Log:Explorer's Guild: Planet Core

The Explorer's Guild goes Treasure Hunting

OOC Date: February 13, 2017
Location: Naboo
Participants: Asiir Cuul, Sapphira Solari, Sion, Meep, Mujiji, Tomar, Narsai Ordo, Old Explorer's Guild

Katunda the 27th aboard the starship Infiltrator... The Explorer's Guild had been given the word that they would be assembling in the second hangar in the Hutt District Starport which belongs to the current Guild Leader Asiir Cuul. Once everyone had assembled, boarding was initiated with crates of supplies in hand and soon enough the upper hangar doors opened up to allow the Infiltrator to taxi out. The interior of the ship is bathed in a red glow of instrumentation as the ship launched and then broke through atmosphere, soon enough finding the familiar lurch as the ship leapt into hyperspace.

They would find their destination soon enough, the trip to Naboo a relatively short one, and as the forested planet became visible through the forward view port, Asiir finally had his atromech begin atmosphere reentry and landing procedures and turned to his guild mates. "Alright you lot. We will be landing at Theed City on Naboo soon. From the Starport, we will make our way down to the docks where I have arranged the rental of a submersible aqua-speeder from the local Gungan population. We will be journeying down into the planet core in search of the lost city of Kal'toun, thought by many on Naboo to have been a myth."

Sapphira Tavers is damn near giddy today. Her first expedition! What could be more exciting? She's humming with nearly the same efficiency as the engines, which she's spent the last few days going over, tweaking, and otherwise keeping up to snuff.

She did another few checks on things once they were in the air, at least those she could from the inside. For now, though, she gathers with the rest with Asiir. She's chosen, for the activity of EXPLORIN', fitted pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and a grey knitted poncho with a hood, which has been left down. It may be surprising, but she's armed with a pistol hanging from one hip. Her bright red hair is braided and left hanging over one shoulder.

She listens, leaning against the wall, arms folded. Smiling. So excited!

Is Moo happy about this turn of events? Yeah, sure: adventure and what not. However, she isn't exactly spiffed about the whole 'submersible' and 'underwater' and 'aqua-speeder' aspect of things - she knows the kinds of big ass beasties that lurk in the depths and she knows who everyone is going to throw out first if a sacrifice is deemed necessary. No thank you. So, the Kushiban is packing a bit extra, perhaps - which may not be the best idea in a awua-speeder, but who is going to argue with the heavily armed rabbit? Blasters are all but useless, but she's got enough detonation gear packed to at least concuss Nessie when she comes a-knockin'. She is adjusting her tiny set of modified armor when Asiir's lowdown catches those long, fluffy ears and rolls her eyes. "I am not dealing with the Gungans." She decides out loud to no one in particular, tightening her would-be-intimidating-if-it-wasn't-so-small explosives belt across her chest. There's that little blaster at her hip, too - Mujiji is a tiny, fuzzy force to be reckoned with... But she doesn't seem to share Sapphira's enthusiasm. She never seems to share anyone's enthusiasm, come to think of it.

"Well, if you're gonna have a lost city, it's a cinch it's someplace where nobody goes," Sion muses, looking back from the co-ciplot's seat. "And everything I've heard about Naboo says that /nobody/ goes to 'the planet core', not if they've got any choice at all." She's clad in her usual garb, suitable for 'most any activity, packing her usual blaster, along with her medical pouch. This kind of trip sounds like a good way to get hurt, after all. "Who drives?"

It may have been a simple trip, not for the little teek. Meep spent most of the trip hiding. Even the little bump of the landing made it feel like an earthquake! He's wearing his usual attire, nothing fancy, certainly no weapons or blasters... just a wee little flashlight and some other small knick-knacks he's gathered. Certainly there will come a need for some beetle shells and lugnuts.

Asiir turns to look at Sion as the ship touches down at Theed Starport and the astromech beeps and whizzes to announce that the boarding ramp is being lowered. Asiir gestures with a hand, signaling for all to grab their gear and head out. Once they have made the ramp, the Cathar leads the way out into the busy street of Theed City and says, "I think that Sapphira had mentioned that she was decent at the controls of a speeder. This particular aqua model is equipped with a few fixed mount blaster cannons, so everyone else will need to grab one of those and keep a wary eye out." He pauses long enough to aim a sly grin at Mujiji before commenting, "I am sure the Gungans will be pleased with that stance on non-communication.

You want to ride on my shoulder down to the dock?"

"I know how to turn it on, but we won't be doing any loops or anything," Sapphira points out. Keep expectations low, so no one will be disappointed.

She picks up a little engineer's kit and moves to turn to exit the ship, reaching out to pet the poor terrified Meep with fondness. "It's alright, we're here now," she soothingly tells the little creature. Sapphira's bright green eyes flash over Mujiji and her extensive weaponry a moment longer, but she says nothing else and simply leads the way down.

"The old 'let's just pretend I'm a pet' trick?" Sion asks, stifling a smile as she leaves her seat, pausing to stretch. It's been a long flight, and an Infiltrator isn't exactly a luxury vessel, with its narrow profiles. "It'll at least forestall any awkward questions.”

She nods to Sapphira, pausing to scritch Meep behind the ears as she joins the two. "Hope you like water, little guy. Sounds like we're gonna see more than I've ever seen in one place before."

"One too many gungans have told me I'd be 'gamey'." The Kushiban sniffs indignantly, trotting comically on all fours after the group - short legs mean Asiir's offer is a welcome one. Plus, Mujiji never turns down a chance to be above the rest. "Aye aye, cap'n." The fluffy, white ball of death circles up the Cathar's leg and up his back like a murderous squirrel and curls at this prime perch with a flick of her tail. "I ain't touched a fixed cannon in years." She warns with a short laugh. "And never underwater. I would be lying if I said I weren't looking forward to it." There is a flicker of black through that shifting fur, there a moment and gone the next.

Meep detaches from clinging to the table-led to instead cling to Sapphira's leg. He edges down the ramp as if he were walking the plank, and every step could be his last. Water? Did he hear that right? He scurries up the landing ramp a moment, returning wearing a fully inflated bright orange personal flotation device about his neck, and a pair of orange arm floaties, better safe than sorry he thinks to himself as he walks down the ramp.

Narsai had been off to one side for most of the flight, tinkering mainly with her armor and seeming to be 'thinking' an awful lot. Mandalorians weren't all savages, as some people liked to suggest. Sapphira gets an up and down glance when the woman comes past with her engineering tools. A shared field perhaps, but the redheaded woman says nothing about it as she slips her helmet on over her head, disguising feminine features behind the far more intimidating T-Visor. She's not so concerned about water, after all drowning wasn't a great risk. But an awful lot of her weapons didn't work quite as well when submerged and even she knew there was plenty of nasty in the depths. "Well," she speaks with a voice made a little 'tinny' by her voder. "I suppose it's been a while since I had a day at the beach."

Asiir nods his head, and those who have spent any time at all would likely note a stiffness in his movements, especially Mujiji from her perch atop his shoulders. He lets none of it show overtly though, offering those who have made the journey with him a smile as he leads them through the rich streets of Theed City, finally turning through a gate into a huge park and then down a footpath that winds down to the docks. The river waters stretch out as far as the group can see before them as they step out upon the rough wooden planks. Out at the end of the dock sit a pair of Gungans that Asiir makes a bee-line for. "Hello!" he calls out. "Is this the speeder that was reserved for the Explorer's Guild? If so, I am Asiir Cuul and I am ready to be under way."

The Gungans share a smirk before standing and moving over to press the controls that cause the speeder's clear canopy to open up for admittance of the group, chuckling all the while about the stupidity of anyone going to the Planet Core.

Sapphira grins at Meep when he comes down dressed in his water gear. "I don't know that all that will be necessary," she tells the teek, but she certainly doesn't make him put any of it back. Instead, she stands behind Asiir, at least until the underwater speeder is made ready for them. Then, with some confidence, she moves past him and slides into the driver's seat. Her eyes and her fingers start to travel over the different controls, only touching a switch here or there, but mostly just studying what's before her. "Okay, how hard can this be?" she quietly asks no one in particular. If anything, she sounds downright curious.

"Theed... it's been a while, but it's the kind of place that never changes," Sion observes, following Asiir, looking the place over. She stifles a grin at the sight of Meep's 'survival gear'. "You'll be okay, Meep. We'll protect you.”

It looks like the Gungans have their ride ready. Frowning thoughtfully at the vessel as she looks it over, the Socorran finally slides into a seat at the front, manning the forward weapons. "It looks pretty simple," she agrees, nodding to Sapphira. "Up, down, left, right, speed up, slow down... nothing too complicated."

"Yeah, yeah. So's y'mum." Moo grumbles darkly, shrinking against the stiff shoulder perch. Gungans, man. Hungry, rude, and annoying. "Relax, boss! It's gonna be a piece of cake." There is a sharp toothed sneer there, tail flicking behind her as she shoots one last, adorable glare at the owners of this fine vessel. She isn't thrilled about this descent into the core, either - but if she gets to shoot some stuff, then it can't be all bad? Once on board, she hops from the Cathar's shoulder, to a niche in the speeder side, to a seat at one of those cannons. Fuck yeah, cannons. "Aaaaaaalrighty." She wiggles her claws at the controls before settling against them. "Easy enough." She glances sidelong at Sion, Sapphira, Meep and Narsai - focusing longer on the latter. She's met that one once before, right? At least she's not the only one packing heat, here. There is a respectful nod.

Meep forgot his snorkeling mask, but alas. The little teek caaarefully edges down into the submarine after Sapphira. He finds himself one of the luggage storage slots, sitting down ontop of it and strapping himself in with the straps meant more for bags and boxes than persons but... he's far too small for the normal seats.

Last time she'd been on Naboo it had been all wine and 'hoity-toity' stuff that Narsai had been made to endure for political reasons. Now, with the prospect of extreme depth and killer monsters? She's probably a bit more comfortable. Sliding into one of the seats herself she can't help but chuckle darkly at Meep's choice of gear and then glancing towards Sion and Sapphira. "Take it easy and avoid ramming into anything bigger than us? We'll be fine."

Asiir has a few quiet words with the Gungans who turn and point out a ways from the dock and then turn their index fingers straight down and start bellowing laughter. Asiir's shoulders straighten and his hands tighten into fists at his sides before tossing his mane of dreadlocks and hopping down into the vessel. He reaches forward over Sapphira's shoulder and presses a button that slides the canopy of the vessel closed and then nods his head as he slips into a seat. "Okay, so they say if we go right down in the middle there we will find a tunnel to take us to the Planet Core. If the traces I have been able to dig up regarding Kal'toun are correct at all, it should be somewhere on this side of Naboo. So if we make it to the center, we have likely gone too far. Keep in mind those records are over a thousand years old too, so... take it for what you will. Sapphira, lead us out."

"It's all simple in theory," Sapphira says as she flips a few more switches, until the thing hums to life. "It's going to be like flying a speeder in space, though. You all good there Meep?" she asks the question over her shoulder, because naturally if there's anyone to worry about on this trip it's Meep.

And then it's time to go. Sapphira, the steering handles between her hands, nudges the ship forward and downward slightly, and there is only a splash of water before they're suddenly, and fairly smoothly, plunging into the depths. But it's dark very quickly. "Right," Sapphira mutters to herself, and with another switch or two the lights pop on. "Better." She does a few tight swoops, swinging the craft to the right and the left while keeping the nose on the same trajectory. Apparently she's gotten a good feel for it.

Sion glances over the controls, finding the power-up switch for the weapons easily enough and engaging it. "We're live, all weapons green. Any itchy fingers, keep 'em off the triggers 'til we get out of the harbor," she says. "We blow up a pleasureboat or somebody's heyblibber, they might not let us back in."

Meep tightens the straps holding him in, fumbling in one of the pockets for the air sickness bag. He shakes it open, babbling a little in his worried little voice as he pulls the back over his head, blocking his vision and acting as one of those paper bags you breathe into to slow down hyperventilation. The bag contracts and expands rapidly with his breathing, this'll be a looooong trip.

Like Meep, Mujiji is having a few issues with these chairs; she wiggles uncomfortably in her seat, struggling with the straps. No matter what she does, it's jammed up under her chin - so she takes it between her teeth to keep it in place. Maybe not the safest precautionary measures, but at least she isn't bringing a bad name to all that is cute and fluffy like Meep back there. PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, MAN! The Kushiban rolls her eyes as she plays her tiny paws at the normal-sized controls as Sapphire pulls them out.

Narsai Ordo herself crosses her arms as she remains in her seat, closing her eyes for a moment as the craft begins to move. Underwater didn't 'feel' exactly like space, but it was probably just as deadly if they got low enough. Idly checking her gauntlet one more time when those eyes open again she glances back towards Meep and his antics, but the rolling of her eyes is well-hidden behind the T-visor of her helmet.

As the aqua-speeder moves out from the port, those gazing out of the back of the ship will see the ribbon like propeller spinning around the vessel's engine. Water closes in upon those in the ship and a darkness encroaches that even the lighting system of the submersible cannot fully dispel. As the ship dives deeper into the watery depths and the weight of all of that H2O closes in upon them, the ship's lights illuminate the craggy bottom of the seafloor and finally the great black open maw of the tunnel to the Planet Core they had been looking for, open in invitation to those brave enough to take the plunge.

"I got it, don't worry," Sapphira says quietly to Sion when she begins fiddling with the controls and powers up the weapons. That little admonishment is all she offers, choosing instead to return her focus to the task at hands which, thus far, is a nice smooth ride under the water. And then she lifts her head, peering, peering into the darkness. "I think that's our turn," she says a slight smile coming across her lips as she angles the craft in the direction of the hole, flipping another few switches to slow it down. Because driving in a hole should /probably/ be done slower, in case the hole ends.

"I know, Sapph. So far, smooth sailing and following seas," Sion replies, giving the other girl a smile. "I just wish it weren't so /dark/ around here. It'll make spotting trouble tougher. Even the lights aren't helping much.”

She glances back at Narsai and Meep, just as a momentary distraction. Too much concentration makes for mistakes when you're confused. "Everybody okay back there?"

Once the boats' underwater, and the gentleness of the travel takes over, Meep seems to calm down. He removes the bag from his head, looking around before unlatching his safety straps. Standing up, he brushes off his knees before looking about. "Oooooooh." he exclaims in wonderment, wiggling into a spot where he can see through the viewport, pushing his nose against the glass.

"Peachy." Mujiji replies, voice muffled around the strap held in her mouth. She doesn't see anything - just the propellers, the passing sea scape, and a veritable lack of things to throw pew-pew bubbles at. "S'fuckin' dark." She continues to herself, chewing idly on the strap fabric. It's going to have a nice, damp spot for those kind Gungans - if she weren't such a damn professional, she might leave another damp spot for them to find somewhere else. But, after all, business is business.

"That's...concerning," The mandalorian woman speaks up, frowning as she notices something and moves to her blaster. "There's nothing here and all the fish are heading the other way really quickly..." She shifts, chewing her bottom lip for a moment. "Last time that happened on land, I almost got eaten by a drexyl. Back up, something isn't right." Reaching up, she switches her visor to thermal-optics, peering out through the screen of the of the speeder. "I think we're heading right into the teeth of 'big and bad'.

As Narsai makes her observation aloud, Sapphira will note a curious looking blip on the speeder computer system. Infrared does not seem to pick up anything outright, but switching to sonar for sure brings up /something/ out there. It almost seems as if it were a landmass, rather than a creature of flesh and blood. That is enough of a forewarning to the woman to let her know that Narsai may not be off base in her warning, a thought that is seconded as beneath them the rocky tunnel seems to shift. Rubble shifts and sends a cloud of dirt floating upward as rocks begin to tumble and a long gray flesh dotted with tiny glowing yellow lights spring into visibility beneath them! The tunnel itsel seems to be shifting as something begins lifting itself from the tunnel floor, something quite large!

Sion can't read the sonar, but she can see the dust. "I think we've got a problem... unless the sea floor around here /usually/ gets up and swims away," she murmurs, reaching over and tapping a command to overlay sonar imaging with her weapon's sights. "Hold on back there!"

There's no time to speak to Narsai about her observations. Because the moment they're spoken, everything seems to happen. "Oooch, nope," Sapphira says, shaking her head and biting hard on her lower lip. Her hand quickly flips a few switches and the engines roar to life. There's two choices. Slow down and nearly stop and try to back out. Or move fast and forward. Sapphira, it seems has chosen the latter. "Kill it with fire, please," Sapphira says flatly to the group and grits her teeth, hands white-knuckling on the controls to be as nimble as possible with high speed. "Meep get in your seat!"

Meep was walking up to see what all the hubbub was about, but then he hears excited voices and feels the engine revving up. "Ruh roh." he says to himself, just as the ship lurches into motion. The little teek goes tumbling ass over tea kettle down the ship, bouncing along and flailing as he tries to grab ahold of something.

Thankfully, 'big', 'bad', and 'teeth' are Mujiji's specialty. "Don't kill it if we can tag it and -" And then she sees the thing. Vak will probably forgive her for letting this one go. "- scratch that, killing it with fire." Or bubbles or whatever. Whatever she's killing it with doesn't matter, because the Kushiban's poorly-aimed shots merely act as scary, concussive, but ultimately harmless

Well, at least they'd sort of listened to the warning. Would she really have done much different? Narsai just grips the controls of her turret and opens fire, spewing her own bolts of blaster at the creature she'd noticed but had decided to make itself far more noticable when its 'prey' had started moving. "Just don't get us 'et', it's a long swim back to the surface from here after all."

Gungan technology being what it is, as the blaster cannons of the submersible open fire, the odd bubble like energy that the Gungans have harnessed blasts forth. Sadly, aim is misplaced and the fired shots strike the tunnel wall and sends a blast of sharp shards of stone flying out to clatter against the ship's canopy. As Sapphira rockets forward, the Thing on the bottom of the tunnel floor rouses itself like a slumbering giant pulling itself from the sea floor. The beast is long and slender like a gigantic eel, and all along the spine sharp spikes protrude in a sharp ridge that scrapes stone from the tunnel ceiling. The sea monster's mass begins to fill the tunnel rapidly, but a smooth bit of driving from Sapphira sends the submersible into a spiral, corkscrewing around the mass of monster and sends them rocketing out ahead of it. Narsai's shot whizzes back as they slide past, stinging the eel on the nose as angry purple eyes flash open to glow in the darkness behind the fleeing ship. The mouth opens and lets forth an otherworldly shriek that rolls forth in the water in rippling rings that catch up to the submersible and cause it to shake and tremble as it flees.

Sapphira makes no sound, though her mouth makes subtle motions. A silent open-mouthed cry when the stones scatter the top of the canopy. An unheard gasp when she looks up and suddenly finds the craft on a crash-course trajectory to a stone stalagmite. With a yank, they miss it; only just. A grit of her teeth when the craft rocks and shakes from the creature's own silent scream. A harsh biting of her lip as those bright green eyes flit between the computer and the view, seeking a clearer path almost in real-time.

"How close is it behind us?" Cause Sapphira does not have time to look behind them, just now.

Sion has to depress the guns all the way as the bongo shoots forward like a startled goobafish, turning and spinning. She tags the beast with a high-deflection shot as they come out of the roll. "Hah! Two on target!" she exults, grinning fiercely at Narsai, the other successful gunner. She falls silent as the vehicle shakes under the monster's bellow, gritting her teeth. "Ow... I think it's still back there, Sapph! I can see a moving blur through the wake." At least those glowing eyes make it easier to spot!

Meep flails about as the ship spins and turns and accelerates. He reaches for that sick bag once more, pulling it up against his mouth before letting out his lunch... into the bag thankfully. He hears the creature roar and his face turns blue then purple, hurling into the bag some more.

"Close enough t'shit your britches!" Moo yells back, continuing to pepper the walls with her sad fixed mount skillz. "Just keep driving!" Her voice has raised a comical octave, ears pinned back as her black flashes through her mood fur, not flickering away this time. She knows beasts, at least. "Keep tight!" Pew-pew-miss! Pew-pew-miss!

As the fleeing submersible rockets along the rocky tunnel, the eel-monster crashes into the stony walls as it struggles to catch up to its elusive prey. The fired shots from Sion and Narsai strike at the creature, digging deep furrows into the monster's snout that begin to leak blood into the water about it. Narsai's final shot catches the monster in one eye, a purple eye disappearing from view behind it, resulting in another otherworldly screech, and a reflexive lunge from the beast, which clips the side of the submersible and sends them careening into the rock wall with a screech.

"Ah!" Sapphira lets out an involuntary cry, mostly of fear, when the craft careens and skids against the wall. But even with that moment of terror, she manages to turn the ship. The stone racks down the side, but with a delicate touch of the controls they're barrel-rolling away from danger.

There's a good moment here. A nice hilarious quip, right? Except the danger is still very much apparent, and Sapphira is basically driving without looking; relying almost entirely on the ship's targeting computer. But she's got it; they're making their way at nearly top speed, flying closer and closer to the core.

Meep manages to clamber somewhat into one of the chairs, but the lurching of the ship sends his body into the gunnery controls, sending the turret spraying bolts everywhere but where they are supposed to go. He grabs ahold of one of the controllers, holding onto it for dear life, triggering a full automatic blast of fire.

"Ow!" Sion grunts when the ship suddenly decides it's a credcoin and gets flipped on edge, spinning into the rocks. A spurt of water hits her right in the face from a small leak in the lower edge of the canopy frame, and her reflexive shot gouches craters out of the wall. "Ugh!" she adds, as the water runs down into her lap. She quickly vacates the seat for one of the rear gunner stations, though not without a quick shoulder-clasp for Sapphira. "You're doing fine, Sapph... just keep doing what you're doing!"

Asiir squeezes the trigger of his cannon, his energy bolt whipping back and snagging the monster in the snout right near it's remaining eye, dangerously close to blinding the beast. In a move of defiance, the monster lunges forward, blasting through a wall of the stone, it's great mouth open wide to reveal rows of sharp teeth that shine in the ship's lights, moments before it bites down and the submersible is hung. A sharp tooth, over two feet long crashes through a section of the hull, diving through into the interior of the ship and sending alarms blaring. "Damnit! Kill the damn thing! Kill it!" Asiir shouts, the cannons having no choice but to hit from inside its mouth.

Another cry from Sapphira, this one a bit more choked as her body is thrown forward onto the driving handles. Right into the belly. She remains leaning forward in her seat, reaching up to flick a few more switches. The engines roar louder, work harder, struggle more.

With another little groan Sapphira leans back and starts to wiggle the steering, swinging the ship from one side to the other, looking for a slip in the teeth, a moment of weakness in the creature's jaw.

Meep is just flailing about, holding on to dear life in his chair. He's holding down the trigger, letting the motion of the ship throw him about and thus turn the turret to wherever it happens to go, firing blindly but steadily, he doesn't even mean to!

Getting caught on a seat on the way back, Sion stumbles free as the ship shakes again under the creature's constant writhing. Looks like it's trying to make them into lunch! She lunges for a seat, barely saves herself from a fall by grabbing the side of it, and grabs the firing grip with her free hand, pointing the weapon upwards as much as its limited traverse will allow. "Now I know how a fish sandwich feels," she murmurs, pointing the weapons at the roof of the thing's mouth and triggering a long, penetrating burst.

Meeps whipping about is doing more damage than he perhaps knows that he is. The energy beams from the cannon diving out and ripping the inside of the monster's mouth to shreds that sends a cloud of blood into the water about the vessel. Sapphira will be able to feel the submersible growing looser in the clutches of the sea monster as it's jaws weaken from the assault of Meep, Sion's added firepower causes the beast to relinquish its hold with a howl, the two foot long fang sliding free of the floor with a terrible screech that jolts on nerves. Water begins to shoot inside of the interior from the hole and Asiir dives atop it, plugging the hole with a furry hand and attempting to staunch the flow as best he can. "I won't be able to keep it out!" he calls forward. "Get us out of here Sapphira!"

Out? Where's out? It's not like they can go backwards. Even with the creature in retreat, it's still there and blocking the path.

Sapphira's bright green eyes flit to the computer again, and her brow furrows. "What?" she whispers, flipping a switch to zoom out on the screen. Her eyes follow the path laid out there, and then she sighs. "Alright." And with that the nose of the ship swings fast around a stalagmite in the cavern, swinging them around so they're facing the retreating, bloody creature. For a few seconds, they even go straight at it. And then Sapphira swings into a narrow tunnel recently revealed by the flailing monster. It's tight, but Sapphira keeps up speed in the hopes of stemming some of the leak with speed. She's pale beneath those thick freckles.

Tomar had joined the crew at the predetermined time that Asiir had indicated when they had their conversation at the Meltdown Cafe bar yesterday night. The cocky, merc had impressed the Guild Leader enough to get an invitation but his foolishness with ordering the same drink that Feyrr (big blue alien dude) had was his undoing. He almost puked in front of Asiir, Ax and Kadi after he ate his synthsteak (he had no idea it was vegetarian since he ordered the same thing Jehni did). Fortunately, he didn't throw up at the bar but when he got home he passed out. When he woke he didn't feel too great either, in fact he was almost late to the meeting with Asiir's crew and managed to fumble his way through introductions. But when the ship took off, the motion sickness and hangover overcame him so he quickly ran into the bathroom of the ship to ralph his guts out among other things not so pleasant. He may also have passed out in there after locking the door. After getting tossed around some by the tight maneuvers of Sapphira's expert piloting, he is jolted awake and wiping his mouth, stumbles out of the bathroom rubbing at his head. "What in the hutt's arsehole is going on out here? I thought this was an exploration mission not some fight against the First..." His jaw drops and eyes widen when he see's that they don't seem to be in space anymore, there are no stars, in fact it looks like they are in some space monsters mouth! "WHAT the Hell is that!?" He points and then gets thrown sideways as Sapphira banks the ship once, his arms flailing and he faceplants against a bulkhead managing to grab onto a rail.

"We're out!" Sion shouts, pulling herself up along the back of the seat. "Woo! Good driving, Sapph! Good shooting, everybody!"

The leak has her full attention at Asiir's first shout, though, reminding her that they're not out of the woods yet. She quickly shrugs off her jacket, pressing the back of it into the hole around the big cat-man's hands, cutting off a fair amount of the flow. Sapphira's driving might be helping with that, too. "I hope we can find someplace dry soon... like maybe that lost city?"

'I won't be able to keep it out'. That's what she said! Meep slumps into his seat as the ship escapes. "nnnnghhh..." he groans, eyes rolling up as he sloooooowly tilts to his left and falls to the floor of the submersible with a soft 'thud'. He's spent.

The water slows some as Sion adds her jacket to the leak prevention attempt, but the sheer pressure of being this far underwater can't keep the water from pressing in and beginning to seep around Asiir where he kneels in the floor. Looking around at Tomar as he emerges from his slumber, Asiir growls and points, "Get up there and see if you can help Sapphira get us out of here!" He redoubles his efforts, leaning all of his weight on the hole as he tries to keep the water out.

Sapphira will note that the tight tunnel is far too close to the sides of the submersible for the beast to be able to follow them, even if it wanted to with its injuries. And there is a definite upgrade to the tunnel. The Sonar seems to confirm this observation and up ahead it seems to open up in to a larger chamber.

Sapphira's knuckles are white, so hard does she grip the controls. She doesn't speak, doesn't look back. Just keeps them ahead, making little nudges and adjustments here and there to make sure they don't skid against the sides. The underwater craft is already fairly beat up as it is.

The redhead sucks on her lower lip, biting hard as she nudges the craft forward a bit faster, knowing there's a wide open space coming up soon.

Tomar rubs at his head, feeling a bump forming from kissing the bulkhead and quickly nods at Asiir's orders. "I'm on it!" He rushes in the direction that Asiir pointed, stumbling into the cockpit where Sapphira is, then plopping himself down on an empty co-pilot's chair and says to her. "Sorry, what is the situation so far? Captain ordered me to come help you. I have experience piloting ships." He quickly scans the controls and sensors to get familiar with the systems here.

Meep looks up to the cockpit. Seeing the dilemma forming, and the water sloshing about on the deck. Little Meep scampers off. He begins searching about the cabin, figuring that submersibles must carry a leak-stopping repair kit somewheres, opening containers and rummaging around throwing whatever he finds up towards the leaky group, hoping something helps.

Sion isn't any drier than Asiir, and the water flooding in isn't helping matters. "Welcome back, sleepyhead," she says, casually teasingly, in Tomar's direction.

She presses harder on the makeshift patch, wincing as her arms begin to ache. And her back. And her knees. "Wherever we're going, I hope it's got someplace where we can patch this ship up, or we're gonna be long-term guests..." She ducks a stray hydrospanner that Meep throws their way.

As the crew inside the submersible aqua-speeder race along the rocky tunnel, Tomar and Sapphira can see the steadily approaching chamber and then all at once the speeder rockets out of the tight confines of the tunnel. System scans reveal that the water seems to end around thirty feet up, and once the vessel is steered in that direction, it will break the surface of the water into a subterranean chamber, and there on the far side of the cavern, just visible in the gloom illuminated by underground lichen, the crumbling remains of what appears to be a small town.

Sapphira doesn't answer the man beside her right away. She just tilts the handles back, and upward the craft shoots until it breaks water and splashes into the open air. For a moment it seems like it might leave the water all together, at that fast speed it was traveling. But then the belly flops down and Sapphira starts to power down the engines, so the craft paddles along and then slows to a float. Then, only then, does Sapphira sit back in the seat with a groan, putting a hand across her midsection where she'd rammed into the sticks.

"I don't think you're getting your deposit back, sir," she says, and then? The stress of it all hits her and she starts to laugh. But laughing hurts, and she flinches, and she doesn't start up again, save for a little chuckle here or there.

Meep sighs as the ship breaks the surface and he can relax as well. The little teek flops onto his back into the water on the deck, soon joining the sloshing mass of debris. His full air sickness bag bumps against his head, but he hardly cares, they're on the surface! Yes he is sopping wet but they are on the surface!

"Thanks, sweethea...I mean Sion." Tomar grins at her teasing and watches his mouth this time because last time he tried to be cute, Jehni quickly put him in his place and that was in a bar! But he quickly dismisses the thoughts as he has more important things to do than worry about appearances, he's gotta help Sapphira pilot this submersible.

Tomar glances towards the pilot, Sapphira quickly adjusting anything he see's to help her out and doesn't need to let his fly by the seat of his pants instincts take over since he's not in direct control. "Yeah, I'll be lucky to get any payment after this...you did a great job piloting by the way. Your almost as good as me." He winks at her and then starts laughing himself since it is rather infectious and he's damn happy to be alive after spending most of the trip in the toilet.

The trip to the surface nearly spills Sion off her knees, it's so sudden and violent. But getting there is such a relief that she doesn't complain. "Thank the Maker... air!" she murmurs, sighing in relief. "Can anyone see someplace to land?" she asks, slowly pulling her jacket out of the hole that's no longer underwater. "Asiir, are you okay?"

Asiir nods his head from where he kneels, struggling to keep his position on sore knees that left the floor only to slam back down forcefully against the hard deck. "I'm fine, I just don't want us to sink before we make it out of here. This is our only ride topside. What do you lot see up there?" From where Asiir is kneeling, he can't see the ancient town on the far side of the cavern.

"It flies more like a speeder than a ship. I'm no pilot," Sapphira says, flinching as she rubs her stomach a bit further. But Asiir is asking for a report, so she offers. "Some sort of run down settlement." She looks to Tomar. "Get ready to haul us in once I get us close. And then you're all getting off my boat so I can see how bad off we are." She flips a few switches and the canopy retracts, exposing them to the high cavern ceilings. The lights from the dashboard and the front of the craft still guide the way. Smooth and easy, Sapphira takes them to the shore of the old villiage, leaving Tomar to figure out how to secure them to the shore.

"There's as good a place as any. See any docks or anything?" Sion asks, standing and wincing as the sudden inrush of air hits herself and her damp clothes. "I'd better check us all over once we hit dirt. We all got thrown around some."

She looks around quickly. "Meep? Has anyone seen Meep?"

Meep just slides around on the floor, mixing with the other bits and bobs in the inch or so deep water. "Nnnnghhh..." he groans, his face still a shade of purple, that full air sickness bag right next to his head a testament to the size of his lunch... and second lunch.

Tomar nods and then has a concerned look on his face when he notices that Sapphira is rubbing her stomach. "Could've fooled me, not bad for a non-pilot and hey are you okay?" He then turns his head to yell down into the main compartment of the submersible, "Medic. We need a medic up here, Sapphira's hurt." He then takes over the pilot's controls from Sapphira when she transfers them to his station. "Got it. Right, your an engineer." He runs the scanners and then eyeballs a path towards the shore, making the ride as smooth as possible because it sounds like a few of them are injured and he doesn't want to hotdog to show off his skills since he's already in the doghouse with this crew. He hears Sion's query, "Nope, haven't seen Meep." If there is a dock he will take the ship to it. Then the smell of vomit hits and he knows that all too well and he wrinkles his nose, nearly drying heaving himself but manages to swallow the bile. "I don't see him, but I smell him...everyone okay down there?"

"Hey-" Sapphira starts to argue with Tomar when he switches the controls away from her. She frowns, deeply, but doesn't fight his usurpation. Instead she just pushes to her feet, rubbing her belly. "I don't need a medic," she tells the rest of the group. "I just need some space to work." The young woman, usually bright and sunny and friendly, seems a touch frustrated as she starts looking over the ship and the damage she can already see from inside.

The speeder drifts across the smooth waters of the subterranean cavern and will soon find a dilapidated and have sunk dock, the wood all old enough that no one should trust climbing atop it, but the posts stuck into the ground at least seem sturdy enough to tie the submersible off to. As the engine dies, Asiir leans back onto his haunches and he blows out a sigh. "He's over here," Asiir calls out, spotting the other furry being where he lays. Reaching out, Asiir scoops Meep up and then stands, getting his first gaze at the town. He furrows his brow thoughtfully and then hops up onto the side of the speeder and walks to the nose. After eyeing the dock doubtfully, Asiir moves to the tip and then hops lightly down, splashing into knee deep water, and trying to make the transition as easy as he can on Meep. He sloshes through the water until he makes the stony shoreline and then stoops to set Meep down. "Alright, let's check the place out. See what we can find," he says.

Meep is carried forth by Asiir, his arm floaties and PFD evidently not needing any use. Once he is firmly on terra firma, he shucks the bright orange flotation devices. Hunching over, he does the typical animalistic shaking himself vigorously to fling all the water out of his fur. Bzzzp, all done! Blinking, he turns about, looking back at the submersible and then up towards the town.

Sion passes Sapphira a packet of painkillers anyway. "Just in case. Don't wear yourself out, okay?" she advises softly, slowly exiting the bongo. She walks across the side wing of the ship, stepping carefully onto one of the dock pilings, then to another, balancing expertly and making her way to shore.

Tomar turns off the engines once they are securely docked and shrugs when Sapphira walks away into the main hold to start her repairs. He shrugs and holds up his hands. "What, what did I do?" He seems rather oblivious to why she would be upset with him, he's the skilled pilot and she isn't, so he transfered the controls to him after she told him so. He see's that Asirr is carrying Meep, then Sion follows after them so he in turn follows after Sion, walking up beside her. "So what exactly is this place anyways?" Yeah, he may not have been paying full attention if they had a briefing since he was too busy trying not to vomit at the time.

Asiir nods his head toward Meep as he reaches into his utility belt and pulls out a small flashlight and clicks it on. The town itself is lit dimly by the glowing underground lichen, but the blaze from Assir's flashlight cuts the darkness as the beam slides across of the dilapidated buildings. "I guess we just start at one building and work our way in? There's only what.... fifteen buildings? Let's hit these little houses on this street and then that big building back in the back," he says to the group.

Meep ooooooohs as he sees the houses. He is a scavenger at heart, and he seems to have brought a nice big bag! The little teek sets off into the houses, rummaging around, picking up odd bits and bobs, anything shiny really or anything unique looking, placing it into his little bag of goodies before marching onwards, scavenging about the ruined houses.

Sion, pausing, makes sure to make a couple lines fast to a couple pilings to keep their ship in place. Better if it's stable for repairs. Making her way to shore, she sets down her medikit and hangs up her jacket on a lamp pole to dry. "Gods... I think I've had enough of water for one day."

Tomar shrugs when Sion ignores him, guess she's too busy with her repairs or she's mad at him for spending more than half the trip in the toilet. Oh well, it won't be the first time anyone gets mad at him and certainly won't be the last. He trudges onwards, following Meep and Asiir to explore the village. His scans didn't really find much in any of the residences but he searches anyways, only finding old clothes, cutlery, dishes and some other rather worthless domestic household junk. But he's a treasure hunting fool so he keeps looking.

Asiir nods his head with Sion's comment about the water, shaking his head as he thinks about the trip they will have to make to get back to the surface of the planet. "Cathar are not made for the water," he says, his voice echoing out across the cavern. He similarly pokes his head into the houses as he passes each and eventually they group makes their way up to the largest building set at the peak of the gradual climb. Checking the door, the portal seems a bit stuck so Asiir leans back and then slams his shoulder into the door to shove it open. Pressing inside, the Cathar drops his flashlight, which rolls across the floor and bumps into his feet. The cause for the Cathar's shock evident as the others move to the building and gaze inside at the darkened interior at a multitude of ancient Gungan artwork including sculptures, paintings, and vases. The sheer amount of ancient history in this building sold to the right collector would fetch a high price indeed.

Meep follows right after Asiir, his own little bag of loot slung over a shoulder. He peers around Asiir's leg at the interior of the building, squinting at all the pieces of art. They don't seem to interest him too too much. Vases and paintings and sculptures, peh, the teek doesn't seem impressed.

"Whoa... I think we just found the whole reason we're down here," Sion says softly, hushed by the amazing sight before them. "We're gonna need a bigger boat..."

Tomar finds a few knick knacks here and there by his scavenging, then follows Asiir, Meep and Sion into the large building. At the sight of everything, he whistles and there is a big ol grin on his face. "Jackpot!" He nudges Sion with his elbow, having forgotten she might be mad at him or he just doesn't care. "Wait until Sapphira gets a load of this, eh? I'm sure glad I joined you on this venture...so uh, how the heck are we going to get all this stuff back to the submersible and can we even fit it in?" He shrugs and looks around at everyone. "Oh man I think I'm going to hurl again..." He then covers his mouth with both his hands.

Asiir looks toward Tomar and offers him half of a grin before he gestures toward the treasure around the room. "You're up. All of this goes into the submersible, and if any of it gets broken... or puked on... we just might leave you behind," he says. After a pause he chuckles and adds, "Call it pay back for you sleeping or whatever you were doing while we were fighting that sea monster." Crossing deeper into the house after retrieving his flashlight, Asiir shines the light on a decorative and intricately carved necklace inset with a sparkling purple gem that seems to glow with some sort of energy inside the multifaceted stone. Taking it down, Asiir shows it to the others and says, "The Muse on Nar Shaddaa has the first chance to buy this piece. All the rest will be sold out to collectors." With that he slips the gem carefully into a padded pocket within his armor and gestures for Tomar to start loading the rest.