Faction In Too Deep | Darkwire

[Hex]

Objective 1. Environmental Hazards

Tag: Daiya Peyton Steele Ruby Jaxx Ivory Stroud Diocletian Kahmen’’a Under Foot Das

Location: The Tombs
Objective: Reunite with darkwire

Spoiler: Equipment

• Powderpunk armor on loan from Daiya
• Guarderma HE suit metallic pink hex pattern with mag boots
• ap-25i SIMP pistol
• 'Candles' Heavy particle blaster
• 'confetti' Rocket launcher
• Party Poppers (6 explosive, 2 gas)
• 2 x Iadrium charges.
• Dancer repulsor board
• Dervish Knife
• Cheap data pad and communicator
• Hand held plasma cutter

Spoiler: Hex dialogue colors

Poor Hex hears voices in her head

Hex speech to others
Hex speech to herself

Hexes inner voices
'...Neutral...'
'...Doubt...'
'...Anger...'
Coloured '.....' are also words that Hex can hear , but I decided not to write them to reduce clutter

"Either way, I'm here."

“I’m right beside you, Hex.”

Hex grinned, she didn't know if they were here out of duty, fear, or friendship, but they were here, and her memories of being alone on the street seemed so distant now. They continued walking down the corridor until they found a hatch that opened and led down more deeply, the contamination was so dense down thre that the air looked misty. Hex sat on the edge of the harch and dangled her feet into it, one of her braids also dipped in and a faint yellow dampness had formed on it. She looked at Underfoot "What do you think? Hydrogen Suphide?" Hex had spent enough time in sewers and in the deep levels coruscant and Denon to make an educated guess. If she was right it was pretty bad, the stuff was toxic and highly flammable, but the air here seemed humid enough to keep the worst of the fire hazard under control.

'...You hope, thats a pretty massive leap of faith...'

Hex shuddered and smiled nervously at her friends before descending down the lader that was slick with the chemicals in the air. It was around ten metres down to the lower floor and down here there was no outside light at all. The lights from Hex's suit cast eerie shadows in the gloom and she felt that at any moment she was going to turn around and have something jump out of her. "The Amivikkans said it was just gas right? No monsters" she yelled up the ladder with a laugh as the first of the others made their way down.

Looking around the room while she waited, she saw markings on the wall simular to the gas ones above, but there were signs of the previous habitation too. The name tombs really suited this place, it would be like living in a crypt all this way down below the surface. Hex had not long ago called places like this home. "It's going to get pretty cosy in here, the damaged sections should be pretty close, though there, I think"

'...You...think?...you are going to get yourself and your friends killed...'
"For feth's sake STOP IT! I know what im doing... I have to" she said angrily to the voices in her head.

Undie and Das would likely have heard her, but her nerves were strained right now and she smiled bashfully. "Sorry its just... you don't care right?" she shrugged, she needed to remember that people were actually getting used to the strange manners of the blue haired girl by this point.

"I actually wanted to talk to you guys about this suit, its getting a bit beat up and i had a bit of a mad brain wave while watching a film with Dai how I can upgrade it. I think you two might be the right people to ask?" The small talk was not well timed but it helped distract her from the dangerous situation. She slid her tool bag beneath some large pipes that the three would need to climb beneath and cracked her back ready for a little bit of an athletic display.

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Location: Enroute to Denon
Objective: Protect Ivory
Equipment: Scimitar Railgun Carbine Rifle Thermal Detonators
Tags: Ivory Stroud | Vetru | Open

___________________________________________________________​

There were 5 billion rivets on that wall, he counted them all, just so he can remain engaged and his mind on the job at hand. He had begun to think about bees, the thought grasped onto him as he stood guard, he had wondered how they do what they do without fighting with each other and de-queening themselves by killing their original queen. Sometimes they reject an introduced queen to calm a violent hive.

Suddenly, the voice of their Devaronian courier derailed his thoughts away from bees, somehow they ran into a blockade, a diplomatic headache that meant tediously negotiating and reciting rote serial numbers. He remembered he had to deal with one several years ago, the guy leading it was petty, and only after Diocletian butchered Galatic Basic Standard, did the guy let him through.

He was that indecipherable. He did comply albeit rather maliciously.

As soon as Ivory stepped out from her refuge, Diocletian went into guard mode, he was going to do his job no matter what. The ship rocked violently, they were being shot at, but these were not destroying shots but rather a warning.

Either they stumbled into somewhere a battle had been going on, or ran into a customs patrol. Either way, their mission has a brand new layer to it, like a particularly nasty tear-inducing onion. He liked to eat them, not chop them after all.

Gripping the rails as he climbed, Diocletian avoided a nasty fall onto the lower deck, that would be infuriating, he wouldn't be able to do his job properly with a broken collar bone or leg. The Ubese also wanted to know what and why they are being shot at. Maybe the blockade knows something, his brother's pessimistic inner voice is contagious because now he's catastrophising. On the outside, he remained cold and stoic.

 

[Vetru]

"What's going on up there!?" She yelled, expecting her voice could reach all the way to the cockpit. The Mafiosa suspected she already knew the answer.

"What's going on is that we're accelerating really hard to get past this blockade. We've got Alliance vessels and corporate ships all up in our sky."

Vetru's hand danced over the controls. He shifted power to the engines and even changed the fuel mixture on the fly.

"Getting past isn't the problem.. Its getting past and not crashing into a planet."

The ships on intercept tried to alter course to deal with his acceleration. They were well beyond visual range.

Vetru knew he didn't have time to run calculations and fly, which meant he was accelerating dangerously fast right at Denon and going to guess the point of no return.

"Strap in," Vetru called.

The Azimuth passed a cruiser too fast for them to lock on and fire. Denon started to get big quickly.

The two interceptors followed, but broke away when they realised how unsafely the Azimuth was racing towards Denon.

Vetru cut the ion flow to the engines and yanked on the stick. It span the ship in free flight, but he lined them up with the main engines pointing at Denon and turned them back on.

Vetru was thrust into the back of his seat as he slowed the ship. Repuslors weren't enough to slow into a safe landing. Warning alarms flared across the consoles. They hit the atmosphere dangerously fast, but it was just within his control.

More ships were coming, so Vetru dove through the maze of buildings and walkways. Layers and layers of Denon. It got darker and darker until the ship touched down.

"We're here," he called down. "You really wanna be down this deep?"

It worked for Vetru. The ship was well hidden for the time being.

 

[Under Foot]

Just when the Squib thought that the tension couldn't get any worse, he heard...

“Fuck it,”

...and instantly a smile appeared on his face.

Turning back toward the human girl, the Squib offered an enthusiastic, "That's the spirit!"

"What do you think? Hydrogen Suphide?"

Glancing at Hex, the Squib gave the woman a nod before he turned back to work. "Mmmm," he murmured, as the scanner-goggles ran their chemical and mineral analysis over the air and water. "Definitely detecting sulfides, so that tracks. Along with ammonia and methane, so it's possible we might also have some amount of sulfuric acid or hydrogen cyanide."

Running a landfill was nothing if not a master class in biodegradation and the formation of sulfides, particularly hydrogen suphide and sulfuric acids.

Not just its formation, but how it interacted with the ground water and run off. Which was what he imagined that they were seeing the impact of now. "My guess is some of this is run-off from industrial waste. Probably something that wasn't stored properly in one of the levels above this tunnel."

He did what he could to keep the scrap yard clean. Well, relatively speaking. But he could only speak about when he or his father had owned it. Before that? This could very well be exactly what was under his junkyard.

"On the bright side, I think we're still in the Midnight Zone. So... this isn't my work. Moonfall should be quite a ways from here."

"For feth's sake STOP IT! I know what im doing... I have to"

The sudden outburst made the Squib pause, turning to check that Hex was all right.

The attention seemed to embarrass the woman. "Sorry its just... you don't care right?"

So... she'd just been talking to herself?

Adopting his usual smile, the Squib tried to crack a joke as he deadpanned, "About the fact that we're standing chest-deep in a pool of bodies, acid, and highly flammable gas? Quite a bit, actually."

He paused there, glancing at Emily and then back at Hex.

Who were both standing in water that barely went over their knees.

"Well, I'm chest-deep in this muck anyway."

Hex Das​

 

[Das]

Location: The Tombs | Objective 1: EH | Soundtrack: Everything Is Going Great

Das giggled at Under Foot’s wisecrack, but her nervousness was right there in on her sleeve. Sulfides, acids, cyanide…? Was this how Zephyrr felt when she droned on about endpoint encryption, keyloggers, and boot files?

No wonder she hadn’t heard from him in days.

She frowned behind the rebreather, trying to stay focused on their current situation. Runoff from industrial sites seemed most plausible, though admittedly she wasn’t sure how it would have gotten down here. Either she severely misunderstood the ins and outs of toxic waste disposal, or someone was dumping in the tunnels.

Das looked ahead to Hex , offering her a kind smile that she hoped the older girl could see.

“Why would I?” she answered, supplying a question of her own.

“It’s part of what makes you, you.”

She stepped forward, gracing Hex’s sleeve with gloved fingers as she passed by.

“Don’t apologize for being yourself, Hex,” the teal-haired girl said warmly as she took hold of the cables and passed beneath them.

The next chamber was just as mucky as the last, though she’d need Under Foot to confirm whether the origin of the leak came from here or further down the line.

---

Tags: Hex ; Under Foot ​

---

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Denon
Objective: Survive
Attire: Link
Tags: Brie Jaxx / Cassus Akovin / Daiya

Cartri was starting to panic until he heard the voice of the person he desperately craved, he was going to see Daiya after all. Being lowered to the dirty floor, the ginger weakly gazed up at Daiya with shallow breaths. He really wanted to speak to her and comfort Daiya in his predicament, but right now he could feel his body slowly beginning to give out on him. Bringing up what strength he could muster the tired Cartri put a shaking hand on Daiya’s arm to let her know everything was going to be alright.

It was far from that, but sometimes there was such thing as a good lie

“I-I… I’m still here” he gasped out quietly to her when Daiya checked on his breathing "D-do I still... look handsome?" She was rightfully upset with how he looked, probably the worst since their time together. All that didn’t matter right now though, even if he didn’t want to believe it he was slowly dying from the lack of blood in his body. Cartri had yet to have anything substantial done to the wound, but having Daiya at his side was better than any painkiller they could give him.

However, he'd soon be proven wrong with a truth that stabbed him through the heart.

As she went on his eyes went wide with tears, shocked and betrayed by the person who was his rock. A tear rolled down his cheek by the time she had finished, an indication of how broken Daiya had made him "Daiya... W-why..." he sobbed quietly while his breathing began to get more labored. Cartri remembered the conversation they had all that time ago after the tat chat. He hoped that would be the end of her chaotic ideals, in spite of that she made him a fool for thinking such a thing.

"W-what... what have you..." Cartri hesitated, his hurt eyes glaring directly into hers "Y-you haven't failed f-ailed Daiya... you've destroyed me" Cartri said before bursting out into a silent cry. Not only was he physically broken but his will had been torn in two, Right now, Cartri just wanted all this pain to stop...

 

[Ivory Stroud]

"What's going on is that we're accelerating really hard to get past this blockade. We've got Alliance vessels and corporate ships all up in our sky."

The voice of the pilot answered her question from afar, and her stomach dropped. Ivory threw a glance toward her Ubese comrade, nodding an affirmative as she connected the buckles on her seat.

Running a blockade. It’d been a while since she’d done that. She settled in for the ride, closing her eyes & stretching out through The Force - hoping to glean some sense of their position and what was actually occuring outside the hull of the Azimuth as it dropped into Denon’s orbit and attempted to make its escape.

The next ten minutes was a whirlwind. By the end, she’d decided that yes, in fact, their pilot had been worth the credits.

"We're here," he called down. "You really wanna be down this deep?"

When the ship finally settled, she rose from her seat as her heartbeat began to slow. The small adrenaline rush passed quickly, and she answered Vetru upon approaching the cockpit: “CorpSec avoids the deeper levels. We should be safe here!”

Then, she returned to the tiny box below the floor to gather her things. While she did so, she made sure to transfer the remaining balance of 5,000 Credits through CryptNet, along with a further 2,000 more for a job-well-done.

Upon returning to the main level, she joined Diocletian & Vertu; exchanging a handshake with the latter. “Your name came well-recommended… I’m happy to see they weren’t exaggerating.” She said, flashing their Devaronian pilot a grin. “You’re welcome to tag along. Might even be some work for you.”

With that, she hefted the small bag she’d packed, and stepped down the ramp into the warm, oppressive air of Denon’s sub-levels.

Dark Days - Deus Ex Soundtrack​

A month had passed since her attempted kidnapping & subsequent rescue from the clutches of the Zeros, and it became immediately apparent that things had changed in her absence. The city lights still burned halos into her retina, but the foot-traffic across District 7 had diminished… a lot. Most ‘discreets’ paid them no mind, avoiding eye-contact or even brief greetings - which was to be expected. What she hadn’t expected was the increase in CorpSec presence nearly everywhere. By the time they reached areas withwhich she was familiar, especially around Sakedo Tower & Seven Corners, she’d lost count of the CorpSec Interceptors she’d seen either posted on street corners or flying high above them at high speed.

She’d instructed Diocletian to conceal his weapons as best as possible, and to stay vigilant… and if they were stopped & questioned, to let her do the talking. The Ubese Warrior had come well-prepared, but heavy rifles & grenade launchers were sure to give away their identities as folks other than the nameless, faceless peoples of Denon.

They roamed the streets entirely unmolested, with Ivory leading the way - first to a an old, seemingly-abandoned set of apartment buildings on a poorly-lit street in the middle of District 7. The location, a common meeting location for Shadowrunners, was strangely abandoned; the doors & windows boarded up and the inside dark & quiet. Around the back-side of the building, from an alleyway strewn with refuse, she managed to find a poorly boarded-up window and make entry into the building... confirming within a few minutes that it was, indeed, entirely empty.

Not just empty.

Stripped.

They departed quietly, leaving the broken window open & Ivory with a surreal, uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. Samuel Exel had been telling her the truth. Things were worse than she'd realized.

Their next stop, Ivory informed her companions, would be The Blue Flame - another familiar meeting-place amongst the underground resistance group. The trip between the two locations took them over an hour due to the group having to find a detour around an inconveniently-placed CorpSec blockade. After instructing her companions to wait around the corner, Ivory was able to get close enough to recognize CorpSec was out in force... A dozen officers, all heavily-armed, were checking identities of anyone approaching from either end of the street or covering each-other with drawn & readied "banshee" Sonic Carbines. Those caught in the net complied, and no-one had been detained or arrested that she could see.

But, knowing CorpSec, that was the exception. Not the norm.

Rather than be the first to be hooked by the Seccers, Ivory returned & together, they took a looping circuit of side-streets, alleyways, and rooftops to put some distance between themselves & the oppressive arm of the Corporate Authorities.

The Blue Flame, like the apartment building they'd visited earlier, was entirely devoid of life. The establishment, known for its fresh fruits & vegetables and good booze, never closed for more than 4 hours a day & had a loyal clientele ranging from every walk of life. To find the doors bolted shut & the inside of the building also dark was an even greater shock.

Ivory stood outside the Blue Flame, exasperated.

"I don't understand..." She complained. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

Around them, the ebb & flow of Denon continued on a steady march.

"The plan was supposed to be small. Contained. She assured me they'd only do what was necessary... Something went wrong. Very wrong."

Ivory glanced around the street, attempting to find some wayward stray, but for the first time she realized she hadn't seen many homeless sentients wandering the streets or holed up in alleyways like one might expect. Something had happened to drive much of District 7's more colorful characters entirely underground.

Underground.

In a sudden burst of inspiration, Ivory snapped her fingers.

"We need a CryptNet Access Point." She said, addressing her companions.

Hopefully, Denon's Dark Net had some answers... if, of course, CorpSec hadn't shut that down too.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a Vetru​

 

[Cassus Akovin]

Adrenaline still suffused through his body, and Cassus continued to carry Cartri. Brie pulled away from his arm and flashed her wrist. Cassus activated his own Tattoo to show on his face. The tear rolled down from his eye as if in sympathy for the fallen comrade in his arms.

''Hey! We need a doctor! QUICK!'' Brie was quick to be the voice he couldn't be right now. He'd gotten them out of danger, but the threat wasn't over. Grateful for her demands, it meant less that he had to think about doing at the moment.

''We need to contact Daiya! How are you holding up, Cartri?'' Checking on Cartri as Cassus carried him, Brie sent a message through the CryptNet for anyone that was in range. Looking at his signal status, now that they've stopped, their connection should stabilize with whatever pieces of the mesh network existed so far below the standard holonet infrastructure. The CryptNet was resilient, however, and there were contacts down here with devices that could daisy chain the message to its intended recipients.

Cassus lost track of where his feet were taking him, but eventually, he settled into the same space as Daiya, along with Brie. He gingerly set down Cartri for his girlfriend's inspection. Their reunion was tearful and equal parts self-loathing and loving. While Daiya blubbered and gestured, Cassus could interpret the situation's needs successfully and pulled out the medscanner from the medkit. Cassus got to work, honing in on what few lessons he had learned from Doc Painless in restoring Hacks in what felt like a lifetime ago. He didn't feel suited to the job, more accustomed to breaking things, but he allowed himself the task to distract him from the prospect of losing another ally.

Listening carefully while performing his duty, two parts stood out to him more than the rest.

"It's all my fault that this happened. None of us was supposed to get hurt, just that Jedi. I didn't know she was a Jedi, just some Alliance higher-up. We were going to blow them up and it would've made the Corpos look bad to the Alliance, and then they'd be too busy to focus on Darkwire for a while. It was stupid, I know that now." Her words stumbled over each other as she repeated, "I'm such a fething idiot for all of it, it's all my fault."

"Y-you haven't failed f-ailed Daiya... you've destroyed me"

Cassus' typically stoic demeanor changed into a more severe frown with a furrowed brow. It wasn't until he stopped that he realized he was speaking.

"Daiya didn't change the mission; I did. Blame me." Getting up after applying what first aid he could and looking at the results on the Medscanner, Cassus left immediately for someone more qualified. He didn't bother wasting time elaborating on where he was going. It wasn't like Cartri was going anywhere any time soon...

Daiya Cartri Keswoll Brie Jaxx

 

[Daiya]

(Post Soundtrack: "Porcelain" by Concrete Castles)

Even pale and bleeding beneath her, her handsome boyfriend was the only being her blue eyes wanted to see. The Cartri she knew possessed such a strong will, heeding his head more than his heart, something Daiya adored outside the moments when she clashed with it. In those moments, the teen hated everything about his strength, his stubbornness, his force of will, wishing with every fiber of her being that she could change him.

“I-I… I’m still here. D-do I still... look handsome?"

Daiya's heart soared with the sound of his voice, plummeting as she heard it again, so thin and unlike the Cartri she knew. Every breath caught in her throat, forcing her to confront the effects of her desires. She would take it all back now, if it were possible. The weak, broken form of her boyfriend painted her error plainly enough to the teen artist's eyes. Fear gripped her heart, squeezing with every pulse, teaching her what she had done wrong.

All Daiya wanted now was that strong, stubborn Cartri, so unwilling to be changed.

She stroked his damp, ginger hair, watching him struggle as she did through her confession. Daiya needed him to be so strong, her broken hope needed his strength. Her eyes had searched for it from the moment the teen had entered this entombed hole, knowing that only Cartri could pull her back from the brink. The teen could only keep herself together for long enough, it tore her apart to see him suffer the pain and cruelty she inflicted on him with her words. Every part of her hoped that their bond, their love, would carry them both through now.

"W-what... what have you..."

The teen faltered, her heart skipping a beat. Then another, waiting for his belabored words to surface. If she could reach down to draw them out, Daiya might have done just that. Maybe then she could have avoided hearing what killed the rest of her hopes.

"Y-you haven't failed f-ailed Daiya... you've destroyed me!"

"I...Cartri, I—" Daiya turned, burying her head between her hands. His blood might have smeared on her face, drenching her in the real stain of what she had just done. The teen didn't care, trying to choke out her words as she fought to hold back tears. "I couldn't have...I didn't...no, Cartri, please don't say that!"

They welled in her eyes, stinging fiercely as she wiped away the tears with stained fingers. Daiya couldn't believe what she had heard from him, she couldn't believe how stubborn Cartri was. She hated him for it, if he would only listen she could make him understand! "I destroyed you?" Her voice shook, her lips trembling as the words tumbled out between them. "Cartri, I love you! I was doing this to protect you, you didn't wanna know. You didn't bring it up again, you wouldn't even fething talk about it like you wanted to do in the first place. I thought you were fine so long as you didn't know about it, what else was I supposed to do?"

She only paused to let Cassus scan her boyfriend, applying what was left from her nearly-spent medkit. Daiya tasted blood, releasing her bottom lip from between her teeth, only to feel the hurt more painfully as she pressed her fist against her lips. Her chest whimpered with the effort, trying desperately to hold back her tears now. If she cried, there would be no more words, no more chances for her to explain.

Would Cartri die without understanding?

"Cartri, I'm so sorry. I'm—" she turned bizarrely to the other voice weighing in. Out of anyone, it was the fething Pool Boy trying to divert the blame to him. Then he just stalked off, leaving Daiya staring at his departing form with an open mouth. Her curls whipped against her cheek as she turned back to Cartri, "It's not him, it was me, Cartri. I made a mistake, such a huge fething mistake. I'm so sorry. I need you, Cartri, I can't fix this without you. I can't...I can't live without you!"

Daiya took his hand in hers, nearly dropping it. It felt cold and clammy, as if death gripped at her boyfriend's very limbs already. She pressed it tight to her chest, placing it over her heart in one last appeal to him. The Cartri she knew was always willing to hear her out, she loved him for that. "Please?" Her voice was nothing but a whisper now. "I love you, Cartri. Please say you forgive me..."

Brie Jaxx Cartri Keswoll Cassus Akovin​

 

[Hex]

Objective 1. Environmental Hazards

Tag: Daiya Peyton Steele Ruby Jaxx Ivory Stroud Diocletian Kahmen’’a Under Foot Das

Location: The Tombs
Objective: Reunite with darkwire

Spoiler: Equipment

• Powderpunk armor on loan from Daiya
• Guarderma HE suit metallic pink hex pattern with mag boots
• ap-25i SIMP pistol
• 'Candles' Heavy particle blaster
• 'confetti' Rocket launcher
• Party Poppers (6 explosive, 2 gas)
• 2 x Iadrium charges.
• Dancer repulsor board
• Dervish Knife
• Cheap data pad and communicator
• Hand held plasma cutter

Spoiler: Hex dialogue colors

Poor Hex hears voices in her head

Hex speech to others
Hex speech to herself

Hexes inner voices
'...Neutral...'
'...Doubt...'
'...Anger...'
Coloured '.....' are also words that Hex can hear , but I decided not to write them to reduce clutter

"Definitely detecting sulfides, so that tracks. Along with ammonia and methane, so it's possible we might also have some amount of sulfuric acid or hydrogen cyanide."

Hex laughed "Just sounds like a fun shopping trip to me?" It was good to have him along, he was a smart guy and his experience dealing with the waste of society was very useful, Hex did feel awfully sorry for him wading through the muck though. She wondered how heavy he was.

'...Probably rude to offer right?...'
"Yeah... maybe...."

The twisted her head and thoughtfully looked at the small statured squib, but them Das made a reassuring comment regards Hex's behaviour, Hex grinned at the other girl and just shrugged. Emily went under the cables first and Hex walked up close to Under Foot to soeak quietly, "If it gets and deeper and you want to be carried, just say alright, we're a team" then she herself dipped her head underneath the heavy cable to join Das further on.

Something touched her leg under the muck, or at least it felt like it did and her eyes widened, she was rapidly goijg through in her head every single creature that might be capable of surviving these conditions, she didnt know of any, but her imagination was filling in the gaps wonderfully. She gingerly looked down into the water and watched as a very large, but very dead rat nuzzled against her leg.

"I hope its not too much further, this place is gross" she shone her torch on the walls at the great big pipes in the hope that the leak would be a nice neat crack that would suddenly expose itself, they could patch it up and then be cleaned. A few more steps and still nothing.

"Can you gear something?" she asked? She could hear something that sounded like running water, but not. "Stars, I'm going to need a long shower or a hot bath after this."

 

[Under Foot]

"Can you hear something?"

The Squib turned his head up, but ultimately had to shake his head. "This helmet traps my ears, so I'll take your word for it."

Someone really needed to make helmets for Squibs. And Cathar. And Zygerrians.

...actually, why wasn't there a market for helmets for non-humans?

No, when he phrased the question that way it was only too obvious what the answer was.

Shining a light up along the walls of the tunnel, the Squib traced a path along where some pipework was. "It would make sense. If these valves are open and the supply is flowing this way, then there could be an outlet or a break up ahead."

"Stars, I'm going to need a long shower or a hot bath after this."

The Squib just blinked. A very nice, but also not, image flashing through his mind. "Heh. You could carry me to that."

Feth.

He froze as realization set in.

​

He.​

​

Just.​

​

Said.​

​

That.​

​

Out.​

​

Loud.​

"The bath, I mean... not... I didn't..."

He completely forgot how to speak Galactic Basic.

Also, yes he had meant it that way. He totally had.

Underneath his fur, the Squid was practically glowing bright red at this point.

"I'll just go drown myself in sewage now."

Hex Das​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Location: Tomb Station
Objective: Reunite.
Tags: Cassus Akovin , Cartri Keswoll , Daiya , open!
Continuation of Fate of Denon

​

The teen managed to point her best friend in the direction of her sister, "Ruby's..."

Brie felt her whole body tremble, as she stared upon her best friend and her love who's life were merely hanging by a thread. She had emptied all her medical supplies to save Cartri, and Cassus had risked them all with that insane jump down here. Trusting his abilities and making them trust his judgement. Cassus continued his efforts in bringing up his own medical gear, making Brie stand close behind him and watch over his shoulder. If this wasn't enough, nothing would be the same after this. Brie grit her teeth in both anger and despair, and as she felt tears starting to build, she couldn't have it anymore and turned around. Where was that karking doctor?!

''DOCTOR!! We need a fething doctor over here!! NOW!!'' she yelled out with all her might, making it echo through the station and her throat go more sore than it already was. Foul words coming out of her mouth that, in another setting and situation, would have made Daiya roll on the floor laughing in surprise. Brie would fething drag a doctor here if one didn't show up this instant. Yet, she felt so alone and left out on her friends behalf. Just then, a male ithorian wearing a robe pushed through the crowd and jogged towards them, medical pack in hand and with medical droids in tow with a stretcher. Finally, they had been given another chance to save Cartri.

As Cassus stood up, leaving room for the doctor and the two friends, Brie laid a hand on Daiya's shoulder and squeezed it tight. ''I- I- I'll be back... Call me if you need anything... Just anything...!'' she said, trying to reassure her best friend that she would be there as always if anything went wrong. Brie wiped a tear off her face, before she also gave some room for the doctor and medical droids to work, and turned to catch up with Cassus.

''Cassus! Wait!'' Brie called after the bounty hunter, made a short stop as she caught up with him, before she threw her arms around him. She burried her face into his chest and desperately squeezed his suit. Just like she vaguely remembered, thanks to their discovery and following research, doing to Ruby Jaxx when they were very young and Brie were frightened. ''I- I'm afraid, Cassus... I'm so afraid... of what will happen to us... to them...'' she uttered and wished with her whole being that Cartri would be alright, and her best friend with him. That every one of them would come out of this alive, and hopefully stronger than ever before. They said that hope were the last thing that deserted you, but never had Brie felt it being so close, as right now. She needed to find her inner tusk cat again.

''Nobody's blaming you! Y- You saved us! Me and Cartri would have been dead or behind bars if it wasn't for you!'' she tried to point out how much the bounty hunter had done for them all tonight. ''R- Ruby... I got see her, Cassus... W- Would you come with me? Please?'' she begged the boy, who she had got to know so much more about these recent weeks, and looked up into the safety of his blue eyes.

​

 

[Das]

Location: The Tombs | Objective 1: EH | Soundtrack: Everything Is Going Great

He did not just say that out loud.

Not that Das wasn’t already thinking the same thing…

But out loud?

She made to clasp her hand over her open mouth, but her fingertips met the glass visor instead. Poor Undie…

Das flashed him a playful wink, once the bright-red tinge of secondhand embarrassment wore off her cheeks.

“Don’t worry, Undie, I was thinking it too.”

A jest to them, perhaps, but not entirely untrue. Das had some… soul-searching to do, it seemed.

She turned to look at the pipes, but her untrained eyes didn’t know what to look for. A crack or hole, most likely, but in her mind it would have been something much more exciting considering how much damage had been cause.

---

Tags: Hex ; Under Foot ​

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[Hex]

Objective 1. Environmental Hazards

Tag: Daiya Peyton Steele Ruby Jaxx Ivory Stroud Diocletian Kahmen’’a Under Foot Das

Location: The Tombs
Objective: Reunite with darkwire

Spoiler: Equipment

• Powderpunk armor on loan from Daiya
• Guarderma HE suit metallic pink hex pattern with mag boots
• ap-25i SIMP pistol
• 'Candles' Heavy particle blaster
• 'confetti' Rocket launcher
• Party Poppers (6 explosive, 2 gas)
• 2 x Iadrium charges.
• Dancer repulsor board
• Dervish Knife
• Cheap data pad and communicator
• Hand held plasma cutter

Spoiler: Hex dialogue colors

Poor Hex hears voices in her head

Hex speech to others
Hex speech to herself

Hexes inner voices
'...Neutral...'
'...Doubt...'
'...Anger...'
Coloured '.....' are also words that Hex can hear , but I decided not to write them to reduce clutter

Hex grinned to herself as she heard what Under Foot said aloud and then stumbled his words... did he? Nah, they were even the same species.

'...I think he does...'

She glanced around at Undie out of the corner of her eye with a curious look "Huh....?" was all she said aloud before Das leaned in and also spoke to him, what did she say? She pursed her lips and looked at Das with a conspiratorial glare. "You know, I actually like when Brie Jaxx calls me weird girl, you two better not steal that off me." Hex wasnt a natural at this kind of stuff, but she was learning, she had thrown enough flirtascious comments at Daiya since they had known each other to recognise one. "Please don't drown yourself on sewage, I don't fancy performing mouth to mouth down here" she giggled.

Hex shrugged it off, everyone in Darkwire was a little bit weird and some humour could help lighten the situation. They waded for a few minutes further before they came to a dead end with three large metal pipes against the wall. "I think I might have found our problem..." The blue haired girl said to her friends as she examined the left hand and largest pipe that plunged beneath the sewage. The pipes looked intact but were quite rusted and rotten. Every so often a large bubble of gas appeared around where the pipe entered the sewage. The pipe had writing on it in arubesh. Dihydrogen monoxide? Well that wasn't poisonous? But chitty pipes and bad management could lead to all manner of contamination. "What do you think? Down to the break, or up to the source?" There was a ladder that ran up the pipe so she really hoped it wouldn't be far. She peered up the ladder into the darkness and couldn't see the end point. "Oh wow that looks high..."

 

[Cartri Keswoll]

Location: Denon
Objective: Survive
Attire: Link
Tags: Brie Jaxx / Cassus Akovin / Daiya

"I couldn't have...I didn't...no, Cartri, please don't say that!"

"Y-you betrayed my trust... I don't know what to say" he sobbed out with a strong grimace from the pain that shot through his body. It was clear Daiya didn't listen to all that he said during their chat and still kept the dangerous ideals close to her heart. Cartri trusted her to finally let go of them without further intervention, but the fact she didn't even tell him proved she knew how he'd react. Daiya knew Cartri was against all out destruction because of how it affected people other than the enemy. What Daiya did today was why he was so against a thing like this, it was a double edged sword that hurt the ones you loved too.

"Look... L-look what you've done. I-I was going to find out... one way or another!" even if Cartri didn't show up to the train, he was going to find out who really did it. In ways, she was very lucky it didn't go to that instead of this, things would have been so much worse than what it was now. Cartri's hurt eyes stared directly into hers as Cassus finished the scan to temporarily keep him patched up "If... If Brie wasn't with me I'd be dead with my throat ripped out on a random rooftop... H-how can you be so selfish?"

Having heard the calls for help from Cassus and Brie the medical droids came rushing through with a stretcher in hand. It was about time Cartri got some proper help, but there were still some things that needed to be said. Cassus tried to cover for the girl who had already spilled out the horrible truth, something that Cartri didn't believe for a second. His thoughts were only correct when Daiya almost instantly shot that down right there and there just to ask for forgiveness.

A struggling Cartri could only look at the girl he loved with fear in his eyes for what seemed forever, only to turn his head away to take Daiya out of his sight. Cartri couldn't bare to look at her right now from that regard, tears rolling down his red eyes before a few loud sobs escaped his lips. He was all but distraught from what Daiya had done to him and Darkwire, within one day everything in their lives had changed "P-please, just leave me alone... you've d-done enough" the teen gasped just before the droids obstructed her vision and began preparations to take him away.

Releasing a loud groan as the droids put him onto the stretcher, Cartri gave her a sorrowful look before being lifted into another room to have surgery for the next few hours. There was a chance it was already too late for the boy, all everyone could do now was wait and hope for the best.​

 

[Under Foot]

Das knew what time it was.

And Hex either missed what he'd said, or was cool about it. Either way the Squib gave a sigh of relief as it seemed the remark had somehow landed without getting him in hot water.

...or hotter water as the case may have been. Because this soup they were standing in was pretty acidic. No wonder there were bodies dumped here. A few weeks, you'd need a genetic scanner to pull of an ID. Any longer than that, you'd probably be struggling to piece together species.

"Please don't drown yourself on sewage, I don't fancy performing mouth to mouth down here," Hex remarked finally.

The Squib just turned to look up at her with a pair of large, blue eyes.

...were they cool?

Glancing away, he just laughed faintly under his breath. It had just been an expression, but if she was going to supply some motivation then he just might.

Her assessment of the pipework was spot on. As was her question. Or questions, really, since it had two parts.

"We'll have to get after both eventually," the Squib noted in reply, glancing back at the two girls. "Divide and conquer? The two of you could go high and I could go low," the furry alien proposed, waiting to see how they'd respond.

 

[Ruby Jaxx]

Daiya seemed to be shouldering quite a lot of responsibility for...whatever had happened. And for splitting up with Brie at some point. Her head was still spinning. Despite the reassurance that her little sister was safe, Ruby felt anger bubbling up within. However, she didn't lash out at the teen. It hurt too much to be angry.

But then, Daiya had given her confirmation that Brie was alive and here in the tombs.

Ruby finally let out a breath and winced at the pain in her ribs. Before she could say much of anything, Daiya had already run off. She sat up with a grunt and surveyed her surroundings. There were many others spread out on the cold ground, just like she'd been. Some were moaning with pain, but some were still... very still.

She looked away.

"Brie," she whispered.

Finding her sister was the first priority. With effort, she pushed up to unsteady feet. Once she was standing, she found it didn't hurt so bad if she didn't take deep breaths. Small, shuffling steps would bring her through the sea of wounded. Ruby wandered in the direction that Daiya had gone, in case Brie was that way, too.

And no doubt, she'd see Ruby's rather haggard frame eventually. She stopped. Brie wasn't alone.

Tag: Brie Jaxx | Cassus Akovin​

 

[Ivory Stroud]

The Orchid, Deus Ex OST

Darkwire covered their tracks well, but for one of their own, CryptNet was a treasure trove of information. She’d scoured the darknet program, unearthing fragments of information she’d been able to piece together; an amalgamation of codes & references, each leading like tiny breadcrumbs to a final piece of the puzzle… the destination she sought within a digital labyrinth.

Looking back now, as she dove into the darkness of Denon’s literal underworld, she realized the cleverness of the obfuscation. Long had the District 7 Cell of Darkwire considered the possibility they’d been infiltrated (or could be infiltrated) by a member of CorpSec, so undoubtedly they’d hidden their location well. So well, in fact, that if Ivory had remained off-world for much longer, even what few hints remained would have been scrubbed clean.

But she’d managed.

She’d heard of The Tombs in-passing, but never visited. In her discussions in the past with Anakin, he’d mentioned a place deep below District 7 where the Amavikka were safe; where they could move, unseen & unheard, and access parts of the city secretly. Finding an access point hadn’t been easy… but Darkwire was nothing if not inventive.

And so, followed by her Ubese Bodyguard Diocletian Kahmen’’a , they’d taken to Denon’s deep maintenance tunnels - disappearing into the darkness below.

Graffiti. Symbols, etched in paint - with some only responding to the direct light from a torch, which blossomed to phosphorescent life the moment the beam settled upon them. These would serve as a map of sorts - detailing where to turn, or when to continue straight-ahead through the murky depths. It was a technique Ivory, herself, was familiar with; not unlike similar means she, herself, had used in the past.

The route she’d chosen certainly wouldn’t have been the most well-traveled, but it was enough.

Eventually, the confined spaces of Denon’s maintenance tunnels broke out into cavernous spaces; strewn with rubble, and the remains of what appeared to be an ancient tramway. Clouds of dust mingled in the air at every footstep, kicked up as the pair of infiltrators picked their way carefully underground. Ivory & Dio said little to one-another, but the echoes of their passage & bright lights would surely give away their presence to anyone (or anything) lurking in the shadows.

When another presence finally materialized from the silent abyss, it was only due to Ivory’s subtle use of The Force - sensing what lay ahead of them - that kept Diocletian from pulling the trigger & sending them to an early grave in the layers of dust.

One of the Amavikka stepped from around a corner, finding themselves at the business-end of Dio’s compact rifle; Ivory’s raised hand the only thing keeping a sudden gunshot at bay.

The trio exchanged tense greetings, with Ivory producing her Darkwire Tattoo as proof of her reason for trespassing. The Amavikkan, a young man with blonde hair & blue eyes, wore all black - the reason for which, she assumed, was for a level of stealth. At her request to be shown the way to The Tombs, he simply nodded & turned away with instructions to follow closely. Their guide remained just out of reach of their torches; pausing just long enough to ensure they were following before moving on. The oppressive, heavy air settled upon them like a blanket, smothering all sense of direction & any hope she could easily find her way back.

After what seemed like an eternity, the silence began to break as echoes of activity began to reach their ears.

Their arrival in The Tombs did not go unnoticed. The tunnel they'd followed eventually came to a dead-end, their passage blocked by the carcass of an old hyper-rail tram which had been turned on it's side. Lights affixed to the tram directed bright beams into the darkness, which had been blinding upon their approach. Their guide waited for them, signalling to someone inside the tram itself to open one of the access doors, which led into a confined 'hallway'. Another Amavikkan, this one armed with a blaster rifle of indeterminate make, eyed the armed Ubese with a paranoid glare but said nothing. Ivory led the way, departing through an opposite hatch & stepping down a small flight of metal stairs which had been haphazardly built. What lay before them was something even she never would have imagined...

The sight was impressive. Clearly, an immense amount of time & effort had gone into not only building, but maintaining this impressive underground structure - which was by no means unoccupied. The old rail-lines had been repurposed, serving as guides for massive lengths of cabling which ran in every direction. A number of bridges had been built to span the separate platforms, with the large rocky 'roof' supported by pillars of concrete which had been decorated by all manner of stickers & graffiti. Everything was well-lit in typical Darkwire style: ambient lighting in all colors of the rainbow. A number of staircases leading toward upper levels of the old station had been swept clean, with only a handful showing signs of rust. The hum of conversation & music in the distance was clearly audible, and shapes both alien & human moved about - many of them quickly, as-if they were in a hurry.​

Ivory paused for a moment to get her bearings, hands on her hips, while Dio (sensing that the time for a show of force was over at-least for the moment) slung his carbine over his shoulder.

Their guide had mysteriously disappeared, and Ivory naturally assumed he'd faded back into the darkness from-which they'd come.

"Come on." She said, addressing her bodyguard. "Let's see if we can find our friends."

It hadn't taken long.

A basic medical treatment wing had been erected, with a large group of people milling about - either nursing wounds or being tended to by people which clearly had little medical training. Leaving Diocletian alone for a moment, Ivory wove through the crowd, tuning into the familiar sensation of those she'd become so familiar with in her time on Denon. The cavernous area was filled with the sounds of crying, wailing, and noises of pain & suffering; friends and family seeking help or word about their loved ones who'd disappeared underground.

Inwardly, Ivory was horrified. Samuel Exel had been right. Things had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

It took considerable mental focus to find whom she was searching for, but eventually, a familiar head of blonde hair caught her attention, drawing Ivory through the throng to happen upon Daiya herself. The young woman was hundled over a body whom Ivory immediately recognized as Cartri Keswoll - who appeared gravely injured. Immediately, Ivory paused - her breath catching in her throat as the sight even shook the Mafiosa's criminally-hardened exterior.

 

[Daiya]

(Post Soundtrack: "Fire for You" by Cannons)

Every word he said cut into her, passing through the protective layers of her armor as if they were nothing. She might as well be wearing nothing, every portion of herself bared and vulnerable before him. What Daiya offered to Cartri she shared with no one else, her most sincere apology and honest love. She opened her heart and soul, and with every moment that passed between them, every word shared, the teen regretted it even more.

Every reflex of pain on her boyfriend's face and in his breath felt like a hundredfold in her breast, driving the life from her. Her throat was dry as Cartri spat accusations down upon her. Daiya felt every one of them resonate inside of her, welling up in place of the tears that she'd already shed. The longer he took to forgive her the longer she feared he wouldn't, and the more she realized he wasn't wrong about it. That's what hurt the most of all.

Daiya was selfish.

Daiya had betrayed his trust.

Daiya did destroy everything she had.

Daiya pushed away everyone who loved her, she knew that ugly part of herself like her own face. If she had to wear it every day, the teen would smash any mirror she came across. It stayed buried, under the weight of giggles and smiles, smoothed over by her current crop of friends, forgotten in the throes of romance. Now it stood before her, as naked as she felt, unwilling to hide any longer. She couldn't bear to see it, lying alongside Cartri, looking up at her with a presence more accusing than any words.

"Cartri..."

She tried desperately to ignore the dark truth, her attention drawn fully to Cartri. His hand felt limp under hers, where her heart beat a rapid pace. The same as Daiya always felt around him, so giddy and warm. She could spend hours just like this on any other day, but here the moment felt so hollow. So cold against the fire of their romance. If he could just see that, the teen knew, he would understand. He had to see it, she needed him to see it.

"No..." Cartri turned away from her, refusing to see anything. Other, metallic hands were there, setting hers aside so they could work on him. "No!" The protest came from deep within her, and Daiya lunged back toward her boyfriend. She was losing her chance! Droid hands swatted hers away as she warred with them, until he said the words that finally ripped her heart in two.

"P-please, just leave me alone... you've d-done enough."

The stunned teen sat there, a dumb expression on her face. Cartri disappeared from view as the world blurred around her, her tears returning with a vengeance. Just like that, it was over. From her throat, the harsh sobs scraped against raw flesh and rivuletes of pink tears rolled down her face, dripping blood off her chin. It wasn't hers, but it was because of her. The smeared blood was all she had left of him, and now it rejected her, too. The weight of it sunk Daiya lower, until her forehead nearly touched the stained floor where he had lain, wounded.

Her fault.

A gentle hand, materializing out of nowhere, gently alighted on the young woman's back. The touch was supportive...as soft as a butterfly’s wing, but radiating a gentle warmth. It was Ivory, who had materialized from the crowd as-if by sorcery - suddenly reappearing on Denon much like she’d left nearly a month ago.

The teen's body wracked with whimpering sobs, leaving her tender and exposed. She shuddered at the touch, wresting away from hand on her shoulder. It felt as hot as an iron, branding her with the ugly truth that screamed inside her brain. HER FAULT. Searing eyes tore away from the ground to burn into the owner of the hand, her voice raw with fiery words in need of a target. "No, get away from me. Don't look at me like this!"

Daiya blinked, and barely recoiled at the sight of Ivory in her blurry vision. A violent sound wrenched from her throat and she sputtered at the woman. "Bring him back! You go bring him back!" The words flew out without hesitation or direction. "You weren't here and look what happened! Now make it up to me, bring him back so I can fix this!"

She curled back onto herself, arms wrapped around the unforgiving armor. It didn't make the teen feel any better, as if they had wrapped themselves around a stranger's sobbing form instead. Her voice murmured low as Daiya soothed herself with words that still didn't make any sense to her ears. "I need him, he can't be gone. We can't be over. We can't be!"

Ivory didn’t respond to the girl’s outburst; her eyebrows relaxed, her face impassive. What Daiya was demanding of her, she simply couldn’t do. The raven-haired woman knelt beside the teenager - the person who’d accepted her into Darkwire many months ago, and had become both a friend & a comrade-in-arms. When Ivory spoke, it was in kindness, as-if she were attempting to sooth a dangerous creature. "I’m sorry, but you know I can’t do that. He’s hurt, and he needs to rest... and so do you. Come here."

Then, Ivory did something she didn’t often do. She opened her arms and wrapped Daiya in them - embracing the young woman. It didn’t matter if Daiya didn’t embrace her back.

Drawn into the tight hug, Daiya couldn't do everything her body was screaming for. She couldn't grab for the medical scanner that had been centimeters away, to fling it against the walls until it smashed to pieces. She couldn't pound her balled fist against the woman's jaw or anyplace it counted, to show her the real weight of her feelings. She could do nothing but dig her forehead into Ivory's shoulder, soaking the fabric continually trying to dry her eyes, shuddering as her lungs convulsed with her whimpering protests. "It's not fair! It's not fething fair!"

Ivory took a deep breath through her nose, then exhaled softly... taking a few heartbeats to simply be present in the momentary embrace. After a span of a few heartbeats, she shifted her weight - adjusting her hands to better hold the girl as Daiya wept. Together, the two of them sat - in their own little world - as time crawled by...

To Ivory’s surprise, a tear began to roll down her cheek as well. The devastation, the pain & suffering they’d all experienced in her absence, threatened to dislodge the brash self-assuredness the middle-aged woman so confidently wore like a shield around her cold exterior. The career criminal couldn’t remember the last time she’d just enjoyed a hug.

At Daiya’s insistent utterances, Ivory surprisingly found herself smoothing the girl’s blonde hair.

“I know...” She said, quietly. “I know... and I’m sorry.”

She even meant it.

She was sorry she hadn’t been there. Sorry she’d left Daiya & Darkwire alone. Sorry she’d trusted them to not get themselves killed. Sorry she’d given them the means for their own destruction.

But most of all, she was sorry that the damage had been done, and there was no going back.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ivory chafed Daiya’s back gently and leaned back, exposing a moistened spot on her shoulder. With gentle eyes, she looked down at the young woman. “Come on... it’s crowded. Lemme buy you a drink, and you can tell me what happened.”

Cartri Keswoll Ivory Stroud​

[Written jointly with Ivory Stroud]

 

[Das]

Location: The Tombs | Objective 1: EH | Soundtrack: Everything Is Going Great

Das looked to Hex with a shrug. She didn’t necessarily think it was a brilliant move to send the shortest third of their trio into the toxic smoothie that swirled around them, but she wouldn’t argue a chance to get out of the water.

Besides, her skills were entirely in the realm of hacking, and she had a sneaking suspicion that anything beneath the placid surface of that toxic mess was more liable to melt her fingers than accept her slicer.

“Sure, whatever you think,” she said, turning to her blue-haired friend. Das had very much the same reaction the ladder as Hex did.

“I’m, uh, right behind you…?” she said, trailing off, hoping Hex wasn’t as afraid of heights as she was.

Das would take one for the team if she had to, but she was much better suited to being the water girl than running the field.

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Tags: Hex ; Under Foot ​

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