agogelogs | GROUPS 1 & 2: War, what is it good for.

WHO? Groups 1 & 2!
WHAT? HRHR missions, as detailed here.
WHEN? January 15, 1916 (February 9th, OOC) onward.
ANYTHING ELSE? Planning thread here and submissions here.

A JOINT EFFORT

GROUP 1: FIGHTERS & GROUP 2: TECHNICIANS
OBJECTIVE: RETRIEVE SUPPLIES & CONTACT FRENCH SHIPS FOR EVACUATION

Groups 1 and 2 will be working together for the duration of their missions.

Group 1 is combat-focused; their objective is to locate and retrieve any supplies they can find (specifically food, medicine, and ammunition). They're also tasked with supporting Group 2.

Group 2 requires technically minded characters; their objective is to contact nearby French ships who are pulling out of Cape Helles and request their aid in evacuation. They'll need radio parts and knowledge of how to use and repair shortwave radios—or at least easily learn the ropes from anyone savvy.

Both groups are headed for an abandoned command center at the Nek, not far from their current position. However, due to the trench layout and dangerous circumstances, it'll be a tedious journey.

Characters will encounter these obstacles:

Reaching the dugout; the Regency will tail these groups the most conspicuously.
A skirmish upon arrival; it seems someone (hmmm) tipped off Turkish soldiers.
The possibility of being trapped by enemy fire.
Salvaging any supplies, without losing them in the skirmish.
Successfully repairing the damaged radios.
Transporting the radios to a nearby hill and contacting the French.
The enemy will attempt to shell the dugout, if left unattended.
Returning to Lone Pine in one piece.

TRACES OF THE REVOLUTION

The Battle of Nek was fought as part of the Gallipoli campaign in August, 1915. It was a futile bayonet attack by Australian forces on the Ottomans; losses were extremely one-sided and the bodies of many Australians remain where they died, in some places six men high.

The area has a fairly straightforward trench layout, but boasts a higher elevation. The dugout that characters are looking for is a former command center, with supplies and radio equipment abandoned in the retreat. They've survived as well as they can, but need some excavating.

Peculiarly, this area of the trenches isn't entirely Australian; the rotting uniforms, mementos, and other traces of the men who once stood this ground are French. A few letter scraps make mention of a man named Jacques Louis; provided their BCE has a French datapack installed (or they know French already), characters can learn he is captain of a ship called the Marie Antoinette and a well-respected commander in the French military. This dugout's existence is attributed to him.

GROUP 1 SUBMISSION & RESULTS

Mamoru Hijikata, Achilles, Heine Rammsteiner, Kylo Ren, Shinobu Jacobs, Mordred, Morrigan, Ryuji Sakamoto, Siegfried, Soldier: 76
SCOUTING THE AREA/FINDING THE DUGOUT

Before departing, the group will make an attempt to scout the area. Achilles is familiar with the geographical location and has supernatural speed on his side to map the area and surrounding trenches quickly, making note of impassable, difficult-to-navigate routes. Morrigan can shapeshift into a crow and can survey the potential routes from above.
Because of Grothia's warning about Regency engagement, Group 1 will be approaching with caution, and will attempt to move as covertly as possible, securing safe transport routes for future use.

Once Group 1 finds the dugout, 76 will assign rotations and ~~yell at people for slacking~~ keep everyone on task if necessary. In the interest of keeping things flexible OOCly, we don't have a concrete roster, but all characters in Group 1 will be aiding Group 2 as detailed in their submission, as well as cycling through the following tasks:

SECURING THE DUGOUT

Group 1 is composed largely of combatants and will engage the Turkish soldiers as soon as they're attacked. The goal is to drive them back to secure a defensible position at the dugout. Siegfried can provide sniper support to the operatives on the ground.
Once the dugout is secured, watch shifts and guard patrols will be added to the rotation to ensure that we can hold the position while Groups 1 and 2 salvage the dugout and sort/repair/organize supplies. Group 2 will be handling most of the equipment repair, but Group 1 is able to lend a hand when necessary. Their primary task, however, will be holding down the fort, keeping an eye on the Regency, and protecting the dugout from further Turkish attacks. Mamoru has some shades that can help him determine ballistic trajectories, potentially allowing us to pinpoint the enemy position more easily.

20/30

Scouting and securing the dugout is a close shave, but you make it barely. Enemy soldiers dog you the entire way, and you barely stay ahead of them. There are some close calls, possibly people are almost lost in the chaos, up to you! It's a tense trial, but you do make it in the end.

SUPPLY RUNS

Working in small groups, the team will make supply runs into the surrounding area to see what might be salvageable. In the interest of not being caught all together with all of the supplies, Group 1 will stagger transportation of items back to Lone Pine, making several trips back and forth along the safe routes mapped out by the scouts.
Ryuji in particular will be scavenging for medical supplies and local medicinal plants.
We've got a few "good at lifting very heavy things" types on the team, which is, you know, good for carting around lots of stuff.

22/30

The supply runs don't work as well as they could, and while it's easy enough to find supplies, it's very hard to send them back or get them where you want them to go. It's very difficult and supplies get lost in the firefight, when it becomes much safer to retreat in order to save lives.

BODYGUARDING/ESCORT MISSIONS (WITH GROUP 2)

Group 1 will assist Group 2 with equipment transport, and will provide bodyguard detail to teams setting up the radios and constructing transponders.
Points of contact have been designated as Ryuji for Group 1 and Prompto for Group 2. Mamoru will also be keeping an eye (haha) on the positioning of Turkish soldiers and relaying the information between groups accordingly.
Once the equipment is in place, Group 1 will guard both it and the Group 2 members as they contact the French.
Then we will all go back to Lone Pine except EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE REGENCY ATTACKED

30/30

Despite all the tension and difficulty getting shit in place and moving it around, once you get to the meat of the mission, things run incredibly smoothly. Guarding is easy, and you meet only the most token of resistances. Keeping in contact with other teams is smooth as hell. Getting back to Lone Pine is a cinch, if only because you sure as hell know how not to do it after all the fuckery of transporting supplies. You're actually able to recoup some losses, finding discarded supplies and a small cache of extra ammo and tinned food someone left a long time ago. Hey, it's still good; eat up.

GROUP 2 SUBMISSION & RESULTS

Eren Yeager, Rey, Prompto Argentum, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, Merlin Sawall, Armitage Hux, Prelati, Samus Aran
REYDIO REPAIR

Radio repair is split into two different groups. The first group (Rey, Ax, Samus, and Merlin) have the main radio for contact purposes, while the second (Ax, Samus, Merlin, Prompto, and anyone else who wants to lend a hand) try to get backups up and running. The second group is also working on transponders to help the signal. Everyone here actually has really high tech competency levels besides Prompto, thanks to a natural knack for it and/or sci-fi backgrounds (or fantasy, in Merlin's). Prompto's skills aren't terrible, but he's learning on the job.

Hux is in charge of group oversight, direction, and morale (lol). He will probably give a speech and get on people's cases if they aren't on task. The latter is probably more effective than the former, but hey, the guy is influential in the First Order for a reason, right?

Characters from Group 1 are helping out on the protection/combat front! Especially if they're trying to fend off Turkish soldiers during all of this.

28/30

Their radio signal comes in incredibly strong.

TRANSPORT

Transporting the radios falls on Prompto and Rey, with assistance from Ryuji and Mordred from Group 1. They'll do their best to get the equipment where it needs to go in good condition, but Rey and Mordred are getting kidnapped after they complete their parts of the mission. And Ryuji will nearly get kidnapped, because this group has really terrible luck. Prompto and Rey both can do the sneaky thing if necessary, are fairly low profile, and can passably defend themselves (Rey is better at this than Prompto, but Prompto is a normie who won't have to deal with the distraction of any power nullifiers). Ryuji and Mordred both have magic and hit pretty hard, and Mordred also can do the Heroic Spirit ghost thing, so that's useful in terms of scouting and keeping the others safe.

Meanwhile, other characters get the transponders into place! Again, everyone is very competent on the tech front and Ax, Samus, and Merlin are all more than a little combat-capable. Ax does need to morph for this and Andalites kind of stick out in WWI, but he's willing to morph if absolutely necessary (he'll just try to be sneaky about it). Samus and Merlin will be backup to the transport team, ready to rendezvous if shit goes too off the rails because of the kidnappings or other interference. Samus is super buff and super competent; Merlin is also very competent, although he relies pretty heavily on magic. Still, their skillsets are diverse and complement each other pretty well.

25/30

Characters don't lose any of their shit during transport, and aren't pinned down by enemy fire for a prolonged period of time. They even manage to actively avoid enemy fire, seeing enemy soldiers before they're spotted and ducking out of the way. Your stealth level is out of sight!

CONTACT

Prelati and Eren are our French contacts! They'll have assistance from 76 and possibly someone else from Group 1. Prelati knows French and Eren is a shounen hero, so together they should be able to wrangle something. Both of them can also easily do tech things to get the radios set up and effectively defend themselves (Prelati is on the more magical end, while Eren has regeneration and all the fun shit that comes with being a Titan shifter). And 76 is a responsible, highly capable dude with a Trilingo app.

Ryuji is also a general contact for other groups for Group 1, while Prompto is Group 2's.

29/30

In a stroke of insane luck, they manage to catch someone fluent in English manning the radio channel. In the long, clear, and in-depth conversation they're able to have, the team is put in contact with Jacques Toussant, a half-English soldier whose fluency in English is only matched with his talkativeness. He's very friendly and extremely informative, giving the characters information on the ship they're on (The Marie Antoinette) and their commander (General Jean-Louis Egalite).

HOLDING DOWN THE FORT

Hux and Kylo from Group 1 will stay behind to defend the bunker while the rest of the group is busy focusing on transport and contact. They will get shady with the Regency and Kylo will get kidnapped around this time. Hux continues to be Hux, while Kylo is an angry space wizard, so their skillsets cover each other's blind spots. How well they actually get along is debatable, but hey, common goals.

10/30

However, things fall apart a little when you have to hold down the fort. You've got a few options, here. One, you can have characters get trapped inside and need rescue from another team. Two, you can have the attack happen and need to leave and lose some supplies in the escape. Three, you can fight fire with fire and sustain some serious injuries / losses. Feel free to combine all options, or do whatever works for you! It's not a total drag-out failure, you're just discovered by enemy soldiers (Regency or otherwise or both, up to you) and the spot you're in isn't safe anymore. War, huh? What is it good for?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[This is what it is like to still be a civilian. To still be naive, innocent. To not know war. Ax, suddenly, feels that he would do anything to preserve it.

Anything.]

You should go.

[Ryuji doesn't need to do this, to witness this. He can still yet survive with his innocence intact. Ax can do this, as he has done many things to spare the consciences of his human friends.

This is hardly the worst thing he's ever done.

But he knows humans, and Ryuji won't listen to mere words. This is a risk, and Ax knows it, but some things are worth more than the mission and this is one of them. This is the fundamental thing he has always fought to protect, the innocence of others. The freedom of others. The ability to leave a peaceful life.

So he directs a thought-speak suggestion at Ryuji, as subtle as he can make it, in the hope that Ryuji will take will take it as his own impulse. So that Ax can do what must be done and spare any questions.]

<Go.>

[Having heard Mordred talk in his mind before, this feels... different in a way. For some reason, he feels compelled to listen to it, and for a moment, his attention is diverted to Ax in an incomprehensible sort of way. He can't pin it on the other for doing that, but it felt off, displaced, like something he didn't natively think to himself.

Ryuji doesn't know about his own innocence. He lives every day in this mess of a conflict on the edge of just going through the trials of just keeping his heart together; nothing comes easy to him. He presumes, albeit probably incorrectly, that he's just as damned as all the soldiers here. No better than them. No wiser, stronger, smarter. It's a coin flip- the man beneath him could've very well been him. Maybe it's not innocence that's been lost, but just that notions all teenagers develop at some point in their lives before something from reality plucks it out as a thought and crushes it. That he's invincible.

Swallowing, hard, his brows furrow inward, pleading against Ax, almost hurt in a way. There's no time left. Every second longer that this person remains alive under him in a moment that he's in pain. He looks down at his own hands one last time. It should be his own that ends this life, if he was completely inept at saving him.

He gets up, defeated. Ryuji can't see eye to eye with Ax on this.]

Y...you're gonna. Shit.

[And he backs away, turning from Ax, still covered neck down in someone else's blood. His knees feel weak, his heart heavy, and he's absolutely sure of one thing. No one's invincible.]

[Ax isn't sure whether or not it's worked; humans' reaction to thought-speak has always been inconsistent. But he knows know that it's not too late for Ryuji to remain as he is, the way that it is too late for Aximili.]

<Go.>

[He repeats himself, in case that repetition will drive it through Ryuji's skull. His gaze is back onto the dying soldier, regardless, and he fingers his standard-issue pistol in preparation.

A crude weapon. But the only thing he has, here, without exposing himself. And this man did not ask for this; this boy deserves mercy.]

<I will take care of it.>

[A second and third time that Ax reaches into his head- the sound haunting and unreasonably convicted- he knows what is going to happen the second he's out of earshot. He tries to cope with the reality of it, but is left to a bitter resignation of his inability to do anything, even this last task to stop the pain and suffering that he couldn't revitalize.

And so he listens, heavy heartedly. He looks down at the soldier one last time and hightails it, running, far away. He wants to hate Ax for doing this, he wants to yell at him and rip him a new one, but a part of him doesn't have it in him to stick around to do that. With so low mana reserves, so little willpower left in him to argue about it, and the creeping knowledge that he's right... there's nothing else to do.

When he gets to wherever it is he's heading toward, he crouches and sits up against a mud wall, looking up at the sky for an answer that won't ever be provided to him. He listens, although he shouldn't, for the sound of a gunshot in the distance, and closes his eyes.

And he thinks about how much hate he has in his heart for anyone that would suggest war as a means to an end.]

GROUPS 1 & 2: War, what is it good for.

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