Access tunnel

[tomcat]

The creatures were dead.

Brim backed away from the mutant, his heightened senses awash with the foul odor of the thing. From a distance, the entire team inspected their attackers. They were not human, nor any other species that had been seen, although they reminded Sam of the species Whiphid that came from the planet Toola in the Outer Rim. It was roughly five sectors away along the Perlemian Trade Route, which was far, but still in the neighborhood when you looked at the galaxy.

But why would there be Whiphids here? Most members of the party knew about the treatment of non-human species since the absolute change in order from Palpatine. It had all started just after Order 66 had been issued. Non-human species were rounded up and taken out of positions of authority, along with being transplanted from the more comfortable worlds. But even so, Whiphids lived on a harsh, cold planet. To come here must have been a brutal environmental change.

The question resounded, why? It was an Imperial prison planet - once Republic - but what could these simple creatures have done to deserve to be imprisoned here? Or were they never prisoners? Slaves? Were they even Whiphids at one time?

The creature was burnt from exposure to the sun on this dry little rock. Patches of its hair was gone and it had unhealthy looking growths on, and under its skin. There were even lesions evident that had not been created by the teams' weapons. Open sores that had to have caused the mutant awful discomfort. The last thing that the members of the party noticed were small little stitched scars along the back and spine, the neck, and around the head. Were the creatures tampered with? Did someone do surgery on them, and for what purpose?

All of these things were left unanswered by the silence of the small planetoid, save for the wind and the roar of water that flowed off the plateau in the distance. Logar'Dan looked towards the plateau wall and saw the maintenance tunnel entrance. It was like a black maw in the red rocky cliff, waiting for any to enter.

What none of the team knew was that eyes watched them from within the darkness.

[Telcontar]

Britton looked at the beasts, but didnt get to close because of the smell. things would have been more difficult for them if they had tried this during the night. He scanned around again.

"Let's pitch this one into the river. Any patrol from the prison will notice the blaster shots if they scan or come this way."

Britton holstered his pistol and headed towards the dead creature and tried to find the best way to grab it without getting filth and stench all over himself.


Once the creature had been moved he scanned the area again, "Sam can you pick up anything else around here? We will run a greater risk using the blasters in the tunnel because of the noise, Logar I think your vibroblade will come in handy after all.

[Jingo]

Kaida studied the stitches carefully for a minute, nearly gagging at the scent as she crouched near the beast. Standing, she looked at Britton. "Before you toss that in the river, I'd like to take a quick look under these stitches. It should only take a few minutes."

She'll move the beast near the base of the cliff and not in the tunnel and will do a little field surgery, for just a few minutes, borrowing Logar's vibroblade being careful not to get any of the ichor on her. She'll use a medpak if needed and one finished will dump it in the river.
Treat Injury (ie Surgery):

Rolled 1d20+14 : 19 + 14, total 33

[Callowmoryne]

Logar gave Britton his toothiest grin to date. "Katherine always comes in handy. I'll watch the entrance while you folks clean up." The delay didn't bother him a bit. It was smart to clean your tracks. And it was double smart to examine the beasts if they could get a moments reprieve. Know your enemy...

[Telcontar]

"It couldnt smell any worse..."

Britton looked at the prison again, "though I am not sure if I want to know if this is a house of horrors or not jsut yet."

[tomcat]

Kaida looked the creature up and down. It was difficult. Bile was rising in her throat due to the awful smell. She took a piece of cloth and tied it around her mouth and nose and then began to do minor surgery on the mutant.

She discovered that the lesions and the tumors were definitely from exposure to radiation. Most likely the sun that beat down on this planetoid, but she couldn't be sure. If the creature had been exposed to extreme x-rays, or ultr-violet rays, it would have ended up the same, but sooner. She also discovered that the stitch scars had been crude attempts to close up invasive, exploratory surgical cuts. They were in key areas around the head, spine, and chest. Whoever had operated on this creature had not been doing it to save its life, or to help it with the cancer that apparently was eating it up inside. Whoever had done this was tinkering. Kaida wondered what the end result was supposed to be.

Almost an hour cycle had passed by the time she was finished, and already the small planet was turning away from its sun. Shadows were growing longer and the wind was beginning to pick up - the thermodynamics of the world - cooler air over a hot rocky surface.

Logar'Dan and Britton had been taking a position between the tunnel entrance and where the party was exploring the dead creature, but nothing had stirred. There was a small stream of water that flowed out of the tunnel. It had the smell of oil, or other lubricant, and had a rainbow sheen across its surface. There was other particulates within, but Logar could not confirm if this was biologic waste water from the facility. It did not reek of feces or other bodily wastes, so perhaps it was simply runoff or condensation water from the prison's power plant. They heard Kaida's whispered words under her breath and turned to see her nod that she was done. Sam elected to drag the dead mutant to the river, as the droid was able to disconnect his olfactory sensor.

Sam watched the creature splash into the peroxide river - he knew its chemical makeup, and it was not water; not in the sense that the his companions thought of it. He wondered if their boots and clothing would show signs of the bleaching agent. He also wondered if the liquid was one of the problems with the creatures. If they were consuming it, what was it doing to their insides? He turned around and moved back to the team.

Except for the natural sounds of the river falls, the stream, and the wind, there was nothing else. The moving air whistled as it roiled along the plateau cliff wall and over the maintenance tunnel entrance and the falls roared. But no other sounds. Nothing had shown itself, save the small insects. No patrol walked the cliff wall. No patrol came to explore the sound of blaster fire. Nothing stirred.

Logar nodded to Britton and moved to the cliff face. He slung his blaster over his shoulder and commenced the arduous climb up to the entrance. It was a good twelve feet of climbing, but fortunately the broken stone of the cliff made for easy hand holds. It took the soldier only a few minutes to reach the lip of the cave. Logar slowly hoisted himself up to peer into the darkness. Nothing. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. He pulled himself up and quickly unlimbered his blaster, kneeling as he did. With his gun aimed down the tunnel, he signalled for the others to come.



The team will need to make a DC 5 climb roll - I am just going to roll to make sure that no one rolls a 1 (Auto Fail).

Brim 1d20 : 4, total 4

Britton 1d20 : 16, total 16

Kaida 1d20 : 1, total 1

Kara 1d20 : 14, total 14

Sam 1d20 : 2, total 2

[tomcat]

Jeez! A nat 1! Kaida tumbles12 feet.

vs. Kaida's Will Defense 1d20+20 : 5 + 20, total 25

damage if successful 1d6+1 : 1 + 1, total 2

 

Kaida tries climb again...

Rolled 1d20 : 17, total 17

[tomcat]

All right, welcome to the tunnel... it is pitch black inside. The drainage stream runs almost centerline down the tunnel. I have attached a picture for you guys to get an idea of width, but for the most part it is an angled straight corridor all the way to underneath the facility. There may be some other characteristics of the tunnel that you guys may run into, but that is yet to come.

Let me know what you guys want to do.

[Jingo]

Kaida dusted herself off from her near fall, grateful she had only suffered minor bruises and abrasions. She peered down the tunnel wishing she had brought her own source of light. "Alright, let's go. And quietly. Brim should probably take the lead. He's had the most scouting experience. Sam, why don't you give this tunnel a good sweep with your sensors as we move out as well."

Kaida will of course move stealthily, in some position in the middle of the pack, or taking up the rear, keeping her eyes open and gun out.

[tomcat]

Brim gave a bit of an uncomfortable clearing of the throat, and then nodded. She was right. He was the best choice due to his prior training.  He reached down and drew forth his blaster, but moved it to his left hand. In his right, he grabbed and held the lightsaber although he did not activate it.

He looked back at the others, "Kara, light your fusion lantern but keep a few paces behind me. It will cast off enough light for you humans to see, and will give me enough light to allow my eyes to see further in the shadows ahead. If there is trouble before us, you all will know when I find it."

The tunnel was about ten feet wide and fifteen feet high. Once they had moved deeper inside, away from the entrance, the walls seemed to encroach a little more. Sound disappeared almost entirely save for their footfalls and the trickling of the stream in the center of the tunnel. Even in whispers, voices carried and the sound of Sam's servos were unremitting. The team also became slowly aware of a thrumming sound far in the distance, coming down the tunnel.

They moved for another thirty minutes until Brim held up his hand. There was a change in the tunnel. Before them was a bulkhead with a grated port for the water to flow through at the base, and just above that was a hinged door. It was broken open though it was pulled closed, as much as it could be.



I am attaching the second map of the tunnel, but you guys have no idea what the layout is behind the door. I just need to do it so I have it for tomorrow, at the office. 

[Jingo]

Kaida looked at the door in disbelief. It seemed to be of the solid, not-easy-to-break-through metal variety. Yet there it was broken and open, yet still hanging on its hinges.

"What could have done this?" She questioned in a small whisper. She studied the door for any blaster scaring, claw marks or anything that may lend some clue to what happened. She motioned the others for silence and listened for any sound. She wondered if perhaps the entire prison had been compromised with whatever had smashed through this door.

If possible, she'll take her time to study the door and listen behind it--taking a 20. The result would be 29. If not, here's her Perception roll:

Rolled 1d20+9 : 10 + 9, total 19

Assuming she hears/sees nothing out of the ordinary, she'll do the following:

She nodded for Logar to take up a position to the right where his rifle could easily have a field of fire into the room once opened and then motioned for Brim to continue and open the door.

[Callowmoryne]

Logar took up position as indicated. Ready to fire into the room if necessary.

[watanabe]

Kara stood there near the back of the group, she was not liking this one bit.  They had said recon, this was not recon anymore, this was infiltration, which never went well with this many people.  Any thief who knew their trade on Corellia knew this, but still she did not speak up.



I demand an end to climb checks! 

[Telcontar]

Britton nodded for Brim to continue and open the door. According to the prison plans they were still in the substructure, the liquid was not falling down but flowing so they hadnt reached the point yet where they could access the main buildings.

[tomcat]

Brim nodded back at Britton, holstered his blaster, and then reached out to pull open the door. He grabbed the large circular handle and yanked backwards. It was heavy, but moved smoothly on the hinges even though they were bent. The light from the fusion lantern pierced into the darkness but not deep enough. Fortunately, light gleamed from a further room beyond the chamber now opened.

With the door open, the thrum of an engine or power-plant was louder. It was not deafening, but the vibration could be felt through the rock. The sound of water falling was also heard, pattering as if into a deeper pool. Between the gleam of the lantern faintly lighting the entrance to the chamber, and the backlight from the further chamber, Brim saw something look towards him and then stand. Logar and Britton were waiting for their eyes to adjust to the dimness.



Going to start a new encounter thread.