Animus Veritas: Humanity's Last Home

[Jorick]

Lower Deck - Kiera​

The ride on the tanks was a pleasant and introspective little journey for Kiera. She'd taken the available seating closest to the electromagnetic array that powered her chosen tank's main cannon, taking comfort in the faint hum of the charged machinery as it mixed with the rumbling clatter of the tanks moving through the trees. Her love of the electric hum of tech at work was probably much the same as what others felt when they heard lullabies that their parents had used to lull them to sleep, though that was based on conjecture due to her lack of personal experience for comparison. That was fine though, she was probably at an advantage in feeling such a kinship bond with machines since there were so many more machines for her than there were parents for others. Mathematically speaking, being an orphan was an advantage because she ended up with a much larger potential family pool, though she'd stopped expressing such thoughts aloud years ago when she realized they made people uncomfortable for some reason. That was a mystery she was still working on, to little avail.

That confusion was part of a larger category, mentally labeled "why are people so strange?", and recent events had brought another item out from that vault of thought. One of the women at the meeting had basically draped herself over Zeetch, and another had made excessively complimentary remarks toward Marietta. Romance and flirting were alien to Kiera. They seemed to be predominantly made up of lies and indirect statements of intent to mate, and that made no sense as far as she was concerned. If you want to mate with someone, why not just say it plain and direct? Nobody had ever been able to give Kiera a good answer to that question. It was like the time when she was twelve years old and heard some other kids mention sex, so she asked some adults what sex was but they kept using odd euphemisms about love and parents instead of explaining it clearly. She'd gone to Veritas and asked about it and got the answer she had wanted, the mechanical explanation of the actions and how that led to babies being made, but it didn't seem like a big deal to her as it apparently was to others. Veritas's answers about human romance were equally mechanical, all about hormones and brain chemicals and social conditioning, but they weren't as satisfactory. After all, Kiera had all that stuff too, but she didn't take part in any of the strangeness that made up romance, so it still made no sense to her. Some day she'd have to try out that sex thing and see what all the fuss was about, but she didn't feel like having a baby yet so it would have to wait.

She was pulled from her thoughts by the tanks stopping and the commanding officer of the vehicles filling them in on what was known about the abandoned ship and the planet. The plant life that thrived without light was an oddity, but for the moment Kiera simply decided not to make and use any incendiary devices unless absolutely necessary, because starting a fire that could potentially engulf the whole planet would probably interfere with the expedition's objectives. She stowed the little holomap device in a pocket, then followed Marietta's lead in grabbing a flashlight and a couple flares from a tank. Where the sniper had a convenient place to mount her flashlight, Kiera had to get more innovative: she pulled a small coil of wire from a pouch hanging at her belt and used it to tie the flashlight to the strap of her Materializer Box right where it connected, meaning that the light was more or less sat on the box but kept secure by the wire on the strap. It wasn't perfect and the flashlight wasn't exactly steady, but she was plenty used to jerry-rigged solutions to problems so it didn't bother her much.

With lights secured and previously-created grenades safely stowed away in the bag slung over her shoulder, Kiera felt ready to go. She took a few steps toward the hole in the side of the ship, then realized that she should probably act like she was on a team rather than exploring alone, because she was indeed part of a team. Teams weren't exactly uncommon for her, as many jobs on the Animus Veritas required more than one set of hands at work, but she'd always explored as a solo adventurer before now. It was going to be weird, but that was only to be expected from a mission on an alien planet.

Kiera walked a couple steps back toward those gathered more of less around Marietta, those who had volunteered for the lower deck part of the mission. "Hi, I'm Kiera. For those of you who don't know me, I mean. Which is maybe most of you? Or maybe not. I'm not great at remembering faces and names, so, um..." She shrugged and moved on, feeling that her explanation had been quite sufficient. "I want to go first and explore, but I'm probably not the best person to come face to face with bitey slashy arm-rippy aliens. I'll stay close behind whoever's got the best armor and bring the booms when you need it though. Oh, anyone want a grenade? I can make grenades. Special ones too, not just frags, if you want them. Probably not incendiaries though, because lighting the jungle on fire would make it hard to get out with the server. Other stuff too, just let me know and I can probably make it. Pretty fast too, because my Hyperdrive Box is special." Kiera nodded at that, as if agreeing with someone else who had said it, though in fact she was well aware that she was agreeing with her own assessment. "Anyway, let's go get that server for Veritas!"

 

[Zombehs]

Popular opinion decided that their group would be accompanied by a dedicated medic and Morris simply accepted it with a roll of his shoulders; eager to get on the move now. There wasn't much to catch up on with any of the individuals that would venture into the ship alongside him given Morris knew absolutely none of them. They were a particularly colorful group for a number of reasons: two were odd while the other two must have entered adulthood just recently; either would have been enough for Morris to remember them.

His closed visor hid the amused expression that appeared when Zeetch pointed out the oddity of the mute's affliction. 'Good to know I'm not the only one.' Hoping it wouldn't prove to be a problem, Morris didn't pay much attention to the small hijinks between their volunteer and a smaller lady. As that came to an end, the group was not held up for much longer and the moment Marcus and Zeetch finished their banter, Morris was out of the tent and striding towards their rides and escorts.

---

Though just prior to climbing onto the vehicles he paused as the realization hit him and he grumbled in self-annoyance. A section of his back armor slid open to reveal the two canisters that were quickly popped out. He rolled the two around in his hand as he backtracked towards Zeetch and held them up towards the other man. "Do you think you'd be able to brew more of these up if given some time to analyze them Zeetch?"

"Certainly." Zeetch replied as he looked over the canisters. "No guarantee on speed though, I don't know their direct chemical composition, but I could make extras…"

At the mention of the concoctions' makeup, it was perhaps a bit embarrassing for Morris to admit that no, he no longer was 100% sure of what these stimulants were mixed out of. While initially they had been designed and brewed by himself, he'd handed off production to the hands of Artificers after the initial batch. It proved to be fairly common that one would ask to add their own twist onto the brew to see if it improved the stimulant. With all these minor adjustments, Morris had long since lost track of exactly how much of each chemical composed up his brews. At the very least he still had a general idea of the major components in the two stimulants. Hopefully they'd be of some use and thus he relayed them to Zeetch. "There's been plenty of minor additions that would likely take me some time to figure out myself. If only the basic mixtures are possible they'd nonetheless be appreciated."

"Yeah, well, do you know what these stimulants are called?" Zeetch asked politely as he tapped his materializer box. "I could contact Veritas, figure it out from there."

"Had to blend the first batch myself, so I'm not aware of any official name they might have. Haven't run into any other users either, so it doesn't seem that common." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders at Zeetch's question, briefly considering his own nicknames for the concoctions before dismissing the idea. They were arbitrary labels he'd made up, there wasn't any real reason Veritas would get anything from Aggressor or Bunker Down.

Zeetch sighs as he taps the side of his gas mask. "Veritas. Any idea what Morris' home brewed chemicals are? In case I need to replicate them." Veritas replies to both of them using their communicators almost immediately. "I watched him create the compound and he had to use my systems to replicate certain materials. I can give precise details of the chemical composition. As a note, be sure not to allow too many uses in rapid succession, it can be lethal in high quantities." Zeetch looks somewhat bewildered at Morris. "Is… He a stim user?" Zeetch asked curiously. Veritas almost seemed to hold a bit of an amused tone in its voice as it replies. "No, it's not addictive. Just like most things it can be lethal in high doses. Too much of a good thing, as some humans would say. It contains endorphins and other such chemicals, which can result in overdose despite being non-addictive." Zeetch nods in understanding, and looks at Morris. "That answers that then."

Ah… It could be easy to brush over the fact that the ship's virtual intelligence had the ability to and most certainly did watch over the individuals under its care. As such a reminder presented itself, Morris nodded and replied with, "Understood," in reply to the VI's warning. While he could say he understood the limits of his body fairly well, no doubt Veritas' was greater; not to mention the VI wasn't trying to be chiding or offensive. As its voice fell quiet, Morris' attention turned back to Zeetch and he shrugged once more. "I suppose it does. Would you still need the canisters or are the details provided enough to work off of?"

Zeetch shook his head as he tapped his Materializer box. "I can just make new canisters containing the substance now that I know Veritas can feed me the information I need." He smiles underneath his gas mask and glances out into the thick jungle. "I'll keep you fuelled up and ready to go, just don't overdo it and get yourself killed. Alright?"

"Great." He took the two back and popped them back into the appropriate slots before he nodded in agreement. "Loud and clear. Can't have the other big guy tied up carrying me, there's only two of us after all." As his armor slid back into place, he nodded towards the tank convoy and strode towards it, though his paces were smaller than usual, allowing Zeetch to keep pace easily.

---

The journey to their destination held just enough intriguing sights that Morris wasn't bored when he stood up and clambered off the tank. What had been most eye opening, and he suspected it wasn't just for him, had been the massive expansive of webbing that'd hung overhead for several kilometers of their journey. Glances upwards hadn't revealed any creatures within the intricate structure, but when Morris closed his eyes he could almost hear the chittering of insectoids within their woven home above. Imagination aside, the journey had been basically smooth sailing which was a blessing given they were about to enter, possibly, a hellhole.

His helmet tilted down to regard the thick green coils the entire group stood upon after the techie's little brief. An armored hand was raised and Morris was suddenly all too aware of exactly how hot his main weapon could get at times… Last thing he wanted to do was to set something on fire and have it race through the mass of plant life underneath them. 'Good choice...' Indeed it seemed like upper deck had been the best choice for him to take and with that thought he turned around to face the others that would also be exploring said deck after he slipped the map copy into a protected pouch around his waist. He also managed to grab his canisters from Zeetch, slotting them back in while getting confirmation that most likely creation of additional doses would be possible.

Listening to the other power armor user, Morris had nothing to really add onto the religious man's outline of their group's plan. It was something that should work and didn't look to have any glaring flaws with it at the moment; hopefully hindsight to this moment wouldn't turn out to be 20/20. Doing the same as Varsel, Morris unhitched Firebrand from his side and ran an armored hand over the blade. To the others it shouldn't have been noticeable, but the material changed the slightest of hues as it wicked away the ambient heat from his armor. A satisfied nod followed the check and he turned to introduce himself to the group briefly, "Morris Heller in case you didn't catch Varsel. Either works, and it's better than being called Red Warrior or something along those lines."

Afterwards he glanced at Varsel and nodded to the entrance as he asked, "Shall we head down and clear the immediate area first? Make sure there aren't any critters lurking about?"

 

[Kadaeux]

Alkazar - Lower Decks

Alkazar nodded back to Marietta as the team moved out clambering onto the tanks for the ride across. Seeing the vast spider-nest he produced a single high-powered incendiary for his mortar that'd hopefully work in this alien atmosphere, and as they moved onto the plain of creepers he wondered if it wasn't a terrible idea, this amount of plant matter....

He used the box to produce a single issue antiplant mortar round based off of the Animus' own designs. He was beginning to suspect the very real possibility that the 'beast below' might even be so much as the creepers of this plantform itself. As they arrived and made their preparations he wondered aloud, responding to the Tankers, "Perhaps you might consider not thinking of it as plants, and instead think of it as plant, singular, for them to survive, it's entirely possible that the matter here on the surface is feeding that below, a vast root system... possibly even self-aware..."

He then made three more mortar rounds, two FAE shells and a simple fragmentation shell, all three with lower-yields in order to prevent damage to any critical measures. "Greetings Kiera, I'm Alkazar, and I reiterate your offer, if anyone is in need of ammunition or grenades, just ask. But I will say that I would request all grenades and explosives be turned over to Kiera or I before we enter the room or rooms housing the servers. We cannot allow explosives to be used near such vital equipment."

 

[K3l]

April "Anthony" Abel – Middle Deck​

Watching and listening to everyone as they made their decision, it appeared middle deck was favored least in the end compared to the other decks. Anthony didn't think too strongly of it though, he just hoped they found Egidia. Anthony allowed his eyes to wash over the Salamander Squad once more. His eyes stopped wandering from member to member as they lay upon a certain female. Anthony could just barely make out her facial features, but he could never miss those bright blue eyes. Feeling the heat on his cheeks, Anthony quickly focused his attention elsewhere. He heard taps beside him coming from Katrina. Right, they had a mission, middle-deck team. He listened to her…concern?

"Well," spoke Anthony to Katrina after Nolan scolded her, "For what it's worth I would lend you my jacket…it's just I'm not sure it'd fit you." After speaking, Anthony made his way to the tanks for departure. The hour long ride was uncomfortable for Anthony. The webbed canopy made him wonder how big a bug or creature could be out there with them…or atleast how many little ones. The thought freaked him out. The uneasy feeling of being watched as they passed through hadn't helped either.

Anthony released a held breath once they passed through the webbed canopy. He was relieved to see the ship up ahead. His feeling of relief was short lived though as Jimmy informed them of the sensors. He wouldn't be able to warn them if something was sneaking about? That was bad. Anthony bit his lip nervously.

At the side of the ship, after being handed the map, Anthony would tap the button to test it out. It worked, not that he had any doubt. He tapped it again to close the holograph. Anthony smiled at Katrina as she pulled out her drones. Scouting? That really was very useful and made him feel better about potential sneaking enemies. Now he felt bad about not requesting her, she seemed to feel a bit strongly about it. After the mission was completed he figured he'd try to converse with her. He wasn't very knowledgeable when it came to mechanical stuff. He had drones and he could use a few suggestions. It could make for an interesting conversation.

Leaning in towards Katrina, Anthony whispered. "For what it's worth…erm, again…I think you're pretty cool so far. Your drones make me more comfortable going into this place. You're the most useful one here in my book." Anthony gave a thumbs up. He hoped his attempt at cheering her up worked, but he was no therapist.

Anthony listened to Nolan's plan then nodded. It sounded good. Nolan seemed experienced. Anthony moved back towards Kain where he didn't have the friendliest greeting from the giant. Nonetheless, Anthony nodded and would reply in a friendly tone. "I'll do what I can to keep you alive as well! Keep you all alive, that is. You know...being a medic and all…" He would stop talking.

 

[PCSutfin]

Steven Jones and S.A.L.U.S.
Upper Deck
​

Steven was busy enough with Sally to almost miss Zeetch's comment about his condition. "A mute? Veritas could repair that. So could I, er, with the proper equipment. Not here, obviously. At least, I think I can."

Steven rolled his eyes and typed a quick response, sending it to everyone headset. A robotic, emotionless voice stated "Of course! I should have considered trying to get my muteness fixed ages ago! Thanks for the suggestion."​

Added to his snarky response was a simple message sent out by S.A.L.U.S. ."I apologize for my text-to-voice application's inability to reflect user sarcasm. According to Steven's mother and Animus Veritas, his muteness is a genetic defect. No medical professional can reverse this defect with currently available technologies and advances in the healing fields."

Making an effort to think of something else, Steven looked up to see the techie, Katrina, joining the middle deck team. He didn't know her personally, but it was obvious that she was insulted by the fact that no one in all of Salamander Squad asked for her to join the team. When Sally had recommended Zeetch for the top deck team, Steven and the zealot were the only two members, and it made more sense to have a healer than a second techie join them; knowing the value of a good techie, he honestly couldn't wrap his head around the concept of every single Salamander Squad member valuing Katrina the least. He began typing a message while Katrina said "Well! Way to make a girl feel welcome, boys. If it was any chillier I'd ask for a jacket."

After a moment, he directed the message straight to his headset. "Hello, Katrina. This is Steven, a techie from Top Deck's team. My Virtual Intelligence decided to ask Zeetch to join my team because it understood that we would benefit more from the help of a medic than the help of a second techie. If Morris had offered to work with the Top Deck team before I did, I'd have asked for your help in the mission. I hope you understand that some of Salamander Squad actually understands the value of a techie, and I would like to work with you in future missions. Good luck with Middle Squad." Glancing at Katrina and seeing her companion, he added "Also, your robot has a very interesting design. I've seen a lot of drones, but nothing like that. Perhaps you'll allow me to take a look at it some time." Satisfied with the message, he sent the finished version to Katrina as an audio file. She'd be able to listen to it whenever she had the time.

When they arrived in the ship, Zeetch handed everyone in Top Deck a USP with a virtual map inside. Taking a quick look at it, he connected it to S.A.L.U.S., allowing the VI to copy the information. He then wrote a command to Sally: "Download this map and apply it to your Scavenging Application." While doing this, he noticed that the group had decided that Varsel would lead them. Steven had no objections to this, as the man seemed confident and mostly sane. He wrote a message stating "I'm Steven, a techie. My VI will be scanning the are while we proceed. It will tell us what it finds during the mission."

 

[Helios]

Thoko-- Middle Deck​

Women. Thoko grinned genuinely at Katrina's comments of lackluster welcome. He hoped she was joking and convinced himself she was for everyone's sake. Standing just over five foot, he could empathize with being the kid that people picked last. However he never felt that pity solved anything. If he was ever picked last, it was up to him and him alone to prove his worth. He felt babying Katrina for her lack of requests would only make her feel worse, like it was somehow common knowledge that she was useless. For now, the team cause was more important than the individual drama. That being said, he felt a handful of scout drones would make her more than capable of establishing her place in the group.

The rest of the team was much more… brutish. Thoko felt assured that if there were things to be killed in this place, it would happen with gallons of juicy glory. Nolan seemed aloof, retracted from the situation both physically and emotionally. A sniper seeming like a simple mind but one that was focused, like a carnal predator. Nolan reminded Thoko of the Earth jaguars from old texts: his gaze, his movements, his purpose. And if Nolan was the jaguar, Kain and Screecher were the lions. They came off as haughty, brash, and interested in taking things with unapologetic force. One was the strait-laced boot polisher and the other was the type to put firecrackers in someone's bowl of cereal. It was a philosophical dichotomy with equal ability to smash shit. He was unaffected by the coarseness of their words or even the fact that he had been completely ignored in the order delegation. Thoko was enthralled to have a pack of dogs and didn't mind their barking.

Thoko felt a closer connection to Able than to the other volunteers of his group. A fellow lover of things that grow. He had seen Able in the gardens of home on multiple occasions, usually peering down from irrigation piping or atop the hydroponic photo-emitters. He was kind, naïve, everything that Thoko probably was as a kid. And yet, Thoko was not a kid anymore. He had changed greatly from his necessity of peace. Thoko had seen things and been forced to do things that he did not want to do. It had changed him. As such, he was not like Able nor the carnivores. Perhaps the only person he was similar too was still huffing about a school yard pick.

As the teams parted towards the tanks, Thoko felt the lump in his throat thicken. The reality of the situation kicked in as the metal beasts lurched forward. He leaned his neck back across the cool barrel of his anti-tank weapon which sent a relaxing chill down his spine. Thoko covered the light on his laser pistol with hand and toggled it on and off, relishing the gummy click of the button. It would be perfect for killing anything man-sized and great for use in confined spaces but would only slow down/piss off anything bigger.

Perhaps more relaxing than fiddling with his kit was the fresh wonder he still felt about this strange planet. The web structures they witnessed were horrifying yet marvelous. The intricacy and intelligence it must have took those arachnoid engineers. His body was still terrified. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears; feel the sweat pour off his clammy hands. And yet, his mind was captured by those webs. There was so much that humanity, and even Animus could learn from this place and these organisms. It would be the pity to see them destroyed without extreme cause.

Thoko felt even more strongly about this connection after Alkazar's comments. What the hell was this place? A floating plant? Perhaps a single organism? How would such a thing sustain nutrients? Did it travel the galaxy looking for extraterrestrial snacks? Was this crashed ship one of those? Were they going to be one of those? Thoko's mind was a blur of possibilities. The lump in his throat lessened slightly as it was replaced by the giddy tingle of childish curiosity.

And then it stopped. The game of curiosity was replaced with a single question: at what point would Animus care more about this planet-thing than the human race?

The question sat apathetically in his mind. He was not happy, not sad, just untrusting of everything he was involved in. Why was he here?

Thoko slid from the tank with effortless athleticism. A blank stare sat on his face as he assessed the situation without any direct eye contact. Voices sounded like they were distant, almost underwater. He stared into the abyss of their entry point. He knew that what he was about to do wasn't for anyone lost in that ship or anyone around him now, it was to find out what it all meant: what was humanities place in this universe, what did he have to do to save his family from this universe, and what did he have to do to save himself from Animus.

 

[Grif ♥]

Ruth Sampson: Lower Deck

Ruth had never ridden in a tank before. The confines of the Animus Veritas were one thing, but the lurching and shifting of the tank as it navigated the thick forest terrain was something else entirely. It was not unbearable, but she rested a hand gently on her stomach to try and settle herself, and hoped nobody would take her lack of comfort as a sign of weakness. She looked over the rest of her party, the ones that had opted to explore the lower decks, and noted that they all seemed to be tough, cold, and calculating. All but the one woman who had made it her top priority to throw herself on anything that moved, that was.

Ruth was sure her friends described it as "endearing".

She smiled to herself as she analysed her companions, wondering about their qualities, habits, and lives. They were quiet for most of the trip, seemingly determined to complete this mission as efficiently as possible, but Ruth was sure that they had all kinds of interesting stories and secrets recorded in their noggins. For Alkazar, who she eyed curiously, Ruth wondered if the word "recorded" had been all too literal. Still, determined and efficient were not bad qualities to have, especially if that monster that had taken those poor people was still on the prowl. Ruth preferred it to cowardly and careless.

When the tank rumbled to a halt, and Ruth's stomach finally subsided, she clambered out of the hulking vehicle with the rest of the lower-deck crew and readied her equipment. The large, seemingly unwieldy shotgun she had slung over her back now rested in her hands, and she checked it was all in working order. It seemed to be, and she quickly flicked the switch on a flashlight to help guide their way. She lowered the weapon, letting the barrel rest against the ground underfoot, and moved her now-free hand to her forearm, where the large, metal contraption known to her as Damsel rested.

The machine whirred to life at her touch as lights flickered, its tail extended and its wings fluttered. It loosened its grip on Ruth's arm and took flight, making a soft buzzing sound as it moved. "Keep an eye on things, sweetie," Ruth said to the drone, and it turned to glance at her briefly as if acknowledging her.

Resting her hands on her hips, or as best as she could with a gun held loosely in her hand, Ruth turned her head to her party members when she heard Kiera and Alkazar speak. She returned the introduction in kind, with a welcoming smile on her face. "Ah'm Ruth, and it's a pleasure to meet y'all nahce and proper. Ah'll stand wherever y'folks mahght need me, but Ah've got a big gun that's good fer getting' up in people's faces, so make've that what'cha will". She looked up into the air, her eyes following where Damsel darted and weaved through the sky up above them. "That's Damsel, up there, 'avin' the time of 'is lahfe. He ain't much, but he can give us a bird's eye view if we need it, an' he's still armed if we get into a real pinch."

She chuckled softly. "Good job, Ruth. Y'brought a flyin' scout into enclosed spaces an' an armour piercin' weapon with a wahde spread when yer' tryin' to keep as much of everythin' around you intact. Clever me."

Ruth joined Marietta in peering over the edge of the hole to the lower decks of the ship, and pointed her shotgun down to illuminate it. It seemed empty, and she spent a moment in silence to check if she could hear anything. The ship creaked slowly, but there were no signs of life, human or otherwise.

"Anyone wanna go first?" she asked, turning to Marietta, and then to the rest of the crew. "No? A'right, fair 'nough. Damsel, take a look for us."

The dragonfly drone rushed past her, the wind kicking at her messy hair, and descended into the lower decks of the ship. Damsel's own flashlight switched on, recognising the dark, and illuminated the area. Ruth watched from her headpiece, and should the visual feed show her that it was safe, she would motion towards the ladder.

"Looks all clear t'me. C'mon. If that hunk'a nuts and bolts is brave 'nough to go first, we should at least be brave enough t'follow."

 

[Drifter]

Irving Forfax: Lower Deck

He had never been one to be bothered by the rhythmic moving of machinery. In fact, the jostling of the tank reminded him of sitting atop Clyde as the bull tromped across some of the more cluttered areas of Animus Veritas. Irving just let his eyes shut ever so slightly and took a deep breath, steadying himself as the tank jerked over something in its path. With a quick clench of his teeth, he rationalized that the trip was almost over. The tall man offered a gentle nod in the direction of the woman who seemed to be clutching her stomach. It surely wasn't an easy journey for any of them and he knew it was only going to get worse once their feet were back on solid ground. Anyone experiencing nerves or discomfort at this point in time was probably wise, letting it all out before it came down to the wire.

Irving disembarked from the vehicle alongside his metallic companion and joined the lower deck group in peering over the edge at the ship they were to be exploring. Noticing the lack of light, his mind flitted to Sade. Her drones and wired eyes would certainly be better suited to this than he and Clyde, but he was happy knowing she was going to be in a place that was well-lit and probably slightly safer. He ran a gloved hand along his beard and exchanged a skeptical glance with the bull, "How the hell are we gonna get you down there?" The question was met with what would have been a rather gruff and possibly moist exhalation through the nostrils had he been an organic beast, but all that came out was the sound of metal grinding against metal. It sounded just as agitated.

Turning around, he took in the names of everyone in turn as they introduced themselves. Kiera, Alkazar, Ruth being the one he caught sight of earlier, and then there was Marietta, the sniper they'd decided to bring along with them. She seemed rather calm, more than capable of holding her own out here, and he wouldn't mind following her down into the bowels of the ship if nobody else voluntereed. It seemed, however, that Ruth's speedy little mech was up for being the lead. He shifted his gun into his hands and quickly turned the dial in order to make sure it was prepared for combatting organic life forms. If it was going to be bugs, he wanted to be sure the zapper was all set up.

"Name's Irving," he finally spoke up and nodded his head in greeting, "Assuming I can coax the big guy down, he makes for good cover." He tapped Clyde's haunch to make sure everyone understood he meant the bull, and not one of their fellow teammates. Hefting the gun to look through its scope with a sigh, he continued, "Which means I'm volunteering to take point." He said it as though he'd just realized the implication of his earlier statement. Not that it really mattered to him, either way. There was danger no matter where he stood in the line. If Kiera and the tin man were in earnest with their offerings of grenades, and so long as no one turned tail and ran, they should have each other's backs.

Sade Bilbrey: Upper Deck

Angry Johnny whirred around above her head as she did everything in her power not to listen to Varsel droning on and on about formations and praying to Veritas as though he had been appointed priest and tactician by the ship itself. She tried to scoff loudly enough to incite ire, but the noise was mangled and muffled by the mask. Instead, she made her way over to the windbag with the weird hair and snickered, "Thanks for that warm introduction, Vars, but did you really have to spoil how invaluable I'm going to be to this group? I've got the drones, the night vision, and a few other tricks up my sleeve." Oh, if she were anyone else, she'd be hating her guts by now. However, it was all for a good cause. If she could put Aimee in her place and cause the little tramp to rub her nose in how inadequate her little tricks were going to be in the real world, it would all be worth it.

She cleared her throat and decided to introduce herself to the unlucky few who had already gotten quite a horrendous first impression of her, "You can call me Sade. I've got a pair of drones to utilize, one for combat and one for repairs, in case any of the creepy crawlies break our toys. I'm happy to go wherever you guys think I'm needed." She decided against any further digs and stuck with something short and sweet. Sure, she was a brat, but she didn't want to make herself out to be the first one sacrificed in case things went wrong. Looking over to the mute, she figured she had a bit of competition on that list.

The blonde wasn't enough of an idiot to try to get in the way if Varsel wanted to play the part of team captain. She was happy staying towards the middle, anyway. The more human shields, the better. That was one of her many philosophies.

 

[Tempest]

Aimee Vera - Upper Deck​

She had fidgeted in agitation when Sade offered to join their team. She was downright disappointed when Zeetch rebuffed her affections. She sighs and draws back to herself and withdraws a bit, taking in what the others of the group had to offer. She suddenly realized her choice was going to be a lot more disappointing than initially believed. The man obsessed with his AI toy was depending on a synthetic voice to make himself heard. In the heat of things, he would be useless and could be a liability. Still, her mind mused over how he would just be perfect for Sade. All those tinkery toy obsessions and missing basic human parts...

As Varsel starts to voice his plans, an unamused look passes over her face. His plan put a medic right in the front to be slaughtered. He was hardly utilizing all his assets. She lets them all finish before chuckling, "Look, I know you mean well and all... But just so we aren't putting one of our healers straight into danger's path... Let me take up a scouting position. I'm quick, I'm quiet, I can get us in and out of any place in this scrap heap, I'm sure." She taps the map Zeetch had passed her against her hip, "Just keep an open line for me so I can serenade you all with my voice."

---

Kyine Lherox - Lower Deck
​

The Lherox girl was still feeling queasy when they were instructed to roll out. Her stomach resumed doing its flips before she even boarded the vehicle to bring them to the site. In her mind, the only correct way to travel was on foot. The teleportation of Veritas and the rattling and shaking of the vehicles always served to leave her sick and disoriented. In fact, partway through the journey, she found herself relieving her poor stomach over the edge of the tank. The only thing she could think after awhile was that there would at least be nothing left to make her retch.

The drive was uncharacteristically silent. She looked over her teammates with a bit of uncertainty. Techies always unsettled her. They always seemed to think on a different plane of thought and nine times out of ten, she could barely track what they were talking about. It was the cost, perhaps, of delving into Veritas' most intimate secrets and learning from the vast bastion of human existence. Kyine tries to size them up, wondering how she might be able to best help them in the future. Occasionally, her gaze flits to Marietta, smiling softly as she catches her sidelong glances and the brief illuminations of warmth on the otherwise withdrawn woman.

For a moment, she considers crossing and talking to her. However, her bouts of motion sickness had likely done little to reassure anyone or make her look appealing. Instead, she sits next to Kholar and remains brooding on what might dwell on the lower deck. Her mind fills with images of chittering ratmen, grotesque and inhuman. She imagines horrors of monstrous sized bugs, waiting to devour them. Part of her wonders if it would even be anything remotely familiar. Would we even be able to communicate with them? She shakes her head and sits back.

As they file out of the tank, she eyes the entrance given to them and sets her jaw uncertainly. A brief moment of fear passes through her at the idea of delving into the darkness like this, but she adjusts a lantern strapped at her hit. She would be alright, Khol was with her and she should be able to trust in her team. She smiles falteringly and chuckles at the odd metal bull. "Actually, I believe we have enough individuals with the creation boxes that we could easily generate, say, a rudimentary rope and pulley system to lower your friend... Clyde, was it? I would offer that Khol and I take point, otherwise."[/hr]

 

[Snakey]

Linus - Middle Deck

The tank ride couldn't have been more awkward. Linus held himself in as best he could, the primal urge to push buttons and yank levers tempered only by the presence of Marcus. And pretty much everyone else. And the fact that the tanks already had pilots probably helped. Regardless, Linus could only wonder at why the commander hadn't noticed him. Perhaps he was waiting to spring on him when least expected? Maybe he just didn't remember? Whateve it may be Linus didn't like it. Even if Marcus didn't have any beef with him he would've appreciated at least some recognition. Was that so much to ask for? At least someone noticed him, the resident old-gun-toting-fart-who-thinks-himself-leader-on-oldfartedness-alone oh so graciously allowed the 'jetter' to take the front. Like that was even going to be an issue, of course he was going to take the front. He couldn't exactly exactly sit in the back with his thumb up his ass taking potshots with some roided peashooter.

Linus looked to the rest of his 'team'. A total bunch of queers, some a lot more than others.

The tank ground to a halt and Linus leaped off without hesitation, the mechie chick let loose some drones to 'scout' and he wasn't about to be beat by some mindless robots. He tromped off into the hole, Orange armour glimmering like burnt sugar. It was his time to shine.

 

[Brovo]

"It is true our Lord Animus Veritas is our saviour, and at some point we must do our best to repay them, but if human life weren't a priority - why would the Animus Veritas risk its own life to protect us?" -Varsel Crossford, Page 1.

Upper Deck Team
((Map))​

As Aimee zips off ahead to climb the ladder to the upper decks ahead of Zeetch he couldn't help but wonder why she was being so reckless. Zeetch taps his materializer box and slips in behind Varsel, letting the large, armoured juggernaut go ahead of him. As the two start to climb ahead of him, he glances back at Steven and shakes his head. "No offense, but I believe you were misled. Genetic damage doesn't stop organ transplants... Regardless, I'm sure there's something else holding it back, or the repair operation would have been routine. I'll look into it later." His tone strained a little as he tried to sound helpful, though a hint of agitation slipped through nonetheless. He quietly follows the others up the ladder, remaining in the middle of the group.

After ascending several decks, the group would find that the lighting in the upper levels of the ship was still mostly intact. It was quite clear as they traveled through multiple corridors to the interior decks that these were once crew quarters and recreation areas of some sort, though the devices seemed foreign, belonging to another culture. There were no corpses, just a few scant hints of recent activity here and there that implied living things. Occasionally, toys could be spotted here and there: Small wooden lizards likely carved out of the local fauna, and small plastic balls. There was the occasional spattering of some kind of yellow liquid. Both Zeetch and Steven would be able to confirm that it was blood of likely insectoid origins, but of an unknown species.

As Aimee moves ahead of the others, she would be the first to enter into the crew area where Egidia was last heard from. There were five crew quarters, though it was quite apparent that the door mechanisms on the fourth room had failed from recent impacts. The only one who could take that door down was Varsel, and it was clear that if he did so, it would send a reverberating noise throughout several decks of the eerily silent vessel. On the other end was an airlock door, with stained plexiglass. There was a great deal of mangled material on the other side, and from the distance that Aimee could see, she could already tell that it was likely some sort of mass grave. Before she could move closer to investigate, her foot taps an object on the floor. Looking down, it was a toy: A doll, shaped like a small child of humanoid origin, though with distinctly insectoid features. She noticed something else about it as well.

It was still warm to the touch. Something had very recently been holding this. Glancing at the wall beside the toy, there was a great deal of yellow blood as well...

Middle Deck Team
((Map))​

​

After the Upper Deck team began climbing the ladder, the Middle Deck team was free to proceed. Katrina watches as Nolan runs off ahead, and rolls her eyes. "Whatever, dick." She makes no inclination of having even heard his orders with her drones, and instead continues using them for her own purposes of remaining near the group whilst searching for trouble. As Linus and Kain move towards the ladder after Nolan, Katrina joins them. Anthony's attempt at cheer her up was noted as she smiled at him, ruffling his hair with one of her hands playfully. "You're not so bad. If we can both get home, I'll show you some of the tools of the trade." Grabbing the ladder, she slips around it onto the middle decks.

Proceeding from the exterior to the interior decks, it became quickly apparent to the group that there were several rooms of completely unintelligible use on this floor. It had been heavily renovated, and the occasional root could be seen growing through multiple decks that they had to climb over or around. Katrina seemed mortified by the state of the ship, but remained resolute in her objective of finding and rescuing Egidia. It didn't take long to reach one of the cargo hold areas of the ship, and as Nolan scouted ahead of the others, he would find occasional markers of combat on the walls. Ancient combat, from years ago it seemed. He slips into a cargo hold adjacent to the one they needed. There were several large containers, and the height of the cargo hold itself extended upward several dozen meters into sheer black obscurity. Only a few lights on the walls were still operating in the cargo hold, giving the interior a dull, cold, gloomy atmosphere despite the high temperature outside.

There was a console at the center of the room, though it was clearly offline. It also seemed apparent that this was a catacomb of cargo holds, and that the one they wanted could only be accessed either through going the long way around, or bursting their way through with a great deal of violence and noise. It was also clear to Nolan, based on how some of the boxes had been disturbed recently, that something larger than the typical human had been through this area recently and might still be nearby. Silence might help avoid it altogether, though setting up an intentional trap might also be an option...

Lower Deck Team
((Map))​

Finally, after the middle and upper deck teams were finished using the ladder, the Lower Deck Team got their chance to enter. As everyone debated about what to do with the Ox, Marietta watched the drone descend in first. Looking over to Ruth and nodding approvingly, she prepares to descend next, only to be shoved aside and thrown into a wall. As Marietta slowly gets back onto her feet, her cold eyes watch as Kholar Lherox grinned, jumping into the dark abyss. Marietta quickly moves to the edge of the ladder, watching as Kholar descended rapidly down. As he reached for one of the rungs, he simply tore it off instead of stopping: Continuing to free fall as a pathetic yell echoed through the service ladder tunnel. The yell continued until it faded into obscurity, where he likely died instantly from the fall. Marietta's cold stare showed no sign of even pity as she shook her head. "Fool."

She looks back to everybody else, though her look softens momentarily on Kyine Lherox. Still, her tone remained professional and unwavering as she gave instructions. Leadership was plainly uncomfortable to her, but she had experience in hunting at the very least. "Create a pulley system, get the Ox down quickly, and then get down yourselves. As rapidly as possible--we'll need to secure a position. I'll go first." She hesitates, then looks at Ruth. "Keep your drone near the ladder, radio me if it sees anything, just in case I miss something, but wait for the Ox to go down before you follow me... That thing is all we have for a front line now." Taking a deep breath, she grabs the ladder firmly in her hands and starts climbing down.

The darkness was overwhelming at first, but Marietta's flashlight quickly resolved it as she continued to climb down. It took a while, but she did manage to reach the bottom of the ladder, where she pulled out her rifle immediately as Damsel beeped in warning at something. She moves her flashlight's view across the floor, seeing and following a trail of blood just in time to see Kholar's lifeless legs disappear around a corner, dragged by some creature that was chittering. She exits the ladder and steps a few feet closer, kneeling down and breathing slowly. A few moments of silence followed until it was clear that the creature wasn't coming back for seconds. She turns on her radio and whispers into it. "Kholar is dead and his corpse has been dragged away by a creature around a corner. It doesn't appear to be returning yet. I require backup as soon as possible." Her eyes examine the environment: Most of the metallic interior was overrun with greenery, and it seemed every light on this deck had failed entirely. If there was any functioning technology, it would be deeper inside. The blood trail which the creature left behind in Kholar's blood led down to a split path: One way left, where the creature went, and one way right, that seemed to lead to a set of aluminium stairs. She breathes slowly, waiting for others to catch up before daring to go any further herself.

Darkness would obscure their enemy's movements. A troubling situation, indeed.

 

[Atlas Child]

Kain - Middle Deck
​

Metallic clinks sounded as Kain continued his decent down the ladder and into the belly of the ship. He noted the feel of cold metal on his hands, the engulfing darkness, and the almost suppressive silence of the dead vessel as he plunged further down. Then his boots hit the floor of the middle deck with a soft thud and he looked ahead to see Nolan and Linus illuminated by the spotty lights of the corridor. The silence was unnerving. The quiet was flecked with the ambient sound of breathing, feint metal chimes, and the assiduous beat of his heart. Along with the gloomy atmosphere it all seemed an eerie portent, but he was not afraid. Instead he felt his skin grow hotter and his nerves pulse with excitement. This familiar feeling was the calm before the storm, and he lived for the storm.

He stood idle by the ladder as Katrina set down behind him, himself displaying an excited smile. The grin ceased as he remembered his leash. He had heard the little moment between Katrina abd Anthony before he was out of earshot, and with the medic still working his way down the ladder Kain looked to Katrina and heckled, "People like him don't belong here," there was a pause, then in explanation he added, "where it's dirty."

The world was too small for strangers and for that reason Kain felt he knew Anthony intimately enough to know he'd likely die down here. However, as Anthony was the last to arrive Kain fell silent and took his place behind the medic. If he was expected to be a guard dog then so be it, he'd try to do his duty no matter how constraining the leash might be. He nearly began to wonder his aptness for the job, but wether it was his confidence that told him he could accomplish any task given, or stupidity that he was so quick to follow the plans of a man who sounded authoritative, he had resolved that if there was anyone who could keep the kid alive maybe it was him.

 

[Jorick]

Lower Deck - Kiera​

After the introductions went round, Kiera almost spoke up to offer to make the needed pulley system, but the man who hadn't spoken somewhat interrupted that plan by apparently committing suicide. Kiera could assume no other logical reason for someone to jump down into a deep, dark hole. Perhaps the alien terrain had snapped something inside his feeble mind, or maybe the man had been intent on death before ever volunteering for this mission. Whatever the case happened to be, there was no use worrying over it now. It would be worth bringing up to Veritas later, perhaps, as it might indicate a failing in her psychological profiling of troubled persons, but the server had to come first.

After Marietta headed down the ladder, Kiera walked over to the mechanical bull and gave it an affectionate pat on the back, ignoring Irving for the time being to more or less focus on the task at hand. "Okay mister Clyde, I'll make sure you get down there all in one piece." She didn't know quite how she felt about mechanical animal this big, but it was a machine so it was probably just fine. That other one, Ruth's Damsel, was nicer. It was small, sleek, efficient, and Kiera was extremely jealous of it. She'd always wanted a mechanical companion like some people had, but she never got around to trying to make one for herself. One day she'd do it, and it would be maybe a bird, or maybe some kind of small mammal? She'd have to look through one of those books on animals again to refresh herself on what kind of creatures used to exist on Earth.

Marietta's radio transmission came as a bit of a surprise and booted Kiera out of her musings. She started walking around Clyde, eyes darting over his metal exterior to gauge what kind of measurements she was working with. It wasn't a perfect way to measure things, but it would be enough to make something that'd work once. She tapped into the neural interface with her Materializer Box, as usual feeling the slight thrill of being intimately connected to such a powerful machine, and envisioned what she wanted it to make. First the pulley, with a simple electromagnet attachment to stick it to the hull of the crashed ship, strong enough to withstand at least a ton of weight. Next the harness, a simple rig of sturdily woven fabrics to distribute the weight more or less equally across the robotic bull's frame. Finally a chain, plenty strong enough to hold up Clyde's weight, because she wasn't entirely confident in a rope being able to do the job and not get cut by something on the way down. With the Materializer Box humming to life to start making the required items, Kiera looked to the bull once more. "Alright, just a short wait and then off we go." She stared blankly at the mechanical animal for a few moments before thinking of something worthwhile to say to the less metallic members of the group. "Maybe some of us should go ahead and keep Marietta company while we wait? Corpse snatchers don't sound too friendly, you know."

 

[Tempest]

Aimee Vera - Upper Deck​

It was an unconscious reaction. The horror that was the scene before her had her slipping back into the wreckage and attempting to blend into the background. The her suit's cognitive relays registers the biological and neural patterns that align with fear and begin to cloak her presence: all she knows is that it is life saving magic that makes her a ghost, a chameleocat, a beast that survives and thrives. She raises her wrist as her eyes pass over the scene, taking in the debris, the blood and the door and she murmurs, "Be careful... Confirmation of a fresh trail. Friendly or foe, unconfirmed... I am fairly sure there was a skirmish, possibilities that someone was able to trap themselves in the relative safety of the fourth quarters here... I think we could open it... But not without setting this entire ship swarming... I say we find another way in... I trust our forward scouts are smart enough to hole themselves up and wait for evac, afterall." She pauses, staying where she was, "This is just wild theories on what I have seen. You all feel free to advance and look around for yourselves... Be quiet... Be careful... See if you can find any more possible vital details or any ways I have missed?" She begins looking for a ventilation shaft either on the ceiling, base of the walls or on the floor.

 

[Drifter]

Irving Forfax
Lower Deck
​

Shaking his head at the simple solution he'd managed to overlook, Irving watched as Kiera began to produce the harness and chain for Clyde. Physics had never been his strong suit. In a moment of panic, he could still list all the bones in an area he needed to treat, but even a simple question of pulleys managed to stump him. Regardless, he turned to the techie and gave her a grateful nod. He was about to say something when Marietta's hushed voice crackled into his ear via the radio. The medic grit his teeth. It was bad enough that the brash stranger had managed to get himself killed before the first sign of trouble, but the fact that he'd also managed to attract a carnivorous creature that put the group in danger? Some people were simply inconsiderate, even in death.

He gave Clyde a quick pat on the neck and walked towards the woman who had first suggested a means to transport his metallic companion, "I'm going to go down to back up Marietta. If you'd like to join us, I think you would be of much greater use below deck rather than up here." It seemed, after all, that only the artificers would linger above ground and would be joining them shortly, once Clyde was all set.

With that, he grabbed the rungs of the ladder, momentarily securing his rifle to his back so that he could properly traverse down the structure, taking great care to extend his long legs and bridge the gap in the rungs left behind by the now deceased hunter. His boot touched metal below and he cautiously approached the two women further down the hall. The trail of blood that Kholar left behind led to the left hallway and Irving approached Marietta to discuss his plan with her, "When Clyde gets down here, I'll send him to the left to act as a barrier in case whatever took the body comes back for us." For now, though, he took a couple of steps forward and examined the staircase, shining some light over the metal stairs, then fell back to rejoin Ruth and Damsel, "Has your drone been able to take a look at that passage? If not, I don't want to trust my eyesight and risk it until the others are down here." He did, however, stand with his back pressed against the wall, towards the passage that led to the right, clenching the rifle and turning his gaze between the left and right passages, even as both remained oddly silent.
​

Sade Bilbrey
Upper Deck
​

Fresh trail? Nope, nope, nope. If something was gonna try to eat them, she really didn't want to chase after them. Eventually, whatever was inhabiting the ship would find them, so taking an unnecessary risk by following newly spilled non-human blood was just silly in her mind. So, she kept her drone close and moved into the area where Aimee was backpedaling.

It took her a moment to locate Aimee, but she was able to make out the vague outline of her silhouette, as well as a few details. She had activated some sort of cloaking mechanism, and it was doing a pretty damn good job keeping her out of sight. Giving her rival a quick, mocking wink, the blonde walked over to the first door, "If the fourth room is locked up, there might be another way to get in through one of these doors. I say we check them all. Seems better than waiting out here." She gestured to the toy and the gruesome scene. Searching for clues elsewhere seemed much safer.

She piloted AJ towards the first door, and found it wouldn't open at his approach. She sighed and kept the drone steady at her side, manually sliding it open. Sade would have preferred to have sent the bot in before her, just in case she needed to drop explosives on some sort of bloodthirsty alien. However, the door opened quietly and relatively easily, so the techie sent AJ ahead and stood just outside of the door. She looked back over at Aimee, "Looks clear so far." She took her first halting step into the room and surveyed it, keeping her eyes peeled and preparing her ignition glove, in case she needed burn someone, or something, that was getting too close. Then, she spoke over the radio, "I've opened the first of the doors that looked like crew's quarters. Seems like they all need to be opened by hand. If anyone wants to join me in opening up the rest of them, we might be able to find a trail to follow... one that's not goopy, menacing, and yellow, I mean."​

 

[Grif ♥]

Ruth Sampson: Lower Deck

Ruth suddenly stumbled and lost her footing, just managing to catch herself on the metal wall of the ship to stop herself from falling. She cursed as she fumbled, shocked by it a little more than she would like to admit. Her vision had gone awry all of her sudden as the view from her eyepiece shook and blurred, setting her balance completely off. She pulled herself back up and steadied herself, and then did her best to focus on manoeuvring Damsel to safety. Something had fallen from above, catching his wing and throwing him completely off balance. It had only flashed by Damsel's camera for a moment before vanishing down into the dark abyss below. The sickening thud and crunch of something falling and then shattering followed swiftly afterwards.

"Somethin' fell. It caught Damsel in the drop," Ruth said, explaining her quick fumble as she glanced around the group. Someone was missing. "Where did tha' big guy go?" she asked, unable to see Kholar.

Her eyes widened as she connected the dots in her head, and quickly focused on Damsel's descent into the darkness. She turned the flashlight and camera straight down, and she could very clearly see a large human body lying limp on the floor. His limbs were twisted in ways that almost made Ruth gag, and his body twitched for a moment before going completely still. Ruth clutched her stomach, realising that she had probably just seen Kholar in his last few moments alive.

The woman cursed under her breath, the only response she felt able to muster at the moment, but she gasped when she saw something appear briefly in Damsel's view. It was only there for a moment, and in the gloomy darkness of the lower deck Ruth only caught a glimpse, but the thick carapace of the enormous creature was hard to miss. It disappeared just as quickly, dragging Kholar's body with it. Ruth could barely believe what she was seeing.

"Oh- oh my God," Ruth gasped. She turned to her companions, although she never kept an eye off of what Damsel's camera was showing, and made sure that the drone descended to the lowest floor. It arrived there just as Kholar's body was dragged around the corner, out of the room and out of sight. "Somethin' took Kholar. It was big, and Ah think it had some kind'a shell or exoskeleton, lahke a giant bug."

Ruth immediately went about contacting the other teams. She replayed the brief few seconds she saw the monsters through her eyepiece, trying to take in as much information about the scene as possible. "Ruth here, from the lower deck team. Whatever it was that attacked the people here, Ah think we found it at the bottom of the ship. It's an insect, or somethin' lahke it, and it's big… and it's already gotten one've ours. Kholar."

She sunk her head and sighed. "If any of y'all see it, or one lahke it, keep us updated. We don't know if there's more than one, or how easily it can move about the ship. Good luck, everyone."

With that, Ruth swallowed hard and took a few steps towards the ladder. She followed in Marietta's footsteps, slowly shambling down it and making it to the bottom. There were missing rungs in the ladder, some of which looked as if they had been torn clean off. That must've been what got Kholar. When she arrived at the bottom she brought up her shotgun again, knowing that that creature was still uncomfortably close.

The woman turned her head when Irving, the man with the mechanical bull, spoke. "Ah'll send 'im further on. The first room is clear, now that whatever that thing was has left." As she said that, Damsel moved forwards, moving over to the left pathway and peering around, seeing where the trail of blood had led, and if the monster was still in view. The drone moved slowly onwards, ever wary of the danger that lurked nearby, its gun primed and ready to fire.

 

[Hellis]

Soemthing big had taken a path trough her before. Nolan squinted into the Darkness, and motioned for the others to stop. With a voice as low as he could possibly manage while still remaining audible, he spoke. He didn't bother to look back at them, his eyes were focused on his surroundings. That his orders weren't followed him to the letter didn't exactly bother him, perhaps he should have opened with something less insulting to the woman. But vanity was a ugly thing, and it was better nip it in the bud before people had ideas they were above their station. Nolan was nothing if not pragmatic. Pragmatic and a bore, or so he had been told. Stepping carefully, he examined the things closest to him. There was clear signs of something larger here. Something that might await them past the many nooks and corners. The many crates were gonna make noise sooner or later and spoil their advance. He briefly considered the firepower they had at their disposal.

"Signs of something big. Might be our mysterius quarry." The motioned towards the none to subtle path whatever it was had made. He tried to see beyond with his scope, in case ther was anything up ahead to play into their next decision."Step close and light. We could set up a trap. Or we could press on." He spoke, on the alert.

 

[Kadaeux]

Alkazar : Lower Decks​

Alkazar looked at the tin bull doubtfully. He blurted a vocalisation that could probably be called derision. Only a fool would have gone for a mechanical bull, if one had to have a support bot they could at least have picked something cool. Alkazar thought to himself, like a Dinosaur. Still it was trivial to produce the chain requested the problem such as it was, was more fundamental. Even with a chain and pulley system they had no way of knowing if they could support the bulls weight with any certainty. There simply wasn't time or room to build a more comprehensive system or test it.

"If this doesn't work, pick a lighter companion next time." He said with skepticism as he fit the chains to the pulley system and then to the bull. "Send it down."

 

[Tempest]

Kyine Lherox - Lower Deck​

It happened in mere moments. One second she was watching the techies prepare the strange boxes to work on making the necessary supplies and the next she feels Kholar shove past her and nearly knocks her down as he clomps his way to the stairs and starts his way down. She frowns and begins to pace after him and reach out to stop him, to still him and draw him back but it was too late.

There was the snap.

Her hand catches empty air.

Her heart stops.

She stares blankly down into the gloom at the fading lights of Kholar's powersuit as he descends. Then comes the echoes of the sickening crunch. Her breath is caught in her chest, tears threaten at the corners of her eyes. He is okay. He has to be okay. He is okay, right? He is not moving. He is not okay. What will I tell Roth. I promised Roth. Her mind races franticly as her hand clutches into a fist; eyes squeezing shut to fight back the flood.

Her inner turmoil is interrupted as her earpiece crackles to life with Marietta's voice. It was like a dagger to her heart to hear that a beast of this world had already claimed her brother's corpse, but that was not so uncommon. She raises her chin and tries to look strong. There would be a time to cleanse these emotions from her being and grieve with her family. Right now, there was the mission. To burden yourself with such weight while on the hunt was to make yourself easy prey, that is what her father always said.

As she bolsters herself, the good doctor with the mechanical bull comes to her side. She raises a brow at his request that she join him. "Had I not known better, I would think that the Doctor IV was afraid of the dark... But do not be. Your allies surround you. Protect you. All while Veritas guides guides us. We will get through this together and make it home, doctor, and then the tough part for you begins: Patching us sorry sods up." With that she follows Irving down the ladder, being mindful of the broken rung.

When she reaches the bottom, with her latern she could see the glistening trail of blood. She grimaces and looks away, closing her eyes tight with a pained expression before straightening herself. Kyine takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders. She attempts to look intimidating, both to ward off anything lurking in the shadows and to warn her allies she was not in a mood for talking.

 

[Tempest]

Kyine Lherox - Lower Deck​

It happened in mere moments. One second she was watching the techies prepare the strange boxes to work on making the necessary supplies and the next she feels Kholar shove past her and nearly knocks her down as he clomps his way to the stairs and starts his way down. She frowns and begins to pace after him and reach out to stop him, to still him and draw him back but it was too late.

There was the snap.

Her hand catches empty air.

Her heart stops.

She stares blankly down into the gloom at the fading lights of Kholar's powersuit as he descends. Then comes the echoes of the sickening crunch. Her breath is caught in her chest, tears threaten at the corners of her eyes. He is okay. He has to be okay. He is okay, right? He is not moving. He is not okay. What will I tell Roth. I promised Roth. Her mind races franticly as her hand clutches into a fist; eyes squeezing shut to fight back the flood.

Her inner turmoil is interrupted as her earpiece crackles to life with Marietta's voice. It was like a dagger to her heart to hear that a beast of this world had already claimed her brother's corpse, but that was not so uncommon. She raises her chin and tries to look strong. There would be a time to cleanse these emotions from her being and grieve with her family. Right now, there was the mission. To burden yourself with such weight while on the hunt was to make yourself easy prey, that is what her father always said.

As she bolsters herself, the good doctor with the mechanical bull comes to her side. She raises a brow at his request that she join him. "Had I not known better, I would think that the Doctor IV was afraid of the dark... But do not be. Your allies surround you. Protect you. All while Veritas guides guides us. We will get through this together and make it home, doctor, and then the tough part for you begins: Patching us sorry sods up." Kyine follows Irving down the ladder afterwards, being mindful of the broken rung.

As she reaches the bottom, her lantern reveals to her the glistening trail of blood. She looks away, shocked to she the impact site so revealing of the brutality and even more tangible evidence reinforcing her brother was gone. She looks pained before she takes a deep breath and recomposes herself. She squares her shoulder and looks back to those already gathered as she attempts to look intimidating--both to ward off enemies and warn her allies she was not in the mood for much discussion.