The Battle for Caldera

[bravenewmods]

The time for action is at hand, and the players have been set in place. Those who choose to make an attempt at diplomacy head off at the appointed time to meet with Valeria, the clerk and representative of the general who leads the Gigas army. Those who wish to take more direct action against Gigas leave with General Ironbrand to put their plans into motion. In the meantime, the refugees continue to stream into Union, while supplies are gathered and flow the other way.

The outcome of this war may very well depend on the combined results of these four efforts…

((This log will be a catch-all for all four efforts of the attempt to save Caldera. There will be four different parts of this post: Diplomacy, Aggression, Refugees, and Supplies. The first two should be well established, but the Refugees portion will encompass bringing those in Caldera who require help to Union and giving them medical aid and care, while the Supplies portion will encompass people in Union setting up shelters and gathering resources to send back to Caldera, as well as other miscellaneous tasks that may be of help. Gathering resources may entail leaving Union to explore out in other areas. You all signed up for groups, so please try to maintain these groups when posting, particularly to the Diplomacy and Aggression sections. The other two may be more free-form.

Mods will be responding at least once every 24 hours to keep the logs moving.

EDIT 5/31: Please try to group up if possible! We'll generally try to wait for threads to have 2-3 people before we jump in. Threads with 3+ may attract the attention of something a little more... interesting.))

Comments

Aggression

[bravenewmods]

Re: Aggression

[incousinswithyou]

[well now. Michiru supposes it's time she earned her wage. Or, well, followed orders for the sake of expediency.

Still, it's about time the enemy showed up. While the vantage point they've selected is lovely enough, she's got better things to do than wait around all day.

Alright, let's see what kind if shape the enemy is in...]

[actsmagnificent]

[ Haruka is up here too, peering down in search of their target. "Cut off the supply route", huh? She supposes that isn't too much of a pain.

The wind shifts, and Haruka crouches down on one knee. Not much longer. ]

[bravenewmods]

[The supply lines are far from Caldera; this group has traveled a significant distance to reach their vantage point. The intel provided by General Ironbrand is more or less accurate. This far away from Caldera, the Gigas troops are more relaxed. They look down upon a small shed, where supplies are stored temporarily. The shed is guarded by two men who seem less interested in guarding and more interested in playing some dice game.

Off in the distance, they may also spot a caravan slowly proceeding.

They have not been spotted as of yet.]

((Others may still tag in here if they wish!))

[incousinswithyou]

[Michiru glances quickly at the caravan in the distance, and then she's focusing her attention back on the two men below them. Sloppy.

Studying the area around the shed and looking for signs of anybody else, Michiru speaks quietly.] It would be a shame if we didn't get a chance to welcome our arriving guests.

[let's see how quietly they can take out these guys first.]

After the above thread... (cavern exploration)

[actsmagnificent]

[ Well, these sure look like caverns under the mountain. Haruka may have disrupted the supply manager to get this information, but it was certainly reliable. If there are any clues to be found about the mysterious "red giant" that plagued the city before Caldera, chances are they might be here. ]

Sewa?

Stay close. I'll send a scout ahead.

[ Off goes Murkrow to get the lay of the land. Now, remind her why, in addition to a certain stowaway riding in the hood of her cloak, she's got Hotaru and Usagi Tsukino (of all people) in tow? Yes, the city's at war. She supposes it can't be helped.

Yet she takes her first tentative steps into the cavern wishing they cast one or two fewer shadows. ]

[threemoms]

[ Hotaru's there because she's useful okay!!!!!!! ]

I don't sense anything... unnatural. [ Or does she? It's harder to tell in human form - Absols could sense distrubances through the earth and air, and Hotaru was no exception, but in human form it was less reliable.

If Usagi weren't here, she'd be more comfortable shifting into Absol form. Actually, she'd be more comfortable as an Absol with Usagi, but shifting would draw too much attention and she hated attention. Bah humbug. ]

[incousinswithyou]

[dissuading Usagi from tagging along had proven fruitless and unfortunately (fortunately?), she's not cold hearted enough to actually make the girl go back on her own. They have work to do, besides.

No, she'll keep a sharp eye out on their surroundings. Everybody else should be busy enough with the plans, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.

Her eyes fall on Usagi and. She'll hide a sigh.] Hotaru, will Celosia help us when we enter the cave?

[somnambulatory]

[Jinxie is standing by with Sparky the Rotom, Foxfire the Ninetales, as well as six other Pokemon of the Ghost and Psychic types, waiting for the signal to commence with Operation Hijack a Siege Engine, or whatever actual name this plan is being given. Based on the earlier conversation in the war council tent, she'll be hanging out near Lux, Apollo, and Garen while she nervously paces.]

[ladyofluminosity]

[Lux is going over the plans again for maybe the tenth time. Her own Pokemon by her side--Camille the Dragonair, Esmé the Carbink, Ruby the Vulpix, Patrick the Venusaur and Doyle the Zoroark--she does her best to not seen nervous as she waits for Garen's signal to get into position. This had to work.]

[mastermedium]

[At Jinxie's side-- or rather, nearby and watching her pace-- is Maya, with her two banettes Chikao and Bozu, her Duskull Shi, Peri the Snover at her feet, and Boss the-eevee-who-thinks-he's-a-ghost-type tucked safely in the kimono top.

The pacing is kind of driving her nuts, as is the tension, but she's a bit too worried to speak up and break it.]

[paradiseshrinemaiden]

[Reimu hadn't been part of the group initially, mostly because she'd basically shown up at the last minute, but since she does recognize at least one person in the group, she ends up wandering (floating) over along with her pokemon.]

Hey, what are you guys doing over here?

[willbethebest]

Wukong waited in a treetop near the road. In theory, a train of carts carrying food and weapons would be coming by in a few minutes. In theory, Wukong should be pretty stealthy.

In reality, he's getting bored, which is why he's lounging back against the trunk, juggling pine cones.

[airguitarist]

Okay, Nero had to admit, this whole "sabotaging the enemy supplies" business was pretty damn boring, and he didn't have much to keep him busy. It wasn't like he could do anything with no thumbs, since he was sitting around as a Gible. He could dig around though, but there wasn't much to be had in the dirt, so all he did was dig a small, dark hole for him to lie in on his yellow stomach with Blue Rose until the Gigas carts finally came around.

And speaking of stomachs... he was getting hungrier and hungrier. Hungry enough in fact to complain about it to Blue Rose, who threatened to kick him to make him shut up.

[bravenewmods]

Team Innocent Wild Pokemon will be relieved to eventually hear the distant sound of rumbling coming from down the road.

Team Innocent Wild Pokemon will be somewhat less relieved to feel the sensation of being observed setting in at about the same time.

[stahlflugel]

"Would you stop that?" Eren hiss-whispered at Wukong in Pokémon-language. He's in Skarmory form, of course, perched on a nearby branch and hidden well despite somewhat sparse foliage. His green wings blend in, and his reflective brassy feathers take on a green hue from the leaves. "You're going to drop one and make noise!"

For this mission, Eren has opted to bring Rosa, his golbat, along for the ride. She hangs upside-down from the same branch, small ears twitching incessantly. It's actually her that first hears the cart coming... and senses eyes upon them.

"Eren, shhh... Listen... Someone's coming."

[paradiseshrinemaiden]

[Things were boring back in Union and her curiousity about Gigas had finally gotten the better of her, so Reimu had found herself warping over to Caldera despite her earlier dismissal of the place. She wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for a fight, so she was ready to do what she was best at, gauging the enemy as she figured out where she might do the most good.]

[second_destiny]

[As he mentioned to Ironborn, Asemu was going to exploit the fact that they have Enlightened and Gigas does not. In his case, that means taking to the skies. He knows he has a time limit, but he's going to make the most of it by disrupting Gigas's supply lines from the air.]

[aerial_ace]

[Asemu might recognize a red-haired ranger sharing air space with him atop a Swanna. She appears to be accompanied by someone else. A Beedrill buzzing by her side, it would see that she is scouting as well, but has yet to notice the blond.]

[master_tactician]

[Robin looks ever so slightly airsick, but he's soldiering on. On either shoulder are a Glaceon and Leafeon, and peeking out of his hood is an Espeon. They all look considerably more thrilled to be here than he does.]

[bravenewmods]

[As the three of them flit around, they'll eventually notice two wagons making their way up a road. Off far in the distance is an enemy encampment - their evident destination.]

[rejected_trash]

...

[The teen was silent for a moment longer. He'd been asked to join Jade, his uncle in a guerilla group. Of course, Ciro--or rather Sync as he liked to call himself, hoped the older man wouldn't notice, but if anyone would; it would be him. Though, he hopes the mask, outfit, and pearlescent white wings will throw Jade off.

Currently, he's off to the side, fussing with his newly evolved Crobat, Cadenzo. Scherzo, his Talonflame, is perched on his shoulder, waiting for the opportunity to cause trouble for the Gigas forces.]

[antiseptic]

[If Jade notices Cir - oh, excuse him, Sync's unease, he doesn't call him out on it. Currently, he's also off to the side, watching Sync out of the corner of his eye. He had sent Duskull off a few minutes ago (with strict orders to remain invisible, of course) to do some reconnaissance, and now it's simply a matter of waiting for him to return.]

[rejected_trash]

[Of course, the silence was bothering him. Normally he was quite solitary, but today, with Jade, it was becoming overbearing.]

Thoughts?

[His mask is turned slightly in Jade's direction, the question deliberately terse before he turns back to Cadenzo, brushing the fine fur on the Crobat to keep it calm, which was important as it was a bit taller than he was, but he still has a little more room to grow.]

[antiseptic]

None yet, I'm afraid.

[He pauses for a second before he decides to elaborate.] There's no point in making more detailed plans until we know the what the situation is.

[While he won't stop Sync if he decides to try and strategize some more, Jade personally doesn't see the need for it. Preparation is good, but it's a waste of effort to come up with too-detailed plans when they know next to nothing of their enemies.]