( open ) i'll fly you to the moon and back

[initiates]

Date & Time: September 21st - September 30th, 11:59 PM
Location: The Hold, the Moon Base
Characters: Any/all.
Summary: The Transports are evacuating to the Moon Base. Those on the Moon Base try to settle in and figure out their next move. Setting info can be found here.
Warnings: Talk of nuclear warheads and reference to immense loss of life. Please contact the mods should any individual thread get graphically violent or anything else of the sort.
Note: Use date and location tags in your subject headlines! Such as "On the moon, 23rd onward" or "On the spaceship, 25th" or "down at the Hold, 29th."

The Hold is a flurry of activity, grim faced members of the Initiative group directing supplies and people with the subdued air of people facing their own doom, and wondering at how to process the knowledge. None of the Initiative appears unaware of what will happen; their eyes linger on the Transports, expressions pleading, hopeful, doubtful, or immeasurably sad in turn.

Every eight hours, the space ship is sent back up with a load of people and supplies. The pilots are worked until they can't; the AI stolen ages ago by the Initiative greets and corrals people and supplies at both ends, and in the middle step between.

The network continues to broadcast on narrow channels between the Moon Base and Exsilium, up until the time that all connections are lost, with the carrier located en route to Exsilium. The first airship will pass by without dropping anything, but it's too early to celebrate. At a six hour delay from behind, the second airship arrives, and with it, the dark promise of the Black Code's nuclear weaponry.

The six hour window allows for time for those left behind, either by choice or circumstance, to be pulled to the Moon Base with the successful activation of the Transport Pad. New characters will ultimately arrive with the remainder of those not yet on the Moon Base, all in time to witness the explosive contact of the nuclear warhead with the ground of Exsilium live on satellite.

But until then, there's only the hurry, the silence, and the potential for full out rioting should the Transports spread word to the Exiles inevitably left behind to face this fate.

Comments

Re: a, 21st

[commentboxtroll]

[ Sorry, Armin's getting a startled look. It doesn't last long, but it's there, for those few seconds. The look of someone not expecting another person to rappel up onto the rooftop suddenly, but then he blinks, frowns a little, and moves on. This place is so strange sometimes... ]

Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure this roof is a common landing spot for you weird rooftop jumpers, anyhow.

[ That is to say, he shouldn't be surprised. Caesar slides down off of the top of the A/C unit, where he'd been perched, and walks over to immediately get a closer look at the 3dMG the other boy wears. He won't get too close. Personal space should be respected sometimes! ]

What is that thing?

[ And does this guy's voice sound familiar or...? He's not sure. ]

[blondtactician]

I didn't realize there was a whole category of 'weird rooftop jumpers'. There's me, and Batwoman... are there more?

[Armin pulls his cloak back so the other young man can have a look at the system of straps and the small launch engine for the cords he carries. He's equipped the blades today, too.]

This is 3d maneuvering gear.

[commentboxtroll]

Batwoman? Again with the bat names...

[ He shakes his head over that. Those people! And their costumes! ]

A few. I think they're all from the same place, actually. [ Aside from Armin, that is. ] A 3d maneuvering gear. You swing around between buildings with it?

[blondtactician]

There are more? I suppose bats do live in groups.

[And in caves. But that's sort of a silly idea.

Armin was both impressed and perturbed by his interaction with one of the Bats.]

That's how it works, more or less. [Armin nods, not volunteering more information but speaking in a friendly enough voice.]

[commentboxtroll]

There's a Batgirl. A few others that aren't bat-themed, too, I think, but I've only run into Huntress out of those.

[ But they're around, those costume-wearing crazies. ]

So you swing through buildings but... [ He circles around Armin, still investigating the gear (and still from a respectful distance, of course). ] What are the swords for?

[blondtactician]

Cutting through flesh - crippling and eventually slicing through the neck of titans. [Armin says it like it's an every day part of life, like the weather, because it is. There's no shame in what they do, but some part of him is curious what the other young man's reaction will be. He's definitely seen an array of reactions.]

[commentboxtroll]

Oh!

[ His... might be surprising. The purpose isn't that surprising, as swords are meant for doing damage, for slicing and violence, so when he straightens up and pulls back from looking, he's actually smiling a bit instead!

Not because of the whole 'cutting through flesh' thing, of course, but because the term 'titans' finally helps him place the voice. ]

You're that other boy from the network, aren't you? The scout! What was your name again?

[blondtactician]

Armin Arlert. [Armin gives a small nod.] Right, I think we did speak before. Nice to put a face to the voice.

[commentboxtroll]

Yeah, a bit. My name's Caesar. I was the one asking about scouting in your world.

[ The overwhelmingly dangerous Survey Corps style scouting. ]

[blondtactician]

Well, you have a better idea of how we get around now, I suppose.

Caesar. It's nice to meet you.

[It isn't, of course it isn't, not really. Everything is terrible. Armin offers a handshake.]

[commentboxtroll]

Don't lie.

[ This is a terrible place and circumstance to meet anyone under, seriously, but he will take the offered hand and accept the handshake. ]

But what about in open areas? I can't see how it would help you get around much then.

[blondtactician]

[Armin has a firm handshake. He does not linger.]

It isn't of much help in open areas. In those cases, we use horses to try and keep ahead of the titans.

[commentboxtroll]

[ Which is good, because lingering handshakes are just plain awkward. ]

Horses? Those are fast enough to keep ahead?

[blondtactician]

There's an advantage at being in the open - you can see and hear the titans coming from a distance. Some of them are fast, but most of them barely have the intelligence of an animal. [Most of them.]

Horses are faster. It's not perfect, but it's the best way to cover distance in titan territory.

[Armin looks out over the buildings. It's hard to see how any of this knowledge could apply to the current situation, but he's working on figuring it out.]

You're asking a lot of questions about this. It doesn't bother me, but why is it of interest?

[commentboxtroll]

I guess speed doesn't matter so much if you can spot them a mile off, huh... [ Armin's question, though, that gets a shrug. ] Why? It's of interest because it's something different to talk about. If I have to talk about what's about to happen much more, I might scream.

[ Basically, a distraction. ]

[blondtactician]

We don't have to talk about it. But not talking about it doesn't mean it's going away. A distraction is just that.

But... I guess I came up here to avoid it, too.

[Armin says it reasonably enough. He understands, of course, the persistence of idiotic small talk, the drive to pretend everything is okay. The thing is, it's not that way for him, not if he has to talk about the titans. Because they're not something far away and theoretical to him.

Armin glances about for someplace to settle down with his gear.]

Maybe you'd like to tell me what kind of things you face in your world?

[commentboxtroll]

It's not as though I think it'll go away if ignored, it's only there's nothing that can be done.

[ So why dwell? It feels rotten enough as is! The question about his world gets a small grimace, as he isn't much for talking about his own, but it's certainly fair game since Armin was willing to discuss his own. ]

It's not very interesting, but apparently it's very different from Earth, so I suppose 'interesting' is subjective. We have our own share of monsters that live out in the wilds, but they're really no more fascinating than, say, deer or wolves might be. It's other people that you have to worry about facing, not so much dragons.

[blondtactician]

People are a problem where I'm from, too.

[Armin will never forget that. Mere children were willing to beat him for daring to think outside the status quo, echoing the fear and hate of their parents.

And the very institutions he works for sent his only living family to die a horrible death.]

That won't change, no matter where you go.

[It's all too potent a thought, right now.]

[commentboxtroll]

Well, yeah. Like I said, it's not very interesting. The only aspect that's moderately different is we don't really see big wars kick up between nations until a True Rune shows up on the scene, but that's really only like having a very big and dangerous weapon fall into your hands.

[ Kind of like the bomb they're waiting for, the one they'll all hopefully not still be around for. ]

[blondtactician]

Big and dangerous weapons that fall into people's hands aren't interesting? [Armin raises an eyebrow.]

[commentboxtroll]

[ And Caesar just shrugs. ]

That's not the part I called uninteresting, although considering how predictable it is, I don't really find it all the interesting, either. More of a big nuisance.

[blondtactician]

[Armin's met soldiers like this one. It's a form of bravado, he thinks, but he won't call Caesar on it.]

I imagine so. Do you know where they come from?

[commentboxtroll]

[ As much as it may seem that way, his nonchalant manner towards it is just the expected indifference his family has been known for. Dealing with True Runes is a common routine for a Silverberg. ]

Where? They've always been there. The story goes that the first two True Runes created the world, but that's kind of suspect, if you ask me, but then, I'm not very into treating runes like God.

[blondtactician]

Religion has a way of excusing ugly behavior, and encouraging willful ignorance.

[Armin nods thoughtfully.]

So they're just around, and when people find them, they use them as weapons? Why doesn't someone just gather them and destroy them?

[commentboxtroll]

More like they find people. They've proven themselves just as sentient as any of us.

[ Worse, weapons with a personality! ]

And destroying them would be a terrible idea. The power they would unleash would be catastrophic, not entirely unlike the bomb Exsilium's been threatened with. We've already had one crazy priest try it and I really hope not to meet any others with the same idea!