Log:Sith: Unearthing the Past, Pt. 2
The Sith explore deeper into the forgotten outpost
OOC Date: April 20, 2023
Location: PF-01.91
Participants: Kol Goren as GM, Aryn Cortess (Darth Kalus), Losor, Merulia, Raskta, Tamsin Cas (Councilor)
The blast doors have slammed closed and after the creature outside has vented its fury on those same doors, it is silent. The only interruption to that silence is the low, constant thrum of some distance machinery running. The origin of the sound is very likely the geothermal power generators said to be housed deep beneath the base.
Due to the blast doors closure the tunnel has been thrown into a most unsettling darkness. The pitch black darkness of being underground and without even a hint of natural light. While the blast doors themselves are considerable in size, very likely intended to permit access for something of substantial size; the light from Netep Muri's glowrod brings into clarity that the tunnel is tall and wide. On the tunnel's floor to either size of what is surely the tunnel's edge are small glowing lights. The light they produce is negligible and they are likely intended to mark the edge of the tunnel and prevent someone from walking directly into the walls, rather than truly provide a source of light to the expansive tunnel.
Aside from a faint layer of dust on the floor the tunnel appears to be in excellent condition. The elements have been unable to reach this place and the tunnel's integrity seems sound. What is unsound is the state of the Acolyte known as Losor: having suffered the embrace of the creature on the outpost grounds, his condition is significantly impaired. A little bacta will likely set him right, but he'll definitely be feeling it for the days or weeks to come.
The blast doors at their back, now the Sith find empty darkness before them with Netep's glowrod illuminating something tall and metallic black on the very edge of the glowrod's darkness. Whatever they are, the metallic glint of light reflecting off their surface reveals that there are at least a few of them evenly spaced further along the tunnel's sides. Barely illuminated by the edge of the glowrod's light, it's difficult to determine what those shapes are without approaching closer…
The Councilor, who had been at the controls to close the blastdoors, did not step immediately away, as they heard the doors close and the darkness envelop them. As they was still close to the wall, they remained there, leaving the control panel for now, and causing a rustling in the darkness as she searched for every doctor's friend, a penlight. "I will look for a panel which might allow us to spin up the illumination in the room." They were neither wandering in the dark, nor treating a patient in it. The light flashed and glinted, and something caused the Councilor to turn, the spear of light illuminating one of the forms, a droid of some kind, painted black, and well over seven feet tall, humanoid in shape. "Dark--no, not those." But if they were, they were in even more trouble. They continued searching.
Kalus (Aryn) is catching her breath from having run through the bunker doors and witnessing them shut. The darkness was no better venue for their current situation, but she did not let on how unnerving the shadows were. The thought of bashing vines and poisonous thorns leave Kalus stepping slowly, and she closed her eyes and counted to fifteen until her eyes had adjusted enough to re-open. She saw droids, could even make out the old emblem of the empire upon them, but of what significance they served, she could not say. "I believe these automatons served some purpose, or defense. It is hard to determine if reactivated, they would bar or enable our movements.."
Raskta Is checking her brother and looks around " Anybody knows about healing.. I am rather lacking in that She frowns as she checks he's still breathing and she knows about basic cleaning and bandages because that's common knowledge but she knows nothing else.
The groans are low his body limit, breathing shallow and labored. His body and cloak look like he's been hit with whips. He is still almost as still as death and if it weren't for the groans and periodic muscle spasms he might actually look as though he were peacefully sleeping.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Lights begin to power on and hum with their activation. Recessed into the tunnel ceiling they shine brightly down upon the Imperial gray tunnel evenly spaced, yet at long intervals leaving wide swathes of the tunnel in gloomy shadow. The black-painted Imperial insignia is evident on either side of the tunnel walls near the entrance, seemingly as fresh as the day it was painted so long ago. It's covered by a fine layer of dust, but beyond that it appears totally untouched.
There had likely been some form of motion sensor activated by Darth Kalus' (Aryn's) steps forward while trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. Now the darkness has been dealt with.
As the lights illuminate the tunnel it's obvious that it travels beneath the mountain in a straight line for some distance, but begins to descend with a gradual slope deeper beneath the mountain. It is along this horizontal plane that the droids can be found. Much like the overhead lights the droids stand a forgotten vigil at regular intervals, numbering at least a half dozen; though there could be more of them where the tunnel begins to descend and moves out of sight from the blast door entry area.
The lights activating seems to have activated the entrance's security systems as well. The droids ponderously turn their heads to regard the new arrivals to the base and find them as unidentified personnel, before turning to face these new arrivals. Tall and astonishingly agile, the old Arakyd Industries KX-series enforcer droids hold their position while staring at the new arrivals. They remain watchful, yet unmoving aside from the turn of their round heads as the ominous circular white lights of their robotic skulls stare through the gloom at the new arrivals.
As the lights came online, the Councilor tucked away their penlight. They did not step further into the corridor, though they noted the shift in attention of the droids, that was not their primary concern. Instead, they stepped back to where Raskta was kneeling beside Losor and took a knee themselves, "I am a trained physician." They said no more, but simply began to pull supplies from hidden pockets within their robes to work on the acolyte's injuries.
When the lights began to click on and activate through the depths of the facility, Kalus looked to the details of the corridor and the sudden movement of the droids. Stepping forward to address the Imperial marked droid, she says, "I am Darth Kalus. State your primary function and purpose at this installation."
Raskta Nods her head looking thankfull as she sighs " I Had some training as a child.. but My skills are lacking beyond field dressing and basic " She says looking sheepish .. She Nods " He's a strong warrior we could use his strength " She says softly . She looks over at the driods her weapon at the ready just in case
Losor grunts and growls sitting up his mind reeling in pain and a fog. "Frak thath hurt, what....Ouch that's gonna be another series of scars. Those vines yea guys they hurt he growls moving to get to his feet and drawing an actual sword instead of his stun saber.
The KX-series droids shift their heads in unison to stare at Darth Kalus as Aryn addresses them. They still do not move from their position, but they begin to speak in unison with voices layering atop one another as they announce, "This facility is off-limits to unauthorized personnel. Present your code cylinder. You have ten seconds to comply." Their response to Aryn's words almost seem as they're speaking rehearsed lines or under these circumstances: following the conditions of their programming. They are unarmed and do not move. Instead they stand their ground and stare toward the blast doors and the intruders present near it. At least for the next ten seconds.
Lack of situational awareness was not one of the Councilor's failings. As Losor began to right himself, and as the droids demanded code cylinders from Kalas, the Councilor remained on a knee, secreting the medical supplies back into their robes, and retrieving the datapad with which they had interfaced with the base's computer systems. It would seem the system was still in a good mood, and happy to oblige, after a bit of coaxing. This was, certainly, the most work they had been called to do in many decades, at least. It took a bit of smooth talking, certainly, and quick typing, before the droids appeared to power themselves back down, returning to their previous state of stillness.
When the droids stand down, Kalus' grip upon her lightsaber relaxed. She turns her head toward the Councilor, nodding quietly in thanks, then pressed on without another word. Eager to move on with their missions, Kalus adopts a brisk walk and moves into the depths of the bunker.
Raskta Nods her head when her brother gets up and stands up as he draws a blade " Take it easy we just got you back .. wounds heal but if you push you will perish.. so go slow " She growls and shakes he rhead before she strides along having given her warning
Blinking, groaning, seemingly needing a second to get her head on straight, Merulia reaches one hand up to brush a stray lock of blonde hair behind a pointed ear before the Nightsister lifts her weapon and...the droids stand down.
Thankful as she was, the young woman falls into step behind Kalus, ready to move on and glancing back at the injured.
Losor finishes getting to his feet nodding to his sister before looking back to Tamsin he gives a bow of thanks before blade in hand be strides forward following the group.
The tunnel begins to descend beneath the mountain. All while it maintains that same Imperial standard height and width. Which is to say that it is uniform and fairly featureless along much of the journey. Eventually that descending slope meets with a large cargo turbolift that the group of Sith make their way down deep beneath the earth and even the mountain above.
From the turbolift the environment changes. While they are still subterranean tunnels as above, it is the fact that they seem to function as a network of grids that is truly impressive. Each tunnel ends in an intersection of three tunnels branching from it. It's the sights that really tell a different story. Some of the walls feature blackened carbon scoring. Suits of old style stormtrooper armor feature blast marks as well, with the bodies they once contained now decayed to dust and bone. Even a few officer uniforms can be found. It's as though they turned on one another in the end, perhaps over dwindling supplies.
The generators are still functional however and the data storage facilities still seem to be functional. At least aesthetically. Who knows if the vast amounts of information that they contained was still intact or viable.
When the central command chamber is located, the doors appear to have been sealed and a group of floor-mounted automated blaster cannons appear to have been activated at some point. They are likely controlled exclusively by the command room and it's entirely possible that they had been activated during the bitter fighting between Imperial and Imperial. Now, without a master, those sentry guns stand ready to engage anyone that attempts to access the command room that they protect.
The Councilor, having helped to alleviate (one would hope) threat now passing behind them, they moved with care into the base at large, helm tilted this way and that as they observed the space and the items around them. A pause, as they came to what appeared to be the way into the heart of the facility. A quick movement as they kept behind cover, having heard, perhaps, the whine of servos. Enough to catch the lay of the land. A moment, as they Councilor settled into themselves.
Those who had known them in the time before, might have been reminded of another dark figure, as the Councilor stepped out, the force exploding around them as they ran on soundless feet directly into the line of fire, the hilt of that flame-bright blade falling into their hands as the weapon ignited. As they reached the end of the corridor, two of the turrets fell to their blade, the third spared as they adjusted to try to keep themselves out of the line of fire of the remaining half dozen.
The sentry turrets being online was just another nuisance, and Kalus was none too eager to rush them. Even when the Councilor set to the task in quick and efficient manner, Kalus remained behind as if unwilling to truly commit to another attack. Though her influence over the force became apparent when she presented a gloved hand toward one turret, severely damaging it with nothing but kinetic energy, it was only enough to hinder its functionality and not quite disable it. She stepped to one side, allowing the others an opportunity to use their training to crush this challenge, she even locked her hands against the small of her back and waited patiently. Typical of nobility.
Raskta follows the others calling on her superhuman abilities what she was bred and made for the skills and phisical abilities given to her at birth .. allowing her to move as speeds that almost seem like force powers. While not quite as fast she can be close as she moves extremly quickly But wanting to shield her brother means her accuracy suffters causing her to swing too slowly and miss her blade scoring the armored bottoms leaving no valuable damage
A blur of movement as the sentry guns come to life and this time Merulia's weapon strikes true. A brutal downward swing as she lept in was forced to adjust, missing lest she open herself up to being blasted...but the defensive raise of that humming crimson hue extends into a slash before she whirls around and thrusts the weapon into another, ending the threat of two more guns.
Pain yes that pain fuels Losor's rage and he wants to wreck whatever possible. No thought to his safety he charges forward with a deafening war cry! Closing the distance his first swing hits the Sentry gun, CLANG! His follow up swing misses, but as if in a beautiful graceful, elegant and lethal dance the sword is spun around and rapidly connects with the Sentry gun again CLANG!!
Blurs of movement as the Sith and their lightsabers surge into the corridor results in the sentry guns shifting to acquire their targets. Those same blurs are upon them quickly and they haven't even had an opportunity to begin firing their dual cannons before half of them are sheared in half or otherwise rendered inoperable by the lightsabers. One of the sentry guns is under the influence of Darth Kalus' grip and it twitches and twists, as though it were struggling to orient itself toward a target. When the grip on it does subside even for a moment it promptly shifts and begins to fire toward Merulia, but the shots go wide on account of the recent damage to its structure.
In the midst of firing guns and now more members of the team that had ventured into these dark depths, attacking the turrets while not endangering the others with them was a difficult endeavour. The Councilor pulled back on two of the swings of their saber, as the guns turned and moved to fire on targets, but made good use of the third to disable one more of the weapons. This was hack and slash work now. Not their preference, but such was the call of duty.
Kalus attempted a more complicated technique of telekinetic destruction but ultimately failed in its application. Her thoughts and mind were much too clouded to focus on what she needed to, and the result saw her hands reclasp, again, abandoning the prospect of employing the force in a similar manner again. She waited patiently as the younger Sith set to work using their martial prowess, and began to walk toward the control room, unconcerned about the turrets.
Raskta Growls a tthe sigh of her brother getting hit again " YOU IDIOT " she howls at him of course she misses the shot and brings her blade down roaring with Rage " Stupid idiot " not sure if she's talking to the turret or her brother at this point.. as she unleashes on them or tries
Twirling and deflecting, the lightsaber might be new in Merulia's hands but it seems she'd been paying attention to her instruction as she sweeps the blade up to knock aside a bolt and then manages another impactful blow on one of the remaining turrets, cutting their numbers down.
First strike misses. "Frak, stip shouting at me! I'm ok!" He growls and again the blade does actually make contact but grazes off in frustration he stabs at and the blade may have chipped some paint?
The remaining pair of turrets shift to engage the lightsaber wielding threat that's sheared through many of their number already. They begin to engage even as the Councilor begins to move in their direction. Their blasts sear the air around the masked Tamsin and some are even bat away through the use of the lightsaber's blade. When these defenses were designed, it was in a time when the Jedi were believed extinct and two Sith lead the Empire these sentry guns served. They were not designed with such engagements in mind.
The Councilor continued to move, striking and dodging, moving and avoiding both their fellow attackers and the turrets. None of the strikes of the saber managed to do more than glance across the casings of the weapons, but, at the very least, they both appeared to continue to focus on them. That was to the benefit of the rest of the team, certainly. The Councilor did not appear much worried about injury.
As the fighting persists, and the turrets are dealt with, Darth Kalus strolls toward entrance of the control center. Unless anything stood in place to prevent her entry, she was moving for the door and interior.
Arriving at the door, Kalus surveyed its structure whilst the others dealt with the turrets. Arriving at the conclusion that the entrance was barred by sealed doors (not just closed ones), she would have to devote her focus to parting them. She speaks up before hand, "Whatever has sealed this door, did so for a purpose. Prepare yourselves for what may exist beyond this barrier. I will open the way."
Darth Kalus closed her eyes a moment and immersed herself within the nexus of the Force. Like wading out into a stream of its infinite power, she gathered and influenced from it, stretching her perception and senses out until the door became an extension of herself.
Hands unclasped and raised at each side, and the tick-tick-ticking of metal tension began to shake and vibrate the barrier until it gave out and she parted it with a loud, screeching groan of metal. As the door moved, so too were her hands, arms going wide until the hatch was well parted with enough space to let them by. The relief of accomplishing this feat came when Kalus' shoulders relaxed and a small measure of breath released as a long sigh. "Forward, then. Always forward." Hands reclasp at her back, and she waits for an ambitious Sith to take the lead, content to follow.
The sentry guns have more or less been destroyed. Those that are still operable are soon rendered inoperable. There's one in particular that withstands numerous assaults, twisting and shifting its very best to avoid every stroke. Many clangs ring from the things durasteel and plastoid structure, but eventually it too becomes inoperable simply on account of so many strikes against it wearing it down over time. It put up the good fight, but brute force and small bits of bashing proves enough to eventually accumulate and render it inert.
Darth Kalus has walked through the chaos of battle and when she arrives before the command room's doors: finds them sealed.
After a moment of concentration and a showcase of raw power through the Force, Darth Kalus tears the sealed doors apart with the snap and groan of metal. Not only had the mechanical locking mechanisms been engaged, they'd also been welded shut; which only made the feat all the more impressive.
The central data terminal which controls the facility is in a command room eerily reminiscent of an old Imperial I-class Star Destroyer's bridge. Where the bridge's viewports would typically overlook the vastness of space ahead of the Star Destroyer, these viewports look out across a lake of magma which gives off the heat that powers the generators. That data terminal is the objective. Acting as the brains of the facility, it will grant access to it and the information that it contains. While that information will surely be encrypted and take years to decipher, the fact that it is in the hands of the Sith Empire once more is an accomplishment to be celebrated.
There is still the matter of the creature outside and as eyes turn toward that vast lake of magma? The Sith may have found a perfect battleground to dispose of that terrifying beast...
