EXGAL HUNT - Weekend Treasure Hunt 8: Extragalactic Death World

[Laith Varad*]

Planet NE-2
Star Destroyer Wreckage; Port Flank
Objective: South Segment

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...he'd remain down on his knees for a time after pulling himself out of the water where he'd only just killed that enormous insect moments before and taking the time to contemplate his situation Laith would have regarded the items he'd come away with thus far. The Electrical component was an oddity, he didn't understand what it might have been used for, and the Talisman seemed out of place in this wreckage but Laith reasoned it had its uses yet to be revealed. He actually took the talisman out of the pouch he'd set it in for safe keeping and looked at it momentarily until he heard the sounds again....

...the skittering was starting to come from behind him out of the root system that had tangled itself in with the wreckage of the Star Destroyer and deeper inside of the tree. The Mandalorain stood back onto his feet in response and turned on the platform before shaking his head..."Hell no."...was all he said knowing that if these bugs were as large as the last one he'd killed in the water he didn't want anything to do with them. Reaching for his belt Laith would take a trio of grenades off of it and begin to prime them without a second thought...

...the Fragmentation Grenades would litter the area with shrapnel not to mention what the actual blast from the explosion would be expected to do. After he'd primed the grenades Laith didn't spare a second thought before hurling two of them into the water and tossing the third into the tangled roots of the ancient tree itself; then he turned and left. Moving quickly he'd ascend the stairs that lead him down to this level of the wreckage before a loud explosion rocked the floor beneath him when the grenades detonated razing the area and killing anything within a close proximity of their blast radius. Once the explosions had occurred Laith didn't hear much behind him anymore but he understood this was a temporary circumstance and there was no slowing down...

...he'd descended into the lower levels of the wreckage now he ascended higher. He'd need to brave the corridors again but Laith remembered where he'd seen another set of stairs that lead upwards into the higher levels of the wreckage. If there was anything else to find it would have likely been in that direction and with any luck he'd find an area to transmit back to the Astrometric Droid on his ship as well. One could only hope anyways...​

 

[Nyxie]

[Unknown]
Inside Capital Ship Crash Site (Bow, West)
IFF {MSF-0001-CA}

There wasn't much time for thought. Aynea only had a few moments of planning before the undead had looked her way, and not long reassured before something less expected could potentially happen. She had to stay perpetually mobile to avoid detection or alarm.
Quickly creeping up behind the undead to her left, she reached out with her crush claw, rising up and grasping the circumference of its skull. With a relatively easy motion, it squeezed down upon it, shattering it and spraying the ichor of its decayed brain on both the other undead and her clothes, two small specks splattering across her right cheek. Before the second even had a chance to comprehend what had just transpired, it was stricken through by two beskar CyberWhips.and ripped asunder. Aynea made certain to strike it's upper half's head fiercely with the heel of her plated chopines, crushing it thoroughly before anything could leave its senses.
The foxtress gave a few gasps in excitement.
After the deeds were done, Aynea pulled forth from her Silk satchel a blood vial, filled halfway with the spilt blood of nameless Acolytes. She knelt down before the second undead kill and carefully uncorked the glassteel vial with her teeth, pinching it in the corner of her mouth whilst dipping the vial in the leaking pool to collect. There was no way she had gone through all of that work for no reward, and she wished to study what manner of Undead these specimens were. Once that had been completed, she grabbed the cork from her maw with her free hand and shoved it hard back into the vial. The remaining blood globbed on the rim of the vial, she burnt away with a subtle flame. As she did, the soft blue glow of the pathways in her left arm glowed coldly, illuminating the end of the room - some sort of storage compartment. The vial was tucked in her sash and the woman slowly rose to inspect her new discovery.
At the end of the room were a series of messily-stacked plasteel crates and containers.
"Huh, what's this?" whispered the fox.
Upon further inspection, Aynea discovered that most of the crates had been emptied or ruined. One small container, however, held a digital key.
"Oooh...."
She pondered upon what the key might do, as it didn't appear to be associated with any kind of door on any modern capital warship she'd heard of; keycards usually filled that role. It had to be to a lock of some sort.

 

[Matreya]

West Segmant

Other than the tight, cramped, and god awfully funky tunnel, Damien focused on the odd tingling he felt - almost like a tickling against his peripheral senses. Few things did this: objects of importance towards ones destiny, some that simply seek new owners, and ones that are strong in their connections to the Force.

He hoped it was either the prior or latter, as either could help his eventual goals.

Closer and closer that tingling grew, raising until it was an annoying hum that seemed to vibrate his senses. Eventually the feeling was beneath him, or at least as close to below as he could tell - could be more levels, or other such things that could defy his chosen logic.

Bringing his saber down, the man slid it through the plates of metal beneath, and drew a wide circle. Catching the metal with his mind before it dropped, he sucked it up inside with him - leaning back so as to avoid the magma like alloy.

Dropping through the freshly made escape from entrapment, he landed as silent as a massive body of weaponry and armor could. Looking he about, he took in the room he landed with a single glance. It seemed an office or something similar, with desks and shelves around.

The tingle he felt led himself towards the nearest overturned shelf, and upon flipping it he found a small artifact that seemed to emanate the energies he was feeling.

Lifting it, he stashed it in a pouch hidden in his right gauntlet. Thusly he looked for another door to lead to something new. He would examine his new find later.

Once in the adjoining hall, Damien began to move towards the least deadly point his mind could find. Each step optimistically drew him closer to something else possibly worth finding, as well as closer to some kind of knowledge he may be able to find.

As always there were the empty rooms, some holding obvious maintenance type equipment, some holding control tech, others housing personnel quarters. But never did his senses nor the force whisper of riches again.

This wouldn't stop his attempts however.

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Artifact in Western segment captured [member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Laith Varad*]

Planet NE-2
Star Destroyer Wreckage; Port Flank
Objective: South Segment

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...once Laith emerged from the stairs he became more cautious again. Turning his head as he moved into the corridors of the wreckage once more he'd use the low light vision of his helm to ensure there was no movement to either side of him, insect or otherwise, while he unshouldered his Sonic Carbine again. Before proceeding through the corridors he'd do a quick check of the sonic carbine and replace the power cell currently loaded into it to ensure that he had the maximum amount of ammunition at his disposal. The Mandalorian knew he didn't want to be stuck reloading if the bugs swarmed him again. Now that he was satisfied he was prepared he moved on and ventured deeper into the wreckage in search of anything useful or valuable that had been stripped by time or the environment...

...navigating the corridors proved relatively easy. The Wreckage of the Star Destroyer was falling apart but the majority of the corridors were still held together enough that they were traversible with a minimum amount of effort. Of course Laith shuddered to think what might have been behind the walls, in the ducts and the crawlspaces of the wreckage where the bugs likely maintained their nests and had entirely free reign. Not his concern at this moment though. Up ahead Laith made out the stairwell that ascended higher to the upper levels of the wreckage, likely one of many however it was the first he'd happened upon, and turning into it he'd begin his ascent higher into the remains of the starship where the insects had taken control of what was once an immense spacecraft...

...the Sonic Carbine was snug into the crevice of his right shoulder, his left arm supporting the barrel, as Laith trained it ahead and made sweeps with it while moving higher through the stairwell. Vigilance paid off. The Mercenary came around one corner and found one of the enormous Beetle insects he'd encountered down bellow chittering at him in outrage and surprise before it sprung to attack. Decompressing the trigger of the carbine with his index finger caused a bubble of sonic energy to form which slammed into the insect and literally caused it to explode in a shower of goo that covered Laith. Disgusting was one of many thoughts that crossed his mind as he raised his left hand and wiped the visor of his helm clean of the sticky excrement. As he did he heard the familiar sound of chittering emanating from all around him. Moving up the stairs again he hurried. Double time...

...taking the stairs two at a time he knew he didn't want to be in an enclosed area if the insects found him which is why he ran. Ran hard. Up and out of the stairwell he exploded into one of the upper tier corridors, made a quick sweep of the area with his carbine trained ahead and then moved in a hurry. Moving swiftly he saw it up ahead, a set of durasteel doors with the faintest amount of light filtering through, and running towards those doors he'd have crushed himself against them and attempted to squeeze through....

...the skittering grew closer...

...it was an act of desperation. He tossed his Sonic Carbine through the crack in the durasteel doors, he tossed the Vibrosword that had been sheathed on his back and then he tried to squeeze through as though that would make him much thinner. Muscles tensed and Laith heaved as he tried to fit and the sounds of the insects closing in on him grew louder. Pulling himself, muscles tense, he would finally pop through the opening in the durasteel doors before falling onto his stomach in a heap however catching his breath was a luxury he couldn't afford once he hit the floor. Rolling onto his back he'd reach for the Sonic Carbine, draw it close and take aim through the breach in the doors he'd squeezed through and then he squeezed the trigger firing shot after shot of sonic energy out into the corridors where the screech of the insects greeted him thereafter until it sounded like the skittering retreated...
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[Nyxie]

[Unknown]
Inside Capital Ship Crash Site (Bow, West)
IFF {MSF-0001-CA}

It was times like these Aynea could also be glad she made Storm almost impossible to recover.

The Ruferalahuin pocketed the [strange key] and turned around, ready to explore more of the ship ruins. She was only three steps from the door before a subtle hum echoed in the distance. Confused, she stepped forward, trying to fixate her sharp ears on the source of the sound. One more step closer, she took. One more decibel, the resonant sound grew. Suddenly, it was growing to a loud vibration. The woman took a half-step back, leaning back into the room; then another step. Before her eyes could lock on the sight or sound, a cloud of noxious mosquitoes rushed into the compartment room, nigh throwing her back and almost off of her feet!
These killer mosquitoes were like nothing she had seen before. They had seemingly almost acted uniformly. It was as though something was leading them, like soldiers in a cadence. The glistaweb of her white robe covered most of her body and the Vonduun shell kept her legs mostly safe from bites. If any mosquitoes managed to slip past, her evolved bio-immune system would probably keep it at bay from being lethal, or at least for long enough to take notice and find medical assistance. With the Ankarres Sapphire in her possession as an amulet, she also didn't worry much about the sort of thing. Lots of toxins existed on Uluk Tgalieh - none of them were the Gulag Plague or Dark Harvest Strain though. In fact, the world had remained completely and thoroughly untouched by both, completely undiscovered until recent times. One thing, there was no denying - the swarm had a feral and unnatural hunger.
Aynea quickly ignited a cloud of fire all around her, the tribal markings on her left libms glowing bright once more as the flames channeled out. With one quick pulse, a gust of fire rushed out of the doorway to the room, filling it and half the hall to slay the vicious swarm of possessed insects.
Aynea wasted no time in exiting the room and rushing down the hall, no longer regarding her subtlety or the cunning of a fox. Whatever that key lead to, she wanted to find it - and fast! She had no intention of overstaying her welcome. The worst was yet to come.

(((Going for component thingy two in next post - will kill on sight if spam-ninja-loots.)))

 

[Arrbi Betna]

Southern Segment

A lone Vangaard Pathfinder landed nearby. Betna had found a decent enough clearing to land in, but it was still a short ways away from the target he'd found. The recent opening to this pocket of space had caused enough hubbub that he'd picked up on the news trickling through the underworld. He wasn't a treasure and plunder type of man, but everyone wanted some adventure from time to time. Plus, anything he found could be of use to the Mandalorians and the Protectors, which was a plus.

He sealed his armor and armed up. He took his standard slugthrower rifle and his usual shotgun. He'd brought his own ammunition for both, plus his .44 revolver. He carried a pair of wrist mounted rockets and some extra reloads for the weapons. His variety of knives sat around his gear and he knew he had plenty of ammunition. He figured if the planet was undiscovered with wreckage on the surface, it meant either the crew hadn't survived the landing or hadn't survived the planet. Either way, he wasn't going in lightly armed.

He pulled on his beskar-plated Ysalamir nutrient harness and double checked his equipment. Frowning a moment beneath his sealed helmet, he tossed a few more grenades onto his gear and stepped out the door, patting his chest to make sure the Taozin amulet was under his armor, just in case.

Time to investigate.

[member="Jorus Merrill"] [member="Anija Ordo"]

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

Naast'ika tumbled through the cold, dark of space. His song resonated weakly in the force, bathing the area near him in feelings of pain and sorrow. As the planet loomed nearer and nearer, the crew within him became increasingly active. "You must focus, Naast'ika." Came a voice from within him. "If you do not correct course, you will burn up in the atmosphere of that planet."

The voice was familiar to Naast'ika. Captain Tupu was speaking to him again.

On the bridge of Naast'ika, his voice echoed faintly in realspace. His singing was a sensation that the crew of Naast'ika were slowly getting accustomed to.

"Naast'ika. Surely you can feel it. We are being pulled down by the planet's gravity. You-must-pull-up!" Captain Tupu barked out into the open space of Naast'ika's bridge, knowing that the ship could hear him. A quick glance at Navigation, answered by the collective shaking of heads, confirmed that the young ship was not responding to his commands.

"Naast'ika. Be brave for us." Said Commander Kain soothingly. "If you continue tumbling towards that planet, you're only going to hurt worse than you do now."

Captain Tupu nodded at Commander Kain in acknowledgement of her words and tactics. He knew that children respond best to a firm father and a soothing mother. It was why he had requested Commander Kain for this assignment. "Commander Kain is correct, Naast'ika." He said to the young creature their lives depended on. "We understand that you hurt, but if you do not heed our advice, you will only experience further pain. Please, I implore you. Correct your approach!"

"Trajectory stabilizing. He's correcting course!" Reported Junior Lieutenant Tersu from Navigation.

"Where's he taking us?" Captain Tupu asked, already dreading the answer as his eyes were transfixed by the forward viewscreen and the planet that filled it.

"Tumble has ceased." Junior Lieutenant Tersu reported. "He's bringing his bow down and... Continuing towards the planet."

"Damn it." Captain Tupu said as his hands balled into fists. "Alright, fine. Navigation, get us a safe approach vector. Naast'ika's going in whether we want him to or not. Ensign Demona, relay telemetry to Navigation. Once we're stabilized, I want you scanning local airspace and groundspace. I want to know if we'll be under any imminent threat."

Junior Lieutenant Tersu and Ensign Rekama worked frantically with Ensign Demona to analyze the local space and plot a safe course for Naast'ika to correct to. Nearby, Lieutenant Commander Armada and Junior Lieutenant Lassiter poured over the data archives as they struggled to determine which of the frontier planets they had been tossed upon. Naast'ika's bow angled up slightly at the gentle request of Junior Lieutenant Tersu and Ensign Rekama. Shields flared and fire formed around the rapidly descending ship, but their planetary entry was now controlled. For the moment, they were safe.

As the ship plunged into the atmosphere of the planet, Commander Duke and Junior Lieutenant Durran relayed communications between themselves and the various members of the crew. The two of them worked together to gather information about internal damage and coordinate the repair efforts of the crew. So far, it was extensive. Even the Marine detachment had been ordered to help in the repair process.

Throughout Naast'ika, the various members of his crew jumped into action. Petty Officers Lefex, and Lefex were busily trying to seal the damaged sections that had been vented into space. Internal shields had activated automatically to prevent whole sections of ship from depressurizing, but they had done little for the immediate area. The brother and sister members of the emergency response team waded through the depressurized section of ship in their environmentally sealed beskar'gam. Their suits had been specially designed for use by both firefighters and space faring engineers. The two worked diligently to weld durasteel plates over the internal tares in the hull. It would take several hours to fully repair these damaged sections. Though the ship would eventually repair the damage it had sustained, they could not afford to wait the days or weeks it would take to complete the healing process. They would likely need to dip into their bacta supply to expedite matters, but for now the two focused on their welding. They could see the energy shielding of the ship only a few bare meters away from themselves. If flared and shimmered as fire danced along the outer hull. In spite of the shielding, the external sensors of their suits told them that the temperature in the room was steadily increasing.

Petty Officer Skyblade was similarly dressed in specially designed beskar'gam. She was busy helping Civilian Contractor Kresk'azon'arco stem the torrential flow of body fluids in hallway three-delta. Skazona was cauterizing the wound with an arc welder while Petty officer Skyblade applied gravitic bandages and bacta to the area immediately forward of the wound. Repairing a biological ship was a complicated process that combined medical and engineering techniques, and none aboard had yet to perform and real life application of the skills they had been taught as part of their tour aboard this vessel.

More than one of the crew wished that they were serving aboard a nice, normal, mechanical starship at that moment.

 

[Nyxie]

[Unknown]
Inside Capital Ship Crash Site (Bow, West)
IFF {MSF-0001-CA}

There were only more signs of death ahead of Aynea, slowly being discovered as she ran down the halls. She turned a corner into another undead and shoved it out of her way violently before continuing. It didn't take long for her to see the train of undead chasing her and swarms of insects repeatedly attempting to swarm her and be incinerated. She was quite the enduring one, but in such a hostile and uncertain closed-quarters environment, even she would wear out eventually at that pace. The running, shoving, stumbling, climbing and burning had to come to a stop eventually.
Aynea's defense against the train behind her was nothing but a Particle blaster brandished from her satchel. The large, spaced bolts did considerably well in keeping the horde at bay as she searched for a storage hangar or main hub
"There!" she verbally thought, approaching a dirtied and mostly tarnished directory indicating the forecastle of the ship and the opposite loading and storage bays. She took another un-aimed blast behind her and made a sharp pirouette to the right to begin again sprinting the halls. Her pistol finally ran out of ammo, as expected, but the horde only grew.
"Kark, drat!"
The pistol was lugged behind and forsaken for now pacing on all fours as she did so well. An spark in the Force within caused its gas chamber to ignite, causing a considerable explosion down the expanse of he ship, which rattled the ground and echoed throughout the entire skeletal hull.
Finally the Ruferalahuin tossed herself through the frame of a very large set of bent and crooked, half-closed shutter doors. The key slid from down her neck, across the steel floor. She skidded across the floor and panted, resting as the horde clawed and slammed quizzically at the doors before her. It would hold them off... for a while. However, she had a bigger problem; now she knew that some greater force was driving them and retroactively placed them in pursuit of her. She could only assume some Dark Side power or collective conscious was commanding them from beyond the ship's messy, vacant halls.
Aynea slowly rose to her feet after a moment's rest and slowly walked deeper into the chamber. It appeared she had successfully made it across the main personnel channel and was in the cargo loading bay. It was drab and small patches of punched out metal allowed for sunlight and overgrowth to enter. The Ruferalahuin knelt down to pick up the odd key, but when she rose, she noticed a distinct similarity. An object in the distance held a similar marking to the key. She slowly and cautiously approached. Her curiosity - absent of fear and full of ignorance once more - caused her to burst forward towards it eagerly. As she compared it to the object she had picked up before, she then knew that the two were of the same creation. This was what she had been looking for the entire run. She didn't know what it was or what was within, what it did or what purpose it all served, but she knew that if she planned on making the guillotine worth traveling, she'd have to bring it home. Between having to drag it out and being surrounded by zombies, she wasn't quite sure how she would accomplish that goal. Worse still were the things that did not reveal themselves so hastily....

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Component Thingy #Two presumably found - [member="Jorus Merrill"]​

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~ PM me for team-ups, otherwise I'll have to improvise. ~​

 

[Naast'ika Laaran]

Naast'ika's Etheric Rudders bit through the cold of space and through atmospheric pressures with equal ease. Shifting his body, Naast'ika allowed the gripping embrace of the planet's gravity to pull him down as he used his rudders to curve his path to one less suicidal. Warm fires and pressure waves rippled along his hull as he pierced the last and final layer of entry resistance. It felt good to Naast'ika. It was soothing to his sore body and tingle of atmosphere took his mind off of the pain he was in. Organic crew and mechanical droids swarmed through his insides as they sought to make him feel better. He liked them sometimes...

At last, and after much insistence by Captain Tupu, Commander Kain, Junior Lieutenant Tersu, Ensign Rekama, and many a panicking crewmember, Naast'ika activated his Neuroengines and slowed his descent. Powerful gravity waves burst to life above and in front of Naast'ika, countering the effects of the planet's gravity pulling him to the surface and providing forward thrust for the Mesen'loras as he began to slowly prowl the planet's skies. His senses explored the planet as he went. Atmospheric pressure, gas composition, electrical charges, and cloud formations played across his sensors. Naast'ika didn't truly understand it, but he found the act itself to be fun. He beeped happily as Ensign Demona and Ensign Rekama tried to explain parts of it to him, but he could only grasp so much.

Naast'ika turned his attention to the ground beneath himself and marveled at the forest that stretched for as far as he could detect. There was life everywhere. His sensors were overwhelmed by the amount of data being returned. The trees were alive. Living things swarmed through the trees like Naast'ika's crew swarmed through him. Living things crawled through branches and prowled through jungle floors. They crawled upon the surface of trees and they flew through the air above the trees. Life was everywhere.

Naast'ika played at the databanks and bio-computers that were connected to his neural pathways as he tried to identify the lifeforms he was encountering. There were hundreds! Maybe thousands or millions. His sensors saw the surface of the planet as more than just a sea of green leaves, Naast'ika saw the jungle as an ocean of live. Vast and complex, every inch of the jungle was alive.

Naast'ika's voice filled subspace once more. This time, joy and excitement were the theme of his song as he allowed his body to dip lower and lower, until his belly finally brushed against the tree canopy and he pulled up again. The tone of his song spoke of the laughter of children as he played with the surface of the world. To him, the jungle was alive. It was a friend and a playmate to explore. In the Force, Naast'ika's joy and happiness resonated weakly as he forgot about the pain he was still enduring.

 

[Laith Varad*]

Planet NE-2
Star Destroyer Wreckage; Port Flank (South Segment)
Objective: Return to Ship

​

...the insects retreated after Laith had fired the volley from his Sonic Carbine into the corridors where they were advancing from leaving a sticky goo as a remnants to where several of the bugs had exploded upon contact with the sonic energy. He knew he didn't have long though. These bugs were voracious, relentless and he was in their lair. Turning around Laith would retrieve his Vibrosword and lift it up over his left shoulder so that he could sheath it behind his back once again while he came to his feet. Once he was standing and had turned to face the interior of the room he'd entered the Mandalorain came face to face with an almost stunning sight...

...before the Star Destroyer split into pieces and was transformed into a wreckage on the surface of NE-2 this must have been an area used for scientific experiments and technological development. If it was still powered and operational the room would have doubled as secure storage. Gazing across the room from behind the visor of his helm Laith could make out what appeared to be a force field generator in the center of the room, occupying the bulk of it, which would have contained valuable, or dangerous, items behind shielding. Interesting. Assuming anything of value remained this was a lucky find...

...moving further into the room Laith didn't waist much time in beginning his search for any items that he could use. He'd also noticed something else. Sunlight filtered into this room from several hull breaches in the wreckage and a quick inspection of the light sources dotting the wall of the room behind the force field generator revealed that several of the breaches were likely large enough for a man sized creature to escape through. Noting this Laith continued his search as expediently as possible ensuring that he wouldn't miss anything valuable...

...there was a lot wreckage here, panels from the roof had collapsed onto the floor and pieces of the wall had been ripped apart while wires hung down from the ceiling ensuring the entire area was a mess, meaning there was no shortage of debris to sift through. Gripping smaller panels and pieces of wreckage Laith would toss it aside or lift it as he searched the area of anything of interest and that is when he found it...

...picking up a piece of paneling that had fallen from the ceiling of this room Laith discovered an almost familiar item. Not so different from the last electronic component he had found Laith was staring down at another odd looking component that he could identify at first glance. Quickly checking his rear Laith would kneel down and sweep his left hand out to retrieve the electrical component and bring it closer to his face allowing him to take a long look at it and wonder what exactly he was staring at. "Whatever you were supposed to do I'm guessing you never got around to doing it."...all he managed to surmise before he was back on his feet and placing the electronic component in a pouch on his belt along with the other he'd already found in this segment of the wreckage...

...there was movement not long after that and it caused Laith's attention to snap back to the present before the Mercenary turned his head to regard the area and hurried towards one of the breaches in the hull of the wreckage. As he approached he'd deactivate the low light vision of his helm allowing him to see in the normal spectrum of light once more when the sun hit him directly on the face. He took a chance and tried the comms in his helm again..."You there?"...silence until a familiar beep answered him indicating the higher elevation he was at likely meant he had transmitted successfully..."Prime the ship. I'm coming home."...​

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Bizarre Electrical Component 2 Claimed

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Azula Tindara]

Jaani paused at the threshold, allowing a moment to take in the view. The Gungan warrior had an appreciation for nature in all its forms. As he looked North he could see a soft blanket of mist hanging above a gorge. Several of the tallest trees broke through this covering, reaching up towards the tendrils of light filtering in through the clouds. Quite beautiful, he reflected as his left arm shot out.

His hands gripped the stem of the emerging flowing and yanked it free of its position. Jaani hadn’t even seen the flower emerge, he’d reacted almost before it had started to unfurl. He threw it down the hull of the ship, watching the fluttering iridescent petals join the pile that had formed at the base of their climb. Also beautiful, he decided before following the Togorian when he called back.

Taking a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, he found that with the sensory deprivation another experience came to the fore: pain. Not just the ache from the climb and battle, but a sharp burning from his shoulder. He looked down to see a thorn embedded in the flesh just beneath his deltoid.

He pulled it free and checked the wound. His body was already reacting, swelling badly and turning an angry shade of red. “Poison,” he said, holding up the thorn and squeezing out a few droplets to show [member="Mrrew"]

He pocketed the thorn for later investigation. A few small leather pouches on his belt contained various Gungan salves. One was specifically for drawing out poison and he lathered some into the wound. Kark. The poison might just string, or he could be about to drop dead. He focussed on his body, thinking about the invasive poison, urging his body to stop the spread. He didn’t know why, but he was certain he wasn’t in great peril. He took a moment to look about, thinking about their next course of action.

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew's eyes glowed in the low light, reflecting the small bits of light that came through their above enterence. He glanced around the room for a moment after [member="Jaani Doosun"] landed, before slowly glancing back to Jaani. There was a thorn in his shoulder. Mrrew wasn't familiar with dart flowers, he had no idea that those thorns they were firing were venomous. What's the point of a (assumginly) carnivorous plant killing it's prey to far away to digest? It defied all logic. Mrrew was almost ready to insist they go back to his ship, where he had a small medbay, to make sure the poison wasn't anything deadly when Jaani started spreading a salve all over it. Mrrew arched the whiskers over one eye.

"Are you sure that will wor--" Mrrew stopped midsentence, his ears flicking rapidly. In one smooth movement, the Togorian grabbed his Chiru rifle, still hanging from his belt by a bit of twine, and slashed his claws across the twine, snapping it cleanly. A moment later, Mrrew had spun around, aiming the Chiru rifle off into the darkness. The ship wwas on it's side, so it made sense that they were standing on the walls. On the far side of the room they landed in, which was covered in foliage, an empty doorway stood about ten feet up another wall. Scratching sounds came from the other side of the doorway. Like something was climbing up.

A moment later, the face of one of the feline-like Tuk'atas that prowled the area appeared.

And then it leaped.

 

[Azula Tindara]

OOC/ Oh bugger I was writing something more to add as you posted . We'll deal with the Sithspawn then I'll post it up!

 

[Azula Tindara]

[member=Mrrew]

As the feline eyes appeared in the doorway, Jaani realised he had neglected another of his senses: smell. The musk he could smell wasn’t just mould or damp, it was animal scent. He fumbled for something as the creature leapt, but was too slow. The small space and angled floor slowed him down too much.

Up close the Tuk'ata was far more terrifying when alert. The hissing, spitting streak of muscle and spines clipped him with an outstretched paw. They caught his thick hide jerkin, sending him spinning to the ground. Fortunately on the slippery, angled floor the creature had also misjudged his leap, otherwise Jaani was sure it would have had its jaws around his neck in a flash. It slipped and tumbled across the floor beside him. He scrambled for purchase, knowing the four-legged beast would be on him soon. He couldn't tell if the Togorian had shot it or not, in the confusion he wasn't sure. Either way he could still hear its claws on the metal deck behind him.

 

[Mrrew]

Mrrew raised his Chiru rifle as the creature leaped, firing off a dart just before it hit Jaani. The dart, however, missed by a hair's breath, digging into the vines of the wall on the far side of the room. It was to close now, right on Jaani. To close for a shot, not enough time. Mrrew grabbed the barrel of his rifle in both hands, and swung it like a bat at the Tuk'ata's face. Togorians were amazingly strong. Some say they rival Wookieesa in sheer power. There was two simultanious cracks; one of the rifle's barrel cracking, one of the Tuk'atas skull cracking. The feline creature fell.

Mrrew stared at the Tuk'ata for a moment, panting slightly, before looking down at his rifle. Barrel cracked, could be repaired back at his ship. He took his harpy rifle out of the sling onte h back of his bandoleir, and replaced it with the Chiru rifle. After that, he turned around, offering a large hand to the fallen gungan. "Are you all right?"

[member="Jaani Doosun"]

 

[Azula Tindara]

North


OOC/ [member="Mrrew"] sorry a bit wordy, this was what I was fleshing out before! Mind if I keep the talisman, fits with my character's more natural affinity to the Force?


Jaani took the offered paw. “Hopin' so,” he replied with a grimace. He checked where the claws had caught his vest. The thick, cured hide had taken the brunt of the damage, but thin scratches were welling in blood on his arm. He went for another pocket of salve, this one for sealing wounds and to aid healing and rubbed it in, before wiping the excess on his trousers. “Nice work,” he replied, looking at the beast, its jaw hung limply from its skull, blood trickled from its ears. The Togorian was well-balanced, fast and powerful – an enviable combination. Jaani took an electropole from his back and advanced into the next room, from where the creature had originated.

Jaani realised they were in a crew quarters. They were standing on a wall, a second door of which was next to their feet and led deeper into the vessel. The walls before and behind him held a series of bunks, but now they were oriented on end, with the headboards pointing towards the sky. He couldn’t hear or see any more creatures so risked a quick investigate.

Jaani used one series of bunks to clamber up and have a look. He found that each bunk had a locker at its base, some were open and some he had to “coerce” with his club. There were a few notes, some personal photographs. He felt bad about pocketing a fine gold watch. Its owner was almost certainly worm food by now, he assured himself.

A groan in overhead signalled the arrival of another ship, but Jaani decided to keep his head down rather than risk taking a look. Several spheres on his belt were primarily designed for exploring underwater caves, but that didn’t preclude their use in the air. He took one from his belt and gave it a twist. The chemicals inside started to mix and gave off a dull red glow. He dropped it down through the door. It bounced and rolled away, before stopping down the corridor. Jaani winced at the noise it made, but it was better than going down blind.

He cautiously lowered himself down to land on the wall of the corridor, immediately slipping and landing on his arse. The walls were slick with rain water and grime. The floor had a tread pattern, but was, unfortunately, oriented as a wall currently. Jaani stepped lightly, indicating for [member="Mrrew"] to do the same, though the principal beast hunter had displayed a surefootedness that Jaani couldn’t hope to match before.

He meant to immediately retrieve his glowball, but found himself inexorably drawn to another room on the corridor. Hefting his bulk up through the door – on the ceiling – he was going to have to get used to this, he found himself in a larger room with just one bed. A lockbox had tumbled into the corner of the off-kilter room and lay half open. Jaani rummaged inside and found a curious instrument. Like a set of pipes, but small and round. It was remarkably light. Smooth and ivory, it had to be bone. Jaani should have discarded it, it likely had little worth. However, he found himself storing the object in his pack.

Dropping back into the corridor, he realised he’d landed on a sign. It was a map of the ship, etched into a metal plate. His reading of aurabesh was still dreadful, and he had almost no technical knowledge. He hailed [member="Mrrew"] to see if he could offer any help. What was concerning was that the smell was stronger down here. He could see dark marks up the wall where the creatures had sprayed, probably to make their territory. He wondered how many more there might be.

He knew they should have turned back. Found a safer entrance, maybe gathered more supplies. Of course he wouldn't. He'd gone out alone as a teenager to battle an Opee, he'd turned out nests of beasts just to see if he could. If you put a dark hole before Jaani Doosun, he'd jump straight in just to find out how deep it was.


-------


Bone Talisman Claimed [member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Mrrew]

North

Mrrew nodded, and followed along behind the Gungan, holding his Harpy rifle ready. He hadn't as much expirience with the balster rifle as he had with his favorite dart rifle, but he was good enough. Its three laser pointers certainly helped. Mrrew glanced at the various trunks at the Gungan looted through them. Nothing he was paticularly interested in. Nothing of use.

Mrrew's ears flicked at the sound of the approaching ship. He made a mental note that there may be company. Seeing the doorway ahead, with a bit of a drop to get to the next room, the Togorian frowned. He didn't much like jumping into another room that could be full of who-knows-what without knowing what first... And then the Gungan pulled out a glowlight. Smart. Why didn' he carry those?

Mrrew nodded, and let the Gungan jump down first. He heard a slipping sound as he landed, followed by a thump. Looking down, Mrrew could see Jaani sitting in a virtual puddle of water and mildew. Oh, fun. He noddded as the Gungan got up, and turned. Grasping the sides of the doorway, he lowered himself slowly into the puddle, dropping the last foot or so. His paws splashed into the little puddle, sending droplets of water everywhere, but he didn't fall. Luckily. He hated to get his fur wet.

Mrrew turned around just in time to see [member="Jaani Doosun"] climbing through another doorway, seemingly at random. Had he heard something? Mrrew started towards the doorway where the Gungan had gone, before hearing a small sound, like an infant sneezing. He slowly turned, keeping his rifle ready, to see a very small animal slowly step out of the Shadows, it's oversized eyes watching him curiously. It was covered in scaly skin, it's feline ears pricked up in curiosity. A kitten. A Tuk'ata kitten. Feth. "Jaani..." He wasn't afraid of the kitten. He could probably kick it across a room like a boloball. But he was pretty sure Tuk'atas didn't abandon their young, and he doubted this subspecies did either... He wasn't worried about the kitten. He was worried about the set of eyes that appeared, glowing in the darkness, above it. And the set of eyes behind that. And the third behind that one.



(Alls good, nothing wrong with descriptive writing. And yeah, you can have the talisman. I have no use for it. )

 

[Azula Tindara]

“Oh Karkles,” Jaani swore as he looked back down at the corridor. From his viewpoint he saw the three – no four - creatures tense and crouch. If all of them rushed at [member="Mrrew"] he would expect them to bring even the great Togorian hunter down. Instead Jaani crouched down at the lip of the doorway and shouted at them. Another threat, this time up above made them pause.

Jaani could see the intelligence in their gaze, their eyes flicked between the two hunters. The front creature crept forwards ever so slowly towards its young. Jaani didn’t move a muscle. It grasped the young by the scruff of the neck and backed away. A more natural species might have left it at that, growling and snarling, but happy to let the potential threat back away from the encounter when the young were at risk.

Not Sithspawn. Unnatural urges drove these glowing-eyed beasts on. As soon as the mother had fled with her kitten, the other three advanced. Jaani didn’t want to get in the line of fire, but he had little choice.

“Comin’ down!” he shouted, pointing towards the far side. He leapt from his perch, electropole first. The Tuk’ata at the rear of the pack leapt up to meet him. The unfortunately creature got the pole right in the back of the gullet. The pole crackled with electricity, instantly frying the creature’s brain. However, Jaani couldn’t stop his own fall and the pole carried on, stabbing deep into the dead beast’s neck. He let go of the pole and landed awkwardly on the creature, now unarmed.

 

[Matreya]

West Segment

Dropping under a swinging limb, Damien activated his saber long enough to cleave the neck of the very same form. When the body began to slowly fall, it was lifted and hurled along down hall the Sith currently housed himself, knocking down multiple of the Horde before him.

Moments before, Damien had slammed into a massive swarm of the Mosquitos from earlier. Instantly, sounds from nearby emanated approach - the bugs were part of the hive mind thus the larger bodies now knew of his placement.

Bringing the hilt of his saber into the skull of another, the sickening crunch signaled true death, and so he rolled along the half standing body to pass it. As his legs came downward, he allowed them to easily slam against the head of the next - crushing the skull beneath his feet.

Glancing about, he quickly lost count after 30 - and growing. No matter how many he took down, it seemed this planet had more to throw his way. Thus the only option was again escape, as any finalized moves would be to draining.

Hurling a large ball of kinetic energy down the hall, he watched it knock many over, and raced to follow. Leaping into a front flip, he sailed nearly 20 feet over the group, his feet arcing high before landing on a thick pool of blood. Slamming down against his back, Damien groaned, placed his hands firmly above his head, then flipped himself onto his feet once more.

His body was growing sore, than again after being thrown through walls, multiple battles with undead hordes, hiding in cramped tunnels - you get the idea.

Slowly pushing himself into a full out run, Damien found himself panting slightly, and immersed himself in the flow of the force to deaden the nerves and push his body harder. Instantly rejuvenated he ran harder, his breathing still showing signs of exhaustion but going unnoticed.

Nearby a sign would point to a right hall, and he would take it, nearly slipping along the way again. The sign had read cargo hold, and he was forced to imagine it would house some kind of containers to hide within.

How the mighty have fallen...

Once passing through the door, into the extremely massive room, larger than the average building, Damien raced to push obstructions into the way again. Once he had at least a few moments reprieve, he looked for a crate large enough to hold his self in.

There were none.

Settling instead on finding the highest point, he began to climb. During the wreckage, the concussion had knocked everything jumbled over again. It took him quite a time to reach a high point, and thus he hoped it would take the Zombies longer - or maybe it wouldn't be done at all. Looking down at the banging mass of crap he used to cover the entrance he sighed, it was almost broken through.

 

[Mrrew]

North

The other two raced at Mrrew. The Togorian quickly dropped his aim to the nearest creature, not even taking time to take a good aim or make use of the Harpy's three laser pointers. He pulled the trigger as soon as the barrel was more or less pointed at the Tuk'ata. A red blaster bolt burst from the end, superheated tibanna gas burning into the creature's shoulder. However that didn't stop the other one from leaping over his friend and tackling Mrrew to the ground. True to cliche action movie form, Mrrew raised his rifle, pushing it in between the creature's jaws before they could close around his neck. With one quick push of his rifle, he'd flung the creature off him. But the injured one had advanced while he was busy trying not to get his throat ripped out. It's jaws clamped onto Mrrew's right arm. The TUk'ata let go, howling. Dentists don't reccomend chewing durasteel. However, while the injured Tuk'ata recoiled, the first one advanced again. Mrrew didn't have a chance to get off the ground. It was everything he could do to keep the two monsters from eating him alive.

[member="Jaani Doosun"]