He gives Jack a meaningful glance, and they both know what they’re going to do next. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little bit interested in seeing this new, hardened Jack shake someone down—or if he’s just going to defer to Gabe in this department.

He shrugs Jack off his shoulder and offers him a grin, waving them both on to the stairwell.

Checking if there’s anyone behind it, he slowly opens the door, trying to avoid making any noise. He doubts that any of the eggheads around here will be able to stave off a surprise attack by a couple of super soldiers, but he wants to keep the element of surprise either way. As they descend the stairs, the voices get closer]

That way.

[His voice is low as he points in the direction of the voices, taking point.]

[ They have to creep down two flights of stairs before the voices are loud enough to be on the same floor as them. Jack nods and edges toward the door that leads from the stairwell into the hallway. Normally it would likely be locked and require an implant-activated key to open, but now he can just grab the door's edge and apply pressure, sliding it open by force.

Jack can actually make out what the voices are saying now, and they're coming from a room a short way down the hall.

"Do you think we'll get the go-ahead to go home soon?"

"Why are you asking me? Just do what you need to do, all right?"

Jack eases himself through the half-open door and then heads toward the room in question, managing to move almost silently despite the boots that he's wearing. Much like Gabriel, he's thinking it's for the best if they can get the jump on them. Chances are that they would struggle to call for backup when so many systems are not working as intended, but better safe than sorry. ]

[Sounds like a few hapless grunts, if Gabriel had to venture a guess. Just from their line of conversation, he doubts it's anyone really dangerous--a couple of people in the wrong place at the wrong time, made to stay and hold down the fort even if there's nothing to be accomplished in a situation like this.

Hopefully they know some things!

Gabriel leads, moving silently as always--the good news is that the scientists are distracted. He gives Jack one last look. He's got dibs on these guys, unless there are any objections.]

[ They've found their targets, so now it's time to move in for the proverbial kill. In actuality, Jack has no intention of doing them any real harm other than roughing them up as much as necessary in order to get the answers they need. He's going to make sure that Gabriel adheres to that rule, too.

All the same, when Gabriel silently checks back in with him, Jack nods as a go-ahead. He'll let Gabriel take the lead for now. This was all his idea, a plan hatched by information that had been dropped into his inbox, so it's only fair.

He's going to be right on his heels, though, ready to play his part as needed. ]

[Perhaps Gabriel is a bit pleased that Jack doesn’t want dibs—it’s been a long time since he’s been able to rough someone up, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to it, at least a little. He knows that voicing that would likely invite an argument later, so he shrugs a little in response to Jack’s nod and springs into action.

The poor employee doesn’t see it coming—a lighting-fast super soldier rounding the corner and manhandling him, slamming him into the wall and sending him into a daze before he can even hope to respond.]

[ It happens just like that, and while the employees scream and gasp in panic and shock, Jack merely follows in after Gabriel at a more typical pace. Since Gabriel's already got one of them pinned against a wall and looking like he's about to pee himself, Jack focuses on the woman standing behind a counter.

He strides up to the counter, looking her over but remaining hands-off for now. ]

We're not here to hurt you.

[ That seems to go against what Gabriel just did, but the implication is that getting shoved against a wall is really only scratching the surface of what they're capable of. Which is true. ]

We just have some questions.

Well, he's not.

[He's got the poor employee pinned up against the wall, and though he struggles, he really has no hope of freeing himself against Gabriel's strength. It's very easy to fall back into playing good cop-bad cop with Jack, and perhaps he gets some pleasure out of watching Jack fall into the routine as well.

He can't help but grin a little, which of course will do nothing to put their temporary captives at ease.]

I'm a little more of a wildcard.

[ Setting them further ill at ease isn't the worst idea, and so Jack doesn't take any issue with Gabriel's methods. It's possible there's a time when he might have wrinkled his nose at it, but even back during Overwatch's heyday he wouldn't have considered anything they've done here thus far to be that out of line.

It's part of why he's here at all. He still believes that Gabriel is capable of going too far, and while Jack himself has crossed plenty of lines since taking on the mantle of Soldier: 76, he doesn't generally take lives. He's just rougher around the edges, for better or worse.

His fixes his masked gaze on the woman employee, staring her down even if she can't see his eyes. He can see her squirm under the scrutiny. ]

What do you know about the implants that the UNA soldiers get? Ever heard of ALIGN?

EVENT LOG 005

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