Ghostriders In the Sky [Catch-All Event Log]

[thepurpleone]

WHO: Cal Kestis, Cayde-6, Donnie and youie?
WHERE: Ships, station and planetside
WHAT: Stuff
WHEN: During the event thing
WARNINGS: N/A

((Setting up separate comment TLs for each of the boys))

Comments

Cal Kestis (and BD-1)

[out_of_order]

I. There Is No Emotion
"They just don't make space stations like they used to," Cal comments with a shake of his head, the wan smile he wears suggesting his attempt to make light of the situation. It is a pretty dreary looking place.

He's had some brief training in such atmospheres, and knows that less is more when it comes to movement. The rest is all relying on reflex and the Force. Hanging onto his shoulder, BD-1 lights the way and builds up a map as they go along.

"Wonder what the story is here..." The Jedi keeps his eyes open- and his senses, for whatever might stick out. Maybe something's been left behind that might be readable. But maybe it's better to try and figure out how to fix the more vital systems first.


II. There Is No Ignorance
The station's proven to take more effort than he might have initially expected to go through and figure out what the problem is. It seems like slow progress, but at least with the combined efforts of others, they've gotten some parts shut down where the security's been active.

Cal returns to the Peanut ship when he can for some downtime and food. A Jedi still has to eat, after all. And then there's meditation, although that seems to be a bit more difficult than usual. Something feels...off.

He opens his eyes about the same time BD-1 speaks up, and the little droid never interrupts his meditation unless it's important. After a brief exchange, the two are roaming the ship's corridors, somewhat more warily than would be normal. After all, this should be friendly or at most, neutral ground.

1

[work_wife]

"So you've been on a lot of space stations?"

That was a comfort. Because Robin? She was so completely freaked out by this process. But come on, how many times in her life was she ever going to be offered the chance to go on a space walk? And going with Cal who was so clearly competent and bad ass and who could keep her ass out of trouble, of course she was going to say yes.

Didn't mean she wasn't so totally out of her depth with trying to move around.

"From the bridge the view seemed to be a ship building place. So maybe they didn't need more ships?"

Except why was there one in progress then. Bad argument.

"God this feels like a movie about to go wrong."

[out_of_order]

"Not many," he admits. "But they were still functioning. This place looks like it's been abandoned and from what's left, it doesn't seem like it was for a good reason..."

At least Cal has no problems with keeping an eye out on whoever's accompanying him, but doing so is practically second nature anyway.

"It does have that sort of sense to it. I've got a bad feeling about this..." he murmurs as he looks around. The general sense of warning has him on his toes, but it's not enough yet to say whether it's from something lurking that might want to make a meal or just compromised parts of the station that might not be safe to pass through.

"Stick close."

[work_wife]

Was there good reasons to abandon anything? This place is a horrible garbage dump. Has to be bad for so many things.

"Trust me, I've seen how cool you and BD are. I'm staying pretty close. You're a legitimate hero. If I could, I'd borrow you to come back home with us just to clean a few things up and then send you home."

[out_of_order]

Cal laughs at that, and BD-1 seems to echo it with a pretty good approximation of a chuckle in binary before adding his own commentary.

"Agreed, it is nice to be wanted for a change," Cal smirks. "Most people back home just want to shoot at or kill me."

He drifts along, not going too far ahead so Robin can keep up.

Cayde-6

[deal_me_in]

I. Defying Gravity
Cayde is absolutely in his element. He may not have been out and about in zero-G for a good while but it's like that saying about riding a bike. One might envy his maneuverability as he bounds effortlessly here and there. He'd waved off the offer of a space suit and helmet, insisting the energy would better be used for those who actually needed them, and the Hunter assures anyone who might have concerns that his gear's durable and well-tested for such atmospheres- or lack thereof.

If you've decided to tag along with him, he'll happily reminisce about old missions and previous explorations while he shows off. Or perhaps you come across him as he's poking down an adjoining corridor. Either way, it's quite abrupt when his demeanor shifts, his gun whipped out from its holster as he's moving to either pull whoever's with him aside or push them down with a, "Head's up," bracing as best he can as he pulls the trigger.

His shot rings off and hits something in the distance, and the only sign that there'd been a threat to begin with is the searing line of laser fire that scours the wall, its aim knocked well off target.

"Well, guess this place isn't so dead after all."


II. When It Rains...
There's definitely a lot of upsides to being a robot and a Guardian. You don't have to worry about breathing and when a bad landing gets things knocked out of alignment, your Ghost patches you up right quick.

Of course, that doesn't apply for everyone, and it doesn't make an Exo worry any less when those on his team might be hurt.

Naturally he's volunteered to scout around while people inspect the damages. And while he doesn't like that the familiar dampening of the Light is present, it doesn't compromise his skill with a gun or a knife any. Unfortunately he's not yet aware of the things out there that won't go down easily by either, but that's something for Future Cayde to worry about.

I

[plate_builder]

Reeve had, quite honestly, been glad for the travel companion who was clearly so happily involved with this exploration. Someone who knew his way around this sort of environment, and seemed so at peace. Really, it made the moving through this place that much easier on him.

So the abrupt shift in demeanor had left him gasping in shock as he, and by extension Mini who was tethered to him, got shoved behind Cayde. The weapon was out before Reeve could even frame a question.

"What's happening?" Reeve asks as he does his best to obey the silent order. Cayde wouldn't change so quickly without reason. Or so Reeve believed.

[deal_me_in]

"Hostiles," Cayde replies, optics shuttering partially in a squint. "Sundance is clocking some activity- not organic though."

In the dimness beyond, once eyesight adjusts, the sparking of something mechanical can be seen, and several glowing red lights that appear to be moving. They begin to brighten, which usually isn't a good sign.

[plate_builder]

Hostiles. On an abandoned space station? Wow. Reeve ducks even further down.

"Is this a good time to see if fireball magic works in a vacuum?" Reeve asks. Doesn't even bother whispering. If these things can hack their radios, then they have no real choice there.

[deal_me_in]

"I mean, I'd say yes even if we weren't getting shot at," the Hunter grins, right before he jerks his head aside as another laser shot goes sizzling past. He brings his gun up to shoot back in retaliation.

Donnie

[thepurpleone]

I. The Station is Hardly Stationary - Space Station
Finally, a bonafide space adventure! There's little that can dampen his excitement there, even if the planet they approach appears to be one churning with storms. But that's probably just normal storms, and it only adds to the allure of the alien landscape awaiting them.

Even more curious however is the presence of a space station. An abandoned outpost of some kind? So many questions!! It should be to no one's surprise that Donnie's raring to go one scans have been programmed. He's not sure how long it takes ship scanners to check out a planet, but that just means there's time to go and check out the station.

Naturally, he's requested that his space suit be color-appropriate and he makes sure both his and Leo's take into account their shells and other important details that would otherwise make for an uncomfortable fit if left out. Apologies to anyone stuck on the shuttle with them, there are probably going to be sooo many selfies being taken.

Who needs gravity? It's proof they're in space, but it does take some getting used to. Jupiter Jim made space-walking look so easy!! At least bouncing off the walls happens in slow motion until he gets more accustomed to how to move and to not apply too much force so he won't go mashing himself face-first into another surface. Eventually he does get the hang of it. Somewhat.

"All right, let's see if we can get this thing rebooted," he proposes, because of course the best way to figure out things is hitting up the computer. Which means finding out why the power's out and how to restore it.

Easier said than done when weird stuff is happening, not that Donnie's quick to clock it as such. With gravity being lacking, it shouldn't be very surprising to find things suddenly in the way, or glitching systems. ...right?

He's found himself down a particularly dark corridor, squinting as far as the lights on his helmet will allow him to see, opting to use his goggles to see what can be picked up when plain sight isn't forthcoming on anything interesting. "Odd... I'm getting some power readings, so there shouldn't be anything keeping the lights off here unless it's just been deactivated- what was that?"

He lifts his head at a sound from down the way, unsure of what to make of it, much less what to make of the movement he catches in his goggles. Donnie taps the side of his helmet to in turn lift the goggles from his sight, but hopefully whoever's tagged along with him will notice the large hunk of metal hurtling towards them in those precious few seconds it takes.


II. Now Where Did I Put That Cheesecake? - Glitter Ship
Okay, so maybe he might've been a bit too overeager to go space-venturing, so it's kind of nice having somewhere familiar to return to, and a routine to get back to. There is the puzzle of working out the subsystem that had previously been used to compel them to the ships, or rather finding said subsystem. Picking it apart will have to wait until then, but combing through Veda's system routines is definitely a chore. Still, Donnie is a tenacious turtle, losing track of the time easily.

But even he's not crazy enough to do that completely without at least some automated assistance, and while he has his own written code filtering through things, it means he can put some work into other projects, like a new tech-bō. ...which would be easier if he could find where he'd left one of the segments he'd completed for the main body. That it isn't where he knows it should be has left him in a mood as he stalks around the ship between where private quarters are and the forge, looking for it.

-but hey! Maybe you find it for him! Just don't slip on the titanium cylinder down the hallway.


III. Why Can We Never Have Nice Things - Planet
Turns out? Actually being in an unstable ship slated for a crash landing is absolutely terrifying.

This is not the way things were supposed to go. At the very least, everyone's alive, even if some are in worse conditions than others. Donnie considers himself lucky that the most he probably has is a hopefully minor case of whiplash aside from bruising where the seat restraints had bit into his shoulders. He's extremely thankful he'd gotten his Lite Battle Shell finished or he's sure his back would have been additionally sore.

Going over supplies and damages is one way to keep himself grounded. Panicking won't do anyone any good, especially when the air's thin. And having an immediate problem serves as a good way to keep Donnie focused. He goes over the damages as thoroughly as he can, unable to keep from wincing whenever he strains his neck too much or pulls open a panel. But once his assessments are done and whatever bit of repairs can be managed, it seems they've still got to go track down the base after all.

Suddenly, exploration of other planets isn't as enticing as it had previously been. The landscape is bleak, the weather, unpredictable, but they have a heading, and what supplies can be carried. Donnie's never been particularly great stamina-wise, and the air here isn't helping, especially when he's trying to conserve what precious air they have with those breathing units. It's not long before he's flagging, falling behind the rest of the exploration team, with heavy reliance upon his...gardening hoe.

2

[crystalmaster]

As luck would have it, Radley does find it, and he finds it by slipping on it.

"Whoa!" He throws his arms out wildly, managing to catch himself on the walls before he can fall and be hurt.

When he finally catches his balance, he bends down to the object with a frown. "What the ... ? What is this thing?" He picks it up. "And what was it doing here in the hall?"

[thepurpleone]

A very suspicious exclamation, if ever there was any.

Donnie comes around the corner, having picked up the pace just a bit once he'd heard shouting. "Wh- There it is!!" he exclaims, pointing at the piece Radley has in hand.

[crystalmaster]

Radley looks down at it. "So what is it?" he frowns as he hands it over.

[thepurpleone]

Donnie fusses over it, but at least he manages not to quite snatch it from Radley's hand once it's offered. He dusts it off and then pulls his hoodie sleeve over his hand so he can wipe it over. Thankfully military-grade titanium shouldn't scuff so easily!

"Part of the replacement pieces I've been making for my new tech-bō," he says as he holds it up to his eye for closer inspection. After all, his original weapon had been badly mangled during the fire during their escape.

3

[work_wife]

Dammit, why does this keep happening? The space station had been spooky and violent, so Robin had decided 'okay, if I'm going to help out, maybe the planet will be better'. Plus the benefit of her friend Donnie who was a great problem solver AND who could kick ass.

Yep. Another fucking disaster going on. Robin was at least one of the lucky ones. Shaken but not stirred, no bleeding. Had to do with seatbelts. She knew those would be a good thing one day.

At least she doesn't regret having grabbed that medical thing before coming down here and asking the doctor to help her pack a kit. Which now she was hauling along, trying not to get left behind. Though she was more fit than she thought. If only the air wasn't thin.

"Hey," Robin says, coming to a stop by him. "You need to take a pull of air."

She doesn't know much about his biology, but it's clear he needs it.

"You're not going to be able to use your genius brain to fix the shuttle if you pass out."

Honestly, he needs the air more than she does.

[thepurpleone]

Donnie greets her with a wheeze, only because he'd been so focused on just trying to keep one foot moving in front of the other that she startles him.

"Y-yeah, probably a good idea," he says distractedly, leaning against the gardening hoe as he fumbles for his air thingy.

"...we there yet..?"

[work_wife]

"Nope," she says, taking one pull of her own air supply. "My legs don't hurt enough for it. But you can do it, Donnie. You're resilient."

[thepurpleone]

"Hrrggh..."

He knows the atmosphere's the real problem here. But he'd really been hoping they'd made some progress for how awful he feels.

At least he manages to get the breathing mask out, pressing it over his mouth to take a deeper breath of oxygen.

I

[faceguy]

Oh, there were so many selfies taken! Like Leo wasn't going to make Donnie fully document how incredible they look right now.

He's still admiring himself in any reflective surfaces, no matter how dim, dingy, or distorted, that are around while Donnie does his nerd thing with the machines and the electricity. That's definitely the most boring part of exploring an abandoned space station, but at least Leo can still admire himself while they're at it.

Donnie says something about things not working how he expected, yadda yadda, and Leo is about to make some kind of smart comment, but then he hears a noise that is not his brother's technobabble.

He spots it before Donnie, thankfully.

It's hard to grab someone and yank them down in lower gravity but Leo just manages to do it, saving them both from an untimely demise.

"What the heck is throwing things at us!?" he demands from where he's landed on top of Donnie.

[thepurpleone]

They are setting a new standard for space chic!

"Wh- oof!"

Donnie suddenly finds himself sandwiched under Leo, and the only thing keeping him from shoving him back is the sudden whoosh of something big flying by, and the echoing slam once it makes eventual contact with an adjacent wall.

"I don't know, things that big don't just get flung! But I wasn't picking up anything from down that way, and I'm sure we would've noticed if this hallway's been compromised."

[faceguy]

They got the cosmic goods!

Leo is unrepentant as he ends up sprawled on top of Donnie, really feeling that whoosh above him. Dang, that was a close one.

He rolls off his brother, moving quickly into a crouch, eyes darting around - though it's surprisingly harder with the space suit obscuring his peripherals and muffling the sounds of the environment.

"Okay, so what kinds of things wouldn't you pick up on?" he asks, taking a few slow crab steps toward where the hunk of metal was thrown from.

II. Now Where Did I Put That Cheesecake?

[in_extremis]

The problem was, he was upside-down. Such a change in perspective made everything look not quite right, not just something that wasn't supposed to be among his carefully catalogued mess. From where Tony's head hung over the table, he squinted, unable to place what exactly looked strange when he had opened his eyes, and continued to strum at the guitar laid across his chest listlessly to let his fingers work through the conundrum until he got impatient enough with himself that he pulled one of the headphones off to see better. The strings continued to vibrate for a barely perceptible few seconds, all the way up until Tony was rolling himself over, holding the guitar out carefully and letting it push the instruments and delicate projects off of the table to clatter to the floor so he could be the right way up, on his elbow to stare at the offending puzzle. Trying to call back the video of the room wasn't working either, no matter how many times he tried to find the recording from thirty seconds ago, and eventually he had to say out loud, "Veda. Where is the security footage for the forge?"

There was a shiny new stick placed gently on top of the opposite workbench, right in the middle, like he was supposed to be working on it.

[thepurpleone]

"-know it can't be anywhere else so why would it even be where it isn't supposed to?!" Donnie announced, not that he was expecting any audience as he stepped into the room, only belatedly registering that oh, perhaps that was why there were sounds coming from here a couple seconds ago.

It seemed like some unspoken rule that they had managed to fall into agreement with, if one was making use of the forge, the other simply was not. It was practical, and while Donnie wished Tony didn't leave the place a mess, at least he delegated it to one area. And so he was completely unprepared to actually find the owner of said mess actually present.

[in_extremis]

The voice and the door suddenly sliding open was barely enough time for Tony to make himself presentable, and he still ended up on his knees on top of a table, guitar propped in one hand, more parts that had been flung in his rush to right himself still rolling or wobbling across the floor in a cacophony of betrayal until they finally settled and Tony gave one last dainty tug to smooth his shirt with a cough. Donnie's appearance at least assured him of one thing: that no one had snuck in and left the stick there in the time that he had blinked. He must have missed it. He kept his gaze carefully averted, only sneaking a glance between the kid and the mystery device to mumble, "Sorry, I didn't realize you were...here." As far as Tony had figured, he had relinquished the forge in Temba, not so much this space. One of the labs wouldn't be nearly as well appointed. Even with the tension up his back, his shoulders started to sag at the prospect of moving all of this junk to one of them.