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#RuinsOfRakhana – September 20, 2016
Jason waves Korio off dismissively, "Yeah, yeah. I got it. Eclipse did it." he says, sizing the crossings up with a sigh. "Well, only one way to find out if they'll hold. Let's try and keep the weight to a minimum. I'll carry Namira by hand. We'll pass the stretchers across with the gear on them so we can keep as much weight off these bridges as possible. Jess?" he continues, looking to the wounded woman, "You're gonna finally
Renala shrugs. "I'll test it," she says. "The Eclipse couldn't have been here for long enough for decay to set in." She walks over to the bridge and takes a tentative step, then another. She might be confident that it holds, but that doesn't mean she won't be careful.
The plank creaks as the mercenary passes across it, but it holds without issue. It's going to be a long, precarious walk to the mesa. None of the makeshift bridges seem wide enough, and many of them not sturdy enough, for more than one person at a time. Going across the sand below to the mesa would seem the far more expedient option, assuming there's a way up closer to their destination.
Jason crouches beside Namira's stretcher and looks to her. "I'm gonna carry you across, alright?" he asks, "You gonna be okay with that?" He gives a glance over to the others briefly, "As much as it sucks, if this is the way Eclipse came, then it's the way we should take. I don't want to be down on the sand if someone else didn't want to be. For all we know, this place could be filled with those bug creatures me, Ten, and Ehanis
Korio slugs back a healthy portion of water and sucks in a deep breath, nodding to himself. "I will pass the stretchers to Seriah once she crosses. Renala should then move to the next and Seriah can pass them to her. We could keep this going across the chasm, leapfrogging one another to pass the supplies." he recommends.
Renala reaches the other side. "Exactly what I was thinking," she says. "Eclipse wouldn't have gone through the effort of making these if it wasn't necessary."
It is a slow and hazardous trip along the narrow network of bridges to the mesa. A lone person, or a small group with no stretchers to carry, could likely have moved much faster, but for them it takes fifty minutes to get across, one at a time over planks, metal beams, plastic panels and all manner of makeshift bridges. Now, almost at the mesa, they find that the next gap, the widest one by far, the way across, a 12-meter bridge
made out of plastic sheets fastened between two lightweight metal beams, is pulled up on the other side, much like a drawbridge, metal cables attaching to a haphazardly crafted winch. Beyond lays something of a recess in the outer wall of the mesa, a path leading down out of sight, likely towards the Eclipse ship.
Renala brings up her omni-tool after crossing the last bridge, and a sigh escapes her, pre-empting Jason's order. Them being this close to the ship giving her a slight boost of energy after the tiring trip. After having felt less than the tech expert with the ancient technology in the sub-floors, she was more than eager to take a crack at the more familiar. "Let's see," she hums. She taps on it, and a flat projection show up,
displaying text output while the program scans for wireless transmitters, another flat projection show an empty list waiting to be populated.
Jason has done his best to keep Namira as motionless as possible while transporting her across the chasms, but it hasn't always been possible. "Well..." he says, looking to Renala expectantly, a small smirk crossing his lips as he realizes she's already getting to work, "...You're up problem solver. Solve a problem." he says. Can't you just-..." he nods towards the winch with his chin, "...I don't know. Hit it with one of those
Jessica winces and lowers into a seated position, the straining of having to balance across all of the crossways has upset her wound. "Fuuuuck..." she groans softly as her hand moves to her side.
Korio lowers to Jessica's side, helping her open her canteen to take a drink. His eyes settle on the ship in the distance. "So close and yet so far..."
Seriah looks to the aliens, as if expecting them to deal with this. She doesn't seem surprised by the bridge.
A human pops up over a boulder next to the bridge, holding a Viper rifle. His shoulder-long brown hair is tied back by a headband and he has a scruffy beard. "Holy-... you're not-... who in the fuck are you guys?" he asks, the confusion in his voice obvious.
Renala sighs, defeated. Her moment to shine was snatched away from her by bad luck. "Yeah, I'll do your idea instead," she says and the biotic shimmer envelop her, but then the human shows up, and it's gone almost as fast as it appeared. "This is more your domain, boss," she says.
Jason's attention snaps to the new arrival. "Who the fuck are you?" he snaps back, the frustration of the past few days wearing on him, but his features soon soften, though somewhat obscured by his breather, and he sighs. "...Sorry. Been a rough week." he says, "My name is Jason. It's a long story, but needless to say, we're not from around here." He gives a tired, wary snicker, shaking his head at his own joke. "We saw the
ship, figured it might be a way off this shithole-of-a-planet. We figured it was abandoned..." He looks the man over, at least what he can see of him, assuming he's probably Eclipse if he's a member of that ship. But right now? He'd hug a Blue Sun to get out of here. Beggars can't be choosers. "Look, we're not here to start trouble. If your ship has room for a few more, how about you let us hitch a ride? You can drop us
off at the nearest station." he asks, assuming they're probably stranded as well, but figuring this is the best approach to drag a little information out of the man.
The man raises an eyebrow as he listens, looking over the tired-looking group. "Nice to meet you, Jason. I'm Jake. Sorry to tell ya, but this ship ain't flying. Wouldn't be here if it did." he calls out over the chasm.
Jason lowers his gaze to the ground, nodding as a few chuckles escape him. "Yeah, Jake. Honestly? I didn't figure it was working all too well. Been that kind of week for us. But luckily for you?" he casts a glance over at Renala, "We got just about the best damn engineer in the galaxy here with us."
Renala grits her teeth. On one hand, Jason might actually think her capable of doing this, which wouldn't be the first time. Or he's bullshitting them to get aboard. Whichever it is, Renala is none to eager to correct him and possibly lose them their only chance of getting out of here. "I'll do what I can," she says with feigned confidence. "Are any systems operational?"
Jake looks at them for a moment before going. "...huh. Lemme-... just hold on a sec." he says before disappearing out of sight.
Jason breathes a sigh of relief. "Well, shit. That's an unexpected turn of events." he says, looking to Renala. "Might be our first run of good luck all week..."
Jessica gives another low pained groan. "Either he is okay with a very nasty beard, or they have been here for a little while..." she states the obvious, "I do not give a shit either way. I just want to get out from this fucking heat."
Seriah stands calmly next to the others. Waiting for the aliens to talk to each other and sort the situation out. She doesn't seem at all surprised to see the human.
Renala sighs, relaxing her shoulders now that it seems he bought it. "Unless he returns with twenty guns aimed at us," she mutters. She looks away, frowning, as her thoughts go to Steve.
Jake returns a moment later, walking up to the edge, rifle still in hand. "You guys gonna be trouble?" he asks, bringing up a hand to shield his face from the sun as he studies them. Now in full view, it can be seen that he's wearing a dirty, sweat-stained tanktop and cargo pants along with yellow-black boots. A keen eye might spot the Eclipse tattoo on his shoulder.
Jason snickers at Renala's comment. A genuine snicker. Though whether he finds it funny or simply his sun-soaked brain is beginning to turn to mush is open to debate. As Jake returns he looks towards the man. "Trouble? Fuck, man, I don't think we've got enough fight left in us to even be mildly annoying at this point. We're just looking to get out of the sun and hopefully help you get that ship of yours-..." he nods towards it,
"...back up and running. At the very least, if we can fire up the communications, we might be able to get a rescue sent our way. Whatever we can do, you know?"
Jessica chimes in from her seated position beside Korio, "And do you have food? Because I'm so fucking hungry, I could eat a whole varren."
Renala looks back at Jake once he returns, and sighs. "We both have the same goal," she says. "Getting off this planet. So, let us work together."
Jake continues to look at them for a moment longer. His eyes narrow as he takes a closer look at Seriah. "The hell...? Where'd you get that armor? You're not one of-... ah shit. You're the lizard from the tower, aren't you? Friggin' great..." he says. "She's not coming over!"