riverviewlogs | exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

Entry tags:

exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

who: everyone in Riverview!
what: exploration mingle: rescue mission!
when: June 15 - August 15
where: The River Structure
warnings: violence and/or torture; please put any necessary warnings in the subject lines

captivity

One of the major and most highly-valued cultural concepts in Riverview is that of exploration, expansion. Especially now that, with the recent influx of new arrivals, as the portal kicks into high gear for reasons not entirely known, the Inhabited City, already comfortably full, is rapidly becoming overpopulated. With all the refugees from other worlds pouring in from day to day, the city's safe space and resources are being taxed to their breaking point.

Right now, exploration and expansion is key, and each month, the government has decided to focus on a particular objective, in order to unite citizens in expanding, securing, and supplying the city for everyone's benefit.

the story so far

Exploration & Expansion Progress Report ● The Guardians of the Deep ● What Lies Beneath ● Plotting & Questions

After some serious flooding at the banks of the river, the cause was discovered to be the Guardians of the Deep, creatures protecting a circular labyrinthine structure underneath the river. Residents of the city explored and mapped the structure, and dealt with a good portion of the traps and other dangers, until they found a little piece of history in the Central Chamber of the structure, revealing that it was inhabited by the first people to live on the moon.

While this news has been exciting scholars and historians in the city, something a little more pressing has been bothering the average citizen - an ever-increasing number of missing persons. People have simply been disappearing all over the city, and only now are residents starting to realize why...

how it works

● Phases: Each prompt is a different phase of the operation. Characters may partake in whichever part of the operation they choose, whether it is a large and prominent part, or a more of a backseat or support role. Characters may participate in as many phases as they wish.

● Completion: When next month's exploration mingle goes up, the mission featured on this exploration mingle will be considered complete, and game canon, providing the entry has 200+ comments on it.

● Entry Reward: The reward for completion of this month's exploration objective will be...well, the safe return of everyone who was kidnapped. And some sweet hurt/comfort.

● IMPORTANT NOTE: Having observed how the pacing of exploration mingles has been going and how they are tagged, I have noticed that posting one exploration mingle each month has been a little hectic, both plotwise and for me as a mod (writing three mingles a month has been tough!). I have decided to space them out a bit further, and post an exploration mingle once every two months, starting with this one - the next exploration mingle will be posted in August!

phase i: the abducted

People don't simply go missing, they don't disappear into thin air, they have to be somewhere. And while those who are missing people keep frantically searching, those who have been kidnapped are the only ones besides the kidnappers who do know where they are.

Abducted by a group who have taken up residence in the structure under the city after last month's exploration died down, the missing are trapped in the Central Chamber, in fear of the kidnappers. Their abductors are a group of people that is starting to slowly take on cultist tendencies, believing that the remaining spirits of the First People still live in the structure, that it is a temple, and that those First People need offerings of host bodies to inhabit so they can return and bring their wisdom and magic back to the moon. Things are getting a little hairy - there's no agreement among the kidnappers as to how 'intact' the host bodies have to be and whether or not the sacrifice is in the form of alive or dead captives. Even worse, some of the kidnappers are only with the group to enjoy having power over others and using it to hurt them.

Captives are held in the Central Chamber of the structure, with next to no amenities. Blankets, food, water, and other necessities are in short supply, and they are kept huddled together, constantly guarded and either restrained, wearing or in the presence of a power suppressor to keep them subdued. But the captives haven't lost hope - they are working on getting a message out, finding a way to contact the outside world so their loved ones can rescue them...

This prompt is to play out interactions among the captives before they are rescued, and may include violence or other character suffering. It is also to enact plotted plans for the abductees to find connections with the outside world to summon help.

phase ii: distraction and infiltration

Once would-be rescuers become aware of where the captives are being held, they start making plans to rescue them - whether someone they love has been taken, they're just a good person, or they just want to feel like a big damn hero, there are lots of people willing to take the plunge and jump into the rescue. But the cult group has been in control of the structure for a while now, they definitely have the home team advantage. They know the lay of the land and where the traps are, and have used some of them to their own advantage.

It's not going to be as easy as storming the castle.

There are two parts to this phase of the rescue: a distraction and an infiltration. Distractions are planned to draw as many of the kidnappers away from the hostages being held in the Central Chamber as possible, while those who are stealthily infiltrating will try to find another entrance into the chamber so they can surprise and surround the remaining kidnappers.

This prompt is to play out any plans for distraction and infiltration. If you have plotted something out on the plotting post, feel free to post up a header for specific groups for threading rather than an individual character top-level.

phase iii: the brawl and after

Distractions only last so long, unfortunately, and so eventually the whole thing is going to break down into a big fight. Rescuers versus kidnappers, on the kidnappers' home turf, and surrounded by traps left over from the First People, while pieces of stationary tech throw out auras and waves of power suppression. It's going to be a doozy of a fight, so prepare for an epic throwdown!

And once the dust settles, there's going to be a lot of injuries to tend to, a lot of people traumatized and hurt and frightened. A lot of hungry, suffering people will need to be transported out, given medical care, and brought supplies.

This prompt is to play out the final fight between the kidnapping cult and the rescuers, as well as anything in the aftermath of the fight.

phase iv: wildcard

Have an idea for a mission-adjacent plot, or want to make up an unexpected plot twist or problem and solve it with your character? Just write up a starter, and don't forget to give yourself props by submitting it for the Progress Report.

navigation
[Asterion - Environment Art: Ariadne's Forest by Nicolas Mendoza]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No.

[Breq's answer is instantaneous, even with the strained lines etched around her mouth. Her forearm is going to be bruised impressively tomorrow, but that's hardly worthy of the hospital, even if it does hurt so much at the moment that her teeth ache.

She looks up and away from the wall only to blink at the Tetherer and the sparkling galaxy surrounding them. A moment to reorient, to realize that they aren't just the result of her eyes playing tricks on her. Moments later, she's trying to level herself upright again.]

It's just-- this leg.

[They lean against the wall by Breq, galaxy-like Tether largely forgotten behind them.

The Tetherer wants to check her leg, but they have no idea how to go about doing so. Their hand hovers near Breq, wanting to help her, but not knowing what to do.]

You hurt your leg? Or was it...

[Already damaged?]

You need to rest. Don't-- Don't stand.

An old injury. I just need a moment.

[Stubbornly, Breq is trying to level herself up already, though she's not having an especially good time of it, even ignoring the tetherer's hovering hands as she is.]

I can rest it once the evacuations are complete.

If it was already damaged long ago, you need to ensure you don't strain it beyond its capacity. It's okay. I'm helping evacuate.

[It doesn't need attention, Breq wants to say. Instead, she bites her tongue on it.]

I won't leave the cave until the victims have been seen to first. I'll keep.

...Then... can you guard this Tether with me? I'm not a fighter.

[They nod over to the tiny floating galaxy-like thing. A Tether. It swirls in place, active.]

I set it up so people can exit more quickly from the inside. It's important the kidnappers do not use it.

[It has all the trappings of simply busywork to get her to rest, but when Breq tries to shift again, the ache in her hip makes itself painfully known. In the end, she grits her teeth and gives a jerky nod.]

Is it not easily shut down?

Oh, not at all. At least, not where I'm from. Only I or another god can dismiss a Tether. Interacting with it will simply transport a person through it.

[Of course, there's also the matter of why they couldn't do this in the first place.]

...Unless the enemies use one of those power dampener things. But I can set one up in another location as long as I'm not hit by the blockers.

Not so much like a gate, then.

[Gates are finicky things. But that makes this more dangerous-- if the cultists were to get close to it, they could create a lot of havoc. The statistical likelihood of them getting through to the tether is low, but it's still a precaution that should be taken.]

Those are a menace.

What's a gate?

[As far as interdimensional travel goes, the only thing they're aware of with the ability is a Tether. They're sure other worlds out there must have other forms of teleportation, though, at least, but nothing with the power they have.

Or the power they would have, were they back home and not here, where their Nature is not as far-reaching.]

A space-warping technology. Static gates are placed between systems to shorten travel times. There are a few ships that are capable of generating their own gates, though the process is considered riskier.

[Not that the ships she knows would take those risks without being ready for them, but sometimes it could be necessary to move without knowing all the variables in the necessary calculations.]

I see. Tethers are how we link the worlds to one another, and keep track of the... nigh-endless amount of them out there. I used to be able to travel anything between worlds in a blink, so... it appears gates are a little more limited.

Yes. Considering the complications of coming out of gate space, it's for the best.

[Keeping track of as many gates as they attribute to tethering would make even Justice of Toren feel overwhelmed at the processing, Breq thinks.]

[They nod.]

It's odd, not to have the hum of all those Tethers in the back of my brain. I could feel them all, when I really concentrated. The links between.

[They pause, suddenly.]

Someone's approaching the other side.

I believe I can understand that.

[In a way, at least. She can imagine it being something like being aware of her Ancillaries, as Justice of Toren, even if that's no longer an experience she can contextualize.

Breq tenses, preparing to push herself to her feet at the warning, even though she's forced to stop before she can get more than an inch or two off of the ground.]

What can you tell about that someone?

[Their eyes grow distant, as they try to concentrate on the faraway Tether.]

They're wielding a weapon of some sort.

[Pinpointing details through a Tether is an art, and though they're practiced at it, they're certainly not the world-monitoring station computers at the Nexus that exist to harness this sort of power of the Tetherers throughout history.]

It's... a bludgeoning weapon. They're injured, using it as a walking stick. I can't make out their face just yet...

[Important details, if Breq is going to have to attack this person, though it doesn't give her the most important of those details-- whether that's something she should be preparing to do so or not.]

I wasn't monitoring those going through. Did you see someone of that description, guard or civilian, being transported?

[Breq doesn't think she remembers anyone with a club or the like being with the guard during the fighting, but she wasn't everywhere, evaluating everything. She's only one body now, after all.]

Not that I've seen.

[Through their Tether, they concentrate harder on trying to identify them. It's like trying to make out details in darkness. Their eyes have to adjust, and even then, details are hard to pick out, colors are muted...

Until they're very close. Only now, the Tetherer can say with certainty that this was one of the kidnappers.]

It's an enemy!

[And, on cue, an injured cultist blinks into existence at the site of the Tether.]

[It's not much of a warning, exactly, not when the Tetherer can't know for certain until it's almost too late. Except that, wary as she is, Breq is just waiting for the call to come one way or another.

She can't push herself upright to tackle the cultist properly, not with her hip still giving her dangerous twinges in protest. Nor does she want to just shoot, not with the Tetherer right next to her. So, in the split seconds she has to decide, Breq comes up with a plan-- and executes it.

First, she kicks hard at the cultist's ankle. Whether or not it's the thing causing them to limp, she doesn't care. Instants later, she has the gun drawn and pointed at the cultist.]

Don't move. I can shoot faster than you can get away.

[Her voice is eerily blank, as is her expression, except for the intensity in her eyes. She doesn't look away from the cultist even as she directs the next part to the Tetherer.]

Are there any more?

[The Tetherer watches the cultist go down to one knee at the kick and covers their mouth to keep from yelling out. The cultist themself is eerily quiet.

The Tetherer isn't paying attention to Breq's words at first, and doesn't say anything for a moment, but then they realize the question was directed at them and they slowly remove their hands from their mouth.]

N-No... They were alone.

Good.

[Leaning forward, Breq starts going over the cultist, first pulling their weapon away, then looking for any other suspicious articles on their person. Finally, she pulls their arms behind their back, to start tying their wrists together. All of it, she does with ease and familiarity, despite her incapacitated leg.]

There wasn't much noise, [She tells the Tetherer.] Can you check if that caught anyone else's attention? This one needs to go into custody.

[The cultist doesn't say anything. Why aren't they saying anything?

At least she's bringing them into custody rather than killing them. Others might not be so merciful.

The Tetherer nods, fear making their movements jerky, and they hurry to scout around the area and check if anyone seems to be alerted to their position.

It's at the moment they are distracted the cultist, noting the need for quiet, finds their voice and starts yelling.]

[She might have killed them, if they'd been more aggressive, or if they hadn't stopped when she'd ordered. But it had happened, so she's not.

Until the cultist starts yelling, anyway, at which point Breq cuffs them unceremoniously about the head.]

Where does your tether let out on the other side?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

exploration mingle: CAPTIVITY

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