EVENT LOG 007 | AFTERMATH

[larkers]

WHO: The Displaced! Plus a surprise.
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.

> EVENT #007 AFTERMATH LOG

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.

> LAYING LOW

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.

> YET ANOTHER TRAIN LOG!

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.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

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!

> NAVIGATION

Comments

[selfimage]

[ ah—there's a bit of her brother in Diana, and she can spot it at the distaste that momentarily crosses her face at a sneak attack. it's Loki's way of doing things, not meant for the nobility of so many heroes that would rather bulldoze from the front than take the thieving route. they're both at a lack of ability, which would've made this easier, but of course nothing can be easy.

it's in these moments she misses Thor. ]

Once the last footstep falls, I'll head in. Give me thirty seconds before you follow-up.

[ her lips twist into a smile. finally, a battle. some good fucking fighting. ]

Toodles.

[ there's no footsteps for five seconds and Loki shifts to roll onto the heels of her boots. she breathes out quietly, and then her coat begins to glimmer before beginning to turn invisible. it's like watching a trick of the light, a glare of a mirror and then Loki disappears like she wasn't there at all. she leaves behind the barest shuffle of her feet, and the shift of movement from behind their hiding place. she was heading to the opposite side to cause commotion. momentary confusion. ]

[monomachy]

[Thirty seconds. It doesn't seem like a long time at all, but in a battle, it's practically an eternity. All the same, she nods, rolling her shoulders as she prepares for... whatever it is they're about to do. She trusts Loki to at least get them started, no matter how insane a thought that may be to some people. But one thing Diana has learned since being in New Amsterdam was to trust other people again, and who better to trust at a time like this than another god?

Then Loki vanishes, and Diana leans very, very hard on that newfound trust for about half a second before thoroughly convincing herself that this is all a part of the plan.

Diana tilts her head, closing her eyes until she can see just slits of dim light from the base's perimeter. She thinks she hears the subtle sound of her footsteps as she heads around the jeep, but it's difficult to tell with the commotion all around. Still, she counts the seconds down in her head, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.]

[selfimage]

[ Loki was, of course, Loki. she was trustworthy when it suited her, predictable when it suited her, and could very much have several schemes cooking at once, and this step was only a fraction of it. she knew how to improvise and that made her far more dangerous than any hidden weapon that she may be hiding inside of that jacket of hers.

it's at seventeen seconds.

the noise dims to the quiet footsteps of the soldiers, before the uproar comes. the soldiers don't usually speak, but the shuffle of feet and the click of weapons is apparent. the attention shifts as the soldiers scramble for formation.

it was going on twenty-six seconds, at least.

Loki knows that usually this would be a piece of cake for her—Diana as the added frosting. without her sorcery, her abilities and her illusions, she had to improvise with her toys. they could stir the pot, make a good distraction, but she doubted that it would cause much damage (or, rather, if it would be in their benefit).

then twenty-nine seconds hits.

(Loki can prove herself punctual.) ]

[monomachy]

[Seconds pass, but Diana would swear they go by like minutes. She's as calm as she can be, harnessing every bit of tension in her muscles and measured breath into coiled strength. One of the first things Antiope had ever taught her was how to gather herself before a battle, and she draws on every piece of her training in the time she has.

Fourteen seconds.

Boots scuff on concrete, and her breath threatens to quicken. She forces it to stop. She trusts Loki to set the trap; it's up to her to help spring it.

Twenty-one seconds.

She can no longer tell exactly where Loki is, which likely means the soldiers can't either. Diana crouches, sliding her hands beneath the undercarriage of the jeep she's been waiting behind. The metal dents beneath her fingers as she grips it. She takes one more breath before the moment arrives.

When thirty seconds have gone by, Diana wastes no time. She lifts with all her might, sending the jeep careening towards the group of soldiers with a great battle cry.]

[selfimage]

[ it's not the roaring war horns of Asgard, but it brings a refreshing rush that she doesn't always get to feel in this place. this world is ripe with conflict, but in the more political sense, and while Loki can play the game of words, she's still an Asgardian. she's still Aesir. there was still the cry of battle in her soul.

she comes into view periodically, using her Seven League boots to crawl up impossible surfaces adjacent to the mess of soldiers to keep them scattered. the goal of this wasn't to kill them—it wasn't to win—it was to allow space and cause enough chaos to let anyone in the vicinity leave.

when Diana flips the jeep, Loki springs up against the nearest pile of storage blocks, takes a leap, and runs across the jeep as it takes its soar through the air. it's a very surreal scene, enough that the soldiers have to take a moment to regroup.

she lands counter Diana in a low crouch, shaking out her jacket behind her. ]

I hope that's just your opener.

[ she says, straightening the furry collar of her jacket. ]

[monomachy]

[Once she catches sight of Loki bounding across the midair jeep, Diana can't help but grin. That familiar adrenaline rush that only comes from the heat of battle hits her, and she reaches for it, welcomes it. There's nothing for an Amazon like this feeling, and Diana embraces it with her whole being as she always has since the moment Antiope agreed to train her.]

I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.

[The longer they keep these soldiers occupied, the better chance the others have of making it to safety. Diana flashes Loki a smirk, unable to stop from goading her.]

I hope you plan to do more than leap around.

[Though it was some impressive leaping. And it probably serves their purpose just as well; they aren't here to win, or even kill. Their aim is to distract, to bring some relief to those still trying to escape the base.]