[OPEN] mod plot | sacking of olympus: harbinger descends

[unplug]

CHARACTERS ▶ All characters opting in
LOCATION ▶ Olympus
SUMMARY ▶ The Zion Defense Grid with civilian relief corps arrive at 1100 6/18, and Commander Gwisin gives the orders for rescue, assault, and investigation. This log is player-run and includes The REAPER simulation option (1 of 3) in the Matrix, as well as rescue activity in the Real. Kill some zombies, save some abducted babies.
WARNINGS ▶ Violence and reference to human experimentation, possibly R.
NOTES ▶ This is Part II of the Sacking of Olympus plot. Questions/investigation here, for example, what happens when you shoot compartment x of the centipede

▶ Sacking of Olympus Part II

REAL: THE ZIONITE RESCUE OPERATION ◀

Gwisin's orders are terse over the comms, two hours before the fleet makes Olympus. Make contact and communication to the best of your ability, restore comms if possible. Provide emergency care, fire control, and evacuation, before the unidentified bogey arrives at city center.

Pandemonium reigns over the populace of Olympus, civilians trapped by fires, drones, and debris. Olympus’ forces have rallied but remain thin on the ground, and the Zionite reinforcements are direly needed. Electronic communications remain down except for the Matrix pirate signal, darkening the panic and despair that have descended over the city; REAPER drones harry every human or ship that tries the ground or air.

Organizing this wide-scale rescue in the face of explosions and still-unexplained abductions comes down to ingenuity and manpower.

REAL: HARBINGER DESCENDS ◀

Thirteen hours after the Zion rescuers arrive in Olympus, the Harbinger does too. The cavern ceiling, dead center, cracks, crumbles, boulders the size of hovercrafts hammering down on the city center. By now, thankfully, the heart of the city is empty of civilians, but as the Machine breaks through, it's instantly clear that isn't going to be enough.

Harbinger is massive. Digging mandibles up front could eat a squid whole, and have room left over to total a hovercraft; its name emblazoned on red on each segment. Scarlet optics glow against its black chassis, and drones flush out of the gasping ports in its sides the same way insects give birth in dozens. Ponderous but unmistakably powerful, the centipede-shaped robot crawls out into a dangle into empty air. Keeps dropping its head toward the city in neat, clockwork degrees, almost elegantly, to let itself down onto the rubbled cavern floor. Erratic gasps and comments sound off across the disrupted networks: the oldest of the humans, civilian or otherwise, have never seen a Machine like this in the Real.

But maybe you remember dreaming a monster like this, from another lifetime.

Pilots throughout the city gun their engines, preparing for a feat of comms-blind synchronization. The battle truly begins.

MATRIX: REAPER COMBAT FREE-FOR-ALL ◀

When the Harbinger arrives, the Matrix pirate signal augmentation doubles in strength. Triples. The operator reports start to come in, distorted from the REAPER signal jamming, but unmistakable. There's a simulation out there, like a bridge to-- what? The Matrix? The programming language carries unmistakable similarities to the Dowager's feed from Kitty Jones' call to the Atalanta, but there's nothing specifically like that strange, consuming pattern in the girl's neuro-output. At least, not on this level of the sim. Not yet.

Jack in, and the first thing you see is the cold belly of a spaceship. What you hear are the screams, bouncing echoes off catwalks and cold corridors. Next, figures coming in a wave of seemingly unstructured attack. In the vanguard, the Husks, screaming zombies-- sinewy, discolored flesh mingled with useless tech components and bioluminescence. Not far behind, the bulbous Scions with their single energy weapons. Bringing up the rear, the Banshees float in deceptively slow at first, only to accelerate into a dazing flash of teleportation, skeletal-faced, real death waiting in their razor hands.

One thing is certain: they're guarding something, though where in the recesses of this ship, the operator must largely guess.

Comments

[sfoils]

[ Steve wants to go out there. Wedge weights the pros and cons like laser fire in his head—if the drones penetrate the hull, if they enter the ship, it'll be a two-front battle they can't afford. It'll lessen their odds to a point where even Wedge, who's made a career out of impossible odds, balks. ]

Go. [ Wedge says to Steve, jaw tight. The drones aren't just swarming, they're throwing themselves like sacrificial lambs to keep them for getting to the leg. This will test their gunners' ability to the max and, if Bucky wasn't at one of the turrets, Wedge would've taken his chances with the thickened hull instead.

Which is why, when Black Widow requests to go with Steve, Wedge's stomach returns to its rightful place. ] Take whatever you need. [ He reminds her, unwilling to babysit a crew that's career by telling them what weapons they should use. They all know their own strengths and weakness; Wedge's job is only to make sure everyone is in their rightful positions, doing their duty.

It always sounds so much easier than it actually is. That's why he hates command, and why he avoided it for so long—while his people are out there, taking risks, he sits pretty inside.

It feels like letting them down. ] Take evasive actions, Luke. Try to minimize the amount of area we give these drones. [ So it'll be harder for them to anchor themselves to the ship and, with that, an easier time for Steve and Black Widow.

He's not going to lose two crew members today. ]

[berserkergang]

Which leg?

[ --bellows Thor, while people are having anxieties about nerds with guns. But he doesn't really wait for clarification -- the left one, at that segment, Wedge had said, and whenever the ship dips in a way he can angle the turret, he lets off a steady stream of gunfire. ]

That leg.

[ Dohoho.

But meanwhile, fancy flying is happening to avoid extra attention, and Thor is forced to steer his guns to glance machinegun fire passed Bucky's, covering him off. ]

[ex_paragon697]

[ Permission isn't unwelcome, if maybe a little more unexpected than Steve's willing to dwell on at the moment — though it still manages to catch him at an odd angle, like anticipating a climb up and stumbling on even ground, delaying his slight nod to Wedge in response even as he's strapping the gun to his back. ]

You get a chance to take that thing down, you shouldn't wait up for us.

[ If this were his command, it would be an order. As it is, it should at least assuage Luke's concerns. Steve grabs some of the grappling gear that would ordinarily be used for ship repairs in the field and starts to hook himself up. Looking down at the straps as he adjusts them, his tone is light but his volume for Natasha's ears only this time. ]

So I've been thinking I oughta learn some Russian.

[ex_spins462]

[ Natasha only has time for a quick grateful smile at Wedge before she too is 'suiting up': she's been equipped with her weapon ready since they took off. but her fingers fumble a little with the delicate clasps, and she frowns at them as she tugs the harness on. ]

Hе бежать впереди паровоза.

[ She murmurs in an ironic tone, looks up and tightens the buckle at his chest. ]

Pretty sure you don't need to speak Russian to know we think you're an idiot.

[ She adds, a little warmer, as they turn and head out. ]

[last_ofthe_jedi]

[Wedge's command gets an eyebrow-raise out of Luke, though he doesn't turn his eyes away from the battle. The drones have been swarming in and out of the viewport since they got here and Luke has found a small amount of frustration with how big and slow this ship is compared to his familiar fighter.

His knuckles are white and he's already fighting to stay out of the swarm but they keep coming back.]

Would you like to go outside and put up a 'wide load' sign for the drones?

[There's some good-natured sarcasm in his tone.]

Or should I just tell the ship to suck it in?

[But his frustration is getting the better of him too. Normally Luke would draw on the Force to calm himself but...

He knows Wedge can take it. He'll continue to evade as best he can while simultaneously keeping the leg in sight for the gunners and avoiding any sudden movements for Steve and Widow's sakes. This isn't as easy as it looks, folks.]