briefing ♔ i will never know myself until i do this on my own

[wynn]

This is War- 30 Seconds to Mars

WHO || Wynn,  Jack, Hasmed, Lis'sa, Dovan, Solace, Koraith, Christos, Tia, Nessa, Grant, Buffy, Myri, Finnick, Spike,  Gar, Archer, Des, Fred Jr., Dumage, Mark, Alainn, Zero, Colin, Lan, Eric, Val'drin, Risa,  Anastacia, Faith O., Max R., Belle, Kadir, Edain, Sydney, Zatanna, Aurelius, Jaina, Erky, Davin,  Riddick, Jordan, Henry, Leia, Willow, Kate, Allison, Francesca, Bo, Han, Aedan, Rocket, Drax, Nathan, Maxwell, Sam, Faith L., Cora, Dimitri, Alanna, Jaime, Klaus, Gus, Andrew, Stiles, Lydia, Gold, Jackson, Adam, Miles, Penelope, David, Derek, Andie, Kali, Cara, Nels, Taradiddle, Abigail, Astrid, Bambi, Frankie, Rose, Helen, Alaric, Alice, Lissa, Alex, Emma F., Cordelia, Zoe,  Sebastian, Malina, Alcide, Phineas, Fiona, Arthur, Faye, Mars, Kate, Lila,  Jameson, Felicity, Thoster, Adi, Brantley, Hook, Emma, Eleven, Alisha, Will, Dean, Grimrot     [Closed]
WHAT || Andres War Briefing
WHERE || Knights HQ, Round Table Room
WHEN || September 19th [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, please call dibs in the dibs plurk!

On the eve of battle, an impressive array of Knights gathers in the Round Table room of the castle.  The usually cavernous room seems tightly packed with this many bodies, and places at the Table are reserved for Wynn, the Section Heads, all those who have had any hand in the Talisman mission, including New York, and Christos, but who's going to argue with him, really.  The air buzzes with a mixture of impending dread and on some fronts, excitement.  It's hard to deny that there are those in the room who have wanted to make a move on Andres for years.

Wynn waits for the appointed hour, before nodding for the doors to be sealed and calling the meeting to order.  

"Before we begin, I'd like to thank each and every one of you, many who have traveled an extensive distance at a moment's notice to join us here today.  I understand that many of you have little idea what you have agreed to, but I hope that before the end of this meeting, you will come to understand what we are doing, and why it must be done.

Andres' Isle has been held under the sway of the man who calls himself their "Prime Minister" for nearly a decade.  In these ten years, he has turned what was once an idyllic country steeped in tradition into a tightly controlled fascist nation disguised as representative of its people.  

Andres is far from the only country to fall to such a fate over the course of history, and it has never been the prerogative of this Knighthood to enforce our own personal vision of some sort of world order onto any nation.  We are protectors of justice, and our enemy has always been both that which comes from the darkest depths of Shadow, and intolerance and prejudice that stems from this world. 

But Dimitris Sarandis has proven to be an exception, an embodiment of all the ideals we stand against, who has aspired to systematize the kind of violence and hatred that threatens the welfare of countless innocents under his rule.  He has used his position to exploit Shadowkind on the island to the point of conducting torturous experiments on them, designed to help him accomplish his goal of forcibly enslaving non-humans, so that they may serve what he sees as the superior race of homo sapiens.  

As if this were not enough, Dimitris knows of our existence, and wishes to tear down our organization, understanding that we pose a threat to all he seeks to accomplish.  To this end, he has conspired against us, kidnapped members of our organization and subjected them to brutal and vile torture, and attempted to blackmail us through detaining Sir Thomas Bancroft and now Sir Samcelot, into complying with his whims - to leave his regime alone entirely, to turn over our most ancient, powerful artifact, and for me to submit to death at his hand.  

Killing Dimitris alone will not stop the system he has created, and will not help free the people of Andres.  Most citizens of the country remain innocent, terrified into compliance, or completely ignorant of what Sarandis does behind closed doors.  These people deserve our help, and the only way to do so is to show them the evil that lurks at the heart of their government, gain their support in uprooting that evil, and assist them in stabilizing their country thereafter.   

To do this, we will need to go beyond the usual parameters of our missions, with a militant, strategic push into the island designed to seize the castle, and take down Sarandis' rule."   He pauses there, letting that sink in.  "What I will not stand for is a callous attitude towards the innocents who we seek to protect on the Island, during this insurgency.  Their safety will be paramount to our operation, and as such, speed is important to what we will be accomplishing.  Dimitris expects retaliation, but he also underestimates our tactics.  As such, rather than attacking the castle with an army, you will be deployed about the Island in a number of small teams, each with an objective that will help us cut off Dimitris from contact with his supporters, secure Sir Bancroft and Sir Samcelot's safety, free those who are imprisoned, and confront Sarandis, taking the castle in the process.

Details of these individual operations not withstanding, I imagine there are some questions.  I open the floor to you to speak."

Comments

[generaldavideus]

[YAY VIOLENCE. That's pretty much what David's reaction boils down to. He is a simple man of simple needs. He figured that was what he was doing anyway, so he'll just lean back from his seat at the table and listen to what else is going on.]

[bigbad]

[Considering Emma was turned to stone last time she went off without him, Hook sends her a longing look, but he trusts her. They'll see each other again on the other side. And at least she can take care of Faye and Lila. And if Henry's anything like his mother, he'll be just fine as well. He waits to hear his job.

Han just nods when he hears his team. It's good people. They've got this shit. As long as he can keep from murdering Christos. He's a little worried when he hears his daughter will be doing things without him but she's a fighter and his daughter and she's got this.

Assuming Andie isn't dead in Russia, she gives a little gulp when she hears her team, then nods a little too rapidly. Oh god, she's gonna die.

Drax grins and clasps Rocket on the shoulder when their names are read together bc tbh he would have gone with Rockets team anyway. DON'T MESS WITH MY CLIQUE. Also he is definitely standing right by the table.]

It will be new, my friend, breaking into the prison as opposed to out of it! A hearty challenge.

[Jaime's eyes meet Alanna's across the room and insert song cue loathing from wicked I'm on my phone what do you want from me. But at least the dumbass section of the Katoomba mission isn't coming.

Grimrot nods anxiously when she hears her mission. It seems mostly diplomatic, which hopefully means low on detestable combat.

And Spike just sits, leaning forward, eyes glittering. Is he on team kick the crap out of Sarandis? Cause that's the team he wants to be on.]

[icouldbe_bess]

[ alice kind of wants to puke from anxiety, fidgeting slightly and pleased she picked a random tall guy to stand behind, but getting out of places she shouldn't be is sort of exactly how the knights found her the first... five or six times in boston. she can pull her harry houdini disappearing acts on the andresian people, sure. and it sounded like all those other people would be taking care of the hitting and violence, right? right??? ]

[badexample]

[As Des gives up his chair and Andrew sits, he realizes this is so much worse???? Because he feels like everyone is watching him. And his stomach is flipping several times. He feels queasy and looks green. Hurk.]

[ex_noble101]

[Aedan squares his shoulders and lifts his chin just slightly, looking a little proud when his team is announced and their assignment detailed. Let's be real, Christos probably got to choose who he wanted with him (or so Aedan assumes because that crabby bitch was probably the pickiest team leader of them all), so to him it sort of spoke volumes that he'd been chosen because it means senpai noticed him.

And despite his boos being assigned elsewhere, he ain't even worried because they end up handing him his ass more often than not. And they'd probably do it again if he expressed any sort of concern for their well-being because apparently everyone he associates with lacks proper social skills.

Klaus doesn't really indicate his feelings one way or another, but he was hoping for a little more carnage. Then again, some monster could always stalk out of the woods and start tearing people apart, so all hope was not lost in theory. He doesn't say anything though. He does try to catch Tia's gaze like I hope one of these people is half as competent as you, gurl. But that's about it.

Alaric just listens as well. He is actually more worried about what happens should anyone run into Elena but he needs to ... stop making that the center of his world. Shepherding evacuees to safety was fine with him but now I have to go to work I just wanted to get some character reactions in.]

[beatupgrass]

[Only the grace of good reflexes and being really used to people larger than him slapping him like that keeps Rocket from pitching over. Breaking in to a prison is a new challenge, but most prisons don't carry the amount of anguish this one did. Not that he ever lets his emotions wreck him when he's trying to work. It's all payback anyway. And having Drax with him will ensure no one tries to screw him over.

Bambi does a quiet little fistbump in the back. YAAAY HANGING OUT WITH MAMA HELEN AND NOT FIGHTING. Maybe she'll get the poor impoverished Shadowkind some new identification for their new life on the mainland.

Gold nods at his assignment and reaches over to squeeze Belle's hand. He's a bit relieved that it seems to be mainly non-combat oriented. After Germany, using magic has sort of become a bit distasteful and the less he's forced to use it the better.

Des stands behind Buffy's chair and crosses his arms over his chest. Just... waiting, though he does cast a look Helen and Anastacia's way. Be safe, ladies.]

[autorevive]

But — [ he gestures towards the table like BUT IT'S A TALKING RACCOON, LOGAN. ARE YOU SEEING THIS SHIT????? but fine. he shuts up like a scolded puppy. for the next like ... five seconds.]

[familybusiness]

[Sam isn't too shocked by his assignment, and freeing prisoners is a good enough cause. It'll be more dangerous than some of the others, but he knows he has more experience with these kinds of life or death situations than most.

In another area of the crowd, Bo is extremely pleased with her group and is ready for some action. She's a bit distracted, though, by Andrew's deteriorating condition. :|

Dimitri doesn't know any of those he's been assigned with particularly personally, but he knows that he's been given an important assignment, and protecting others is what he does best. Holding down the fort isn't all that different.

Miles is a little more nervous than the rest of this group. Combat situations have gone somewhat poorly for him in the past, though he knows he's improved some over the last year He's going to grin regardless, though, because he sure did get paired up with a certain lady he happens to be fond of, and he's happy to have any excuse to watch her kick some ass again.]

[thoughtless]

[ Jackson is looking suitably unimpressed and confused at intervals, but his name turning up in the same group as Lydia and Stiles earns an eye roll. That said, it doesn't sound combat heavy, so maybe they won't all die. Unsure if boring or thank god.

Also irrelevant to Jackson but p sure Jaime was the leader of the dumbass section of Katoomba excuse you ]

[bittersweeter]

[ like astrid, lila swiftly moves through the crowd, pulling her gloves off. when she's close enough, she brushes her bare fingers across andrew's arm and he abruptly slumps is his seat, unconscious. she glances at bo in case the woman thinks she's trying to mess with her boyfriend and parrots one of andrew's catch phrases. ] Have you tried turning it off and on again?

[ after a brief respite to allow his brain to settle like he's gotten a particularly nice nap and slept off his panic, she snaps her fingers to wake him up again. morning, starshine. ]

[pathology]

[the face she has rn while watching lila pull that shit is so disapproving. SO DISAPPROVING. we just talked about this wtf.]

[wynn]

In order to facilitate transportation off the island for those under Sir O'Keefe's team's command [ because he totally said O'Keefe instead of Duval earlier b/c Wynn is not a dumbass who forgot Anastacia is married, just Arden is ] a team will be sent to lock down and secure the docks, so that we might commandeer some of the vessels in the harbor for our own temporary usage.

Sir Edain will lead this team, which will consist of Sir Chatwyn, Laskaris, River, Jones, and Rast.

[oftheband]

A right bit of piracy, eh? It's not the same as jumping in the fray, but I suppose there's worse commands to have.

[bluffcheck]

[Thoster COULD NOT LOOK HAPPIER!]

Much worse! [He calls out to Edain.] Another round on the stormy seas of Andres? Don't mind if I do.

[Meanwhile, Andrew has woken up from his nap and gives Lila a really confused, slightly sleepy look. Like bwuuuuh? But he doesn't look like he wants to barf so that's cool.]

[pathology]

[ astrid tries to ignore andrew now bc it's just going to push her buttons about lila pissing her off early this morning. ugh so many of the people she knows are already on teams. she tries to do the math in her head of who's left ergo who she's most likely to be paired up with, but it's too crowded in here and she doesn't know everybody's surname so it just sends her into an even deeper state of annoyance. ]

[lastdragomir]

[ wow astrid lila can help people too, ok. :| but she just slips back to faye like a magnet and because she... actually knows astrid is peeved with her. they hadn't exactly left each other on the best terms, it not a huge leap. (wis 14)

lissa on the other hand, casts a worried glance up at max, who she is definitely standing next to, hand against his arm squeezing tightly in nervousness. thoster is gr8 and she trusts him to be fine... but she stays worried about max, she can't help it. ]

[necessaryevil]

[ max looks down at her with a small comforting half-smile. he's being impressively put together for being in a ... room this packed. he doesn't say anything, but he does put his hand over hers and squeeze back. ]

[wynn]

When it comes to the citizens of Andres, we'll be making it a priority to protect all echelons of the people from becoming casualties of this battle. To that end, Sir Colin Banks will be leading a large group of Knights into the rest of the city proper, in order to rally those of the human populace will flock to the cause of the Prince's return, and also gather the people in a safe location. The purpose of this is two fold - both to protect them, and also to root out supporters of Sarandis who might seek to undermine our efforts while we are there.

He will be supported in this task by Sir Dragomir, Sir Karamazov, Sir Frost, Sir Chase, both Sirs Weiss, Sir Organa, Sir Nessa Harvey, and Sir Daniels. [ his eyes flit over the psions in the group ] It may prove necessary to monitor the thoughts of those gathered in order to ascertain any potential betrayal brewing amid the nobles who remain loyal to Dimitris. Keep them from getting out and causing any trouble - but I encourage you to find methods beyond force to restrain any such instigators. The image we present to the powerful elite of the Island will certainly shape matters in the wake of this fight.

[arrested]

[ If Alisha seemed at all uneasy before, she's even more so now. She recognises her name in there, but she doesn't know any of the others. That just makes it all even more unnerving. And then there's the whole thing about monitoring thoughts.

She looks around a bit. Feeling more than a little lost. She's even considering going and standing near Nathan. God help her. ]

[telepathy]

Ah, monitoring the children. Certainly not the part of teaching I’ve missed the most.

[ Not the other knights, dw. The Andresians. At least Emma knows that her people are big babies. She rolls her eyes briefly. ]

Splendid.

[ Directing her attention from a cursory look around the room to determine which of her fellow knights have been elected, she looks to Wynn. ]

You’re sending a number of telepaths on a mission meant to root out Sarandis’ loyalists. I feel it's only prudent to ask: does your recommendation against force include a spot of mental persuasion against their fearless leader?

[lastdragomir]

[ as if lissa wasn't anxious before, now she sure is. she's not a telepath, of course, she is usually the cleric of the team, but something about wynn's words trigger an involuntary reaction in her, fingers tightening against max's arm when emma asks the same question lissa was thinking.

mental force is something she is more than adept at if avery and her brother were any indication. lissa doesn't need to remember to know that she drove someone insane with the sheer force of her will. yay...? ]

[ambitionist]

[he follows wynn's glancing to get an idea of who his teammates are — the names he doesn't recognize, anyway. he can't read minds ... but he can charm people. and creatively restrain them. :) it'll be gr9.] Oh, yeah, brainwash them. That won't cause any problems down the line if it happens to wear off. Not at all. [the sarcasm is palpable.]

[wynn]

Forcing them into supporting Marcus, even simply into opposing Dimitris, sets a poor precedent for any regime that would follow. [ he shakes his head simply ] And as Sir Karamazov says, when the dust settles, should it be made known that we did so, it would illegitimatize the claims Marcus will be making about the people's support of Dimitris' fall.

[ex_psionic439]

[While Adam is glad that he's not going to be in the D-D-D-DANJUH ZONE, he feels like Wynn is grossly under-utilizing his best assets. That would be the telepaths for those of you not following along at home. Psion master race tbh. At the same time, the restrictions make perfect sense so he can't really complain about it either.

He is a little curious as to why Tia wasn't included in his group. Maybe because she was more invested in this whole thing than a lot of the people currently present were, or maybe because they needed another telepath elsewhere. He's going to make it a point to try and talk to her after all of this is over, though.]

[beatupgrass]

[by now rocket's climbed up on drax's shoulder so he can be a gossipy bitch... or because he's tired of standing on the table.

no it's totally because he's being a gossipy bitch. He is probably recounting the tale of how he knocked adam on his ass in snickering whispers.]