Open Build It Up

[Dash Pavan]

MALTHA OBEX
11.00am local time​

Dash kicked at the snow around his feet. He was sitting on a low wall opposite the derelict tower in the outskirts of the city. The icy wind of Maltha Obex whipped by, tugging at the shoulder cloak of his armor. For a long time now he had not really felt the cold, but being dressed for a fight made him feel a different kind of chill. He only hoped he had overprepared.

The Order had tasked him with investigating and securing the tower opposite. Abandoned for a very long time, the Rhinnalian could not help but notice how the locals rushed past it without looking, as if pausing even for a moment might invite some ill fortune.

Dash was not particularly superstitious. It was a building after all, nothing more, in a relatively busy neighbourhood of a relatively civilised place. How dangerous could it be.

Granted, the locals said its lower floors went deep down into the earth and that unsavoury creatures had moved in over the years. Some even talked about Killiks. Most of it definitely had to be idle gossip and Dash was ambitious for what they could do with the place. It was not every day a mere Knight got to lay the foundations for a Jedi temple.

He waited patiently for the Padawan that had apparently been assigned to him. Events moved fast these days and he had no advance information on who it might be, or their capabilities. Regardless, he was sure they could crack this together.

@Altaris

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

As expected, Ferrin was practically giddy to be assigned to Maltha Obex. Due to his unique physiology, the Pantoran was far more resilient to such frigid climates - and truthfully would always be more comfortable when the temperature dropped closer to zero. After the entire debacle on Eiram, Ferrin had been tempted to take an extended ‘meditative retreat’ to Hoth, and the mission provided an adequate alternative to such a journey.

Rather than heavy robes or tunics, Ferrin was dressed in finely-tailored Jedi attire - sporting a turtleneck and pants, with matching Rancor leather gloves and boots. A utility belt was fastened about his waist, where the hilt of his lightsaber swung lightly with every step. The Pantoran notoriously despised the more traditional garments of their order - but his current outfit was a compromise he was willing to make.

Despite his love for the location, Ferrin was less giddy about the assignment itself. The Pantoran had been spared any interactions with the Kilik thus far - which, given his own phobia of spiders and other insectoids, was fortunate - and wasn’t exactly eager to break that streak. It was clear that the locals had abandoned the tower for ages now, and there was no telling what would be waiting for the trio of Jedi once they walked through those doors.

“Surprise,” Ferrin projected through the Force as he rounded the corner, golden eyes landing on Dash. He figured the Knight didn’t know which Padawan had been assigned to the mission with him, and flashed the blonde-haired dude a smug grin as he approached.

@Alhon @lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura wasn't a huge fan of the cold, but she wasn't a huge fan of the heat either. She wasn't even sure which one she liked or disliked more, but in the cold she had to wear many layers which restricted her movements. For someone who was so used to and so dependent on free movement of her limbs, the thick coat was a little claustrophobic.

Today though, Maura would be padawan one of two assigned to a knight on this mission. Dash was newly knighted, and Maura herself was almost finished with her knight trials. She wasn't sure who the other padawan assigned was until she descended upon the rendezvous point and saw Ferrin.

"'Sup," she called out as she arrived. She was dressed a little more warmly than the others, with thick pants, a coat, and a big ol woolen poncho. "Let's killik today, yeah?"

tag: @Alhon @Altaris

 

[Dash Pavan]

When Ferrin fucking Sipal rounded the corner, Dash smiled weakly. He supposed this had to happen eventually, but he just wished it was not now. Eiram was too recent.

"It sure is" he said dryly. He nearly remarked on the bigger surprise being that Ferrin had not only dressed up, but dressed at all. Then he remembered he was still a Knight now and should probably try to contain his quips. Besides, given the friction of their last mission and with no Leon today to be a buffer, it would be too easy to descend into insults. They had to be bigger than that.

"How you doing?". It was only a half-forced question. The turtle neck half hid Ferrin's scar from Berchest, but the Rhinnalian could never quite forget it.

A few moments later, another voice called out from the opposite way. The bright face and hair of Maura Starwalk was bounding over. "Maura!" Dash exclaimed "you too? I guess I missed the updated rostering. Good to see you though.". The second Padawan had to be here for the mission; you did not just bump into people you knew in a place like Maltha Obex.

"I'm hoping for zero Killiks if I'm honest" he smiled back "There's every chance the guys around here are getting a bit carried away with gossip. We could have nothing more than a boring house clearance on our hands". He would not actually mind if it proved true, getting the building up to scratch would be a big enough job without complications. "Shall we get cracking and find out?".

Dash pulled out the keycard the local authorities had sourced from the old landlord. They were happy for the Jedi to take the place on if they could secure it, sympathetic to the Order and preferring an active temple to an abandoned eyesore.

He started towards the security door on the side of the tower, motioning to his fellow Jedi to follow.

@Altaris @lizziie

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Err, yeah, I was bored, so I may have snuck my name onto the list," she admitted sheepishly. She'd left her sneaking onto ships days behind her as soon as she figured out she could just add herself to missions with a little bit of Alex's unintentional help.

"Anything's better than rats," she said off handedly as they all started toward the security door. She waited first for Dash to unlock it with the card in his hand, then she took a step and traded icy winds for cold, dead air.

"I don't really feel much of anything in here," she said aloud as she tried to feel around for whispers of the Force in the area. She didn't get a tingling sense of anything, so she reopened her eyes and glanced back over her shoulder at the other two. "Splitting up's always a bad idea, yeah? So do we wanna go up or down first?"

@Alhon @Altairs

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

“I’ve been better,” Ferrin shrugged ever-so-slightly, not seeming to dwell on his injuries much. In truth, visions of Vizim had haunted the Pantoran ever since they left Berchest - and his forced use of telepathy was a constant reminder of his near-death experience. Even still, the Pantoran was more prone to concealing and playing it off than ever addressing his deepest anxieties and problems. “Surprised you didn’t try to kick me off the mission though,” He tilted his head towards Dash, offering him a smirk.

“No bugs would be ideal,” The Pantoran said, unclipping the saberhilt from his belt. Whatever was waiting for them inside, Ferrin was under no illusion that it would be friendly and wasn’t in the mood for bullshit. “I ain’t holdin’ my breath though.” There was also - deep down - some unreasonable fear of giant insects that had followed Ferrin throughout his life. But he wasn’t about to mention that shit now.

Following the pair into the building, Ferrin immediately began to squint - his eyes adjusting to the low light. A quick click of a light panel revealed that power had long-since failed within the structure, leaving them all with less than ideal visuals of the place. “I vote up.” Ferrin said after a long moment. There wasn’t much of a reasoning for the decision in particular, they simply needed to pick.

Assuming there was no disagreement, Ferrin began to make his way in tha direction - igniting the golden blade of his lightsaber. It didn’t take him long to notice a few strands of silvery material that hung from the corners and walls of the hallway. Webs?

“Y’all see this shit..?”

@Alhon @lizziie

 

[Dash Pavan]

"If you're good I'm good" Dash said as he opened the door and slipped inside. It was not true of course and he would very much like to have canned Ferrin from the mission. But doing so without a pretext would only cause him bigger problems. They just had to get through it. "I agree we need to stick together".

The ground floor lobby was poorly lit and full of shadows, with several doors leading off in different directions. The building was essentially two tower blocks, joined at the base and at the very top. The elevators were out, but they could take the stairs up either tower, or explore the basement levels first. Whichever they chose, they were equally vulnerable to attack from behind, so Dash saw little difference.

"Up it is" he nodded, glad not to be falling out with Ferrin before they had even taken ten steps. He pulled upon the door marked 'Stairs'. Maybe they could head to the top and then progressively clear each floor on their way back down. "Do you want to follow behind me Maura, you ok watching our six Ferrin?". It still felt a little weird talking directly to the guy and Dash consciously avoided any reference to bringing up the rear.

No sooner had he stepped through the door than a thick wispy mess was all over his face. Pulling it down and throwing it off, Dash realised it did indeed have the look of spiders webs. Glancing up the winding stairwell, he saw that they crisscrossed thick and heavy all the way up. There was no sign of what had made them, yet.

"I see it" he said, trying not to sound ominous or nervous. "Looks like spiders of one kind or another for sure. But they may be long gone...". Dash could not imagine there was much in the abandoned building to sustain a colony of spiders, or any other inhabitants for that matter, but who knew. The Ice Spiders he had read about in the mission reading were particularly hardy.

He began climbing the stair well, his senses alert and one hand on his hip. The building had seen several uses over the years, but the signage in this part had the look of an old medical centre.

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Maura Starwalk]

Maura's ears twitched, and she just about asked aloud why Ferrin would get kicked off of the mission. Before she could though, Ferrin chose 'up', and the mission began for real. She watched the two of them briefly, eyes flickering between them, before deciding that she really didn't care all that much.

"Actually, I can probably see better in the dark than the both of you, so maybe I should go up first?" Maura suggested, gesturing to the darkened stairwell that certainly didn't seem to get any brighter. The colored glow of a lightsaber could only illuminate so much, after all.

Regardless of whether she led like she wanted or followed closely behind Dash, Maura would spot the silvery-tangled mess just like the others. Her pupils, saucer-sized in the dark, seemed to glow an eerie green color from the light reflected off the others' lightsabers. The shape of her eyes narrowed as she cautiously pushed to the front of the group. Just as she was about to reach out to claw some of the webs away, she froze in place.

"There's something in the webs up ahead," she half-whispered, not drawing to take her eyes off of the dark mass she could see ahead. Though it was difficult even for her to see from where she crouched, she could make out some sort of body, vaguely oblong shaped. It didn't appear to be moving, but she could feel a faint Force signature from it.

"I don't think its alive- " Maura reached out with the Force to tug it toward them, but horror splashed across her face as she came face to face with the shriveled, sunken-in grey face of a dead man. In her shock she dropped the body, and its cocooned body would fall to the ground just ahead of them, caught again by the sticky, icy webs.

tags: @Alhon @Altaris

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

“Ain’t got anything to worry about with me,” Ferrin said with a small shrug. Despite the lingering conflict and animosity that boiled between them, the Pantoran was exceptionally good at burying his true feelings behind a veneer of smirks and borderline-inappropriate commentary. It would likely leave Dash to wonder if he’d moved on from the matter entirely, or perhaps was too worried about a possible Kilik infestation to bring up their feuding.

Though he didn’t ignite the yellow blade of his lightsaber, Ferrin nevertheless gripped the hilt in his right hand - his thumb hovering over the activation button just in case. The entire facility gave him the creeps, golden eyes narrowing into the Darkness for any sign of movement. Of course, when Dash made his comment, Ferrin really just couldn’t help himself.

“I’ll be sure to keep an eye on your rear, don’t worry.” He said with a smirk. Dash had practically walked into the quip and Ferrin never missed an opportunity. “Seems to be your best angle anyway.” He added shamelessly. True to his word, the Pantoran kept a close eye on the back of the group - grimacing as Dash and Maura forged on ahead. He caught a glimpse of the spider webs and dead dude that Marua dragged out. Perhaps this was the part where Ferrin was supposed to contribute something or try to be helpful.

Instead, the Pantoran remained in the back of the group and stood relatively still. He had no intention of waltzing blindly into the darkness and.. Kind of just waited for Dash or Maura to stumble into some nonsense. But hey, he was watching their six.

@Alhon @lizziie

 

[Dash Pavan]

Dash ended up letting Maura go slightly ahead. She did indeed seem to see more clearly than them and, though her trademark positivity was dimmed, she still seemed reasonably confident despite their surroundings.

The shrivelled body was a bad sign and made Dash tense up even more than the thought of Ferrin checking him out from behind. He thought had done so well with the military terminology, but the Pantoran had them back near the gutter in no time. It was only their stark environment that kept Dash from biting back.

They reached a landing so far up, cluttered with dusty medical apparatus and supplies. Various medicines with faded labels glinted from inside a locked cabinet. Dash tried out to make out some of the writing but quickly gave up.

He turned back toward the others and nearly leapt out of his skin at the sight of a figure standing in a doorway.

"Stop there!" he gasped "guys get back!" his saber hilt was in his hand, crooked blue blade splitting the shadows like lightning. The blue light illuminated a bedraggled man, with motheaten clothes, matted hair and beard and unnaturally black eyes. He regarded them distantly, seemingly unconcerned by Dash's saber.

"You come to join Mother?" the man asked, his drone-like voice cracking.

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Maura Starwalk]

"Nope. Absolutely not." Maura was not fucking with creepy-ass, possessed-ass-acting old men. Her own saber ignited as her palm reached out to Force push the man against the wall. Though it wasn't gentle, it wasn't violent either. "You guys look around. I'll keep an eye on him."

Could she have been a little less jump-the-gun? Yes. Was she going to take any chances with creepy-ass people like him? No. No a million times, not after the not-Drow situation. She would never be able to get rid of that memory.

"What's your name? What are you doing here?" she asked him, scooting closer while still concentrating on keeping him still. She wasn't really expecting any good answers, but you never knew...

@Altaris @Alhon

 

[Ferrin Sipal]

And just like that - Ferrin was officially done with the entire facility and mission.

For years, Ferrin had served as a Jedi - traveling to a multitude of different planets with unique circumstances. He’d faced apparitions of the Dark Side and fought a Sith Master, and each tribulation had forged the Pantoran into something stronger. Better equipped him to face the next challenge that was inevitable for the path they walked in life.

None of that prepared him for the creepy-ass dude talking about mommy.

He practically jumped out of his skin - letting out a high-pitched screech that wasn't at all masculine. Ferrin immediately ignited the saber in his hand - the golden hue of his blade clashing with the myriad of colors that now painted the abandoned, web-strewn hallways. The Pantoran wasn’t the least bit perturbed by Maura taking a harsher approach with the man, and promptly moved to Dash’s side with eyes fixed on the path around them.

“I hate this place,” He grumbled, not quite prepared to return the lightsaber to his belt. He continued to walk with Dash - reluctantly moving towards the doorway where the creepy ass dude had emerged from. “This is starting to sound more and more like Kiliks as time goes on,” The whole brainwashed thing was getting real old in Ferrin’s book - and the symptoms seen reminded him too much of other instances of Joining.

“If there is one, there is more.”

 

[Dash Pavan]

"True" Dash breathed "but it doesn't change our mission". The Order really needed this place and as grim as it was now, Dash had to believe something far better could be built from it.

Maura was young, but a Jedi Knight all the same she seemed to have the joiner covered. Dash had read enough about the Killik to know joiners were potentially dangerous, but this one seemed to out of it to present a real problem.

They had to press on and Dash moved quickly across the room and tried the door. It was locked. A quick incision with his saber was all it took to slice the mechanism open and he gingerly swung the door inward.

Another joiner stared at him with jet black eyes, though this one's face was contorted in a wordless scream. The man was in the process of being bound and subdued by no less than three horrendous white spider creatures, their multiple limps hurriedly spinning webs. All froze to turn toward Dash and he felt as if his heart stopped.

"Guys!!"

@lizziie @Altaris