Log:The Force - Event Horizon
he Force: The Maw
OOC Date: November 14, 2023 (Optional)
Location: The Maw Cluster
Participants: Tamsin Cas, Aryn Cortess, Merulia, Zev, and Qutha Buvu Pah as GM
It had no transponder to identify it. It had been operating 'dark' for years and by the looks of it had been abandoned for mere months before the Sith and Jedi had happened upon it in their own ways. There wasn't even a name painted on the side of the ship that had been an anomaly on sensors due to the paint that had rendered it a matte black to further conceal it. It was only due to a loose power routing coil housing that it had given off enough of a signature to bring inquiring types this deep into the Maw.
When the asteroid that had been pulled by the conflicting gravity wells of the multiple black holes had ended its thousands of years journey by impacting a tertiary sensor array on the topside portion of the stations central saucer section it had caused shorts that fired maneuvering thrusters for precious seconds before the computer systems attempted to correct. Had overcorrected - and now the station was slowly drifting towards one of the lightless eternities of the Maw Clusters black holes.
Spacecraft that had approached from different points and had been unaware of one another due to the sensor distortions of the Maw Nebulae were revealed to one another moments before the strike. Unable to disembark from the small hangars on opposing ends of the station that they'd settled in... not without being cast to eternity.
The whole station was shuddering as the massive drive engines fought to keep the structure from being swallowed up. Engines that could lift a Super Star Destroyer out of planetary orbit, if one could have even survived such to begin with, rapidly draining station power despite the shorts having reduced their thrust.
Engines needed to get this place far enough from the gravity well to allow those aboard a chance to run if they don't kill one another first.
Now some of those whom had come aboard, trapped by circumstance, were entering a hangar level promenade - confirmed now that they're not alone, so to speak on the station. Two sides of a dichotomy forced to face one another now. Qutha, among the Jedi present offering a quiet "Oh bother..." as the station shudders and metal groans somewhere within.
Achlys paused, infinitesimally briefly, as the Sith boarding party was revealed to be less than alone on the station. A trio of robed figures, a clutch of Troopers in black armor that seemed to bend and play tricks with the light. Weapons drawn, they did not fire. There was no expression, not in the faceless mask that was visible beneath the hood of their robes, nor in the tone or timbre of the heavily vocorded voice. "We have no time for games." That, seemed directed to the two figures beside them, "If we encounter any interference, put it down." That, was directed towards the troopers who had come aboard with them. "I will try to determine the quickest route to the engine controls." They moved away from the group, heading towards what appeared to be a secured access panel for, one would assume, the station's computer systems. A momentary pause, as the panel was torn away from its housing, ebfore hands began to work at the controls, trying to suss out the security for the system.
A witch in the darkness of space sounded like the beginnings of a horror holo, but in truth? The healer was here for more practical reasons. Sent by her patrons and intent to prove herself on the next step of her education, the blonde Sephi adjusted her robes and the medical kit attached to the small of her back before they stepped into the hanger level and she was left to blink, tilting her head to the side and then glancing at her companions.
Clearly, the Nightsister Acolyte was intending to follow the lead of her superiors, after all her experience with starships had only been quite brief.
The Dark Lord Kalus stepped through the hatch wearing a black tunic and long cape of equal shade. Her mask was an emotionless thing, eyes alight from the mask, a dull violet in hue, as the breathing apparatus doubled as a voice modulator, giving the Lord a cryptic, scrambled voice.
The station shook and groaned from pulling gravity, the fluctuations in air and tension palpable. Even bits of debris were shaking loose from above in the hangar's rafters, and as they fell potentially harming the sith group, Kalus halted the heavy rafter with a raise of her hand, defying logic and physics. It is slowly cast to one side.
The blue furred Jedi could hear the sounds of the station struggling. Knowing they're already in the grip of the Maw was terrifying in and of itself, but the echo of the engines straining just to keep them from being destroyed. The lepi was quickly following along behind Qutha, trying to stick close to him. No time for games indeed, he thinks with a glance over towards Achlys, "Hopefully we can supercharge the engines." He thinks out loud. From the sheer size, they may already be running nearly at full capacity.
Rifles being raised at the sight of other figures not clad akin to the Sith. Lenses of black armor trained on the brown robes and raising the hands of the zelosian among the Jedi.
"Woah now... hey there..."
Qutha looks to Achlys and Kalus first then Merulia when he hears the commentary from the one regarding finding the engine controls, looking to Zev when he comments on the engines, nodding slightly as he... walks towards the Sith, raising a hand, "Reckon we'se in the same boat... as it were..." brow knitting as he looks from one mask to the next.
"Ya'll ain' gonna pull sabers ifn' we foller... in case this'n's gonna need extra hands?"
The station shakes again, violently, sparks flying as a lighting strip is broken free and a support beam swings out of place to slam and scrape against durasteel floors, digging a furrow in its passage.
"The guns are not for you," Achlys offered, to the Jedi who, stepping forward, and not walking behind, appeared to be the one leading the expedition. "I find it imprudent not to plan for every eventuality. And with this much interference, we have no way to know that we are the only beings currently on the station." The masked visage did not look away from the controls, as they stepped aside enough so that a general layout of the ship could be viewed if any were close enough, "We have two options. The main engines control system in engineering, or the central station controls in the tower."
Uneasy peace for the sake of survival? It only made sense. As Lord Kalus tosses the bar aside (albeit slowly) and Achlys offers her suggestion of options, the Sephi woman in her dark makeup considers for a moment, frowning. "Perhaps both tasks are important? The controls will be useless without the engines, and the engines will need to be managed, no?" Her gaze lifts, amber orbs taking in the gathered 'Brown cloaks'.
"Fortunate then, that there are so many."
<"There is no time for it, and time is our shared enemy."> Aryn (Kalus) answers, voice construed and manipulated by the mask. When Achlys devises two options, Kalus nods her head to agree. <"Best if groups go to both in the event one falters or fails. Comm-link open channel five. Darth Achlys can lead one group to the central station, I can take another to engineering."> Kalus turns when the light fixture comes down. <"Best be about it.."> She begins to move, letting those who wish to follow to fall in step.
"I think I might be better with the team going to engineering." Zev offers. He hasn't worked with engines /this/ big before, though the concept is still generally the same right? "The quicker we make up our minds the better, though!"
Eyes to Zev when he speaks up about going to engineering - looking from the lepi to the masked figures, Qutha's brow knits and his eyes glaze as he looks ahead yet elsewhere at the same time, "N'm'own expertise runs more t'wards th' c'mmand center..." looking between the sith,
A presence familiar among those, one he'd known for years. Looking Kalus directly in the lenses of her mask, expression drawing out, "He's a good egg... n'he'll be useful f'what y'may run round int' down there..." emerald eyes blinking slowly when they turn back to the blue furred one, "Be mindful. Be in contact, n'r'mem'mer... Listen t'Th' Force."
The station rattles and moans like a banshee as hull plates threaten to pull from the frame, the slowly nearing gravity well of the black hole creeps nearer. Sparks shoot from another strained section in the hangar. The Zelosian approaching Achlys and offering a small nod, "Reckon we'se got's a bit of a jaunt, eh?"
The station quakes and for a heartbeat the lights die, plunging everything in complete darkness.
"As you say. I will move as quickly as possible." And so they did, keying the controls to force the doors back into locked position. If the station fell into one of those blackholes, losing oxygen or gravity was likely to be the least of their problems. "Acolyte, the choice is yours." The troopers as well, split themselves between the two groups, tactical flashlights flickering on to provide illumination, should the light continue to defy them. And then, the robed figure was off, moving along the path that would lead them to the station control tower. The way was not an easy one, and Achlys dodges and rolled as the station's very walls seemed to be trying to exchange positions with the deckplating, though they proved nimble enough to avoid any major catastrophes.
Neither a computer expert nor a mechanic, but Merulia could follow orders and...maybe a little sorcery was all the machines needed. Still, it was better than standing in the hanger waiting to be smooshed, a nod to Achlys and then she was off!
As things were plunged into darkness she moved, seemingly guided by luck and/or the force away from the debris and danger.
Kalus shared a moment with Koof, looking up to meet the other's gaze and share a nod that showed she acknowledged what he said, though his words conjured no verbal response from the masked blonde. Seeing the blue furred Jedi join her, Aryn stepped off without much ceremony, and to the percussion of trooper boots following behind them.
Lights from their rifles bounced along the bulkheads ahead, and as debris fell and bursts out from the walls, Aryn moved with pre-cognitive ease avoiding the danger.
Observing that the Jedi might not experience such ease, she helps them along by influencing the force to bring them closer and away from harm. <"Stay close,"> She bids, though the mask conveyed the message succinctly.
"Yes, Qutha." Zev replies, the lepi looking at the Sith for a few moments as they determine which of them is going where. After the choices are made, and exchanging one last glance at Qutha, he quickly scampers after the Sith and their troops. Things are not going well in the station while the groups are making their way. A pipe explodes near Zev, swinging out towards him as it misses him by a mere inch in front of his nose, having come to a dead stop. His nose twitches for a second before he quickly hops back past.
A gangway collapses out from in front of him, and he takes a few steps and runs, only to have the part of the catwalk he was going to push off of also procede to collapse under him, sending him sprawling downwards, though thankfully grabbed and pulled up onto the secure side by the Acolyte. He takes a few moments to adjust his robes after he gets back up, and then nods to her, "Thank you." He replies, doing his best to stick close to her afterwards.
Achlys and Qutha, paired en route for the command deck, the zelosian keeps in the shadow, so to speak, of the sith when a hunk of corridor smashes down, leaping into a run to get clear - the hem of his robes smoldering when burning wreckage threatens to pin him.
Darkness swallows up those headed for engineering - lights going out in waves before they fall entirely. Only the lights of the troopers to provide to see by when more of the corridor bends and then slides after the gangway that had sought to fall away beneath Zev. A high whistle of moving air joins the rumble and growl of the straining station and somewhere a computerized voice issues an alert about life support issues to join that whistling.
Passage down, along a cage protected ladder leads to a set of blast doors with an indicator for the engineering section emblazoned across it.
En route for the command bridge lighting becomes a dull sanguine red when emergency power engages. Forcing Qutha to risk pressing up at Achyls's side whilst he calls upon the force to aid his vision. Sidling to one side and giving the Sith lord space before they come to a large, round chamber, at the height of frozen people-mover steps - a high pitched whistle and rattle of transparisteel signaling a steady failing of atmospherics integrity on the bridge ... and not a sign of functioning mag-cons or blast shields.
Entering the command center was not the problem, and the troopers moved in along with Achlys, who did not appear much put out by the proximity of the Jedi. Rather, the masked visage took a quick inventory of the room, the Sith Lord's unnaturally acute low-light vision allowing them to pinpoint by sight what they had felt before. "Let us see." They did not dawdle, as unseen hands began to make use of the debris that had fallen all around them,pieces of desk or support beams being lifted or twisted into place to press against the buckling seams, holding the viewports as best they could, to keep them from collapsing. "See what you can do to keep those from collapsing." That, to the troopers, as Achlys turned away to find the station's controls. Into the open comms to Kalus, "We have arrived at the station controls, I will attempt to do what I can to repair the engines and get the station stable again."
Kalus was the first to the ladder and began to climb, moving as swiftly as she could to reach the top where the emblazoned doors declared 'Engineering'. Unfortunately, the doors were closed, and as the others made it to the top, Aryn had to set herself to the task of opening them.
Drawing upon a significant influence from the Force, Aryn manipulated the space ahead of their group using her hands to gesture. Yet as she mimed the actions, some unseen force took hold of the doors and began to test their mettle. Durasteel grinded, protested the excess force that pushed against hydraulic controls.
Somehow, the dark lord of 5'2 managed to influence the doors apart, pulling through the gestured motions of her hands until both arms were apart. The doors were forced open in that instance, and held, under tremendous strain and force.
<"Move inside and begin shining your lights on every console you find. We need to work together as a team if we are to solve this energy problem."> She commanded through her mask, and the troopers obeyed without hesitation, filing into engineering to get the lay of the land.
Zev makes sure to get the hell out of the way as Kalus wrenches the doors open with the force. He, for his part, isn't going to not help out, as he looks over and focuses on a pair of large pipes that have been knocked loose nearby on a different level catwalk. He focuses, and extends a hand, reaching out and pulling the pipes. It takes a bit of effort, but they do move, and then raise up, before he brings them down and wedges them against either side of the open door, ensuring that for at least the moment, the doors will not seal them inside of the engineering section. He finally also checks in over commlink with Qutha, <"We're at engineering. Just heading inside now to see what we're up against. Will let you know soon.">
<<"Copy that...">> murmured into his commlink to Zev's report, <<"We's at the bridge...">> looking to the pieces that Achlys raises and the troopers begin to weld in place. The sight of the empty void that is the consuming gullet of the black hole creating a warping affect in the light reflecting through the nebula - surrounding a point of complete nothingness.
Approaching one of the stations and tapping the side of the console - still yet having a stable display - showing a multitude of alerts and signals in the red. Eyes flicking from the display, to the viewports and then back to Achlys as he checks over the readouts, "Reckon thisn's gonna... be a bit've a stone in the garden line..." frowning deeper.
Down below with engineering's main doors jammed open the sight within gains extra illumination as emergency lights on battery power manage to flicker on - a dull blue to bathe the area in twilight. The engines are thrumming, chugging even, but the entire situation is starting to fall dangerously out of control as they're becoming overtaxed.
Multiple stations are reporting alerts with messages flashing across screens and demanding the attention of all present. Attention that will require a great deal of cooperation to get people out of this alive.
