The Wastes of Nycteria [FOSB]

Brent Smith · Oct 10, 2017

The Idyllic park stretched around them almost perfectly. The temperature was perfect, that perfect mix of crisp late summer and the beginning of fall. The trees were still green, but the wind carried a promise of a coolness coming. Overhead a trio of migrating birds flapped away, getting an early start on their move onward to warmer regions. Brent watched as his younger brother, Fenn, charged across the green fields, chasing the family dog, laughing with joy.

"I'm glad your better," Mara said, running her fingers through Brent's dark hair. The man's girlfriend edge closer, leaning against his shoulder, "You had me worried."

The agent's arm wrapped around his lady friend, pulling her close enough for him to plant a kiss on her forehead, "I'm not. It just means another deployment." he sighed, "Things are heating up, getting worse every day with the war on the Jedi, it just seems every day there's a new fight with new enemies."

"Because there always will be," she said, her slate grey eyes looking up at him, "But that's why your here, there will always be someone there to try and take away our freedom."

"Its not easy leaving," Brent confessed.

"And its not easy letting you go, but without good men like you, there would be nothing left that's innocent, nothing good in the galaxy," she grabbed his chin and forced Brent to look her in the eyes. "I will do my duty, and you will do yours. And when you get back, dead or alive, I will be here waiting for you, proud as ever."

_________

Brent opened his eyes. Everything was hazy, he blinked them twice more, his HUD came into view, marred by a jagged crack across his visor. He could see the snow falling, gently, almost too calm and perfectly. It took the man a few moments to realize where he was. Nycteria. Mission. Emptying the abandoned base. The building fell--and--and--I guess I couldn't move in time. His white snow trooper armor was covered in a variety of debris and a growing layer of snow from the fall around them.

The Major said:
::SOUND OFF! Any injuries?::

The agent managed to haul himself to his feet, staggering back two steps.

"'Mo kay," he grunted shakily. "Just a little bump, Major. Fit for battle."

His digital life support system said he had a little more than that; a concussion and a sprained left shoulder, but this was his first mission since his injury leave and after missing the fight with the Jedi, Brent wasn't about to miss this too or whimp out. The injury to his head wooed him to submit to sweet unconsciousnesses.

"Not happening today," Brent muttered to himself, lowering his temperature controls to uncomfortable levels. The cold gave Brent the kickstart he needed to stay alert.

Drawing his pistol, the agent followed [member="The Major"] up to the second story. His left arm screamed in pain as he pulled himself up to the second story. The agent surveyed the room, his eyes falling on a nearby computer terminal. He tapped the cracked, frosted over screen and watched it light up. The agent began tapping away, if they were lucky he'd be able to bypass into the mainframe and get some intel--or at least a log of some sort for what happened before the facility went dark.

Kirie · Oct 11, 2017

The steam billowed out, filling the maze of corridors in the Base. The white fog flowed over the myriad corpses, melting the ice, freeing the frozen flesh. The body stalked along the hall, her hair unkempt, frizzy from the humidity. She massaged her fingers, working the last dredges of cold from her body. The hall had darkened, the moisture condensing on the windows had blocked out almost all of what little light trickled in. She strode over to a panel on the wall, pressing buttons until a few light reluctantly activated. The rays split the gloom, eerily lighting the hall, and casting strange, distorted shadows on the wall that seemed to move with a life of their own.

A cracking sound grabbed her attention. Somewhere, above her and not far sections of ice were falling to earth from the structure. She followed the noise, listening as the groaning and cracking worsened. All at once, a rumbling filled her ears, and she heard a huge section of rubble fall to earth with a mighty crash. Out the window she just caught a spray of snow sailing high into the air, quickly carried off by the wind. Then she heard something else, barely audible over the howling of the wind. It was voices, yelling.

The invaders! She thought to herself. Those vandals!

She broke into a run, sprinting down the hall back towards the main hub. She skidded to a halt when she heard the sound of glass shattering above her. Slowly, she fell to her knees. Her reawakened mind went blank, and her back arched, eyes rolling back in her head. The Noise began to grow louder, becoming an incessant buzz that hung thick in the air around her. It ran through the base like a physical wave. The cacophony became loud and louder, the volume increasing even as The Body began to bleed from her eyes and ears. It rang out like a message, a bolt of lightning in a clear night sky. A drop of colour on a blank canvas.

Then, a moment later, it had returned to normal.

She was back in her head. She stood up slowly, wiping crimson liquid from her face, staining the skin red. In the room next to her, she heard a scraping sound. Further down, tapping and the sound of a door opening. The base had awoke, and now the invaders would pay dearly for disturbing its slumber.

Madelyn Lowe · Oct 11, 2017

Emilia was the third one to climb up to the second floor window. She put one gloved hand after the other, concentrating on her technique, ignoring the pain in her muscles. She tried not to think about the last time she'd scaled a wall using a grapple, but the images came back to her in a rush; the glint of the man's rifle, the red of the baster bolt, the horror and pain as it impacted her side. She shook her head, dispelling the thoughts from her mind. Concentrate on the task at hand. Focus. You rule your mind. She repeated the mantra to herself, and continued climbing.

She hefted her body up and over the window ledge, carefully avoiding the razor-sharp shards of tough glass that stuck out from the sill. Deftly, she climbed inside. One of the few advantages of her small frame was the ease at which she could lift her body-weight and maneuver herself. Her boots crunched against the shattered glass as her soles touched the floor. The room was an office for the Base's administrators. A number of small desks were cluttered with discarded pens and yellowing papers. Parts of the roofing had stripped away, revealing what was left of the domed structure of the entrance building that had collapsed only minutes earlier. The room smelled strongly of mould and mildew, and was likely highly unstable.

In one corner, a metal staircase lead down, likely into the central foyer they'd been trying to gain entrance to. While she scanned the room, [member="Brent Smith"] moved over to a computer terminal, an action she deemed futile until the thing actually turned on. Emilia frowned while he worked, and turned to [member="The Major"]. "Isn't it weird to you that there's power here? Everything I've seen so far indicates that there's nobody left alive." she stopped talking for a moment, losing focus. That buzzing was back, distinctly this time. She could here it, quite clearly too. It was loud. Her thoughts went blank for a moment, and she forgot what she was doing. When she blinked and resumed thought, the buzzing was in the back of her mind once again. "Sorry, forgot what I was doing for a moment" She told The Major. "Anyway, this is strange, it's a wonder the power hasn't shut down after all this time."

She paused. "Well, that's assuming there's nobody around to be turning it on and off, of course." She chuckled to herself, the idea that anyone could still be living in such a derelict and dangerous place was ridiculous, wasn't it? She turned back to the operative working the computer. "Brent, can you see if you can find us some sort of floor plan? This place looks confusing and it'd be nice if we had an idea of exactly where it is we're going.

Turning to face the broken window, she looked back through the drifting clouds of fog, where their ship sat, hulking and silent, and just out of sight sat the strange dark lake, the only distinguishing landmark outside the base on the entire plateau. Her eyes darted right. She could have sworn she'd seen a dark shape, a silhouette lurking just on the periphery of her vision. She dismissed it. Probably just her imagination, right?

Progflaw99 · Oct 12, 2017

"Thank the gods.." she mumbled quietly, her hands reaching for the carbine slung around her body. The sling had held when she dove and now that she'd brushed off the majority of the snow clinging to her person, the weapon was next. Removing a particularly large chunk from behind the front sight, she gave it a little shake before slinging it across her back. It was time to climb - and with a practiced motion she drew the Ascension Gun from her thigh holster. An S-5, the weapon also had a somewhat modular mount just below the barrel which contained a grappling hook spike and in a compressed node, 20 meters of monofilament cable, more than enough to catch up with the rest. Already several of their party had begun the ascent - Val would be close behind. Weapon secured, she took aim at a solid beam below a non-shattered window before carefully timing her breathing. As she reached the bottom of an exhale, she gently squeezed the trigger, a quiet snap heard as the dart exited the launcher attachment.

Securing itself to the wall above where some of the others had begun climbing up, she moved forward, bracing her feet against the wall. Activating the retracting cable, she walked gently upwards towards the shattered window, eyes carefully watching above in case the structural integrity of the building deigned to degrade further. Increasing the speed of the small device, she timed it perfectly to swing up and into the gap, gently landing upon her feet, glass crunching beneath. A quick exhale of breath filled the air in front of her as she re-stowed her pistol in favor of the carbine. Reaching forward, Val activated the small but intense light mounted at the front of the weapon. It only took her a few seconds but she scanned the room, the light illuminating nothing in particularly useful to the agent in determining what had happened here. Content with her brief appraisal, she looked back out the shattered window, following the gaze of one of their own, Emilia. What she was looking at she couldn't tell, though as she herself peered out it was hard not to appreciate how serene the rest of this place looked - it gave her the creeps!

Connor Harrison · Oct 13, 2017

Raijin stood, adjusted his helmet and walked around the swirling flakes of snow that the cracked dome kicked up. The rest of the party were safe – scattered around, but safe. A gloved hand wiped his visor and he kept hold of his blaster.

[member="The Major"] called out for them.

”I’m fine, Major” he nodded, walking past her.

He looked and saw a number taking the high-route with grapple hooks. One thing he knew was never be sure of what lay below in a building such as this. The floors below needed a sweep; who knows what or who was lurking? Possibly nothing, but better find out now than being ambushed or taken out by a stray Wampa or desperate scavengers.

”I’m going from the ground up – don’t want any nasty surprises. I’ll rendezvous on the floors above,” he said, voice crackling through his helmet.

The lights inside blinked past the blast doors that were a-jar, letting in the plumes of snow and frost. As a number of the Order took to grapples, Raijin walked through into the facility around the cracked dome, hopping up and over the debris to get inside.

[member="Emilia Ravel"] | [member="Verza Lor"] | [member="Jude Falkrowe"] | [member="Julius Thonn"] | [member="Nemesis Nemonus"] | [member="Myrne"] | [member="Val Kordova"] | [member="Varas Kyrel"]

The Major · Oct 17, 2017

A beep of acknowledgment crackled on [member="Raijin"]'s communication suite. It was good for him to project his intentions regardless of his status as a freelancer on this mission. Tragedy would be to stumble upon him later in a dark corridor and mistake him for a hostile.

Up on the second floor. . .

The Major attentively listened to Officer Ravel's appraisal and punditry upon the status of the facility. Mostly it was a sound analysis, save for the fact that it was still cold in the corridors. It gave the operation leader an impression that the power of the station was only just activated upon their arrival. Such a thing should be impossible as a function of life support -however, if there were druids or driods inside, and perhaps waiting in ambush for any invaders. . .

"Agent's Ravel and Kordova, secure the rooms next to our current one. Once we have that floor plan provided by Agent Smith we can start planning a tactical sweep. Clear?"

She pushed a button on her comlink and opened up on the team channel.

::I need one Ren up here. Now. The rest of you follow Freelancer Raijin up the ground floor. Stick together in groups and do not wander alone.::

Now the operation leader moved over to the terminal [member="Brent Smith"] was playing about with, already annoyed that the requested data wasn't immediately available.

"How's that coming along?"

Brent Smith · Oct 17, 2017

The work was slow going, considering the half-frozen state of the console. The touch screen was slow to respond, and even slower to take answers because of the frost sheet covering it; half the buttons were covered in ice and unworkable, the others were almost there. Brent winced, he wondered if he should try looking for another console. But, of course there might not be one and every second he spent looking would be a waste of valuable time they didn't have.

Emilia Ravel said:
"Brent, can you see if you can find us some sort of floor plan? This place looks confusing and it'd be nice if we had an idea of exactly where it is we're going.

"Will do, ma'am as soon as we have access," he replied, shivering in his boots. He hadn't adjusted the thermostat back, he was too afraid of the possible consequences if he did.

The screen fuzzed over with static, the agent gave it the ol' punching reboot. The screen resolved once more into familar green letters on black background as he hacked into the mainframe.

The Major said:
"How's that coming along?"

"Almost.... got it...." Brent managed through clenched teeth. At last a blue print image of the base appeared before him. He let out a sigh of relief, plugging his armor into the only not-totally-frozen access jack, "Alright, sending schematics."

The blue prints would appear on everyone's respective HUDs, as long as they were linked to the tactical comm, of course. Brent let out a sigh, his shoulders visibly relaxing.

[member="The Major"] I [member="Raijin"] | [member="Emilia Ravel"] | [member="Verza Lor"] | [member="Jude Falkrowe"] | [member="Julius Thonn"] | [member="Nemesis Nemonus"] | [member="Myrne"] | [member="Val Kordova"]

Kirie · Oct 18, 2017

The Body poised, motionless. Above her, the murmuring of low voices drifted down through the vents and pipes. She listened carefully, moving to the bottom of the stairwell, where snippets of conversation reached her ears, vibrating her eardrums and travelling across her newly activated synapses, where they were processed as sound. She was the eyes and ears of The Noise. She'd risen to find these invaders. She was the Punisher, bringer of retribution. They were unaware, but the frosted windows and icy equipment of the Base had become hallowed earth. Earth which they violated with their foul presence. The interlopers disturbed the harmony here, and they must be punished. That was a fact she understood to her core

Over her head, a woman barked out orders. Her voice resonated strangely, as if she were talking through a mask. She instructed two people, Ravel and Kordova to search the room. The second instruction was more interesting. Agent Smith- so these people were operatives of some sort?- Had been ordered to find a floor plan. She didn't know if they would find anything, but she hoped the terminal would be useless. Exposed to the elements like that room was, the equipment was likely heavily damaged. Even if they did find a map, it wouldn't help them in the long run. Once they'd succumbed to the Noise even reading would be impossible, let alone navigating.

Still, agents, she'd have to be more wary of this party.

Another sound reached her ears. The great metal doors of the Base's main entrance began to groan, and as one of the doors began to scrape across the floor, squealing in protest, a sliver of light appeared, a narrow window into the barren Eastern Plateau. A dusting of snow drifted in, likely the result of the mighty crash she'd just heard minutes before. A dark figure blocked the soft light, and The Body ducked aside, accidentally kicking a piece of metal debris and sending it skittering across the polished floors of Reception.

Pressing up against the wall, she skulked away from the entrance hall. The sound of solitary footsteps echoed through the cavernous room, growing louder and louder as the intruder approached. In a last ditch effort to stay hidden, The Body slipped behind a makeshift barricade of sandbags, nestling underneath the ravaged corpse of a receptionist. She slowed her heartbeat, drawing out her breaths. She was absolutely still, blending into the bodies that still littered the room, cut, shot, and bled out.

Elsewhere in the station, something began to stir. In the Residential Block, where the air had quickly heated in the small spaces, a woman's finger twitched. The girl, dressed in her white lab coat, opened her mouth, and a steaming breath escaping for the first time since her death many months prior. She flexed her fingers, massaging out the aches, cracking the frozen joints. Moments later, she stood up, quietly opening the door to her room, and stepping out into the still hallway.

In the Barracks, a burly man sat up, his security uniform soaking wet from the ice that had covered him. He rose, hefting a bag of Detonite, and strapping his blaster rifle over his shoulder. He made his way through the twists and turns of the Base, eventually arriving at a rickety ladder leading to an exit in the roof. With peeling faded letters it read 'For emergency use only.' He placed his clumsy, half-frozen hands on the ladder, and raised a boot-clad foot, and began to climb.

Julius Thonn · Oct 20, 2017

Special Agent Thules was aware of much as he trudged through the snow behind their mission's leader. He preferred silence, but there was a faint buzzing in his ear that got increasingly louder, however, he could hardly discern what it was before others in the Op began talking. In his helmet, his dark eyes rolled aggressively, threatening falling out of his head before there was a warning, shouted out to the entirety of the group from someone, Jules didn't recognize the voice, but they had a mission to perform.

And the mission came first.

All of them were expendable.

So he followed on the tail of [member="The Major"], stygian boots crunching snow as his powerful legs brought him after her. Something struck his helmet, but it was glancing as he powered through the collapsing snow and moments later found himself next to the Staff Officer.

"Feth..." He said as he shook his head, the HUD in his helmet distorting as he re-calibrated the visual settings. A wrist display popping up on his wrist for a brief moment before all appeared to return to normal.

Hefting the E-22 onto his shoulder, his helmet tilted upwards to watch as members of his team disappeared on the second floor. Orders crackled over the comms, thankfully they were still working, and he received his orders to follow along with [member="Raijin"], and so he made sure to linger those few metres behind the Ren, lights flickering in some places didn't make things any more dangerous than they already were he assured himself.

Moments later, there was a grating sound from behind him, and he swung the blaster back around, in line with his shoulder to see the main doorway opening up, but the figure that had slipped in had avoided his detection. Why couldn't it just open for us? "... Something opened the door down here."

[member="Val Kordova"], [member="Emilia Ravel"], [member="Jude Falkrowe"], [member="Varas Kyrel"], [member="Brent Smith"]

Madelyn Lowe · Oct 26, 2017

Emilia nodded at [member="The Major"]'s orders and quickly got to work. Gesturing to [member="Val Kordova"] she said quietly "I've got the room on the left, you take the right." Slipping her pack off her shoulder, she removed her clip-on flashlight, and attached it to her E-11. Pushing open the door, she swept her flashlight to each corner, checking for hostiles. When she found nothing, she lowered her blaster, and stepped inside, the door swinging shut behind her.

The ceiling and walls in here were more intact than the other room. In patches, small holes lead to the outside, as if shrapnel from some sort of explosive device had torn through the metal panelling. Moving past the wrecked desk in the centre of the room, she found a section of the floor buckled, with scorch marks around it. Some sort of bomb had gone off here. She flicked on her radio. "<: Major, I've got signs of conflict over here; remains of a small explosion. :>"

She knelt in the corner, where, beneath a coating of quickly melting frost, a dark liquid had stained the floor. It was dark brown, near back by now, but she understood what it was. "<: I've found something else too. Dried blood, lots of it. Doesn't look recent. :>"

Pausing from her work, she leaned against the far wall of the room. The annoying buzzing sound hadn't gone away, but it hadn't increased in volume either. It just stayed the same, never halting. It was starting to give her a headache. She wished she could take off her helmet and rub her temples, but it was far too cold. Maybe the sound was some sort of generator. That would explain why the facility had power.

Stepping back into the room where they'd entered, Emilia look around to see if [member="Val Kordova"] had finished her search.

[member="Julius Thonn"] | [member="Brent Smith"] | [member="Raijin"] | [member="Val Kordova"] |

[member="Varas Kyrel"] | [member="Verza Lor"] | [member="Jude Falkrowe"] | [member="Nemesis Nemonus"]

The Wastes of Nycteria [FOSB]

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