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Eresh would turn to look in Lemon’s direction as he carefully stepped around Queen to better address the augmented human. He understood where she was coming from.. but he also understood Dri-Maka and her kinsmen’s reasoning as well. “It is easy to say such things when it’s not your mistake, Jankins. But let me ask a question: if you were in their position and had been party to what happened.. what would you have done? Truly,” he said as he then sighed..
”We can portion blame and claim that we wouldn’t take the option these people have, but do we really have the right to make decisions for them? Do they have a right to ask us to finish what they couldn’t? I do not know, except that I personally choose to fulfill a dying woman’s last hope. Not because she demands that I do it, but because I can’t say for certain that I wouldn’t make the same choice that she did.. and if someone did come- like we have come- I’d hope that at least one person would be courageous enough to do what I didn’t have the strength to.”
Post by Lemon Jankins on Sept 26, 2023 2:21:13 GMT
"You think ahm nae bout ta participate in fixin tha issue? When ahm loadin me weapons an waitin fer y'all ta finish? Yer thinkin me callin cowards cowards is makin decisions fer them? Ah've personally kilt innocent men, Mr. Moralization, ta save me own hide, ah went an' abandoned all tha other sods back then. Ah dun care bout castin blame, they claim it themselves, jobs done; Offered a glimmer of a chance at continuin ta correct shite an they choose ta die cuz they did bad. Ah dealt with their kind afore, ah'm not bout ta waste effort tryna force em ta not choke on their own tongues. Go on with yer what ifs an agonize over it if ya want, but if it gets us killed cuz ye kinnae focus ah'll personally make yer afterlife hell. Lets go, ah want off this hellhole sooner rather than later, an we gots shit ta do. Ah need a drink bad, prolly even badder once we deal with whatever else is out there."
Her voice was flat, she wasn't giving much care to niceties. Her own sins certainly didn't compare with the chozo here, it'd be like trying to compare an orange tree to a goat, but their choosing death reminded her too much of those times where she contemplated the knives or airlocks back in the bad old days.
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Sept 26, 2023 5:18:35 GMT
Tycho's ears flattened again, as he watched Lemon step over to the entrance. He wouldn't openly agree to the sentiment of these Chozo being cowards, feeling what he did. These people, what they described... he couldn't imagine what they had seen. If it was enough to the point where death was more mercy than freedom, so be it... but that didn't mean he had to like it.
The Vlaka's eyes centered on Drí-máka in a fiercely contemplative glare. He chose his words carefully.
"They acted out of desperation." He finally spoke, switching back to gal-standard. "We're the only ones who can decide right now whether or not that's forgivable, for what they've done. We can't change any of that, but we can change what happens next." His tone lowered a little bit, eyeing the un-eaten food. "They're in pain. They're trapped. We can at least free them and minimize their suffering, even if they choose to stay and be swept away."
There was a softness in his tone now, a spike of empathy, even for the Vlaka's intense gaze. "They think they need to pay for sins, be swept away... fine... it's their choice to waste their lives, not mine. Just..." Taking a step back, gesturing to the whole cellblock with a sweep of his arm, before his eyes centered back on Drí-máka like a laser. "... Is this supposed to be atonement? Living like this, if the finality's coming either way?"
He whipped around to face Eresh now, the intensity creeping back into his voice with an undertoned growl. "These are your people, Eresh-- you would know better than any of us. Does this look or feel right, to you? You think anybody could make peace with themselves, living like this?"
Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 26, 2023 11:35:15 GMT
Eresh would be quiet for a moment as he listened to what Lemon and Tycho were saying. Looking over his shoulder to Dri-Maka he would then address her with a question, one that would inform his answer to Tycho and Lemon both.
“Elder, how long do we have before this world is obliterated?”
He was starting to get somewhat anxious: he wanted to make the right choice, of course her did… but he also felt that the choice had already been made long ago.
And he wanted to destroy whatever monsters this tribe created.. he owed it to those victims who didn’t deserve the horrors that befell them.
Post by The Huntress on Sept 26, 2023 16:52:06 GMT
URA MAR ILI AS'RÁM. URA'MAHÀR TANÚMAR HABÁR BÓK URA OM.
The hunters would debate whether they could accept the As'rám's decision to remain and pay for their mistakes, even after hearing what they had done to their own kin. The Mawkin seemed to understand and respect their wishes, but others such as the lupine and the near-human with feline features were less accepting of why the As'rám were awaiting their end. But then again, the younger species often did not have the context of what the Thó'ha tribes had lived through, or how long many of them had been alive.
"I take no comfort or self peace in what will become of us, young ones. But we are old, dying out." The formél sighed and shifted her shoulders, a few feathers fluttering from under her robes. "We live for far longer than any other race we know of in this galaxy. I am nearly a thousand standard cycles old, and I have witnessed our kind slowly wither away into aging elders and infertile youths who can not hope for anything but to pass on our legacy to your younger generations." A pause as she shook her head, sitting down again in her cell due to her legs aching. It was then that Drí-máka pulled back her hood to fully reveal her features, the ragged wounds and crudely healing scars where feathers had ceased to grow due to the damaged tissue.
"We are old, child…we tried to escape extinction, but created horrors of those who did not deserve the fates we gave them…I have come to the acceptance that this dying out of our tribes is just the universe reminding us that nothing lasts forever." Drí-máka gave a soft cluck of her tongue in her beak, taking in a breath. "We have been running away from our inevitable end for thousands of cycles now…using our sciences and technology to extend our own lifespans beyond what they should be. We have left a barren tomorrow for our own young, and those that are left…"
Another sigh as she resigned herself. "I ask you not to take our burdens so that we escape them…but because we cannot undo our foolish errors anymore. Our tribe is already damned for what we did in the name of running from inevitability, and we will die here regardless of what the Kromus do…I ask you to help us so that the ones we wronged may know peace before this system is destroyed…"
Suddenly, before Drí-máka could answer the question last posed by Eresh, a series of thuds echoed from the entry side of the hallway where the lift was located, and the sounds of the platform ascending reverberated down to the cells. The lift was being recalled, and the fact it had been down in this part of the tree was all anyone needed to know that they had unexpected guests in their containment facility.
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Sept 26, 2023 20:40:02 GMT
In an instant, the Vlaka's attention was on the ascending lift. Company had arrived, the way back had been cut off, and the only way through now was forward.
He looked to Drí-máka one last time, his anger tempered very little by her words. He couldn't possibly hope to understand how she felt, and Tycho was starting to realize that was the reason for his feelings. There was nothing to empathize with; it was all simply beyond his understanding, or at least that's how it felt. What they did, why. Why they felt this was the best response.
Choosing to stay, even while their star died over their heads...
"... fine." He snapped quietly, lowering his head and looking away from the cell, before his speech returned to Chozia. < "We'll just have to do what we can for you, then. Forgive me." > Thumbing his rifle's safety, looking to the others, jerking his muzzle at the ascending lift.
"That'll probably be a contact... should set up an ambush for them further down, I don't want to fight in another corridor. We're done here, anyway. Let's just give these people what peace we can and move on..."
Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 26, 2023 21:35:33 GMT
Eresh by contrast did understand, and he simply nodded as he took note of the sounds of a moving lift. Unslinging the unsightly Kromus rifle from his shoulder he would then say one parting thing to Dri-Maka.
“It will be done. It seems that the ancestors haven’t fully abandoned you, they brought us here today. That must account for something, I feel.”
He then would turn and begin walking away, glancing at Tycho. He empathized with the lupine, he too felt anger at all the injustices that had gone on here; but he also understood that what he felt.. what they felt.. it had to be tempered and pointed at the task the Chozo implored them yo undertake. It wasn’t fair, it may not even be the right thing to do.. but they could at least try to correct the damage as best they could.
“We should find somewhere we can catch the hostiles in a crossfire ideally- hit them from more than one direction. Queen, we are leaving. We’ve said everything we need to. Jankins, I’ll take point again. Please watch my back.”
Post by Lemon Jankins on Sept 27, 2023 0:31:41 GMT
"Fuckin hell, at least ah'll be able ta vent some frustration."
She stepped behind the towering mawkin and began concentrating, focusing. She had previously attempted a direct mental attack with surprising effectiveness against one of these aliens, and there likely wouldn't be a better chance to practice for a long time. She knew she couldn't make them do anything, but she was hoping to disorient or debilitate long enough to make a difference in the coming firefight. If the coming kromus were just as vulnerable to psychic bullshit as the first one, she'd be golden.
Post by Makoto Nijima on Sept 27, 2023 3:06:31 GMT
Queen didn't register Eresh's words at first, even when she knew enemies were on their way. This entire time she had been silent, but Lemon's outburst had caught her off-guard. She didn't have any experience with the Chozo or their history, but she also knew she couldn't just leave this poor woman to wallow in misery. She was about to give Lemon a piece of her mind when the shaft moving caught everyone's attention. The time for words had passed.
She put her hand on the glass and gave the Chozo woman one last sad look, taking off her mask to show her true face. If they couldn't break her free, then at least her last words wouldn't be to masked strangers.
"Thank you, Dri-Maka." Queen said softly.
Then she turned away to place her metal mask over her eyes and prepare for battle with the others, loading her revolver. As she placed the last bullet into its chamber, she shot Lemon a dark look.
URA MAR ILI AS'RÁM. URA'MAHÀR TANÚMAR HABÁR BÓK URA OM.
As the lift ground to a halt, voices were heard from its direction, snarls and clicks as the footsteps and clacking of claws on stone preceded them through the corridor.
"Agän wá onijigadi! Şe bóaa Chozo!"
More chatters as the footsteps rapidly approached. Large darkened figures could be seen checking the Chozo's cells, one of the pirates standing over the plexisteel door like a looming hulk before banging on the panel with a heavy claw. The Chozo inside barely moved, seemingly satisfying the kromus brute as it moved on. The hulking figure crossed a light, revealing itself to be larger than most Kromus soldiers both in height and mass build. Its left hand was meaty and plated in a carapace shell, while its right was a massive claw no less than four feet in length and almost three wide when clenched.
More figures could be discerned, some appearing to be the average for qymor and fro'my'xin, others appearing larger and bulkier, but none that resembled the Batta or Urtrahgans.
"Won wa nibi!" came the deep and guttural words as a kromun snapped its claw hand. "Poapa itanjė ti ri wa ati ki o mọ nipa Chozo!"
Another series of snaps and hissing words as there seemed to be an argument between the more "normal" kromun and one of the fro'my'xin, which only settled once the large brute that now, in better light, looked to be a massive Kromun with spike covered carapace and thick plated limbs. It's four eyes were glowing a dim blue as it brought its weight to crash on the ground and crack the stone floor.
"Ri wa yįba!" The largest of the group snarled, snapping its claw hand at the arguing pair. "Ri wón kio si pa wón! Maṣe fi ẹnikan silẹ lati sọ ti wa!"
And then they turned down toward where the four bounty hunters had set themselves at the far end of the cell corridors, the four "normal" sized pirates taking point while the larger ones blocked the path to the lift.
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Sept 27, 2023 9:51:51 GMT
Through an optic, an illuminated reticle danced cautiously over their forms.
Tycho had taken a position about as far back as he possibly could, near the far wall. Prone, bipod for the G2A4 unfolded and planted to the concrete. Tail swaying with an anxious cadence.
A lack of an exit was far from ideal for him, but at least it made it clear what their exit strategy was. This long hallways was a good killbox for the Kromus, but it was just as much a killbox for him and his team. They only had one shot at this, and would have to do it right. The Vlaka took all the time he needed, lining up what he hoped would be the perfect shot... before hesitating, the moment he felt like he recognized some of the hulking Kromus forms. Their stature and gait reminded him a little too much of the Jiralhanae, one of the only non-human species he actually was familiar with. Probably the result of some poor souls being "harvested," if Drí-máka's account was anything to go by.
He understood the Jiralhanae enough to make them priority targets in combat. Here would have to be no different, whether they were still Jiralhanae or not.
The reticle flitted from target to target with an anxious fluidity, each time shifting back to the largest of the group before panning to another different pirate. The big one seemed to be in control of the rest of them as much as one could, it seemed. Maybe removing him could destabilize the rest of them, or at least make them more frenzied.
His aim settled on that largest pirate and centered. There was no way imaginable that a single bullet would bring down a normal Jiralhanae, let alone some kind of fucked-up genejob probably pumped full of all kinds of stims and biotech... but with Arasaka and Polaris alike, Tycho had been trained to use each round like a needle, not a hammer. There was always something a well-placed shot could break... and right now, those irremovable-looking arm cannons seemed like the perfect little opening to whatever was underneath all that armor.
He waited, patiently, until the big one was at a good enough angle to expose that pretty little orb-looking thing in the center of its massive claw... drawing in one last breath slowly, squeezing the trigger gently, making the most out of every last second of calm before all hell would break loose.
Post by Lemon Jankins on Sept 27, 2023 12:07:54 GMT
She was going to be stretching herself here, she grabbed the static the Kromus put out and looked past it more for the side effect than actually gathering information. At the same time she threw a jumbled mess of imagery and rising sound in their general direction, taking some inspiration from half-remembered nightmares, hoping that the conflicting information would give the others an advantage.
[The lights break into wide grins as eyes stare from every surface, a low hum rises in pitch and volume until it rivals a jet engine, laugher echoes through the shadows as an indistinct voice wispers between their ears. "Y̴̧e̵s,̶͜ ̢͢S͡iņ͠n҉e̵͜͏ŕ̡s̡,̡̕ ̨C̀om͠e͟.̧ ̕͠J҉̀u̕d͝m͢͞e͘͠ńt̢ ̵̢͟is̸̷ ̶̢̛a̶t̴̵͢ ̴H͏̶ańd̛"]
She punctuated the sentence with a spray of fire from her particle carbine, not really aiming since her focus was on the mental side of things, but suppressive fire wouldn't hurt.
Post by Eresh Tarren on Sept 27, 2023 16:11:00 GMT
Eresh would take a spot opposit of Tycho, the Kromun rifle slamming into his shoulder as he took aim. The larger Kromus definitely were the most present danger, but the others weren’t to be underestimated either. As Lemon began firing and more than likely working her psychic shenanigans, the Mawkin would aim center mass at one of the vaguely Brute-ish pirates and press the trigger.
“Tycho, we will focus fire on the big ones! Queen, follow Lemons lead and try to force the others to keep their heads down. If you can line up kill shots do it, but we want to keep them from focus firing at us! Make them pay for what they’ve done!”
Post by Makoto Nijima on Sept 27, 2023 20:02:49 GMT
"You don't have to tell me twice." Queen growled venomously, kneeling next to Lemon and aiming for one of the smaller enemies. Makoto put her police training to good use and aimed for her nearest target, opening fire with one well placed shot to the chest. She didn't have to deal with Kromus during her time as an officer in New Tokyo, but she HAD dealt with Shadows in Mementos, and these big ugly bastards were the closest substitute.
Hopefully they would fall all the same. Queen followed up with two more shots.
"Let me know if you need healing. I can't repair your shields so keep an eye on them as well!"
Post by The Huntress on Sept 29, 2023 18:05:48 GMT
URA MAR ILI AS'RÁM. URA'MAHÀR TANÚMAR HABÁR BÓK URA OM.
Just as the shot from Tycho's gun would split the silence, the majority of the Kromus would find their senses overwhelmed, and the chambered round launched itself for a beeline directly into the bio-laser focusing lense as intended, causing it to crack, shatter, then explode in a matter of nanoseconds. The exceptionally large kromun screeched as its claw arm was blown to meaty bits and glowing internals with large chunks of carapace shell flying in all directions. A split second later, the rounds fired from Eresh's procured rifle would slam against its chest, breaking off abdominal armoring and before hitting the packed muscle structure underneath. While those didn't bring the massive brute of a kromun down, it was enough while the suppression fire from Lemon and Makoto made their impacts, dropping one of the fro'my'xin by hitting exposed internal organs and tearing through immature shell plating.
The other large kromun barked orders as it stepped back and raised its right arm and the weapon claw there, revealing a light that was brightening from within the limb. A moment later, the claw opened and released a blazing bolt of hot plasma that slammed into one of the cell doors and caused the plexisteel panel to deform from the heat. The lesser Kromus were still disoriented by Lemon's mental assault, but slowly were trying to regroup and return the attack.
