Ghost Town

*The droid is drained of all power, but given its age and state it is unclear if it was natural battery failure or outside interference.*

Linox: "We're almost to the checkpoint."

*Linox is uninterested in the droid and just stays focused on his objective, heading towards the red light above a steel door, the next checkpoint.*


Jade: "They're not monsters...They're Terrians. They're not mean, they need our help."

*Ryder shoots Mortal a worried look.*

Syn: "Great...she's mental, isn't she?"


*The ape goes flying away, blue blood spilling from the hole in its gut. Screams come from inside the checkpoint and there is mist heading into the ventilation.*

Krast: "The civilians! Ronald, get them into those tunnels."

*Krast looks over at Dura.*

Krast: "His biotics aren't great, go give him a hand!"

*A mighty roar erupts from the city again as the young guard heads into the checkpoint. Krast heads over to the mist outside and starts sending biotic attacks into it.*

"There's more going on then we know..." Quill surmises.

*Jade sticks her tongue out at Syn and looks to Quill.*

Jade: "They told me they need our help."

Mortal let out a long sigh, "They 'told' you? When, because I haven't heard much of anything really."

--

Noct and Zell head after him, abandoning the droid.

--

Dura nods and heads with the guy.

"You need to explain Jade."

*Jade looks down and starts playing with her belt.*

Ryder: "Jade."

Jade: "They told me in my dream."

Syn: "Told you. Mental."

*Ryder shoots Syn a glare and grabs Quill, bringing him/her/it closer to Jade as the only face she seems to trust.*

Ryder: "The one from earlier?"

*Jade nods and looks at Quill.*

Jade: "I'm not...crazy."


*Linox tries to open the door but it’s locked by conventional means, no terminal to hack.*

Linox: “Days like these, I wish Salarians were better biotics.”


*Ronald bursts open the door and runs into see some of the survivors being dragged into the mist by the shadow creatures. He sends a biotic throw at one and it evaporates. He turns back to Dura.*

Ronald: "Get them to the tunnels, I'll try to keep the mist back."


*Another group of five apes is heading straight for Iliad, swarming her in seconds. Krast turns to assist her but is tackled by his own duo of apes.*

Mortal keeps her mouth shut, since she definitely didn't have anything nice to say.

--

"Stand back," Noct said, gathering energy into her body, then ramming into the door with her shoulder in a biotic charge.

--

Iliad tries to retreat towards better cover, blind firing behind her into the group.

--

Dura shakes her head, "You know these people better, you lead them, I'll hold them off." She said, throwing up a biotic barrier blocking the majority of the mist leaving only the bits that were still grabbing at people.

*Ronald nods and starts herding the panicking group towards the tunnels. He sends some more biotic shots at some of the shadow creatures.*

Ronald: "Move! Everyone into the tunnels."

*The mist is kept at bay by the barrier and shadow creatures from at the otherside of it, clawing, desperate for a way in.*


*The door hinges give way and the door falls in towards the tunnel. Linox steps aside as it comes down and walks inside. The checkpoint is set up similarly to the previous one, except instead of survivors, there is a wounded Asari, barely breathing and in elegant robes. She is surrounded by half a dozen dead Vixen guards.*

Linox: "Noct, over here!"


*Krast blasts the apes off of him with a biotic bolt and a shotgun shell and gets up. The flying creatures have moved in and are tearing down the turrets and the apes are swarming the defenses.*

Krast: "Fall back! Back inside, now!"

*Krast turns back and runs for the Security Checkpoint. He fires a biotic bolt over at one of the apes chasing Iliad and her blind fire takes one down but there are still three more on her tail.*

Dura backs away slowly, keeping the barrier strong, but also backing up with her, creating a mobile shield for the civilians' rear flank.

--

Noct rushes over, quickly (though still scanning the room for danger), "How badly are you hurt, and where?"

Zell also enters the room, scanning it as well for any danger.

--

Iliad begins to head back towards the checkpoint, still shooting into the crowd.

*Linox scans the Asari. She tries to speak, but her voice is weak and inaudible.*

Linox: "Her lifesigns are critical. Don't have the resources here to save her, but can ease her pain."

*He crouches down and pulls out some Medigel and applies it to the hole in her abdomen where something with claws has torn it apart. The Asari looks up at Noct and motions for her to come closer.*


*Krast charges the door and breaks it in, stumbling into the mist inside. He sees Dura and her barrier heading for the tunnels and make his way to her, blasting any shadows that try to form.*

Krast: “Let’s go! Into the tunnels!”

*Krast looks behind him to see most of his men heading being torn apart by the apes. He takes a few shots past Iliad to cover her.*

"For what its worth I've experienced something similar before though not to this intensity"

"That's just great. Two mental biotics"

"Hey shut up horn face!"

"Do you think you can show us what you saw Jade? Like mental projection?"

*Jade shakes her head.*

Jade: "I didn't see anything. They just spoke, first a scream and then a whisper. We have to go to the mines. We have to stop this."

*Ryder sighs and starts heading to the other building.*

Ryder: "I don't care if she's crazy or not, we're heading to the mines anyways."

*Syn gets up and follows after, Jade reluctantly starts moving across the bridge.*

Sab folds her arms, and Mortal puts a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about it, I think your horns are cute."

Sab flushed and shook her head, "Uh, yeah. Come on, we should go."

--

Noct leans in.

--

Iliad barrels into the doorway and towards the barrier, which Dura opens up for Krast and Illy to pass through before closing it back up.

Asari: "It was our fault..."

*She hands Noct a datapad before she slowly closes her eyes. Linox stands up.*

Linox: "She's gone..."

*Like a machine, Linox just moves on and starts working on the checkpoint's console.*


*As the group moves down the stairs into the tunnels, Krast does what he can to help support the barrier. Ronald is leading the survivors to the next checkpoint, about halfway there now.*

Krast: "We need a plan, we won't be able to keep this up all night."

Noct nodded, and began to inspect the datapad to see what it had to say.

--

Dura was starting to bead with sweat, "Yeah, I've got nothing big guy. I execute plans, coming up with them isn't my specialty."

"Sorry" Quill offers an brief apology to Sab for insulting her by proxy. "I think your horns are cute too."

Gazelle snickers briefly and Quill shoots him a dirty look as they both follow.

*The contents of the Datapad can be found in the DATABASE under "Councilor Jedla Marlitha's Journal." The last entry seems to summarize the rest.*

Linox: "Zell, this terminal has limited access, can you take a look outside, see where we are?"

*Linox activates the security turrets outside and turns around.*

Linox: "What does it say?"


*Krast looks around and stops his eyes on the high-pressure pipes in the tunnels.*

Krast: "I do, but it's crazy. Give them a big push back!"


*The group crosses the bridge into a building much like the previous. These twin towers must have been a Vixen facility. Ryder leads the group down the stairs and lets Syn takes the lead to let Mortal catch up.*

Ryder: "So what do you think about Jade? Could she be right?"

OOC: Just realized I didn't really leave anything for Seraph.

*Jade is towards the back of the group a little shy about the whole ordeal. She has taken to leaning against Quill, where she feels safest, and speaks softly.*

Jade: "I'm not crazy. I don't know why they talked to me only."

"You might be the only one they could connect to. I know I'm a powerful biotic, certainly one more powerful than even most Asari, but I'm not the most powerful one here. You probably are Jade" Quill let's her lean on him and he has a reassuring hand on her side, keeping her close.

OOC: Could have sworn I posted here already.

Zell nods and goes off to do that. Noct looks at Linox, "This was Councilor Jedla Marlitha's Journal." She tried to access the last data entry.

--

Dura nodded, "Alright, just give me second." Dura stopped moving and began charging biotic energy into herself. Illy began hustling down the hall, knowing Dura was a bit 'messy' when reaching the higher tiers of her potential power. As Dura's eyes and mouth began to shine she let out a deep roar, took a wide stance and pressed her body forward, giving off almost an explosive blast of biotic energy down the hall. Despite Iliad's worry, the only collateral was a strong, yet short gust of wind.

--

Mortal shrugged and shook her head, "My head says no, but my gut is telling me that at the very least, she believes she is honest here." She let out a small sigh, and smiled, "Which leaves her being a little bit insane, and telepathic, talking ape things as our two options. I'm still weighing the pros and cons of each."

Sab looked at Mortal and Ryder, being close enough to hear the conversation. "Lets assume she isn't insane," Sab said, "What then? These Terrians, what do we do about them, if anything? If they're able to get into her head, they might be able to trigger another blast like the one before."

"That makes her something of a liability," Mortal said.

OOC: Didn't want to say anything, I'm often busy like that and have to ignore an RP for a few days.

*Syn disappears further down the stairs as the group talks. Jade blushes a little at Quill's comment and shakes her head.*

Jade: "No...I tire out too easily. You probably much better than me."

*Ryder glances back to make sure Quill is still being good and that the pair can't hear them.*

Ryder: "The thought has crossed my mind. We can force her to stay awake... Personally, if she is telling the truth, I think it's just a ploy. Think about it, what better way to defeat your enemy than convincing them you're weak and don't want to fight. We let our guard down and we're dead."

*Ryder catches a glimpse of Syn treking down the stairs.*

Ryder: "Gazelle, keep an eye on her and try not to bust down another door of feeding birds."


*The datapad plays back Jedla's last entry, she explains events that led up to Rexil going dark and makes affectionate mentions of Krast. Linox steps closer.*

Linox: "Hm...pieces of puzzle are coming together. Should inform the other team of Asari's status. I'll clear up interference."

*Linox returns to the console and amplifies her omni-tool signal.*


*Outside, Zell can see that they are pretty much in the heart of the city. There is a lot of noise coming from the north, towards the mines. Otherwise it is pretty quite in this area.*


*Krast stands is ground during the gust and then grabs Dura’s arm and sends her down the tunnel.*

Krast: “Time to move!”

*Krast shoots a shotgun shell into the pressured piping and they explode, sending him flying down the tunnel and collapsing the roof. Krast lands hard, but sits up almost immediately.*

Krast: “That was awesome!”

"Yeah but that'll fade as you grow into your powers more and more" Quill tells her. Unfortunately for Ryder Quill CAN still hear him but doesn't say anything... yet.

Gazelle nods and tails Syn.

"They certainly don't act like they're weak," Mortal said, "Maybe I'd believe them if they didn't attack."

"Perhaps they wouldn't if no one shot at them," Sab suggested.

"You try that, tell me how it works out."

"I'm just saying..."

Mortal looked back at Ryder, "Regardless of this, I think there are bigger implications at work here than compromising our biotics. These things are smart, and organized. If we go into that mine, where they've set up shop, we're not walking into a 'nest', we're walking into a stronghold. We should act as such."

--

Noct does just that, "Ryder, this is Noct. Can you hear me? I have some unfortunate news."

--

Illy stumbled slightly in the gust, lifting slightly off the ground. When the explosion hit she tipped forward, tucked her head, and rolled onto her back. Dura and Krast crash landed next to her, Dura chuckling a bit as well, "Indeed it was," She stood up, helping Illy up as well, "Great plan."

*Ryder nods.*

Ryder: “Agreed, we’re not just going to try to walk in...we’ll need a plan. It will probably end in charging with guns blazing, but I’ll do whatever it takes to finish this. I’m looking forward to some long R&R when we get off this planet.”

*Ryder stops the group as Noct’s voice emits from his Omni-Tool. He speaks into it.*

Ryder: “Please tell me you didn’t lose the civilians...”


*Syn hears someone behind her and spins around, planting a pistol in Gazelle’s face.*

Syn: “Gazelle...what the hell?”


Krast: “I don’t how long it will take them to figure something out, let’s get moving.”

*The civilians are crowded in the entrance of the next checkpoint and Krast has to push some aside to get through.*

Krast: “What’s the hold up? Let us through. Step aside.”


*Zell can also make out some shuttles at a docking area to the east about half a mile away.*


Ryder: “Please tell me you didn’t lose the civilians...”

*Linox hears Krast coming and goes to meet him and brace him for what he’ll see.*

Gazelle shrugs, "Ryder's orders."