Public Ground Zero

[Kal]

Unlike some of his new associates, 'Irrik' was clean, tidy, and seemingly entirely unaffected by last evening. Perhaps even more notable was his relative lack of weaponry - he was entirely unarmed but for a baton on his hip.

For the record, it was most certainly not a lightsaber.

Gaze flickering between Chanoel and Scilla, his eyebrows rose as high as they could go. "Please don't antagonise the drones unless they pose a threat. The last thing we need is a pitched battle before we even reach Layer One." Of course, some of the drones would go for the kill without any provocation whatsoever.

If the reports could be trusted, the deeper they went the more aggressive they got.

Attention turning to the Umbaran, 'Irrik' smiled wryly. "I bet we'll stumble into a recycling facility."

Chanoel Farver | Scilla | Toby Russen​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri was among the first ones to arrive, though she was easy to miss. She’d found a place in an out of the way corner of the ship and sat with her nose in a book.

Her abode was still within earshot of the others, and she overheard their conversation about drones. If there was even a possibility they might be attacked, she hoped they would all be prepared.

Nine asked for crazy predictions. Miri turned to a new page in her book, then paused, thinking. “If we go deep enough, we’ll eventually encounter a central artificial intelligence that, while having absorbed an enormous quantity of knowledge from across the known universe, is still looking for the answer to just one question: 'why am I here?'”

She shrugged. “I saw a holofilm like that once. Good movie.”

Chanoel Farver Fenn Stag Scilla Toby Russen Kal​

 

[Vetru]

“I can’t wait for first contact,”

"I think..." Vetru ventured from the corner, "that the mando might mean contact with a capital C. The bit where the shooting starts."

His headache was relatively mild. By the state of the latecomers he was wishing he'd bought some of that spice.

Except he wasn't, not really. He wasn't a soldier and he had no interest in being at the front of the group if things took a turn for the worse. Vetru got into plenty of scrapes with the wrong kind of people, but he never went looking for violence.

He also had to focus on making sure the comms were in order as they descended. The concentration made the headache worse.

"Anyone ever think about...how many planet's worth of space are on this thing? A planet has one layer you can live on. Wonder how many of these are inhabitable."

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"Anyone ever think about...how many planet's worth of space are on this thing? A planet has one layer you can live on. Wonder how many of these are inhabitable."

"If it turns out to not be dangerous, then perhaps it could be useful as a place for refugees," Miri suggested, her interest renewed by the Zabrak's comment. Her father had spent quite a lot of time working with Shi'ido refugees, and she was no stranger to the camps and temporary settlements herself.

Vetru​

 

[Fenn Stag]

"This planet will never know peace."

He replied sternly, turning his head towards Miri. He stood up, as their ship rapidly approached the landing site. He collected his weapon, looking back at the other passengers.

He braced himself for the landing, one hand gripping the heavy repeater, the other tightly holding the railing.

He was already a cold, stoic and sort of offputting son of a queen already- but the pre-landing part of it all was when he was razor focused and drawn inward.

And for the record, he didn't like most of them anyway. Yet.

And probably wouldn't.

The big Mandalorian waited for the shock of the landing, and presumably, the worst.

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"This planet will never know peace."

“How do you know that?” Miri asked. Did the Mando know something they didn’t?

Fenn Stag

 

[Fenn Stag]

“How do you know that?” Miri asked. Did the Mando know something they didn’t?

Fenn Stag

"We're here. That's how I know." He said, not even turning his head.

 

[Toby Russen]

First Day
Tags: Miri Nimdok , Fenn Stag , Vetru , etc…​

“Peace is subjective,” Mr. Nine remarked with a shrug. “You can get murdered or mauled to death just about anywhere. Just ask the folks trapped in the underbelly of Coruscant.”

While Nine, an optimist himself, admired the hope of their Jedi companion, he also knew that the galaxy wasn’t as safe as many believed. Born below the wealthy top-siders on Coruscant, Nine was all too familiar with the reality of “peace” in the civilized galaxy.

“Not that it matters.” Nine continued. “So long as there are people brave, desperate, or stupid enough to live anywhere, people will come here.”

Mr. Nine showed no fear, or even acknowledgement of the increasing turbulence. He was prepared for anything. A little shaking never hurt anyone.

 

[Chanoel Farver]

Miri Nimdok Fenn Stag Toby Russen Vetru Kal Scilla Etta Soo Atlas Drake Ranna Sejast Trinity Harris
source
​

"Yeesh, y'all wildin'."

There was a small part of her -- the competitive part -- that wanted to jab at the Mando for having so little trust in her skills, but she didn't care that much. There was nothing to prove. Plus, he acted like a badass, so he was probably gonna save them all once or twice before this was over. Excitement, adventure; Scilla was rubbing off on her.

"Cold drop. No need for shooting -- Layer Zero's pretty well-trod. Though, you never know," she said, shrugging.

The turbulence began to pass as they approached the surface. Chanoel ran a last check of her gear. "Everyone's got the comm, yeah?" Their employers had handed out communication devices, both for receiving recorded orders for each layer, and to keep in touch among the team.

<<"Testing, testing, one-two, one-two.">> Pretty clear audio. Of course, the robotic voice that gave their orders was a touch scratchier, and way too loud in her ear.

<<"TEAM THIRTEEN. DIRECTORY. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: ACQUIRE ACCESS TO ELEVATOR SPIRE. MEANS: ANY. SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: STUDY LOCAL BIOSPHERE. MEANS: ANY. TIMELINE: TWELVE HOURS. GOOD LUCK.">>

The ship's descent slowed, closing to the ground. The landing ramp at the back started to open.

"Let'sa go." Chanoel stood up. "Last one off is on speeder duty." They'd been provided a simple, slow transport speeder for additional gear, and anything they found along the way. It wouldn't be much of a hassle to push around, but it was still work. Conveniently, she was at the front.

The ramp opened and she ran off, disciplined enough to keep her weapon close and eyes peeled, but hardly expecting danger. This was only the beginning, after all. They were landed at the edge of a windswept canyon. On the other side, plus a few more klicks, was the closest elevator spire. "Shit landing," she mumbled, but she probably wouldn't complain about the walk.

Once their immediate surroundings were cleared, Chanoel took the opportunity to grab a little bit of dirt, and put it in a small plastic bag, which she then stuffed in her pack.

"Okay, folks, let's figure out how we're gonna get over..." She approached the edge of the cliff. The drop was pretty steep, but clearly molded; there was a river at the bottom that seemed almost artificially placed, as though someone had built this place to be reminiscent of a river-created canyon, but hadn't wanted to wait the many years it'd have taken for the stone to erode on its own.

She scanned the canyon below, and- "Woah, what the fuck is that?" She pointed, squinting at something down below.

 

[Scilla]

Everyone's minds were flooding with speculation it seemed, and Scilla's was no exception. On such a vast and mysterious landscape, anything was possible. Although Kal's prediction of a 'recycling facility' was perhaps the most boring combination of words she had ever heard uttered. And then some of the others started talking about the subjectivity of peace as a concept, and she was nearly ready to pass out again.

"Comms are good," Scilla gave a thumbs up, only to wince at the scratchy droning that gave them their objective. She scampered out the transport as fast as possible, if not solely from excitement, the incentive to not be last was more than enough. Outside was a vast landscape of arid rock and canyon, manufactured but all the more impressive due to its sheer scope. Scilla inhaled deeply, "Awesome."

"So past evidence suggests this layer is a mimic of Iridonia, yeah? Wonder why they chose that, of all places." It occurred to her that questions of 'why' were probably going to be a common theme here, and a lot of them may very well remain unanswered.

"Woah, what the fuck is that?"

Scilla's head snapped toward the direction of Chanoel's voice, and she whispered loudly in return, "What the fuck is what?" The Kiffar skidded to a halt at the canyon's precipice, and took note of the form pointed out below. She pulled out a pair of binoculars for a clearer view,

"Robot robot robot-" She grinned, then smacked the binoculars into Chanoel's chest for her to take, "How's that for first contact? Looks like a bantha or somethin'... Maybe mimicking some indigenous fauna?"

Chanoel Farver | Kal | Miri Nimdok | Fenn Stag | Toby Russen | Vetru | others​

 

[Atlas Drake]

Captain Drake woke with a snort when Team Thirteen's transport touched down. Shuttle rides always put him to sleep especially after their night of heavy drinking. Chanoel's voice sounded a little too loud over comlink for the explorer's pounding headache. He grumbled an acknowledgment feeling nostalgic for haler days of youth. At least his survival jacket offered adequate protection against the surface gales.

"Reckon we should find a place to set up base camp."

After taking a quick look around Atlas followed the others to confront their first obstacle. This was hardly his first trek over rough terrain but not everyone in their party was likely to be a trained mountaineer. He surveyed the cliffside until excited shouts drew him away. Something spotted down below by keener eyes than his.

"Robot robot robot-" She grinned, then smacked the binoculars into Chanoel's chest for her to take, "How's that for first contact? Looks like a bantha or somethin'... Maybe mimicking some indigenous fauna?"

"Only one way to find out," Drake announced after observing the strange artificial life form through his own collapsible monocular, "Let's take a closer look."

Shrugging off his pack, the captain retrieved a grappling spike launcher and fired it point blank into the cliffside. He uncoiled a length of sturdy cable and tied it around one of the nearby rocks so it would support their additional weight.

"Did everyone bring jetpacks?" he asked with a wry grin, "Then I guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way. Lucky for us I'm one of the best guides in the Territories."

Chanoel Farver Kal Miri Nimdok Fenn Stag Toby Russen Vetru​

 

[Fenn Stag]

(Phone post no pretty.)

Fenn looked around his companions, before briefly making his way to look downward.

Sure enough, a droid- or what appeared to be a droid enough. Some man made horror beyond his comprehension to construct. Fenn was naturally distrustful and bitter to droids as it was- droids that mimicked life or nature seemed more of a blight than good engineering to him.

He walked to the edge, where the guide was setting up a way to traverse down. Fenn walked to the edge, his feet teetering off. He leaned forward and forward- before he cradled his machine gun across his chest and let himself fall forward.

Fenn did in fact, bring a jetpack.

He landed after rotating and breaking his momentum with a sharp upward thrust. His weight, along with his armor and gear, still made a heavy thud.

He brought his machine gun up, taking a knee, glancing to and fro, awaiting the rest of the group.

One of the droids came close, either curious or territorial. He extended his left hand, fist downward- a small burst of fire came out, not even touching the machine. Nonetheless, it was either programmed to be afraid of it, or was enough to flee from it.

He smiled underneath his helmet.

He really didn't like droids, after all.

Chanoel Farver l Atlas Drake l Toby Russen l Kal l Miri Nimdok l Vetru

 

[Chanoel Farver]

Scilla Atlas Drake Fenn Stag Toby Russen Miri Nimdok Vetru Kal Etta Soo Ranna Sejast Trinity Harris
​

"Uh-" she took the binoculars, and looked a little closer. Obviously her immediate 'wtf' was a bit of an overreaction; a closer look showed it was just some kind of bantha-looking creature. "I don't think it's a droid," she said. returning the binocs to Scilla. "I mean -- the way this place works is that the Custodian, or whatever -- it clones species from its samples, right?"

The team seemed keen to move, so she kept her thoughts to herself for the moment. Drake pulled out a grappling spike launcher, then the Mando went ahead and used his jetpack to jump down. Chanoel went ahead and produced another grappling spike. "I'm not a fan of the liquid monofilament either," she said, giving a friendly smile to Drake. Same as him, she fired it into the ground and gave it an extra wrap around a solid-looking outcrop before clipping the line to her harness and starting to rappel down.

The Mando scared off a few of the closest of the creatures with a few shots. There was a small herd, around a dozen individuals, most of which were under the edge of the cliff, resting in the shade. They seemed pretty close to banthas, only with a darker shade of fur, and they all seemed the same size, unlike the bulls and cows of the normal banthas.

"Hey, chill out dude!" She called to the Mando. "They're just animals, no need for blasters- OH!" The lightbulb above her head as the thought struck her was almost visible. "Bloks! They're bloks. Iridonian banthas. I've met, like, thirty Iridonian dudes named Blok."

She grinned, unclipping herself from the line, then starting to go over towards the bloks, rummaging around in her bag for some snacks.

 

[Toby Russen]

Day One
Tags: Chanoel Farver , Fenn Stag , Atlas Drake , Scilla, etc...​

Mr. Nine didn't procure a grappling spike. Instead, the Umbaran drew a dagger from his side, a short vibroblade he carried for the rare occasion he found himself in close-range combat. He plunged his dagger into the side of the cliff, using it to support himself as he slid down to meet the robotic creature. By the time he had gotten there, however, the Mandalorian had already scared the creature away, sending it running back to it's herd.

"Well, there it goes," Nine sighed. "Did you get a good look at the thing? Understanding how those buggers work may come in handy when we have to fight the territorial ones."

 

[Scilla]

Scilla hit Chanoel with the stink eye, "Well excuuuuuuse me. The dossier specifically mentions that there are drones created to mimic existing animal lifeforms on various layers. So, yeah, I expected something a little more machine-y."

She joined the others in their rappel down the cliffside and into the canyon. First contact went to the Mandalorian, whose technique further disgruntled Scilla, "Y'all know we're here to like, study stuff like this first, right?" What kind of expedition hired a security detail like this?

Probably the same kind that was willing to hire a nineteen-year-old with no outstanding professional qualifications.

Scill was no expert on banthas and bantha-like creatures, but Chanoel's conclusion made sense enough to her. She glanced back towards the Zabrak among their group, Vetru , "...His name's not Blok, is it?"

Chanoel Farver | Atlas Drake | Fenn Stag | Toby Russen | Miri Nimdok | Kal​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Hanging around at the back of the group, at some point Miri vanished under mysterious circumstances, never to be seen again. Well, not never, but you get the point.

//exit thread sorry guys rip Chanoel Farver Fenn Stag Scilla Toby Russen Kal​

 

[Vetru]

"...His name's not Blok, is it?"

"You don't remember?" he accused. It was a bluff as he couldn't remember anyone's names either.

This was all a bit outdoorsy for Vetru. He was used to shipping lands and urban spaceports. No one had told him that there would be climbing.

"It's Vetru...and I haven't actually been to iridonia," he admitted. "But I have met a Blok..."

 

[Fenn Stag]

​

Fenn turned to look at Toby Russen .

"As with all things I have killed and yet to kill, you shoot them, stab them, and failing that- burn them or blow them up."

He rose to a stand, watching the rest of the group clamber down.

Slowly.

Very.

Slowly.

Too.

Slowly.

He breathed deeply in annoyance.

"We should look for a spot to make camp and plan our next move. We know very little of the area around us."

Spoken like a man hunting prey, not so much scouting for riches and adventure. Both were in the same realm of thinking, in his mind.

Chanoel Farver l Vetru l Scilla l Atlas Drake l

​

 

[Toby Russen]

Day One
Tags: Fenn Stag , Scilla, Chanoel Farver , Atlas Drake , etc...​

Nine wasn't going to argue with the Mandalorian. His cullture was based around killing after all. Nine had no doubts in Fenn's ability to take the life of whatever robotic creature they encountered. It was the potential for lost time that the Umbaran was concerned about. He liked to understand his enemies before hand. If a battle could be won in a single shot, Mr. Nine ensured he knew how. Of course, Nine was prepared to take other measures, but he liked to make things as quick as he possibly could. Understanding was simply one form of preparation.

"We should look for a spot to make camp and plan our next move. We know very little of the area around us."

"Can't argue with that," Nine shrugged. "Though preferably not any old hole. This may be the kindest layer, but if these machines can mimic a bantha, I wouldn't be surprised if they could take the shape of something less agreeable. Not to speak anything into existence, but I hope I'm not the only one here who's tangoed with an acklay."

Rather than expressing fear at the idea of a mechanical acklay, Nine grinned from cheek to cheek. He was already thinking about the stories he'd be able to tell, disregarding the fears that those less stalwart in the group may begin to develop.

 

[Kal]

Kal was not the quickest down, but then he had not signed on as security - that was what Mandalorians and the like were for. Not terribly useful when dealing with placid animals, necessarily, but their presence would surely be welcome once they encountered less amicable natives. Mechanised natives, presumably, but you never knew.

"I wonder what they eat." He stepped closer to the green-haired woman as she offered the Bloks some snacks, but he was eying the ground with just as much curiosity. It was still largely barren, at least in this area.

"You would think they would finish the shell before seeding it, but perhaps not. The atmosphere seems stable."

Chanoel Farver | anyone I didn't directly mention.​