Public The Tunnels Of Orax

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

Location: The Northeastern region of the planet Orax.

Time: Approximately 11:15, Central Eastern Orax Timezone

Equipment: Lightsaber, High powered lanterns x2, DL-18 blasters x2, a Pyke dagger, freeze dried food packets x3, 30 meters of climbing rope, a retractable shovel, a data pad, and a basic backpack.

Objective: Find the item of interest.

“So this is the planet Orax.” thought Glar Ulchtar. He had imagined the planet being warmer and more humid than it actually was, but the astoundingly fascinating rock formations he had heard about were everything the geologists who had visited this planet had told him about.

The formations were nothing like the obsidian spires of Oba Diah (Glar’s home planet). They were covered in crystals in almost every imaginable color, and seemed to stretch out for miles. They bended and twisted into shapes which looked as if they should be impossible on anything naturally occurring, and yet here they were. The pale, white light from the star Orax orbited added to the overall effect, with the crystals changing it to all sorts of different greens, reds, purples, and yellows.

Glar was not here for the rock formations though. While they were certainly impressive, they did not contain the object he was searching for, assuming it had not been moved. That was in the tunnels beneath these natural monuments.

Glar had hired Dantum Kryszar to help him find the item, and he was going to arrive soon, assuming nothing bad had happened to him on his journey. If the reports of hostile crystalline life forms in these tunnels were true, a helper with combat experience was going to be welcome. In order to pass the time while waiting, Glar decided to pick up a few of the loose crystals small enough to be picked up with his hands. Perhaps one of them would turn out to be valuable enough to sell? Probably not, but since the planet didn’t have any laws against it, Glar decided that there was no reason not to.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item.

Dantum "Dan" Kryszar watched from The Dragonfly as the blue light of hyperspace quickly faded to a black void, with the little pinpricks of light that were stars adding to the lonely effect. The space would have been completely empty if it weren't for the entire Orax system taking up the line of sight created by the viewport. (Pause for laughter.) Dan was here in this remote system for a job, one that was mysterious at best. He had met with a Glar Ulchtar to discuss the mission, which included recovering an "item" located in a maze of caves. It sounded simple enough, until you threw the possibility of crystalline monsters into the equation. Well, this would certainly be unlike any other job he had undertaken.

The Corellian Sharpshooter guided The Dragonfly through the Oraxian atmosphere towards the coordinates that Glar had given him. If he was lucky, Glar would be there to greet him. Dan didn't like waiting, especially when a job involved a considerable sum, which in this case it did. He brought his ship in for a gentle landing and hopped out after checking his main gear. Sniper rifle- check. Laser knife- check. Grenades- check. Rations and other equipment- check. Dan had thought at first that this could be an excess of supplies, but then considered the facts: not much was known about this cave system. And Dan was not exactly one to take chances when he didn't have enough info on the situation.

After checking his gear, Dan hopped up on top of his ship and used his electrobinoculars to scan the area. Where was Glar? He certainly couldn't see him out in the open, at least not with the electrobinoculars set to default. Dan twisted a knob, and his optical tool switched to heat vision. There was Glar- behind a rock formation.

"Time for some walking" Dan remarked to no one in particular. He arranged all his gear so that it was placed in convenient locations, and then began the short trek to his client.

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

Glar did not end up having to wait for very long, for Dantum to show up. As the man walked towards him, Glar put the pentagonal, green crystal he was holding into his ship’s cargo bay, closed the door to his ship and locked it. “So, did you have any trouble getting here?” asked Glar. After listening to the response, Glar began walking towards the base of one of the larger rock formations. “If I am correct, the entrance to the tunnels should be here.” he said, waiting for a response.

Unknown to Glar or Dantum, they were not the only people searching for something on the planet Orax. A third ship landed on the planet around this time, a good deal farther away from where the other two searchers were. The individual exited their own ship, and began walking in their general direction.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar , anyone who still wants to join.

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item.

Dan greeted his client and companion, Glar, with a wave. The Pyke began the encounter with a polite inquiry:

"So, did you have any trouble getting here?"

"Not at all." replied Dan. "The hyperspace trip was smooth, and the Oraxian atmosphere is not particularly difficult to bypass. So, where are the tunnels?"

In response, Glar stated that he did know the location of the tunnel entrance. It was close to the base of the crystal pillar that they were currently standing next to. Dan looked around the base for some sort of opening. The rock spire was rather large, close to enormous, so it could take a few minutes of looking. In addition, the bounty hunter wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for. The entrance to the vast cave system could be a crevice, a gaping hole, or a small tunnel opening. Dan would have expected a more spacious entrance, but then again, caves were mysterious in their formation. Finally, he found a small opening, closer to a crevice. It was about five feet (1.524 meters for you non-Americans) in diameter, and the height measurement was slightly larger. As he peered inside, the tunnel seemed to grow much wider and the ceiling much higher. This could be the entrance.

"I might have found something" he called to Glar.

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

As Glar and Dantum circled around the massive crystal pillar, looking for the entrance to the underground tunnels, Dantum suddenly announced that he might have found something. Glar quickly walked to the section of the pillar where he was, and saw him looking down an opening in the ground, which seemed like it could be the entrance that they were looking for. Also near the opening was a small, out of place looking rock. It seemed just a bit too perfectly proportioned, and had strange, metal tentacles attached to the base.

It was at this point where Glar realized that it was not a rock at all, but an extremely old droid, covered it rust and pebbles. “I think this is, or at least was, a droid. Looks a bit like an old imperial probe droid I remember seeing once. What do you think?”

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar , whoever joins

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item

After Dan pointed out the possible entrance, Glar walked over to confirm it. Dan watched as Glar approached him, and then glanced down at a strange rock. As the bounty hunter looked more closely, he realized the rock seemed more like a probe droid. Evidently, Glar thought the same.

"I think this is, or at least was, a droid. Looks a bit like an old imperial probe droid I remember seeing once. What do you think?"

Dan agreed. He didn't know why the droid was here, or why it was lying in a broken heap in a pile of rocks. But it was most certainly an Imperial probe droid.

'Yeah, you're right. It does look like an Imperial probe. I wonder what it's doing here?"

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

Glar continued looking at the broken probe droid, and bent down to brush off some of the dust. On the main dome, there was a faded Empire symbol, but there was also another symbol which seemed vaguely familiar to Glar. He could not think of what it was at that moment, but he definitely remembered that it was feared at some point in galactic history. There was also some writing on the dome, but it was far too faded to read.

Dantum wondered out loud what it was doing on the planet. Glar thought about it, and then responded. “I was wondering the same. If I recall correctly, the item we are looking for was placed here by the Old Empire in the first place, so why would they send a probe droid, when they already knew where it was? Perhaps some answers will be in the tunnels.”

Glar started walking, and flipped a switch on the high powered lantern he was carrying, and it let out a long, steady light into the tunnel. After around 20 meters, the tunnel appeared to fork into two different directions. It appeared that there was a choice which needed to be made.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in in locating and recovering an item.

Dan watched as his companion, Glar, stooped down to examine the broken droid. After Glar brushed some dust off of the probe's dome, Dan was able to make out a faded Imperial logo, as well as another logo that he was unable to recognize. A question still lingered in the bounty hunter's head: what was the droid doing here? Glar provided a partial answer.

"I was wondering the same. If I recall correctly, the item we are looking for was placed here by the Old Empire in the first place, so why would they send a probe droid, when they already knew where it was? Perhaps some answers will be in the tunnels."

Here was some new information. The item they were here for was put here by the Empire. Why would they put it here though, of all places? The comment made by Dan's Pyke companion again yielded another solution. The answers they were seeking would probably be in the caves, along with the mysterious object they were searching for. After finishing his sentence, Glar turned on his lights and walked into the tunnel. Dan did the same. He activated a headlamp, as well as an additional light on his sniper. The Corellian Sharpshooter then proceeded to follow his client into the darkness.

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

Glar contemplated the two tunnels ahead of him, one to the left, and the other to the right. He pointed his high powered lantern down the left tunnel, which seemed to be a dead end. Glar pointed the lantern towards the other tunnel, which seemed to extend farther. He could not see very well down either tunnel, though.

Glar began walking down the right tunnel, presumably with Dantum still following him. They continued making their way through the tunnel, with not much occurring for the next 10 minutes.

To break the silence, Glar decided to ask Dantum about some activity in the criminal underworld that he had heard about. “So, have you heard about the buzz of activity around some new, “semi-legitimate business alliances? Unfortunately, I have been rather out of touch with the goings on of that particular social league recently.” Glar was fairly confident that Dantum would have some answer to the question, but he was not sure if he would answer him honestly. After listening to Dantum’s response, Glar noticed something.

There were some very large gashed in the wall of the tunnel that they were in. They seemed like they had been caused by some sort of living thing, but they seemed disorganized, as if whatever had made them was trying to cut into something else, and caused them trying to reach their intended target.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item.

After about ten minutes of silent trekking through the large cave system, Glar decided to make some conversation.

"So, have you heard about the buzz of activity around some new, "semi-legitimate business alliances? Unfortunately, I have been rather out of touch with the goings on of that particular social league recently."

Dan had heard about the buzz. He had been part of a semi-legitimate business alliance himself- key word semi. The supposedly legitimate alliance broke up soon after its creation, and he had barely made it out of an enormous gunfight that erupted after an argument went off the rails.

"Yes, I had heard about the news. Didn't turn out very well for me and my "alliance", but I guess some made profits out of it."

Glar seemed to think about the response for a moment before stopping short. Dan barely stopped fast enough himself to avoid running into his companion. Glar seemed to be studying something on the wall. Dan craned his head to see what it was. There appeared to be gashes in the wall, haphazardly spaced over a small area. They looked to be recent. Suddenly, Dan had a weird feeling in his stomach. What kind of monster could gouge through solid rock? And the scratches were made a short while ago- whoever- or whatever- made them could still be nearby! Suddenly, Dan heard a roar reverberate though the tunnel. This couldn't be good.

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

As Glar was studying the large gashes in the side of the tunnel, he began to hear a steady crackling of what sounded like electricity. He did not really notice it at first, but as it began to grow steadily louder, it became more noticeable. Suddenly, the crackling became a roar which seemed to reverberate endlessly in the small tunnel, and then stopped, leaving only a faint echo.

Glar pointed his high powered lantern towards the other end of the tunnel, and saw a very odd looking creature starring back at him. This was clearly one of the dangerous crystalline life forms Glar had heard about when researching Orax in preparation for the trip, but records were very sparse about the creatures. He knew they had vulnerable underbellies, but he was not sure how he was going to get a good shot at the creature’s underbelly in such a confined space.

Glar also remembered that these creatures hated light. The problem was, he was not sure if the lantern he was holding would cause the creature to become aggressive, or if the lantern was the only reason the creature had not attacked them yet. The creature began making the crackling noise again. Clearly, there was not much time.

Glar decided that the light was probably the reason the creature was acting hostile towards them. He began to slowly and quietly back away from the creature, around a turn in the tunnel. He sincerely hoped that Dantum would understand his thought process, and would follow him, as speaking out loud could startle the creature.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item.

Dan watched, curious, as Glar turned in the direction that the roar seemed to have come from. The Pyke raised his lantern, casting light on the tunnel walls that surrounded them. Dan observed the parts of the tunnel that were granted visibility. It didn't look like anything was there. Now that he thought about it, whatever made that noise could be far away. With all of these narrow passageways, sound could travel far. Dan looked again, but then stopped. The source of the roar was probably nothing of importance anyway. In the next few moments, Dan would come to regret this thought process.

The bounty hunter turned away from Glar's lantern, indicating that he wanted to move on.

"C'mon, let's get going. It was probably nothing."

At that exact moment, a giant crystalline beast poked its shimmering head into the tunnel. The light from Glar's lantern was absorbed by the crystal on the creature's body, and turned into many different colors. This was a mesmerizing and beautiful effect, and Dan might have stopped to look for a bit before his common sense took over and told him to run. Dan was about head off down the passageway at a full sprint when he realized what Glar was doing. The Pyke was backing away from the creature slowly and quietly, being careful not to provoke it. Dan now understood that this should have been his first course of action.

As Dan turned to face the beast, and slowly moved away from it, his eyes met Glar's. His companion's eyes were wildly trying to get a message across: Don't provoke the monster. The bounty hunter nodded to show his comprehension. He and Glar walked backwards around a bend in the tunnel, making sure to keep quiet. After they rounded the corner, they heard the creature pause, then scuttle away. After it could no longer see the bright light, it wasn't upset.

"Well, that was nerve-racking," remarked Dan. "You should probably turn down the brightness a bit. That thing looked vicious up close."

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

As the crystalline creature scuttled back into the darkness, Glar allowed himself a short moment to calm his nerves. As he has doing this, Dantum remarked about how nerve-racking the situation had been (Glar certainly agreed with him), and that it would probably be best for Glar to turn down the power on his high-powered lantern. In response, he said “Yes, it would probably be best to do that.” and rotated a knob on the side of the device, dimming the light to about two thirds of its original brightness.

“Anyways, should we continue moving through the tunnels? I think we are getting closer to the item of interest.” Glar continued, and began walking farther down the tunnel, somewhat slower than he had been before the incident with the crystalline creature.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item.

"Yes, it would probably be best to do that"

Glar turned down his lantern, still enabling the pair to see, but it wasn't so bright that it would attract more attention. Of course, every species has a few curious individuals. But they could cross that bridge when they got to it. Right now, the number one objective was to reach the item.

"Anyways, should we continue moving through the tunnels? I think we are getting closer to the item of interest."

Glar was obviously eager to reach the item. This made Dan wonder- why did his Pyke companion want the item so badly that he would trek through a monster-infested cave system to get it? It must be either very valuable, or very powerful. And now that he thought about it, what was the item anyway? All Dan knew about it was that the Empire had left it here, probably hoping that nobody would find it on the remote planet of Orax. Well, he could ask Glar all about the item when they had retrieved it and had left the tunnels safely. For now, they should keep moving.

Dan resumed following Glar as the Pyke headed off down a passageway, but this time slowly and more carefully. Neither of them wanted to cause another run-in with one of those creatures.

As Dan continued following his companion, he realized that he was completely depending on Glar to take him to the item. He also wondered if Glar knew where he was going. Well, he could find out in a discreet way for now.

"Do you know how much farther-"

Dan instantly became quiet as the ominous sound of scuttling could be heard far off at the other end of the passageway. The next time he spoke, he toned his voice down to a whisper:

"There's some more of those creatures. We should probably pick up speed"

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

As they continued walking through the tunnels, Dantum somewhat abruptly asked if Glar knew how much farther away the item was. However, before he had a chance to respond, he heard a faint scuttling sound which sounded like it was coming from the other end of the passageway.

Dantum quietly suggested that they pick up their pace. Glar silently nodded his head in agreement. The two of them began moving faster through the tunnel, but still managed to be nearly silent. Glar almost tripped over a rock at on point, but successfully sidestepped it.

Once they were fairly certain there were no more crystalline creatures nearby, Glar answered Dantum’s question. “I am almost certain that the item is nearby by now.” There was a slight smell of salt in the air, which Dantum did not seem to notice, but Glar was keenly aware of it. And from the low level of light that they had, he also observed that the walls and floor of the tunnels were gradually turning red as they progressed.

As Glar and Dantum moved farther and farther into the tunnels, the salty smell became almost overwhelming, and there was a soft, red glow which illuminated the tunnel. When the red glow became brighter than the high-powered lantern that Glar was holding, he turned the dial on the side all the way off. “I do not think that I will be needing this for a while. Besides, the batteries were starting to run a bit low.”

Eventually, Glar and Dantum reached a large chamber where the red glow made it as easy to see as if it were a cloudless day on a planet orbiting a red star. In the center of the room, there was a small, pyramid shaped object which was covered in intricate gears and levers. The object was floating approximately one and a half meters above the floor of the chamber, and was surrounded by what looked like a force field. The force field was patterned in intricate symbols and runes, such as the Imperial Starburst, the other symbol on the probe droid, and plenty of other intricacies.

Glar was too busy pondering the fascinating field to notice a large crystalline creature silently dropping down from the ceiling.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item.

Dan wondered what could be causing the bright red light. Normally, in hiss experience, red light foretold something ominous. Then again, it could just be a natural phenomenon. Dan had seen many strange things in these tunnels. As the pair drew closer to the source of the light, Glar switched his light off, which barely impacted their sight at all.

"I do not think that I will be needing this for a while. Besides, the batteries were starting to run a bit low."

Glar was right. The red light was very close now, and bright too. As the two turned the corner, both were able to see the source of the light: a small, red, floating triangular pyramid, surrounded by various gears and mechanisms. There were no other passageways leading out of the room besides the one they had arrived from, and the walls were made of smooth black stone. The pyramid and most of the gears were encased in a red force-field, inscribed with runes, as was the floor.

Dan was beginning to feel right about the ominousness of this room, which luckily made him on guard. The bounty hunter was able to see another crystal monster drop from the ceiling and take a swipe at Glar. Just in time, Dan tackled the Pyke, preventing him from receiving any damage. Dan quickly stood up and drew his blaster. He began shooting at the creature, but the bolts glanced off the thing's crystalline armor. At least it was distracted.

"Go get the item!" he yelled to Glar. "I'll hold it off!"

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

As Glar was pondering the chamber they had found themselves in, he was suddenly tackled to the ground. He quickly realized that it was Dantum who had tackled him, and looked up to see a crystalline creature towering over him, swiping one of its claws at the spot where Glar’s head had been a second ago. Both of them stood up and moved farther away from the creature. Dantum began firing his blaster at it, which seemed to be merely annoying to the creature. Dantum yelled something about the item to Glar, but it was difficult to hear him over the creature’s crackling roar, and Dantum’s blaster shots.

Glar figured that Dantum wanted him to retrieve the item. Clearly, he could not just reach in to the force field and grab it, so he attempted to fire his blasters at the force field. They did absolutely nothing to it. Perhaps the answer was not just brute strength. Glar did something that he had not done for a long time. He tapped into The Force. He closed his eyes, and concentrated on the pyramid. A few seconds later, he opened them, and the pyramid was in his outstretched hand.

An instant later, the pyramid released a bolt of lightning, which hit the crystal creature in the side. The creature lost its footing and fell over. Glar took the opportunity to shoot the creature in its vulnerable underbelly, which seemed to cause some serious damage to it. The creature quickly picked itself back up though, and snatched the pyramid with its mandibles. As he retreated to the other side of the cavern, Glar attempted to pull the pyramid over to himself again, but it was too tightly gripped in the beast’s mandibles. Glar aimed one of his blasters at the creature’s mandibles, but he missed, and the shot glanced harmlessly off of its chin. “Do you think you can shoot off one of its mandibles?” Glar asked Dantum, hoping he could hear him over the noise.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item.

Dan kept shooting at the creature, even thought it wasn't doing much. The bounty hunter's strategy at the moment was to distract the monster, so that Glar could get the item. Dan just wished that he would hurry up. Any second now, the creature would realize that the human shooting green light at it wasn't a threat, and that the same human might be tasty.

Right on cue, Glar ran towards the creature, pyramid in hand. The pyramid emitted a bolt of red light, which scored a hit on the beast's side. The powerful blast of energy knocked the thing over, which enabled Glar to shoot it in its unprotected belly. This seemed to have an effect. Finally, a weakness that could be exploited. But just as the pair began to get the upper hand, the monster recovered and snatched the item in its numerous mandibles. Dan watched as Glar oddly paused and appeared to concentrate. Shouldn't he be trying to get the pyramid back? Suddenly, the Pyke snapped out of whatever trance he was in and fired, aiming for the mandibles. The shot missed, doing no harm. Looks like a skilled sniper would be required. This bounty hunter's time to shine.

"Do you think you can shoot off one of its mandibles?"

"They don't call me the Corellian Sharpshooter for nothing" replied Dan.

He engaged the heat vision on his helmet, adjusted his scope, took aim, and hit the crystalline beast right in a lower mandible. Two more shots followed in quick succession, scoring more hits on the mandibles. This proved too much for the creature. It dropped the pyramid. Dan moved fast, because he knew the beast would recover momentarily. With a sliding kick, he sent the pyramid right over to Glar.

"Let's get out of here! We can't fight this thing for much longer!"

 

[Glar Ulchtar]

Dantum Kryszar

As Glar observed, Dantum accurately fired his blaster rifle into one of the crystalline creature’s lower mandibles, causing it to drop the pyramid. Glar began running towards the pyramid, but this proved to be unnecessary, as Dantum promptly kicked towards Glar. He quickly grabbed the pyramid in his hands, and it fired a second bolt of red lightning into the creature’s face. The pyramid seemed to recoil more this time than it had the last time, but that did not bother Glar too much. When the red bolt his the creature, it fell over backwards and Glar took the opportunity to shoot it in its vulnerable underbelly with his blaster.

Before Glar could shoot it again however, the crystalline creature flipped over and began rapidly scuttling all over the chamber. He concentrated, and the pyramid fired another bolt of energy at the beast, but this time the recoil was powerful enough to send Glar flying into the nearest wall, knocking him out for a minute. As he lost consciousness, he hoped that: A. Dantum could finish off the creature and B. Dantum would not betray him.

 

[Dantum Kryszar]

Tags: Glar Ulchtar

Location: Orax

Objective: Assist Glar Ulchtar in locating and recovering an item.

Dan watched as Glar fired more red lightning at the crystalline beast. It seemed to be having an effect, unlike blasters. And Glar was aiming at the creature's heavily armed side. This made Dan wonder: what exactly was the item capable of? It must be powerful. And another thing- how was Glar causing it to shoot lightning? There was something on the tip of Dan's tongue- an explanation for all this- but he couldn't quite place it yet. The meditation, the almost instantaneous bypassing of the Force-field, the pyramid- it all was connected somehow. Well, now wasn't the time to think about that, because Glar had knocked his head on a wall and was out for the count.

Dan rushed over to his companion. He could probably carry Glar all the way back outside if it came to it, but he would be slow, slow enough for the creature to catch up. He needed to use a stim-pad. The last lightning bolt had appeared to have damaged the beast, so it was momentarily nursing its wounds. This provided an opportunity. Dan took a stim-pad out of his bag, and ripped the plastic covering off of it. Once it was applied to Glar's neck, the pad would release adrenaline and other stimulants into the Pyke's body, bringing him back to consciousness. But right before Dan was about to apply it, he paused. It made sense now. Glar could bypass the Force-field and use the pyramid, presumably, if he was a Force-user. Dan could be wrong, but it was a plausible explanation.

The bounty hunter had learned not to trust Force-users after a traumatic experience with one that was best forgotten. There had been some exceptions, but Dan wasn't sure what to do. Could he trust Glar? The Pyke had been there for him, true, but this could all be for his personal gain. What should he do? Well, Force-user or not, Dan couldn't leave someone to get possibly eaten by these creatures. He applied the stim-pad, waiting for it to take effect.

Several seconds later, Glar shook his head groggily to clear the grips of unconsciousness from his head. He made eye contact with Dan, which presumably signified that he had recovered. And not a moment too soon. The crystalline monster had recovered too, and was rising menacingly to its feet. They had to leave, now. Dan supported Glar, and guided his companion towards the exit.

"Let's get out of here."

"I don't think so" said a gravelly voice.

Dan looked up to see a mysterious masked figure, cloaked in black, pointing a heavy machine-gun at them.

"Drop the item. You won't be leaving here alive."