driftfleet_ooc | lato'li system: phase two, start!

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lato'li system: phase two, start!

Characters have been hard at work over the past few weeks gathering intel, fortifying their positions and fixing up their ships (or trying). Communications are still somewhat spotty, but most people have been able to confirm that their friends on other ships are alive! Though the Vieziri are still raiding encampments and cities down below, and making things very difficult for those who were shot down by the anti-aircraft guns weeks ago, the Fleet has been doing what it does best: adapt.

But now, that changes. It’s time to strike back - to begin Phase Two of the plot! Given all that's happened up until now, here is what's to come:

The final battle will take place on Wednesday, November 15th, but we will be posting the log in advance so that people can backtag to their heart’s content. Everything leading up to the final showdown can be threaded out whenever and wherever! There’s no strict time limit or anything. The log will be posted Saturday, November 11th.

The Interceptors have been contacted and are on their way. They were already beelining toward the fleet after Nami reached out to them in the last system, even though they could not have possibly made it in time to help. Now, with contact from Shiro after that driving home that they're seriously needed, they're pushing their ships to the limits to get to you. The Interceptor Fleet will arrive on Friday, November 10th, and will hide in stealth just outside of the Vieziri fleet's range until time for the final fight. They will open communications - feel free to let them in on the game plan, and take advantage of their crazy powerful weaponry -- a particular super genius scientist and engineer among them is quite proud of them, thank you~

Zhade will be keeping their part of the agreement. As of the IC broadcast from Zhade, the two groups of characters (planetside and shipside) will be given two equally important tasks that must be completed before the final showdown on the 15th.

PHASE TWO: DOWN TO BUSINESS.

Positioning yourselves to take down the Vieziri that are coming for you will take some hard work and coordination, but it's possible, and you're already well on your way to getting yourselves out of this alive. With the next steps laid out for you by Zhade, it's time to get to work.

GROUP A - Orbit
Characters in orbit will find themselves in a tight situation: the Vieziri warlord has brought his entire fleet to bear. This was part of his plan, it seems-- to isolate and dismantle the Drift Fleet while it's at half strength. He is running on the assumption that the majority of ships are still disabled in some way, so there’s nowhere to run and no real way to dodge or fire back. Vieziri will be boarding ships and attacking, not only aiming to disable but to kidnap people for their ritual. Characters who are unfortunate enough to get captured will be brought to Vieziri ships or sent down below to become part of the sacrifices they need. Fleet crews can board Vieziri ships through any method available to them (teleporting, magic, shuttle docking, using the same docks used to invade in the first place) in order to stage rescues, or follow them down to the planet to save them there and stop the ritual in its tracks.

The amount of damage your ships still have is up to you, though we encourage characters to have a fighting chance for the battle to come. The Vieziri fleet, under orders of this warlord, are playing a long, patient game - they're picking at the fleet slowly in order to drag people off for sacrifice without forcing hands to damage ships - yet. All of the Vieziri ships are heavily shielded, and heavily armed. They know they could obliterate a crippled, half-strength fleet if they felt like it.

Once the planetside group has taken down all of the Vieziri's shields (on the 15th) and the Interceptors have arrived, it's time to hit 'em hard! Group A's main goal from this point will be to take down the Vieziri ships, using whatever means they have: their own weapons, the Interceptor's added firepower (and, ah, creative engineering), crazy levels of magic or personal abilities - anything goes! Ships with security augments will be much better equipped for combat, but all ships should have capabilities to do something.

As Zhade said: cut off the head off the snake. Aim for that flagship - the big, gaudy red one. Destroy him, and their whole plan falls to pieces.

Opting out of all of this is still possible. If you do not want to participate in this plot, safe zones can absolutely be established on ships by the characters themselves (wards, locks, magic, tech-based, etc) or on the Iskaulit (the Vieziri aren't interested in that ship, it doesn't have the people on it that they want to drag off for sacrifice). Your comfort level is important to us - please do what you feel is necessary, and if you need to speak with us directly to work something out, we are more than happy to work with you, just leave a comment or send us a message!

GROUP B - Planet
Zhade will be giving the grounded group the coordinates of the anti aircraft guns as well as the shield generators, with instructions to dismantle the guns... or turn them on the Vieziri ships if possible! That'll teach them, right~? They are also in charge of beating up the Vieziri based on the planet and interrupting whatever evil-looking, blood-curdling rituals they can find!

Taking down the generators is the single most important task listed, as the shields must be down for the orbited Fleet and the Interceptors to successfully fire on the Vieziri ships.

Shield generators are fairly well-guarded by the Vieziri in the area, and can be destroyed or salvaged for parts. They appear to be large, cylindrical machines, roughly 15 feet (4.5 meters) high and half as long in diameter, with satellite dishes on top. Disabling each one will not only take down the shields on the Vieziri ships in orbit, but it will also allow Group B to access the AAGs.

After taking down the shields, the anti aircraft guns will need to be taken care of. They can be hacked by anyone with a communications or security augment. They can also be targeted by ships in orbit. Better turn those guns on the Vieziri before they decide to fire on their own! They can also be destroyed by normal means, such as explosives, beating it up a lot, or using a Vieziri body as a melee weapon.

The Vieziri will be patrolling these areas and the fight will be intense. However, sticking together and working as a team (or smaller strike teams) will ensure the group’s success. It will certainly take right up until the 15th for every single shield generator and AAG to be taken offline (or redirected to the Fleet's advantage), but the effort will almost certainly be a complete success!

Meanwhile - stay on top of fixing your ships! You'll want to get off the planet and back into orbit in time for the final fight, after all! So make it happen! We will not be requiring comments this time - if you wish for your ship to be repaired enough to join the battle in orbit, you are free to take your ship back to orbit. If you would prefer your ship to stay grounded and finish up repairs after, that is also fine. There will be plenty of time!

WAIT, WHAT’S THIS ABOUT A RITUAL?

Zhade mentioned that the Vieziri like to kidnap people to replenish their ranks, but that's not the only reason they're taking people alive. Zhade's alluded to another reason...

The Vieziri also need sacrifices for an important pseudo-magical ritual, which is meant to awaken the planet’s soul and bring back the song that they long to hear again. Bloody ritual circles are carved into the ground at various points across the dense forests of the planet. Captives of all sorts can be found tied and bound at the center-- even Drift Fleet passengers, if you’d like! Kill the Vieziri and release the captives, if you want to feel like you did a good thing today. Be a hero!

THE FINAL BATTLE.

With both plans executed… somewhat flawlessly, the Interceptors and the Fleet will be able to fire on the Vieziri ships and destroy them. (We hope all your crewmates were returned safely…!) Finally, a successful counterattack! Show them what you're made of, and pay them back for all they've done to you!

The main objective is to take down the flagship. It is very obvious which ship is the flagship: it is huge, it is red, it's a little bit on the gaudy side, and it's being heavily surrounded by all the smaller ships who are supposed to be taking the hits for it. Too bad you all have much better aim than that. Between Fleet artillery, Interceptor artillery, and any AAGs turned against the Vieziri ships from the surface and recalibrated to reach orbit, that flag ship doesn't stand a chance!

Smaller Vieziri ships will attempt retreat once the commander’s warship is destroyed. Whether they’re shot down or they get away, they will not be returning for the foreseeable future, and any Vieziri warbands left on the planet will eventually be picked off, disappear, or otherwise flee to their remaining ships and off the planet.

WHEN IT'S ALL OVER...

Now that the skies are clear and the Vieziri have been sent running, characters may find it pertinent to fly down to the surface now that they can do so safely, whether it's to rescue the young and/or wounded, or to help fight off the remaining Vieziri. The innocent townspeople are very confused as to the chain of events that have led to this stunning development, but they're grateful all the same! They are too poor to offer you any stellar rewards for your efforts, but if you still need materials, weapons, food, drink, lodging, or anything of that nature during your stay here, they will pull whatever strings they can to give it to you for free. If you're feeling extra charitable and insist on paying anyway, they won't argue - they'll take the credits with grateful tears in their eyes, because they know they need them. They can rebuild, finally. But even so, they cannot thank you enough.

At this time, any downed ships that did not make it back in time for the final fight should also be able to return to orbit now… Or, well, at the very least, they can be towed up to orbit via tractor beam. Oops. Well, your fellow Fleeters will help you finish up those repairs, at least?

The Interceptors will be sticking around to help stabilize things on the planet-- quite a change from their usual policy about not interfering... it may be best to take advantage of that. A post will go up sometime on November 16th that will allow everyone to ask them questions, face to face. As it turns out, they will also be taking Zhade with them whenever they leave the system. It appears that some dreams really do come true - good for Zhade.

With the natives taken care of and a promise to stay in touch, it seems like Lato’li has been left in better condition than it was found.

As always, please feel free to ask any questions below! Good luck, Fleet. Go forth and knock 'em out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ask 'em here!

SO Could someone accidentally on purpose get captured by the Vieziri? If so, would that person possibly be able to use a giant magical hand to maybe kill a whole lot of them? And could said magical explosion be used as a means to direct people to that location?

:D?

Would this all go down on the planet or on the ships?

On the planet!

Then that's fine! You can have her kidnapped and taken to one of the rituals no problem!

BRILLIANT. Another quick question - given that the Atroma can "stop" sicknesses and stop people dying of things (thanks FAQ) I've assumed that Lavellan's hand killing her has slowed down. A lot. Would being on the planet and away from all the stuff on the ships have stopped that from happening, especially since she's been using her Anchor a lot? I just wanted to double check what the damage would be and if being far from the ships/orbit would have affected her ability to... Not die... Since her ex isn't here to sort it out for her.

Being on the planet will not hinder whatever mechanic has been put in place to "stop" sicknesses/dying! Lavellan can keep on keepin' on. Hint: it has more to do with the augment implant anyway (:

Of course, if you would prefer that it be affected - if that's something you wanted to play with for your own entertainment/enjoyment - we'd be happy to work something out, anytime! Just hit us up, and we can come up with a plan together.

Just to be clear on the timeline - the Vieziri are starting the boarding today/tomorrow after Zhade's post or in a few days to match the log?

Also, huh. Do the Vieziri have the usual weak points in their bodies like a human? Heart, neck... what color is their blood...

asking for a friend

Edited 2017-11-07 01:58 (UTC)

said friend appreciates the inquiry on her behalf

They will be picking off the Fleet slowly over the course of the next few days, so you can have your ship boarded if you'd like! Or you can just have them jump onto the ship around the time of the final battle-- it's up to you, just make sure to clearly mark this. Time is an illusion, etc.

Time for shit to go down then wooo 8D And the question about cannibal anatomy?

... Wow, I am really scatterbrained tonight, sorry!

All of the Vieziri are humanoid and therefore have the same human weak points. The 'commander' Vieziri, a.k.a. the red Dasioe, bleed black. Also editing as a reminder that though they have human weak points, they are heavily armored and carry weaponry on par with that of the Fleet, so they are still difficult to take down.

Edited 2017-11-07 05:02 (UTC)

No worries, it happens! NOW GO TO SLEEP.

And yes no worries about the armor! That was kinda the point, really, since they can't knock them out easily, Shiro will have to activate his arm to cut metal and oops was that skin?

Yessssss.

So, hypothetically, if someone on the planet knew where the locations of all the Vieziri ground bases were, could they organize parties that attack those ground base while the aerial force is distracted and after the anti-aircraft gun systems are destroyed? And probably save a lot of captives too, because I imagine that's where the Vieziri would keep them when they're not being ritually murdered or eaten.

This is absolutely fine, and ties in very well with Justice's earlier investigations.

The bases themselves are heavily fortified camps with artillery of their own-- think gatling guns in addition to the laser weapons they are known to possess. Anyone attacking will want to be sure to take a lot of people with them, since the Vieziri are armed and armored to the teeth. They're not easy enemies by any stretch of the imagination.

Let us know if you have any more questions!

So would it be equally reasonable to assume then that they have things like light cannon / artillery and more explodey things of their own to defend these places?

Not that anyone's considering liberating any such ordinance and turning it against its former owners or their precious defenses or anything.

~~Though I mean at some point she probably will destroy at least one of the things with a Vieziri used as a melee weapon, I feel like I have to now~~

It would be reasonable to assume that, yes! You know, if anyone happened to be considering doing something with those, or somesuch. Just in case. Of course. ♪~

Thanks, mods!

As a matter of interest, what do the inside of the camps look like? Are they just like an average army base, with places to eat and resupply and makeshift clinics, or are they like a village, or what?

Sorry for the delayed response!

The Vieziri camps are laid out in the standard military style-- efficient and gridlike. It's a stark contrast to the way they decorate and dress, but in line with everything else (leather, warpaint, fur, whatever they've hunted). There is a 'kitchen' tent where meat is slaughtered and then divided, but their food isn't cooked; it's eaten raw. The medical center is on par with that of the Fleet, stocked with standard medicine and supplies that you could find in a basic infirmary.

These tents are also right next to each other.

This may be a dumb question but I'm still waking up lol - do the pseudo-magical rituals give off magic, ie so someone sensitive to that will feel it?

Not a dumb question at all!

The rituals would only give of any noticeable surge of magic if they happened to be wildly successful, and thus far, they have not been. Magic-sensitive characters won't feel anything intense, but if they happen to be in very close proximity, they might feel a tiny something - think along the lines of someone just beginning to cast a low-level spell.

On the last mod plot post, we determined that Freyja and Kaname's singing could stun/slow/paralyze/whatever the Vieziri. Going off this, would it theoretically be possible for:

A) A Fleet comm officer to hack the broadcast system of the flagship and/or surrounding smaller ships during the final battle?

B) The girls to broadcast their songs on board to hinder their retaliation efforts and give their side an edge?

C) If yes to the previous two questions, about how long would you say they'd be in effect? As long as they're singing?

Edited 2017-11-08 02:15 (UTC)

A) ONLY a comm officer with the hacking upgrade (Communications I B) will be able to do this, and they will have to be very creative to get it to work properly. It's possible, it will just be very difficult to pull off and to maintain a connection! (But there's nothing stopping you from hacking in again, and again, and again, of course~)

B) They can make that happen, certainly! It will be the same stun effect as previous.

C) As long as they can maintain the connection and the girls continue to sing, the Vieziri will be stunned. However, the longer it goes on, the more the Vieziri will attempt to struggle through the stun/sluggishness regardless - so the effectiveness might diminish over time, though not by much.

Let us know if that needs any clarification!

When trying to maintain a connection-- would proximity to the flagship be a factor? Like if they got closer, they'd have a better connection. That type of thing.

Proximity would not be a factor - it has less to do with strength of signal, and more to do with the capabilities of the communications officer to keep the hacked connection open, and keep the Vieziri from shutting off the broadcast on their end!

I'm a little unclear on the timeline here. I think I understand that ground teams can be disabling the shield generators and guns before the battle but for ships in orbit are they being attacked/boarded during the same time or does that not start until the Vieziri fleet arrives? The post seems to indicate these attacks are protracted affairs but that the battle happens ICly on only one day.

We're sorry about the confusion!

- It'll take at least until the 15th to disable all the shield generators and the guns. It's not done all in one day (that's impossible, honestly)!

- The Vieziri will be boarding ships and picking off the Fleet in the days leading up to the final battle, including today and the past few days previous.

- On the 15th, the last shield will fall and characters will be able to stage an all out return assault on the Vieziri ships in orbit, along with the help of the Interceptors.

Note that the final battle log will be posted this weekend, but ICly it takes place on the 15th.

That helps a lot, thank you!

One more question! So the smaller ships that are attacking the ships in orbit via boarding, can those possibly in turn be captured?

They can be, but it would be temporary. Once the Fleet leaves the system, the Marsiva will not recognize it as a registered ship in the Drift Fleet, and it will leave it behind.

Still, you are free to capture a smaller ship for any sort of tactical advantage in the battle to come, if you so choose! If you do so, any Vieziri remaining on board that are taken prisoner will not be cooperative at all, nor will they be understood by any of the Fleet characters anyway.

What about stripping it of components/weapons/gear? There likely won't be much time before the battle, but what about afterwards as well?

You may do so! Components and ship weapons are mostly incompatible with the Fleet ship types, so if the goal is to incorporate them into your own ships, you will need a lot of time and a VERY good engineer - namely, one with the "Inventor" upgrade. Keep in touch with us about it, we can see about working something out!

As for gear/weapons for crews, their armor is a lot like the armor provided by having a Security augment on board, and their weapons are those nice laser/photon rifles. You're free to take them.

Hopefully this helps! Let us know if you uave more questions, or if we should clarify something.

As it happens the First Breath does have an Engineer with that upgrade! As such, I reached out to Tyrion's player who said that we would absolutely be interested in re-purposing the Vieziri ship weapons.

We'd like to know what kind of power the guns have, how to go about incorporating them oocly, and how long it would take IC. Wren also would like to know if Tyrion can make a rough blueprint of one of the guns once he takes them apart.

Kaidan will of course be taking all the small firearms he can recover, so a rough estimate of how many of those would be good.

It may be best to continue this with or copy Wren on the particulars since Tyrion will be the one handling the rest of this.

Excellent! Let's see what we can come up with!

The guns are not anything ground-breakingly spectacular as far as firepower. They are not special or innovative, but they are functional, of average power, and there are no extra downsides to using them - aside from the whole not-compatible-at-first part. Besides, more guns are rarely a bad thing in ship warfare!

Making a blueprint of a dismantled gun is certainly possible, and also one way to actually go about incorporating the guns with your ship ICly. By creating a blueprint, it will be easier to see what parts are incompatible and need replacing. The alternative would probably be something closer to trial-and-error, swapping out pieces with other pieces as you reach various systems and crossing your fingers that that's the part that works this time. Either direction is valid, I'll leave that up to what y'all feel is IC. This will also drive home the fact that the Vieziri clearly pieced cobbled together from different sources themselves, which definitely won't make establishing compatibility with the First Breath any easier, unfortunately.

It's going to take quite a few systems for all of this to work out, between studying the guns, gathering the materials, crafting what other parts you need to make it happen, etc. Different systems will also have different things available, so scarcity/abundance of things will also impact timeline. As the Fleet enters different systems, if we forget to outright state in the info post if something is available that y'all might need, then by all means, ask us! It's always a lot of info to dump at once, after all...

OOCly, when you do finally get the guns attached, fill out a comment form for a ship change, and I'll add it to your spreadsheet. Simple as that!

As for the small firearms: Kaidan will be able to grab a rough estimate of enough small firearms to fill one 3x3x3 crate - enough to outfit a small squad of people.

If you don't mind passing this info to Wren, we would appreciate it. If you need for Wren to be the one to speak with us going forward, let her know to reach out to us. We're always available via comment thread of direct message!

(Mostly just so there's a record of it here)

So, post-climactic battle, it would be possible to salvage ship weaponry from the wreckage of the capital ship and/or any smaller Vieziri ships, they just wouldn't be immediately compatible with the Fleet ships (and need some heavy engineer tinkering to get to that point), correct?

Asking because we all know Looma loves her some overkill, and would not say no to more guns mounted to her ship. Even if they couldn't actually work, at the moment. She'd be down for upgrading the shields too, but she wouldn't be able to identify those parts anywhere near as easily, and is unlikely to drag any back because of it.

it probably also helps that she doesn't care how much anyone complains about the cargo hold being too cramped because it's full of scavenged weaponry.

Edited 2017-11-20 09:13 (UTC)

The smaller Vieziri ships: yes! Specifically, the ones that the Fleet may have captured, per this set of questions. The Vieziri flagship: Not... really. That ship is quite obliterated after the battle - you can possibly find debris and wreckage in orbit or on the surface, but you won't find anything intact.

So, for the smaller ships:
Scavenged weaponry is fair game, and after a lot of augment upgrading, tinkering, time, creativity, energy, supplies, etc etc etc, can possibly be incorporated into ships. Please continue working closely with the mods on this matter going forward, we will do our best to work with you within reason.

Scavenged shields will not work with the Fleet ships at all, no matter the Engineering upgrade, because the Vieziri shields are specifically designed to be coordinated with generators on their planet. If you wish to upgrade shields for your ships, stay tuned - we have more upgrades from Atroma coming in the future.

Sorry for any confusion, and please don't hesitate to poke us if anything needs further clarification or information!

Edited 2017-11-21 00:42 (UTC)

When do they start drift week?

Also, who is Zhade? I couldn't find any mention of them before this post, but it seems like we were introduced to them prior.

Edited 2017-11-21 04:19 (UTC)

As stated in the original info post, we will be in this system until 11/26.

Zhade is an NPC introduced during this plot! We mentioned in the original info post that there would be a mysterious informant to work with the players. He made his IC debut here, and contacted the fleet again here. You can find all the info you need about him in the various information posts for this plot, and his IC posts!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

lato'li system: phase two, start!

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