(OPEN | Mutiny Log) Well it's been so long

[alittlesweptup]

Date & Time: Nov. 16 ~0300 through Nov.19th ~0230hrs, 3133
Location: Housing, Cafeteria, VR rooms, hallways etc (read: everywhere)
Characters: YOU!
Summary: Mutiny on the moon base! Vital systems are offline, mutineers are making PA announcements, and there’s conflict and turmoil brewing in the halls. Dun dun duuun!
Warnings: None yet (possible violence?)
Notes: Specify a date and location in your top comment. You may specify multiple dates/locations. A timeline for the plot and the IC PA announcements made during are available HERE.

[In the dead of night - or as close to ‘the dead of night’ as is possible to have in moon base - a small group of transports finally make the move they’ve been planning for weeks. Pre-determined teams, maintaining radio contact throughout, simultaneously take control of the Transporter Room and take multiple systems offline.

One moment things are normal; they next, they’re not. With a last message flagged as ‘maintenance’ left on the network, the network cuts out. A moment later, Transports across the base find themselves losing contact with the ground or shifting in their sleep and gently floating out of their beds from the force as the gravity drops. Lighting flicks over to emergency only: bathing corridors and rooms in a desolate, lonely red. Doors work - and then they don’t. Transports will find themselves confined to housing (and washrooms), the VR rooms, and the cafeteria; it’s plenty of space to be comfortable and largely covers most Transport’s basic needs (unless you’re fond of cheery light or having your feet on the ground in which case you may be out of luck).

Hours later-- Click-HHHSSSHK-click!

A woman’s voice speaks over the moon base’s PA system, echoing through the dark corridors and off the odds and ends gently floating through them thanks to the lack of gravity regulation. The voice is rich and accented, with a certain practiced ease to it - one that sharpens to a point the longer she talks:]

Testing. Testing-- are we good? Christ, I'm not echoing, am I? No?

All right good. Listen up, fellow transports. As you might have noticed, some of the base's general systems have gone offline: this, I assure you, is absolutely intentional. There's no need to panic.

So moving on from the understandably frustrating to the even more frustrating, I'm sure you all have also noticed the fact that we're currently all stuck-- starving and defenseless-- on the bloody moon. In a base that was, up until a few days ago, overrun with zombies. And before that, thousands of lives were bombed right out of existence, and before that, an entire world-- and before that we were all still being thrown at the United Earth for the sake of dying off repeatedly in a war we never stood a chance or had a say in. Transports have been treated like pawns since day one, and I'm sorry, but we don't deserve it.

If we're giving up our lives and our freedom, I'd say it's about time we earned ourselves a little equality.

We deserve a say in what goes on in this fight, and with that in mind, a few of us have decided to hold onto the transporter for a while. Just until the Initiative agrees to treat us like people instead of ammunition. Trust me, we’re not here to hurt anyone; none of this has to end badly. But it does need to end. Things have got to change. And if this is what it takes? This is what it’s going to be.

We need your help; please don’t make it any harder for us.

[The PA clicks off, pitching the base once more into complete radio silence.

Near the end of the first day, gravity regulation is re-established. The network is brought back online the following day, allowing everyone to communicate more freely. Lighting doesn’t come back online until the 18th and the door regulation isn’t normalized or operable until the 19th. Throughout the four days, the mutineers make multiple PA announcements.

In the mean time? Keep your friends close, come to the aid of your neighbors; help with reconnaissance and choose sides - are you neutral in this mess? Are you trying to help bring systems back online and root out the mutineers? Are you sympathetic to the mutiny and trying to sabotage those Transports standing for the Initiative?]

Comments

[CLOSED] Mutineers + Initiative Staff: it's a boarding party; we brought streamers

[totallytrustworthy]

[They don't really group up before going in: radio communication in the middle of the night means taking alternate routes to the observatory (and splintering off to prepare for a simultaneous shutdown) something that appears-- at least on the surface-- about as casual as anything.

Because all transports are armed. Every last one of them on the base. Seeing a pair or two roaming the halls late at night with a gun strapped to their hip or a magical book that can teleport someone right to the edge of the universe isn't unusual. To be fair, using the weapons Chloe and Charlie's teams have lashed around them isn't part of the game plan. Alternate teams sorting out distractions for a few days ought to buy them enough time to sort out a bargain with the Initiative for something better-- with a little luck, it might take less. And god knows they'd prefer not to, but time does much to make everyone a bit more jaded; a touch more impatient.

Put a proverbial brick wall in front of someone like that and what happens next isn't likely to be anything short of desperate.

So they catch up to one another in the observatory-- the last team-- on the far end where the low electrical hum of of power lines can be heard through thick metal doors. No one should be in this late if Charlie's predictions are correct. ]

Ready for this? No bathroom breaks before we seal off the doors, so if you've got to go you'd better say so now.

[alittlesweptup]

[Charlie ghosts along through the observatory alongside her and while there's not much need for stealth, old habits die hard and the instinct to walk softly overrides any other logic. The pause there at the top of the hall, just a few yards from the goal they've been pushing to for the past few week, feels like a moment of clarity - not so much a point of no return as it is something certain, something inevitable.

They're doing this quietly, he knows. There's no one inside the room, he's almost sure. But he checks his sidearm anyway and shoots a last glance to those behind him - Tempest, Connor, Seviilia, Tess. He lifts his eyebrows, a silent kind of 'Here's to nothing' and then taps Chloe on the shoulder.]

Didn't plan this for weeks to stand in the bloody hallway, magpie.

[hyanaimne]

[Tempest stops just behind Charlie, glancing over her own shoulder past the group and down the hallway. She can feel the beginnings of another headache, thanks to nerves. But on the outside she's as calm as ever, and she rests a hand on the hilt of her sword. She doubted she would need it, but she brought it along anyway, just in case. Old habits and all that.

She's as ready as she'll ever be. Her free hand reaches up to adjust her hood - and nods to Charlie when he glances back]

[justgo]

Left all my nerves in my room, I'm good. [It doesn't make up for much. This is happening, the commitment is already there in that they can't stop now and doing that just makes more enemies. She's got a gun and her flashlight but if they can keep from that, just like the note said, like the plan said, that'd be just great.

Of course, when does anything ever go that way? Raising a brow at the exchange, she shakes her head.] Won't know until we try, so let's make this count.

[miscreant]

If anyone has any sort of second thoughts, I would certainly love to know now before we open the door.

[The response is deadpan, and accompanied by the low ethereal echo of Seviilia's voice. She was the easiest to pick out and hear out of anyone in the group due to her armor and glowing features. Sneaking around with a death knight in the dark wasn't as inconspicuous as one might have thought.

That was why she had come alone, and brought up the rear, axes still strapped criss-cross on her back. While she would have loved to use them, it had been in good faith that she opted not to arm herself to prevent suspicion from anyone who might have seen her walking. She only leaves a few seconds for someone to say something before she adds:]

I thought not.

[totallytrustworthy]

Fair enough. [Which comes out low - indistinct thanks to the fact that she's talking more to herself than the group at her back. ] No regrets.

[And the doors to the transporter room snap open a moment later, revealing the mechanical silouhette of what they're after-- in addition to a group of Initiative staff that seems to be burning the late night oil. Network offline, systems about to go in all of a minute, there's no time to readjust the plan.

Shit. ]

Evening, gentleman. [Innocuous a statement as it gets, considering what they're up to. She steps in far enough for the others to filter into the space at her heels (and lock the door behind them) but there's the inconvenience of another door at the far end, and they can't risk anyone breaking loose to set the other transports off. So there's something equally as casual about the way she lifts her .45, flashing the barrel more so than aiming it in anyone's general direction. ] We'd really appreciate it if you didn't try to run.

[misterlawson]

( Richard's never been inclined to like much of any of the Transports. He knows they're the reason why he's here, even if he can't remember the specifics. He doesn't care to. It's been a hellacious time coming through rehabilitation, and it's nearly killed him along the way.

Too bad it hadn't succeeded, hmm?

The flash of light off the weapon in Chloe's hand turns the stiffness in Richard's shoulders into a slumped effort, fist tightening around his flask. He's sitting in a chair closer to the wall, out of the way of any activity directly involved with the Transporter.

He didn't have to like the Initiative either, but they were at least proper people. )

80 proof is not enough to handle this cow-shit.

( Not impulsive jackanapes with a tendency to wonder over stupid things, left in charge of a future they didn't give one damn about.

Yes. He can already tell what kind of day this'll turn out to be. )

[the_array_team]

[It's hard to tell, sometimes if Vennett is pulling a ridiculously late night or a really early morning. By the ever present coffee, dark circles and perpetually cranky demeanor it really doesn't matter which. He'd long since sent Kanaya away... and half expected it was her in the doorway, reporting for early morning work.

The tension was well justified as she delivered her lines.

He gripped the mug of steaming coffee in his hand, hoping to at least cause enough of a distraction to get a few good hits in, chivalry be damned.


... It lowers to the counter as the gun's barrel rises. Quite simply,]

Well. Fuck.

[alittlesweptup]

[No, this wasn't right. He wasn't an amateur, he'd done his bloody homework - and now they're facing down three people in the room that's supposed to be empty, the room that's about to go on lock down. Which means this just turned into a goddamn hostage situation.

Fantastic.

Flashing his gun in kind, Charlie moves quickly around to flank the Initiative employees in a clear attempt to cut them off from the secondary door. If he'd known -- Christ, he would've had them come in from both entrances, for one.]

Sit down and keep your hands in view; we're not here to hurt anyone.

[mathematician]

And I guess the guns are just matching accessories.

[Lowell replies, lowering his hands to his desk in front of him. The three of them had been in there for... god knows how long. Hours, definitely. Days, maybe? He lost track as well, but keeping the right maintenance on the Transporter was practically a 24-7 job. He really could use an assistant too if he was honest with himself, but being too prideful was always a sin of his.

Still, guns. That's dangerous. That's serious business, and he really shouldn't be sassing right now of all times, but he's also past the point on his internal clock when he continues to give a fuck about what tumbles out of his mouth.]

[hyanaimne]

[Tempest will leave chit chat with the Initiative employees to someone else. Once the doors are locked and secured, Tempest breaks away from the group without a word.

She starts there, then follows the perimeter of the the Transporter room, touching the wall every now and then and muttering to herself under her breath in Elven. While she could participate in sassy and snarky conversation, setting up her spell takes far more of her concentration than the ones she usually tosses out, and she'd rather not fuck this up]

[totallytrustworthy]

[And with the rest of it on lockdown (Charlie at door B while Tess and Seviilia keep watch of A; Tempest doing her...business all about them) Chloe shrugs a heavy pack from her shoulders, drops it to the floor (gun still in hand ) and begins the lengthy process of unpacking carefully folded space blankets, first aid kids, food packets and the like. Her eyes stay mostly set on the Initiative staff as she goes-- momentary breaks to organize supplies a given-- but she trusts Charlie and the others to manage the rest well enough.]

So...[Jesus Christ, someone break the obscenely glacial ice here.]

[the_array_team]

[Vennett doesn't bother keeping his hands down. There's nothing to fight WITH in there outside of Lowell's tools... and those are out of HIS immediate reach. Instead he picks up his mug and takes another long drink of coffee, watching Tempest cast some sort of magic, likely a perimeter.]

So. [He answers. The smile is humorless.] What'd those fuckshits at the UE offer you?

[miscreant]

Don't you think that if we were allied with the United Earth, we would have killed you by this moment?

[The elf at the point of door A frowns, rolling her head backwards to look at Vennett with half-lidded eyes.]

Has it perhaps occurred to you that you have soldiers in your midst who do not care for the way either of you handle things? Or do you always stare denial so stiffly in the eyes? That's quite a talent.

[Seviilia half-turns, somehow miraculously leaving her axes strapped to her back. She'd really like to rip them off and give him a reason to mouth off, though.]

lol backdating who even does that

[crossbearing]

Network's set. Just give the word.

( And then they can get this party started. Right?

Right. )

us that is who c:

[totallytrustworthy]

Nicely done. [It's a genuine compliment: Chloe has no idea how the network runs-- or how that process is stopped in the first place. And she doesn't really have any immediate plans to educate herself in that area, either.

So from there it's all the little bits and pieces, all the odds and ends required to hunker down and secure the area. Chloe knows Helena will need to be out and roaming by the time Seviilia seals the observatory doors, but until then they have the luxury of time.

Once inside the transporter room (crew secured and wards locked into place) Chloe ropes Helena into sorting out food and water supplies.]

Ever done anything like this before? [A bit late to be asking but hey, curiosity comes when it comes.]

shhhhh

[crossbearing]

( Things Helena doesn't really get often? Positive reinforcement. It gets something of a surprised, faintly incredulous smile out of her. ) Don't get too excited. We've got to see how long it takes Barbara to pull things back together.

( Because she will. There's nowhere Oracle flourishes like in the face of adversity. She pulled herself back from being shot by the Joker and feeling like she was rotting in a hospital to become one of the most dangerous and influential women in the world - with no one the wiser.

Even so, she does appreciate it, and she will do what she can to protect Chloe and Charlie. It might not be a lot, but-- anything is better than nothing, right? )

I own an apartment complex in Gotham. Tech's set up so it seems like its fully inhabited - timed lights, silhouettes, music. ( She's reeling it off before she throws Chloe a sidelong look, when the oddness of it catches up to her. ) I like my personal space.

( It also has a number of traps set up. ) I've got a uh, colorful track record. Let's put it that way.

neverrrrr

[totallytrustworthy]

...Christ. Remind me to hire you on as my personal decorator when this is all done and dealt with.

Might help when less friendly acquaintances come knocking. [She's joking, and yet she's so absolutely not.]

[crossbearing]

Sure. I'll get some nice throw pillows for our cell.

( A grin, but it's not particularly pleasant. ) Come on. We're both natural diplomats.

( ha ha ha

hahahaha )

[totallytrustworthy]

I do try. [And hers, by contrast, is entirely pleasant. Things aren't running along smoothly (with hostages in tow, unfortunately) but they'll sort it. The other transports will listen.

Honestly, why wouldn't they?]

So Barbara. She's-- what, one of them, I'm guessing? ['Them' being bats. Sorry Helena, shes making transitive assumptions.]

[crossbearing]

What, you mean this doesn't all come naturally?

( oh Helena, you card.

To her credit, she doesn't tense or falter.)

Barbara's complicated. ( for someone who hates bats she sure is consistently protective of them. ) we weren't uh, best friends for a long while.

( to put it lightly, and the way she looks at Chloe gives away something, even if it's just that there's a lot she can't - won't - say. Barbara's secrets aren't hers to share. That's one difference between her and Babs, right there.)

She's the heroic one. ( wryly. Barbara Gordon is also infuriating, made up of grey area,stubborn, judgmental--)

[totallytrustworthy]

Ah. [It's not a particularly helpful response, tossed out as Chloe unloads a set of water bottles from one of the heavier packs she'd brought along, but she doesn't mean to offend or upset: more than anything she understands how that goes. Differing opinions, different stances. Doing what's right versus doing whatever it takes to survive, and she carries her share of marks from it.]

Think those complications will forgive you for doing this should things go wrong?

notifs pls

[crossbearing]

( Let Helena help.

There's just a bit of a hesitation. )

We'll find out. ( More quietly, carefully, ) I've got some ideas to buy us time, but I'm not sure if you'll like them.

notifs behave

[totallytrustworthy]

[Chloe stops]

Please tell me none of them involve setting anyone on fire.

NO

[crossbearing]

( Dryly, and with an eyebrow duly arched: ) How did you guess.

( A pause, before she continues, ) I can play it like I'm their informant and I've been working this to get information. Convince Barbara and the others to give me more time, try and spin it out. I don't know if it'll work--

( Undercover isn't exactly her gift, unless she's working the Families. They're about as paranoid and prickly as Bats. Not usually as smart, but the violence, arrogance and dark pasts match up. Maybe she can spin this. ) It might work in your favor.

( Or it could be ineffectual and meaningless. Or a disaster. )