October 29th, 2002 ~Ghost(D), Solar(D), Omnisaber(D), Scattershot(A), Darkmount - Repair Bay Much like the adjacent research lab, the equipment here is showing signs of age, but is kept in a serviceable condition. Two automated repair drones lie against the far wall, though each is obviously missing a few parts...apparently they've been salvaged for someone else's benefit. The once well-stocked parts closets now contain mostly empty shelves and bins. Several dozen repair tables of various sizes are arranged in rows in the middle of the room. Dartboard Medical Terminal Obvious Exits: -S- South leads to Darkmount - Regeneration Spa -E- East leads to Darkmount - Medical and Science Level -W- West leads to Darkmount - Cryochamber Ghost says, "Darkmount relay stations, work on getting that signal more clear." Solar says, "We got anyhting on the sensor grid as coming torwards the planet?" Lieutenant Moonlight sounds a bit sleepy. "What's going on?" Ghost says, "Not yet. Maincomm is experiencing some standard technical difficulties. Trying to patch into planetary grid through the landlines." Ghost says, "Solar, are you in your special place and if so, could I get a backup signal push from your area?" Solar says, "Yes I am. gimme a minute and I'll hook up the connection" Ghost says, "Good.. All available units go to standby status." Lieutenant Moonlight says, "Well, if something has to go wrong, at least I'm all healed up for it." The voice suddenly sounds paniced. "That's a bit odd." The signal was either boosted or the cosmic disturbance has cleared. "There's an eerie light comming from the hull. The whole ship's glowng. We're moving in for a closer look." Solar says, "Your connection is hot, but it seems uneccessary now." Ghost says, "Maincomm to outside systems grid operators, begin signal triangulation process. Still needed the boost Solar if we're going to try to trace it." -Moonlight gets up off her medbed and heads for the launch pad. Darkmount - Launch Platform Forcibly hewn out of the side of a raised mountain, this sturdily constructed platform is large enough to accommodate several ships and still allow enough room for the arriving and departing patrols of Decepticon seekers. Crafted of solidly forged chunks of Durillium, it has been made to withstand the tests of time and battles. Around the edges of the platform are various anti-aircraft batteries and entrenched watch posts for defense drones, should anyone ever be foolish enough to attempt an attack from the air, or intrepid enough to risk approaching the Decepticon stronghold from the nearly impossible climb below. Obvious Exits: -U- Up leads to Sky Above Tarn -D- Down leads to Darkmount - Elevator Shaft Solar says, "I'll keep the connection open for as long as you want, and for more power I've shutdown unneccessary processes." Ghost says, "Great Solar." Lieutenant Moonlight sounds more awake now. "Is there anything you need or want me to do?" Ghost says, "Lets see how close this is before we start forming up to go take a look. But stay near launch points for now." Solar says, "Moonlight think of this as being an emergency situation." Lieutenant Moonlight says, "Already there." Omnisaber says, "Sorry to interrupt on the chan, but since I'm not sure on emergency protocols, where exactly are we supposed to be stationed in this sort of event?" Ghost says, "Well, were are you now, Ser Omnisaber?" Solar says, "He's with me Ghost." Omnisaber says, "Affirmative." Ghost says, "Good.. As soon as we get a lock and a location, drop your connection and head to Darkmount. In case we need to group for a trip." -Moonlight steps out the the elevator and looks to the sky, just out of reflex. When she sees nothing, she just sits and waits, watching as other Decepticons make their way on to the launching platform. Solar says, "anything special we should bring along?" Ghost says, "oohhh.. The usual.. Patch kits and spare charges. *soft chuckle*" The voice comes back once again, "Closer inspection of the ship shows that it's ... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Mayday! MAYDAY! The ships... *click* Ghost says, "Relay comms, do we have a triangulation of that signal?!" Scattershot says, "Iacon to salvage ship. Do you need assistance?!" -Moonlight tenses up, waiting for instructions. Relay Comm A-7 here. It looks like it's comming from outside our orbit, ma'am. Ghost says, "Alright, focus and recalibrate the systems. I need to know which side of the planet thats coming from." Solar says, "Do we have a fix on the frequency band? Do we know what group is sending the signal?" Ghost says, "Running through what datacoils we've got Solar.. Still checking." Solar says, "Moonight if this is an orbital mission make sure the Champion is fueled" Ghost says, "Do we have a pilot on call for the Champion?" Lieutenant Moonlight says, "I can pilot shuttles." Ghost says, "Moonlight, report to the shuttle and begin a systems check. Solar, I've got all I can from your location, head back to Darkmount with Omnisaber. Maincomm, keep an uplink with me, I'm going to the launch platform." Scattershot says, "Salvage ship, this is Lieutennant Scattershot of the Autobots. I'm on my way to you. What's your position?" Lieutenant Moonlight says, "On my way." Solar says, "Understood." Omnisaber says, "Acknowledged." -Moonlight makes her way into the Champion. Decepticon Shuttle The interior of your standard Decepticon shuttle. Yay. Contents: Control Panel -From outside, Ghost strides onto the launch platform, footfalls taking her towards the shuttle as she calls out,m "Everyone aboard, we should be getting directions once we're inthe air. Moonlight! Get the engines primed for launch!" -Ghost moves near silently into the area, attention clearly on her surroundings, a wary expression on her countanance. -Omnisaber steps on to the shuttle, looking for a good place to sit tight during the 'cramped' journey. -Solar slides to the back of the shuttle, having to duck most of the way before taking a seat and promptly falling asleep -Ghost makes her way to the cramped cockpit, dropping into a seat. -Moonlight is sitting at the controls, obviously quite at home with the situation, doing all the things that a pilot would be doing at this point in time. -Ghost gets strapped in, "All aboard?" she says softly, optics glittering as she continues to get uploads from the mainframe. -Omnisaber leans back slightly, strapping himself in, and sighing nods, giving the thumbs up to the two in the front, "All okay back here. At least as far as I can tell." -Lights blink and the sounds of the shuttle fill the atmosphere. Moonlight sits, patiently waiting for directions. -Ghost glances back and smiles, "Alright Moonlight, lets get this thing aloft." -Moonlight nods. "Right-o." And she gets this show on the road...or sky as the case may be. -Ghost settles as best she can, optics focused on the main screen, still getting updates. "Shouldn't be too much of a trip." she comments softly. -Moonlight doesn't take her optics off of the controls and the screen. "Where exactly are we headed?" -Ghost hnns softly, optics half lit, "Make a break for Orbit and we'll adjust from there." -Omnisaber places his hands behind his head as he begins to relax...hearing that it wouldn't be too much of a trip merely puts a smile on his face as he sits quietly while they travel. -Solar shifts in his seat trying to get confortable. -Moonlight busies herself with the task of controlling the ship, humming slightly to herself. It's been a while since she was in space, and she isn't /too/ torn up about returning to it. -Ghost's optics flicker softly as she 'listens' to her uplink.. hnning softly, "We did make sure we had a full fuel charge yes?" she asks with some amusement. Cybertron High Orbit Those who enter into Cybertron's orbit are immediately engulfed in a fine mist of dust particles that the rings around Cybertron rain down on the planet's atmosphere. The cold of space is tempered slightly by the nearness to the metal planet, but not nearly enough. Quarius Prime Quarius Obvious Exits: -O- Out leads to Alpha Centauri System -D- Down leads to Low Cybertron Orbit -Moonlight nods her head. "You told me to prepare, so that's what I did." -Ghost's frame stiffens slightly as they leave orbit.. "Alright.." she murmurs, getting the data, "Take her higher.. We need to break main orbital position." Crystal City to Salvage team. Please respond. -Ghost cocks her head to one side, her signal finally getting staticy enough for her to have difficulty making sense of it, "Pull back and put us in a parking orbit, Mer Moonlight. Still trying to get the final triangulation from maincomm and the distance is ruining the datastream." -Solar snnnkkkkkxxxxZZZ -Moonlight lets her fingers dance across the controls as she follows orders...for once. Once done, she leans back slightly, making herself comfortable while she waits for further directions. -Omnisaber continues to relax - nothing that he has input on for the moment... Ghost says, "*static* Shuttle operations to Maincomm.. Need* static* fix on signal." -Moonlight takes a moment to look back at everyone assembled, then fixes her optics on Ghost. "How is that coming?" -Solar puts his feet up on the bench in front of him and keeps asleep. -Ghost fehs softly, patching herself into the shuttle's computer system in order to utilize its broadcast systems.. "Hold on. Getting a booster from the shuttle. Still having problems with feedback from the mainframe in darkmount. Some things arn't working right." -Moonlight blinks her optics. "Here, or back home?" -Ghost heaves a sigh, "back home. Synchronizing systems.. " Her optics brighten before they go a dull gray hue. Ghost says, "Outbound patrol to Maincomm. Riding the shuttle's comm as a piggyback singal. Please patch the needed triangulation data through this repeating signal." -Moonlight nods her head and just waits, tapping her finger on the side of the controls where an errant finger couldn't do any harm. She resumes humming for the time being. -Ghost's optics rekindle as she gets something onthe uplink, "Alright, we've got something concrete. Moonlight, angle this craft to an apogee between the quarii moons. We're heading up and out." She pauses, hand raising, "Last databurst.. Yes.. We need to continue out but after that, we are on our own." -Moonlight is all business again for the moment while she acts on the newest information given to her by Ghost. Once again the shuttle is moving to pursue a course. Ghost says, "Shuttle to Maincom, we've recieved the data and are moving out of uplink reach. We will hold standard comm systems open for any reports. Ghost out." Alpha Centauri System This seemingly binary system is in fact a trinary system, at least it is now; Cybertron is lit by both the yellow, Sol-like Alpha Centauri A and its companion, the smaller, orange Alpha Centauri B, resulting in days of constantly varying length and sometimes spectacular atmospheric coloration effects. Off in the distance, the third member of the triad, Proxima Centauri, circles the others in a never-ending cosmic dance. There was a fourth, Gamma Centauri, but that star recently went nova. Oddly enough, Cybertron still seems to be untouched. Autobot Shuttle Scattershot [Space Cruiser] [A] Cybertronian Transport Cybertron Obvious Exits: -IB- leads to Sector 902 -PCS- leads to Proxima Centauri System -X- leads to Planet X Orbit -Y- leads to Planet Y Orbit -Solar just snores some more. -Ghost unjacks herself from the shuttle, "Moonlight, are sensors picking up anything?" -Moonlight checks over the sensors. She taps her finger against the screen. "Yes, yes I do. We've got another shuttle here," stab with a finger, "and a transport there," yet another stab with her finger. "What's the plan?" -Ghost lifts a brow, "Run analysis on the other shuttle and the transport. Are they moving? Any energy signatures?" -From outside, Scattershot is zooming about the stars, circling the Aphelion. -Solar wakes up as the shuttle stops moving "Did I hear someone say Autobots?" -Moonlight runs the requested analysis and shakes her head. "The smaller shuttle is an Autobot shuttle. The other appears to be quite dead." She points to each in turn. -From outside, Starfire is late arriving, from wherever it is she came from, and proceeding *very* cautiously. The huge new... old? ship catches her attention first, then the three other craft in the vicinity. Not good... -Solar says, "See I told ya I heard the name Autobot" -Ghost peers at the screen.. "Hmm... Autobots.. It would be too much to hope that they wouldn't have come to investigate.. Move us towards the dead ship.. Standard ranged distance." -Moonlight glances back at Solar. "Then you must have some sort of future telling device somewhere." -Ghost peers at the screen.. "Hmm... Autobots.. It would be too much to hope that they wouldn't have come to investigate.. Move us towards the dead ship.. Standard ranged distance." -Moonlight nods her head. "Will do." And she starts to move towards the transport. -As you approach the Aphelion, the ship starts to glow slightly. As if by magic, that gumby co-pilot suddenly disappears from his seat. A slight squeal is heard as he goes, but by the time you turn to look at him, he's no longer there. Looking back to the Aphelion, it has returned to it's dead state. -Ghost blinks, glancing over at where Serdidymus the gumby co-pilot was.. "What the?!" She exclaims, optics widening. -Moonlight waves her hand through where the co-pilot was...just to make sure he's actually gone. She shakes her head. "Now, if that wasn't weird, someone hit me..." -From outside, Scattershot continues circling until the ship starts to glow. At that moment, he swings wide and circles the Freedom before turning back to fire his thrusters, keeping him in place as he faces the now darkened ship once again. -Solar says, "Now that was interesting? Do you have any energy readings on that?" -Moonlight sucks on her bottom lip for a moment. "I'm on it..." And she checks the readings on her control pannel. -The Decepticon Shuttle begins to slowly move towards the dead ship, engine thrusters sparking intermittantly.. It pulls into a semi-distant range and holds. -Ghost blinks again.. "Any energy readings? That was.. was.." she waves her hand through where the pilot was before sending off a radio.. Ghost says, "Serdidymus? Serdidymus report?" -From outside, Starfire is as cautious of the other shuttles as she is of the strange big ship that generates such odd readings... then doesn't. The smaller red ship seems to be with the gold one, but she doesn't have a solid identification on either of them. The last of the group, she recognizes as Decepticon. There's an obvious conclusion to be made here, and that this is factional business. Figures. -Moonlight slaps the side of her leg. "Could /they/ have done that?" She indicates the blip on the screen that is the Autobot shuttle. -Solar says, "Can you make out the call numbers on that glowing thing out there?" Serdidymus comes across the channel, "Um...*static* Help. I seem to be on that eerie ship. It's *fizzle* ...ead inside. No power. I could use a lift outta here. -Moonlight turns to Ghost. "Should I attempt to help him out?" -Ghost listens to the call for help, "Lovely.. At least he's alive." Her optics narrow, "Start moving us closer. Look for possible docking ports." -Solar says, "Well at least I ame prepared" -Moonlight nods her head. "Slowly but surely. Everyone hold on...don't want any more people to just up and vanish." -The Decepticon Shuttle begins to apply vectoring thrusters, slowly moving in closer to the derilect vessel. -From outside, Scattershot kicks in his thrusters and heads straight for the Aphelion, moving slowly and cautiosly. As he approaches, he transforms and begins fiddling with the airlock. -Moonlight slowly takes the ship towards the dead ship, optics searching for something to dock at. -Omnisaber says, "You know, this reminds me of quite a number of stories...but I doubt now is the time for them." -Ghost keeps her safty straps on in case they have to move out fast. "Time enough for stories later, Ser Omnisaber." Her optics glitter as she looks back, "By the way, welcome to the EMpire." she flashes a faint smile. -Solar arms himself with a missile pod on one shoulder, a spotlight on the other, and loosens the strap on his axe "I'm ready whenever you are" -Moonlight taps the screen. "I've found an airlock...right over there, on the starboard side." She taps elsewhere. "And there's a neutral shuttle over that way as well." -Omnisaber nods softly, "Thanks lady Ghost, but now isn't the time for welcomes either. Plenty of time for that later." as he smiles and shrugs, waiting for them to dock. -From outside, Starfire stays clear of the others and simply observes. -From outside, Scattershot finally gets the airlock open and the port swings wide. He turns back to the Freedom and signals that it's safe to come this way. -Ghost nods, "A few ground rules since we do seem to have Autobot company. Priority is finding out lost mech. Secondary is getting information on that ship. Tertiary is making sure the Autobots dont get anything worthwhile." Her smile tightens. "Understood?" -Omnisaber nods absently, "Yep, standard routine c.o.a." -Moonlight nods back. "The Autobots appear to be heading for the airlock...should we find another route in, or take our chances getting that close?" -Solar says, "Can I just do that third thing and let the rest do the other two?" -Ghost glances at Solar, "No. You get to follow the same rules the rest of us do." She offers a tight smile, tensing up as her attention flicks to the screen, "Get us in as close as you can, Moonlight. See if there is another dock. If not, we'll just have to.. share." -Moonlight chuckles slightly. "And hopefully sharing won't kill us." She moves futher towards the dead ship. "I don't seem to see anything else, and I'm beginning to think that we don't have time to look for another way in. We don't know what's going to happen to our lost memeber..." -Ghost hnns, "Then get us in near that open port, Moonlight. We'll have to share." -Solar says, "Can I at least place a nice explosuve on the biot shuttle?" Solar is obviously teasing "So do we split up when we got on there or stay together?" -Moonlight punches in the controls and stears towards the air lock, keeping an optic on what the Autobot shuttle is doing...just in case. -Omnisaber says, "Chances are they're going to be busy looking for something themselves and will too occupied to mind sharing...least that's just a hunch." turning to Solar and smirking, "Might be an idea..." -The Decepticon Shuttle eases tentativly towards the port that Scattershot has opened, thrusters flashing off and on as it draws closer. -From outside, Scattershot returns his attention to the airlock, and heads inside the Aphelion. -From outside, The Freedom lines up with the Aphelion's starboard side, fires its tractor beams, and ejects the boarding chute to finish the connection. -Ghost hnngs, "Solar.. are you just trying to test my patience?" she asks with some amusement. -Solar gets suddenly philosophical and pious "All things are a test M'lady." -Ghost lifts a brow, "I think we'll have enough tests in trying to find Serdidymus. Lets not compound the problem, eh?" Another faint smirk before she looks back at the screen. Pointing, she indicates a second point at which to lock a boarding chute onto in the same area the Autobots have locked in. "Move us there and set the boarding chute, Moonlight. Everyone else, lock and load." She grins, "And make nice with the Autobots." -Moonlight nods and complies. -Solar points out the screen at Magnus "You want me to make nice with that hulking mass of ill used electrons? -Omnisaber shrugs and nods, waiting for the shuttle to finish docking. -Ghost slides through the 'con docking chute, ending up, rather nicely though ships physics, in the Greeting Center area. -Solar is suited up for a nice clean fight and is holding a large canvas style bag idly in one hand. -Moonlight finishes with the shut-down controls of the shuttle and makes her way out, just like everyone else. The Aphelion - Greeting Center Where once the passengers entered the ship and started their time on this luxury liner, there is only a rundown deck with walls of information. Ships diagrams, maps and specifications line the wall to the left. On the right, there is listings of the shops aboard, the schedule of events, and old style datachips that tell anything and everything a passenger would need to know for their passage. All the datachips are gone, and the information boards are in disarray. The stands in the middle of the room that advertise one shop or another is on its side. There is only the barest of lights and the whole place is covered with dust, dirt and grime. Canvas Style Bag Ghost [Robot] [D] Solar [Robot] [D] Scattershot [Robot] [A] Omnisaber [Robot] [D] Thunderclap [Robot] [A] Ultra Magnus [Robot] [A] Obvious Exits: -O- Out leads to -S- Starboard leads to The Aphelion - Atrium -Scattershot walks in and flips his visor to add more light his field of vision. -Omnisaber follows out last, taking the rear, scanning about for anything out of the ordinary, but keeping an optic open for their lost co-pilot. -Scattershot takes a few steps foward before he finally breaks the silence by calling out "RAZOR?! YOU THERE?!" -Ghost holds her hand up so the Decepticons can regroup, "Everyone here?" she asks softly, optics gleaming with a hint of rare crimson. -Solar answers simply "No, thats why we're here" -Omnisaber gets closer to the group of 'Cons and merely nods to Ghost's question, still keeping his optics searching the area. -Moonlight nods. "It seems so." She makes a face. "This place isn't a pretty sight, is it?" She looks around. "What's the plan?" -Ultra Magnus again scans around at Scattershot's call, but there is still no response. He raises his rifle, then waves the others forward. But hey, at least they haven't been ambushed yet... -Ghost's optics flicker as she looks at Solar, "Amazing ability of deduction you have there." She replies softly. She hears Scattershot yell and shakes her head, "Great.. Autobots. Remember what I said. Keep the priorities in focus. Plan is still find Serdidymus." -Yet. Famous last words, but Thunderclap moves up along with Magnus and Nosecone in the search for their missing co-pilot. His own blaster is drawn, caution being better than optimism here it would seem. -Solar walks over and looks at the information on the wall, he looks down at his watch and then back at the wall "Ya know if we hurry we can make the show." -Moonlight folds her arms against her chest. "So, should we stick together, or split up?" -Ghost hnns, "Stay together. We don't kow the layout." -Omnisaber shakes his head, "Probably stick together...we split up, and we'll only be asking for trouble. If not from something here, than from the 'Bots." -Moonlight nods. "Then how are we to ensure the Bots don't get anything?" -Solar mutters to Moonlight: "Ya know its not ... ... ... say that ... in ... of ..."((Ya know its not exactly polite to say that righ in front of them)) -There is a slight and sudden breeze as if something is running past. But, there is nothing there and there is no sign that there has been anything here in a very long time. -Omnisaber says, "For now we can't. Priority as Ghost said would be to find Serdidymus. We can worry about everything else afterwards." -Moonlight shakes her head. "I mean, what if they find him first?" -Nosecone grumbles under his breath, wondering exactly what he's doing here when he should be planted in the aft-groove he's got worked into his favorite rec-room couch. -Ghost shakes her head, "Priority list Moonlight. Find then preven..t" Her optics flicker as she snaps around, loking at a wall then around.. "If they find him first, he'll yell for us." -Moonlight nods her head. "Most likely...if he's in a condition to." -Scattershot materializes his rifle to his side and the lifts it, taking a few steps towards the heart of the ship. He doesn't really bother with the Cons, after all, from what he's hearing, they're here for the same reasons and have been told to not engage. -Ultra Magnus stops as he reaches the end of the hall, which fans out into the welcoming room. He turns around and looks at the Autobots, raising his hands to stop them. "Okay. Scattershot, you take Nosecone and scan left. Thunderclap, you're with me. Remember: we're here to find Razorflash, not fight. Keep contact regular." Then he begins creeping off again on his course. -Nosecone follows his squad commander's lead, pulling his rifle from subspace and nodding in response to Magnus's orders. "You think there's something else here Shot? 'sides the Cons?" -Solar turns his spotlight on and starts to flash it around "Your move Ghost lead on" -Thunderclap nods without comment. After giving an encouraging smile to the other two Autobots, he steps after Magnus. While he moves, the bot keeps both a covering position on his superior, and a good view about himself, searching for any hint of occupation, friendly or otherwise. -Ghost silently wishes Enfilade were here... Her optics continue to flicker slightly as she adjusts to the dimmer levels of light. "Well... Seems like they may have lost someone as well. " she muses just before Solar flashes that giant spotlight. "GAH!" her hand comesup to shield her optics, "Warna femme, slaggit, Solar." she grates.. "Forward, tally ho and all that garbage. Lets simply stay together as best we can. Tight spots form up a single line, anything open, Solar and Omni you shade.. port? Fraggit.. Left.. Moonlight, you stay with me and we'll fan out right. stay alert." -Scattershot shakes his head, "Nah. Nothing more than this dirt that's gonna take weeks to scrub off." He heads off towards the center of the ship, not really noticing that this place is uber creepy. -Omnisaber smiles as he turns to Solar, gesturing towards the left, "After you good sir..." -Solar says, "Sure send the big white con holding the flashlight in first. You know how many horror vids start this way, the white guy always gets it first" -Moonlight nods her head. "Right." She moves in behind Ghost. "Let's go." -Omnisaber says, "Well fine then, you'd rather I go first? I mean, do you have any idea how many times the poor helpless black mech goes first, and just disappears, only to return later in the horror vid turning out to be the one behind it all?"" -Ultra Magnus glances off his regular screening pattern as he hears Ghost yell in her blindness. He shakes his head and keeps looking in that area for a bit, but decides to push on toward the ship's cabin. -Ghost smirks, "Primus, get over it Solar.. Start moving. No one is 'getting' anything. " -Solar starts to head out "Oh well." -Moonlight looks at Ghost. "Mechs..." She chuckles softly. -Omnisaber chuckles softly turning to Solar as he begins to follow, "Heh...femmes..." -Ghost glances at Moonlight and shrugs, "Let's move..." She turns to shadow the Autobot group, letting them go politly first into the unknown. "Too much chatter, not enough movement." -Nosecone checks the action of his rifle as he he follows Scattershot into the darkness in a relaxed yet wary fashion. "Just like the tunnels back home.." -Thunderclap grumbles something about Decepticons and loud noises, keeping after Ultra Magnus. Even so, he seems more alert than before, were such a thing possible. -Moonlight nods and quietly follows after Ghost. The Aphelion - Atrium Running the length, breadth and width of the walls in this enourmous central chamber, the atrium level to the centermost portion of this pleasure ship is a series of railed, overly opulant platforms that overlook the galleria level below. The calling card of this particular vessel, this level gives an even better view to the stars outside, curving panels of transparent material fitted into the hull itself for an actual look into the realm that the ship crosses. Once these risers and platforms were richly decorated with glimmerings of precious metals and materials from planets far and winde, now they seem to barely hold themselves upright, covered in the dross of civilization gone to seed. Railings have grown frail with age, inset carved portions thinned with rust and neglect, some transluscent, some simply missing. What light there is comes from the starfields outside as well as those internal lights remaining active, giving off flickering intermitant displays of luminescence, casting flickering shadows across the opening below. Ghost [Robot] [D] Solar [Robot] [D] Nosecone [Robot] [A] Scattershot [Robot] [A] Obvious Exits: -F- Fore leads to The Aphelion - Observation Deck -A- Aft leads to The Aphelion - Starlight Mall -S1- Starboard 1 leads to The Aphelion - Atrium Lift One -S2- Starboard 2 leads to The Aphelion - Atrium Lift Two -P- Port leads to The Aphelion - Greeting Center -Solar says, "We clear a deck before we head up to another one" -Moonlight pads onwards. The usually noisy femme is actually being very quiet. Evidently she's done her share of sneaking around before, abusing everyone of the notion that Moonlight can't be quiet to save her life. -Omnisaber nods softly to the suggestion, continuing to follow Solar, constantly on his guard and keeping an optic out for their lost co-pilot, casually following all the while. -Ghost nods in agreement before voicing it, "Best to work this level by level.." her voice trails off as she takes a lingering look around, optics trailing upwards until they stop to focus on the ceiling-panels. "..." -Moonlight glances up to see what Ghost is peering at. -Solar looks up and says simply "Nice view." -Omnisaber doesn't join the others in looking at the ceiling panels, being reminded of something not so pleasant and muttering something along the lines of '...not doing that again...'. -Scattershot begins heading towards the front of the ship, as he figures it's always better to start at front and work backwards. He constantly looks around and stops to move some debris here and there. -Solar sees Scattershot move fore and turns his group to the aft "No need to tempt fate" -Ghost shakes herself from simple admiration for construction, "be careful, those rails don't look to stable. Lets veer starboard and see what we can find through one of these hatches." -Nosecone isn't built for stealth, but he's doing his best to quiet his heavy footfalls. The quiet is starting to get to him - he's designed for a full frontal attack, not sneaking around in the darkness. "This place is a dump." The Aphelion - Starlight Mall Where once there were many shops with wares from across the galaxy, there is only a darkened hallway. As wide as the ship is, this section was dedicated to helping the passengers take back physical rememberances of their journey. While the doors to most shops are either gone or on the floor in front of them, the shops themselves seem to be as stocked as they were before what ever happened happened. There are massive pots that once housed plants from some of the more exotic worlds the Aphelion had traveled to. Now, there are tall lifeless stalks pointing towards the ceiling, or laying on the floors, their roots having been removed from the life giving soil that is also spilled across the ground. Omnisaber [Robot] [D] Solar [Robot] [D] Obvious Exits: -F- Fore leads to The Aphelion - Atrium -A- Aft leads to The Aphelion - The Grand Ballroom -S- Starboard leads to The Aphelion - Starlight Gifts -P- Port leads to The Aphelion - Starlight Lounge -Omnisaber enters the area casually, as if there were nothing wrong - not necessarily attempting to be silent, but cautious enough to not make noise, as always, scanning about for their lost co-pilot. -Ghost moves with the group, optics flickering as she peers around, lips tight in a drawn scowl. Her footfalls are as silent as a solar wind, carrying her to the left side of the hallway to peer into one of the shops. A shake of her head and she glances around before starting to move to another doorway, peeking inside. "Already starting, Solar. Standard sweep pattern, one looks, the other stays lookout." she puts her back to the wall, "Moonlight, if you wqould do the looking, I'll keep watch." -Moonlight continues along with Ghost, shaking her head. And people said the Dead End was depressing...it has nothing on this place. She glances at Ghost and asks softly, "Have we tried contacting our missing pilot recently?" -Solar says, "Thats a good call, perhaps we could triangulate on his radio" -Omnisaber merely nods softly to the suggestions, waiting around, and admiring some of the scenery. -Ghost gives a shake of her head, "Not without a repeater, Solar." -Solar says, "What about the shuttle?" -Ghost lifts a brow.. "Give me a moment to see if I can get a stable signal. If anything, we can call to see if he can give us some point of referance." -Solar says, "Omni check the gift shop and leave the radio open" -Moonlight heads towards the shops, peeking her head into one and then cautiously entering once any /immeadiate/ danger is obviously not present. Ghost says, "Serdidymus, if you can hear this give us a signal. We're aboard the craft now. Repeat, Serdidymus, respond." -Omnisaber nods to Solar silently, as he creeps his way over cautiously to the gift shop, optics at their full brightness glowing their eerie blood crimson red. -Solar says, "Find anything you two?" -Omnisaber shakes his head from side to side, "Unless you want to raid whatever goods got left behind in there, nada. Some dust, some posters, goods...the usual for a gift shop." -Solar says, "Alright then its my turn, I'll take the lounge and my comm will be open" -Moonlight shakes her head. "Nothing yet. Most of these shops are pretty dull. But I'll keep looking, just in case." She pulls out a hat, quite different from hers, being a large afair with a plume, and puts it on. "Whatcha think?" -Ghost keeps her position as hall monitor, "Hmm.. Interesting change, Moonlight." she comments softly, still waiting to see if she hears anything from Serdidymus. -Omnisaber smirks at Moonlight, "It's cute...but I doubt your choice of hat will attract Serdidymus to contact us any sooner, sadly." -Moonlight grins, shrugs, and then moves towards yet another shop. -Omnisaber turns to Solar, "Find anything interesting?" -Solar says, "Nothing but a 45 vorn bottle of Monocan Brandy, unfortunatley its contents were missing." -Ghost looks at Solar, lifting a brow. "Anything? Something?" She smirks, "Trust the bartender to look for liquer." Her optics glitter a red hued violet, "Seems to be rather quiet in here too. A lot of dust. Nothing moving at all." -Omnisaber says, "Quite the shame really...well, on the bright side at least someone enjoyed it. Hopefully..."" -A whisper comes from the walls, a vaguely familiar tone that would only be known to one of the people in the room. "Ooooonisabeeeeer." -Omnisaber raises an optic ridge and looks around at the other 'Cons present, "Any of you hear that?" -Moonlight pads out of yet another shop, shaking her head. The plume bobs and waves as she does so. When the eerie whisper intrudes on the silence, she jumps. "Yeah...what was it?" -Ghost goes utterly still... "Anyone else.. Yes.." She nods, "Heard that." she mutters, reaching for her sidearm. "Anyone you know own a ship like this, Omnisaber?" -Solar says, "I heard it yes, but I thought it was impolite to answer. They were calling you after all." -Omnisaber strokes his chin gently, deep in thought, "Sounded familiar...but I'll be blasted if I know who...I mean, for a moment I thought it was one of you playing some sort of prank on me." -Moonlight shakes her head again. "I don't think any of us would do that Omni...we've got more important things to do..." -Solar says, "C;mon lets finish this level up and head to the bridge perhaps we can get the ships sensors active" -Omnisaber begins looking around for the source of where the voice might have come from..."There's a reason I heard that though...maybe something or someone is here...waiting...?" -Moonlight shrugs. "Coming Omni?" -A more femanine voice comes again, the same whisper. "What happened, Omnisabeeeeer? You abandoned me." -Omnisaber sighs and shrugs, jumping and spinning about, both optics dimming..."Okay...now that's really familiar..." -Moonlight looks around, stopping on her way out of the room. "What /is/ that Omnisaber?" She doesn't seem too concerned yet, merely curious for the moment.