Into Darkness

[Varus Wren]

They had uncovered some type of access shaft that had been buried under the snow and dirt for who knows how long. It was only by a freak accident that the wampa had uncovered the door when it fell down the mountain. It would be too hard to find this exact spot if they had left and there wasn't anything to mark it so they decided to explore it for themselves. Maybe they could find shelter wherever this led.

"You sure you aren't afraid of the dark?" he teased again as he lowed himself down onto the ladder. The access shaft was old, but it had to lead to somewhere. His clan had been in this area for hundreds of years and had never discovered anything like this. He didn't like closed in spaces, getting somewhat claustrophobic. It was one of the many reasons he had always stayed close to home, ships made him comfortable. Ravyn likely would remember this, but he tried to hide his discomfort.

They began climbing down but it seemed to go on for ages. It was hard to tell how far they had actually come, but it had to of been far. He couldn't see the door above, due to Ravyn being above him but he suspected it would only be a pinprick of light at this point. "So what do you think this is?" he asked and he continued downward.

"At least it's warm down here." he said a moment later as they continued down the impossibly long ladder that extended further down into darkness.

 

[Ravyn Wren]

The access shaft seemed to carry on forever, the light from above now faded out entirely and the rusted steps of the ladder shifted under her weight- one wrong step and you weren't likely to survive the fall. Ravyn brushed away the cobwebs that tangled themselves in her hair and muttered a couple of complaints beneath her breath. It smelled as though this place, whatever it was, had been abandoned for quite some time which wasn't at all surprising given it's concealed location. Had it not been for the wampa having fallen in just the right place, no one would have known it existed. Perhaps it was for the better, given they weren't entirely sure what they'd find below.

"Could be a mine of some sort, though I can't say I'm entirely certain. I can't imagine too many people wanting to travel this far up the mountains." Ravyn replied, pulling a piece of crumbling stone from the wall and dropping it below them to gauge just how far up they really were. It hit the ladder a few times and then fell silent a moment later, meaning they were nearing the bottom. There was a small part of her that hoped it might lead to nowhere, given Varus' extreme dislike of confined spaces and the probability that they'd need to camp here for the night now that the sun was setting. It was fun to tease him when he was forced out of his comfort zone, but she wasn't all that excited about sleeping in an empty hole.

"At the very least, it will be warm enough to camp here for the night given we don't run into any unexpected inhabitants."

They neared the bottom of the ladder and Ravyn let herself fall the rest of the way, landing on her feet with a loud 'thud'. There was a long hallway that connected the shaft to whatever lay deeper within, seemingly lit by an artificial light. It was doubtful that any form of artificial light would stay lit this long on its own, telling her that it was unlikely they were alone. Whoever was down here had either been trapped for a while, or there were other ways into this place not hidden beneath a few feet of snow or protected by a predatory beast.

Brushing the cobwebs from her hair, she looked to Varus and raised a single finger to her lips, telling him that they would approach quietly in case someone awaited them farther down the hallway. She was already wounded from their earlier confrontation and despite her distaste for family, still wanted to make it back to the village in one piece.

 

[Varus Wren]

Dice Thread

He moved as she dropped the stone, it bounced off his shoulder and went down, down, down. They were a bottom, but it took them several minutes to reach it. "Yeah, I have never heard of anything like this up here. Strange." he said as they finally reached the bottom.

"Always a silver lining, huh." he said he winked at her. She always seemed the find the positive in things, he liked that about her. He chuckled silently as he pulled a stray cobweb she had missed in her hair. He took her command to be silent as they began moving down the cramped hallway. The lights were on, and now that he stopped to notice, there were footprints in the thick dust on the floor. He pointed it out to Ravyn before they continued.

Those footsteps could have been hundreds of years old, there was really no way of knowing, but it was odd that this place would have lights still working. They moved down a dimly lit hallway towards a door. He held his ear to the door, seeing if he could hear anything on the other side, but heard nothing but the subtle pounding of his own heart. Satisfied, he tried the door, but it was stuck. He gave Ravyn a glance before trying again, this time harder. The door gave way but creaked loudly before Varus could stop it.

Varus winced as the voice echoed from down the hallway in another room. "What was that?!" the rough voice sounded. "Ahh..Shut up Lars! For the thousandth time, it was nothing!" another voice rang out, this time several other voices, Varus wasn't sure how many, laughed. "No! I heard something for sure this time!" he said as a chair slid back from the table.

Varus looked to Ravyn. He wasn't sure who these people were, but he had a bad feeling about this.

 

[Ravyn Wren]

She held her breath, listening to the voices that carried through the darkness- the unmistakable sound of a chair sliding against the concrete let her know that their presence had been detected. Of course, no one could have forgiven the loud sound of an old door opening after years of being locked; it had even startled her. Two voices she had counted, but Ravyn couldn't be positive that there weren't more of them and didn't want to find themselves outnumbered. Her back still ached from their encounter on the mountainside and her favored blaster had been lost over the edge, leaving her a tad more vulnerable than she liked to admit. It was probably best of the two of them to seek cover and take the men out in small numbers, rather than risking a loud entrance; they could be operating anything down here and if they had remained hidden this long, it wasn't likely they'd want to be found.


"One at a time, Varus." Ravyn warned him, pulling him behind a pile of rusted crates to await the men whose footsteps echoed down the barren corridor. She could hear them bickering back and forth, the second convinced that the first was being overly paranoid, their voices growing louder as they approached. She could see their shadows, cast against the stone walls, growing larger as they approached the room where her and Varus hid.


Her hand slid to her side, reaching for her blaster as she prepared for the worst, but as the two men came into view neither seemed to think it strange that the door was open. "I told you, it was nothing. The lock must be busted. I'm telling you, Lars.. no one could make it past that Wampa." He rolled his eyes, shoving the other man slightly as he turned to leave the room.


Ravyn crouched lower, waiting for either of them to get close enough for her to grab them without letting either make enough noise to alert the others. If they could take them out in silence, they stood a chance of sneaking further into the unexplored base.

 

[Varus Wren]

He agreed with her plan. The longer they could go undetected, the easier exploring this place would be.

He let himself be pulled behind cover. He slowly drew the knife at his side as they entered the room. The light from the room beyond was dim, but it was obvious these weren't Mandalorians or at least not members of their clan.

The two past them, examining the door, not noticing the two Mandalorians. With their backs turned, this was their best bet to take them out quickly and quietly. He held three fingers "3" he mouthed as he stood up slightly. "2." he mouthed as he prepared to leap. "1" he mouthed just before he leaped towards the man on the right.

He wrapped an arm around the man's throat. The man thrashed somewhat against him but Varus' grip held firm. He trusted Ravyn would take care of the other one, even in her injured state these would likely not be a match for her.

The man struggled for a second longer before slipping into unconsciousness.

 

[Ravyn Wren]

Ravyn took his cues, keeping hidden behind the emptied crate as the two men drew closer. It was imperative that her and Varus strike at the same time, to avoid alerting either of the men to the attack before they were subdued. Her eyes locked on her target and just as Varus laid down his last finger, they both lept over the rusted crate to spring their trap. Varus wrestled with the first man, having silenced the man before he had the opportunity to cry out to anyone who might be waiting in the other room. Of course, Ravyn did the same and took the second man from behind, her arm too wrapped around his neck.


There was a moment in which she was fairly certain that he'd go down without much of a fight, but she never anticipated what happened next...


"Son of a.." He started, startled by the sudden attack. Leaning forwards to try and escape her grasp, Ravyn held on tighter before the man threw his head back into the bridge of her nose. Her ears rang and her vision blurred, feeling the cartilage snap and pain rush into her head. She released him, blood trickling down her face as she tried to regain her focus. Her hand reached for her blaster at the same time he moved for his own. They both aimed for the other, his eyes briefly trailing to his friend who lay unconscious on the ground.

[color="#90033"]"What are you doing down here?"[/color] He demanded, hand shaking as he looked between Ravyn and Varus. She licked the blood from her lips and narrowed her eyes to the man. "You first."

 

[Varus Wren]

The man he had attacked, fell to the ground. He heard the shot to Ravyn's nose as he turned around. It didn't sound like it was pleasant, but it wasn't an uncommon injury among Mandalorians.

The man held a blaster, looking to both of them. "Easy now. We just fou..." his words cut off as he pulled the knife from its sheath and hurled it at the man. A split second sooner and the man would have gone down, but he was surprisingly fast and moved out of the way, causing the blade to bounce off a piece of armor. The man cursed, raising his blaster towards Varus and shooting. Varus moved, but not quickly enough, taking a blaster shot to the side. While his armor took the brunt of the blast, it was incredibly painful.

From further down the hallway, came the yells of the others who had heard the shot. No doubt they only had seconds before they would be joined by the others. So much for doing it the quiet way. They would need to take this man down quickly so they could deal with the others or this would be a losing battle.

He reached for his own blaster preparing to fire back on the man if Ravyn didn't take care of him first.

 

[Ravyn Wren]

More voices carried through the darkened hall, their hurried footsteps growing closer. It was only a matter of seconds before six more men filled the small room, their blasters drawn upon noticing the unconscious man who lay in the middle of the floor. Ravyn sighed, finding it hard to imagine how her and Varus would fight their way out of this one, but they didn't have much of a choice considering one exit was blocked and the other led them back out into the mountains. Even if they managed to dodge blaster bolts to make it to the top, it would take them hours to find their way home. It was necessary now to kill them, as much as she had hoped to avoid the confrontation.

Her eyes rested on the same man whom had shot Varus in the side, his blaster still pointed towards her him. It was clear by the look on his face that he was startled, but surely he would have been smart enough to find cover with two weapons trained on him. His finger shook on the trigger, but before he could fire a second time, she took aim and shot him in the side of the face. The man dropped, the awful smell of burnt hair filling her nose as the others men moved out of his path to avoid being hit. In the silent seconds that followed, one of the six remaining men had found the knife Varus had thrown previously and hurled it back across the room, catching the Mandalorian woman by surprise.


Ravyn raised an arm to protect her face, the tip of the blade stuck into her forearm and she cringed in pain. It wasn't the most pleasant of injuries, but it was better than having it stuck a few inches into the side of her face- a small price to pay for being allowed to live another day.. given they made it out of here alive.


"You alright?" She asked Varus, keeping her eyes trained on the remaining men who held their fire for the time being. It was doubtful that they had much time to recover given one man was unconscious and the other dead, but the momentary pause gave her enough time to find cover before more of the emptied and rusted crates that littered the small room before anyone shot at her or Varus. Ravyn beckoned for him to take cover too, hoping that he'd be okay to complete the mission given the extent of his injuries- ironic, as she wasn't in any better shape, but the extent of her own injuries hadn't hit her quite yet as the adrenaline kept the pain at bay for the time being.

 

[Varus Wren]

Varus turned as Ravyn took out the second guard. Pain flashed in his side at the movement but he forced himself onward through gritted teeth.

The remaining six guards began coming down the hallway towards them. They began firing as the two Mandalorians ducked behind cover. "Never been better" he choked out, breathing heavily. Ravyn had taken another wound to her arm. They would not being to keep this up for much longer and needed to end the fight. As the first man entered the room, Varus emerged from cover and fired both his blasters.

He struck to the first pirates as they entered the room, which slowed their advance as they sought the cover of their own. Four guards remained. Varus ducked back behind cover as the blaster fire started again.

 

[Ravyn Wren]

Ravyn held her aim, despite the blood that ran down her arm, eyes trained on the remaining four men. She couldn't look away now, not even for a moment as her life now depended on it. It was imperative that they ended this now, before her luck ran out and one of them was forced to return without the other or not return at all. Worse yet, there could be even more of them hidden within the compound and neither her nor Varus was properly prepared for the situation to escalate any further. Seeking cover behind the rusted shipment container, she took aim a second time and hoped that this time she'd strike her target without much effort.

"If we make it out of here, I vote no more adventures for a while." Ravyn spoke to Varus, eyes front as she pulled the trigger twice and watched two more men drop to the floor. Their comrades fired back, but she ducked behind cover once again. However, the rusted container could only take so much before the side of it gave out and left her momentarily exposed.

Unable to find more secure cover, she moved out of the way of the enemy fire and prepared to take aim again, looking to Varus for support and slightly out of breath.

 

[Varus Wren]

With Ravyn exposed, the two remaining guards rushed them. He took aim and fired at the guard charging his partner, and turned to face down his opponent.

Pulling his sword as he turned, he was too slow and the man was on top of him. Varus swung, but the man stepped inside and hit him in the side where he had taken the wound. The momentum carried the blow, catching the pirate in the neck, but pain flashed in Varus' vision as he bucked over a second later.

On his hands and knees, he took in labored breaths, all of his effort going into remaining conscious. In the back of his mind, he knew he needed to get up, get ready for more opponents but they never came. He reached up, pulling the helmet from his head and took in another pained breath.

"Agreed." he coughed up, smiling but not able to look up.

 

[Ravyn Wren]

Realizing that there was nowhere for her to take cover, Ravyn aimed her blaster at the two remaining guards- being that she was left exposed, it was important to take them out quickly before her or Varus found themselves in even worse shape. Though, she was more concerned for Varus whose focus seemed to be waning the longer this confrontation dragged on. It was clear that his injuries were far worse than her own, though the wound to her arm would need to be stitched before she lost much more blood. However, before she had the opportunity to take out the remainder of their opponents, Varus grounded them with two final and fatal shots that rang out through the emptied halls. She hoped there weren't more of them farther ahead.

"Varus?" Ravyn looked over to him as he collapsed onto his hands in knees, clearly struggling to remain conscious. The wound to his side bloodied and aggravated after a secondary hit to the his burnt skin. It needed to be treated, but she worried that causing him any small amount of pain might leave him unconscious and there was no way she'd be able to carry him back to the village on her own. "Breathe, they're gone. We need to get you to a medic. Can you stand?" She asked, her tone concerned as she wiped her bloodied fingers on her thigh and offered him a hand.

Crouching at his side, she listened a moment to be sure no more men were coming. It seemed clear for the time being, but she doubted Varus would be able to climb back up the ladder that they had used to enter the compound. As dangerous as it was, they'd likely need to continue forward to find a more accessible way out into the mountains.

 

[Varus Wren]

It took several minutes to recover to the point he could slowly push himself up. "You aren't looking too hot either." he said, grinning through the pain.

The questioned remained what this place actually was. Answers came as they pushed further into the base. They didn't find anyone else in the base but they found the Pirates camp with a data pad that explained what they had found below. They had only been able to explore the upper levels of the base as some security measures remained in the lower levels. He saw where communications had been sent to someone in the asteroid belt at the edge of the system.

"This would be a great location for a base." he said looking around as they entered another room. "Though I think I have had all the fun I can manage for today." he said, hand moving to his side. "I'll call for some backup and the clan elders can decide what they want done with the place." he said sending a message of his own explaining what they had found.

"When we get back, me and you are getting a drink." he said. It was probably wiser to get medical attention first, but to hell with that. There wasn't much a nice bed and a bottle of Mandalorian whiskey couldn't cure.