[Open]

[survival_isnt_living]

Characters: Gaius Septimus, WA-3A, Squad o' Volunteers, and refugees
Date: Jan. 21st-25th
Location: Fort Water (WA-3A) and locations all around the city
Situation: Septimus has decided to set up a medical and strategic base for fighting the zombie invasion… in his living room. And his suite-mates’ living rooms. So fighting and stuff will happen.
Warnings/Rating: Violence, maybe language, potential gore and character death

>See the comments of this post for various situations and areas available for tagging.
>Each header will be set for a date and/or area.
>Feel free to start your own header for specific situations. Thread-hopping is encouraged.
>This is for actions specifically related to this network post.
>For OOC planning, go here or here.

Comments

Strategy Session (WA-3A, 21st)

[survival_isnt_living]

[When people arrive, Septimus has cleared off a table and has a map of the city laid out. He's also making notes on a piece of paper, and has a bunch of small stones and stuff laid nearby.

He may not have a formal command post, but he's doing the best he can.]

[emasculates]

[She might not like him, but she respects him after a fashion. Thus why she's present at all. Her assault rifle is slung over her shoulder in a soldier's carry, she has grenades and homemade molotov cocktails hanging from her belt and her bowie knife hasn't left her hand once since this mess started.

But she's here, looking over the map. She's obviously no stranger to strategic reasoning.]

[survival_isnt_living]

[He's seen the gun before now, thanks to the consoles, but the other weapons are new. Despite some initial misgivings--her weaponry seems to have frightening potential especially without furycrafting involved--he gives into his curiosity. Besides, the more he knows, the better he can think.

Pointing:] What do those do?

[emasculates]

[She bares her teeth.]

They kill. Or do you crave specificities?

[survival_isnt_living]

[He raises an unamused eyebrow.]

Yes.

[emasculates]

[Don't even think you can order her around, Sep. She returns his look, completely unimpressed, and then pulls a grenade from her belt.]

These explode. They are are usually fatal within a six foot radius. To twelve, amputations, possible death. More than that and any damage is negligible. Survivable. They are useless against these monsters except to slow them down.

[Then, one of the molotov cocktails.]

These burn them.

[And then she takes her knife out and slams it point-first into his desk.]

I need not explain this, I think.

[survival_isnt_living]

[He makes a slightly appeasing gesture, even if his expression is still just as unimpressed as hers. Nonexistant Murky chain of command or no, she ought to know that more information is better when forming a strategy.

Hey, it's only two conflicting emotions at once. Piece of cake, for him.

Picking up the knife and examining it, he nods approvingly.] Nice make. How well does it hold an edge? [He, uh, might subtly boost it. Just a bit. Even if it feels slightly different than his Aleran blades.]

How much structural damage do the explosives do? The ones that don't burn.

[emasculates]

I sharpen it as necessary. It depends on how deeply it bites. Bone dulls it quickly. But it is older than I am and still has its uses.

[She took it off a dead Russian soldier who'd gotten it out of a stockpile of 1960's-era armaments. Thank you, corrupt American government, for your little plan to give Russia 'their Vietnam'.]

As for damage.

[She shrugs.]

To people? They destroy tissue, bones. They virtually obliterate anything near enough. But I have only these few. More can be made if I have the right material, but it is time consuming. I am not made for idle work.

[survival_isnt_living]

[He nods absently, getting the feel of the blade. There's definitely a difference from Aleran steel--it wasn't worked by a smith furycrafting while folding the metal--but it's a good knife nonetheless.

Despite all that, he reaches into the metal. A bit of encouraging energy and focus is all it needs, really. She's no metal or earthcrafter, so it won't have to endure heavier stress. She may or may not notice, in the coming weeks, that the knife is slightly sharper, holds an edge better, and possibly cuts a little cleaner. All very subtle, but it's had its vitamins now.

Handing it back:] What about damage to buildings, and how does the material affect that?

[emasculates]

[She takes it back with no small amount of possessiveness. This is her absolute favourite knife, okay.]

Depends on the building. Brick might withstand it. It would be pocked and the surrounding area would take a great deal of shrapnel. Metal... it would depend on the nature of the material. Wood it would destroy.

[hackingyoursensors]

[Hope you don't mind Robin talking to himself and doodling on your map.]

Fire has the lowest concentration for now, but they're infiltrating buildings...

[Doodles a bit more, circling key areas where the concentration of zombies seems to be the highest.]

If we could corral as many as possible, we can take them out and start establishing more safezones...

[survival_isnt_living]

[Intelligence on their movements and the right idea. Septimus gives the kid an approving look (despite what the crows is he wearing). Still, he's a little younger than Sep's used to seeing on the line--even the youngest and greenest fish in the Legions are a bit older.

Still, smart kid.]

How are they infiltrating? Last intelligence I had said they were strong enough to simply force their way through doors, maybe sufficiently weak walls. Do you know what, if any, more complex behaviors they're capable of?

[hackingyoursensors]

No, that's what I've seen too. They don't seem to be dexterous enough to pick locks.

They tend to work in small groups, though.

[survival_isnt_living]

[Nodding, with a frown:] Define 'small group.'

['Small group,' back home, could mean five, a dozen, thirty, even fifty depending on the situation.]

[hackingyoursensors]

Usually between five and ten. I haven't seen anything coordinated on a larger scale, though a few of the groups have merged together before.

[survival_isnt_living]

[Nodding again, Sep's eyes trace the lines the boy has been drawing on the map.

After a moment he looks back up.]

All right. Corralling them. Any more specific thoughts? [Unconsciously, his tone has slid into that peculiar 'I have ideas, but I'm waiting to see what your mind comes up with' tone some instructors use.]

[hackingyoursensors]

[Well that tone of voice certainly is familiar.]

I know that fire is the only thing that really keeps them down. We'll have to create a fire on a large scale once we corral them.

[survival_isnt_living]

Shouldn't be much of a problem--especially if we get some more help with it. [Septimus can do a lot--but he can only stretch himself so thin.

And then, priorities:] Do you know how Wood Sector's looking?

[hackingyoursensors]

If we can find the right accelerant, we won't need too many hands on deck.

[He sobers] Last I saw, it was about the same as the rest of the city. I saw a few groups of kedan setting up safehouses when I was there earlier.

[survival_isnt_living]

[Septimus blinks, and now looks at the boy with new respect. He'd already had it--obviously he was intelligent and courageous--but... well then.

Septimus hadn't quite thought of that.] What kind of accelerant were you thinking of?

Crows. We should try to herd them out of there, then. Kill two Sectors worth with one bonfire. [Crooked smile.]

[hackingyoursensors]

Wood is the most plentiful-- there's a ton of it leftover from the bonfires. If we break it up into small enough pieces and scatter it, we can use less while taking out more zombies in one go. It's not like we could exactly lead them into jumping into a bonfire, so traps are the best way to go.

[survival_isnt_living]

[He nods thoughtfully. This is definitely not his style of fighting. Live and learn--well, sort of.]

All right. First priority, then, is to get hold of that wood. You'll have to show me what you had in mind for preparing and using it--I've never used external fuel.

I don't think I caught your name, by the way.

[hackingyoursensors]

We'll have to walk to Fire, unless you know somewhere else where we can get wood. You know, aside from the trees in Wood.

[He grins.]

I'm Robin. You?

[survival_isnt_living]

Sep.

[He grins back and offers his hand.

After a moment, though, he pauses and tilts his head thoughtfully. Crows, he wishes he had another crafter around right now.]

That depends entirely on how much wood we need brought back--and how best to carry it. [Because really, if he can just fly there and back...]

[hackingyoursensors]

[He thinks.]

We could test out the tactic while we're in Fire. That way, we don't waste time or energy moving supplies without knowing exactly how much we need.

[survival_isnt_living]

['We.'

Sep gives Robin a speculative glance. His father wouldn't have questioned the intent, and the boy seems competent. Sep, on the other hand...]

I suppose you'll be going out in this no matter what anyone says?

[hackingyoursensors]

Yep.

[You can try to leave him behind. It doesn't work.]

[survival_isnt_living]

[Crows. After a moment, Sep sighs.]

All right. Once we've a few other people have jobs--escort, scouting, or encouraging the bloody things to leave Wood Sector to start with--you and I will go to Fire Sector to test this idea of yours. [And where Sep can keep an eye on him.]

[hackingyoursensors]

Alright.

[Sep's idea is sound so he couldn't argue against it even if he wanted to.

The fact that he doesn't make a fuss about a kid going out to fight zombies is appreciated. Most people would flip.]

[duelkatana]

[The moment Leonardo sets foot into the fortified WA-3A building, he gravitates towards what is quite clearly the impromptu war room of this operation. His gaze quickly locks onto the map even during his approach, and as he draws near the table, he crosses his arms and stares down at it in complete silence.]

[He just stays like that for a few moments, studying the map with a hard set in his jaw. Then he'll glance over to Septimus.]

Leonardo. We spoke over the consoles. [Not that...he thinks he's a hard face to remember or anything. Still.]

[survival_isnt_living]

[Impromptu war room indeed. Septimus looks up at the voice, and bloody crows this is frankly one of the absolutely weirdest things he has seen in--

...In his stay on the turtle. 'In his life' seems an unfortunate misnomer.

Still, after a moment he holds out a hand.]

Sep. I'm glad you could make it. Did you get any feel for how many people are trapped and want to make it out of wherever they are? [Straight to business.]

[duelkatana]

[Leonardo actually stares at that hand for a moment, unease flickering across his expression - handshakes aren't something he's used to, and the mere three fingers on his hand are probably a good indication as to why. Still, he manages to take the hand and shake it in what he considers a minimally awkward motion.]

[And then it's time to talk business. Leo turns back to the map and points to their location, then drags his finger across to another building in the Water Sector.]

My brother and I live in WA-1B. What we saw on the way here is what you probably already knew - the canals replacing most of the streets have concentrated these - jiangshi anywhere there's solid ground. Mainly residential areas. Trying to venture out in search of better shelter would be suicide...and this makes it hard to tell whether they're hanging around a building because there's nowhere else to go, or because there's lunch inside.

[He crosses his arms, deliberating for a few moments, then reaches forward to tap a handful of select buildings.] I spotted a few places with boarded-up doors; if the people inside are still alive, we'll be hard-pressed to help them unless the jiangshi are taken care of. Even I would have trouble getting past that many without taking them out.

[There's a split second of hesitation for every mention of 'jiangshi' - he doesn't know what they are for sure. But calling them 'zombies' seems so...B-movie, and what he does know are the jiangshi monsters from Chinese lore. These nasty creatures seem awfully similar.]

[sophos]

[Annabeth arrives about five minutes after she intended to - fighting off zombies and all that, but after she's inside, she's already looming over the map. Making calculations and considerations. Her knife's at her side, a round shield at her feet on the floor, and she looks very much deep in thought.]

[She's making her own notes, but, well, she's jotting them quickly and thoughtlessly enough that it comes out in Ancient Greek above English.]

[survival_isnt_living]

[Well, that is not the same script as he's seen a lot of people using--but he could swear he's seen something like it before.

(So ancient history isn't his thing, so sue him. Astoris Magnus wasn't a good enough lecturer to change that.)

Annabeth, you have a six-foot-four ball of curiosity looming over your shoulder. With amusement:] We really should try to find a way to translate text as automatically as speech is.

[sophos]

[She's pretty tall herself at 5'9"!! But she glances up, the voice breaking her focus.]

Depends on what it would translate into.

[survival_isnt_living]

Theoretically, into each person's native language. That's what's happening with speech, isn't it?

[sophos]

My native language is English, but I read better in Ancient Greek. [she gestures at the notes she's making.] That'd be my preference for text translation.

[survival_isnt_living]

[He looks at her in some surprise.] You find it easier to write and speak in two different languages?

[And then he pauses.] Which isn't really pertinent. I'd love to hear that story later--for now, though. You have ideas? And do you mind if I see that knife of yours?

[sophos]

[Oh right she kind of babbled that without thinking, but she also kind of hates talking about this. There's a few seconds pause before she replies.] Do you know what dyslexia is?

[Then she nods.] Some ideas. But as for the knife - [And she takes it out, holding it up.] First you might want to see if you can even touch it.

[Because... it kind of passes right through mortals.]

[survival_isnt_living]

[He has never heard the term. The origin of the word, however...] No, but I feel like I should know something about the word.

If I can-- [Peering at it for a moment, he decides to reach out with his crafting to get a sense of the metal before touching it. What could she mean?

But even by Aleran crafting standards, that knife is in no way standard.]

That's bronze? The metal feels-- different.