rocks fall everyone dies

[golemized]

[ The communicator comes on deep in the darkness of the ship, having been jarred by the movements of its owner. There is only one person on the ship whose footsteps are this heavy, the glinting of crystals and white runes revealing Shale's identity to anyone who may recognize them. It soon becomes apparent, however, that the golem is not walking, not running, but fighting -- her large, stone arms are swinging, her targets making loud, inhuman noises of pain. Still, they keep coming, claws scratching along the floor of the ship.

Shale bellows and some of the creatures hiss in pain. There's just enough light from the magic in her crystals and the screen of the communicator that the next time Shale takes a swing, a creature is reflected, caught on camera. Despite the golem's heavy assault, she's being pushed back by the pack of manticores, close quarters making it more and more difficult to fight the way she's used to.

Then, quite suddenly, the camera angle tips. For a moment, it catches the ceiling, then the manticore that's attempting to leap onto Shale. Something bright is knocked off and away by the claws reaching toward Shale's shoulder -- a crystal, perhaps, and it falls clattering away into the darkness. Then, all three -- golem, communicator, and manticore -- fall.








And fall.
















And fall.




























And fall.


























And, eventually, land. The camera stays on for a few moments longer, but nothing is moving save for a blinking red light, illuminating the now-crushed bodies of the manticore and the golem. Shale is hardly in as bad of shape as the creature, but both look like they've fallen into a singularity and couldn't get up. There's no movement, and the runes etched on Shale's stone dim, then flicker out completely. After a few moments more, the communicator times out as well -- and the red light, presumably, shines on. ]

((ooc: Quick explanation: deep within the ship, Shale accidentally found herself some manticores that some of you may remember from the stasis sickness event! While fighting them, she managed to fall down one of the creepy holes and, ahaha, remember those black holes from the maze and how they'd crush you? Well, that happened to her (and the unlucky manticore that fell with her). Congratulations, TQ, you've found one of the few things that can quickly kill a golem! Also, you know, everyone's probably going to die horribly. Yeah. That too. Much love to the mods for giving me a way to kill Shale in a horrifying manner, and I'll still be around with my other characters! ALSO: Quinlan has dibs on the crystal that fell off her.))

Comments

[darkforce]

[he'd gone in to this mission expecting to be faced with darkness. since arriving on the ship, he could feel its presence creeping in along the edges of his senses. a chilling heat that can't be ignored; can't be avoided. it's there to stay, and every now and then, it makes sure it's known to all aboard. shale's attack had been one such event, and it's far from being the last. the signs are tangible, even without the force screaming its warnings to all who'll listen.

his own lightsaber in hand, there's a moment of confusion that follows when he sees quinlan reaching for his comms device instead of igniting his weapon. on more than one mission he's had to rely on his lightsaber as a light source, with other jedi and with civilians. so falling back on basic technology like that seems...strange.

he doesn't openly question it though. not this time. instead he follows suit, reaching for his own device. and coming up empty handed. a certain droid has some explaining to do once this task is over with.]

[enforced]

[Obi-Wan's comm is actually in his pocket, for once - Arfour had tried to take it but hadn't quite managed this time.

But instead of lighting his comm he lights his own lightsaber, because of the defense it will provide him. Unlike Anakin, he knows the reason that Quinlan won't light his own]

She did, that.

[chromosomes]

From what I saw on the video [ and from what he can see here, illuminated by the light from his and Quinlan's comms and Obi-Wan's lightsaber, from the blood he can smell ] I think she would've been fine, if she hadn't found the hole.

[ Which makes him wonder if the manticores are more intelligent than people think. They could have herded her into it on purpose. They've certainly survived somehow without going into the gravity couches in medical with the rest of them. Intelligent, guided somehow... he's not sure, but he doesn't like it. It reminds him too much of Olduvai.

Just under the scent of blood comes a faint whiff of petrichor, and Reaper pauses. It's like being in the jungle again, just after it rained. They're too far from the oxygen gardens though, and it doesn't make any sense. ]

[psychometry]

[ In his peripheral vision he can see Reaper pause - and he's trained with Reaper enough to know that the other man's senses are beyond that of any ordinary human's. Something has snagged the other man's attention and, in turn, it catches Quinlan's - he tenses, grip tightening on his lightsaber as he scans ahead...

And there it is. A glistening shard, a bright speck of light, glittering all the more brightly for the gaping darkness of the hole just beyond it. It shines just as sharply in the Force, resonating with echoes of life; Quin picks his way through the manticore blood and the scarred metal until he's close enough to hunch down and examine the crystal more closely, now seemingly heedless of the cavernous rupture in the corridor floor barely a few feet away.

He lifts a hand as if to touch the crystal - but hesitates, visibly conflicted. ]