Star Wars RP 02, part 1: Collision

Sarah
11/3/15; 11:45PM
The hum of the engine grew silent as the nearby ship idled; the sound that made its way through Snap's pressurized suit was altogether eerie, as he crossed the threshold to the abandoned craft he had found. There was hardly any power left in this facility's generators, but the clanging and wind from outside made it seem more haunted with each echoing step he took. What if there is someone here, he had pondered, thinking that perhaps he wasn't as alone as he had previously thought himself to be; the notion sent a justified shiver up his neck.

"You'll protect me if things get hairy, right?" Snap had turned to his astromech droid, which simply glanced over and rolled back into the safety of their small ship. She was a lovely spacecraft, Snap had to pause and consider her for a moment; she had been built with care by someone. Not him; he didn't even know how the darn thing worked, just that it did. The droid shut the door behind itself sternly, as if to let Snap know that there was no coming back empty handed. They sorely needed the credits from this job in order to keep flying.

A strewn piece of metal clanged on the tile as Snap continued walking, and he jumped. Maybe this place was haunted after all. Or maybe he was just getting sloppy with his footing. No matter the case, he refocused his vision toward the single beam of light ahead; he thought that perhaps it had been taunting him this entire time. Snap took a breath in, and quickened his pace. Getting in and out fast didn't mean he was a coward, right? He considered the implications as a piece of debris rapped on the outer hull, making him flinch again.

We'll get through this, Snap reassured himself, stepping lightly across to the next room. We've been in worse situations in the past; this is no big deal.

It was then that a large crumbling stone fell through the ceiling, and Snap had to pause. What was rock doing in such a place, he pondered, as the light was distorted through the dust and floating materials. It was good thing that he had thought to put on his anti-grav boots, since the generators died completely in that moment. There was still that eerie red glow coming from somewhere across the room; why hadn't it flickered out like all the other emergency lighting?

Snap paced cautiously forward, hesitating as more rubble followed the first devastating stone. The light ebbed with a passing shadow. That same feeling tickled the back of Snap's neck again as he searched through the darkness. It was quite obvious that he wasn't alone, but who was here with him? A presence stood, only partially visible; watching him from the other side of the room.

Ivie
11/4/15; 5:15AM
Rayloren had flown her junk heap into this nightmarish mess shortly before the other ship had arrived.  She had no idea what she was looking for really but managed to land this job anyway.  Her scrap heap blended in perfectly with the junk pile around her.  She wandered aimlessly for a bit until she saw the new, much nicer ship come in.  Hmmm, this person was probably after the same thing.  She followed from a safe distance and only ran into a few things.  The noise the ship was making masked her own fumbles.  It felt strange here and she could tell that the stranger was feeling it too. 

Sarah
11/4/15; 9:50PM
Static suddenly came to life on Snap's com; he flinched before rapping on his helmet with a disdainful expression. "Trashy, keep it clear, yeah? I know you like to creep me but-" He cut off in a whispered tone as the sound faded eerily; turning sharply to check the room. It felt as if someone were watching him; laughing at his shortcomings. Further clanging was heard on the outer hull of the facility, but he hesitated no more; he had been stationary for far too long, and it started poking at the back of his mind. Whatever was in the shadows, it certainly had found him by now; the only thing to do was keep moving.

Snap walked briskly toward the red glow, switching on his headlamp as he went; tension started to climb to an uncomfortable level, but he tried his best to ignore it. He pulled out a small blaster from his hip holster, just in case. Maybe the presence was friendly, he thought for a second, and then laughed at his own stupidity; why would something friendly be in a ruin like this. The walls had abruptly turned to stone as he passed the first glowing light; it was a moderately sized crystal of some sort, embedded in the rock. There were several down this crumbling tunnel; enough to keep the area somewhat lit, so he switched his headlamp back off. How long had it been out in space like this, he pondered; the stone seemed ancient, but the ship around it was only a few years old.

Snap paced slowly into the depths of the ruin, growing cautiously optimistic with each passing moment. Maybe there wasn't something here, after all; his spirits perked up with sudden optimism. It was short-lived, it seemed, as another large stone came crashing through the ceiling again. It was a cave in; or perhaps it would have been considered one if the artificial gravity had been operational. The rock still hit hard, though, and Snap had to dive into a crevice to avoid being hit.

This is problematic, his eyes scanned the area; desperate to not get trapped inside this desolate place. The red glowing crystals had seemed to have been leading him somewhere, though; he considered going back, but had decided against it. The promise of reward was too strong a pull, and he climbed over the loose boulders to claim his unknown prize.

Ivie
11/5/15; 1:38PM (edit 11/10/15; 1:45AM)
As soon as Rayloren caught a glimpse of the shiny red object she knew that was what she was looking for. She stayed hidden as she watched Snap avoid debris. If she didn't move soon she would lose her opportunity. Rayloren made her move as Snap was climbing over the rubble. She ran as quickly as she could in her armored suit and grabbed an emp grenade that would scramble Snap's equipment and distract him but it wouldn't kill him. Rayloren could see that the crystals were getting thicker and knew that if she didn't make her move soon she would lose the chance to get the sith thing her employer had sent her after. She threw the grenade and it went off with an impressive flash of light.

Sarah
11/5/15; 4:00PM
Snap had already became winded from avoiding the now floating rocks; he sighed in moderate relief as he neared the end of the caved-in area, and to clear tunnels again. Suddenly an explosion of energy burst behind him, and he was jolted into the wall. Ears ringing, he blinked as an alarm started going off in his helmet; it had been a magnetic pulse of some sort. His eyes blurred with panic, he steadied himself and checked over his suit's systems.

"Ktah-" Snap cursed with a hiss through his teeth; his HUD told him that his life support had malfunctioned from the blast. This can't be good, he cussed again, this time only in his head. He felt around for his small gun, his vision still blurry, and didn't find it. Yeah, this is bad, he considered; whoever had done that wasn't friendly. He considered running away, but the hope of a generous payout hung heavily on his mind. If they wanted a fight, he'd certainly give them one.

Breathing heavily, Snap swung out with his large charric weapon; it was always a good idea to carry an extra one. This was no simple pistol; it was a two-handed blaster rifle with a prominent cylindrical barrel. He blindly fired a neon blue shot from the gun, and paused to wipe the dust from his helm to see where his attacker might have gone.

Ivie
11/5/15; 4:25PM
Rayloren was making her way up the corridor to get in and out with the object quickly when the blast grazed by her face mask.  She yelped.  He recovered much quicker then she had hoped.  She was too close no to throw another grenade but just close enough to try to get the gun away from him.  She kicked Snap in the chest to throw him off balance and tackled him for the gun

Sarah
11/6/15; 1:25AM
It was then that Snap saw his enemy; it was a moderately built female creature of humanoid persuasion. There was little else he could make out of her, through the gloom and dust particles that lined the vaccum of their surroundings. This was a peculiar way to say hello, he thought, as he considered the being before him; his oxygen alarms in his helmet sill going off.

He was suddenly kicked firmly in the chest, and his blaster was nearly confiscated; luckily it had a strap that he had thought to wrap around his shoulder. He fumbled for a moment before swinging his rifle around to threaten the woman; his abdomen throbbed from the pressure, but he still kept a clear head. The fear was gone, and he knew that most people tend to back down when directly confronted; most people were cowards.

Snap clung to an outcropping in the wall ..or was it the ceiling? It was hard to tell without any gravity; artificial or otherwise. Nonetheless, the fallen debris was slowly parting, and it was apparent that the tunnel had gradually opened up into a pit. Only filtered light made it through to the near-tangible darkness at the bottom of it.

Snap hung resolute; almost unmoving, while watching for the next move this woman would throw at him. There was no time for pleasantries, it seemed to him, but she hadn't tried to outright kill him; it was only fair to give her a moment to think about what she was doing instead of going head-on. He, at the very least, thought it was a courtesy that he would have appreciated if he had been in the same situation.

Ivie
11/9/15: 10:33PM (edited 11/10/15; 1:55AM)
Rayloren stood there for a moment, wondering if she could still disarm Snap, when she decided she couldn't. She simply stood there and stared at him, as if she could make him disappear by shear willpower. A lot of thoughts went through her mind before she simply decided to make a mad dash into the pit room. She turned her anti gravity boots off and shoved against the nearby wall to shoot through the debris as quickly as she could. She twisted her body mid movement to throw a bola that caught and twisted around Snap's arm and head. Not a perfect throw but at least she had hit him. She was too busy paying attention to Snap to dodge the rock she was heading straight toward and hit it hard. She squeaked as her shoulder began to ache and she was temporarily dazed.

Sarah
11/10/15: 2:43AM
There was an eerie and discouraging lump in the pit of Snap's stomach, as the bola connected with a sharp crack. It was then that he considered whether or not this creature even deserved his mercy; he struggled with the rope for a few moments, and then quickly untethered it with a low-power shot from his rifle. It was quite an awkward angle, granted, to wrap his gun around and aim it at himself like this, but he absolutely had to win this competition. The welfare of his ship depended on it.

Snap's ears were full of ringing; from the echoing sounds around, as well as the low-oxygen alarm, but was suddenly reminded of his plight with a swift sound of emptiness from his stomach. It had been a while since he had a good old fashioned meal; he dwelled momentarily on the lizard pies that he used to make with Tallulah, and then his mind spun around to refocus on the present.

Snap tore away the rope weapon in a forceful motion, and glanced through his foggy visor to find his enemy once more; his eyes growing blurry with the weak air flow. He would have to get out of here very soon, or risk permanent brain damage. His attacker had lost footing on a large rock that was just floating around minding its own business; Snap held back a chuckle. She must be having trouble with this, too, he thought as he drifted slowly in her direction. Maybe it wasn't too much of a competition after all.

Snap bounced down on the edge of the pit, steadied himself, and then took the plunge. He could feel gravity pulling on him suddenly, even though his boots remained deactivated, and he started to gain momentum as the area around him grew darker. Where was the bottom, his eyes darted around to find some sort of ledge or down-hanging object; maybe there was no bottom at all. The wind whistled through his suit, and he started to loose a bit of consciousness from the lack of air.

It was then that the ground came up to meet Snap, and he hit hard; his knees buckled from the weight and speed of his decent. As he lay in the dirt, his oxygen meter began to rise; it seemed as if this area of the ruin had pressure. Not even the ground beneath him could be seen through the murky and tangible darkness, as he lifted his head a little to glance around. Not even his headlamp worked to part it; the light flickered, as if the shadows themselves were creatures.