Payback Time

[thewatchers]

PAYBACK TIME
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The daemon base was large, a massive obsidian skull carved from the base of a black, foreboding mountain within the Outlands and surrounded by a forest of dead trees. This was inevitable, as accompanying faculty could explain. As much as it could influence the human world, the Outland was heavily influenced and shaped by human thought and culture. Weaker daemons, such as those within the base, would find their personality, forms, and even desires inexorably shaped by the thoughts of humanity and what was perceived humans would expect and fear.

The focus of the two main assault groups would be the clearing of the main hall and the lower dungeons. The groups will be divided as follows:

Main Hall:
Ky
Mav
Kanata
Tyzias
Gunvolt
Bumblebee

Main Hall Support:
Toki
Kano

Dungeon:
Valvatorez
Goro Akechi
Ren
Minako
Naoki
Keith

Dungeon Support:
Ekkehardt
James

Control Room Supervisor:
Yang

To get through to the fortress proper, the students will have to make their way through the forest. This is an open log, even for those who didn’t sign up and will consist of clearing a path and fighting off living trees and mimics in the form of any number of objects that would otherwise be expected in forests such as rocks, brambles, bushes, and other foliage..

The Main Hall is lined with massive rooms full of daemons such as the banquet hall, treasure vault, and throne room where the daemon lord resides. The Daemon Lord is the target here, and he’ll be well-guarded. Beware! Many of the rooms are trapped with mimics taking the form of treasure chests, braziers, boxes, barrels, and just about any other item.

The Dungeons are where captured humans are kept and tortured. The objective is to free the humans and defeat the Jailer, a powerful Daemon who runs the chambers. Students should beware, doppelgangers are said to be commonly slipped in amongst prisoners to ferret out rebellion and will be hidden in with those who are to be rescued.

The Control Room is located in the Citadel, with a massive monitor visualizing the area with floor plans and video feeds. All students and faculty will be wearing small cameras that will record live footage, and will be wired with a communication earpiece that will let those in the Control Room communicate freely. Students working in the Control Room will be able to relay data and information, and use the powerful supercomputers to analyze items on the ground in near real-time.

code bases by tricklet

Comments

CONTROL ROOM - Yang, Toki, Kano, Ekkehardt, James

[thewatchers]

The main control room lies within the Citadel, a massive network of monitors and machinery. Reminiscent of NASA’s main control room, technicians and seers work in tandem to acquire accurate information from the cameras and scrying efforts to ensure the flow of information. Those manning the control room will play support to those in the field, using their analytic abilities and the technologies in the observation deck to aid their allies. All support staff have direct audio contact with their assigned team at all times.

OTA

[yokeye]

|| 01. ARRIVAL

[The control room is gigantic. Somehow he didn't think it would be this huge; or that there would be so many monitors and consoles with buttons and data screens. A few of the larger monitors near the walls seem to be holographic and transparent with displays of maps and trajectories and continually updating statistics of some sort. Banks of less futuristic computer screens display the visuals from the field operatives' cameras. There's too many blinking console lights, changing screen displays, and general commotion in the room for him to focus very well. He's going to monitor a team and guide them through a daemon fortress to take out the like king daemon guy. How? This is impossible. He's going to get people killed.]

I can't do this!

[Toki whispers it to himself and walks right back out of the room. Returning a few minutes later, he's still unprepared, but determined to prove himself somehow. Maybe. He freaked out a little in the hallway and made the questionable decision of taking more sedatives than prescribed. At least he'll speak slower for a while, and not panic for the first hour or so.]

Okay~! So ready for this. Where do you want me?


|| 02. DURING

[Toki recognizes the forest instantly. He's seen it enough times over the last few weeks. There's no frozen people or little girl with antlers, but this is definitely the dead trees. People are going to be hurt, he's absolutely certain of this. They needed to be warned appropriately.]

That was enough detail, right? Do they need more?

-

[Later, he's now focused on the team in the Main Hall. The audio comes in static-y sometimes. He switched his earpiece out twice, but it keeps happening. He's now going on the assumption it's Ky's fault, or Gunvolt's, and the equipment isn't malfunctioning. He can't stop paying attention for one minute or something's going to go wrong. Like now. It took him mere seconds to swap ear pieces, looking away from the monitor for less than that, and now there's bad decisions being made.]

-- Don't touch that! It's not what you think it is!... I'm reading the information on it right now! I know what I'm doing! You're supposed to listen to- NO, YOU SHUT UP! This is -- Oh wait! Shit! Sorry~! I'm looking at the wrong data!... It's fine, you can touch it!... Once! I only sent you in the wrong direction once!... You're still alive, aren't you!? --

[He's doing a good job here.]


|| 03. AFTERMATH

[He's under the assumption none of his team were seriously injured or dead, but Kano was dealing with them half the time too and he may have missed important information on their overall status by the end.]

Everything went fine, right!? This is good? It's over? What about the group in the forest!? I stopped paying attention to them after a while, but no one died!?

[His hands are shaking and there may be a bit too much panic in his voice. He held off as long as he could; but now the built up stress of the mission is hitting him all at once.]

02 - forest

[onebetter]

[ James is just kind of staring over in horror as this broadcast goes out. ]

Well, they know what to look out for, but... [ He stares at the forest video feeds for a second. ] ... they might panic, too.

[yokeye]

[If his expression is anything to go by, James thought the broadcast was a mistake.]

That's why I wanted it detailed, because if it's too vague they might not react in time when the trees attack and go for the heart! Was that wrong!? Should they not be informed of potential impending doom and only certain impending doom!? We can delete it, right!?

[The mic is still on.]

[onebetter]

[ And that mic will stay on because James is also in a control room for the first time ever and not quite used to the tech yet. ]

Couldn't you have found a more... factual way of conveying this? Like 'the trees might attack your chest, be careful' not 'one of you is going to have their heart ripped out, I saw it in a dream'??

01

[spelleton]

Take a moment to get yourself adjusted to the control room, Mr Rikugou. [ He's not quite sure why Toki has signed up for this considering how highly strung he is, but he's hardly going to turn him away or tell him to sit in the corner and not to help.

He carefully doesn't mention Toki arriving, walking out of the room, and then coming back in again. Probably nerves that won't end with panic or fainting, he hopes. ]

Familiarize yourself with your station, and try not to worry about what's going on beyond that.

[yokeye]

[He doesn't know why he signed up either; he shouldn't have. But he just wants to help, and he knows field positions are beyond him at this point.]

There's just... a lot going on in here. I didn't know what it would be like.

[Toki intends to do exactly as Ekkehardt suggests, if he can manage it. Just focus on what he has to do and not worry about anything else.]

[spelleton]

You should use this time to prepare, then. Do you need any assistance? [ Thankfully, there's options in the systems for those who haven't taken part in such missions before, but it might be hard to find without help. ]

03

[suddenlybees]

Yep, yep, it's over~

[ Not saying anything about things going fine, or that the outcome is good, or that nobody died, but at least it is over and Kano swivels his chair around, scoots across the room, and pats Toki on the arm. ]

How was it? Was it fun?

[yokeye]

[Fun. How could Kano think any part of this was fun? Toki doesn't even attempt to twist facts and somehow convince himself it was indeed fun. He's losing the ability to fake that kind of thing.]

It was distressing and awful and nothing was fun!

2 - main hall

[ohgoodgrief]

[Yang has been keeping an eye on the students throughout the battle. When he sees one start to slip, he hurries over; in this case, he's quickly behind Toki, arms folded over his chest, and then he leans forward.]

Deep breaths, Mister Rikugou.

[yokeye]

[Yang is just suddenly right there. Toki switches off the mic for a minute, after realizing he's been shouting a bit too much.]

I'm sorry! There's just too much to look at and I keep reading the wrong information! Everything's all burring together, but I can't look away for more than a second because what if that's when a daemon shows up that I missed somehow and somebody-

[He doesn't finish the thought and instead tries to concentrate on breathing. This wasn't supposed to happen today.]

[suddenlybees]

[ Like Toki, Kano has absolutely no business being here in the control room, having strolled in a little after the main group had left for the forest, bowl of popcorn tucked under his arm and yawning wide before he plops himself down in one of the chairs in the middle of the room and spins it so he can take a look at all the monitors in one, long, dizzying glance. ]

They're really going for it, huh~ Do your best, guys...

[ That's directed at the room at large, Kano getting up again and re-settling himself in one of the stations in the corner, feet up on the seat of the chair with his knees to his chest, snacks balanced on his knees, and monitors... being stared at, because haha, yeah, great choice for somebody to stay behind and relay information that he's supposed to somehow understand and draw out of here? Hm.

Do your best, Shuuya. ]

[ohgoodgrief]

[Yang walks up behind Kano. He takes a second to look it all over, eyes taking in each monitor in turn. He's also engaged in some nervous behavior: he's spinning his uniform's hat on his finger, over and over. His brow furrows.

Then, he offers some advice, instead of a greeting:]

Try to focus on one monitor at a time. If you try to take each one in, they're going to blur together.

I usually look at one for fifteen seconds, then the next, and then the next. You make a sort of cycle, until you get a feel for what the different groups need.

[suddenlybees]

[ It's good advice, and at least it isn't the very first mission that Kano's ever been on, so while he's slow to start, he's quick to pick things up, one monitor at a time like Yang suggests, trying to match the various screens around him to that of the mental map kept stored in his head, positioning troops and enemies in his mind and trying to predict where they'll all be and where, using the monitors to double-check and learn the enemy's tactics.

It's unbelievably hard, and Kano takes the time to close his eyes and groan and by the time he opens his eyes again, all the screens are different and he's got to start all over. ]

What they need is fifteen eyes, haha... Professor, what do you think? [ He points to the group at the main hall, currently deciding amongst themselves whether to split into two teams of three. ]

One team to occupy the opposing forces and draw their attention, another team to sneak on by. Or would staying together as a larger force be better? Slower, but stronger. Safer. ...Man, we should've gotten those cannons built, they would've helped.

[onebetter]

[ James isn't even in the same team as Kano, so really, he should just ignore him as you do - focus on his own work, just remain professional.... Except seeing someone eat popcorn in here, even from the corner of his eye, is starting to drive him moderately crazy.

In a calmer moment, he steps over and clears his throat. ]

This isn't a movie theater, you know?

[suddenlybees]

I know~

[ But that does not stop him from treating the place as such, eating his popcorn one at a time— in the most obnoxious manner that is flicking each piece of popcorn into the air and catching it in his mouth. At least he is catching them, without fail, instead of letting them drop onto the ground to be swept up later. ]

Are you hungry? Do you want some?

OTA

[spelleton]

[ Ekkehardt keeps focused to his job with the ease of someone used to taking and relaying information. He usually sticks to his own station, watching the team he's been assigned to supervise, but if anyone's struggling, he'll wander over to offer assistance.

Sometimes he can be found taking a break, but that's not very often. He seems to be able to keep going for very long periods of time without resting. ]

[yokeye]

[Toki has taken three of four breaks already, but Ekkehardt hasn't left his station. That can't be good for him. Breaks are important. He's of course not actually going to suggest Ekkehardt take a break, but he does approach with coffee and tea.]

Um, Ekkehardt? Sorry to bother you, but I thought you might like some coffee~! And then I didn't know if you liked coffee, so I brought tea too~! You like one of those, right!? Because I can get you something else!

[He starts to set down the cups, but then has another sudden thought.]

Are we even allowed to have beverages at the terminals!? Is this a code violation!?

[spelleton]

[ He glances up, and for a moment he looks startled, like he's forgotten there are other people in the room with him. Then he smiles. ]

You aren't bothering me at all, Mr Rikugou. Thank you for the drink. [ He pauses at Toki's fretting for a moment, pushing his chair back from his station a little to stretch. ]

Ah - it's fine. You're not doing anything wrong. [ He's fallen into that mildly soothing tone he usually uses for distraught children, what has his life become... ]

Since you've been so kind as to bring me both, you can pick the one you like better and keep it to drink, if you wish.

[onebetter]

[ James is new to Daybreak and hasn't actually worked with Ekkehardt before, which means he determined to make a good impression during this mission (and also to not let people get killed, of course). He gives a salute as he joins him for dungeon support. ]

James Griffin, at your service. Is there anything specific I need to keep in mind today?

[spelleton]

[ He glances up with a slight, polite smile, inclining his head in a nod. ]

If you're amenable to the idea, I'll be letting you take the lead today. If you're struggling, I'll assist you, but I'd like you to take initiative most of the time.

Do you have any experience with this sort of scenario?

ota

[ohgoodgrief]

[Most of the people who've met Wen-li Yang have seen someone incredibly relaxed, bordering on lazy. He almost looks the part today, when he arrives. Except there's differences, too.

Like, for one, he's in uniform. A few of the technicians and crew -- ones that came with him -- actually salute, which he returns a little lazily. A few words are exchanged, with people who call him "Admiral Yang," instead of "Professor Yang." But then -- after making the rounds -- he goes to his station.

He sits down, one leg bent at the knee and raised, on the railing instead of his chair.]

Well... [Yang is supposed to give a speech. He considers, for a moment:] ...Let's make sure everyone comes back alive.

[...that's it.

But, he's easy to approach -- if anyone has a question or if they need help. He's keeping an eye on everything.]

[spelleton]

[ He's taking a break from his own station, letting James handle things and keeping an eye on it for now. This is the students' time to shine, after all. ]

Not much for speeches? [ He doesn't sound judgemental. Amused, if anything. ]

[ohgoodgrief]

I'm afraid not. [Yang laughs, looking sideways at Ekkehardt.]

I think long speeches from me usually come out insincere.