Rescue Mission

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Rescue Mission
Date of Scene: 16 February 2025
Location:
Synopsis: The group runs into a strange alien ship that crashes onto Ilum.
Cast of Characters: 159, Pike Windu, Navi, Annelia Belask, Cayde Alexis


Athena (159) has posed:
Once fully regrouped, the Jedi along with Navi are able to make their way over to the crossover tunnel following Oona's leading. Then the long trek back to the ship begins in earnest.

The group will have to pick their way over narrow cave trails slick with ice and climb over a few glacial structures obstructing their path, but a full forty five minutes later, they've arrived back in the main chamber.

Yvon and Jahni are there waiting impatiently for them to board, with the latter urging them to make their goodbyes to the younglings quick, as the blizzard he'd been warning them about prior had already begun and was likely to get worse if they didn't get moving soon.

Consequently, after bidding Yoda and the younglings farewell, their Ugnaught pilot badgers them incessantly to get on the shuttle as quickly as possible.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Master Windu boards and straps into a seat. Closing his eyes, he relaxes and begins mouthing his healing mantra.

Navi has posed:
Navi bids the younglings farewell with quick hugs and quicker well-wishes, grateful to be out of the mines at last. She even manages a quick bow and a quicker formal farewell to Master Yoda. "Sorry, guys. I'll hurry on aboard now," she manages for Yvon and Jahni, hurrying up the ramp.

It's only when she's back aboard the shuttle and strapping into her seat beside Master Windu that she realizes her farewell to Master Yoda was largely a formality, and without feeling. Before she can think it through more than slightly, the face of her late Master comes to mind, and she let the matter remain on the back burner.

"Do you need any help, Master?" she asks Pike softly, noticing that he's already chanting a mantra she recognizes as a healing catechism.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Well, a little more eventful than I would have liked. Shame we didn't get a chance to settle in for a night or something," muses Ann aloud as the group settles into the ship instead. She shrugs a little as she takes a seat, strapping in without much thought in the motion- practiced at this point.

    "Always somewhere to be I guess. Everyone accounted for?"

Athena (159) has posed:
Yvon looks around and starts to count heads. "Looks like it," the Ugnaught navigator says, with a nod.

He gives his twin brother a thumbs up, and they'll all feel the shuttle's engines rumble to life. Soon, the vessel is airborne and heading out of the cave and.... into the storm.

Yvon glances over at Anne. "Well, uh... if you want to, and think it'd be wise, we could maybe just head back to the Temple here on Ilum and wait for the worst of the storm to be over. Of course, that'd delay us getting back to Tenoo, but it's likely the safer option." He laughs a bit nervously and scratches behind his ear anxiously.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike barely shakes his head in reply. As the engines roar to life, the Jedi Master grunts.

Navi has posed:
Navi looks at Master Windu worriedly. She doesn't believe for a second that he's uninjured. Though they haven't known one another that long, she's sure he's tryng not to inconvenience everyone else with his injuries. It's one of the reasons she respects him so much. But neither does she want him suffering for the whole trip back to Tenoo.

"I think Yvon has a good idea," she says after a moment. "We can attend to any injuries and make sure the ship is fueled and prepped for the trip back. And we'd probably only be there for a day at most, until the storm dies down."

"What do you think, Masters?" she asks, nudging the decision to Anne and Pike. After all, she's not a Jedi, and they have much more standing and experience than her even if she was.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "If we can't afford one extra night, the colony was doomed anyways," Ann agrees, shaking her head a little. "We should touch down at the temple, ride this out. Storm won't get any easier in the upper atmosphere on our way out."

Athena (159) has posed:
"A wise decision," Oona says, stepping into the passenger lounge area, and strapping next to Master Windu. She rests an a gentle and easy hand on Pike's shoulder momentarily. "Jahni, will you take us back to the Temple?" the elderly Mirialan woman says. "We've all agreed that it's likely best to wait out the storms before trying to leave the planet."

The only response they'll get from the cockpit is a grunt.

Yvon peers into the passenger lounge area. "Riiiiight. So, the Temple's a thirty minute commute from here and the storm is looking pretty damn unfriendly, so just, uh, strap in, and stay strapped in, I guess. It's gonna be a very bumpy ride."

Pike Windu has posed:
    "Don't postpone our return on my account. It's just taking me a little longer to channel..."

    Pike winces as they hit some turbulence.

Navi has posed:
"Try not to move, Master," Navi cautions Pike gently, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Reaching into the Force, she tries to tweak its flow through the Master's body, to try to speed along the healing of his injuries from the falling icicle.

"It's not just your injuries. The weather has become too risky to fly in," she adds softly, with a grim nod to Anne. Whatever thoughts she has on the colony's eventual fate, she's keeping them to herself, at least for the moment.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Yeah, even getting to the temple's going to be bumpy- last thing we want is to take a knock and lose calibration on the hyperdrive," Ann confirms, shaking her head as she takes hold of the armrests of her seat.

Athena (159) has posed:
Oona nods in agreement with Navi. "The weather has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse, and trying to leave the atmosphere in this kind of weather is risky," the elderly Mirialan says.

Just as Anne is saying that the last thing they want is for the hyperdrive to take a knock and lose calibration, the shuttle trembles violently, rattling everyone in their seats.

Moments later, there's another grunt from Jahni in the cockpit.

"Marshal," he says gruffly, "A moment. Please. There's something here you may wanna see."

Pike Windu has posed:
    Navi touch with the Force eases Pike's pain enough that he can make a clear connection to the Force. Immediately he is breathing easily and the pain on his face disappears.

Navi has posed:
The flow of the Force through Master Windu as he begins his own healing meditations is so powerful that Navi can not only feel it, it takes her breath away for a moment. Even after he finishes, she realizes the sting of some of the scrapes and abrasions she'd gotten from the journey through the crystal mines is gone; a quick check reveals that the few she can easily check are almost completely healed. She stares at a no longer scraped elbow in astonishment, then murmurs, "Remind me to ask you to be my regular doctor, Master."

When Jahni calls to Anne, Navi unstraps and rises as well. "I'll be right back, Master," she says softly. Nosy? Maybe. But Anne may want another pair of eyes close by under the circumstances.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    This entire time, Cayde had been mainly lagging behind the group, following along but looking rather forlorn. As for the decision to wait the storm out in the Temple, he doesn't seem to have any input, whether an agreement or dissent.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann unstraps herself, standing up and walking to the fore of the craft with hands pressing on walls and doorways to stay steady in the turbulence as she comes to see what the problem might be.

Athena (159) has posed:
As soon as Navi and Anne arrive in the cockpit, Jahni gestures at the comm console, which is currently displaying a blinking red light.

"SOS," the Ugnaught pilot says. "Unidentified vessel that just entered the atmo. It's real close, but it's your call, Marshal. We are in the Unknown Regions and I get the feeling that you Jedi don't do much prospecting out here."

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike remains seated for now. From the pouch on his belt, he takes a ration bar and bites into it.

    "Master, it could be Yoda and the Younglings in trouble."

Navi has posed:
Navi braces herself against the back of the pilot's seat and the side wall of the cockpit and stares at the console, nodding grimly. "Spacer's code says we should help them, if we can," she observes softly. "And so does the Jedi Code. We should call it in to the Temple first, so they're aware of the situation. Especially in this weather," she suggests.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    As the others discuss whether or not to investigate the signal and see if anyone needed help, Cayde doesn't seem to have anything to add to the conversation. His expression is distant and unreadable, although not quite as vacant as the times he's become lost...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann glances over her shoulder. "Cayde, can you get a read on who's on the ship?"

    Returning her attention to the pilots, she nods.

    "Try to make contact, see if we can keep track of where they land. Ship should be equipped for a couple nights stuck in the snow, worst case scenario."

Athena (159) has posed:
"Right, then," Jahni says. He nods at Yvon, who hesitates briefly before heading over to the comms console to attempt to make contact with the unidentified vessel. A couple minutes elapse, and Yvon shakes his head. "They're not responding. Maybe their comm relay is shot..."

Then, all of a sudden, Jahni blanches, eyes widening. "I... I might have miscalculated about how close it is--"

And then Anne and Navi will see a massive alien ship loom into view through the snowy gloom. It's flat, circular in shape, and doesn't look anything like any ship they've ever seen before. Furthermore, it's smoking, and its portside thruster is actually on fire. But before any of them can make sense of the situation, the shuttle shudders violently again, even more violently before. This time the shockwave is enough to knock anyone standing off their feet if they don't brace themselves.

Then several alarms start blaring all at once. "Dammit!" Jahni cries. "They clipped us. Stabilizers knocked out of position--"

And then the shuttle suddenly start to bank drastically left, sixty degrees.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike deadpans,"I guess it isn't Yoda and the Younglings," as they loose control of the shuttle.

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Well, it's a good thing Cayde was still strapped into his seat. He'd been in the process of trying to reach out nito the Force, to see if there was anyone ailve on that ship, when the collision happens and jostles his focus away.

Navi has posed:
Navi grabs a handful of the back of Jahni's seat just in time. The shaking and shuddering of the shuttle nearly throws her to the cabin floor, and her arm and its socket both have strings of pain shooting through them. "Ungh!" she cries, bracing her feet more firmly against the decking.

"Jahni, put the landing gear down! That should bring the repulsorlifts online... it might be enough to stabilize us!" she suggests hastily.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann holds tight to the seat in front of her, bracing one foot against the wall as the ship spins- Navi seems to be well on top of the suggestions, so she focuses fully on not cracking her head on a bulkhead.

Athena (159) has posed:
"To be honest, I'm kinda glad it wasn't!" Yvon says, gulping anxiously while clinging to bulkhead, his fingers trembling. "At least we know they're not in a smoking ship whose aft is on fire..."

Jahni grumbles. "Shit! I can't. They clipped us -hard-, and the controls for the repulsorlift aren't responding anymore. But I'm just gonna have to put us down somewhere - I can't fly with the stabilizer disconnected."

He veers hard left, and they'll find themselves buffeted violently by the wind, then almost knocked flat again when the wing of their shuttle slams into a icy structure before coming to a skidding halt on a slippery and dangerously small precipice. Jahni immediately gets up to disembark, but the ship shudders and suddenly tilts left again. "We're sliding off the precipice!" Yvon yelps helplessly. "Oh -gods-..."

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike closes his eyes. The walls of the shuttle dissolve in his mind's eye as he reaches out with the Force.

Navi has posed:
Navi wraps her arms around the back of Jahni's chair and holds on with every ounce of strength she possesses. Maybe that's why she's not thrown across the cabin during the crash, or when the ship begins to lean.

"Jahni, open the hatch... we need to get out of this ship, /right now/," she directs, hastily unfastening the 'sissy straps' of both pilots. "Yvon, you go first! Jahni, you follow! Everyone else, make for the hatch!"

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    As the pilots start freaking out about the precarious position the ship is in, Cayde closes his eyes and tries to join in Pike's efforts to use the Force and prevent the ship from falling. Maybe, if they can re-position it just a little bit, it could become a bit more stable...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann may not be as strong as the others, but at the very least she makes an -attempt- to help with the efforts of stabilizing the ship.

Athena (159) has posed:
Thankfully, Pike and Cayde's combined efforts halt the ship's roll, and prevent it from falling off the precipice.

As soon as the shuttle stops moving, Jahni grabs a toolbox and shoves past Navi rushing to deploy the gangplank and disembark. Before anyone can stop him, he's hopped out of the shuttle and is heading to the aft of the shuttle to try to knock the stabilizer back into place. "One of ya get down here!" he yells, "I don't know how long this ship is gonna hold in the position it's in, and it's gonna take me at least fifteen minutes to put the stabilizer back...!"

But before any of them can react, they'll see the strange alien vessel that had clipped them soar overhead, descending rapidly towards the icy, frozen over body of water that they've landed adjacent to. Within seconds it has nosedived into the ice, splitting the ice open with a plume of smoke and creating jagged glacial structures that float precariously in the choppy, now exposed waters the color of emerald kyber.

And then there's suddenly a sensation in the Force. A plea, a desperate cry for assistance, coming from the crashed alien vessel. Not so much words as it is a feeling, a thought, an idea about not dying on this strange, glacial world.

Yvon whimpers. "... what.. what was that... Cayde... did you do that..."

Cayde Alexis has posed:
    Cayde focuses his mind as hard as he can on keeping the ship in place, while Yvon works on getting the stabilizer re-ailgned properly. But then, there is a cry. No doubt, it's from the other ship. So there was something alive in there after all. But right now, they needed to focus on making sure they survived before being able to rescue anyone else...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike unstraps himself and makes for the hatch. But good sense comes back to him and he pauses.

    "I can't go. That water is freezing. I will have to revive whoever goes. Someone is going?"

Navi has posed:
"Yvon, that /definitely/ wasn't Cayde... that was something else. Something I'm sure was on that ship," Navi replies, clambering through the hatch, the last to exit the ship.

She looks toward the sinking alien starship, then Pike. "I may be the best one to go. The techniques I learned among the Brotherhood allow me to regulate my body to protect against cold and worse," she says, shivering briefly as she contemplates that freezing water. "Is there a wetsuit, a spacesuit, anything like that aboard?" she asks, looking to Yvon.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Going alone would be like suicide regardless of techniques. At least one person's going with you, Navi," asserts Ann fairly straightforwardly- not even a question or challenge in it, just a fact.

Athena (159) has posed:
Yvon's eyes widen. He glances from Anne, over to Navi, then briefly at Pike. "Best one to--" He stops himself midsentence. "You... you're all joking, right?" He turns to face Ann. "Forget envirosuits! That's not gonna save you! Marshal, please. Alone or not, venturing to the vessel out there is -suicide- for anyone trying to go!"

Just then Oona emerges from the vessel, which is now listing slightly due to the harsh, snow laden winds. "I will stay here with Cayde and Master Windu," Oona says, "in overseeing matters with the ship. The repulsorlift is still jammed, and the stabilizer needs to be put back into place."

She nods at Ann and Navi. "May the Force be with you," she says softly.

Navi has posed:
"There's no choice," Navi replies, a bit sadly, stretching out with her feelings through the Force. "There are survivors on that ship, whoever or whatever they may be, and we must try to help them. They're faint... hard to read... but they're there. Anne, will you come with me?"

/My gosh... I sound more like a Jedi than most Jedi.../ she thinks to herself, and squashes the thought just as quickly. /Except my friends, and Master Yutelli. They sound more Jedi than most Jedi, too./

"Are there any survival suits or spacesuits aboard?" she asks again, patiently.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann, for her part, is just throwing open emergency equipment lockups and the like, checking for the noted survival materials- not much interested in discussing the subject when she could just be doing the thing.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Pike replies, "this is a long-distance shuttle. It must have some survival gear."

Athena (159) has posed:
"..N-no..." Yvon whispers, sounding panicked. "I.. you can't..." But he doesn't do anything to try to stop Ann, or convince Navi and the others.

Ann won't have to look very hard - the first equipment bin she throws open reveals an enviro-suit. There's only one, though. However, beneath it is a thermal jacket, suited for freezing temperatures. Yet neither the enviro-suit or the thermal jacket are in the best shape - they're stained, and both worn looking. But it's all they have.

"Master Windu!" Jahni calls through the storm from behind the ship. "The stabilizer's swinging!! Could use a hand back here..."

Navi has posed:
"What we need most of all is something that won't soak up water, just in case we have to actually get into the water to reach the survivors," Navi adds. "Normal clothing will soak up water and eventually freeze, and that will eventually cause death by hypothermia."

/And I'd REALLY rather not be found dead and stark naked.../ she thinks, moving to help Anne search.

She surveys what Anne has found, pouting slightly with concern. "We'll make it work," she says after a moment. "Which do you want, Anne?"

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann comes striding out of the shuttle without really paying Yvon much mind- instead, she tosses the enviro-suit to Navi as she moves, throwing the thermal jacket over her own robe. Apparently the stubbornness applies to weather too- certainly stories enough of her pushing through some nonsense during training.

    "Not much avoiding the water without the full suit, but I'll push through long enough. Let's move," she says simply.

Pike Windu has posed:
    "May the Force be with you both," Pike says gravely before trotting off behind the shuttle.

Athena (159) has posed:
"M-Marshal... if you die out here..." Yvon whispers quietly, clutching his plump Ugnaught cheeks, looking utterly despaired. But it's obvious Ann won't be stopped, and neither will Navi, so he simply hurries back up the gangplank, trying (and failing) to not allow a panic attack to seize him.

The way ahead of Navi and Anne is definitely not for the faint hearted. With the blizzard at its worst, the glacial structures created by the crashed vessel toss and turn over frothy icy waves. They'll have to leap their way from glacier to glacier in order to reach it. Below the waves, shadows lurk... there are -things- down there.

As Pike makes his way to the back of the shuttle, he'll hear the listing stabilizer before he sees it. It's banging against the shuttle's hull, loudly -- making it easy to find in the blinding blizzard. "Master Windu!" Jahni yells. "Is that you?"

Navi has posed:
"Don't go into the water unless you absolutely have to. And you shouldn't absolutely have to." Navi pauses only long enough to struggle into the enviro-suit. She leaves the helmet visor open, conserving the suit's precious limited oxygen supply against the need to enter the freezing water.

"May the Force be with you all," she says softly. "If we don't come back, get the shuttle fixed and get to the Temple to get help. I don't think there's any way you could save us, and it would be unwise to try. If..." She swallows her tears. "If I don't come back, it's been the greatest honor of my life to work with all of you. You too, Anne." She draws a deep breath, then hurries after Anne.

The sight of the broken ice surrounding the crashed ship, and the creatures in the water, don't fill her with confidence, but she pushes on. "Guess this is it, Anne. Let's go," she says softly, closing the helmet visor. Drawing on the Force, she focuses her concentration, then leaps... and leaps... and leaps... on and on, trying to reach the crashed ship...

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Getting all dramatic is a good way to lose your focus," Ann notes to Navi as the pair approach the ice, shaking her head.

    There's no draw on the force at all, that anyone can tell. Rather it's Ann taking measured steps, then a pair of quick and explosive ones- swinging her arms back with the first and forward and up as she launches from the second, jumping in a shockingly mundane fashion.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu finds the stabilizer easily enough. Shouting over the wind, "what do you need me to do?"

Athena (159) has posed:
Thankfully, Anne and Navi are able to navigate the glacial structures without slipping and falling into the icy waters.

Once they reach the vessel, they'll find themselves in front a set of icy, floating step stones that lead to a tear in the vessel, that presumably will permit them access inside. However, the dark shapes beneath the water here are surfacing, and Anne and Navi will see they're carnivorous sea creatures who look... hungry. They'll need to proceed with caution, and perhaps ready their sabers.

Jahni gestures for Pike to come nearer. "Hold it still! I need to reconnect the cabling!" he shouts above the wind.

Navi has posed:
"I didn't want... to leave... anything unsaid," Navi replies, between leaps. Reaching a good vantage point over the ship, she pauses and watches Anne's leaping with some concern, but it proves unfounded; the redhead is quite the athlete.

"I don't like the looks of those creatures," she observes softly, patting her lightsaber hilt. "We'd better walk quietly getting across there." And she begins that painstaking, dangerous trek, trying to disturb the water as little as possible...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu reaches out with the Force, but his control is too weak. " One of us will have to do it physically."

Athena (159) has posed:
The creatures in the water surface intermittently, but as Navi times her approach to the vessel correctly, she'll find that she can cross while they're below the frothy waves and avoid being seen by them.

Once near the vessel, Navi will be able to peer inside the crack to discern how much damage has been done -- and perhaps reach out into the Force again to once again ascertain that the survivors she'd sensed earlier are in fact, still alive.

The young Sephi girl may be amazed at how... alien the vessel is. It's shape, and even the alloy the hull is made of is... foreign. Inside is no different. The architecture, the walls, even the shape and color of the buttons on broken control panels are all so.. different.

Sparking wires hang from charred ceiling rafters, and below her feet icy, cerulean water pools. The vessel is sinking -- She and Anne likely don't have a lot of time to locate the survivors and get out.

Jahni produces a tow line from his belt and throws it to Pike. "Here!" he calls. "See if you can tie it down..."

Navi has posed:
"There are definitely living beings in there," Navi observes softly to Anne, just before carefully climbing through the gap in the hull. "I can sense them. Weak, but alive. We're going to have to hurry. I don't know how long this ship will stay afloat."

With that, she moves deeper into the vessel...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu takes the line in hand and wraps it around the stabilizer and its connection to the shuttle. With a jerk, he pulls the line tight and quickly knots it.

Athena (159) has posed:
Advancing deeper into the vessel will reveal what Navi likely expected but wont find pleasant to discover.

Dead bodies.

They're not terribly fresh, either - it looks as if they've been dead for a few days now. These aliens are as foreign as the ship - flat noses, no mouth to speak of and diminutive crests.

Somewhere deeper in the ship Navi will sende those faint life signs... she'd best keep pressing on.

"Perfect," Jahni grunts. He then moves to climb onto the bulkhead, so that he can reconnect the cabling. But as he's climbing up, he slips and falls!

Navi has posed:
Navi is grateful for her full helmet as she sights the dead aliens. "Poor things... what could've killed you before this crash?" she murmurs, pressing on deeper into the ship. "Force, guide my steps... let me find those yet living and give me the strength to save them..." she murmurs, as if in prayer.

Pike Windu has posed:
    "Blast it!" Windu reaches out with Force, not to catch his comrade, but to give him as soft a landing as he can.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "A little quiet may be best..." notes Ann softly, glancing about the odd ship as the pair explore. "Don't want to miss the sound of breathing or someone hurting," she elucidates, frowning a little as she walks slowly.

Athena (159) has posed:
As Navi makes her way past the dead bodies, she'll sense the feeling of someone nearby more acutely. And then, after rounding a corner at some point, she'll come across a strange little alien, that looks much like a Jawa, yet their mask is bone white instead of black. They're wounded, shivering, and lying immobilized on the ground next to some broken transparisteel. They look nothing like the dead aliens she'd seen earlier.

Anne may realize that time is of the essence, and now that they've found one survivor, it would be prudent for her to search for the others. She will notice that above her, ice has caked onto the pipes and rafters. But also that there's a very faint trickling sound. Running water... some of the water from the ice is flowing... down? And it may occur to her that though they can't feel it, the vessel is slightly inclined. Meaning -- if there were any survivors in the aft of the strange vessel, they might be submerged. And if they aren't... they soon would be.

Jahni nearly lands on a jagged piece of ice jutting out from the precipice, but thanks to Pike and the Force, his fall is cushioned. "Damn..." he mutters, "thank you." Then he gets back up and begins climbing again. "Hold that rope tight," he says, noticing the wind is starting to pick up, "Don't need the stabilizer listing again..."

Navi has posed:
"Anne! This one is alive!" Navi calls to Anne, beckoning to her as she crouches next to the wounded alien. <<Try not to move,>> she says telepathically. <<We are here to rescue you. You will not die here if we can help it.>>

She quiets, listening intently for a moment, but not hearing the sounds that alarm Anne. After a long moment, she asks, "Should one of us take him to the crack where we entered the ship? If you can take him, I can move aft and look for more survivors. If I have to walk into deeper water, the enviro-suit should keep the water out, at least for a little while."

Annelia Belask has posed:
    "Hand them to me, check the water- if all else fails, use the force. Way this ship's laying if there's anyone else they're -in- that water and, if they're anything like the rest of land-life in the galaxy, drowning," Ann asserts, reaching out to take the smaller alien and begin making her way up back towards the surface.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu holds the stabilizer securely while it is reconnected.

    /I wonder how Anne and Navi are fairing./

Athena (159) has posed:
Navi will feel a faint sense of gratefulness from the small alien. They do not understand Basic, but they can sense her sentiment.

When Anne picks up the smaller alien, she'll find they weigh next to nothing. Either that, or she's just ... strong, and doesn't notice the weight. They climb from her arms to her shoulders, clinging to her neck, tightly.

As Anne makes her way back towards the surface, there'll be a sudden groaning sound, and the ship will abruptly and violently tilt 40 more degrees vertical. Both Anne and Navi will suddenly find themselves sliding wildly if they don't grab onto something quick and hang on for dear life!

As the strange alien vessel pitches, some debris will go flying, and the young red haired Jedi Knight will be able to see that across from her, a room that had once been barricaded by the debris that's now been loosed has opened up. And there, lying on the ground in a pool of water, is another wounded alien, trapped and unconscious underneath a bulkhead. Getting to him is likely going to be a bit tricky though, now that everything is at a 45 degree angle...

Jahni manages to reconnect the cabling on the stabilizer, then quickly climbs down. But the wind is still howling, and the shuttle is tilting again, threatening to fall off the precipice again. "Quick!!" the Ughnaught yells, "get the rope from the stabilizer and help me tie the shuttle down!"

Navi has posed:
Navi carefully gathers up the wounded alien and passes it to Anne. "May the Force be with you," she says softly, starting aft.

She's only taken a few steps when the ship lets out a mighty groan and tilts under her feet. "Anne!" she cries in panic, her brain unable to come up with any more words under the stress of the moment. Grabbing the edge of a control console, or at least something that /looks/ like a control console, she struggles to keep fer feet, and manages for a few moments.

But the edge of the console is slippery and sharp, even through thick envirosuit gloves, and she simply cannot maintain her hold. Her feet slide out from under her, and she hits the deck with a thud and a splash, instantly beginning to slide along the decking toward... a doorway?

Snatching her staff from its mountings on her medical satchel, she triggers the deployment stud. With a loud /snap!/ 28 inches of metal becomes two meters, and the length of metal lodges across a gap between two consoles. "Anne! Grab the staff!" she cries toward her friend, who is surely having the same troubles she is...

/I wonder how the Masters and the others are faring?/ she wonders, and is surprised she had the presence of mind left to think of that.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu unknots the line. Before he can grab it, the wind gusts and the line is whipping out of control.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann keeps a tight grip on the alien- but can't do much more than hold herself -mostly- in place for the moment as the ship lists- as she begins shifting her feet to try to find some protrusion to get some traction on and get a better footing to restart from.

Athena (159) has posed:
As Navi dangles from her staff in a doorway with an oddly asymmetrical curvature, she may notice that she's hanging above a room that has quite a bit of water pooling in it. There's a broken viewport on the far left side of the room, and lying impaled on a piece of debris is yet another survivor.

He looks in terrible shape though -- Navi may sense in the Force that he's at death's doorstep. If they want to rescue him -- they'd better hurry. And not only because he's dying... the ship is starting to sink faster.

Once that initial shift is over, Anne will find a toppled storage unit she can stand on top of. Much of the debris and cargo has slid around, but she's still in viewing range of the other unconscious alien trapped under a bulkhead. The room is angled a bit up from her though, and she'll likely have to jump to get over there.

Jahni reaches over to assist Pike in securing the line. He grabs one end and with a significant amount of effort, ties it to the shuttle's ailerons. He then looks over to Pike, shouting. "See if you can't secure to the rock face!"

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Just a moment after getting her footing, Ann leaps again, getting one arm up around part of the bulkhead to swing herself to a more stable position with the one alien in tow, bracing herself to give her room to try to pick up the other.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu grabs the line and reels it in hand over hand. The Jedi Master fights his way through the blizzard and looks for a secure anchor point. With a SNAP-hiss, his lightsaber engages and he carves out a deep hole through an outcropping through which he ties the line.

Navi has posed:
Navi watches Anne secure her footing and leap to help the other survivor. Looking down, she takes in the sight of the flooding room and the other alien survivor. "Oh, Force save you, little guy... you really got it, didn't you?" she murmurs. Taking a deep breath, she retracts her staff and falls...

... and lands with a splash in hip-deep water barely warm enough to still be liquid. Grateful for the waterproof and partly heated enviro-suit, she puts away the staff, then draws her lightsaber and cuts through the torn metal holding the survivor, knowing that to draw the jagged debris from the wound will increase the bleeding and kill him...

"Got to get this guy somewhere level and stabilize him, or he won't live to get out of here..." she murmurs, stowing the lightsaber and gathering up the small, limp form of the alien.

Athena (159) has posed:
The smaller alien is still clinging to Anne tightly. Thankfully, their grip doesn't loosen as Anne leaps upward and into the other room where the unconscious alien is trapped.

Once Anne finds herself in position, she'll have a better assessment of the situation with the unconscious alien. He's... not well, obviously, but still very much alive. He also doesn't look anything like the other dead aliens in the hallway - in fact, he's a very handsome fellow who for all intents and purposes, could have been Pantoran. But he has no facial markings, and is wearing a dark colored uniform and rectangular badge that Anne will likely recognize as an indication of rank.

Regardless, she's going to have to cut him free, or use the Force to move the bulkhead. There's no picking him up without moving it.

Upon closer examination, Navi will be able to see how the wounds look. It's... bad. He's clearly lost a lot of blood, and is... fading. It's not good. Unbeknownst to her, he's clearly the same species as the other alien Anne had found, and sports the same uniform. He's quite muscular, though, and Navi will actually find him rather heavy to carry...

"Now we just gotta secure the other side!" the Ugnaught shouts above the wind. "C'mon!" he tosses Pike another alpine'd rope, and start making his way over to the other side of the shuttle.

Athena (159) has posed:
The smaller alien is still clinging to Anne tightly. Thankfully, their grip doesn't loosen as Anne leaps upward and into the other room where the unconscious alien is trapped.

Once Anne finds herself in position, she'll have a better assessment of the situation with the unconscious alien. He's... not well, obviously, but still very much alive. He also doesn't look anything like the other dead aliens in the hallway - in fact, he's a very handsome fellow who for all intents and purposes, could have been Pantoran. But he has no facial markings, and is wearing a dark colored uniform and a rectangular badge that Anne will likely recognize as an indication of rank.

Regardless, she's going to have to cut him free, or use the Force to move the bulkhead. There's no picking him up without moving it.

Upon closer examination, Navi will be able to see how the wounds look. It's... bad. He's clearly lost a lot of blood, and is... fading. It's not good. Unbeknownst to her, he's clearly the same species as the other alien Anne had found, and sports the same uniform. He's quite muscular, though, and Navi will actually find him rather heavy to carry...

"Now we just gotta secure the other side!" the Ugnaught shouts above the wind. "C'mon!" he tosses Pike another alpine'd rope, and starts making his way over to the other side of the shuttle.

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu replaces his saber on his belt and follows the Ugnaught aro und the shuttle.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Ann sighs a moment, shaking her head- her lightsaber flashes out, and in hardly a moment the bulkhead is cut away, nary a clothing fiber harmed on the trapped stranger- and ideally with the cut-away metal landing in the water to minimize shaking the ship and speeding the sinking. And then the task of hefting two strangers at once and getting back out of here.

Navi has posed:
Navi bears up under the weight of the mortally-wounded alien, but it's hard. "Force, give me strength... literally wouldn't hurt!" she groans through gritted teeth, drawing the Force to her once more and /leaping/...

She lands almost standing on the wall beside the doorway in the next room, safely out of the water. Laying the alien on the bulkhead she's standing on, she frees the chunk of metal from his chest, then draws on the Force some more, trying to mend the fearful damage to his body and save his life...

Athena (159) has posed:
Navi's usage of the Force to heal the alien closes the open wound on his chest, but the young Sephi girl may sense that he's... still fading. And then she'll see that he has a head wound that looks badly infected. He wasn't just injured at this point - he was gravely ill, or possibly poisoned. Either way, they would have to hurry.

Anne's lightsaber heft cuts the bulkhead cleanly in half and perhaps by coincidence or the Force, it slides with cinematic elegance into a nearby pool of water. Now, all that's left to do is get the hell off the ship. Theres a terrible groan, and they'll both be reminded that time is of the essence.

Jahni tosses Pike the other end of the rope again, hoping to do the same thing theyd done on the other side...

Pike Windu has posed:
    Windu catches the line. His saber ignites and rock chips fly as he hews another hole in the rock. A moment later and the shuttle is secure.

Annelia Belask has posed:
    Clicking her teeth together at the sound, Ann shakes her head and throws cautious pace to the wind- instead hefting the newly freed alien over her shoulder and fully leaping across to the way back out of the ship.

Navi has posed:
"C'mon, my guy... c'mon and /live/..." Navi whispers, gingerly touching the head wound and wincing as she sees the swelling and redness that are the telltales of a severe infection. Drawing the Force to him, she focuses her attention on purging the bacteria and breaking down the infection until only healthy flesh is left. It's not a delicate operation, and requires over a minute of intense concentration.

Panting softly inside her full helmet, she takes a moment to get her breath, then gathers up the alien once more (Oof!) and struggles toward the gash in the hull where she and Anne had first made entry. "You really gotta lay off the protein bars, fella!"

Athena (159) has posed:
Navi will see the head wound disappear, but the alien still doesn't wake up. His blue skin is almost the color of the ice outside the sinking vessel, and his breaths are so shallow. Navi may realize that there are parts of him that she cannot heal -- he's sick, or poisoned, and has been for too long. She'll get a sinking feeling that as hard as she'd tried to save him ... he likely wasn't going to make it.

Regardless, they'll manage to escape the sinking vessel by the skin of their teeth, as soon as they make it back out through the tear, it rents in half and disappears into the icy depths as frothy cold waves cover it. Now, hopefully all they have to do is get somewhere where the shuttle can reach them, and wait for a pick up.

Once the shuttle is secured, Jahni says to Windu. "Let's get inside! I gotta make sure all the shuttle's systems are working and the repulsorlift is unjammed before we can pick up Navi and the Marshal..."