WAYPOINT SHRIL, PT.3

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All (New Hosts may tag anything from their arrival date on Waypoint Shril forward.)
WHERE: THE FAIR HEART, WAYPOINT SHRIL & SURROUNDING SPACE
WHEN: Day :038 - :039
SUMMARY: A theft, a rescue, and of course - the grand finale of the galaxy's most fabulous competition.
WARNINGS: N/A, will update as necessary.

LATE ON DAY :038, a select group of Hosts makes their way to the imposing mobile headquarters of the ABA!, the retrofitted prison ship known as The Fair Heart. The goal? Steal those prizes, break out the captured rescue team, and make a clean getaway.

Or just get away at all. That works too.

THE FAIR HEART
     A. THE RECON TEAM Congratulations, you're in a cell and stuck with a tracking bracelet. But it isn't all bad. The food's okay and the company is-- well, whatever. It could always be worse. Sure, getting interrogated isn't the best part of the day, but if you're lucky you might get to sit down and have a conversation with the mercenary group's second in command, Vinka. Vinka is nice. He cracks jokes. He plays space chess. He's clearly the good cop. If you're unlucky you'll get stuck answering the questions of a very dry, humorless cyborg called Bradd who likes to use his arm attachment to shock people.

But eventually you begin to sense the minds of your fellow Hosts nearing. Time to prepare for an escape.

     B. THE HEIST TEAM You all know where you're going, right? Now it's just a matter of getting there more or less safely. There's a bunch of security measures between you and your goal, so proceed carefully. Or don't. After all, the rescue team is headed in the opposite direction and someone will need to cover their tracks won't they?

     C. THE RESCUE TEAM Here's what you know: somewhere in this labyrinthine ship your friends are being held captive. Where they are and how to get to them is a goshdang mystery. And once you figure it out, it looks like you're going to be getting very close with The Fair Heart's personnel. On top of that, shouldn't you be helping to distract security from paying attention to the vault? Boy, you've got your work cut out for you.

     GET THE HECK OUTTA DODGE Once the prizes are removed from the vault or the prisoners are taken from their cells, an alarm will sound. Time to go! Fight or cleverly elude your way out of The Fair Heart. Get a ride (any ride will do) and take off. Mind The Fair Heart's guns, darling.

     FASTER. FASTER WOULD BE BETTER. What's that saying? Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Once you've escaped The Fair Heart, you'll be facing off with a literal armada of ships trying to blow you out of the sky. Luckily you've got backup. Station 72 is the biggest thing in the sky and it's moving. Towards you. Through other ships. There's a lot of explosions.


WAYPOINT SHRIL
     LET THE GAME BEGIN! Remember how everyone had to carefully register their team and jump through a bunch of hoops to get to the finale of the ABA!? Well there's been a scheduling change. Thanks to Miss Mystery's announcement, everyone and their great grandmother is now an official competitor. And lots and lots of them are taking it seriously.

     GET TO THE CHOPPER! There's a mad dash to take to the sky. Waypoint Shril has been transformed into utter chaos. Platform Alfa is a mess. Ships are being hijacked. ABA! employees driving shuttles are now ditching their jobs to compete. Waypoint civilians who stuck around through the madness are taking their ships out of their garages and taking off through the Jump and the Graveyard. If you're a Host on Waypoint Shril, it might be a good idea to get off it.

Luckily if you were competing in the ABA! you're practically ready to go. After all, weren't most of you building a ship to compete in the finale with? If you take the fruits of your labor, you better hope your astroengineering holds up to a high stress environment.

CAUSE A RUCKUS: Your friends are flying against an armada. Shooting down the competition might be a good idea.



THE GRAND FINALE
GUESS WE BETTER JUMP: Just make sure to get to the Station before it jumps to the void. It would be very, very easy to get left behind. (Be aware that if a Host is left behind, you will be dropping the game.)

---

((OOC NOTES: This log is the catch-all for the finale of Waypoint Shril. It covers the heist, the rescue and the escape from The Fair Heart in addition to any events taking place concurrently on Waypoint Shril. It covers the escape from this universe and taking the Station back into the void. Questions? Check out the OOC POST. If you have additional questions that aren't answered there, feel free to either drop a note in the log-specific questions thread or touch base with us on the Mod Contact page.

'Wait, can I NPC this character?' When it doubt, the answer is probably yes. Use your best judgement, but we encourage you to go wild. Should you desire mod input or for us to bounce into a thread, feel free to reach out to us and we'll be happy to accommodate. We may also be threadjacking some of these threads, however don't feel compelled to wait for us to do so. Have fun and don't get killed!))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

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[deployed]

[ Unease had been creeping in around the edges of Bellamy's consciousness even before Murphy snaps to awareness. It had felt like the makings of a nightmare rather than real danger, but the urgency that crackles down the line between them hits like an electric shock. Bellamy bolts groggily upright, scrambling for the gun that isn't there. ]

What's going on?

[ He sounds alert already. His reaction time had only gotten better since landing on the ground. ]

What's happening?

[ Nothing yet; Bellamy can't hear anything approaching and the room is still dark and quiet. It seems safe. Luckily, Bellamy's learned not to trust anything that seems safe. ]

[wrackful]

We're leaving.

[It's an answer to both, as far as Murphy's concerned. They don't have time for questions, or for Bellamy still sitting in his bed, looking confused. Murphy's just shoved his feet in his boots, laces trailing as he turns to pick up Bellamy's half empty pack and unceremoniously throw it at the other man.]

Grab your crap. Move.

[deployed]

[ The only thing keeping Bellamy from being smacked in the face by his pack is quick reflexes. He still can't parse where the urgency's coming from. Murphy's spooked, and Bellamy has to make a split second decision about whether or not to trust it. ]

What about the others?

[ Because that's a question Murphy will just love to answer. ]

Are we all in danger?

[ He's at least gotten to his feet, grabbing for his shirt. Maybe the action with assuage Murphy's obvious irritation long enough to tease out some answers. ]

[wrackful]

[Bellamy's moving, finally, not that waiting for him had held Murphy from grabbing his own belongings to shove in his pack.]

I don't know.

[Distracted. Confused. Irritated both at the question and the fact he doesn't have an answer, just this gnawing in his stomach, adrenaline pounding in his head. But it occurs as he's balling up his last shirt that Bellamy's questions have skipped what's wrong, what the hell are you doing. Just accepted, enough to move straight to who was in danger, not questioning if there was danger at all.

The realisation draws Murphy short, pausing. His hand clenches tight in fabric, closing his eyes, trying to think. It's already made him reach out to Seviilia, and he isn't even sure where she is, so--] Yeah. Everyone here. I think.

[He shakes his head, sharp, frustrated.]

It's not like I'm getting a list.

[deployed]

Then we get everyone out.

[ Bellamy doesn't waver, though the lack of information about exactly what they're running from makes him uneasy. It's hard to consider the best way to approach this without an idea of what the danger looks like. Murphy's frustration is palpable beneath the constant low-level thrum of urgency, so Bellamy has to pick his questions carefully.

He sweeps the short stack of books into his pack, crams in the few items of clothing he'd bought for himself on top of them. No weapon. He's furious with himself for overlooking the opportunity to root one out. ]

Do you know where we should go? Just out of this room or back to the station?

[ At least that could give them an idea of just how widespread of a threat they were dealing with. Bellamy projects calm towards Murphy; steady acceptance and reassurance are more important in this moment than trying to pick apart what's happening in Murphy's head. ]

[wrackful]

[Murphy has far less than Bellamy that he cares to take with him, and with his last shirt pushed into a corner of his pack he zips it closed, sits to start doing his laces up. His hands shaking even with something so long practised, adrenaline demanding he be doing more than this simple, methodical task. The steady calm emanating off of Bellamy doesn't soothe it, can't even make a dent, but it goes some way to easing his frustration, quieting the agitation. This - whatever the hell it was - was happening. Bellamy had accepted it. He could, too.]

I had to get Seviilia. [It's the only way he can think of to say it, the need to contact her and make sure she was moving as urgent as the need to move himself. It hasn't dissipated. He's still holding onto his line to her, something in him bristling distress with every second he lets her do something other than come and meet him.] She's on Shril, somewhere, so it's got to be back to the station.

[It's still just a guess, and not one he wants to follow with more. Guesses as to what the threat is, what could be coming for them.]

I don't know, and we don't have time to try and figure it out.

[deployed]

But we've got time to get back to the Station.

[ Or so Bellamy's assuming, since Murphy hasn't bolted. Bellamy yanks his jacket on, swings his pack over his shoulder. ]

Hey, we can outrun it. It's still quiet.

[ For the moment, anyway. Bellamy hasn't seen Murphy's hands shake in a very long time. He isn't sure whether that's a part of what's happening to him, or because he's afraid. ]

I woke up Annie. We can go. We'll get a ship.

[ And Bellamy knew how to fly. Sure, he'd never tested it out, but he had the knowledge sunk deep into his mind. It felt like his own. It was there in a pinch. ]

[wrackful]

[Annie. Murphy hadn't even thought about her, even with Bellamy asking about who was in danger, talking about getting everyone out. It's almost like there wasn't room for anyone else in his head, and guilt is a cold weight, a lump in his throat that he can only swallow down with the gratitude that Bellamy had woken her.

He nods, stands, shoulders his pack. Any other time and maybe he'd have something to throw back at Bellamy's reassurances, but right now they're more tangible than the roiling alarm in his head. Solid. Beacons to push that current towards.]

Let's go.

[sistershoggoth]

[ Annie is quick on their heels, disheveled in every possible way, her shirt falling off her shoulder, her hair a mess, but her expression is one of such terrifying focus despite her appearance. Maybe she should be more grateful that Bellamy had looped her in to Murphy's freak out, but like Murphy himself... there's only room for one figure in her thoughts right now: ]

Need to get Noctis.

[deployed]

How long is that going to take?

[ The question might sound foreboding, but Bellamy has no intention of leaving anyone behind. He's thinking logistics as he tries to cover the gap between Murphy's instincts and getting everyone out all at once. ]

Can you tell him to meet us at the port?

[ Unless Noctis is close at hand. But his mind is strange to Bellamy. He can't sense him immediately the way he does with his broodmates or Murphy and Lexa. There's no solid connection yet. It leaves him floundering. He keeps that to himself as he links with Murphy, winding the red-colored bind between them tighter as if to anchor Murphy before the pull in his mind sweeps him away. ]

[sistershoggoth]

[ She just had this argument with Noctis himself. Her point of view in this moment isn't so much about what would be most expedient, it's about what reassures her that if something goes wrong between here and the port, there's still some leeway for her to throw the young king over her shoulder and get him back to the station. ]

He'll join up in a few minutes, or I'm turning around and getting him.

[ She can definitely imagine him getting sidetracked by something stupid, helping someone else, or some stupid memento he left on his bedside. She flags John and Bellamy on. ]

I'll worry about him, don't worry about me.

[somnifacient]

[Noctis has been called lazy on occasion, though it wasn't always a fair assessment. Hesitant, uncertain. Tired maybe, but never truly lazy in the real sense of the word -- no more than anyone else who had been his age, at the time.

But there's alarm in the air, and the warning he had received from Annie makes his shoulders tense. It also expedites his gait, and it's only a handful of minutes at the most before he approaches the group. There's nothing languid about the way he moves now.]

I'm here. [A hurried announcement. He frowns.] What's this about... taking a ship?

[wrackful]

[Keeping up with conversation is hard. The urgent pull in his head isn't sated by them moving - more like the opposite - and even as he's glad to see Annie, he's thankful that Bellamy's managing actual responses and questions.

Outside the hotel, Noctis joining them, he thinks Bellamy can answer those questions too. But as the group starts to turn in the direction of platform alfa, he stops, frowning. Looks back over his shoulder.]

We're not going that way.

[It's all the warning he gives before he moves to turn back and crosses the street, heading for a gap between buildings on the other side.]

[deployed]

We're getting out of here, [ Bellamy explains, hoping to stave off further discussion. ] Murphy's got a way out.

[ And Murphy's already moving. They don't have much time for a debate, even if the change is direction has wrong-footed him. ]

Just stick close. This is going to work.

[ Though he catches Annie's wrist before crossing the street. Noctis is clearly here for her, so Bellamy trusts that if Annie's moving, Noctis will follow close behind. ]

[sistershoggoth]

God, he's turned into one of those cryptic psychic cunts, I always fuckin' hated those bitches. [ And not for the first time: ] What the fuck am I doing here.

[ All grumbling to herself, held awkwardly in Bellamy's grip. She was used to being the leader, not being led, and in a bright spark of half a moment of empathy she remembers Noctis is fucking king, maybe he wasn't so used to being bitched out by him either. Tough titties.

She cranes her neck as they go, trying to see some sign of what it is they're rushing away from, but they're still too early for it by, what, five to ten minutes if everyone got their shit together real snappily. ]

We waiting for the dead bitch? Cuz I vote we don't.

[somnifacient]

[Noctis had been a prince longer than he has been a king. In those years, he was bossed around all the time by his bodyguard and, by a lesser extent, his chamberlain. And he had done more than taken it in stride, he had thought absolutely nothing of it. In his mind, it was expected that they treat each other as equals -- anything else just made him feel awkward.

So it's no surprise that he doesn't question what he's being told. Noct sticks close, extending his trust in the others, following the same path that they take.]

I don't think we should leave anyone behind if at all possible. [Noctis frowns, concern radiating outward.]

[wrackful]

She's meeting us. [She had to be, the urgent feeling which was directing feet just as insistent about her presence.] We don't have time for anything else.

[Anyone else, if they couldn't do the same. It's bitter tasting to say, especially knowing he hadn't even thought of Annie in the immediate drive to moving to leave. But Murphy had never been a hero. He didn't know who else was on Shril or where, what they were facing or how long they had, and it left no room to consider trying to gather them all.

It's a bite of frustration, especially paired with Annie's words, and he's sharp as he glances over his shoulder at her.]

And no one hates this crap more than me right now, believe me. [Being cryptic wouldn't exactly be his preference, but if he was doing it intentionally at least it would mean he knew more. He doesn't. He knows nothing except the pull of move move move, turning another corner into another alley, adding low, under his breath:] Just give me a dumbass staff and I'll be Jaha.

[deployed]

You're not Jaha.

[ Though Murphy's discomfort and irritation are palpable. Bellamy would have read it on him even if they weren't so closely linked. A firm denial is the best comfort he can give without holding things up or distracting Murphy. His grip shifts from Annie's wrist to her hand, clasping loosely as they stride after Murphy. ]

If we all just stay alert, we'll be fine. Cities are easy to hide in.

[ Not that they're hiding just yet, but the option is there. It's better than a forest in so many ways. There are so many people, and in a transient place like Shril, they blend in to the point of invisibility. Bellamy hefts his pack higher. ]

Do either of you have weapons?

[ Just in case. ]

[sistershoggoth]

This shit sounds fucking imaginary.

[ Annie's answer to all things that sound like they break her genre, but it's a flippant utterance, because she's turning to look expectantly at Noctis. ]

Cough 'em up.

[somnifacient]

[Annie's expectant look surprises him, because he was ready to answer but not necessarily produce said weapons. Only a moment of hesitation passes before he extends a hand, and the Katana of the Warrior appears in fractured blue light, seeming to appear out of thin air. He grasps at its hilt and hands it to Annie, reflecting her expression back.]

You'll only need the one. Anything more won't exactly be very subtle.

[Not that anything about Shril is subtle, but hefting around a giant crossbow, a longsword, or a greatsword (or anything else in his arsenal) just doesn't seem conducive to the idea of escape.

He speaks offhandedly at the other two afterwards.] There's more where that came from, if it comes down to it. Hopefully it won't.

[sistershoggoth]

I got this.

[ She takes the sword with a care they don't really have the time for, but he's giving her something of his, so she's handling it appropriately. ]

Everybody else fucking focus on the escape plan.

[wrackful]

Yeah, kind of hard to do that when there isn't one.

[Even Bellamy's rough suggestions had already been turned by Murphy leading them away from the port, and they still have no idea what they're escaping from, or why. Bellamy says he isn't Jaha, but it feels a hell of a lot like operating on blind faith. If he thought about it too hard, it'd be terrifying.

As would the feeling of something on the tip of his tongue, something else he needs to say. He opens his mouth to let it out--

The obnoxious tune of the ABA! official announcements fills the air, blasting out of every associated monitor, display, handheld device. Stepping out of the alley to a main through-fare runs them into a thin crowd of people stopped or slowed, all watching and listening to the echoing synchronous of Miss Mystery's message playing out on all available devices. Even Murphy slows, despite the pull still tugging him along, catching snapshots of the message between the screen of someone's comms, a monitor in a shop front, a huge display of Miss Mystery's face projected on the street's upper storeys. She finished with a smile and the feed cuts to space, to the momentarily incomprehensible visual of ships under fire. Fleeing.

Realisation comes like a very unwelcome gutpunch. Murphy barely has a curse out before the crowd around them is moving, suddenly single-minded and frenzied with the hard hit of incentive.]

[sistershoggoth]

Fuck.

[ It spits out of her as the realization spreads between them all. ]

Fucking-- motherfuckers--

[ The fuck had been said about raiding that goddamn ship? That they needed a plan, that they needed a team that actually knew what they were doing, and instead? And Instead.]

Fuck. ( Bellamy, Noctis, close ranks. Most of these assholes will have no clue about us, keep an eye out for the few who are smart. Anyone who has been paying attention to who's been coming and going from the Station will try to use us bait, we're no good to them dead. Eyes only, keep your postures loose or we'll draw attention; we don't need it.

Murphy. Keep driving. )

[ She doesn't even mean to boss everyone around. It's what would have gone through her mind, because she's fucking trained for this, and with the symbiote it goes out as a series of orders immediately. ]

[deployed]

[ And the danger reveals itself. His gaze cuts from the tension in Murphy's shoulders to the rapid fire series of orders from Annie. They have whatever weapons Noctis can materialize, and a head start. They aren't at as great a disadvantage as they could be. And Murphy— ]

( We'll follow you. Trust yourself. ) [ The encouragement is projected to Murphy as a murmured aside. The comparison to Jaha was like a crack, revealing self-consciousness Bellamy understands. Their powers are unknowns and hard to acclimate to in the heat of the moment. Bellamy's mind thrums with clear confidence, even as he falls into step behind Noctis. ]

( Annie's right. We have an advantage they don't know about yet, and we should keep pushing it. If we stay close and alert, we'll get through fine. )

[ This wouldn't be like the competition events. Bellamy could handle himself in a fight. Being faced with a familiar obstacle is practically a relief. ]

[somnifacient]

[The announcement causes his adrenaline to spike, and Noctis reminds himself that despite the increase of movement in the crowd, they're not in a fight yet. Annie's voice in his head proves to be a reminder for him; release the tension in his shoulders, stay calm, stay focused, stay moving.

He sorts through his weapons concealed by his magic in his head. Wonders which he should keep at ready, magic thrumming at his fingertips, invisible yet tingling at his skin. He stays close.]

(Things are getting chaotic out here. If we're lucky, everyone will be too busy tripping over themselves to even notice us.)

[For once, Shril's unpredictable nature might prove useful.]