[Nexus] NO XIII: Do Clockwork Penguins Dream of Mechanical Fish?

[Mindfreak]

Dipsnig's Office
"And I'll just need some time to get me and Mr. Mitten's equipment ready as well."
He pets Mr. Mittens who meows happily on his shoulder.

[Shadowcaller]

[Inside]

"If I got myself a place I'd spend almost all my time out of it anyway. Better to just stay here where it makes work convenient." Kirk replies. Besides, he can just get a room at a fancy hotel if he needs some other accommodations for a night.

[Inside]

"And yet I haven't seen you doing your 'job' much at all these last months. Maybe you should actually start doing stuff instead of sleeping around and feel sorry about yourself?" She suggests.

[Gullara]

[Inside]

"And of course you always work so hard? I never realized there were so many people coming in here to pay to have you sun yourself for hours on end." Kirk says with a faint smirk.

[Shadowcaller]

[Inside]

Dena gestures nonchalantly at Kirk, "I do a lot of small works you never notice. I was at some necromancy cavern with vampires and stuff and I sure didn't see you there." She turns to the other drow, smirking. "Because face it Kirk, you have gone lazy." She shakes her head sadly.

[Gullara]

[Inside]

Kirk waves his hand dismissively. "The day you're less lazy than me, there's a serious problem. But that day isn't today." He'd back up his argument with facts if he wasn't having trouble thinking through his alcohol soaked brain I'm sure. "Anyway, I'm going to go sleep. Lots of work to do tomorrow." That's definitely what he has planned.

[Shadowcaller]

[Inside]

Dena chuckles, "Thrusting yourself up and down don't count as exercise you know Kirky-boy." She says with a wink before heading off into her own room.

[Shadowcaller]

[In the skies some distance from NO]

WHROOOOOOAMMMM!!!

The night skies part in cloud of fire as something slips through the dimension with tremendous power, instantly melting all the snow in the area as any foliage spontaneously combust due to the extreme heat.

The NO building itself will be hit by a powerful but short gust of air which likely rock the windows as the ship quickly descends at collision course at the mountain wall some distance away from the building. The projectile is likely too far away to be seen by the naked eye but if someone was watching from NO they can make out that it's rocket shaped.

And moments after the first explosion a second one happens as the ship inevitably crash, giving the entire area a good shake.

The sound of the initial explosion is muffled however as the crash causes huge chunks of the mountain to come crashing down with a loud rumble.

RUMBLE!!!

This sets off a chain reaction through the entire area as loose chunks of rocks start to fall here and there (though none near the base itself thankfully) causing the entire to rumble loudly for a couple of minutes before everything finally settles down.

Anyone with any expertise in the area should know that the area around the crash site is likely going to be very unstable for some time.

[Halae]

[Outside The Base]

Jakus is here. He had come out here to lounge. Snow has never bothered him, as he has thick skin and enough mass to retain a great deal of heat much of the time. A snow bank makes a lovely place for a half-ogre to lay down and stare up at the night sky for a while, wondering about the worlds and trying to pick out constellations, a nearly impossible task in the Nexus, with its ever changing sky.

His hammer rests beside him, which he immediately grabs upon hearing such a massive amount of shrieking, then stands up. need to face foes on your feet after all.

When the... thing... crashes, he puts his hammer on his shoulder and starts walking towards it, his brow furrowed. What exactly is going on here? He waits until the ground is at least semi-stable before dropping down into the crater and approaching the craft.

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside The Base]

As all the snow in the area have instantly melted the half-ogre should have little difficulty moving towards the craft. The areas below them might be hit by a sudden flood however but that's not their concern right? Unless someone pay them for it to be that is.

He will find a long scorch mark leading to the craft which have tumbled down the mountain slope along with a good chunk of the mountain wall semi-buried underneath it. He can see and smell smoke rising from the stones, the ship still giving off a fair amount of heat even now.

As luck have it however the top of the ship faces upwards and looks remarkably intact despite the crash-landing. He might note that the upper front part of the rocket-ship have a window and is from the looks of it likely the driver seat. Considering the rocks have crashed through the window however it's questionable if the pilot have survived.

[Halae]

[Outside The Base]

Jakus will circle aroudn to the front of craft to look inside the cockpit, calling, "Hello? Anybody still alive in there?"

He's not bothered by the heat at all. hot ground? The skin on his feet is thick. same with his hands. So unless he touches the side of the ship by accident, he'll be fine.

[Gullara]

[Outside The Base]

Kirk steps outside to see what's going on. That's not a sight you see every day. The drow casually strolls in the direction of the crashed ship. "Someone made a bit of a mess." He comments as he nears Jakus.

[Shadowcaller]

[Outside The Base]

Inside the cockpit Jakus will find the pilot, or the remains of it at least. It looks to have been a goblin judging by it's green skin and size. It's hard to tell much else though as the body have pretty crushed, either by the impact or the following landslide.

The interior is otherwise painted in bright colors and patterns unlike the usual grey interior you see in these things. On the door hangs the image of a cat with the words "hang in there."

The two might also note a hatch just behind the drivers seat, it and the door might both be too small for Jakus however. Kirk should be short enough to get inside however.

[Halae]

[Outside The Base]

Jakus grunts, then moves off back towards the base. So, someone a good deal shorter needs to go in? Alright...

He sticks his head in the door, "Yo, people! Something just crashed outside and I can't fit in the door. I need someone short." Short, of course, being relative to Jakus.

[OrchestraHc]

Outside NO

Climbing out from between the couch cushions, Kuko de Minish dusts himself off and stuffs a copper piece under his cloak. It's a quick scurry before he's at Jakus' feet. "Someone short: reporting for duty!" I'm relatively certain Kuko is the shortest fellow in NO. Even when with magic, he's still shorter than Dipsnig. "What crashed?"

[Gullara]

[Outside The Base]

Looks like Jakus managed to completely miss Kirk standing there. Somehow. Oh well. The drow brushes the back of his hand against the edge of the ship, and then jerks it away when he finds how hot it is. For now he waits for Jakus and/or anyone else to arrive.

[Halae]

[NO's Door]

What? Jakus didn't miss Kirk. But you don't send someone into something unknown alone, "Looks like some sort of flying ship. Kirk's already out there, but I can't fit inside and it's dangerous to go alone, so you're going too."

That statement is said neutrally, so he can back out if he really wants to.

[OrchestraHc]

NO's Door

"Yessir!" Kuko says enthusiastically. Wouldn't have joined Mersen-airies if he wasn't ready for a little danger. Plus, Flying ship! How amazing is that going to be!? He's outside before you know it. "Which way?" he asks. He'll follow Jakus' lead. On the way he whistles a few notes and a small brown sparrow flutters onto his toboggan hat.

[Halae]

[NO's Door - Crash Site]

Jakus waves Kuko along, and begins moving towards the landing site where he left Kirk. The weird little guy will be led to the crash site easily enough, and Jakus keep pace with him so he doesn't outpace his shorter stature.

[OrchestraHc]

[NO's Door - Crash Site]

Very thoughtful of Jakus. Kuko isn't as fast on two legs as one. When he reaches the crash site he let's out a low whistle of admiration, which his reacts too by fluttering it's wings. He'll also wave hello to Kirk, for manners sake.

[Gullara]

[NO's Door - Crash Site]

Kirk nods to the two as they arrive. "I'll need a boost up to get inside myself. I doubt this thing'll be cooling off any time soon." It's a good thing Jakus is easily large and strong enough to provide.

[Halae]

[Crash Site]

Jakus just nods, and will grab kirk by the arm and lift him up onto his shoulders. Kirk should have no trouble standing up on Jakus, so he should be able to do what he wants from this higher point. For his part, Jakus will remain still so that kirk can do what he needs to do.

[OrchestraHc]

Crash Site

"I may also need assistance when you're done lifting him in." the Minish says watching Jakus lift Kirk. "No rush though."

[Gullara]

[Crash Site]

Once Kirk gets inside, he goes to investigate the corpse. "At least one person wasn't very lucky." He comments to Kuko as he nudges the body with his foot. He turns his attention away from it and toward the rest of the room. "So shall we take the hatch of the door?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Crash Site]

The interior have changed very little since Jakus first visit here. The corpse does manage to smudge Kirk's boot with blood when he nudges it though. Cadavers these days have no respect for a man's sense of style.

[OrchestraHc]

Crash Site

Assuming Kuko has gotten a lift, he nods and moves to help Kirk with the door. "Right," he answers. "Is the priority to find survivors?"

[Halae]

[Crash Site]

Jakus will indeed have lifted Kuko up to put him in the ship as needed, then he waits impatiently outside.

[Gullara]

[Crash Site]

Presumably after some effort they'll be able to get the door open. "Seems like a good plan. They'd be the ones that can tell us what's going on." Never mind that they might need to be saved or anything.

[Shadowcaller]

[Crash Site]

As soon as they have managed to get the door open (which requires very little effort actually) they can see a corridor leading straight forward to yet another door. The walls have paintings of dragons, fire with blue flames turning to waves of an ocean with green serpents swimming in the waves.

They can hear sounds coming underneath the corridor however, it sounds like some sort of alarm.

[OrchestraHc]

[Crash Site]

Kuko observes the paintings. Some sort of creation myth, maybe? The kitten poster from earlier puts it into doubt, but Kuko is pretty positive. Noticing the alarms beneath his feet he moves to the end of the corridor. "We should hurry,"

[Gullara]

[Crash Site]

Kirk pauses to look at the walls. Nothing rings a bell out of his experience; It could be anything. He glances down at the minish and nods. "Let's go." He heads toward the Nexus door and tries to open it.