Into The Silent Dark Below [Open]

[Miss Blonde]

Into The Silent Dark Below ​

Spoiler

[media] https://youtu.be/emjLXdsj6xA [/media]

The upbeat and cheerful music echoed throughout the metallic hull of the criminal drop ship. Inside were some of the worst killers and felons this galaxy had to offer, they came in every shape and size and sat calmly as the cabin rattled around their collective villainy to signal that they had broken atmosphere and were now earthbound. Led by the lawbreaking queen of the underworld herself, Miss blonde had orchestrated what was promised to be a simple job. Raid a mining facility, take some cash and strange ore, then dip out. It was all very straight forward and matter of fact; so much so that Miss Blonde herself was dressed a bit more casually than usual by forgoing the suit and tie for what looked to be a comfortable red sun dress. But what had made matters even more strange was that she wasn't wearing her infamous gas mask. Rather she wore a large pair of thick rimmed sun glasses combined with a wicker sun hat that covered most of her upper face and would of left the lower half exposed if not for a simple bandana she wore around it. The mask did get stuffy and she'd been pulling jobs with these guys for a little while now, so she could at the very least relax a little. Plus she wasn't really planning to get her hands dirty today, by the looks of her she was very pregnant and was approaching what looked to be the end of her third trimester

"So, I'm sure as you are all well aware by now that today should be pretty easy. While initial combat should be harsh considering that they've shored themselves up pretty well, once we break their line of defense it's all simply plunder from there. I trust that you guys can handle yourselves." Blonde's voice had sounded so much different without the mask on it. While her previous robotic tone sounded harsh and almost authoritarian in nature, this was quite gentle and feminine. It was off putting to say the least.

"It'll be no different from Roon or O'reen. Just leave any butchery to a more practiced hand such as mine should the need arise." Blonde then gave a soft and girlish chuckle.

As her mouth began to move to signal her next batch of words, someone in a cheap black suit and tie put his hand on her shoulder and beckoned her to rise. By the looks of him, the red headed man had almost a concerned look on his gaunt face. Miss Blonde then rose from her seat and the two pushed back towards a small hallway that connected the cockpit to the central cabin. From there the music would turn up a bit and their conversation was drowned out by the sound of strings being masterfully plucked on a guitar.

Although her face was covered from the looks of her body language, Miss Blonde was a bit pissed. Her lackey simply stood there taking the brunt of it unable to conjure what would seem to be an explanation to the short woman's line of disgruntled questions. Eventually the conversation came to a close and Blonde gave the man a pat on the shoulder before sending him back up to the cockpit. Blonde would then step in front of her men and speak in a very straightforward tone as the music eventually came to an end and silence came flooding in before being broken by her.

"It would seem that the drop ship is having a malfunction in the sensor department. Either way the job is still a go. We're touching down in thirty seconds. So expect heavy resistance!" Blonde said as she took her seat.

Thirty seconds passed quickly. It wasn't long before the calm before the storm ended and the drop ships touched down about fifty to a hundred meters out from the camp's defenses. The red light of the cabin turned green and the doors should of opened to the roaring screams of burning hot plasma entering the hull. Only they didn't. As they opened all they were greeted with was hot arid desert air and an overwhelming silence.

"The @&#%?" Blonde said as she poked her head out of one of the exits.

There wasn't a single person within the forward trench. Guns, mounted cannons, all of them just sat there unused and collecting sand that whipped into their sides from the wind.

"Fan out, with caution." And with that, they would all begin their descent into madness.

[member="Savitor Draay"] [member="Gughox"] [member="Dead Eye"] [member="Darkul Elahad"] [member="Vigil"] [member="Macoda Haberon"] [member="Halifax McCade"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Tanya Thiran"] [member="Prostices Elmnar"] [member="Baghead"] [member="Acaleus Thorn"] [member="Jynx"] [member="Keira Ticon"] [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

Whistling to himself, he swung one leg as it rested over his knee, his shades blocking the flashing lights. Tossing a knife up in the air, he seemed somewhat different, more relaxed, less stoic.

Rising as he felt the ship touch down, he looked around casually, inclining his head to the Boss as she strode past. Looking over her, he too was surprised at the emptiness he just didn't voice it. Stepping out, his tan cloak and fatigues blended in seamlessly, of course, it was more helpful when there were people shooting at you.

"Freaky."

[member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Xiarr Sair]

The upbeat music was a nice touch, especially for the job Xiarr was about to partake in. It was your typical Syndicate mission, break in, Blonde take cares of her business, and she retrieves an important item for an employer only known to Blonde herself. To say she was an interesting character was an understatement. One minute she'll free slaves, the next she'll commit mass murder. Xiarr preferred when she was a little more merciful, but he doubted any of the other mercenaries would agree.

Maybe Xiarr was wrong about this mission after all, as Blonde wasn't even wearing her gas mask, and it was quite clear she was in the later stages of pregnancy. As to who her husband was, Xiarr didn't even want to know. Xiarr hadn't brought much with him, as he didn't expect this mission to be much of a problem. He brought his beskar armor which he usually used during large scale conflicts, his Drifter Class Shotgun, and his trusty old lightsaber. Xiarr looked up to see Blonde walking away with some man in a cheap looking black suit. She came back a minute later and announced that the dropship was having sensor malfunctions, that shouldn't be much of a problem, right?

When the doors opened, there was nothing in sight. All of the posts were abandoned with nobody in sight. Xiarr at first thought that it had to be some sort of weird type of ambush, but after thinking it through it couldn't have been. Xiarr activated his lightsaber and slowly moved out of the dropship, sticking close to the rest of the group.

[member="Miss Blonde"]
[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Matreya]

Dark stood with arms crossed, his loosely fitted white formal shirt exposing the flesh of his chest beneath arms, and moved as he listened to the words of his father. The man was nearly three millenia old, and it showed in his knowledge of how things progressed in many aspects of life.

"Yes, father. I understand. There will be enemies, and blood will be shed. You need not worry though. I do not go on this mission alone." Dark said, then dipping low in a bow, he backed a step, turned on his heel to curtly leave the room. Within the armory he positioned himself before the frame holding his armors..

"No." He murmured with a shake of the head, then chose a an ornate Nodashi blade customized for his selection, as it also held a Nagamaki long hilt. For most it was a big weapon, to long the strokes, to oddly weighted. Yet he wielded it as most would a simpler weapon. The position for two handed uses, allowed for an impossibly heavy blow, while the length let him reach out and touch another being from a distance.

Sheathed, with a beautiful cord that could either attach it tightly to his hip, or to his back, he chose neither and held it about a third of the way down past the guard of the blade.

A few hours later he was with another landing a craft, the pilot then gesturing that he was able to get off. Now clad in a thick padded suit of armorweave, he rose silently, slid a half-helm on, and departed.

Next came yet another trip from now Point B to Point C. Quiet as death, the Sanguine did not move save to lightly place the tip of Dinok, the blade, against the ship floor, the pommel against his form. Then they landed.

Pressing a button near his ear on his half-helm, his HUD came to life and he followed the pregnant one, still carrying the long blade in one hand.

 

[Vigil]

Vigil, under his new code name 'Orwell', had plenty of reason to come along for yet another job alongside Blonde. He was growing quite fond of her methodology, she was quite the honorable thief. Or at the least, she was good at pretending to play the role. As per usual, he'd come in his favorite Kel-Dor disguise, this donning a fake suit rather than anything reasonable for combat. The AI was still finding a good identity to play, and it was growing more and more common for him to shift form, even within missions. Most of the mercenaries still didn't know who he really was under his disguise, for all they knew 'Orwell' was many people. And honestly, that was how he liked it to be.

Taking the distinctive series 44 here would be pointless, and as such he loaded his series 9 out, the sleek handgun being loaded with a full clip of explosive rounds, meant to produce higher kinetic damage to a target. He was fully prepared for conflict the moment the ship opened doors..

Yet silence. The AI was quick to begin scanning his surroundings, noting a distinct lack of life. In fact, he noticed other, more minor details as he approached the first trench. He knelt down, observing a great stretch of the inside, before looking to the few emplacements he could see. "The sand is even." His voice was transmitted to those using comlinks on their secured channel, and anyone in earshot could hear him even more clearly. "It's been collecting rather evenly across the ground. I'd be willing to estimate the trench has been unoccupied for at least an hour... perhaps two."

Curious. He unholstered the series 44, holding the series 9 in his left hand and the 44, distinctive revolver in his right. Something strange had happened... as a being of knowledge it was his job to find out what.

[member="Darkul Elahad"] | [member="Xiarr Sair"] | [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] | [member="Miss Blonde"]

 

[Arctorius]

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] [member="Charles"] Ford [member="Darkul Elahad"] [member="Vigil"] [member="Miss Blonde"]

Savitor had been ready to fight, but it seemed there was something amiis, all the defensive positions were abandoned, strange, this was a mine. Most mines that had defenses actually had people manning them, this one it seemed did not. But that did nothing to stop Savitor from fanning out along with the rest of the crew. All was silent as the grave. And there was not a sound except for th crunch of sand beneath shoes.

 

[Poe]

​The Mando outlaw could only take so much of the music, before switching off his audio receptors on his helmet; and begun humming the new song by Sprittney Bears silently to himself. He soon found himself entrenched in the song that his head began to bounce to the beat, while his hands began to spin around in circles; with the occasional pause and finger point before returning to their spinning gesture. He was unaware the others were looking at him with dropped jaws and confused expressions. When he stopped his one-man idol rendition, he noticed it was time to leave the drop ship for glory and treasure.

​He walked behind the others, his hands twitchy to grab his dual pistols. Something seemed off kilter about this scenario. It was all to quiet. Activating the scanner built into his right gauntlet, he began collecting data in the form of minerals in the sand. Glancing occasionally at the data pad on the left gauntlet, the results from the scan produced mixed results. Some of the minerals were identifiable, while others where unknown to the galaxy. He squatted taking a small sample of the sand for further studies. He knew a well funded scientist who would pay triple the fee he was receiving for this job for this sand.

​He arrived at the trenches, which where void of activity. Something was amiss here. With the order to 'fan out with caution' was given, he detached himself from the group, drawing his pistols, and began searching the trenches. A white something was protruding from the san dnear one of the gun mounts. Again he squatted and pulled the item from the sand.

​"One mystery might have been solved."

​Standing up, he began waving a rib bone for the others to see. Halifax assessed that other bones would be discovered under the sand, but since this was not an archeology mission, he threw the bone back into the sand. He walked slowly through the trenches, examining the mounted weapons. He was unsure of the others, but he began to think they might have stumbled upon something that would test each individual's meddle and skill set.



[member="Miss Blonde"] l [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] l [member="CharlesFord"] l [member="Darkul Elahad"] l [member="Vigil"] l [member="Savitor Draay"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

Dust filled wind whipped across arid desert land and up above the heat of this planet's sun bared down upon the felons. Wiping her own brow clear of sweat and desert grime, Blonde was beginning to regret not bringing her mask. It would of been capable of confirming her suspicion that this was all simply some kind of elaborate ruse or ambush, something that could of easily been explained and then solved by flushing these people out. Because over a thousand workers and two hundred soldiers didn't just disappear over the course of an hour without her at least her getting some form of notification. These things just didn't happen unless this crew of people were the most elite miners and mercenaries the Galaxy had to offer, but even then why leave the guns behind? The hardware laying around was worth thousands of credits alone.

"Unit 34 dash B! Scan the location and facility." Blonde ordered one of her droids and soon the War Dog followed through with a comprehensive scan of the surrounding area.

A few seconds passed and the mechanical being had crunched the data given to him. Facing Blonde the droid spoke and gave her the information as requested.

"It appears that there is a single life form inside the facility. Scanners read as human." The robot said and then went about his business.

"See? A scout waiting to lure us in and ambush us. Well I say &#%@ that guy! Take a personal shield generator off a War Dog and push inside. If they set off an explosion or ambush then you'll be covered! Find me that scout! Blonde once more gave her orders to the group at large.

Advancing forward Blonde and her group of mercenaries and Syndicate members crossed the trenches and pushed towards the mining facility. Whatever the hell was happening here, Blonde was far from amused by it. In fact she was at the point of aggravation that when they reached the facility, she had ordered her droids to blow the door down and move in guns blazing. So when teams of battle droids stacked up on the doors, a loud explosion of det chord echoed off the walls and blew the entryway doors in with violent destruction.

But when the smoke cleared what lay inside wasn't what Blonde had expected, not at all. Strewn throughout the lobby, halls, and loading areas, there were crates of credits, strange rocks, and hover lifts, as if the people here were in quite the hurry to leave. Only rather than depart, the occupants had just vanished. There was no trace of life other than the single signature, and growing concerns and clouded thoughts began to convulse in the deep regions of the crime lord's mind.

"Mister Orwell, use your scanners and get me that scout. The rest of you. Find me something, @&#%ing anything that helps explain this. I want answers and I want them yesterday." Starting to grow more disgruntled the woman tasked [member="Vigil"] with finding whoever was lurking around here.

Perhaps they had fled to the mine? Maybe there was a leak in the organization and they caught wind that it was none other than Miss Blonde approaching. She had gartered a name for herself in acts of villainy as of late. Hell, she herself was a big fan of wholesale slaughter and then relaxing with a drink served out of the skulls of her enemies. She wouldn't blame them for running and hiding down below where it was safe and more than likely out of the range of sensors. She was probably worried over nothing. This was all just one big surrender so that these people could keep their pathetic little lives. The one guy remaining was probably just a messenger to formally surrender to her.

But that was just a pretty little thought, now was it?

[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Darkul Elahad"] [member="Vigil"] [member="Savitor Draay"] [member="Halifax McCade"]

 

[Jynx]

[member="Miss Blonde"] | [member="Halifax McCade"] | [member="Savitor Draay"] | [member="Vigil"] | [member="Darkul Elahad"] | [member="Xiarr Sair"] | [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

Jynx sat on one end of the box-like droid as it quietly hovered above the sands with her legs hanging off the side. Nothing changed on the horizon as she lazily turned her gaze to the same places once more. Still, she looked again.Not out of a sense to meticulously complete the job, she was bored. Real bored.
Next to scanning the horizon for a seemingly non-existent threat, she spent just about as much time admiring the sands gently parting as the droid hovered over it.

There wasn't much fun in waiting outside the facility and expecting somebody to show up. But then again it wasn't about how appealing it was outside. She just didn't want to be inside an unknown facility which made every part of her body scream out in alarm. It's been a while since she's felt like this about something, but this gut-feeling or whatever it was, kept Jynx out of trouble. Or at least the kinds that don't pay.

 

[Matreya]

Dark paused. His body ached, his head thumped. UV refracting was bothersome for a Sanguiniun, in spite of the glare block of his helm it was as if nothing was stopping the light of the sun. Currently his hooded and padded body allowed zero UV contact, and yet it hurt him, slowed him, dulled his senses. Yet even with that, he was likely faster than any man present, and definitely was stronger physically. Though, it was in cases that an inexperienced man made mistakes, relying on attributes not available to them any longer.

He needed to get out of the sun.

Dark slowly inhaled, held it for a bare moment as he moved his free hand into position over the pommel of Dinok. Exhaling in a swift bout, he also drew the massive blade in a swift slashing swing, while concentrating briefly to activate the Force Aura of his blade. A secondary cut, followed quickly by a third had a searing hot traingle cut into the wall of the factory. Stepping through, Dark briefly blocked his face with his arm as a blinding light began from nearby.

Blonde had ordered the doors blown, while Dark in his walk and went around to the side of the building.

Returning the blade to its rightful home at his side, Dark listened to the orders barked at them. It irritated him immensely that someone did so, yet she was in charge here, and while he was acting Commander for the Warriors of Elahad, he also knew what it was like to obey. She was not making dangerous calls, or anything like that. It was simply the pride of a noble, he decided.

No longer in the sunlight, and also turned now from all sunlight sources, Dark's mind began to calm, and his body already began to bolster to its usual strengths. Thus it was that he took a breath, then paused, "Something's... Something's wrong." Dark swiftly took off his half-helm, and took in a deep breath. While most Sanguiniun were enhanced in every sense, he was not as much, and yet with lacking in the rest, his sense of smell exceeded that of most apex predators.

Another tentative sniff confirmed the confusion, "Something came through here, scared the men away. I smell.. Fear. An intense fear.. Blood, maybe, but its odd blood.. Maybe the men wounded who or what came through." He murmured into his com after slipping the helm back into place.

[member="Jynx"] [member="Miss Blonde"] [member="Halifax McCade"] [member="Savitor Draay"] [member="Vigil"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Poe]

​Halifax took the personal shield as ordered by his boss, then proceeded to enter the facility. His mouth began to water uncontrollably at the sight of all the goodies left behind, just waiting patiently to be claimed by this lot. But the Mando outlaw had seen such a display before. This was similar to a ruse to be quickly escalated into a methodically planned ambush. Looking around the entrance way, there wasn't any viable positions for an ambush to be sprung. Still, he wasn't taking any risks until he knew for sure this facility was completely cleared out.

​Once again, he moved away from the group looking for anything useful for his boss. Stalking through the rows of crates, he noticed unusual foot print patterns. He had been on quite a few hunting expeditions before turning to a life of crime and adventure, so he knew hundreds of different prints; and these were not ones he was familiar with. He took a picture of them, uploading the picture to his database. Crouching down, he outlined the prints with his hand, and then he noticed something even more unusual. Some of the patterns were made by upright individuals while at times some of the patterns resembled individuals moving across on four-legs.

​While still in his crouch, he noticed some of the crates had deep scratch marks in them, while some had the signs of blood splatter. Leaning closer, he took out his small dagger and carved something out from one of the grooves. Holding the item between his armored fingers, he saw it was a claw. Voice activating his helmet's com link, he sent a message to one of the War Dogs, who in return would send a message to [member="Miss Blonde"]​.

​Message To War Dog:

​Boss, I found blood splatter on some of the crates east of your location and what appears to be some rather unique footprints. I've uploaded an image that is attached to this message for your viewing pleasure. Also, I found a claw shaped in a curvature design. Pic of this included as well.

​HM



[member="Jynx"] l [member="Darkul Elahad"] l

 

[Tanya Thiran]

Tanya didn't understand. All was silent, aside from the mercenaries and wardogs exploring. But... something felt off in the force. She just couldn't put her finger on it, but something was most definitely off. There was also fear and death in the force. It didn't feel right, something, or someone had done something. The sheer strangeness of the situation added to her confusion. The defenses were there, but unmanned, and now there was no one. This was a mine with thousands of people working in it, and hundreds of soldiers defending it. But.... Tanya only sensed the mercenaries, aside from Orwell. If that was his real name. Tanya had had sneaking suspicions about him, and never really trusted him. What was he hiding...?

The young woman shook her head, telling herself that she shouldn't trust him anyway, he was after all, a merc. Still, she felt paranoid, and began constantly checking over her shoulder, even though she was alone, she could feel.... something.... nearby. Tanya just couldn't tell hat it was.

[member="Halifax McCade"] [member="Darkul Elahad"] [member="Jynx"] [member="Miss Blonde"] [member="Savitor Draay"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Vigil"] [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Matreya]

Honing on the blood splatter found by a comrade, Dark crouched down low to the blood as well. He needn't a deep whiff to know he spelled the scent just the same as across the room. Much like his ally, he had been on many hunting missions - he was a Sanguiniun Vampirika for godssake... But this was new.

A scent lingered near the blood, making him pause in his belief he had discerned all he could. Wiping a finger through the liquid, he brought it to his nose, "Adrenal excretions. A powerful form of adrenaline." Dark murmured, his fangs evident as his mouth worked through the words.

"What should we make of this, Miss Blonde?" Dark asked, after pressing down a button on his helm. Then he switched by dropping the helm onto a hook on his belt, before activating the speaker in his ear, which was paired to the mic on his collar. Next he drew back his hood, revealing the crimson glow of his eyes which became evident as he tapped into his Force abilities. He was not Sith as many commonly interpreted.

Rather his eyes shown as they would, regardless of intention or emotion driving said factor.

However, they began to glow now as he used Farsight. Some utilized the ability as a means of seeing into the future, or predicting a turn of battle. Instead he used it as a means of tracking, of seeing the movements of his opponents... However his power fell short. His mind lingered around corners, examining his immediate surroundings, but found none.

[member="Jynx"] [member="Miss Blonde"] [member="Halifax McCade"] [member="Savitor Draay"] [member="Vigil"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] [member="Tanya Thiran"]

 

[Vigil]

Vigil entered the building calmly, offering [member="Miss Blonde"] a small nod as he walked past, his scanners locating the individual in question. Curious, the only signal was coming from a broom closet. He swapped his weapon's clip out, loading a clip full of mercy bullets, which couldn't kill, and proceeded closer and closer. The series 9 and 44 were aimed at the door, as the AI slowly opened the closet... it was completely unlocked of course. Why wouldn't it be? It was a broom closet, not a safe house.

There was a small patter, and the droid glanced down at a puddle of blood. Curious... curious... he leveled the Series 9 to the figure in the room, what looked to be a janitor perhaps, a fragile thing of a man murmuring incoherent nonsense as Vigil entered. "Your heart is racing, and your body is perspiring. You're panicking... tell me what has happened." The calm, even tone of Vigil asked, before even the AI had to pause in his stride.

The man had turned his head to him, and where once the janitor had clearly had eyes was, well, it was fortunate that the man must've put bandages on before descending into madness. They were stained red, as were his hands. His murmuring continued, and now Vigil could see more of the man's features. Gray beard, thinning hair, every nerve in their body seemingly twitching at random as his lips continued the incoherent sentences of nonsense. Either he had rediscovered an old language, or spoke only gibberish.

Vigil lowered the series 44, putting it away as he lifted his hand, mimicking a comlink. "Blonde, it's Orwell. I found a man, looks like custodian staff. He's severely damaged and in a panic, and speaking nonsense. Something has him in a critical state, would you like me to bring him in for questioning? His heart rate is spiking.. and his body is twitching like he can't control it."

[member="Miss Blonde"] | [member="Darkul Elahad"] | [member="Tanya Thiran"] | [member="Halifax McCade"] | [member="Savitor Draay"] |[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] | [member="Xiarr Sair"] | [member="Jynx"]

 

[Miss Blonde]

What the others had brought her only raised more questions. McCade had found a paw print and some blood splatter, though only one instance of this was not going to confirm that these people were wiped out. It was more than likely some beast kept on the premises, the staff here did have watch dogs after all. These people must of been hiding in the mines, and Blonde wanted answers. So when Vigil called her that took priority over everyone else, he had found their scout and he seemed to be acting irrational from what the droid told her. Either way if he was conscious, insane, or dying she'd get her answers out of him.

Without bothering to reply to Vigil she made a personal visit to see this janitor and when she laid eyes upon the poor soul it was clear to her that something had gone down here. With just one look she could see his torment. The pale skin, blood running down his eyes, and what looked to be a constant look of hyperawareness to the point of constant chills and knee jerk twitch filled reactions. She had seen this is junkies on Nar Shaddaa who had lost their mind to the chemical persuasion of spice, there was no helping them. Just like there would be no helping this man.

So with the gentle and loving touch of a mother, the woman shooed Vigil away then placed her hands slowly on the sides of the janitor's face. Softly stroking his cheeks of blood and grime, the woman pushed his eyes up to make him gaze upon her while she asked her questions. Just what exactly was going on? Where did everyone go?

"Pete." Blonde read the man's name tag in a soft tone.

The man's maddened eyes looked to her when she called his name. His pupils dilated and soon he let out a loud and painful scream followed by torrents of mad giggling laughter. It had caused Blonde to take a step back and push the man away. When the janitor hit the ground he continued his scream filled laugh of utter insanity before a loud crack was heard. Bending his back the man shot straight up as if the Re-Animator had brought him back from the grave.

"You stand now at the edge of the abyss. The stygian world of yawning blackened beyond that knows not time nor reason. For it is madness, pure unholy enlightening ancient madness that grasps the hearts and minds of lesser men. There is no escaping its yearning pull, no gods can save you now." Speaking in a calm and rational voice, the janitor then pulled a box cutter from his uniform.

Backing away five to six feet to put distance between them, the crime lord pulled her pistol and thrummed back the hammer with a cold metallic cocking noise. She was rather determined not to be cut today by a crazed custodian.

"He waits for you. He waits for all of you. I go now to be with him, into the silent dark below." Pressing the box cutter up to his throat, Blonde raised a hand upwards in protest.

"NO WAIT!!" But it was too late.

From ear to ear the man dragged the blade across his throat cleanly slicing through skin and flesh until fresh crimson blood spilled onto the floor. A crazed smile never left his face the whole time he opened his jugular, not a once did it vanish. Even his blood shot eyes remained focused never failing leave [member="Vigil"] or Blonde. And when he had died, his arms fell to the side and his corpse relaxed onto its knees to keep him upright with his head slumped over. The box cutter then slowly dropped from his grasp and hit the ground with a shallow clank.

"@&#% me, dude." Blonde said as she backed away slowly putting away her pistol.

"Well nothing to read into there." using what humor she could to deflect the @&#%ed up thing that had just happened, Blonde would find a seat nearby and took a load off.

Letting the moment sink in for a bit she took a deep breath before letting out a huff of air. Something needed to be done. Something had happened here and they needed to get to the bottom of it. Was the rock dangerous? Did it have some kind of mind altering property? Was this man a rogue incident? Where was everyone else? She needed to figure this out and fast, or else they might be in serious danger. Now there was only one way to find out, she needed volunteers.

"I need volunteers." She said evenly throughout the comms.

"For all we know everything here could be contaminated with some sort of agent or naturally occurring poison that caused this guy to go crazy. It could be the rocks, could be something came through in the last hour. Some bloody Sith Lord or something, I don't know. But what I do know is that a thousand people don't just vanish. So I need a group to go down into the mines. Only for a few minutes to scan for life signs and potential toxins. Maybe there was some sort of gas leak coming up from the crust. So whose going?" Blonde then sat back and waited for any response.

That was the first step to all of this. Get samples, and test them. See if the people here were still alive, and if they were then try and pry some answers out of them. Otherwise whatever had caused what's his face to lose his mind, might cause them to do the same. They all could of been infected and leaving right now could put their families in harms way.

[OOC PLEASE READ]

Spoiler

So we'll be starting the descent into Lovecraftian horror and what not. So I just want you guys to know all the action will be happening down below and I intend to leave Blonde out of it so I can focus on writing scenarios solely for you guys. If your character decides to stay up above then the story is basically over for you. Those who venture down is when the real fun begins.

[member="Vigil"] [member="Darkul Elahad"] [member="Tanya Thiran"] [member="Halifax McCade"] [member="Jynx"] [member="Savitor Draay"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]

 

[Nate Phantoms]

[member="Miss Blonde"]

He sat there, following along, only tacking notes on what was interesting. Everything else really just there; no major value or interest. That was until they found Pete. The way she cooed at the man was a little unnerving, a side he'd never actually seen before. Just a black suit and the reflective surface of her mask.

Watching the blood pool around the man after he slumped onto the floor, he thought to himself. Not much scared him, but that was out right freaky. Such a calm voice, but such distressed eyes, a confusing duo.

It was then he heard about the Boss needing volunteers, and his head snapped up. Curiosity had started to gnaw at him as well, only prompting him on even more. Turning around, he made sure his weapons were within easy reach as he replied.

"I got point."

[member="Vigil"], [member="Darkul Elahad"], [member="Tanya Thiran"] [member="Halifax McCade"], [member="Jynx"], [member="Savitor Draay"], [member="Xiarr Sair"]

 

[Jynx]

Jynx turned towards the facility. She'd felt something. Soon after, Blonde has set out the call for 'volunteers'. That definitely wasn't a coincidence.
There was definitely something wrong about this. But despite whatever her intuition was telling her this time, her boredom had gotten the better of her. That and the fact that she wasn't getting paid to sunbathe and babysit the dropship.

Having the droid speed her into the facility, there didn't seem to be any signs of a trap. Rather, it was as if they all just... left.

A bit further along and she came upon the scene of interest.
"Oh my that's quite unfortunate."

[member="Vigil"] | [member="Darkul Elahad"] | [member="Tanya Thiran"] | [member="Halifax McCade"] | [member="Savitor Draay"] | [member="Xiarr Sair"] | [member="Miss Blonde"] | @Nate the Bounty Hunter

 

[Xiarr Sair]

The entire thing was unsettling, to say the least. From the insane sole survivor to the fact that an entire fortress was abandoned over the course of an hour, it just wasn't right, and Xiarr could sense something was off. At first, he could just sense the other mercenaries as usual, but then he felt a lingering darkness. It came from everywhere, making it impossible to put a finger on the exact source of this presence. The "best" case scenario is that this was the work of some darkside cult, worst case scenario... he didn't even want to think about it. The janitor had also mentioned that "he" was waiting for them. Now, there was, even more, questions floating around in Xiarr's head, but he knew that it was best to not focus on his ever-looming questions.

Blonde then asked for volunteers to go down into the mines. Xiarr knew that the dark presence would only get stronger down there, and this wouldn't last just for a few minutes as Blonde said so. "Okay... I'll go, as long as there's somebody watching my back."

[member="Jynx"]
[member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"]
[member="Miss Blonde"]
[member="Vigil"]
[member="Darkul Elahad"]
[member="Tanya Thiran"]
[member="Halifax McCade"]
[member="Savitor Draay"]

 

[Matreya]

Dark listened from his position, through their coms, as Blonde met with the survivor. When the man took his own life, Blonde asked for volunteers. It was the right call at this point. Sending your whole team, well it could end badly. Asking a man to risk his life was better than commanding it without knowledge of what would be faced.

Then the other man said he had point. Another agreed to go as well.

Dark began calmly into the mic, as he moved toward their position, "I will join the other on point. I am a natural hunter, plus my physical capabilities surpass the norm at a general level. I can smell better than anyone, and my strength makes me a powerful asset. I can likely smell approaching enemies and be a great wall for waves to bash against." By now he was with the rest of them, he then gestured to Dinok, "Not to mention my massive reach can keep anything at bay if ever there needs to be a retreat."

Most would not willingly allow themselves to be a means of retreat, especially for beings they had never met. But it was a matter of honor. Dark had agreed to come on this mission and would do everything in his power to perform to the best. Completiom was the goal, thus why aim for anything less?

Dark then dropped to his haunches, extending his reach to grab at the body. Pulling him close, Dark sunk fangs to flesh. The razor that was his fangs sunk like a hot knife through butter into the dying flesh. The body took several minutes to actually perish, up to sevem sometimes, thus he drank from the dying man. It was not his most pleasurable meal, no, but it would bolster his strengths. His healing would return to what it could be at best, rather than the weakened state from being under the sun light.

[member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Jynx"] [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] [member="Miss Blonde"] [member="Vigil"] [member="Tanya Thiran"] [member="Halifax McCade"] [member="Savitor Draay"]

 

[Tanya Thiran]

To go down... there? Force sensitive would be the most vulnerable mentally to what the fear drove these miners out, but they would be prepared the most, as they could sense what ever was coming. Besides, [member="Xiarr Sair"], would Tanya had come to enjoy the presence of over the course of their many missions with Blonde, had volunteered. So, why not?

"I'll go down. Force users will be able to fight this.... thing. Even if it uses ambush tactics."

[member="Darkul Elahad"] [member="Xiarr Sair"] [member="Jynx"] [member="Nate the Bounty Hunter"] [member="Miss Blonde"] [member="Vigil"]