The Swarm: Stay

[atlasmods]

Who: These Interlopers
When: IC Day 5.5-6
Where: The Boneyard
What: The Swarm Event

THE SWARM: STAY PRELUDE. Five days have passed since you, The First, woke on the strange and barren planet of Kharas. Four days since the pods housing you exploded when tampered with, and Three since the strange Trilobite-like sand crabs began hesitantly crawling their way into and around the boneyard. At first there was only a few brave specimens to be found, keeping mostly to the shadows and scuttling this way and that. Now, however, at least a hundred of them can be found in and around the boneyard in various placed, commonly grouped together in batches of two or three, sometimes even four. Notably they do not interact much with one another despite their groups and are much more interested in scouting out their surroundings for fibrous materials. On the odd chance that they manage to obtain any scraps they will begin to wander back towards the tracks your counterparts began following earlier. Odd, isn't it? As the softer morning sun overhead slowly begins to heat up with the encroaching afternoon more of the Trilobites begin to fill the area. Only unlike their predecessors these ones do not wander around aimlessly, and instead beeline their way to any Coral stalks that remain in the area. They bury into the sand beneath them to avoid their harsh shells and attack the roots until they topple and collapse under their own weight. Once this happens they practically swarm, working to segment it into pieces with their mandibles. When the Coral's shell cracks the Trilobites pry all vegetable matter from within and begin dragging it into the desert. And that's not all: these new Trilobites seem much braver and more interested in you than their predecessors. They will openly wander up to characters and gnaw uselessly at their ankles or feet, chittering and chattering. If enough of them happen to get together around an individual they will form a tiny ankle-gnawing mob intent on clambering all over you. As the daily eclipse nears their numbers will begin to grow even further. Odd tremors can be felt beneath the ground, even in spite of all the sand, but characters won't get much of a chance to look into the matter before their wrist communicators begin to emit that same strange static from the mist. ...Only there's none to be seen in any direction whatsoever.
OOC	IC Days 5.5 - 6 (Oct 26th - 28th)
This log starts during the afternoon of IC day 5.5 and continues on until the morning of day 6 (with the rest of that day being the aftermath/conclusion). There will be a time-sensitive event which will run for 24 hours starting on the 27th at 8:00AM EST. It will conclude on the 28th at 8:00AM EST. This time-sensitive event cannot be "failed" by running out of time and will affect the lore of the game. Please direct any and all questions about this event here.

Comments

james buchanan "bucky" barnes | ota

[lefthandfree]

[Well, ain’t this damn peachy. He’s grateful he’d at least been awake—a walk; couldn’t sleep—but that’s hardly any cause for preparation either, even as it was already growing evident that the insects were feeling more and more eager to hang around where they weren’t wanted.

He tries to get a feel for how to better attack the swarm as he fights them off on his own while searching for any others that may need help keeping the trilobites at bay. After some minutes, it becomes clear to him that the creatures are after whatever strange material the suit he’s wearing is made of, but there’s really no means of escape. They’re everywhere, and regardless of being a grounded insect, the speed with which they swarm makes walking about a poor option. The best choice is really to fight with others, back-to-back. It narrows the scope of damage quickly and makes defense easier overall. Which is especially beneficial in Bucky’s case since he’s short an arm and all that.

He just hopes no one's been overwhelmed by it all yet. The attack doesn't seem like it'll be letting up anytime soon, and losing one’s exosuit would seem like the worst way to be left defenseless on this barren waste.]

[boldlyemoting]

[In his mind, McCoy can see himself cramming one of these trilobites into a sealing container and beaming the hell out to safely poke and prod at it in the medical labs of a starship well out of the swarm's reach. Oh, how nice that would be.

The doctor doesn't have a tactical mind, he isn't thinking what the best option in. Bucky will find he's just pressing back against a looming bone, not stopping to think of whether the trilobites will just crawl down that to get to him. Yeah, there's nervous sweating. But he does at least manage to kick at critters to try keeping them from getting too close.]

Where's a damn phaser when you need one?

[lefthandfree]

[At least McCoy seems to be fairing (surprisingly) well enough. From their first encounter, Bucky had already gauged him as one who would not normally find himself in a physical fight. Really, that he’s managed to find a good defense for himself against one of the large bones implanted in the earth is borderline miraculous. Or sheer dumb luck.

Bucky hasn’t a clue what the hell a phaser is, but he hazards a guess as he moves in to help.]

That a weapon of some kind? [He has to call out a bit since the trilobites are making quite the racket. Bucky finds his place to McCoy’s right, also against the bone, and starts knocking back and killing the ones he can manage.] ’Cause I think a knife would be plenty useful right about now.

[boldlyemoting]

[This is probably a situation where he should worry about contaminating other cultures. But that ship's already sailed, and when a gazillion creepy crawly critters (the scientific name, he's pretty certain, for these creatures), it's one of the last things to worry about. Survival first.

Dumb luck may have a lot to do with McCoy's kicking at the trilobites keeping him clear; he probably looks particularly ridiculous put next to a superhero.]

It's an energy weapon! Nothing so barbaric as a knife.

[He huffs.]

Though I suppose at this point a caveman with a spear would be better equipped.

[ex_bossily211]

[Clara's not technically a fighter. She works better with clever plans and manipulating her way out of trouble. This isn't one of the situations where she can manipulate anything, since she's certain the bugs aren't exactly looking to sit down and have a talk. Not with how crazed they are. When Bucky finds her, she's in the middle of waving about one of the bones that's on fire in the direction of a line of trilobites that are advancing on her.]

We need more firepower than this! We're not going to last at this rate.

[Slight bites and shreds of her suit are missing now, and she's greatly concerned about the fact that it's easy for another bug to slip it's mandible into the area and just tear more away.]

[lefthandfree]

[He curses under his breath and rushes toward her, the fire being a good idea but not enough.]

The fire might scare ’em a little, but you gotta kill them or else they’ll just keep coming back!

[He kicks some back from the advancing collective and stomps them out of commission while he makes is way closer.]

[ex_bossily211]

What do you suggest I kill them with?

[Her voice rises a little as she helplessly shrugs, moving in closer to him since he most definitely does know how to fight.]

Before this, I had two of them. Bingley and Darcy, they were able to respond when I lured them with the coral. They even came with clicking, since I think they thought they were going to get fed. I was thinking I could try luring the lot of them away from everyone, somewhere they can be contained.

[lefthandfree]

Have you tried using that torch of yours? Some of those bones are pretty tough. A few square jabs where their head is should do the trick.

[Stomp. Whack.]

Though, y’know, while I appreciate you tryin’ to domesticate ’em and all, I’m not sure you’re going to be able to do that right now with thousands of these— [—assholes—] —things trying to eat us alive. Or, well, our clothes.

MESSAGE

[atlasmods]

Whack. Bucky crunches yet another Trilobite beneath his feet, and almost as if it's some sort of cue Claras communicator stops producing static and begins broadcasting that same strange transmission:

ATLAS cytmugalo jogosgoja, losuraot jlemoc. Uggomgyem: ATLAS cytm...

---

Clara has now received the maximum amount of messages she is eligible for! Congratulations!

[ex_bossily211]

[Huffing a bit, she wants to shout that she's against killing them. She doesn't think they have any right to, since they are the ones that are intruding and the Trilobites have every right to be aggressive. Not that she thinks this is aggressive as much as oddly methodological in the way they advance.]

There must be something driving them to this! If we could just find a source...

[She trails off, knowing that it's not likely anyone will want to hear it. And luckily, right at that moment, she gets another message. This makes two now, and this time she can make out the word Atlas. She makes it out twice, even. She glances up at him, more than a little creeped out. ]

Did you get any of that?

[lefthandfree]

Uh. [Needless to say, Bucky’s a bit creeped out himself because none of that sounded normal at all. He’d heard the word atlas, but that’s about all he could make out. The rest is gibberish.

While he tries to think of something to say, he knocks away a trilobite that's leaped onto his leg.]

Is that some kinda warning, you think? Or... [Shit. This isn’t the time to be having this conversation. They’re being swarmed by a bunch of giant bugs.

He groans and throws off another trilobite, kicks another away, stamps yet another under his heel.]

Look, if there’s a source, then those others that left’ll find it, alright? But this isn’t a day camp, okay? These things are seriously trying to take the one thing keeping us alive. [He gestures at his own exosuit with its own share of nicks and rips between a few more whacks and stomps.] Would you rather die? Because they don’t care if you do, I can tell ya right now, kid.

[ex_bossily211]

I'm not a child!

[Rage briefly flashes in her eyes, and she takes a hard swing and then a jab at the trilobite nearest to her. She knows that her way of doing things aren't exactly the norm, but to have what she thinks and says be dismissed infuriates her.]

And we can't keep fighting, people are already getting tired and won't be able to go for much longer. We need to do more than just hack and stomp!

[dateme]

Hey! Why're you still running around down there with those things?? Hurry and get to higher ground! [ ...Yells this fabulous specimen of bravery, who, like Lance, has been lifted to higher ground thanks to Clark. He doesn't exactly have a weapon like Lance or Clara, but he's high enough that when the Trilobites begin climbing up towards the rock and bone he's perched on he can kick them off--or at least, away. ]

[lefthandfree]

[Christ Almighty. Is this happening while he's being swarmed? Yes. Yes it is.]

Maybe I want to help anyone else who couldn’t get up there! [He shouts back while throwing off a trilobite that’s grabbed at his arm.] Y’think about that at all before you ran up there?

Besides! You ain’t helping much by just knockin’ ’em around! There’s thousands of these assholes! In case you haven’t noticed! It’s a numbers game! They aren’t stopping unless we stop ’em!

[dateme]

There are literally thousands of them! [ Inui cannot stress this enough, mister...oddly capable at destroying these things, holy. Bucky just keeps going and going, doesn't he? He looks ripped even from up here. ]

And for the record, the super-buff nerd flew me up here!

[lefthandfree]

[And he’s managing it all while only having one arm! Fancy that!]

No shit! I wasn’t being figurative! [Geezus.] And have some goddamn manners! The guy saved your ass by plopping you up there, and you call him a nerd!

[Whack, whack. Stomp. Crunch.]

That ain’t cool, kid!

[dateme]

...We're about to get eaten and you're worried about me calling someone a nerd? [ B u c k y what are your priorities here, seriously.

Also technically he didn't mean it to be a bad thing... Clark a hot nerd. Seriously, has Bucky seen that chin? ]

[lefthandfree]

[Look. His ma taught him well. Nothing to be ashamed of.]

They’re not eating us, they’re trying to eat the suit! [Idiot.] And that’s hardly any reason to not have some goddamn respect!

[Okay, for the record, his ma wouldn’t have approved of the cursing but. EH.]

[dateme]

If the suit comes off we die though! The angry woman who tried it said so! [ LOOK BUCKY YOU CAN LECTURE HIM AFTER ABOUT CLARK BEING A HOT NERD OKAY YOU'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF BUG CITY and this needs to change. ]

[anewhope]

[ Clark finds himself staring a little as he shakes the ground with his foot. He's been trying not to kill them unless they're in direct contact with another person. People take priority and Clark had learned that the hard way. He won't fail them again. ]

You should get up there. They'll need your help.

[ He can't be in two places at once. ]

[lefthandfree]

[Well, fair’s fair cause this guy’s probably right, and he seems like someone who can handle the waves swarming the ground a lot better than Bucky, what with his flying and stomping and...okay, mostly the flying. But also, Bucky doesn’t feel like abandoning anyone else still on the ground either, so...]

Still people out there that need help, pal. Don’t wanna leave ’em behind.

[anewhope]

[ His lips twitch a little as he scans the area, keeping his senses open for any surprise attacks. ]

And you're not people?

[ He lets that sink in. ] They'll need you. I can get them up but I can't stay.

[lefthandfree]

[Well, that’s a loaded question. He actually has to think on it for a moment, going silent as he scans the horizon.

He eventually answers,] I’m a soldier. It’s not the same.

[Which is only to put it lightly. He doesn’t know how good he is as a person anymore. The trigger words are probably still in his head, which doesn't help. Is the Red Book even a secret in this strange future? There's no guarantees. It only makes him even more wary to be around others for too long. Yet even then, the guy still has a point.

Bucky makes a quiet noise of resignation.] But you’re right. They can’t fight ’em off the same way.

[anewhope]

[ A soldier. Subconsciously, Clark recalls Zod. Bred for war, unable to think for himself and trapped in a reality where Krypton no longer exists. Even when Clark had learned of what Zod did to Jor-El, he had felt sympathy for the man.

But that might just be Clark. Finding sympathy in forgotten places of the world.

He replies quietly, but firm. ]

We are all people.

[ Even Clark, a lesson that took him a long time to realize. ]

Then help me help them.

[ His time is over. Clark has no regrets. He'll make sure that remains true, no matter where he is. No matter how lost he feels. ]

MESSAGE

[atlasmods]

Ever since the strange mist appeared the communicators have acted weird around it. But now Clark's sparks to life even without any traces to be seen, and crackles:

...cgon loseboli ym kletuloais: loleagot usyuk kequol geh Jlemo Lorui Mogquelp. Jleh...