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nexus_crossings2019-02-02 12:56 pm
handsofwinter) wrote in nexus_crossings2019-02-02 12:56 pm
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Into a Rising Wind
Winter holds the Nexus in its jaws, and its teeth sink ever deeper.
A month into the storm, the snow has yet to stop falling. The number of mouths to be fed has stopped dwindling, almost. Occasionally people go missing, and those who notice hope they’ve found a way back through their portals. It’s not enough to change the maths on their food supplies - all their supplies. Nobody is getting a full meal at a time, not any more. Isidor and Lyall have begun to enforce the rationing with iron hands. Both ignore the look that crosses Captain Kirk’s face when they upbraid a volunteer cook for being too generous – the look that lingers on Runa’s face if she’s close enough to hear. They’re doing what they must. They need a tight hold on their supplies if they want to get people through this. They need supplies even to send expeditions after more.
And expeditions are a difficult prospect now. Those who ventured into the storm and returned have brought stories that spread faster than Isidor hoped. The Crossroads Cafe has become a semi-official hub for those travelling outside or keeping watch on the bounds, a safe resting place kept warm by the combined power of Pokemon and Persona. In the long dark nights, people sit around the tables and share what they've seen, what they've heard from this scout or that refugee. Whispered tales of the creatures out there hunting in packs, hounding people from rooftops, even tearing open walls to reach them…
No-one goes out alone, now. Those brave enough to take the risk go in groups and arm themselves with the best weapons they can find. Sometimes they’re a risk to themselves. Not everyone knows how to handle that black market plasma pistol they picked up two days past. Not all of their team-mates keep their nerve when a figure looms out of the snows beside them. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who’s run afoul of monsters, and who of their own folly. Safer, but little less brave, are the people recruited to keep watch on that shifting line of torches. Just a precaution. The creatures don’t come past it, everyone says. But quietly, everyone doubts.
There've been bright moments, too. A strange alchemist comforting a lost child. An expedition team fighting their way home, back to back. Families brought safely through the snow by soldiers and wizards, by heroes young and old and sometimes surprising. A volunteer cook stepping up to prepare, if not quite a hundred thousand meals, then something that feels close. A young man saving the life of a stranger who'd threatened him. The past weeks have seen people who may never have known one another before come together to offer a blanket, or guiding words, or a helping hand in a search. Small moments, glowing reminders of how much good the people of the Nexus have on their side. But the Winter goes on, and the winds never get less bitter, and the smiles get more strained with every day.
Slowly the line of torches close on the Plaza, a noose no-one can afford to flee. Sheltered space is at a premium. Most of those who remain are settled as close to the centre as they can be. Whether in the big public bunker or the Cafe, people find themselves crammed all together, and tempers regularly fray among residents not too cold and exhausted for fighting. The more responsible Nexus-goers find themselves trying to duck out of (or break up) fights, or spending hours stuffing drafty accommodation with any insulation they can find. There’s snow to be shoveled from doors, pipes to be defrosted, bandages to be changed. Anything’s better than dealing with the problem of working bathrooms.
At one end of the Plaza headquarters, a makeshift screen has been dragged into place to give a semblance of privacy to Isidor’s desk. It’s painfully early in the morning, though the nights are so long and the days so dim beneath the storm clouds there’s little sense of time any more. There’s no-one around yet to wonder about the meeting going on. The only people present are Isidor, Lyall and a handful of senior volunteers – those who remain. Blaze-37 crouches by a makeshift fireplace, stacking the salvaged wood just right before she punches it lightly, setting it alight with the flames that ripple over her fist. The other robot, Ghost, is hovering over the desk playing flashlight for them, shining a pale beam over the maps and reports laid out there. Light, too, is a precious resource, as batteries die and outlets are lost to encroaching Winter. It’s the only reason those here have gotten sleep. They work until they have no light to work by.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Suou?” the Guardian asks when Isidor says they can begin.
“Officer Suou won’t be coming.”
That’s part of why they’re here, Isidor explains. The torches’ march has taken them past the Grand Library. The Crossroads Café is now on the very edge of the safe zone, along with all the people sheltering there. Katsuya’s magic is the only thing that will protect it. He can’t leave. It’s a turning point that only drives home the larger problem: they’re running out of time. They’re running out of everything. Most refugees are in some kind of shelter by now; what they lack is food to keep them alive and fuel to keep them warm. Isidor’s volunteers have counted heads and counted tins and counted everything backwards and forwards and the numbers never get better. Either they do something now, while they have the strength, or the meals will run dry in two weeks. Less, if anything goes wrong.
She lets that sink in. Nobody looks surprised: she’s confirming their worst suspicions and that gets a few flinches, but they understand. They talk, instead. By the time there’s a hint of daylight outside and someone knocks on the door for the first shot at rations, they have a plan. They need an expedition, bigger than any before. They need enough arms to discourage attack, the skills to get them to any buried supplies and the numbers to haul them back in quantity. Each of them walks away from the table with a mission in mind and an air of grim determination.
They have a job to do, and they’re going to need help.
((As before, so below: the main missions/subquests for the expedition prep are listed below. Tag any of them, threadhop, or post with your own character. I suggest putting your character’s name in the subject to help keep things clear. The OOC Post can be found here! If you have any questions, feel free to message me or one of the mods!))
Threads of Note
Scouting the Expedition | A Fistful of Torches | Scrapyard Sweep | The Home Front | Medical Attention | Isidor's Expedition Call | Main Expedition: The Raid
the split-up
"I'll go and grab it, just cover my back, since I'm going to be left in a open position." Without another word, she climbs onto the fire moth's back, confident and worried all at once. She'll wait for a moment, see if there's anything else that needs to be said, before taking off into the skies.
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From her new vantage she can see a bit better over the shrouded landscape around them. She can't watch Natalie too closely, though she hears the tower creak alarmingly and hopes her team-mate is exercising caution. She's tracking the faint hints of shadowy movement in a nearby street- real, or just a trick of the snow? Between Volcarona and the Sunbreaker herself, the pair of them must stand out badly in any kind of thermal sights - if the enemy has such things, if they look this way. But surely no-one has a chance of hearing them in this wind.
Natalie, meanwhile, gets the challenge of trying to drag the beacon out from the tower's metal frame - while her airborne mount fights the gusting wind, and the whole structure veers slowly from one side to another. The bad news is, the beacon's frozen in. The good news is, the heat from Volcarona's beating wings is swiftly beginning to melt it free. It might take some doing - and some nerve - but the trainer will be able to pull it free.
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After a few tense minutes, she has Volcarona move closer, giving her enough time to pry the beacon free. Grasping it tightly with one hand, the other holding onto Volcarona tightly, she has the Pokemon back away from the tower opposite to whatever direction it's swaying. Just it case it decides to fall, she wants to be in a better position.
No words need to be said, as she makes her way back to the ground and Blaze.
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“Slick work, you two. That’s another one down!” She grabs up the sled propped against a wall- they haven’t needed it yet, but she’s aiming to reach that comms array sooner rather than later. “Holding up all right? The next one’s a cakewalk compared to that! We just get over there and do this by the book, we shouldn’t have any problems.”
There’s not much chance for conversation once they’re moving again, with the wind drowning out anything below a yell. Blaze moderates her pace if she notices her companion falling behind, but her attention is focused on the path ahead. The streets look different buried under snow, but she remembers the direction. Presently they’ll turn into a wide open area, sheltered by a scattering of trees and the medley of houses surrounding it. Massive drifts have piled up against the buildings, and it’s easy to see that if their occupants had stayed around they’d have been trapped.
“Nice day for a walk in the park, right?” Blaze calls cheerily, helm turning as she looks over her shoulder. She sets the sled down again and points to the middle of what’s usually a huge lawn, where out amid the swirling snow a green light blinks forlornly. “That’s our target. Pretty exposed, though.” She gestures to one of the houses and its low garden wall: it’s a bit of a walk across the snow, but it’s the nearest cover not already buried. “Hunker down and cover me for a minute, then we’ll be out of here.”
So far, so simple. While Natalie heads for the sheltering wall the Guardian marches out into the open with no real concern for the possibility of being shot at. It's possible she's being a tad... overprotective of the less experienced human, since she doesn't seem to feel any particular danger.
Then again, maybe it's not Natalie she's underestimating.
”FREEZE!” Her order is a bellow above the wind, sudden, urgent, allowing no moment of hesitation. The Titan herself has stopped dead still across the field: a white-on-black statue in the midst of the blizzard. Slowly, mechanically, she pivots on one foot to look back at Natalie; even at this distance, even through the blank faceplate, one can almost feel her locking eyes with the human. “Don’t take another step!” She pats the side of her helm and yells, “RADIO!”
Only once her team-mate has the radio on and lifted to talk can she explain, almost conversationally, “I’m standing on a mine. Most likely they’re all over this place. If your Pokemon can lift you back out of there without disturbing anything, get back to the street. It’s either that or you’re gonna have to turn around real carefully and walk back in your footprints.”
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"I'm fine for now. Let's just keep moving forward. The sooner we can get the mission complete, the better off everyone will be." Yes, she doesn't have the physical strength of Blaze, but she keeps up at an acceptable pace, thanking her lucky stars that she actually had winter gear at the ready for this. The wide open space, with houses once occupied is an eerie sight, another reminder that human life once thrived here. Volcarona and Carbink both hover overhead, providing support and warmth as needed.
"Not really. This weather isn't exactly warm nor pleasant." Is it supposed to be a joke? She isn't offended, but just shrugs her shoulders and keeps walking forward. The light of the beacon is refreshing, until...The cry to reach for her radio cuts through the howling wind. Mines. Scanning the nearby ground, she doesn't see anything that looks explosive, but a false move will end in disaster. She raises one hand and has Volcarona move closer, grabbing onto the Pokemon and carefully returning to the skies.
Again, she's back on the radio, desperately trying to figure out what to do next. "Blaze! I think I have an idea, but I'm not sure what to do afterwards." Think long, think wrong. "I can have Carbink come down to you and shield the explosion, but after that, well..." The Guardian will need to come up with a follow-up plan.
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"Negative. Not gonna be much chance of shielding me, and no point risking Carbink. Besides, the beacon's probably rigged too. I've got this. You fall back to a safe distance, 'cause there's gonna be shrapnel. And watch our back. It won't be quiet."
To her unseen companion, tucked within her shell, the Titan adds, "Ghost, alert Alpha to converge on our position. We're about to make some noise. Won't go unnoticed."
Granted, her audios picked up the distant stutter of rifle fire earlier, in little snatches over the wind. She has an idea Alpha's already made contact with the enemy. But there's been no call for reinforcement, and whatever they met seems to be handled. This, however? She aims to detonate as much of the minefield around her as she can. The words that come to mind are 'grenade' and 'hornet's nest'.
She waits a few moments for Natalie and her Pokemon to get clear before she springs forward and brings her fists down in a ground-slamming pound. If she could, she'd smile.
There is indeed going to be shrapnel flying, and an awful lot of snow and earth to boot.
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Then she sees Blaze raise her fist and what the actual hell is she doing?!?
Natalie is about to cry out, but the explosion is jarring, causing her to grab onto Volcarona tightly. Normally this sight would be amazing and cool, but now she has to wonder how much crap they'll attract with such a blast. Thankfully, she out of the blast zone, but now things are getting tense for the Pokemon trainer...
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There’s little time even for shock, however. In a flash Ghost appears above his fallen Guardian, a bright glimmer of blue light darting close to the ground to keep out of the wind. What he does is also hard to see- for a moment he seems to expand out, swelling with brightening light that ripples over Blaze’s form…
And she jerks to life, a sharp convulsion before she rolls over and hauls herself up, staggering a little. Ghost disappears again; Blaze steadies herself and looks around for Natalie, to give her a thumbs-up.
“All good!” she calls out merrily. She gestures back to the ground remaining between her and the beacon. “I’m gonna go again!” Looks like Natalie isn’t getting any explanations just yet. Besides, the trainer will have to watch her own back. While Blaze turns to repeat the explosive process, something is scuttering over the roofs behind them, and it’s training its rifle sights on Volcarona…
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The rifle barrel isn't noticed, due to the storm and her attention being elsewhere. Even with insect eyes, Volcarona is better at spotting things that aren't as well hidden, thus the rifle goes unnoticed. Looks like the enemy has gotten the drop on the team this time around...
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Nothing to do but risk it. She sprints, leaps, and pulls on the Light to make it another arcing jump over the death-laden snow. Her boots come down less than a foot in front of the beacon. She grabs, twists, hurls it like a javelin. It sails across the snow, over the riven field, into the great snowdrift at the end of the park.
And behind it, Blaze... explodes again. It's fine. She'll be fine. Just give her a few moments.
Only a few moments may be too many for Natalie and her team. Behind them, a flicker of steel shadow in the snows becomes the gleam of an electric corona- and then a rifle shot lances up at Volcarona, blue-white and hissing with electrical energy. It's curving to match the Pokemon's flight- Volcarona needs to evade hard. And fast.
Ghost's voice on the radio is belated for both of them.
"Detecting energy signatures behind us. Look out!"no subject
The beam is completely disarming, not something a human can react to, but a bug with compound eyes can react much faster than a human giving commands. Heat, light...all things that insects are used to seeing and needing to react to. Before Natalie can get a word out, Volcarona is diving downward in a sharp angle, the trainer holding onto its matter white fur tightly. Fire burns off its wings, scorching the air and narrowly missing the Pokemon, but does graze one back wing.
Electric attacks, thankfully, are not super effective against a Bug/Fire Pokemon, but the pain is similar to that of a Pikachu shock. Not pleasant, but bearable. Natalie knows that direct assaults like that will add up in due time, so she can't afford to let Volcarona be the target once more. Tracking electrical shots means that heat must be involved...
"Carbink! Rock Slide!"
Hearing its trainer cry out means trouble is afoot and the floating rock Pokemon, hovers closer. It starts to spin, launching waves of decently sized rocks towards where the beam was fired. Maybe it'll hit the shooter, or if anything, slow them down from another attack. Either way, Volcarona needs to be faster...As if on cue, the moth speeds up, particles of yellow dust and light surrounding its form. Hopefully a Quiver Dance will give it an edge of speed and power against such a formidable foe, while flying dangerously close to the ground.
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Blaze wakes in the dirt again. Resurrection is, always, a thrill and a shock: being pulled back from the embrace of death is never an easy thing. It's merely familiar, after seven years. The smell of dirt, of burned metal, the flickers of strange memory in her thoughts, the haunting echo of a shock rifle's round- just another day.
Wait.
She's halfway to her feet when she freezes. That sound wasn't just an echo of memory. She doesn't think so. No. No, that was real. That sound was real and she knows that sound.
The Titan surges to her feet, scrambling out of the crater she's made for herself. Volcarona flutters over the ground nearby, evading fire, Natalie still on its back; Ghost is saying something she doesn't hear over the shock burning through her circuits. There are guttural voices on the wind and now she's sure.
"It's the Light-damned Fallen!"
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Quickly, with one hand, the radio is grabbed. "Blaze! What are they weak to and what is the best position to take?" Her eyes drift to Carbink, smiling. "Stay close, Carbink. I'll need your help." The rock Pokemon cries out with a gravely cheer, then hovers close to Volcarona, who slows down upon sensing that the shots fired have receded. They have some time to breathe for now...
A soft pat on Volcarona's back, still hovering lightly over the ground, now closer to Blaze's position. "If they're going to hide in shadows, them I'll burn the shadows into nothingness." Natalie's eyes shift from Blaze to Volcarona. "Keep dancing, girl. We'll show them our fire soon enough." The Pokemon chirps, still collecting wisps of energy around its form.
Patience. It's a weird feeling for someone so reckless like her, but Natalie has learned a lot this winter about survival. Here's to hoping she puts that experience to good use.
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She waves to Natalie, then shoulders her rifle. She doesn't have the advantage of a bird's eye view, but shadows are flitting further down the street, and she has to assume attack is imminent.
"Azwel," she murmurs. "Try and hold back a little until one of the big ones shows up. We might need all your strength if more than one of the bastards attacks us."
She activates her own radio. "Blaze? Ghost? Are you--"
The question gets cut off as the Titan rises and shouts.
The Fallen?? What the fuck is a Fallen? Furiosa's gaze seeks out Natasha's. She has the impression she knows Blaze better than the rest of them. What does that mean?
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Rather, she takes up her position at their rear as their group hurries to rendezvous with the Exo's team. Natasha is extremely grateful that Furiosa is hurrying them along though. No time for relief to sink into her features though when they come to a halt an Blaze is shouting.
Her breath catches in her throat. Natasha has heard that word before, tossed around by Steve and the Exo while they repaired weapons and gear in her friend's safe house here in the Nexus before. Descriptions that bring the Chi'Tauri invasion back into the forefront of her mind. Just more pervasive. More difficult to rid.
There certainly is recognition in her eyes when Furiosa turns to face the spy. She nods ever so slightly. Takes the two steps needed to cut the distance between them do her quiet murmur can be heard.
"Aliens. One of many invading forces that assault Blaze's universe. Machine worshipers and very. Very. Tenacious." If the Fallen are here, in the Nexus, then...somehow Natasha wonders if Blaze and Steve's joint ventures might be to blame for it. "We can't stick around here for long if that's the case. We have...we need to fall back and let people know. We need a plan."
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He nods in response to Furiosa's suggestion, secretly relieved that he's got time to recover a bit more. The strain is starting to catch up with him in a manner he honestly hadn't factored in--he'd underestimated how much malnutrition could take out of a person.
So he listens closely to the explanation, gaze repeatedly flicking to the shadows. They sound troublesome, and he can't really draw any comparisons to anything he knows, a fact that leaves him worryingly adrift. So it's a bit of a relief when he hears someone else might have a plan, instead.
"What's the best way to do that? It sounds like there are a lot of them."
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“Weak to? Same things as anyone else. Come with me and take the beacon, then get straight to the others. Stay low and keep moving. I’ll be right behind you and we’ll swing around for the Plaza.” So saying, she turns and breaks into a run, straight for the end of the park where she threw the beacon. More of the mid-size Fallen – Blaze recognizes them as vandals – are climbing onto the roofs. They’re quick to fire on the pair running their way, while others run among the chimneys, looking for her companions to fire down on them. Although lucky for Volcarona, the snipers seem more focused on the Guardian below....
Thanks to Ghost, her voice is clear on the radio – and she has no breath to be out of, even as she reaches the far snow drift and plows into it up to her shoulders. ”Alpha, hold your position! Still plenty of mines here! We’re coming to you, Natalie’s taking the beacon. We’ll form up and cut a path home!” She pulls the folded beacon from the melting snow and passes it up to the Pokemon trainer, gestures to go. The smaller ones are leaning out from cover to take potshots at Volcarona with their pistols, rounds thunking into Blaze's armor as she splashes free of the drift. Alpha has their own problems: a trio of the little ones have dumped down into the street behind them and are skittering into cover. Something like a metal pipe comes tumbling through the air towards them, sparking wildly where it lands for a couple of seconds before exploding.
”Watch yourselves over there! I'm on my way!” Blaze pauses and adds, ”And stand back.” It’s the last thing she says before she comes bolting their way over the minefield. Which means, alas, another explosion, and another moment flat on her face before Ghost appears to rez her. At least it makes the Fallen stop in confusion for a few moments… but soon enough she’ll be rolling to her feet again, drawing her rifle as she climbs out of the hole she dug herself.
”…really necessary?”Ghost is muttering as she sprints up to join the others. Blaze doesn't feel that needs an answer.no subject
"Heat Wave!" Volcarona's wings beat faster, and within seconds, there's a large wall of fire being pushed outward, into the areas where the Pokemon thinks the enemy is hiding. Fire can't be good for these Fallen, nor the structures they've hidden themselves behind. With that one attack out of the way, the moth is already retreating, trainer in tow. Back to the line of allies waiting for them, hopefully with less attacks than before.
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She gives a little nod, though; she understands. This is not a walk in the park, and now that they have the beacons, some intel, and a few scavenged odds and ends, they need to get back to base ASAP.
"If it weren't for the mines Blaze just found, I'd say alter our route slightly to throw them, but I'm not excited by the idea of running across exploding ground." She pauses to listen to Blaze's voice again, and looks torn between bemusement and fascination. What must it be like to run across a minefield and know it won't be the last thing you ever do?
"Eyes on," she says, "but if she says we hold position, we hold position."
She wants to see this, anyway. And she is not disappointed. Minefield explosions and a bonus show of fire from Natalie's Pokemon? Not bad at all.
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Furiosa's clear to watch the minefield and Blaze's impressive(ly short lived) heroic leap and subsequent pit of her own creation. Natasha's role in all of this mission has been to be on the rear guard. It's not something she's forgotten about now, either. So while most eyes are on the Guardian's mockery of mortality Natasha's are on the smaller ones taking potshots at them from behind their cover.
The shots from her gun are much less effective than the one she'd stolen but they're all she's got at the moment. Natasha's going to have to try and make them count. Aiming for gaps in armor or their faces.
"Incoming, six o clock!" Boom! The sparking pipe explodes in a burst of electricity that definitely didn't do any favors to Natasha's ears even after she ducked for cover. "There's three more back here!"