First Reply Don't Open Dead Inside

[Delila Castillon]

Project Blackwing | Locale : Dandoran
​

Dry brush crunched underfoot as the grizzled spacer stepped closer to the facility. He had heard the stories - legends at this point - of a sickness that brought the dead back to life. Graying, Arik had been kneehigh to a womp rat when he had first heard the tales aboard the colony ship he was born upon. A mystified young boy had grown into a skeptical man. Yet when he traveled the hyperlanes the stories followed, typically told by drunk old coots with milky eyes. Old and bent himself, Arik had chalked the tales up fantasy until a client offered good credits for a sample of the sickness.

Arik was surprised by the amount of information the client had on the sickness, even pushing him towards a system where it was rumored samples possibly still existed. His traveling partner, Sion, didn't take to new of the job well. Sion came from a superstitious backwater where tradition and fables had run much of the younger man's life. A waste in Arik's opinion.

"If Lady Ebball is correct, we're pushing towards the ruins of the research facility where this thing kicked off. Not why she's so eager to obtain a sample. Must want to raise a lover from the dead since no one else wants her old scraggly ass."

Arik snorted in laughter at his own commentary. Someone had to.

"Did you stop to think of why this old recluse knows so much about this sickness? It sounds like we're on a suicide mission. Where did she even get all these credits? This is practically six months worth of work for us."

"Sion you worry too much. Why question how many credits an old,lonely lady wants to hire us for? If you're so concerned give your share back to her."

-- Three Weeks Later --

Location : Shag Pabol Trade Route
​

Traveling along hyperspace lanes and trade routes often meant one was in a coma-like state. No news reached the confines of the vessel, pushing along in an ignorance-is-bliss type state until landing and speaking to locals. For Delila, it had been jarring at first all those years ago to stop along for refueling and suddenly be confronted by an onslaught of galactic information. Most often it was war, a government official caught with their pants down (literally and figuratively), or something some Force-user did. She had quickly learned to ignore that and either speak to locals or fellow spacers.

Today was no different. As her vessel was refueling and Delila was taking a much needed break, it found her in the station's overpriced cantina. Typical of their nature, it was run down and the drinks watered down and overpriced. The redhead found herself inside mostly for the reminder that the galaxy at large wasn't something she wanted to be a part of again. Sticking to herself and odd jobs along the lanes were much better than being in the fray.

At the bar with a "Corellian" whiskey, Dells was content to listen to the idle conversation bouncing throughout the small space.

"Pirates are out in force again. Pretty sure they're hired by governments around here to give us trouble. Not our fault supply chains are the way they are..."

"....chewing on the wires again. Then this force-forsaken dump charges an arm and two legs for replacement parts...."

"....you hear a whole pack of smugglers were taken down on Dandoran? Buddy of mine was hired for the job, did one fly over and booked it out. Said the dead were walking..."

Pft, walking dead. Might want to lay off the booze old man.



OOC Notes :

Spoiler

Greetings unlucky person who decides to reply. Nice to meet you. I have no real goals for this thread, just feeling the Halloween spirit and thought what is more classic than zombies? Full disclosure I can only promise about two replies on average a week, possibly more soon as I will be on a week-long vacation soon. If you've made this far and are so inspired then awesome! You can reach me on Discord at Dells#4491

 

[Leea Pandac]

This was hardly the first dive Leea had been in. The Mirialan's experiences on Zeltron had been far worse than what this place could offer. Indeed, this little station in a corner of space seemed all too casual compared to the debauchery readily available on the pleasure world. It was a pleasant reminder that such planets were not the rule, but rather the exception. A bad drink did not have to come with a week of alcohol-fueled festivals.

Nonetheless, this knowledge did not help Leea down the watered sludge the cantina offered. She imagined the drink could have been used to sabotage starship engines if sucked into the intake. Then again, the slight near-human was hardly a heavy drinker, preferring to spend her hours on other recreational activities. Sadly for her, the station offered little in the way of relaxation other than drinking, gambling, and less savoury pursuits. Thus, she found herself listening to the gossip and chatter tossed about by the various spacers as she waited for the cruiser to finish refuelling. The public transport was on its way out of here, and Leea was looking forward to getting planetside as soon as possible, preferably somewhere outside of the war-torn regions of space. These galactic powers were getting crazy!

"... hear about the smugglers out near Kwenn, blew up cargo and all. Bet the government's still cleaning spice out of their atmosphere..."

"Sounds like a mynock got into power converters again, wonder how long before Jerry will get the blasted cleaners out again."

"...Dandoran? Buddy of mine was hired for the job, did one fly over and booked it out. Said the dead were walking..."

That caught Leea's attention. Spacers always seemed to have new stories and strange new things to boast about. She wondered how much of this was a tall tale to impress his drinking mates and how much was real. The dead walking... Sounds ridiculous.

"...believe this. Last week, there was some guy transporting angels from Iego, my uncle is a close friend and he says they came across some weird readings passing by..."

Leea noticed another soul having a drink, her beverage having a less sewage like appearance than the Mirialans. Saddling closer, she asked in a hushed tone, so as not to arose too much attention from the drinking spacers spouting stories around them. She didn't want one of them to take offence at any questions about the validity of their tales. "What do you think about this living dead business? Seems a bit sketchy to me."

Delila Castillon

 

[Delila Castillon]

[[ Leea Pandac ]]


Delila was completely involved in overhearing the conversations in the bar she had completely overlooked her barmates bellied up to the counter.The redhead internally chastised herself for getting so involved. It had been some time since she had been out on her own without a crew by her side. Closest to her was a young looking Mirialan woman, drinking some....interesting....looking beverage.

"I agree. Why would there be a surge of unliving creatures now? Very odd. Although....I wonder the validity of the story period. I swear the same spacers run in groups, telling the same stories drunkenly to one another. Slight variances of course. Then they tend to drag in the more sober among us and spin it into hyperlane legend."

Another sip of alcohol.

"Just my theory."

 

[Leea Pandac]

Leea glanced at the mug of... stuff she had. Deciding to focus on the conversation, she left the alcohol on the bar. Better not risk it.

"Sounds about right... Have they said what might be the cause? It is an interesting story, whether or not its true." Storytelling was something the Mirialan enjoyed, perhaps it was one of her specie's traits that had managed to be passed onto her. A good tale, even told poorly, was enough for her to lose track of time. She wasn't too concerned with missing her flight though; it was a long lay-over according to the attendant she had spoken with. And, if I managed to learn some new stories, this will not have been an entirely unproductive stay.

Who knows, perhaps an acquaintance would be formed as well. In a rough galaxy, allies were always preferable, friends even more so. Especially, if the dead were walking.

Delila Castillon

 

[Delila Castillon]

[[ Leea Pandac ]]


"I'm not sure if drunk persons have logic to their stories. Well....not logic that a sober person would seem to understand."

Delila pondered the womans question and turned a bit in the barstool to look at her better. It was getting increasingly rude not to look at the other and carry on the conversation, especially since they seemed to be carrying on for more than a few sentences. The redhead remained quiet for a few moments more before shaking her head.

"No I have not. Force-altered or 'enchanted' beings in battle but never the undead. How about you?"

 

[Leea Pandac]

Leea watched, trying to decide how to proceed. She was curious, battle stories were always some of the most interesting, but then again she was having a bit of thought. "Never really fought anything but other soldiers. I thought the dead stayed dead..."

She allowed a moment to pass in silence, building up the courage to suggest what was on her mind. "Do you think there is anything left there? If this is all a tall tale, maybe there is something else that is of interest there. Dandoran right? Anything there?" She was a little tentative in her questions, afraid of coming across as naive.

Delila Castillon

 

[Delila Castillon]

Leea Pandac

Delila finished her drink, setting the glass down and pushing it away from her. Gaze fell back onto the other woman, as if trying to gauge a reaction to the entire situation of the undead.

"Yes, Dandoran. Not far from here, a few hours at most. Are you suggesting we fly out and investigate? I've got a ship. Something keeps drawing spacers to the planet or drawing their drunken stories to the planet. It would settle this once and for all. Not to mention a credit or two might possibly be made if it is true. Not sure how, there's always idiots in the galaxy looking to pay for most idiotic items."

 

[Leea Pandac]

As the redhead finished her drink, Leea could feel a part of her nagging that she had made a fool of herself. She could feel the other's careful gaze, sizing the Mirialan up. Yep, I overplayed my hand... Just another Rim-Worlder bumpkin or something, probably what she thinks.

She was surprised, and didn't manage to conceal it, when Delila seemed open to the idea. Leea gave a hesitant nod as she answered the question, "Yeah. I mean I've got time and nothing really to do." As the human continued, Leea bolstered her confidence with the percieved interest.

"Credits would be nice about now. I'm sure there has to be something down there, surely they'd not have any stories if there was nothing." The near-human glanced at the table of laughing and drinking pilots, as if to prove her point someone spoke slurringly about Dandoran being a secret testing world or something. "It may be quite profitable, and if not then I guess it would put the stories to rest for us. That is, if you want to?" Her eyes flicked back to her companion.

Delila Castillon

 

[Delila Castillon]

[[ Leea Pandac ]]

"Seems like a complete win-win situation for us. Especially since one of these lush pilots just mentioned secret testing world. Lets say there isn't any undead beings or corpses or pirates or anything of the sort, just a big expanse of nothing. There's got to be something within that facility we could clean for credits, even if its just downloading their databank entries and logs. If you're in, I'm in. Any profits split down the middle, fifty-fifty."

-- Three Hours Later --

The Saegassum was in the final moments of hyperspace, all indications meant they would emerge within the next minute or so. Delila was at the controls, her new partner in crime - Leea she found out - in the copilots seat. The two women flipped through the holonet on the flight, trying to find more information on the planet. Delila only found results for the research facility, long abandoned by the Empire.

Dandoran came into view as they quickly exited hyperspace. Hands took over the controls, the planet looking peaceful from this distance.

"Leea, mind doing a lifeform and vessel scan? I still say this is pirate tales to keep folks away from making good credit."

 

[Leea Pandac]

This had to be one of the shortest hyperspace trips Lees had ever experienced. Perhaps the fact that she had spent most of it actively searching for information on the planet had contributed to the racing passage of time. There was not a lot, frustratingly most of the information that did exist centred on the fact the world was a watery planet with vast jungle filled continents. When Delila found a piece of data concerning an old Imperial research facility, the Mirialan had to stop herself from blurting out the question, Which Empire?

Instead, she managed to squeeze out a more pertinent question to their intentions. "What type of research do you think they might have been doing on the planet?" What little she remembered from school, and holodramas, suggested the Empire had been open to all manner of experiments, many of which may have been quite appalling to the civilized races in modern times. But the world was quite calm and beautiful looking to be the stage for the more heinous experiments. Then again, looks can be deceiving right?

When the planet finally came into view, Leea was once more struck by its tranquil appearance. "Let's see what's down there..." she said more to herself, as she began to manipulate the scaning equipment...

"Huh, that's... odd." After a few moments, she slowly expounded, "Looks like there are some odd readings on the southern continent. That one. No life definitely no life. Maybe some sort of shield or something messing with the scanners."

Leea continued messing with the settings before settling on the final piece. "There are some structures there as well. I don't see any ships, no online engine signatures at least. Wait, maybe some landed ones offline near that point. I guess if we are looking for something, its probably there."

Delila Castillon

 

[Delila Castillon]

[[ Leea Pandac ]]

"What type of experiements? Thinking of the stories we've heard perhaps some type of super soldier? Clone soldiers are already a thing but heavily genetically modified ones I could see happening. Maybe something went wrong? Too much gene splicing or material issues? I'm not sure - not educated in the area in the slightest. You already sound like you have a better idea than me."

Blue-green eyes glanced at the scanners Leea had pulled up. It seemed most of the activity or non-activity was focused on the southern continent. Delila started to navigate the Saegassum to the coordinates found on the basic scans. The redhead flew lower, allowing for their eyes to be able to scan as well at an easier distance.

"No life but odd readings....Maybe their equipment is giving us readings? Or maybe some type of security system set up by others? Trying to keep us out or whatever may be valuable in? I imagine if the stories are correct that this wouldn't be something you could blast from the air. Its probably a fairly secure facility. Security wise or strength wise anyway."

"I don't see any thing on the ground - beings or any species of sort."

 

[Leea Pandac]

Undead, what would fit with that story? It took Leea a moment of consideration before she came up with a possible theory. "If I had to guess, maybe they ran tests on a hallucinogenic weapon of sorts? Maybe that's why the spacers claim to have seen something. Honestly, I have no idea. I think the super clones sounds like it is plausible. Maybe clones that can have their aging returned to normal at a point? Of course, that's assuming this was a military installation for the development of military sciences. It could be civie stuff, which is way out of my field. Hell, that facility could have been trying to discover the way to turn durasteel into aurodium. Then it would make sense why everyone has these stories that people should stay away. "

As the ship came to hover near the region, the green-skinned sentient stood slightly to peek out of the viewport. "Doesn't look so bad. You're right, not much security. I guess the Empire may have been keeping a low profile here? A military installation with secret stuff would have hailed us, probably set up a no-fly zone around the base. Maybe the automation is busted though, no weapon signatures from below so I don't think there are any gun platforms ready to blast us out of the sky." Her eyes flicked between the scanner console and the verdant planet outside.

Her hands moved swiftly the knobs and contacts as the Mirialan paid close attention to the scanner view. Altering the frequencies, blips began to appear and she narrowed the field to those points. "I've got manufactured structures: landing pad, ships, and doorways I'd wager." Technically, she had found nothing more than high-density metal, but natural metal ores appearing so close to the surface as to be readily detectable was perhaps a bit of a stretch. "You think we can land this thing and get a closer look?" Surely it would do no harm to get closer. Not like the living dead was real. That's all spacer talk.

Delila Castillon

 

[Delila Castillon]

[[ Leea Pandac ]]

"I feel if there was an Imperial presence or...I don't know...even pirates afoot we would be getting shot at. Wouldn't make sense to let us get this close if someone is hiding something - unless they wanted to steal the ship? Not like we're flying anything fancy but a working ship is a working ship."

Leea seemed to have a better working knowledge on the entire situation compared to herself. Delila wouldn't be surprised by anything at this point but could easily see how the facility could have produced super clones or enhanced soldiers or the like. Cybernetic enhancements were a thing some folks sought out and got implanted, it wasn't a far stretch to see why some soldiers wouldn't sign up to be super soldiers. Could explain some truth inside the spacer stories - besides the entire living dead issue.

"Sure lets land. Ground appears stable enough and I see some overgrown landing pads near these structures. Heading down now. "

Delila flipped a few switches, easing the Saegassum into a better speed for landing, the struts coming down below. She made sure to land in the middle of the pad and leave some room away from the structure - just in case. Couldn't be too careful.

 

[Leea Pandac]

As the loading ramp lowered to the ground, Leea stood by the exit with her pistol firmly in hand. Had one too many accidental landings on a pirate platform to take a chance. She scanned the platform as she carefully stepped down. Though she saw some other starships landed nearby, they all seemed to have been empty for quite some time, with some in various stages of reclamation by the local flora.

There was a momentary lapse as her head whipped back to check on Delila. Realizing that there was no immediate danger, the Mirialan forced herself to relax and settle into a more passive stance. "Seems all clear out here. Now, where is the entrance we need to worry about?" And I am sure if there is nothing else, we could probably get some scrap or stuff left behind in those ships to scavenge.

Delila Castillon

 

[Delila Castillon]

[[ Leea Pandac ]]

Delila was trailing behind due to shutting down the vessel but was hot on the heels of her travelling companion. Expecting to come out with guns blazing or at the very least a bit of action,she was soon disappointed. Vines and various other brush had started to cover the buildings. The landing pad was overgrown and weedy. The only sounds were some light wind and the cooling of the engines.

"We haven't been eaten yet."

Taking the lead, eyes searched the ground for signs of a duracrete walkway, a sign that would lead them towards an entrance. She had found something, kicking away vegetation as she went.

"If pirates are here they are horrible landscapers."

 

[Leea Pandac]

Very true, still alive and seem to be alone. Leea was half-expecting for security turrets or something of that ilk to start firing. Indeed, a firefight was exactly what she had anticipated, but there was nothing. Pirates or smugglers probably would have been waiting for us... maybe they still are.

"Maybe they like the natural, more overgrown aesthetic." Though, it would make running operations far more difficult. Every time Leea had come into contact with pirates or similar groups, they had usually maintained a fairly clean, if somewhat worn down, facility. This was different. The various growths had a random-esque placement, suggesting either an excellent gardener or no outside influence.

Delila seemed to have found something and the Mirialan followed closely. Eyes occasionally darting to scan the tree-line, but they found nothing suspicious there. "Do you think this has been properly abandoned, or just a cover?"

Delila Castillon