Luceti Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lucetimods) wrote2014-05-17 10:20 pm
lucetimods) wrote2014-05-17 10:20 pm
Requiem for Zompania: Draft Details
Notes to keep in mind throughout this draft:
TIMELINE OF EVENTS--ZOMPANIA (DRAFT)
Day 3 (May 22):
At 2:15 AM, the Lucetians are abruptly called into the draft with twenty minutes of warning. The call itself is disorganized and indicates the Malnosso on the other end is embattled and less than calm. The command is given that the Lucetians are needed to bolster the MSF forces under the command of Specialist Davis. Draftees are encouraged to bring any and all equipment from their home worlds.
Forces from Luceti arrive in the battle field at 2:35 AM with the MSF soldiers already fully engaged with a force of cultists, the scope of which is not immediately apparent. The field of battle is pitch dark; the only light comes from sparse floodlights on scattered fortifications and the blinding flares from muzzle flashes, bombs, and rockets. A smoking, blasted city stands on the horizon--Zompania, illuminated only by the the flare of explosions. The ground has been reduced to a thick, slippery soup of mud and blood. There may be some trees left standing on the hills; you’ll find out if you run into one. A persistent, choking haze of smoke and chemicals hides the sky. In many places the fighting has been reduced to ugly, desperate, hand-to-hand combat. The MSF forces are plainly on their way to being completely overwhelmed by what feels like an endless and completely unrelenting force.
The Lucetians are able to fight their way to the heart of the battlefield, which is a scene of carnage. At the last moment they are able to repel--or is the other side just withdrawing?--the cultist forces from Davis’s command post. While some Lucetians may choose to give chase--slopping through the mud of the battlefield as they do--Davis orders a temporary hold so the wounded can be collected quickly and an orderly retreat affected. Davis has already been terribly wounded himself, but is bravely maintaining command.
7:55 AM: Chanting is heard from the far end of the battlefield, carried in the hot wind.
8:05 AM: A single cultist airship is spotted, making way toward the MSF position under full power.
8:09 AM: Davis orders the airship shot down as the retreat continues.
8:13 AM: As the airship plummets toward the ground, safely beyond the MSF position, a spherical object about the size of a car launches from it. Three cultists can be seen clinging to it (bonded to it?) as it begins to fall.
8:14 AM: Davis orders all weapons to be turned on the object. There is no effect; some sort of shield seems to be in use, manipulated by the cultists that fall with it.
8:15 AM: Specialist Davis is heard shouting, “Run! Just r--” The weapon detonates.
You are dead.
* * *
Death isn’t what you expect. There is no choir, no tunnel with a light as one end, no hellish fires, no waiting ancestors.
But there is something. And it is watching you. No, not watching. It peers through flesh and bone and into spirit and does not care what it sees
ancient
alien
hungry
and you begin to unravel, drowning in water--not water, no, blood, no, molten rock, no, the fire at the heart of a sun, no, the collective rotting flesh of everyone who has ever died on this planet, no--and precise fingernails like scalpels excise one long line of muscle (oh, does it feel pain? does it squirm?) from your heart, only--
* * *
Day 1 (May 20):
You are alive.
The draftees from Luceti find themselves standing at the edge of that familiar battlefield, only impossibly, the battle has only just begun. There is still grass, there are still trees, and Zompania stands across the battlefield, safely behind endless ranks of cultists, still in one piece--though judging from the blood that streaks the walls and the cultist airships tethered on the buildings, likely not occupied by friendly forces. The MSF forces are spread out across the hills, squaring off across from an army of cultists far too large to have come from just this city.
The Lucetians will receive an explanatory message from John, as well as their marching orders. (There will be an NPC thread on the log for this.)
For the rest of the day, the draftees must fight their way to Zompania, either by cutting through the main cultist forces--not a very good idea, and not the reason John dropped you where he did--or take the long way around, going behind enemy lines to reach the city. Either way, combat is guaranteed, though behind the enemy lines the combat must be much quieter. How the draftees will accomplish this is largely up to them. Small parties? Sending scouts ahead? Organized march? (Well, that last one might draw a little too much attention...)
Even if a small party of Lucetians is noticed, they are largely ignored by the cultists, who seem to be operating under a very definite battle plan. Either that, or the small force of draftees against the might of this army just don’t seem like that much of a threat.
The day ends with the Lucetians arriving at Zompania, which has been heavily fortified by the cultist forces. No way through it immediately apparent; it’s much more heavily guarded than might make sense, considering the MSF forces are still relatively far away. As the sun sinks below the horizon, people can be heard behind the wall, an endless cacophony of voices, begging, pleading, screaming in agony, then abruptly cut off.
And you still haven’t found a way inside.
Day 2 (May 21):
The disturbing sounds of death and pain from inside Zompania continue through the night and end, just as abruptly, five minutes before sunrise. The daylight hours are spent by the draftees trying to find a way past the cultist defenses and into the city proper. Whether the draftees stay together as a whole or split into small parties, scouting is required and minor skirmishes occur that are, by necessity, short and brutal.
Shortly before sunset, one or more ways into the city are discovered. (A break in the lines? A secret passage? A sewer outlet? Pick your way and find it!) Despite the forces that surround it, the city proper is all but deserted, silent but for the continual sounds of combat in the distance. As the draftees move further into Zompania as the sun begins to set, bodies--men, women, children, nonsapiens--are discovered, lining the streets in neat rows, sometimes stacked two to three deep and leaving only a narrow path that will only allow people to walk by in single file. There are far too many to have come from just Zompania. And indeed, if someone isn’t too squeamish to search the bodies, they’ll find proof that it’s a mix of residents from Zompania, Quell, and Pagoda.
Approaching the city center, the silent ranks of corpses give way to living and very determined cultists. Street to street and building to building fighting is required, and no cultist can be allowed to escape and warn the lines still surrounding Zompania. In the city’s central square, eerily reminiscent of that in Luceti, the statue that once occupied the space has been pulled down and replaced with an altar, now caked with so much blood that the smell renders the air nearly impossible to breathe. It takes no imagination to consider what happened here.
There is no time for rest as the sun begins to set; the bomb will be completed and then dropped on the MSF forces the next morning, and Lucetians have no inkling where it might be.
Day 3 (May 22):
While the Lucetians must continue to fight to hold the ground they have established on day 2, the bomb must be found before dawn. A change in tactics is required, forces split so some can continue to keep the streets clear and the draftees undiscovered, while others engage in a desperate search for the bomb, and some might even have the bright idea to begin disabling the cultist airships docked at the city. So long as the draftees have significantly disrupted the cultist forces in the city by 7:00 AM on day 3, that will at least delay the launch of the bomb long enough for it to be found.
There are several different tactics that can work to locate the bomb and the scientists depending upon how the draftees decide to focus their efforts:
However it is accomplished, the bomb is found hidden in the sub-basement of Zompania’s school, hidden by Shifters. A small team (10-12) of infiltrators will need to be sent in while everyone else holds the cultists outside at bay. Things to consider for the team:
We’ll provide a thread where people interested in being on this infiltration team can sign up. If more than 12 sign up we’ll employ the RNG to pare down the numbers. The infiltration team can make up their own thread on the log, can make a separate log, whatever you want. Just don’t let the bomb blow up, mmmkay?
Sign ups for the infiltration team closed at 11:59 PM EST on May 19th. Results are:
Thor Odinson
Zuko
Fayt Leingod
Silver
Naru Shikamaru
Rudy Roughnight
Elizabeth
Robert Lutece
Levi
James T. Kirk
Sam Yao
Itachi Uchiha
To get to the bomb and disarm it, the team of infiltrators must:
It is ultimately up to the draftees to decide what to do with the bomb, the scientists, and the information they hold. But if they succeed, this changes the course of history. The bomb is not dropped.
At 3:57 PM, the draftees receive a broadcast message from Specialist Davis, letting them know just how grim the outlook has become. The MSF forces have been effectively routed, and Davis himself...well, it doesn’t look good. (There will be an NPC thread for this on the log)
And with that, the Lucetians are effectively on their own until reinforcements arrive. The draftees must:
Most of the buildings in Zompania are still serviceable, so the Lucetians can pick one or two that they think the most defensible and ready themselves for a siege, or keep moving among the buildings and hiding. Supplies are perhaps surprisingly plentiful if people go to find them; any fresh food has long since spoiled, but canned food and medical supplies aren’t at all difficult to acquire. Most residences in the city are almost untouched except for the occasional overturned chair and bloodstain on the carpet.
Day 4-6 (May 23-25):
The cultists, now knowing that their plans have gone awry--though thankfully Davis’s sacrifice has bought the draftees some time to dig in--turn their attention to the city in truth. The Lucetians must simply survive and try to hold their position while they wait for reinforcements that may never come. The influx of cultist soldiers is unsteady, with MSF forces still out on the battlefield to act as a distraction, but when attacks come they are swift and merciless. Fighting can occur in the streets as the draftees try to form a blockade and keep the cultists from approaching the building(s) they’ve claimed, or can be in far closer quarters as cultists break through windows or use shifts to make their way inside.
Starting late on day 4, reinforcements from Luceti will arrive by means of parajump out of spaceships. Hopefully most of them land near Zompania, but that’s up to you. These extra forces will help secure the city and bolster the defenses against the continued cultist assault. This will not, however, provide enough force to allow for a protected retreat or any sort of real assault on the cultists. The best bet is still to hunker down and defend.
As day 6 draws to a close and the cultists begin a particularly overwhelming offensive, one that would be intimidating even without six days of exhaustion, iffy supplies, and trauma working against the draftees.
That’s when the cavalry arrives.
The cavalry is a literal spaceship, reminiscent of the White Star (from Babylon 5), though significantly smaller. The name painted on the side of the spaceship identifies her as the Revenge, and she makes short work bombarding the encroaching cultist forces and providing the draftees the breathing room they desperately need.
In the distance, a few more MSF spaceships, though smaller still than the Revenge are visible strafing the battlefield. MSF forces can be seen arriving, though in far more conventional transports. The cultists are forced into retreat and the battle, while not decisive, is at least no longer a loss.
Just be careful until the Revenge lands and the Commandant invites the draftees on board. There are still cultists out there, and few of them have admitted they’ve lost.
Day 7 (May 26):
After being debriefed rather haphazardly by MSF personnel, the draftees are fed a decent meal (but no showers for you, sorry) the draftees and the reinforcements she has brought with her from the village are returned to Luceti at an unholy hour of the morning.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS--LUCETI (REINFORCEMENTS)
For people in Luceti on day 3-6 (May 22-25):
Day 3 (May 22):
At 8:15 AM there is a brief but very noticeable barrier glitch, and what feels like a minor earthquake, knocking dishes and books off shelves, shattering glass unicorn figures, that sort of thing. All of the clocks stop for ten seconds, then jump forward to the correct time. Minor time effects occur to citizens in Luceti, where time slips and people will jump forward to where they would have been in 10 seconds...without ever having lived those 10 seconds. (Think: A CD skipping and you missed 10 seconds of the music.)
Throughout Days 3-6 (May 22-25):
Without so much as a by-your-leave from the MSF, Luceti becomes a medevac area for the MSF; healers and volunteers needed. The wounds make it apparent that the fighting is going very, very badly. By evening on day 3, the MSF forces and draftees from other enclosures evacuated to Luceti will know that Specialist Davis has been killed by the cultists. None have seen nor heard from the draftees from Luceti, though there is a rumor that they’ve tried to retake the city of Zompania from the cultists. The consensus is that is a very bad, nigh crazy move, and they will not survive more than a day or two if that’s really what has happened.
Days 4-6 (May 23-25):
Early on day 4, the Commandant will address the village and let them know that she has taken over operations in Zompania. She is seeking volunteers for reinforcements to join in with her troops and enter the fight on the battlefield within the hour. Non-combatants are also encouraged to volunteer; those with tech skills can help crew the Commandant’s ships, while others can gather food and supplies, help with medevac for the wounded, and so on. All volunteers are welcomed and offered appropriate jobs. (There will be a post by the Commandant for this purpose.)
Late on day 4, the reinforcements will be brought to the battlefield. This is what truly helps turn the tide of battle, with the Commandant’s forces and the volunteers bolstering the ragged MSF lines. Zompania is visible in the distance, a bloody, smoking wreck--maybe your friends are still alive in there.
Volunteers may choose to:
Fighting continues until day 6, when the Third Party forces are finally forced into retreat and the MSF forces reach Zompania.
Day 7 (May 26):
At an unholy hour on the morning, the draftees and reinforcements are returned by the Commandant. As you can imagine, the draftees all smell terrible--and many may still require medical attention.
* * *
Map of Zompania
Click on the image for the large size version!
Details/Key:
A = apartment buildings
T = watch towers, some established and some set up for the battle; these are the sources of the floodlights near the city
B = barricades
D = Zompania's battledome-like structure
P = a local town park, mostly deserted
S = shops and stores
H = hideout/blind spot/"safe zone" (safety not actually guaranteed)
W = weapon storage
Yellow Star = Altar
Red Star = School buildings
The yellow paths are the most accessible routes into the city for draftees, but they'll also be the most heavily guarded by the Third Party and therefore the most dangerous. The river has been choked off by the enemy and the water redirected to the fields surrounding town to make it harder (ie. muddy) for those on foot to move around. Parts of the city are protected by walls, but they're not in great shape. Third Party patrols are everywhere.
- If you want to participate in this draft, you must sign up at the announcement post.
- Communications back to Luceti will be completely impossible; draftees (and later reinforcements) will be able to use their journals to communicate with each other, but the range will be extremely limited to no more than a quarter mile of distance.
- There will be no power limit set--all characters will be at full power for this draft.
- No limits will be set on equipment that the draftees bring with them. They will, in fact, be encouraged to bring their own weapons.
- Enemy units will include: Foot soldiers, Elites, Shifters, Dream Shifters, Shift Hunters (commonly armored) Details on them are on the Nitpicker's Guide.
- There will be no scanners for this draft until the reinforcements arrive; prior to that cultists must be incapacitated, imprisoned, or killed.
- Zompania, while smaller in population than Luceti, is a more structurally developed and larger enclosure. Please see the map here
- The barrier around the enclosure of Zompania will be down the entire time. If you wish your character to suffer from shift afflictions, please feel free to do so. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS--ZOMPANIA (DRAFT)
Day 3 (May 22):
At 2:15 AM, the Lucetians are abruptly called into the draft with twenty minutes of warning. The call itself is disorganized and indicates the Malnosso on the other end is embattled and less than calm. The command is given that the Lucetians are needed to bolster the MSF forces under the command of Specialist Davis. Draftees are encouraged to bring any and all equipment from their home worlds.
Forces from Luceti arrive in the battle field at 2:35 AM with the MSF soldiers already fully engaged with a force of cultists, the scope of which is not immediately apparent. The field of battle is pitch dark; the only light comes from sparse floodlights on scattered fortifications and the blinding flares from muzzle flashes, bombs, and rockets. A smoking, blasted city stands on the horizon--Zompania, illuminated only by the the flare of explosions. The ground has been reduced to a thick, slippery soup of mud and blood. There may be some trees left standing on the hills; you’ll find out if you run into one. A persistent, choking haze of smoke and chemicals hides the sky. In many places the fighting has been reduced to ugly, desperate, hand-to-hand combat. The MSF forces are plainly on their way to being completely overwhelmed by what feels like an endless and completely unrelenting force.
The Lucetians are able to fight their way to the heart of the battlefield, which is a scene of carnage. At the last moment they are able to repel--or is the other side just withdrawing?--the cultist forces from Davis’s command post. While some Lucetians may choose to give chase--slopping through the mud of the battlefield as they do--Davis orders a temporary hold so the wounded can be collected quickly and an orderly retreat affected. Davis has already been terribly wounded himself, but is bravely maintaining command.
7:55 AM: Chanting is heard from the far end of the battlefield, carried in the hot wind.
8:05 AM: A single cultist airship is spotted, making way toward the MSF position under full power.
8:09 AM: Davis orders the airship shot down as the retreat continues.
8:13 AM: As the airship plummets toward the ground, safely beyond the MSF position, a spherical object about the size of a car launches from it. Three cultists can be seen clinging to it (bonded to it?) as it begins to fall.
8:14 AM: Davis orders all weapons to be turned on the object. There is no effect; some sort of shield seems to be in use, manipulated by the cultists that fall with it.
8:15 AM: Specialist Davis is heard shouting, “Run! Just r--” The weapon detonates.
You are dead.
Death isn’t what you expect. There is no choir, no tunnel with a light as one end, no hellish fires, no waiting ancestors.
But there is something. And it is watching you. No, not watching. It peers through flesh and bone and into spirit and does not care what it sees
ancient
alien
hungry
and you begin to unravel, drowning in water--not water, no, blood, no, molten rock, no, the fire at the heart of a sun, no, the collective rotting flesh of everyone who has ever died on this planet, no--and precise fingernails like scalpels excise one long line of muscle (oh, does it feel pain? does it squirm?) from your heart, only--
Day 1 (May 20):
You are alive.
The draftees from Luceti find themselves standing at the edge of that familiar battlefield, only impossibly, the battle has only just begun. There is still grass, there are still trees, and Zompania stands across the battlefield, safely behind endless ranks of cultists, still in one piece--though judging from the blood that streaks the walls and the cultist airships tethered on the buildings, likely not occupied by friendly forces. The MSF forces are spread out across the hills, squaring off across from an army of cultists far too large to have come from just this city.
The Lucetians will receive an explanatory message from John, as well as their marching orders. (There will be an NPC thread on the log for this.)
For the rest of the day, the draftees must fight their way to Zompania, either by cutting through the main cultist forces--not a very good idea, and not the reason John dropped you where he did--or take the long way around, going behind enemy lines to reach the city. Either way, combat is guaranteed, though behind the enemy lines the combat must be much quieter. How the draftees will accomplish this is largely up to them. Small parties? Sending scouts ahead? Organized march? (Well, that last one might draw a little too much attention...)
Even if a small party of Lucetians is noticed, they are largely ignored by the cultists, who seem to be operating under a very definite battle plan. Either that, or the small force of draftees against the might of this army just don’t seem like that much of a threat.
The day ends with the Lucetians arriving at Zompania, which has been heavily fortified by the cultist forces. No way through it immediately apparent; it’s much more heavily guarded than might make sense, considering the MSF forces are still relatively far away. As the sun sinks below the horizon, people can be heard behind the wall, an endless cacophony of voices, begging, pleading, screaming in agony, then abruptly cut off.
And you still haven’t found a way inside.
Day 2 (May 21):
The disturbing sounds of death and pain from inside Zompania continue through the night and end, just as abruptly, five minutes before sunrise. The daylight hours are spent by the draftees trying to find a way past the cultist defenses and into the city proper. Whether the draftees stay together as a whole or split into small parties, scouting is required and minor skirmishes occur that are, by necessity, short and brutal.
Shortly before sunset, one or more ways into the city are discovered. (A break in the lines? A secret passage? A sewer outlet? Pick your way and find it!) Despite the forces that surround it, the city proper is all but deserted, silent but for the continual sounds of combat in the distance. As the draftees move further into Zompania as the sun begins to set, bodies--men, women, children, nonsapiens--are discovered, lining the streets in neat rows, sometimes stacked two to three deep and leaving only a narrow path that will only allow people to walk by in single file. There are far too many to have come from just Zompania. And indeed, if someone isn’t too squeamish to search the bodies, they’ll find proof that it’s a mix of residents from Zompania, Quell, and Pagoda.
Approaching the city center, the silent ranks of corpses give way to living and very determined cultists. Street to street and building to building fighting is required, and no cultist can be allowed to escape and warn the lines still surrounding Zompania. In the city’s central square, eerily reminiscent of that in Luceti, the statue that once occupied the space has been pulled down and replaced with an altar, now caked with so much blood that the smell renders the air nearly impossible to breathe. It takes no imagination to consider what happened here.
There is no time for rest as the sun begins to set; the bomb will be completed and then dropped on the MSF forces the next morning, and Lucetians have no inkling where it might be.
Day 3 (May 22):
While the Lucetians must continue to fight to hold the ground they have established on day 2, the bomb must be found before dawn. A change in tactics is required, forces split so some can continue to keep the streets clear and the draftees undiscovered, while others engage in a desperate search for the bomb, and some might even have the bright idea to begin disabling the cultist airships docked at the city. So long as the draftees have significantly disrupted the cultist forces in the city by 7:00 AM on day 3, that will at least delay the launch of the bomb long enough for it to be found.
There are several different tactics that can work to locate the bomb and the scientists depending upon how the draftees decide to focus their efforts:
- Just search really hard and hope (not recommended)
- Capture cultists and extract the information
- Find a functioning computer, hack into the city archives to find the original plans, and discover what space has been missing from the search.
- Wait until the bomb is being brought of of hiding to be loaded into the airship, defeat the shifts protecting it in a pitched battle, and then take possession there (VERY not recommended)
- Your suggestion here.
However it is accomplished, the bomb is found hidden in the sub-basement of Zompania’s school, hidden by Shifters. A small team (10-12) of infiltrators will need to be sent in while everyone else holds the cultists outside at bay. Things to consider for the team:
- You need some people who are good at fighting
- You need some people who can manage to disarm a bomb without peeing themselves
- At least one person who is good with technology and able to read schematics designed by possibly insane cultists (good luck with that)
We’ll provide a thread where people interested in being on this infiltration team can sign up. If more than 12 sign up we’ll employ the RNG to pare down the numbers. The infiltration team can make up their own thread on the log, can make a separate log, whatever you want. Just don’t let the bomb blow up, mmmkay?
Sign ups for the infiltration team closed at 11:59 PM EST on May 19th. Results are:
Thor Odinson
Zuko
Fayt Leingod
Silver
Naru Shikamaru
Rudy Roughnight
Elizabeth
Robert Lutece
Levi
James T. Kirk
Sam Yao
Itachi Uchiha
To get to the bomb and disarm it, the team of infiltrators must:
- Disable the shield that is around the bomb. The power for the shield is being diverted from Zompania’s barrier.
- The bomb is heavily guarded by Shifters and Foot Soldiers, all of whom must be disabled or killed.
- Deal with the five cultist “scientists” in the sub-basement, who are integrating the power source they crafted at the altar, using all of those sacrifices. There are several books with them, which contain all of their research. Just stopping the scientists will basically save the day, but you really don’t want to leave what is effectively a nuclear bomb powered by souls just lying around, do you? Of course you don’t.
- Disarm/destroy the bomb. How will you do it? Read the schematics? Make the scientists do it? Watch out, one of them might trigger the self-destruct mechanism...
It is ultimately up to the draftees to decide what to do with the bomb, the scientists, and the information they hold. But if they succeed, this changes the course of history. The bomb is not dropped.
At 3:57 PM, the draftees receive a broadcast message from Specialist Davis, letting them know just how grim the outlook has become. The MSF forces have been effectively routed, and Davis himself...well, it doesn’t look good. (There will be an NPC thread for this on the log)
And with that, the Lucetians are effectively on their own until reinforcements arrive. The draftees must:
- Decide what to do with the captured bomb/research/scientists if they have not already.
- Fortify their position and prepare for a siege or decide to break into groups and remain on the run, hopefully not running out of defensible hiding places before help arrives.
- Continue to defend against Third Party forces until rescue comes late in day 6.
Most of the buildings in Zompania are still serviceable, so the Lucetians can pick one or two that they think the most defensible and ready themselves for a siege, or keep moving among the buildings and hiding. Supplies are perhaps surprisingly plentiful if people go to find them; any fresh food has long since spoiled, but canned food and medical supplies aren’t at all difficult to acquire. Most residences in the city are almost untouched except for the occasional overturned chair and bloodstain on the carpet.
Day 4-6 (May 23-25):
The cultists, now knowing that their plans have gone awry--though thankfully Davis’s sacrifice has bought the draftees some time to dig in--turn their attention to the city in truth. The Lucetians must simply survive and try to hold their position while they wait for reinforcements that may never come. The influx of cultist soldiers is unsteady, with MSF forces still out on the battlefield to act as a distraction, but when attacks come they are swift and merciless. Fighting can occur in the streets as the draftees try to form a blockade and keep the cultists from approaching the building(s) they’ve claimed, or can be in far closer quarters as cultists break through windows or use shifts to make their way inside.
Starting late on day 4, reinforcements from Luceti will arrive by means of parajump out of spaceships. Hopefully most of them land near Zompania, but that’s up to you. These extra forces will help secure the city and bolster the defenses against the continued cultist assault. This will not, however, provide enough force to allow for a protected retreat or any sort of real assault on the cultists. The best bet is still to hunker down and defend.
As day 6 draws to a close and the cultists begin a particularly overwhelming offensive, one that would be intimidating even without six days of exhaustion, iffy supplies, and trauma working against the draftees.
That’s when the cavalry arrives.
The cavalry is a literal spaceship, reminiscent of the White Star (from Babylon 5), though significantly smaller. The name painted on the side of the spaceship identifies her as the Revenge, and she makes short work bombarding the encroaching cultist forces and providing the draftees the breathing room they desperately need.
In the distance, a few more MSF spaceships, though smaller still than the Revenge are visible strafing the battlefield. MSF forces can be seen arriving, though in far more conventional transports. The cultists are forced into retreat and the battle, while not decisive, is at least no longer a loss.
Just be careful until the Revenge lands and the Commandant invites the draftees on board. There are still cultists out there, and few of them have admitted they’ve lost.
Day 7 (May 26):
After being debriefed rather haphazardly by MSF personnel, the draftees are fed a decent meal (but no showers for you, sorry) the draftees and the reinforcements she has brought with her from the village are returned to Luceti at an unholy hour of the morning.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS--LUCETI (REINFORCEMENTS)
For people in Luceti on day 3-6 (May 22-25):
Day 3 (May 22):
At 8:15 AM there is a brief but very noticeable barrier glitch, and what feels like a minor earthquake, knocking dishes and books off shelves, shattering glass unicorn figures, that sort of thing. All of the clocks stop for ten seconds, then jump forward to the correct time. Minor time effects occur to citizens in Luceti, where time slips and people will jump forward to where they would have been in 10 seconds...without ever having lived those 10 seconds. (Think: A CD skipping and you missed 10 seconds of the music.)
Throughout Days 3-6 (May 22-25):
Without so much as a by-your-leave from the MSF, Luceti becomes a medevac area for the MSF; healers and volunteers needed. The wounds make it apparent that the fighting is going very, very badly. By evening on day 3, the MSF forces and draftees from other enclosures evacuated to Luceti will know that Specialist Davis has been killed by the cultists. None have seen nor heard from the draftees from Luceti, though there is a rumor that they’ve tried to retake the city of Zompania from the cultists. The consensus is that is a very bad, nigh crazy move, and they will not survive more than a day or two if that’s really what has happened.
Days 4-6 (May 23-25):
Early on day 4, the Commandant will address the village and let them know that she has taken over operations in Zompania. She is seeking volunteers for reinforcements to join in with her troops and enter the fight on the battlefield within the hour. Non-combatants are also encouraged to volunteer; those with tech skills can help crew the Commandant’s ships, while others can gather food and supplies, help with medevac for the wounded, and so on. All volunteers are welcomed and offered appropriate jobs. (There will be a post by the Commandant for this purpose.)
Late on day 4, the reinforcements will be brought to the battlefield. This is what truly helps turn the tide of battle, with the Commandant’s forces and the volunteers bolstering the ragged MSF lines. Zompania is visible in the distance, a bloody, smoking wreck--maybe your friends are still alive in there.
Volunteers may choose to:
- Be dropped off at or near Zompania via parajump--it’s up to you how close you’ll land. From there they’ll be able to fight their way through to join with the original draftees to help hold the line until the main bulk of the MSF forces arrive to break the siege.
- Non-combatants can choose to stay with the MSF forces and be out of the direct fighting.
Fighting continues until day 6, when the Third Party forces are finally forced into retreat and the MSF forces reach Zompania.
Day 7 (May 26):
At an unholy hour on the morning, the draftees and reinforcements are returned by the Commandant. As you can imagine, the draftees all smell terrible--and many may still require medical attention.
Map of Zompania
Click on the image for the large size version!
Details/Key:
A = apartment buildings
T = watch towers, some established and some set up for the battle; these are the sources of the floodlights near the city
B = barricades
D = Zompania's battledome-like structure
P = a local town park, mostly deserted
S = shops and stores
H = hideout/blind spot/"safe zone" (safety not actually guaranteed)
W = weapon storage
Yellow Star = Altar
Red Star = School buildings
The yellow paths are the most accessible routes into the city for draftees, but they'll also be the most heavily guarded by the Third Party and therefore the most dangerous. The river has been choked off by the enemy and the water redirected to the fields surrounding town to make it harder (ie. muddy) for those on foot to move around. Parts of the city are protected by walls, but they're not in great shape. Third Party patrols are everywhere.