[MISSION LOG] GET IN THE CAR

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: Avera 9
WHEN: Day :156 - 160
SUMMARY: Welcome to the jungle muddy junk pile in space. Avera 9, pt.1
WARNINGS: None; will edit if necessary.

THERE IS AN EXPECTATION that all hosts meet on the flight deck; that much is obvious on waking - something that, strangely, all new hosts seem to have done at the same time. Pack your things, says a gut sensation. It's time to go somewhere different.

ONCE ASSEMBLED, it isn't long before Prince and Cathaway make their own appearances. They have a set of kits with them - one for each young host - and a square that unfolds into a data pad with mission details. Each kit contains some of the materials hosts will find helpful for their assignment, and the equipment is not to be traded away or sold, Prince explains. The rest, Cathaway adds, will be provided once travel is complete. And then it's time to get underway. Today that means piling into a sleek, arrow shaped ship with plenty of space to carry personnel and equipment. There are a number of bikes lashed in the cargo area, places for hosts to stow their things, and enough seating at each side of the carrier's interior for hosts to be comfortable. It's a short trip, Cathaway assures and then makes her way with Prince to the cockpit. Today, they're coming with.

Initial checks. Engines go. The landing circular landing pad under the ship turns, lowering down into the flight deck floor as it goes. The ship comes with it, descending into the cool dark depths of the Station. There's a shudder as it locks into the launch tube, as the channel overhead is sealed; there is no countdown, just a pulsing moment of anticipation-- and then rocketing, teeth rattling momentum and a bright, hot flash of joy as the ship is projected from the Station - as it sears through time and space and a hundred versions of the same universe until it comes to rest here: smacked out into real space hung above a murky brown planet, clearly visible through the massive viewscreen at the front of the ship.

It's a good thing there's not much to look at; Cathaway doesn't waste time before deftly setting a course, slicing down through upper atmosphere with hardly a shudder from the knife point shaped ship. The planet comes up rapidly and a hum passes through the carrier as it lowers - cresting down through dark clouds to be battered by rainfall and the cross cutting of wind. But it flies steady, sure, and in time they streak at ground level across muddy flatlands and massive stone slabs - skim across inert bodies of water in the slow process of expanding from the constant sluggish rainfall.

The ship eventually comes to rest in the middle of what must be a massive valley; it sets down with hardly a shiver, then something clangs loud and the ramp at the rear descends. Cathaway unhooks her harness and rises from the pilot's seat.

"Here we are. Be well and do well; try not to kill anyone." Yourselves included, being the unspoken addendum. "Make sure to return here at the specified time. We can't extend our time table to account for stragglers."

There is a pause before Prince adds, with an edge of silent reluctance, “If you find yourselves in a situation you cannot handle, call and we will come.”

And then you're free to go wherever you like. Welcome to Avera 9.


(click to zoom; blue is water; yellow is lowlands/flood plains/etc; green is higher, drier terrain; brown is for ridges/high ground)

---

((OOC Notes: You'll notice that this log only covers the first few days of the mission; this is to allow for player character decision making to effect the back half of the mission. That said, feel free to make your own logs and posts on the IC community as you see fit - just be aware that dating past day :160 may get a little wonky depending on how events proceed!

If you have any mission specific questions, direct them to the OOC post here. For exploration and salvage discovery, we've decided to give players a largely free rein for what items can be found. However, if you want specific mod-generated items for your characters to stumble across during their salvaging, feel free to use THIS thread to request that!))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[decommission]

[ Steve is going to grimace his way through being a human ladder and hold on for dear life, ignoring the shredding pain in his leg as those claws sink in.

At least he can't look down at this point. ]

[onemind]

[Karlon shreds his way up Steve's leg, up his middle - scrambling across him in time for the first bodyguard to gingerly make their way within reach. At the last moment, Karlon lunges for the outstretched arm the guard offers, using Steve as a springboard in the pouring rain to get there.

A hiss - from the bodyguard as Karlon's claws sink into his forearm too. Then Karlon gives him roughly the same treatment as Steve: climbs up and over him to reach the next guard, and finally - trembling and bloodied (his own and a combination from the people he crawled up) - comes slithering up over the promenade ledge and is helped across the rail by his waiting cohorts to sprawl on the flooded paving stones, panting and glaring daggers at Hux and Kylo Ren.]

How dare you! I'll have you skinned!

[It's not a terribly effective threat when all but delivered from the ground, is it? Meanwhile, on the cliff face the bodyguard nearest Steve ducks his square head in the sluicing rain - long tongue tasting the air, the scent of copper blood quickly being diluted. He reaffirms his foothold then extends his bloodied arm down to Steve as well.]

[narcissithstic]

[Soaked through with rain and limned with that vivid red light, Ren says nothing. Instead he meets Karlon's threat with the fixed stare of a hungry predator: unblinking, unflinching and underscored by a mechanical drive to kill. That the Force adds to it— draws out his silhouette into something indescribably more gruesome— is entirely subconscious. Habit from years spent attempting to strike fear into the more resilient hearts that dared to defy the First Order.

Still, he stays. Watches. Waits]

[exhuxperation]

[ Hux doesn't even have to turn to know that Ren is in full intimidation mode. He can feel the weird crawl of the Force, a buffer against his form. Swallowing, he momentarily splits his attention, a vague pain coming through the connection when he thinks of Steve. ]

( Ren. Steve is going to need help– I don't know if that cliff face is going to hold. )

[ Immediately after, he turns his gaze to Karlon, expression approaching neutral. Though not without a tinge of coldness, considering they've all just been threatened. ]

It would be better if you placed importance in getting medical attention. For yourself and your men. Regardless of how this transaction began, we've no further interest in causing more trouble.

[decommission]

[ The claws are like needles up his side, but it's the weight of Karlon and his push to the guard that makes Steve finally start to lose his grip, one hand and both feet slipping from there holding place against the slick rocks. His heart pounds in his ears as the world seems to move in slow motion, his boot sliding uselessly against a foothold that isn't there anymore.

Without thinking whether the guard means to throw him down the rest of the way, he reaches up for the claw extending toward him. ]

[onemind]

[His clawed hand closes on his, sturdy but clearly well used to using his grip for something other than razoring through flesh.]

Get your footing. Can you climb?

[Because Steve weighs about as much as a wet hrol, but his own grip isn't exactly sure enough to go hauling him up on his own.

Meanwhile, Karlon spits at Hux - blood spattering the paving stones only to be washed away a moment later. He curls his lip and raises his elbow expectantly. One of his bodyguards, tentatively checking the scrape down the length of Karlon's tender chest, catches it immediately and helps him to his feet.]

I don't care what your interest is. [Upright, he jerks the neck of his clothes back into their proper place and raises the flat line of his chin, panting still. Rain beats heavily, sluicing from his scales.] Good luck in Tari, boys.

[Another spit. He wheels around to go.]

[narcissithstic]

[Were they not so bound to one another (if he cared less on some deep, entirely artificial level) Ren would be content to let Steve fend for himself against the shifting stone, the downpour that threatens to dislodge both Rogers and his current assist. The First Order suffers no weakness; those that cannot fend for themselves are claimed - in battle or otherwise.

But once Karlon has granted them a pleasant dismissal, Ren flicks the switch of his saber, killing the blade and striding closer to the edge. Inhaling once, his sense of self dulls: time slows (for him, at least— perceptions numb to its passage) and it's not as easy as it once was, but he's more than capable of grasping the cliffside with little more than willpower. Fault lines noted and braced against the shove and pull of shared weight. Insurance designed to grant them a secure climb, if nothing else.

You're welcome.]