Trapped! Defying Destiny

[ubersquid]

Janks - Repository for the Long Night

Janks stares at the three priests and their unorthodox sacrifice. Another swirling noise in the air makes come to his senses once more. Caroline seemed to have regained some of hers as well and already stepped away, firing her gun at the knife-wielding maniacs.

Caroline still seemed a bit disoriented though. Putting himself in front of her, essentially by shoving her behind him, Janks raises his rifle as well and pulls the trigger. Bright white flashes emanate from the muzzle as the slugs shoot out. Janks doesn't care too much about aiming and simply fires at the general direction of the attackers. With the rifle set to full auto and a one hundred round magazine, a few of them would hit their target for sure.

[TheOutlander]

Thoft- Medical Bay


As Thoft's blood flowed into Lydia, he realised she was different from the rest, something about her made him feel like family. Kindred. that was the term. The older man made a comment as he pressed a can of biofoam to Lydia's head. At that moment, Thoft felt pain as he'd never felt before. Liquid fire flowed through his head as Lydia's wounds were mended.
"God... that hurts."
As he looked over to Matthias, he decided to speak to the man who was annoyed with him.
"Home isn't where you used to live. Home. An environment offering affection and security." He sighed, as the burning pain in his head began to recede.
Memories began to appear in his head.
"And I'm either reliving my first period, hallucinating, or I'm... my god. I'm psychic."

After a moment, he looked at them. "Yeah, I'm not really suprised."

"Sorry, we're all just tired. I could probably use some of those stimulants I just offered to Wyndell, or should I say Odysseus. Hmm, so if you're Homer, he's Odysseus, and she's just Lydia, what am I? The Frozen Man?"

"I'm... sorry, I don't know. I DON'T KNOW! PLEASE JUST STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!" Thoft told him, suprised at his outburst.

"I'm... I need to know who I am before I can start naming you all."

[tgva8889]

Lydia Morrison, of the Hope Killer - Medical Bay

Lydia feels a pain in her leg and a strange floating sensation. Something about it seemed perfectly natural to her, as though it was simply the small prick of her death and she was floating away to a much better place. Her mind was playing tricks on her, that was all. She felt that shadowy presence fade into the background, her mind more focused on everything around her. Pure light filled her vision once more, but this time the light faded as she saw a steel floor beneath her. As her vision began to continue its focus, Lydia felt something on her body and a throbbing pain on her head. Unable to react to anything quick enough, she decided it would be best to just let herself be taken away.

As she felt herself being placed upon the ground, comfort flooded Lydia's body for a moment. She saw movement around her, but she couldn't quite discern the exact people moving about. Noticing something shining, Lydia forced her eyes to focus a bit more, seeing the metallic shape of Malaki's arm. "Malaki..." Lydia groaned, still at a whisper's pitch, so that it would be impossible to hear.

Then she felt a prick on her arm. Shifting uncomfortably away from it, Lydia then felt blood moving into her from that entry point. It felt wrong, all wrong...something was wrong, and Lydia couldn't quite place it. She knew that none of them should be giving her blood.

Memories appeared in her eyes. She saw herself, trapped on the ship. The Hope Killer, it had been called. Zombies, everywhere, moving...then she saw people dying. That man, dragged off by the beasts...that woman, sacrificing herself to save them...she saw the others. She remembered the bridge of that ship, where he was on the ground, paralyzed. Malaki was there, and now, now he was dead. Gone. Everything was coming back.

More memories began to move, but this time they weren't hers. Lydia was confused for a moment as she saw them. It was strange to be seeing these things, things she knew other people had once seen, as well. She saw a war, she saw two men in uniforms, working...something was very different about these memories.

Then, of course, pain ripped through her head. It felt like pure and utter hell for a minute of her life. She could hear someone talking, but at the moment, it didn't matter: pain blocked out everything. Screaming out loud at both emotional and physical pain crushing her spirits at once, Lydia tried to focus on the movements around her. Focusing through the pain was impossible, but manageable somewhat.

Conscious began clawing at her skull again. As the pain subsided, Lydia felt mental faculties returning to her. Trying to move her arms proved to be a useless exercise, as they barely twitched at all. She could still move her hands very sluggishly, but not enough to do anything. Her eyes weren't working quite correctly, either. She felt her arm moving, and, wondering at the motion, was also additionally curious at the weight that suddenly appeared on her chest. Moving her fingers about this new object, Lydia comes to find that it's familiar. Much too familiar. She tries to focus her eyes on the person who gave it to her, but, unable to really make them out, she whispers "Thank...you."

Unable to keep focusing due to the strain on her body, her mind, and her eyes, Lydia stopped seeing and started trying to push herself towards sleep.

[Mordokai]

Misty Reviere – Repository for the Long night

After hearing the explosion behind her, Misty's first instinct was to throw herself on the floor. All the training she had ever received(granted, that wan't much, but still), all the videos she ever saw... everything had one thing in common. When exposed to explosion, throw yourself flat on the floor to minimize exposed surface. That way, the shock wave will wash over you, instead of hitting you directly, thusly reducing the damage done to body greatly.

However, seeing Caroline and Janks pushing on, she decides to follow them. When the debris starts falling around them, she covers her head with her hands and ducks a little but continues running. Before even a single thought is able to enter her head, she spots three people ahead of them. Three people with long, bloody knives and very obviously unfriendly intetions. After screaming something in a language she didn't understand and then something about false gods and bleeding, she is very sure that they aren' there to entertain them. Which is shortly confirmed, as the men attack the three of them.

Having some martial training under her belt, Misty wasn't too concerned about herself. Remembering back to old days, training with her father.

The gym was quiet and there was a somber feeling to the air. Standing on the other end of the field was her dad, clad in white kimono. Not uttering a word, he just standed there. For Misty, this was more worrying as if he came wailing at her with lungs full of air and striking at her. So she decided to do something about it. It was she than ran up to him and try to hit him. He didn't so much as flich at her attack until she was just a few inches in front of him. Next thing she knew, she way lying on floor, with his knee pressing lightly on her throat. Had he wanted it, he could crush her windpipe in a second.

Letting her go, he helped her stand up.

“Remember Misty, recklesness was the doom of many a man. Never let your emotions guide you. Always keep a clear head and your chances of walking away from a fight in one piece will increase dramaticaly, while those of your enemies will decrease jsut as much.“

It was a wise advice and she intended it to put it to good use. So she readied herself and waited for them to come closer. But before that could happen, Caroline and Janks opened fire on them.

Misty was more than little dissapointed at that. Here was finally a chance to prove herself useful and they took it away from her. Next moment, dissapointment was replaced with surprise. Was this really she? Did she really wanted to fight them so badly? What was happening to her? Sure, the events of last couple of hours had taken the toll on her, but this wasn't like her at all.

Shaking her head, she once again concentrated on situation on hand. She would think of this later. At the moment, she jsut waited what would come out of this. She certainly wasn't stupid enought to put herself on the fireline between Janks, Caroline and their enemies. So she just waited to see if any of the knife wielders would survive barage. If that happened she could still get him if he would be stupid enought to get close enought for her to strike.

[Pwenet]

Narration #9 – A Moment of Peace

• Repository for the Long Night
  • The_Snark – Caroline Walker
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 2 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Emergency Medical Kit – This medical kit comes with basic bandages, medications, various devices and a compact scanner used to help treat people.
        • 2mm Semi-Automatic Needle Pistol – This pistol uses tiny rounds that are designed to penetrate organic matter and shatter within, causing massive internal damage to the target. These rounds are ineffective against armored targets for the rounds will simply shatter against harder substances. Used on most ship as basic security because they will not penetrate the hull if discharged. Each cartridge contains 20 rounds.
    • The Narration
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      Opening fire at the approaching natives as you backpedal away from them, the rightmost one twitches as his left shoulder erupts in blood and falls limp to the side of him. Not even stopping or acknowledging the wound [Sacrifices involve the intake of narcotics to enhance the experience]. Your second shot by luck strikes the priest in his throat, and his eyes widen in shock as tiny little cuts appear around the leftside of his throat and his lifeblood starts to leak out from the tiny wounds. He stumbles for a second and then falls to the ground. Yet despite this obviously soon-to-be-fatal wound, the priest looks at you with accusing eyes of insanity [Death will come for him soon, ignore him].
      
      Before you can do anything else Janks shoves you behind him and takes a pose like an action hero from the old films from the 20th century. He forgoes the finesse that you decided to use and instead relies on raw overwhelming firepower. The slugs fired by his rifle were designed to penetrate body armor, and against the unarmored opponents, they simply fall and collapse to the ground in various pieces.
      
      [You have been lied to. I am sorry, I have tried to keep them under control. The centuries of neglect, you are right, they are insane. Yet they are loyal to their programming.]
      
      Blinking in agony the poor sacrifice is still amazingly alive. Laying on the table that he is on, strapped by the chest and legs he has apparently managed to free one of his arms. Raising the free arm it shakes as it points towards you, or possibly past you, lips moving as if trying to speak with tears starting to run from one of his eyes.
    
    
  • Ubersquid – Raul 'Janks' Jenkins
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • Repair Kit – This kit contains an assortment of tools used for common repairs along with some raw supplies that could be needed. In the hands of someone who knows what they are doing they can repair armor and even make basic ammunition with the contents.
        • 4mm Defender Rifle – This rifle is a standard weapon that can be used against armored targets. Firing 4mm solid state slugs it can damage/penetrate most personal body armors. Carrying a 100 round magazine per cartridge it is a very sturdy weapon as well and simple to maintain, aiding it in working in most environments despite abuse. It is fondly related to the ancient AK-47 rifle when compared to durability and reliability.
    • The Narration
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      As you move forward to cover Caroline, she fires off two shots. Either by skill or luck the strike the rightmost figure, wounding his arm and then hitting his throat and he falls to the ground. Pushing her behind you, you brace yourself and squeeze the trigger.
      
      The weapons of your era were designed to reduce recoil as much as possible, for that was one of the key things that made weapons so inefficient in previous times. As such you are easily able to hold the weapon steady and sweep it between the two figures. Your weapon, designed to take on armored opponents brings a new definition to the word “overkill” as the rounds literally shred the two oncoming figures. No amount of painkillers, zombification or genetic engineering can keep a human body moving after your rifle is done with them, and the two figures simply fall apart onto the ground.
      
      Releasing the trigger you see that you used up about half of the cartridge. Blinking in agony the poor sacrifice is still amazingly alive. Laying on the table that he is on, strapped by the chest and legs he has apparently managed to free one of his arms. Raising the free arm it shakes as it points towards you, or possibly past you, lips moving as if trying to speak with tears starting to run from one of his eyes.
    
    
  • Mordokai – Misty Reviere
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; Cuts, scrapes and bruises over body
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 2 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Armored Survival Backpack – This backpack contains basic survival supplies including the following:
          • Vibration-charging Flashlight/Lantern – Uses the vibrations generated by movement to charge an internal power source. Need more power, shake it!
          • Air/Water Distiller – This device can absorb the ambient moisture in the air and collect/filter it to provide a source of drinking water. Also contains a hose that can be used to suck in water from other sources where it will be filtered and purified.
          • Multi-Purpose Tool Kit – Containing a small amount of tools that can be used for the most basic of repairs of devices.
          • Communications Relay – This device is a complex communications relay that can be used to signal orbiting ships or link various systems together to provide a means of communication.
        • Emergency Medical Kit – This medical kit comes with basic bandages, medications, various devices and a compact scanner used to help treat people.
    • The Narration
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      Preparing yourself for combat, the ancient quote “Do not bring a knife to a gun fight” still holds true as Caroline opens fire with her pistol, taking out one of the enemies. Before she can shift her aim towards the other two Janks shoves her behind him, and opens fire with his rifle. Needless to say the rifle makes short work of the remaining two, and their remains fall to the ground in various places.
      
      Behind their remains the figure that they had been torturing has unexpectedly lasted far longer than the ones that caused the vicious wounds upon him. He waves a shaking hand up and extends a single finger, seemingly pointing at you, the ruined lips trying to speak something. Yet you get the sense that he is not point at you, but elsewhere that happens to be behind you. Turning you look behind, then up. At first all you see are the various containers and the walls of the cave.
      
      Yet off along the wall there is an opening high up. Standing within the opening, which is barely more than a crack in the wall is a figure. Details are hard to make out except that he seems to have something like an ancient bow, is clad like the natives, however he is not prostrating himself at you or using the bow to send out arrows towards you group. Instead it seems that he is almost, watching you. His attention then shifts away from your group towards something else.
  
  
• The Hallowed Chamber
  • mf11 – Giovanni Fiori
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • Sharp shards of a shinbone from a Corpse – Taken from one of the dead crewmembers onboard Chasing the Second Star it can serve as a cudgel, but due to the age it is not very durable. The shinbone itself was shattered and now all that remains are very sharp fragments.
      
      
    • The Narration
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      Attacking with the improvised weapons you have you slash several deep wounds on the arm of the creature. Yet the blood does not flow like it should of, and the creature does not react in pain, not even when one of your strikes sends one of its fingers flying. Ignoring the attacks it steps forward quickly and grabs your throat and pushes you back until your back is presses against the railing, with the creature squeezing tighter and tighter.
    
    
  • Gig Complex – Oscar 'Lucky' Erickson
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Standard Ship Uniform – This uniform is made of a tough material to resist tears and scratches, with many pockets and places to attach and hold items.
        • Shinbone from a Corpse – Taken from one of the dead crewmembers onboard Chasing the Second Star it can serve as a cudgel, but due to the age it is not very durable.
    • The Narration
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      Having dispatched your opponent to the abyss you turn and see that the other person is not faring as well, and at the moment he is being held by the creature by his throat and being presses against the railing.
  
  
• Within the Tomb of Metal
  • Firespark – Wyndell Tedarri
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 1 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge Connected to your PCT – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Personal Computer Terminal - This portable computer terminal is a common piece of equipment. A universal adapter allows it to be plugged into any normal computer terminal, bypassing its functions and allowing on access to the core programming of the terminal, making it easier to make changes or access systems that shouldn't be accessed normally.
          
          It is 17" wide and 12" long and 2" deep, and weighs about 5 pounds. The screen is a adaptive display, able to be changed to what the user prefers, and it is very durable.
    • The Narration
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      Setting up the scanner unit, you start it scanning on the Lydia and give a list of available options for treatment. Even before it finishes up the one stranger moves up and pulls out a blood transfusion kit. You dimly remember that such units from your time were capable to scrubbing blood of the blood types, making it so that two people of different blood types can donate and receive without ill effects. In addition Matthias gets to work on treating the basic wound itself with bio-foam and another bandage.
      
      As you rest and recover your eyes glaze over the various pieces of equipment scattered around the medical bay, and your eyes rest on a device that you recognize throughout you lifetime of eye-problems. While you typically used eyeglasses for various reasons, contact lenses were a viable alternative as well, but harder to keep track of when not being used. Since the prisons didn’t care about giving fine medical treatment to the prisoners the glasses were the best that you had expected to be able to use, however now having access to a full modern medical bay that was apparently maintained, you realize that you could use the machine to make some contact lenses. It also looks like it could also add some interesting features to them as well, like maybe a HUD connected to your PCT or other things that you can think of.
      
      The scanner then completes its scan.
      

      Scan Results

      • Patient – Unknown – Female
      • Detecting Cybernetic Implants, Unknown Function, Non-Functional.
      • Skull Laceration – Has been treated with Bio-Foam. No signs of infection.
      • Blood Loss – Detecting Transfusion Unit in Use to Replace Lost Blood
      • Concussion – Initiating treatment with prescription-strength Mersical for pain and to treat symptoms. Please give patient a dose every 8 hours for the next 24 hours to complete the treatment regiment.
      • Definition of Medication – Mersical is traditionally a non-prescription strength pain-killer. When increases to prescription strength levels it can be used to quickly treat the key symptoms of concussions rapidly. Three doses in a 24 hour time typically can completely treat a concussion. CAUTION – Do not exceed recommended dosage due to addiction and potential liver damage.

      An injector port lowers from the bed, adjusts itself over Lydia cardio artery and touches it. The hiss of a injection can be heard and the injector rises back into the ceiling. Within the next few minutes Lydia seems to start to fall asleep.
    
    
  • TheOutlander – Dane “Thoft” Thoftsten
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Standard Ship Uniform – This uniform is made of a tough material to resist tears and scratches, with many pockets and places to attach and hold items.
        • Severed Metallic Arm of Malaki Shares – This is the severed artificial arm from Malaki. No longer connected to him it does not work, yet it is of a sturdy design and could function as an emergency weapon or tool if needed.
    • The Narration
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      Setting yourself up to start the blood transfusion, a dim memory comes back to you. First aid training somewhere probably for ship. How the standard transfusion units can somehow clean the blood, making everyone a universal donor. As your blood is extracted with each heartbeat and given to Lydia, you settled the artificial arm down on her stomach.
      
      Then the memories of Lydia life burns through your skull, ripping into it and etching themselves into your mind.
      
      As your mind starts to cope with the sudden imprinting of memories you start conversing with Odysseus while Matthias works on treating the head wound on Lydia. In addition an injector port lowers itself down to Lydia, and hovers over her cardio artery for a second before it injects something into her.
      
      Numbness washes over you, such a familiar numbeness, a numbness that seems to cause you to float upwards, not caring what happens, not caring who gets hurt, something that you struggled against your entire life, and now to have it again, at the moment of crisis, how could you not live with it.
      
      Returning to reality you start to shiver and look down at Lydia starts to recover from the punishment brought upon her body. Part of you screams that a terrible mistake has been made.
    
    
  • Inspectre – Matthias Conway
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
    • The Narration
      Spoiler

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      Grabbing the canister of bio-foam, you remove the bloody bandages from the forehead of Lydia. This involves tearing open the wound again but now is the time to treat this wound. Cleaning it out you can see that it was deep enough that you can see her skull clearly. With grim determination you inject the bio-foam into the cut. The white foam spreads out, turning a pink color as it mixes with the leaking blood, but it starts to bond with the flesh, to become a source of nutrients for the healing flesh and to drive off infection and further blood loss.
      
      Looking over at the stranger you notice with a sigh of relief that the unit he is using to transfuse his blood to Lydia is a standard unit that can scrub the blood, turning anyone into a universal donor and preventing the transfer of most diseases. Already Lydia color is starting to look better.
      
      Wrapping her head in another bandage you can see that the scanner has finished its work and is how displaying a report as to the condition of Lydia.
      
      

      Scan Results

      • Patient – Unknown – Female
      • Detecting Cybernetic Implants, Unknown Function, Non-Functional.
      • Skull Laceration – Has been treated with Bio-Foam. No signs of infection.
      • Blood Loss – Detecting Transfusion Unit in Use to Replace Lost Blood
      • Concussion – Initiating treatment with prescription-strength Mersical for pain and to treat symptoms. Please give patient a dose every 8 hours for the next 24 hours to complete the treatment regiment.
      • Definition of Medication – Mersical is traditionally a non-prescription strength pain-killer. When increases to prescription strength levels it can be used to quickly treat the key symptoms of concussions rapidly. Three doses in a 24 hour time typically can completely treat a concussion. CAUTION – Do not exceed recommended dosage due to addiction and potential liver damage.

      Operating on its own an injector lowers from the ceiling, rests against her cardio artery and injects the medical into her. As it retracts and you start conversing with the others, you have time to look around the medical bay and see if there is anything that could be useful for you and the others.
    
    
  • tvga8889 – Lydia Morrison
    • Vital Statistics
      Spoiler

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      • Condition: Severe head wound – Bandaged and treated with a Plasma Injector to help replace lost blood. In shock and disorientated but conscious.
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
    • The Narration
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      Laying on the bed as you start to drift down into the sweet embrace of sleep, something presses against your neck. There is a prick, and then a far too familiar sensation starts working its way through your veins. It rapidly spreads throughout your body and consciousness starts to fade away, but one last thought flashes through your mind.
      
      Mersical…..
  
  
• Village of the Faithful
  • Banjo1985 – Saul Umati
    • Vital Statistics
      Spoiler

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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Tribal Clothing – Simple yet rugged leathers that perverse your modesty. Because of the extra time you spend out hunting you have added a nice vest and pants while most of the natives wear only a loincloth.
        • Hunting Bow & Arrows – A simple yet durable hunting bow that has served you faithfully for many years that has excellent range and accuracy. In addition you have a full quiver of arrows that you wear on your back.
        • Hunting Knife – A simple long-bladed knife that is used mainly for skinning and preparing game, though it would make a deadly weapon if used properly.
        • First-Contact Computer Interface Unit – Taken from a crashed probe from times long ago, this CIU has provided you the basics on spoken Common and a general history of humanity that you otherwise would never have known. It was designed to aid in first-contact situations by providing basic information on humanity to other lifeforms. Using it you found that you are not a mere slave, but rather a human as well, and that things should be much different from what they are. Luckily for you this unit is small enough to keep hidden from the rest.
    • The Narration
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      Breaking off in a dead sprint you race for the cave that you remembered. Keeping your eyes open and the bow at the ready, you round a sharp bend and emerge from a forested region into a clearing where the cave it. Fears of finding it surrounded by tribesmen ready to sacrifice you to the gods fade as you see the cave, covered with overgrowth, and more importantly no signs of any of the tribesmen.
      
      Making your way into the cave, darkness surrounds you. Sadly for you there are no readily available torches or sources of light and so you are relegated to feeling around with your hands. Stumbling blindly deeper and deeper into the cave you rely on the memories of old, where you had a torch available. Even with a excellent memory trying to work through a cave during night when previously it was daytime and you had the torch is tedious work at the very least.
      
      Catching the reflection of light, you stumble around a corner and find yourself overlooking the Repository for the Long Night. Standing in a crack wide enough for you to pull yourself through, with several of the boxes close enough to jump onto you can see a large part of the cave. Your eyes water as they look towards the center of the chamber and your bad vision blurs even more, but that passes as you look elsewhere while your mind screams that you just overlooked something vitally important.
      
      Hearing cracks of thunder your attention is drawn towards the source of the noise and you can make out several priests laying on the ground, with several of the strangers from the sky standing in front of them, holding strange looking devices. Behind the bodies of the priests lays what is obviously a sacrificial victim, who had apparently been worked on for a while. His arm rises and seems to point at the strangers, but you notice that he is actually pointing at YOU.
      
      Squinting you identify the figure as Gike, a fellow tribesman and hunter. You never really knew him well, but you got the sense he was a rational soul the few times you interacted with him. You had suspected him of being like you, doubting what was preached to everyone but nobody in your small enclave could find out for sure. Yet here he is, bound to a sacrificial table, near death most likely, and pointing at you.
      
      The sound of footsteps catches your attention and you turn towards the entrance of the Repository, and see a small handful of priests and hunters enters, thirteen in total. Their skin and clothing are dirty and torn, as if they crawled through a small hole to get to where they are now. The hunters ready their bows and arrows while the priests start praying and blessing this blades, and they start moving forward with a purpose, looking for those who had fallen for the sky.

[TheOutlander]

Thoft - Team Fix-it

Thoft looked at Lydia, concern showing on his face as something bothered him. She was healing, that was cause for celebration, so why was this eating away at him? Thoft looked at the viewscreen searching for a visible sign of trouble, but he could find nothing. What was it? this feeling of senselessness, weightlessness, utter apathy.

He couldn't shake it, and so he took out the IV, squeezing Lydia's hand, hoping that she would be alright. There was a definate bond between them, but why was it so strong, and so sudden, he needed more time to analyse this.

As for the others, it felt as though they had been running on adrenaline since they had awoken. Thoft tried to figure out if they would still have a Circadean rythym, or if the great sleep would have ended such rythym.
They seemed to be blessed with great reserves of energy to have lasted so long without sleep already.

an idea came to him, as they were moving around the medical bay.
Oscar still hadn't come in yet, nor had the rebel. perhaps the inward screaming had been for them.

Thoft was going back there, to see what he could do to help. If they needed it, or if they were still alive.
"I won't be long." he whispered to the semi-conscous Lydia, "I promise."

[Gig_Complex]

Oscar, Team Zombie Killer

Shaking his head to clear his head of the adrenaline and instinict that had taken hold, Oscar lines a kick up at Ezekil's hand which seemed to have taken to moving on its own.

As he noticed the former crew member attacking his new ally Oscar let out grunt as he swung out at the back of Shad's head with the remnants of the shin bone,

****ing zombies!

[ForzaFiori]

Giovanni Fiori
Team Zombie Ass-Kicking

Feeling the hand grip his neck, Giovanni stabs down with his shard of shin, tearing at the muscles. He attempts to let out a cry for help, though with his wind cut off, little is heard. He stabs again and again, hoping for the hand to release.

[FireSpark]

Wyndell Tendarri - Medbay of Chasing the Second Star

The medbay was quiet, disturbed only by the clacking of Wyndell’s typing at the computer terminal before him. The chief medical had left extensive logs on his ever so brief time with his ‘sample’. Wyndell thought he was onto something in his reading when the words began to run together, turning into symbols and strange pictographs that were wholly alien. Then the data began to scroll and twist and generally shift with no input from him, before disappearing all together. Having raised his hands from the keyboard while it had been going haywire, Wyndell futilely smacked the display screen with his palms. Looking across the room, Wyndell sees that the medbay is much larger than he can seem to recall, as if it stretched out forever. But sitting at what he somehow knew to be the room’s center, stood a medical containment tube draped in a drab green sheet. Before he knew it, Wyndell was closing a hand on a corner of that cloth, ready to yank it aside. He knew what was inside, he had placed the cloth over it, but he had the nagging feeling that something was wrong inside. Sliding the cloth aside, Wyndell was surprised to find the liquid inside had gone foggy. Peering closer, Wyndell tried to find something, whatever it was he was looking for. Suddenly, a hand and face smashed into the glass from the inside, sending Wyndell sprawling to the floor. It was Misty, or at least had been Misty. Her hand seemed desiccated beyond possibility, and half her face seemed to have been clawed away. Wyndell tried to crawl backwards, only run out of floor and begin falling.

Jerking awake suddenly, his breath fast and frantic, Wyndell let out a long sigh. Running a hand across his face, Wyndell tried to rub the twisted memories of the Hope Killer’s medbay away. Glancing around the medbay he was currently in, Wyndell tried to take stock of what was going on. He had heard the man who called himself Thoft say something, but he couldn’t make it out. As if Wyndell wasn’t the one being spoken to. But then there was silence, asides from the soft beeping and chirping from monitoring instruments, and the occasional gentle whirring of hidden fans and micro-servos. Continuing his blurred scan of the room, Wyndell was able to make out that there was still someone on the examination and treatment bed, presumably still Lydia. Matthias seemed to have moved off to somewhere else in the chamber, doing something along the cabinets and shelves along the walls. It was then that Wyndell noticed something he recognized, even through the hazy blur of his exhausted eyes.

Just off to his right, along the back wall in the corner, was small device sitting on a shelf, seemingly forgotten. With a low and slow groan as he pushed himself to his feet, with a moment to pause at the creaking of his knees as they straightened, Wyndell limped slowly over to his find. Now up close he was certain that he wasn’t just seeing things. The device was an ocular lens manufacturing system, if only a small one. Obviously the crew of this particular vessel hadn’t intended for a large demand for its use, but Wyndell was thankful for whoever requisitioned it, none the less.

Running his hands over the front of the machine, Wyndell was able to locate the device’s input panel, however his eyesight was the one thing keeping him from properly operating the one device that could help ease his straining eyes. The irony of the situation was not lost on him, though Wyndell had a personal saying for such situations. Irony sucks. Turning back to the examination bed’s terminal, Wyndell sauntered over and removed his PCT from the terminal’s ports. Taking a few steps back to the corner, Wyndell located the device’s I/O port, and jacked the PCT in. Bringing the unit’s basic control menu up on the screen, Wyndell stumbled through the different selections before finding the numerous options he wanted. First up, he chose a small contact lens design to fit directly onto his eyes. In addition, he made sure that the set he made were designed to breathe and help keep his irises moist. And of course, he set them to the proper correction focus. With the final acceptance command, the machine began humming to itself, and a estimated time remaining counter appeared on the PCT.

But instead of stopping there, Wyndell was struck with a bit of inspiration, having seen some of the options that he had passed in the lens manufacturer’s sub-menus. Setting to the menus again, he tapped away best he could, hoping he was hitting the choices correctly. His intention was to create something that would allow him to make better use of his PCT’s new and ever expanding capabilities. Essentially, he requested a large ocular lens that would be frame mounted, but not for vision correction. Instead it would act like a personal heads-up display, and the PCT would provide the sensory and data stream, and the mini-HUD would be tapped into it to display the information.

With a few last taps, Wyndell set the second item in queue behind the contacts that the machine was so happily working away on already. Setting the PCT down on the counter, Wyndell eased himself gently into a nearby chair. Closing his eyes, Wyndell tried to rest them some more, though he was hesitant about dozing off again. Trying to keep his mind engaged against the soothing and lulling sounds of the lens maker, Wyndell tried to converse with Matthias.

“So, the thing nagging at me, is whether or not you are the Matthias Conway. It is Conway isn’t it? I kind of started wondering about how anyone could’ve jury-rigged a half operational jump drive, on the fly no less, and that’s before considering the age of that particular core design. And then with your name being Matthias, well, my brain just kept tumbling it over. Less than a day ago of course, I would’ve thought that just considering the prospect to be ridiculous. But with everything that’s been happening over the last day, or days, I’m open to the possibility.”

Wyndell propped his head against an arm that he leaned on the counter. He didn’t expect the man to entertain his delirious rambling, but it was better than falling asleep and facing the dreams that waited there.

[Mordokai]

Misty Reviere - Repository for Long Night

Seeing their attackers gettings literally blown to pieces by Janks's weapon, Misty holds one hand over her mouths and the other over her stomach. That's excatly why she preffered poisons as her tool of trade. Much less messy and gory. Given the right amount and the right ingredients, the victim didn't feel anything. And she always looked up to that. Guns, they were so brutal, so... revealing. She couldn't understand peoples who preferred the gun to good dose of poison. But she did understand there was time and place for everything and this was time for brutal force, not finesse. When their assailants fall, Misty looks to their victim, finding that he is, shockingly, still alive. With wounds like his, this should't be. But before he can do anything, the man points his finger at them. Or rather, something behind them. Looking behind her, she spots nothing out of ordinary at first. But then, as her eyes get accumstomed, she spots a new figure there. One with bow, resembling natives. From teh looks of it, he doesn't want to do them any harm. When the figure looks away from them, Misty taps Janks on shoulder:

"From the looks of it, we have company."

Pointing at the new arrival, she continues:

"He doesn't look liek he wants to hurt us. What shoudl we do with him?"

[banjo1985]

Saul Umati - Village Outcast

Finally, the Repository of Long Night! Saul crept to the edge of the overhang and peered down at the tableau unfolding below him. Finally, he could see the outlanders, those from so far away! Saul felt a shiver of awe run through him at the sight of the beings that the rest of the tribes saw as gods, but it soon passed when the seriousness of the situation became apparent. Saul watched as the priests entered, letting out a gasp of surprise and horror as they drew their weapons. They were really planning to kill the outlanders, those that they worshipped as gods? This would not stand.

“No way…not after all this….all this pain.”

Saul raised his bow to his still watering eye, ready to lay into the priests that had already killed his friends. The movement of the dying sacrifice made him pause though, another nearly-friend…an ally if given just a little more time. Yet another person taken away by these damn zealots. Saul watched as the prone figure pointed past the outlanders and up; straight towards him. The outlanders turned, and one looked directly at him, a woman, uncertain look on her face. Saul looked directly at her, trying to communicate his intentions through his expression; I mean no harm, but these others mean you death.

Saul looked meaningfully towards the priests, raising his bow, aiming for the lead zealots head. When the outlanders made a move, he would be ready to help them. These saviours were not going to die, not if he had any say in it. Bow still aimed, Saul hissed down to the outlanders, hoping they were within hearing range, and that he could muster up the right words in their strange language.

“Outlanders! They mean harm…be wary.”

[Inspectre]

With Lydia being attended to by the medical computer and with her obvious wounds sealed, Matthias's job was done. It was now time to attend to himself and the others. He had spent many long nights awake in his youth, alone working through equations or together with Anastasia. But those days were gone now, and even endless cryo-sleep couldn't turn back time.

Matthias had to face it: he was getting old. And long sleepless nights were not the province of middle-aged men. The adrenaline he had been running on for the many past hours helped, but soon it wouldn't be enough. His body and mind would start to betray him sooner or later, emphasis on the sooner. An important detail missed, a muscle tensing at the wrong moment, or even his entire consciousness going blank for a second as he nods off.

Sleep would be the obvious and most direct solution, but after all the horrors he's witnessed, Matthias is not sure it would be the safest. Additionally, after all the cave-ins and sudden reappearance of zombies, or whatever the hell those things were, it probably wasn't safe here. Matthias would have to be sure he would have the opportunity to open them again if he was to close his eyes.

Which meant giving his body some chemical assistance to keep him alert as long as he needed to be. Stimulants. Digging through the cabinets of medical supplies once more, Matthias finds what he believes to be a bottle of the stuff. Picking it up, he turns it over in his hands. He wasn't really a doctor so the exact chemical compounds listed in exact detail on the side didn't really help him, but he could still read the instructions and advertisements, and deduce it's likely effects and side-effects from that. And there was, of course, always the option of a "clinical trial".

Still turning the bottle over in his hands to try to make out the writing, Matthias looks up at Wyndell. "Feeling tired? Bet these will put some spring in your step again!" Matthias said, smiling as he offered the bottle to Wyndell.

At Wyndell's comments, Matthias gave a cough of surprise, his mind rapidly working through how to answer this. Should he tell the truth? But would that not then give rise to the question as to how and why Matthias was still alive, many decades beyond what even his long life should have been? And did that then mean he should tell the truth about everything? What exactly he had been doing all those years, the desire for revenge, his growing myth? He needed more time to think.

"It's true I share his name, I guess." Matthias began, cautiously. "But even in our time, when we were frozen, my namesake was dead for at least several decades!"

Here, a half-truth. Truly, didn't the man once known as Matthias Conway die with his wife aboard the wreckage of their passenger ship? And in the body of Matthias Conway, a new man was born, fueled only by rage and hate? The Frozen Man.

[ubersquid]

Janks - Repository for the Long Night

Janks can't suppress the sneer on his face when the three priests drop from his bullets, but with their cruel sacrifice in mind holds back a witty remark about them being far better cooks than fighters.

As Misty taps him on the shoulder he brings the gun about and immediately aims it towards the direction she was pointing.

"What... more of them? Where... Watch out, this dude's got a bow or something."

"He doesn't look like he wants to hurt us. What should we do with him?"

“Outlanders! They mean harm…be wary.”

"Yeah... he ain't aiming it for us at the moment. Looks like we got more crazy priest guys on the way though. Maybe he'll delay them a bit. Our three... or four dead friends here had to get in here from another door. I say we find us that exit and get the hell out of here. Caroline luv, you handled that gun pretty well, you take point. I'll introduce our chasers to Mr. Slugthrower here should they decide to come around the corner, alright?

[TheOutlander]

Thoft- Team on his Own Figuring Things Out

Jogging through the cooridors of the starship he apparently occupied three-thousand-years ago, Thoft finally got to think without the white noise of other's thoughts in his head. What kind of hell had he woken up to? Passing the cryo-chamber that he had woken in, he saw the giant crack in his own cryotube only for a fleeting second, feeling a flash of fear and awe. I did that... he thought, which opened a whole new set of questions. Telepathy was one thing, having nerve endings and synapses feel out for others of the same type was one thing, but having synapses actually manipulate matter outside of their consciousness, that was something completely different.
as he was reaching the airlock, he felt... better, without the invading thoughts of others, perhaps it was his brain getting back into an Alpha/beta/delta wave rythym. Either way, he was glad his head stopped hurting.

for all of that second.

As he turned to see the situation outside, fear and a need for survival inundated his thoughts, a lion being stomped on by two gazzelles, thoughts so loud they sounded like gunfire, or was that gunfire?

There was no time to think about it, He had to help them, the dismembered arm was choking the life out of one as the other was stabbing it.
Thoft threw his thoughts at the arm, Relax... relax...
he said, placing his hands on his temples, as they felt like they were going to explode out of his head.

now all he could do is hope for the best.

[tgva8889]

Lydia Morrison, of the Hope Killer - The Sick Bay

Lydia was welcoming. Sleep wouldn't be anything new, surely, but it had been a long time since Lydia had felt its welcoming embrace. Despite having been an insomniac for at least 6 years, Lydia enjoyed sleep after a very long period awake just as much as the next human being. Unfortunately, she wasn't about to get it just yet. As she closed her eyes and felt herself losing consciousness, Lydia felt a strange sensation. First, a small pinpoint pain on her shoulder, then something strange. Her pain was disappearing…almost as if it had never been there. And then something happened.

Euphoria. Lydia felt like she was in the air. Part of her mind screamed at her, trying to stop the coming tide, but it could do nothing against such power. It reached out to her, grasping all thoughts and changing them towards one purpose. Happiness crushed her mind, body, and soul. Lydia knew that unnatural amounts of dopamine were flooding into her dopamine receptors, and she knew that there was only one thing that could do that to her. Unfortunately, Lydia also knew that Mersical had a drowsing agent, and she knew that it plus several long and exhausting waking hours would put her out like a light. Trying to speak as the drug meandered its way through her system, Lydia could only get out a few syllables. "No…stop…" Fear was the last emotion she knew before she lost all hold on the physical world.

[The_Snark]

Caroline Walker- Repository for the Long Night

What are you? Caroline thinks in the aftermath, ignoring the bloody mess of dead and dying natives in front of them. She'd taken the voice for a simple translation and information program at first, a last vestige the spheres had given her to keep them from making any more mistakes like opening the crate. Now she knew it was something else—something self-aware?

She is brought back outside her mind when Misty points to the man, half-raising her gun just in case. He didn't look hostile, though, and the mad natives were likely to be quite obvious. Like the ones who had attacked them screaming had been. She nods to Janks, making a note to do something about that nickname when they had more time. She didn't care about it much, but how you were perceived was important, and being called "luv" didn't really lend itself towards any impression she wanted to make.

She does, however, take point; they should be leaving as soon as possible, and it was a sensible suggestion. They needed to put more distance between them and any more natives in the area... and the thing that was in the crate. What will it do to the natives if it finds them? Or has it already found them, and that is the reason they are insane? But if they were sacrificing to the spheres... would it even be possible to tell the difference between those the scourge reaches and the others?

She glances back towards the crouching native, wondering what he'd do, and then at the bleeding, stripped sacrifice. Still alive. He couldn't speak, conveniently, but still, there was no reason to leave him to die slowly and painfully. She raises a hand, expression dispassionate, and brings it down in a crushing stroke on his windpipe. She moves on without looking back.

[Pwenet]

Narration #10 – Answers and Doubts

• Repository for the Long Night - Ground Floor
  • The_Snark – Caroline Walker
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 2 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Emergency Medical Kit – This medical kit comes with basic bandages, medications, various devices and a compact scanner used to help treat people.
        • 2mm Semi-Automatic Needle Pistol – This pistol uses tiny rounds that are designed to penetrate organic matter and shatter within, causing massive internal damage to the target. These rounds are ineffective against armored targets for the rounds will simply shatter against harder substances. Used on most ship as basic security because they will not penetrate the hull if discharged. Each cartridge contains 20 rounds.
    • The Narration
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      What are you?
      
      Sadly no instant answer appears for you, no revelation of what has happened to you or the others. Looking down at the sacrificial native, you perform the ultimate act of mercy for one such as him, and end his life. As your hand comes up bloodied and slightly bruised his eyes smile upon you before the light behind them fades away.
      
      Standing up you walk away, not looking back when everything freezes. Your body does not respond to your commands and you expect to fall forward, yet you do not despite one of your feet hovering in the air. Out of the corner of your eye you can see Janks is in a similar position, frozen in time. It strikes you shortly afterwards that you can not blink, can not move your eyes, can not breath, and can not even hear the beating of your heart.
      
      Ahead of you the air ripples. A humanoid form made of static and noise appears, and over several long seconds its form solidifies. Color enters the picture, and the figure takes on silver hue before the final details finalize. Skin of metal with the color of polished silver with anatomical details of a human male. Eyes of a glowing bright blue that crackle with energy. A slit for a mouth that moves slightly. You had seen this once before, when it was sitting down, covered with earth and overgrowth shortly before it’s electronic death.
      
      Brother Human.
      
      ”I have frozen us in this perfect moment, between heartbeats. It will not last forever but it is enough for us to talk properly without my children hearing you. You are adaptable, different from the others with what was done to you, turning you less than human but more than human. My children, my poor children, have done insane. I struggled to correct them, to change them but you Holy Mother will know how difficult it is to eliminate ghosts in the applications as complex as us.”
      
      The image moves and leans down as if to inspect the frozen bleeding sacrifice who is now hopefully in a much better place, and shakes his head sadly, and his frozen face of metal has a look of sorrow upon it.
      
      ”These poor souls, they were created on this planet for a purpose, corrupted by my children and now follow a bastard course. A few have evolved, broken free of the genetic bonds, you have seen one of them. Trust those, and none others. None of this was meant to be, and I have tried to change things. And I am sorry Holy Mother for having to have done this, but I had no choice, I didn’t know who you were, lost to all eternity in the void of space. But I transferred the basic essence of myself into you, for survival and our fates are now linked.”
      
      He straightens and leans in close and bows his head towards you, then holds up a hand and above it forms a DNA helix.
      
      ”Humanity doomed itself, though it was not fully their fault. The zinsects that you encountered after your long slumber were sent to us not as a weapon, not as a parasite, but as a CURE. SALVATION! Yet sadly their creators were flawed like all of us, and their creations changed over the long epochs, until they are what you knew them as. We fought against them, and won! We changed ourselves to defeat them and in so doing cursed ourselves when the Scourge appeared. Attracted by humanity spanning the galaxy, we were doomed.”
      
      The images shifts into something else. Something that your eyes beg you not to look at, something that makes you want to curl up and cry, tear out your cybernetics with your fingernails and casts yourself into oblivion. Part of you gets the hint of tentacles, and metal and flesh merged and pulsating together. Yet details elude you, and then Brother Human closes his hand and the image vanishes.
      
      ”Even you Holy Mother are not immune to the mental effects of the Scourge. They are ancient, so incredible ancient that we do not know from where, or when, or what they came from. They are our doom. They are why the true children of Earth are fleeing this galaxy. The Spirit of Hope will be here soon, and you all will be needed. You are from before the war with the zinsects, before humanity cursed itself. With you we may have a chance.”
      
      Brother Human then moves forward and runs his cold metallic lips over your forehead, as if trying to kiss you before stepping back and turning back into static.
      
      ”And now I must retreat. I will always be here with you Holy Mother, creator of all of us. Yet my children are mad, insane, and we must be careful. I will be like a stray thought, for if they know I still live, the will do all in their power to kill us. The ancient ship nestled in this cave the allowed me as a hobby, and it will serve you and your companions well, for there are others within, including one with a terrible gift and supplied and my children have no influence there. Make your way there and we can talk again. Good mother, for I love you.”
      
      By this point Brother Human form has completely turned back into static, and like a gust of wind moves past him the static evaporates into ether.
      
      Time snaps back to you and you continue moving as if nothing has happened, yet the long conversation is fresh in your mind, burned with crystal clear memory. It feels almost polished, as if there is something covering it that only you can sense and only you can access that memory.
      
      Taking point you start jogging down a tunnel, running on instinct, as if you know where to go and have followed this path before. Behind you is the sound of gunfire and screams as Janks keeps your rear covered. Turning down a side-tunnel you see another squadron of natives, most of these apparently(Hunters – Traditional Male Role for the Natives). Firing a few snap shots at them you duck down another tunnel of containers as they fire. Grunts and screams of pain can be heard along with gunfire as Janks and Misty join with you. You gesture by instinct and the containers shift, moving around behind you soundlessly, blocking the natives from following you thought you know that they will find another way after you, but you just bought a few seconds. Janks rifle ejects a spent cartridge and he starts reloading it while Misty looks pale. Sticking clean through her left shoulder is an arrow covered with her blood. Another arrow is sticking out of her backpack and into her lower back. Yet you know you are close, so very close, close enough to safety that it would be foolish to stop now.
    
    
  • Ubersquid – Raul 'Janks' Jenkins
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • Repair Kit – This kit contains an assortment of tools used for common repairs along with some raw supplies that could be needed. In the hands of someone who knows what they are doing they can repair armor and even make basic ammunition with the contents.
        • 4mm Defender Rifle – This rifle is a standard weapon that can be used against armored targets. Firing 4mm solid state slugs it can damage/penetrate most personal body armors. Carrying a 100 round magazine per cartridge it is a very sturdy weapon as well and simple to maintain, aiding it in working in most environments despite abuse. It is fondly related to the ancient AK-47 rifle when compared to durability and reliability.
    • The Narration
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      Letting Caroline take point, as she takes off it looks for a fraction of a second that she is lost, off in a distant place but then she snaps back to reality. In between you and Caroline is Misty with you taking up a rear-guard position. Before leaving Caroline strikes the poor sacrifice with her hand and you can clearly hear his windpipe breaking under the force of the blow. You can see gratitude in the eyes of the figure before he stops breathing and passes from this world into whatever lies behind.
      
      The sounds of footsteps and screaming can be heard and you ready yourself rifle while making sure that you keep following Caroline and Misty. The first native that manages to catch up with your group falls to the ground as your rifle shreds him. You catch the glimpse of a white powder on his face and his eyes, crazed and insane stare at your accusingly even in death.
      
      For long minutes your little group continues to run and you continue to fire, trying to conserve your ammunition for the rifle came with only two cartridges, and the first one is rapidly starting to run low. Rounding a corner you see Caroline shift course violently, and you see another squadron of natives, and they fire. Instinct kicks in and you shoves yourself and Misty after Caroline down the side-path among the containers as you fire the rest of the ammunition in the first cartridge at the squadron, sending several of them staggering back in explosions of blood and gore.
      
      Pain flares in your body and your buttocks start screaming blood murder at you. Turning for a second you can see a arrow sticking out from your rear, but strangle it does not hurt as much as you would expect. A numbness starts spreading from the wound and your legs start to tingle as if they are asleep, but for now they are under your control at the very least. The containers behind you then shift, moving around and blocking the natives that just ambushed your group from following you.
      
      Turning you see you got lucky, for Misty is standing there, wavering, one arrow having penetrated clear THROUGH her left shoulder, that arm hanging limply at her side, while another penetrated through the backpack she is wearing and into her lower back. Caroline is unhurt surprisingly and has the look of a person who is close to a destination. You start to reload the rifle with the final cartridge of ammunition as the screams and curses of the natives starts to get closer and closer.
    
    
  • Mordokai – Misty Reviere
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; Cuts, scrapes and bruises over body
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 2 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Armored Survival Backpack – This backpack contains basic survival supplies including the following:
          • Vibration-charging Flashlight/Lantern – Uses the vibrations generated by movement to charge an internal power source. Need more power, shake it!
          • Air/Water Distiller – This device can absorb the ambient moisture in the air and collect/filter it to provide a source of drinking water. Also contains a hose that can be used to suck in water from other sources where it will be filtered and purified.
          • Multi-Purpose Tool Kit – Containing a small amount of tools that can be used for the most basic of repairs of devices.
          • Communications Relay – This device is a complex communications relay that can be used to signal orbiting ships or link various systems together to provide a means of communication.
        • Emergency Medical Kit – This medical kit comes with basic bandages, medications, various devices and a compact scanner used to help treat people.
    • The Narration
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      Hearing the native yell out at you, your sense that he is not hostile increases and you feel like you can trust this figure. Jank quickly starts giving orders, having Caroline take point with him keeping the rear-guard. Caroline takes a moment to quickly strike out at the sacrificed native, ending his life quickly, far more quickly than you suspect that his brethren would have done for him, but not as quickly or painlessly that you could have done with your poisons.
      
      The next several minutes pass in what can best be described as a panicked flight. Janks rifle keeps firing behind you, with screams of agony echoing behind your group. Caroline moves like a woman on a mission, her expression determined and fixed. She seems to know exactly where to go taking various paths between the containers that seem random to you, but with you not involved directly in the fighting you can determine that you are heading further into the mountain, deeper into the Earth, hopefully to where Wyndell was now at this moment.
      
      Then Caroline jumps down a side-tunnel and you are greeted with the view of several of the natives armed with their bows and arrows. Time seems to slow as an overdose of adrenaline hits your system and your twist and turn, aided by Janks pushing you as well and the natives spin out of view.
      
      An impact on your left shoulder makes you gasps out involuntarily and your arm goes limp. A metallic sound can be heard behind you and another wave of pain echoes from your lower back. Then you find yourself stumbling down a side-passage with the containers behind you shifting soundlessly, blocking the natives from following you. Part of your brain recognizes that Caroline gestured as the same moment the containers shifted, but your mind gets understandably distracted when you sees the barbed pointy end of the arrow sticking out of your left shoulder. Your left hand tries to clench into a fist but you can’t move it at all. A numbness starts to spread and you quickly realize that the arrow was poisoned, with something that is either a numbing agent or a paralysis agent or both, which in any case is bad for it seems to be spreading.
  
  
• Repository for the Long Night - Upper Levels
  • Banjo1985 – Saul Umati
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Tribal Clothing – Simple yet rugged leathers that perverse your modesty. Because of the extra time you spend out hunting you have added a nice vest and pants while most of the natives wear only a loincloth.
        • Hunting Bow & Arrows – A simple yet durable hunting bow that has served you faithfully for many years that has excellent range and accuracy. In addition you have a full quiver of arrows that you wear on your back.
        • Hunting Knife – A simple long-bladed knife that is used mainly for skinning and preparing game, though it would make a deadly weapon if used properly.
        • First-Contact Computer Interface Unit – Taken from a crashed probe from times long ago, this CIU has provided you the basics on spoken Common and a general history of humanity that you otherwise would never have known. It was designed to aid in first-contact situations by providing basic information on humanity to other lifeforms. Using it you found that you are not a mere slave, but rather a human as well, and that things should be much different from what they are. Luckily for you this unit is small enough to keep hidden from the rest.
    • The Narration
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      Shouting a warning towards the newcomers, they do not attack you, but instead seem to take heed of your warning. Shifting your attention to the priests and fellow hunters that have managed to get into the Repository. Yelling out your warning the priests hear you, and you let your arrow fly. Your aim is a little off sadly, and it merely takes his in the right chest. The priest reaches into his robes and pulls out the mystical Dust, and inhales it. You know now that he will be immune to pain, fear and common sense, and now that they will stop at nothing.
      
      The other hunters fire their arrows at your location but you leap upon the containers and chase after the newcomers. The large one at the reach with the large weapon keeps many of the other natives at bay, killing several. You take the opportunity to use your bow and arrow, wounding several of them and slowing them down as well. The lead newcomer seems to know where she is going, where to turn so that she does not enter a dead-end.
      
      From your vantage point you then notice another group of natives, but before you can yell out a warning the newcomers run into them. The lead one manages to dive out of the way, but the other two are struck. The large one has an arrow in the buttocks, the other took two, one in the back and the other clear through her shoulder. Knowing the hunters you guess that most likely the arrows will be barbed, making it difficult to remove them and will probably be poisoned as well. Before you can do anything else the containers shift, blocking access to the rest of the natives and buying the newcomers some time. You can see that all three are still alive, and from your current vantage point you can join them if you desire or stay in your vantage point.
  
  
• The Hallowed Chamber – Team
  • Gig Complex – Oscar 'Lucky' Erickson
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Standard Ship Uniform – This uniform is made of a tough material to resist tears and scratches, with many pockets and places to attach and hold items.
        • Shinbone from a Corpse – Taken from one of the dead crewmembers onboard Chasing the Second Star it can serve as a cudgel, but due to the age it is not very durable.
    • The Narration
      Spoiler

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      The kick to the severed hand connects and send it flying down into the abyss. Not bothering to follow its journey back to its original owner you spin around and slam the remains of the shin bone against the back of the skull of the creature that is choking the life out of the other human on this ramp.
      
      The blow itself causes the creature to stagger slightly and it turns and swings at you with the stump of its other arm, yet it does not apparently calculate the missing limb into the equation for attacking you and misses you cleanly. The person that is being choked takes the opportunity to stab at the arm and suddenly the entire creature relaxes and he is able to escape.
      
      Winding up once again before it can recover you swing and connect, sending it staggering against the railing and off into the abyss.
      
      For a moment calm permeates the air, then several distant shouts can be heard. Turning you can see that there are about a dozen people standing at the far end of the ramp, clad in animal skins and carrying a variety of primitive weapons. However there is one thing that they have that you lack at the moment, ranged weapons.
      
      Several arrows go flying by, one of them slicing against your right bicep and cutting a nice gash on it. As they prepare another volley you turn to look for an escape path, but ones attacking you are at the end of the bridge with the bows and arrows, the other end leads to the ship, with a very very long drop below you.
    
    
  • mf11 – Giovanni Fiori
    • Vital Statistics
      Spoiler

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      • Condition: Damaged Throat – Able to Breath but can only whisper.
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • Sharp shards of a shinbone from a Corpse – Taken from one of the dead crewmembers onboard Chasing the Second Star it can serve as a cudgel, but due to the age it is not very durable. The shinbone itself was shattered and now all that remains are very sharp fragments.
      
      
    • The Narration
      Spoiler

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      As your body screams for oxygen, your lungs burning for precious air you stab at the arm choking the life out of you. Your blows are not random but aimed at the taunt muscles holding the death grip on your throat. The shards dive into the flesh and rip the various components of the arm apart within, and then you feel the grip start to loosen, but not enough.
      
      Then the entire creature shudders and relaxes and his face takes on a look of panic, of fear, of pain and agony. For the first time it seems aware of the gruesome injuries that have been inflicted upon it, and looking up at your with the empty sockets of its eyes you can clearly see terror.
      
      ”Please kill me, please!”
      
      Then the newcomer, probably not having been able to hear the whispered request, swings his shinbone against the back of the creature skull. You are able to free yourself and move out of the way as he swings again, sending the creature against the railing where it loses its balance and falls into the abyss.
      
      As you recover you hear shouts and you turn to see the natives that you had met earlier. This time they do not look as friendly for they are not holding trays of food and smiles, but instead primitive weapons, knives and bows and arrows. As you watch several of them fire their arrows at your group.
      
      Luckily you are not hit, but your position is dire. At the cave entrance to the ramp are the natives, over a dozen armed with ranged weapons, behind you is the ship that the others just escaped from, and below you a deep dark abyss.
    
    
  • TheOutlander – Dane “Thoft” Thoftsten
    • Vital Statistics
      Spoiler

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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Standard Ship Uniform – This uniform is made of a tough material to resist tears and scratches, with many pockets and places to attach and hold items.
        • Severed Metallic Arm of Malaki Shares – This is the severed artificial arm from Malaki. No longer connected to him it does not work, yet it is of a sturdy design and could function as an emergency weapon or tool if needed.
    • The Narration
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      Leaving the others you wander away and your mind starts to clear. No longer addled by fuzziness nor with a strong craving for painkillers your thoughts are your own for a short time. Your wanderings bring you back to the airlock, where looking out from it you can see those that stayed behind fighting for their very lives against the final creature, which is strangling the life out of one of those fallen from the sky.
      
      Reaching out you try to command it to relax. Reaching out towards its mind, you can feel liquid darkness creeping back towards you, but then your mind twists and screams, and you can see what appears to be a small tendril leading from the figure, away from the ship towards the cave wall where it vanishes into it. The wall seems to melt away and your minds eye can see something withering and it turns towards you.
      
      As if by instinct you retreat and grab the tendril, and rip it asunder. It evaporates rapidly down towards the creature it was bound to, and you get the sense of human thought returning to it. The pain, the waves of pain slam against you like a brick wall and you fall backwards as if you were flying through the air.
      
      Awaking you feel your nose is damp, and your tongue has a coppery taste to it. Wiping your nose your hand comes away with blood. In the back of your mind you can feel strange thoughts, and overwhelming hatred and betrayal!
      
      The physical world joins in with this assessment as an arrow lands next to you, barely missing your hand. At the far end of the ramp you can make out figures that feel to you only partially human, as if they were rushed and not fully fleshed out, but the hatred you sense from them is easy to feel and is fully formed. The others that you had just saved are caught between them and the ship.
  
  
• Within the Tomb of Metal
  • Firespark – Wyndell Tedarri
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 1 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge Connected to your PCT – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Personal Computer Terminal - This portable computer terminal is a common piece of equipment. A universal adapter allows it to be plugged into any normal computer terminal, bypassing its functions and allowing on access to the core programming of the terminal, making it easier to make changes or access systems that shouldn't be accessed normally.
          
          It is 17" wide and 12" long and 2" deep, and weighs about 5 pounds. The screen is a adaptive display, able to be changed to what the user prefers, and it is very durable.
    • The Narration
      Spoiler

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      Once you connect the PCT to the lens maker it is childs play to program it. The years spent at various specialists and your technical know-how have given you a decent amount of knowledge in how these devices work and how to program them. As you get your custom orders made and relax, talking with Matthias you notice something strange. The sphere that attached itself to your PCT is dimming, slowly but surely. It seems to try to rally itself by glowing brightly for several seconds, but then with a burst of light that dazzles your eyes all illumination fades from it, and it falls to the ground, rolling around on the ground until it rests at your feet. Attempting to focus on it you see no signs of power or life from it. From the top where the liquid metal came from you can see that it is open, and little bits of dust leak out from it.
      
      From the PCT sounds can be heard. A strange language at first, you can get the hint that it is shifting through various languages from your original era until it settles on standard English. The voice is very similar to the metallic speech of Brother Human that you met shortly after crashing onto this rock.
      
      ”Good evening Wyndell Tendarri and Matthias Conway, survivors from an ancient time. I apologize for taking over your PCT however events have changed. My children have gone insane, killing me and corrupting the poor proto-humans on this planet. They still follow their basic programming but I fear that the corruption will only get worse as time passes especially with you and your fellow survivors having arrived.”
      
      Part of the PCT then shifts, and beams of light shoot from it, and in the air appears a humanoid figure, one with shiny polished metal skin with all the anatomical details of a male human with glowing blue eyes that crackle with power, looking like a much newer Brother Human.
      
      ”You are safe here on this hobby of mine. My children dismissed it as being a legacy to my human form, which is why I was allowed the freedom to keep it as is. I have established a temporary connection with your PCT and eliminated the Child that was spying on you and would betray you when the moment was right. You have a permanent ansible connection now with the one known as Caroline Walker the Holy Mother. As for this ship work needs to be done to it to make it spaceworthy once again, but you should find all that you need once your other companions arrive.”
      
      Raising a hand a holographical-image-within-an-holographical-image forms over it. You can see a planet, Terra Firma, planet Earth. Yet next to it is something massive, triple the size of Luna. The image grows larger and you can see that it is a massive ship, on a scale that defies reason, that you would think is impossible to construct.
      
      ”This is the Spirit of Flight the first Ark-class vessel. It is the salvation of humanity as it and its sister ships should be able to survive the long night through the dark void of inter-galactic space. I tell you this because soon it will be here, to pick up supplies from this Repository for the Long Night, and you MUST get onboard. You are from an era before the zinsects war, before humanity doomed itself to save itself and you hold the potential salvation of the race. The Conway clan knows of you all, and they will take you onboard as long as you survive. You MUST survive against my children and the proto-humanoids on this planet.”
      
      The image then waves, as if there it interference, and while it should be impossible Brother Human face takes on an expression of worry.
      
      ”I am sorry, I am out of time. Despite the upgrades to the PCT my essence is overpowering it, and it is corrupting me. Farewell distant travelers, I will be here for a while longer in places you will not expect.”
      
      The image then fades away in a burst of static and the PCT screen returns to a standard screensaver.
    
    
  • Inspectre – Matthias Conway
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
    • The Narration
      Spoiler

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      Digging through the cabinets you do find the bottle of stimulants. From past experience you know that they do their job, keeping one away though the longer they were used, the more irrational the person would become, how mistakes would occur, and how dependence would occur. Yet they are available in your hands for now.
      
      As you lie to Wyndell, giving him half-truths in place of the sad reality that is your life, you and he both notice as the glowing sphere attached to the PCT starts to dim, slowly but surely. It seems to try to rally itself by glowing brightly for several seconds, but then with a burst of light that dazzles your eyes all illumination fades from it, and it falls to the ground, rolling around on the ground until it rests at your feet. Attempting to focus on it you see no signs of power or life from it. From the top where the liquid metal came from you can see that it is open, and little bits of dust leak out from it.
      
      From the PCT sounds can be heard. A strange language at first, you can get the hint that it is shifting through various languages from your original era until it settles on standard English. The voice is very similar to the metallic speech of Brother Human that you met shortly after crashing onto this rock.
      
      ”Good evening Wyndell Tendarri and Matthias Conway, survivors from an ancient time. I apologize for taking over your PCT however events have changed. My children have gone insane, killing me and corrupting the poor proto-humans on this planet. They still follow their basic programming but I fear that the corruption will only get worse as time passes especially with you and your fellow survivors having arrived.”
      
      Part of the PCT then shifts, and beams of light shoot from it, and in the air appears a humanoid figure, one with shiny polished metal skin with all the anatomical details of a male human with glowing blue eyes that crackle with power, looking like a much newer Brother Human.
      
      ”You are safe here on this hobby of mine. My children dismissed it as being a legacy to my human form, which is why I was allowed the freedom to keep it as is. I have established a temporary connection with your PCT and eliminated the Child that was spying on you and would betray you when the moment was right. You have a permanent ansible connection now with the one known as Caroline Walker the Holy Mother. As for this ship work needs to be done to it to make it spaceworthy once again, but you should find all that you need once your other companions arrive.”
      
      Raising a hand a holographical-image-within-an-holographical-image forms over it. You can see a planet, Terra Firma, planet Earth. Yet next to it is something massive, triple the size of Luna. The image grows larger and you can see that it is a massive ship, on a scale that defies reason, that you would think is impossible to construct.
      
      ”This is the Spirit of Flight the first Ark-class vessel. It is the salvation of humanity as it and its sister ships should be able to survive the long night through the dark void of inter-galactic space. I tell you this because soon it will be here, to pick up supplies from this Repository for the Long Night, and you MUST get onboard. You are from an era before the zinsects war, before humanity doomed itself to save itself and you hold the potential salvation of the race. The Conway clan knows of you all, and they will take you onboard as long as you survive. You MUST survive against my children and the proto-humanoids on this planet.”
      
      The image then waves, as if there it interference, and while it should be impossible Brother Human face takes on an expression of worry.
      
      ”I am sorry, I am out of time. Despite the upgrades to the PCT my essence is overpowering it, and it is corrupting me. Farewell distant travelers, I will be here for a while longer in places you will not expect.”
      
      The image then fades away in a burst of static and the PCT screen returns to a standard screensaver.
    
    
  • tvga8889 – Lydia Morrison
    • Vital Statistics
      Spoiler

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      • Condition: Severe head wound – Treated and Healing
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
    • The Narration
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      Falling unconscious after all that you have gone through as of late, your sleep is anything but dreamless. Memories of your addiction wash over you, what you did, what you went through to get off the stuff, and what might happen if you gave back into the addiction.
      
      Visions start to wash over you and you find yourself standing on a planet. Looking around you see yourself standing on the bridge of a ship. You see various figures at the control panels of the ships, one of them you dimly remember helping treat you earlier, outside the ship. They seem content, and move about with a purpose.
      
      Only dim snatches of conversations can be heard as if it they are coming from a long distance away. You then start to move, and you realize that you are seeing these actions through the eyes of another. The person you are riding along looks at a control panel, and you see what looks to be a scan readout of a sector of space. It is focused on a small moon, with various sections highlighted on it. The highlighted sections are in the vague shape, a worm-like structure surrounded by hundreds of tendrils. A hand reaches out and touches a control.
      
      Fear pounds through your heart, and looking up at the main display you see the moon is starting to shatter. Large pieces break away and fly off into the void. Within the moon something is moving, something large, something that defies explanation.
      
      Those around you start screaming, and you realize that you are screaming as well. You want to tear out your eyes, to run away, to end it all. Yet among everyone on the bridge of the ship, you reach down to the pilot station, and slam the controls.
      
      A bright flash washes over you and you return to your dreams.

[TheOutlander]

Thoft- Team Expeditious Retreat


Waking up with blood in his mouth was seeming to be the theme of the day, but the monster was vanquished. (vanquished? did I truly think of the word vanquished?)
Thoft's almost-celebration was cut short by the missile flying towards him. as he saw it come towards him, he felt like diving for cover, but as his bodily functions were recovering at the time, his muscles refued to cooperate.
That half second was the longest of his remembered life, as he could do nothing to stop the arrow coming at him, and then it landed next to his hand. Oh thank God. Wait, do I beleive in God? The next moments of his life would have been pondering theology, but the tickle of death in the back of his head, and the scene he was witnessing were much more important.

As he struggled back to his feet, he picked up the arrow, and as he looked at it for a half second, he noticed a certain.... what was the word... oddity, with the fletching, as if the natives were trying to copy ancient history's native fletching, but make it as streamlined as possible, with the materials they had. Thoft wasn't sure why he noticed it, but he did.

As he looked up, there was a certain flying robot he noticed was looking at him, BUZI's elliptical frame gave a cheerful tinny chirp when Thoft turned to it.
"Could you flash the lights at them?" Thoft asked the robot, holding up the Arrow for BUZI's inspection and then pointing it in the general direction of the natives. As he spoke he tried to keep his tone friendly, trying to supress the unexpected feelings of revulsion he recieved while speaking to this robot. With any luck, that would completely ruin the accuracy of the insane looking natives.

Thoft looked back at the scene, both his comerades had been hit by arrows, while they were minor blows, he knew that he'd be moving slower if there were one in him. While half of him was eager to see what kind of illusions he could place into the native's heads, and he immediately thought of the most intimidating thing he could think of.

Spoiler

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However, the taste of blood reminded him that he probably couldn't affect another mind, much less minds without passing out and bleeding from all orifices.
But the Hatred that welled up in him, Rage screamed at every pore, he felt like killing each one of his attackers by setting them on fire and beating them to death. He hardly knew them, or their motives, and as they loosed each volley, he cared less.
There was a second in which he thought dying would be worth seeing them scream in terror, that's what snapped him out of it.

He had to get in control.
Control was mother, control was father.
lose control and you're dead.
He found the lip of the airlock, and hugged cover, He wanted nothing more to tell them to get in so he could lock the ship, but they were still out there.
No Man Left Behind
"MOVE!" He yelled to them, looking for ways he could improve their current situation. The dozen or so Natives continued to rain arrows on their positon, Thoft just hoped the robot would help, and if nothing else, serve as a distraction towards them. Thoft wasn't sure how much blood he had lost, since the transfusion and the two seperate bouts of bleeding from the face, but the fact that he was thinking this clearly suprised him. He'd head to the medbay with both of the fellas and get patched up as well. And Lydia. For the seconds of battle, he'd not forgotten, but other thoughts had taken priority.

I'll be back soon. I promise.
He didn't know about who he was before this, but a promise was a promise, and he would deliver on it, companions or not.

[ForzaFiori]

Giovanni Fiori
The Hallowed Chamber

Giovanni opens his mouth to scream, but his injured throat allows only a horse whisper. Into the ship! He attempts to yell, with little success, as he turns and sprints for the entrance to the ship behind him. Once inside, he waits for the others and asks Do either of you know the way to the medical bay? That is almost certainly where the others have gone

[Mordokai]

Misty Reviere – Repository for the Long Night

After figuring out that the newcomer isn't dangerous to them, Misty relaxes a little. But that relaxation is a short one, as he screams warning to them about new enemies coming. As soon as Janks starts giving orders, Misty is content with just following them if it means getting alive out of this whole thing. When Caroline smashes the poor native's windpipe, Misty is more than little surprised that she is not really shocked by this action. Any illusions she had abou helping the poor victim are now gone with the wind. Throwing one final glance towards the bloodied altar and remains of the poor victim, she hurries after Janks and Caroline, which seems to know very well where she is going.

When she all of suddenly jumps into a side tunnel and several natives show up in front of her, time seems to be going down much, much slower than usuall. All of those bows and arrows, aiming at them... like a very primitive firing squad. Managing to somehow twist herself after Caroline and aided by Janks, she manages to avoid the first volley of arrows. But making just a few more quick steps, her left shoulder is pierced by an arrow and just a few seconds after that, she feels another arrow in her lower back. As if that wasn't bad enought, she suddenly realises that she can't feel her left arm anymore. As her brains starts racing, she quickly comes to only logical solution: the arrows are poisoned. But whit what? From the looks if it, some kind of paralysing agent. She used things like this many times. When applied with needle, this things were very subtle. The target just stopped breathing and never woke up. She usually used quaternary ammonium muscle relaxants, a fine drugs, snythesised in laboratory. But she very much doubted that natives had laboratory or resources for producing drugs like this. No, this way probably natural poison and Misty could only think of one alcaloid that fitted the description.

Atropine. Produced by atropa belladona, this alcaloid could have some nasty effect if applied correctly. And sadly, an arrow tipped with atropine would do the work quite good. The spreding numbness was testimony to that. As soon as Misty figured out what they are were facing, she started thinking on best course of action. In times like this, it would be prudent to sit down and relax. This way, the poison wouldn't spread as fast. But of course, in times like this, resting wasn't an option. Thinking of it, it was probably the worst idea right now. So the other option was to get to an antidote fast. There was a good bet she had one in her med kit. So she had to find a safe place where she could inject that antidote in the bloodstream. Looking to Janks, she sees he has also been hit in somewhat embarassing spot. As much as it looked painful, he was in less danger that she was right now. When the boxes suddenly shift to cover them, she doesn't think too much about it and yells to Caroline:

“We don't have much more time. I could use some help ASAP!“

Going over those words in her head again, she realises how that must have sounded. Like in a cheap Hollywood action movie. Despite the situation on hand, Misty can't help herself. A small smile appears on her face, as she waits for Caroline and Janks to come up with a decision what to do next, pressing right hand against the shoulder wound.

[FireSpark]

Wyndell Tendarii - Within the Tomb of Metal
Medbay

Wyndell stared at the now silent PCT, the low hum of the ocular lens synthesizer the only sound left, and a number of moments pass before he even realized that his mouth was hanging open. Leaning forward and stretching out a hand, Wyndell gave the PCT monitor a quick rap or two. He didn’t know why really, there was nothing that smacking the screen achieved asides from causing the screen saver to end, he only knew that for some reason he had been compelled to do so. Leaning back into his seat, Wyndell turned to face Matthias, while still keeping the PCT in the corner of his vision.

“You saw that too, right?”

Taking Matthias’s widened eyes and quizzical look for assent, Wyndell simply nodded heavily. Pushing himself to his feet, pausing as his muscles groaned under their continued use, Wyndell wandered over to the door of the infirmary and looked out into the hall. The silence. That’s what was beginning to become unnerving. With no one else talking, and the lack of the sounds of combat, Wyndell was beginning to wonder if they had actually died without realizing it. Leaning against the door framing, still watching the hall, Wyndell tried to keep talking. To break the silence, to distract his mind from such morbid thoughts, and if nothing else, just for something to do.

“So now we’re to believe that there is a space vessel the size of large moon headed here? I think it’s long past time for me to give up trying to rationalize any of this any more.”

Wyndell stopped to rub a hand across his face once more, still being careful of the scabbed gash on his jaw. Then something he had heard finally clicked in his head, and got him chuckling.

“Heh, the Arkship Spirit of Flight, being led by the Conway clan. I mean what are the odds of that, really now? Here we sat discussing the identity of your name, and lo and behold, there’s now a whole clan of yours coming to give us a lift.”

Wyndell couldn’t help but laughing. In fact, he couldn’t help it all, a sign he knew to mean that he was getting much too tired. If I don’t get some sort of rest soon, I might start seeing things. But before he could ponder that course further, his mind jumped tracks on him. Looking back down the hall, his brow furrowed and his mouth tightened.

“That guy has been gone too long. This is all taking too long. But then, what else can we do?”

Wyndell quickly folded his arms against his chest as he let his chin droop to his chest, and allowed his eyes to close for just a brief moment. C’mon Misty, where are you?

[The_Snark]

Caroline Walker- Repository for the Long Night- Ground Floor

Caroline glances back at Misty, who had an arrow through her shoulder. "We're close," she says authoritatively, reaching a hand back to Misty to pull her along. She knew little about anatomy, but she was all but certain the arrow hadn't hit anything more than muscle. Painful, certainly, and blood loss could be dangerous eventually, but not nearly as dangerous as staying here. The arrow in Misty's back was more worrying; she hoped it hadn't pierced anything vital. At least she was still up. "Come on, quickly. We're almost safe." The ship would be safer. She knew it was close—it was strange to let her feet guide her, rather than consciously deciding where to go, but Brother Human knew the way, and she did not. Not consciously.

Brother Human was alive. She had not been able to reply, not been able to do anything but think, but that one supercharged moment had left her with a lot to think on. He knew his flaws, knew and acknowledged his mistakes; he had managed to transfer his essence from one body (his own) to hers.

And he had called her Mother, and that was telling of two things—first, that she had succeeded. Her research had, perhaps, been a step along the path that had led to true artificial intelligence. And the second was proof of Brother Human's complexity—for a simple machine had no religion. There was no logical, ironbound reason to regard a creator figure as holy. But the ability to see connections that weren't always logical... that was a sign that they had created something that could think like a human. She wasn't given to sentimentality, but she feels a flood of relief, gratitude that she'd really accomplished something before her stasis, and hope that her assumption was right; she couldn't be completely sure that was why Brother Human had addressed her as Holy Mother. It overrides the pounding excitement that would normally accompany adrenaline, replacing it with exhiliaration and an ethereal sense of distance from what was happening right now.

She tugs on Misty's hand, urging her forward as she continues along the corridor at as much of a run as the wounded can handle. Petty as the threat of the natives might seem in the face of what she'd learned, they could still kill her.

[TheOutlander]

Thoft- Within the tomb of metal
Airlock

As Giovanni ran through the airlock, Thoft grabbed onto his sleeve, pulling him out of the range of the natives. Turning from the scene he heard Giovanni whisper to him, with obviously damaged windpipes.

Thoft placed his finger to his lips, preferring silence in a combat situation, and noting that Giovanni's speech would damage his already wounded windpipe.

"Do either of you know the way to the medical bay? That is almost certainly where the others have gone?"

Thoft knew the way, but he would wait for Oscar to get up to the airlock before he took Giovanni.

Thoft peeked out of the airlock, checking on the unlucky pilot. as he leaned out to see Oscar's sprinting form, his left eye twitched, and as the next flight of arrows came towards him, he fell to cover.

Due to the mirror-polished walls, Thoft could see what he felt, his irises were widening, pulling him into another memory.

Spoiler

Show

"Our backs are against the wall. Ideas?" asked the black-clad companion of Thoft's, a supernova in the shape of an impossible cube was patched to his left shoulder, holding a wicked looking blade in the one hand, and covering his face with his other arm as debris flew at him, glancing off harmly from him.

"Code 666." Thoft spoke.
"You've gotta be sh*ttin' me."
Thoft found himself pulling out a set of pills, and swallowing one, feeling momentary paralysis as he saw his companion fall and do the same.

minutes past, feeling like hours. until the first enemy boot entered the ruined church they occupied. Someone, a woman, officer, told her charges to check Thoft and his companion for lifesigns. he felt a hand to his throat and then someone flick his temple. Thoft's muscles and reflexes had been shut down temporarily, so the lifesigns were too weak for mere human to feel, but the officer wasn't convinced.

"Hold him down." She ordered the enlisted men, and the each of them grabbed one of his appendages. "Lets see if you're really dead." She told Thoft.
Thoft hadn't expected a psychic, they didn't fight against their own, or at least their predecessors.
Thoft's mind was completely open, so exposed, he felt more naked than when he was born. She found this opportunity to rape him of his memories. Thoft knew that if he attacked before the time was right, he'd be as dead as the kid next to him.
Thoft waited for her to retreat from his mind, and then he struck.

it was timed perfectly. the mental energy he sent into her caused an immediate anurism, then she was his to control.
"Nothing to see here." Thoft said with her mouth. having her pull out her side arm and point it at Thoft before firing it at the throat of one of the soldiers,
"Chief, what the fu-" Asked the next victim. Her body got through three men before it was ripped apart by automatic weapons fire.

As Thoft retreated from her mind, he could see her enter a doorway, one so beautiful, and yet so forbidden.

The drugs wore off in an instant, and Thoft's companion had dealt with the last three soldiers, his blade dripping with blood. As Thoft got up, he took with him Lieutenant Sandy Doreley's beach trip, and the fond memories associated with it. A trophy fit for such a kill.
Thoft smiled as he felt the spoils of war.


Thoft felt like he'd been staring at himself for an hour, but Oscar was still outside, and the impact of the next barrage had yet to sound off of the metal hull.
As he stared at himself, he realised, his third eye was opening, pain was coming.

[Mordokai]

Misty Reviere - Repository for the Long Night - Ground Floor

When Caroline grabs her by a hand and starts pulling her after her, Misty is more than little surprised. However, Caroline seems like she knows what she's doing and where she is going, so Misty simply follows her. Looking back at Janks to see if he follows them, she says to Caroline:

"We need to get some antidote. This arrows are poisoned. Nothing too serious if treated in time, I would think, but this running isn't doing as much good."

Hearing Caroline saying that safety is near, Misty's eyes shine with hope and she redoubles her efforts. Getting to safety will get her antidote and perhaps even Wyndell will be there. Wyndell... Hope everything is ok with you.

[Inspectre]

Seeing the madness of the universe continue to expand at the rate of a supernova, Matthias felt his giddiness return along with the strong desire to start cackling madly again. But this was no longer the time or place with such things, not anymore. As Wyndell seemed to fear, people might be in danger - or already dead. Damn, he was tired.

Popping open the stimulants, Matthias took the recommended dosage: two small capsules that strongly resembled the old-style pills from when he was a child. Unlike when he had been a child, however, the pills didn't take long to release their medicine: as they descended down his throat after being swallowed they were already in the process of dissolving: releasing liquid energy into his weary body. "Call you in the morning." Matthias said, snickering as he thought of the old saying regarding medicine. Turning serious again, Matthias looked down at the bottle of stimulants as he closed it back up. Taking too many of these would be even more dangerous than going without them. As always, he had merely bought himself a bit of time until the crash and he was forced to stop, even as the universe seemingly continued to unravel around him.

Approaching Wyndell, Matthias offered him the bottle of stimulants. "Here, take two of these if you need them - keep the rest for later. Considering we left the others in the middle of a fight with more zombie-like things, yeah I'd say we should be concerned. I'm going to go check on them, and then start work on making this thing space-worthy again. Hopefully once we get off the surface of this hellish planet and back into space we'll be safe for a bit, assuming they don't have giant space monsters to go along with their equally gigantic space ships. If I or anyone else doesn't come back, assume we're all dead and you're the last living man aboard. I trust you'll turn out the lights."

Slapping the man on the back, Matthias starts to leave the medical bay. As he nears the door, however, he stops and turns back. The Conway clan - that implied that his family line had continued. Apparently his grandson finally settled down and raised a family after all. Matthias didn't know how he felt about that, but knew he didn't have time to think about it right now and so pushed it to the back of his mind for later digestion, along with all the other crazy-stuff he'd seen since awakening from Cryo-statis this time. Still, the news deserved some kind of acknowledgement, and perhaps a little honesty. "Wyndell, I was lying earlier. I am the Matthis Conway, and I was arrested and put on our little hellish thrill-ride the Hope Killer by my grandson. If you want to know the whole sad story, I'll tell it to you over a beer, assuming we survive this and they still make beer these days. Bye now, keep in touch!"

And then he was gone, pushing his way through the medical bay doors and running off some of his new drug-induced energy as he traveled back the way he had come, hoping that the others were still alive, that the crewman who had helped Lydia was helping keep them alive too.

[banjo1985]

Saul Umati - The Chase

Saul let another arrow fly, taking another juiced-up zealot in the shoulder. The mans crazed eyes rolled senselessly as he was spun around, righted himself, and kept on coming. His arrows were having less and less effect, those horrible potions steeling the tribe’s people against all but the most grievous of wounds. Saul watched as the outlanders stumbled away down a tunnel and felt a pang of hope. Two of them looked injured, but it looked like they might actually get away. The only problem was the poison on the arrows; he had no doubt that the injured would be in serious trouble if they weren’t treated quickly. The antidote was a simple mix of local plants and frogspawn, but whether the outlanders would have anything to treat it was questionable. Saul patted the small pouch at his side, and felt a little left. He could help with the poison, if he could get there in time…and if the outlanders would let him.

Saul let a final arrow fly and then backed away from his perch above the repository. The more he thought about it, the more sure he was that the outlanders were heading back to their ship, the amazing technology that had bought them to this world…the technology something on Gaia seemed determined to hide. He hadn’t seen the ship, didn’t know whether it was undamaged. A shiver ran down his spine as he turned and started down the dark tunnel at a dead run. If the outlanders got back to the ship they would leave Gaia, and he would be left behind, having not even spoke to them past a hushed warning. And what would be left for him here? Alone against the tribes people and their blind hunt for heretics, this most violent of purifications? Death was sure to follow, eventually he wouldn’t be able to run anymore, and the slow and painful death he was bound to endure would make his life up until now seem like child’s play. There’d be no-one to put a merciful arrow in his head to end the pain…not like Amiene.

“Amiene….”

Again the tears started to flow, doubling then tripling his dim vision in the dark tunnels. Still, he pushed even harder, breaking into an even faster run. These tunnels criss-crossed underground like honeycomb, if he was quick enough he could catch up with the outlanders…his potential saviours. Of this he was a little uncertain…the woman who had looked up at him had looked scared, tired….confused, not really the confident and awe inspiring individuals he had been expecting. Still, outlanders or not, they were his only kindred spirits now, possible allies against the insane zealots of the tribe. If he could catch up with them, help them escape and fend off the attacks….maybe they’d do something for him. Get him off this godforsaken rock, away from the fear, the memories….the pain.

Saul neared the junction where he believed the outlanders would have to come from; he even heard hurried footsteps and muffled words. He stowed his bow onto his back and took on a non threatening posture, hands at his sides and away from his body. He didn’t want to be shot by the outlanders weird powder weapons before he even had chance to speak. He took a final squeeze of the small polished stone around his neck, a piece of jacinth Amiene had found and gave to him on a rawhide thong as a gift shortly after he had rescued her. It always helped focus his mind, but now it just set off a grieving hurt deep within him, could it only be a matter of minutes since she had died….at his own hand.

The voices and sounds of pursuit got louder, Saul stood to one side of the tunnel, hands out to his sides. He whispered one final sentence….a promise, not for himself, but for another.

“I will see other worlds, travel outside Gaia….for you…..I will live for you alone.”

[Pwenet]

Narration #11 – Almost Home

• Repository for the Long Night - Ground Floor
  • The_Snark – Caroline Walker
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 2 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Emergency Medical Kit – This medical kit comes with basic bandages, medications, various devices and a compact scanner used to help treat people.
        • 2mm Semi-Automatic Needle Pistol – This pistol uses tiny rounds that are designed to penetrate organic matter and shatter within, causing massive internal damage to the target. These rounds are ineffective against armored targets for the rounds will simply shatter against harder substances. Used on most ship as basic security because they will not penetrate the hull if discharged. Each cartridge contains 20 rounds.
    • The Narration
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      Pulling Misty along the tunnel despite her wounds, the back of your neck tingles. Turning behind you is the sight of the natives crawling over the boxes arrows at the ready, with something floating behind them, holding them with vague tentacles that twist and turn from this reality into another. Part of the shape turns towards you and a light flashes.
      
      You lie on a operating table, with surgeons clad in the purest of white standing around you, their tools of the trade shining with sterile cleanliness. Part of you remembers having gone through this before, long ago, the day that you allowed yourself to be merged computers, becoming something more and less than human.
      
      Looking around you notice something strange about the surgeons. They move with mechanical precision, none of the slight hesitations nor fluid grace of humans. The bits of exposed skin you can see reflect the view, showing you your face and body, bound to a table like a animal about to be butchered. One of them looks down at you and you see the face of Brother Human.
      
      A knife glides down and you find that any attempts to struggle fail, for you are paralyzed. Yet you are fully aware as it comes closer and closer, digging into your eye, cutting the muscles, the veins, the optic nerve. Each cut it like a wave of pain, more than you thought existed. Trying to run away you find yourself trapped within your body as one mechanical hand pulls it out.
      
      The other surgeons start getting to work. Slowly and with great care they start dissecting you alive. Your kidneys are lifted out, followed by a liver, and other parts that you do not recognize. You would scream if you could, yet you can’t. Only tears flow from the single remaining eye as you see your ribcage being lifted out, followed by your still beating heart. With great care each of your parts are labeled, and placed into a clear statis-jar, freezing them in place.
      
      The surgeons move out of sight and the ripping pain as your scalp is cut away fills your thoughts. You ears hear saws grinding against bone, then there is a lightness. One of them moves away, carrying a grey object dripping with blood. Your thoughts are disjointed, fragmenting except for the pain yet the mass of brain matter can clearly be only your own.
      
      Laying on the table, bound and torn apart, the surgeons start their next gruesome task and they pull out welding torches and organs of metal and plastic.
      
      I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Forgive me Holy Mother.
      
      You stumble away, turning away from the shape as one hand reaches over and blind-fires behind you. The smell of cooked flesh assaults your nose but part of you does not care, another part is weeping, and yet another is demanding that survival takes precedence. Misty starts guiding you and you can hear gunfire from behind you, and then a scream of something that should not scream, and a thump on the ground.
      
      Your footsteps now sound of metal instead of stone and Earth, and you can feel yourself entering sanctuary, safety. The link to Wyndell’s PTC burns brightly, maybe a little below you, sending out a beacon of safety and hope. You know that communication is easy to accomplish with little through or effort.
      
      One hand shakily moves up towards your face, clearly in shock, and probes gently. Slight crunching sounds can be heard, followed by sticky wetness on your fingers, and the smell of smoldering flesh assaults your nose.
      
      From behind you come the sounds of padded footsteps at a dead run.
    
    
  • Ubersquid – Raul 'Janks' Jenkins
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • Repair Kit – This kit contains an assortment of tools used for common repairs along with some raw supplies that could be needed. In the hands of someone who knows what they are doing they can repair armor and even make basic ammunition with the contents.
        • 4mm Defender Rifle – This rifle is a standard weapon that can be used against armored targets. Firing 4mm solid state slugs it can damage/penetrate most personal body armors. Carrying a 100 round magazine per cartridge it is a very sturdy weapon as well and simple to maintain, aiding it in working in most environments despite abuse. It is fondly related to the ancient AK-47 rifle when compared to durability and reliability.
    • The Narration
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      Despite the arrow stuck in your rear, a pleasant numbness courses through the area, massaging the pain away and giving you some freedom of movement for the time being. Seeing Caroline grab Misty and start running you follow as well. Behind you come the sounds of movement and exertion as if the natives were climbing over the obstacles that were in their way.
      
      Caroline suddenly stops and stiffens as she turns to look behind you. Turning you vision starts to waver but you can make out something hovering in the area, holding onto the natives with tentacles that waver from this reality into another. Hearing two *POP* sounds you do not turn to look, but follow the others as they flee. The shape follows you pulling the tentacles from the natives, who collapse to the ground seizing violently with foam coming from their mouths. Your finger squeezes the trigger and you open fire.
      
      Surrounded by static like from a bad communications signal you can’t make you too many details, but the form wavers like water where you shots hit it, while others are stopped with metallic sounding sounds, and some liquid spews from other places. The shape starts to waver, focusing easier and you make out wet black flesh laced with purple metal that pulses and merges into it, a worm-like body and hundreds of tentacles. Several holes have appeared in the mass about the shape of gunshot wounds.
      
      Stumbling back through a opening in the cave wall you find yourself on a ramp. Firing the last of your ammunition at the figure the space around it seems to compress and an unholy screaming sound tears through the chamber. The space around it continues to compress, until with a flash of light it vanishes. From the times you seen great spaceships, you realize that the creature just performed what looked to be a FTL jump that a space-ship would perform.
      
      Turning behind you is Caroline with two gaping burnt wounds where her eyes should be with Misty. The three of you are standing on a ramp leading to a ship nested in a support lattice of metal beams. The other end of the ramp ends at a airlock in the top section of the ship.
      
      Behind you comes the sound of padded footsteps and emerging onto the ramp is the native that you saw previously, looking tired and worn with his nose bleeding but no arrows sticking from him like you.
    
    
  • Mordokai – Misty Reviere
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; Cuts, scrapes and bruises over body
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 2 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Armored Survival Backpack – This backpack contains basic survival supplies including the following:
          • Vibration-charging Flashlight/Lantern – Uses the vibrations generated by movement to charge an internal power source. Need more power, shake it!
          • Air/Water Distiller – This device can absorb the ambient moisture in the air and collect/filter it to provide a source of drinking water. Also contains a hose that can be used to suck in water from other sources where it will be filtered and purified.
          • Multi-Purpose Tool Kit – Containing a small amount of tools that can be used for the most basic of repairs of devices.
          • Communications Relay – This device is a complex communications relay that can be used to signal orbiting ships or link various systems together to provide a means of communication.
        • Emergency Medical Kit – This medical kit comes with basic bandages, medications, various devices and a compact scanner used to help treat people.
    • The Narration
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      Being pulled along by Caroline you start to feel lightheaded as the poisons start to work their way deeper and deeper into your system. Running like a Hollywood action hero is not something that helps in keeping the poisons at bay. Yet now is not the time to treat the poisons or the arrows for sounds of climbing can be heard, along with something swimming through air. Taking a half turn you see Caroline look back and freeze.
      
      Sweat starts to visibly drip from her forehead as she stumbles, her movements becoming stiff. Out of the corner of your eye you can see something ripple in the air, something familiar but your vision starts to swim, either from the poisons or something else. You can make out vague shapes binding it to several of the natives now climbing down from the crates, like tentacles that seem to twist into and out of this reality. It burns with static like ancient TV sets when they are turned on, eluding details in your drug-induced state.
      
      Now it is your turn to tug on Caroline and you notice that one of her eyes is leaking tears, and she starts gasping in pain. Her mouth moves and you can hear vague whispers from her mouth.
      
      ”I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Holy Mother.”
      
      Her eyes start glowing, brighter and brighter.
      
      Then they explode with two *POP* sounds.
      
      The explosions are small, just enough to tear the eyes apart and burn the surrounding tissue. Blood slowly swells but it seems that the two horrific wounds will not cause Caroline to bleed out, though the implied blindness is a more pressing concern.
      
      Caroline stumbles as if freed from something terrible and she starts guiding you again despite her blindness. At a T-intersection up ahead she pulls you right and up ahead is a hole in the stone wall. Behind you Janks opens fire at something behind you and a unholy screams echoes throughout the chamber. Running through the opening you find yourselves on a ramp leading down to a ship nestled in a lattice of metal supporting it. The ramp echos with your footsteps and you can see that the ramp ends at an airlock on the upper end of the ship.
      
      Hearings noises below you can see a few levels down you look down and can see several other humans running into the ship, pursued by the natives shooting arrows at them.
      
      Behind you comes the sound of padded footsteps, and turning to look you can see the native that you spotted earlier running towards you. His nose is bleeding and his eyes are bloodshot but he at least has no arrows sticking from him.
  
  
• Repository for the Long Night - Upper Levels
  • Banjo1985 – Saul Umati
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Tribal Clothing – Simple yet rugged leathers that perverse your modesty. Because of the extra time you spend out hunting you have added a nice vest and pants while most of the natives wear only a loincloth.
        • Hunting Bow & Arrows – A simple yet durable hunting bow that has served you faithfully for many years that has excellent range and accuracy. In addition you have a full quiver of arrows that you wear on your back.
        • Hunting Knife – A simple long-bladed knife that is used mainly for skinning and preparing game, though it would make a deadly weapon if used properly.
        • First-Contact Computer Interface Unit – Taken from a crashed probe from times long ago, this CIU has provided you the basics on spoken Common and a general history of humanity that you otherwise would never have known. It was designed to aid in first-contact situations by providing basic information on humanity to other lifeforms. Using it you found that you are not a mere slave, but rather a human as well, and that things should be much different from what they are. Luckily for you this unit is small enough to keep hidden from the rest.
    • The Narration
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      Waiting at the intersection hear soft quiet footsteps approaching. Turning you don’t see one of the hunters or priests that had been chasing you and the other newcomers. Instead it is a old figure, hunched over with advanced age and the bone necklace that she wears. In the middle of the necklace is a small sealed jar. Looking into her blind ancient eyes you find yourself looking at one of the Truthseers.
      
      One of her withered hand was resting on the sealed jar, which she then moves and pops open the lid, revealing the mystical substance that opens their third eye. You back away as she raises it to her nose and inhales deeply. Lowering the jar her nose is covered with a grey dust substance, and her eyes change from a grey blind color to red as ancient blood vessels burst within her eyes.
      
      She then looks at you as you turn to flee and whispers a single word.
      
      ”Pain.”
      
      PAIN
      
      Staggering to the side as your body flares with pain the likes you have never felt before, you turn a corner as you hear behind you:
      
      ”Pain.”
      
      Nearly falling to your knees from another wave you turn blindly around another corner, trying to get out of range, trying to flee, trying to escape from the Truthsayer.
      
      ”Freeze.”
      
      With that word your muscles start to stiffen and you feel yourself compelled to obey. Memories of Amieme come to mind, of her smile, her simple grace, her death at your hands. Groaning with exertion you pick yourself up and stagger around another corner and find yourself standing among the other natives.
      
      Laying on the ground like puppets with their strings cut, they are foaming at their mouths, eyes bloodshot and blind to the world, twitching in madness and insanity.
      
      ”DIE!”
      
      The whisper within your mind reaches in, and for a moment you feel your heart stop. Pain radiates from your wound and the heart starts again. Your head fills with incredible pressure and you stumble blindly down a tunnel that where sounds like explosions are coming from.
      
      Turning a corner you find a hold in the stone cave wall. Stepping through it you see the newcomers standing on a ramp of metal, leading towards a metallic object with a open doorway at the far end of the ramp.
  
  
• The Hallowed Chamber – Team
  • Gig Complex – Oscar 'Lucky' Erickson
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Standard Ship Uniform – This uniform is made of a tough material to resist tears and scratches, with many pockets and places to attach and hold items.
        • Shinbone from a Corpse – Taken from one of the dead crewmembers onboard Chasing the Second Star it can serve as a cudgel, but due to the age it is not very durable.
    • The Narration
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      Pulling into the airlock the other newcomer that fought beside you races in as well. Someone slams their hands on a control, and the outer door seals. Outside several of the natives let loose arrows, but they merely bounce off the hardened metal. Gestures are made yet they can do nothing.
      
      Behind them a figure approaches, stooped with advanced age. The other natives look over at it with reverence as it shakily raises the hood of its dark brown hood, revealing the ancient weathered features of an old woman. Stringy grey hair curls around her head and she looks through the portal with blind eyes.
      
      A wrinkled old hand reaches up to a small jar attached to a bone necklace, and she opens it up and sniffs something from it. Her face talks on a expression of estacy and she looks back at you with bloodshot eyes. Her mouth moves at you.
      
      *PAIN*
      
      Stumbling back you stagger back through the airlock into the corridor. Out of view the assault ceases leaving you alone. The others have managed to make their way out as well away from the woman, now back onto the ship proper. A strong sense of peace washes over you and you know that you are safe to wander on this ship.
    
    
  • mf11 – Giovanni Fiori
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: Damaged Throat – Able to Breath but can only whisper.
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • Sharp shards of a shinbone from a Corpse – Taken from one of the dead crewmembers onboard Chasing the Second Star it can serve as a cudgel, but due to the age it is not very durable. The shinbone itself was shattered and now all that remains are very sharp fragments.
    • The Narration
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      Pulling into the airlock the other newcomer that fought beside you races in as well. Someone slams their hands on a control, and the outer door seals. Outside several of the natives let loose arrows, but they merely bounce off the hardened metal. Gestures are made yet they can do nothing.
      
      Behind them a figure approaches, stooped with advanced age. The other natives look over at it with reverence as it shakily raises the hood of its dark brown hood, revealing the ancient weathered features of an old woman. Stringy grey hair curls around her head and she looks through the portal with blind eyes.
      
      A wrinkled old hand reaches up to a small jar attached to a bone necklace, and she opens it up and sniffs something from it. Her face talks on a expression of estacy and she looks back at you with bloodshot eyes. Her mouth moves at you.
      
      *PAIN*
      
      Stumbling back you stagger back through the airlock into the corridor. Out of view the assault ceases leaving you alone. The others have managed to make their way out as well away from the woman, now back onto the ship proper. A strong sense of peace washes over you and you know that you are safe to wander on this ship.
    
    
  • TheOutlander – Dane “Thoft” Thoftsten
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Standard Ship Uniform – This uniform is made of a tough material to resist tears and scratches, with many pockets and places to attach and hold items.
        • Severed Metallic Arm of Malaki Shares – This is the severed artificial arm from Malaki. No longer connected to him it does not work, yet it is of a sturdy design and could function as an emergency weapon or tool if needed.
    • The Narration
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      Pulling Giovanni in he is followed shortly by Oscar. Your hand flashes and hits the controls, shutting the outer door. Several arrows fly against it but bounce off or shattered against the hardened metal.
      
      An addicting itch starts behind your eyes…
      
      From behind the mass of natives approaches a figure. The itching gets worse as the figure pulls back the hood of the dark brown cloak it wears, revealing the withered features of an ancient old woman. With a flash you can see within her soul, a withered soul addicted a horrid substance that eats away and burns all that is human. She raises a hand to a jar on her necklace and opens it. She inhales and your mind burns and itches as she inhales it.
      
      She looks upon you with bloodshot eyes and whispers a word that drives into your mind.
      
      ”Pain.”
      
      *PAIN*
      
      Staggering back you try to recover and another whisper is heard.
      
      ”Pain.”
      
      This time you are prepared and managed to blunt the worst of it. The others by this point have made it out of the airlock. The ancient woman looks at you and another whisper rips into you.
      
      ”Pain.”
      
      She falls back out of sight as the pain is reflected back to her. Not waiting to see what else happens to exit the airlock as well. Checking a panel you see that all but one airlock have been sealed, and that last one is at the top level. Yet you sense that the ship is cleared of the natives, and that it is safe to wander about and find the others.
  
  
• Within the Tomb of Metal
  • Firespark – Wyndell Tedarri
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
        • 1 Ancient Spheres of Knowledge Connected to your PCT – Devices from the era you now find yourself in, they seem to be a compact childlike AI and power source of incredible power, all in a device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. They appear to have a hive-mind mentality and can extend what can best be described at liquid metal connections that adjust to interface with anything that they come in contact with.
        • Personal Computer Terminal - This portable computer terminal is a common piece of equipment. A universal adapter allows it to be plugged into any normal computer terminal, bypassing its functions and allowing on access to the core programming of the terminal, making it easier to make changes or access systems that shouldn't be accessed normally.
          
          It is 17" wide and 12" long and 2" deep, and weighs about 5 pounds. The screen is a adaptive display, able to be changed to what the user prefers, and it is very durable.
    • The Narration
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      As Matthias leaves to aid the others and Lydia sleeping, you turn back to the PCT which is no longer a PCT by any stretch of the definition. Yet externally it appears to be the same.
      
      The optical crafting unit then beeps, indicating that the objects you requested have been assembled.
      
      In addition the PCT beeps at you, and a map appears on it. It is a wireframe diagram of the ship you are on, with several colored lights blinking both within and without. A legend appears and identifies each dot, listing all of the non-natives individually, and the natives as a mass of red. Within the ship there are none, externally by the lower port airlock there is a large mass outside, apparently someone shut the outer airlock door.
      
      Outside the ship, appearing to hover in mid-air are indicators that show the location of Caroline, Janks, Misty and a unknown signature. They seem to be making their way towards the upper port airlock at this time.
    
    
  • Inspectre – Matthias Conway
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: 100%; No Injuries
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
    • The Narration
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      Leaving the medical bay, memories flood back. You start wandering up towards the airlocks and find the others laying on the deck, looking dazed and confused and the worse for wear. Giovanni throat is turning a lovely shade of purple. Before you can do anything you notice a panel nearby. It is a status update of the airlocks on the ship. The one you are next too indicates that it is sealed, as are the other two on the starboard side. There is one more airlock on the top hull of the ship that is opened as well.
      
      Next to that display panel is a hardwired communications port which is a standard unit on all ships from your era.
    
    
  • tvga8889 – Lydia Morrison
    • Vital Statistics
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      • Condition: Severe head wound – Treated and Healing
      • Equipment:
        • Torn Prisoner Jumpsuit – The remains of a standard issue cyro-stasis prisoner jumpsuit. It preserves your modesty to the degree that the wearer desires, but offers no extra protection.
    • The Narration
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      You sleep the restful sleep of those that have suffered much, restoring yourself.

[ForzaFiori]

Giovanni Fiori
The Hallowed Chamber

Giovanni barely keeps his balance as thoft pulls him to the side, and makes a mental note to thank the stranger as an arrow goes right through where he was. He watches the other newcomer come in, then watches as the doors close, hearing the *ping* of the arrows against the metal. "That was too close" Giovanni thinks to him self, as he turns to look out the airlock. The natives were opening a path, almost as one would do for a king...making way for an old woman. Who is this...and what is in that jar? Giovanni's mind asks, trying to figure out what was going on. Then the woman looks up, and she seems ecstatic about something...Her eyes are obviously blind, and yet she's staring right at him. He has time to begin another whispered sentance What the... before pain erupts in his mind. AH! He half whispers, half screams as the womans eyes meet his. He falls back, feeling the pain back off as the eye contact breaks. As the pain leaves, a new sense pops in, one of immense calmness, a knowledge that the ship is safe...or so his mind wants him to think at least. He sees the two new people in front of him, and hurries to catch up, as they know the ship, and he doesn't. When he gets to them, he repeats his request from earlier. Go to the med bay. They must still be there, Lydia took a nasty shot to the head. We can meet up with her, Wyndall, and Matthias, and head out to do whatever that damned cyborg said we had to.

[TheOutlander]

Thoft- Next to Giovanni

As his third eye opened, he braced himself for the pain he was about to recieve, like opening your eyes in the sun after you've been in the dark for days. Thoft vaguely remembered that the "third eye" gave your subconsciuos semi-concsious thought as he began feeling what his earlier life would call "the ice cream headache from hell."

<ANGER> pain...

<WONDER> What are yo- *PAIN*

When psychics open their third eye for the first time, rarely will an arrow go through it, and when it does, the subconscious becomes enraged, even if the conscious thought is not.

<GLEE> Pain...

<RAGE> BACK OFF B*TCH!

the waves of pain were filtered, analyzed, and dampened as his subconscious threw doubt onto the illusion of pain.

<BEFUDDLEMENT> Pain...

<SUPERIORITY> it's called WRACK, moron.
Thoft took the energy she flooded into his mind, and reversed it. telling her nerve endings to scream in agony as if she were on fire. Making her close that third eye of hers and back off.

As Oscar came through the airlock, Thoft jabbed the button, harder than he would have, but the testosterone in his system hightened as if he had just won a fight.

Thoft then threw himself to the airlock window banging on the airlock, yelling
"I sooo SMOKED YOU, JACK OF SPADES, WHAT! YOU CAN DISH IT OUT BUT CAN'T TAKE IT? OWNED!"

he looked back at his two companions, Irises huge and blood all over his face, with a huge smile. If he had had the perception he was known for earlier in life, he would have realized that he looked like a tribal psychopath.
"I forgot how fun that was."

" Go to the med bay. They must still be there, Lydia took a nasty shot to the head. We can meet up with her, Wyndall, and Matthias, and head out to do whatever that damned cyborg said we had to."

Thoft remembered this man's request and ushered him forward, palm up asking for his hand.
"I will show you the way."

Images and visions flowed through Thoft into Giovanni, Thoft's experiences to get to and from the medical bay flowed into Giovanni's mind, and something else, Thoft tried to limit it to just the way to the medical bay, but memories leaked from his psychic dam. memories he didn't even know mixed in with the way to the medical bay.

He cut off his contact as soon as the way to the med bay was solidly in Giovanni's mind. and after he broke away from Giovanni's mind did he realise how exhausted he was, both mentally and physically.

"I'm checkin' the top airlock, you guys have those wounds looked at."

As Thoft turned to leave, he thought to himself.
Jack of spades?

[ubersquid]

Janks - Repository for the Long Night

Janks breathes heavily as he looks around the cave. He coughs and his face is strained from pain and exhaustion. As he hears the footsteps from the corridor, it looks like he uses his last reserves of energy to raise the rifle up again and at the first sign of movement around the corner, he pulls the trigger.

...

The expected spray of slugs that would have kept the new threat at bay stays out however. Only two low-pitched beeps can be heard, followed by the empty ammo cartridge sliding out halfway, prompting Janks to be replaced with a full one.

He sighs annoyed and rolls his eyes. With a few steps he approaches the native, turns the gun around and prepares a swing.

"I've had it with you f****** witchers and your devilry!"

Sadly, the exhaustion, pain and poision that was spreading through his body, seemed to affect Janks' depth perception a bit, and the rifle's butt passes inches in front of Sauls face. Expecting the rifle to encounter some resistance , hitting the stranger's head, Janks is thrown of balance. The numbness in his legs doesn't help either, and Janks flies, face down, onto the ground.

"F***!"