It's pouring down as hard as ever, but the mist and rain do little to hide what's finally in front of her. ( The Temple of Karma.Collapse )

Okay, peeps! It sounds like we're going to have an Embryon centric meeting this coming weekend. (after the 4th of July and all celebrations with that, for those of us that live in the states. So we're looking at July 6-8 for possible chat times.)

Bring your plot and character proposals, and some nachos. (A drink of choice is also acceptable.) We'll likely be discussing personal character arcs, Portland and Junkyard oriented events, and anything else that springs to mind.

Is there a certain time or day that would be good for everyone? I'm good for just about any time.

EDIT: Alright, everyone. It looks like we're schedualed to start on Saturday (July 7th) at about 7:00/7:30ish, Pacific time. Any objections, then speak now!

It's been decided there is need for a group chat so we can all get our ducks in a row! Post the soonest time you are available to be on AIM so we can do this crazy thing. Tomorrow is the soonest, but is not THE time it needs to happen if you wouldn't be able to make it.

To get things started, I'm going to pretty much be available this entire weekend, everyday, from 3 to 11, Alaska time. What about you?

Okay, so it's starting to look like tomorrow at 8 PM, West Coast Time, is looking good. Any objections or problems? Speak up!

I'm amazed at how much work I can get done with a shiny new 512MB stick of RAM and no internet~ as such! Digital Devil Saga icons for ze group~

[4] Roland
[3] Argilla
[1] Heat/Agni
[3] Serph/Varna
[1] Dissemination Machine

( moar icons!Collapse )

The Embryon's strategist is currently perched on the edge of a Convenient Nexus Landmark, nursing a purchased cup of tea*. All manner of glimmering coinage from countless worlds coats the bottom of the landmark's fountain; Gale's hard put to find many he recognizes in the mix. He digs some change from his pocket, and flicks a penny in. Superstition? No. Just an impulse. Something to pass the time, and if they glean any luck for it, all the better.

He watches the bright copper settle at the bottom, and waits for his comrade to arrive at this designated meeting spot.
________
* The java jacket reads: "The Nexus Café: Drink easy! LOL-free beverages guaranteed!"

Really, it's a miracle he'd gotten out of there alive. It was chaos; survivors, Tuners, failed experiments running for their lives. Explosions, ceilings collapsing, all of his research... destroyed. He'd managed to nab a few crucial notes, though. They're folded and tucked safely in the pocket inside of his jacket.

There was no other place to return to after the destruction of his labs, aside from the stadium. He could smell that strong, metallic scent of blood before he even got into the area where most of the carnage was.

He stops mid-step when he sees a familiar blonde woman laying in the middle of it all. Thankfully, she's alive... barely. But it's better than nothing.

"Zlata..." The doctor whispers, and runs over to her. He carefully steps over bodies and half-devoured limbs.

"Oh, god..." He kneels down next to her and turns her over so he can get a better look at the damage.


((Nexustime LOL'd to right after the DDS plot. Shay has escaped from the collapsing laboratories and come to find his right-hand woman beat up in the stadium. And, yeah. Stuff.))

Hey all, I figured I'd go on ahead and post a nice little message here to let you all know of an upcoming DDS-centric thread. Myself and Carter's-mun have talked about posting a thread relating to the whole 'evacuating Old Portland scene'.

For anyone who's interesting in posting/playing along, we've decided on making a thread sometime Wed. evening at The Dreamlands community [insert link here.] It's not mandatory for a pup to show, but any of you guys who want to get involved are welcomed.

Any question, comments, or concerns can be sent via IM [which in is the profile], email [DrkSatiR@aol.com], or you can just leave a post here and I'll respond as soon as I can. Thanks guys.

Gale, as per habit, compiles the following report after the successful completion of the mission.

( Gale's Debriefing ReportCollapse )

He also leaves the following note, handwritten on the handiest piece of paper (which happened to be a yellowing, stained 3x5 card, with a recipe for "Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies" written on one side.)

Now that the situation has sufficiently stabilized, I have departed to see to the resolution of another matter within Portland. I will return shortly.

-- Gale

(( Feel free to add comments as you guys see fit -- either a narrative of what your character did during this process, responses to the report, post-battle celebration and/or discussion and/or treatment of wounds, etc. etc. ))

Alright, DDS homegirls (and homeboy), I've come to see that plot interest is waning among several parties -- and as GM I'm being repeatedly hit with life, making me more or less unavailable to advance things and/or stuff -- so my thought was just making a massive ficpost to cover the rest of the events, and providing the opportunity for everyone to post comments covering what their character did in the process.

This will effectively unplotlock all characters, bringing the canon to a point where all the prisoners are safely in Old Portland, and the place is still up for visiting. We can still do a bite-sized post/thread in the future to move refugees to the world Carter supplied, if anyone would like. Also, the EGG plot, I imagine could come up too, as another bite-sized morsel.

So, all in favor, say "aye"?

The sewers underneath Karma City seem to be reminiscent of catacombs than anything. Remains of both, demons and creatures somewhere in between litter the area; bones on the side walkways are picked clean by various scavengers, and there are other remains stinking and rotting in the water. The stench is unbearable.

It's easy enough to find the entrance to the Internment Facility's underground laboratories. Follow the trail of blood and body parts. Claw marks gouged into the wall, shattered lights and bloody smears show signs of struggles long since passed.

The laboratory itself is in a horrible state. Fresh corpses still litter the floor, and what lights are still left spark and flicker intermittently. Machines are torn apart, their pieces strewn about. The heavy doors leading to the autopsy, storage and specimen rooms are electronically locked, thankfully.

"All right, you guys go on in." One of the Lokapala on the team says, fishing out an extra radio. He hands it to Serph. "We'll stay here and guard the entrance. Let us know when you're coming down with the survivors."

And with that, the five accompanying Lokapala spread out. Two near the sewer entrance, two to the prison entrance, and one to neutralize any possible threads in the laboratory itself.

There's several sets of footsteps echoing in the halls outside of Victoria's cell. They come to a stop in front of the heavy iron door, chattering amongst themselves as the guard searches for the correct key.

"A shame our only machine was destroyed during the last infection." A voice says. There's a familiar grunt of agreement from another person outside, and the door opens.

"Well, here she is, Doc." The Rose Garden guard says, stepping aside to let Shay and Zlata in. "What've you got planned, with that case and all?"

"So typical of you to ask stupid questions." The dark-haired man sneers and pushes up his glasses. He pats the blue rose in his lab coat's brest pocket, then looks to the woman sitting in the far corner of the cell. "But, to answer it, we are simply giving a gift to the Lokapala, in return for their wonderful contribution to my research."

The guard scratches his head, shrugs and closes the door once Shay and Zlata are inside.

"Zlata, grab her." Shay says, obviously not caring that Vic is doubled over, feverish, delirious and mumbling incoherently.

Through the binoculars, Gale spies the pristine, white statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by the mottled, penitent effigies who came to die under her unblinking gaze. ( This is the Grotto.Collapse )

(( Nexus, LOL'd to before the rescue mission and just after Gale met with Roland and Argilla. ))

The trick was making sure surveillance didn't catch Alpha team emerging from the Underwater Cable. Cameras that had been installed to monitor the hatch had to be hacked and fed a dummy loop. It was simple enough -- the Society didn't have a strong encryption on their surveillance system, figuring the Lokapala lacked the technology to tap into it.

The real maintenance crew was contacted by their "employer" (aka the Lokapala). They were contracted technicians living in Karma City. All it took was a call to said personnel to inform them the appointment was postponed. Who'd argue with a day off?

Now, the "maintenance crew" have their ID cards scanned and verified by the Society guards on duty. A little of Vic's Rodor gas has adjusted technicolor hair to something within the normal, human spectrum and uniforms hide Atma marks. The team looks admirably...normal.

Beep....beebeep. Pause. Beep....beep...beebeep. Each card is confirmed in turn, and the photos are matched to the three men and one woman.

"Go on in," the guard says, waving lazily. It's been a slow day. Days really. The Lokapala hasn't tried much of anything in weeks.

Roland, Argilla, Gale, and Heat enter a warehouse full of boxes, cans, crates...Heat was given a "toolbox" that...actually contains tools, interestingly enough, as well as the C4 and a few Claymores in a hidden compartment along the very bottom. The team lacks firearms at the moment, but they have better weapons, to be sure. Otherwise, it's procure on site.

( Preparations...Collapse )

He leaves a note, and a sheaf of papers tacked in an obvious location:

Serph, Heat, Argilla, Cielo, Sera, Roland...

I have gone to attend to a matter on the surface that should take no longer than several hours. In the unlikely event that I do not return in a timely manner, I have included explicit notes on the strategy that might be employed to successfully rescue the prisoners in the Internment Facility.

Requisite supplies are gathered in my office.

My apologies,
Gale

As the note explains, painstakingly detailed outlines -- some ten pages (front and back) long -- are attached. They include plan A's through plan G's depending on how the situation might change. How to effectively use their numbers and the layout of the facility if the Karma Society retaliates with a larger force, how to recover if any step in the original plan fails.

He takes his assault rifle, a pair of binoculars, and leaves the Underground City at 9:30 am, with every intention of being back in time for dinner.

(( He can theoretically be stopped to talk on his way out, but he's going to be kind of curt to anyone that does. Just a little upset. And to clarify, this doesn't affect the rescue. Subplot. He'll be back. ))

Okay, here's the current plans for the plot: Threading will start on Thursday, July 6th at roughly 8PM Alaska Time (-9GMT). Convert accordingly, peeps. I'd like to get this arc done within a few days, seeing that it's not that huge. Let's get it done, out of the way, and regroup from there.

Alpha Team, like before will set explosives and neutralize major threats.
-- Will infiltrate via disguise -- maintenance workers doing a regularly scheduled check on the machinery before production begins. They will first set the C4 on the upper level machinery, then proceed to the control room on the very lower level where they will set a trap for the Jailer (claymore mines) and a tripwire. Jailer will be severely wounded, and Alpha Team will still need to fight him.
**This team consists of: Gale, Cielo, Argilla and Heat.

Beta Team will focus on releasing, gathering and defending prisoners.
-- After Alpha Team has done their work, Beta Team will infiltrate via a lower-level entry (namely, access through the sewers/labs used by the Rose Garden). This is also how they'll transport the prisoners back to the Underground City. Once all of the prisoners have been moved, the sewer access will be destroyed. During this process, Beta Team will fight off several Society guards, and imprisoned Tuners-gone-crazy.
**This team consists of: Serph, Roland, Sera, Jor and Adil.

There will be separate posts for each teams and once their missions are complete, events will happen the end of each post. It's a secret (until the time comes), but it will result in elevated suspense/urgency to get out. There will be new posts for each group to get out of the Internment Facility and underground labs. At the end of all this, either GM will throw up a finale thread where the groups all rendezvous at Old Portland for a big group "okay, what do we do now" (the answer being: patch up refugees, get them to the safe new world via portals, tie up any loose threads other characters have going).

As of now, this is the plan. GMs will get working on the plot posts and will prod you guys along and do our own postings within the threads. If you have any questions or ideas to bring up, contact me on AIM at "tentarafoo" or Gale-mun at "Vayavia."