Ignis Scientia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chef_chocobro) wrote2022-05-31 05:32 pm
chef_chocobro) wrote2022-05-31 05:32 pm
Imperial Base near Sothmocke Haven; Duscae; Eos. Tuesday Night to Wednesday Morning [5/31-6/01 FT].
The portable fortress that had flown overhead found its way to an old encampment to the west, a remnant of the Old War that the Imperial army had availed itself to for the added protection. At the center of the old stronghold, a large pillar had been erected, emitting a strange, red energy field…Magitek energy, to be precise, to strengthen the soldiers and enhance their defenses. Entry, it seemed, would not be easy, but, thankfully, Sothmocke Haven was just a stone's throw away, where they could gather in peace and quiet and put together their strategy.
"So," said Noctis, turning his attention to the man usually with the plans, "any bright ideas, Ignis?"
"A dark one, as it were," Ignis answered, hand curled up against his chin, as he paced with his thoughts. "A frontal assault would leave us exposed. But, if we move under cover of night, we might be able to infiltrate the base unnoticed. Until then, we learn all we can about the base's design and attempt to narrow down the Regalia's location. I'll analyze what intelligence we have available to find us a way in."
"Sounds good, Specs," Noctis agreed, with a deep breath, bolstering himself for a long, long night and wondering if they had enough time, between strategizing and night fall, to squeeze in a nap.
"Alright!" Prompto was eager to latch onto anything that might be remotely good news at this point, grinning eagerly and wondering if this was when the tides started to turn them toward better things, finally. "We're going to get our wheels back!"
"Our goal is the Regalia," Ignis reminded them, once night had fallen and they edged their way along the makeshift fences thrown up around the supply lines into the fortress. "The last thing we want is to engage an entire garrison. Avoid detection at all costs."
"In and out before it gets light, then," Gladio rumbled in agreement.
"Indeed," Ignis confirmed. "Even if it means leaving the task unfinished, we withdraw before we overstay our welcome."
The gap in the fence yawned out in front of them, with two guards weaving in their patrol between tanks and other vehicles. "Together," Ignis whispered, "on my signal. Until then, hold position."
The count was slow and measured, dragging between seconds as the anticipation built. Finally, the guard nearest to them turned his back away, Ignis gave his mark, and Noctis, without hesitation, warped forward to drive his sword into the guard's back, killing him on impact, and, not even a second after drawing his weapon back out, did the same to the second one. Quick, silent assassinations, without anyone having had the chance to even blink an eye in between.
With that, they were in, and, with Noctis' skillful warping and deadly intent, they were able to skirt around the edges and remain undetected by the roving soldiers and the clunking mechs that patrolled the inside of the base. Eventually, though, surrounded by barrels and traffic cones in an almost comical facsimile of protection, awash in the bright lights overhead in the middle of a concrete courtyard, gleamed the Regalia.
"There's the old girl!" Noctis breathed out with relief.
"A real sight for sore eyes!" Prompto agreed, with that thrill of excitement…and dread over how exposed the area was.
"And none the worse for her time in Imperial hands," Ignis was glad to report, though his own eyes were already sweeping over the less-than-ideal situation before them. Perhaps, if they were quick enough, if they were…
But those thoughts came to a swift end with the heavy, thumping steps of one of the Imperial mechs stopping before them, extending its guns with the barrels pointed straight for where they thought they were well hidden.
"Change of plans!" Ignis called out quickly, already reaching out to manifest his daggers into his hand. "Our new objective is to clear a path for the Regalia, and get the hell out of here!"
And, with that, there was no avoiding the battle that would ensue, blades and guns and flashes of magic blazing. With the full attention of the base now on them, though, Ignis desperately fought his way forward while trying to conceive of a way to turn things more in their favor. No small task, with the odds so stacked against them.
"The generator!" he realized. "If we take down the generator, they lose a substantial amount of their power! Let us regroup…and refocus all of our attention there!"
And so they dispersed, weaving through soldiers and mech and barricades, following Noct's lead as he warped from scaffolding to tower to direct them. Unsurprising to no one, the generator was surrounded with soldiers and mechs, but what choice did they have? They had to get in there, they had to focus their attention on taking the generator down.
But they were severely outnumbered. They were severely outmatched. Prompto was down and gasping for breath, Gladio shouted with rage as his massive blade swung through a clump of Magitek soldiers and knocked them out, only to have them seemingly replaced by another small force. Ignis was feeling his magical resources depleting, and Noctis, on the edge of his own stasis drain and his Armiger already expended, felt almost certain this would finally be it…
Until he felt a spark. A new feeling, like a bolt of energy bursting through his core.
Ramuh. The Fulgarian. Reminding him of his blessing.
And just like that, with that realization, the skies overhead seemed to stir and brew with mighty stormclouds, lighting leaping in the darkness and thunder rumbling. And through it all, the bright, glowing energy collecting as if in the orb of a staff, wielded by this mighty being in the sky, lightning crackling around his long robes and his flowing beard until it became a focus beam, crashing down into the generator and sending ripples of aftershocks throughout the whole encampment, causing soldiers and mechs alike to short-circuit and collapse.
And the four young men standing there in the middle of it all, breathless and unscathed.
"Duuuuuude," said Prompto, slowly, having finally choked down a potion and scrambled to his feet, owlishly staring at the disarray of smoking bodies and equipment around them, little bursts of electricity still dancing off of their fading parts. "That. Was. HARDCORE!!!"
"And it did the trick," Ignis pointed out the more important part. "The place is dead."
"Rest in pieces," Gladio all but snorted, swinging his sword behind him over his shoulder before letting it completely disappear. "Come on. Let's grab the Regalia and split!"
"We dealt the Empire a crushing blow today," Ignis stated, with a certain sense of pride, especially considering how completely Ramuh's aid had knocked the base out, as they wound their way through the almost eerily quiet base back to where the car awaited them…hopefully without having sustained the same damage the generator had. "The Marshal will be pleased to hear of this."
"Pretty sweet," no longer dying, no longer being shot at or sliced at or blasted, Prompto found a bounce in his step and an eagerness that couldn't be contained. Finally, some good news! Finally, something had gone right! Maybe more good news would follow. "Busting up that base!"
Suddenly he let out a gasp, causing everyone to tense and look around for the next danger….until Prompto continued that thought. "Bust-a-base! I like the sound of that sort of thing! There's a base. We go in, bust it up. Bust-a-Base!
" Whatever!" he said, met with Gladio's grunt and a withering look from Noctis. " I'm calling it that. You don't have to.
"I won't," Noctis assured him.
"Seems a bit…flippant," noted Ignis.
"Why not go for something a little more epic?" Gladio asked.
""Because I thought of it first," said Prompto, lifting his chin in defiance of this totally harsh and uncalled for criticism to his brilliance. "So that's the name. Bust-a-Base. Get used to it."
"Easier said than done."
And as they returned to the Regalia, the path now seemingly clear for them to ride out into the sunset, they realized that the night had completely passed them by, and it was actually the sunrise they would be riding out into, the first glow of morning touching the sky and lightening it toward yet another day. But with the Regalia now back in their possession, the possibilities of that new day seemed endless….and endlessly hopeful.
Until, of course, they realized that they were actually not nearly as alone as they had been led to believe.
[[ but that must wait for tomorrow as it technically is a new day! This one was surprisingly fun to write up, swiped from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 5 - Dark Clouds. YES, the Bust-a-Base dialogue is an actual conversation and I love it. NFB, NFI, Longest Day Ever TBC in the AM ]]
"So," said Noctis, turning his attention to the man usually with the plans, "any bright ideas, Ignis?"
"A dark one, as it were," Ignis answered, hand curled up against his chin, as he paced with his thoughts. "A frontal assault would leave us exposed. But, if we move under cover of night, we might be able to infiltrate the base unnoticed. Until then, we learn all we can about the base's design and attempt to narrow down the Regalia's location. I'll analyze what intelligence we have available to find us a way in."
"Sounds good, Specs," Noctis agreed, with a deep breath, bolstering himself for a long, long night and wondering if they had enough time, between strategizing and night fall, to squeeze in a nap.
"Alright!" Prompto was eager to latch onto anything that might be remotely good news at this point, grinning eagerly and wondering if this was when the tides started to turn them toward better things, finally. "We're going to get our wheels back!"
"Our goal is the Regalia," Ignis reminded them, once night had fallen and they edged their way along the makeshift fences thrown up around the supply lines into the fortress. "The last thing we want is to engage an entire garrison. Avoid detection at all costs."
"In and out before it gets light, then," Gladio rumbled in agreement.
"Indeed," Ignis confirmed. "Even if it means leaving the task unfinished, we withdraw before we overstay our welcome."
The gap in the fence yawned out in front of them, with two guards weaving in their patrol between tanks and other vehicles. "Together," Ignis whispered, "on my signal. Until then, hold position."
The count was slow and measured, dragging between seconds as the anticipation built. Finally, the guard nearest to them turned his back away, Ignis gave his mark, and Noctis, without hesitation, warped forward to drive his sword into the guard's back, killing him on impact, and, not even a second after drawing his weapon back out, did the same to the second one. Quick, silent assassinations, without anyone having had the chance to even blink an eye in between.
With that, they were in, and, with Noctis' skillful warping and deadly intent, they were able to skirt around the edges and remain undetected by the roving soldiers and the clunking mechs that patrolled the inside of the base. Eventually, though, surrounded by barrels and traffic cones in an almost comical facsimile of protection, awash in the bright lights overhead in the middle of a concrete courtyard, gleamed the Regalia.
"There's the old girl!" Noctis breathed out with relief.
"A real sight for sore eyes!" Prompto agreed, with that thrill of excitement…and dread over how exposed the area was.
"And none the worse for her time in Imperial hands," Ignis was glad to report, though his own eyes were already sweeping over the less-than-ideal situation before them. Perhaps, if they were quick enough, if they were…
But those thoughts came to a swift end with the heavy, thumping steps of one of the Imperial mechs stopping before them, extending its guns with the barrels pointed straight for where they thought they were well hidden.
"Change of plans!" Ignis called out quickly, already reaching out to manifest his daggers into his hand. "Our new objective is to clear a path for the Regalia, and get the hell out of here!"
And, with that, there was no avoiding the battle that would ensue, blades and guns and flashes of magic blazing. With the full attention of the base now on them, though, Ignis desperately fought his way forward while trying to conceive of a way to turn things more in their favor. No small task, with the odds so stacked against them.
"The generator!" he realized. "If we take down the generator, they lose a substantial amount of their power! Let us regroup…and refocus all of our attention there!"
And so they dispersed, weaving through soldiers and mech and barricades, following Noct's lead as he warped from scaffolding to tower to direct them. Unsurprising to no one, the generator was surrounded with soldiers and mechs, but what choice did they have? They had to get in there, they had to focus their attention on taking the generator down.
But they were severely outnumbered. They were severely outmatched. Prompto was down and gasping for breath, Gladio shouted with rage as his massive blade swung through a clump of Magitek soldiers and knocked them out, only to have them seemingly replaced by another small force. Ignis was feeling his magical resources depleting, and Noctis, on the edge of his own stasis drain and his Armiger already expended, felt almost certain this would finally be it…
Until he felt a spark. A new feeling, like a bolt of energy bursting through his core.
Ramuh. The Fulgarian. Reminding him of his blessing.
And just like that, with that realization, the skies overhead seemed to stir and brew with mighty stormclouds, lighting leaping in the darkness and thunder rumbling. And through it all, the bright, glowing energy collecting as if in the orb of a staff, wielded by this mighty being in the sky, lightning crackling around his long robes and his flowing beard until it became a focus beam, crashing down into the generator and sending ripples of aftershocks throughout the whole encampment, causing soldiers and mechs alike to short-circuit and collapse.
And the four young men standing there in the middle of it all, breathless and unscathed.
"Duuuuuude," said Prompto, slowly, having finally choked down a potion and scrambled to his feet, owlishly staring at the disarray of smoking bodies and equipment around them, little bursts of electricity still dancing off of their fading parts. "That. Was. HARDCORE!!!"
"And it did the trick," Ignis pointed out the more important part. "The place is dead."
"Rest in pieces," Gladio all but snorted, swinging his sword behind him over his shoulder before letting it completely disappear. "Come on. Let's grab the Regalia and split!"
"We dealt the Empire a crushing blow today," Ignis stated, with a certain sense of pride, especially considering how completely Ramuh's aid had knocked the base out, as they wound their way through the almost eerily quiet base back to where the car awaited them…hopefully without having sustained the same damage the generator had. "The Marshal will be pleased to hear of this."
"Pretty sweet," no longer dying, no longer being shot at or sliced at or blasted, Prompto found a bounce in his step and an eagerness that couldn't be contained. Finally, some good news! Finally, something had gone right! Maybe more good news would follow. "Busting up that base!"
Suddenly he let out a gasp, causing everyone to tense and look around for the next danger….until Prompto continued that thought. "Bust-a-base! I like the sound of that sort of thing! There's a base. We go in, bust it up. Bust-a-Base!
" Whatever!" he said, met with Gladio's grunt and a withering look from Noctis. " I'm calling it that. You don't have to.
"I won't," Noctis assured him.
"Seems a bit…flippant," noted Ignis.
"Why not go for something a little more epic?" Gladio asked.
""Because I thought of it first," said Prompto, lifting his chin in defiance of this totally harsh and uncalled for criticism to his brilliance. "So that's the name. Bust-a-Base. Get used to it."
"Easier said than done."
And as they returned to the Regalia, the path now seemingly clear for them to ride out into the sunset, they realized that the night had completely passed them by, and it was actually the sunrise they would be riding out into, the first glow of morning touching the sky and lightening it toward yet another day. But with the Regalia now back in their possession, the possibilities of that new day seemed endless….and endlessly hopeful.
Until, of course, they realized that they were actually not nearly as alone as they had been led to believe.
[[ but that must wait for tomorrow as it technically is a new day! This one was surprisingly fun to write up, swiped from Final Fantasy XV Chapter 5 - Dark Clouds. YES, the Bust-a-Base dialogue is an actual conversation and I love it. NFB, NFI, Longest Day Ever TBC in the AM ]]
no subject
“Ignis is that you?” he called, there was no response but he could hear snippets of conversation with Prompto, Ignis and Gladio
Then the line went dead again and Goose was left trying to be still get through.
He wasn’t going to sleep tonight.