Private A cold opening

[Aaaine]

Location: Avidich - Orbiting station B32
Time: 0300 Hours

Aaaine hated flying.

She had always hated it. From the very moment she had to take a shuttle from one campus to another during her undergraduate programs on Csilla, there were very few moments where she felt comfortable sitting in one of these metal coffins. And now, she was sitting in one, with a group of men and women who had taken an interest in her for who knows what reason, flying to a station that hadn’t been operative since before the…annihilation.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust it, nor did she not understand it. Flying was simple physics and mechanics, and if everything was checked properly, then there was virtually no danger to the passengers of any vessel that breached the stars. There was a mutual understanding there, one that the Chiss could rationalize in her head.

But it was the fact that so much could go wrong. A panel, not adjusted or attached properly on the outside, could very easily begin to depressurize the shuttle cabin, like the one she was sitting in…right now. It would run out of breathable oxygen almost instantly, choking her, well, until she was blue in the face.

“1.2 seconds.” She mumbled to herself, looking up instinctively after a moment to see if there were any in the cabin that had heard her mad musings. To any with a modicum of sanity, she must’ve looked like quite the site. This well-regarded, at least in the biology community, scientist that couldn’t stop fidgeting in her seat, checking the belt every few seconds, must’ve looked nothing the part. Becoming very aware of this fact as well, Aaaine reached into the side pocket of the skin tight, navy pants that she wore, pulling out a small white pill that she threw into the back of her mouth.

A dreaded, slow sense of calm began to ease it’s way over her nerves. It washed over the nerve endings from the top of her shoulders to the tips of her toes with a slow pressure, easing the nervousness that still wrapped around her mind. She could still feel it, the eyes of those within the cabin, burning into her, but at least now Aaaine could act like nothing was the matter. Maybe then she’d actually look the part of someone who knew what they were doing at this remote space station.

Leaning forward in her seat, careful not to catch the eyes of any of the others within the cabin, she let her voice cast forth with as much forcefulness as she could muster, imagining she was in front of one of her classes back at Reena university. In reality, it must’ve sounded less like a commanding tone, and more like the squeak of a mouse.

“We must be close, yes? To the station. I have the docking codes that should allow us safe passage, when they are necessary.”

| Achan Jaikavi | Jaa Ardan | Magent Karaay | @/Open to other Unblessed |​

 

[Magent Karaay]

Magent, for one, had been paying Aaaine no mind. Instead, her nose was buried in her folding, two-screened datapad, each display as thin as a sheet of flimsiplast. When the chiss mumbled something numeric, she glanced up only after finishing crossing her last t with her stylus. "Hmm?" Her tarnished gold eyes found the fellow scientist. Whether or not she caught an awkward gaze, Magent gave a sincere smile. She noted the medication make its appearance.

Aah, darlin', she thought sadly. It was quite ironic that the principal investigator for a biotechnic laboratory didn't blindlessly condone the use of pharmaceuticals simply because they partially funded her livelihood, but, given her ancillary research interests, perhaps it was not.

"Real good thing one o' us has 'em," the kage woman laughed, hoping it would displace the heavy cloud of a mood that had settled over the cabin, like an ice cube in a glass of crisp water. Maybe moods operated with the same laws of physics as matter. At least, as a neurologist who had familiarized herself with the basics of somatic physiotherapy, she hypothesized that they did. As she spoke, she unfastened her seatbelt. Before standing, she hooked her datapad to her belt so she could hold to one of the hand holds hanging from the ceiling while keeping her other hand free. She had lost track of time reading and writing notes but now was as good a time as any other for a recounting of the briefing.

"We're fixin' to meet another scientist, Xia Li. Seems to me their specialty's of great interest to LCFO." She nodded, glancing around the room. "For the Unblessed, folks."

Aaaine Achan Jaikavi Jaa Ardan @others

 

[Achan Jaikavi]

In the corner, away from other occupants of the vessel, sat a woman whose blue eyes seemed all the brighter in contrast to the very red trench-coat that she wore. Not a single expression passed across her face. No annoyance. No smile. No tiredness. It was an expression somewhere between boredom and nonchalance. The woman in question was one Nadia Prado, not that she had bothered to introduce herself to anyone.

Prado was clearly of the Unblessed. The Red Coat was a dead give away. She was the representative of Bartholomew on this endeavour. She was his eyes, ears, voice if necessary, but most of all she was his blade. Should something transpire that was not in the best interest of the great goal of the Unblessed, her orders were simple. None left alive. Herself included.

She had no problems with the mission parameters. She never did. A long time ago she had undergone a procedure in the CorpSec. Whether something was added, or something was removed, she did not recall. Whatever had happened, her ability to care much about it, or anything for that matter, had been removed. Some people could be considered cold. Prado, though, was most definitely absolute zero.

With the final approach set, she stood, steadying herself on the wall. One of the scientists had spoken. Another followed up. Nadia’s eyes did not move from the door, but she listened intently.

”For…the Unblessed,” she said clearly, firmly and without a single wisp of emotion.

Jaa Ardan Aaaine Magent Karaay

 

[Jaa Ardan]

Jaa Ardan sprawled like a loth-cat across three seats at the back of the shuttle, fingers intertwined, Jaa’s hands rested comfortably under his head acting as a pillow of sorts. His eyes were closed but he wasn’t asleep.

The thrill of traveling through space had lost its novelty a while ago. There was a time much more recently than Jaa would admit that a mission like this would’ve had him wound tight. Today though he took comfort in the hum of fluorescent lighting and the strange sensation of artificial gravity(he swore it made him itch).

“For The Unblessed, folks.”

”For…the Unblessed,”

Jaa Ardan let out a poorly stifled snort of laughter. The New Way and its founder were hardly cold and the rebranding to The Unblessed had already taken hold even here in this small shuttle in a corner of the galaxy that no one save for that very same shuttle gave a womp-rat’s ass about.

Shape up, soldier.

Jaa swung his legs over the side of the seat sitting up sharply, heeding the voice in his head. He could no longer tell if that voice belonged to his own father or to Baros Sal-Soren, founder of The New Way and a man Jaa respected and loved like a second father. After Jaa’s mother and sisters had passed and his father Bast had lost himself in the drink for years, Baros Sal-Soren patron to Bast Ardan, stepped up as the man in Jaa’s life. Jaa owed as much to Baros as he did anyone.

“Transfer those codes as soon as you can,” Jaa told Aaaine. “We want boots on the ground as soon as we’re able.”

Jaa did not know the Chiss woman. Jaa did not know any of them. That wasn’t an issue, not for him. Jaa was a soldier through and through. Following orders was what he did and his orders at present were to escort and protect this expedition as they did whatever it was they were assigned to do. Jaa was not made aware of what exactly the others were to get up to while inside the facility but it was up to him to see them through it in one piece.

Aaaine Achan Jaikavi Magent Karaay

 

[Aaaine]

Location: Avidich - Orbiting station B32
Time: 0302 Hours

The little mantra that two of her…”companions” for this endeavor spoke did little to ease the unease that Aaaine had about this whole thing. Not only was she going to board a derelict research station, one that had not been transmitting for years at this point with who knows what had happened to it, but she was doing it seemingly with a cult. Or at least, a group with a very cult-like little mantra that they liked to spew every so often. Perhaps she should’ve been worried about the quality of the people she flying into said station with, but there really wasn’t any turning back at this point.

Her attention was drawn to the front, where one of the two more capable looking soldier types asked her for the codes to be able to land. Giving a curt nod, her attention turned back to the holopad, thankful to have a momentary distraction. “I’m sending you the landing codes now, as well as the codes that should open up the majority of the doors throughout the facility.” Glancing upward, she nodded to both the other occupants. “You both will receive these as well. I don’t want anyone to be stuck if we get separated during this excursion.”

The ship turned, cleared for descent and headed toward one of the two hangers the station would have. The upper one, by the looks of it. At least that’s the information she gathered from the quick glance outside the viewport before her stomach turned upside down once again. It took a moment for the upturned stomach to settle. By the time it did, they had begun the descent down into the station. It was better now than ever to reiterate the objective. It’d calm her nerves, at least.

“As a reminder, this is one of 50 Chiss sponsored research stations stationed near, or what was near, Csilla. It was not staffed exclusively with my people, and in fact, I didn’t find many on the last manifest I could find. All I do know is that this station stopped communicating with the wider community that broadcasted to it within the last two years. To my knowledge, and my last communications with the station, their focus was down to two primary studies. One, the relationship between plant skin grafts and different types of epidermis. The second was much more…secretive. All I know was it had to do with neurolinking one’s mind to a computer.”

That was certainly not Aaaine’s specialty. Better to leave that sort of research for someone much more qualified. Perhaps the one with the thin datapad would have more interest in it.

It wasn’t long after her short briefing that the gravity on the shuttle noticeably shifted, signifying their landing. Aaaine was the first to move toward the back of the shuttle. Not necessarily because she wanted to be the first to explore this place, but really…so she could be the first off this deathtrap piece of metal. Punching the ramp button with a closed fist, she turned one last time to the group.

“I know not what you seek here, nor what you will find. Just stay close, and everything should be-..” A glance out the back of the shuttle served to steal the last of her words from her throat. The hanger itself was dark, overhead lights hanging lifelessly above. But with the passing starlight, one could see all that needed to be seen to show how much danger they were walking into.

Blaster marks, explosion soot…and bodies. Bodies littered everywhere.

 

[Magent Karaay]

“You both will receive these as well. I don’t want anyone to be stuck if we get separated during this excursion.”

A smile spread across the scientific doctor's face. "Now, that's mighty considerate of you," she commented as her holowatch lit up momentarily with a notification and vibrated lightly on her wrist, both confirmations that she had gotten the codes. Later into the briefing, when Aaaine mentioned neurolinking, her smile widened. "Color me double intrigued," she added.

As the shuttle began to put itself down, she swayed with practiced grace. She had ridden in many shuttles before and, in such, had gotten used to shifting her weight to accommodate their movements. She let go of her handhold as soon as landing procedures had concluded, turning to follow after Aaaine, cementing her position as second in the departure order.

When the landing ramp extended and the scene directly ahead of them in the hangar bay became obvious, Magent furrowed her brow. "Oh, goodness," she drawled in a strange tone more mildly inconvenienced than truly shocked, even though her words leaned to the latter. She stepped around Aaaine to travel down, then off, the ramp. She squatted beside the nearest body and hovered her watched wrist over it. A translucent blue light shown down on the body's neck from the bottom of the watch's wrist band in a triangular prism. "Whatever do y'all think happened here?" she asked even as she peeked at the watch's display to see what her scan had found.

Aaaine Achan Jaikavi Jaa Ardan @others

 

[Jaa Ardan]

"All yours, mate." Jaa said to the squat, mostly grey astromech co-pilot. Patting the droid on the head as he rose from the captain's chair, Jaa let the droid safely bring them in for a landing. He was no true pilot himself but Jaa often liked to get behind the controls of whatever vessel he was traveling in when he got the chance. Jaa's dad Bast Ardan was an ace pilot on Corellia and flying allowed Jaa a fair few fleeting moments of closeness with Bast again.

Using the codes provided the droid guided the intrepid adventures down smoothly. Jaa made his way to the back of the shuttle where he had previously been and where his gear still currently was. He'd not brought much. There was little direction in or information provided in his mission parameters, other than instruction that basically boiled down to "bring everyone back safely…if possible."

There was no way to tell how dangerous their situation would be or how long it would take so Jaa's gear was only the basics. Standard dark blueish-greyish fiber weave clothing that kept you warm in the cold and cool in the heat and covered in what seemed like an overabundance of pockets. The best part of course was the fiber weave itself which protected from puncture or stabbing attacks. It obviously did nothing to stop a blaster bolt but that's what the personal shielding was for. Based off old czerka tech, Jaa clipped the shielding to his belt. He'd never actually used one of these personal shields before but he'd been informed that there was no better standard in personal protection on the market.

He had a pack on his back as well and it carried the essentials. Water, a fairly fancy medkit, a dozen bacta patches, enough ration cubes to last all of them three full days if need-be, and around fifty extra blaster packs for both his sidearm and his blaster rifle. He'd packed a few extra tools as well, most notably a splicing kit, about eight feet of det-cord, and one thermal detonator for emergencies.

While Jaa was doing the last checks on his gear one of the others joined him near the back of the shuttle. She was an alien. Well, they technically all were but she was not human. Striking blue skin, unsettling red eyes, she was Chiss. Jaa has seen Chiss before but this was quite possibly the first time he would be interacting with one. This one was a science-y type by the way she spoke and uncomfortable with something or someone by the way she fidgeted. She explained what the facility used to be for and Jaa assumed that information was useful to at least one of the people here even if it wasn't exactly him.

The chiss at the back of the shuttle let their discomfort get the better of them and immediately lowered the ramp as soon as they touched down.

Kriffing hell.

Jaa thought to himself as he watched the ramp lower. He shouldered his rifle and pointed out of the new opening in their once enclosed shuttle. There was no movement of signs of life. Just signs of death. Bodies and blaster marks were apparently the en vogue styling choice. Jaa lowered his rifle after confirming with the droid that the ship read no signs of life in their immediate vicinity.

"Oka—" was what Jaa started to say when one of the other people on the shuttle moved past the chiss woman and out of the shuttle entirely.

Kriffing hell, I've been sent to herd cats!

"Ma'am?" He called down the ramp to the woman who stopped over one of the dead bodies.

"Whatever do yall think happened here?" She asked.

The blaster marks and dead bodies left disrespectfully strewn where they had dropped gave Jaa some idea.

Extermination

"Ma'am, please join us back on the ship." He called down to her again.

Whether or not she did in fact come back to join them Jaa decided this was the best time to do his bit.

"Good morning ladies." He said in greeting to the group of strangers whose safety he was responsible for. "I am Jaa Ardan and I've been assigned to keep you all safe while we are working together. Feel free to call me Jaa, I have no taste for formalities. Please feel free now to introduce yourselves so that we may be familiar with one another."

Jaa let the introductions go on before continuing his spiel.

"Right now that we know what to call each other and you are all aware of why I am here, I'd like to make just a couple things clear from my end. I don't know what you all were told about this place or why you three were chosen to investigate, though I have some idea. I don't need to know these things and I'm not asking you to reveal anything you'd wish not to. I am however going to reiterate that I am here as your escort and protector, I am also going to point out that I am just one man. An incredibly handsome and capable man but still there is only one of me and so that means there is to be no running off if it can be avoided, and trust me, it should be avoided." Jaa paused a beat and allowed his words to sink in.

"We will travel through this facility together, we will accomplish our goals together, and we will leave back on that shuttle together and in good health and spirits. If there are questions for me, ask them now or later really, we're all going to the same place. If there are none, we should get a move on, surely one of you has an idea of where to start."

Aaaine Magent Karaay Achan Jaikavi

 

[Aaaine]

Location: Avidich - Orbiting station B32
Time: 0305 Hours

"Whatever do y'all think happened here?"

The question that slipped through the blonde women’s lips echoed the horrified thoughts that were throttling through her own mind. There were bodies. Pilots, technicians..even some civilians from the view she had at the top of the ship’s ramp. But as she slowly descended the ramp, that was when the true horror of the situation the group had stepped into was revealed to Aaaine.

Scattered among the bodies of the stations crew, albeit in much less numbers, were the bodies of soldiers adorned in black armor. They too had blaster bolt punctures through various points in their protective wear. Something, a battle, a raid, had occurred here. Why and who had come to a station like this one was not something that Aaaine was privy to whatsoever.

Her attention turned from staring down at the overturned body of a scientist, a pair of black bolt marks in their center back, back to the ramp where the muscle of this mission was speaking from. She straightened up, an attempt however feeble to make herself look taller and much less nervous about their current situation. And to the man’s credit, his speech and taking control of the conversation did do a bit to calm her nerves. Jaa seemed to have a good grasp on the situation, despite how…unhinged everything seemed already.

“I-..” She started, taking a step toward the shuttle, suddenly stopped upon hearing the cracking of glass underneath her boot. Her gaze shifted downward, moving her boot to reveal the now lightly cracked datapad. Kneeling to pick it up, a satisfied smile crossed the edges of her lips when the screen flickered the life. It seemed like the hard drive was damaged, by her own mistake or another reason, she did not know, but the last screen still booted up. It was a manifest.

Pvt. Teegan Ul
Date: 11-24-U132

Morning manifest:
20 crates of electronic equipment
10 new rolls of wiring
3 crates of food supplies
Unknown; neurolink computer equipment
Note: Will someone tell the sgt that we received another crate of supplies that we can’t account for? This is the third one this week that contained this “neurolink” garbage. There’s no other identifications even if we could send it back to it’s original supplier. The rodian wouldn’t let me put it back on the ship. I thought he was going to blow my head off if I tried.
We should change our supplier too.


Aaaine’s brow furrowed, moving over to Magent’s side, shoving datapad in her direction. “What might you make of this?” She paused for a moment, allowing the fellow scientist to look over the document before turning to look in the soldier's direction. A curt nod then a point in the direction of the exit to the rest of the station was send in his direction.

“Follow me then. I should have the codes for the rest of the station already, and we shouldn’t need to stop until we make it to the lower decks. That’s assuming the elevators are working.” With that, she started toward the end of the hanger, stepping over bodies and overturned crates wherever they stood in her way. Her gaze focused directly on the sealed door. If she couldn’t really see the destruction under her feet, then there was a chance that her nerves wouldn’t spike very time she touched a cold body with her boot.

It took an uncomfortably long time to finally make her way to the doors. When she did, they were sealed with an emergency lock that had her furrowing her brow yet again. “That’s…that doesn’t seem right. I don’t know why they would engage a lockdown like this..” More odd occurrences to ponder later. For now, Aaaine leaned over to the console and started to input one of the many override codes that were recorded on her datapad.

| Magent Karaay | Jaa Ardan | Achan Jaikavi |​

 

[Magent Karaay]

"Ma'am, please join us back on the ship."

Magent straightened up at Jaa's second attempt to get her attention. She moved toward the loading ramp again as he made his speech, watching him with a soft gaze that seemed apologetic. "Howdy. Magent. I'm an academic doctor, but I ain't one for formalities either. I think we'll get along like two peas in a pod." She seemed to be addressing Jaa individually now, as she smiled at him. "I'll stick behind you from here on out. Cross my heart."

Her gaze and smile broke when she took hold of the broken datapad that Aaaine had found and glanced over the manifest. "Probably some under-the-radar research," she replied. This account, though it was only one, smelled of secrets. The question was if anyone besides that rodian had been willing to kill for it.

As Aaaine moved further away from the ship, Magent stayed more or less put, trying to access more of the datapad's stored data. Unfortunately, much of it seemed corrupted. With every failure, she let out a small, frustrated huff. "Now wait a second there, dewdrop," Magent added in a few minutes, turning toward Aaaine at the door control panel. "A lockdown's usually engaged to keep somethin' out, but what if this one's keeping something in, hm?" The question was largely rhetorical. She looked to Jaa next, silently asking for his thoughts.

Aaaine Achan Jaikavi Jaa Ardan

 

[Jaa Ardan]

"I'll stick behind you from here on out. Cross my heart."

One of the intrepid adventurers told Jaa with a smile. She was the one who had run out of the shuttle like an Orbak when you forgot to close the barn door.

She introduced herself as Magent, and was the only one who had bothered to introduce themselves. That was fine, Jaa supposed. He was after all, little more than the help and why bother with the help?

"See that you do, ma'am. I'll be keeping an eye on you." Jaa answered with a smile of his own, punctuating his words with a sly wink.

"Follow me then. I should have the codes for the rest of the station already, and we shouldn't need to stop until we make it to the lower decks. That's assuming the elevators are working." The blue skinned alien said before taking off out of the hanger and into the facility proper.

Shiraya's tits, I'm going to be driven mad. He thought as he motioned for the others to follow after himself and the chiss woman.

It seemed their progress had been impeded by a set of blast doors. Jaa was a half step behind the alien woman as stopped and stared at the metallic monolith that stood in front of them.

The doors seemed to deter her only for a moment though and she began messing around on the command console, Jaa presumed she was attempting to open the doors and then she said the quiet part loud.

"That'… that doesn't seem right. I don't know why they would engage a lockdown like this.."

"Now wait a second there, dewdrop," Magent said. "A lockdown's usually engaged to keep somethin' out, but what if this one's keeping something in, hm?"

Jaa decided that he liked this woman and her peculiar way of talking. She seemed to be holding herself together fairly well for being surrounded by dead bodies, murdered bodies at that. She thought quickly and logically, and she showed a fearlessness with the recklessness of the chiss woman.

"Well ma'am, that's what they sent me along for." Jaa said, shouldering his rifle and pointing the barrel toward the door.

"Ma'am," Jaa said addressing Aaaine. "Once you pop them doors open, please do step behind me, yeah?"

Aaaine Magent Karaay Achan Jaikavi