Log:House Holster Incident

House Holster Incident

OOC Date: June 29, 2019
Location: NAI-01-OR
Participants: Nova Korell, Jessika Pava, Narsai Ordo, Kaelyn, Merek, Ektor, Tallissan Lintra, Aryn Cole

Landing Zone, NAI-01-OR

This landing zone is in the middle of a large clearing with low grass and patches of snow. Surrounding the clearing is a dense forest with tall, thick pine-like trees. The air here is cold, so cold that each breath can be seen as fog. The wind blows often, but it does not carry a piercing cold. The skies are overcast and flurries fall gently. In the clearing, several ships remain still and powered down, their ramps open but the insides derelict of life.

Those who agreed to contract with the Cole Family were given coordinates to the uncharted world NAI-01-OR. It was a mostly green planet with a cold enough climate to snow often, but warm enough that it did not snow all the time. The coordinates marked a specific clearing where orbital scans picked up several objects that were not of this world. As each ship wove through the snow-capped mountain pass, and blasted by the sea of pine tree tops, the cloud cover parted to reveal a very peaceful looking world. The clearing was the exact location of the coordinates, and within it were several ships, dormant and powered down.

Aryn's Helix Interceptor, the Rainstorm, slowly lowers onto the ground. When the ship's weight shifts to its landing skids, the vessel rocks slightly and a ramp lowers from the rear of the light freighter. From the interior of the ship, Lady Aryn emerges and steps down the ramp. She is wearing a high-end hunting suit intended for cold weather climates and rough terrain. Her cloak, much thicker than the majority of her capes, has animal fur over the shoulders affording her with a bit more insulation to ward off the chilly winds. She wears a baldric across her torso, where a ringlet seats an ornate Ramishi crystal sword across Aryn's back. She pulls a beanie cap over her head, trapping much of her loose blonde hair against her face, then taps the comm device in her ear. <<"Comm check for Doc.">>

She has coordinates! A place, a time, and well here's Kae! She's standing outside the Wanderlost, a hiiiighly modified VCX 100...

The goofy girl is standing back some, hands going to wide, curvy hips as she looks up at the ship, namely the proton torpedo launchers and that heavy laser port just above them...

Kae tilts her head "Gotta find a better way to hide em." she says and taps her lower lip some..

Kae is currently dressed in her mandalorian sky-ripper armor, a helmet hung from her belt. Across the small of her back is her tracker carbine, all folded up nice and neat,a nd on her right hip is her dl-44... Kae tilts her head to the right now, then glances around, now noticing a person with a beanie...

Kae pauses a few moments, then suddenly she's all smiles and her hands go into the air "Beaniieeee!!!!!" Merek makes his way to the place, while he has on his smuggling attire which is adjusted about him also. He then nods a bit to Cole while he checks his comlink also, <<Greetings.>> He then nods a bit while he looks about as well.

"I'm standing right here," comes a wry, Imperial-accented reply as Nova Korell comes down the ramp, clad in her well-worn S2 armor and grinning impishly at the blonde leader of this expedition. Her Tracker is carried in a relaxed but ready posture, pointed in a safe direction, and she's already looking around as her feet meet the native turf. Her helmet is clipped to her belt so she can see the world first with her own eyes (and hear the world first with her own ears, smell the... you get the idea), and her own hair is neatly braid-bunned at the back of her head. "It's pretty here. You'd never guess someone had been abducted in this place," she muses thoughtfully.

The arrival of Kaelyn and Merek draws a faint smile from the soldier, and she lifts a hand to wave to them both.

A decent contract and more importantly, good relations for the Mandalorians with the rest of the galaxy? For that much Narsai Ordo was more than willing to lend a hand. No titles, no politics, just a good old-fashioned chance to lend a hand. As she decends the ramp of her pride and joy the 'Thunderheart' the Mandalorian woman was wrapped in her usual red and black armor.

That intimidating 5-visor hid her fair features, but there was a noticable tilt of her head at the sight of Kae in the skyripper armor before she clears her throat and moves towards the Cole, Merek and Nova. "So we're looking for some lost lord?"

The T-6 shuttle powers into the clearing with the agility and speed of a small craft. Shuttle is a misnomer because the ship bristles with weapons along its semi-circular shape and has the patented insect like look that is a trademark of the Verpine. The body of the craft aligns itself with the ground and a door opens from which a ramp extends.

Forewarned about the weather conditions, Tallie has layered herself well topping them with a quilted parka and hood in gray. Hand raised in greeting, she bounces down the ramp to join the group pulling gloves from her pocket. "It's easy to forget about being cold. Beautiful here, Aryn." Her breathe wreaths her face as she looks around getting her bearings.

It's cold. Jessika exhales, and the heat of her breath collides with the crisp, mountain air to form a visible mist that rushes forward and curls in on itself. It twists as it rises, and then evaporates, as if it was never there. The temperature triggers an immediate response in her body that rushes blood to the surface of her skin, leaving her cheeks reddened from the contact exposure. Loose whisps of dark hair tickle the sides of her face, but most of it is bound up in the familiar look of swept-back tresses that turns it into a tail. The rest of her is warm, at least. Beneath the armor-paneled flightsuit is an environmental bodyglove regulating her temperature. It's meant to help her survive in the vacuum of space. A little mountain air is nothing.

Armed only with the blaster at her hip and a couple of spare ammunition packs, Jessika goes through the routine motion of glancing down and checking the weapon is on safe, before once again surveying the scenery before them with a more keen gaze. In her ear, the voice of Doctor Aryn Cole performing a comms check sounds. "I hear you, Doc." Then, on her own, her hand rises up to press against the microbead trigger placed against her throat. <<"Check check.">> She's listening for the taletell click of the mic keying up and releasing, as well as to the monitoring. It'll take someone else letting her know if it's working. "Sometimes beauty is only surface deep," Jessika offers Nova for the assessment. "But a lot of things could have gone wrong. Maybe his gear is broken and he's just lost."

Aryn is caught off guard by Kaelyn's sudden outburst, but it draws an easy smile from her. She begins to pull her gloves on as Merek appears, then Nova. "Uncharted worlds are host to all sorts of unseen dangers. We've but dipped our toes in the water. -- Very cold water." Aryn replies and steps forward. Jess' response to her comm check is reciprocated when Jess checks her own. <<"You're good, Testor.">>-- When the intimidating Mandalorians draw closer, Aryn seems to tense up slightly. The one who addresses her is regarded by her gaze lifting to look at the reflective visor on Narsai's helmet.

"Yes. Lord Soren Holster is an idiot. He believes he is capable of doing expeditions and risky adventures. He drags his poor retainer every where, and it's those poor sods who have to drag him out of the fire every time." She pulls her last glove on and tests it by opening and closing her fist. "I pray they are just lost. I suppose we should begin our search. I'm sending my data analysis droid to scour the ships for information now. Take a look around this clearing and let's see if something turns up."

Kae is soooo oblivious to pretty much everything as she's looking around, her hands behind her back... She notices folks she recognizes and smiles cheerfully, she begins waving both hands! "Hellooooo!" She calls out, happily taking note of well familiar people and stuff! "How is everything?" NOpe she's so not paying attention...

At this point her 'guard' droid as it were, Ranger, an LEVO droid wanders up behind her, along with a flat-headed BB unit.

Merek looks to the trees, while he makes a motion that way with a hand, "Looks like there is something in the trees," he says, while he takes a moment to keep his pistol with him, twirling that as he takes a moment to look about as well moving forward also.

Nova nods to Narsai, Tallie, and Jess as they arrive, smiling faintly. "It's definitely dangerous," she agrees. "Sometimes the most beautiful worlds are." It might be a hint that danger is beautiful, at least to her. "Then again, some people might say that about a lot of people standing in this spot, too." Kaelyn's excitement brings another smile to her face. At least they won't have to worry about depression setting in! "I'm good... Kaelyn, is it? Someone said we have a lot to thank you for, from not long ago. I hope I'll have a chance once we're done here, to do it properly."

She nods to Aryn and begins to move in the direction of the longer-resting ships occupying the clearing. It's a good starting point for an investigation. Only a few seconds later, she sniffs the air, then pauses and kneels, frowning at the ground. "Hsst!" she hisses, gesturing to the group to circle up around what she's found.

Anybody who arrives will find she's kneeling above /a severed arm/, pale with blood loss, one hand grasping a very nice blaster pistol. The starship ramp it lies next to is stained with dried blood. "Our lord and his crew weren't here long before they found trouble. Eyes up, stay sharp. That trouble could still be around," she says, slowly straightening. She slings her rifle just long enough to pull on her helmet, activating its vision features. <Better stick to com traffic from here on out.>

The young pilot nods pleasantly to everyone present, eyes pausing a moment on the Mandalorian then sweeping on. She presents herself with another brief dip of her head to those unknown to her, "Tallissan Lintra."

"Tallie is a country girl, born and raised on a farm; the rough terrain and heavy trees have a familiar look to her despite the trees distinctive shape and the menthol-like aroma they exude in the cold air. The group scatters and she chooses a direction that no one else has taken heading into the thick trees. Powdery snow falls as she brushes back the low growing branches, just as she is about to turn around and head in another direction she spies a dark shape that is neither tree trunk or branch. Stopping to listen a moment, she takes a careful step and then another till she finds herself standing on the edge of a ditch.

The side of the ditch is smeared with ichor and at its bottom the splayed and frozen corpse of a Killik is sprawled impaled by a pole bearing a banner. Tallie crouches to grab an edge of the cloth then stands.

Pressing the micro bead that has been shared out among them to report. "We have a dead Killik here and a house banner that I don't recognize but perhaps the doctor will," she says tersely in a quick neutral voice.

Jessika provides a quick, appreciative nod in Doctor Cole's direction even with the knowledge that it might go unseen given the number of people arriving to constitute their search party. Once everyone is brought up to speed and Aryn suggests they begin their search, Jessika brings her focus away from the breathtaking scenery surrounding them and sets sight on their immediate vicinity. For all intents and purposes, this makes a great base camp. There's snow to collect for water, they're at an elevation that makes it easy to broadcast and receive signals, and they have the convenience of their ships at the ready. "Was he here as part of the survey to determine colonization feasibility?" Her tone is distant with her mind honed in elsewhere.

Striding away from the group, Jessika recognizes all the signs indicating people had been here. Where there are snow patches, there are footprints, and the volume of them suggests a heavy amount of activity. It makes sense for a landing zone. What doesn't make sense, though, is what she discovers near the landing struts of one of the ships. There's not a lot of defensible space in the landing zone, and the best positions to fight from would be the ships themselves. Jessika kneels down and braces her right knee into the hard, almost rock-like dirt of the frozen ground and reaches forward to pick up what she'd spotted. A glance around shows there's more than just this one, and after rising, she heads for another to check for more of the same. There is.

And she's not the only one that's found something. Meeting back up with the rest of the group, Jessika lifts two blaster packs for show. "Empty. They're scattered around near the ships. This wasn't just trouble. It was a battle." Jessika's fingers release the packs after her arm straightens towards the ground, and she trades those things for the grip of her sidearm. She's used this a lot, lately. Perhaps too much, for her tastes. But no one ever said the galaxy was a safe place. Extricating it from its holster, Jessika's thumb toggles the safety off, and she brings it into a two-hand supported low ready, elbows tucked and barrel kept aimed diagonally in front towards the ground. She keeps herself angled away from others to avoid flagging their feet.

Tallie's introduction earns a nod of returned greeting from the armed and armored Narsai, her helmet bringing a lightly electronic edge to her tones as she offers simply "Narsai" in return. Then there's a turn of her head at some...thing before the call comes and the woman reaches for one of the heavy pistols at her hip, drawing it alone gor the time being and joining the approach.

With her helmwt in place it was hard to tell if the sight of the impaled body affected the Mandalorian, but she looks up to the others. "Seems the lord is getting his people killed by unfriendly natives." Killiks again? Her free hand dances over the carbine at her thigh to draw her second blaster pistol from the small of her back.

Aryn acknowledges Jess' nod with a small smile, then turns her attention to her ship. She raises her left arm, brushing the gauntlet device off before pressing a button that issues a command to the droid inside. A moment later and the silver data analysis droid comes lumbering out making heavy steps. Aryn points to the ships and the droid starts up the ramp of one.

As reports start coming in, it's Aryn who visits Nova's spot first to see a severed arm still holding a blaster pistol. When Merek says he sees something in the forest, Aryn's immediate worry goes to the others who have spread out looking for clues.

Jess confirms that there was a battle here, further evidenced by Narsai and Tallie's finds. Now they knew what they were dealing with. Aryn cups a hand over Nova's arm, a passing gesture that just signaled that she was moving away. It seemed like Aryn was about to speak when the Analysis Droid suddenly runs down the ramp and knocks the small Doctor out of the way. Aryn spills over at the foot of a ramp and looks up to see a living Killik looking down at her.

She screams and scrambles up to her feet, and the Killik responds with a scream of its own! /Heavy/ steps down the ramp reveal a trophy collecting hunter drone that stands 8 feet tall! Aryn manages to get away from it just as it embeds its massive axe weapon into the dirt and lip of the ramp, making a loud, disorienting CLANG noise.

<<"Kill it! KILL IT!">> Aryn pleads. The killik raises its weapon, displaying the spines and heads of his most recent kills, each face still etched in pained fear post mortem.

Kae follows along with the others, and blinks, when she notices someone above a severed arm "Someone definately flailed too much!" She wanders over to said arm and pokes at the thing... "Wonder how long it's been severed...." She mutters... "Anyone haz a large baggie and some ice?" Asks Kae...

Kae then looks to Nova curiously and ooooh... "I help where I can!" She says cheerfully... "I also have a shipment of stuffs for yer peeps and stuff, kind of a direct thing, ya know luxury stuffs? Anyhoo I can't get to yer current residence and all to make the delivery."

Her attention goes back to the arm and there's more poking, then Narsai speaks and Kae turns, her long shoe laces and straps catching into the severed arm before she takes a step... The arm slaps her in the back of the leg, Kae flails, and hops in the air "Ayee it's got me!" She calls out! And now more hopping and spinning, and Kae's flailing three arms now as the callout to shoot at the killik is maid.

Kae flails some more and spins, yanking her blaster pistol out of her scabbard and well cutting loose with three shots in the Killik's general direction as she's still trying to kick her foot and get the hand to not be attached to her shoe laces, the severed arm goes flying probably in the direction of the killik at this point.

Nova nods to Jess's observation, and Tallie's as well. <This Lord picked a poor spot to survey,> she says simply. <It must've seemed as if the very ground opened up to swallow them.> Aryn's gesture draws a nod as she turns to look around the area again.

The first thing she sees is Kaelyn. <Let's talk after we finish here,> she suggests... and within seconds the Sephi is having trouble from a dead person. She starts to kneel to help... And then Aryn is screaming! And something else is screaming! Something that sounds a LOT like Nova would imagine a giant predatory insect might scream! Blaster fire crisscrosses the area under the ship!

Nova stays low, out of the path of most of the shots. A glimpse over her shoulder shows something HUGE looming over the petite doctor. The blonde soldier whirls, unleashing a three-round burst from her antique assault carbine. The first shot misses right, triggered a hair too soon, but the next two punch messily into and through the Killik! It stands for a moment, half held up by its embedded axe, but slowly topples over like a felled tree, making about as much noise as it hits the cold ground.

She hurries to the doctor's side. <Aryn! Are you all right?!>

Narsai Ordo hears screaming, hears shooting and sees a lot more of it. Frowning behind her mask, she's turning to face the calls of distress...and then there's more of the bugs.

A breath, her blasters raise as Tallie beside her opens fire first, then the 'brother and sister' heavy blaster pistols give their trio of loud retorts and send the potent bolts slamming into her targets. A few moments more of violence from the team and she takes another breath. "Everyone alright?"

Alerted by the screams, Tallie brings the pistol she unholstered after finding the speared Killick to bear on the macabre spectacle of the one coming down the ramp. But her comrades are on the insect before she can fire. She exhales slowly clouding the air around her and stops dead, a puzzled expression on her face until she makes a broad gesture towards the west. Five shapes loom out of the shadows of the trees their oval red eyes gleaming spectrally, unthinking Tallie fires at one twice bringing it down in a spray of ichor and snow.

Jessika is focused on the treeline because of the movement indicated by a few of their party. She only realizes the grave mistake she's made when she hears Aryn scream. Whirling around, she spies the blonde sprawled out on the ground. Snapping her gaze to the other thing in the picture, Jessika is only briefly shocked by its appearance. It looks horrifying. That doesn't stop her from reacting to the Doctor's screaming to kill it, especially as the insectoid begins to raise what looks like a vicious weapon to begin attacking the woman. That's not good. Before she can settle her sights on the creature and put some shots in its direction, she sees multiple shots impact it. It looks like a kill shot. She hopes it's a kill shot. Unfortunately..

It being a killshot is something someone else is going to have to check. Cracking branches and heavy footfalls attract Jessika's attention. Knowing to do more than just look, she turns towards the direction of the noise with her blaster still at the low ready. She slips down into a kneeling position at the same time that she brings her sidearm up, and the finger that's alongside the trigger guard moves to inside, so her finger is resting over the curve that'll let death fly. Sighting one of the charging insects, Jessika supresses her initial repulsion at the sight of them and focuses on protecting the people that are in the clearing. She can see now why there was a battle. And her biggest fear is that where there are a few insects... There are more.

Again, others are faster on the trigger. Jessika darts her gaze around, looking for attacks coming from any other angles. Not seeing anything, she rises and moves over to where the Doctor is sprawled out on the ground. Lowering her weapon, her left hand extends to offer help, but her eye catches sight of something. "Is that a datapad?" She spies it through the gap between the creature's arm and its body, and motions towards it so that Aryn might spot it, too. Maybe it contains something helpful for them.

Aryn watches in terror as the large Killik hunter wearing the heads of people she /knew/ upon its belt, attempts to lift its axe for another swing. Then, her ears are ringing and she cringes, rolling away to one side. She didn't witness Kaelyn and Merek shooting at it, or Nova killing it. Her eyes stayed closed until she felt someone shaking her shoulder. Her eyes open and she sees the steaming, blasted corpse of the large Killik laying there, staring blankly at her. Fearful eyes go to Nova, whose voice she still can't hear over the ringing.

Blaster bolts form distinct contrails as the scream into the targets of charging Killik drones, and as quick as they appeared, they are dropped. Aryn accepts Nova and Jessika's help, her hearing slowly coming back.

"Yeah.. it looks like it."

To Narsai, "Doesn't look like any one is hurt.. just me being scared.." And under her breath as she snatches and drops the datapad (trying to avoid getting too close to the insect corpse and comically making quick motions to collect the device), "..and pathetic,” (silently worded).

She keys up the device and finds that it's a personnel tracker. It doesn't track in the sense that it provides a map, but rather it tracks vital signs.

"Lord Holster is still alive.. so are several of his people.." She passes the datapad to the others. "They must be further out.. or.." She reaches up to take the ornate handle of her crystal sword, which urges the baldric to shift. The ringlet that holds the blade in place moves to a position that allows her to more naturally free the blade. "We must find him." There's not much conviction in the young noble's voice, but that was a result of being frightened. That was when a familiar voice comes over the comms.

Over the comlinks, a familiar voice to most mumbles, <<So.. uh, not for nothing? But the sensors are reading a.. signal thing a little bit up from you. North, I meant north, up means north. Also reading blaster fire attttt... where you are. Oh drek, you shooting? Hang on, I'm coming down." Hogh above, a recon variant Y-wing Longprobe angles toward the party's clearing.

Kae's hands go int the air! "Yaaaay! Still alive! So we can still helps!" She also idly nudges the severed arm away from her self, it got her in trouble before." She blinks at a familiar voice... "Ooooh Heeyooo! It's Kae here! How is things!" She calls out happily.... "Still in love with the Y-wings and stoofs!!! Ooh Ooh! Only a couple weeks more of fine tuning and my Advanced Space Superiority fighter will be doooone!!!! "

Kae oohs and glances to the other folks. "Sooooo, yus, I makes reaaaallly nifty custom fighters when I'm not out bouncing around the galaxy and delivering cargo, or shooting at and missing baddly at giant bug folks out for world domination!"

"The droid looks like he has something," Merek mentions, while he takes a moment to check up on it, then he looks to all the others after the blaster fire on the killik as well. He nods a bit also.

Nova nods to Jessika as the two help Aryn to her feet, patting the doctor's shoulder reassuringly when she gets self-deprecating. <We all get scared, Doc,> she says sympathetically. Her gaze sweeps the clearing in the aftermath of the fighting, noting the contributions of Tallie and Narsai to ending the would-be attack. <Nice, Sunshine,> she says, noting the impressive double-tap.

But even more impressive is Narsai's flashing pistolwork. < I reiterate what I said earlier about beauty,> she compliments. <And I hope I never make either of you mad at me!>

Aryn's comment about the abducted lord draws her attention back to the reason they're here. <If he's alive, then these /things/ have him. I have a bad feeling they'll be just as tenacious wherever they've got him as they were here.> She sighs. <But we're here to rescue him, after all... it'd be kind of mean of us to go home now.>

Ektor's comm call reaches her ears, too. <Hey, Ektor! North... think it's our abducted lord?> She doesn't muse on it long, frowning as she notices something familiar on the Killik she brought down. She stoops and pulls it free, holding it up. She turns to Tallie, spreading the piece of cloth in her direction: A bit of heraldry that matches what the blonde pilot found. <Look familiar? Bet our uninvited guest has been to see our lord recently.>

Another ship? Another ally! Narsai turns her eyes skywards before she comes to frown. "More than that," she murmers before glancing to the others. "We've got a storm coming in that's likely to make life miserable for the Lord and our own efforts." A shake of her head, she holsters one of her pistols and makes to start moving. "Best we make haste." Nova's compliment? Well, it might just have brought an upturn of a smile behind Narsai's mask.

"That was downright impressive Ms. Ordo," Tallie gives her a thumb's up all the while keeping a wary eye on the clearing. Ektor's voice over the com brings a wry smile to her face. "And Ektor to the rescue! Now, we really know that things are going to go south. But he said north, right?"

She shortens the distance between them and gestures at the piece of banner that Nova shows her,"It begins to come together a bit better, Nova. That is indeed the same."

Pressing her finger to the microbead at the side of her neck, she queries the group in general, "How long can someone last in this cold? Even well equipped. I bet they have him someplace where they /can/ keep him out of the weather."

"Are you alright?" Jessika asks after the fact, once the Doctor has had a chance ot review the datapad and once a familiar voice has announced that another is going to join them on this expedition. He relays valuable information, though, and Jessika glances around to try to get some semblance of direction. She recalls from incoming that North is down slope, and she pairs that with the position she'd seen the creatures coming from. "North is the direction those things came from, which is downslope. Maybe they've got some sort of.. I don't know.. hive? Unless they live above ground, all the run-off from this mountain goes down that slope. Could have seeped into the ground and hollowed out some caverns maybe. Worth checking out, maybe."

Jessika goes from talking to Aryn to bracing her hand against her throat. <<"What's the range on that sensor signal coming from the North?">> They're going to need to know how far they're trekking. "We might need to bring some survival gear and supplies. Rations, tents, climbing gear, lights.." This is going to be an extended effort, and they can't just take their ships where they're going.

Ektor chuckles back over the comms, <<Ears, what's not to love about Wishbones? And yeah Moonbeam, only signal in sensor range, prolly Lord Rich-ass, or Pistol or whatever.>> It was 'Holster', Ektor. <<Only ah... half klick, yeah Jess?>> As the old heavy fighter settles the ground and pops its canopy, Ektor ditches his flight helmet and hops out with a crooked grin. "Nobody gonna melt in the rain, yeah? Cause it's storming worse than a Hutt's refresher past that ridge north a here."

Aryn shares a look with Nova when the soldier tries to make her feel better. Her words help, but she's still shaken. Jess' question is answered with a solemn nod. Aryn is already cold, it shows with her red cheeks. "Just ready to find our guy and get out of this place. I don't like those.. things." She confides, nodding to the larger dead body at the foot of a ship ramp.

Ektor's arrival is paired with the knowledge of a few things. Narsai predicts a storm after a gaze is directed above and Ektor confirms it. Merek points out that the droid has something, so Aryn leaves Nova and Jess and passes an energetic Kaelyn to go to her (Aryn's) droid.

The item it is carrying is a holo-disk of some sort. A brief conversation out of earshot reveals the disk was taken from the ship it boarded, but not reviewed. "Takes this aboard the Rainstorm then, and see what you can get from it, okay?" The droid confirms the order and all-too-happily trudges back to the safety of the small freighter.

Aryn nods her thanks to Merek, then looks to Tallie who had questioned the weather and how long someone could survive. Aryn shares similar notions about the land that Jess points out, but she doesn't voice it.

Lifting her sword, she motions towards the north. "If it's only a half klick, I do not think we need survival gear."

The team eventually heads north. The trek is not treacherous, but Jessika's analysis of the sloped terrain and synopsis was spot on. Water runoff from the collected snow has naturally eroded the land into a natural ditch of unique design. This ditch goes all the way down (250m down) to the foot of a pair of mountains where the trees stop for a clearing.

Those who passed spot see the hovels of primitive dwellings caked with mud. They are circular, like massive hives. Seven (7) Hive guards meander about. Those who passed search spot one (1) human who is seen following one of the guards around slowly, with lumbering steps. They're wearing armor, and dragging a melee weapon behind them. They look paler than usual, and generally disinterested in everything but the guard it's following.

Narsai's prediction confirmed by Ektor's reconnaissance revealed a storm nearby; we've found it. Snow falls thick here, with sharper winds.

Kae tilts her head to the left nw and waggles her arms as she fllows behind folks... She then blinks. "Oooh look!" She says, she's whispering. She then holds up a coin "It's a collector's coin! It's pretty!" Yes it's rather shiny. Kae so isn't paying attention to the zombie following after a giant bug...

Merek looks over to Kae while he lifts his brow a bit, then he nods a bit to Cole as well, while he follows the team also. He seems content to shift his weapon upwards while he does so.

"Jump pack could get us down there faster, scout ahead and reach him, but we couldn't exactly carry 'Rich boy' back easily." A gesture to her own armor, the Mandalorian gives a chuckle. "Especially since I am probably on my own in the rocketry department. We might have to chance bringing the ships in. Have one ready to pick up the rest. The 'Heart is big enough and I've flown her through worse, but there might be more of those things down with our friend there than just those we can see."

The slog through the snow was slower than anticipated and more tiring. Tallie hunkers down to get out of the wind and pulls the hood closer about her face as she strains to see the village through the slanting snow. She nods in agreement with Narsai's assessment, "Ah! Jetpacks would have been the ticket. So they have those humans in thrall." She shivers whether from the cold or being in the hands of the Killik is unclear. A small shuttle would work."

<Climbing gear sounds like a great idea, though, Jess,> Nova says, pausing look downhill. <I'd hate to miss a step on /this/ trip.> She resignedly begins walking, taking point. She's the long-time groundpounder, after all. It's a long walk north, mostly downhill, and takes enough time that attention could easily wander in the monotonous scenery. White, white everywhere..

And more. Nova halts and quickly lifts a hand like a stop sign, then straightens her arm and snaps it downward: Take Cover. <Bugs. I count seven. They're clustering around that spot; bet it's an entrance. Not sure what's with the Human, though. He looks stoned to the gunwales.>

Although she disagrees with the need for survival gear, she follows the Doctor's lead. The trek down the mountain is unadventurous, but Jessika maintains a state of high alert the entire time. It's exhausting in its own way, but they don't have too far to travel until they reach the edge of a clearing. She hasn't been keeping pace count, but she feels like they've traveled probably far enough to qualify as half a kilometer. Maybe. Could just be cognitive bias and they're nowhere near where they need to be. The presence of more of the creatures says otherwise, though, and Jessika tries to get a feel for the layout of the.. village, while also counting guards. And a.. human? A human, indeed. "What's he doing?" Tallie mentions something about a thrall, and Jessika's face twists up in inquisition. "You mean he's being mind controlled or something?"

"Uh, is that guy awake? Like.. is those some kinda bug wizards that take over his brain with magic bug eyes, or some drek?" He's breathing a bit heavily by the time they get there, limping along over difficult terrain didn't have him talking as much as usual, which was probably nice for the others while it lasted.

It's a safe bet that the only among them who has a doctorate thinks long and hard about storing her weapon before trekking down the slope. Realizing that Jessika was right to suggest survival gear has Aryn regretting her notion to not bothering with it. She stays silent the entire way down and joins the others to look onward to the hive/village. There's no masking her heavy breathing; Aryn's legs are burning and she's worn out already. Putting her back to a tree, she focuses on breathing a moment and thinks. "What do we do here. There is room enough for a ship.." She points, "like Narsai says. There's a human among them as well. If we can defeat the Killiks, maybe we can collect the humans? I don't know.. I'm not built for this kind of thing. You all are the experts. Thoughts?" Still breathing hard.

Kae blinks and peers curiously now where the others are peering.. "Ooh is that like some kinda wierd bug zombie?" She asks curiously, peering at the person 'Dun look like a bug..." She adds then rubs at the back of her neck... Kae tilts her head "oooh, Imma expert? Well when it comes to ships, and engineering stoofs maybe, though most of the time I'm notta bad shot.. Subject to change when random removed limbs stick to my legs." She adds and glances first left and right.

<No way to get to that hole without being seen,> Nova observes. <Too flat, too open. Let me see if I can create a diversion for us...>

She pokes around for a moment, finally locating a good-sized stone. Laying down her rifle, she picks up the stone, weighing it in her hand. Nodding, she winds up and gives it a pitch off to the left!

The satisfying snowy, branchy *whisk-thump!* brings four Killik heads swinging in that direction! Clicking and gabbling something at each other, they rush off towards the sound. Left behind are the other three Killiks, and the doped-looking Human. Not an ideal outcome, but the odds are suddenly much better.

Turning to smile at Nova, Tallie gives her a high sign, mouthing, "Smart!" Moonbeam's move divides the group but also helps them determine if there are more in hiding or not. For the moment there are only seven in this particular enclave. Or should she say hive? Toggling her gun to kill she waits for the four who have disappeared into the trees so come into range.

Pressing her hand to her neck she whispers, <Ektor, Ordo? Who is bringing in a ship?> No sooner than the words are spoken the four can be seen winding their way through the trees. Still hunkered down she drops to her knees, steadies herself with a breath lets the blast split the air taking down one.

Blasters are too loud, especially Narsai's. The fire could bring the others running back. Of course, as Narsai rushes forwards with her blade? She forgot to actually -voice- that concern! Her movement wasn't quite silent and the guard ducks, leading to the woman to twist and bring her blade flashing around to rip across the flesh of her target.

"Right? Some kinda bug zombie!" Ektor echoes the Sephi. He does have the wits to look over at the more level headed among them when the appeal for a plan is made. "Nice, Moonbeam! I say we stun everything that's left and drag out Lord Rich-ass bug zombie, before the rest get back. Yeah?" Then it begins. "Arright, it's on!" Anticipating the need to drag a guy in armor, he hurry-hobbles out after Narsai, hollering, "You stunned the drek out of that one, Sunshine!" Narsai's concern about the volume of blasters is illustrated aptly by an idiot Tionese shooting Lord What'sit in the face with a stun blast and crowing, "HA! Should've bought better bug guards, rich guy!" That's nowhere near how this works, Ektor. The pilot hastens toward the fallen Holster.

And the attack is on. Narsai leads the charge out, flanked by flashes of red blaster bolts and a blue stun ray. The initial lock up has Narsai meeting her foe just as another is taken clean out by Tallie. The human suddenly reacts, intent to attack Narsai but is taken out completely by the stun bolt. Aryn sweeps her cloak aside and pulls her sword free. It was Narsai she followed, staying behind her by several paces. She did not lock blades with any of them, but she watched in horror as the remaining bug attempted and failed to hit Narsai with a large hunk of metal.

Without thinking, Aryn made a quick hand motion with her offhand, the resulting reaction has a devastating effect. The bug who is struggling to append its weapon from the tree suddenly 'has the urge' to slam its face into the very weapon lodged in the tree. It spills backward, its eyes damaged. Falling to its knees, the Bug swings their arms wildly, crying in pain. Aryn, witnessing the result of her unseen motion, allows a small smile of satisfaction before turning and motioning for the others to remain in the tree line while they retrieved Lord Holster. <<"The others may come back.. we'll grab Lord Holster and fall back to you.">> Aryn points toward the flailing bug with her sword and circles, not having quite the conviction to move in for the kill.

Once again, the little team goes into action and very nearly mops up: Tallie's deadly aim puts down a Killik, and Ektor has their target on the ground and unconscious just as fast. Narsai seems to have one thoroughly tied up. But that does leave one... Nova hastens out, carbine in hand, snaps it down ruthlessly on the crippled Killik's head. There's a wet, chitinous *CRUNCH* as the blow crushes its head, and it slumps into the snow, twitching. <We'll have those others coming for us any time now! Hurry!> she advises, bringing up her rifle and preparing to cover their withdrawal. Which is hard, since she has to watch the woods /and/ that hivey-hole. They never got the chance to scout it out, after all...

Well. So much for stealth! Sometimes it was overrated anyway. With her sword still in her right hand, the pistol returns to her left, but she's still in the motion of drawing when the flying metal comes to her aid.

Her gaze flicks to Aryn, but who can say what her expression is beneath that T-visor that shrouds her face? Her blaster fires twice at the remaining bug, but the shots don't quite hit their mark.

<<"Let's extract, fast.">> Nova bought them time, but combat, even the unarmed kind, is not quiet. Jessika's on high alert trying to cover the ones that have moved in to gather up the individuals and to neutralize the creatures in the camp. She's looking in the direction that Nova chucked the rock, but she's also using the rest of her senses, and the sounds of cracking branches and deadfall are beginning to reach her. <<"Be advised, it sounds like the ones that ran off are coming back this way. They're closing in on this position. Get ready for more of a fight.">> Jessika can't pinpoint where the sounds are coming from. The trees and the foliage cause the sounds to scatter and reverberate off various angles, but she doesn't need to just hear.

Against the static backdrop, the movements of the creatures is obvious. Jessika snaps her blaster up and fires off a quick two shots, treating it like a pop-up target on the range. Only one of those shots actually hits, while the other leaves part of a tree trunk blackened and scorched. <<"They're on us.">>

"Am...I..." The wind whistling through the trees, the hiss of the snow falling on the wide branches add to her stunner but deafness. Jessika's movement alerts her before she hears the sentients moving through the trees. She rises from her crouch, supports her arm and releases two searing blasts in a row. One of the Killik drops like a rock.

Ektor skids into a crouch beside the unconscious Holster, returning his pistol to the leather case on his thigh, the action sparking his memory, "Holster! THAT'S his name-" as the Tionese hefts the unconscious human, managing to get enough of the weight up that he hurry-limps back toward the team's starting position. "I got him!" Ektor points out, needlessly.

Aryn nods her thanks to Nova, then glances to Narsai who tries to blast one of the bugs. That's about when Ektor arrives to collect Lord Holster. When Jess comes over the horn to announce that the others have found their fall back position, Aryn's heart rate increases when the sound of battle comes from the tree line. "Let's go, we need to help them, and get out of here." The young doctor begins to run back toward the treeline, turning to skip a few steps to make sure the others are with her. Into the treeline she goes, and she immediately raises her weapon to attack one of the Killiks. Her blow is glancing, and she's parried away with ease, sent tumbling to one side.

Jess's warning is timely: The Killiks are rushing out of the treeline even as Nova turns to cover her friends! Tallie's aim remains just as deadly as ever, but there are still too many for the other two girl pilots!

Nova snaps up her rifle and opens fire, dropping one Killik and smacking another solidly in the middle, giving Jessika some breathing room. She really needs to get these sights checked once they're back on the ship…

But the noise isn't all coming from the woods, or Ektor. Nova's gaze falls on the hive entranceway. <We have a problem... that hive's got a lot more of these things inside! We need to get out of here!>

She divides her attention between her friends and the hole in the wall, her intentions plain: She intends to hold back the clicking tide if she has to.

Grimacing at the idea of facing more of these awful things (they get Tallie where she lives reminding her of the insect like critters that could destroy a harvest on her home planet), the young pilot fires off a shot that takes one through the neck, separating it with crack that can be heard across the clearing. "Gah, grrrr, I hate these things," she shrills to herself and takes another shot that finishes the wounded one.

Shots fired towards their assailants don't slow them down. They keep sprinting forward, and Jessika realizes there's no real time to adjust position. They sweep in, and while Jessika is trying to get one lined up for a shot, another comes in on her flank. The kinetic impact of something sharp colliding with her leg forces out a sharp cry of pain. Her body gives out on that side, and a deeper, guttural grunt sounds from her knee impacting the hard, unforgiving ground. Throbbing, intense pain radiates through her thigh, and Jessika's gloved hand drops quickly to where it's happening. Touching it is an explosion of pain. "DREK!" Hissing and yanking her hand away, Jessika looks to her hand to find hot, dark blood covering her palm.

The cold air hurts, too. The rock has cut through the fabric of her flightsuit after cracking the armored panel, and it's even gone through the bodyglove beneath that. The mixture of body heat and cold air makes it throb even worse. Or maybe that's just the injury itself and the nerves surrounding it. <<"I'm hit, but I'm okay.">> Panting hard and wincing deeply, Jessika tests that by trying to raise back up to her feet. <<"Do we have the people we came for?">>

Ektor is sweating despite the cold as he carry-drags Lord Holster (he assumes) toward assumed safety. With huffed breaths misting in front of his face, the pilot adds, "Is this the guy? Cause- if there's ANOTHER one? Abd this... this ain't him? I think- *huff* The bugs can keep him- *huff* Yeah?" Jessika's inquiry is answered, << I sure hope so. Get clear, yeah?>>

Aryn witnesses from the ground as the Killiks are systematically obliterated by succinct blasts from her companions' weapons. Her ears are ringing again, but she can still hear well enough to listen to Jess' transmission about being hit. Ektor's questioning the identity of the human they rescued has Aryn climbing up a bit faster. She steps in front of Ektor and the human and reaches up to cup the human's chin, cupping it. A studying look to their face and Aryn realizes they have the RIGHT man. "It's Lord Holster." She confirms.

A quick motion guides her weapon home and she turns to help Jess, offering herself to the wounded side of the ace pilot so they can get back up the hill.

Nova's observations of the hive entrance reveal more humans and bugs alike. But they move in a similar manner akin to Lord Holster. All of them begin to charge the treeline blindly.

The group starts up the hill quickly, leaving their old position behind. The climb is brutal, but luckily none of these Killiks and humans have ranged weapons. They struggle to climb up the hill just as much as the others. It becomes a matter of desperation.

Our heroes make it to the top first, and it's /everything/ they can do to get into their ships, prep, and get the hell out of there.

As they leave this place behind, Aryn had no idea that when they broke through orbit, the hivemind connection Lord Holster had with the Killiks broke, and as a result, he dies quietly.

<Move! Here they come!> Nova calls as the hive mouth begins to overflow with Killiks and stoned-looking Humans. She begins firing, trying to stem the tide as they fall back for the hillside and begin scrambling up.

She's the last one to begin the climb, pausing to fire several shots to keep the monsters busy, then whirling to catch up. The Killiks seem to have no regard for their own safety, though, and despite being hit by her and others' shots, continue to close in behind them. One pushes its way forward just as Nova turns, trying to grab for her! She kicks back at it just as its pinchy hands make contact, knocking it away... but it did get a hold just below her backplate, and as it falls it clings stubbornly, loudly tearing away the seat and part of the thighs of her armor's bodysuit!

Nova gasps as the frigid air finds the hole, the close call and the cold adding speed to her steps. She's still last in line, though, so only the Killiks and their Human thralls see the white and lavender-striped seat of her athletic briefs, and they don't care, anyway. She's especially glad to get back to Aryn's Helix, strapping down in the co-pilot's seat without a word as they prepare to get underway.

It's only later that she finds that their rescue-ee is dead, killed by the psychic shock of a hive-mind the team knew nothing about. All that for nothing... and a new mystery, to boot.