The Swarm: Stay

[atlasmods]

Who: These Interlopers
When: IC Day 5.5-6
Where: The Boneyard
What: The Swarm Event

THE SWARM: STAY PRELUDE. Five days have passed since you, The First, woke on the strange and barren planet of Kharas. Four days since the pods housing you exploded when tampered with, and Three since the strange Trilobite-like sand crabs began hesitantly crawling their way into and around the boneyard. At first there was only a few brave specimens to be found, keeping mostly to the shadows and scuttling this way and that. Now, however, at least a hundred of them can be found in and around the boneyard in various placed, commonly grouped together in batches of two or three, sometimes even four. Notably they do not interact much with one another despite their groups and are much more interested in scouting out their surroundings for fibrous materials. On the odd chance that they manage to obtain any scraps they will begin to wander back towards the tracks your counterparts began following earlier. Odd, isn't it? As the softer morning sun overhead slowly begins to heat up with the encroaching afternoon more of the Trilobites begin to fill the area. Only unlike their predecessors these ones do not wander around aimlessly, and instead beeline their way to any Coral stalks that remain in the area. They bury into the sand beneath them to avoid their harsh shells and attack the roots until they topple and collapse under their own weight. Once this happens they practically swarm, working to segment it into pieces with their mandibles. When the Coral's shell cracks the Trilobites pry all vegetable matter from within and begin dragging it into the desert. And that's not all: these new Trilobites seem much braver and more interested in you than their predecessors. They will openly wander up to characters and gnaw uselessly at their ankles or feet, chittering and chattering. If enough of them happen to get together around an individual they will form a tiny ankle-gnawing mob intent on clambering all over you. As the daily eclipse nears their numbers will begin to grow even further. Odd tremors can be felt beneath the ground, even in spite of all the sand, but characters won't get much of a chance to look into the matter before their wrist communicators begin to emit that same strange static from the mist. ...Only there's none to be seen in any direction whatsoever.
OOC	IC Days 5.5 - 6 (Oct 26th - 28th)
This log starts during the afternoon of IC day 5.5 and continues on until the morning of day 6 (with the rest of that day being the aftermath/conclusion). There will be a time-sensitive event which will run for 24 hours starting on the 27th at 8:00AM EST. It will conclude on the 28th at 8:00AM EST. This time-sensitive event cannot be "failed" by running out of time and will affect the lore of the game. Please direct any and all questions about this event here.

Comments

[anewhope]

[ Clark faintly registers the blow before he looks at her uncomprehendingly. Then he realized what she meant. His lips pursed tightly, Clark nods. He couldn't give up here.

Not yet. ]

You win.

[ Clark glances at the swarm with a grimace. ]

Need a hand to get to the top? I think I can manage it.

[falsesmile]

[ She shook her head. ]

I can take care of myself.

[ It's not a boast, just a very matter-of-fact assessment of how she's held up so far -- well, and with a hint of exasperation in her voice that implies unlike some noble fools who don't stop to think about taking care of themselves. ]

Let's move.

[anewhope]

[ He hesitates. Clark doesn't want to leave anyone behind but Vestara's confidence strengthens his resolve to follow her advice. ]

See you there.

[ Bending his knee at an angle, Clark pushes himself upward with a jump that would leave anyone in awe. ]

[falsesmile]

[ It has the intended effect, and Vestara gapes wide-eyed for a split second before taking a much more mundane route up to the relative safety of the high ground. With Force-enhanced reflexes and a lifetime of Sith training, she weaves between the swarm, her make-shift bludgeons securing a path forward like a parang beating through the underbrush. She's still avoiding blatant Force use -- no super-jumping, no lightning -- so the effect is less super-human than just someone at the peak of human potential.

Someone at the peak of human potential with a lot of lucky dodges and misses, anyway.

So as long as he lands on a relatively nearby outcropping of bones, she'll drop one of her makeshift bludgeons, grip the other one in her teeth, and scramble up the bones after him.

Internally, she promises to think about the ramifications of his powers when the situation is less dire. ]