Annexed Mod Team (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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annexedlogs2022-12-04 08:45 pm
modaccount) wrote in annexedlogs2022-12-04 08:45 pm
Mission Log #3
How It Works
Welcome to the third mission log in Annexed!
How Mission Logs Work: There will generally be two main missions per month, with different focuses tailored to different skillsets (usually stealth vs. fighting, though other skillsets will be tapped on). Each mission will be posted in phases, with a prompt for the start of each phase. The plotting post will give you a rundown of what the missions are, how they might go, and what might be discovered. Characters may partake in whichever pat of the operation they choose, whether it's a large prominent part or a more supporting role. Characters may participate in both missions, and as many phases as they wish.
Mod Guidance: Players may request occasional scene-setting when they hit a point where they're unsure what might happen next in a log or what their characters might encounter. There will be a "Mod Guidance" comment that players can reply to in order to request this kind of scene-setting.
Completion of Missions: There will be a submissions comment for anyone who's threaded out a portion of the mission. Once a thread has been completed at least halfway, please submit your character's progress and plans for the thread to the submissions thread. These submissions are the main way that the mod will decide how the mission went in the next month's wrap-up post, so they are very important!
Plotting Post: Here!
Insert Creative Mission Name Here
So far, the rebels have mostly been reacting to the Sylphid - they plan something and the rebels stop them. This month, the vibe around the Camp is significantly different because this time, they're making the first move. They're not just reacting, they're acting.
Remember last month, when the Witches put out a call for propaganda materials - for videos and posters and interviews and all the other footage and information that was gathered? Well, the Witches have cobbled that footage and those videos and interviews together into beautiful propaganda videos with special effects and a powerful message for anyone in the city who may be desiring freedom but who is too afraid to pursue it alone.
This month's meeting and mission overview will start off with a screening of three different propaganda videos that were made from the gathered footage and interview excerpts that were turned in by new arrivals and existing Witches alike. After the videos are screened, the Witch will be calling a general meeting at the Command Center where she will explain the situation and the steps to be taken to distribute the propaganda.
Mission A: Distributing Posters
Mission Appropriateness: Chipped or Stripped
Mission Focus: piloting, riding magical creatures, air battle
This mission will focus on distributing the posters that have been created by the Rebels. The Witch has had printing presses busy making up the posters and flyers created by player characters and NPCs alike. These posters will be distributed through a combination of a fleet of cobbled-together magic and tech based flying machines, a bevy of flying animals, and the Skyclad on hoverboards along with anyone who wants to join them.
The first phase of the mission involves the methods of flying over the city to deliver the posters and flyers. Characters will be invited to familiarize themselves with a variety of flying methods that will allow them to transport the flyers and posters to the city and drop them in various areas around the city that have been identified by operatives as having rebel-sympathetic populations, primarily the lower-income areas around the edges of the city and the education district where students attend post-secondary education.
The first mission is relatively straightforward and is presented without much fanfare. There are three different methods of delivering the posters and characters will require some training. Hopefully, they will also come equipped with some mechanical knowledge, because some of the flying machines are in a state of disrepair. Hopefully, others will come with some amount of familiarity with riding large animals, as well, because part of the delivery system involves riding on the backs of flying creatures resembling manta rays that range in size from that of an average horse to the size of a small building. Thankfully, many characters already have experience using the hoverboards that the Skyclad use, and these will be available as well for quick delivery of posters and flyers.
Before the mission officially even runs, characters are invited to choose a method of delivery - flying machines, hoverboards, or sky mantas - and to come to the various areas set up to train in how to use them.
⇝ Hoverboards: While many are familiar with the hoverboards used in the last mission, this mission will require a higher level of agility, more intricate maneuvers, and a higher altitude than the previous mission due to the fact that they are traveling through a city rather than cleared leylines and will be dropping posters from above, at the maximum height that the hoverboards are capable of (around the height of a 30-story building). At this height they will need to weave around skyscrapers and hover vehicles that are used in the city, and avoid various other obstacles. The Skyclad have opened their training grounds and will divide volunteers into small groups of around 5-10 people to train them how to be more agile in the air, how to do some complex maneuvers, and to get used to how the hoverboards perform at their maximum height.
⇝ Flying Vehicles: Characters who would rather drop flyers from more secure vehicles with a seat, or who have any kind of piloting experience, will probably be more drawn to the small fleet of flying vehicles that are available for the mission. The group of vehicles is parked at The Hangar, a large empty building located in the Electric Heart. The vehicles are a bit of a motley crew, having been scavenged from abandoned Sylphid magitech, and no two are alike. Some operate much like planes, others like small space shuttles, and others are completely magic-based, responding to the psychic desires of the pilot. Many of the vehicles are in poor repair and the existing mechanics will welcome the assistance of anyone with mechanical or magical know-how to get them fixed up and reliable for the big mission. They will also teach people to fly the machines, including the individual quirks of the out-of-date vehicles, so they can successfully fly them on the mission, including test flights!
⇝ Sky Mantas: The final method of flight for dropping posters and flyers are the sky mantas, a sort of domesticated flying beast that resembles a manta ray with bubbles of pure energy on their underbellies. Due to the fact that they are a local and native species that can be easily spotted in the wild, the sky mantas make for perfect recon assistants, with riders having perfected methods of camouflaging themselves while they ride on their backs. Each sky manta is domesticated and well-trained, dressed up with a saddle that characters can stand on, and a set of reins that will guide the manta in the desired direction. The sky manta stables will be open for anyone interested in riding one to distribute flyers and posters to take a crash course in how to ride them, guide them in the sky, and perform the few tricks the mantas are capable of. They are also invited to bond with the beasts, who are almost like flying horses, and who must scent and become familiar with a new rider before they will perform at their full capacity.
Once everyone is acquainted with and comfortable with their distribution method of choice, the mission itself will properly begin. Characters will be given large packages of propaganda materials, both larger posters and smaller flyers, which they will load into or onto their preferred method of flight. Both the flying vehicles and sky mantas will be able to carry large amounts of flyers and posters, but those riding hoverboards will need to take only what they can carry and return several times to load up on new materials from supply points set up in the wild jungle while the others will carry out the mission in a single slower pass over the city.
There will be a variety of obstacles that will beset the people distributing propaganda, including flying around the tops of skyscrapers, hovering vehicles, low-flying aircraft, birds, and other airborne obstacles that may get in their way. Beyond that, after the first propaganda has been dropped, there will be retaliation in the form of several magic using Sylphid that will band together and create adverse weather conditions - rain, snow, fog, thunder, and lightning will be making the sky hazardous for anyone flying. While this will ground some of the air traffic going on, it will mostly be causing problems for people delivering the propaganda. Not only will it get the posters and flyers wet, causing them to drop in wet sheafs that stick together, it will also create terrible visibility, the danger of being struck by lightning that almost seems to be targeted, and will cause slippery conditions for those who are riding hoverboards or sky mantas.
What's the one thing that's worse than terrible weather and bad flying conditions? Those things plus being pursued by enemy fliers. It won't be long until the Sylphid start catching on to the mission and very quickly they will be pursuing with their own methods of flight. The Sylphid will be calling in anyone with any kind of method of flight from superpowers and magic to hovercars to hoverboards to flying vehicles of various types to even the drones that were used in the last mission. Characters flying the mission will find themselves pursued through the terrible weather, being shot at with superpowers, magic spells, and traditional projectile weapons of varying varieties.
And then there are the Para-Sylph, a group of Sylphid who specialize in air takedowns. This crew, using upward of 15 fighter vehicles, will hover above rebels carrying out the mission and drop from their fighters in groups of two. The goal of these drop-ins is to incapacitate the pilots of whatever method of flight is being used. Prepare yourselves for an epic swordfight, gunfight, or magic duel at 30 stories up! The Para-Sylph are extremely well-trained and adept at fighting in mid-air, at taking people down quickly, and excel in the areas of stamina, fighting prowess, and strategy. They are a well-oiled machine, best avoided rather than engaged.
Mission B: ELECTRONIC INTERVENTION
Mission Appropriateness: Chipped (mostly)
Mission Focus: stealth, recon, sabotage, battle
This mission will focus on a stealthy invasion of the city to locate and overtake the broadcasting equipment and facilities in the city and infiltrate them. Once inside, characters will be asked to stop all transmissions on every channel and broadcast the propaganda films created by the Rebels. This will require significant stealth in order to infiltrate and some electronic know-how to work out how to broadcast the propaganda on the fly. They will eventually be pursued by the Sylphid as they catch onto the plan and make efforts to stop the broadcast in its tracks, and need to fight and/or flee the area as quickly as possible, either using hoverboards or hover-ATVs.
Strictly a stealth and recon mission, characters who are still chipped will make their way into the city and use the Sylphid internet and other methods to locate the broadcasting stations in the city. Since characters are chipped, this should be relatively straightforward and not come with a lot of risk. Characters can easily pretend to be tourists, fans of various shows, or new employees to ask directions, or simply use the city's equivalent of Google Maps to find the stations. Once the stations are located, characters will be asked to locate the closest manhole cover that's available and mark it on a shared map on the Rebel intranet, though any efforts to infiltrate deeper into the recording stations through stealth or charisma will be met with a lot of joy, and characters who manage that will be asked to make rough maps of the stations themselves.
There are three main broadcasting stations in the city to be located and scouted out.
⇝ NorthWest Broadcasting: Located in the outskirts of the city on the northeast side, this station broadcasts mainly local news, low-budget TV shows, and ads for neighborhood businesses such as corner stores, small car lots, and furniture stores. It is the least well-guarded of the three stations but also reaches the smallest (albeit perhaps the most amenable) audience, mainly being watched by low-income households that can't afford the more expensive stations, generally on the outskirts of the city. There is a manhole cover on the west side of the building where the plumbing from the building can be accessed. It could easily be accessed by people willing to give it a try - there are actually tours of the broadcasting station that can be booked for school groups and the like. Additionally, the security is very low, with only one patrolling security guard, and the receptionists at the front desk could easily be bribed or tricked into allowing access to the building itself.
⇝ The Ring: Located in the southwest side of the city in what is called the Inner Circle, this station broadcasts citywide news, weather reports, mid-budget TV shows, and ads from medium-size corporations in the city such as family restaurant chains, smaller bank chains, and video game companies. It has better security, with security staff on-site that are hired out from a local security company and reaches a larger population in the city, mainly on the Inner Circle, where the city's middle-class population thrives. There is a manhole cover on the north side of the building where the plumbing from the building can be accessed. It could be accessed by people with a little luck and skill on their side - while there are patrolling security guards, a good story could convince the receptionists at the front desk to issue a guest pass.
⇝ City Skyline: Located in the central ring of the city, on the block that contains most of the city's government buildings and major banks, this station broadcasts planet-wide news, high-budget TV shows and popular movies, and ads for major corporations in the city such as fast food chains, major banks, and electronics giants. It is the most well-guarded of the three stations and reaches the largest audience, being watched by anyone in the city who can afford it, and a neighborhoods outside the city as well. There are manhole covers to the east and west of the building where the plumbing from the building can be accessed. Getting access inside this building will be extremely difficult, as anyone permitted entry must present ID to be issued a guest pass that serves as a keycard for elevators, doors to the stairwells, and entry to some doors in the building. Even if characters manage to get a guest pass, they will still lack access to some areas of the building. City Skyline also employs its own in-house security guards, with a flock of them patrolling every floor in the building every half hour, asking to see and scan guest and other passes.
The next step after recon is to actually infiltrate the buildings, which is much easier said than done. This step would need to be carried out by chipped individuals as well, or groups of two or three where there is at least one chipped person. Where anyone without a chip would usually set off an alarm, anyone with a chip would be presumed to be a service worker of some kind by anyone watching the monitors, and as the sewers are less strictly monitored than the surface, this chipped signal could mask the signals of up to two stripped characters. Each building will have different security systems in place to make sure that no one is able to enter via the sewer ducts, which open into the basements of the buildings. Infiltration of the rest of the building would be guided by the situations listed in Phase I.
The sewers themselves have some dangers, mainly the presence of...well, what sewers are known to contain, which can carry some danger of disease, bad smell, nausea, and dizziness from the fumes. Other than just the waste product itself, large mutated rats can be found in abundance in the sewers, with sharp teeth and insatiable appetites, and any bite from these rats will need to be treated and the victim inoculated with a shot as soon as possible to avoid tetanus and various other diseases. Besides the rats, there are also spiders whose bite can cause mild poisoning that has effects of nausea, extreme dizziness, blacking out, disorientation, and extreme pain at the site of the bite, as well as hallucinations.
⇝ NorthWest Broadcasting: This is the lowest-security building and because of that has a lower maintenance type of deterrent - a pit with a large drain at the bottom. Once characters make their way from the manhole cover to the area where the sewer enters the building, they will find a deep, square cement pit half-full of sewage products. Characters will need to make their way over the pit without falling by climbing on pipes and other protruding mechanical pieces on the ceiling of the sewer, some of which are very hot due to the water system that also uses these tunnels.
⇝ The Ring: This is a medium-security building, and the security system is a little more dangerous and harmful. In this case, there is a consistent spray of acid from sprinklers on the ceiling. These sprinklers run every 45 seconds, and can only be blocked by a certain type of plastic, which has been used to coat the wall and machinery in the area to avoid erosion. Small umbrellas made of this type of plastic will be provided to anyone who chooses to take this route, but be careful - the umbrellas aren't very big and there's not enough room in the tunnel to stand up straight underneath them. Hiding under the umbrellas will require crouching and huddling underneath, which may not provide full protection. Better to get to the entrance to the building's basement before the spray starts up again...
⇝ City Skyline: This is a very high-security building, and the security system in the sewers is more advanced. In this case, there is a series of lasers which are constantly running, creating very tight space between them, at various angles that will require high agility to make it through. And these aren't just lasers connected to an alarm, either, they are well and truly weapons, capable of searing flesh and removing limbs if handled without care. There are a couple of methods to avoid them. Either extremely flexible characters can flip and maneuver their way through, or mirrors can be carefully used to redirect the beams of laser light. Careful not to lose a finger doing so!
Once the traps in the sewers have been navigated, it's time to deal with the internal security inside the buildings, most of which has been outlined above. Characters will need to dodge, bribe, or sweet-talk guards, hack security doors with provided electronic devices, and make their way to the broadcasting room. This will be a relatively easy task at NorthWest Broadcasting, but more of an ask for either The Ring or City Skyline.
Once characters have made their way to the broadcasting room they will need to subdue any Sylphid running the equipment and take it over. If you don't know how to run the equipment, though, it might be useful to leave one Sylphid alive and bribe or threaten them to explain how to switch out the tapes provided by the Rebels with the ones containing the usual broadcast. Once characters have worked that out, they can set the propaganda to repeat and retreat back through the sewers...or if they're brave, they can just exit through the front doors. Maybe not the best bet, though, after crawling through the nasty sewer system...
Of course, it might be tempting to make a broadcast of your own while you're in the system...for good or for evil.
Mission C: THE RESCUERS
Mission Appropriateness: Chipped or Stripped
Mission Focus: battle
This is relatively straightforward as a mission goes. Anyone who is stripped or who didn't participate in the other missions, or anyone who has completed those missions, is welcome to help people who've already been convinced to join the Rebels by the propaganda. Each propaganda tape had a note at the end of where to go to meet up with Rebel forces, and there will be a significant amount of people, especially from the outer ring of the city, who are willing to pack up and leave almost right away.
At each rendezvous point the Rebels will have set up a large number of trucks to carry new recruits back to the Camp, and these trucks and rendezvous points will need a LOT of protection. Preferably with a lot of firepower. Because the Sylphid are going to catch on pretty quickly to where these points are, and send reinforcements. This will be a running battle relatively quickly, with armed Rebels protecting new recruits and escorting them to trucks, covering the trucks as they head back to the Camp and ensuring that the well-armed Sylphid aren't following them to the Camp.
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"...ah, excellent. My tower sensor seems to have picked up something. I figure there should be many throughout the city. Do you mind if we have a closer look?"
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'Trap' is pretty high up in her mind, or at least, a stronger guard presence than they might have reasonably anticipated. But with her weapons only a thought away and her body still quite resilient, she's fairly confident she can protect Tech in any circumstance.
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He'd feel better if he had his gear, but it would have drawn attention to wander around extensively in armor, even if what he got from the Camp was considerably less bulky than what he'd normally wear. As he is currently, he feels terribly exposed, but carrying any obvious weapons would jeopardize this particular mission. Knowing Elma's capable is at least one load off of his mind.
The sensor tower in question isn't as obvious as the ones they've sabotaged outside of the city, but then this one has likely been here for a long time and well part of things now. There are similar features that mark it for what it is, and thankfully no guards, although Tech does point out a couple of roving security cameras.
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The last mission had rattled her a bit more than she cared to admit -- severe Tether feedback had not been on her list of expectations. As unlikely as that is to happen here and now, it nonetheless reinforces just how alien this situation truly is. It makes Mira seem downright normal, and that's honestly terrifying.
"I think there might be autonomous security," she murmurs, a little twitch of her head indicating what might be a small port or dock opening on the side of the tower. Maybe it's nothing, but she's guessing that it can deploy an armed drone or three.
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At Elma's indication, he looks, frowning but giving a nod. "I won't know for sure until we get close enough. I might be able to do something about cameras from here, at least. If you can keep an eye out in the meantime? Hopefully it won't take too long."
He consults his tablet, scanning for the available signals in the area as he works on pinpointing those tied to the security in their vicinity. For a moment he closes his eyes, relying on his Heba ability to distinguish which ones he's looking for.
"Got it." In his hands, the tablet appears to start tapping into things on its own as it takes a moment for him to open his eyes again, but Tech looks down as the windows come up without much surprise. The windows show the feeds from the security cameras. "At least there hasn't been much foot traffic this way from what I can see. I'll just have these loop footage until we're done here."
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"Let's not take it for granted -- they might have algorithmic or magical means of determining signal tampering or repetition. I would, if I were them... it makes a lot more sense to have these procedurally scanned than constantly monitored."
Her fingers twitch slightly, able to neither ready her guns nor her swords in a conventional manner.
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He looks around again, just to make sure things are indeed clear before he cautiously makes a move towards the sensor tower. The look he casts in Elma's direction is clear, not that he needs to ask her to keep an eye out while he sets to work. Much as he hopes for otherwise, he anticipates he'll have to be dealing with slicing magitech fusion programming, so he braces for the worst.
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Every so often you needed to do the impossible, but this isn't one of those times. And with any luck, it won't become one. For now, although Elma keeps a close watch on the potential drone bays, nothing changes. Her hands continue to clench and uncurl, the only sign of unease on her form -- otherwise she looks perfectly casual, just an ordinary person waiting for ordinary things.
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The rest is standard procedure as he makes a quick check around, not wanting to leave everything entirely to Elma and simply because it's habit to keep on the alert as he can. Then the clone is back to concentrating on his work as he connects his tablet and starts running through a by now familiar routine. He's definitely done this sort of thing before.
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"Nothing out of the ordinary so far," she murmurs, just loud enough to reach him.
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Easier still considering he's had experience with the first sensor tower mission. He doesn't allow this as an excuse to be sloppy about things, still careful as he accesses files and makes his way into the deeper codework, but unfortunately that means his focus is thoroughly turned to the task. At least he's certain that Elma won't abandon her post like a certain bomb-loving Hylian.
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Computer work is the worst to guard, because telling just what the person's doing and where they are in their efforts is impossible. Just waiting, and watching. Elma's good at that, but in their current circumstances, a little caution is warranted, right?
Just in case, she takes a step closer, turning to put her back mostly to him.
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Tech's only mildly aware that Elma's adjusted her positioning, his attention otherwise concentrated upon the scrolling codework he encounters as he bypasses encryptions. It's too broad a system to just pick at random; he realizes he needs a focal point to trace if he wants to find out just how the sensor system worked and what all it was transmitting to and from. Which in that case makes his chip connection useful.
"I need a baseline..." he murmurs, mostly to himself. "No, at least several would be best. Chipped data... and I wonder if I can access records of those who have since had the chip removed..."
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He knows a few who have opted to have their chips removed, so he looks up their files as well. At least one won't object to it so far as he knows, and so far as he's concerned he's only using the information for comparison.
"Just a few more minutes. Are we still clear?"
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"For general purposes of having an active file on people it is rather efficient, but so far I am not sure if the chips have any other purpose than data retrieval and ability suppression. Thankfully the only thing I am confident of is that it cannot at any point actively control a person."
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"I do not think it would be wise for the Witches to think that their method will last for long if the Sylphid continue to work on adjustments to their existing system, especially when they have not managed to do anything more themselves in taking care of the problem besides getting around it. Ideally...I think the best solution is to get rid of this chip system in its entirety."
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Elma breathes an entirely unnecessary sigh, her simulated Mim still taking in and processing air because she expects it to.
"It seems like it would be so easy to make peace with them and find a satisfactory way to allow them to reproduce without needing to kidnap victims... but so long as they have the power, why should they change? Unfortunately, so long as everything we know is true, it'll take some serious blows to their infrastructure and society before they're willing to come to the table."
At that, she glances at Tech out of the corner of her eyes.
"Incidentally, if you can access anything while you're in there... I'd appreciate some verification from the Sylphid side of things to corroborate what we've been told."
Elma puts the odds that they're being deceived by the Witches at around 10%, and that the Witches themselves don't have the whole story at 25%. Not numbers she's prepared to act on, but some certainly would go a long way towards reassuring her.
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Tech does nod at Elma's points. "Given that they've been at this for quite some time even before our being brought here, I would not be surprised if peace has become pushed too far from any approachable means. the fact that they are now importing resources from outside of this world and potentially universe only widens that gap."
He looks back at his tablet. "...I have been looking into both sides as I can for some time now. As expected, depending on the perspective, the opposing side will always be painted in a negative light. The Sylphid have been doing nothing different from what the Rebels have and are planning to do now with this propaganda strike. It is difficult to find an unbiased source of information given our options.
"...what I can confirm is that every person that has been brought and presumably might be brought to the Broken World through the Sylphid's means has been confirmed by them as a compatible subject for their use."
no subject
Whew. Good. Doubt is a potent limiter, even when she's doing all in her power not to let it be. Confidence that the Sylphid are indeed doing what they're purported to do offers a lot of strength and resolve to tap.
...Of course, the Witches may or may not be on the level as they profess to be, but that's a separate matter entirely.
"That being said, their range of computability still seems to be alarmingly large."
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"Indeed," Tech nods. "But probably unsurprising. We have been brought into the middle of a conflict, and the Sylphid have had plenty of time to establish themselves. We do not know for certain how far their influence ranges." Which is worrying, but if they can't move past defensive strategies here, they hardly have the means to do anything beyond.
"I'm about done. And as much as I'd like to dig more, I don't want to risk it. I'll close things up here." He doesn't want to jeopardize future access to the system if he's detected, and staying plugged into too long just raises that risk.
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Tech takes a moment to respond to her question as he focuses his machine communication ability to check for any alerts, letting out a small sigh as he relinquishes his concentration and the connections to the tower. "At the moment, I do not think it will make a difference. Understanding the towers themselves will likely be information I will need to get elsewhere, but having some of the data they collect will help figure out how to proceed with things."
He closes up the panel after putting things away, looking to Elma with a nod. "Ready to go if we're clear."
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