Private Detour through Demonsgate [Rann]

[Imka Larue]

Eve Foundation
ATTN: D.R.O. Larue
Mission: Demonsgate

A phrik ore refinery facility on the planet named Demonsgate has issued an SOS. Local tectonic plates have shown increasing instability. Lead research team has issued a warning of imminent destruction for the extraction zone within the next 42 hours. Given your familiarity with this area of space and your history there, you have been chosen to lead the rescue mission. RHD Suits and Extraction ship has been assigned to your team.

...

Mission accepted.

A certain sense of trepidation marked this mission for Imka - returning to her own home territory. It was strange enough being here without seeing the telltale marks of the Moross Crusade. Like walking into the hollowed, crumbling shell of a building you had once seen standing with grace and power over its domain. Many names had come and gone in this area of space since the Netherworld event, but nothing seemed to stick. Even the Outer Rim Coalition was gone, and she'd had high hopes for them.

Now it was lawless, with a failing grid of local security forces that couldn't handle the influx of outlaws and pirates. Too much of the galaxy had been filled by government and not enough space had been left for those who lived to oppose them. Now they were concentrated here, and it was a dangerous place to be no matter who you were.

Imka thought the graveyard of ships along the way to Demonsgate was a bad omen, she just really had no idea how bad.

"MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY - This is DRO Larue of the Eve Foundation on a rescue mission to Demonsgate. My ship has been destroyed by pirates and the extraction zone is set within an imminent destruction site of unstable tectonic plates. We need backup. 26 survivors, 7 badly injured. I repeat MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY - This is DRO Larue-"​

The message went out on all local channels, repeating, seventeen times before it cut completely.


Rann Thress

 

[Rann Thress]

R E S C U E​

WEARING: robes

TAG: Imka Larue

The space outside CIS space was interesting to say the least. Most planetary governments could only stem the tide of organized crime, very few could halt it outright. However, it’s state of lawlessness made it a perfect place to hide…. For the moment. Rann had much he needed to atone for… and perhaps these were the places to do it.



As he approached the system that housed the planet known as Demonsgate, he began receiving intermittent distress calls
Demonsgate. Pirates. Need backups and survivors.



That was all he needed to know. The events on Rannon had left him feeling…empty. He needed to redeem himself, and this was the perfect opportunity for it.



“DRO Larue, standby. Friendly incoming.” He thought about announcing himself, but thought better of it. He didn’t want to announce his presence anymore than he needed to. He just hoped DRO Larue would receive his message as he locked in on its source and began heading towards it.
​

 

[Imka Larue]

The static haunted those minutes between the screech of the radio emitter failing and the garbled response it relayed just before dying completely.

"DRO -rue .... standby .... ly..... coming."

She couldn't be sure exactly what was said, but she felt a need to keep the threadbare hope that it meant help. Imka hovered over the comm unit for a few moments longer, feeling the sting of her heart in her chest and the tickle of sweat dripping down her brow. The temperature regulation of her hazard suit was already on the fritz and Demonsgate was nothing if it hadn't lived up to its name.

It was hot.

"Okay," she breathed, nodding her head repeatedly, "okay."

Imka exited the comm tower, her two helpers in tow, and quickly took the stairwell back to the machinery floor. Half the refinery facility had already broken free of itself in the earlier upheaval, claimed by the molten fields it had been constructed upon. There was no telling how long they had, but one thing was for certain -

"We need to get everyone up to the landing pad," she told the two men, "move the wounded first."

"Did someone answer?" one of the men asked her frantically as he followed, "Is someone coming?"

"We have to hope that they are and be ready if they do."

 

[Rann Thress]

R E S C U E​

WEARING:

TAG: Imka Larue

The level of pirate activity in this area was kind of shocking considering it’s proximity to CIS space. It felt as if Rann was dodging a patrol every few minutes. He needed to be careful. With the small light freighter he was piloting, detection would mean that he, too, would require rescue. He hoped that the precious minutes spent evading and sidestepping Pirate patrols did not damn the stranded inhabitants of Demonsgate.



As he entered the atmosphere of Demonsgate his ships atmo reading gave a small warble as it indicated the planetary conditions were not suitable for most forms of life and if the ship was disabled it would not able to withstand the temperatures without its protective shields.



With these conditions in mind, Rann hastily begin scanning the area for the source of the transmission, and for any additional ones. He had narrowed the search area down to a small stretch of rapidly destabilizing ‘land’ that housed a refinery, and he knew that if he were stuck here that would serve as the best place to wait despite its precarious positioning.



As he approached, he thought to try to reach ‘DRO Larue’ via local comms as he circled the area, trying to scout an ideal landing zone.



“DRO Larue, this is your friendly. KO from the Confederacy. Please respond? I see a refinery, are you inside? Please respond. Over.”



He had hoped the message would get through, but he was prepared to search the facility himself if needed. He just wished he dressed appropriately.

​

 

[Imka Larue]

Silence answered Rann on the comms.



Medic training had prepared her for dealing with grievous wounds in all manner of settings. Being calm under pressure. Getting creative when supplies were low or nonexistent. Improvising when all else failed. Enduring fatigue, pain, fear, and hunger to get the people that needed her to safety.

Not a whole lot of training on dealing with a melting planet.

"Imka!"

She was bent over an worker who'd very narrowly avoided being swallowed by a magma pit - but only just. Third degree burns covered large portion of his lower body. He was in a lot of pain and his sedative was wearing off.

"IMKA!"

"WHAT!" she snapped, glaring over her shoulder and then blinking away the stress, "-what is it?"

"We've moved the others up the stairwell but we can't keep them out on the landing pad. They'll fry if they spend too much time out there. The main generator for the upper shields is down."

She should have foreseen this issue - everything was failing. Soon the life support system would likely follow. They were either going to cook alive or suffocate, neither of which were anywhere near how she envisioned her life-flame sputtering out. The shields were meant to offer protection from heat and magma flare. Without it they were sitting, roasting ducks.

"Okay," Imka nodded, "we'll figure this out. Someone is on their way. I need you to set off the flare from the landing pad so they can find us."

"I can't go out there, I don't have a suit!"

"Either you go out there or you stay here with him. He's about to wake up from his sedative and he's going to be in a world of pain."

The seconds ticked by on the flash of terror crossing the man's face, blanched beneath the sweat and soot, "I'll-I'll stay. What do I do with him when he wakes up?"

"We're out of sedative and supplies. Just make sure he doesn't injure himself further."


Her small bag of supplies she'd taken with her hadn't been enough for everyone. Kolto and Bacta had quickly run out. Pain killers were gone within the first hour. Bandages and gauze used up. If only she still had her ship this never would have been an issue.


She pushed carefully, quickly, up the stairs through the waiting bodies and stopped at the doorway at the top. The heat of the outside was peeling in through the seal, any hotter it might melt the door shut. With a stiff breath she loaded the flare gun and pushed herself outside into the burn of the air. It was hotter than any summer on Exocron she could remember.

Gun aimed into the sky, she set the flare loose.

It streamed up, up, up over the plumes of smoke rising from the rumbling ground, exploding well out of sight from the landing pad.

 

[Rann Thress]

R E S C U E​

WEARING:
TAG: Imka Larue

Rann continued to circle the facility, trying to raise any inhabitants on the comms and make sense of the layout. What little he could see through the smoke was…confusing. Much of the facility was suffered environmental damage, and Rann could see the occasional shield flare growing dimmer, and more infrequent. The generators were failing, but they were active for now.

But that was all he could see. The smoke layer was too thick to make out anything useful. So, Rann continued to circle, avoiding entering the cloud until he knew for certain where he was going to land. To stay longer than absolutely necessary would risk frying his own shields which were not rated for such an environment, and he wasn’t even sure if this was where the survivors were. Not for certain.

Then, he saw it. A blink and you’ll miss it flash of bright lights, glowing iridescence along a dull fire. A flare. It detonated above the smoke cloud, masking its origin from the facility, but its intention was clear. This was where the survivors were.

With a deep breath, Rann pushed the stick in, plummeting down into the cloud and throwing on every flood light his ship had, anything to cut through the thick obscuring smoke, and cruised so close to the facility one wrong strong breeze would send him careening into it. But he had to make certain he didn’t miss an inch.

As he circled, he finally saw a landing pad just big enough for his ship and began his approach. As he did, he threw on his ships intercom:

“Attention: Life Boat is here.” He said short and simply. He couldn’t waste time on a long winded rescue speech although he’d have liked to. As he touched down, his console screamed at him several warnings. He had minutes at best before he, too, would require rescue.

With haste, he went to the landing pad and lowered the Ramp. He didn’t have time to put on a protective suit, he wasn’t even sure his ship had one. He just hoped the Force would provide and protect.

Because it was real damn hot.

​

 

[Imka Larue]

Imka was just about to rush back inside to the protection of the stairwell, near close to passing out from the overbearing heat when she spied through the smoke the illuminated plumes of a ship fast on approach. The overwhelming relief that escaped her as a gasp was damn near painful. With a withered cry she clamped her gloved hand on the door panel and opened it, "It's time to go! Move! Move!"

They started piling out, wincing and yelping at the sudden rush of HEAT, aiding those who were wounded as best they could. Imka stayed by the door, guiding each person out while keeping a headcount.

12.

15.

19 ... 20.

24.

She looked back in for the remaining two that were nowhere to be seen and then remembered - "Shet."

Whoever their savior was, she couldn't spare the time to explain. Imka waited until she thought he was looking her way before throwing a hand in the air, "Wait! There's two more-" and then disappeared back inside, clamoring down the stairwell on legs that were beginning to seize from overexposure, back down into the machinery floor.

 

[Rann Thress]

R E S C U E​

WEARING:

TAG: Imka Larue

Rann watched from the landing ramp as the survivors rushed inside, desperately trying to escape the heat. Some looked at him with gratitude, others ignored him outright just looking to survive. He didn’t blame them, thankfulness can come later, when they were all safe in the Vacuum of space. When the last of the group entered, he turned his attention back towards the last remaining person who threw up a two with their hand before disappearing back inside.



He cursed silently, the facility was unstable and growing ever more so with each passing second. He couldn’t just sit here and do nothing, he had to help.



With trust that the survivors on board wouldn’t take off with his ship, he departed the landing ramp and sprinted for the inside, willing the discomfort from the blistering heat to disappear as he burst through the door.



“Hello?! Survivors? We can’t wait anymore let’s go we gotta go!” He yelled as he proceeded into the facility.

​

 

[Imka Larue]

A agonizing howl met the man as he made his way down the stairwell and toward the machinery floor. Imka struggled with her her helper to get the last survivor to his feet - a process both devastatingly painful for the man who had suffered third degree burns across a good portion of his body and concerningly difficult for herself as she tried to find a way to support him without injuring him further. He was already in a great deal of pain - that of a level she couldn't personally relate to - and the painkillers had run out.

“Hello?! Survivors? We can’t wait anymore let’s go we gotta go!”

"HERE!" Imka called back to the man, their savior in a strange suit, "We're here! Help us-" she was struggling. Imka couldn't hold his weight, she simply wasn't strong enough, "we can't leave him here. Can you take him? I'll get the door at the top."

She wanted to warn not to touch the burns, but at this point it hardly mattered in the grand scheme of getting the kark out of here in one piece.

 

[Rann Thress]

R E S C U E​

WEARING:
TAG: Imka Larue

Rann didn’t waste any more time. He ran forward to the man and woman and without thinking threw the man's arm around his shoulder and used his weight to support the burned man. As he did so the man howled in pain, but Rann forced himself to ignore the man's cries of pain. Each step forward was worth it’s weight in gold.

“Get going. Get the door open quick! We have minutes, at best!” Rann shouted, forcing the man to move forward despite his cries and protests. As they neared the stairs, Rann decided the man’s comfort wasn’t as important as all of their lives, and he picked the man up entirely over his shoulders and double-timed it up the steps. “Straight sprint for the ship. Go, fast! Get us airborne!” The seconds ticked by, and certain doom approached ever faster.

​

 

[Imka Larue]

She was already making a sprint for the stairs after giving up the injured man to Rann - her mind was churning overtime on the ticking time bomb upon which they all presently sat. Minutes ... Imka felt he was being generous, especially as the floor beneath them gave a sudden screeching shudder and bucked beneath their boots. She stumbled up the stairs, picked up by the other man as he followed and pressed up them at his frantic whim. By the time Imka reached the door at the top the heat suffusing through it was nearly unbearable.

Her hands moved to engage the door and she watched as it shuddered open before being stuck at half way - it began to melt into its own sliding track. The billowing breath of heat from outside flushed in over her environmental suit and she felt it bite at her skin through the material. If it was this bad for her...

The other man shrieked at the burning air billowing inward and shrank back from the doorway, "I can't - I CAN'T! It's too hot!"

Imka faltered on the spot, briefly torn for his pain and fright but -

“Straight sprint for the ship. Go, fast! Get us airborne!”

It wasn't a hard choice to make. Between one life and the dozens on the ship, she had to choose the ship over him. So she did. "I'm sorry - I have to -" and with a grimace she pressed her way through the half-open doorway and made to sprint as quickly as she physically could to the ship. She reached the loading ramp and nearly collapsed into it, her entire figure smoking. The glasteel panel of her helmet had shattered, splintering inward and lodging a piece into her cheek in the process - Imka hardly noticed the pain of her face for the pain of her entire body and the urgent need to get the ship airborne again.

So she staggered forward past the refugees who were trying to hide from the inferno outside, her hands numbly clawing at her helmet to yank it off. With a frustrated cry she shoved her way into the cockpit and collapsed into the pilot's seat, setting her eyes to finding familiar controls that would save their lives. It wasn't easy with the ship's console screaming warnings about imminent shield failure, radiation levels, heat levels, and the engines threatening to melt. Imka set the controls back into manual and looked back, "HURRY!"

Waited for Rann and the burned man to get aboard before toggling the assent thrusters and throttling them away from the sinking refinery.

 

[Rann Thress]

R E S C U E​

WEARING:
TAG: Imka Larue

“PUSH” He yelled at the man he was holding.

“PUSH. JUST A FEW MORE FEET!” he screamed as the man howled in pain, his body buckling after every step, with only Rann to keep him upright as they moved towards the landing ramp. The paneling beneath Rann’s feet gave away as he stepped forward onto the landing ramp, hurrying up it and pressing the button to raise it. After it was raised he set the screaming man down and took a deep breath, inhaling the heat from his mask. His metal mask that, in the commotion, he had not noticed was steadily heating up and smoking. Frantically he ripped it off his face and threw it to the ground, rubbing his face afterwards and bending over from exhaustion.

It wasn’t a long excursion, but it felt like it lasted for hours. He couldn’t catch his breath and started coughing, trying to clear his airways as he stood straight back up and wiped his face of sweat. He looked around the hold at the people he had saved, either looking at each other, the ground, or him with gratitude or indifference. He didn’t mind. He looked away from them and moved towards the cockpit, wanting to make sure everything was going well. As he entered he threw himself down in the co-pilot seat and took a long deep breath of filtered air before turning his head to look at the woman, DRO Larue as she maneuvered the craft into the air to exit the world. The alarms blaring were a bit distracting, but Rann didn’t care too much. If he died, at least he’d die comfortable.

“What’s the situation look like?” he said finally, eyeing the consoles. “Are we gonna die or no?”

​

 

[Imka Larue]

"We're not out of danger yet-" Imka responded, having to yell back to him over the astonishing amount of noise. The ship was shuddering and reeling as the engines struggled to keep running within the ambient heat of the raging planet below. Atmo exit was always one wrong move away from imminent peril on a stable planet with blue skies, today it was all she could do to keep them flying straight. Imka muscled the controls and flipped through override commands with the ship console screaming at them.

Then, with a sudden heaving lurch, they shouldered out into the serenity of space and the shuddering died down to a low tremble. The blaring alarms cut back - though the ship was still in rough shape.

Imka breathed a loud sigh of relief and collapsed back into the pilot's seat, chest heaving for the air she'd stopped breathing over the last several minutes. The took a moment to catch her breath before rolling her head to the side to take a look at their savior, brown eyes taking him in for the first time, "You ... you saved us. You crazy son of a shebs - oh," she pulled the glove of her suit off and threw a dark hand out towards him, offering her palm in greeting, "Imka Larue, Sector Six Disaster Relief Operative of the Eve Foundation. I could kiss you."

 

[Rann Thress]

R E S C U E​

WEARING:
TAG: Imka Larue

Upon hearing that the danger was not yet over, Rann yanked the saftey harnesses from behind him and clicked them in, securing him to the seat as they rose through the atmosphere of the planet. He gripped the arm rests tensely as the ship continued to shudder and groan against the pressure outside before the ride smoothed out and the sky turned jet black. Rann released his grip on the arm rests and looked over at his pilot, his face a mix of excitement and fear of imminent death. “We’re good?” he asked, breathing quietly and deeply.

“You got us off the planet. I just brought the ship.” He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, “Speaking of, why were you there, Disaster Relief Operative Larue?” He reached his hand out and took hers, shaking it. “Rann Thress, pleasure.”

​

 

[Imka Larue]

Imka offered him an out-of-breath laugh in return, letting her head roll forward again as he shook her hand and closing her eyes for a moment. She gave his hand a strong squeeze of deep gratitude before releasing him, "Sector feeds picked up the SOS from the refinery facility. The planet is historically unstable, but recently a new wave of plate shifts and breaks has changed the pattern of disruption. All these people were stuck at that facility with no way out until the next shift change over. I went in to grab them, but I was hit by a passing group of pirates. My ship went down in the lava pools to the south of the facility and I-" her eyes opened again as she realized her terrible, horrible, dumb luck, "just barely managed to land myself with an emergency jet pack on the facility launch pad."

"We all would have died if you hadn't shown up and answered my distress call."

 

[Rann Thress]

R E S C U E​

WEARING:
TAG: Imka Larue

Rann’s eyes went wide in amazement. “That is...quite lucky.” He said in relation to her unlikely survival. “And these people,” he gestured to the hold behind him, “Were just there? I hope the pay was good.” He said quietly.

“It’s too bad about the OPA. Pirates in the area have nothing to fear anymore, and we’re too far outside Confederacy space for them to care too much. I was just happening by.” he shrugged and smiled at her. “Do unto others. Maybe one day when I’m in trouble Karma will come back for me.” He turned back towards the console and adjusted a setting, the air in the cockpit suddenly turned cooler. “Call me crazy but I want to be cold right now.” He chuckled quietly and removed his glove on his organic hand, choosing to keep his robotic one gloved.

“What’s the plan now? Not like I’m gonna kick you guys out at the nearest space port.”

​

 

[Imka Larue]

"Yeah," Imka nodded, "they were just there. Waiting to die."

She had her doubts any of them were really making what most people would consider decent money, but that was just the nature of things out here in wild space. Opportunities were few and far between and people did what they had to in order to get by. Even resorting to things like Piracy, which was likely more appealing to most than hard, honest work on a planet like Demonsgate.

"Now? Now we wait for my sector team to show up. Your engines are shot, we can't get to hyperspace. If we're lucky they'll be here in a few hours and we'll go unnoticed by any other pirate ships passing through." A frown shifted across her expression and for a moment Imka wasn't sure she liked their odds. But space was big and, frankly, their ship probably looked like it had already been hit from the outside. To see it drifting out in space, their current failing situation maybe worked in their favor.

"In the meantime, I have to take care of these people. Please tell me this thing has a some form of medical supplies."

 

[Rann Thress]

Rann looked around at the various consoles that littered the cockpit of his ship. Sure enough, he had consoles flashing red ‘WARNING’s across his board.

“Shielding is out too.” He sighed and dropped his fist down on his console. “I shouldn’t be surprised. This ship isn’t exactly old reliable on the most temperate of planets.” He laid back and crossed his arms. “Planet with a name like Demonsgate was bound to cook it. Ah well.” He shrugged his shoulders and rotated the chair, gesturing to a wall panel to the left of the door exiting the cockpit.

“There should be some basic first aid stuff in there. Nothing heavy duty, but something to ease the pain at the very least. There’s also a very very very barebones medical bay I can show you too that probably has something a little more uh… helpful. Some Bacta at the very least.” He stood up from his chair and took the half step to reach the back panel. He pressed a button and the door slid open. A couple first aid kits lie inside, and he grabbed them and held them in his hands.

“I’ll try to hell set everything up for you but I’m no doctor.”
He nodded his head towards a power setting console on the pilot side. “Might wanna consider toggling emergency power. It’ll dim our signature. Just in case any prowlers get curious.”
Imka Larue

 

[Imka Larue]

Imka winced as he assessed the damage, finally getting a moment to recognize the sacrifice he'd made to get them out of there. She silently mouthed the word 'sorry' and agreed to move on since he did. Perhaps the EVE Foundation could help out a helper in paying for his repairs or getting him a replacement. An appreciative nod gave her the room to move forward with what needed to be done, "Thanks. That burned man you brought in will need the med bay the most. I'll get some pain killers in him before we move him."

“Might wanna consider toggling emergency power. It’ll dim our signature. Just in case any prowlers get curious.”

"Good idea," and so she did.

They spent the better part of several hours tending to the wounded. Getting those the worst off back to the med bay where Imka could administer what medical help was available to her. The rest were cleaned, bandaged, and rationed water. It was a long few hours to say the least, and by the time they'd tended to everyone she was ready for a long shower and a longer nap.

"That's everyone," she said to him in the med bay, looking up and motioning for him to come sit on the open table in front of her, "everyone but you. Come on, let me clean up those burns."

 

[Rann Thress]

Rann made sure to make himself available. Anything she needed him to do, he did gladly. Whatever made the ordeal more easier for the group as a whole. He never even considered that he himself might have gotten a bit toasty during his rescue attempt.
He didn’t argue, however, and hopped up on top of the table, taking his outer robe off. He didn’t realize how heavy his clothing was until he had taken off a layer, and he let out a breath of relief.

“Black isn’t the best to wear on hell planets, I guess.” He smiled as he rubbed his forehead. He could feel his skin burn to the touch and wondered how bad his body was.
“What do you need me to do?” He asked.