Post
Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:17 pm
#542
by Talvieno
Alpha
Buck uses the opportunity to take stock of his surroundings in greater detail.
The dimly-lit room is fairly square, with one exit to what Buck has decided to call the "west", two exits to the "east", and one to the "north". Feb Keshor exited through the northernmost exit on the east side of the room, while the trio had originally entered through the door on the west and now stand at the wall roughly SSW of center. Most of the exits are single-wide hallways, leading who knows where. The building may have been used as an office complex at some point (supported by the long rows of close-spaced doors Buck can see through the northern hallway), and this may have been used as, possibly, some sort of common area. Today, however... it's still a common area. There's a few old, ratty sofas right in the middle of the room, surrounding a couple of low tables - and on one of them, all the REKT gear rests.
The edges of the room are more varied and interesting. There's a number of computer terminals (standing only) - cheap tech, mostly - old non-holo models. A couple of the machines look like they're busted. There's also a few VR booths in the room as well - not the cutting-edge skullplug systems that Tartarus Inc. has, unfortunately, but the more standardized "stand in one place with a helmet on and localized gravity fields will give feedback to actions you take and stop you from falling out of the machine while you 'walk around'". Two of the three machines are actually in use at the moment, and whatever game they're playing seems to involve a lot of jumping. It looks pretty silly.
At the left edge of the room, three fysar and a bhezian stand idle near the doorway, talking to each other. One of the fysar seems to be keeping a subtle eye on the REKT inmates, Buck notices (not hard to do, considering the aliens have eyes all the fukc over their heads); Buck wonders how suspicious they are. A hiltorel is lounging on a dirty couch across the room from Buck on the north wall, watching some kind of vid on the screen of a PDA; his face flashes with light. Over several meters to Buck's "east", Savoske (the fysar girl) is still chatting up a rather disinterested bhezian, whom she seems positively enamored with. He either doesn't notice this fact, or doesn't care. Nobody else is in the room. That comes to a total count of eight individuals.
The walls don't seem to have anything in the way of cameras, but there is a wall-mounted auto-turret at the north end of the room. Given enough strength, it could probably be ripped off its mountings, or possibly hacked.
"Now, as Yuuji has suggested," Brom says, "we should look around and take stock of our surroundings. That was my very next plan! You're a quick thinker like myself, Yuuji." Brom's failed to notice that Buck has already thoroughly examined the room. "The first thing we ought to do is find a place that will keep us hidden, in case Mebasha shows back up," Brom mutters, thinking. "After that, possible emergency exits will take priority! Let's try to stay low and out of sight. I don't want an unexpected arrival turning this place into a battlefield!"
Brom looks about as well, noticing for instance that the various pieces of once-lavish furniture about the edges of the room could probably be knocked over and used as cover, as well as noticing that there appears to be alien blood on on the merc suits lying on the table. There don't seem to be any closets in the area, or cabinets.
Beta
Frank (Samuel, rather) is getting awfully tired of Fuhodo station, and glares at the shifty guys across the way. To his surprise, they seem to be startled by its intensity and go back to minding their own business. He wasn't even trying. He clears his throat and then addresses the others with a lowered voice: "The faster we move, the less time anyone has to react."
Cole grunts a response, as an agreement. He's not entirely happy with Frank at the moment, seeing as Frank just dropped a box on his foot. How the hell does a janitor do janitor-work without lifting boxes, anyway? On the plus side, at least his foot isn't broken or something. He doesn't want to jinx it, but he wouldn't have been surprised if it had been.
"And remember, fellas," Saoirse/Estelle whispers, "We're with the Lavloxeri division of FMU, we're looking for the Minas Maniri to get miss Kaquyu Adopan and the password is Dexin Ezagetxa. Got that?"
"Thank you," Nilo says, as the group begins following Saoirse's lead. Then, noticing Cole is starting to lag behind, he asks, "Cole, are you able to move faster, or do you need assistance?"
"Nope, I'm fine, thanks," Cole grunts, limping. "It's getting better. It'll be back to normal in a few minutes, I think."
Frank frowns. "Sorry for the foot, Cole. Should I take the package again before we get to our destination? Just so you have your hands free?"
Caleb shrugs, but says nothing.
~~~
After leaving the Market, the four inmates travel through a long, wide tunnel towards the palaces, lit only by flickering lights on the walls; the original lighting is long-since dark. It might have served as a roadway for the wealthy in times long since past - probably at least a century - but today it is in a state of decay. Occasional corpse-smelling piles of trash and garbage litter the road on both sides, while unidentifiable alien vermin skitters among the refuse. The pillars supporting the ceiling above are covered in graffiti, as are the walls above the raised walkways on the sides of the road. Every so often they pass exits on the side - dark stairways that go to unknown depths - and wonder what, if anything, might still be lurking there.
As they travel along, more than once they pass black smears and stains on the road - the dried bloody residue of gang wars fought over turf. They begin to notice scorch marks from fire or explosions, and bullet holes pockmarking the walls. All of this gets worse the farther they go - and it's not even that long of a tunnel, only a quarter of a kilometer. If this says anything about the state of the palaces themselves, then the term "palaces" is a very deceptive misnomer. This place hardly feels like it could ever have been owned by anyone wealthy - much less royalty. It's an aesthetic typical of gang-controlled environments... and all that's really missing are the burning barrels. But, on the other hand, perhaps fire isn't such a wise thing to have aboard a space station. The air seems to be low on oxygen as it is.
Beta eventually reaches the end of the tunnel, emerging into a taller, grander area, reminiscent of a courtyard or park, with a curving roundabout in the center. It looks just as bad as the road behind them - or worse, really - but it must've looked beautiful in the distant past. The ceiling houses lovely light fixtures - or used to; most of them appear to have been knocked down. Buildings line the roads that branch outwards from this little patch, with luxuriant balconies replete with lovely hanging vines, intricate and aesthetically pleasing architecture, and tall windows. A beautiful stone fountain in the center of the courtyard beckons lovingly: a human woman sitting side-legged on a little stool, her arm outstretched in a welcoming gesture. Statues ring the little roundabout - figures of men striking classic poses.
Of course none of this is quite the same anymore. The fountain is dry and lifeless, covered with crude red scrawling in a jagged alien script; its lady has been destroyed; her head is gone, as is most of her outstretched arm. All that's left of the hanging vines are shriveled woody cores - and only those too far out of reach to be easily scavenged for cheap fuel. The statues have collapsed - or, more accurately, been toppled at some point in the distant past, and they lie in huge pieces on and near the roundabout. Even the balconies show signs of fire. Makeshift barricades dot the roadway, facing the entrance to the tunnel - all tall enough to provide some form of cover - but these look newer (if cruder) than everything else, almost as if the current inhabitants are wary of visitors.
And it's at this moment that one of said inhabitants makes himself known. He pops himself out from behind cover on one of the lower balconies, aiming a weapon's barrel straight at the four "mercenaries", and shouts something in an alien language: "Niba larbiin! Iin!" He's a fysar, much the shopkeeper, Kiibar, and his grandson Maki. This one, however, looks considerably less friendly. He looks like he's already had a bad day, and doesn't look like he wants to deal with anyone's shit. He's also wearing something that looks like laughably crude body armor.
The four inmates glance at each other. None of them have a clue what "niba larbiin iin" even means.