station72 | [MISSION: HYRYPIA] the moon drops one or two feathers into the field

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[MISSION: HYRYPIA] the moon drops one or two feathers into the field

CHARACTERS: Everyone
WHERE: The Station
WHEN: DAY :055
SUMMARY: Two veteran hosts arrive on the Station and a mandatory meeting is called. It's time to prepare for a new mission.
WARNINGS: Just chill dudes having a chill time. (Will add warnings as necessary)

I. THE SHIP.
((closed to one thread with a maximum of two player characters; first come, first serve; please don't nab this if you want to play an AFTERMATH prompt and vice versa))

[Early in the day, one of the hangar's platforms rotates upward into place. On it sits a long, bird beak shaped ship. For a moment it has all the appearance of being held together with little more than hope and a prayer. Its nose panels are scorched from the punching in and out of atmosphere and its wings have a rugged, rudimentary sweep to them. Then the illusion melts away and the ship becomes fundamentally concrete, though no less strange as it twists into a shape more closely resembling some complex origami. From it comes two hosts, both in elaborately layered stiff edged garments that cloak them from neck to knee.]

Double time, darling.

[The pale alien flashes a broad grin at her comrade as she vaults from the cockpit to the hangar floor. Her partner, hood thrown back and his scarves unwound to reveal short, tawny fur and two sets of small horns, tosses two bags down after her then follows her down.

The ship seals itself after them like a fan folding closed.]

II. MENTAL LINK.

[There is a strange, unfamiliar voice in your mind. It comes without a greeting and without the polite request for attention, but rather like a voice over an intercom, curt and low:]

( Hosts will report to the briefing room in- ) [the measurement of time that filters into your mind is not quite numbers, untethered by the standards of one people, but the meaning of it is clear- approximately 15 minutes] ( You have received the mission info on your personal databank. Proceed to the location upon review. )

[There is no invitation to continued conversation, but there is the impression of a location, one which you are unfamiliar with. The space it occupies pressed into your mind like a seal into hot wax. You can find it. You know it.]

III. BRIEFING.
((thread jacking encouraged for this - speedier back and forths seem like the funnest way to accomplish a group meeting; tag order will be treated cavalierly at best in any group threads!))

[Not far from the hangar deck, the corridors curve and then abruptly dead end at a circular room with a series of tiered benches seemingly carved from the Station's structure. Is this where you meant to be? Well, the voice had seemed like it wasn’t optional.

At the center of the small briefing room sit two Hosts. The first, a tall narrow alien with long pointed ears and solid green eyes sits straight with military precision, facing forward and not moving except to breath. The second, a pale alien with fringe touched by gold and dark lip lacquer is sitting in a spindly chair and aggressively typing on her tablet. She's shed her elaborate outerwear for one of the Station's bodysuits. She doesn't look up for a long time.

Eventually once everyone is seated, Rhan folds her databank up into a cube, sets it on the pedestal beside her and strokes along its side to trigger a projection of glittering gossamer images into the dim room's center.]

Let's get down to business, shall we? Hopefully you've all done your homework, [She arches an eyebrow, flashing a quick grin] --so the nuts and bolts won't be shocking. But Siva'co and I wanted to go over a few particulars before we take you all on this charming little adventure. Namely this one:

[She taps the side of the cube with her finger with a click of her long fingernail. The briefing report sent to the hosts earlier scrolls rapidly to the line '--one of these major diplomatic factions is believed to have been infiltrated by 'Enemy' agents.'.]

Now we've worked rather hard for the last year in this universe and we both would be very unhappy for all that effort to go down the drain just because someone thinks they'd like to be a hero. Isn't that right, Siva'co? I don't know how much contact you've had with our good friends out there, but let's be clear about this: if the Enemy becomes aware of our presence on this planet, this mission will be aborted. They'll get whatever they want out of this universe and, most importantly, some of us will die while running with our tails between our legs.

[Rhan tips her head to her partner.]

How do you feel about getting killed by someone with ideals, Siva'co?

[There is a long pause before he answers- and it is difficult to read his face exactly, but he seems somewhat exasperated.] Whatever the source of the failure, to die for reason other than the success of the mission is not acceptable. All must fulfill their roles with focus and dedication in order to see victory. Foolishness will not be tolerated.

[Rhan looks back to the assembled Hosts, cheerful smile unflagging.]

Questions?

IV. AFTERMATH.
((each prompt limited to one thread, first come first serve; please don't pull one of these if you nabbed THE SHIP prompt and vice versa.))

SIVA'CO.
[Regardless of the fact that the meeting is complete, Siva’co does not immediately leave. Rather a) he waits, stiff backed and formal by the door as Host’s filter out, not particularly inviting conversation but not fleeing, either. When the last host has left the room, he is found b) in the Training Wing, working his way through a number of the exercise machines with a single-minded focus, breathing heavily through his noses, hooved feet silent on the treadmill and the foam mats.

RHAN.
[After the briefing sessions, someone quick on their feet might manage to catch Rhan a) in the corridor leading from the briefing room. But you'll have to be very quick as she clearly has things to do and is shortly swallowed up by the labyrinthine corridors of the Station's interior. Some time later, she appears b) in the library, making space to shelve a series of small leatherbound books. Rhan flips open each one to check the label on the first page as she takes them from the open bag at her feet. The bag itself appears to be stuffed with…. well, stuff in addition to the books.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Parker feels tempted to raise her hand for a second at Rhan's comment, but decides against it. Barely. Maybe she should do it, disturb the mission for once instead of ignore it. Maybe it would bring answers. Maybe it wouldn't. But it could cost lives and regardless of what passes as selfishness on her part, blood on her hands is not something she cares to deal with again. She is still struggling with the death of her own from back home.

She does, however, raise another questions. ]

What led you to believe the others are supporting a faction?

[ She says, as she scans through the database-- nothing there seems to carry that information and knowing it might help them find the needle in the haystack. ]

So blowing up the entire thing is our second worst scenario. Plan Z.

[ The worst being that the Enemy gets the goods, with everything that entails. She says the words with a smirk, challenge accepted, the worse the situation the more rewarding the victory. Somehow the answer causes her to relax her pose, looking to the Agents for the answer to Parker's question. ]

How about we stop talking about blowing up an entire planet full of people. [ Joking or not. Someone's touchy. His expression is sour (and very unpretty). ]

I agree.

It's not these peoples' fault they're in the middle of this. They're at as much a risk as anyone else if we fail.

Aren't we supposed to be protecting them, from the enemy, too?

[ Parker doesn't disagree with that sentiment, but neither is she pressing it. However, she does point out what Siva'co has already said: ]

Not according to the mission.

Edited 2017-07-03 01:57 (UTC)

Maybe we could focus on coming up with a plan A through X before we jump to bringing up a plan Z.

[ He agrees with Steve and Shiro, honestly, but he's too practical not to think that there's a lot of people who'll fall back on plan Z if it comes down to it. ]

So our strategy is find which faction the Enemy's infiltrated and sway people away from it - how?

We can't take it off the table.

[ As much as Bellamy might like to. He's made this choice before. He knows that every other possibility can fail, and the only thing left to do is take the most extreme option to accomplish the goal.

And then let the guilt eat you alive, but nbd, right? ]

[A glimmer of a memory passes through her mind, private and shared between her and Bellamy. It's quick, and then it passes. That's it: Clarke holding a knife to her throat. Lexa apologizing for leading her to this place.

Here they are again.

Even so, she speaks:]

We can't assume the innocence of anyone involved. We can't assume that people are innocent. Not before we arrive. We may not like what we find.

[ His eyes narrow at Misato, then he straight up glares at Bellamy. His mind pulses with the dry heat of contained anger and frustration, cooling a bit when Lexa speaks - though he can't say he likes what she says either. ]

Like the lady said, we're not gonna let it get to that. [ Misato's placating words are echoed back to Bellamy like a threat, close to demanding an end to this line of discussion. ]

[ Parker rubs her forehead, making another vague gesture. ]

Can we let them answer the questions? You all can mind discuss [ She wiggles her fingers mockingly at the side of her head for visual aid ] your very healthy views on genocide later.

Edited 2017-07-03 02:56 (UTC)

Let's get back on topic, guys.

[He puts some authority into the words. Pretending this is somewhere else. Somewhere he has it. So it comes out easily enough. As much as he's with Steve, as much as he doesn't want it to come to that -- talking about blowing up a planet isn't why they're here.]

[A glance to Parker, before he goes on.]

These two didn't come all this way just to hear us argue hypothetical situations.

These hypothetical situations will guide our mission, like it or not. We can't allow idealism to blind us when there's something greater at hand. Obviously, we have more to gain from not taking that path. Namely: finding out the Enemy's greater goal.

[Ignoring that they may have to do that is nothing short of naive at a time like this. Just the same, Lexa is concerned about what a choice would do to the Nest, and how they might grapple with the consequences. But she feels like being aware of that is important, especially if it turns into an us versus them scenario, where they might lose numbers and weaken the Nest in more ways than just crippling their morals.]

[ Sam looks over at Lexa, not necessarily disagreeing with her - yeah, she'd been one of those he thought of when he figured people would fall back to plan Z if needed - but as far as he's concerned, arguing about it right now is still wasting time that could be better spent in coming up with the basics they're gonna need before they start the mission. ]

No, but we can put debating it aside for the moment to actually come up with a plan in the first place. We might not have a lot of time before we're planetside, seems like a good idea to me to spend it talking about how we're gonna keep our cover and come up with some strategies to figure out who the Enemy's supporting.

I think treating the factions as essentially the same will be the first sign of a mistake on our end. We may not have gained any useful information in Concordia, but we can't assume that the faction they back will be similar here. They are personally involved with this faction, after all. They might've guided its motivations for long-term results.

[See? She can turn it back to the question at hand. Still, Lexa does think that knowing that plan Z may be an option is important.

Part of that is because she's a politician looking at other politicians, to some degree. She knows that they are all capable of atrocities.]

Whatever plan we may must consider our long-term goals, as well.

[ Misato is massaging the bridge of her nose to keep an impending headache (and echoes of Ritsuko's well-aimed reprimands echoing in her head) at bay. She could learn to phrase her thoughts better, she knows, it's not the first time she gets herself in trouble for talking too much or in the wrong way.

She looks to Lexa like the girl is the bell that saved her. ]

Plans. Yes. Our cover already gives us a reason for being there and for asking a lot of questions, so we have a good hand here. I suggest we split ourselves evenly among the factions, act as some sort of ambassador to each, make friends, get to know them. We can't even act if we don't even know which is the enemy.

That's a good approach.

[ And it would hopefully keep any of them from being caught without back up if any issues arose. ]

We can compare notes at the end of each day. One of us is bound to find something, and once we do, we can start concentrating our attention on that.

[ This would have been a good mission to have little Sam for, Bellamy thinks with a twinge of sadness. The ability to distinguish truth from lie would have made all of this easier. ]

Edited (dang it random icon) 2017-07-03 03:25 (UTC)

[ It's a great approach, and he hums thoughtfully. ]

So some of us are ambassadors, and some of us are their guards?

[ He looks back over at the older Hosts, considering Lexa's words about not treating all the factions like their the same. ]

Do we know enough about the Enemy's movements in this part of the universe to have a guess about what kind of things it might be drawn to, what might make it pick one faction over the other?

[ Parker sigh-groans, letting her head fall back and staring at the ceiling. ]

I mean, we could let them answer.

[ Her interest might divert from some people here, but it is still an interest - Sam's questions is exactly why she asked hers as there must be something to have lead them to the others. ]

And do you have an idea of which faction could defend the Nectar after we've left?

[ Which feels like a necessary stipulation if they're trying to consider long term solutions that don't involve simply eliminating the planet altogether. Defending the Nectar once wouldn't matter, if whichever faction they entrusted it to couldn't hold it. ]

[Rhan and Siva'co let them talk. At some point, she throws her companion an arch look and taps idly through a few slides on the datacube but for a while they simply let them talk. Nothing wrong with a bit of healthy discussion, right? Might as well get it out of their systems up here than down on the planet.

--There. Time to slide back into the conversation.]

From what we've seen, it's likely that the Enemy has at some point touched every major faction we're dealing with here. They might have even influenced the Hyrypians at some point. But we think for this they'll be solidifying their efforts behind the one they meant to win all along. It's like a game of madrin. [The word is accompanied by the clarity of a mental image - a board with many two sided tokens; every piece must be used strategically, but only one piece's position wins the game] As much as we've been scheming and plotting to crash this party, they've been doing the same to set it up.

[She tips her attention to Sam.] Which makes speculating tough. I could say it's obviously the Carpathans because they're just so damn organized. Or the Meradan because it would allow them a certain amount of lateral freedom. Or the Descendents because of all those traditional values. Those all seem like things the Enemy is drawn to here. This is the first time we'll be in close contact with these groups too, so honestly your guess is as good as ours at this point. Consider all this [she waves to the projection flitting in the air] preliminary research for the real work.

[With a glance to Bellamy:] Any one of the three largest factions could protect the Nectar. Once the scale tips, the war is going to end very quickly. The universe is at a tipping point and whoever gets that energy is going to reorder it according to their preferences.

[Power through it, Rhan. One more.]

You, girl with the pencil and morose expression-- [She nods to Parker] Asked about how we knew, right? Collector can give you and anyone who wants it a very long, boring history lesson when we get to Hyrypia, but you'll feel it too.

[She touches her fingertips to the center of her chest. Fixes them each with a look.] When we poke our head out into the universe your symbiote will know.

--But I like this idea about splitting into smaller groups. We can't rove around in a pack of thirty and expect to get anything good. The nice thing about Carbauschians is their culture is so secret we can more or less make it up and no one's going to question us. Which means ask lots of questions, listen and watch and say absolutely nothing about who you are or where you come from and no one will suspect a thing.

[Than is grinning brilliantly. She may be proud of this cover story they've cooked up.]

Did I miss anything?

Edited 2017-07-03 16:05 (UTC)

[ Parker is writing down these things, useful to small degree - there's not a lot out of this. It seems that it's more of a place to get a cover in place than anything else. By the time she gets called out (please, leave her resting bitchface alone, it's a Real Problem (tm), she doesn't get much of an answer either. It has become kind of a habit when it comes to her. While not surprised, she can't help the annoyed stare at Rhan, before looking down to draw a line on the back of the notebook. It has a lot of lines there. ]

Who's the Collector? [ Since we're on topic. ]

No the, just Collector. She's another host. Her and Lyr are our advanced party getting us set up planetside. Let's call her an anthropologist, shall we? A gem. Depending on who you ask, Lyr's either our resident numbers guy or the nihilistic little brother we all wish we never had.

[Reaches out, she taps Siva'co's arm with the back of her knuckles.] Old upright here's Siva'co. Don't make him angry; he'll be determined to be no fun at all if you do and that just makes all our lives miserable. And I'm Rhan. Professional liar. Trust absolutely nothing I say.

[She quirks the line of her brow and shrugs.]

Now about these groups. Does anyone here have experience with spy work or anything resembling it? All sneaky little shits, raise a hand won't you?

[Up goes her own for good measure. They're a team now, right?]

Edited 2017-07-03 18:46 (UTC)

Me.

[ Sneaking into Mount Weather had been taxing enough that it has to count, though the way this mission is lining up is sparking a crushing sense of unease in his chest. ]

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