Populate Outbound Flight: The Darkness Within [THR Populate of Adras]

[Pillar of Freedom]

This thread is open to all High Republic writers. Any character can assume the right to visit the flight, create your own reason!

Objective 1: Partner up with someone and share creepy visions of what if, or memories corrupted by a looming darkness.

Objective 2: Investigate the ominous ancient machine that sits in orbit over a Force dead gas giant.
You will be taking the first steps into a larger, more dangerous reality.

The crew and visitors aboard the Outbound Flight look out over the circumplanetary disk of a newly discovered gas giant.

Resting in orbit just above the planetary disk, is a mysterious object.

Reports begin coming in from the crew. Restlessness. Unease. Sleepless night cycles.

Something about this place, feels wrong. Madness seems to lurk at the fraying edges of the crews every waking thought.

The monolithic artefact orbiting the world was the sole reason for the Outbound Flight to drop from warp. Now, the boarding party has found its way inside.

Through a single small, entry hatch, they stepped into an empty, cavernous void where gravity feels like an afterthought.

A single, rusted catwalk stretches into the dark, leading toward a machine of ancient, impossible geometry.

It hums with a frequency that vibrates in the marrow of their bones. And there, at the edge of the shadows...lurks an unnamed presence.

Pre threads: One Small Step and Humanity By Proxy​

 

[Dominic Praxon]

Objective 1:

The shuttle’s engines flared quietly against the dark expanse of the circumplanetary disk, a subtle hiss that seemed unnervingly loud in the silence of the docking bay. Dominic’s hands were folded behind his back, fingers pressing against the small of his spine, as he waited. The shadows clung to the corners of the room, deeper than the overhead lights should allow, curling into shapes that teased the edges of perception.

The crew’s murmurs of unease, their restless pacing, had not yet reached him. He had dismissed aides, reassigned tasks, all to ensure that no one could trace this meeting beyond the necessary supply run. And yet, there was a weight in the air, something almost tactile, that pressed against the back of his eyes and damped his thoughts.

His mind wandered in fragments. Half-formed memories taunted him every moment. Sleep had become a luxury denied, and the yawning hours under the gas giant’s oppressive presence gnawed at him. Something lurked at the edges of his consciousness, a whispering presence that might have been real, or might have been nothing more than his own exhaustion spinning into shadows.

The hatch hissed, announcing the shuttle’s arrival. Dominic turned, shoulders rigid, and met the quiet, impossible elegance of the figure stepping down. Dominic inclined his head, voice low, measured. “We must make this quick,” he said.

His eyes flicked briefly to the viewport, where the gas giant churned in muted red and gold, a maelstrom of shadows and light. Somewhere in that swirling haze, in the orbiting monolith, the future of the Outbound Flight, and perhaps something far older, far darker, was waiting.

And yet, standing here, alone in preparation for this meeting, he felt it. The dread threading through his own blood. The certainty that nothing about this encounter would be ordinary. Nothing. Not with what lurked beyond the ship, and not with her.

Quinn Varanin​

​

 

[Tatiana Sah]

Objective II​

A figure cast in silver, wrapped in black, and adorned with a green leather jacket for 'character' crouched slightly to avoid striking its head against the top of the entry hatch. The feminine form stepped onto the catwalk and away from the hatch to allow others to follow. Its silver faceplate slowly turned to take in the full breadth and height of the visible surfaces before them.

"Curious." Tatiana's voice carried over the commlink for those wearing helmets, and was broadcast audibly for those without. "While the environment appears breathable, I recommend taking precautions." It was a most intrusing architectural design, and the fact it wasn't utterly inhospitable was noteworthy. So much so, she wondered if anyone really should be there without an EVA suit of some kind.

If there was time, Tatiana would try to take a molecular sample for study. Perhaps material taken off one of the surfaces. Nearer the machine might prove better; if something had left behind evidence of their passage it would be there wouldn't it?

Speaking of which, her faceplate turned in the direction of the machine. The resonance frequency it was emitting was more striking than the air sample, of course, but it had been important to reassure her fellow boarders whether it was safe to proceed. Considering exposure to space and organic residues were less of a concern for her, Tatiana had volunteered to go first. A needless precaution this time, but what were the Jedi participants of Outbound Flight if not to serve such a role?

Open​

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Dominic Praxon //:
//: Objective 1 //:
//: Attire //:

The shuttle settled into the hangar of the ship. As much as Quinn liked being involved, this was a bit too involved. She only knew as much as her contact wanted to tell her, and knowing her luck, this was a trap waiting to be sprung. The Republic, though, despite its flaws, had been upfront with her; the conversation with Sibylla still weighed on her mind.

Quinn leaned back into her seat with a click of her tongue. She hated how much the woman had left her exposed. How long will it take for her to cover it all up again? Quinn groaned again as she waited to be allowed to leave. The faster this conversion occurs, the faster she can head back to…

"Safe to disembark." The steward nodded towards the woman, offering his hand as aid. Quinn took it and smiled softly. Everyone aboard knew who she was, what she was, but she had been kind for the most part, so they were in return.

Either out of fear or out of kindness.

It didn't take long for her to arrive down the ramp; she looked neither Sith nor Jedi — instead, today she was an invested businesswoman, another mask to add to the plethora of identities.

"You sure know how to greet a lady, Senator." She smiled weakly at him. Her eyes lingered on the brow, the tension in his frame — something more was at play. Instantly, her suspicions played along her mind until something in her chest thumped.

Quinn cleared her throat, a hand covering her lips as she looked away. Something lingered and weighed heavily here. She could feel it now as her attention was drawn to it. The phobis device, it ached, twisting, clawing to get to what lingered. It was familiar, perhaps? Something like kin to it.

Dread called to it, the darkness…

She blinked and smiled again. "Sorry, I have never done well in space; it can be dreadfully cold." Her eyes glanced around before settling back on the Senator.

"Well, if it needs to be quick — let's get right to it."