Thread: An Eclipse of Corruption (Vuxayl x Cricket)

The only thing that Karilels personal scanners were able to tell her was that this was indeed the skeleton of the Kanayago. She knew that. She didnt need her wiring mocking her like this. How fitting, she thought, that they were here at the shipwreckthe ship that caused this whole course to begin with. They came full circle. Karilel felt like she was put in charge for the first time again and desperate for everything to stick to the plan. She looked over the faces around her. No one was a part of the original crew she commanded her first time, except for Xayun. They didnt know anything about the ship besides what had gone in her report after that mission forever ago. Even then, that was just a sparse overview, and this was assuming that they did their research. But she knew, and Xayun knew. Was this some sort of test? Was her past coming to haunt her for leaving the Kanayago for dead? They worked together to search the wreckage for anything important. Nothing. But Karilel hadnt expected much. If anything, it was too clean. Theres nothing here, she said. Nothing but ghosts now. Lets keep moving. And so they did until they encountered the next mystery. A pair of sturdy metal doors was the last thing that Karilel was expecting to encounter. After searching and coming up without answers, there was a moment of pause. For a beat, the others looked to Karilel for direction. The distress signal seemed to be coming from within those doors, underground and below them. As much as she wanted to turn around, and cut her losses like she did with the first Kanayago mission, they had to investigate and come here for what they came to do. Her eyes flickered to Xayun, as if to ask arent you wary? Right, time to investigate the signal and continue on. Get those doors open. The moment she gave the order, she knew there was no turning back now. It took them a minute for the crew to get the doors openthe doors didnt want to budge. But they finally opened with a loud groaning noise that echoed throughout the barren surroundings. A stream of hot air shimmered out of the hole as if it was exhaling as well. Karilel spun her head around to make sure that nothing had heard the noise or seen them. Her sensors showed no signs of life around her besides her own crewmembers. As they had shown this entire mission. What a frighteningly barren planet She stepped forward and peered into the dark hole. Her robotic eyes made the necessary adjustments to see clearly in the dark. Some of you will need goggles or lights, she instructed. Then she stepped into the hole with feigned confidence. Despite her best efforts, the small grooves in her body and her eyes emitted a pale blue light that just made the tunnel even more eerie. The ground sloped downwards in a gradual slope but coninuted on as far as she could see. Karilel held up her navigating device in the hopes it could provide a map or image of where they currently were, but it failed to project anywhere they had not explored yet. Her communications channel also started to fill with static. Everything was made out of smoothed metal. Karilel placed a hand against one of the walls of the tunnel to feel itsmooth but almost slightly damp from an increased humidity here. In fact, things looked slicker and wetter the deeper the tunnel went. The temperature was still only mildly warm here, and she was fortunate none of the crew with her were sensitive to heat. It was hard to say how much warmer it would get as they continued, however. The tunnel was as least a meter above her head, and wide enough for three of them to walk side by side. She looked over her shoulder to confirm that everyone was following her. As they all stepped into the she had a second thought. Syra? she called back to one of her crewmembers. It would be best to have someone wait outside, at least with contact to the ship. She knew she had two crewmembers back manning the ship. I think the communicators start failing the deeper in we go, and otherwise we would lose all contact. You can keep someone with you, if you like. Karilel looked to the freelancers. She refrained from asking them if they wanted to stay back because she didnt want to accuse them of being claustrophobic or afraid of the dark. After sorting things out, she kept going, the metal tunnel surrounding them. Upon further examination on the material of the walls, she and the others began to notice how, though smooth, the metal was haphazardly mismatched pieces. Like pieces of other ships fused and melded together.