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Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 11, 2023 22:38:23 GMT
"Well I was intending on remaining on point as we advance, so there is one less thing to worry about in that regard Jankins," Eresh called back, his voice quiet and- focused? Distracted? Either way, his tone was subdued ever so slightly. When Tycho asked him about the markings on the wall he would then turn his attention to them before narrowing his eyes behind his crimson suit lenses. While here and there he could make out the barest snippets of individual words, the specific dialect was largely unfamiliar to him and he couldn't make heads or tails of what was written, not truly. What words he could decipher were utterly meaningless without any sort of context, and he wasn't even sure if he was understanding those characters correctly. After a few moments he would give a sigh and shake his head.
"Whatever this says is unfortunately beyond my ability to read. Its the language of a different tribe. That said, I cannot help but feel a sense of.. desperation from this scrawling."
Post by The Huntress on Sept 15, 2023 21:30:11 GMT
SPEM OMNEM DESERERE. DAMNATIO EXPECTAT PRAEMISIT.
As they would move through the nearest building pods, not much was left behind in those that were recognizable as Faro Industries' property; some medical supplies, a few packed food stuffs here and there, what looked like requisition reports. Notable was reference to "contained occupants" who needed attention for injuries sustained, as well as getting information from them. A place referred to as "Elsék" was listed a number of times, as well as some comments about "communications difficulties" with the Kromus who seemed to have been far more bargained with than were oppressors forcing their agendas on the Faro facilities.
The buildings that were clearly Kromus in origin were not much better for salvageable remnants. A few of their own data pads remained, perhaps shedding some more light on the relationship between them and Faro once they could be translated. Strangely, none of these data pads seemed to be encrypted or security locked, almost a massive oversight by the Pirates.
The older buildings marked with what appeared to have been some variant of older Chozo writing were, by contrast, left unplundered, though what remained in them was less useful directly to the bounty hunters, little more than clues as to what the previous inhabitants had been accosted by and how.
Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 15, 2023 21:51:53 GMT
Eresh looked about at the detritus and what little in potentially useful objects that were left scattered about as he slowly went from one room to the next. “These food items and medical supplies could be useful if we come across any survivors, let’s be sure to take what we can of it so we can have it on hand as needed.” He called out, idly scooping up a data pad or two before handing one off to one of the others who might be willing to take it.
“In case something important is stored on it- any information on what has happened can only be useful.. if only for bureaucratic reasons if some sort of formal hearing happens- which it inevitably will. Anything that can help hold Faro accountable for what’s happened is better than nothing.”
But when they turned their attention to the Chozo buildings.. Eresh became noticeably more cautious… and more thorough as he searched around them. If there were any clues that could help piece together this mystery, he was intent on finding them. But a faint sense of uncharacteristic unease began stirring in his chest.. as if he was anticipating finding something awful further ahead. He didn’t know how to properly articulate it.. but there was something about the place that felt palpably wrong to him.
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Sept 16, 2023 21:55:00 GMT
Tycho plucked the second datapad from Eresh's hand as he stepped by the Mawkin, doubling back toward the building with the food and medical supplies strewn. Rummaging through the supplies as he tucked the datapad into his bag didn't interest him as much as the requisition forms suddenly did, as soon as is eyes would spot them in the dim light. Setting his rifle down to lean it against the table, he poured over them for a few moments, idly flipping a protein bar he'd found in the mess through his clawed fingers.
"It looks like Faro and the Pirates were chooms on this- partners." He said, stepping back outside and making his way back to the others. "They were having communication issues, the scientists and some of the Kromus... guessing they're not exactly the chatty types." Flipping the bar a few more times, before tucking it into an empty magazine pouch, then folding up the forms and doing the same with them. "There's mention here of a third party, I think... probably whoever was here before they arrived. Faro and the pirates had them... contained. They were being interrogated."
Post by Lemon Jankins on Sept 16, 2023 23:19:23 GMT
"A shame we ah've'na found anyone ta interview, ah'd take one o' these corpos too seein' how they was complicit in it all, didna need any coercion to cooperate with tha beasts."
Lemon left the acquisition of evidence and whatnot to the others, her own bags were pretty limited, a drawback of being short. She kept watch while the others poked around, carbine cradled against her shoulder as she looked for the presence that watched them. Whatever it was, she hated not being able to pinpoint where or what it was, whether it was a threat or not. The wait was not to her liking, the tension, she would've preferred to have something concrete to deal with, at least then things would be straightforward and easy to understand.
She hated being hunted, especially when she couldn't just cut and run, disappear; and that's what it felt like.
Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 16, 2023 23:27:12 GMT
“A third party?” The Mawkin echoed.
His thoughts drifted to the warning written on the wall and the floors, and the psychic pleading that only he- and Jankins- heard on their way to the elevator that took them up here. Could that third party be the remnants of a Tho’ha tribe who had been thought lost to the ages? Or was it something else.. something worse that the Chozo of this planet had tried to keep buried.. only for Faro and their apparent Kromus “Allies” to foolishly let loose onto themselves without realizing what they had done? More questions, less answers.
“I’m sure we will find out what this mysterious ‘third party’ is soon enough- whether we like it or not.” He said evenly, though he would absently rap the back of his knuckles against Jankins shoulder as she rummaged about.
Post by The Huntress on Sept 17, 2023 15:02:43 GMT
SPEM OMNEM DESERERE. DAMNATIO EXPECTAT PRAEMISIT.
The quartet would continue into the canopy city, noticing now that a larger building of sorts lay ahead. It was from here that Lemon was sensing the pain and anguish of whomever had been imprisoned by the Kromus. Even those less psychically sensitive could feel the thick sense of depression, misery, and hope lost.
The main doors were already open, leading into a dark hallway that was of a definite non-human construction. Higher ceilings, the walls wider apart, revealing that this place had been designed by being much taller than the average humans. Yet it also felt old, older than the Kromus buildings that had already been searched. Was this built by the contained former denizens of Auriga?
A crude lift was at the end of the main chamber, delving down into the structure. This had not been here as part of the original building. This lift had been added, by the Kromus from the looks how haphazardly it had been installed. Yet it awaited, the darkness below almost beckoning the bounty hunters, and the sense of suffering and an acceptance of this situation blanketing the air.
Something was alive down there, in some form or another. And it was feeling so very alone and scared.
Post by Lemon Jankins on Sept 18, 2023 0:12:21 GMT
"There's sumthin what's needin ta bae put out o it's misery, ahm not listenin fer any more shite, not with that thing out there screamin. 'least it ain't immediately hostile, lets go."
She very rapidly stopped pushing her own listening capabilities when whatever was out there hit her awareness, going so far as to actively try not to listen and think about anything else; not that it shut things out entirely, she'd never had to do that before.
She remained leery of every corner, every shadow, with the 'jamming' that thing was putting out the only way she'd catch a hostile would be normal senses. When they reached the lift, she waited for the others to act first, not in any hurry to get closer to the screaming.
"Whatever's down there may not be hostile, but it may very quickly turn as such, that kind o torture kin turn a lot o rational things into a rabid animal."
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Sept 18, 2023 7:57:44 GMT
Tycho had idly pulled the looted Kromus datapad out again while the others conversed, his eyes flicking between lines of text after a shockingly easy access. Maybe something on them would give them the missing puzzle pieces they needed, or so he had hoped... but when Lemon described what she was feeling, it made the Vlaka freeze. He looked up from the device to her with widened eyes, feeling a sudden creeping horror burrow into his chest, before that gaze shifted beyond her to the open maw of the large building ahead.
"... Torture?"
That was when it set in. Something more tangible, something that felt beyond his own mind, but no less real a feeling. It was a kind of despair that felt so wholly total, it made something in his heart hurt indescribably. The kind of despair that only came with living indefinitely through horror forced unwillingly upon you; irreversible, inevitable, total. The feeling that hope was lost long ago, and in its place was a gaping wound that would never heal. There was only suffering, now.
Tycho tossed the Kromus datapad into his already-laden dump-pouch like it was an afterthought, his gaze fixed on the structure's opening in almost a kind of thousand-yard stare, as he started taking steps towards it. How was he feeling this? Was this what it was like for Lemon, day in and day out?
What was it? Who was it? Why did his heart hurt in tandem with it?
What did they do to you?
He found himself at the lift, standing by the edge of the gap, staring down into the yawning darkness beneath. He moved with an uncharacteristic imprecision, fumbling with his kit, unwrapping a glowstick from some of his survival supplies and cracking it between two fingers. The Vlaka cast the thing over the edge like he was afraid something would leap up to grab it, watching the little chemlight's sickening green glow sail down into the black. His ears lay flat against his head, his gaze laser-focused on somewhere down below.
Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 18, 2023 18:55:32 GMT
It was surprisingly Eresh who slowed down several steps and gently put a steadying hand on Lemons back after she relayed what she had felt, and she fount feel how rigid the tendons in his hand were, taut from stress as he then took a breath.
“That is all I needed to know, thank you Jankins.”
What he didn’t say, or more accurately didn’t know how to articulate what he was feeling without sounding like he was losing it. Truth be told.. he couldn’t help but realize that he had been.. feeling things in the back of his mind for awhile before they had come up here, but he had been writing it off as a sense of mildly uncharacteristic anxiety. But once she put it into words.. he now understood that for some reason he was receptive to.. whatever this was- at least very faintly. As to why? He had no idea. He suspected that the source or this psychic background noise was potent enough that even those without such extra-sensory powers could detect it.
“Yes.. I feel it Tycho.” He said grimly as the group drew closer to the lift. Once all were aboard he would activate it, grimacing behind his helmet as he did so. Whatever was waiting for them.. there was a strong sense of forbidding nesting him his chest.
Post by Makoto Nijima on Sept 18, 2023 19:33:55 GMT
Makoto had broken off from the group to search for food and medical supplies. Along the way, she had read multiple datapads of the Kromus and their relationship with the denizens of this place. It hurt her heart that such cruel monsters were given asylum in such a vast city, but she also found medical supplies and food rations, which she immediately took for herself.
These would definitely come in handy for the rest of the mission she figured, as she opened a protein bar and bit into it. The bar was stale and tasteless of course, but Makoto could feel her energy restore. She packed the rest of her supplies away and made her way back to the lift.
"...I found some food and medical supplies in some of the other rooms. I'll save some for any survivors we come across if we don't need them ourselves." She was about to turn to Eresh when the wave of anxiety and despair struck her like a runaway subway train. She felt her body freeze up, her mind falling away the second she gazed into the dark abyss. She hadn't felt such malice and evil since Shido's Palace, and what was worse, the other thieves were not here to comfort her this time.
"....I....W-What is this...?" she managed to utter, her voice slightly cracking. Queen finally managed to tear her eyes away from the void, moving to the corner and clenching her fists to hold control over herself. Luckily, her mask hid her true expression.
Post by The Huntress on Sept 18, 2023 20:25:09 GMT
URA MAR ILI AS'RÁM. URA'MAHÀR TANÚMAR HABÁR BÓK URA OM.
The lift shook for a moment before descending down into the shaft that had been crudely formed.. seconds stretched into seconds as it steadily sank deeper into the kilometers thick trunk of the Y'dris'al tree. At last, it came to a halt and opened to reveal a large and long chamber, with walls marked by evenly spaced containment rooms with plexisteel viewing panels. Most seemed to be vacant, until about ten meters into the chamber, where a huddled form was visible in the back corner. A tray was near its feet, an unfinished meal still on it. The form shifted, revealing the creature was indeed still alive and able to respond.
"Már atá edá dósh urá'mahár ochá?" the figure said as they pulled back the scraps of fabric covering their head to reveal a marred beak, dulled facial feathers and weary avian eyes. There was a sense of listless hollowness in those eyes, an absence of a light that the Mawkin member of the group knew should have been there. More prisoners like this one were huddled in their cell, revealing what, it seemed, that Faro and the Pirates had been keeping hidden here.
These were Chozo. And they were dying in their captivity.
"Atá mar ulú Krómus, urés mar atá Tarrán íshka Fáro." The avian blinked at the quartet, eyes wet with what seemed like hope as they began fumbling with words. Words that they hoped that these four might understand.
Post by Makoto Nijima on Sept 18, 2023 20:54:40 GMT
The feeling of dread and misery Makoto had so far tried to push down was already threatening to rise to the surface. The sight of these poor creatures being mistreated and locked away to rot was both heartbreaking and replacing her fear with righteous fury, but for now all she could do was gently approach the poor Chozo.
"Shhh, it's alright. We're not here to hurt you." the Phantom Thief said softly. She stopped before she came within arms' reach and turned back to Eresh and the others.
"I don't speak their language. Does anybody have a translator?"
Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 18, 2023 21:16:47 GMT
As the lift stopped and the doors opened, Eresh began to grow more and more anxious at what they might find… but once they stepped through and found cells.. the palpable anguish bearing down on him like a sense of intensified gravity as they did so.. he saw what he feared he might, had hoped wasn’t so.
And for the first time in a very long time, his mask of professionalism and composure fell apart.
Gently reaching out and placing a palm against the barrier that separated the group from this sickly and deprived Chozo he would answer, his voice quivering with a mix of visceral emotion.
“Yes cousin, I can understand you. I am Chozo, we are here to help you. What happened to this place? What have they been doing to you to make you suffer so terribly?”
His tone was hushed, as if he feared that if he spoke louder he wouldn’t be able to do anything but shriek in fury and sympathetic misery at the state of these captives. So preoccupied by this discovery as he was, he all but missed what Makoto had said, though he seemed present enough to then say so the others could understand
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Sept 18, 2023 21:47:05 GMT
Tycho stepped into the long chamber ahead of the lift with weapon ready, struggling to see much even for eyes that adjusted well to low light. The feelings of pain and despair only worsened the more steps he took, tightening in his gut like something was squeezing it into a fist.
The Vlaka took to checking out the left row of cells, motioning with a hand signal for someone to check the right. He didn't know what he was expecting to find, only that he would fear whatever he saw. It was if he was being pulled by this feeling, unable to bear the weight it was bearing on his heart, now almost frantic in wanting to resolve it.
Hearing the first shift, the Vlaka whipped around and aimed at the form in the cell on instinct, instinct and fear making the whole motion near-automatic.
It lowered just as quickly, seeing Eresh rest a hand against the glass, then seeing the captive inside. His heart plummeted.
Throughout this mission so far, Eresh's composure had been admirable to Tycho. He and the Mawkin shared the same sentiments of finishing the job once it was started, and he felt like he could relate at least that much to the avian. That sense of professionalism, that straight-face. Watching that crumble before his eyes felt like the knife in the Vlaka's guts was now being twisted. The mournful kinskhip he could hear in the Mawkin's voice was just as amplified as everything else Tycho could feel.
Tycho's attention swiftly turned to the cell itself while he would listen to the conversation, catching at the very least "Kromus" and "Faro," as he stepped over to Eresh's side to have a look at the locking mechanism. If there was a keycard reader, he'd pose giving it a try with the security access card the four of them had used to get this far. Otherwise he'd just try to inspect the mechanism as best he could.
Not really finding anything he could work with, the Vlaka stepped aside for a moment to mentally root around in his own cyberware. "Hey... what language is he speaking?" He asked softly, looking between Makoto and the Mawkin. "My chrome's not auto-reading it."