Trying his best Rynn began to fiddle with the controls and mechanics of the X-wing's lasers. As a youngling the Ubese had barely had any organised education what he knew about starships was how to fly them not how they worked. Once he'd pulled some covers off and pulled out some wires the cockpit was a mess. He'd need to do a lot more before he got any results but he hadn't killed himself yet.

At the bottom of the slope Lyla began her ascend. The loose crystals crunched or slipped beneath her boots but she made steady progress. The crystal humanoid  remained completely still and silent. Every time Lyla glanced in it's direction it had not moved or done anything. When the Twi'lek reached the X-wing it was half buried in rocks. The nose was deeply buried in the rocks. The layer of rocks over the cockpit was a lot less and could be moved aside with a bit of effort. At the rear of the starfighter the melted rock was giving off noxious gas as it cooled but Lyla was undetered as she was wearing her breath mask.

Though she was safe from the gas — a mixture of exhaust and by-products of burning stone and crystal, she guessed — Lyla was rather more concerned about the heat of the raging engines and molten rock. She did not want to step in or touch any superheated rocks. Even for a girl of Ryloth, she was starting to sweat like a rycrit, and the breathing mask was not helping her comfort.

Since it seemed safe, she slung her rifle to her back and produced an army-surplus entrenching tool. She folded it into a pickaxe, and used that to tap and prod the ground ahead of her, determining that it was safe to get closer. Approaching from the nose of the X-wing, she made her way to where she figured the cockpit was based on the last time she'd seen an X-wing. Using the pickaxe, she began pulling rocks away from the starfighter's cover, working hard and determined to free the trapped pilot before he died, or she died, or both of them died.


OOC:
13:50, Today: Lyla Rahn rolled 5 using 1d20+1. strength.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:18, Sat 25 Jan 2014.

Oglo's attention was drawn toward the native.  Lyla putting herself in danger just by walking out onto the crumbling slope of crystal had slipped his mind.  Another matter felt more important to her.  That being that this planet has a native sentient lifeform.  If they're not carbon-based, then their psychology would be very alien.  For all he knew, crashing into this canyon would be like bulldozing a forest.

Oglo watched the native through his mind's-eye.  How it was reacting was very important to him.  This whole incident could have broken a truce the colony had with the natives.  Or just maybe nobody has ever seen these natives before because they're indistinguishable from the crystal formations.

23:44, Today: Oglo Obwatt rolled 20 using 1d20+14. UTF - Remote Sensing.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:45, Sat 25 Jan 2014.

Rynn sat with the compartments open and a lap full of wires. This was much more difficult than he thought it would be. He stared at the jumble of wires and was trying to figure out what goes where to reroute power when he heard crystal crunching outside.

After a while, of sitting frozen and trying to listen he heard the crunching turn into the sound of large crystals being moved. "Hello?" He shouted through the canopy, hoping that the sound would carry through the crystals. "Who's there?"

Working as fast as she could to free the Rebel pilot Lyla made go use of the tools she carried. The breath mask allowed her to ignore the noxious gases and the dust from her digging. The entrenching tool made short work of the debris and revealed the X-wing's cockpit. The pilot inside is wearing a full enviro-suit so shouldn't be in any immediate danger if Lyla can lever open the cockpit, the entrenching tool comes in handy again. With a bit of force and a loud crack the starfighter's viewscreen was pulled free. Rynn was now free to climb out of the wreckage.

In the Alabak's Gold Oglo mediates and lets his sense wander in search of the presence he had felt.

Lyla raised the pick high and swung it down, driving the tip into the boulder and cracking it apart. 'I've been working on the mag-rail, all the live-long day...' she sang an old work-song, the tune muffled by her breath-mask. The rainbow light of Isis danced around her, playing off sleek orange skin, glistening with sweat and glittering with crystal dust that accentuated her firm muscles and soft curves. 'I've been working on the mag-rail, just to pass the time away.'

Finally, she'd cleared enough large rocks and swept the smaller debris away, revealing the cockpit and the trapped Rebel pilot. A rather hot and sweaty, sexy Twi'lek woman in soaked tank-top and short shorts was glimpsed through the glass, standing astride the X-wing like an old recruitment poster. 'I'm here to help! Get your head down!' she shouted through the mask, but didn't know if the pilot had heard her, so she mimed ducking and covering. Lyla started levering open the busted cockpit hatch with the pick, but was afraid she might slip and crack the glass. But she forced it open without incident. With a free hand, she reached down to the pilot to help him out of the hole. 'Come with me if you want to live!' she shouted, a trifle dramatically.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:42, Sat 25 Jan 2014.

In the engine room, Klyn and his co worker were doing major progress and the mechanics had high hopes the ship would get them all out of here.

"T3, do you know how far we are from Neskroff ? I know nothing of this damned crystal world. Except it's very bad for laser fight.  We won't have much time to spare trying to find it once we force her to fly..."

Raising his head in the general direction of the X-wing he adds, more for himself.

"Hope this was worth it... my poor girl..."

Without pausing in the current bit of repair work T3 swivels his single glowing eye to observe Klyn when addressed directly, twisting it from side to side a few times as a clearly negative response to the question itself.

The idle banter draws no additional reply as the droid's focus returns to the task at hand, or at tool manipulator arm as the case may be.

Rynn watched with raised eyebrows as the attractive Twilek dug the crystals from the canopy of the x-wing, thankfully, his body suit kept facial expressions mostly concealed. While she worked, he set putting the wiring back where it went... or close enough, he'd have the engineers fix it when he got back.

Once the hatch was open he said, "I'm guessing you're with the Alabak's Gold? Seing as how you haven't shot me yet?" He said through and volume amplifying breath mask built into this suit. "Thanks for the assist." He said climbing out of the craft to stand on the crystals next to the ship. "Did I ground the Imps?"


13:08, Today: Rynn Culmar rolled 11 using 1d20+2. Mechanics.

'I still might for that stunt you pulled.' Lyla grunted as she pulled the pilot out of the buried cockpit, loose rock tumbling into the seat. 'We talked over the comms. I'm Lyla.'



'Dunno. We lost sight of them on the other side of this avalanche. We crash-landed. On our starboard side.' Lyla climbed down off the X-wing, looking back to see if the pilot got off safely. She wanted to be far away from the crashed fighter, the molten rocks and jagged crystals, and the noxious gases. 'Keep your mask on. There's a lot of dust, crystal flakes, and gas in the air. And it's hot. What the hell were you thinking, gunning your engines like that? ...Come on, let's get away before she explodes or something.' she complained, walking away from the buried fighter and beckoning the pilot to follow.

Rynn smiled, again concealed by the mask, but she could hear it in his voice. "The walls were shaking apart anyway with sound from the scout's engines, that plus our engines, it was only a matter of time. I meant to aim a little further down the canyon, and only trap the scout... I guess it didn't work out that way. I'm Rynn."





"I never take it off..." He said, in regards to the mask. "And what would you have done? I couldn't get the hatch open with the crystals on top, had no clue who was still alive, it could have been the Imps that came up on my, I was hoping to just to thrust loose of my little tomb, and get back airborne." He looked back at it, as they walked away. "It won't explode... I think. Do you guys have a winch or something? I have to get it back to the port once I find out what happened to the Imps."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:54, Sun 26 Jan 2014.

Lyla shrugged; she wasn't a pilot and didn't care to think what she'd do if she entombed like that. 'I reckon the molten crystal-rocks would stick together and get you more stuck. Look, the lava's flowing down toward us.' She pointed down the slope, where a rivulet of molten sludge was creeping down the slope to a jump freighter unhappily parked on its side. Lyla hoped it would cool before it got to the Gold.

'A winch? I don't know. You've have to talk to Klyn, our engineer.' Lyla folded her pick and put it away; she wasn't going to dig a damn starfighter out of the rock.

Lyla tapped her comlink and reported back, hoping short-range comms still worked, 'I rescued the pilot. We're going to go look for the survey ship.' She started walking up the slope again, beckoning to Rynn. 'You coming?'

Rynn looked at her. "You have more guys? Could be stormtroopers in that downed bird for all we know. I was hoping to have fire superiority with that X-wing as a threat, but two of us against who knows how many of them?" He asked a little skeptical. "If we can get a radio up higher than the canyon I can radio for some back up." He walked behind the Twi'lek, gazing around at the destruction of the canyon that he inadvertently wrought. "To be honest, I didn't know it was melting..." He admitted sheepishly.

Lyla snorted. 'We've got an Ithorian...' She unslung her blaster rifle, checked the scope was still aligned, and carried it at the ready. 'They're Imperial Survey Corps; that means scouts and scientists. If they're loose on the ground, I've got to see where they go now, else I'll have a hell of a time tracking them later, especially on these crystals.' The hard, smooth crystal surfaces, with glittering light and endless refractions and reflections, would probably make tracking the Imperials nigh-impossible. 'I don't intend to shoot them. Yet.'

"Hey, if you want to track em, by all means you lead and I'll follow." He said, raising his hands in the air in surrender. "Just so you are aware, if they say more than boo, I DO intend to shoot em. I'm not gonna let them get off any more shots than they have to." He said as he followed the female.

Making small talk he said, "So, what brings you and your crew to Neskroff?"

Even with the Alabak's Gold in sight Lyla's comlink is totally ineffective, picking up nothing but interference. Looking around Lyla still saw the crystal humanoid, standing as still as they were the first time she spotted it, as if it were nothing more than part of the crystal landscape. At the top of the landslide Lyla used her scope to search for the Imperial starship. The devastation continued along the canyon and rocks had continued to fall, an indicator that the Imperial ship has somehow managed to survive the avalanche and pass further along the canyon. A plume of black smoke hung over the canyon around the next bend however so perhaps they had not come off entirely unscathed. Lyla estimates the distance can be walked before nightfall and as the dust settled it should be safe for the others to leave the Alabak's Gold.

Back at the ship T3-M8 and Klyn had her ready for lift-off, they would only get one shot at it though and the ship would need some serious maintenance. Now they just needed to decide where they were going to fly to and find out where their scout had wandered off to.

'Fair enough. I carry for this a reason too.' Lyla agreed, hefting her battered old ex–Clone Trooper–issue, army-surplus DC-15A blaster rifle with scope. 'The Survey Corps aren't so bad, as Imperials go. They get out a bit more. Maybe we can get them to come peacefully.' Lyla mused, ever hopeful that they could resolve a situation without violence, but knowing it would never be.

'Oh, you know, the fresh air and fine dining...' Lyla answered flippantly, trailing off as they crested the massive heap of rubble. 'Frell.' she swore as she gazed upon the extended trail of destruction and more distant than expected smoke plume. She tried to estimate the time it would and obstacles along the way.

Lyla waved a hand towards the crystalline person on the cliff-top, careful not to point or seem aggressive. 'Do you know these dudes?'
This message was last edited by the player at 08:25, Mon 27 Jan 2014.

"Would it help... hrmmm... if I got out and pushed?", asked Oglo of Klyn unaware of how sarcastic he must be sounding.

Rynn liked this Twi'lek... she had moxy. He admired her blaster Rifle, it was an older model from the war, but that spoke to it's durability. He also smirked at her hope of ending it peacefully. He'd shot them out of the sky, and instead of surrendering when their ship was about to fall aparted, they had rabbited into the canyon.

When they crested the hill and saw distance to the scout ship, Rynn let out a low whistle. "You sure you want to walk that whole way?" He jerked his thumb back to the crystal being. "I've heard rumors about them, soldiers and spacers mostly, and they regularly lie over drinks, so I don't know what I've heard about them is truth."




09:34, Today: Rynn Culmar rolled 11 using 1d20+2. Social Sciences .

—one foot after the other, steady as a clock, day in, day out, she would keep walking and she would survive— 'Yeah, I'm sure. That's a short hike compared to what I'm used to.' she replied dryly. Rummaging in her pack again, Lyla pulled out a long all-weather cloak, dusty enough to pass for camouflage, and pulled it on. She shifted her breath-mask a bit to have a quick drink from her canteen, revealing a glimpse of a pretty face. She needed to rehydrate.

'Well, it looks like we can't get any comms through... You should head down to our ship, get Tera to check you over. Tell them not to go outside without a mask until the dust settles. When everyone's done there, feel free to follow. I'll leave a trail. See you around.' With that, Lyla gave a little wave and walked over the top of the heap of rubble and down into the canyon.

Parting ways Lyla began her descend into the canyon, following the trail of destruction left by the damaged Imperial scout ship. Rynn is left standing at the top of the rubble. The buried X-wing is beside him, the humanoid crystal remains immobile at the top of the cliff and the crash landed Alabak’s Gold lies on the uneven ground of the canyon floor.

Rynn watched the Twi'lek start toward the smoke, and didn't want her going out on her own. He took off at a jog toward the ship and banged on the hatch of the ship.

He was going to give them instructions to starport, and give them the frequency to Red Leader. He wasn't going to let the woman take his "kill." He downed the ship, but he needed backup to get his X-wing out, and someone to pick up the imps. He waited a few seconds and banged on the hatch again.

Tera looked out the hatch with a breathing mask on. She looked back inside to T3 and the others. "I don't want to alarm anyone, but this ship looks as though it might not land right, never mind fly to the spaceport." Looking into the distance she could see a crystalline humanoid figure "oh...the Gutreetes are here. I've only read about them. It'll be really interesting to meet one. I wonder if they're one of the ones that support the rebellion....well, actually they've not tried to eat Lyla yet, so...I guess they must be. Well actually they only derive sustenance from crystalline formations, so eating Lyla would be a little redundant."

"Hey, great. I'm Rynn, I'm the X-wing pilot." He said once the hatch swung open. He craned his neck to see the Twi'lek on her trek. "Your friend has it in her head to go check out the imp ship, alone. I'm going to go with her." He looked at the state of the ship. "If you can get the ship above the cyrstals you can get a signal back to the Star port. Can you give these coordinates to Red Leader? Tell him there's a stuck X-wing and possible prisoner transport needed?" He looked back at the woman to see if she had caught everything that he had said, and waited for her response.

In reply to Oglo Obwatt (msg # 44):

"No, it won't help." answered Klyn, always a bit surprised by the Ithorian's remarks.
"We better not push anything before we are certain to go : we are barely stabilized."

He worked a bit then asked
"I suppose you don't know where the starport is, by any luck?"