Into the Garden

Lift - 
 * A large lift designed to transport people between the starbase decks. There is a small panel beside the door with six buttons out of which only five are highlighted and in use, listing the available locations.

''The moment the last person is inside the turbolift, the doors close with a soft hiss. The intercom unit comes to life almost immediately. It is Barlov's voice. "Normal base security will not be present for the next few hours, like I promised, and other uniformed threats should be at a minimum. If you check the sketch I provided, it will pinpoint the location of a storage area. Go there first and then follow the hallway leading into the lab if the coast is clear. You're on your own. Good luck."''

As soon as the voice is cut off by the closing intercom, a fifth light becomes available beneath the fourth button on the panel.

"So," Ebon crosses her arms, "Y'all got a plan?"

Lucius thinks for a moment. "Don't press the button." He scratches his chin. "If the security is null then we may as well all pick up our gear from the ships. Make sure that if we encounter them men in blacks we got something to fight back with, aya? And ge those uniforms from the empty room next to Jack's, too."

Ren Arnassis shakes his head. "Takes too much time," Ren counters to Lucius. "An' its a long hike through unknown territory. Stick to the plan. You need somethin' you don' have, find a guard who has it, kill 'im an' take his," Ren says. He turns to Jack. "I'm followin' yer ass."

Swiftfoot mrrls softly and shakes her head, but remains otherwise silent, her tail flicking irritably.

Volidana tenses and simply waits

"Hope that there's something worth pinching down there," Malion mutters nervously to himself. Sidra crosses her arms, but says nothing. The excitement has quickly turned into high tension.

"Lucius..." Jack says, glancing to the Martian. "Remember when I said you're gun crazy? Well, I ain't taken it back. Now, I ain't checked the dockin' bay, but I'm assumin' the soldiers had to have been moved somewhere, and this level seems to be a good a place as any." At Ren's suggestion, the captain nods. "If it comes to that, yes. I'd prefer this be a smooth road, without the bumps of a few dead bodies, yeah?" The La Terran reaches forward and pushes the button. "Plenty of things, I'm sure. It's just a matter of whether we can move it or not, Malion."

"Dead bodies are evidence that we might not be able to afford," Ebon adds.

"Fair enough. Guess we best get this done as soon as possible." Concedes Lucius with a hearty shrug and a chuckle at Jack. He says to Mal, "Don't think we'll need to, anyways. We are getting paid pretty handsomely for this."

''The moment Wiendrbac presses the button, the lift begins to speed downward. It passes the the fourth deck in a few moments, and then continues...''

"Fine," Ren says with a nod. "Minimize maimin'. Got it." He cracks his neck, rolling his head to the left and right. "You jus' don' stand aroun'."

Althea keeps her arms on her hips, glancing around at each person as the lift starts descending.

Jack chuckles, "Ya know, I think we forgot to grab the labcoats."

Malion looks across to Lucius, and shakes his head. He's about to respond before he chuckles at Jack's comment.

"That's gonna mean some pretty tricky disguises don't y'all think?" Ebon fols her arms.

Ren Arnassis glowers at Jack. "Thought I heard somethin' about a storage area down here," he drawls.

Volidana takes a deep breath as any remaining color in her aura disappears. she does however give a pronounced blink in jack's direction

"Maybe we should make that our first stop." Lucius says, responding to Ren.

Sidra arches a brow. "No real plan, then?" the doctor drawls, then sighs, leaning her weight against the lift wall.

''The lift slows down until it finally stops. The doors open up to what appears to be an empty deck.''

Factory Deck - 
 * Unlike the other decks in the starbase, this one is brimming with movement. Men dressed in uniforms, in lab coats, in overalls all mill about regardless of the time. There are several hallways angling off in various directions, but the entrance to each one is secured by sentries and checkpoints. There are no signs or indicators.

''There are actually no men in uniforms currently milling about the area. Perhaps one or two technicians can be seen moving about, but they seem to disregard any foreign presence entirely.''

"I hope it's there." Jack agrees, "I'm assumin' he'll be nice enough to look out for us like that. An' no, Sidra, we're a bit out of the plannin' stage. Plannin' takes careful study, and.. well, this is the first time we've ever seen this place. So the plan is to succeed!" The La Terran stops off the lift pumping a fist at the end of his inspiration speech, then looks down at his PDA. A second later, he's heading for where the storage room is according to the digitized version of Barlov's sketch.

Ebon pulls out her own PDA and gets her bearings, nodding as Jack heads in the right direction.

Volidana steps out opening her mind to any psionic noise as it turns out she doesn't quite need psionics and looks for a hiding place as audible sounds reach her ears

Ebon takes up the rear, "Faster we move, less chance of bein' seen," she urges quietly.

Initially, Lucius's blue eyes are darting from one aspect of the hallway to the next without any real rhyme or reason. Within a minute, though, the Martian man focuses on the door which Jack heads towards, with a purpose in his stride. However, his ears perk up a moment after that, and black pupils fill up the iris in his eyes. "Shit, two bogies comin' from round the corner." He says at a loud enough whisper so everyone can hear it. He picks up his pace.

As far as available places to hide, there a few boxes here and there, but they are hardly enough for everyone or even the tallest in the group.

Malion narrows his eyes as he notices something slowly coming over a curve, he looks slightly nervous about something. "Want me fucking girls," he mutters to himself. The Martian speeds up also. Lucius confirms what he had been thinking, as he looks across to the other Martian. "Yep, I agree with ya Lucius."

Swiftfoot pads along somewhere in the middle of the group, slightly hunched and attempting to be as inconspicuous as a seven-foot tall feline can possibly be. Her ears flick forward as she picks up Lucius' whispers. She nods silently in response, and continues to follow, picking up her pace as well.

Althea steps out of the lift onto the floor and gives a glance around. While she's listening to everyone, she thinks she hears something htat sounds something like footsteps. Lowering her voice, she nods. "I hear that, too." Looking around, she looks for a place to hide, but then falls in line behind Lucius and Swiftfoot.

"I hear 'em," Ren says quietly, not stopping. His eyes flicker up and then back to the corner ahead. "Jack, you feel like talkin'? There's eyes on us here. No sense fightin' or hidin'."

Ebon opts so simply step back into the elevator for the moment.

Jack pauses, cocking his head when he hears the footsteps. "Shit." He waves for those that can to flee back into the lift, then waves for others to hide.

Sidra freezes as the rest seem to notice something. She doesn't seem to know what to do at first, until Jack's wave sends her skittering behind a larger box, where she folds herself up tightly and hopefully out of sight.

''Now everyone can hear it: ahead, just beyond the curving hallway, people are coming. In a few moments they are visible as two men in black uniforms. They do not seem to notice the group yet, so enthralled by their conversation as they are.''

Lucius is already too fargone to jet back to the lift. Therefore, the black clad human, hoping that his attire will at least help mask his presence further than the boxes up ahead, decides to move behind a particularly large stack where he will be hidden. He crouches in wait, listening to what they say and getting ready to move if necessary. Volidana backtrack as fast as she possibly can seeing as hiding is out of the question for the vollistan

At Jack's wave, Althea ducks behind more boxes.

Malion swallows deeply, realising that he won't make back to the lift in time, and makes his way towards the closest crate, attempting to hide himself behind a box as best he can. Hopefully the gunsmith has removed himself from the field of vision. He quietly waits, hoping that the men will pass.

Ren Arnassis looks at the men. Black uniforms. Looks at himself. Black uniform. His expression sours, and he turns his back to the pair, holding a commlink up to his ear. He slows to a walk, having no place to hide - they're all taken. "Yea." He's suddenly having a conversation on the commlink, walking towards the lift at that slow pace of all commlink-talkers. "Uhhuh. Interestin'."

"So what'd she say?"

"This, that -- you know women. Always complicating what should be simple."

''A chuckle. "Yeah. So-- wait. A call."''

The two soldiers pause for a moment, one of them holding his own commlink up.

''The other one glances down the hall at Arnassis. There is a brief whispered exchange. The two uniforms are soon walking back the way they came, clearing the path once more.''

"God dammit." Jack hisses as he spots the pair, taking the chance to look around and turning to Arnassis. Oh, great. Even he has something, the La Terran on the other hand is stuck in his old bomber jacket and black turtleneck. CRAP. The man doffs the jacket quickly, steps as close to a crate as he can to conceal more gray then black cargo pants, and presses a ear to his commlink as well. He's just listening in on his partner's talk.

Swiftfoot looks around for any bit of cover that could possibly hide her decidedly large form. Shaking her head in disgust, she settles for a nearby crate that just doesn't quite do the job. The felinoid crouches behind it nonetheless, her back against a wall, trying her best to be inconspicuous. As the crisis passes without further ado, she breathes a soft sigh and stands up again, her ears forward and her eyes wide.

When the two are gone on their merry little way, Lucius rises from his spot. "Next time," He says in an extremely quiet voice, to Ren, "I should come out with you. I didn't think of the uniform colour but I think I'd probably fit in." The man cracks his knuckles. "Any psionics? Can you like.. peek around the corner with your mind to tell us if they're still there? We should get into the storage room pronto."

"It ain' gon' work," Ren says, apparently into his commlink, but it's as he passes Jack. "There'll be too many people aroun', baby. Hell, I bet they're listenin' to this conversation right now." The commlink is not on. He gives it a couple more moments before looking back over his shoulder. Finding the corridor empty, he turns without looking down at Jack. "Security camera spotted us afore they did," he says. "Whatever we wan' do, we ain' got a whole lotta time to do it in." The Lunite ubiquitously waggles a finger, held waist-high, towards a small spot on the ceiling. "Don't look. Meb' we can pass it off as not knowin' they know." He jerks his head towards the curve. "Let's get our move on."

Slowly the gunsmith peers around the crate which is his hiding spot. A sigh of relief is given, and he looks to the others which had been caught in the unfortunate situation. He slowly leaves his hiding spot, albiet hesitantly.

Volidana breaths again yet quirks a brow as if she may find their luck suspect and follows quickly

Though she doesn't duck her head back up, Althea can hear the guards heading back where they came. As soon as she can't hear footsteps any more, she straightens and comes out from behind her hiding spot to join the others.

Sidra creeps forward cautiously, peeking out from behind her scanty cover as the footsteps and voices retreat the way they came. As Ren moves on, she straightens, dusting off her black pants a little needlessly before quickly following once again, this time keeping a little closer to the wall.

Volidana looks over towards ren and mouths "nothing"

Ebon slips out of the elevator and silently makes her way towards the storage room door.

Jack sighs at the news, then turns and starts to hurry to the storage room. A hurry up motion, a rolling of two fingers is offered to those behind him. A verbal action is tacked on. "Ok, hurry guys.

''The entrance leading into the room which Barlov identified as one used for storage is quite massive. Although there is a keypad beside it, the door opens the moment the group reaches it.''

Lucius hustles inside the storage room without any pause.

Ren Arnassis frowns at the opening door. He looks around the corridor for a security camera as he ducks inside.

Malion notices Jack's signal and moves up to join the forward part of the group. He remains quiet as he approaches the storage room door. He quickly disappears inside.

Althea follows quickly behind the rest of the group into the storage area.

Swiftfoot nods and pads after Jack wordlessly, her tail flicking idly. The Demarian flinches slightly as the door opens, and peers through the doorway for a moment before ducking inside.

Sidra actually takes a step back as the door opens, brows going sky-high wish suspicion, but she follows in.

Garden of Eden - 
 * Welcome to the Garden of Eden: the place where life starts. This humongous complex is packed with only one main thing: hundreds of ten feet tall vats. Each container is filled with a green liquid, storing shadowed versions of humanoid bodies. Technicians walk about the area, examining each tube, operating small consoles attached to each one and taking notes. Cranes moves across the ceiling, periodically descending to remove one of the vats, take it off the room through hatches, and then replace it with an empty one.

Jack walks in, pausing at the sight. Then he's heading for one of the tube, and it's operating console, nodding politely at a passing techy.

Ok, a normal room upon first sight, especially to those with experience in the Sivadian specialist trade. On first sight, in any case. Lucius, however, notices a moment after entering that all is not as it appears on first sight and that this lab is quite different from a Specialist clone ship. Probably some degree of genetic experiments here. A deepset frown takes its place on the Martian's face. Another moment passes before his expression resets itself, and he shuffles over beside Jack, glancing about at the workers.

Ren Arnassis looks around and mouths something wordlessly. Straightening his jacket, he walks past Jack and lets his eyes roam casually from sight to sight.

Volidana blinks and looks about trying to discern the race of the being in the vat she's nearest to. She stays insight of jack but picks a different vat.

Malion enters into the room after Lucius. His emerald green eyes dart curiously around the place, as if he was trying to take in every aspect of the scene. The gunsmith continues to follow Lucius wordless, but hangs back a bit. A friendly smile is passed to one of the lab techicians.

Sidra blinks at the change of scenery. The doctor's eyes skitter from vat to vat, and her natural curiosity leads her to one of the closer vats, which she peers into, for all the world like any other scientist. Not exactly an act, as she's clearly immediately engrossed, even 'hmming' at a few. She follows Jack slowly, though her focus remains on the vats as though it's merely accident that causes her to move in the same direction.

"Sweet Brrakirr..." Swiftfoot murmurs under her breath as she looks around the room. The felinoid pads up to a vat that's not currently being stared at by anyone else, and commences staring at it, eyes narrowed and head tilted slightly to the side. She blinks and eyes the console briefly before returning her gaze to the vat itself.

''The technicians and labrats are all absorbed by their work. They check random consoles and move on as soon as they are done. They really don't seem to care about the group's presence there. The shadowed forms within each container are veiled by the liquid that surrounds them, making it impossible to tell gender or even race, except for their humanoid silhouettes. The console Wiendrbac approaches is composed of a fairly simple-looking access computer. The status screen lists information such as life signs and chemical contents.''

Althea following the others closely, her eyes widen at the sight that she takes in once inside the door. Slowly she looks at different vats one at a time, tilting her head slightly as she comes closer to a few to peer at them.

The crooked smile fades away as the La Terran pauses in front of his chosen vat, ashen underneath his tan, taking out his PDA and then studying the console thoughtly. He's looking for a way to access the data and download it to his small handheld. It's a shame he's not much of a full blown computer geek, but you make do with what you can. Rather this is successful or not, he also checks to see if the console has ways to determine exactly where the cranes are taking the vats.

Besides the initial glance about the room's vats, Lucius seems to have lost interest in them. Or, perhaps, he has another purpose on his mind. The Hesperian now observes the scientists closest to the group, possibly to see if they're getting any 'odd' looks. Can't be too careful.

Ebon simply stands back, helm tipped at a slight angle as if she were listening to something as she slowly turns to survey the room.

Sidra looks a little frustrated with the vats. Likely due to the fact that not much visual data can be gained from just looking in them. She sighs and walks up behind Jack to see what information can be obtained there.

Ren Arnassis doesn't stray too far, patrolling the row of vats, looking inside each one.

Malion cautiously watches one of the assistants out the corner of his eye, trying to be as casual about it as possible. A quick glance is sent to Jack before he goes back to keeping an eye out.

Volidana stares transfixed into the vats as if wanting something from the being inside. Her body tenses ramrod straight

''There is an access port for Wiendrbac's PDA to connect. The process to download the information seems quite simple as data soon begins to flow into the handheld device. A red light comes alive on the status screen. A few moments later, the thing within the containers begins to move, slamming itself against the glass. It can barely be described as human. The features are all there, except they are misplaced, with every aspect of its face randomized across. "Mercy..." it gurgles, a word which can be understood quite clearly even given the circumstances.''

Her expression unreadable, Ebon stands her ground, "So...we're nukin' this place to ash when we leave?" she asks softly, her voice pitched for her companions ears only.

Malion snickers, assuming Jack hit the tank. Slowly the Martian Jackal looks towards tank, the colour drains from his face. "What the fuck?" he murmurs to himself, taking a step away from the tank.

Althea has been watching the different containers. As the one in Jack's starts moving behind the glass, she takes a large step back and gasps. "Holy shit."

Being next to Jack, Lucius is startled a bit when there is a thump against the vat. He ceases his watch, if only for a minute, to glance behind him and his expression changes to one of utter shock. "The..fuck?" He seems to catch himself after a few seconds agape, glancing about nervously and setting his expression back into a neutral state. "I dunno," he says to Ebon, "but I think that it's probably connected to an alarm. I bet if we give this chump mercy then an alarm goes off and we're all fucked. I don't like to be an asshole, but I'm trying to be cautious." His voice remains low the entire time.

Jack jerks back, staring at the mishapen face. "Guys, we're done here. We got.. shit. We got shit-stuff. Stuff-shit." He pulls the connection cable of his PDA free from the console, reels it back up, and heads for the exit obviously a little rattled though managing to retain his cool enough to know when it's time to move on. "I got what I wanted, and there is one more room I want to check."

Swiftfoot mrrls softly and shakes her head as she again shifts her gaze to the console on the vat in front of her. Apparently there's not too much to be gained by staring at a vat full of green gunk. Everything about the Demarian's stance is tense, from her ears laying slightly back along her head to the still-flicking end of her tail. At the sound from behind her, she whips around to look back in Jack's direction, her ears laying even further back as she spots the source.

Ebon leans in and whispers softly to Jack.

Sidra inhales quickly and takes a step back, the slamming of the humanoid creature getting a look of total disbelief. And a quiet "Oh. my. shit." A mixture of horror and pity stays etched on her face as she turns to follow the Captain, though it's wrestled under control after a few steps.

Ren Arnassis snaps his eyes over at the dull thud of being on glass. He's expressionless, making no move over.

His knuckles, on the edge of one of the vat consoles, turn white.

When Jack starts to move, Arnassis waits several seconds, for the others to get moving, then turns to exit through the next row of vats rather than the one everyone else is walking through.

Volidana jumps at the soud and turns her head towards it's source. she lingers for a moment before turning to follow. Even as her feet follow her mind reaches to Jack's vat searching for a conscioness

''"Mercy..." the thing inside the vat repeats. A few moments later, two technicians approach the area, still ignoring the visiting group. "This is one is defective," one tells the other. After manipulating the console, one of the metal claws attached to the ceiling descends and grasps the container. There is a soft hiss, as if something within the crane lashes out quickly. The creature begins to writhe inside, slamming against the glass several times, shrieking in what is clearly agony. It does this for a few moments, then stops. "Done," the second labrat states, departing with his partner. Inside the vat, there is only silence.''

Mercy.

"Let's get the fuck out of here." Lucius repeats to the group, moving in the direction of the door without so much as a look behind him.

"My crew and friends are worth more then my morals, and this research data is close enough." Jack mutters to Ebon, having continued walking while she said her peace. "I'm sorry. You can punch me for that decision later, let's just move. NOW." Those that stay go unnoticed, since he's speeding off.

Malion quietly follows after Jack, his skin colour still very pale. He sends a glance over his shoulder, as he continues on his way. He remains strangely quiet as he looks back to the rest of the group.

"Demarr..." the orange-furred Jackal breathes, her expression nothing short of stricken as she backs away a couple of steps. "I... need to get the fuck out of herre..." she agrees, then bolts for the door, padding swiftly after the others that are leaving.

Sidra only hears the commotion in the vat, but it's certainly enough to stop her in her tracks. And then some. There's a distinct tinge of color to her face as she swallows several times. Screams of agony certainly hit a chord with her, but she rigidly refuses to turn around. After a few deep, deep breaths, she walks rapidly after the others.

Ren Arnassis makes no noise or sign, just rejoins the others at the exit and leaves.

Althea turns a paler green watching what happens. Taking a deep breath, she stays riveted where she is for a moment. After initial shock has worng off, she stumbles after Jack in a flurry of motion out the exit.

Ebon turns from Jack as he moves out, staring down the rows of tubes, their number doubled in her visor's reflection. It seems she is not so eager to follow.

Factory Deck - 
 * Unlike the other decks in the starbase, this one is brimming with movement. Men dressed in uniforms, in lab coats, in overalls all mill about regardless of the time. There are several hallways angling off in various directions, but the entrance to each one is secured by sentries and checkpoints. There are no signs or indicators.

The hallway is empty.

"Well, Jack? Where to?" Asks Lucius, glancing about the empty hallway. He bites down on his lower lip, lightly, clearly troubled by what he saw in there.

"Lab, right?" Ren asks, emotionless, looking around. His brows knit and fall. "This ain' good."

Volidana brings a hand to wipe her eyes "What are we going to do Jack?"

"Ain't fucking right," Malion mutters to himself as he leaves the Storage Area, staring directly at the ground. He continues to shake his head, ever so slowly. He isn't his usually cautious self, most likely still in shock.

Swiftfoot emerges from the storage area and slumps against a nearby crate, pressing her paws to her eyes for a few long moments before sending a listless gaze down the hallway. The Demarian's ears still lay back against her head, and she seems to be absolutely heedless of the fact that her tail is dragging on the floor.

Ebon finally leaves the room, silent as she stands just outside the doorway.

Jack looks down to his PDA, then starts walking to the room where the cranes where taking the bodies. "I was able to pinpoint the bodies location, when the vats are removed. It's down the hall from here." So, with digitized map in hand, the La Terran leads the collection of vagabonds with titles as assorted as anything else. Muscle for hire, Crying Historian, Lady Doctor, Barkeep, Demarian Cap-Pilot, Gunsmith, Security Detail, and Grumpy Nuisance. To the Lab they go.

Sidra looks shaken, but simply being in a plain hallway seems to help enormously. "Scientists with no moral code," she mutters darkly under her breath, her steps seemingly on auto-pilot as she follows the group to the lab.

''It is no palace of dreams the group of vagabonds finds, but rather one last door, this one as large as the one leading into the storage area. Much like the last one did, it opens up to greet the visitors. There is light beyond it.''

"Let's hurry the fuck up. The quicker we're out of here the better, and this isn't over yet." Lucius begins to follow Jack down the hallway, brows knitting inward and his focus returning. He keeps his senses perked.

Althea leaves the room, still a lighter green than she was going in. What happened in there obviously startled and upset her. Though she's hurrying so that she's not behind anyone else, she follows into the lab.

Laboratory - 
 * This is one of the largest rooms in the entire complex. It is composed of several levels divided by platforms attached to the walls, each one granting access to a different section of what is a large containment unit placed in the very middle. The huge container is filled with a green, viscous liquid that makes it impossible to discern its contents. Men and women of all sorts move about, some operating machines placed on the perimeter and others simply examining the vat. The area is highly secured.

''There is a theory that all paths eventually connect somewhere. 'All roads lead to Rome,' they say. This is no Imperial city, however, but it is an Empire. An Empire of Life, with a great number of unusual creatures being dragged across the area, held by collars, yanked like dogs... even though they are obviously malformed humans. This is the core of all searches. Containers are emptied into the large vat and moments later, things that can hardly be called alive emerge from holes in the walls. They groan in pain and speak in voices that plead for the mercy of death, yet are treated with the cold hand of apathy. This is what the group arriving encounters. This and...''

''"Hello," a voice says. It reaches all your ears with perfect clearness. It is a voice filled with joy and innocence. It is a voice filled with the grace of childhood. It is a voice full of a malice that some among you may remember.''

"Oh, fuck." Jack says, hazel orbs disappearing behind his eyelids for a second as the voice twings at an impressive amount of emotional strings. "Freaky girl." Hands instinctively grope for pistol or knife, but he has neither. So, instead, he offers a tentative greeting to the air. "Hello."

"Y'all wanna explain that, Jack?" Ebon asks from behind, rooted in place, hands out from her sides as she looks around for the source of the voice.

Lucius's eyebrows inch upwards ever so slightly, at first, upon the sight of mass amounts of creatures being dragged around by their collars. Creatures, indeed, is the most accurate term to describe the creations in the Factory, something the disgusted expression on Lucius's face belays. However, when the voice speaks, his eyes open widely. He remains silent, and not in a good way.

Sidra doesn't really have time to be taken aback with the creatures making their painful way across the floor. The voice catches her attention entirely, and the look on her face is not far from what it was back in the storage area.

Malion holds a hand to his mouth as he watches the grim specticle in front of him, its apparent that he's trying to avoid being sick. The voice reaches his ears, and he has a quick look around, attempting to find the unfamiliar speaker.

Althea starts at the sound of a voice, as no one else has spoken to them since entering. The new sickening sights barely take their hold on her, her attention is more on figuring out what this means for them. Freezing, she glances around to try and find where the voice is coming from.

Ren Arnassis looks sidelong at Jack, then around at the freak show. "She didn' hurt us the firs' time," Ren says. "I doubt she'll hurt us this time either, so long as we don' piss her off." The Lunite looks over his shoulder at Ebon. "A girl that's prolly been through that green vat," he explains. "You'll see 'er." He turns to face the circus again, stepping inside and looking up the platforms at the different control stations. Every now and again, a scream or shriek makes him wince.

A strangled cry is the only sound that the Demarian makes, and she falls back a step, heedless of anyone that might be behind her. Swiftfoot shakes her head in disbelief, her expression one of complete and utter horror. She gropes madly at her hip for a gun that isn't there, then just... freezes, eyes darting around as she tries to locate the source of the voice.

"You'll see 'er," Ren says again, with a dark chuckle. "if she wants you to."

Volidana starts shaking from head to foot.sparks of purple aura flying from her skin. Perhaps the only one too horrified by what she sees in general to take particular note of much "The pit of darkness" she whispers in a tone the indicates she is looking upon hell

''"We've been expecting you," a male voice says. The source is an old man dressed in a white coat that now steps into clear view. He is resting his hand on the head of a young girl who is really quite pretty... if you ignore her clawed hands, the fact that her smile is full of fangs and her eyes are completely black. "Isn't she lovely?" He chuckles. "You all seem upset by what you see. Don't be. Most of the original experiments were criminals. This /was/ once a prison. Well, most of them at least. From time to time," he explains, smiling almost lovingly down at the mutated child, "we do require new elements."''

"Just for the record," Ebon mutters, "Ah called trap from the start..."

Lucius's ice blue eyes, previously distracted by the massive amount of experimental creatures abound, now jerk to the man dressed in the lab coat and the little girl next to him. "You did." Comes Lucius's unexpected reply to Ebon.. unexpected by him, in any case. He asks the man, "Just cause they're criminals doesn't change the fact that they're sentient beings." A hearty change from the man on Tomin Kora.

"Very pretty." Jack agrees with a wince, sighing as he is caught in the act. "Don't mind us, now. We're just here to marvel at God's wrath, and the Devil's brillance." He looks to one of the departing experiments with a look mingled between disgust and awe, probably the emotion that Barlov had hoped to impart. "So, any chance you'll be lettin' us walk right back out of here without.. ya know, givin' us a bath or anythin'?" He nervously allows his eyes to drift to the viscous green mist in the container. "Shut up, Ebon." Yeah, well.. he doesn't deny it either.

Sidra shakes her head slowly, the doctor (and humanity) in her wholly rejecting what the old man is saying. But her eyes keep training back on the child. "This is...so sad," she whispers to herself. The statement seems to surprise her, almost, and so she snaps her mouth shut again.

Shaking badly, the Martian gunsmith almost takes a step back away from the old man and the clawed former human. Malion manages to keep himself in control for the time being. He swallows deeply, as he glances across to the container and remains silent as he listens to those around him.

"If this was a trap, it was set afore we got here," Ren says, folding his arms. "This is an awful lotta trouble jus' ta git us out here." The Lunite winces again at an agonizing shriek, and barks, "The hell d'you wan' from us?"

"Y'all mind explain' where and how y'all have met before?" Ebon replies, "'Cause I seem to have missed the first party."

''"Indeed," the old man tells Lucius. "In their former life, they wronged others one way or another. Now they are making history. One day, they will be remembered as the heroes who pioneered the rising of a supremacy unlike any that has ever been witnessed by the races of the universe." He smiles, the gesture filled with raging glee and lunacy. "Oh, no, not a trap. I would never risk bringing you here. This was the result of foolish planning on behalf of Overseer Barlov, who thought he could pass anything unseen beneath our gaze." He caresses a small rock hanging from his neck with a finger. "Alas. Our director of operations will soon find himself... fired."''

Swiftfoot's eyes come to rest on the girl, and a faint groan escapes the felinoid. She pays no heed to anything else in the room, save that gruesome child. Jackal's furry pilot falls back another faltering step, her ears laying flat and her head shaking slowly back and forth. "No... no... no..." she murmurs to herself, over and over. The man's speech doesn't appear to be registering. Or if it is, she's not giving any indication.

Volidana blinks at Jack as if he too has grown a new head unlike him unable to hide her disgust anger and revulsion as her aura flares bright red "darkness take you" she mutters between clenched teeth yet makes no move otherwise

Althea focuses her attention on the old man in the white coat, eyes widening again slightly. This time it's the sight of the young girl and what the man has said that affects her. Crossing her arms in front of her, almost like hugging herself, she stands rigid.

"What do you want from us?" Asks Lucius again for the group, falling silent afterwards. His brows knit together as he crosses his armoured arms over his chest, staring at the man and passing a glance to the girl once. Jeekies.

"And the girl?" Ren asks, nodding to her.

Sidra renews her head shaking, arms crossed, the fright now settling in somewhere between the horror and the disbelief written on her features.

"We.. met the girl, a long time ago." Jack says, in a low voice, to Ebon as others continue the conversation with Head of Crazyville and his mutated little girl. "If we survive this.. I'll tell you everything." He includes the others who were likewise not involved with what set all this into motion with a sweep of his gaze, then turns to see what the scientest has to say.

Malion looks back towards the line of mutated humans that are in the room. He closes his eyes and shakes his head once more. His hand is held to his mouth once more.

''"You wanted to find this place so badly that you dug into our affairs. Well, here you are. I hope it was worth dying for," the speaker states, chuckling. He wraps his hand around the rock and rips it off his neck. Red light seeps between his clenched fingers. The litle girl shakes her head briefly, then slowly begins to march on the group. "She is my greatest creation and the first thing you ever saw linking you to the Factory. Now, she will be the last." It is then that a loud crackle fills the room as the massive com units come to life:''

''"Comrades." It is Barlov's voice. "It is now that I suggest you run."''

''The representative of the Vorra barely has a moment to frown before an alarm booms across the laboratory, the lights switching to a bright flashing red. In surprise, the scientist's grasp on the rock is lost and it falls to the ground, prompting the mutated girl to stop.''

Ren Arnassis grins. "The brilliant bastard used us," Ren says, scratching his cheek in amazement. "He wasn't makin' a diversion fer us. We were makin' a diversion for him." He looks from Jack to the old man, to the girl, to the door, caught in that one moment of calmness before action.

Volidana does not need to be told twice and runs for the door screams sounding in her ears

Ya'll best come along if you value living!" Lucius bellows, turning to the door and sprinting. "C'mon!" His armoured legs pump as fast as they can, boots falling on the ground in quick succession.

Malion looks back towards the door. One step back, two step back, turn and then run. He closely after Lucius, sprinting as fast as he can, most likely not keeping up with the other Martian.

Ok. Jack whirls back around and with nothing more to say, pushes the nearest individual for the door, taking his position as last to leave seriously.

"Fuck," is the first word that Swiftfoot has said since arriving in this room, and it just so happens that it's ever so apt. Needing no further prompting, she turns and bolts toward the exit as fast as she can.

Ebon hesitates, prepared to take up the rear guard and ends up facing off with Jack for a moment, her visored gaze going from him towards the man in white and then back.

''The scientist does not seem to notice what is happening. He is paralyzed with shock. The girl, likewise, remains motionless, lost in a limbo of thought. The rock on the ground then takes flight all by itself... landing a few feet away from Wiendrbac.''

Not needing much other prompting, Althea tears her eyes away from the creepy old man and the even creepier girl and turns to dash.

Jack looks to the visored reflection, frowns, and then back to the mad doctor. He's seen the girl run. He knows how fast she is. That alone seals the fate of at least one figure. Then, ching, ching, ching... The fuck? OH, FUCK! Jack launches himself for the rock, with the definate intention of picking it up.

Ebon holds her ground, waiting for the bossman to get moving, her face looking squarely at the girl and the man who had inadvertantly dropped her leash. She would not leave until Jack did, pure and simple.

Sidra ducks instinctively as the lights flash to red. Her eyes glance once at the stone on the floor, and it looks for a second that she might actually grab it, but its movement, even in the chaos, causes her to pause. Her few steps back do not constitute flight out, but she seems prepared.

"Jack." Ren looks from the rock to the La Terran, then to the girl, not willing to leave the captain behind it seems. He steps between the rock and the rest of the room, one toe digging behind the stone and then pushing, sliding it towards the other man. "Get your fuckin' self in gear. Now."

''Wiendrbac feels: The moment you touch the rock, you feel a surge of weightlessness across your body. You feel as if your mind expands across the room. Your name is suddenly Jim and you are from La Terre. You once mugged one of them rick fellahs'. Bastard had it coming. No, wait. You are Alice, the child molester from Sivad: they kept enticing you. No... someone else. Someone else. You are even the little girl now motionless in front of you. Her name -- your name is Svetka. You are one and you are all. You are Jack Wiendrbac, but you are also every single being that has ever been touched by this stone. You know it. You feel it. There is also something else... but perhaps now is not the time to explore it.''

The La Terran scoops up the precious gem. Diamonds? Pfft. Rubies? Tch. He's got mutanti leash gem, and he like touching little girls and boys.. wait, no. He's a country bumpkin from a colony world? No, that's not it either. "Svetka." The name is said with a bit of sorrow, some for the odd experience of sharing an existance with the young girl, gloved hands clenching around it. "Kill him. Quickly." The command is sent with a mental urging, focusing on the man in the lab coat.

''The scientist turns to the little girl as well. "Kill them all. I said--" He pauses, suddenly realizing something as he turns and sees the rock now in Wiendrbac's possession. That... and a mutated child that now turns hungry eyes upon him. "I created you. You... you were the first step towards perfection." And then the sin of perfection descends upon him in the shape of a blurred girl that runs at inhuman speeds towards her creator, knocking him back and behind some crates. Only screams and blood is visible in that direction afterwards.''

"Holy..." Ebon is simply stunned by the speed and ferocity of the attack, shaking her head before looking back to the others, "MOVE ya dumb bastards!!"

The agonized screams don't make Swiftfoot turn around. Instead, she redoubles her efforts to get to the door, doing everything short of running over anyone in her path to get the hell out of the lab.

Ren Arnassis shakes his head. He turns to Ebon and nods. "See to Jack," he says. "I'll lead the others outta here." His eyes narrow and he bellows, "If yer not instigatin' bloody revenge," he pauses to get his breath, voice harsh, gravelly, bellicose, "Then follow me now!" He turns one last look to the source of the carnage, sets his feet, and pushes off at a run. Skinny scientists and technicians are pushed ruthlessly out of his way as he clears a path for those behind him.

Glancing over her shoulder at the door, Althea pauses slightly when she sees that she's not being followed by everyone else. She bounces on the balls of her feet at the urgency she feels to run, but can't quite bring herself to just leave without everyone closely following. Stuck in indecision and now wondering what's going on she stands right at the doorway, suddenly seeing the girl turn on the scientist. "Fucking hell!" At that, she turns and runs as fast as possible behind Ren.

The La Terran knits his eyebrows at the display, his ashen coloring fading under a rush of blood to his cheeks and neck, then turns and starts to run for the door at Ebon's scream, hand still clenched around the rock.

A few minutes later...

Landing Bay - 
 * This spacious opening is wide enough to play host to several vessels. Wires and cables of all varieties line the metallic walls, connecting the myriad of systems that make the docking bay operate. Ships are linked to the main area via arms that allow passengers to disembark freely onto the public area, which is composed of a large transparent bubble maintained with proper life support.

''Alarms continue to blast across the entire starbase. The landing bay seems to be the source that originated this state of emergency. Armed men are exchanging fire across the area. One of the groups is led by Gustav Barlov, who seems to be facing the X-23 forces now retreating back into the common deck.''

Zara dashes up the ramp of the Jackal as soon as the guards are occupied, not interested in knowing what's going on. A cigarette is still clamped between her lips, and she ducks into the ship before anyone notices her, going to start the engines.

Ren Arnassis stutter-steps for two moments, before darting towards the portion of the X-23 line closest to one wall of the entrance into the common area. "Follow me," he growls as he picks up speed, approaching the rear of the X-23 line. "Keep yer heads low."

Jack stumbles into the warzone, still clenching the pulsating red rock. He stops to study the warzone, and then automatically starts to follow Arnassis, as if unsure.

Well versed in the art of combat, but not very well versed in the art of running around in a combat zone without a gun, Lucius simply follows the Lunite, eyes darting from Barlov's group to the more desperate seeming one in front of him. This is gonna be trouble.

"Ren, cut left!" Ebon yells out, heading directly towards the left side of the guards, intent not on dodging but rather engaging. With a flying leap, she attempts to scissor kick her way into the back of their ranks, drawing attention from the Jackal and Artemis crews and trying to help clear them a path.

Malion grumbles, as he follows after Ren and those in front of him. The Gunsmith attempts to make himself a small target, keeping his head low.

Swiftfoot stops not far behind Ren, her ears back along her head. The Demarian is hunched over, trying to present as small a target as possible as she walks forward again, following the Lunite.

Sidra is right behind Ren, and she does as she's told, which is helped by the fact that simply too much is going on for her to process quickly enough to do anything much other than follow orders.

Althea follows Ren cautiously, but quickly, keeping her head low, like told.

Ebon's kick is... quite effective. It knocks the intended target right out, cold as a turkey. The soldiers around him turn their attention to the new assailant and begin to focus their attention on her. Arnassis and company now have a relatively safe path to their respective ships, aided by the distraction and Barlov's group.

Ren Arnassis skids to a halt just the soldier at the far end of the line, tapping each person in turn as they pass. After they're all through, he lunges at the man, intent on knocking him unconscious with a simple, dirty, hammerfist to the back of his head and keeping his body positioned as a shield against the rest of the line.

Ebon moves with the grace of a dancer, the leap and kick flowing into a spin as she drops cat-like to the floor, aiming for the nearest kneecap as she tries to draw attention and foul the aim of the retreating guards. No motion is wasted, her hands bracing wide on the cold deck as her leg sweeps around, hoping to snap some bones and tangle the guard as best she can.

Sidra keeps wincing as the firing makes all its near misses, but she scurries after Ren, keeping low, and thank be to whomever is watching out for the poor, klutzy doctor, she manages to get to the ship's ramp without so much as another broken arm.

The going would have been difficult, running through crossfire, if Ebon the masked mercenary had not done an incredible scissor chop killing deathblow kick. Or something to that effect. In any case, Ebon's distraction works and Lucius, with the rest of Ren's group, has succesfully reached 'friendly' lines. "Aight, let's get some hardware to support her!" He moves to board the Jackal.

Jack escapes onto the ship, pulsating rock in hand. The tap on his shoulder from Arnassis gets not so much as an acknowledgement.

Althea follows behind Ren as quickly as possible, only stopping to make sure she doesn't get a hit from all the firing. Steely focused and trying not to pay too much attention to what is happening, just enough to keep alive, she makes it to the ship and dashes up the ramp thankfully.

Swiftfoot nods and runs after Lucius, making her way up Jackal's boarding ramp. "Let's see how they like the fucking turrets."

''"Get out! We'll finish it here! Get into your ships and go," Barlov bellows, his face covered by the sweat of battle. "Out! Don't worry about the rest. We'll handle it!"''

Malion follows right behind Lucius as he heads towards the Jackal. "We got spare armour on board Swifty?!" he yells out above the sound of gunfire.

Ren Arnassis wrenches his unconscious victim's rifle from his hands and begins to backpedal rapidly. After he's gained a little distance, he kneels and fires off a burst towards the soldiers near the black-clad mercenary - but not too near as to risk missing and hitting her. "EBON!" He hollers. "GO! GO!"

''Arnassis' intended target is of course knocked unconscious and those Ebon chooses as victims drop as quick as flies. The battle is quickly turning in Barlov's favor as his troops continue to overtake the X-23 soldiers.''

As a knee shatters and one man falls, Ebon lifts one hand from the deck, then the other, so the sweeping leg can pass beneath. When she finally stops moving, she's in a crouch from which she leaps forward, arcing over the guard who had dropped to clutch his shattered leg. With a smooth roll, she rises to her feet at a dead run, "This ain't a fuckin' pissin' contest," she growls as she bolts towards the Artemis.

Ren Arnassis isn't concerned with the length of his stream. Once Ace disengages, he continues a rapid, backpedaling retreat, shooting wildly into the X-23's line with more intent on keeping their heads down then actually hitting them. With luck, he should make it to the foot of Artemis' ramp. "Back in the ships!" He grits out. "That's all of us! C'mon!"

''Barlov seems to agree. "This is not a real victory! The battle is being won, but reinforcements are on the way! Out. NOW!"''

Just as quickly as he entered the Jackal, Lucius now exits it, fully armed with his assault rifle. Must be nice to feel clothed again. The Martian takes a place behind a crate near the ship's hatch and, switching the gun off safety.. then Barlov calls the order to board oncemore. He grunts and rises, running back into the ship. Under his breath, something is muttered.

As she runs, Ebon keeps herself between the guards and the retreating crew, one stray shot catching her in the back of the shoulder and ricocheting up into the ceiling. "Go go go!!" she yells as the others brace to cover her, diving through the hatch and rolling back to her feet in the airlock.

''By now, the X-23 defenders are nearly all dead or pushed back into the common deck. Barlov's troops do not give chase. They move to board another of the available ships, which soon powers up and starts to undock.''

Ren Arnassis remains kneeling at the foot of Artemis' ramp until Ebon passes him; then, with one last, wild volley, the Lunite turns and dives headfirst into the lock.

And then outside...

Somewhere in space - 
 * Swirling clouds of dust and gas glow blue and violet within this reflection nebula, extending more than a dozen light years in diameter in a stretched spherical shape.

The LMS Artemis departs from the Starbase X-23's docking bay

The IND Jackal departs from the Starbase X-23's docking bay

With a sudden shimmering, the IND Jackal raises its shields.

With a sudden shimmering, the LMS Artemis raises its shields.

As the Artemis, the Jackal and the other ship undock, other vessels appear on arriving jumps. They are far but closing in on the starbase.

The Artemis powers it's thrusters to full strength, burning a trail through the swirling indigo nebula, the intense white standing out in sharp contrast to the surronding colors. As soon as possible, the slim Calliope powers up it's jump command, fleeing local space.

The IND Jackal rockets out of the landing bay at breakneck speed, her pilot evidently more concerned with escape than finesse just this second. The black and red freighter doesn't collide with anything, but she's obviously being flown with a rather heavy hand as she streaks outward, away from the station.