A treasure in the catacombs

[Anonymous]

“Are you sure about this Farica?�

     Farica turned to her partner, a youth slightly younger than herself with untidy black hair and crystal blue eyes.

     â€œWhen have I ever been wrong?â€? she said pushing her long blonde hair out of her face as she climbed over a pile of rubble.

      “Well there was that time in Teinar when you said that monster was harmless,â€?

     â€œIt was harmless.â€?

     â€œIt nearly ate my arm!â€?

     â€œIt just didn’t like males much.â€?

     â€œThen there was that time in Edanith when you said that guy wasn’t a Mordecai.â€?

      “He didn’t have his mage with him...â€?

      Her partner sighed, “I’m just saying maybe you’re wrong about this place. There might not actually be any treasure in this stupid asteroid.â€?

     Farica narrowed her green eyes at the male, “Setrul, do you even know what this place is?â€?

     â€œErm…nope.â€?

     â€œThis ‘asteroid’ is actually a dwarf planet called Lanaes, did you fail to notice the big collection of buildings? And why do you think there are ruins on it?â€?

     â€œOh…So this is like a proper established planet? If that’s the case why did we land in the middle of nowhere?â€?

     â€œSo as not to attract attention.â€?  

     Farica jumped down from some broken steps, followed closely by Setrul.

     â€œPeople aren’t allowed in these catacombs, they’re supposed to be haunted but the Lanaerian troops punish anyone who tries to enter. If it’s only haunted then why is that?â€?

     Setrul raised an eyebrow, “How should I know? And why didn’t you tell me it was haunted before?â€?

     Farica smiled evilly, “What are you scared?â€?

     â€œNot a chance!â€? Setrul protested as he climbed down a small shaft into the dungeons, “Where exactly are we heading anyway.â€?

     â€œAnywhere that might have treasure or at least something of archaeological significance.â€?

     Farica jumped down the shaft behind Setrul as he lit his torch.

     â€œWhy would there be treasure?â€? Setrul asked as Farica turned her torch on.

     â€œBecause no-one comes in here and the army are doing everything in their power to stop people getting in.â€?

     â€œSo you think there’s something important or at least valuable in here?â€? Setrul said as he forced open a rotting wooden door causing several termite-like creatures to emerge.

     Farica swore colourfully, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! Do you ever pay attention?â€?

     â€œSometimesâ€?

     The pair stopped when they reached a big metal door, Setrul tried the handle but found it locked.

     â€œI think this is it,â€? Farica commented.

     She attached some explosives to the door, ushered Setrul away from it as well as backing away herself before pressing the button to detonate them. The door fell over with a bang to reveal behind it…yet another door.

     â€œOkay, now I know this it,â€? Farica laughed.

     She gave the next door the same treatment and it fell over with a bang as well to reveal behind it an empty room. Setrul and Farica entered the room and were surprised to find lanterns lit in the room. Despite no natural light entering, there were stained glass windows on every side of the room and alter at one end.

     â€œLooks like some kind of chapel,â€? Setrul whispered, not daring to break the peace of the room.

     There were no pews, the room was empty except the altar and something rather strange hanging above it. Held to the wall by vines which moved with all the signs of life, like tentacles, was a girl. She looked a little bit older than the pair, her skin was very pale, like it hadn’t been touched by sunlight in years and she had very long purple hair which cascaded over the vines in disarray.

     â€œWhat the hell…â€?

[Anonymous]

I'm picking up a reading from nearby asteroid heding 273

The beep from the AI system, roused Cain from his stotic state, shaking his head to awaken himself he punched a few buttons he brought up the sensor grid on his visual display inside the helmet.

Isolate and highlight seperate entity's

Energy signituares highlighted

Focus on signituares on sector heading 250 to 280

One energy sitniture located, isolated and highlighted. Heading 273 ten click from here

Cain smiled as he took over from the auto pilot, taking manual control he fed more power to the engines, as the Rift Raptor accelerated he turned the nose to follow the heading indicated

Any idea what's on the asteroid

Appears to be a ship, maybe more, no other ships located in current heading

Full thruster power, ETA?

From current location, 25 minutes

Copy that

[Anonymous]

“Who is she?� Farica breathed not daring to disturb the silence of the room.

    “You’re asking me that?â€? Setrul replied.

     Farica took a tentative step towards the girl hoping that the tentacles wouldn’t try to protect their prisoner. They continued to writhe around the girl however and made no move to stop Farica approaching.

     â€œIs she dead?â€? whispered Setrul.

     â€œNo, she’s breathing…Huh?â€?

     Setrul tore his eyes away from the purple haired girl to look at his partner, “What’s wrong?â€?

     â€œI think someone’s following us…â€?

     â€œWhat someone from Lanaes?â€?

     Farica shook her head, “No someone who’s landed recently…â€?

     Farica’s psychic ability had come in handy many times. It was what made the pair some of the best treasure hunters around, she could sense if others were after the treasure too or if someone was after them.

     â€œWhy would they be following us? I mean we’re just treasure hunters. Unless they’re treasure hunters too.â€?

     Farica frowned, “I don’t think they are…Maybe they’re looking for this girl…whoever she is.â€?

     Setrul walked up to his partner and looked up at the purple haired girl, “Is she wearing a tiara?â€?

     Farica’s head whipped round and glanced at the girl’s head. Setrul was right; just about visible underneath her hair which was in disarray she could see a thin silver band with clear and purple stones embedded in it.

     â€œIs she royalty?â€?

     â€œMaybe…â€? Farica replied, “But if she is why is she here?â€?

[Anonymous]

Popping the hatch of the Rift Raptor Cain released the restraints and lept from the cockpit. The was a ship on the asteroid, a nice ship at that, pressing a button on his wrist com he closed and locked the hatch on the Rift Raptor. Pressing a small button on the side of the helmet he saw that it wasn't safe to remove the helmet just yet for him. Punching a few buttons on his wrist com he turned on light amplification and un holstered his pistol.

IS THERE ANY ONE OUT HERE

Listening closely he ran quickly to a nearby block of rubble for cover, nothing was picking up on his short range sensor. Glancing down he extended the sensor sweep, and was rewarded with a faint ping, no 3 pings. What would 3 people want with a deserted asteroid

Un-identified party i know that your out there and i order that you come out,

[Anonymous]

“Un-identified party, I know that you’re out there and I order that you come out!�

     The pair froze and turned towards the entrance to the chapel.

     â€œSomeone did follow us,â€? Setrul said.

     â€œYeah and they don’t sound happy do they?â€?

     Setrul sighed, “Well I don’t think there’s any treasure here so maybe we should just grab the girl and go?...Unless of course you can hit them from here?â€?

     Farica frowned, “Why do we have to take the girl? She could be dangerous for all we know.â€?

     â€œCome on, look at her Farica…A damsel in distress and royalty too. You know if we save her we might get a reward.

     â€œHow stupid do you think I am? You just find her attractive.â€?

     â€œAnd that matter because…?â€?

     Farica sighed exasperatedly, “Fine. I’ll try and knock out whoever it is that’s out there.â€?

     Farica closed her eyes and placed the tips of her fingers to her temples. Using her powers she worked out roughly where their pursuer was and let forth a burst of energy in their direction.

[Anonymous]

Cain frowned, the second sensor sweep hadn't revealed much in the way of movement, glancing around the rubble he was hding behind he noticed something. There were buildings scattered around, this was a city... Standing up he gasped and it felt like space had solidified and then smashed him in the face, his legs giving way he dropped like a stone, the red welt of pain in his temples was agonising, fighting to remain conscious he dimly realised that the isn't the kind of thing that happened in normal space, it must be a psychic attack, crawling back into his cover he called out again

On... orders of the ......Space Station....Libra space defense.... core....i order that show yourself...... and state your business....

Gasping for breath as his vision blurred he hated psychics, maybe more oxygen would keep him conscious, rasping out the command he felt the air in the helmet change desities slightly but there was no diffence. "great" he was was gonna have find them if they didn't come out

[Anonymous]

“Persistent aren’t they,� Setrul commented.
 
    “I guess we will have to resort to plan B,â€? Farica sighed, “Do you think you can pull her out of those vines?â€?

     Setrul looked at them appraisingly, “Doubt it. We’ll probably have to cut them some way.â€?

     â€œI don’t think a normal blade will be able to cut them either and it’s too dangerous we might hit her.â€?

     â€œPsychic Blade? Setrul asked.

     Farica nodded, “It’s the only thing powerful and accurate enough.â€?

     She focused her power again and pointed it at the writhing vines. Then she imagined her powers forming a blade and shot it at the vines.

[Anonymous]

Gritting his teeth Cain forced himself to stand up, breathing heavily he checked that his pistol was loaded and the safety was off, stepping forward he made another censor sweep, he turned himself to the heading shown and made his wy slowly, the pressure on his temple hadn't let up. There was a large pile of rubble infront of him, grunting s he painfully made his way over the rubble. Pausing at the peak to regain his breath he noticed no sign of the sensor pings. Looking around he no sign of life, frowning, maybe they were cloaked.

Squiting he saw no distortion of the area around him, so they wern't cloaked, pressing the Coms button on the wrist com he started a link with the Rift Raptors AI

Can't detirmine....locati on....of contacts...

Confirm sensor sweep results

Sending...last 3 scans...

Processing, results confirmed there are 3 contacts within the area

3...Theres only two...

No Cain there is definatly 3

Either way.... contacts are out of visual and confirmed not cloaked

What about underground?

Underground...this is an asteroid!

Incorrect this is a planet, going by the name of Lanaes class 6, Libra scale

Why...didn't you tell me earlier?

You didn't ask

Growling Cain cut the communication with a press of the button, underground, there'd need to be some way down, getting into a stable position he opened fire randomly hoping to reaveal a hidden trapdoor. The crack of a rock hitting a wall then dropping onto the floor got his attention, more so because the rock was falling down a flight of stairs but where. Half sliding down the rubble pile he took stock, the were loose dust clouds where his bullets had struck. Frowning he made his way over to the only piece of rubble nearby it had to hold the ladder

[Anonymous]

Setrul caught the girl as the vines momentarily recoiled dropping her.

“Time to go,� he said.

     Farica nodded, unable to speak through panting, psychic abilities took a lot of energy to use. The pair turned to leave but then a noise of gunfire could be heard.

     â€œThat isn’t good.â€?

     â€œThey might be after her,â€? Farica managed to gasp.

     Setrul frowned, “Maybe’s there’s another way out.

     â€œLook around you, Setrul!â€? his partner snapped, “There’s only one way in or out and there’s somebody with a gun down there!â€?

     Setrul shifted the girl in his arms to a more comfortable position, “Maybe we could hide…â€?

     Farica sighed exasperatedly, “If we were looking for someone we couldn’t see what would we do?â€?

     â€œErm…use our sensors?â€?

     â€œYes you idiot!â€?

     â€œWell your shouting is certainly going to make finding us easier for them!â€?

      Farica opened her mouth to retort but then paused, “What was that?â€?

     After a pause the noise happened again and was louder this time. They turned to where the girl had once been to see the vines getting longer in length and heading right for them.

     â€œRun?â€?

     â€œProbably a good idea.â€?

     The two ran down the corridor as fast as they could, the vines in hot pursuit.

[Anonymous]

A beep from his wrist com took Cain's attention from his limping towards the rubble, the contacts were moving, they must be coming out, shuffling forward he checked the ammunition level inside his pistol, one round left, fumbleing he managed to reload it and have it ready. Panting he reaches the rubble, there a stair well there, inside was the faint tapping of feet heading towards it. Grinning he shuffled over to the floor opposite to the top of the stairs, leveling his pistol straight down into the shadows, first thing he saw run out, he'd fire on, grimacing he decided that one more warning wouldn't hurt

By...order... of ... Space Station Libra.... you are to come out slowly and quietly....were...y ou will be questioned. Refusal to do so....will result in an military...arrest

Cocking his pistol he closed his eyes slightly to focus, he couldn't miss from this range, no one could[/code]

[Anonymous]

Farica and Setrul didn’t hear Cain’s warning, all they could hear was the sound of the vines coming after them at breakneck speed. The corridor seemed longer than it had when they entered but eventually they spotted daylight ahead.

     However when the reached said daylight, Setrul noticed something.

     â€œGet down!â€?

[Anonymous]

Cain ignored the increased blips on his wrist com, he could hear foot steps slamming down on the corrider underneath him, increasing the pressure on the trigger slightly he grinned, "get down"! eyes widening as he heard that he almost fired, a second or two later he wished he had. Vines shot out of the tunnel at break neck pace with a mighty swoosh, gasping as he staggered back he brought the pistol to bear and emptied a full clip into the vines, nothing happened. There were plants, they didn't feel pain, fumbling for another clip of bullets he  watched as the vines waved around, what kind of magic was this

In all his experience he'd never experienced anything like this, and he probably never would

Wha....Whats happening.....

[Anonymous]

Farica leapt out of the tunnel after Setrul, narrowly avoiding being hit by the vines. Setrul lost his grip on the girl, she flew out of his hands and a few feet away. However as she landed, the vines began to withdraw back into the catacombs.

     â€œWhere they trying to stop her leaving?â€? Farica thought aloud.  

    It seemed strange that they stopped pursuing them as soon as the girl was away from the entrance. Maybe she had summoned the vines but she could only do it in there, but if that was the case then why where they trapping her? Another possibility was that the purpose of the vines was to lure them outside, Setrul did seem to have shouted to someone.

[Anonymous]

Cain watched as the vines withdrew, turning his helmeted face down he saw a girl with purple hair lying on the ground, snapping back into reality he checked to see if he'd managed to reload the weapon during that spectacle, the clip was in but it hadn't been cocked. Frowning he saw a male and a female standing looking at the girl, slamming his palm against the clip he locked it in place, gripping the barrel and pulling back he cocked a bullet into the chamber. Despite the pain in his temples, he refocused himself and pointed the pistol at the pair

Stand...Down! Tell...me...what... your doing here!

[Anonymous]

“Um…� was all Setrul managed to say.

     Farica glanced across at the girl but she doubted that the guy knew her.

     â€œYou saved the life of someone who wants to kill us you moron!â€? Farica said to Setrul through telepathy.

     Setrul couldn’t reply in the same way, Farica could use telepathy but couldn’t read people’s minds and Setrul wasn’t psychic.

     She could see the cogs in Setrul’s head working, he was probably thinking of an excuse. However Setrul was not the most intelligent of people so decided it was up to her.

     â€œWe were rescuing her,â€? Farica replied indicating the girl, “When we were flying over this area the sensors on our ship detected her so we came to investigate, good job we did.â€?

[Anonymous]

Cain keeping  the pistol leveled on the pair frowned

Rescueing her?, she doesn't look like she needs rescueing more like she needs a medic if you ask me

Right drop any weapons you have on you, and then take 15 steps back and turn around, i'm simply going to check to see if your friend is even alive, got that?[/i]

[Anonymous]

“Do what he says,� Farica said to Setrul via telepathy, “I can kill him later if need be.�

     It was better to do what he said now even though Farica could tell that the girl was just in a very deep sleep. When she had hit the ground she was asleep so would be limp so unlikely to be injured that much.

     Setrul removed his gun from the holster and threw it on ground before the walking 15 steps back with his partner. He wasn’t worried, who needed weapons when you had a psychic on hand, Farica could just blow his brain up. Yeah it would probably knock her out for a few hours but at least they’d be alive.

     He was worried about the girl but Farica didn’t look worried so she was probably fine.

[Anonymous]

Happy that the pair seemed to respond he limped over the to girl and placed  hand on her neck to try and feel for a pulse, it was slow and faint, so she wasn't dead, a thought just struck him, she wasn't in a helmet and respirator and neither were the pair, but the analysis said that the atmosphere wouldn't support life without one. Groaning slightly as he stood up he called

Why...arn't you in helmets, shouldn't you be dead?

Holstering his pistol, he stepped over to pick up the other one, letting the ammo clip drop the the floor, he fired the bullet in the chamber into a building before throwing back at the mans feet

[Anonymous]

Setrul shrugged, “The air’s breathable.�

     The sensors on their ship had said it wouldn’t sustain life but Farica only told Setrul this after he had run outside. To their surprise they could actually breathe the air, unlike on his home planet where you could only walk around with a respirator in the settlements. The planets also had a lot of vegetation; it was a lot like what the stories said about Earth long ago, except everything on Lanaes was purple or blue.

     When the guy fired all the bullets in Setrul’s gun he had to suppress a smile, the guy obviously thought he didn’t have more on him well he was wrong, he had a dagger on him as did Farica.

[Anonymous]

Cain frowned as he heard the fast retort, pressing the small button on the side of his helmet he retracted the visor and revealed his face the atmosphere. Taking a cautious breath the sudden change from heavily oxygenated air to the thin atmospehere dizzied him, yes it was breathable but he'd forgotten he'd been running at twice normal oxygen in an attempt to keep himself awake, standing on his feet and swaying he panted in a vain attempt to regain his breath

Guess..you were right...Well she looks in one piece....I'd suggest... that you fly here.... to outpost L-26...just a few ticks from here....small medic outpost for Space Station Libra.... Seeing as your ship looks a bit small.... for 3 people i'll take her if it's a too bigger squeeze...ok?