Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 2 - Games

Amy snapped out of her surprise real quick. "Whatever. You do you." She hurried over to Alex, whose situation had barely changed. She looked over the wound and even in the dim lights, she could make it out. His foot was gone, no fixing that right now, but the plasma blade had cautherized the wound at least. She looked arround and noticed one of the guards had dropped a pistol during the fighting. Amy picked it up and passed it to Alex. "You'll live. Come on. Let's get the hell out of here." She pulled him up and let him lean in on her shoulder. "Heh, funny." "What?" "I used to support you." "Bad time for jokes, bear." She said with a slight smile.

Janós was relieved to know that one of them knew some English. As Zerbya introduced herself and their leader Buko, he nodded their way. He nodded once more when Buko thanked him through her, and again more sympathetically when taking care of Ravis was mentioned. He looked over to Amelia who was next to Ravis before turning back towards Zerbya. After her brief speech to her group, he was surprised to hear their willingness to fight if help was needed. He wasn't sure what to say, considering that keeping them alive was a mission objective, but he thought of something quick and blunt. "While we could use help, right now, our main priorities are just keeping you all alive, and getting our fellow comrades, our Boss, and her partner back," he explained, "I'll be honest with you, there seems to be a... well, flying creature with a flaming tail on board that ship. Ehm, [I]bezumnyy[/I], I know, but trust me, even the [I]Mirotvortsy[/I] were scared of it," he added, hoping that his translation of 'Peacekeepers' was accurate.

Ryvik slowly came to his senses, carefully turning his head to get a better view of the wreckage around him. Most of the front of the ship, especially the already-damaged bridge, had torn itself away during the crash and sloughed off the front of the vessel. He could see stars above and to his left in the darkness, indicating patches of sky visible through gaps in the hull, and there was a barely perceivable brightening... sunrise had come at last. It was still too dark inside the craft to see with the naked eye. He longed for his armor, but it had been removed at the hospital in Vostokrebh and he had left it behind when he was busy rescuing Vixe and dragging Yanim and Arkadam to evacuation. Knowing he couldn't hope to find them in the twisted metal using his eyes, he decided to call out for them: "[Vixe... are you alive?]" he began, a lump in his throat forming as the thought of being the lone survivor crept into his mind. "[...Can you hear me?] Vixe replied, taking away the sense of guilt. "[I hear you,]" she groaned. "[...What in the name of the Vizier just happened?] "[I don't know... I don't know...]" Ryvik muttered. "[Do you see the prisoners?]" "[I think I'm touching one of them right now,]" Vixe suddenly said angrily. "[I was hoping you wouldn't notice me,]" Yanim spoke up, tartly. The two of them had become entangled with one of the temporary control consoles that had previously been used to control the ship. "[I'm going to die here in a moment, hyeh hyeh hyeh... my computer pack...]" "[Well then, where's your special one? He was sitting next to you-]" "[Wait,]" Ryvik interrupted. "[What are you talking about, Yanim? Is it broken, or missing? How long do we have to find it?]" "[It's smashed,]" she replied, still chuckling to herself. "[Something heavy's sitting on top of it, and it's keeping us both from being crushed.]" "Vok?" Vixe blurted. She felt around in the darkness and quickly realized that Yanim was correct; some kind of steel beam had fallen directly on top of them. "[I have maybe a few minutes minutes, I don't know,]" Yanim said with a sigh. The others couldn't see her smile. "[I'll bet the crew survived...]" Ryvik was now on his feet, awkwardly climbing toward the voices. "[Where's Arkadam,]" he asked, coldly. There was no answer, and so he repeated the question. "[Arkadam, answer me if you're still alive.]" There was a grunt from somewhere closer to the ground, in the far more jagged and torn section ahead of them. Ryvik hurriedly climbed down, feeling around for hazards, until he had closed the distance between them. "[What's wrong with you?]" he demanded. "[S-sir,]" a weak voice replied. It wasn't Arkadam, but rather one of the lieutenants that had been operating the vessel. "[I can't feel my legs, sir,]" he said quietly. Ryvik felt around in the dark and eventually figured out that the young man had been partially crushed by falling debris. Ryvik fished a comm device out of the lieutenant's pocket and, somewhat frantically, began contacting Vostokrebh for help. It was almost no use, there were so many wounded and so much damage to the base that additional medical help was being flown in from other bases. "[Hang on, help is coming. Just focus on breathing...]" Ryvik told him, but the lieutenant didn't seem to believe him. Ryvik still needed to find Arkadam, and quickly. There was no telling whether the frame of the ship would continue to hold up enough not to collapse in on them. There was a smell of smoke from somewhere in the lower decks- deep within, the Viokhmar was burning. His eyes having adjusted a bit to the darkness, Ryvik could just make out a narrow crevice between the top deck and the one below it, and, trusting his instinct, he lowered himself into it. Arkadam was unconscious, but breathing, slumped halfway across a door frame. He picked up Arkadam's upper body and began to drag him up the hill toward the rear of the ship. But as he walked, he heard footsteps coming from the other direction. Not realizing it was the enemy, he spoke up. "Spas, kezi vera ecshi! Ke'm midt yik Daze!" His voice echoed into the hall. Taylor, Valkyrie, and all the rest who were following stopped and glanced at each other.

Ira nodded at Taylor. She carefully removed the translator from her helmet and adjusted it. "[Friendlies! Don't shoot!]" Ira then revealed her face, hoping that Ryvik would take her for a UGC soldier.

Valk gave Ira a look as if she was utterly stupid. "He knows we're coming, and he'll recognize your armor. Dumbass." she muttered lowly. Taylor was inclined to agree. They had seen what each of them had fully looked like, except for Ira's and Taylor's heads since they had been wearing a helmet before. The second he saw their armor, he'd know they weren't friendly. That's all according to if they could actually SEE them in such a dark area. "Stay alert, people." whispered Taylor.

Amelia jumps from having this bodied mess flopped next to her. "Good god... uh, alright. Keep calm for me, friend." She analyzes his wounds: multiple fractures, possibly from tumbling a lot, dozens of gunshot wounds, and other misc damages. Ecchymosis is also noticeable, showing signs of severe internal bleeding. Amelia first delivers an analgesic, to ease the pain for the troubled. A machine turns on, further analyzing his wounds for Amelia to treat. She proceeds to make sure he keeps still, latching him down so he doesn't further damage himself. Blood sprays onto her coat, but she doesn't notice, instead giving full attention to the injured patient. After he's strapped down, Amelia turns on another machine to record this, as she hasn't had much experience with Liryans. She promptly tires to patch Ravis up to the best of her abilities...

"Don't lie to me!" Ryvik answered in English, suddenly sounding quite threatening. There was a sound of rummaging from his end of the hall. "I'll slit his throat- don't come any closer!"

"Good job." Amy sarcastically whispered to Iron. She turned to the rest of the crew. "Who could he have in there?"

[QUOTE]"Who could he have in there?"[/QUOTE] "Arkadam, obviously." stated Taylor. Taylor decided to take the lead. "Let Yanim and Arkadam go. [B]Now.[/B]" she said, sounding off down the hallway towards the dark oblivion in which Ryvik dwelled.

Ira shrugged but remained silent. That crash must've gotten to her in more ways than one.

"It's already too late for my sister. This one is the only life you can save. But I'm warning you again, we were willing to scuttle this ship and kill all of you - and ourselves - to prevent your escape. I'm not going to accept an outcome where I die while all of you live, and if you leave me no choice but to die, I'm not going alone!" Jag suddenly spoke up. "It is not too late, soft carbon," it said in a commanding voice. "What are you talking about?" Ryvik snapped. "Nobody here can repair that implant device of hers, and she can't live without it. [I]She's gone.[/I]"

Taylor glanced to Jag, wondering exactly what he was talking about. Still, maybe they could talk him down. There was at least a chance, and Jag seemed to be taking it. "Like he said, its not too late. We can make a deal or something. You and whoever else is alive in there can make it out of this alive if you just hand them over to us. That's all it takes."

"If you really think that, then you're a really shitty brother!" Alex was getting tired of this. "Hear what the rock of ages has to tell you, before you chickenshit out of your family ties."

"Oh, so the Koronov wants to tell me about family ties!?" Ryvik blasted. He was getting angrier and less cooperative. "Yanim destroyed my family when she chose [I]murder and mayhem on the high seas[/I] as a profession, you idiot. Maybe, just maybe, it's a relief that she's finally fucking dead. Did you ever think of that? Huh?" They could hear Ryvik breathing hard. Panic was setting in. "No, no... I'm not giving up my only bargaining chip. Not unless I have transportation out of here... then you can have him. He's practically lobotomized, I don't give a shit what he does with his life from here on." Jag spoke again. "Repairing that device is not necessary to save her life." "[B]What are you talking about!?[/B]" Ryvik was screaming so loudly that he was losing his voice. The piece of scrap he had pulled from the rubble was pressed so hard into Arkadam's neck that blood began to trickle down its edge. Jag tilted its head. "Because, soft carbon, I believe you already know... There is another." There was silence as the crew waited for Ryvik's response. Before he could answer, the meaning of Jag's intrusion revealed itself as a red-hot blade pierced through a nearby jammed doorway, slowly carving its way downward just as Valkyrie had attempted to do with the mess hall door earlier. "[Oh fuck,]" Ryvik gasped before dropping Arkadam and scrambling up through the crevice he had entered through. The crew cautiously advanced, the room flickering with hellish light from the blade's work and the reflections from their flashlight, until the panel was finally free, and a hand gripped it through the narrow gap. A dull groan from within the mechanism was followed by an ugly pang, and the door slid free. The crew peered into the abyssal darkness until a reflection from their flashlight caught a pair of empty and embittered violet irises. They were uncanny and evil, and belonged to a dark-clad figure with a low, predatory stance that practically skittered into the hallway. "Spaska." [I]Hello,[/I] said Beta.

Taylor and Valkyrie both watched the creature that emerged into the hallway. "[I]Who the actual fuck...[/I]" muttered Valk, readying her plasma sword. It lit up the area they were standing in, the pseudo-blade glowing brightly in the dark. To Taylor, the voice sounded a bit familiar. But that didn't prevent her from shouldering her rifle and pointing it towards the figure.

Ira entered a ready stance. "It looks just like the Boss." Meanwhile Karl gritted his teeth and shook his head: this bullshit was getting out of hand.

"It?" Beta parroted, insulted. She scanned the faces of her foes and smiled ghoulishly nonetheless, especially once she made eye contact with Taylor and the rifle she was brandishing. "Don't point that thing at me, cretin; not unless you want me to repaint these walls!" The blades on the tail snapped closed like scissors, throwing embers into the air. "As for the rest of you... I advise you to leave this ship the other way. Don't follow me; we'll just cross paths again later. [I]I assure you of it.[/I] Here's a parting gift!" Beta turned suddenly, throwing a canister over her shoulder which exploded into a thick, caustic black smoke. Taylor and several others opened fire, but quickly lost sight of the enemy as the cloud leached its way closer and began to burn at their skin and lungs. Jag, having thus far blended into the shadows rather well, emerged at the front of the group, apparently unaffected by the gas. "This... This is the moment I have been waiting for," it said. "I will proceed first and protect Boss Yanim." While the others were too busy coughing and retreating to argue or ask about the mysterious statement, Jag stepped forward into the dark smoke and vanished. It wasn't clear what the substance was that was blocking their path, but it seemed persistent, that it would take several minutes to clear to the point of safe passage. Frustrated, the crew fell back, trying to devise their next step. Should they retreat and find another way to the front of the ship, or should they simply wait for the path to clear? --- "[She's here!]" Ryvik yelled frantically to Vixe. The sky outside was beginning to fade to cerulean as the sunrise was underway, and in the cascading rays of light he could just make out the two women he had left behind there. Yanim was still on the ground, laying underneath the fallen steel beam, looking as if she were in a trance. Vixe was standing several meters away, holding her arm gingerly and leaning in a corner. It was then that Ryvik noticed that the tunnel behind them had been crushed and that the only way out, likely, was to exit onto the exterior of the ship itself. "[We have to get going,]" he said. "[What about your sister?]" Vixe asked. Ryvik shook his head. "[The other Yanim wants her dead, she's pretty much already there... that's a problem that solves itself,]" he explained rather brutally. "[Arkadam's down there probably getting butchered. We have to move right now if we're going to have any chance of escaping.]" Vixe could see the almost wild look in Ryvik's eyes. She nodded, turning to Yanim's glassy eyes. "[Looks like this is it... you had a good run, Yanim,]" she said, awkwardly, as if she were trying to make up for Ryvik's lack of words. "[Come on!]" Ryvik screamed. He climbed up the wall, pushing a piece of metal aside and revealing a large patch of sky before turning around and reaching for Vixe's hand. "[Give me your good hand!]" Once he had a hold of her, he pulled her up, using all of his strength to pull the both of them onto the exterior surface of the Viokhmar. While he caught his breath, Vixe scanned the surrounding scenes and cursed a bit. "[They're already here,]" she complained. "[The enemy, I mean.]" "Eh?" Ryvik stood again and noticed the Cascade. "[Shit!]" he snapped, dropping back to the deck where he'd be harder to see. "[Maybe we ought to hide, then?]" Vixe suggested. "[There's plenty of cracks and broken surfaces here, it'd be difficult to track us. Whatever happens with the enemy happens, and we wait until after they're gone to seek rescue?]" "[Get down,]" Ryvik insisted, pulling her down to his level. She fell on her injured arm and yelped. Ryvik ignored her pain and indignation and stayed focus on the task of survival. "[You're right... let's hide.]" --- Jag pushed its way through the gap in the panels, thrusting upward while careful to maneuver Arkadam's unconscious body without harming him. Beta, who by this point had only just figured out where Ryvik had scrambled away to, found herself face to face with her dying counterpart. She glanced hatefully in Jag's direction. "I am surprised you spared him, Yanim-copy." "He wasn't going anywhere," Beta replied, sickly. "She's the one I want most. The one thing that still [I]infuriates[/I] me." "Yes, I understand," Jag replied as Beta lifted her bladed tail like an executioner's axe. "You've become as I feared, Yanim. You're hollow." Beta froze completely as the color drained from her face. "Wh-what?"

Karl looked at Taylor. "Ideas?"

The sibling looked at each other. "Clone or science experiment?" Amy asked. "I say android or assassin droid with a fucked up personality core." --- Orso observed Amelia as she got to work fixing up her patient. His only experience with the medical side of things had been rough patch-up jobs. Seeing her go to work was interesting, but they couldn't stay in one place for long. "János, your crew aint gonna get themselves out of that wreckage. Let's move." --- The long silence was getting on his nerves. "Did you suddenly lose your ability to talk?" Mordecai began to pace around him, arms crossed behind his back as he moved slowly with a confident strut. "Don't be afraid to talk now, my boy. Perhaps if I explain things a bit more, you will loosen your tongue. Simply put, I don't trust you. But if you are as you say, a scholar and no danger to us, then earning my trust should not be difficult. You will be moved to my villa in the Blue river canyon, where you will be under low tech surveillance. There, you and I will continue our dialogue. If you prove to be no danger to us as you claim, I will feel more confident in your claims and you will be moved somewhere more...advanced." Mordecai stopped in his place, roughly at the same spot as he started. "Are my terms clear?"

[QUOTE]"Ideas?"[/QUOTE] "We go [I]hunting.[/I]" muttered Taylor, glancing to Karl as she waited for the gas to clear. They weren't leaving this downed frigate without Yanim or Arkadam. And they needed to kill that thing first. Valk looked to Taylor and the others. Was that thing a clone? An android copy of Yanim? Her twin fucking sister? This shit was getting more fucked by the second. "I'm not fucking waiting. Lets split up. Some can wait here and go when the gas clears, the rest can look for another way around." said Valk, before she moved through the crew and began her search for an alternate route. - - - - - - - - - - - - - [I]"Oh, my apologies. One of the handmaidens was updating me on a few things back home. Yes, I understand you. And yes, I know you don't trust me. And finally, yes. Your terms are clear."[/I] stated Seven. [I]"Also, I should probably let you know. Eight is nearby, and keeping an eye on my activity. As a precaution of course. He's very protective you see."[/I]

"You could have done anything when you left Zeruel, Yanim," Jag droned on. "I warned you not to let yourself become this, a machine, a devolution of yourself. All those sacrifices will be in vain, because you chose to spite the aspects of yourself which made you so valuable to begin with." Beta turned around, deeply unsettled. "V- Viper?" Jag lowered its head. "I know that name," it said. "It speaks to me from the Void, constantly, leading me toward my own redemption for a life wasted, a life devoid of reason. A life like yours." The doppelganger's eyes narrowed. "That's a hell of a gambit," she hissed. "But you're lying... Viper was a Peacekeeper. It wouldn't have fraternized with pirate scum like you." "We were not friends," Jag retorted, lifting its head. "Viper died by my actions in the northwest quadrant, soft-carbon, and it was not the first, nor the last, life I have taken in my criminal career. But Viper's voice has followed me since I became a member of this crew, since I came in contact with the Yanim you seek to kill. She is someone special to Viper, one that Viper sought to protect, despite her straying from the right path - the one you so utterly abandoned. Even at her absolute low, in the spring of the past year, the Peacekeepers held back from ending her life because Viper refused to give up hope that one day she would see reason and return to being the person she once was. "When I ended that life, I opened a connection through the void, and Viper and I have been linked ever since. It has taken me a long time to understand this truth. I have been warned innumerable times of a threat incomprehensible, and I now believe that you, in fact, are that threat. I do not know where you come from, or why you seek to kill your other half, but if I seek inner peace, I must stop you." "You can tell Viper that [I]its[/I] Yanim died a good little Sidikan girl. [I]My[/I] Viper died on Zeruel, just like the rest of my old 'kadaren...'" Beta turned around, placing her demon's tail just above Yanim's neck and looking deep into the latter's dilated eyes. Yanim was beginning to twitch and convulse. "Auv-sha!" she taunted, when a powerful blow knocked her off her feet. Hitting the ground hard, she rolled and bounced back to her feet, in disbelief that Jag had launched itself at her without so much as a sound. "Viper tells me that you are not the keeper of Yanim's fate." "Hyushya, if you want a fight, you'll get it, sanghves!" Beta launched herself at Jag, firing her YSV at the obsidian beast before slamming her bladed heel into one of its tentacles. The plasma failed to seriously wound it, and Jag was unfazed by kick- neither attack could pierce its rocky exoskeleton. Snatching her from the ground, Jag threw Beta against the wall, throwing slashing attacks from its own appendages - awkward movements the alien was unaccustomed to - in an effort to avoid damaging the computer pack on Beta's back. Beta outmaneuvered the swings and responded with a direct plasma blast to the Jag's face which forced it to back up, before she turned and swung hard with the demon's tail. Jag blocked the tail, but is blades wrapped tightly around its tentacle, still damaged from its fight with Kyrskada hours earlier. Rather than allow the same appendage to be cut off again, Jag threw Beta into the ground and punched at her head. She easily avoided the attempt and slashed with her tail, and it proved hot enough to leave a terrible gash. "The universe doesn't pick winners, sanghves. It only picks losers! ...And I'm not going to lose to you...." --- Orso and the Boomes entered into the lowest intact level of the Viokhmar, which entered directly into engineering. Immediately, radiation warnings began to tick in their helmets, and a radiant heat gave them a sick feeling throughout. A deep groaning echoed through its darkened halls, and they found plenty of dead technicians along the way to the stairwell. Every door, it seemed, was still closed and locked, so long as the distortion of the walls hadn't ejected the door out of its frame entirely. Meanwhile, two decks above, Valkyrie began to lead half the group up the slope toward the opposite end of the ship, where there was likely to be roof access. Taylor and the others checked their weapons and waited for status updates while the gas continued to dissipate.

"Careful around the radiation, boys. You don't need another mutation." They picked up the pace so they could leave engineering as fast as they could. The tickers calmed down and so did their pace. Orso tried to reach the crew on the frequency they used before. "Captain, this is Orso. We're inside the ship and just passed engineering. We're moving to link up with you for extraction." --- "Tell Eight he has nothing to worry about. Wherever he is." Mordecai looked towards Archangel. "Prepare a transport for our guest, the doctor will be unable to, I'm afraid." Back towards Seven. "I'll be seeing you shortly." And with that, the Executor and his entourage left the cell and began to walk towards the elevator leading to the upper levels of the complex. "Restrain him." He ordered as they passed the quivering scientist. "I warned you of the consequences of failure, did I not?" The guards forced the man to his knees, making sure he was unable to move. "Executor, there was no way for us to know that he could do that. How could we prepare for that? Be reasonable. Please!" A scowl formed on Mordecai's face as the doctor pleaded with him. "Quit your whining, you pathetic wretch! Have some dignity! You will be punished, but not put to death, your mind is too valuable to waste." The elevator began to ascend upwards. "Oh, thank you for your mercy, Executor! I swear, the prisoner will be handled with greater care from here on out." "Yes, but not by you. You will be transferred somewhere else, so you can be useful there." The doors opened, revealing that they were at the second-floor basement. "Now for your punishment." The scientist looked towards his leader with terror "I came here because you assured Archangel and me that the prisoner was secured. If he wasn't so docile, I might as well be dead. Incompetence like that comes from sloth. Idle hands are the devil's playthings and a sharp mind is required to keep them busy." He looked towards the two guards restraining him. "Put his hands forward." Then, towards Archangel "Disarm him." The android stepped forward, extending the blade from his armor. The air was filled with screams of pain and misery for several minutes as the butcher did as he was commanded. Whoever was on that level could hear everything loud and clear, but didn't interfere as soon as they realized who gave the orders. Finally, as the scream died down Mordecai spoke. "Get this man medical assistance and prosthetic hands. He'll need them if he's going to work here." He looked down at the whimpering doctor. "Try to think of this as a new opportunity. You were due for an upgrade." The elevator door shut closed when the medics came to take their new patient away. Mordecai looked towards the camera in the upper corner. "Sadly, not all procedures can be civilized and elegant. I hope you will understand."

János looked over to Orso with a nervous look. But before he could say anything, Orso just patted him on the shoulder and headed out with the Boomes towards the Viokhmar. He watched as they made their way towards the starship, wishing that Orso had voiced his opinion regarding the Khergians' willingness to fight. He looked over to Porter, who appeared to be watching over Amelia as she worked on Ravis. While he was nervous over the creature on that starship, Orso was right about moving. "Porter," he said to grab his attention, "whenever you're ready, move up to the starship. Join up with the Boomes or find another entrance, just keep the safest option in mind," he told him, moving his focus towards Jason. "Jason, you still haven't told me how you're doing, but if you still have a weapon and aren't in need of medical assistance, please join Porter whenever he moves out," he explained, before turning back once more towards Zerbya. "If you wish, we could contact your people and let them know how you are doing," he suggested.

It wasn't long before Valkyrie found a maintenance hatch to the roof inside of a small airlock off the top deck, after running up a flight of stairs at the more-intact rear of the craft. Grabbing onto the lever which controlled the heavy locking mechanism, she pulled hard until the rods holding the door closed retracted with a heavy "clunk." It was lucky that these sorts of devices were fully-mechanical and didn't require electricity to unlock. She pulled her hands back quickly as the hatch fell inward, slamming into the wall next to her and echoing through the halls of the ship. She beckoned the others to follow, climbing through the small hole and onto the ship's freezing armor-plated back, which looked like no man's land from all the artillery strikes leaving deep indentations like craters. From their position in a broken seam on the same armor, Ryvik and Vixe watched them with fearful eyes. "[Stay quiet,]" Ryvik whispered. "[I have to tell you something,]" Vixe said suddenly in a hushed but urgent voice. "[Can it wait until we've escaped?]" "[No... if they find us, I don't know what'll happen, but you need to know this...]" Vixe swallowed while getting the courage to tell him the truth. "[When you left for Stalnazyp, I spoke with the doctor who came with your unit, Ryvik.]" "Marinaya?" "[Yes. Ryvik, I think she was trying to tell me that you're a clone.]" Ryvik's expression was blank. He had been so busy trying to complete the mission, and then so busy trying to survive, that he hadn't been asking questions the way he had been on the medical retrieval drone. He was a clone? [I]How could that be possible?[/I] And then it was so obvious that he felt stupid. The sudden illness he experienced on the Perikal was the cover story, and the real version of himself never left the ship. Ryvik wanted to be angry, but all he felt was a sense of loss and futility. Everything he had done in the previous days which tested the limits of his endurance and proven his capabilities had been for nothing. Even if he had succeeded, he would have eventually been euthanized in favor of the original. Now he finally understood why Vorokar had abandoned him here, and why the mission had been structured with so much disinformation, and so much pressure for him to use that bomb in his armor. Whatever game Ryvik thought he had been a part of, Vorokar was playing at the meta level above, and had fed him only enough directions to ensure that the general would achieve his aims. Even as Valkyrie and the others were approaching, Ryvik pulled out his journal and wrote a few simple sentences. [Vixe has told me I'm a clone, and I believe what she says. If I survive Rigel I will return and confront Vorokar, but I don't believe I will survive beyond that. This is my final entry.] "[I'm going to give you something,]" he said to Vixe. "[I want you to take this journal and keep it well-hidden. If I die, they'll undo everything I've changed to this book and give it back to the real me, and I don't want that to happen. I need to make sure that he gets away from Vorokar...]" Vixe took the journal and stuffed it into the inner pocket of her uniform. "[I'm sorry...]" she consoled as Ryvik hung his head and waited. --- Orso and his accompaniment had finally found an intact stairwell, and with some difficulty due to the steep angles involved, they climbed up the decks until the path was fully obstructed. Spilling out into the hall, the Boomes found themselves on the same deck as Taylor. Orso stopped trying to reach them via the comm and called for their attention instead. The smoke, at the same time, had finally dissipated to the point that the way ahead was clear.

"Well, that's a relief." Orso let out a sigh of relief. This was almost over. "We're here to get you guys out of here. János and the doc are waiting for us outside for extraction. Any wounded?" "Yeah, over here." Amy waved to catch his attention and directed it towards Alex. "His foot is gone. I saw Sting take a few shots earlier, but she's been walking fine for the past few minutes." Orso and one of his men exchanged looks. "Don't look at me, go help him...Where's your boss?"

Valkyrie examined the terrain of the top of the ship. Well, the Khergian artillery really did a number on the ship, that's for sure. She looked back to those following her. "Stick to the craters in the hull. That way, you don't slide off this fucking wreck and die." she said, pointing to some visible ice slicks across the top of the ship that had formed. Fucking hell, she really wish she had some mag-boots right now. And a coat. She made her way out into the first crater, then the next. Jumping from one to the other. As she went, she pointed out ice slicks to avoid. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Taylor pointed down the hallway. "She's that way. Arkadam should be near the end of this hall. There's also someone [I][B]ELSE[/B][/I] in here too. Looks just like Yanim, but hostile. Jag went after it. Valkyrie and some of the others are looking for another way around so watch your fire if you see them." stated Taylor, before moving. She had to see if Arkadam was still alive. After that, they had to find where Jag and Yanim were.

When Taylor, Orso, and the others in their group reached the end of the hall, they found that Arkadam was no longer slumped in the doorway where they had previously seen him. There was an opening into the above deck which glowed with the sunlight of dawn, and they could hear the sound of fighting taking place above them. --- Valkyrie lead her team across the surface of the Viokhmar as if it were just another mountain, clearing the uneven ground with relative ease on the way to the front of the vessel. They passed by Ryvik and Vixe without noticing them before reaching a point at which the metal became truly deformed, as the nose of the craft had essentially wrinkled up on itself. Panels missing from the sections ahead and the sounds of groaning and grinding supports warned them that this section might collapse if they continued to walk on it. It was only when they stopped and looked down that they realized they were directly above Yanim, still trapped under the wreckage.

((I'm super-confused right now, did the TBC team split up? Who's with Valk and who's with Taylor-Orso?))

((Yeah, Valk decided not to wait, and went to look for another route. Some of the crew went with her. Others stayed with Taylor to wait for the gas to disperse. Alex and Amy stayed with Taylor it seems.))

[Problem tho. Nobody said who's going with who.]