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“Let’s be sure nothing is hiding nearby that could jump out at us when we use it. Jankins, are you getting anything?” Eresh asked, sweeping his gaze up the mythologically titanic tree once again on the off chance a pirate or two was scuttling down its bark to ambush them from above. He felt more distracted than normal, and he wasn’t entirely sure why it was the case—it was to sloppy for his liking.
"Naw, ain't got nothin, 'least not what's close nuff ta hear."
Lemon simply walked onto the lift after looking about to make sure there weren't any boobytraps, if it was her trying to defend this place there would've been i.e.ds, tripmines, punji sticks, etc. absolutely everywhere. But she wasn't the one defending this place, it was some kind of thing that nobody should see, she wasn't keen on going up but what other option was there when everyone else was hellbent on continuing forward.
"Unless y'all're wantin ta climb, we're gon' need ta use this bucket, cam on. Lets get this over with.", The last bit was said mostly to herself.
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Aug 27, 2023 10:05:29 GMT
"... Great." Tycho muttered into his mask, eyes giving one last scan of the surrounding area, expression somewhat pained. "Guess it's my turn to go crazy."
After a moment or two of twitching ears, the mercenary turned and made his way over to the glowing terminal screen, keeping his pensiveness to himself. He pulled the keycard from his chest rig and went to scan it, only to pause once he noticed the way the display flickered. A fist fell hesitantly onto the lift's call button, opening the door.
"Alright, well... this lift had security protocols, but I guess they've been lifted already." A step or two backwards to follow the lift's shaft with his eyes, all the way up into the canopy. His rifle rested in crossed arms, close to the chest. "Way to roll out the red carpet, I guess..."
Eresh would wait until everyone was firmly aboard the lift before her turned his attention back to the control panel. Jankins confirmation that things seemed to be quiet on this level helped ease his nerves slightly, if only for a few moments, and he would then glance at the others.
“Well then, I suppose there is no other way to go but forward in that case.” And he would study the interface for a moment before pressing a button that would lead them deeper into the facility. That strange sensation niggled at the back of his mind again but he dismissed it: they had a job to finish. At the same time, that plea that he heard.. the warning written in Chozia; it made him suspect that something far worse was waiting for them than just pirates.
The lift was loaded, the activation switch pressed, and with a rumble, it slow began to ascend, picking up speed as it raced along the trunk of the massive tree toward the sprawling canopy. Minutes stretched while it continued upward, shaking a few times as the lift accelerated faster and faster now, using dampeners to prevent the occupants from feeling the raw g-forces of their ascent. Soon they pierced the clouds, able to see the horizon and the thinning atmosphere while the approaching canopy grew larger and larger to their eyes. Several more minutes passed as the lift entered the lower stratosphere, within the planet's nominal ozone layer as the lift began to decelerate.
"Now entering Tak Lakora. Be aware that entry without prior coordination and notification to Kromus occupiers may be met with hostility. Respect their authority, do not resist if ordered to withdraw."
Kromus occupiers. They weren't here as invaders. The corporation had been complicit with the Pirates. That opened far more questions, no doubt.
And as the lift came to a halt, there was one final rumble, the sound of clamps locking into place, and the entry doors hissed as pressure equalized and they slid open to reveal a long and sterile hallway.
This caused Eresh’s attention to perk up, and a low hissing stream of alien expletives left his beak as the realization dawned on him. The Kromus were making use of the staff to get what they wanted.. and the company willingly complied and didn’t attempt to warn anyone off system? No.. that didn’t seem totally accurate. If that were the case they would’ve seen at least some signs of servitude amongst the victims.
Was it possible that someone had managed to get a warning out, and that provoked the Kromus into destroying the humans? Or worse.. did the pirates claim what they were looking for and decide to tie up loose ends? And the implication of compliance from the higher echelons…
Whatever the truth was, it illicited the same reaction from the Mawkin: anger.
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Aug 28, 2023 2:28:11 GMT
Occupiers?
Tycho let out an indignant little huff, looking down at the elevator floor and shaking his head. "Wonder how careful they're being with that choice of words," he mused, turning to look at Eresh for a brief moment. Whatever noises the big bird just made didn't sound particularly happy... but for as much sympathy as he could have for the Mawkin, it just made the Vlaka wonder just how personally he was involved in all of this. What the connection was.
Nice to see corpo types were just as illicit here as they were back home.
"With everything we've seen so far, somehow I doubt this is a willing partnership..." He turned back to watch the planet rapidly recede below them, before idly pulling the charging handle back on his rifle to briefly inspect it. "These guys, these... Kromus. Heard the name before, didn't have anything to put it to until now. They're just a rumor in the Frontier."
The reflection of the atmosphere below in his gas mask hid an uneasy expression.
"They the kind to take hostages? Or you think it's too late for that..."
“It depends on the band. Some do, others don’t,”Eresh said as he checked his hand cannon’s magazine. “In my experience hostages don’t last long in the hands of the Kromus. Perhaps they decide that certain people aren’t useful, or that there needs to be an example set to make sure the hostages don’t get any ideas of bravery. Sometimes they will dispatch their hostages for no other reason than they were bored and wanted to see what the survivors reactions would be. The point that I am painting for you, simply put, any deal with Space Pirates is a powder keg with an already lit fuse leading to it. It is going to explode and cause tragedy— it is just a question of how long the Kromus can hold their instincts in check.”
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Aug 28, 2023 18:02:37 GMT
Tycho considered the Mawkin's words in silence for a few moments.
Piracy existed in the Frontier, but not like this. Typically even the worst of the marauder types had a hollow air of organization, "professionalism-" particularly the ones that fancied themselves "contractors" or "consultants." Slaughter was expensive, and was only really done to send the heaviest and most grim of messages. It was a business; everything was.
Here it felt different. Instinct-driven tactics? The concept felt ironically foreign to Tycho, on account of his species. Already what he'd seen set the Kromus apart, and it was making the Vlaka rethink his own definition of the term "pirate" with grim assertation. With everything he knew so far, from their apparent doctrine to the way they fought, the way they were reported, the way they looked?
"... They sound like animals," he said softly. The Vlaka looked down reached back and ran the edge of the looted Kromus gun-shield through his thumb and forefinger, suddenly finding the object to weigh a little heavier than it did before.
The Chozo was quiet for a moment before answering. He could sense that the Vlaka was quite troubled by this revelation, it seemed that the idea of an intelligent species being so animalistic and barbaric was quite alien to him.
“Yes.. yes they do. They have the potential to be something great- yet they let their love of violence and sadism twist their intelligence into something base.. bestial. They barely deserve to be called Sapient.”
There was more to it than that. He had heard stories, rumors.. and if any of those were remotely true he understood that the Kromus were in someways a twisted foil of his own kind.. that potential being used to such horrific ends.. it made him reflect on his own life- and he didn’t like the implications.
"Beastial behavior ain't unique to these Crowmuss whatsits. Any bastard kin be a beast, an tha solution remains tha same each time."
Lemon very pointedly reloaded her M6S as loudly as she could. They were wasting time sitting the the elevator chattering, while the enemy very likely had an alert to someone using said elevator. She walked up to the door controls and hovered her hand over the button to open them, looking back at the others.
"Ready up, ah want off out of this 'ere hell hole sooner rather than later."
The second she saw they were ready she would open the doors.
Post by Makoto Nijima on Aug 29, 2023 18:16:25 GMT
Queen listened to the others speak about their enemies. Outside of Earth and The Metaverse, this was the first time she had hostile contact with aliens. And unlike a Palace, she didn't have her friends for comfort. What she wouldn't give to hear Oracle's voice right now over her comms, calling out all the horror cliches she could remember, or Fox and his eye for the finer details in any given area. Even Skull and his outrageous reactions would have helped to break the dark depressing mood of her surroundings.
When she saw an opening in the conversation she took it, pushing down her sentimental feelings for her old friends and steeling herself for the tasks ahead. She summoned her revolver, checking the chambers to see each bullet was loaded.
"So I take it they can't be reasoned with? I suppose sometimes the most obvious solution is the easiest in that case. Even still, I can't believe the company was complicit in letting these things run freely. Those poor people..."
Eresh would slowly shake his head “Again it really depends on the band. Vicious as they might be there are few Kromus who aren’t looking out for number one.. every now and then you get one or two who would sell out their entire brood group if it meant they could survive- even better if they can make it out ahead.” He said with a palpable air of disdain in his voice. But at Lemon’s to-the-point comment he gave a soft chuff.
Couldn’tve said it better myself, miss Jankins.” Eresh replied as he stepped through the door once she opened it, checking down side of the chamber, letting whoever followed after him cover the other end.
Post by Tycho Kalhalati on Aug 29, 2023 23:13:56 GMT
Lemon was right, such as it was. The conversation had distracted him from the elevator's arrival, and even now he still had more he wanted to know... but now wasn't exactly the best time.
Tycho paused to switch up some of his gear before following, readying the Kromus gunshield and his handcannon in favor of the rifle. It was back to close-quarters by the looks of things, an environment the Vlaka wasn't terribly fond of. Normally he'd have reservations about using unfamiliar tech, but how hard could it be to get the hang of a shield?
"I think it's a little too late for reasoning, kid. Even on the chance that we could've with this... band." Tilting his wrist from side to side to get a feel for the shield's weight as he stepped out, before swiftly pivoting to check the chamber side opposite of Eresh, readying it in parallel with the softly-humming Burya. For a shield, it wasn't as cumbersome as he was expecting, but it still felt plenty awkward to use with a gun. Even so, the added protection outweighed any ergonomic issues, in his mind... so he could hardly complain.
Eresh gave a half committed grunt of agreement as he glanced about his chosen section of the room to scour. “The best negation tactic for dealing with Kromus is a copious volume of fire down range in their direction.” He helpfully added.
“Stay on your toes regardless.”
He felt that strange sense of restless energy overcome him again, and his digits twitched and flexed inadvertently. “But pirates or not, the plan should be to take things methodically, room by room. Kill whatever needs killing, secure what assets we can, and render assistance to any possible survivors we may stumble across.”