<snip>
16
Aster heads on over to the console...But it won't turn on. Probably because the ship is out of power. Barring that, she begins to root around beneath the console, eventually pulling aside a series of wires to reveal a button, almost hidden beneath the thing. This is the emergency switch for the ship's life support and power systems. Only the kami know if they'll still work, but the party will soon be privy to that information.
Rerouting the wires, and then hitting the necessary switches and buttons, Aster quickly finishes rooting about.
A low thrum moves through the walls of the creaking vessel, and the lights, in the bridge at least, suddenly flicker on before dying.
A moment later, everybody feels a lot heavier, and the floating debris- body, chair, blood and all- come crashing to the ground. The ship begins to rock, rhythmically, as debris in other sections begin to follow suit.
The lights flicker on, and then off, again. Dim, hardly receiving the power necessary to stay on for more than a few seconds, but they're on, at least. In the staccato lighting, near-useless as it is, the group is provided with a startling conclusion: The blood which has just splattered the floor is a brown-red in hue, but some, if not all, of the blood which splatters the damaged envirosuit of the corpse is a deep, dark black.
Aster lands on her back with a grunt as gravity reasserts itself, rolling onto her side to pull herself out by the side of the console, then pushing herself up onto her feet and pretending to dust off her shoulders with a self-satisfied smirk on her face.
"Fuck yeah. Sweet, sweet gravity. Damn, what would y'people do with... -out... me..." The engineer begins bragging into her helmet's radio, trailing off as her eyes reach the formerly floating corpse-- and its accompanying pool of oily black blood. Her own blood rapidly drains from her face, and she stumbles back, grabbing the rewired console behind her for support. Her mouth works, but either her communicator has stopped working or no words are coming out.
Kara walks quickly back to the bridge.
"What the hell was that? do you WANT to bring every damn thing in this hulk down on top of us? We just lost the element of surprise!"
She then catches sight of the black blood.
"That seems familiar.....i seem to remember the instructors at the Imperial academy talking about something like this whilst showing us pictures and holotapes.... Anyway, this derelict is a curiosity. The turrets and other armaments seem to be loaded. The ammo stores also seem to be empty. Whatever happened here, it was violent and judging by that corpse, it wasn't pirates....."
Shifting her weight to the other foot, she motions to Aster. "I think its best if we take a look at the cargo bay, power core and engines, to at least stabilize the lights and life support. Cmon Aster, with me."
Escort Aster to the Engines/Power Core/Cargo bay to try and stabilize the ships systems and look for loot.
The redhead stands in a shocked stupor for several minutes, her face ashen and jaw slack with horror, not reacting to any conversation, nor to Kara's arrival or admonishments. When the soldier motions for her to follow, however, Aster seems to break out of her trance, and, trembling slightly, begins to shake her head rapidly. She retorts, making a sign across her chest with one hand, then with the other,
"Are y'rustin' crazy?! What in th'name a'the Ancestors makes you think that's in any way, shape, or form a good idea? Do y'not see the same devilsigns that I do?"Shaking her head, she adds as she turns to head to the exit,
"Y'know what? Fuck it, I'm gettin' outta this pit, right now. No fucking Exponire-build's worth crossin' this threshold." Aster isn't gonna stay unless she's either forced to or persuaded to. And you're gonna need an engineer to get those parts. In other words? Ladies and gentlemen, it's roleplay time. >:}
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Topic: Ballad of the Stars (IC) - Chapter 1: Derelict Frigates and Mining Colonies (Read 7670 times)