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

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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

[Gun he calls out, and Siegfried turns, eyes just noticing the blaster aimed for him before the trigger is pulled. He's halfway headed towards the agent when it connects, slamming into his left shoulder and causing a burn where he was hit. There's a hiss at that, but it's minimal, and Siegfried uses the drawback to shove himself forward with a good amount of speed behind him. The agent fires again, the blaster shot nicking against Siegfried's cheekbone. It leaves a scrape in its wake, one where someone would have easily bled or possibly damaged far more, were it a normal human.

He crosses the gap between them quickly, noticing how his powers weaken the closer he gets. The instant he gets on top of the Regency fool, everything is gone, and he's completely human- but that doesn't stop him from taking the bayonet in his hands and swiping it cleanly right across his face. There's spatter on his arms and he wishes that the blade was cleaner, easier to work with. This feels too gruesome even for him.

Siegfried pulls back as the agent covers his eyes just for a moment in recovery, head aiming back towards Mamoru.]

Now!

[In the past few days, Mamoru has been observing the soldiers brawling, rested in hidden spots in the trenches, listening to conversations that had gone through in the public access of the comms system that COST had given him. He has heard - more than he has seen - the hitch of breath by brass and private before the rustle of wiping a tear at crucifixes knifed into sandbags [pictures and letters he couldn't see, couldn't read], the quick twist of fabric and soles as they made sure no one had noticed. The battle cries of those who decided to jump out of the trenches out of vengeance, duty, despair, the sheer need to get out of there as soon as possible. The thuds after the sound of flesh tearing, bone breaking. The insults and threats thrown between brothers in arms, to those who already grasping at straws, trying to goad them into a few more heartbeats, if anything, for their comradery. The heavy silence, filling the void between artillery in the distance, when their breath stops.

While set to his own ways, detached from the context, focused on his mission, Mamoru is far from being immune to any of it. The twist in his gut, the flutter underneath his sternum, his breath stuttering whenever he paused to take a deep breath whenever he released his mask for a couple of seconds. It all has been a charged, emotional affair. He has allowed himself to feel everything, assessed his own thoughts, urges. He let those roll off his back, but only after they seeped in, crawled up his spine, heated his head.

It makes this moment all the more clear to him. His thoughts, about the Regency, COST, peace, war, white and grey matter, which had been running through his mind, cleared. The air, warm, sour and damp until then, felt crisp, as if it fed more oxygen to his lungs than before.

He is vaulting even before he catches himself thinking about it, his legs are moving and he knows where his feet are going to land, how the ankles connecting to them will bend to accommodate to the ground, before they do. He can tell, before Siegfried lands a hit, even before he raises his arms to slash a cut, the motion he will make, because it's the one he would do as well. He needs to bring this to an end quickly, their window is getting smaller.

When all blips to blackness, he already knows where to aim, how to push. He just wishes the anatomy of this Regency representative is similar to human as he uses the momentum to wedge the blade between ribs - catching lung, liver, kidney, maybe gallbladder - feeling the blade stick into the side of the soldier. He thinks he can catch the scent of bile and acid, but he knows it's just his own in the back of his palate. He does hear the blood drip. That, is not his own.]

Edited (omg sorry for this tl;dr i am embarrassed ) 2018-02-24 20:01 (UTC)

[Perhaps one of the most familiar things this entire war has been despair. Despair, grief, the need and the will to survive. He is no stranger to them, having led armies so long ago, that even a millenia after, some things don't change. Siegfried remembers encouraging the soldier's spirits, eyes bright and hopeful as he rode on a horse, speaking about victory. He remembers seeing the broken bodies and dulled eyes of those he led to their deaths, a bitter copper tang in his mouth that never truly left. He remembers men killing others for the first time, experiencing death and how it sometimes broke them then and there, rendering them useless as a swath of others came for their lives.

There are many familiar things within this war- and none of them are ones Siegfried would call himself "fond" of. But war is war, and regardless of the era, it does not change, not entirely. Even in the pointlessness of waiting, he has found comfort in some aspects that remind him of home.

Mamoru is bounding towards the agent before Siegfried even looks back to him, and the sound of a blade puncturing flesh is so prominent he almost double-takes for a split instant, thinking Mamoru has been injured. But the agent instead writhes at the attack like a fish on a hook, and Siegfried flips the bayonet in his hand, jabbing it straight into the enemy's neck. A garbled gurgle emits from behind the mask, and Siegfried twists the bayonet further, brings it to dig deeper- enough so that with enough force, the blade breaks in his hands. Blood spurts enough that it sprays onto part of his face, and the Regency agent's knees buckle. He doesn't know if it's enough, can't take a moment to really call out to Mamoru- he can only hold onto the broken blade and and pray that with the right amount of force and time, he'll bleed out.

As he is now, it's all he has. He hopes it's enough.]

[The final strike is happening before him in his mind.

It's not difficult to picture it in his head. In would have even been easy to lay it out dramatically as a kabuki play, or an old samurai film, blood special effects spraying obnoxiously to the air. In the confines of his mind, no one would say anything about it.

Yet with Mamoru's experience, nothing would beat the rawness of the real thing as it is. The breath of this soldier before the slick twist of the other blade turning, hitching at the last second, the stab through the neck that would have been muted had the jagged metal not scraped against bone - collarbone? - before following its course. The gurgle, the grit of teeth faltering as blood drips against a tactical uniform.

The twist, the subtle pang as the metal bends before it breaks, the jolt of motion at the sudden lack of support from the guy beside him.

He keeps his own blade in its place, the twisting and turning of the body before them making more harm than good, tilting the bayonet as it moves.

He hears the soldier breathe in, bubbling sickly. The last defiance - he'd rather drown himself than make the both of them his killers. The whole thing is enough to make anyone's stomach churn. Mamoru feels the killing intent oozing from him even as life escapes him, until the very end.

Bastard, he can't help thinking in a bout of ill-placed empathy.

And the world is back to black and red gridwork. That's a sign of it being over if anything. He jerks the blade back, the body falling dully on the ground now without the thing that supported it upright. Mamoru shakes the blood off of it, folds his arm to wipe in on the fabric of his inner elbow.

A glance, finally taking in this impromptu ally.]

You injured?

[There is nothing quite like a killing blow, and every time it happens, Siegfried remembers. He remembers when he first picked up a sword at the age of seven, the knights behind him gently guiding his hands as he used the wooden blade to feel how it weighed in his hands. He remembers donning the armor needed to train as a squire, the endless hours spent walking and fighting and training and fighting even more to get used to carrying the metal on his shoulders and knowing when and where to hit. When he was older he learned how to strike an enemy from a horse, to trample them underfoot as he charged fearlessly through battle, to guide his ride through troubled grounds and when to dismount and fight others on foot. Even when he was knighted, he remembered the battles he fought in, the ones he led. The faces who looked up to him as their hero, their trump card that would undoubtedly lead them to victory and perhaps even beyond that; one day, as their king.

As for this... there is honor in this killing, but the death holds nothing but bitterness and jagged anger against his prevailers. It cuts into Siegfried for a second before it gets shoved aside, an understanding of survival versus justice, and it bothers him. He has no time to think about it, however, as the body slumps forward, finally. Resting as it should, the nullifier dying just as quickly as its wearer has. Already, Siegfried has forgotten about the blood that trails on part of his face and hair, only realizing that it's still present when Mamoru calls out to him. He blinks, one hand wiping what he can off before he speaks.]

No, I'm fine.

["Fine" coming from a man who had a bullet ricochet off his cheek and barely settle in his shoulder. Yes, sure, he's fine. His immortality will take care of any healing once they get out of this mess.]

You?

[His toes grind a little harder into the ground beneath them as Mamoru twists just a little at his waist. A soft metal sound precedes the silvery silence of a blade being unhooked at the back of his hip, and then lobbed carefully through the air for Siegfried to catch. He had broken his own bayonet, after all - shitty manufacturing and no artistry for the sake of massification, like everything in this war, and he is not surprised.]

Good. [He grits out,

and if it's an appreciation that Siegfried is "fine" - whatever fine means after being shot at without much of a fuss - or a reply about his own state, there's not much time to deliberate on.

Because Mamoru is swiping at Siegfried the moment his fingers touch his spare blade, high and wide but gaining momentum; a lethal helmet splitter if he doesn't stop him.]

[For Siegfried, the motion of the other tossing him a bayonet is a surprise, but it's not unwelcome. Though it's not a good blade by any means, it's still something familiar to him compared to guns. He easily catches it, one hand going to fasten it back to his rifle, lying nearby-

And then Mamoru lunges at him without so much as a warning.

Siegfried's wrist twists like a viper's suddenly as he notices, and he digs in his feet for Mamoru's assault. His own bayonet counters the incoming weapon with ease, fast and precise for where he stops it, palm against the base of the blade for an extra measure in keeping it there. Eyes narrowed, he keeps the other there, teeth grit from the sudden change in demeanor between them.

Whoever this man is, he's fast, and from the way he nearly pounced on him, this is not something that isn't unfamiliar in the slightest.]

Drop your blade. [He has no time to deal with this, they need to get back to the rest of the group.] I'm not your enemy!

[The grind of metal against metal sounds like a shrill, tuneless string instrument. The surface of the seeming smooth surfaces accusing the tiny dents they carry, creating new ones from the pressure of their coinciding weights.

The cacophony is like harmony to his ears. The stance, the way this guy had moved to the utmost efficiency to bring the Regency grunt down - a calculating fighter, regardless of skill. Able to twist a fatal blow into a standstill without much thought.

Were Mamoru not in the middle of a swordfight, he would have laughed. As is, too focused to even give him an opening, he presses further. ] And...?

[He'd expected one of two things, really; that either Mamoru would continue to push on the offensive and strike elsewhere, or to back off after he was told. The fact that he does neither confirms something relatively quickly- not to mention that his own casual reply only helps to solidify it. Mamoru is not seeking an all-out fight. Or maybe he is. But Siegfried believes that this is mostly a test- a test of skill, of wits, all while still fighting as much as possible.

Were they not in Gallipoli and just gotten out of fighting a Regency agent, he'd be more appreciative and push right back.

Siegfried actually pulls after a moment, letting Mamoru's weight come closer to him while aiming to grab his wrist. Even if he misses and the blade strikes him, it's going to feel like metal striking against rock. He frowns.]

That's enough. [Why are you like this, Mamoru.] We don't have the time for this. We need to get back to our group.

[Knock it off.]

[While the pull is unexpected, Mamoru's eyes widening a little bit at the motion, he tries to read Sieg's intent - it's not hostile, at all. In fact, other than the fact that he's angry and a little surprised, this guy seems to have no design towards fighting back.

At least on the surface. Who knows, with the right strings pulled.

It kind of pisses him off. Just a little.

So he twists the hold on the grip, reaches with his other hand to hold the blade and swipes it downwards, pushing the other sword with it, except...

... not aiming at Siegfried anymore. With his other wrist in Siegfried's hand, it's probably a good thing that he can't see the grin that has slipped into Mamoru's lips.

The insolent tone of his voice, though. That's easy to get.] Hah. 'lready saw what I needed t'see.

[Siegfried watches Mamoru shift in holding the blade, notices it point down and away from him, and exhales. He frowns, noting the other's tone, and how it only seems to add to his irritation. However, he doesn't push back, he simply yanks Mamoru's wrist away for a long second, studying him, before letting go.]

You make terrible choices of who to fight.

[Said with annoyance in his voice, but he doesn't turn his back on him. Considering this man just openly attacked him, and that turning would reveal his weakness where he could strike, he's not about to be a fool.

If Mamoru wants a killing intent, he's going to have to try a lot harder- and more than likely, he'll still fail trying to get it. Siegfried is not a man who harbors that intent often, if at all.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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

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I hope you're ready for tl;dr

i love the smell of teel in the morning. Also, I am so gomen.

MAMORU NO

MAMORU YES

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SIGHS ETERNALLY