EVENT: DUPRR ▒ THE SECONDARY SHUTTLE BAY

[ataraxites]

CHARACTERS: Ensemble production!
LOCATION: The secondary shuttle bay
WARNINGS: Violence, injury, graphic imagery, death etc.
SUMMARY: Discovery of the secondary shuttle bay and rescue or not of the DUPRR NPCs inside.
NOTES: March 30 onwards.

The doors are torn open as you arrive, metal ripped back like the skin of a fruit. Improvised barricades of tools and carts, shuttle pieces stand as obstacles to be carefully climbed through before you can stand in the shuttle bay itself. The space is vast, flashlight beams penetrating only a certain distance into the dark, but enough to sweep the floor, find the scattered, gored remains of at least three human bodies. The ship stands as the only complete vessel in sight - or, at least, it was. Windows smashed, the hull torn at, access doors ripped open. The inside empty. The shuttle bay is silent. But is that the silence of a catastrophe already passed, or of someone hiding, holding their breath?

Comments

[forgodssake]

[ This would be a bad time to smile at the exchange between Fenris and Erik, even the darkly humoured little twist of one threatening the integrity of his being super earnest and helpful and such like. Charles manages it. Just. Johanna's act is an inspiration to us all.

He still won't be the most reassuring sight, all of them doused in a fresh hail of blood and guts, but the tip of his head relays interest and curiousity.

As Erik talks, he chances a few steps closer. One hand hovers in front of him, fingers lax, placating. ]

Are you hurt?

[ He does hunt around for those answers as Erik puts those questions in her mind, a good enough tactic to rustle them up to the surface whether she wants them to or not. If they come, he'll relay them across, busily and tidily, all clipped efficiency in contrast to gentle inquiry.

He would prefer Eszter focused forward. He would prefer Estzer join their group, but if push comes to shove, or the quiet turns to monster-- ]

[patientiam]

[Her eyes flicker from one speaker to the other, somewhat unsurprised that the man who had spoken before sets straight into interrogation.]

Only a little. [A gash down her side, aches and pains that might indicate strained or torn muscles from getting away from various creatures.]

The shuttle's back there. [She lifts an arm, gestures back behind them, over the other side of the bay. Half a wreck, now. Her mouth presses, concern and frustration.] I don't know where the others are. We were split up.

[judex]

[ Erik's aside earns a flat look—not so invisible in the dark as it might have been, if Fenris' eyes didn't glint when they turned his way—but it's a good reminder. Fenris takes another step back from them to pull his comms device from one of his utility pockets and switch it back on. It's a milder glow than his skin had been.

The newcomers were able to reach the main area of the ship from here, is what he's thinking, and they may not have much time left before searching for the likely-dead becomes throwing their own lives away. He may be able to reach Tyke or Hawke for an update. He doesn't say it. He glares at the screen instead, glancing up periodically to check on everyone's relative locations, and at one point smacks it against his palm to try encouraging it to cooperate.

The same thing he'd like to do to Eszter, if this goes on much longer. ]

[anybodies]

We'll check if anyone else has seen them.

[Mystique's voice comes from above, nearly directly over Eszter's head. She's sitting by now, a pretense of casual comfort that's exactly that: a pretense. Her leg hurts. Not badly, but in a shooting kind of way that's worsened steadily since she was doing ballet all over the tops of the containers.

She opted not to shift after all. Stays blue, an indifferent thug with a bird's-eye-view, her ridged shins swinging below and axe bridging her hands loosely. The vantage doesn't actually give her such a great view of the DUPRR agent herself, though she'd probably have easy access if Eszter did anything obvious. She's looking over her teammates instead, discreetly, but assessing.]

Do you know what happens if you're out here when the Jump drive engages?

[patientiam]

[Eszter's gaze flickers to the woman up on the crates, discomfort immediately showing in the widening of her eyes and the set of her mouth. It isn't for the blue of the woman's skin, as curious and previously shocking as that had been - it's for the simple fact of her being above her, with an axe. Tension filters into her shoulders, a barely held back desire to take several steps to the side.]

Everything in the ship is subjected to forces greater than 35G. Yes, I know.

[She isn't especially concerned about that. She doesn't intend to be on board for the jump, or perhaps to prevent it happening entirely.]

[sorrycharles]

[ Erik’s eyes flicker and fade blank as realization slots into place. Rapid acceleration explains decimation of living tissue in the jump, the passage of time inside and outside, and so on. This might already be known -- he’s been preoccupied. He turns the same look from Raven on high over onto Charles near his side. ???? At which point would wormholes come in? Did we already know this?

From the outside, this is a dumb silence, as silences go.

His next thought is for the horse they rode in on, far enough away across the bay to make retrieval impractical. Temptation isn’t enough to overcome the foggy pain pounding in his skull -- no telepathy is required to follow his thought process, this time. All the breath pent up deep in his chest vents into a sigh. ]

Let’s keep moving.

[ The inevitable do yourself a favor and don't try to run is limited to a look. He starts to turn. ]

When was the last time you saw someone else?

[forgodssake]

[ Physics, man. Charles just raises an eyebrow back.

As far as he is concerned, they've rarely gathered quantifiable data on the nature of the jumps, but he does not say as much, or really think it -- there have had to be reasons other than forces greater than 35G making the time during jumps dangerous. God knows, other things happen during. This isn't the time. ]

She expects she won't be here for the jump, or to prevent it altogether.

[ The group on the whole is treated to this commentary, save for Eszter herself.

He otherwise keeps the floor open for Eszter to answer, body language turning to invite her to join their group, to find safety in the midst of them. ]