Log:Catastrophe at Crater Caye
A team of Pamarthen engineers seek volunteers to help save the bridge at Crater Caye. The sight of a meteor crash thirty years earlier proves unstable, but not for the reasons expected...
OOC Date: August 22, 2021
Location: Pamarthe
Participants: Zelo Parrai as GM, Nerys Greystorm, Vhe Tenara, Pherra, Hahtavi Kora
Crater Caye is an archipelago of sandbars shaped around the impact crater in the ocean bed where a meteor had crashed decades before. The Crater Caye Bridge -- once the Port Lurres Bridge, which stretched from the Capricus Islands to Port Lurres -- was reconstructed, with a large trio of pylons descending the 150 feet to the uneven ocean floor below, through a narrow ravine carved into the rock beneath the sandbars. The spiraling lattice of rock between the walls had made building the pillars a complicated, years-long affair. Now, they are failing.
Shifts in the bed of the crater have begun to disrupt the pillars' bases and without help, the whole bridge may be lost, requiring a costly and intensive reconstruction, or relocation of this travelway. A team of engineers has been assembled, with divers and volunteers here to assist with the reinforcing which will buy enough time to examine the crater bed below. Meanwhile, the citizens of Stormhaven and Capricus Islands City have heard and passed rumors of strange goings on, fish acting erratically and communications equipment receiving interference. Some are blaming it on the ghost of a traveling family who had been on the bridge that fateful night, now awakened as their graves were disturbed. Unrest and protests are also blocking off the bridge, if the engineering corps had not already done so.
A call went out for additional support and aid of any kind -- on a volunteer basis -- to help the engineers complete this job and keep the public safe. The diving team has found a leader in a Nautolan volunteer who had recently landed in Stormhaven and heard the news. Zelo Parrai is helping the divers practice the bolting routine for sheathing the large duracrete pillars for reinforcement.
"We should have brought the Sentinel. We could have used her as an underwater loading platform." Nerys, who was standing in the group of divers, wearing not a diving rig, but her usual armor, made some final adjustments to her loadout, as she chatted with the ID10 droid who was hovering beside her. Whatever commotion was going on in and around the area, seemed entirely Not Nerys' Problem (tm). "Save ourselves the trouble of diving." This was said softly, conversation to pass the time as they waited for their orders. "You had your seals doublechecked, yes?" The noise the droid made, which was not at all like the binary in which she had been speaking, was obviously rude. Silence, steed! Smol droid knew what she was doing. Once Nerys was finished, the ID10 moved to clamp herself to the back of Nerys' armor, securing herself onto the waterproof case which was substituting for her usual backpack.
Having arrived with the aforementioned nautolan, Vhe is giving a skeptical look at the setup in its entirety. "I will do what I can but I am not engineer. I also do not swim as well as you do. Where do you need me?" She's gone a little more utilitarian compared to her normal fair. A fitted v necked top with a colorful sash and nerfhide pants make things a little more efficient in the area of movement.
Her wild hair now out of its many braids is in a bun and wrapped with more colorful fabric with the two tails falling down her back accompanied by several feathers that are braided into strands of hair behind her left ear.
She glances to Nerys, listening ot the suggestion. "Again, wherever you need me." Helpful as always.
Pherra stood on a precipice, at the bridge's beginning. Or end, she supposed, depending on one's perspective. She gazed down into the roiling waters below. The Mandalorian had never seen so much water. Her helm in place, she looked merely like a tall Mandalorian in old, shabby armor. The call had gone out for aid, and even Pherra had heard it. She'd come, like the others, to do what she could. But what could she do? Not a structural engineer, not even much of a swimmer if truth be told, but she was eager to help, all the same. Helmeted head turned towards the protests. This, she might be able to manage. crowd control. Removing her helm, the tall redhead started towards the blockade.
Among the number of ships that have arrived to respond to the call for help, a Bounty Hunter's Guild Predator has landed and disgorged a Mandalorian in heavy battle kit. Hahtavi has linked up with Zelo, as a member of his clan, and gone over to have a look at the progress being made on making preparations. For the moment his helmet remains on, utilizing his zoom optics to study the structure, those who have gathered, and the terrain. Therefor Zelo can't see him frown but can probably pick it up through his vocoder.
<"You know my love of water, Zelo. I'll gladly lend a hand as I am able but I'd sink like a rock."> Ah, there's Nerys. To her Hahtavi gives a polite nod of his T-visor. Others, such as Vhe, he doesn't know and studies as she addresses his clansmen.
<"I studied what I could from the air before I landed. The hole appears to be honeycombed according to my instrument readings and may be deeper than the surrounding waters of the isle."> Protesters don't concern him much, long as they stay out of the way.
The engineering plan is a multi-stage approach. The first is slipping grooved sleeves around the pillars, interlocking to seal and then removing water for the fresh coat of duracrete. Stage two will be building extensions of the bases to anchor them not just to the ocean floor but also to the twin rockfaces on either side of the gorge. Zelo takes a break from the divers as the engineers go over the interlocking procedure -- groove meets groove, it's really straightforward -- to swim fluidly over. He's wearing a white bodysuit for easier visibility from above, and his right arm -- only the day before coated in acid spray -- seems miraculously... Fine. Strong as ever as he approaches the wild-haired Jedi.
"I don't know that I was supposed to overhear, but... The structural stability is not great. It's within tolerance, but only barely. If something happens... They may need help holding things together for emergency bracing. I'm going to be below, navigating the rock passages to guide the sleeves down and securing the bases." The Nautolan smiles. "Barring that... There are a lot of worried people getting worked up on the bridge. I think the security have it handled, but they may need backup if someone stirs them up." He looks to Hahtavi and nods.
"I haven't gotten to the bottom yet, but that wouldn't surprise me at all. They say it's only fifty meters or so, but... The color of the water's not quite right, even with the shadows." He gestures to the bridge. "I wouldn't ask you to swim it, sir, we've got a fair complement. But could you keep an eye on that crowd I mentioned? I've seen you work a crowd and I know you can keep things orderly." When he had become the point person for volunteers, Zelo didn't know. But he was familiar with enough of them that he didn't much mind.
A pair of engineers are maneuvering a small crane into position, hoisting a duracrete hose into place. One of them is trying to steady the hook while the hose lowers from above, but is having some difficulty with the massive hook in his hands.
The crowd is chanting, with picket signs. "Bury the dead. Grant them peace! Bury the dead! Grant them Peace!" With others calling about the fishing habitat -- fishermen with struggling businesses. A fine rivulet of dust runs down one duracrete column.
<"I can help with the visual guidance,"> Nerys offered, as Zelo came close enough to speak to the group. She waited until she was instructed to move towards the water's edge, stepping down and quickly kicking off into the open water of the ravine. Bitty, still on Nerys' back, swiveled her head, well, she was all head, her body, around, her single eye keeping above the level of the water as she took in the surround. As if answering some comment only she could hear, Nerys continued, <"We need to speed this up. The pilon is fracturing."> She freed a hand from the water long enough to point towards the pillar closed to where the divers were waiting. Almost over their heads, in fact.
The picketing catches Vhe's attention when Zelo points it out. "I will do what I can of course. May just mean that we need to go talk sense into the group above. But Pherra already has this idea and Vhe merely steps forward to help if need is required, her sharp amber eyes slipping over the group at large as she watches the dust and unsettled tension of the bridge continue to be present.
"It does not look at all sound, best to move back as far as one can. The souls of those dead and gone will soon be soothed but at the expense or the harm of others." This is said with as much genuine inflection as she can muster guided with another innate ability. It seems to have little effect presently in mustering the will of others to continue their movements, a long breath drawn. "More training.." she murmurs mostly to herself.
It wasn't that Pherra wasn't a 'people person.' It was more that she simply didn't have that much experience with crowds. She listened a moment to the laments of the protestors as an idea began to form. It might not have been the best idea, but it was the only one she had.
Holding up gauntleted hands, she adopted as understanding an expression as she was able. "I understand, it hurts when our loved ones are so far from us..." She then began to sing, in a deep, rich alto. Though she sang in Mando'a the meaning of her song was evident in the low, keening, mournful emotion. She sang a funerary song, a song to comfort, a song to mourn, a song to celebrate the fallen.
As her audience begins to listen, the Mandalorian starts to lead them off the bridge. It wasn't many at first, but at least she had the attention of a few. She persisted, singing out in her velvet, ringing notes.
There is a nod of his helm to what Zelo says. The dust sprinkling down is noted but Nerys already hits the nail on the head ere he might. <"Very well. You have things well in hand down here. I'll see what I can do up top."> Hahtavi walks a little further to one side away from the others and fires off his jetpack. He does so with economy and flies on up to drop down and land on the bridge. Nothing showy, but a heavily armored and armed Mandalorian arriving to back up Pherra's intentions may be a little intimidating to non-combatant civilian types.
Especially when some may realize that besides the rifle he's carrying, Hahtavi has a flame thrower slung up against his jetpack, and a number of grenades on his belt.
For now he doesn't say anything. Instead he begins walking towards the crowd and the security keeping them back. Battle scars mar his armor and all they can see of his face is his T-visor'd helm. They are going to like Pherra and Vhe /much/ better.
Thanks to Nerys' advanced warning, the engineers have siginificantly sped up their instructions, no longer insisting that each diver practice grooving and regrooving pipe sections over a dozen times. "Once is plenty. Those who have completed the training, double-check the work below! It's vital that we have a complete seal!" A couple of the divers look up, now spotting the duracrete dust and bits, but the determination to help and keep the bridge standing is strong enough to prevent panic from thinning their numbers. The engineers begin setting the sleeving sections up on lifts, one at the top of each pylon slipping the sleeve around the duracrete pillars before letting them drop. Unfilled and with room to wiggle, the sleeves will need to be guided by the divers until they reach the base, and then each additional section locked in place. The divers are told to grab sleeves according to their confidence, with the best swimmers asked to take the first sleeves down and prepare for the first segments to be joined. Five segments in all for each pillar, and caps above for the pouring. Zelo takes one of the first pylons and slips below the surface, black pool eyes leading him into the deeps as he weaves around the honeycomb or warped and scorched rock.
While a dozen protestors peel off, following the golden-faced woman as she sings - What were they protesting for? -- several dozen more continue to chant and call out against this mission. Though some note the woman as she promises resolution, the chant of the many is powerful and they press on. One woman holds up a faded picture, and seems to be pointing at the old couple on it. She points meaningfully at them as she chants directly at Vhe. Even Hahtavi's well-armed form does not still their voices. Yet. The security are wary, if no one else is.
Sleeves are being lowered, and the duracrete spins, ready to be poured. From below, a rumble. More dust begins to fall.
Nerys did not wait for further practice or instruction. She simply dove, Bitty freeing a hand long enough to wave to Vhe who was still standing on the shore, before she and her steed disappeared beneath the water. As the pair descended, Nerys made her way in Zelo's wake, catching hold of the second sleeve and kicking off with her feet as she began the trip down to the base of the pillar. 'Keep your eye on the surround, let me know if it looks like we're going to run into extra obstacles.' Bitty chirped an affirmative, now that she had sunk into the depths (goodbye cruel world!) scanning the area as Nerys focused on the sleeve she was maneuvering down. moving at good speed through the passes that surrounded the stone pillar. <"Zelo, we're getting more movement on this pillar than I like."> That, she was sure the nautalon could feel, as he was as close to the pillar as she was. But then, <"Zelo, Imperial droid, moving away from the pillar along the bedrock. I see something at the base of the pillar. I can just catch the light on it. I have the feeling we may find the cause of the structural damage there."> If they didn't find something much more explosive. 'Bitty, detach and go after that droid.' Bitty did as she was bidden, reaching to open a pocket on the side of the case she was affixed to to pull out her blaster pistol.
With the ripple of the bridge felt beneath her, Vhe spreads her feet as if she had prepared mere moments before. Her gaze narrows and she glances towards Pherra briefly when she feels it the most as well as some of the other figures around them.
"Okay! Beliefs aside this is dangerous and everyone needs to get off this bridge NOW!" Already she is letting herself reach out and grasp at a few of the natives. "We can mourn and discuss this later but let us not add to those that have passed. THis is not what they would have wanted. Now move! Follow these two out." She motions to Hahtavi and Pherra. "I will bring up the rear."
Vhe is herding cats really.
Once she corrals her small group of protesters to safety, Pherra starts back to those remaining. Only, she doesn't. The pitch and roil of the ocean floor below sends a tremble throughout the bridge above. Maybe more of a contraction. Either way, the sudden heave of duracrete knocks her off her feet.
However, she is not the only one to lose her balance. A nearby protester starts to go over the edge. Pherra, having little alternative, leans into her fall, then pushes off with her feet, so that she lands below the falling protester. With a whole lot of luck, she manages to snag the would-be swimmer, so that they fall on her, instead of the waters below.
More than one of the protesters go over the side of the bridge. Without hesitation, though he may well think they deserve to fall to their deathes if they are idiots, the male Mandalorian nonetheless fires off his jetpack and dives after the fallen aruetii, catching them in mid air! They are no doubt startled to suddenly be falling, and just as startled to be caught by a Mandalorian, but in moments Hahtavi is setting the man back on his feet. <"Idiots, GET OFF OF THE BRIDGE!"> His vocoder amplifies his baritone to carry. If they aren't backing off or running yet, they better start.
Beneath the waters, Zelo feels the ripple -- the faintest tidal shift -- as the pylons upheave. Weaving through the honeycomb, his sleeve is nearly to the base when the comm channel relays Nerys' finding. With her direction, he notices the droid as well -- the red glowing eye is very hard to miss -- but it's the glint beneath that catches his large black Nautolan eyes. There's the smallest hum of disturbed sand that suggests some sort of machinery beneath the ocean floor in the bedrock. <"I see it. This is... As long as it stays out of our way, we need to get these sleeves in place. We can figure something out when the duracrete is drying."> But no sooner does Zelo set the sleeve in place, fixing it to the base of the pylon than the droid turns, locks its red eye on him and charges. Narrowly dodging by ducking into the honeycombed rock, Zelo raises a call on the broader emergency band. <<"Nope, it's not a stay-out-of-the-way situation. This thing is hostile. Divers, try to finish the sleeves, the pylons have to be reinforced before it gets worse. I've lost visual contact!">>
On the bridge, the engineers are yelling at each other as they try to keep their equipment in position. One of the engineers threading sleeves onto the pylons loses her grip and hangs for a few seconds from her harness before catching herself to resume her work. Several of the divers are having complications as they look around for the hostile 'thing' they'd heard about.
The protestors are beginning to disperse, aided by the calming influence and reasoning of Vhe, and accelerated by the rippling wave moving through the bridge from the upheaval. Several nearly go off the edge, one each being rescued just in time by the pair of Mandalorians. Another disappears over the edge. Was that a splash?
Back at the pylons, there definitely IS a splash as a glinting metallic figure launches from the water and lands on the sandbar, twitching as it shouts through a fritzing vocoder. <"BACK. GET BACK. YOU ARE COMMITTING TRESPASS. BACK. GET BACK. YOU WILL BE REMOVED BY FORCE."> The twitching figure produces a blaster within its carapace and fires a shot, NARROWLY missing one of the hanging pylon-sleevers.
Never fear, Bitty was here to show these meatbags how it was done. She had a mission and she intended to finish it. There was no love lost between the ID10 droid and that imperial savage (ignore the fact that she herself looked so very much like an Imperial torture droid). Where in the open air, her repulsors allowed her to hover, under water, they propelled her away from Nerys and in direct line towards the target. As she dove, she took the blaster in both hands, smol droid legs pulling up to brace the pistol, firing two quick shots at the attacking droid, head swiveling around to make sure Zelo was still in on piece, before she swiveled back around, looking for additional targets. As Bitty took care of business as only Bitty knew how, Nerys brought her sleeve down, setting it into place before she kicked away from the pillar, <"I'm going to identify whatever that is on the bedrock.">
Vhe very nearly misses the plummet of the figures over the side, watching as one of the mandalorians makes his save she is quick to rush over to the side and reach out. The Force answers her this time and she arrests the fall of the other, just before he hits the water. "By the spirits..." she whispers in a hushed tone. "EVERYONE KEEP MOVING! There could be a collapse at any moment!"
She strains a moment but once firming her connection with the Force moves the figure across the water's surface to the shore, setting them down and hopefully out of the way. This leaves her with a view of what is going on at the sandbar, her mouth opening.
"What is that?!"
Pherra made a quick assessment of the situation. She had no idea what was going on below the waves, but it was obvious as to the above. All of the protestors were off the bridge, so the redhead had one priority. The hostile drone. Taking up a defensive position upon the bridge, she pulled her carbine from off her back, and steadied as she took careful aim. She got off a good, clean shot.
By the time he's become aware of the droid shouting and moved to get a line of sight, reaching for his own Galaar, Pherra is already on it. She's fired and neutralized the droid. <"Good job, vod."> There's no need for him to help her.
Instead, he turns to go at once and see if the engineers need assistance. Some of them are on top of the bridge while others are working on the pylons below it. He runs on over to make sure that none of them have fallen. Over his coms, Hahtavi contacts Zelo, <<"Vod, I've Ion grenades with me if either of you think they might be of any use. Bad day for droids or devices they may have planted down there.">> But that's Zelo's or Nerys' call to make. /This/ Kora isn't getting down there in the water if he can help it. No thanks.
The plasma bolts cut through water as the heroic Bitty takes down the would-be harasser, but Zelo has to block it out for now. He keeps an eye open for more droid torpedos, but he moves from one pylon to the other, securing the bottom sleeve to the bases and moving up. <"Understood, Nerys. I owe Bitty... Whatever it is that she likes best. I'll work to secure the mid sleeves through the honeycomb. Be careful though. You may want Bitty for backup, if there are more of these things around."> As more sleeves descend, the Nautolan works to secure them together. Groove into groove.
Up above, Vhe has gotten the crowd moving in earnest, and they are happy to comply. Between the shooting and the trembling bridge, they are more than happy to vacate the premises. As if to answer Vhe's question, one of the engineers has recognized the attacking thing. "Imperial droids!" In this decade?
Between Bitty's underwater shooter, and Pherra's above-bridge work, the droids are completely gone. At least, from sight. Still, the pressing work of bridge securing presses on.
Zelo switches to his comms again, pausing in the midst of all the combs of rock and stone. <<"Heard, Hahtavi. Nerys, that will have to be your call. I'm... Not that familiar with grenades of any kind.">> Groove into groove. The Nautolan swims to the next.
Up above... The droids are certainly not done. Four more metallic figures -- three twitching, and one shinier and a little larger -- emerge from the water in a spay of water as they land on the sandbar, blasting away. All in sync as they shout. <"BACK. GET BACK. YOU WILL BE REMOVED BY FORCE.">
<"I have many skills, grenades are not one of them, but I can make it work."> With her sleeve secured, and the team continuing work on the pillars, Nerys continued down, pushing forward with approach the glinting she had seen when they had first began the dive down to the floor. Gloved hands reached out, brushing away the soil and silt and sand that covered it over. <"Looks as though we have a ship's hull down here."> She continued brushing, <"I can see a hull designation."> Nerys whistled. <"DB-F...not one I'm familiar with, but given the curve of the hull, it's big. Might explain the instability, if these things were trying to extract it. This lettering is odd though, not imperial, but close."> Look, never send an space tomb raider to do...nope, nope, this is precisely what you send an space tomb raider to do.
"More of them?!" Vhe is gently pressing a hand to the back of one of the people at the back. There is a hand that glides to her side as she draws a brass hued cylinder at her side from its place. She quickly backs up a few steps and then rushes the edge of the bridge, throwing herself towards the sandbar in something just a little too much extraordinary for a normal humanoid.
She lands in a soft pooomf sound in the sand, knee lowering as she uses the force of her landing. The blade is pointed backwards as she brushes the button on her weapon and a blue blade hums to life, oddly quiet as the pale blue blade reflects off the shiny droid that she catches suddenly with an upswing back handed slash.
She turns about quickly, carrying through that first hit to reverse the blade and catch one of the others right through the sensors as both fall to the ground sparking and jerking as their circuits misfire and pieces of them cease to be one.
Pherra was about to rise up out of her prone position on the bridge. However, more droids rose up out of the Ocean. Also, the lady with the braids just leapt off the bridge, to ebgage the droids in melee? Before she could put much thought into it, Pherra focused and sent a few more bolts into the fracas below. this time her shots went wide, however.
Over by the engineers who are working on making the duracrete ready to pour, Hahtavi first hears and then sees the new droids appear out of the water. Vhe's leaping off of the bridge doens't phase him in the least. Those darn jetiise are always popping up out of nowhere. The glow of her light sabre is enough to tell Hahtavi that Vhe's got herself under control.
His own Galaar modified rifle pulled, Hahtavi leans out a little and fires off two shots in rapid succession. The first bolt just barely misses the droid he's aiming for as it moves, but his second followup shot nails it, sending pieces into the air.
<<"Splash another droid. You do seem to be stirring them up down there, vod.">> Zelo /and/ Nerys both.
Droids are falling and -- so far -- the bridge isn't! The divers, despite all the chaos above, are trusting those above to provide security and continuing to secure the sleeves, now attaching the uppermost sleeves. Only the caps remain, then the duracrete can pour! Down below, Zelo breaks off, raising comms to those above ground. <<"Is everyone alright up there? The sleeves are nearly done, I'm joining Nerys to investigate a possible source of our trouble.">> Swimming downward, Zelo joins Nerys at the apparent-ship's hull. He reaches out a hand, holding it flat against the hull. <"It's humming... Almost like the repulsors are trying to push it off."> Indeed, the ship is very-much still kicking. <"I'm going to see if there's some tunnel or way in... Disabling it may be what we need to finish the reinforcement in time. Help me look?">
"The engineers are cheering -- at least, those in the water with tasks done -- as they look to the lightshow of a real Jedi doing amazing Jedi things! The ones hanging from the bridge are not afforded that luxury as they buckle down and keep on task, putting the cap sleeves on the pillar and triggering the pumps. Water shoots up and out one side of each pylon's sleeve as the water is quickly forced out. In only a dozen seconds, the sprays cease and the caps are removed, hands going up for the duracrete hoses to begin the pouring.
On the sandbar, one twitchy droid stands looking up at Vhe, also in the sights of a pair of Mandalorians. Not the best day for perimeter droids. <"GET BACK. GET BACK. GET BACK."> Around it, the bodies of its compatriots are scattered, some sliced with saber, others blasted with plasma bolts.
Nerys moved into a practiced search pattern with Zelo, moving out to cover area so they could search efficiently without overlap. As she moved, she cleared more space, Bitty bubbling along as she provided overwatch to the two meatbags. So fragile. She was clearly itching for a fight, but then, Bitty was ever itching for a fight. D-roid rage was high with this one.
Nerys, leaving the smol droid to do as she would, moved down along the curve of the hull, chatting as she moved. Usually pertinent, but sometimes random. For example, in answer to Zelo's comment of earlier. <"She likes hats and Jax Greystorm. She'll take many of one or all of the other."> She searched on, approaching a trio of stones which had clearly been displaced, <"Entry point, I think."> Yep, as she cleared more of the bottom sand, <"I'm heading inside." She continued swimming, <"Pipe here, leading into the ship from the underside."> Climbing up onto the hull, <"Looks like we have a live ship, live support appears in place."> Nerys, now that she was on her feet, swung the case on her back around to retrieve her own weapon. These droids didn't come from nowhere.
As a bolt from one of the armored figures atop the bridge takes down the one immediately to the right, Vhe turns to the 'Get back!' repetitive incantation by the last one. She narrows her gaze, "Sorry, wrong spell. Not going to work." She twists the blade and plunges it deep inside its circuits, the blade cutting straight through into its functions.
She sweeps the blade down, letting the loose bits and pieces spill to the ground before it tumbles over and she is left with sparking frames of four ...no five droids around her. <<"Zelo, Nerys? Where are these things coming from? Are there more we need to prepare for?">> She gives a thumbs up to the two armored figures on the bridge as she starts to get off that sandbar where all the droids seemed to convene once having risen from the water.
Pherra Steadides her buir's carbine for the second round of rapid-fire. However, the Jedi dispatched both droids in quick order. Pherra stood, powered down her rifle, and slid it back into position on her back. She then crossed to the three engineers at the top of the bridge. "Do you know what's going on down there?" She asked, trying to sound like she does this sort of thing all the time.
Zelo follows Nerys as they emerge into the ship, a life-supported time capsule back to something like the Imperial era. Grateful for her eyes, and also Bitty's backup, Zelo has only a diving knife in his possession. If worse comes to worse, he's not going to be in a position to defend himself. "It's something else," the Nautolan says to Nerys under his breath, following her in as he walks along the hull as a floor. Looking up, he sees a droid mounting rack. There are 8 slots, all of which are presently empty. He points to it, then holds up aight fingers. <<"I'm seeing a droid station, uncertain if it was full. Up to eight droids. I only saw one down below. Some... Sort of imperial ship, but I've never seen its like.">> The sniper looks around, the large shuttle or small freighter is packing a lot of customized equipment. "Be careful. We need to search. Find the ship systems. Disable it." Not a tall order.
Up above, the duracrete is flowing, and the divers and engineers on the sandbar or gathering. One calls in a skiff, which comes over to start loading volunteer personnel. Hanging from the bridge, some of the engineers continue to cast eyes about every so often, looking for more surprise attacks. Several of the protestors who had run away are slowly stepping back onto the bridge, the danger forgotten as they try to get a closer look at the Mandalorians, or even to see the mysterious Jedi! Everyone wants to see a Jedi. And maybe that one Mandalorian will sing! Clearly, the danger has been forgotten. At least by the less self-preserving Pamarthens.
Nerys, who kept her weapon drawn as she moved, called back to Bitty, <"Bitty, come inside and start a sweep of the ship. Eliminate anything that moves that looks at you funny."> We will ignore that in Bitty's world, nearly everything looked at her funny. Especially when she was tooling around in her spiffy hat. But, the droid scooted her way into the ship, coming out of the water with a splash as she began to move through the ship. <"I'm going to see if I can locate the cockpit. No point in destroying the systems if we need to end up moving this thing."> Nerys moved on an alternate course to Zelo, perhaps hoping to herself that the many, many hours she had spent in ships of every sort and variety would help her here. And then, yes! A ladder, <"I'm heading up."> Into the cockpit, eventually. Once she got this hatch open and through. Fingers crossed, you guys!
With the immediate threat spared, she glares up at the people. "You really should stay off until the work is finished and the engineers clear the area!" The snap hiss of her saber being turned off sees the blade gone and the cylinder once more clipped to the fitted belt at her waist. She pulls the rebreather out of her back pouch and fits it into her mouth and secures it before rshe slips out of her boots.
A quick tug at her scarf wrapping around her wild hair to be sure its tight and the she is wading into the water and then slipping beneath the surface with a shallow dive. She begins to kick hard to be able to get there but her swimming skills are a little subpar. Space and Ossus do not have much water.
Pherra tries to deal with the engineers as best she can, and keep them focused upon the task at hand. However, as the lookielooks start creeping back across the bridge, the Firrerreo has had her fill. Helmet still off, the redhead turns, and takes several steps towards the encroaching public. She enunciates each word carefully, in her accented basic, underscored by a thready, gravely growl. She makes no effort to hide her elongated incisors. "Stay. Back." She starts, taking another step, her frustration barely contained. "The. Bridge. Is. Unstable."
Nothing much is going on top of the bridge, now that the droids below are for the moment blown or sliced into debris. Hahtavi does notice some of the lookie-loos are creeping back. He puts his rifle up and pulls the rifle portion of his flame thrower. The pilot light is lit and his vocoder kicks on, the volume getting cranked up as high as it will go. The engineers close by might leap out of their skins but at least the Mandalorian is facing one end of the bridge while Pherra guards the other side.
<"You people better take a hike if you know what's good for you. Nothing to see here."> Except for the on rushing ball of plasma that shoots out of the muzzle of the flamer that rolles forth as a wall of fire. The Kora has it pointed in their general direction but Hahtavi's made certain they are still out of range.
Even so, it's a frightening site to behold. A bit lower in volume, Haht adds, <"It's not like anyone is paying me to be here. I may as well have some entertainment..."> BBQ, anyone? It seems that he and Pherra are making a good team, backing each other up.
Zelo follows the lines of the ship with his eyes, fingers tracing the controls as he learns what ships are like this ship. Ships he knows... After a little more study, he finds his way to the hatch and climbs up into the passageway as Nerys had done before him. A solid-looking hatch in the floor gets his attention and he pulls the lever to let it drop open. Inside, engineering systems. Dead set in the middle of it all, one large perimeter droid, it's spidery legs lacing from one board to the next. The droid hums with current, acting as a bridge to power all the ship's systems. <<"I've got one more dead droid. Only one unaccounted for.">> Zelo reaches through the hatch and pulls the door back up, pulling the lever to close the hatch again.
The last of the duracrete has now poured, and it's only time now for the reinforcing to take hold on the pylons as the pillars dry and then cure.
Meanwhile... The onlookers who had only moments before been excited to see Mandalorians? They are now seeing entirely more Mandalorian than they had hoped for. Between Pherra's fierce snarl and Hahtavi's fierce flamer, the want to meet their heros is thoroughly quenched.
<"Nerys, any luck with the engines? I can yank the power, it's just likely to hurt."> A faint splashing sound from the cargo bay suggests someone has just arrived on this end of the horizontal chimney.
As Nerys made her way into the cockpit, she continued to call back what she was seeing, <"This place looks pristine, almost untouched. I have a feeling that these droids were probably the last remnants of the maintenance crew, although I haven't seen any bodies. Zelo, you see anything?"> As Nerys found her way to the hatch to the cockpit, she stepped up, <"Skeleton here. Robes, black, with a limbless perimeter droid and debris. They must have been scavenging for parts to keep themselves running, but I'll need to take more time to piece it back together whatever's on the floor. Preliminary thoughts?--"> But then, more urgently, <"Vhe, I need you up here. Bitty get Vhe up here. Looks like she'll want to get a look at this. Might be an old lightsaber hilt."> Black robes. Pah. So last century. <"Let me see if I can get the engines powered down."> Soon enough, the rumbling that vibrated the ship fell still. <"I'll see if I can adjust the system to keep life support online without causing too much disruption to the river bed.">
Vhe is sliding through water now, fighting the natural bouyancy of her body to keep the downward trajectory going. Finally she reaches the ship and emerges out of the water and into the ship off the ramp. Dripping wet, the scarf hanging a little lopsided she is quick to adjust before she carefully removes the rebreather and tests the air with one breath, holding it at ready. Taking a deep breath she finds herself leaving a wet trail behind, joining the other two. She touches the ear piece and makes certain it was not ruined on her way down. It was.
She pulls it free and shoves it into a pouch as she calls out. "Nerys? Zelo?" She looks down at the wet trails and begins to follow them.
Unaware of the goings-on down below, the redhead nods succinctly as the crowd has successfully been controlled. Or Cowed. Semantics. She fits her helmet back into place, and turns to eye Hahtavi with his flame thrower, meeting him somewhere in the middle. <<"Say, mind giving me a lift back to the Smuggler's Moon?">> Excitement over, apparently.
There isn't much for him to do while those below in the water are exploring some Imperial ship or something that crashed long ago. That accounts for the crater anyway. Hahtavi eyes those who back off in a hurry, then glances over to make sure the Engineers are all right. His back is partly to them though with the 360 degree view in his helmet's HUD, he doesn't even need to turn his head to check on them.
The wall of fire that rolled out dies off. The tiny pilot light still burns at the tip of the flamer's muzzle. His gloved hand that is missing a finger makes a fine tune adjustment to his BBQ instrument.
<<"Sure, happy to give you a lift. I even brought my deluxe ride with enough room for six Wookiees in the back.">> A little Bounty Hunter humor, there. Now, if they just had something to cook, they could eat before they depart.
Zelo meets Vhe and Bitty in the hallway, leaning down to offer the Jedi a hand-up climbing to the fore passage. Nerys' own information is quite a bit to consider. As he approaches the cockpit, he replies. "There may have been extra parts in the engineering room. I'm not certain. It was... Masterfully rigged, I don't know how they did it, but it bypassed the damaged systems entirely. The systems are all held together on a droid brain, I think." At the mention of a lightsaber hilt, Zelo looks to Vhe. It feels like this definitely has turned into her show. Black-pool eyes sweep through the cockpit as he waits for Vhe's thoughts.
Those who have the gift of prescience will know that all things at Crater Caye will turn out well. At least for now. As all things do turn out well for a period of time. The bridge will not collapse today, thanks to the bravery of the diving volunteers, the ingenuity of Pamarthen engineering, and the ferocity two Mandalorians, one Jedi, and one small Seeker droid with a very large (for her) gun. Commerce, and families, will remain undisturbed. Everyone on the team knows... They're heroes. At least for today.
