farmhouse investigation

[detectivetroll]

SO WE'VE GOT ALIENS.

Or you know. Alien. Either way. Nick and some others have known about it and been planning an investigation for a little while, and Alex found out about it in his ill-fated interrogation, so combining efforts might be a good idea here!

At this point, we've got Ax-Alex, Barnaby, John Mitchell, Kotetsu, Monroe, Nick, Lyall, Ray, Yuji, vampire!Alex, and possibly Hajime, Ravi, and Anthony interested in participating! Which is big enough that I thought it warranted an OOC plotting post, so here it is!

There's enough people that splitting into a few teams would probably be best. So far the ideas have been one or two teams actually going into the farmhouse (possibly from different sides?) one team hanging back to provide backup or a getaway, and one team back at home to provide mission control and contact the network if things go bad.

EDIT: it might also be a good idea to combine backup and mission control, if that's good with those involved? Maybe put them in a vehicle nearby so they'll be in less danger, but ready to swoop in if need be?

BASICALLY this is a place for discussion before/as we go, so have at it! I've got a spreadsheet up here of the characters and teams that we can update as we go.

(This would be happening on 12/21, and there's a starter up, but it's just a general one, so it can be changed/added to as we brainstorm.) Thoughts?



Edited to add: of course this is the holidays and everyone's crazy busy and such, so in general I'd think slow and such is to be expected, so no pressure on anyone here <3

and another edit for clarification because I didn't think of this: I threw this up because we wanted to include as many people as possible, but for IC purposes it'd have to be someone either Alex or Nick (or one of the others going) would want to ask or suggest come along. If you'd be really interested OOCly, though, please let us know!

The original intent of this was a small recon team, so I'm not sure how much actual alien interaction will happen. ...of course it's started taking on a life of its own, so who knows what will end up happening, but still.



One last edit here: we have an answer on the outcome of the investigation! Copy pasting this from the mod response I got:

Lastly, what will be found in the farmhouse is mostly defense - it is set up with traps and security, none of them particularly congruous with a farmhouse - in fact traces of such things as rather devices and sensors ought to be markedly suspicious once they catch notice. All internal defensive mechanisms are passive on their own - trip a sensor and off will go the generation of a wall or bubble of concentrated energy in the air - a force-field would be a good way to describe it, disarmable by breaking of the sensor - and they do not break easily!

Rooms on the main floor are white-tiled and for all intents and purposes empty, and rather dingy - shabby "sterile" rooms like the one Paul Ben was killed in. One us unenterable - it's closed with a mechanical door, white as opposed to any obvious metal, with a keypad installed into the original wooden baseboard.

There is also a cellar door on the outside and back of the house, locked and well-reinforced - the cellar's best-accessed from the inside of the house through a set of stairs at the corner of one of the sterile rooms. At the base of the staircase is a door, and behind the door is a hallway with doors leading to two chambers, both of them joined together from the inside on a third door.

Enter one of the rooms and those investigating will find mounted vats and pods - the vats containing clouds of chittering familiar tiny black creatures, and the pods varying in size from approximately three feet to twelve feet in height - full of pinkish liquid with something dark at the very center.

In the other room will be walls lined with cages, also varying in size, all of them containing animals - most of them common, wild urban birds, mice and rats, stray cats, domestic animals, and such - others mixes thereof. Working at the center will be a pair of robots - one human-sized and skeletally shaped, the other stocky and more formless. On the room being broken into, one of them will open one of the cages and release... what'll look very much like a feathery cheetah, spotted, catlike, with a couple of wings on its back and a beak to match. It can be killed, but it moves like a bullet and rips about as well!

Any reincarnate who sees or encounters anything unusual at the farmhouse will receive one plot Echo!

Comments

[professorwolf]

Lyall just needs to be on one of the groups going in, since he's the "there's people here, here, and here" person, with his senses. Doesn't really matter to me or him which group though ^^

[chalicejoker]

Hajime would want to be wherever the group thinks a nasty giant bug would be best. He's not prone to going on a crazy bug rampage anymore thanks to having gotten more cards back, at least.

[healspec]

Hmm I think ICly Ravi would want to be either with a team or part of the backup crew, because he is the resident medic, but OOCly I kind of want him on mission control for the CR opportunity... 8|a

Could the mission control and backup teams be merged? like they grab a van and set up a ways away behind a barn somewhere, but still close enough to send the backup guys in if necessary? idk if that works for the characters on MC, if they'd still opt to come if they were put closer to the danger.

[detectivetroll]

I'd be in favor of merging MC and backup, if it's cool with the MC guys!

I've been debating having Nick be on backup, depending on how many people want to be on the actual investigation teams (ICly he's arguably one of those who should least be caught with a numbers team in the farmhouse, considering the likely fallout with Sherman, which might make backup the best place for him no matter how much he may think otherwise) so if that's the way things end up, I really like that idea.

[professorwolf]

Lyall would strongly suggest Nick hang back with the backup team, if he needs to be told so by somebody IC. He doesn't want Nick caught by these guys either :|

[detectivetroll]

D:<

But no Nick does appreciate that. I think he'd probably realize himself that backup's the best place for him, given how many other people they have going, but Lyall suggesting it would make him acknowledge it, so that works for me!

[professorwolf]

Okiedoke :B Off-screened, I imagine, of course. But at least it's in our heads!

(Lyall says he's sorry, but Nick's the most important person in the group, from a tactical standpoint... XD )

[whiterabbit_dot_obj]

OOCly I've got no problem merging backup and MC, though ICly I am...legitimately unsure how Barnaby would feel about something like that. I don't think he'd refuse, but it'd definitely add a layer of nervousness and paranoia to everything he does. He'd probably try to find some way to convince people to not make him have to be Inside A Vehicle that's way too close to danger for an unknown amount of time merge them, but he can always fail at that.

(I don't know what it says about him that the real dealbreaker here for him isn't the "being way too close to danger" part but the "you want me to be INSIDE A CAR OR CAR-LIKE VEHICLE and can't tell me how long before I'm allowed to escape" part.)

[healspec]

Hey he doesn't have to wait literally IN the car! I imagine they will be sort of milling about the cars and waiting for word on whatever needs to be done.

[amberhearted]

Alex can offer night vision, hypnotism, average skill with a rifle, and turning into a bat (ha). IC-wise, his hypnotism worked on Sherman, so he believes it should work on other altered police. He doesn't know if it will also work on the altered dogs, but it will.

He is fine with being placed wherever the others think he's the most useful. I'm fine with him being placed wherever. He also has a truck, though I'm not sure what risks they'd consider about driving a 'dead man's' truck, if any. (Sherman did get his ID.)

edit: I'm also 100% ok with backdating Alex's post if that gels better.

[detectivetroll]

I think Nick'd be in favor of him being on one of the investigation teams, especially with the hypnotism. ...just be careful man Nick doesn't want to be semi-responsible for you getting staked again.

Using his truck might potentially be a good idea? Since Sherman considers him dead, it might be the closest thing they have on hand to a more or less untraceable car. If found out the assumption'd probably be that someone stole his car... or that Alex actually made it out, which might suck for him.

[amberhearted]

Movies taught me that license plate swapping is a thing, though I don't think Alex would be comfortable with swiping some poor dude's plates. If someone else would think to do that, then it's a possibility!

edit: 1) Alex's preference is going to be launching an attack with the intent to wipe out the alien in one go. Is it safe to assume someone(s) will convince him otherwise? (I'm feeling this out IC still, but it won't take much. He'll defer to Nick/majority.)

2) Also, for the sake of avoiding an IC delay of results, maybe we can tighten up the plan, send it to the mods, and ask what the teams will encounter.

[detectivetroll]

I'm sure someone'd probably think to suggest it - maybe even pulling some off a junkyard car or something? If that'd even be possible.

1.) Yeah, they'd probably try to convince him! I know at least Nick and Lyall, and probably the rest of the cops, really want to do recon and get more information before anyone organizes an attack on it. The risk that runs is them moving the alien or beefing up security, of course, but Nick figures if they move it he can find out where it is again, and maybe moving it will make it vulnerable.

2.) That's the plan! I've already asked them about potential resistance/info they might find/possible outcomes/etc, the log mostly went up so we could slowly work on it while we waited for an answer. Now that things have changed a little though, we can send them updated info?

Oh and while I'm here! Is it possible that Alex would have mentioned this to Marisa, or suggested her? I remember he thought of her in his log with Sherman, or was that someone else?

[amberhearted]

1) Awesome!

2) Awesome x2!! Yes, updated infos after we have a better idea of who else will be there is excellent.

3) HE IS LOOKING FOR HER aka laser beam girl! I'm still feeling it out IC-wise. He just asked Anthony so I thiiiiiink that'll do it bc Anthony is our resident social zombiefly.

[moarnomsplz]

Ax-Alex will be going all (half) Andalitey, and will put himself wherever Nick tells him to go, basically. Congrats, Nick, you're his stand-in commanding officer!

[detectivetroll]

fdsajf does this mean that Alex is going to start calling him Prince XD

But ffff Nick'd probably want to keep him on backup with him, because Nick is protective like that, but he also knows Alex can handle himself and is pretty badass. So we'll see what the ratio is on backup to investigation people and have Alex fill in where needed?

[moarnomsplz]

When he gets that back, he might!

That sounds good to me, and Alex would also approve. :D

[scramasax]

'Twould appear that ICly today gets all the busier.

[reapsthewind]

I AM IN

I've just been sorta busy.

[detectivetroll]

SWEET

I'm assuming she'll be on the investigation team with those lasers Alex mentioned?

[detectivetroll]

Just letting you know that we got a mod answer as to the outcome of the investigation, and it's been edited into the main post!

[ursoreckless]

Shou can drive the getaway car and provide backup shooting if you don't mind having the silly along.

[detectivetroll]

...dude actually yes at this point we'd need more than one car! He was a good getaway guy with the snakes, so Nick'd totally ask him again

[ursoreckless]

He's going to just get a little crazier. He found out that he's healing a bit faster now, though still within realm of human. But yes, leadfoot to the rescue!

[detectivetroll]

Ffff crazy is fine as long as he doesn't crash them, man. XD

[ursoreckless]

It's one of my random dreams to have Shou go all yakuza need for speed shoot up car chase thing where he can be cool and everything.

but he'll probably crash and then send sulky texts about how it's not his fault his car got totaled.

[scramasax]

Anthony's definitely partaking if not barred ICly or otherwise! And if indeed not barred he's prob'ly sticking closest to the largest number of people he'd intuitively choose to (namely the parties who'd most strongly have aforementioned IC barring rights) unless they'd encourage him to take a certain other role!

[detectivetroll]

Nick's happy (if not a little worried) to have him along! He'll leave where Anthony goes up to him, or whoever else, if they've a preference!

[amberhearted]

Alex would be most comfortable with Anthony on mission control and equipped to fight if that team is attacked. He'd be concerned about his scent interfering with Lyall's nose and drawing attention from the guards.

[detectivetroll]

Good point! I'll switch Anthony out with Ax-Alex then, and give Nick another reason to worry.

[icy_heavens]

I might wind up having Toushirou needing to sit this one out. Much as I love getting him involved in ALL THE THINGS, I have to think that with his family coming in and several of them staying at his house, he'd find it too difficult to get away from the house unnoticed. That, and he'd feel really guilty risking himself around this time of year, both with the holiday and the fact that there's a sad family anniversary at this time, too . . .

He'd have conflicted feelings about staying behind, but would probably decide to stay behind in the end because family. Damn holidays, forcing him to make tough decisions!

[espigeonage]

Hmm.

Julien could be useful here, if it happened in the day, but he's better for breaking-in-subtly than anything else. And he's afraid of what happens if he keeps getting echoes. Underground exploration even hit the people who were on mission control! So, maybe not here.

[not_good_not_wicked]

If you need aerial recon and/or orbital deaths strikes, Marisa can supply that in ready quantities.

[detectivetroll]

Gotcha! I think Alex's player has worked out a way to get her IC-wise, so she's added to the teams! :D

[not_good_not_wicked]

So I just tagged into that log. Lemme know if you want me to change anything over there

[detectivetroll]

Just letting you know that we got a mod answer as to the outcome of the investigation, and it's been edited into the main post!

[paradiseshrinemaiden]

Reimu is at a point where I can actually volunteer her for this because she's about fed up with everything (she may or may not need one more push though), and she'd be more useful than Marisa when it comes to actually fighting things if it comes down to it (I mean, it's true they're not underground this time, but...).

So I'm totally throwing her at this even though neither Nick or Alex have spoken to her before. XD;

Edit: Of course with this in mind it'd probably be better to hold back on involving her after the recon. Still, that's up to you. XD; I just wanna finally do something plot related.

[detectivetroll]

She's more than welcome! I think we've got Marisa figured out, so assuming Marisa would mention it to her or suggest that she come as well, we should be good to go!

I already went ahead and added her to one of the teams. XD

[paradiseshrinemaiden]

Alright, I've been a little distracted by things and not even because of the usual reasons for this time of year, so I'm not entirely sure where you actually want Reimu in this. >>; You didn't put up team threads or anything. Is the fact that she's on Team one supposed to mean she's going inside with people or can she be in the air with Marisa or what? XD;

[detectivetroll]

Sorry for the delay in this - but I see you've already tagged in, so that works! Just replying to let you know that we got a mod answer as to the outcome of the investigation, and it's been edited into the main post!