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meadowlarklogs2019-11-30 12:31 pm
EVENT LOG 007 | AFTERMATH
WHERE: New Beijing, a train, and then New Amsterdam.
WHEN: The tail end of the operation and the two days after: January 26th-28th.
WHAT: Finishing up the operation, hiding out, and going home.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence and unstoppable soldiers. More to be updated as necessary.
At the turn of midnight in New Beijing, the true risk to this plan comes to light. There was always a chance, always a point of awareness that Cassius wouldn't be able to buy his foot soldiers enough time. He knew that this could go poorly, so he was prepared for just that. He knew that the Displaced would, potentially, treat the UNA soldiers as personal enemies. They showed this face with their foolhardy desperation during the EMP's effects, and given an opportunity to assault a weaker, unexpecting bunch, they wouldn't hold back.
After all, not killing the soldiers hadn't been a suggestion made by Cassius showing some sign that he had a conscience or was worried about the death of citizens. No, killing the soldiers would make his job harder: and it did.
After scrambling the distress call for forty-five minutes, Cassius' efforts finally fail when the base finally gets the word out for reinforcements. Switching gears, Cassius sends along a word to the Displaced still in the base, letting them know that their time is running short. They need to get moving, and the UNA has wisened up to Cassius' tactics with the fabricated terrorist attacks on the other side of the city. If it were just one thing, the UNA may not have turned back, but their installed software quickly began to recognize many of the tactical patterns that Cassius employed: they weren't that different from the ones executed by radicalized Morningstar agents in other cities.
The lack of traffic in the city means the deployed soldiers return swiftly. Unlike the ones at the base, these soldiers are heavily armed and prepared for the worst. Even though Judas is definitely offline by the time they arrive, their systems remain operational for now. After all, Judas wasn't online as it was, as he was isolated from the world on a localized quantum server. The weight of Judas' impact on the UNA and its systems are still up in the air for anyone to guess. It's hard to tell what they might have been using him for, and just what weight his own additions had made on their current operations. What's clear is that these soldiers can still move, act, and attack, and there are hundreds of them rushing back in a steady stream of military might.
For anyone in the base, it's time to move. Being caught here probably will mean the end of the road for everyone involved.
◉ The soldiers who show up are not beatable. They will be working in formation and predicting most of what's coming their way, and given the numbers sent out, they will be unstoppable. Unsurprisingly, the larger the unit, the stronger their ingrained instincts happen to be. Think of these soldiers as the boss battle you can't even beat for an achievement. It's the one where you're meant to lose, if you engage at all.
◉ We're fine with any degree of Judas Hot Potato that goes on in the final stages of the base, and recommend that you all work that out on our event aftermath post.
◉ As for who finally hands Judas off to Cassius, we have sign ups at the aftermath post, too! The person who wins that doesn't need to be the person with the potato in the end; some creative juggling can go down for that stage, too!
◉ Anyone who dies on the base will need to be dragged out and taken to a medi-unit or they will be permadead. We are not asking for anyone to have their characters killed here! Everyone can get out safely and unharmed if they haul ass. Or even if they don't! Maybe they got lucky.
◉ Cassius will be wiping any records of the interlopers, making it so that their existence can't be traced. He'll be covering the surrounding areas of the base for a three mile radius. After that, everyone is on their own: they'd better have a plan of escape.
While Cassius will be covering the immediate area of the base, everyone will want to make sure that they don't appear suspicious as they hit the streets of New Beijing. The best place to hide? The lower levels of the city. Despite the frequent police raids, someone can move through the lower levels until they're close to their hotel. All they need to do is move up once they're just beneath their temporary residence. Discarding any unwanted goods along the way down there probably wouldn't hurt.
For anyone who's been injured by the soldiers or by their fellow Displaced, they'll want to stop and do some quick first aid on themselves. Hitting a hospital or clinic like this is risky. For the dead, it's not as if anyone has any choice, so their pal better cook up a good story for what happened along the way. The good news in all of this is that injuries and all, none of the hotels are likely to ask too many questions. The drones that do the room service aren't sentient, and the people who work the front desks simply aren't paid enough to care.
By 9 AM, all the news beats around the city refer to a series of attacks that rocked UN landmarks. While the attacks on the UN government buildings had the mark of Morningstar radicals from New Prague and New Johannesburg, they are not citing them as the individuals most likely to be culpable for these attacks. There is no information about what happened at the UNA HQ, though it seems unlikely that none of that information would have gotten out during the flurry of hasty exits.
Even so, it's likely a good idea that everyone lays low for the final couple of days in New Beijing. That doesn't mean that everyone needs to say cooped up in their hotels. Still, they'll likely want to be cautious while the city is on high alert for suspicious activity.
As for whoever has Judas, they'll get a message late in the evening of the 26th telling them to meet with one of Cassius' resources in the morning. Cassius won't be up for much conversation when the message comes in. Despite all previous communication, any messages sent to him now will be a dead end.
Eventually, it's January 28th and everyone will be headed back to New Amsterdam on a train. It feels as if there's almost a lack of closure, as Judas is most likely gone, the devices that were meant to hold him unable to go through customs. Unlike the previous train, this ride will be an non-stop express from New Beijing to New Amsterdam, and will be largely uneventful. The lack of stops along the way makes it impossible for any temporary havoc to break out. Even the Displaced who didn't pick up express tickets will find that their itinerary has been changed. While the more luxurious seats will remain the same and will offer a bed for anyone looking to rest over the long journey, everyone else's upgrade will treat them to neck pillows and thin blankets to help them stay comfortable.
An event-free ride probably won't mean much for the feelings stewing among the Displaced. Everyone is bound to be feeling something after everything that just happened, so there's still a lot of room for tension now that everyone's been crammed in close quarters on a non-stop train ride. Let's just hope it doesn't get too nasty in there!
◉ El will purchase all of the newcomer Displaced tickets for the way back. All of them will be traveling to New Amsterdam for new job opportunities in the wake of the city's losses, and will be directed to make a statement of intent to move to New Amsterdam permanently.
◉ El won't be purchasing that upgrade, though. If anyone thinks it's Cassius' doing, just blame it on Cassius.
◉ Everyone will be arriving in New Amsterdam around 4 PM with varying amounts of jetlag (or trainlag).
◉ Upon arriving, everyone will begin to see garrish advertisements for both Valentine's Day and Carnival.
Thanks for the great event, Larkers! We have a lot planned to spin out of this one, so we hope that you enjoyed what we cooked up here. Our OOC Aftermath Post is live, which is where we'd like you to direct all of your aftermath questions. We also encourage you to discuss any loose ends for the plot and plan anything else out that's needed!
Otherwise, we intended for this to be more of a low key log while everyone continues to thread out the event. Our next log will be up on December 13th featuring our new arrivals, giving everyone some time between now and then!
no subject
It's a good thing, though, that Nill spots him. A really good thing.
He offers her a strained smile, straightening up. While he's known that his water could "heal" for a while, he hasn't been able to test it on a wound this large. He knows that she can do stitches, so combining their efforts might not be a bad idea. Plus, he trusts her implicitly. It's funny how easily his brain switches gears once it goes from "a Displaced" to "Nill, his close friend."]
I need your aid. [She had told him once to always ask, and he is. Riku doesn't hold back. Again: he completely trusts her. Why wouldn't he get her help here?]
And—this is gonna be strange, but any chance you have a cup on you?
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She recognizes the chill in her bones now: it's fear.
But he's asked her for help, and she's going to do her best to stay calm, to do whatever it is he needs her to do. Nill immediately begins digging around in her pack, even though she knows she doesn't have any cups in it. After just a few seconds she shakes her head, biting her lip as she tries to fight off the helpless feeling creeping up in the back of her mind. A moment passes, and then she cups her hands together in front of her, lifting her gaze hopefully to him.]
Will this work?
[She has no idea why he wants a cup, or what he might do with it, but this is the best she's got. She just hopes it's enough.]
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Once she steps in, he begins to explain:] Keep your hands in the shadows. I should be able to cause the shadows in your hands to turn to liquid, but then you have to put it in my mouth. [It's oddly intimate, but he's not feeling as if he can be bashful or shy about this. The two of them have been through worse. He's seen where she's been.]
The liquid's like a potion—it'll heal me up, at least enough so there's less of a risk of things getting worse. [His hope is to stave off the pain and make the healing process begin.
No, the wound at his side isn't a small one, or else he'd pull his hands away and do this himself. That's how he'd practiced, but he knows that he can't risk letting up the pressure off the wound itself.]
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She takes a deep breath in through her nose, exhaling slowly before answering.]
I'm ready.
[Another time, another situation, and she might have blushed at the thought of letting Riku drink from her hands. But there's no room for anything except steadfast resolve right now. She has to trust that he knows what he's doing, that he can really pull a--what did he call it?--a potion out of thin air, one that will somehow heal him enough to keep him from dying. Because her gut tells her that's the alternative right now, and it isn't one she can stand to even think about.]
no subject
Her proximity helps a lot. It draws her close, making it so that as he bends over, she's able to conceal him. Riku doubts that the people down here at this hour will be paying that much attention, but it's better not to try to catch their eye. That seems like a foolish route.
He draws in a breath, which makes him hiss in pain. Okay, easy on the breathing. He leans in further—and then slowly, surely, the water forms in her hands, slowly taking on a green tint. He wonders if that's his own touch, or if this world just thinks of it that way. Hard to say.
Riku bends in and presses his mouth against her hands, waiting for her to tip hers over.
Yes, okay, so it's intimate. His chest is glowing, and she can feel the emotion behind the ache, the stinging ache, and his focus, his grounded mindset. Determined.
And unafraid. He trusts her completely to get him through this.]
no subject
His lips press against her fingers, and her chest starts to glow from the contact. She hunches her shoulders, flares her wings, trying to hide it from anyone who might be nearby. Her heart beats fast, and everything comes rushing through the bond--her fear for him, her determination to help him, and when she feels his pain hidden behind his courage and concentration, she can't help but hurt a little, too. It isn't a physical hurt, but something deeper, right from her heart. Before leaving her own world, Nill had always felt so helpless when the people she cared about got hurt. She doesn't feel helpless anymore, even if she still empathizes with their pain; instead, she uses it to fuel her desire to better herself, to make it so she can help.
Like right now. It seems like something small, but she knows that this very well may be life-or-death. Nill tips her hands forward slowly, trying to make sure he has enough time to drink without spilling much. She bites the inside of her cheek, really hoping this is going to work. Because if it doesn't--
She can't let herself think about what it means if it doesn't.]
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How did he get here? How did he get hurt? Big answer: he got into a fight with someone on the way out, another Displaced, and got distracted and somehow hurt. It was foolish. He doesn't think about that now.
Riku draws back once the healing water is all gone. He's ginger in his movements, drawing off his coat as he moves to finally sit down where he is. He's weak, and using his power hadn't helped, so ... he'll take a break. Once he's sitting, he begins to tear around the wound ever so carefully, opening it up so that Nill can see it. It's a nasty thing, but Nill will be able to see where the water had an effect, helping clot the blood so that she could get to work.
He nods at her once, wordless. Inviting her to do what she can for him.]
no subject
She sucks in a breath when she sees the wound there, an angry slice that mars the skin of his toned torso. The sudden sickness she feels isn't from the blood itself--Nill has seen more than her fair share of grievous wounds in her relatively short life. No, it's the fact that it's someone she knows, someone she cares about. It's the same feeling she always got when Heine would come back to the church with his clothes full of holes. Except she knows that Riku can't heal like Heine, not even with his potion.
Once he nods, she kneels beside him, pulling a few saline-soaked gauze pads from her bag and leaning down a little so she can see what she's got to work with. She doesn't want to disturb the clotted blood, so she gently starts to wipe at the area around the cut, doing her best to minimize skin-to-skin contact. It's going to be hard when she starts to stitch him up, but she wants to give them both a minute to breathe.]
How did this happen?
[Because she can't help but remember the first time she did this for him, though on a much smaller, much less serious wound. She'd told him to make sure the cut was clean--but that isn't an option right now. They can't call for help, and she's afraid to ask him to move. If she knows what happened, maybe she can make a judgement call on whether it will be better to close the wound now or just patch it and wait until they find some running water--though she really doesn't think they can wait.]
no subject
His head finds the wall behind it, and his head rests against it. Eyes closed, but he'll keep talking. Something tells him that he needs to conjure up energy. Talking will do the trick.]
Someone hurt my friend Rey. Knocked her out. [Thinking of her having to be picked up by Kylo Ren—it sends a twist through his stomach. Nill, undoubtedly, will be able to feel how upset he is about that happening.]
I confronted the person who did it. I—I got caught up. I was ready to be calm, but she just acted like nothing happened.
[A shaky breath.]
I didn't hear the soldiers coming.
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[The question is automatic, but not insincere. Though Nill has never talked to Rey, she knows about her from her network presence, and knows that she and Riku are friends. And that uneasy feeling she gets just a glimpse of lets her know that his concern isn't just skin deep. But he'd said knocked out, not injured--that means she's probably going to be fine, right? And she can imagine the scene: Riku worried, kneeling by his friend, and whoever had attacked her not giving a single care. Of course he'd been distracted. That isn't something he could just let go.
These thoughts drift only briefly through Nill's mind; she's too preoccupied with cleaning his wound as best she can to let any of them trouble her for more than the span of a breath. At least she knows now where the gash came from, and she makes a decision. She tosses the last antiseptic cloth on the ground and looks up to his face, even though his eyes are closed. What she's going to say isn't pleasant, and she can't bring herself to be entirely clinical about it.]
I can stitch you up now. I have everything I need. We'll just have to watch it and make sure it stays clean. If it gets infected, I'll have to pull the stitches out and redo it all.
[We. Because this isn't something she can let go. His potion might have helped him clot, and might even start on making new skin. She doesn't know anything about magic, really, and honestly can't bring herself to trust it quite as much as some other people. What she does know is what her own two hands can do, something tangible, and to her, that's what matters right now.]
no subject
He'll let them know later.]
So, once it's stitched up, we can start to move. Slowly. I know I can't risk opening them back up. No amount of special water is gonna help me in that case. [They would likely need to spend the night together.
Ugh, he's ... going to have to find so many people in the following day. So many.]
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Nodding, Nill starts to pull supplies out of her bag: gauze, thread, the needle. It's all laid carefully atop her bag, sealed until she's ready to use them.]
I'll work fast.
[Because she knows it's just going to heap on to the pain he's already in, and she isn't exactly keen on doing so. She shifts closer on her knees, moving until she has a better angle to see the cut. After wiping her own hands with one of the antiseptic cloths, she tears the packages containing the needle and surgical thread, leaning over him and placing her fingers on either side of the wound, urging the edges together. She's trying to hold on to her confidence, to calmness; she tries not to think about how much he must be hurting, or how close he might have come to an edge she couldn't pull him back from. The glow from their chests gives her the little extra big of light she needs to do this properly, and for the very first time, she's thankful for it.]
I'm starting. Remember to breathe. Squeeze my leg if the pain is too much.
[All her focus is on the gash, and she starts to sew, careful stitches that she'd practiced on dummies back on the ship, so much better than what she'd been able to do in her own world. Her hands don't shake despite the occasional hitch of her breath, and the stitches don't stray.]
no subject
Riku knows he could blame himself for this injury. That he should. Arguing with Catra was a waste of his time, to say the least. He should've known where it would lead him.
At most, he makes a few pained sounds, but he pushes through. The last thing he wants is Nill to worry more about him. She doesn't need to be stressed about his pain. About his potentially fatal injury, at least if it had gone unchecked. What if he hadn't run into her? Well, maybe he would've found someone else.
It's hard to say.
When she's eventually done, he keeps his eyes closed, and his chest rises and falls slowly, as if he's trying to stabilize himself. Carefully. Carefully.]
Thanks. [It isn't much, but it's about all he can muster at the moment.]
no subject
But for now, she focuses on what her hands are doing, and the moment she ties off the last stitch, she takes her first full breath in several minutes. The stitches look pretty even, and tight enough to hold the wound closed, but not tight enough to pull. She reaches for the gauze pad, peeling off the protective covering so she can cover her work.
Only now do her hands start to shake, and she can't seem to make them stop.
But his eyes are closed, and she works on mastering herself as she gently presses down the sticky edges of the gauze. Later, once they're safe, she'll have him take it off, but keeping it covered until then is the safest option.]
Anytime.
[Though she really hopes this doesn't keep happening, even if something in her gut tells her it might. She crumples up the remnants of everything she's used, sitting back on her heels and shoving it all back into her bag.]
Let me know when you're ready to move, okay?
[He needs time, but they don't have much. They can't stay here.]
no subject
Both of his hands press into the floor, and he lets out a grunt. Even from this angle, it's going to be hard to get up.]
Keep talking to me. Tell you what you've seen. I need to get my mind moving again. It's slowed down and I just—[Well, she can see him. She can see the energy fading. He's alive, but tired. Rest would be good if he were literally anywhere else.]
I could use the conversation.
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After the explosions went off, I went to see if I could help. But there were only a couple people hurt, and there were UNA soldiers everywhere. So I went back towards the base, and realized nobody sane would stay there because some of the soldiers were heading back. That's when I came down here to search for other displaced. It's where I would go if I was trying to hide.
[It's where she had hid, at least in her own world. It was easy to forget the church was underground sometimes, when she hardly ever left it.]
I haven't run into anyone else, but I'm sure some of them have made it back to the hotel.
[She pauses, trying to collect her thoughts. Nill exhales slowly, hands curling into the material of her pants where they rest on her thighs.]
I'm glad I came to look. I'm glad I found you.
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In there, things didn't go as bad as I feared, not until we got what we came for. There were soldiers, but people handled them quick. They were spread out. Depleted. We got in, we got to what we went there for, and not long after ... it got bad. Not everyone agreed on what to do. I'm worried about what this'll mean for us when we get back.
[Despite the amount of words, it should be stated that he says them slowly. Each period holds for a longer period of time, each comma is felt. But he wants to push himself to keep at it. That just feels right.]
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Nill doesn't miss the way he speaks, the timbre and pace of his voice. It worries her. All of this worries her. But worrying won't help as much as being vigilant will, so she keeps stealing glances at his side, checking the wound, making sure it isn't about to break open just from speaking. And, in the meantime, she's going to keep him talking. Keep him awake.]
Do you know what happened to him? The AI.
[She still remembers the message, and the immediate distrust she'd felt for Cassius. Nill only has a little experience with AI's, and even though she tries not to judge, none of those experiences had been positive, including the EMP this particular AI had caused. It had made it nearly impossible for her to take any offer he made at face value.]
no subject
His lips twist.]
I don't know where he was last, but he's free and with someone. Not free in the world, not unless they find a way to plug him in. [The good news is that Riku doesn't think that's easily managed with how things are handled in this world. There are very few physical objects related to computing, which is why Riku figures that the AI was held away.]
I guess Cassius gets what he wants. Again.
no subject
Maybe we can find him before then.
[It seems a small comfort, but Riku had asked her to talk to him, and that's what she's doing. She'll say anything that comes into her head, as long as it helps keep him thinking, keep him awake.]
We just have to figure out who took him, and go from there.
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I hope the others can work out a way to make that happen. I don't think I'll be any good for the rest of this trip.
[Look, he's feeling bad for himself, but at least he's talking.]
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Yeah, just like that.
[It's half a joke. But she's always found that sometimes just getting up and looking for something, even if you have no idea where to start, can pay off in unexpected ways.
She's also learned that a little levity can go a long way. Nill tries to smile, a little crooked and not with her whole heart. But she's trying.]
Come on, a good night's sleep can do wonders. Figuring out what to do next will be easier in the morning.
no subject
If not, I think I can make it. Just gotta stick by walls. Mostly.
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It's fine. I'm stronger than I look.
[She says it with a smile, but it isn't really a joke. She's a far cry from the skinny fifteen-year-old she was when she first landed on the ship. It's amazing what a steady diet and regular physical activity can do. Does that mean this will be easy? No. But determination can go a long way.]
Then let's get moving. Just let me know when you need to rest.
we can wrap this up here!