Misty Mrlsst -- Feel Free to Join In

[Syren]

*The shattered earth rose from the waters as smoking mist twisted in and around felled trees and upturned roots. The sulfurous stench of decay hung heavy in the air. A city had once stood in this place, but no longer. Mrlsst had become a shadow of its former self. A bright beacon of learning and advanced technologies, now brought low by the turmoil in the galaxy.

Mennaa and Mrkeesh still stood, but Mreroh was no more than a hulking, steaming mass fallen back into the depths of the swamp. It had housed an obscure branch of the science academy, and it was so far unknown if some experiment had been the cause of the devastation, or if it was a remnant of the planet's dynamic past. Perhaps a combination of both.

The Mrlssi had already searched for survivors in the area. Most of the bird like people had closed up shop, but there was a scattering of curious individuals around. More common were the Mynkins, hiding among the rocks and waiting to ambush the unwary. Those Mrlssi that remained, stayed in order to find answers. Many were scientists running tests. Most humans that called Mrlsst home were safe in the other cities, content with natural disaster far away and deluded by the fact that amidst their comfort, such things would never happen in their cities.

But there was at least one human about... well the locals thought this creature was human, It was hard to tell in a galaxy so vast and aliens coming in all shapes and sizes, humans just had a knack for invading all places. This one was sitting alone and atop a jutting rock. It was hard to tell if it was a male or female, but given the scandalous amount of leg showing from torn robes, the passersby assumed this was a female. Her skin had an odd bluish tinge to it. She was hooded, so her eyes were not visible, but it seemed as if she was staring into the soul of the swamp.

The Mrlssi gave the figure a wide berth. The Mynkins kept their distance as well, despite the figure having sat there for several days. It was as if she were becoming a statue, a lone survivor and witness to the scene before her.*

 

[Bryce Bantam]

"I know, I know!" BB shouted as The Shinning Starr came out of hyperspace in the Mennaalii system not out of choice but out of necessity. T7-S8E, "Sady", the ships engineer and BB oldest companion, I mean literally she was over 4000 years old, was quite displease with BB right now. He had insisted they install the .357 Calrissian Hyperdrive and though the ship flew through hyperspace like a bat out of hell, it was also prone to breaking down at the worst time.

Sady let out a line of curses in binary that would have made a one Sith office blush as she pushed past her master and back to the engine room. While she went to check on the condition of the vessel BB pulled up a star map to see where the kark they were.

"Humm, the Mennaalii system, never heard of it but look here, Central Academic Hospital, seemed like a good a port as any. Alexia set us a course for Mrlsst.

BB's Croa pilot did as she was asked and traveling at sublight they reached the planet about an hour later. As the approached the planet the usual space traffic and comm signals were few and far between. Strange for a planet so populated BB though as they continued to approach. The mystery only thickened when the were within visual range of the planet. The orbiting stations and other satellites were worn and many seemed to be either damaged or nonfunctional. As the Starr approached atmosphere it began to hail the planet and were greeted by a scientist who advised them away as there was little left of Mrlsst these days. BB, curious to see more ignored the warnings and ordered the Starr lower and to land so he could investigate further.

The Starr set down on the outskirts of a town once called Mreroh. The boarding ramp of the H-wing lowered and the cargo hold where BB stood was soon filled with the smell of death that hung thick in the humid air. Whatever had happened here must have been horrific, and all that remained was slowly being reclaimed by the planet it once more.

[member="Syren"]

 

[Eralam]

For a being the size of a small mountain, Eralam could be quite stealthy when he wanted.

The Shard moved through the ruins Mreroh like a mechanical shadow, his bare metal feet padding silently across the swampy ground. It wasn't that he feared the locals. They were predators, seeking the weak and the unwary. He was neither, and they seemed to know it. Predators were a cowardly lot, in the end, and this lot could ill afford a fight they couldn't win. Unlike pure beasts, however, they had to worry about keeping face, and might just risk it if they thought they could gain status.

And so, Eralam avoided them as best as he could, lurking in the shadows.

His target was a very special crystal, one of his Shard brethren warped by the alchemies practiced by the fallen people. Whether or not it was responsible for the downfall of the civilization, he couldn't say. He doubted it. Though the crime was undoubtedly a great one, it was a drop in the bucket, one of the least of the sins that led to their destruction.

Eralam wasn't after the crystal because it was powerful, though he could feel the subtle warping of the Force around it. No, he was after it because he could feel the suffering. Whatever had been done to it, it had apparently been left to fester in the ruins, until it could take it no more and lashed out through the Force. He had felt it, felt the pain, felt the madness.

The Iron Knight was here on a mission of mercy.

[member="Bryce Bantam"] | [member="Syren"]

 

[Syren]

*The world grew loud and then silent again with the wind down of the engines ([member="Bryce Bantam"]). Syren had grunted when she saw it touch down. She could discern no evident markings towards its allegiance, but after several days it was time for the vultures and scavengers to invade. She continued to stare out into the landscape of shattered remains, until those remains appeared to move. She blinked slowly trying to discern what she had seen. The Force sung her a song of faint memory, for there were things in the universe far older than she.

The statue moved from the perch of rock.

A foolish mynkin took the opportunity to reach for her. Syren reacted quickly, grasping the predator's wrist. The bones snapped sharply like crunching gravel and the creature howled, snarled, writhed as she took one very small step towards it then shoved it away into the twilight. It was an unexpected move from her. Normally broken bones were a chance accident, but this time, this time Syren was done with holding back. She had held back before and now look where she was. This crater. She had thought long and hard about what she could have done differently for days... No, there would be no holding back. If it was in the way of the mission, in the way of finding answers, Syren was just about done with taking the slow and meandering route.

She walked cautiously towards the place where she thought she saw a mountain move. Of course, she would have to pass the H-Wing and a few Mrlssi to get there.*

[member="Eralam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

The landscape was bleak and heavy, though the area was teaming with life it was not a joyous thing but almost a reminder of what was once here. As BB scanned the horizon he heard and inhuman howl. Looking over he saw a woman with Green hair in the distance. Due to the distance between them, he couldn't make out much else. She soon though stood up and began to walk toward the Starr as she did BB began to be able to make out more of her appearance. Her skin was blue like the sky on Biitu, and her face was sharp and wild, with eyes that seemed to sparkle around the edges.

As she approached BB held up his hand in a friendly gesture and greeted her...

"Hello, can I help you?"

[member="Syren"] | [member="Eralam"]

 

[Eralam]

The rancid stink of death and decay was heavy in the air, and in the Force.

This was somewhat problematic for Eralam. He was trying to sort through the background noise for a particular signal, something he'd never been terribly adept at. It didn't help that his target was only broadcasting intermittently, as though it had brief moments of torturous lucidity before lapsing back into unconsciousness.

It was a bit like trying to find a particular hunk of metal with an ill tempered metal detector in a scrapyard.

The only real direction he had was up. Which meant climbing into the twisted ruins that raked the skies like skeletal fingers. The buildings were in rough shape, too. No bombs had fallen, and the swamp had kept fires to a minimum, but it had also slowly swallowed the foundations. Most of the buildings were leaning badly, and had Force knew what kinds of vegetation growing up in the cracks of the walls. The Shard could only guess what sorts of critters took shelter in them. Almost certainly the local sentients.

And so, he picked a likely looking candidate, one with a particularly heinous aura in the Force, and began to climb.

[member="Bryce Bantam"] | [member="Syren"]

 

[Syren]

*Syren glanced towards the red head emerged from the hatch of the ship. His green skin glinted in the failing light. Syren cooked her head trying to place his species. Mirialan? She thought. But his eyes did not seem quite right and she had never met a Mirialan with such red locks. She assumed that [member="Bryce Bantam"] was a scavenger, the actual help had left a day or two ago. But he seemed earnest when he spoke. Could he help her?

She began to shake her head, but was not entirely certain. She had been trying to sort through memories until this creeping stillness grew unsettling enough to make the world seem to move. Maybe she did need help. She pointed to a group of Mrlssi taking soil samples. They needed help. If not help in getting safely back to Mrkeesh, then lugging their curiosities to their speeder for analysis. The mynkins were getting braver and would not hesitate to attack the birdlike mrlssi.

Syren stared back at the spot where she had felt the presence. She padded forward to place her hand against the edifice of a toppled building. To say it was a pile of rubble was more accurate than a building. She reached out through the Force, using the presence of touch as a conduit for focus. There was something in there alive, or at least exuding a presence through the Force. It was not strong, and it waivered in and out like a dying pulse beacon.

Syren tapped the remainder of the wall and took a step up on top of the rubble.* "There may be someone alive under this."

[member="Eralam"]

 

[Bryce Bantam]

The woman spoke to BB as she passed but it was strange and disjointed. Like she was distracted by something or someone. She pointed out to a group of Mrlssi taking soil samples. Maybe scientists BB though? If they were they might have a clue on what the kark happened here.

"Sady, order the cyclops boys to guard the ship, arm them with stunners. Last thing I want in an incident and all"

Happy enough his ship should be safe BB ventured out into the marshy, depressing landscape. As he walked he could get over the strange feeling he was being watched from the rocks around him. Deciding to be safe his unstrapped one of his hibornators and pulled it slightly out of its holster so he could draw it quickly if needed. As he walked the overriding feeling of danger was ever present in his mind.

[member="Syren"] [member="Eralam"]

 

[Eralam]

Up.

That was the only guidance Eralam had, and so he went up.

His skeletal limbs allowed him to scurry up the side of the building like some kind of insect, if insects that looked like two meter tall assassin droids with scads of inhuman weaponry clanking from utility belts were common in this part of the world. He doubted it personally, but it was a big, strange galaxy.

The higher he got on the outside of the crumbling ruin, the more detached he felt from the twisted lifeforms on the ground. It was like there was some kind of barrier, intangible and imperceptible except for the feeling of isolation that separated him from the struggles of whatever life remained in the ruins. More worryingly, he could no longer feel the presence of the target. In fact, he couldn't feel much of anything. His Force senses were unreliable in the best of times, but he could usually feel something. The absence of anything was disconcerting.

So distracted was he that he barely noticed when something large, chitinous, and mottled grey and brown, the color of the ruined structure, detached itself from the side and launched itself at him. Its hindquarters were anchored to the building by a thick strand of silk nearly as wide as the Iron Knight's lightsaber blade. It was almost on top of him, gleaming fangs flashing in the dim light, before he noticed.

Eralam's robotic body possessed no lymbic system. It could not panic. That's probably what saved his life. Though he doubted the creature could penetrate his armor with those fangs, it would almost certainly be able to knock him off the building, and a fall from this height could very well be fatal.

There was no time for the lightsaber. In one blindingly quick motion, Eralam drew and fired his Colt. The silk lifeline severed, and the creature plummeted towards the ground, eerily silent as the echoes of the gunshot rebounded around the ruined city.

Well, if there were any more of the creepy bastards, they certainly knew they had company now.

[member="Syren"] | [member="Bryce Bantam"]

 

[Syren]

*The crack of gunfire peeled through the air. A sickening crunch and twisting of carapace burst against the pavement close to Syren. She was lucky not to be crushed by the falling thing. Yellow goo covered her shins and splattered up into her cowled face. The smell was noxious. Syren scowled and flexed her jaw trying to get the smell, no the taste of rancid innards. The legs still twitched as the nerves died.* "That would probably have been great with a little butter or capsicum spice." *She wrinkled her nose as another draft of arthropod guts assailed her.* "Or perhaps not."

*She stared up from where the beast had fallen and the shot had rung out. She looked around for an easier way into the structure. Syren did not particularly have a fondness for blasters, or the less common slugthrower, so she was not keen to encounter the gunslinger, but she was curious, especially if there was someone or something trapped in the sinking structure.

She walked around the building to a point where the marsh grasses were thicker and she was hidden from the immediate view of the Mrlssi. Pulling her saber from her belt she brought it close to the wall of the structure. Cautiously she knocked against the side of the structure and immediately located a load bearing beam. Syren swore under her breath. She tapped around the structure until she found a point that would be less catastrophic to burn through.

Her lightsaber ignited with a sharp hiss and a thrum. The blue light cast from the hilt glinted off of her iridescent skin coloring her in shades of silver and purple. Carefully, she dug the blade into the smooth wall of the building. The metal hissed and sputtered against the plasma stream, instantly turning white hot upon the application of the weapon. She cut three sides of a large square, then kicked the center inward. The metal was not instantly cool, so she was careful to not brush the newly cut sides. Using the Force, she gripped the edges of the door and pushed further inward.

Blackness met her along with the must that accumulated in the buildings of Mrlsst. She slipped inside, lightsaber still blazing to provide an eerie blue light over the scene inside.*

[member='Eralam'] [member='Bryce Bantam']

 

[Bryce Bantam]

The crack of a slug thrower immediately got BB's attention as it echoed through the ruins of the city. Looking over at the perceived source of the sound he saw a multi-armed insect of unusual size falling to its death. Landing near the blue skinned woman it splattered its vital fluids all over her. She was just about covered from head to foot in the stuff and even a good distance from the woman, BB was he could smell the stench of it from there.

Now completely distracted from the scientist BB began to venture over to the site of the new commotion. It was more out of curiosity this time than anything else. Hey, he at least figured he could offer the shower facilities to the girl as he felt if that was him, the first thing he would want to do is clean it off by any means necessary.

As he did she walked around to the far side of the building and BB though he heard what sounded like a lightsaber being ignited. Speeding up BB heard the hiss of saber on metal and a loud clink like someone dropped a large piece of metal. Finally approaching the site she disappeared BB saw the opening she had cut but the woman was nowhere to be found. Strange kept on getting stranger, but as veteran of the Kathol Outback stuff like this was actually pretty common place. Seeing a chance to explore BB hurried back to the Starr to suit up and get his climbing gear together, best to be prepared to meet whatever was down there.

[member="Eralam"] | [member="Syren"]

 

[Eralam]

Up.

Higher and higher, Eralam went.

Whatever the creature had been, it was apparently alone. Or at least, it might as well have been. The higher the Shard went, the more the strange gulf between himself and the world around him grew, until it seemed like there was nothing but the stone beneath his fingers and toes and the mist that pressed around him like a blanket. He could hear nothing but the scrape of metal on stone. He could see nothing but the mist, and the building in front of him. He could feel nothing at all.

Whatever this was, it wasn't natural. There was no way the tower was this tall. It had barely seemed more than a few dozen meters from the ground, and that was accounting for the parts that had collapsed. According to his internal altimeter, he had climbed nearly a kilometer. His millimeter wave radar could detect nothing but the stone, and it was curiously opaque. Normally, the waves could penetrate solid objects, to a degree. The crumbling building should have been porous enough to allow the energy through, but now that he paid attention, he realized that the stone was actual stone, not the dilapidated ferrocrete it had been earlier.

Something wasn't right.

The Iron Knight considered kicking off from the tower and letting gravity handle the rest, but alarmingly, his connection to the Force seemed faint. If he strained he could feel it, but it was like trying to grasp a handful of sand in the middle of a hurricane. The slightest variation in concentration ripped it away from his grasp. He couldn't trust that the connection would return on the way down, and he barely had enough power to move a pebble.

After what seemed like an eternity, his fingers found a ledge. Eralam wondered if he'd reached the top, or if he'd just found a window. He'd be happy either way. Handholds were becoming increasingly scarce, and something told him using his lightsaber to make new ones would be a bad idea.

[member="Syren"] | [member="Bryce Bantam"]